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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 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Characterizing the System Impulse Response Function from Photon-Counting LiDAR Data

NASA's Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental LiDAR (MABEL) is an aircraft-based photon-counting laser altimeter designed as a simulator to test measurement techniques and algorithms for Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), the sole instrument on NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission. By measuring the time of flight, pointing angle, and absolute position for individual photons, ICESat-2 provides detailed elevation measurements of earth's surface. Calculating accurate and precise elevations requires an understanding of how photons interact with surfaces, and characterization of the photon distribution after returning from surfaces. Neither MABEL nor ATLAS records the transmitted laser pulse shape, relying instead on aggregating several pulses worth of photons, often using histograms, to characterize the pulse shape. In this paper, we assess the limitations of using histograms and propose a more robust method to describe MABEL's system impulse-response function using an exponentially modified Gaussian distribution. We also provide standard error estimates for the arithmetic mean and standard deviation calculations, and for exponentially modified Gaussian parameters using a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis. We apply this method to photon returns from a sea ice lead and from a dry salt lake bed as case studies for estimating the standard error associated with sample size for the arithmetic mean and standard deviation, and for the exponentially modified Gaussian parameters. We use these standard errors to calculate the minimum number of photons required to find both Gaussian and exponentially modified Gaussian distribution parameters within 3 cm of their parent population values.

photoncounting↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparison of Corcos-based and experimentally-derived coherence factors for BFFs estimation

In this paper, high-spatial-resolution unsteady Pressure Sensitive Paint (uPSP) data are utilized to compare two methods for panel Buffet Forcing Functions (BFF) estimation for the Space Launch System (SLS). Such methods are based on discrete pressure measurements within a panel but employ coherence factors to account for partially-correlated fluctuating pressures across the whole panel. In one method, coherence factors are derived based on the Corcos model, whereas the second method utilizes experimentally-derived coherence factors. To simulate discrete measurements using uPSP data, suitable subsets of the data are extracted. When full uPSP resolution is retained, uPSP data provide a benchmark to assess discrete-measurements-based methods. The analysis focuses on the peak SLS buffet environment located downstream of the Forward Attachment Hardware (FAH) between the core stage and solid rocket boosters. Trends of Corcos-based and experimentally-derived coherence factors are in reasonable agreement with the benchmark. However, at certain frequencies, experimentally-derived coherence factors are sensitive to the separation distance between pressure measurements utilized to compute coherence lengths. Such sensitivity originates from deviation of the experimental-based coherence function from an exponential decay assumption. On the other hand, the present implementation of the Corcos model fails to capture certain non-turbulent boundary layer related environments, such as a subharmonic of FAH vortex-shedding. For all methods presented in this paper, at near transonic conditions, increased pressure coherence and spatial nonuniformity lead to BFF overestimation and sensitivity to the pressure measurement location within the panel.

transonic buffet↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparison of Corcos-Based and Experimentally-Derived Coherence Factors for Buffet Forcing Functions Estimation

In this paper, high-spatial-resolution unsteady Pressure Sensitive Paint (uPSP) data are utilized to compare two methods for panel Buffet Forcing Functions (BFF) estimation for the Space Launch System (SLS). Such methods are based on discrete pressure measurements within a panel but employ coherence factors to account for partially-correlated fluctuating pressures across the whole panel. In one method, coherence factors are derived based on the Corcos model, whereas the second method utilizes experimentally-derived coherence factors. To simulate discrete measurements using uPSP data, suitable subsets of the data are extracted. When full uPSP resolution is retained, uPSP data provide a benchmark to assess discrete-measurements-based methods. The analysis focuses on the peak SLS buffet environment located downstream of the Forward Attachment Hardware (FAH) between the core stage and solid rocket boosters. Trends of Corcos-based and experimentally-derived coherence factors are in reasonable agreement with the benchmark. However, at certain frequencies, experimentally-derived coherence factors are sensitive to the separation distance between pressure measurements utilized to compute coherence lengths. Such sensitivity originates from deviation of the experimental-based coherence function from an exponential decay assumption. On the other hand, the present implementation of the Corcos model fails to capture certain nonturbulent boundary layer related environments, such as a subharmonic of FAH vortex-shedding. For all methods presented in this paper, at near transonic conditions, increased pressure coherence and spatial nonuniformity lead to BFF overestimation and sensitivity to the pressure measurement location within the panel.

buffet↗
NASA NTRS2023

Comparison of Corcos-Based and Experimentally-Derived Coherence Factors for Buffet Forcing Function Estimation

In this paper, high-spatial-resolution unsteady Pressure Sensitive Paint (uPSP) data are utilized to compare two methods for panel Buffet Forcing Function (BFF) estimation for the Space Launch System (SLS). Such methods are based on discrete pressure measurements within a panel but employ coherence factors to account for partially-correlated fluctuating pressures across the whole panel. In one method, coherence factors are derived based on the Corcos model, whereas the second method utilizes experimentally-derived coherence factors. To simulate discrete measurements using uPSP data, suitable subsets of the data are extracted. When full uPSP resolution is retained, uPSP data provide a benchmark to assess discrete-measurement-based methods. The analysis focuses on the peak SLS buffet environment located downstream of the Forward Attachment Hardware (FAH) between the core stage and solid rocket boosters. Trends of Corcos-based and experimentally-derived coherence factors are in reasonable agreement with the benchmark. However, at certain frequencies, experimentally-derived coherence factors are sensitive to the separation distance between pressure measurements utilized to compute coherence lengths. Such sensitivity originates from deviation of the experimentally-based coherence function from an exponential decay assumption. On the other hand, the present implementation of the Corcos model fails to capture certain nonturbulent boundary layer related environments, such as a subharmonic of FAH vortex-shedding. For all methods presented in this paper, at near transonic conditions, increased pressure coherence and spatial nonuniformity lead to BFF overestimation and sensitivity to the pressure measurement location within the panel.

transonic buffet↗
DOE OSTI2015

Impacts of Vehicle (In)Security

Nuclear and radioactive material is routinely transported worldwide every day. Since 2010, the complexity of the transport vehicle to support such activities has grown exponentially. Many core functions of a vehicle are now handled by small embedded computer modules with more being added each year to enhance the owner’s experience and convenience. With a system as complex as today’s automobile, the potential for cyber security issues is certain. Hackers have begun exploring this new domain with public information increasingly disseminated. Because vehicles are allowed into and around secure nuclear facilities, the potential for using a vehicle as a new cyber entry point or vector into the facility is now plausible and must be mitigated. In addition, compromising such a vehicle could aide in illicit removal of nuclear material, putting sensitive cargo at risk. Because cyber attacks can now be introduced using vehicles, cyber security, needs to be integrated into an organization’s design basis threat document. Essentially, a vehicle now extends the perimeter for which security professionals are responsible.Electronic Control Units (ECU) responsible for handling all core and ancillary vehicle functions are interconnected using the controller area network (CAN) bus. A typical CAN network in a modern automobile contains 50 or more ECUs. The CAN protocol now supports a wide variety of areas, including automotive, road transportation, rail transportation, industrial automation, power generation, maritime, military vehicles, aviation, and medical devices. In many ways, the nuclear industry is employing the CAN bus protocol or other similar broadcast serial networks. This paper will provide an overview of the current state of automobile and CAN Bus security, as well as an overview of what has been publicly disclosed by many research organizations. It will then present several hypotheses of how vehicle security issues may impact nuclear activities. An initial discussion of how a vehicle can be used as a new threat vector to penetrate secure facilities will be presented. This includes how a modern automobile can be used as the exploitation mechanism for nearby devices such as laptops, cell phones, and wireless access points. Additional discussion will highlight how vehicle security might impact transportation of nuclear material through remote exploitation of a moving vehicle. The final discussion will include what possible implications might be relative to the physical protection systems at nuclear facilities. The audience will also be given details regarding the complexity of attack, thus implying the likelihood of successful exploitation, and information on how such attacks may be mitigated. Emerging security products for automobiles will be discussed and other mitigation methods will be detailed (e.g. disabling vehicle cellular modems). As a result, the audience will have a greater understanding of how to add vehicle security as a part of a comprehensive nuclear security policy.Finally, this paper will highlight the similarities between CAN Bus and other broadcast serial bus networks such as Profibus or DeviceNet, helping educate the reader on how susceptible this type of networking is to nefarious attacks and how it might affect components connected to many different nuclear systems, including control systems, safety systems, emergency systems, and support systems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

Solving Complex Radioactive Decay Chains for Future Assessment and Cleanup Decisions - 17046

In support of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's on-line calculators for risk and dose assessment, a decay chain tool was developed to address the need to understand how radionuclide activity changes with time as the activity measured in the past will be different from current and future levels. When a radionuclide decays, its activity decreases exponentially as a function of time transforming into a different atom - a decay product. The atoms keep transforming to new decay products until they reach a stable state and are no longer radioactive. The series of decay products created to reach this balance is called the decay chain. For radionuclide chains, the daughter products can have significant implications in dosimetry and remediation. Thus, risk assessors evaluating sites with radioactive contamination need to plan for future progeny ingrowth, in addition to sampled radionuclides. These are important considerations for risk quantification during the characterization and cleanup plans, particularly when sampling may have occurred years before the remediation cleanup work begins. If a radionuclide half-life and current activity are known, then hand-calculating the future activity is straightforward. However, calculating the ingrowth of progeny quickly becomes cumbersome for longer chains such as the Thorium-232 decay series. For the more complex chains where many daughters are formed, possibly with multiple branches, this calculation involves solving a complex set of simultaneous differential equations known as the Bateman Equation. The Decay Chain Activity Projection Tool calculates the activity of radionuclides and their progeny as a function of time. This tool currently uses a combination of Perl, JavaScript, Plot.ly, and jQuery to automatically construct the radionuclide decay chains, solve the resulting Bateman Equation, and provide the user with tabular solution output and plots. Additional software may be used as development advances. The risk assessor can then use the data for exposure assessment and cleanup decisions without further costly sampling. The benefits of providing this calculator are to prevent overestimation of risk due to decay of the parent isotope and to avoid underestimation of risk due to ingrowth of progeny more toxic than the parent. Graphs are provided to show the simultaneous decay rates and ingrowth, as well as tabular output at time-point T and all the decay half-life intervals. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Model for Approximately Stretched-Exponential Relaxation with Continuously Varying Stretching Exponents

Relaxation in glasses is typically approximated by a stretched-exponential form: \(f(t) = A \exp [-(t/\tau )^{\beta }]\) . Here, we show that the relaxation in a model of sheared non-Brownian suspensions developed by Corté et al. (Nat Phys 4:420–424, 2008 ) can be well approximated by a stretched exponential with an exponent \(\beta \) that depends on the strain amplitude: \(0.25< \beta < 1\) . In a one-dimensional version of the model, we show how the relaxation originates from density fluctuations in the initial particle configurations. Our analysis is in good agreement with numerical simulations and reveals a functional form for the relaxation that is distinct from, but well approximated by, a stretched-exponential function.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1994

On the Gibbs phenomenon 4: Recovering exponential accuracy in a sub-interval from a Gegenbauer partial sum of a piecewise analytic function

We continue our investigation of overcoming Gibbs phenomenon, i.e., to obtain exponential accuracy at all points (including at the discontinuities themselves), from the knowledge of a spectral partial sum of a discontinuous but piecewise analytic function. We show that if we are given the first N Gegenbauer expansion coefficients, based on the Gegenbauer polynomials C(sub k)(sup mu)(x) with the weight function (1 - x(exp 2))(exp mu - 1/2) for any constant mu is greater than or equal to 0, of an L(sub 1) function f(x), we can construct an exponentially convergent approximation to the point values of f(x) in any subinterval in which the function is analytic. The proof covers the cases of Chebyshev or Legendre partial sums, which are most common in applications.

Gottlieb, David↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dataset for manuscript "Rotational Memory Function of SPC/E water"

Memory effect are essential for dynamics of condensed materials and are responsible for non-exponential relaxation of correlation functions of dynamic variables through the memory function entering the memory equation. Memory functions of dipole rotations for polar liquids have never been calculated. We present here calculations of memory functions and single-dipole rotations and of the overall system dipole moment for SPC/E water measured by dielectric spectroscopy. The memory functions for single-particle and collective dynamics turn out to be nearly identical. This result validates theories of dielectric spectroscopy in terms of single-particle time correlation function and the connection between the collective and single-particle relaxation times in terms of the Kirkwood factor. The dataset includes single particle and system dipole moments, including their time-dependence.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Rotational memory function of SPC/E water

Memory effects are essential for the dynamics of condensed materials and are responsible for non-exponential relaxation of correlation functions of dynamic variables through the memory function. Memory functions of dipole rotations for water have never been calculated directly from molecular dynamics simulations. We present here calculations of memory functions for single-dipole rotations and for the overall dipole moment of the sample for SPC/E water. The normalized memory functions for single-particle and collective dipole dynamics turn out to be nearly identical. This result validates theories of dielectric spectroscopy in terms of single-particle time correlation functions and the connection between the collective and single-particle relaxation times through the Kirkwood factor. The dielectric function in this formalism contains no new dynamic information that does not exist in the single-dipole correlation function. A short memory time, ≲1 fs, justifies the use of the mathematics of rotational diffusion to describe the dynamics of a single molecular dipole moment in bulk water. Here, an analytical equation for the rotational memory time is derived.

Asthagiri, Dilipkumar N. [Oak Ridge National Labor↗
NASA NTRS1981

A survey of solar protons and alpha differential spectra between 1 and greater than 400 MeV/nucleon

Attempts to systematically measure and fit a large sample of flare spectra from IMP 7 and 8 satellite data to determine the spectral forms that characterize the data and the range of spectral slopes are reported. Proton spectra are constructed covering the range 0.9 to over 400 MeV, and alpha fluxes from 1.4-80 MeV/nucleon. The event spectra are composed of fluxes measured at different times at each energy, and fitting procedures were employed such as a power law in kinetic energy, an exponential in rigidity, an exponential in energy, and a Bessel function of momentum/nucleon. Best fits were obtained with the exponential in rigidity and the Bessel function, with the Bessel function having a better numerical accuracy for all 21 proton spectra considered.

Mcguire, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Dose-response relationship between sleep duration and human psychomotor vigilance and subjective alertness

Although it has been well documented that sleep is required for human performance and alertness to recover from low levels after prolonged periods of wakefulness, it remains unclear whether they increase in a linear or asymptotic manner during sleep. It has been postulated that there is a relation between the rate of improvement in neurobehavioral functioning and rate of decline of slow-wave sleep and/or slow-wave activity (SWS/SWA) during sleep, but this has not been verified. Thus, a cross-study comparison was conducted in which dose-response curves (DRCs) were constructed for Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) tests taken at 1000 hours by subjects who had been allowed to sleep 0 hours, 2 hours, 5 hours or 8 hours the previous night. We found that the DRCs to each PVT metric improved in a saturating exponential manner, with recovery rates that were similar [time constant (T) approximately 2.14 hours] for all the metrics. This recovery rate was slightly faster than, though not statistically significantly different from, the reported rate of SWS/SWA decline (T approximately 2.7 hours). The DRC to the SSS improved much more slowly than psychomotor vigilance, so that it could be fit equally well by a linear function (slope = -0.26) or a saturating exponential function (T = 9.09 hours). We conclude that although SWS/SWA, subjective alertness, and a wide variety of psychomotor vigilance metrics may all change asymptotically during sleep, it remains to be determined whether the underlying physiologic processes governing their expression are different.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2013

Cosmological solutions of a nonlocal model with a perfect fluid

A nonlocal gravity model which does not assume the existence of a new dimensional parameter in the action and includes a function f(□{sup −1}R), with □ the d'Alembertian operator, is studied. By specifying an exponential form for the function f and including a matter sector with a constant equation of state parameter, all available power-law solutions in the Jordan frame are obtained. New power-law solutions in the Einstein frame are also probed. Furthermore, the relationship between power-law solutions in both frames, established through conformal transformation, is substantially clarified. The correspondence between power-law solutions in these two frames is proven to be a very useful tool in order to obtain new solutions in the Einstein frame.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sparse Cholesky factorization for solving nonlinear PDEs via Gaussian processes

In recent years, there has been widespread adoption of machine learning-based approaches to automate the solving of partial differential equations (PDEs). Among these approaches, Gaussian processes (GPs) and kernel methods have garnered considerable interest due to their flexibility, robust theoretical guarantees, and close ties to traditional methods. They can transform the solving of general nonlinear PDEs into solving quadratic optimization problems with nonlinear, PDE-induced constraints. However, the complexity bottleneck lies in computing with dense kernel matrices obtained from pointwise evaluations of the covariance kernel, and its partial derivatives, a result of the PDE constraint and for which fast algorithms are scarce. The primary goal of this paper is to provide a near-linear complexity algorithm for working with such kernel matrices. We present a sparse Cholesky factorization algorithm for these matrices based on the near-sparsity of the Cholesky factor under a novel ordering of pointwise and derivative measurements. The near-sparsity is rigorously justified by directly connecting the factor to GP regression and exponential decay of basis functions in numerical homogenization. We then employ the Vecchia approximation of GPs, which is optimal in the Kullback-Leibler divergence, to compute the approximate factor. This enables us to compute ϵ-approximate inverse Cholesky factors of the kernel matrices with complexity O(N log d (N/ϵ)) in space and O(N log 2d (N/ϵ)) in time. We integrate sparse Cholesky factorizations into optimization algorithms to obtain fast solvers of the nonlinear PDE. We numerically illustrate our algorithm’s near-linear space/time complexity for a broad class of nonlinear PDEs such as the nonlinear elliptic, Burgers, and Monge-Ampère equations. In summary, we provide a fast, scalable, and accurate method for solving general PDEs with GPs and kernel methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1980

Long-time creep behavior of the niobium alloy C-103

The creep behavior of C-103 was studied as a function of stress, temperature, and grain size for test times to 19000 hr. Over the temperature range 827 to 1204 C and the stress range 6.89 to 138 MPa, only tertiary (accelerating) creep was observed. The creep strain epsilon can be related to time t by an exponential relation epsilon = epsilon(0) + K e raised to power (st) - 1), where epsilon (0) is initial creep strain, K is the tertiary creep strain parameter, and s is the tertiary creep rate parameter. The observed stress exponent 2.87 is similar to the three power law generally observed for secondary (linear) creep of Class I solid solutions. The apparent activation energy 374 kj/g mol is close to that observed for self diffusion of pure niobium. The initial tertiary creep rate was slightly faster for fine grained than for coarse-grained material. The strain parameter K can be expressed as a combination of power functions of stress and grain size and an exponential function of temperature. Strain time curves generated by using calculated values for K and s showed reasonable agreement with observed curves to strains of at least 4 percent. The time to 1 percent strain was related to stress, temperature, and grain size in a similar manner as the initial tertiary creep rate.

Titran, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

On the Gibbs phenomenon 3: Recovering exponential accuracy in a sub-interval from a spectral partial sum of a piecewise analytic function

The investigation of overcoming Gibbs phenomenon was continued, i.e., obtaining exponential accuracy at all points including at the discontinuities themselves, from the knowledge of a spectral partial sum of a discontinuous but piecewise analytic function. It was shown that if we are given the first N expansion coefficients of an L(sub 2) function f(x) in terms of either the trigonometrical polynomials or the Chebyshev or Legendre polynomials, an exponentially convergent approximation to the point values of f(x) in any sub-interval in which it is analytic can be constructed.

Gottlieb, David↗
DOE OSTI2016

Model-based Dynamic Control of Speculative Forays in Parallel Computation

In simulations running in parallel, the processors would have to synchronize with other processors to maintain correct global order of computations. This can be done either by blocking computation until correct order is guaranteed, or by \textit{speculatively} proceeding with the best guess (based on local information) and later correcting errors if/as necessary. Since the gainful lengths of speculative forays depend on the dynamics of the application software and hardware at runtime, an online control system is necessary to dynamically choose and/or switch between the blocking and speculative strategies. In this paper, we formulate the reversible speculative computing in large-scale parallel computing as a dynamic linear feedback control (optimization) system model and evaluate its performance in terms of time and cost savings as compared to the traditional (forward) computing. We illustrate with an exact analogy in the form of vehicular travel under dynamic, delayed route information. The objective is to assist in making the optimal decision on what computational approach is to be chosen, by predicting the amount of time and cost savings (or losing) under different environments represented by different parameters and probability distribution functions. We consider the cases of Gaussian, exponential and log-normal distribution functions. The control system is intended for incorporating into speculative parallel applications such as optimistic parallel discrete event simulations to decide at runtime when and to what extent speculative execution can be performed gainfully.

Perumalla, Kalyan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Many-fermion simulation from the contracted quantum eigensolver without fermionic encoding of the wave function

Quantum computers potentially have an exponential advantage over classical computers for the quantum simulation of many-fermion quantum systems. Nonetheless, fermions are more expensive to simulate than bosons due to the fermionic encoding—a mapping by which the qubits are encoded with fermion statistics. Here we generalize the contracted quantum eigensolver (CQE) to avoid fermionic encoding of the wave function. In contrast to the variational quantum eigensolver, the CQE solves for a many-fermion stationary state by minimizing the contraction (projection) of the Schrödinger equation onto two fermions. We avoid fermionic encoding of the wave function by contracting the Schrödinger equation onto an unencoded pair of particles. Solution of the resulting contracted equation by a series of unencoded two-body exponential transformations generates an unencoded wave function from which the energy and two-fermion reduced density matrix (2-RDM) can be computed. We apply the unencoded and the encoded CQE algorithms to the hydrogen fluoride molecule, the dissociation of oxygen O 2 , and a series of hydrogen chains. Both algorithms show comparable convergence towards the exact ground-state energies and 2-RDMs, but the unencoded algorithm has computational advantages in terms of state preparation and tomography.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗