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At least 37 records · Page 2

Tuning charge-discharge induced unit cell breathing in layer-structured cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries

For LiMO 2 (M=Co, Ni, Mn) cathode materials, lattice parameters, a(b), contract during charge. Here we report such changes in opposite directions for lithium molybdenum trioxide (Li 2 MoO 3 ). A ‘unit cell breathing’ mechanism is proposed based on crystal and electronic structural changes of transition metal oxides during charge-discharge. Metal–metal bonding is used to explain such ‘abnormal’ behaviour and a generalized hypothesis is developed. The expansion of the metal-metal bond becomes the controlling factor for a(b) evolution during charge, in contrast to the shrinking metal-oxygen bond as controlling factor in ‘normal’ materials. The cation mixing caused by migration of molybdenum ions at higher oxidation state provides the benefits of reducing the c expansion range in the early stage of charging and suppressing the structure collapse at high voltage charge. These results may open a new strategy for designing layered cathode materials for high energy density lithium-ion batteries.

Zhou, Yong-Ning↗

Angle-dependent strong-field molecular ionization rates with tuned range-separated time-dependent density functional theory

Strong-field ionization and the resulting electronic dynamics are important for a range of processes such as high harmonic generation, photodamage, charge resonance enhanced ionization, and ionization-triggered charge migration. Modeling ionization dynamics in molecular systems from first-principles can be challenging due to the large spatial extent of the wavefunction which stresses the accuracy of basis sets, and the intense fields which require non-perturbative time-dependent electronic structure methods. In this paper, we develop a time-dependent density functional theory approach which uses a Gaussian-type orbital (GTO) basis set to capture strong-field ionization rates and dynamics in atoms and small molecules. This involves propagating the electronic density matrix in time with a time-dependent laser potential and a spatial non-Hermitian complex absorbing potential which is projected onto an atom-centered basis set to remove ionized charge from the simulation. For the density functional theory (DFT) functional we use a tuned range-separated functional LC-PBE*, which has the correct asymptotic 1/r form of the potential and a reduced delocalization error compared to traditional DFT functionals. Ionization rates are computed for hydrogen, molecular nitrogen, and iodoacetylene under various field frequencies, intensities, and polarizations (angle-dependent ionization), and the results are shown to quantitatively agree with time-dependent Schrödinger equation and strong-field approximation calculations. This tuned DFT with GTO method opens the door to predictive all-electron time-dependent density functional theory simulations of ionization and ionization-triggered dynamics in molecular systems using tuned range-separated hybrid functionals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Resonance Trajectories and Island Tune Spectra in the Tune Domain

Island tune spectra are introduced, beginning with curves of resonance trajectories plotted in the (Q x , Q I ) tune domain plane (where Q x is horizontal tune and Q I is island tune) for many resonance orders N. A slice in the (Q x , Q I ) plane delivers a Q I -spectrum at a fixed horizontal tune, with one spectral line for every appropriate value of N.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Symmetry tuning of a near one-dimensional 2-shock platform for code validation at the National Ignition Facility

Here, we introduce a new quasi 1-D implosion experimental platform at the National Ignition Facility designed to validate physics models as well as to study various Inertial Confinement Fusion aspects such as implosion symmetry, convergence, hydrodynamic instabilities, and shock timing. The platform has been developed to maintain shell sphericity throughout the compression phase and produce a round hot core at stagnation. This platform utilizes a 2-shock 1 MJ pulse with 340 TW peak power in a near-vacuum AuHohlraum and a CH ablator capsule uniformly doped with 1% Si. We also performed several inflight radiography, symmetry capsule, and shock timing experiments in order to tune the symmetry of the capsule to near round throughout several epochs of the implosion. Finally, adjusting the relative powers of the inner and outer cones of beams has allowed us to control the drive at the poles and equator of the capsule, thus providing the mechanism to achieve a spherical capsule convergence. Details and results of the tuning experiments are described.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Introducing Nonstructural Ligands to Zirconia-like Metal–Organic Framework Nodes To Tune the Activity of Node-Supported Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Hydrogenation [Introducing Nonstructural Ligands to Zirconia-like MOF Nodes To Tune the Activity of Node-Supported Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Hydrogenation]

Previous work has shown that introduction of hexafluoroacetylacetone (Facac) units as nonstructural ligands for the zirconia-like nodes of the eight-connected metal-organic framework (MOF), NU-1000, greatly alters the selectivity of node-supported oxy-nickel clusters for ethylene dimerization vs oligomerization. Here we i explore a related concept: tuning of support/catalyst interactions, and therefore, catalyst activity, via parallel installation of organic modifiers on the support itself. As modifiers we focused on para-substituted benzoates (R-BA – ; R = -NH 2 , -OCH 3 , -CH 3 , -H, -F, and -NO 2 ) where the substituents were chosen to present similar steric demand, but varying electron-donating or electron-withdrawing properties. R-benzoate-engendered shifts in the node-based aqua O-H stretching frequency for NU-1000, as measured by DRIFTS (diffuse-reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy), together with systematic shifts in Ni 2p peak energies, as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, show that the electronic properties of the support can be modulated. The vibrational and electronic peak shifts correlate with the putative electron-withdrawing vs electron-donating strength of the para-substituted benzoate modifiers. Subsequent installation of node-supported, oxy-Ni(II) clusters for ethylene hydrogenation yield a compelling correlation between log (catalyst turnover frequency) and the electron donating or withdrawing character of the substituent of the benzoate units. Single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that each organic modifier makes use of only one of two available carboxylate oxygens to accomplish grafting. The remaining oxygen atom is, in principle, well positioned to coordinate directly to an installed Ni(II) ion. We postulate that the unanticipated direct coordination of the catalyst by the node-modifier (rather than indirect modifier-based tuning of support(node)/catalyst electronic interactions) is the primary source of the observed systematic tuning of hydrogenation activity. Here we suggest, however, that regardless of mechanism for communication with active-sites of MOF-supported catalysts, intentional elaboration of nodes via grafted, nonstructural organic species could prove to be a valuable general strategy for fine-tuning supported-catalyst activity and/or selectivity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Pressure tuning the lattice and optical response of silver sulfide

Binary transition metal chalcogenides have attracted increasing attention for their unique structural and electronic properties. High pressure is a powerful tool for tuning the lattice and electronic structure of transition metal chalcogenides away from their pristine states. In this work, we systematically studied the in situ structural and optical behavior of silver sulfide (Ag{sub 2}S) under pressure by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy measurements in a diamond anvil cell. Upon compression, Ag{sub 2}S undergoes structural symmetrization accompanied by a series of structural transitions while the crystallographic inequivalence of the two Ag sites is maintained. Electronically, pressure effectively tunes the ambient semiconducting Ag{sub 2}S into a metal at ∼22 GPa. Drude model analysis shows that the optical conductivity evolves significantly, reaching the highest value of 100 Ω{sup −1} cm{sup −1} at ∼40 GPa. Our results highlight the structural and electronic tunability of silver chalcogenides as a function of pressure and suggest the potential of Ag{sub 2}S as a platform for developing optical and opto-electronic applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

I/O Bottleneck Detection and Tuning: Connecting the Dots using Interactive Log Analysis

Using parallel file systems efficiently is a tricky problem due to inter-dependencies among multiple layers of I/O software, including high-level I/O libraries (HDF5, netCDF, etc.), MPI-IO, POSIX, and file systems (GPFS, Lustre, etc.). Profiling tools such as Darshan collect traces to help understand the I/O performance behavior. However, there are significant gaps in analyzing the collected traces and then applying tuning options offered by various layers of I/O software. Seeking to connect the dots between I/O bottleneck detection and tuning, we propose DXT Explorer, an interactive log analysis tool. In this paper, we present a case study using our interactive log analysis tool to identify and apply various I/O optimizations. We report an evaluation of performance improvement achieved for four I/O kernels extracted from science applications.

Bez, Jean Luca↗

City-level impacts of building tune-ups: Findings from Seattle's building tune-ups program

Many U.S. cities are implementing policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their buildings. These range from building energy benchmarking and disclosure to building performance standards (BPS) that require buildings to meet specific targets of energy use or emissions. The City of Seattle adopted a climate action plan in 2013 that set a goal of zero net GHG emissions in the road transportation, buildings, and waste sectors by 2050, with a number of near and long term actions. Seattle implemented mandatory building tune-ups in 2016, applying to commercial buildings larger than 50,000 sqft. Building tune-ups1 involve assessment and implementation of operational and maintenance (O + M) improvements to achieve energy and water efficiency, such as changes to thermostat set points or adjusting lighting or irrigation schedules. Seattle's tune-ups program covered 27 such improvements in HVAC, lighting, domestic hot water, and envelope systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Enhanced CO 2 Methanation Activity of Sm 0.25 Ce 0.75 O 2-δ –Ni by Modulating the Chelating Agents-to-Metal Cation Ratio and Tuning Metal–Support Interactions

Highly active and selective CO 2 methanation catalysts are critical to CO 2 upgrading, synthetic natural gas production, and CO 2 emission reduction. Wet impregnation is widely used to synthesize oxide-supported metallic nanoparticles as the catalyst for CO 2 methanation. However, as the reagents cannot be homogeneously mixed at an atomic level, it is challenging to modulate the microstructure, crystal structure, chemical composition, and electronic structure of catalysts via wet impregnation. In this work, a scalable and straightforward catalyst fabrication approach has been designed and validated to produce Sm 0.25 Ce 0.75 O 2-δ -supported Ni (SDC–Ni) as the CO 2 methanation catalyst. By varying the chelating agents-to-total metal cations ratio (C/I ratio) during the catalyst synthesis, we can readily and simultaneously modulate the microstructure, metallic surface area, crystal structure, chemical composition, and electronic structure of SDC–Ni, consequently fine-tuning the oxide–support interactions and CO 2 methanation activity. The optimal C/I ratio (0.1) leads to an SDC–Ni catalyst that facilitates C–O bond cleavage and significantly improves CO 2 conversion at 250 °C. A CO 2 -to-CH 4 yield of >73% has been achieved at 250 °C. Furthermore, a stable operation of >1500 hours has been demonstrated, and no degradation is observed. Extensive characterizations were performed to fundamentally understand how to tune and enhance CO 2 methanation activity of SDC–Ni by modulating the C/I ratio. The correlation of physical, chemical, and catalytic properties of SDC–Ni with the C/I ratio is established and thoroughly elaborated in this work. This study could be applied to tune the oxide–support interactions of various catalysts for enhancing the catalytic activity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

TUNE: Compiler-Directed Automatic Performance Tuning

This project has developed compiler-directed performance tuning technology targeting the Cray XT4 Jaguar system at Oak Ridge, which has multi-core Opteron nodes with SSE-3 SIMD extensions, and the Cray XE6 Hopper system at NERSC. To achieve this goal, we combined compiler technology for model-guided empirical optimization for memory hierarchies with SIMD code generation, which have been developed by the PIs over the past several years. We examined DOE Office of Science applications to identify performance bottlenecks and apply our system to computational kernels that operate on dense arrays. Our goal for this performance-tuning technology has been to yield hand-tuned levels of performance on DOE Office of Science computational kernels, while allowing application programmers to specify their computations at a high level without requiring manual optimization. Overall, we aim to make our technology for SIMD code generation and memory hierarchy optimization a crucial component of high-productivity Petaflops computing through a close collaboration with the scientists in national laboratories.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

GCAM Regional Tuning: A framework to tune GCAM parameters

GCAM assumptions typically generate scenarios that are designed to be internally consistent and globally coherent. The gcamdata tool which facilitates the compilation of data sets and user assumptions is not well suited to tailoring to specific country or regional realities, sponsor requirements, or perform harmonization for model intercomparison needs. As described in this report, the GCAM Regional Tuning project develops a computational framework that enables users to adjust GCAM parameters, so model outputs match targeted outcomes at user-defined spatial, temporal, and sectoral resolutions. The framework integrates GCAM, gcamdata, and gcamwrapper with a set of flexible “tuning directives” and an iterative numerical solver. Users can define targets (e.g., technology shares in power generation, BEV uptake, sectoral service demands), select tuners that manipulate relevant GCAM parameters (e.g., share weights, cost adders, elasticities), and export tuned parameters as reusable GCAM XML inputs for future runs. We demonstrate the approach and document usage, diagnostics, and known limitations, and we outline potential future directions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Load Mitigation on Floating Offshore Wind Turbines with Advanced Controls and Tuned Mass Dampers

General Electric, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), and Glosten have recently completed a US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded research program to study technologies for mitigating loads on floating offshore wind turbines through the use of advanced turbine controls and tuned mass dampers (TMDs). The analysis was based upon the Glosten PelaStar tension leg platform (TLP) with GE Haliade 150 turbine, a system developed in a previous front end engineering design (FEED) study funded by the Energy Technology Institute (ETI) in the UK. The platform was designed for the WaveHub wave energy research site, with a mean water depth of 59-m. Loads were analyzed by running time-domain simulations in four 50-year return period (50-YRP) ultimate load state (ULS) conditions and 77 fatigue load state (FLS) environmental conditions. In 50-YRP conditions advanced controls are not active. The influence of TMDs on ULS loads have been reported previously (Park et al. [2]). In FLS conditions advanced controls and TMDs afford dramatic reductions in fatigue damage, offering the potential of significant savings in tower structural requirements. Simulations in turbine idling conditions were run in OrcaFlex, and simulations in operating conditions were run in FAST. Simulations were run with a baseline turbine controller, representative of the current state of the art, and an advanced controller developed by NREL to use collective and individual blade pitch control to maintain rotor speed and reduce tower loads. UMass developed a number of TMD types, with varying system configurations, including passive nonlinear dampers and semi-actively controlled dampers with an inverse velocity groundhook control algorithm. Loads and accelerations in FLS conditions were evaluated on the basis of damage equivalent loads (DELs), and fatigue damage was computed by Miner's summations of stress cycles at the tower base. To study sensitivity to water depth, loads were analyzed at both the 59-m WaveHub depth and a more commercially realistic depth of 100 m. TMDs reduce fatigue damage at the tower-column interface flange by up to 52% in 59-m water depth and up to 28% in 100 m water depth. Advanced controls reduce fatigue damage at the tower-column flange by up to 22% in 59-m water depth and up to 40% in 100 m water depth. The most effective load-mitigation strategy is combining advanced controls with TMDs. This strategy affords a 71% reduction in fatigue damage in both 59-m and 100-m water depths.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Controlled optical properties via chemical composition tuning in molybdenum-incorporated β-Ga 2 O 3 nanocrystalline films

An approach is presented to design refractory-metal incorporated Ga2O3-based materials with controlled structural and optical properties. The molybdenum (Mo)-content in Ga2O3 was varied from 0 to 11 at% in the sputter-deposited Ga-Mo-O films. Molybdenum was found to significantly affect the structure and optical properties. While low Mo-content (≤4 at%) results in the formation of single-phase (β-Ga2O3), higher Mo-content results in amorphization. Chemically-induced band gap variability (Eg~1 eV) coupled with structure-modification indicates the electronic-structure changes in Ga-Mo-O. The linear relationship between chemical-composition and optical properties suggests that tailoring the optical-quality and performance of Ga-Mo-O films is possible by tuning the Mo-content.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗