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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Measurement of rabbit eardrum vibration through stroboscopic digital holography

In this work, we present a setup for high-power single shot stroboscopic digital holography and demonstrate it in an application on rabbit eardrum vibration measurement. The setup is able to make full-field time-resolved measurements of vibrating surfaces with a precision in the nanometer range in a broad frequency range. The height displacement of the measured object is visualized over the entire surface as a function of time. Vibration magnitude and phase maps can be extracted from these data, the latter proving to be very useful to reveal phase delays across the surface. Such deviations from modal motion indicate energy losses due to internal damping, in contrast to purely elastic mechanics. This is of great interest in middle ear mechanics and finite element modelling. In our setup, short laser pulses are fired at selected instants within the surface vibration period and are recorded by a CCD camera. The timing of the pulses and the exposure of the camera are synchronized to the vibration phase by a microprocessor. The high-power frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser produces pulses containing up to 5 mJ of energy, which is amply sufficient to record single-shot holograms. As the laser pulse length is 8 ns and the smallest time step of the trigger electronics is 1 μs, vibration measurements of frequencies up to 250 kHz are achievable through this method, provided that the maximum vibration amplitude exceeds a few nanometers. In our application, middle ear mechanics, measuring frequencies extend from 5 Hz to 20 kHz. The experimental setup will be presented, as well as results of measurements on a stretched circular rubber membrane and a rabbit's eardrum. Two of the challenges when measuring biological tissues, such as the eardrum, are low reflectivity and fast dehydration. To increase reflectivity, a coating is applied and to counteract the undesirable effects of tissue dehydration, the measurement setup and software have been optimized for speed without compromising on the quality. Results of a repeatability test will be presented as well. Since the method measures the membrane motion as a function of time in small time steps, we do not only measure vibration amplitude like in time-average holography, but we can also measure non-linear elastic and transient behaviour. In conclusion, the combination of good spatial, depth and time resolution with the fast data acquisition and very wide frequency range make our technique applicable in a number of fields, including biological tissue vibrations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic system for data acquisition to study radiation effects on operating MOSFET transistors

In this work we present the development of an acquisition system for characterizing transistors under X-ray radiation. The system is able to carry out the acquisition and to storage characteristic transistor curves. To test the acquisition system we have submitted polarized P channel MOS transistors under continuous 10-keV X-ray doses up to 1500 krad. The characterization system can operate in the saturation region or in the linear region in order to observe the behavior of the currents or voltages involved during the irradiation process. Initial tests consisted of placing the device under test (DUT) in front of the X-ray beam direction, while its drain current was constantly monitored through the prototype generated in this work, the data are stored continuously and system behavior was monitored during the test. In order to observe the behavior of the DUT during the radiation tests, we used an acquisition system that consists of an ultra-low consumption16-bit Texas Instruments MSP430 microprocessor. Preliminary results indicate linear behavior of the voltage as a function of the exposure time and fast recovery. These features may be favorable to use this device as a radiation dosimeter to monitor low rate X-ray.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Developing stereo image based robot control system

Application of image processing is developed in various field and purposes. In the last decade, image based system increase rapidly with the increasing of hardware and microprocessor performance. Many fields of science and technology were used this methods especially in medicine and instrumentation. New technique on stereovision to give a 3-dimension image or movie is very interesting, but not many applications in control system. Stereo image has pixel disparity information that is not existed in single image. In this research, we proposed a new method in wheel robot control system using stereovision. The result shows robot automatically moves based on stereovision captures.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Semi-classical noise investigation for sub-40nm metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

Device white noise levels in short channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) dictate the performance and reliability of high-frequency circuits ranging from high-speed microprocessors to Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) and microwave circuits. Recent experimental noise measurements with very short devices demonstrate the existence of suppressed shot noise, contrary to the predictions of classical channel thermal noise models. In this work we show that, as the dimensions continue to shrink, shot noise has to be considered when the channel resistance becomes comparable to the barrier resistance at the source-channel junction. By adopting a semi-classical approach and taking retrospectively into account transport, short-channel and quantum effects, we investigate the partitioning between shot and thermal noise, and formulate a predictive model that describes the noise characteristics of modern devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

A fiber optic, ultraviolet light-emitting diode-based, two wavelength fluorometer for monitoring reactive adsorption

Construction and use of an ultraviolet light-emitting diode-based fluorometer for measuring photoluminescence (PL) from powder samples with a fiber optic probe is described. Fluorescence at two wavelengths is detected by miniature photomultiplier tubes, each equipped with a different band pass filter, whose outputs are analyzed by a microprocessor. Photoluminescent metal oxides and hydroxides, and other semiconducting nanoparticles, often undergo changes in their emission spectra upon exposure to reactive gases, and the ratio of the PL intensities at two wavelengths is diagnostic of adsorption. Use of this instrument for reactive gas sensing and gas filtration applications is illustrated by measuring changes in the PL ratio for zirconium hydroxide and zinc oxide particles upon exposure to air containing low concentrations of sulfur dioxide.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

TU-AB-201-03: A Robot for the Automated Delivery of An Electromagnetic Tracking Sensor for the Localization of Brachytherapy Catheters

Purpose: To present a programmable robotic system for the accurate and fast deployment of an electromagnetic (EM) sensor for brachytherapy catheter localization. Methods: A robotic system for deployment of an EM sensor was designed and built. The system was programmed to increment the sensor position at specified time and space intervals. Sensor delivery accuracy was measured in a phantom using the localization of the EM sensor and tested in different environmental conditions. Accuracy was tested by measuring the distance between the physical locations reached by the sensor (measured by the EM tracker) and the intended programmed locations. Results: The system consisted of a stepper motor connected to drive wheels (that grip the cable to move the sensor) and a series of guides to connect to a brachytherapy transfer tube, all controlled by a programmable Arduino microprocessor. The total cost for parts was <$300. The positional accuracy of the sensor location was within 1 mm of the expected position provided by the motorized guide system. Acquisition speed to localize a brachytherapy catheter with 20 cm of active length was 10 seconds. The current design showed some cable slip and warping depending on environment temperature. Conclusion: The use of EM tracking for the localization of brachytherapy catheters has been previously demonstrated. Efficient data acquisition and artifact reduction requires fast and accurate deployment of an EM sensor in consistent, repeatable patterns, which cannot practically be achieved manually. The design of an inexpensive, programmable robot allowing for the precise deployment of stepping patterns was presented, and a prototype was built. Further engineering is necessary to ensure that the device provides efficient independent localization of brachytherapy catheters. This research was funded by the Kaye Family Award.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Security-informed safety: integrating security within the safety demonstration of a smart device - 157

Safety and security engineering have, over the years, developed their own regulations, standards, cultures, and practices. However, there's a growing realisation that security is closely connected to safety. Safety must be security-informed: if a safety-critical system isn't secure, it isn't safe. A safety demonstration is incomplete and unconvincing unless it considers security. In our work for government and industry, we have used the Claims, Arguments, Evidence (CAE) framework to analyse the impact of security on a safety justification or safety case and identified the significant changes needed to address security explicitly. This will impact the design and implementation process as well as the assurance and V and V approach. In this paper we discuss the impact of integrating security when developing a safety demonstration of a smart device. A smart device is an instrument, device or component that contains a microprocessor (and therefore contains both hardware and software) and is programmed to provide specialised capabilities, often measuring or controlling a process variable. Examples of smart devices include radiation monitors, relays, turbine governors, uninterruptible power supplies and heating ventilation, and air conditioning controllers. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Investigation of instrumentation containing an embedded digital device - 257

The U.S. nuclear power industry primarily relies on mature, well-proven analog technology as the basis for most instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment employed in its nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, the market for this legacy instrumentation is very small and availability of such equipment for spare parts or replacement is increasingly limited. Frequently, modern I and C equipment contains embedded digital devices (EDDs), such as microprocessors and programmable logic devices. While the enhanced functional capabilities provided by the digital components offer improved performance, reliability, and maintainability, the corresponding complexity of sophisticated digital implementations also exacerbate concerns about an increased potential for undetected systematic faults, which can lead to common-cause failure (CCF). As part of a research project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, an investigation has been conducted of commercially available instrumentation marketed for nuclear or industrial application. The objective was to identify the usage of EDDs and to determine the types of functional roles allocated to the devices. Examples of the equipment surveyed include smart sensors, sequencers for emergency diesel generators, pumps, valve actuators, motor control centers, breakers, priority logic modules, and uninterruptible power sources. Where sufficient detail was found, an evaluation was performed to ascertain the nature and role of the digital technology implemented in the instrumentation. The information gained through this investigation serves as technical input for defining a classification approach for EDDs based on the functional impact of the device. For example, the role of an EDD can involve any of the following functions: performance monitoring and diagnostics, information extraction and communication, instrument condition monitoring and protection, or execution of core instrument functions. Classifying digital devices according to their role in the operation of the instrumentation in which they are embedded can enable determination of the potential functional impact of failure of that device and contribute to determination of the potential safety significance of a CCF event disabling all instances of that device. This paper will report on the findings of the investigation of instrumentation with EDDs and indicate considerations for the emerging classification approach. The higher-level goal of this effort is to determine whether a graded approach to qualification testing may be possible based on classification. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of a model based assessment process for qualification of embedded digital devices in NPP applications: research approach and current status - 263

The instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment used in currently operating U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs) is primarily based on mature analog technologies that are progressing towards obsolescence. The continued reliance on this legacy analog technology, which is also being propagated into new NPP designs, imposes performance penalties and maintenance burdens in comparison with modern digital I and C instrumentation. In many instances, currently available I and C equipment contain embedded digital devices (EDDs) such as microprocessors and programmable logic devices. Experience in other industries, such as avionics, has shown that digital I and C equipment containing EDDs can provide significant benefits over analog-based equipment in terms of performance, reliability, and maintainability. In recent years, due to the high demand for digital technologies in the industrial I and C marketplace, it is becoming increasingly difficult for NPPs to acquire instrumentation that is not equipped with an EDD. However, the nuclear power industry has been slow to adopt digital technology, especially in safety-related systems, in large part as a result of regulatory concerns about common-cause failure (CCF) vulnerabilities of equipment with EDDs. Consequently, there is a clear need to develop cost effective qualification methods to contribute to the assessment of CCF vulnerability posed by EDDs in modern instrumentation that could be used in NPPs. This paper describes the research regarding qualification methods for equipment with EDDs that is sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the current research is to develop an effective approach employing science-based methods to resolve concerns about CCF vulnerability that serve to inhibit deployment of advanced instrumentation (e.g., sensors, actuators, microcontrollers) with EDDs in nuclear power applications. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Performance modeling of microsecond scale biological molecular dynamics simulations on heterogeneous architectures

Performance improvements in biomolecular simulations based on molecular dynamics (MD) codes are widely desired. Unfortunately, the factors, which allowed past performance improvements, particularly the microprocessor clock frequencies, are no longer increasing. Hence, novel software and hardware solutions are being explored for accelerating performance of widely used MD codes. In this paper, we describe our efforts on porting, optimizing and tuning of Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator, a popular MD framework, on heterogeneous architectures: multi-core processors with graphical processing unit (GPU) accelerators. Our implementation is based on accelerating the most computationally expensive non-bonded interaction terms on the GPUs and overlapping the computation on the CPU and GPUs. This functionality is built on top of message passing interface that allows multi-level parallelism to be extracted even at the workstation level with the multi-core CPUs and allows extension of the implementation on GPU-enabled clusters. We hypothesize that the optimal benefit of heterogeneous architectures for applications will come by utilizing all possible resources (for example, CPU-cores and GPU devices on GPU-enabled clusters). Benchmarks for a range of biomolecular system sizes are provided, and an analysis is performed on four generations of NVIDIA's GPU devices. On GPU-enabled Linux clusters, by overlapping and pipelining computation and communication, we observe up to 10-folds application acceleration in multi-core and multi-GPU environments illustrating significant performance improvements. Detailed analysis of the implementation is presented that allows identification of bottlenecks in algorithm, indicating that code optimization and improvements on GPUs could allow microsecond scale simulation throughput on workstations and inexpensive GPU clusters, putting widely desired biologically relevant simulation time-scales within reach of a large user community. In order to systematically optimize simulation throughput and to enable performance prediction, we have developed a parameterized performance model that will allow developers and users to explore the performance potential of future heterogeneous systems for biological simulations.

Agarwal, Pratul K.↗
DOE OSTI2018

High-precision control of tracked field robots in the presence of unknown traction coefficients

Accurate steering through crop rows that avoids crop damage is one of the most important tasks for agricultural robots utilized in various field operations, such as monitoring, mechanical weeding, or spraying. In practice, varying soil conditions can result in off-track navigation due to unknown traction coefficients so that it can cause crop damage. To address this problem, this work presents the development, application, and experimental results of a real-time receding horizon estimation and control (RHEC) framework applied to a fully autonomous mobile robotic platform to increase its steering accuracy. Recent advances in cheap and fast microprocessors, as well as advances in solution methods for nonlinear optimization problems, have made nonlinear receding horizon control (RHC) and receding horizon estimation (RHE) methods suitable for field robots that require high-frequency (milliseconds) updates. A real-time RHEC framework is developed and applied to a fully autonomous mobile robotic platform designed by the authors for in-field phenotyping applications in sorghum fields. Nonlinear RHE is used to estimate constrained states and parameters, and nonlinear RHC is designed based on an adaptive system model that contains time-varying parameters. The capabilities of the real-time RHEC framework are verified experimentally, and the results show an accurate tracking performance on a bumpy and wet soil field. Finally, the mean values of the Euclidean error and required computation time of the RHEC framework are equal to 0.0423 m and 0.88 ms, respectively.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Porting DMRG++ Scientific Application to OpenPOWER

With the rapidly changing microprocessor designs and architectural diversity (multi-cores, many-cores, accelerators) for the next generation HPC systems, scientific applications must adapt to the hardware, to exploit the different types of parallelism and resources available in the architecture. To get the benefit of all the in-node hardware threads, it is important to use a single programming model to map and coordinate the available work to the different heterogeneous execution units in the node (e.g., multi-core hardware threads (latency optimized), accelerators (bandwidth optimized), etc.).Our goal is to show that we can manage the node complexity of these systems by using OpenMP for in-node parallelization by exploiting different “programming styles” supported by OpenMP 4.5 to program CPU cores and accelerators. Finding out the suitable programming-style (e.g., SPMD style, multi-level tasks, accelerator programming, nested parallelism, or a combination of these) using the latest features of OpenMP to maximize performance and achieve performance portability across heterogeneous and homogeneous systems is still an open research problem.We developed a mini-application, Kronecker Product (KP), from the original DMRG++ application (sparse matrix algebra) computational motif to experiment with different OpenMP programming styles on an OpenPOWER architecture and present their results in this paper.

Chatterjee, Ronnie↗
DOE OSTI2018

Accelerating nuclear configuration interaction calculations through a preconditioned block iterative eigensolver

We describe a number of recently developed techniques for improving the performance of large-scalenuclear configuration interaction calculations on high performance parallel computers. We show thebenefit of using a preconditioned block iterative method to replace the Lanczos algorithm that hastraditionally been used to perform this type of computation. The rapid convergence of the block iterativemethod is achieved by a proper choice of starting guesses of the eigenvectors and the construction of aneffective preconditioner. These acceleration techniques take advantage of special structure of the nuclearconfiguration interaction problem which we discuss in detail. The use of a block method also allows usto improve the concurrency of the computation, and take advantage of the memory hierarchy of modernmicroprocessors to increase the arithmetic intensity of the computation relative to data movement. Wealso discuss the implementation details that are critical to achieving high performance on massivelyparallel multi-core supercomputers, and demonstrate that the new block iterative solver is two to threetimes faster than the Lanczos based algorithm for problems of moderate sizes on a Cray XC30 system.

Shao, Meiyue↗
DOE OSTI2015

Control algorithms for dynamic windows for residential buildings

This study analyzes the influence of control algorithms for dynamic windows on energy consumption, number of hours of retracted shades during daylight and shade operations. Five different control algorithms - heating/cooling, simple rules, perfect citizen, heat flow and predictive weather were developed and compared. The performance of a typical residential building was modeled with EnergyPlus. The program Widow was used to generate a Bi-Directional Distribution Function (BSDF) for two window configurations. The BSDF was exported to EnergyPlus using the IDF file format. The EMS feature in EnergyPlus was used to develop custom control algorithms. The calculations were made for four locations with diverse climate. The results showed that: (a) use of automated shading with proposed control algorithms can reduce the site energy in the range of 11.6-13.0%; in regard to source (primary) energy in the range of 20.1-21.6%, (b) the differences between algorithms in regard to energy savings are not high, (c) the differences between algorithms in regard to number of hours of retracted shades are visible, (e) the control algorithms have a strong influence on shade operation and oscillation of shade can occur, (d) additional energy consumption caused by motor, sensors and a small microprocessor in the analyzed case is very small.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Towards generic memory forensic framework for programmable logic controllers

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a microprocessor-based controller that is used to automate physical processes in critical infrastructure and various other industries and manufacturing sectors. Initially, PLCs were completely isolated from the Internet, and cyber security was not incorporated at the time of development. The introduction of industry 4.0 and the evolution of ICS systems to communicate over public IP addresses from the Internet enhanced productivity and efficiency, but Internet connectivity exposed the systems and their vulnerabilities, which led to an increase in cyber attacks. When a system is sabotaged/compromised, security analysts need to get to the root cause of the attack as quickly as possible to recover the system. To do so, memory forensic analysis is critical to provide a unique insight into the run-time memory activities and extract a reliable source of evidence. In this paper, we analyze the memory structure of the Schneider Electric Modicon M221 PLC. To build a memory profile, we reverse engineer the communication protocol and conduct differential analysis to gain knowledge about the structure of the memory and the low-level representation of control logic instructions. We then identify dynamic and static memory regions by modifying different project fields and conducting differential analysis, which allows us to identify boundaries of critical memory structures and extract important forensic artifacts that can be found in the memory. The Python implementation of the memory profile can help reduce the time and effort required for manual analysis in case of cyber incident or system failure.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Autonomous nondestructive evaluation of resistance spot welded joints

The application of non-destructive evaluation approaches has attracted strong interests in modern automotive industries. Here, we present an autonomous deep-computing framework to analyze raw videos from infrared systems and to predict weld nugget shape and size with unprecedented accuracy and speed. In a comprehensive training and testing experiment with 90 videos (seven sets of welding material stack-ups), a new method was developed to assemble sufficient datasets for neural network training. Our framework successfully predicts all the nugget shapes with F1 scores that range from 0.84 to 0.92. The total training time on Nvidia DGX station takes less than 10 min for each set of welding material stack-up. The real inference time of an individual dataset (with 30 video frames) takes about 0.005 s. The procedure and methods developed in the study can be applied to other image-based weld property prediction, as well as other manufacturing processes. Furthermore, our well-trained neural networks take limited memory resources (2.3 MB) and are suitable for embedded microprocessors for in-situ welding quality control as edge computing within an intelligent welding framework.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

A central role for cadherin signaling in cancer

Cadherins are homophilic adhesion molecules with important functions in cell-cell adhesion, tissue morphogenesis, and cancer. In epithelial cells, E-cadherin accumulates at areas of cell-cell contact, coalesces into macromolecular complexes to form the adherens junctions (AJs), and associates via accessory partners with a subcortical ring of actin to form the apical zonula adherens (ZA). As a master regulator of the epithelial phenotype, E-cadherin is essential for the overall maintenance and homeostasis of polarized epithelial monolayers. Its expression is regulated by a host of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms related to cancer, and its function is modulated by mechanical forces at the junctions, by direct binding and phosphorylation of accessory proteins collectively termed catenins, by endocytosis, recycling and degradation, as well as, by multiple signaling pathways and developmental processes, like the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Nuclear signaling mediated by the cadherin associated proteins β-catenin and p120 promotes growth, migration and pluripotency. Receptor tyrosine kinase, PI3K/AKT, Rho GTPase, and HIPPO signaling, are all regulated by E-cadherin mediated cell-cell adhesion. Finally, the recruitment of the microprocessor complex to the ZA by PLEKHA7, and the subsequent regulation of a small subset of miRNAs provide an additional mechanism by which the state of epithelial cell-cell adhesion affects translation of target genes to maintain the homeostasis of polarized epithelial monolayers. Collectively, the data indicate that loss of E-cadherin function, especially at the ZA, is a common and crucial step in cancer progression. - Highlights: • General review of the cadherin-catenin complex. • Nuclear signaling events regulated by β-catenin, p120, and E-cadherin. • Cadherin dysfunction in cancer. • Crosstalk between cadherin complexes and the RNAi machinery.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Parallelized Kalman-Filter-Based Reconstruction of Particle Tracks on Many-Core Processors and GPUs

For over a decade now, physical and energy constraints have limited clock speed improvements in commodity microprocessors. Instead, chipmakers have been pushed into producing lower-power, multi-core processors such as Graphical Processing Units (GPU), ARM CPUs, and Intel MICs. Broad-based efforts from manufacturers and developers have been devoted to making these processors user-friendly enough to perform general computations. However, extracting performance from a larger number of cores, as well as specialized vector or SIMD units, requires special care in algorithm design and code optimization. One of the most computationally challenging problems in high-energy particle experiments is finding and fitting the charged-particle tracks during event reconstruction. This is expected to become by far the dominant problem at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), for example. Today the most common track finding methods are those based on the Kalman filter. Experience with Kalman techniques on real tracking detector systems has shown that they are robust and provide high physics performance. This is why they are currently in use at the LHC, both in the trigger and offine. Previously we reported on the significant parallel speedups that resulted from our investigations to adapt Kalman filters to track fitting and track building on Intel Xeon and Xeon Phi. Here, we discuss our progresses toward the understanding of these processors and the new developments to port the Kalman filter to NVIDIA GPUs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗