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User's guide to computer programs JET 5A and CIVM-JET 5B to calculate the large elastic-plastic dynamically-induced deformations of multilayer partial and/or complete structural rings

These structural ring deflections lie essentially in one plane and, hence, are called two-dimensional (2-d). The structural rings may be complete or partial; the former may be regarded as representing a fragment containment ring while the latter may be viewed as a 2-d fragment-deflector structure. These two types of rings may be either free or supported in various ways (pinned-fixed, locally clamped, elastic-foundation supported, mounting-bracket supported, etc.). The initial geometry of each ring may be circular or arbitrarily curved; uniform-thickness or variable-thickness rings may be analyzed. Strain-hardening and strain-rate effects of initially-isotropic material are taken into account. An approximate analysis utilizing kinetic energy and momentum conservation relations is used to predict the after-impact velocities of each fragment and of the impact-affected region of the ring; this procedure is termed the collision-imparted velocity method (CIVM) and is used in the CIVM-JET 5 B program. This imparted-velocity information is used in conjunction with a finite-element structural response computation code to predict the transient, large-deflection, elastic-plastic responses of the ring. Similarly, the equations of motion of each fragment are solved in small steps in time. Provisions are made in the CIVM-JET 5B code to analyze structural ring response to impact attack by from 1 to 3 fragments, each with its own size, mass, translational velocity components, and rotational velocity. The effects of friction between each fragment and the impacted ring are included.

Wu, R. W. H.↗

Efficient Langevin dynamics for “noisy” forces

Efficient Boltzmann-sampling using first-principles methods is challenging for extended systems due to the steep scaling of electronic structure methods with the system size. Additionally, stochastic approaches provide a gentler system-size dependency at the cost of introducing “noisy” forces, which could limit the efficiency of the sampling. When the forces are deterministic, the first-order Langevin dynamics (FOLD) offers efficient sampling by combining a well-chosen preconditioning matrix S with a time-step-bias-mitigating propagator [G. Mazzola and S. Sorella, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 015703 (2017)]. However, when forces are noisy, S is set equal to the force-covariance matrix, a procedure that severely limits the efficiency and the stability of the sampling. Here, we develop a new, general, optimal, and stable sampling approach for FOLD under noisy forces. We apply it for silicon nanocrystals treated with stochastic density functional theory and show efficiency improvements by an order-of-magnitude.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Peridynamics and surrogate modeling of pressure-driven well stimulation

In this work we use the peridynamics theory of solid mechanics to simulate fracture in an annular rock domain subject to an in-situ stress and create surrogate models that predict the area of the resulting cracks. Peridynamics is a non-local formulation of continuum mechanics that naturally accommodates material discontinuities. Furthermore, unlike other fracture modeling techniques there is no need to provide information about the crack path. We utilize the peridynamics code Peridigm and take a two-stage approach to fracture modeling. First an implicit solve is performed to compute the in-situ stress state. We then execute an explicit solve where a pressure loading designed to emulate fluid-driven hydraulic fracture is applied at the borehole and transmitted to the pre-stressed rock. We present results from polynomial and single and multi-level Gaussian process surrogate models constructed from a sampling study of the peridynamics model. The surrogates predict crack area given a measure of the in-situ stress anisotropy and rise time and amplitude of the pressure loading. These surrogates take a minuscule fraction of peridynamics model's running time to evaluate and are a step towards enabling advanced optimization and uncertainty quantification workflows that require many model evaluations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

PbS/CdS Quantum Dot Room-Temperature Single-Emitter Spectroscopy Reaches the Telecom O and S Bands via an Engineered Stability

We synthesized PbS/CdS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) to have functional single-emitter properties for room-temperature, solid-state operation in the telecom O and S bands. Two shell-growth methods–cation exchange and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR)–were employed to prepare QD heterostructures with shells of 2–16 monolayers. PbS/CdS QDs were sufficiently bright and stable to resolve photoluminescence (PL) spectra representing both bands from single nanocrystals using standard detection methods, and for a QD emitting in the O-band a second-order correlation function showed strong photon antibunching, important steps toward demonstrating the utility of lead chalcogenide QDs as single-photon emitters (SPEs). Irrespective of type, few telecom-SPEs exist that are capable of such room-temperature operation. Access to single-QD spectra enabled a direct assessment of spectral line width, which was ~70–90 meV compared to much broader ensemble spectra (~300 meV). We show inhomogeneous broadening results from dispersity in PbS core sizes that increases dramatically with extended cation exchange. Quantum yields (QYs) are negatively impacted at thick shells (>6 monolayers) and, especially, by SILAR-growth conditions. Time-resolved PL measurements revealed that, with SILAR, initially single-exponential PL-decays transition to biexponential, with opening of nonradiative carrier-recombination channels. Radiative decay times are, overall, longer for core/shell QDs compared to PbS cores, which we demonstrate can be partially attributed to some core/shell sizes occupying a quasi-type II electron–hole localization regime. Finally, we demonstrate that shell engineering and the use of lower laser-excitation powers can afford significantly suppressed blinking and photobleaching. However, dependence on shell thickness comes at a cost of less-than-optimal brightness, with implications for both materials and experimental design

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Standard Practices for Usage of Inductive Magnetic Field Probes with Application to Electric Propulsion Testing

Inductive magnetic field probes (also known as B-dot probes and sometimes as B-probes or magnetic probes) are useful for performing measurements in electric space thrusters and various plasma accelerator applications where a time-varying magnetic field is present. Magnetic field probes have proven to be a mainstay in diagnosing plasma thrusters where changes occur rapidly with respect to time, providing the means to measure the magnetic fields produced by time-varying currents and even an indirect measure of the plasma current density through the application of Ampère's law. Examples of applications where this measurement technique has been employed include pulsed plasma thrusters and quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters. The Electric Propulsion Technical Committee (EPTC) of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) was asked to assemble a Committee on Standards (CoS) for Electric Propulsion Testing. The assembled CoS was tasked with developing Standards and Recommended Practices for various diagnostic techniques used in the evaluation of plasma thrusters. These include measurements that can yield either global information related to a thruster and its performance or detailed, local data related to the specific physical processes occurring in the plasma. This paper presents a summary of the standard, describing the preferred methods for fabrication, calibration, and usage of inductive magnetic field probes for use in diagnosing plasma thrusters. Inductive magnetic field probes (also called B-dot probes throughout this document) are commonly used in electric propulsion (EP) research and testing to measure unsteady magnetic fields produced by time-varying currents. The B-dot probe is relatively simple in construction, and requires minimal cost, making it a low-cost technique that is readily accessible to most researchers. While relatively simple, the design of a B-dot probe is not trivial and there are many opportunities for errors in probe construction, calibration, and usage, and in the post-processing of data that is produced by the probe. There are typically several ways in which each of these steps can be approached, and different applications may require more or less vigorous attention to various issues.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗

TuckerMPI: A Parallel C++/MPI Software Package for Large-scale Data Compression via the Tucker Tensor Decomposition

With this study, our goal is compression of massive-scale grid-structured data, such as the multi-terabyte output of a high-fidelity computational simulation. For such data sets, we have developed a new software package called TuckerMPI, a parallel C++/MPI software package for compressing distributed data. The approach is based on treating the data as a tensor, i.e., a multidimensional array, and computing its truncated Tucker decomposition, a higher-order analogue to the truncated singular value decomposition of a matrix. The result is a low-rank approximation of the original tensor-structured data. Compression efficiency is achieved by detecting latent global structure within the data, which we contrast to most compression methods that are focused on local structure. In this work, we describe TuckerMPI, our implementation of the truncated Tucker decomposition, including details of the data distribution and in-memory layouts, the parallel and serial implementations of the key kernels, and analysis of the storage, communication, and computational costs. We test the software on 4.5 and 6.7 terabyte data sets distributed across 100 s of nodes (1,000 s of MPI processes), achieving compression ratios between 100 and 200,000×, which equates to 99--99.999% compression (depending on the desired accuracy) in substantially less time than it would take to even read the same dataset from a parallel file system. Moreover, we show that our method also allows for reconstruction of partial or down-sampled data on a single node, without a parallel computer so long as the reconstructed portion is small enough to fit on a single machine, e.g., in the instance of reconstructing/visualizing a single down-sampled time step or computing summary statistics. The code is available at https://gitlab.com/tensors/TuckerMPI.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Application of Modified Meshgraphnets for Subsurface Prediction during CO2 Sequestration

In the face of the increasingly dire consequences of anthropogenic climate change, capturing and storing carbon dioxide is paramount. However, several impediments exist to the safe and effective subsurface storage of CO2, such as cost of transport, identification of suitable sites for subsurface storage, and assessment of long-term risk from storage in subsurface aquifers. Accurate subsurface modeling is necessary to ensure that CO2 storage is both safe and effective. Still, such modeling has traditionally required either substantial time and computational power (numerical simulation) or a substantial amount of pre-existing data for training (machine learning models). Additionally, these models lack flexibility in dealing with both changes in discretization of the input data and generalizability beyond the data on which they are trained. In order to address these issues, this research applies graph neural networks (GNNs) to predict subsurface saturation and pressure during CO₂ injection in a model of the Illinois Basin-Decatur Project (IBDP). GNNs provide a flexible, intuitive method for representing and manipulating complex unstructured data, which is often found in many practical domain problems such as fluid flow and subsurface characterization. These unstructured grids are easily represented in GNNs by representing spatially-localized features such as permeability, porosity, saturation, and pressure as nodes in a graph and relationships between these properties as edges connecting these nodes. This research applies a specific GNN model called MeshGraphNets (MGN) to model the change in CO2 saturation and pressure over a 50-month time period (36 months of injection, 14 months post-injection). The MGN model leverages a message passing process that allows the network to learn both the spatial and temporal dynamics of this system simultaneously. Additionally, training on a limited dataset (64 realizations, 20 time points each) resulted in a high degree of accuracy in saturation prediction both within the same timeframe as the training (20 months, 0.039 average RMSE) and when projecting out to the end of injection (36 months, 0.053 average RMSE). Temporal predictions such as those generated by MGNs and other similar models are prone to accumulated error over time; in order to address this, a multi-step rollout (MSR) training process was applied to calculate training loss. This method mimics the forward prediction during inference by “rolling out” multiple time points in a single training step using the previous prediction as input to the MGN model. By calculating the loss several time steps forward from the current prediction, the model is forced to find a more stable state over time. Application of MSR to the MGN model resulted in an average 15% reduction in inference error over time during forward prediction. This study showcases the immense potential of GNNs as a game-changing methodology for predicting pressure and saturation evolution in CCS projects, ultimately paving the way for more sustainable and effective carbon storage solutions. Presentation prepared for the 2024 AiChE Annual Meeting, October 27 to November 1 2024, San Diego, CA.

Holcomb, Paul↗

Evaluation of NASA SPoRT's Pseudo-Geostationary Lightning Mapper Products in the 2011 Spring Program

NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) program is a contributing partner with the GOES-R Proving Ground (PG) preparing forecasters to understand and utilize the unique products that will be available in the GOES-R era. This presentation emphasizes SPoRT s actions to prepare the end user community for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). This preparation is a collaborative effort with SPoRT's National Weather Service partners, the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), and the Hazardous Weather Testbed s Spring Program. SPoRT continues to use its effective paradigm of matching capabilities to forecast problems through collaborations with our end users and working with the developers at NSSL to create effective evaluations and visualizations. Furthermore, SPoRT continues to develop software plug-ins so that these products will be available to forecasters in their own decision support system, AWIPS and eventually AWIPS II. In 2009, the SPoRT program developed the original pseudo geostationary lightning mapper (PGLM) flash extent product to demonstrate what forecasters may see with GLM. The PGLM replaced the previous GLM product and serves as a stepping-stone until the AWG s official GLM proxy is ready. The PGLM algorithm is simple and can be applied to any ground-based total lightning network. For 2011, the PGLM used observations from four ground-based networks (North Alabama, Kennedy Space Center, Oklahoma, and Washington D.C.). While the PGLM is not a true proxy product, it is intended as a tool to train forecasters about total lightning as well as foster discussions on product visualizations and incorporating GLM-resolution data into forecast operations. The PGLM has been used in 2010 and 2011 and is likely to remain the primary lightning training tool for the GOES-R program for the near future. This presentation will emphasize the feedback received during the 2011 Spring Program. This will discuss several topics. Based on feedback from the 2010 Spring Program, SPoRT created two variant PGLM products, which NSSL produced locally and provided in real-time within AWIPS for 2011. The first is the flash initiation density (FID) product, which creates a gridded display showing the number of flashes that originated in each 8 8 km grid box. The second product is the maximum flash density (MFD). This shows the highest PGLM value for each grid point over a specific period of time, ranging from 30 to 120 minutes. In addition to the evaluation of these two new products, the evaluation of the PGLM itself will be covered. The presentation will conclude with forecaster feedback for additional improvements requested for future evaluations, such as within the 2012 Spring Program.

Stano, Geoffrey T.↗

Analytical Techniques for Assessing Gateway and Other Spacecraft Antenna Line-of-Sight

NASA’s Artemis program is committed to landing the next man and the first woman on the Moon by 2024. A critical piece of infrastructure for the mission, the Gateway will inaugurate a sustainable crewed presence beyond low-Earth orbit in cis-lunar space and serve as a staging point for a lunar landing system. The Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit of the Gateway offers numerous operational benefits in terms of its Earth access via the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the degree of lunar visibility and surface access it provides, and favorable conditions for station-keeping. To minimize burns during station-keeping and conserve propellant, the Gateway will continually align itself to a solar pressure equilibrium attitude with the Sun; this is convenient for solar array orientation and power generation, but causes difficulties in terms of communication line-of-sight with the Earth, Moon, and visiting vehicles, which appear to be continually rotating about the Gateway’s local frame. A fixed antenna on the Gateway is continually subject to a moving target and can find itself obstructed by the Gateway’s own geometry frequently if not placed carefully. To understand the performance of either Earth-pointing or Moon-pointing antenna placements for a given Gateway geometry, a transient solar system simulation of the Gateway is used to step through orbital ephemeris data and determine the periods in which line-of-sight to a chosen target is achieved and lost. Antenna placements can be tested in the simulation and optimized to increase the average line-of-sight exposure to the target, while also minimizing the maximum duration cut-out in line-of-sight communication experienced; long durations without a successful communication link could pose threats to operations, safety, and mission success. It may be necessary to deviate from the Gateway’s solar pressure equilibrium attitude for short periods of time in order to continue a successful line-of-sight link to a chosen target. Communication coverage spheres can offer insight into what these necessary attitude adjustments may be and are generated by using a 3D mesh of the Gateway and an implementation of the Möller-Trumbore intersection algorithm. This paper outlines the analytical techniques used to perform such antenna placements on the Gateway, offering examples of how line-of-sight strength can be enhanced with an understanding of the Gateway geometry and attitude constraints. These techniques have had direct impact on the writing of communication requirements for NASA and international partner-owned Gateway elements.

Kennedy, William J.↗

Analytical Techniques for Assessing Gateway and Other Spacecraft Antenna Line-of-Sight

NASA’s Artemis program is committed to landing the next man and the first woman on the Moon by 2024. A critical piece of infrastructure for the mission, the Gateway will inaugurate a sustainable crewed presence beyond low-Earth orbit in cis-lunar space and serve as a staging point for a lunar landing system. The Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit of the Gateway offers numerous operational benefits in terms of its Earth access via the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the degree of lunar visibility and surface access it provides, and favorable conditions for station-keeping. To minimize burns during station-keeping and conserve propellant, the Gateway will continually align itself to a solar pressure equilibrium attitude with the Sun; this is convenient for solar array orientation and power generation, but causes difficulties in terms of communication line-of-sight with the Earth, Moon, and visiting vehicles, which appear to be continually rotating about the Gateway’s local frame. A fixed antenna on the Gateway is continually subject to a moving target and can find itself obstructed by the Gateway’s own geometry frequently if not placed carefully. To understand the performance of either Earth-pointing or Moon-pointing antenna placements for a given Gateway geometry, a transient solar system simulation of the Gateway is used to step through orbital ephemeris data and determine the periods in which line-of-sight to a chosen target is achieved and lost. Antenna placements can be tested in the simulation and optimized to increase the average line-of-sight exposure to the target, while also minimizing the maximum duration cut-out in line-of-sight communication experienced; long durations without a successful communication link could pose threats to operations, safety, and mission success. It may be necessary to deviate from the Gateway’s solar pressure equilibrium attitude for short periods of time in order to continue a successful line-of-sight link to a chosen target. Communication coverage spheres can offer insight into what these necessary attitude adjustments may be and are generated by using a 3D mesh of the Gateway and an implementation of the Möller-Trumbore intersection algorithm. This paper outlines the analytical techniques used to perform such antenna placements on the Gateway, offering examples of how line-of-sight strength can be enhanced with an understanding of the Gateway geometry and attitude constraints. These techniques have had direct impact on the writing of communication requirements for NASA and international partner-owned Gateway elements.

Kennedy, William J.↗

2020 International Astronautical Congress Conference Presentation - ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING GATEWAY AND OTHER SPACECRAFT ANTENNA LINE-OF-SIGHT FOR THE ARTEMIS PROGRAM

NASA’s Artemis program is committed to landing the next man and the first woman on the Moon by 2024. The Gateway, a critical piece of infrastructure for the long-term Artemis mission profiles, will inaugurate a sustainable crewed presence beyond low-Earth orbit in cis-lunar space and serve as a staging point for a lunar landing system. The Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit of the Gateway offers numerous operational benefits in terms of its Earth access via the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, its degree of Earth and lunar visibility, the versatile surface access it provides, and favorable conditions for station-keeping. To minimize burns during station-keeping and conserve propellant, the Gateway will continually align itself to a solar pressure equilibrium attitude with the Sun; this is convenient for solar array orientation and power generation, but causes difficulties in terms of communication line-of-sight with the Earth, Moon, and visiting vehicles, which appear to be continually rotating about the Gateway’s local frame. A fixed antenna on the Gateway is continually subject to a moving target and can find itself obstructed by the Gateway’s own geometry frequently if not placed carefully. To understand the performance of either Earth-pointing or Moon-pointing antenna placements for a given Gateway geometry, a transient solar system simulation of the Gateway is used to step through orbital ephemeris data and determine the periods in which line-of-sight to a chosen target is achieved and lost. Antenna placements can be tested in the simulation and optimized to increase the average line-of-sight exposure to the target, while also minimizing the maximum duration drop-out in line-of-sight communication experienced; long durations without a successful communication link could pose threats to operations, safety, and mission success. It may be necessary to deviate from the Gateway’s solar pressure equilibrium attitude for short periods of time in order to continue a successful line-of-sight link to a chosen target. Communication coverage spheres can offer insight into what these necessary attitude adjustments may be and are generated by using a 3D mesh of the Gateway and an implementation of the Möller-Trumbore intersection algorithm. This paper outlines the analytical techniques used to perform such antenna placements on the Gateway, offering examples of how line-of-sight strength can be enhanced with an understanding of the Gateway geometry and attitude constraints. These techniques have had direct impact on the writing of communication requirements for NASA and international partner-owned Gateway elements.

Gateway↗

Numerical Modeling of Atmospheric Rime Ice Accretion on an Airfoil Using an Eulerian Approach

This paper presents an approach to numerically simulate the inherently unsteady rime ice accretion problem on a two-dimensional airfoil and elucidate the associated variations under different icing conditions. The airflow field and the water impingement on the airfoil are obtained based on an Eulerian two-phase model. A dynamic mesh strategy is employed to unsteadily account for the changes in the ice profile and its impact on the air and droplet flow by continuously reconstructing the computational grid at each time-step through smoothing and layering mechanisms. All main icing modules including the airflow field, droplet trajectory, icing thickness profile, and mesh management are fully coupled within the same computational framework without resorting to any external tools. Classical icing theory is employed to model the rime ice roughness, and it is assumed that the ice accretes in a direction normal to the airfoil surface. The governing Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) conservation equations along with the energy and continuity equations are solved to produce the velocity and temperature fields. A convective film heat transfer coefficient is computed based on the surface heat flux and a recovery temperature which takes into account the dissipative heat release in the boundary layer in the vicinity of the airfoil surface. With the implemented strategy and calculating the convective heat transfer coefficient, the water film thickness is also calculated along with the ice shape. Furthermore, the model is validated by comparing the local collection efficiency distribution and ice shape with experimental data, and the results show that the implemented approach provides acceptable predictions of ice accretion profiles and rates.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Solar Resource and Infrastructure Assessment for the Town of Westhampton

This report is a solar resource and infrastructure assessment for the town of Westhampton, Massachusetts. The assessment was funded through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Solar Energy Innovation Network (NREL SEIN) Solar in Rural Communities Program, as part of a project to develop a Community-Informed Proactive Solar Siting and Financing Model. As a first step, the project lead organization, UMass Clean Energy Extension prepared an assessment of existing infrastructure, resources, and potential solar development opportunities in participating municipalities, including Westhampton. This assessment was designed to describe relevant bylaws and infrastructure within the town, identify the types of solar facilities that could be developed, and quantify the total space available for each type of facility. In this report, we reviewed existing electricity grid infrastructure, and the potential to interconnect additional solar facilities. At the present time, both distribution lines providing electricity to Westhampton are oversaturated with authorized and proposed solar projects, and cannot accommodate additional solar projects to interconnect to the grid. Future upgrades could potentially free up additional capacity for new, large projects. Meanwhile, most three-phase lines could likely accommodate additional small-to-medium scale projects (under 200 kW), and most single-phase lines could likely accommodate additional projects under 50 kW in size. This description represents the local grid infrastructure as it is - planning for future scenarios of development could include recommendations for areas of grid infrastructure improvement to allow siting of distributed generation in locations preferred by the community. Future scenarios may also include the addition energy storage and other "non-wires alternatives."

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Incorporation of a Chemical Equilibrium Equation of State into LOCI-Chem

Renewed interest in development of advanced high-speed transport, reentry vehicles and propulsion systems has led to a resurgence of research into high speed aerodynamics. As this flow regime is typically dominated by hot reacting gaseous flow, efficient models for the characteristic chemical activity are necessary for accurate and cost effective analysis and design of aerodynamic vehicles that transit this regime. The LOCI-Chem code recently developed by Ed Luke at Mississippi State University for NASA/MSFC and used by NASA/MSFC and SSC represents an important step in providing an accurate, efficient computational tool for the simulation of reacting flows through the use of finite-rate kinetics [3]. Finite rate chemistry however, requires the solution of an additional N-1 species mass conservation equations with source terms involving reaction kinetics that are not fully understood. In the equilibrium limit, where the reaction rates approach infinity, these equations become very stiff. Through the use of the assumption of local chemical equilibrium the set of governing equations is reduced back to the usual gas dynamic equations, and thus requires less computation, while still allowing for the inclusion of reacting flow phenomenology. The incorporation of a chemical equilibrium equation of state module into the LOCI-Chem code was the primary objective of the current research. The major goals of the project were: (1) the development of a chemical equilibrium composition solver, and (2) the incorporation of chemical equilibrium solver into LOCI-Chem. Due to time and resource constraints, code optimization was not considered unless it was important to the proper functioning of the code.

Cox, Carey F.↗

Tornado occurrences related to overshooting cloud-top heights as determined from ATS pictures

A sequence of ATS 3 pictures including the development history of large anvil clouds near Salina, Kansas was enlarged by NASA into 8X negatives which were used to obtain the best quality prints by mixing scan lines in 8 steps to minimize checker-board patterns. These images resulted in the best possible resolution, permitting use to compute the heights of overshooting tops above environmental anvil levels based on cloud shadow relationships along with the techniques of lunar topographic mapping. Of 39 heights computed, 6 were within 15 miles of reported positions of 3 tornadoes. It was found that the tornado proximity tops were mostly less than 5000 ft, with one exception of 7000 ft, suggesting that tornadoes are most likely to occur when overshooting height decreases. In order to simulate surface vortices induced by cloud-scale rotation and updraft fields, a laboratory model was constructed. The model experiment has shown that the rotation or updraft field induces a surface vortex but their combination does prevent the formation of the surface vortex. This research leads to a conclusion that the determination of the cloud-top topography and its time variation is of extreme importance in predicting severe local storms for a period of 0 to 6 hours.

Fujita, T. T.↗

Volumetric Rendering on Wavelet-Based Adaptive Grid

Numerical modeling of physical phenomena frequently involves processes across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. In the last two decades, the advancements in wavelet-based numerical methodologies to solve partial differential equations, combined with the unique properties of wavelet analysis to resolve localized structures of the solution on dynamically adaptive computational meshes, make it feasible to perform large-scale numerical simulations of a variety of physical systems on a dynamically adaptive computational mesh that changes both in space and time. Volumetric visualization of the solution is an essential part of scientific computing, yet the existing volumetric visualization techniques do not take full advantage of multi-resolution wavelet analysis and are not fully tailored for visualization of a compressed solution on the wavelet-based adaptive computational mesh. Our objective is to explore the alternatives for the visualization of time-dependent data on space-time varying adaptive mesh using volume rendering while capitalizing on the available sparse data representation. Two alternative formulations are explored. The first one is based on volumetric ray casting of multi-scale datasets in wavelet space. Rather than working with the wavelets at the finest possible resolution, a partial inverse wavelet transform is performed as a preprocessing step to obtain scaling functions on a uniform grid at a user-prescribed resolution. As a result, a solution in physical space is represented by a superposition of scaling functions on a coarse regular grid and wavelets on an adaptive mesh. An efficient and accurate ray casting algorithm is based just on these coarse scaling functions. Additional details are added during the ray tracing by taking an appropriate number of wavelets into account based on support overlap with the interpolation point, wavelet coefficient magnitude, and other characteristics, such as opacity accumulation (front to back ordering) and deviation from frontal viewing direction. The second approach is based on complementing of wavelet-based adaptive mesh to the traditional Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) mesh. Both algorithms are illustrated and compared to the existing volume visualization software for Rayleigh-Benard thermal convection and electron density data sets in terms of rendering time and visual quality for different data compression of both wavelet-based and AMR adaptive meshes.

Vezolainen, Alexei V.↗

Developing Residential Energy Usage Baselines and Energy Efficiency Options

FCPC has been a leader in energy conservation not only in the State of Wisconsin, but nationally, as well. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked FCPC 11th in its Top 30 Local Government List as a result of the extensive measures the Tribe has taken toward its goal of achieving 100% carbon-neutral energy independence. Some of these efforts include the reduction of the Tribal government workweek to four days instead of five, the purchase of renewable energy certificates to more than offset the Tribe’s annual energy consumption, the installation of solar photovoltaic systems, and the completion of energy audits of Tribal government facilities. Until now, FCPC has focused on energy efficiency options for government and enterprise buildings, but it is now time to broaden the scope of energy efficiency to include the Tribe’s residential community. The Tribe’s Energy Working Group has identified the completion of home energy audits as one of its more imminent goals, as formal energy evaluations have yet to be completed on residential dwellings on the FCPC reservation. Tribal leadership is already looking ahead to the anticipated outcome of these energy audits and has taken steps to develop a cost sharing program that will assist Tribal homeowners to implement identified efficiency options as a result of this project.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Accurate assessment of land–atmosphere coupling in climate models requires high-frequency data output

Land–atmosphere (L–A) interactions are important for understanding convective processes, climate feedbacks, the development and perpetuation of droughts, heatwaves, pluvials, and other land-centered climate anomalies. Local L–A coupling (LoCo) metrics capture relevant L–A processes, highlighting the impact of soil and vegetation states on surface flux partitioning and the impact of surface fluxes on boundary layer (BL) growth and development and the entrainment of air above the BL. A primary goal of the Climate Process Team in the Coupling Land and Atmospheric Subgrid Parameterizations (CLASP) project is parameterizing and characterizing the impact of subgrid heterogeneity in global and regional Earth system models (ESMs) to improve the connection between land and atmospheric states and processes. A critical step in achieving that aim is the incorporation of L–A metrics, especially LoCo metrics, into climate model diagnostic process streams. However, because land–atmosphere interactions span timescales of minutes (e.g., turbulent fluxes), hours (e.g., BL growth and decay), days (e.g., soil moisture memory), and seasons (e.g., variability in behavioral regimes between soil moisture and latent heat flux), with multiple processes of interest happening in different geographic regions at different times of year, there is not a single metric that captures all the modes, means, and methods of interaction between the land and the atmosphere. And while monthly means of most of the LoCo-relevant variables are routinely saved from ESM simulations, data storage constraints typically preclude routine archival of the hourly data that would enable the calculation of all LoCo metrics. Here, we outline a reasonable data request that would allow for adequate characterization of sub-daily coupling processes between the land and the atmosphere, preserving enough sub-daily output to describe, analyze, and better understand L–A coupling in modern climate models. A secondary request involves embedding calculations within the models to determine mean properties in and above the BL to further improve characterization of model behavior. Higher-frequency model output will (i) allow for more direct comparison with observational field campaigns on process-relevant timescales, (ii) enable demonstration of inter-model spread in L–A coupling processes, and (iii) aid in targeted identification of sources of deficiencies and opportunities for improvement of the models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗