Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PCA”

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 631 records · Page 35

Bayesian estimation of Karhunen–Loève expansions; A random subspace approach

One of the most widely-used statistical procedures for dimensionality reduction of high dimensional random fields is Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which is based on the Karhunen-Lo eve expansion (KLE) of a stochastic process with finite variance. The KLE is analogous to a Fourier series expansion for a random process, where the goal is to find an orthogonal transformation for the data such that the projection of the data onto this orthogonal subspace is optimal in the L 2 sense, i.e, which minimizes the mean square error. In practice, this orthogonal transformation is determined by performing an SVD (Singular Value Decomposition) on the sample covariance matrix or on the data matrix itself. Sampling error is typically ignored when quantifying the principal components, or, equivalently, basis functions of the KLE. Furthermore, it is exacerbated when the sample size is much smaller than the dimension of the random field. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian KLE procedure, allowing one to obtain a probabilistic model on the principal components, which can account for inaccuracies due to limited sample size. The probabilistic model is built via Bayesian inference, from which the posterior becomes the matrix Bingham density over the space of orthonormal matrices. We use a modified Gibbs sampling procedure to sample on this space and then build a probabilistic Karhunen-Lo eve expansions over random subspaces to obtain a set of low-dimensional surrogates of the stochastic process. We illustrate this probabilistic procedure with a finite dimensional stochastic process inspired by Brownian motion.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Anomaly detection in scientific data using joint statistical moments

We propose an anomaly detection method for multi-variate scientific data based on analysis of high-order joint moments. Using kurtosis as a reliable measure of outliers, we suggest that principal kurtosis vectors, by analogy to principal component analysis (PCA) vectors, signify the principal directions along which outliers appear. The inception of an anomaly, then, manifests as a change in the principal values and vectors of kurtosis. Obtaining the principal kurtosis vectors requires decomposing a fourth order joint cumulant tensor for which we use a simple, computationally less expensive approach that involves performing a singular value decomposition (SVD) over the matricized tensor. We demonstrate the efficacy of this approach on synthetic data, and develop an algorithm to identify the occurrence of a spatial and/or temporal anomalous event in scientific phenomena. The algorithm decomposes the data into several spatial sub-domains and time steps to identify regions with such events. Feature moment metrics, based on the alignments of the principal kurtosis vectors, are computed at each sub-domain and time step for all features to quantify their relative importance towards the overall kurtosis in the data. Accordingly, spatial and temporal anomaly metrics for each sub-domain are proposed using the Hellinger distance of the feature moment metric distribution from a suitable nominal distribution. Finally, we apply the algorithm to two turbulent auto-ignition combustion cases and demonstrate that the anomaly metrics reliably capture the occurrence of auto-ignition in relevant spatial sub-domains at the right time steps.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Characterization of Fuel Cladding Chemical Interaction on a High Burnup U-10Zr Metallic Fuel via Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy Enhanced by Machine Learning

Fuel cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) is one of the main performance limiting factors for metallic nuclear fuels. The interaction destabilizes the martensitic microstructure and deteriorates mechanical properties of HT-9 cladding. The detection of low atomic number elements (Z<10) and overlapping of elemental peaks can be problematic in interpreting energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) provides precise elemental edge energy values and can detect elements with a low atomic number. This work utilizes EELS to study the distribution of lanthanides and light elements at the interaction region. The sample was prepared from the FCCI region of a U-10Zr (wt.%) solid fuel with HT-9 cladding, irradiated to a burnup of 13.2 at.%. Processing the EELS data included three major steps: 1) enhance the signal to noise ratio by denoising the spectrum with principal component analysis (PCA) method, removing background and performing deconvolution; 2) identify chemical elements with core energy loss edges; 3) confirm different phases using a popular machine learning method, K-means. This work presents qualitative assessment of lanthanides and light elements like carbon (C) and oxygen (O) enhanced by the application of machine learning algorithms. By comparing with EDS elemental maps, EELS provides higher resolution chemical maps, reveals the distribution of carbon at the interaction region supporting the formation of zirconium carbide, a rind-like microstructure feature that was proposed to mitigate the chemical interaction. Furthermore, the plasmon peak map was also found to indicate an energy shift associated with the formation of phases/compounds. K-means clustering method was used on the processed electron energy loss (EEL) spectrum to automatically reveal different phases. The resulting clustered maps from K-means clustering align well with elemental maps confirming certain phases, especially Fe-Ce and Zr-C, in the FCCI region.

EELS↗

Rotor blade imbalance fault detection for variable-speed marine current turbines via generator power signal analysis

Marine hydrokinetic (MHK) turbines extract renewable energy from oceanic environments. However, due to the harsh conditions that these turbines operate in, system performance naturally degrades over time. Thus, ensuring efficient condition-based maintenance is imperative towards guaranteeing reliable operation and reduced costs for marine hydrokinetic power. This work proposes a novel framework aimed at identifying and classifying the severity of rotor blade pitch imbalance faults experienced by marine current turbines (MCTs). In the framework, a Continuous Morlet Wavelet Transform (CMWT) is first utilized to acquire the wavelet coefficients encompassed within the 1P frequency range of the turbine's rotor shaft. From these coefficients, several statistical indices are tabulated into a six-dimensional feature space. Next, Principle Component Analysis (PCA) is employed on the resulting feature space for dimensionality reduction, and then the application of a K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) machine learning algorithm is utilized for fault detection and severity classification. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is validated using a high-fidelity MCT numerical simulation platform, where results demonstrate that the presence of a pitch imbalance fault can be accurately detected 100% of the time and correctly classified based upon severity more than 97% of the time.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Comparison of effects from gamma, e-beam and X-ray radiation on multilayer polymer films used in biopharmaceutical devices by chemometric treatment of spectroscopic data

The present study investigated the effects of gamma-ray, electron beam, and X-ray radiation on polymers in EVA/EVOH/EVA multilayer films. Spectroscopic methods, including FTIR and UV–Vis, were employed in conjunction with chemometric treatments such as PCA, SIMPLISMA treatments, and PLS models. The feasibility of dose prediction on multilayer film, given a known dose, is attainable across various irradiation technologies. Both gamma ray and X-ray exhibit comparable effects on the multilayer film, and it is feasible to anticipate the dose released on the film by utilizing UV–Vis spectra or infrared spectra for gamma ray or X-ray of a predetermined dose.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Mapping heat vulnerability in cities: A tale of two california cities

Extreme heat is a major cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. To address this, a heat vulnerability index (HVI) is crucial for assessing heat risk and identifying vulnerable urban areas and populations, supporting city planning and emergency response. Current HVI studies often use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on environmental, socioeconomic, and medical data to aggregate vulnerability indicators into a single index. However, these fixed aggregation weights struggle to adapt to different use cases, which may require varying focuses. Moreover, existing tools primarily consider outdoor heat exposure, providing an incomplete picture of actual exposure, as people spend most of their time indoors. Our research introduces an HVI web mapping tool that addresses these gaps in the literature by: (1) allowing flexible weights to adapt to different use cases, and (2) uniquely integrating both outdoor and indoor heat exposure by considering building characteristics for a more comprehensive risk assessment. We demonstrated this tool in two California cities with contrasting climates: Fresno (inland, arid, hot summers) and Oakland (temperate coastal). This HVI mapping tool provides essential decision support for policymakers and stakeholders in both short-term heat mitigation and long-term urban planning for building interventions and infrastructure development.

BES↗

PCAfold 2.0—Novel tools and algorithms for low-dimensional manifold assessment and optimization

We describe an update to our open-source Python package, PCAfold, designed to help researchers generate, analyze and improve low-dimensional data manifolds. In the current version, PCAfold 2.0, we introduce novel tools and algorithms for assessing and optimizing low-dimensional manifolds. This includes a method that generates a “map” of local feature sizes that can help pinpoint researchers to problematic regions on a manifold. We introduce a novel cost function that characterizes the quality of a manifold topology with a single number. We develop two algorithms for feature selection based on principal component analysis (PCA) that use the cost function as an objective function to minimize. We introduce a quantity of interest (QoI)-aware dimensionality reduction strategy where data projections are computed using an artificial neural network and are directly optimized towards representing various projection-independent and projection-dependent QoIs. We also introduce an implementation of partition of unity networks (POUnets) for efficient reconstruction of QoIs from low-dimensional manifolds based on combining neural network classification with localized polynomial regression. Our software can be broadly applicable in all domains of science and engineering that aim to reduce data dimensionality, as well as in the fundamental research on representation learning.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Impact of environmental variables on the degradation of photovoltaic components and perspectives for the reliability assessment methodology

Backsheet cracking has been a major issue observed in the field; however, standardized qualification tests, such as IEC61215, are inadequate to reliably identify such failures of PV modules due to the lack of the critical weathering factors applied sequentially or in combination, such as those found in the service environments. To address this problem, in this work we investigated the effects of various environmental variables on the degradation and failure behaviors of the polyamide-based backsheet in PV modules retrieved from five different locations, encompassing a variety of climates, including humid subtropical, hot-summer Mediterranean, tropical savanna climate and hot arid. The correlations between the degradation indicators and the weathering variables were further demonstrated by principle components analysis (PCA). We found strong relationships between: carbonyl formation and reflected solar radiation; hydroxyl formation and module temperature; yellowness and NO2 concentration, while no simple correlation could be found between a specific weathering factor and cracking. By introducing additional stress factors to the aged polyamide-based backsheet films with the novel 'fragmentation test', we successfully reproduced the field cracking behaviour. This study has demonstrated that different degradation modes of PV components respond differently to the environmental stresses encountered in service. Thereby, any accelerated laboratory test based on a single set condition or lacking key environmental variables would be inadequate to assess the long-term performance of PV modules and components. A new reliability-based methodology is proposed to quantitatively link laboratory testing with field results for the service life prediction of PV materials.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Characterization of Diesel Fuel by Chemical Separation Combined with Capillary Gas Chromatography (GC) Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS)

The purpose of this study was to perform a preliminary investigation of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of diesel fuels to evaluate whether the technique could distinguish between the diesel samples from different sources/locations. The ability to differentiate or correlate diesel samples could be valuable for detecting fuel tax evasion schemes. Two fractionation techniques were used to isolate the n-alkanes from the fuel. Both δ13C and δD values for the n-alkanes were then determined by CSIA in each sample. Plots of δD versus δ13C with sample n-alkane points connected in order of increasing carbon number gave well separated clusters with characteristic shapes for each sample. Principal components analysis (PCA) with δ13C, δD, or combined δ13C and δD data on the yielded scores plots that could clearly differentiate the samples, thereby demonstrating the potential of this approach for fingerprinting fuel samples using the δ13C and δD values.

compound specific isotope ratio mass spectrometry↗

Part 1: Tracing Russian VX to its synthetic routes by multivariate statistics of chemical attribution signatures

Chemical attribution signatures (CAS) associated with different synthetic routes used for the production of Russian VX (VR) were identified here. The goal of the study was to retrospectively determine the production method employed for an unknown VR sample. Six different production methods were evaluated, carefully chosen to include established synthetic routes used in the past for large scale production of the agent, routes involving general phosphorus-sulfur chemistry pathways leading to the agent, and routes whose main characteristic is their innate simplicity in execution. Two laboratories worked in parallel and synthesized a total of 37 batches of VR via the six synthetic routes following predefined synthesis protocols. The chemical composition of impurities and byproducts in each route was analyzed by GC/MS-EI and 49 potential CAS were recognized as important markers in distinguishing these routes using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The 49 potential CAS included expected species based on knowledge of reaction conditions and pathways but also several novel compounds that were fully identified and characterized by a combined analysis that included MS-CI, MS-EI and HR-MS. The CAS profiles of the calibration set were then analyzed using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and a cross validated model was constructed. The model allowed the correct classification of an external test set without any misclassifications, demonstrating the utility of this methodology for attributing VR samples to a particular production method. This work is part one of a three-part series in this Forensic VSI issue of a Sweden-United States collaborative effort towards the understanding of the CAS of VR in diverse batches and matrices. This part focuses on the CAS in synthesized batches of crude VR and in the following two parts of the series the influence of food matrices on the CAS profiles are investigated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Identification and correction of temporal and spatial distortions in scanning transmission electron microscopy

Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has become the technique of choice for quantitative characterization of atomic structure of materials, where the minute displacements of atomic columns from high-symmetry positions can be used to map strain, polarization, octahedra tilts, and other physical and chemical order parameter fields. The latter can be used as inputs into mesoscopic and atomistic models, providing insight into the correlative relationships and generative physics of materials on the atomic level. However, these quantitative applications of STEM necessitate understanding the microscope induced image distortions and developing the pathways to compensate them both as part of a rapid calibration procedure for in situ imaging, and the post-experimental data analysis stage. Here, we explore the spatiotemporal structure of the microscopic distortions in STEM using multivariate analysis of the atomic trajectories in the image stacks. Based on the behavior of principal component analysis (PCA), we develop the Gaussian process (GP)-based regression method for quantification of the distortion function. The limitations of such an approach and possible strategies for implementation as a part of in-line data acquisition in STEM are discussed. Here, the analysis workflow is summarized in a Jupyter notebook that can be used to retrace the analysis and analyze the reader's data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Enhancing physicochemical, bioactive, and nutritional properties of sweet potatoes: Ultrasonic contact drying with slot jet nozzles compared to hot-air drying and freeze drying

Sweet potatoes are a rich source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, but their quality can be impacted by the drying process. This study investigates the impact of slot jet reattachment (SJR) nozzle and ultrasound (US) combined drying (SJR + US) on sweet potato quality, compared to freeze-drying (FD), SJR drying, and hot air drying (HAD). SJR + US drying at 50 °C closely resembled FD in enhancing quality attributes and outperformed HAD and SJR in key areas such as rehydration, shrinkage ratios, and nutritional composition. Notably, SJR + US at 50 °C produced the highest total starch (36.84 g/100 g), total dietary fiber (8.48 g/100 g), total phenolic content (158.19 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid content (119.08 mg QE/g), DPPH antioxidant activity (6.44 μmol TE/g), β-carotene (31.98 mg/100 g), and vitamin C (5.27 mg/100 g). It also exhibited higher glass transition temperatures (Tg: 14.49 °C), indicating better stability at room temperature. The hardness values for SJR + US samples were similar to FD, while HAD samples had the highest hardness. SJR + US at 50 °C resulted in the lowest total color changes (ΔE), indicating minimal impact on appearance. Additionally, FTIR analysis revealed that peaks in specific spectral regions indicated superior preservation of bioactive compounds in SJR + US samples compared to other methods, which was also confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap visualization. Overall, these findings suggest that SJR + US is an effective alternative to conventional drying techniques, significantly improving the quality of dried sweet potatoes.

Color↗

Using choice architecture to exploit a university Distinct Urban Mine

Highlights: • More than USD 11 million lie within this UK DUM for small household appliances. • Different collection systems should be established for working or broken appliances. • Consumer behaviour should inform choice architecture. •DUM evaluations should inform future collection system investments. - Abstract: There are widespread concerns regarding the potential future scarcity of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. However, there are already potentially rich reserves of secondary materials via high ownership of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in economically-developed nations. Young people are particularly high consumers of EEE, thus university students and campuses may present an opportunity to harness this potential. University Distinct Urban Mines (DUM) may be used to exemplify how potential reserves of secondary metals may be exploited, and could contribute to the transition from a linear to a circular economy. This study aimed to evaluate small household appliances (SHA) DUM from a UK university, with the objectives to identify and quantify student households’ SHA ownership, WEEE recycling, stockpiling and discarding habits amongst student households, assess and evaluate the monetary potential of SHA DUM at UK level, and propose methods to exploit DUM for universities in the UK. To this purpose, a quantitative survey was undertaken to measure students’ ownership and discarding behaviour with respect to SHA. The amounts of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were then estimated and converted to monetary values from secondary materials market data to appraise the SHA DUM overall value. Thirty-five per cent of SHA are discarded in the general refuse. Broken personal care appliances (PCA) tend to be discarded due to hygiene and small size factors. When in working order, SHA tend to be equally reused, recycled or stockpiled. We conclude that a total of 189 tonnes of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were available via discarding or being stockpiled at the University of Southampton. Extrapolated to UK higher education level, discarded and stockpiled SHA represent a potential worth ∼USD 11 million. To initiate DUM exploitation within Higher Education campuses, we suggest improving users’ choice architecture by providing collection methods specific to broken SHA.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Identification of new interacting partners of the shuttling protein ubinuclein (Ubn-1)

We have previously characterized ubinuclein (Ubn-1) as a NACos (Nuclear and Adherent junction Complex components) protein which interacts with viral or cellular transcription factors and the tight junction (TJ) protein ZO-1. The purpose of the present study was to get more insights on the binding partners of Ubn-1, notably those present in the epithelial junctions. Using an in vivo assay of fluorescent protein-complementation assay (PCA), we demonstrated that the N-terminal domains of the Ubn-1 and ZO-1 proteins triggered a functional interaction inside the cell. Indeed, expression of both complementary fragments of venus fused to the N-terminal parts of Ubn-1 and ZO-1 was able to reconstitute a fluorescent venus protein. Furthermore, nuclear expression of the chimeric Ubn-1 triggered nuclear localization of the chimeric ZO-1. We could localize this interaction to the PDZ2 domain of ZO-1 using an in vitro pull-down assay. More precisely, a 184-amino acid region (from amino acids 39 to 223) at the N-terminal region of Ubn-1 was responsible for the interaction with the PDZ2 domain of ZO-1. Co-imunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy experiments also revealed the tight junction protein cingulin as a new interacting partner of Ubn-1. A proteomic approach based on mass spectrometry analysis (MS) was then undertaken to identify further binding partners of GST-Ubn-1 fusion protein in different subcellular fractions of human epithelial HT29 cells. LYRIC (Lysine-rich CEACAM1-associated protein) and RACK-1 (receptor for activated C-kinase) proteins were validated as bona fide interacting partners of Ubn-1. Altogether, these results suggest that Ubn-1 is a scaffold protein influencing protein subcellular localization and is involved in several processes such as cell-cell contact signalling or modulation of gene activity.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗