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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.

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At least 343 records · Page 19

Advanced Algal Biofoundries for the Production of Polyurethane Precursors

The primary goal of the BEEPs project was to develop a process that could accelerate the development of algae as bioproduction platforms, from initial chemical product concept to an economically viable market supply. Under this program we elected to develop strains of algae that could generate polyurethane precursors, while simultaneously developing basic genetic tools to enable improved algal production systems. This program was specifically designed to incorporate National Laboratories as a means to utilize the expertise and facilities for new bio-production platforms. To that end, we designed a program to collaborate with the Agile BioFoundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and computational platforms at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In addition to these National Laboratory partners, we also had academic partners from UC Davis and Georgia Tech, as well as commercial partners Algenesis Materials and BASF. To achieve these goals, we initially focused on developing the genetic tools and high throughput screening technologies necessary to generate and assess production of polymer precursors (succinic acid) in algae and cyanobacteria, including advanced promoters and biosensors. In parallel, we computationally identified potential production bottlenecks and then used the developed genetic tools to increase production rates and yields. Constant feedback of data was used in conjunction with machine learning, high-throughput cell sorting, and synthetic biology, for additional targeted metabolic engineering. Multiple rounds of tool design, building, testing, and learning were supplied to partners at PNNL and LBNL to develop new models and tools that could expedite bioproduction platform development and increase yield performance. We targeted, and achieved, the FOA requirement yield metric of 20 g/L, as a milestone and deliverable from at least one of our engineered strains for the production of succinic acid.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

A Non-perturbative Approach to Computing Seismic Normal Modes in Rotating Planets

In this work, a continuous Galerkin method based approach is presented to compute the seismic normal modes of rotating planets. Special care is taken to separate out the essential spectrum in the presence of a fluid outer core using a polynomial filtering eigensolver. The relevant elastic-gravitational system of equations, including the Coriolis force, is subjected to a mixed finite-element method, while self-gravitation is accounted for with the fast multipole method. Our discretization utilizes fully unstructured tetrahedral meshes for both solid and fluid regions. The relevant eigenvalue problem is solved by a combination of several highly parallel and computationally efficient methods. We validate our three-dimensional results in the non-rotating case using analytical results for constant elastic balls, as well as numerical results for an isotropic Earth model from standard “radial” algorithms. We also validate the computations in the rotating case, but only in the slowly-rotating regime where perturbation theory applies, because no other independent algorithms are available in the general case. The algorithm and code are used to compute the point spectra of eigenfrequencies in several Earth and Mars models studying the effects of heterogeneity on a large range of scales.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

HyLiPoD: Parallel Particle Advection via a Hybrid of Lifeline Scheduling and Parallelization-Over-Data

Performance characteristics of parallel particle advection algorithms can vary greatly based on workload.With this short paper, we build a new algorithm based on results from a previous bake-off study which evaluated the performance of four algorithms on a variety of workloads. Our algorithm, called HyLiPoD, is a ''meta-algorithm,'' i.e., it considers the desired workload to choose from existing algorithms to maximize performance. To demonstrate HyliPoD's benefit, we analyze results from 162 tests including concurrencies of up to 8192 cores, meshes as large as 34 billion cells, and particle counts as large as 300 million. Our findings demonstrate that HyLiPoD's adaptive approach allows it to match the best performance of existing algorithms across diverse workloads.

high performance computing↗

Simplifying Geospatial Workflows with GeoGridFusion

Growing demands to understand PV deployment and reliability across an expanding range of climates, along with increasing computational power, are driving the need for simplified computing tools that support large-scale analysis and geospatial workflows. While existing open-source libraries and PV system modeling tools offer extensive collections of empirical and physical models, they often lack the ability to scale to large geospatial datasets. The tool presented here, GeoGridFusion, enables PV modelers to store and utilize gridded geospatial data from sources such as NSRDB, PVGIS, and others. GeoGridFusion harmonizes diverse datasets, taxonomies, and nomenclatures, and includes utilities that support intuitive geospatial area selection.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A parallel evolutionary multiple-try metropolis Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for sampling spatial partitions

We develop an Evolutionary Markov Chain Monte Carlo (EMCMC) algorithm for sampling spatial partitions that lie within a large, complex, and constrained spatial state space. Our algorithm combines the advantages of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) as optimization heuristics for state space traversal and the theoretical convergence properties of Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms for sampling from unknown distributions. Local optimality information that is identified via a directed search by our optimization heuristic is used to adaptively update a Markov chain in a promising direction within the framework of a Multiple-Try Metropolis Markov Chain model that incorporates a generalized Metropolis-Hastings ratio. We further expand the reach of our EMCMC algorithm by harnessing the computational power afforded by massively parallel computing architecture through the integration of a parallel EA framework that guides Markov chains running in parallel.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Xyce(™) Parallel Electronic Simulator v.7.5

The Xyce Parallel Electronic Simulator simulates electronic circuit behavior in DC, AC, HB, MPDE and transient mode using standard analog (DAE) and/or device (PDE) device models including several age and radiation aware devices. It supports a variety of computing platforms (both serial and parallel) computers. Lastly, it uses a variety of modern solution algorithms dynamic parallel load-balancing and iterative solvers.! ! Xyce is primarily used to simulate the voltage and current behavior of a circuit network (a network of electronic devices connected via a conductive network). As a tool, it is mainly used for the design and analysis of electronic circuits.! ! Kirchoff's conservation laws are enforced over a network using modified nodal analysis. This results in a set of differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The resulting nonlinear problem is solved iteratively using a fully coupled Newton method, which in turn results in a linear system that is solved by either a standard sparse-direct solver or iteratively using Trilinos linear solver packages, also developed at Sandia National Laboratories.

Source record↗

Design and implementation of dynamic I/O control scheme for large scale distributed file systems

In this paper, we have analyzed the input/output (I/O) activities of Cori, which is a high-performance computing system at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Our analysis results indicate that most users do not adjust storage configurations but rather use the default settings. In addition, owing to the interference from many applications running simultaneously, the performance varies based on the system status. To configure file systems autonomously in complex environments, we developed DCA-IO, a dynamic distributed file system configuration adjustment algorithm that utilizes the system log information to adjust storage configurations automatically. Our scheme aims to improve the application performance and avoid interference from other applications without user intervention. Moreover, DCA-IO uses the existing system logs and does not require code modifications, an additional library, or user intervention. To demonstrate the effectiveness of DCA-IO, we performed experiments using I/O kernels of real applications in both an isolated small-sized Lustre environment and Cori. Our experimental results shows that our scheme can improve the performance of HPC applications by up to 263% with the default Lustre configuration.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Voronoi Meshing to Accurately Capture Geological Structure in Subsurface Simulations

Mesh generation lies at the interface of geological modeling and reservoir simulation. Highly skewed or very small grid cells may be necessary to accurately capture the geometry of geological features, but the resulting poorly scaled or small grid cells can have a substantial negative impact on simulator accuracy and speed. One way to minimize numerical errors caused by gridding complex structures is to simulate on high-quality Voronoi meshes, which reduce grid orientation effects in fluid flow. This work presents a complete methodology to create Voronoi simulation grids, model fluid flow in complex geological systems, and visualize the results. A recently developed Voronoi meshing method that can automatically generate provably good unstructured meshes that conform to input surfaces creating closed volumes is used. Initially an analytical benchmark simulation is presented to validate the quality of the meshes and simulation results and demonstrate the superiority of simulation results using Voronoi meshes over flexed-hexahedral meshes on a domain with internal features. Next, meshes are created for test structures representing four of the most common geological features in the subsurface: layering, pinch-out, an interior lens that tapers to zero thickness on all sides and a fault with offset. Two benchmark flow simulations are run for each test structure. Finally, a realistic geological example for CO 2 injection into an anticline is simulated. Three realizations of the Voronoi mesh at the same resolution are generated for the simulations. Each mesh is highly refined near the injection wells and coarse in areas of less interest. These three meshes are used to model the CO 2 plume in the subsurface as it migrates to the top of the structure and then fills downward. Simulations on the meshes with randomly generated elements inside the input volumes each give slightly different fingering patterns for the viscous-unstable buoyant gas flow. The results presented in this work show a promising step towards utilizing fully automated Voronoi meshing for subsurface flow simulations in complex geology.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Particlization in fluid dynamical simulations of heavy-ion collisions: The IS3D module

The IS3D particlization module simulates the emission of hadrons from heavy-ion collisions via Monte-Carlo sampling of the Cooper–Frye formula which converts fluid dynamical information into local phase-space distributions for hadrons. The code package includes multiple choices for the non-equilibrium correction to these distribution functions: the 14-moment approximation, first-order Chapman–Enskog expansion, and two types of modified equilibrium distributions. This makes it possible to explore to what extent heavy-ion experimental data are sensitive to different choices for δf n , presently the main source of theoretical uncertainty in the particlization stage. Here, we validate our particle sampler with a high degree of precision by generating several million hadron emission events from a longitudinally boost-invariant hypersurface and comparing the event-averaged particle spectra and space–time distributions to the Cooper–Frye formula.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The CP-PAW Code Package for First-Principles Calculations from a User’s Perspective

CP-PAW is a combined electronic structure and ab initio molecular dynamics code to perform mixed quantum and classical simulations of atomistic condensed phase systems, such as solids, liquids, and molecular systems. As the name suggests, the CP-PAW code unifies the all-electron projector augmented-wave (PAW) method with the Car–Parrinello (CP) approach to determine not only the electronic and nuclear ground states of condensed matter but also to study their properties and dynamics. In addition to briefly outlining the underlying theory, the focus will be on the unique aspects of CP-PAW and how to correctly employ them as a user. How to install CP-PAW using the new build system will also be briefly mentioned.

Blöchl, Peter E [Institute for Theoretical Physic↗

Striped Data Analysis Framework

A columnar data representation is known to be an efficient way for data storage, specifically in cases when the analysis is often done based only on a small fragment of the available data structures. A data representation like Apache Parquet is a step forward from a columnar representation, which splits data horizontally to allow for easy parallelization of data analysis. Based on the general idea of columnar data storage, working on the [LDRD Project], we have developed a striped data representation, which, we believe, is better suited to the needs of High Energy Physics data analysis. A traditional columnar approach allows for efficient data analysis of complex structures. While keeping all the benefits of columnar data representations, the striped mechanism goes further by enabling easy parallelization of computations without requiring special hardware. We will present an implementation and some performance characteristics of such a data representation mechanism using a distributed no-SQL database or a local file system, unified under the same API and data representation model. The representation is efficient and at the same time simple so that it allows for a common data model and APIs for wide range of underlying storage mechanisms such as distributed no-SQL databases and local file systems. Striped storage adopts Numpy arrays as its basic data representation format, which makes it easy and efficient to use in Python applications. The Striped Data Server is a web service, which allows to hide the server implementation details from the end user, easily exposes data to WAN users, and allows to utilize well known and developed data caching solutions to further increase data access efficiency. We are considering the Striped Data Server as the core of an enterprise scale data analysis platform for High Energy Physics and similar areas of data processing. We have been testing this architecture with a 2TB dataset from a CMS dark matter search and plan to expand it to multiple 100 TB or even PB scale. We will present the striped format, Striped Data Server architecture and performance test results.

Gutsche, Oliver↗

Graph-based quantum response theory and shadow Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics

Graph-based linear scaling electronic structure theory for quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations [A. M. N. Niklasson et al., J. Chem. Phys. 144, 234101 (2016)] is adapted to the most recent shadow potential formulations of extended Lagrangian Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, including fractional molecular-orbital occupation numbers [A. M. N. Niklasson, J. Chem. Phys. 152, 104103 (2020) and A. M. N. Niklasson, Eur. Phys. J. B 94, 164 (2021)], which enables stable simulations of sensitive complex chemical systems with unsteady charge solutions. The proposed formulation includes a preconditioned Krylov subspace approximation for the integration of the extended electronic degrees of freedom, which requires quantum response calculations for electronic states with fractional occupation numbers. For the response calculations, we introduce a graph-based canonical quantum perturbation theory that can be performed with the same natural parallelism and linear scaling complexity as the graph-based electronic structure calculations for the unperturbed ground state. Further, the proposed techniques are particularly well-suited for semi-empirical electronic structure theory, and the methods are demonstrated using self-consistent charge density-functional tight-binding theory both for the acceleration of self-consistent field calculations and for quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations. Graph-based techniques combined with the semi-empirical theory enable stable simulations of large, complex chemical systems, including tens-of-thousands of atoms.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Distributed Data-Driven Optimization for Voltage Regulation in Distribution Systems

Here, this paper proposes a distributed data-driven optimization framework for voltage regulation in distribution systems. The recursive kernel regression and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) are selected to cover the system learning and distributed optimization tasks. The proposed distributed data-driven framework is capable of having a rapid response to system or load changes while considering the operation optimality. Besides, the distributed algorithm parallels the computation tasks and reduces the computational expense of a single agent. To validate the performance of the proposed method, a hypothetical 7-Bus system and the IEEE 123-Bus system are selected to show the effectiveness of the proposed data-driven framework. According to the numerical study results, the proposed method offers great flexibility for selecting customized kernel models for different regions and can effectively improve the system voltage profile in a distributed manner.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Distributed Training and Optimization of Neural Networks

Deep learning models are yielding increasingly better performances thanks to multiple factors. To be successful, model may have large number of parameters or complex architectures and be trained on large dataset. This leads to large requirements on computing resource and turn around time, even more so when hyperparameter optimization is done (e.g. search over model architectures). While this is a challenge that goes beyond particle physics, we review the various ways to do the necessary computations in parallel, and put it in the context of high-energy physics.

Vlimant, Jean-Roch↗

Towards Seamless Interoperability of MPI-OpenMP Applications

A chasm exists between mathematical software libraries written for MPI-based applications and those written for OpenMP applications. Recently, however, PETSc enables the simple use of its MPI-based linear solvers from OpenMP applications. Separately, the MPICH MPI development team has started a new project to allow almost seamless MPI use in OpenMP applications. Both proposed approaches would result in a similar user experience. Here, we discuss the reasons for these projects and their potential for providing more numerical library choices for OpenMP applications, including the unlimited assortment of linear solvers available in PETSc. In addition, we present the performance of an application using the first approach, demonstrating its efficacy.

MPI↗

An HPC-Based Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator for Modeling Underground Geothermal Behavior with Example Simulations on The Treasure Island and UC Berkeley Campus

This submission contains the source code of the Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator used for the Treasure Island and UC Berkeley campus geothermal simulation. It contains a report that summarizes the development and validation of this Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator, with a case study on Treasure Island site. It also contains a report that investigates the feasibility of upgrading the existing campus energy delivery system at UC Berkeley to a fifth-generation district heating and cooling system that includes geothermal heat/cold storage.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Summer Internship Project: Set Topology [Slides]

Why a Set Topology? 1. Expand the array of tools given to physicists, educators, and students. 2. Through usages of PIC, MPM, and Monte Carlo. 3. My work at LANL was specified to handle requirements for the usage of MPM with FleCSI. 4. What we want it to do - phase change, simulating plasma, and other Multiphysics applications. 5. In FleCSI we already have mesh structures, we needed a way to represent those particles and certain behavior's of these particles that clients desire.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗