Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Monte Carlo Methods”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

SU-F-BRD-14: Dose Weighted Linear Energy Transfer Analysis of Critical Structures in Proton Therapy of Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients

Purpose: Dose weighted Linear Energy Transfer (LETd) analysis of critical structures may be useful in understanding the side effects of the proton therapy. The objective is to analyze the differences between LETd and dose distributions in brain tumor patients receiving double scattering proton therapy, to quantify LETd variation in critical organs, and to identify beam arrangements contributing to high LETd in critical organs. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations of 9 pediatric brain tumor patients were performed. The treatment plans were reconstructed with the TOPAS Monte Carlo code to calculate LETd and dose. The beam data were reconstructed proximal to the aperture of the double scattering nozzle. The dose and LETd to target and critical organs including brain stem, optic chiasm, lens, optic nerve, pituitary gland, and hypothalamus were computed for each beam. Results: Greater variability in LETd compared to dose was observed in the brainstem for patients with a variety of tumor types including 5 patients with tumors located in the posterior fossa. Approximately 20%–44% brainstem volume received LETd of 5kev/µm or greater from beams within gantry angles 180°±30° for 5 patients treated with a 3 beam arrangement. Critical organs received higher LETd when located in the vicinity of the beam distal edge. Conclusion: This study presents a novel strategy in the evaluation of the proton treatment impact on critical organs. While the dose to critical organs is confined below the required limits, the LETd may have significant variation. Critical organs in the vicinity of beam distal edge receive higher LETd and depended on beam arrangement, e.g. in posterior fossa tumor treatment, brainstem receive higher LETd from posterior-anterior beams. This study shows importance of the LETd analysis of the radiation impact on the critical organs in proton therapy and may be used to explain clinical imaging observations after therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

TU-CD-304-07: Intensity Modulated Electron Beam Therapy Employing Small Fields in Virtual Scanning Mode

Purpose: Dynamic electron radiation therapies such as dynamic electron arc radiotherapy (DEAR) utilize small fields to provide target conformity and fluence modulation. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of virtual scanning mode using small fields. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations (EGSnrc/BEAMnrc/DOSXYZnrc) were performed using validated Varian TrueBeam phase space files for electron beam energies of 6, 9, 12, and 16 MeV and square/circular fields (1×1/1, 2×2/2, 3×3/3, 4×4/4, 5×5/5 cm{sup 2}/cm diameter). Resulting dose distributions (kernels) were used for subsequent calculations. The following analyses were performed: (1) Comparison of composite square fields and reference 10×10 cm{sup 2} dose distributions and (2) Scanning beam deliveries for square and circular fields realized as the convolution of kernels and scanning pattern. Preliminary beam weight and pattern optimization were also performed. Two linear scans of 10 cm with/without overlap were modeled. Comparison metrics included depth and orthogonal profiles at dmax. Results: (1) Composite fields regained reference depth dose profiles for most energies and fields within 5%. Smaller kernels and higher energies increased dose in the build-up and Bremsstrahlung region (30%, 16MeV and 1×1 cm{sup 2}), while reference dmax was maintained for all energies and composite fields. Smaller kernels (<2×2 cm{sup 2}) maintained penumbra and field size within 0.2 cm, and flatness within 2%. Deterioration of penumbra for larger kernels (5×5 cm{sup 2}) were observed. Balancing desirable dosimetry and efficiencies suggests that smaller kernels are used at edges and larger kernels in the center of the target. (2) Beam weight optimization improved cross-plane penumbra (0.2 cm) and increased the field size (0.4 cm) on average. In-plane penumbra and field size remained unchanged. Overlap depended on kernel size and optimal overlap resulted in flatness ±2%. Conclusion: Dynamic electron beam therapy in virtual scanning mode is feasible by employing small fields to achieve desired dose distributions and acceptable efficiencies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Gold nanoparticle induced vasculature damage in radiotherapy: Comparing protons, megavoltage photons, and kilovoltage photons

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate the radiosensitizing effect of gold nanoparticle (GNP) induced vasculature damage for proton, megavoltage (MV) photon, and kilovoltage (kV) photon irradiation. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were carried out using tool for particle simulation (TOPAS) to obtain the spatial dose distribution in close proximity up to 20 μm from the GNPs. The spatial dose distribution from GNPs was used as an input to calculate the dose deposited to the blood vessels. GNP induced vasculature damage was evaluated for three particle sources (a clinical spread out Bragg peak proton beam, a 6 MV photon beam, and two kV photon beams). For each particle source, various depths in tissue, GNP sizes (2, 10, and 20 nm diameter), and vessel diameters (8, 14, and 20 μm) were investigated. Two GNP distributions in lumen were considered, either homogeneously distributed in the vessel or attached to the inner wall of the vessel. Doses of 30 Gy and 2 Gy were considered, representing typical in vivo enhancement studies and conventional clinical fractionation, respectively. Results: These simulations showed that for 20 Au-mg/g GNP blood concentration homogeneously distributed in the vessel, the additional dose at the inner vascular wall encircling the lumen was 43% of the prescribed dose at the depth of treatment for the 250 kVp photon source, 1% for the 6 MV photon source, and 0.1% for the proton beam. For kV photons, GNPs caused 15% more dose in the vascular wall for 150 kVp source than for 250 kVp. For 6 MV photons, GNPs caused 0.2% more dose in the vascular wall at 20 cm depth in water as compared to at depth of maximum dose (Dmax). For proton therapy, GNPs caused the same dose in the vascular wall for all depths across the spread out Bragg peak with 12.7 cm range and 7 cm modulation. For the same weight of GNPs in the vessel, 2 nm diameter GNPs caused three times more damage to the vessel than 20 nm diameter GNPs. When the GNPs were attached to the inner vascular wall, the damage to the inner vascular wall can be up to 207% of the prescribed dose for the 250 kVp photon source, 4% for the 6 MV photon source, and 2% for the proton beam. Even though the average dose increase from the proton beam and MV photon beam was not large, there were high dose spikes that elevate the local dose of the parts of the blood vessel to be higher than 15 Gy even for 2 Gy prescribed dose, especially when the GNPs can be actively targeted to the endothelial cells. Conclusions: GNPs can potentially be used to enhance radiation therapy by causing vasculature damage through high dose spikes caused by the addition of GNPs especially for hypofractionated treatment. If GNPs are designed to actively accumulate at the tumor vasculature walls, vasculature damage can be increased significantly. The largest enhancement is seen using kilovoltage photons due to the photoelectric effect. Although no significant average dose enhancement was observed for the whole vasculature structure for both MV photons and protons, they can cause high local dose escalation (>15 Gy) to areas of the blood vessel that can potentially contribute to the disruption of the functionality of the blood vessels in the tumor.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sensitivity of the diagnostic radiological index of protection to procedural factors in fluoroscopy

Purpose: To evaluate the sensitivity of the diagnostic radiological index of protection (DRIP), used to quantify the protective value of radioprotective garments, to procedural factors in fluoroscopy in an effort to determine an appropriate set of scatter-mimicking primary beams to be used in measuring the DRIP. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were performed to determine the shape of the scattered x-ray spectra incident on the operator in different clinical fluoroscopy scenarios, including interventional radiology and interventional cardiology (IC). Two clinical simulations studied the sensitivity of the scattered spectrum to gantry angle and patient size, while technical factors were varied according to measured automatic dose rate control (ADRC) data. Factorial simulations studied the sensitivity of the scattered spectrum to gantry angle, field of view, patient size, and beam quality for constant technical factors. Average energy (E{sub avg}) was the figure of merit used to condense fluence in each energy bin to a single numerical index. Results: Beam quality had the strongest influence on the scattered spectrum in fluoroscopy. Many procedural factors affect the scattered spectrum indirectly through their effect on primary beam quality through ADRC, e.g., gantry angle and patient size. Lateral C-arm rotation, common in IC, increased the energy of the scattered spectrum, regardless of the direction of rotation. The effect of patient size on scattered radiation depended on ADRC characteristics, patient size, and procedure type. Conclusions: The scattered spectrum striking the operator in fluoroscopy is most strongly influenced by primary beam quality, particularly kV. Use cases for protective garments should be classified by typical procedural primary beam qualities, which are governed by the ADRC according to the impacts of patient size, anatomical location, and gantry angle.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-I-69: Absorbed Dose Estimation for a Commercially Available MicroCT Scanner with Various Filtration Techniques

Purpose: To quantify the simulated mean absorbed dose per technique (cGy/mAs) from a commercially available microCT scanner using various filtration techniques. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations using the Geant4 toolkit (version 10) was used utilizing the standard electromagnetic physics model. The Quantum FX microCT scanner (PerkinElmer, Waltham, MA) was modeled incorporating measured energy spectra and spatial dimensions of nominal source-to-object (SOD) distances. The energy distribution was measured using a spectrometer (X-123CdTe, Amptek Inc., Bedford, USA) for the 90 kVp X-ray beams with various filters (including no filter, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm Al and 0.2 mm Cu + 2.5 mm Al). The SOD was set to 154 mm, 104 mm, and 52 mm. A total of 10 million incident particles were processed per simulation. Cutout value was set to 0.1 mm for both photon and electron. The mean dose absorbed (cGy/per incident particle) in a PMMA phantom (length of 2 cm and radius of 3 cm) were recorded. Exposure measurements were taken using a Radcal 9095 system with a protocol of 90 kVp, 200 µA, and ∼12 s beam-On time for the various filters. Results: The mean absorbed dose per mAs for various filtrations and different SOD setups indicated that the dose decreased as the SOD increased and as the amount of filtration increased. For a given SOD, the dose was reduced by as much as ∼13.7% by varying the filter (from 0.2 mm Cu + 2.5 mm Al to no filter). The maximum dose was found to be 0.39 cGy/mAs (SOD of 5.196 cm, no filter) while the minimum dose value was 0.077 cGy/mAs (SOD of 15.4 cm, .2mm Cu + 2mm Al filter). Conclusion: This study estimates easily the mean dose for objects scanned with a microCT scanner with different filtration.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-J-56: The Connection Between Cherenkov Light Emission and Radiation Absorbed Dose in Proton Irradiated Phantoms

Purpose: Range verification in proton therapy is of great importance. Cherenkov light follows the photon and electron energy deposition in water phantom. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between Cherenkov light generation and radiation absorbed dose in a water phantom irradiated with proton beams. Methods: Monte Carlo simulation was performed by employing FLUKA Monte Carlo code to stochastically simulate radiation transport, ionizing radiation dose deposition, and Cherenkov radiation in water phantoms. The simulations were performed for proton beams with energies in the range 50–600 MeV to cover a wide range of proton energies. Results: The mechanism of Cherenkov light production depends on the initial energy of protons. For proton energy with 50–400 MeV energy that is below the threshold (∼483 MeV in water) for Cherenkov light production directly from incident protons, Cherenkov light is produced mainly from the secondary electrons liberated as a result of columbic interactions with the incident protons. For proton beams with energy above 500 MeV, in the initial depth that incident protons have higher energy than the Cherenkov light production threshold, the light has higher intensity. As the slowing down process results in lower energy protons in larger depths in the water phantom, there is a knee point in the Cherenkov light curve vs. depth due to switching the Cherenkov light production mechanism from primary protons to secondary electrons. At the end of the depth dose curve the Cherenkov light intensity does not follow the dose peak because of the lack of high energy protons to produce Cherenkov light either directly or through secondary electrons. Conclusion: In contrast to photon and electron beams, Cherenkov light generation induced by proton beams does not follow the proton energy deposition specially close to the end of the proton range near the Bragg peak.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-13: Transit Dose Comparisons for Co-60 and Ir-192 HDR Sources

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the transit dose due to the movement of high dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 and Co-60 sources along the transfer tube. This is performed by evaluating air-kerma differences in the vicinity of the transfer tube when both sources are moved with the same velocity from a HDR brachytherapy afterloader into a patient. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations have been performed using PENELOPE2014. mHDR-v2 and Flexisource sources have been considered. Collisional kerma has been scored. The sources were simulated within a plastic catheter located in an infinite air phantom. The movement of the seed was included by displacing their positions along the connecting catheter from z=−75 cm to z=+75 cm and combining them. Backscatter from the afterloader and the patient was not considered. Since modern afterloaders like Flexitron (Elekta) or Saginova (Bebig) are able to use equally Ir-192 and Co-60 sources it was assumed that both sources are displaced with equal speed. Typical content activity values were provided by the manufacturer (460 GBq for Ir-192 and 75 GBq for Co-60). Results: 2D distributions were obtained with type-A uncertainties (k=2) less than 0.01%. From those, the air kerma ratio Co-60/Ir-192 was evaluated weighted by their corresponding activities. It was found that it varies slowly with distance (less than 10% variation) but strongly in time due to the shorter half-life of the Ir-192 (73.83 days). The maximum ratio is located close to the catheter with a value of 0.57 when both sources are installed by the manufacturer, while increasing up to 1.25 at the end of the recommended working life (90 days) of the Ir-192 source. Conclusion: Air-kerma ratios are almost constant (0.51–0.57) in the vicinity of the source. Nevertheless, air-kerma ratios increase rapidly whenever the Ir-192 is approaching the end of its life.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-178: Optimized Design of a Diamond Detector Specifically Dedicated to the Dose Distribution Measurements in Clinical Proton Pencil Beams

Purpose: In proton-therapy, pencil beam scanning (PBS) dosimetry presents a real challenge due to the small size of the beam (about 3 to 8 mm in FWHM), the pulsed high dose rate (up to 100 Gy/s) and the proton energy variation (about 30 MeV to 250 MeV). In the framework of French INSERM DEDIPRO project, a specifically dedicated single crystal diamond dosimeter (SCDDo) was developed with the objective of obtaining accurate measurements of the dose distribution in PBS modality. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations with MCNPX were performed. A small proton beam of 5 mm in FWHM was simulated as well as diamond devices with various size, thickness and holder composition. The calculated doses-to-diamond were compared with the doses-to-water in order to reduce the perturbation effects. Monte-Carlo simulations lead to an optimized SCDDo design for small proton beams dosimetry. Following the optimized design, SCDDos were mounted in water-equivalent holders with electrical connection adapted to standard electrometer. First, SCDDos performances (stability, repeatability, signal-to-background ratio…) were evaluated with conventional photon beams. Then, characterizations (dose linearity, dose rate dependence…) with wide proton beams were performed at proton-therapy center (IC-CPO) from Curie Institute (France) with the passive proton delivery technique, in order to confirm dosimetric requirements. Finally, depth-dose distributions were measured in a water tank, for native and modulated Bragg Peaks with the collimator of 12 cm, and compared to a commercial PPC05 parallel-plate ionization chamber reference detector. Lateral-dose profiles were also measured with the collimator of 5 mm, and compared to a commercial SFD diode. Results: The results show that SCDDo design does not disturb the dose distributions. Conclusion: The experimental dose distributions with the SCDDo are in good agreement with the commercial detectors and no energy dependence was observed with this device configuration.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-211: Evaluation of a Dual Focusing Magnet System for the Treatment of Small Proton Targets

Purpose: To investigate magnetic focusing for small volume proton targets using a doublet combination of quadrupole rare earth permanent magnet Halbach cylinder assemblies Methods: Monte Carlo computer simulations were performed using the Geant4 toolkit to compare dose depositions of proton beams transported through two focusing magnets or in their absence. Proton beams with energies of 127 MeV and initial diameters of 5, 8 and 10 mm were delivered through two identical focusing magnets similar to those currently in experimental use at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Analogous experiments used optimized configurations based on the simulation results. Dose was measured by a diode detector and Gafchromic EBT3 film and compared to simulation data. Based on results from the experimental data, an additional set of simulations was performed with an initial beam diameter of 18 mm and a two differing length magnets (40mm & 68mm). Results: Experimental data matched well with Monte Carlo simulations. However, under conditions necessary to produce circular beam spots at target depth, magnetically focused beams using two identical 40 mm length magnets did not meet all of our performance criteria of circular beam spots, improved peak to entrance (P/E) dose ratios and dose delivery efficiencies. The simulations using the longer 68 mm 2nd magnet yielded better results with 34% better P/E dose ratio and 20–50% better dose delivery efficiencies when compared to unfocused 10 mm beams. Conclusion: While magnetic focusing using two magnets with identical focusing power did not yield desired results, ongoing Monte Carlo simulations suggest that increasing the length of the 2nd magnet to 68 mm could improve P/E dose ratios and dose efficiencies. Future work includes additional experimental validation of the longer 2nd magnet setup as well as experiments with triplet magnet systems. This project was sponsored with funding from the Department of Defense (DOD# W81XWH-BAA-10-1).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-63: Dosimetric Relevance of the Valencia and Leipzig HDR Applicators Plastic Cap

Purpose: Utilization of HDR brachytherapy treatment of skin lesions using collimated applicators, such as the Valencia or Leipzig is increasing. These applicators are made of cup-shaped tungsten material in order to focalize the radiation into the lesion and to protect nearby tissues. These applicators have an attachable plastic cap that removes secondary electrons generated in the applicator and flattens the treatment surface. The purpose of this study is to examine the dosimetric impact of this cap, and the effect if the cap is not placed during the HDR fraction delivery. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations have been done using the code Geant4 for the Valencia and Leipzig applicators. Dose rate distributions have been obtained for the applicators with and without the plastic cap. An experimental study using EBT3 radiochromic film has been realized in order to verify the Monte Carlo results. Results: The Monte Carlo simulations show that absorbed dose in the first millimeter of skin can increase up to 180% for the Valencia applicator if the plastic cap is absent and up to 1500% for the Leipzig applicators. At deeper distances the increase of dose is smaller being about 10–15%. Conclusion: Important differences have been found if the plastic cap of the applicators is absent in the treatment producing an overdosage in the skin. The user should have a checklist to remind him check always before HDR fraction delivery to insure the plastic cap is placed on the applicator. This work was supported in part by Generalitat Valenciana under Project PROMETEOII/2013/010, by the Spanish Government under Project No. FIS2013-42156, and by a research agreement with Elekta Brachytherapy, Veenendaal, The Netherlands.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-G-TeP3-04: Evaluation of the Dose Enhancement with Gold Nanoparticle in Microdosimetry Level Using the Geant4-DNA Toolkit

Purpose: This study investigated the dose enhancement effect of using gold nanoparticles (GNP) as radiation sensitizers radiated by different photon beam energies. Microdosimetry of photon-irradiated GNP was determined by the Geant4-DNA process in the DNA scale. Methods: Monte Carlo simulation was conducted using the Geant4 toolkit (ver. 10.2). A GNP with different sizes (30, 50, and 100nm diameter sphere) and a DNA were placed in a water cube (1µm{sup 3}). The GNP was irradiated by photon beams with different energies (50, 100, and 150keV) and produced secondary electrons to increase the dose to the DNA. Energy depositions were calculated for both with and without GNP and to investigate the dose enhancement effect at the DNA. The distance between the GNP and DNA was varied to optimize the best GNP position to the DNA. The photon beam source was set to 200nm from the GNP in each simulation. Results: It is found that GNP had a dose enhancement effect on kV photon radiations. For Monte Carlo results on different GNP sizes, distances between the GNP and DNA, and photon beam energies, enhancement ratio was found increasing as GNP size increased. The distance between the GNP and DNA affected the result that as distance increased while the dose enhancement ratio decreased. However, the effect of changing distance was not as significant as varying the GNP size. In addition, increasing the photon beam energy also increased the dose enhancement ratio. The largest dose enhancement ratio was found to be 3.5, when the GNP (100nm diameter) irradiated by the 150keV photon beam was set to 80nm from the DNA. Conclusion: Dose enhancement was determined in the DNA with GNP in the microdosimetry scale. It is concluded that the dose enhancement varied with the photon beam energy, GNP size and distance between the GNP and DNA.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

WE-FG-BRA-12: Research Work of the Radio-Dynamic Treatment Mechanism

Purpose: The finite penetration depth of Laser light has limited clinical applications for PDT. This present work investigates the activation of photosensitizers using Cerenkov light emission from 45MV photon beams produced in an LA45 cancer therapy accelerator. We have named this new treatment technique Radio-Dynamic Therapy (RDT). Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were made on various Cerenkov emission energies and their spectroscopy in excited target areas in order to estimate their photosensitizer inner activation efficiency. The Cerenkov light excitation efficiency used in RDT has been theoretically compared with the exotic excitation efficiency of external Laser light used in PDT. In addition, laboratory tests showed the differences of the excitation efficiencies between a patented catalyst coenzyme added as a substrate, and then without the coenzyme. A specific probe of DMA (Singlet Oxygen fluorescent probe-9, 10-dimethylanthracene) was also used to detect singlet oxygen. Finally, we also compared our results with similar previous experimental work reported in the scientific literature. Results: Our Monte Carlo results showed that the Cerenkov light intensity induced with 45MV beams from an LA45 is 8 – 10 times the Cerenkov light intensity induced with 6MV beams from conventional accelerators. Furthermore, the patented catalyst coenzyme enhanced the excitation efficiency of photosensitizers by 3–6 times under different conditions. In clinical situations, the new RDT technique also showed favorable outcomes for early and late stages of specific cancers and it is also good at metastatic cancer treatment. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the process of using the Cerenkov light emission to excite photosensitizers from 45MV photons has a similar process and efficiency as the conventional laser in PDT. Comparing the advantages of RDT with a conventional PDT, the RDT may be developed into a potential treatment modality for a wider range of cancers stages as well as for other diseases.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sci-Sat AM: Radiation Dosimetry and Practical Therapy Solutions - 12: Suitability of plan class specific reference fields for estimating dosimeter correction factors for small clinical CyberKnife fields

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate the utility of plan class specific reference (PCSR) fields for predicting dosimeter response within isocentric and non-isocentric composite clinical fields using the smallest fields employed by the CyberKnife radiosurgery system. Methods: Monte Carlo dosimeter response correction factors (CFs) were calculated for a plastic scintillator and microchamber dosimeter in 21 clinical fields and 9 candidate plan-class PCSR fields which employ the 5, 7.5 and 10 mm diameter collimators. Measurements were performed in 5 PCSR fields to confirm the predicted relative response of detectors in the same field. Results: Ratios of corrected measured dose in the PCSR fields agree to within 1% of unity. Calculated CFs for isocentric fields agree within 1.5% of those for PCSR fields. Large and variable microchamber CFs are required for non-isocentric fields, with differences as high as 5% between different clinical fields in the same plan class and 4% within the same field depending on the point of measurement. Non-isocentric PCSR fields constructed to have relatively homogenous dose over a region larger than the detector have very different ion chamber CFs from clinical fields. The plastic scintillator detector has much more consistent response within each plan class but still require 3–4% corrections in some fields. Conclusions: While the PCSR field concept is useful for small isocentric fields, this approach may not be appropriate for non-isocentric clinical fields which exhibit large and variable ion chamber CFs which differ significantly from CFs for homogenous field PCSRs.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of a Comparison Framework for Evaluating Environmental Contours of Extreme Sea States

Environmental contours of extreme sea states are often utilized for the purposes of reliability-based offshore design. Many methods have been proposed to estimate environmental contours of extreme sea states, including, but not limited to, the traditional inverse first-order reliability method (I-FORM) and subsequent modifications, copula methods, and Monte Carlo methods. These methods differ in terms of both the methodology selected for defining the joint distribution of sea state parameters and in the method used to construct the environmental contour from the joint distribution. It is often difficult to compare the results of proposed methods to determine which method should be used for a particular application or geographical region. The comparison of the predictions from various contour methods at a single site and across many sites is important to making environmental contours of extreme sea states useful in practice. The goal of this paper is to develop a comparison framework for evaluating methods for developing environmental contours of extreme sea states. This paper develops generalized metrics for comparing the performance of contour methods to one another across a collection of study sites, and applies these metrics and methods to develop conclusions about trends in the wave resource across geographic locations, as demonstrated for a pilot dataset. These proposed metrics and methods are intended to judge the environmental contours themselves relative to other contour methods, and are thus agnostic to a specific device, structure, or field of application. The metrics developed and applied in this paper include measures of predictive accuracy, physical validity, and aggregated temporal performance that can be used to both assess contour methods and provide recommendations for the use of certain methods in various geographical regions. The application and aggregation of the metrics proposed in this paper outline a comparison framework for environmental contour methods that can be applied to support design analysis workflows for offshore structures. This comparison framework could be extended in future work to include additional metrics of interest, potentially including those to address issues pertinent to a specific application area or analysis discipline, such as metrics related to structural response across contour methods or additional physics-based metrics based on wave dynamics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1978

Radiative transfer calculated from a Markov chain formalism

The theory of Markov chains is used to formulate the radiative transport problem in a general way by modeling the successive interactions of a photon as a stochastic process. Under the minimal requirement that the stochastic process is a Markov chain, the determination of the diffuse reflection or transmission from a scattering atmosphere is equivalent to the solution of a system of linear equations. This treatment is mathematically equivalent to, and thus has many of the advantages of, Monte Carlo methods, but can be considerably more rapid than Monte Carlo algorithms for numerical calculations in particular applications. We have verified the speed and accuracy of this formalism for the standard problem of finding the intensity of scattered light from a homogeneous plane-parallel atmosphere with an arbitrary phase function for scattering. Accurate results over a wide range of parameters were obtained with computation times comparable to those of a standard 'doubling' routine. The generality of this formalism thus allows fast, direct solutions to problems that were previously soluble only by Monte Carlo methods. Some comparisons are made with respect to integral equation methods.

Esposito, L. W.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Metrics for Diagnosing Undersampling in Monte Carlo Tally Estimates

This study explored the potential of using Markov chain convergence diagnostics to predict the prevalence and magnitude of biases due to undersampling in Monte Carlo eigenvalue and flux tally estimates. Five metrics were applied to two models of pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies and their potential for identifying undersampling biases was evaluated by comparing the calculated test metrics with known biases in the tallies. Three of the five undersampling metrics showed the potential to accurately predict the behavior of undersampling biases in the responses examined in this study.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Monte Carlo calculations for r-process nucleosynthesis

A Monte Carlo framework is developed for exploring the impact of nuclear model uncertainties on the formation of the heavy elements. Mass measurements tightly constrain the macroscopic sector of FRDM2012. For r-process nucleosynthesis, it is necessary to understand the microscopic physics of the nuclear model employed. A combined approach of measurements and a deeper understanding of the microphysics is thus warranted to elucidate the site of the r-process.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Extended kinetic lattice grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation method for transport of multicomponent ion mixtures through a model nanopore system

Abstract An extended version of the original kinetic lattice grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation method combined with mean field theory (KLGCMC/MF) ( J. Chem. Phys. 2007 , 127, 024706) is presented for the study of transport of multicomponent ion mixtures through a model nanopore. Comparison of the extended KLGCMC/MF (eKLGCMC/MF) simulation results with Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) calculations is also made to confirm the validity of the extended simulation approach. Unlike the original version of KLGCMC/MF simulation method that treats only a binary ionic solution with one cation and one anion species, this extended version can deal with a system that includes ternary ion mixtures. A diffusion probability algorithm is also added to the extended version of the simulation method to describe the inhomogeneous diffusivity of ions that is often observed in the ion permeation through nanopores. Both Legendre and Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind were tested as a basis set for the basis set expansion (BSE) method with which to calculate the reaction field energy in the eKLGCMC/MF simulation. It turned out that the Legendre polynomials perform better than the Chebyshev polynomials, and as a result, the Legendre polynomials were implemented in the current version of eKLGCMC/MF simulation algorithm. The presented eKLGCMC/MF simulation method with new features finds its potential applications in nanopore systems where the correlation between ion species with the same sign of charges plays a key role such as oscillating ion currents or anomalous mole fraction effects.

Choi, Inhyeok↗