Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Visualized”

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 433 records · Page 24

A Method for Integrating an UBEM with GIS for Spatiotemporal Visualization and Analysis

Leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatiotemporal visualization and analysis of simulated UBEM datasets and real-world data simultaneously can assist in identifying opportunities, as well as potential barriers, to energy efficient and climate adaptation strategies. However, current GIS-based models that support interactive exploration of adaptation strategies and future scenarios are scarce and do not easily incorporate building energy use data for visual analysis over time. This paper describes a workflow to integrate simulated building energy consumption data associated with variable energy efficiency scenarios within a GIS platform for interactive spatiotemporal visualization to support climate adaptation decision-making. The contribution of the work presented is in the ability to selectively view and analyze simulated building energy performance data layered with other real-world geospatial data through an automated feedback loop between an UBEM and ArcGIS. An interactive interface is designed in ArcGIS to enable users to explore building performance scenarios spatially and over time. Using a downtown neighborhood in Syracuse, New York, USA, as a case study, preliminary results demonstrate how the workflow provides insight into existing energy use issues and potential for implementing strategies such as energy load shifting or building retrofits. A discussion includes opportunities as well as challenges to the workflow in facilitating understanding of urban energy model outputs by multiple stakeholders in evaluating potential energy efficient strategies.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗

RAVIS: Resource Forecast and Ramp Visualization for Situational Awareness of Variable Renewable Generation: Preprint

The Resource Forecast and Ramp Visualization for Situational Awareness (RAVIS) is an innovative, open-source tool for visualizing variable renewable resource forecasts and alerts for significant up- and down-ramps in renewable generation and the consequent system net load. The modular dashboard of RAVIS contains configurable panes for viewing probabilistic time-series forecasts, ramp event alerts on the look-ahead timeline, and spatially resolved resource sites, and forecasts. For comprehensive situational awareness, the tool can add additional data layers from simulation and independent system operator (ISO) market clearing data—including electric line utilization, nodal price, and available generation flexibility—in response to continuously updated renewable forecasts. This paper introduces the RAVIS technology suite employed to provide optimum visualization and flexible design characteristics. The paper also illustrates some use cases of the tool using site-specific solar power forecast data obtained from the IBM Watt-Sun forecasting platform for the California ISO and Midcontinent ISO footprints. The source code for RAVIS is public (https://github.com/ravis-nrel/ravis), and the intended users are forecasters, utility planners, ISO operators, and researchers.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

Transforming Energy Through Computational Excellence: Advanced Scientific Visualization Reveals Energy Insights

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's world-class researchers and analysts, along with the Insight Center (our state-of-the-art scientific visualization facility) make data immersion a reality, allowing users to step into and explore their data. With the rise of large, diverse, and distributed data sets, scientific visualization is now critical to the process of scientific discovery and to managing and analyzing data and extracting insights. NREL provides visualization capabilities and facilities that are supported by state-of-the-art equipment, leading-edge techniques, and expert staff.

data science↗

Vis-SAGA: Visual Analytics for Situational Awareness of Grid Anomalies: Preprint

We describe supporting near real-time situational awareness of the electric distribution system by visualizing novel data from voltage sensors deployed on existing broadband cable television network equipment. Our scalable web-based visual analytics platform supports interactive geospatial exploration, time-series analysis, and summarization of grid behavior during potentially anomalous events. The broadband cable television sensor network provides observability of the electrical distribution system at a higher local spatial resolution than is typically available to most utilities, revealing the operational state of the network and aiding in the detection of abnormal behaviors or deviations from expected patterns, particularly across electric utility service areas. We outline the design and development of interactive geospatial and time-series visualization components and the scalable data services that supply metadata, historical, and real-time streams of sensor data across the network. We evaluate our platform during periods of extreme weather, demonstrating its ability to assist in detecting patterns of operation that affect power availability, quality, resiliency, and service restoration.

cable television↗

Visualization of the Oscillatory Dynamics of an Island Power System: Preprint

In this work, we discuss the design of visualizations for understanding the complex oscillatory dynamics of an island power system with renewable generation sources after the loss of a large oil power plant. As more renewable generation sources are added to power systems, the oscillatory dynamics will change, which requires new visualization techniques to determine causes and strategies to avoid unwanted behaviors in the future. Our approach integrates geographic views, time-series plots, and novel oscillatory-trajectory curves, providing unique insights into the interdependent oscillatory behaviors of multiple state variables and generators over time. By enabling multi-node and multivariate comparisons over time, users can qualitatively determine drivers of oscillations and differences in generator dynamics, which is not possible with other commonly used visualization techniques.

inverters↗

The moving target of visualization software for an increasingly complex world

Visualization has evolved into a mature scientific field and it has also become widely accepted as a standard approach in diverse fields, including physics, life sciences, and business intelligence. However, despite its successful development, there are still many open research questions that require customized implementations in order to explore and establish concepts, and to perform experiments and take measurements. Many methods and tools have been developed and published but most are stand-alone prototypes and have not reached a mature state that can be used in a reliable manner by collaborating domain scientists or a wider audience. In this study, we discuss the challenges, solutions, and open research questions that affect the development of sophisticated, relevant, and novel scientific visualization solutions with minimum overheads. Furthermore, we summarize and discuss the results of a recent National Institute of Informatics Shonan seminar on these topics.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Reimagining Disassembly Interfaces With Visualization: Combining Instruction Tracing and Control Flow With DisViz

In applications where efficiency is critical, developers may examine their compiled binaries, seeking to understand how the compiler transformed their source code and what performance implications that transformation may have. This analysis is challenging due to the vast number of disassembled binary instructions and the many-to-many mappings between them and the source code. These problems are exacerbated as source code size increases, giving the compiler more freedom to map and disperse binary instructions across the disassembly space. Interfaces for disassembly typically display instructions as an unstructured listing or sacrifice the order of execution. Here, we design a new visual interface for disassembly code that combines execution order with control flow structure, enabling analysts to both trace through code and identify familiar aspects of the computation. Central to our approach is a novel layout of instructions grouped into basic blocks that displays a looping structure in an intuitive way. We add to this disassembly representation a unique block-based mini-map that leverages our layout and shows context across thousands of disassembly instructions. Finally, we embed our disassembly visualization in a web-based tool, DisViz, which adds dynamic linking with source code across the entire application. DizViz was developed in collaboration with program analysis experts following design study methodology and was validated through evaluation sessions with ten participants from four institutions. Participants successfully completed the evaluation tasks, hypothesized about compiler optimizations, and noted the utility of our new disassembly view. Our evaluation suggests that our new integrated view helps application developers in understanding and navigating disassembly code.

Computer science↗

Explorative Visualization for Traffic Safety using Adaptive Study Areas

The pressing need to improve traffic safety has become a societal concern in many cities around the world. Many traffic accidents are not occurring as stand-alone events but as consequences of other road incidents and hazards. To capture the traffic safety indications from a holistic aspect, this paper presents a suite of visualization techniques to explore large traffic safety datasets collected from different sources using adaptive study areas which include the whole region (Hamilton County, Ohio, U.S.) as well as smaller sub-areas. In the present study, these data source include (1) Hamilton County’s 911 emergency response data, which includes traffic incidents as well as other types of incidents throughout the county, and (2) Tennessee crash data, which contains only vehicle crashes with more detail on the circumstances of each crash. We find that both abstract and spatial visualization techniques are used to derive a better understanding of traffic safety patterns for different traffic participants in various urban environments. In addition to the entire region of Hamilton County, safety is examined on the highways, in the downtown area, and in a shopping district east of the city center. It is possible to characterize incidents in the different areas, gain a better understanding of common incident patterns, and identify outliers in the data. Finally, a textured tile calendar is presented to compare spatiotemporal patterns.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

XVis: Visualization for the Extreme-Scale Scientific Computation Ecosystem (Final Report)

Scientific computing is no longer be purely about how fast computations can be performed. Energy constraints, processor changes, and I/O limitations necessitate significant changes in both the software applications used in scientific computation and the ways in which scientists use them. Components for modeling, simulation, analysis, and visualization must work together in a computational ecosystem, rather than working independently as they have in the past. The XVis project provides the necessary research and infrastructure for scientific discovery in this new computational ecosystem by addressing four interlocking challenges: emerging processor technology, in situ integration, usability, and proxy analysis. This report reviews the accomplishments of the XVis project to prepare scientific visualization for Exascale computing.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Transcatheter Arterial Embolization with a Mixture of Absolute Ethanol and Iodized Oil for Poorly Visualized Endophytic Renal Masses Prior to CT-Guided Percutaneous Cryoablation

PurposeTo retrospectively evaluate the feasibility of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) using a mixture of absolute ethanol and iodized oil to improve localization of endophytic renal masses on unenhanced computed tomography (CT) prior to CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation (PCA).Materials and MethodsOur institutional review board approved this retrospective study. From September 2011 to June 2015, 17 patients (mean age, 66.8 years) with stage T1a endophytic renal masses (mean diameter, 26.5 mm) underwent TAE using a mixture of absolute ethanol and iodized oil to improve visualization of small and endophytic renal masses on unenhanced CT prior to CT-guided PCA. TAE was considered successful that accumulated iodized oil depicted whole of the tumor edge on CT. PCA was considered successful when the iceball covered the entire tumor with over a 5 mm margin. Oncological and renal functional outcomes and complications were also evaluated.ResultsTAE was successfully performed in 16 of 17 endophytic tumors. The 16 tumors were performed under CT-guided PCA with their distinct visualization of localization and safe ablated margin. During the mean follow-up period of 15.4 ± 5.1 months, one patient developed local recurrence. Estimated glomerular filtration rate declined by 8 % with statistical significance (P = 0.01). There was no procedure-related significant complication.ConclusionTAE using a mixture of absolute ethanol and iodized oil to improve visualization of endophytic renal masses facilitated tumor localization on unenhanced CT, permitting depiction of the tumor edge as well as a safe margin for ablation during CT-guided PCA, with an acceptable decline in renal function.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Extrahepatic Arteries Originating from Hepatic Arteries: Analysis Using CT During Hepatic Arteriography and Visualization on Digital Subtraction Angiography

PurposeTo investigate the prevalence and site of origin of extrahepatic arteries originating from hepatic arteries on early phase CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) was accessed. Visualization of these elements on digital subtraction hepatic angiography (DSHA) was assessed using CTHA images as a gold standard.Materials and MethodsA total of 943 patients (mean age 66.9 ± 10.3 years; male/female, 619/324) underwent CTHA and DSHA. The prevalence and site of origin of extrahepatic arteries were accessed using CTHA and visualized using DSHA.ResultsIn 924 (98.0%) patients, a total of 1555 extrahepatic branches, representing eight types, were found to originate from hepatic arteries on CTHA. CTHA indicated the following extrahepatic branch prevalence rates: right gastric artery, 890 (94.4%); falciform artery, 386 (40.9%); accessory left gastric artery, 161 (17.1%); left inferior phrenic artery (IPA), 43 (4.6%); posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery, 33 (3.5%); dorsal pancreatic artery, 26 (2.8%); duodenal artery, 12 (1.3%); and right IPA, 4 (0.4%). In addition, 383 patients (40.6%) had at least one undetectable branch on DSHA. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of visualization on DSHA were as follows: RGA, 80.0, 86.8, and 80.4%; falciform artery, 53.9, 97.7, and 80.0%; accessory LGA, 64.6, 98.6, and 92.3%; left IPA, 76.7, 99.8, and 98.7%; PSPDA, 100, 99.7, and 99.9%; dorsal pancreatic artery, 57.7, 100, and 98.8%; duodenal artery, 8.3, 99.9, and 98.7%; and right IPA, 0, 100, and 99.6%, respectively.ConclusionExtrahepatic arteries originating from hepatic arteries were frequently identified on CTHA images. These arteries were frequently overlooked on DSHA.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Amino mapping: possibility to visualize amino-N compounds in the rhizosphere of Zea Mays L.

Abstract Understanding N uptake by plants, the N cycle, and their relationship to soil heterogeneity has generated a great deal of interest in the distribution of amino-N compounds in soil. Visualization of the spatial distribution of amino-N in soil can provide insights into the role of labile N in plant-microbial mechanisms of N acquisition and plant N uptake, but until now, it has remained technically challenging. Here, we describe a novel technique to visualize the amino-N distribution at the root-soil interface. The technique is based on time-lapse amino mapping (TLAM) using membranes saturated with the fluorogenic OPAME reagent (O-phthalaldehyde and β-mercaptoethanol). OPAME in the membrane reacts with organic compounds containing a NH 2 functional group at the membrane-soil interface, generating a fluorescent product visible under UV light and detectable by a digital camera. The TLAM amino-mapping technique was applied to visualize and quantify the concentration of amino-N compounds in the rhizosphere of maize (Zea MaysL.). A ten times greater amino-N concentration was detected in the rhizosphere compared to non-rhizosphere soil. The high content of amino-N was mainly associated with the root tips and was 3 times larger than the average amino-N content at seminal roots. The amino-N rhizosphere was 2 times broader around the root tips than around other parts of the roots. We concluded that TLAM is a promising approach for monitoring the fate of labile N in soils. However, the technique needs to be standardized for different soil types, plant species, and climate conditions to allow wider application.

Agriculture↗

Efficient multi-scale representation of visual objects using a biologically plausible spike-latency code and winner-take-all inhibition

Deep neural networks have surpassed human performance in key visual challenges such as object recognition, but require a large amount of energy, computation, and memory. In contrast, spiking neural networks (SNNs) have the potential to improve both the efficiency and biological plausibility of object recognition systems. Here we present a SNN model that uses spike-latency coding and winner-take-all inhibition (WTA-I) to efficiently represent visual stimuli using multi-scale parallel processing. Mimicking neuronal response properties in early visual cortex, images were preprocessed with three different spatial frequency (SF) channels, before they were fed to a layer of spiking neurons whose synaptic weights were updated using spike-timing-dependent-plasticity. We investigate how the quality of the represented objects changes under different SF bands and WTA-I schemes. We demonstrate that a network of 200 spiking neurons tuned to three SFs can efficiently represent objects with as little as 15 spikes per neuron. Furthermore, studying how core object recognition may be implemented using biologically plausible learning rules in SNNs may not only further our understanding of the brain, but also lead to novel and efficient artificial vision systems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Pollen structure visualization using high-resolution laboratory-based hard X-ray tomography

A laboratory-based X-ray microscope is used to investigate the 3D structure of unstained whole pollen grains. For the first time, high-resolution laboratory-based hard X-ray microscopy is applied to study pollen grains. Based on the efficient acquisition of statistically relevant information-rich images using Zernike phase contrast, both surface- and internal structures of pine pollen - including exine, intine and cellular structures - are clearly visualized. The specific volumes of these structures are calculated from the tomographic data. The systematic three-dimensional study of pollen grains provides morphological and structural information about taxonomic characters that are essential in palynology. Such studies have a direct impact on disciplines such as forestry, agriculture, horticulture, plant breeding and biodiversity. - Highlights: • The unstained whole pine pollen was visualized by high-resolution laboratory-based HXRM for the first time. • The comparison study of pollen grains by LM, SEM and high-resolution laboratory-based HXRM. • Phase contrast imaging provides significantly higher contrast of the raw images compared to absorption contrast imaging. • Surface and internal structure of the pine pollen including exine, intine and cellular structures are clearly visualized. • 3D volume data of unstained whole pollen grains are acquired and the specific volumes of the different layer are calculated.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Visualization of glucagon secretion from pancreatic α cells by bioluminescence video microscopy: Identification of secretion sites in the intercellular contact regions

We have firstly visualized glucagon secretion using a method of video-rate bioluminescence imaging. The fusion protein of proglucagon and Gaussia luciferase (PGCG-GLase) was used as a reporter to detect glucagon secretion and was efficiently expressed in mouse pancreatic α cells (αTC1.6) using a preferred human codon-optimized gene. In the culture medium of the cells expressing PGCG-GLase, luminescence activity determined with a luminometer was increased with low glucose stimulation and KCl-induced depolarization, as observed for glucagon secretion. From immunochemical analyses, PGCG-GLase stably expressed in clonal αTC1.6 cells was correctly processed and released by secretory granules. Luminescence signals of the secreted PGCG-GLase from the stable cells were visualized by video-rate bioluminescence microscopy. The video images showed an increase in glucagon secretion from clustered cells in response to stimulation by KCl. The secretory events were observed frequently at the intercellular contact regions. Thus, the localization and frequency of glucagon secretion might be regulated by cell-cell adhesion. - Highlights: • The fused protein of proglucagon to Gaussia luciferase was used as a reporter. • The fusion protein was highly expressed using a preferred human-codon optimized gene. • Glucagon secretion stimulated by depolarization was determined by luminescence. • Glucagon secretion in α cells was visualized by bioluminescence imaging. • Glucagon secretion sites were localized in the intercellular contact regions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Quantitative visualization of synchronized insulin secretion from 3D-cultured cells

Quantitative visualization of synchronized insulin secretion was performed in an isolated rat pancreatic islet and a spheroid of rat pancreatic beta cell line using a method of video-rate bioluminescence imaging. Video-rate images of insulin secretion from 3D-cultured cells were obtained by expressing the fusion protein of insulin and Gaussia luciferase (Insulin-GLase). A subclonal rat INS-1E cell line stably expressing Insulin-GLase, named iGL, was established and a cluster of iGL cells showed oscillatory insulin secretion that was completely synchronized in response to high glucose. Furthermore, we demonstrated the effect of an antidiabetic drug, glibenclamide, on synchronized insulin secretion from 2D- and 3D-cultured iGL cells. The amount of secreted Insulin-GLase from iGL cells was also determined by a luminometer. Thus, our bioluminescence imaging method could generally be used for investigating protein secretion from living 3D-cultured cells. In addition, iGL cell line would be valuable for evaluating antidiabetic drugs. - Highlights: • An imaging method for protein secretion from 3D-cultured cells was established. • The fused protein of insulin to GLase, Insulin-GLase, was used as a reporter. • Synchronous insulin secretion was visualized in rat islets and spheroidal beta cells. • A rat beta cell line stably expressing Insulin-GLase, named iGL, was established. • Effect of an antidiabetic drug on insulin secretion was visualized in iGL cells.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Cherenkov Video Imaging Allows for the First Visualization of Radiation Therapy in Real Time

Purpose: To determine whether Cherenkov light imaging can visualize radiation therapy in real time during breast radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: An intensified charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was synchronized to the 3.25-μs radiation pulses of the clinical linear accelerator with the intensifier set × 100. Cherenkov images were acquired continuously (2.8 frames/s) during fractionated whole breast irradiation with each frame an accumulation of 100 radiation pulses (approximately 5 monitor units). Results: The first patient images ever created are used to illustrate that Cherenkov emission can be visualized as a video during conditions typical for breast radiation therapy, even with complex treatment plans, mixed energies, and modulated treatment fields. Images were generated correlating to the superficial dose received by the patient and potentially the location of the resulting skin reactions. Major blood vessels are visible in the image, providing the potential to use these as biological landmarks for improved geometric accuracy. The potential for this system to detect radiation therapy misadministrations, which can result from hardware malfunction or patient positioning setup errors during individual fractions, is shown. Conclusions: Cherenkoscopy is a unique method for visualizing surface dose resulting in real-time quality control. We propose that this system could detect radiation therapy errors in everyday clinical practice at a time when these errors can be corrected to result in improved safety and quality of radiation therapy.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Pore habit of methane hydrate and its evolution in sediment matrix – Laboratory visualization with phase-contrast micro-CT

Describing the pore habit of methane hydrate in sediment matrices is essential for understanding natural distribution of methane hydrate, methane trace (transport and solidification) in the hydrate stability zone, physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, and the associated influence on potential gas production. Pore habit visualization in natural media at pore scale even with laboratory synthesized cores has been challenging due to the similar densities of methane hydrate from pore liquid. In this work, we used phase-contrast assisted micro-CT with potassium iodine-doped brine to visualize four phases: sand particles, pore fluid, methane hydrate and methane gas. This study visualizes the pore habit of methane hydrate at various stages including during hydrate formation in excess-gas systems, its evolution after brine injection to replace pore fluid, and hydrate formation in excess-water systems. Hydrate tends to adopt round and smooth surfaces when in contact with water while exhibits relatively angular interfaces when in contact with methane gas. Hydrate formation in excess-gas systems results in a partial cementing and partial mineral-coating pore habit, while hydrate in excess-water systems develops mainly as pore-filling, and locally cementing or mineral-coating where big gas pockets exist at the initial state. Pore liquid replacement from methane gas to brine triggers a shift of hydrate pore habit towards pore-filling. Methane hydrate evolution over time produces bigger hydrate particles but with less contact area with sand particles. The effects of hydrate pore habit become less important as hydrate particle size exceeds the pore size. Additionally, hydrate formation could trap residual methane gas and brine as inclusions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗