Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “behavior”

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 37 records · Page 2

Robot Behavior Acquisition Superposition and Composting of Behaviors Learned through Teleoperation

Superposition of a small set of behaviors, learned via teleoperation, can lead to robust completion of a simple articulated reach-and-grasp task. Results support the hypothesis that a set of learned behaviors can be combined to generate new behaviors of a similar type. This supports the hypothesis that a robot can learn to interact purposefully with its environment through a developmental acquisition of sensory-motor coordination. Teleoperation bootstraps the process by enabling the robot to observe its own sensory responses to actions that lead to specific outcomes. A reach-and-grasp task, learned by an articulated robot through a small number of teleoperated trials, can be performed autonomously with success in the face of significant variations in the environment and perturbations of the goal. Superpositioning was performed using the Verbs and Adverbs algorithm that was developed originally for the graphical animation of articulated characters. Work was performed on Robonaut at NASA-JSC.

Peters, Richard Alan, II↗

A Comparative Study on the Effect of Zr, Sn, and Ti on the Crystallization Behavior of Nepheline Glass

In alkali aluminosilicate glasses, additions of 4+ cations like Zr and Ti are often added to promote crystallization. In this study, Zr, Ti, or Sn are progressively substituted for Si in nepheline (NaAlSiO4) glass to determine their impact on the crystallization behavior. For glasses homogeneous on quenching, up to NaAlZr0.075Si0.925O4, NaAlSn0.100Si0.900O4, and NaAlTi0.300Si0.700O4, respectively, crystallization temperatures were investigated by thermal analysis. A subset of compositions was subjected to additional thermal analysis, varying heating rate and particle size, to investigate the subtleties of crystallization behavior. Subsequent heat treatment of glass powders was performed to maximize crystallization, and glass-ceramic microstructure was assessed by optical microscopy and electron microprobe, while crystalline phases were determined by X-ray diffraction. In all cases the major crystalline phase was orthorhombic carnegieite, which accommodated Ti in its structure but not Zr or Sn, and excess 4+ cations formed MO2, i.e., brookite, baddeleyite, and cassiterite, respectively.

Nienhuis-Marcial, Emily T.↗

Influence of metallic contaminants on the electrochemical and thermal behavior of Li-ion electrodes

Emerging nondestructive (direct) recycling techniques for lithium-ion batteries may introduce metallic impurities into recycled electrodes. In the present work, the impact of such nonionic contaminants on the practical performance of both anode and cathode materials is evaluated using a synergistic combination of electrochemical and thermal analysis. The impurities under study have been selected through evaluation of industrially shredded batteries, and include Fe0, Al0, Mg0, Cu0, and Si0. The electrochemical behavior of materials containing each individual contaminant at either the anode or the cathode is evaluated in both half-cell and full-cell format. Further, the first-cycle thermal signatures of full cells are used to validate and complement electrochemical signatures, and the two techniques are used in conjunction to suggest distinct mechanisms of electrochemical reactivity for the various impurities. At the anode, metallic contaminants are found to disrupt performance through direct reaction with Li and may serve as weak catalysts to accelerate electrolyte degradation. At the cathode, metallic contaminants show evidence of crossover during formation cycling to disrupt SEI formation. We suggest that coupled electrochemical and thermal analysis may be used to both identify the presence of contaminants and to elucidate specific mechanisms of reactivity for metallic impurities under anodic and cathodic conditions.

Contaminant↗

Diazonium-Functionalized Silicon Hybrid Photoelectrodes: Film Thickness and Composition Effects on Photoelectrochemical Behavior

Aryl diazonium electrografting is a powerful method for imparting molecular functionality onto various substrates by forming a stable carbon-surface covalent bond. While the high reactivity of the aryl radical intermediate makes this method fast and reliable, it can also lead to the formation of an insulating and disordered multilayer film. These thick films affect electrochemical performance, especially for semiconductor substrates used in photoelectrochemical applications. For this work we studied the effects of film thickness and composition by electrografting in situ-generated aminobenzene diazonium salts onto both n-type and p-type silicon electrodes at fixed potentials. Next, we attached ferrocene to the amine-terminated films and probed their (photo)­electrochemical behavior. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed decreased electrochemical reversibility with increasing diazonium film thickness; this reversibility was restored when ferrocene was incorporated throughout the film with a layer-by-layer deposition process. Finally, we compared the behavior of dark p-type electrodes to n-type photoelectrodes and observed differences in the electrochemical reversibility that we attribute to the change in potential drop across the two interfaces.

charge transfer↗

Access Patterns and Performance Behaviors of Multi-layer Supercomputer I/O Subsystems under Production Load

Scientific computing workloads at HPC facilities have been shifting from traditional numerical simulations to AI/ML applications for training and inference while processing and producing ever-increasing amounts of scientific data. To address the growing need for increased storage capacity, lower access latency, and higher bandwidth, emerging technologies such as non-volatile memory are integrated into supercomputer I/O subsystems. With these emerging trends, we need a better understanding of the multilayer supercomputer I/O systems and ways to use these subsystems efficiently. In this work, we study the I/O access patterns and performance characteristics of two representative supercomputer I/O subsystems. Through an extensive analysis of year-long I/O logs on each system, we report new observations in I/O reads and writes, unbalanced use of storage system layers, and new trends in user behaviors at the HPC I/O middleware stack.

Bez, JL↗

A thermodynamics-based damage model for the non-linear mechanical behavior of SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites in irradiation and thermal environments

A damage model is developed and validated with experimental data for the non-linear mechanical behavior of SiC/SiC composite materials in nuclear applications. Cyclic thermal and mechanical loading associated with neutron irradiation effects of these composites leads to wide-spread and progressive micro-cracking that leads to loss of thermal conductivity and further enhancement of thermo-mechanical damage. A physics-based model of wide-spread micro-cracking is developed within the thermodynamic framework of continuum damage mechanics. Evolution equations for damage parameters that describe the growth of continuum damage are developed, where the material variables are obtained from experiments. The model novelty is in coupling mechanical, thermal, and irradiation damage through a consistent thermodynamic framework, including loss of thermal conductivity due to the evolution of mechanically induced micro-cracks. A number of thermo-mechanical experiments were conducted to confirm model assumptions. The model is shown to be validated with out-of-pile experiments, and then implemented using commercial finite element code COMSOL to the fuel cladding problem with normal and high radiation dose cases.

Materials Science↗

Influence of deformation behavior, oxydation, and temperature on the long time cyclic stress behavior of high temperature steels

The influence of different parameters on the creep-fatigue behavior of several steel alloys was investigated. The higher the temperature the lower the crack initiation value. Pauses during the cycle reduce the damage. Oxidation reduces and protective gas increases the lifetime. Prior loading and prior deformation reduce the lifetime. Short annealing slightly affects the cycle stress behavior. The test results do not satisfactorily agree with methods of extrapolation and damage accumulation.

Maile, K.↗

Designer membraneless organelles sequester native factors for control of cell behavior

Subcellular compartmentalization of macromolecules increases flux and prevents inhibitory interactions to control biochemical reactions. Inspired by this functionality, we sought to build designer compartments that function as hubs to regulate the flow of information through cellular control systems. Here we report a synthetic membraneless organelle platform to control endogenous cellular activities through sequestration and insulation of native proteins. We engineer and express a disordered protein scaffold to assemble micron size condensates and recruit endogenous clients via genomic tagging with high-affinity dimerization motifs. By relocalizing up to ninety percent of a targeted enzymes to synthetic condensates, we efficiently control cellular behaviors, including proliferation, division, and cytoskeletal organization. Further, we demonstrate multiple strategies for controlled cargo release from condensates to switch cells between functional states. These synthetic organelles offer a powerful and generalizable approach to modularly control cell decision-making in a variety of model systems with broad applications for cellular engineering.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Role of α → ε → α phase transformation on the spall behavior of iron at atomic scales

Shock compression of iron microstructures above a threshold stress results in a α (BCC) → ε (HCP) transformation and the propagation of the release wave brings the metal back to the α phase following the ε→α transformation. Predicting failure behavior under shock loading conditions (spallation) relies on understanding the evolution of defects in the microstructure as it undergoes the α→ε→α phase transformation. This study uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the role of defect evolution during α→ε→α phase transformation on the spall strength values of single-crystal (sc) Fe microstructures. The MD simulations aim to characterize the ε phase fraction formed during shock compression and the defects during shock release for variations in loading orientations and shock stresses. The simulations are carried out for loading along the [100], [110], [111], and [112] orientations and for impact velocities ranging from 600 m/s to 1 km/s. The ε phase fractions during compression and defects (dislocations, twins) characterized during spall failure show an orientation dependence that affects the spall strength values. Here, the lowest value for spall strength is observed for the <110> loading orientation that shows a high density of twinning at the spall plane, whereas the highest value is observed for the <100> orientation and is associated with a α (BCC) → γ (FCC) transformation at the spall plane. The correlations of the spall strength values with the strain rates and with the ε phase fractions are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High Temperature Oxidation Behavior of Aluminized Haynes 230

The effect of reactive air aluminizing (RAA) on the high-temperature oxidation behavior of the H230 superalloy is studied at 850 °C for 600 hours. Mass gain values are measured and microstructure is studied by XRD, SEM, and EDX. Post oxidation mass gain for the aluminized alloy is reduced compared to wrought alloy. A three-zone microstructure of diffusion coating is observed in RAA H230. Formation and growth of alumina scale during RAA process and oxidation is attributed to the complementary roles of ß-NiAl + ?'-Ni3Al phases in the composite coating.

Rashidi, S↗