Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PRODUCTIVITY”

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 523 records · Page 29

Terrestrial ecosystem model performance in simulating productivity and its vulnerability to climate change in the northern permafrost region: Modeled Productivity in Permafrost Regions

Realistic projection of future climate-carbon (C) cycle feedbacks requires better understanding and an improved representation of the C cycle in permafrost regions in the current generation of Earth system models. Here we evaluated 10 terrestrial ecosystem models for their estimates of net primary productivity (NPP) and responses to historical climate change in permafrost regions in the Northern Hemisphere. In comparison with the satellite estimate from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS; 246 ± 6 g C m -2 yr -1 ), most models produced higher NPP (309 ± 12 g C m -2 yr -1 ) over the permafrost region during 2000–2009. By comparing the simulated gross primary productivity (GPP) with a flux tower-based database, we found that although mean GPP among the models was only overestimated by 10% over 1982–2009, there was a twofold discrepancy among models (380 to 800 g C m -2 yr -1 ), which mainly resulted from differences in simulated maximum monthly GPP (GPP max ). Most models overestimated C use efficiency (CUE) as compared to observations at both regional and site levels. Further analysis shows that model variability of GPP and CUE are nonlinearly correlated to variability in specific leaf area and the maximum rate of carboxylation by the enzyme Rubisco at 25°C (Vc max_25 ), respectively. The models also varied in their sensitivities of NPP, GPP, and CUE to historical changes in climate and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. In conclusion, these results indicate that model predictive ability of the C cycle in permafrost regions can be improved by better representation of the processes controlling CUE and GPP max as well as their sensitivity to climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Valorization of mullet roe by‐products for the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids rich oils

Abstract This work examines the potential valorization of mullet roe by‐products for the production of mullet roe oil using mild processes. Three different extraction methods with potential of scale‐up for the food industry, namely pressure (PE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and solvent extraction (SE) are examined. Mild temperature conditions to prevent oil oxidation and (wherever applicable) food‐grade solvents are used. The oil yield, the composition of oils in fatty acids by GC‐FID, the level of oil oxidation (peroxide value (PV), p‐anisidine value (AV), K 232 K 268 , TOTOX)) and the antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS) are determined. SE provided the highest oil recovery, followed by SFE and PE (68%, 28% and 10% respectively). The extracted oils had a high concentration of EPA and DHA and a total of 20.7%–24.3% of identified PUFAs among the fatty acids. Oxidation was the lowest in the SFE extracted oil followed by PE, PV was <2.5 meq O2 , AV≤10 and TOTOX <15 in all examined oil samples. Further research is needed to optimize processing conditions for the increase in oil recovery.

Kalogianni, Eleni P.↗

Peracetic Acid Depolymerization of Biorefinery Lignin for Production of Selective Monomeric Phenolic Compounds

Lignin is the largest source of renewable material with an aromatic skeleton. However, due to the recalcitrant and heterogeneous nature of the lignin polymer as well as its complex side chain structures, it has been a challenge to effectively depolymerize lignin and produce high value chemicals with high selectivity. In this study, a highly efficient lignin-to-monomeric phenolic compounds (MPC) conversion method based on peracetic acid (PAA) treatment was reported. PAA treatment of two biorefinery lignin samples, diluted acid pretreated corn stover lignin (DACSL) and steam exploded spruce lignin (SESPL), led to complete solubilization and production of selective hydroxylated monomeric phenolic compounds (MPC-H) and monomeric phenolic acid compounds (MPC-A) inclduing 4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid, and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The maximized MPCs yields obtained were 18% and 22% based on the initial weight of the lignin in SESPL and DACSL respectively. However, we found that the addition of niobium pentoxide catalyst to PAA treatment of lignin can significantly improve the MPC yields up to 47%. The key reaction steps and main mechanisms involved in this new lignin-to-MPC valorization pathway were investigated and elucidated.

Ma, Ruoshui↗

Long-term patterns of fruit production in five forest types of the South Carolina upper coastal plain

Fleshy fruit is a key food resource for many vertebrates and may be particularly important energy source to birds during fall migration and winter. Hence, land managers should know how fruit availability varies among forest types, seasons, and years. We quantified fleshy fruit abundance monthly for 9 years (1995–2003) in 56 0.1-ha plots in 5 forest types of South Carolina's upper Coastal Plain, USA. Forest types were mature upland hardwood and bottomland hardwood forest, mature closed-canopy loblolly ( Pinus taeda ) and longleaf pine ( P. palustris ) plantation, and recent clearcut regeneration harvests planted with longleaf pine seedlings. Mean annual number of fruits and dry fruit pulp mass were highest in regeneration harvests (264,592 ± 37,444 fruits; 12,009 ± 2,392 g/ha), upland hardwoods (60,769 ± 7,667 fruits; 5,079 ± 529 g/ha), and bottomland hardwoods (65,614 ± 8,351 fruits; 4,621 ± 677 g/ha), and lowest in longleaf pine (44,104 ± 8,301 fruits; 4,102 ± 877 g/ha) and loblolly (39,532 ± 5,034 fruits; 3,261 ± 492 g/ha) plantations. Fruit production was initially high in regeneration harvests and declined with stand development and canopy closure (1995–2003). Fruit availability was highest June–September and lowest in April. More species of fruit-producing plants occurred in upland hardwoods, bottomland hardwoods, and regeneration harvests than in loblolly and longleaf pine plantations. Several species produced fruit only in 1 or 2 forest types. In sum, fruit availability varied temporally and spatially because of differences in species composition among forest types and age classes, patchy distributions of fruiting plants both within and among forest types, fruiting phenology, high inter-annual variation in fruit crop size by some dominant fruit-producing species, and the dynamic process of disturbance-adapted species colonization and decline, or recovery in recently harvested stands. As a result, land managers could enhance fruit availability for wildlife by creating and maintaining diverse forest types and age classes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) of photovoltaic modules-Lessons learned from the environmental footprint pilot phase on the way to a single market for green products in the European Union

Shaping and channeling the transformation of the global energy system require an understanding of the life cycle environmental impacts of available technology options. With photovoltaic electricity generation expected to be the largest, least cost, and most relevant source of energy globally by mid-century, the environmental and resource implications of this technology should be made accessible to a variety of societal, political, and scientific stakeholders. The Product Environmental Footprint Guide provides a methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of PV technologies based on life cycle assessment. The establishment of an inclusive multi-stakeholder process with multiple checkpoints, ensuring scientific soundness, societal and political acceptance and methodological quality, is portrayed in this paper and can serve as a model for driving a single market for green products in the EU.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

J/ψ production and nuclear effects in p-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{{{{\mathrm{s}}_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} $ = 5.02 TeV

We studied inclusive J/ψ production with the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at the nucleon-nucleon center of mass energy √s NN = 5.02 TeV at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed in the center of mass rapidity domains 2.03 < y cms < 3.53 and -4.46 < y cms < -2.96, down to zero transverse momentum, studying the μ + μ - decay mode. In this paper, the J/ψ production cross section and the nuclear modification factor R pPb for the rapidities under study are presented. Moreover, while at forward rapidity, corresponding to the proton direction, a suppression of the J/ψ yield with respect to binary-scaled pp collisions is observed, in the backward region no suppression is present. Finally, the ratio of the forward and backward yields is also measured differentially in rapidity and transverse momentum. Theoretical predictions based on nuclear shadowing, as well as on models including, in addition, a contribution from partonic energy loss, are in fair agreement with the experimental results.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the top quark pair production charge asymmetry in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the top quark pair ($ t\bar{t} $) production charge asymmetry AC using 4.7 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $ \sqrt{s} $ = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. A $ t\bar{t} $-enriched sample of events with a single lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum and at least four high transverse momentum jets, of which at least one is tagged as coming from a b-quark, is selected. A likelihood fit is used to reconstruct the $ t\bar{t} $ event kinematics. A Bayesian unfolding procedure is employed to estimate AC at the parton-level. The measured value of the $ t\bar{t} $ production charge asymmetry is AC = 0.006 ± 0.010, where the uncertainty includes both the statistical and the systematic components. Differential AC measurements as a function of the invariant mass, the rapidity and the transverse momentum of the $ t\bar{t} $ system are also presented. In addition, AC is measured for a subset of events with large $ t\bar{t} $ velocity, where physics beyond the Standard Model could contribute. All measurements are consistent with the Standard Model predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in $ \sqrt{s} $ = 8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 20.3 fb -1 of $ \sqrt{s} $ = 8TeV proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations and limits are set in R -parity-conserving phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Models and in simplified supersymmetric models, significantly extending previous results. For simplified supersymmetric models of direct chargino (&sim;$ \tilde{X} ^± _1 $) and next-to-lightest neutralino ($ \tilde{X} ^0 _2 $) production with decays to lightest neutralino (&sim;$ \tilde{X} ^0 _1 $) via either all three generations of sleptons, staus only, gauge bosons, or Higgs bosons, $ \tilde{X} ^± _1 $ and $ \tilde{X} ^0 _2 $ masses are excluded up to 700GeV, 380GeV, 345GeV, or 148GeV respectively, for a massless $ \tilde{X} ^0 _1 $.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Quantum dynamics of cosmological particle production: interacting quantum field theories with matrix product states

Understanding real-time dynamics of interacting quantum fields in curved space-time remains a major theoretical challenge. We employ tensor network methods to study such dynamics using interacting scalar and gauge theories in 1+1 spacetime dimensions, subject to a quench modeling a homogeneously expanding gravitational background. The models considered are the scalar λϕ 4 theory and the Schwinger model, i.e. a Dirac fermion coupled to a U(1) gauge field which is equivalent via bosonization to a scalar field with a cosine self-interaction. In the free scalar limit, both theories reproduce known analytical results, providing a nontrivial numerical validation of bosonization in curved spacetime for the Schwinger model. Our central finding is that self-interactions lead to a suppression of gravitational particle production compared to the free-field case, as evidenced by two-point functions and the spectra of produced particles. We further examine the behavior of entanglement generation and find that interactions suppress entanglement growth in the λϕ 4 theory, while in the Schwinger model, the interplay between suppressed particle production and enhanced inter-particle correlations leads to more complex entanglement behavior. Our results pave the way for further explorations of nonperturbative quantum real-time dynamics of interacting scalar and gauge theories in arbitrary gravitational backgrounds.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Measurement of differential cross sections and W+/W- cross-section ratios for W boson production in association with jets at $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the W boson production cross section and the W + /W - cross-section ratio, both in association with jets, in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in final states containing one electron and missing transverse momentum using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb -1 . Differential cross sections for events with at least one or two jets are presented for a range of observables, including jet transverse momenta and rapidities, the scalar sum of transverse momenta of the visible particles and the missing transverse momentum in the event, and the transverse momentum of the W boson. For a subset of the observables, the differential cross sections of positively and negatively charged W bosons are measured separately. In the cross-section ratio of W + /W - the dominant systematic uncertainties cancel out, improving the measurement precision by up to a factor of nine. The observables and ratios selected for this paper provide valuable input for the up quark, down quark, and gluon parton distribution functions of the proton.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of fiducial differential cross sections of gluon-fusion production of Higgs bosons decaying to WW *→eνμν with the ATLAS detector at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV

This paper describes a measurement of fiducial and differential cross sections of gluon-fusion Higgs boson production in the H → W W*→ eνμν channel, using 20.3 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data. The data were produced at a centre-of-mass energy of √=8 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2012. Cross sections are measured from the observed H→ W W*→ eνμν signal yield in categories distinguished by the number of associated jets. The total cross section is measured in a fiducial region defined by the kinematic properties of the charged leptons and neutrinos. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of the number of jets, the Higgs boson transverse momentum, the dilepton rapidity, and the transverse momentum of the leading jet. The jet-veto efficiency, or fraction of events with no jets above a given transverse momentum threshold, is also reported. All measurements are compared to QCD predictions from Monte Carlo generators and fixed-order calculations, and are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for pair production of vector-like top quarks in events with one lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum in $ \sqrt{s}=13 $ TeV $pp$ collisions with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for vector-like top quarks using events with exactly one lepton, at least four jets, and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search is optimised for pair production of vector-like top quarks in the Z(→vv) t + X decay channel. LHC pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016 are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb -1 . No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is seen and upper limits on the production cross-section of a vector-like T quark pair as a function of the T quark mass are derived. The observed (expected) 95% CL lower limits on the T mass are 870 GeV (890 GeV) for the weak-isospin singlet model, 1.05 TeV (1.06 TeV) for the weak-isospin doublet model and 1.16 TeV (1.17 TeV) for the pure Zt decay mode. Limits are also set on the mass as a function of the decay branching ratios, excluding large parts of the parameter space for masses below 1 TeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of Wγ and Zγ production in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt {s} = 7 $ TeV with the ATLAS detector

We present studies of W and Z bosons with associated high energy photons produced in pp collisions at √s = 7TeV. The analysis uses 35 pb -1 of data collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2010. The event selection requires W and Z bosons decaying into high p T leptons (electrons or muons) and a photon with E T > 15 GeV separated from the lepton(s) by a distance ΔR(l,γ) > 0.7 in η-Φ space. A total of 95 (97) pp → e ± νγ + X(pp → μ ± νγ + X) and 25 (23) pp → e + e - γ + X(pp → μ + μ - γ+X) event candidates are selected. The kinematic distributions of the leptons and photons and the production cross sections are measured. The data are found to agree with Standard Model predictions that include next-to-leading-order O(αα s ) contributions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of charm and beauty production at central rapidity versus charged-particle multiplicity in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV

Prompt D meson and non-prompt J/ψ yields are studied as a function of the multiplicity of charged particles produced in inelastic proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV. The results are reported as a ratio between yields in a given multiplicity interval normalised to the multiplicity-integrated ones (relative yields). They are shown as a function of the multiplicity of charged particles normalised to the average value for inelastic collisions (relative charged-particle multiplicity). D 0 , D + and D *+ mesons are measured in five p T intervals from 1 GeV/c to 20 GeV/c and for |y| < 0.5 via their hadronic decays. The D-meson relative yield is found to increase with increasing charged-particle multiplicity. For events with multiplicity six times higher than the average multiplicity of inelastic collisions, a yield enhancement of a factor about 15 relative to the multiplicity-integrated yield in inelastic collisions is observed. The yield enhancement is independent of transverse momentum within the uncertainties of the measurement. The D0-meson relative yield is also measured as a function of the relative multiplicity at forward pseudo-rapidity. The non-prompt J/ψ, i.e. the B hadron, contribution to the inclusive J/ψ production is measured in the di-electron decay channel at central rapidity. It is evaluated for p T > 1.3 GeV/c and |y| < 0.9, and extrapolated to p T > 0. The fraction of non-prompt J/ψ in the inclusive J/ψ yields shows no dependence on the charged-particle multiplicity at central rapidity. Charm and beauty hadron relative yields exhibit a similar increase with increasing charged-particle multiplicity. The measurements are compared to PYTHIA 8, EPOS 3 and percolation calculations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Dark matter interpretations of ATLAS searches for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in $ \sqrt{s}=8 $ TeV proton-proton collisions

A selection of searches by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC for the electroweak production of SUSY particles are used to study their impact on the constraints on dark matter candidates. The searches use 20 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at √s=8 TeV. A likelihood-driven scan of a five-dimensional effective model focusing on the gaugino-higgsino and Higgs sector of the phenomenological minimal supersymmetric Standard Model is performed. This scan uses data from direct dark matter detection experiments, the relic dark matter density and precision flavour physics results. Further constraints from the ATLAS Higgs mass measurement and SUSY searches at LEP are also applied. A subset of models selected from this scan are used to assess the impact of the selected ATLAS searches in this five-dimensional parameter space. These ATLAS searches substantially impact those models for which the mass m($\tilde{χ}$$0\atop{1}$) of the lightest neutralino is less than 65 GeV, excluding 86% of such models. The searches have limited impact on models with larger m($\tilde{χ}$$0\atop{1}$) due to either heavy electroweakinos or compressed mass spectra where the mass splittings between the produced particles and the lightest supersymmetric particle is small.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗