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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 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Optimal cooperative control synthesis of active displays

The utility of augmenting displays to aid the human operator in controlling high order complex systems is well known. Analytical evaluation of various display designs for a simple k/s sup 2 plant in a compensatory tracking task using an optimal Control Model (OCM) of human behavior is carried out. This analysis reveals that significant improvement in performance should be obtained by skillful integration of key information into the display dynamics. The cooperative control synthesis technique previously developed to design pilot-optimal control augmentation is extended to incorporate the simultaneous design of performance enhancing augmented displays. The application of the cooperative control synthesis technique to the design of augmented displays is discussed for the simple k/s sup 2 plant. This technique is intended to provide a systematic approach to design optimally augmented displays tailored for specific tasks.

Garg, S.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A human factors analysis of EVA time requirements

Human Factors Engineering (HFE), also known as Ergonomics, is a discipline whose goal is to engineer a safer, more efficient interface between humans and machines. HFE makes use of a wide range of tools and techniques to fulfill this goal. One of these tools is known as motion and time study, a technique used to develop time standards for given tasks. A human factors motion and time study was initiated with the goal of developing a database of EVA task times and a method of utilizing the database to predict how long an ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) should take. Initial development relied on the EVA activities performed during the STS-61 mission (Hubble repair). The first step of the analysis was to become familiar with EVAs and with the previous studies and documents produced on EVAs. After reviewing these documents, an initial set of task primitives and task time modifiers was developed. Videotaped footage of STS-61 EVAs were analyzed using these primitives and task time modifiers. Data for two entire EVA missions and portions of several others, each with two EVA astronauts, was collected for analysis. Feedback from the analysis of the data will be used to further refine the primitives and task time modifiers used. Analysis of variance techniques for categorical data will be used to determine which factors may, individually or by interactions, effect the primitive times and how much of an effect they have.

Pate, D. W.↗
DOE OSTI2019

A four‐alternative forced choice (4AFC) methodology for evaluating microcalcification detection in clinical full‐field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems using an inkjet‐printed anthropomorphic phantom

Purpose The advent of three‐dimensional breast imaging systems such as digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has great promise for improving the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. With these new technologies comes an essential need for testing methods to assess the resultant image quality. Although randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for assessing image quality, phantom‐based studies can provide a simpler and less burdensome approach. In this work, a complete framework is presented for task‐based evaluation of microcalcification (MCs) detection performance for DBT imaging systems. Methods The framework consists of three parts. The first part is a realistic anthropomorphic physical breast phantom created through inkjet printing, with parchment paper and iodine‐doped ink. The second is a method for inserting realistic MCs fabricated from calcium hydroxyapatite. The reproducibility and stability of the phantom materials were investigated through multiple samples of parchment and ink over 6 months. The final part is an analysis using a four‐alternative forced choice (4AFC) reader study. To demonstrate the framework, a task‐based 4AFC study was conducted using a clinical system to compare performance from DBT, synthetic mammography (SM), and full‐field digital mammography (FFDM). Nine human observers read images containing MC clusters imaged with all three modalities and tried to correctly locate the MCs. The proportion correct (PC) was measured as the number of correctly detected clusters out of all trials. Results Overall, readers scored the highest with FFDM, (PC = 0.95 ± 0.03) then DBT (0.85 ± 0.04), and finally SM (0.44 ± 0.06). For the parchment and ink samples, the linear attenuation properties were very stable over 6 months. In addition, little difference was found between the various parchment and ink samples, indicating good reproducibility. Conclusions This framework presents a promising methodology for evaluating diagnostic task performance of clinical breast DBT systems.

Ikejimba, Lynda C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Stability of mixing layers

The research program for the first year of this project (see the original research proposal) consists of developing an explicit marching scheme for solving the parabolized stability equations (PSE). Performing mathematical analysis of the computational algorithm including numerical stability analysis and the determination of the proper boundary conditions needed at the boundary of the computation domain are implicit in the task. Before one can solve the parabolized stability equations for high-speed mixing layers, the mean flow must first be found. In the past, instability analysis of high-speed mixing layer has mostly been performed on mean flow profiles calculated by the boundary layer equations. In carrying out this project, it is believed that the boundary layer equations might not give an accurate enough nonparallel, nonlinear mean flow needed for parabolized stability analysis. A more accurate mean flow can, however, be found by solving the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations. The advantage of the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations is that its accuracy is consistent with the PSE method. Furthermore, the method of solution is similar. Hence, the major part of the effort of the work of this year has been devoted to the development of an explicit numerical marching scheme for the solution of the Parabolized Navier-Stokes equation as applied to the high-seed mixing layer problem.

Tam, Christopher↗
DOE OSTI2015

Engineering and Economic Analysis of an Advanced Ultra-Supercritical Pulverized Coal Power Plant with and without Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Task 7. Design and Economic Studies

This report evaluates the economics and performance of two A-USC PC power plants; Case 1 is a conventionally configured A-USC PC power plant with superior emission controls, but without CO 2 removal; and Case 2 adds a post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) system to the plant from Case 1, using the design and heat integration strategies from EPRI’s 2015 report, “Best Integrated Coal Plant.” The capture design basis for this case is “partial,” to meet EPA’s proposed New Source Performance Standard, which was initially proposed as 500 kg-CO 2 /MWh (gross) or 1100 lb-CO 2 /MWh (gross), but modified in August 2015 to 635 kg-CO 2 /MWh (gross) or 1400 lb-CO 2 /MWh (gross). This report draws upon the collective experience of consortium members, with EPRI and General Electric leading the study. General Electric provided the steam cycle analysis as well as v the steam turbine design and cost estimating. EPRI performed integrated plant performance analysis using EPRI’s PC Cost model.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1996

Dataflow Design Tool: User's Manual

The Dataflow Design Tool is a software tool for selecting a multiprocessor scheduling solution for a class of computational problems. The problems of interest are those that can be described with a dataflow graph and are intended to be executed repetitively on a set of identical processors. Typical applications include signal processing and control law problems. The software tool implements graph-search algorithms and analysis techniques based on the dataflow paradigm. Dataflow analyses provided by the software are introduced and shown to effectively determine performance bounds, scheduling constraints, and resource requirements. The software tool provides performance optimization through the inclusion of artificial precedence constraints among the schedulable tasks. The user interface and tool capabilities are described. Examples are provided to demonstrate the analysis, scheduling, and optimization functions facilitated by the tool.

Jones, Robert L., III↗
DOE OSTI2025

El Agente: An autonomous agent for quantum chemistry

Computational chemistry tools are widely used to study the behavior of chemical phenomena. Yet, the complexity of these tools can make them inaccessible to non-specialists and challenging even for experts. In this work, we introduce El Agente Q, an LLM-based multi-agent system that dynamically generates and executes quantum chemistry workflows from natural language user prompts. The system is built on a novel cognitive architecture featuring a hierarchical memory framework that enables flexible task decomposition, adaptive tool selection, post-analysis, and autonomous file handling and submission. El Agente Q is benchmarked on six university-level course exercises and two case studies, demonstrating robust problem-solving performance (averaging >87% task success) and adaptive error handling through in situ debugging. It also supports longer-term, multi-step task execution for more complex workflows, while maintaining transparency through detailed action trace logs. Together, these capabilities lay the foundation for increasingly autonomous and accessible quantum chemistry.

agentic systems↗
DOE OSTI2015

Asymmetric projections of the arcuate fasciculus to the temporal cortex underlie lateralized language function in the human brain

The arcuate fasciculus (AF) in the human brain has asymmetric structural properties. However, the topographic organization of the asymmetric AF projections to the cortex and its relevance to cortical function remain unclear. Here we mapped the posterior projections of the human AF in the inferior parietal and lateral temporal cortices using surface-based structural connectivity analysis based on diffusion MRI and investigated their hemispheric differences. We then performed the cross-modal comparison with functional connectivity based on resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) and task-related cortical activation based on fMRI using a semantic classification task of single words. Structural connectivity analysis showed that the left AF connecting to Broca's area predominantly projected in the lateral temporal cortex extending from the posterior superior temporal gyrus to the mid part of the superior temporal sulcus and the middle temporal gyrus, whereas the right AF connecting to the right homolog of Broca's area predominantly projected to the inferior parietal cortex extending from the mid part of the supramarginal gyrus to the anterior part of the angular gyrus. The left-lateralized projection regions of the AF in the left temporal cortex had asymmetric functional connectivity with Broca's area, indicating structure-function concordance through the AF. During the language task, left-lateralized cortical activation was observed. Among them, the brain responses in the temporal cortex and Broca's area that were connected through the left-lateralized AF pathway were specifically correlated across subjects. These results suggest that the human left AF, which structurally and functionally connects the mid temporal cortex and Broca's area in asymmetrical fashion, coordinates the cortical activity in these remote cortices during a semantic decision task. As a result, the unique feature of the left AF is discussed in the context of the human capacity for language.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

GeoVision Analysis Supporting Task Force Report: Thermal Applications-Quantifying Technical, Economic, and Market Potential of Geothermal District Heating Systems in the United States

This report describes research and analysis performed in support of the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office for its Geothermal Vision Study. A summary of the study is captured in DOE’s report, GeoVision: Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet and included ground-breaking, detailed research on geothermal technologies. The study projects and quantifies the future electric and nonelectric deployment potentials of these geothermal technologies within a range of scenarios in addition to their impacts on U.S. jobs, the economy, and environment. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, the Geothermal Vision Study development relied on collecting, modeling, and analyzing robust data sets through seven national laboratory partners that were organized into eight technical task force groups. These task forces and their respective principal leading national laboratory are listed in Table F-1. The table also provides a guide to the final research documents produced by each GeoVision task force. In most cases, these were prepared as laboratory reports, and they are referenced accordingly. Consult these external reports for detailed discussions of the topics contained within, which form the basis of the GeoVision analysis.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Simulation-Based Dynamic Approach for External Flooding Analysis in Nuclear Power Plants

All nuclear power plants must consider and evaluate external flooding risks such as local intense precipitation, dam failure, and coastal flooding due to storm surge or tsunami. While these events could challenge off-site power and other plant structure integrity, threaten plant safety systems and components, and limit plant access, they are more than often qualitatively regarded as risk insignificant and screened out from detailed evaluation and quantification. The recent lessons learned from the Fukushima seismic/tsunami initiated nuclear accident (2011), the Fort Calhoun (2011), Vermont Yankee (2013), Arkansas Nuclear One (2013), and St. Luice (2014) flooding events showed otherwise. However, developing an external flood model with traditional event tree/fault tree approach as in a static probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model could be difficult to accurately represent plant system and component behavior and reliability of manual actions during an ever-progressing flood event. The plant response to external flood may be highly spatial- and time- dependent and subject to the hydrological and hydraulic characteristics of the flood event. Such unique challenges prompt the investigation of using the simulation-based dynamic analysis approaches for external flood risk assessment. Simulation methods can better illustrate the performance of structures, systems, and components during an external flooding event. A general framework to perform a simulation-based dynamic flooding analysis is presented in this paper with the sub-tasks of flood hazard analysis, flood fragility analysis, plant response modeling, safety margin analysis or PRA quantification. A new type of State PRA modeling technique is introduced to incorporate time-related interactions such as those from 3D simulations into a traditional PRA model.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

User Impressions and Gait Analysis of Exoskeleton Device Usage in Generalized Tank Farm Activities

Tank farm workers involved in nuclear cleanup activities perform physically demanding tasks, typically while wearing heavy personal protective equipment (PPE). Exoskeleton devices have the potential to bring considerable benefit to this industry but have not been thoroughly studied in the context of nuclear cleanup. In this paper, we examine the performance of exoskeletons during a series of tasks emulating jobs performed on tank farms while participants wore PPE commonly deployed by tank farm workers. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of commercially available lower-body exoskeletons on a user’s gait kinematics and user perceptions. Three participants each tested three lower-body exoskeletons in a 70-min protocol consisting of level treadmill walking, incline treadmill walking, weighted treadmill walking, a weight lifting session, and a hand tool dexterity task. Results were compared to a no exoskeleton baseline condition and evaluated as individual case studies. The three participants showed a wide spectrum of user preferences and adaptations toward the devices. Individual case studies revealed that some users quickly adapted to select devices for certain tasks while others remained hesitant to use the devices. Temporal effects on gait change and perception were also observed for select participants in device usage over the course of the device session. Here, device benefit varied between tasks, but no conclusive aggregate trends were observed across devices for all tasks. Evidence suggests that device benefits observed for specific tasks may have been overshadowed by the wide array of tasks used in the protocol.

Tank farm↗
DOE OSTI2018

X-ray characterization of atomistic defects causing irradiation creep of SIC

Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber–reinforced SiC matrix composites have been widely studied for use in developing an accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding for light water reactors (LWRs) in recent years because of their superior oxidation and irradiation resistance and low neutron absorption cross section. An important task is the establishment of the thermo-mechanical analysis capability to predict the in-pile performance and failure probability of the cladding. Irradiation creep is known to be a key property in modeling the stress state under irradiation. To better understand the radiation creep mechanism from an atomic point of view, this study conducted synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments on SiC neutron-irradiated with and without applied stress at the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II). This report presents progress of the XRD study and future plans. The important finding obtained was that the macroscopic creep strain and strain due to the lattice expansion were similar in case of neutron irradiation at 300°C to 0.1 displacement per atom (dpa), which indicates that the lattice strain is a major source of the transient creep strain.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

ASC ATDM Level 2 Milestone #6015: Asynchronous Many-Task Software Stack Demonstration

This report is an outcome of the ASC ATDM Level 2 Milestone 6015: Asynchronous Many-Task Software Stack Demonstration. It comprises a summary and in depth analysis of DARMA and a DARMA-compliant Asynchronous Many-Task (AMT) runtime software stack. Herein performance and productivity of the over- all approach are assessed on benchmarks and proxy applications representative of the Sandia ATDM applications. As part of the effort to assess the perceived strengths and weaknesses of AMT models compared to more traditional methods, experiments were performed on ATS-1 (Advanced Technology Systems) test bed machines and Trinity. In addition to productivity and performance assessments, this report includes findings on the generality of DARMAs backend API as well as findings on interoperability with node- level and network-level system libraries. Together, this information provides a clear understanding of the strengths and limitations of the DARMA approach in the context of Sandias ATDM codes, to guide our future research and development in this area.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

FY19 Status Report on the Computing Systems for the Yucca Mountain Project TSPA-LA Models and Preliminary Testing of a Selected Process Model

Sandia National Laboratories continued evaluation of total system performance assessment (TSPA) computing systems for the previously considered Yucca Mountain Project. This was done to maintain the operational readiness of the computing infrastructure (computer hardware and software) and knowledge capability for total system performance assessment) type analysis, as directed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), DOE 2010. The FY19 task included continued operation of the cluster; maintenance of the TSPA-LA models (with Gold Sim 9.60.300); preliminary assessment of the status of the Infiltration Model (a process model that feeds the TSPA-LA). In addition, precautionary actions were needed to extend the life of the cluster hardware. To do that, three new nodes were added to the cluster. In the event any of the original nodes fail they will be replaced with the new nodes, thereby maintaining the core capability. The 2014 cluster and supporting software systems are currently fully operational to support TSPA-LA type analysis.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

FY2021 Status Report on the Computing Systems for the Yucca Mountain Project TSPA-LA Models and Testing of Selected Process Models

Sandia National Laboratories continued evaluation of the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for License Application (LA) computing systems for the previously considered Yucca Mountain Project (YMP). This was done to maintain the operational readiness of the computing infrastructure (computer hardware and software) and knowledge capability for total system performance assessment) type analysis, as directed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), DOE 2010. The FY21 task included continued operation of the cluster; maintenance of the TSPA-LA models (with GoldSim 9.60.300); continued assessment of the status of the Infiltration Model; (a process model that feeds the TSP -LA) and preliminary assessments of the Unsaturated Zone Flow Model and the Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Model Abstraction (process models that feed the TSPA-LA). The 2014 cluster and supporting software systems are currently fully operational to support TSPA-LA type analyses.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Towards Next-Generation Urban Decision Support Systems through AI-Powered Construction of Scientific Ontology Using Large Language Models—A Case in Optimizing Intermodal Freight Transportation

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models into various optimization systems is on the rise. However, addressing complex urban and environmental management challenges often demands deep expertise in domain science and informatics. This expertise is essential for deriving data and simulation-driven insights that support informed decision-making. In this context, we investigate the potential of leveraging the pre-trained Large Language Models (LLMs) to create knowledge representations for supporting operations research. By adopting ChatGPT-4 API as the reasoning core, we outline an applied workflow that encompasses natural language processing, Methontology-based prompt tuning, and Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), to automate the construction of scenario-based ontologies using existing research articles and technical manuals of urban datasets and simulations. From these ontologies, knowledge graphs can be derived using widely adopted formats and protocols, guiding various tasks towards data-informed decision support. The performance of our methodology is evaluated through a comparative analysis that contrasts our AI-generated ontology with the widely recognized pizza ontology, commonly used in tutorials for popular ontology software. We conclude with a real-world case study on optimizing the complex system of multi-modal freight transportation. Our approach advances urban decision support systems by enhancing data and metadata modeling, improving data integration and simulation coupling, and guiding the development of decision support strategies and essential software components.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
NASA NTRS1977

Orbital construction support equipment

Approximately 200 separate construction steps were defined for the three solar power satellite (SPS) concepts. Detailed construction scenarios were developed which describe the specific tasks to be accomplished, and identify general equipment requirements. The scenarios were used to perform a functional analysis, which resulted in the definition of 100 distinct SPS elements. These elements are the components, parts, subsystems, or assemblies upon which construction activities take place. The major SPS elements for each configuration are shown. For those elements, 300 functional requirements were identified in seven generic processes. Cumulatively, these processes encompass all functions required during SPS construction/assembly. Individually each process is defined such that it includes a specific type of activity. Each SPS element may involve activities relating to any or all of the generic processes. The processes are listed, and examples of the requirements defined for a typical element are given.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

On the role of minicomputers in structural design

Results are presented of exploratory studies on the use of a minicomputer in conjunction with large-scale computers to perform structural design tasks, including data and program management, use of interactive graphics, and computations for structural analysis and design. An assessment is made of minicomputer use for the structural model definition and checking and for interpreting results. Included are results of computational experiments demonstrating the advantages of using both a minicomputer and a large computer to solve a large aircraft structural design problem.

Storaasli, O. O.↗