Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “analysis and visualization”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 559 records · Page 31

Lightfall v0.0.1

Lightfall is a desktop application for synchrotron beamline instrument control, data acquisition, and live analysis at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). Built on Python and Qt, it provides a native graphical interface for operating beamline hardware, configuring and executing experimental scans, and visualizing results in real time. Key features include direct integration with EPICS control systems, a built-in electronic logbook, remote beamline access over secure tunnels, and an interprocess communication (IPC) architecture that coordinates with external analysis applications via ZMQ and EPICS process variables. This IPC approach allows Lightfall to orchestrate specialized analysis tools—including GPU-accelerated streaming correlators—without embedding them, avoiding the dependency conflicts common in monolithic scientific software platforms. Compared to prior approaches such as Xi-CAM's plugin-based architecture, Lightfall's design cleanly separates instrument control from domain-specific analysis, enabling feedback-driven acquisition where live analysis results can adjust scan parameters during an experiment. Its native Qt interface provides responsive performance for real-time data visualization that web-based alternatives struggle to match. Lightfall is designed for use by beamline scientists and staff operating synchrotron instruments at national user facilities.

Pandolfi, Ronald [Lawrence Berkeley National Labor↗

An open-source data storage and visualization platform for collaborative qubit control

Developing collaborative research platforms for quantum bit control is crucial for driving innovation in the field, as they enable the exchange of ideas, data, and implementation to achieve more impactful outcomes. Furthermore, considering the high costs associated with quantum experimental setups, collaborative environments are vital for maximizing resource utilization efficiently. However, the lack of dedicated data management platforms presents a significant obstacle to progress, highlighting the necessity for essential assistive tools tailored for this purpose. Current qubit control systems are unable to handle complicated management of extensive calibration data and do not support effectively visualizing intricate quantum experiment outcomes. In this paper, we introduce Qubit Control Storage and Visualization ( QubiCSV ), a platform specifically designed to meet the demands of quantum computing research, focusing on the storage and analysis of calibration and characterization data in qubit control systems. As an open-source tool, QubiCSV facilitates efficient data management of quantum computing, providing data versioning capabilities for data storage and allowing researchers and programmers to interact with qubits in real time. The insightful visualization are developed to interpret complex quantum experiments and optimize qubit performance. QubiCSV not only streamlines the handling of qubit control system data but also improves the user experience with intuitive visualization features, making it a valuable asset for researchers in the quantum computing domain.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

SynopFrame: Multiscale time-dependent visual abstraction framework for analyzing DNA nanotechnology simulations

We present an open-source framework, SynopFrame, that allows DNA nanotechnology (DNA-nano) experts to analyze and understand molecular dynamics simulation trajectories of their designs. We use a multiscale multi-dimensional abstraction space, connect the representations to a projected conformational space plot of the structure’s temporal sequence, and thus enable experts to analyze the dynamics of their structural designs and, specifically, failure cases of the assembly. In addition, our time-dependent abstraction representation allows the biologists, for the first time in a smooth and structurally clear way, to identify and observe temporal transitions of a DNA-nano design from one configuration to another, and to highlight important periods of the simulation for further analysis. We realize SynopFrame as a dashboard of the different synchronized 3D spatial and 2D schematic visual representations, with a color overlay to show essential properties such as the status of hydrogen bonds. The linking of the spatial, schematic, and abstract views ensures that users can effectively analyze the high-frequency motion. We also categorize the status of the hydrogen bonds into a new format to allow us to color-encode it and overlay it on the representations. To demonstrate the utility of SynopFrame, we describe example usage scenarios and report user feedback.

Abstraction space↗

MSTAR2019 Code Description and User's Manual

This report describes an ideal cascade model of uranium enrichment that includes side feed and side product streams and flexible input options. It is based on the original MSTAR model developed by Ed Von Halle and implemented in a Visual Basic code. The current version allows the user to specify integer numbers of stages or the stage numbers of external flows instead of assays in those flows. The computational engine is written in FORTRAN-90 and is invoked by a user-friendly GUI written in C++. This version of MSTAR has been demonstrated to operate on Linux, Mac, and Windows platforms, and has undergone significant testing and quality analysis. A number of examples are presented to illustrate the operation of the code and guide the user. The code is extremely fast, and results are returned immediately. The input and output have been specially configured for analysis by the environmental sampling team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A number of additional output features are included to assist the user in visualizing computational results and downloading data to files for use in other analysis software.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Computed Tomography Scanning and Petrophysical Measurements of the Lively Grove #1 Well Core

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia were used to characterize core from the Lively Grove #1 Well (API 121892494700), drilled near Marissa, Washington County, Illinois. Core from the well was obtained as part of the Illinois Storage Corridor’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) project (DE FE0031892). The primary impetus of this work was to capture a detailed digital representation of the core from the Lively Grove #1 Well. The collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) NETL and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) enables other research entities to access information about this potential carbon storage location and Cambro-Ordovician Storage Complex formations of the Illinois Basin. The resultant datasets are presented in this report and can be accessed from NETL’s Energy Data eXchange (EDX) online system. All equipment and techniques used were non-destructive, enabling future examinations and analyses to be performed on these cores. Fractures, discontinuities, and millimeter-scale features were readily detectable with the medical CT scanner-acquired images. Imaging with the NETL medical CT scanner was performed on entire cores. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), gamma density, and magnetic susceptibility measurements from the MSCL were useful in identifying zones of interest for potential future analysis. Higher-resolution industrial and micro-CT images were acquired from selected zones along the depth of the core to visualize the structure in higher detail. The ability to quickly identify key areas for more detailed study with higher resolution will save time and resources in future studies. The combination of methods used provides a multi-scale analysis of the core; with the resulting macro- and micro-descriptions relevant to many subsurface energy related examinations traditionally performed at NETL.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Computed Tomography Scanning and Petrophysical Measurements of Eastern Williston Basin Twin Buttes and Hagel Formations

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia, were used to characterize core from two wells that represent coal resources across North Dakota. These include the MC23080C Well in Mercer County and the 23-B001 Well in Oliver County. The primary impetus of this work was to capture a detailed digital representation of the core from the MC23080C and 23-B001 Wells. The collaboration between the NETL and the Energy and Environment Research Center (EERC) enables other research entities to access information about this potential carbon ore, rare earth, and critical mineral resource plays in the Williston Basin. All equipment and techniques used were non-destructive, enabling future examinations and analyses to be performed on these cores. Fractures, discontinuities, and millimeter-scale features were readily detectable with the medical CT scanner acquired images. Imaging with the NETL medical CT scanner was performed on entire cores. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), gamma density, and magnetic susceptibility measurements from the MSCL were useful in identifying zones of interest for potential future analysis. Higher-resolution industrial and micro-CT images were acquired from selected zones along the depth of the core to visualize the structure in higher detail. The ability to quickly identify key areas for more detailed study with higher resolution will save time and resources in future studies. The combination of methods used provides a multi-scale analysis of the core, with the resulting macro- and micro-descriptions relevant to many subsurface energy-related examinations traditionally performed at NETL.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Unveiling real‐time crystallization with nucleators and thickeners for zinc nitrate hexahydrate as a phase change material

Abstract The primary challenge of salt hydrates as phase change materials (PCMs) is their high degree of supercooling (∆ T Sup ). Past studies have attempted to alleviate ∆ T Sup by incorporating nucleators possessing similar lattice structure, without a thorough analysis of the nucleator/PCM interactions. This work presents a novel in‐operando study to visually observe the crystallization process of zinc nitrate hexahydrate (ZNH) in real‐time using suitable nucleators and a thickener. We have introduced a new dataset where zinc acetate dihydrate (ZnAc.2H) has been employed as an additive to ZNH for thermal energy storage (TES). According to our in‐operando study, ZnAc.2H underwent hydrolysis in molten ZNH to precipitate needle‐like ZnO particles, which acted as nucleators for the PCM. In the absence of a thickener, the crystal propagation of ZNH exhibited a preferential directional tendency, whereas incorporation of thickener made the phase change process uniform along all directions. Self‐hydrolysis of ZnAc.2H generated excess water which caused the undesirable effect of broadening the endothermic peak. The addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) thickener could restrict the activity of excess water and reduce the broadening of the endothermic peak. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that 5 wt% ZnAc.2H additive and 2 wt% CMC thickener added to ZNH can considerably improve the TES properties of ZNH PCM (∆ H Fusion 125.9 J·g −1 , ∆ T Sup 3.0°C, melting point [M.P.] 29.0°C). Our in‐operando studies can unveil real‐time phase change behaviors to better design PCM systems with desired characteristics.

Chakraborty, Anirban↗

Potential annual daylighting performance of a high-efficiency daylight redirecting slat system

While the primary role of window attachments is often to moderate glare and solar heat gains, they are also able to provide additional daylight to interior spaces. For this purpose, a variety of daylight-redirecting window systems have been developed over the past 150 years. Fixed reflective systems (slats/light shelves) or prismatic systems that rely on total internal reflection work well under specific solar conditions, but generally sacrifice performance over a much wider range of incident solar angles and sky conditions. Dynamic systems - typically reflective slats - are more responsive to sun angles but have not been able to achieve optimal performance for glare and daylight redirection efficiency. A previous investigation into an adjustable, reflective blind concept first conceived of in the late 1970s showed promise but was not reduced to practice due to lack of adequate simulation and analysis tools. In this paper, this concept is further developed and its energy and visual comfort performance evaluated for four mid-latitude, temperate climates using ray-tracing simulation techniques. Overall, results indicate significant potential lighting energy savings when compared with conventional automated reflective blinds (2.1–4.9 kWh/(m 2 ·a), or 14%–42%, depending on climate and orientation) or, especially, manually-operated matte white venetian blinds (1.4–7.9 kWh/(m 2 ·a), or 9%–54%, depending on climate and orientation), while maintaining acceptable or better visual comfort conditions throughout the interior space.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Information theory and machine learning illuminate large‐scale metabolomic responses of Brachypodium distachyon to environmental change

SUMMARY Plant responses to environmental change are mediated via changes in cellular metabolomes. However, <5% of signals obtained from liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) can be identified, limiting our understanding of how metabolomes change under biotic/abiotic stress. To address this challenge, we performed untargeted LC‐MS/MS of leaves, roots, and other organs of Brachypodium distachyon (Poaceae) under 17 organ–condition combinations, including copper deficiency, heat stress, low phosphate, and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. We found that both leaf and root metabolomes were significantly affected by the growth medium. Leaf metabolomes were more diverse than root metabolomes, but the latter were more specialized and more responsive to environmental change. We found that 1 week of copper deficiency shielded the root, but not the leaf metabolome, from perturbation due to heat stress. Machine learning (ML)‐based analysis annotated approximately 81% of the fragmented peaks versus approximately 6% using spectral matches alone. We performed one of the most extensive validations of ML‐based peak annotations in plants using thousands of authentic standards, and analyzed approximately 37% of the annotated peaks based on these assessments. Analyzing responsiveness of each predicted metabolite class to environmental change revealed significant perturbations of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and flavonoids. Co‐accumulation analysis further identified condition‐specific biomarkers. To make these results accessible, we developed a visualization platform on the Bio‐Analytic Resource for Plant Biology website ( https://bar.utoronto.ca/efp_brachypodium_metabolites/cgi‐bin/efpWeb.cgi ), where perturbed metabolite classes can be readily visualized. Overall, our study illustrates how emerging chemoinformatic methods can be applied to reveal novel insights into the dynamic plant metabolome and stress adaptation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Cesium Batch Contact Equilibrium Testing of Crystalline Silicotitanate (CST) Sieve Cuts in SRS Average Simulant and Examination of CST Samples Aged in Caustic and Simulant in Support of Tank Closure Cesium Removal 1A (TCCR-1A)

Batch contact testing to determine cesium equilibrium loading on Crystalline Silicotitanate ion exchange media in Savannah River Site Average Waste Simulant at 25 °C indicated that smaller diameter particles isolated by sieving pretreated CST media may load slightly higher (<10%) amounts of cesium, though the differences are within analytical uncertainty. In addition, ion exchange media sub-samples stored in 2-4 M NaOH and caustic simulant solutions for ~2.5 years were examined by optical microscopy and the 3 M NaOH sample was also analyzed to determine whether changes in the particle size distribution occurred during storage. No visual indications of particle attrition or agglomeration were observed for any sample. Particle size analysis indicated that a slight decrease occurred in the average particle diameter following contact with 3 M NaOH (541 µm average diameter versus 566 µm for the pretreated CST prior to contact). A small increase (from 0 to <0.5 wt. %) in the number of particles ranging from 271 and 322 µm was also observed for the CST sample contacted with 3 M NaOH relative to a sample of the original pretreated material. However, this small change could be due to sub-sampling differences or analytical uncertainty. It does not appear that small particles are formed to a significant degree during CST caustic contact or that small particles which do form (presumably from attrition of larger particles during pretreatment) load significantly more cesium than the bulk material. Minimal other negative consequences were observed associated with CST extended caustic or simulant contact, except for the tendency for more concentrated salt solutions to form some salt crystals which deposit on the media over time.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

EMPHATIC Silicon Strip Detector Efficiencies

EMPHATIC is an experiment at Fermilab which aims to reduce current neutrino flux uncertainties. This report discusses the limitations current neutrino flux uncertainties places on large scale neutrino experiments, provides background on the EMPHATIC experiment, and details the project of determining the efficiency of the Silicon Strip Detectors (SSDs) used in EMPHATIC. As part of the data analysis process and in order to increase the accuracy of EMPHATIC’s simulations a representation of efficiency of each SSD is required. To achieve this a data-driven analysis was performed on EMPHATIC's collected data using the Root and Art frameworks. Visual and numerical representations of efficiency were determined. The average efficiency over all SSDs is 98.58\%, however this number deflated as it includes known bad channels.

Olson, Virginia [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]↗

Split phase inverter data

The increase in power electronic based generation sources require accurate modeling of inverters. Accurate modeling requires experimental data over wider operation range. We used 8.35 kW off-the-shelf grid following split phase PV inverter in the experiments. We used controllable AC supply and controllable DC supply to emulate AC and DC side characteristics. The experiments were performed at NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility. Inverter is tested under 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% load conditions. In the first dataset, for each operating condition, controllable AC source voltage is varied from 0.9 to 1.1 per unit (p.u) with a step value of 0.025 p.u while keeping the frequency at 60 Hz. In the second dataset, under similar load conditions (100%, 75%, 50%, 25% ), the frequency of the controllable AC source voltage was varied from 59 Hz to 61 Hz with a step value of 0.2 Hz. Voltage and frequency range is chosen based on inverter protection. Voltages and currents on DC and AC side are included in the dataset.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Determining the Efficiency of EMPHATICs Silicon Strip Detectors (SSDs)

EMPHATIC is an experiment at Fermilab which aims to reduce current neutrino flux uncertainties. This report discusses the limitations current neutrino flux uncertainties places on large scale neutrino experiments, provides background on the EMPHATIC experiment, and details the project of determining the efficiency of the Silicon Strip Detectors (SSDs) used in EMPHATIC. As part of the data analysis process and in order to increase the accuracy of EMPHATIC’s simulations a representation of efficiency of each SSD is required. To achieve this a data-driven analysis was performed on EMPHATIC's collected data using the Root and Art frameworks. Visual and numerical representations of efficiency were determined. The average efficiency over all SSDs is 98.58\%, however this number deflated as it includes known bad channels.

Olson, V. [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]↗

PyARC Status Report: New Integrations and Upgrades to the Fast Reactor Analysis Workflow Management Tool

PyARC was initially developed as an open source tool to support fast reactor analyses using the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) code suite as a part of the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Workbench initiative in FY17. The goal of this initiative is to provide a common user interface for model generation, real-time validation, execution, output processing, and visualization for all integrated codes. This is accomplished through the reliance on tools available in the Workbench framework and runtime environment. While initially developed to support the ARC codes, PyARC was extended in FY22 to wrap other NEAMS and non-ARC codes, including Griffin and OpenMC, in the supported other neutronics workflows, and support users in the adoption of NEAMS-supported high fidelity analysis codes. Most recently, NUBOW-3D, a recently adopted ARC code, was integrated to support reactor bowing calculations as well. Integration of these codes into the NEAMS Workbench directly benefits the advanced reactor modeling community by: • Providing a set of controlled, maintained, documented and validated scripts to generate inputs, which promotes best practices, reduces the learning curve, and facilitates project collaboration. • Improving the user experience: the Workbench interface provides assistance for building an input through auto-completion, real-time validation, document navigation, and geometry and results visualization. • Automating complex calculations and workflows for reactor analysis. • Helping users transition to using high-fidelity NEAMS codes along-side the ARC codes. In FY22, a progress report was published that described the state of each of the tools integrated into PyARC. Since then, there have been many enhancements and upgrades to the existing integrations as well as entirely new code integrations as well. This report details all new integrations and major developments in PyARC since the version 2.0.0 release highlighted in the FY22 report.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Quantifying the Dynamics of Protein Self-Organization Using Deep Learning Analysis of Atomic Force Microscopy Data

The dynamics of protein self-assembly on the inorganic surface and the resultant geometric patterns are visualized using high-speed atomic force microscopy. The time dynamics of the classical macroscopic descriptors such as 2D fast Fourier transforms, correlation, and pair distribution functions are explored using the unsupervised linear unmixing, demonstrating the presence of static ordered and dynamic disordered phases and establishing their time dynamics. Here, the deep learning (DL)-based workflow is developed to analyze detailed particle dynamics and explore the evolution of local geometries. Finally, we use a combination of DL feature extraction and mixture modeling to define particle neighborhoods free of physics constraints, allowing for a separation of possible classes of particle behavior and identification of the associated transitions. Overall, this work establishes the workflow for the analysis of the self-organization processes in complex systems from observational data and provides insight into the fundamental mechanisms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Factorized visual representations in the primate visual system and deep neural networks

Object classification has been proposed as a principal objective of the primate ventral visual stream and has been used as an optimization target for deep neural network models (DNNs) of the visual system. However, visual brain areas represent many different types of information, and optimizing for classification of object identity alone does not constrain how other information may be encoded in visual representations. Information about different scene parameters may be discarded altogether (‘invariance’), represented in non-interfering subspaces of population activity (‘factorization’) or encoded in an entangled fashion. In this work, we provide evidence that factorization is a normative principle of biological visual representations. In the monkey ventral visual hierarchy, we found that factorization of object pose and background information from object identity increased in higher-level regions and strongly contributed to improving object identity decoding performance. We then conducted a large-scale analysis of factorization of individual scene parameters – lighting, background, camera viewpoint, and object pose – in a diverse library of DNN models of the visual system. Models which best matched neural, fMRI, and behavioral data from both monkeys and humans across 12 datasets tended to be those which factorized scene parameters most strongly. Notably, invariance to these parameters was not as consistently associated with matches to neural and behavioral data, suggesting that maintaining non-class information in factorized activity subspaces is often preferred to dropping it altogether. Thus, we propose that factorization of visual scene information is a widely used strategy in brains and DNN models thereof.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Data, model inputs, and analysis scripts associated with a manuscript on stream intermittency controls across spatial scales in Pacific Northwest watersheds

NOTE: The manuscript associated with this data package is currently in review. The data may be revised based on reviewer feedback. Upon manuscript acceptance, this data package will be updated with the final dataset and additional metadata. This data package is associated with the manuscript "Hydroclimatic Memory and Watershed Template Shape Stream Intermittency: Multi-scale Attribution Using Process-based Simulation and Explainable ML" by Niroula et al. (2026), submitted to Water Resources Research (WRR). The study investigates the dominant controls on stream intermittency across local, reach, and watershed scales using a coupled process-based simulation and explainable machine-learning framework. Long-term daily simulations from the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) were used to generate wetness states and ponded-depth responses over river-corridor cells. These ATS outputs were then aggregated across scales and used to train XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) models. SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) was applied to quantify the relative importance of hydroclimatic forcings, watershed template attributes, and antecedent-memory effects in shaping intermittency behavior. The analysis is carried out for three contrasting Pacific Northwest watersheds: Oak Creek (OCW), American River Watershed (ARW), and H.J. Andrews (HJA). Across these testbeds, the package contains ATS-ready watershed inputs, ATS run configuration and selected output files, model-evaluation data products, intermittency-analysis datasets, machine-learning target-feature tables, SHAP outputs, and notebooks used to organize, analyze, and visualize results. At a high level, the package documents a workflow in which ATS provides the physically based simulation backbone and explainable machine learning is used as a post-processing attribution tool. The contents are intended to support interpretation of the manuscript figures and results, provide context for how intermittency metrics were generated at multiple scales, and preserve the key artifacts needed to understand and reuse the analysis workflow. The package contains a high-level directory summary file (`summary.txt`) and four main content folders (1) `evaluation_plots` contains evaluation figures and supporting evaluation datasets; (2) `intermittency_plots` contains intermittency-focused analysis notebook and prepared datasets; (3) `ml-training-and-shap_values_plots` contains ML training inputs, SHAP outputs, and figure-generation notebooks; and (4) `watershed_mesh_and_ats_input` contains ATS model setup materials, forcing inputs, geometry, and selected run files. More specifically, the `evaluation_plots` folder contains the notebook used for ATS evaluation plotting and site-specific evaluation datasets. These include evapotranspiration and water-balance products for three watersheds, as well as an Oak Creek field-measurement discharge file. The `intermittency_plots` folder contains the notebook used for intermittency analysis and the prepared datasets used to analyze intermittent and non-intermittent wetness behavior across the study watersheds. The `ml-training-and-shap_values_plots` folder contains notebooks and outputs for the machine-learning and explainability workflow. This includes the main XGBoost and SHAP notebook(s), a beeswarm plotting notebook, target-feature tables for machine-learning training, SHAP summary tables, and per-sample SHAP value archives. The `watershed_mesh_and_ats_input` folder contains ATS-related watershed inputs and supporting materials. This includes mesh and shape products, ATS-readable LAI and meteorological forcing inputs, selected ATS spinup and transient-run files, and a watershed workflow example notebook. Subdirectories are organized by watershed where applicable.All files are .cpg (codepage files), .csv (comma-separated values), .dbf (database files), .exo (Exodus mesh format), .h5 (HDF5 format), .ipynb (Jupyter notebooks), .pkl (Python pickle), .prj (projection files), .sh (shell scripts), .shp (shapefile geometry), .shx (shapefile index), .txt (text files), or .xml (markup data).

Advanced Terrestrial Simulator↗