Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “shape memory”

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 667 records · Page 37

Charge trapping of Ge-nanocrystals embedded in TaZrO{sub x} dielectric films

Ge-nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized in amorphous TaZrO{sub x} by thermal annealing of co-sputtered Ge-TaZrO{sub x} layers. Formation of spherical shaped Ge-NCs with small variation of size, areal density, and depth distribution was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The charge storage characteristics of the Ge-NCs were investigated by capacitance-voltage and constant-capacity measurements using metal-insulator-semiconductor structures. Samples with Ge-NCs exhibit a maximum memory window of 5 V by sweeping the bias voltage from −7 V to 7 V and back. Below this maximum, the width of the memory window can be controlled by the bias voltage. The fitted slope of the memory window versus bias voltage characteristics is very close to 1 for samples with one layer Ge-NCs. A second layer Ge-NCs does not result in a second flat stair in the memory window characteristics. Constant-capacity measurements indicate charge storage in trapping centers at the interfaces between the Ge-NCs and the surrounding materials (amorphous matrix/tunneling oxide). Charge loss occurs by thermal detrapping and subsequent band-to-band tunneling. Reference samples without Ge-NCs do not show any memory window.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

THE ROCKSTAR PHASE-SPACE TEMPORAL HALO FINDER AND THE VELOCITY OFFSETS OF CLUSTER CORES

We present a new algorithm for identifying dark matter halos, substructure, and tidal features. The approach is based on adaptive hierarchical refinement of friends-of-friends groups in six phase-space dimensions and one time dimension, which allows for robust (grid-independent, shape-independent, and noise-resilient) tracking of substructure; as such, it is named ROCKSTAR (Robust Overdensity Calculation using K-Space Topologically Adaptive Refinement). Our method is massively parallel (up to 10{sup 5} CPUs) and runs on the largest current simulations (>10{sup 10} particles) with high efficiency (10 CPU hours and 60 gigabytes of memory required per billion particles analyzed). A previous paper has shown ROCKSTAR to have excellent recovery of halo properties; we expand on these comparisons with more tests and higher-resolution simulations. We show a significant improvement in substructure recovery compared to several other halo finders and discuss the theoretical and practical limits of simulations in this regard. Finally, we present results that demonstrate conclusively that dark matter halo cores are not at rest relative to the halo bulk or substructure average velocities and have coherent velocity offsets across a wide range of halo masses and redshifts. For massive clusters, these offsets can be up to 350 km s{sup -1} at z = 0 and even higher at high redshifts. Our implementation is publicly available at http://code.google.com/p/rockstar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Full-field imaging learning machine (FILM)

A method of determining dynamic properties of a structure (linear or nonlinear) includes receiving spatio-temporal inputs, generating mode shapes and modal components corresponding to the spatio-temporal inputs using a trained deep complexity coding artificial neural network, and subsequently generating the dynamic properties by analyzing each modal component using a trained learning machine. A computing system for non-contact determination of dynamic properties of a structure includes a camera, a processor, and a memory including computer-executable instructions. When the instructions are executed, the system is caused to receive spatio-temporal image data, decompose the spatio-temporal image data into constituent manifold components using an autoencoder, and analyze the constituent manifold components using a trained learning machine to determine the dynamic properties.

Yang, Yongchao↗

Roofline Analysis in the Intel® Advisor to Deliver Optimized Performance for applications on Intel® Xeon Phi™ Processor

In this session we show, in two case studies, how the roofline feature of Intel Advisor has been utilized to optimize the performance of kernels of the XGC1 and PICSAR codes in preparation for Intel Knights Landing architecture. The impact of the implemented optimizations and the benefits of using the automatic roofline feature of Intel Advisor to study performance of large applications will be presented. This demonstrates an effective optimization strategy that has enabled these science applications to achieve up to 4.6 times speed-up and prepare for future exascale architectures. # Goal/Relevance of Session The roofline model [1,2] is a powerful tool for analyzing the performance of applications with respect to the theoretical peak achievable on a given computer architecture. It allows one to graphically represent the performance of an application in terms of operational intensity, i.e. the ratio of flops performed and bytes moved from memory in order to guide optimization efforts. Given the scale and complexity of modern science applications, it can often be a tedious task for the user to perform the analysis on the level of functions or loops to identify where performance gains can be made. With new Intel tools, it is now possible to automate this task, as well as base the estimates of peak performance on measurements rather than vendor specifications. The goal of this session is to demonstrate how the roofline feature of Intel Advisor can be used to balance memory vs. computation related optimization efforts and effectively identify performance bottlenecks. A series of typical optimization techniques: cache blocking, structure refactoring, data alignment, and vectorization illustrated by the kernel cases will be addressed. # Description of the codes ## XGC1 The XGC1 code [3] is a magnetic fusion Particle-In-Cell code that uses an unstructured mesh for its Poisson solver that allows it to accurately resolve the edge plasma of a magnetic fusion device. After recent optimizations to its collision kernel [4], most of the computing time is spent in the electron push (pushe) kernel, where these optimization efforts have been focused. The kernel code scaled well with MPI+OpenMP but had almost no automatic compiler vectorization, in part due to indirect memory addresses and in part due to low trip counts of low-level loops that would be candidates for vectorization. Particle blocking and sorting have been implemented to increase trip counts of low-level loops and improve memory locality, and OpenMP directives have been added to vectorize compute-intensive loops that were identified by Advisor. The optimizations have improved the performance of the pushe kernel 2x on Haswell processors and 1.7x on KNL. The KNL node-for-node performance has been brought to within 30% of a NERSC Cori phase I Haswell node and we expect to bridge this gap by reducing the memory footprint of compute intensive routines to improve cache reuse. ## PICSAR is a Fortran/Python high-performance Particle-In-Cell library targeting at MIC architectures first designed to be coupled with the PIC code WARP for the simulation of laser-matter interaction and particle accelerators. PICSAR also contains a FORTRAN stand-alone kernel for performance studies and benchmarks. A MPI domain decomposition is used between NUMA domains and a tile decomposition (cache-blocking) handled by OpenMP has been added for shared-memory parallelism and better cache management. The so-called current deposition and field gathering steps that compose the PIC time loop constitute major hotspots that have been rewritten to enable more efficient vectorization. Particle communications between tiles and MPI domain has been merged and parallelized. All considered, these improvements provide speedups of 3.1 for order 1 and 4.6 for order 3 interpolation shape factors on KNL configured in SNC4 quadrant flat mode. Performance is similar between a node of cori phase 1 and KNL at order 1 and better on KNL by a factor 1.6 at order 3 with the considered test case (homogeneous thermal plasma).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The tubulin structure, a quarter of a century later

This retrospective on the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first structure of tubulin is shaped by my own personal experiences rather than being a strict and complete historical account of the event. It is a reflection on how working in science felt many years ago, on the struggles and the joys of reaching for the high-hanging fruit, and, ultimately, on how relevant or not our personal scientific contributions are to the broader scientific community. Writing it brought back memories of my unique and sadly lost postdoctoral advisor Ken Downing, who dreamt of this structure and brought it to fruition against all odds.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Penetration Through Slots in Overmoded Cavities

A resonant cavity undergoes three distinct behaviors with increasing frequency: 1) fundamental modes, localized in frequency with well defined modal distribution; 2) undermoded region, where modes are still separated, but are sufficiently perturbed by small imperfections that their spectral positions (and distributions) are statistical in nature; and 3) overmoded region, where modes overlap, field distributions follow stochastic distributions, and the slot acts as if in free space. Understanding the penetration through slots in the overmoded region is of great interest, and is the focus of this article. Since full-wave solvers may not be able to provide a timely answer for very high frequencies due to a lack of memory and/or computation resources, we develop bounding methods to estimate worst-case average and maximum fields within the cavity. Finally, after discussing the bounding formulation, we compare its results to full-wave simulations at the first, second, and third resonance supported by the slot in the case of a cylindrical cavity. Note that the bounding formulation indicates that results are nearly independent of cavity shape: only the cavity volume, frequency, and cavity quality factor affect the overmoded region, making this formulation a powerful tool to assess electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility effects within cavities.

overmoded cavity↗

Dose optimization with first-order total-variation minimization for dense angularly sampled and sparse intensity modulated radiation therapy (DASSIM-RT)

Purpose: A new treatment scheme coined as dense angularly sampled and sparse intensity modulated radiation therapy (DASSIM-RT) has recently been proposed to bridge the gap between IMRT and VMAT. By increasing the angular sampling of radiation beams while eliminating dispensable segments of the incident fields, DASSIM-RT is capable of providing improved conformity in dose distributions while maintaining high delivery efficiency. The fact that DASSIM-RT utilizes a large number of incident beams represents a major computational challenge for the clinical applications of this powerful treatment scheme. The purpose of this work is to provide a practical solution to the DASSIM-RT inverse planning problem. Methods: The inverse planning problem is formulated as a fluence-map optimization problem with total-variation (TV) minimization. A newly released L1-solver, template for first-order conic solver (TFOCS), was adopted in this work. TFOCS achieves faster convergence with less memory usage as compared with conventional quadratic programming (QP) for the TV form through the effective use of conic forms, dual-variable updates, and optimal first-order approaches. As such, it is tailored to specifically address the computational challenges of large-scale optimization in DASSIM-RT inverse planning. Two clinical cases (a prostate and a head and neck case) are used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed planning technique. DASSIM-RT plans with 15 and 30 beams are compared with conventional IMRT plans with 7 beams in terms of plan quality and delivery efficiency, which are quantified by conformation number (CN), the total number of segments and modulation index, respectively. For optimization efficiency, the QP-based approach was compared with the proposed algorithm for the DASSIM-RT plans with 15 beams for both cases. Results: Plan quality improves with an increasing number of incident beams, while the total number of segments is maintained to be about the same in both cases. For the prostate patient, the conformation number to the target was 0.7509, 0.7565, and 0.7611 with 80 segments for IMRT with 7 beams, and DASSIM-RT with 15 and 30 beams, respectively. For the head and neck (HN) patient with a complicated target shape, conformation numbers of the three treatment plans were 0.7554, 0.7758, and 0.7819 with 75 segments for all beam configurations. With respect to the dose sparing to the critical structures, the organs such as the femoral heads in the prostate case and the brainstem and spinal cord in the HN case were better protected with DASSIM-RT. For both cases, the delivery efficiency has been greatly improved as the beam angular sampling increases with the similar or better conformal dose distribution. Compared with conventional quadratic programming approaches, first-order TFOCS-based optimization achieves far faster convergence and smaller memory requirements in DASSIM-RT. Conclusions: The new optimization algorithm TFOCS provides a practical and timely solution to the DASSIM-RT or other inverse planning problem requiring large memory space. The new treatment scheme is shown to outperform conventional IMRT in terms of dose conformity to both the targetand the critical structures, while maintaining high delivery efficiency.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Imaging the magnetic nanowire cross section and magnetic ordering within a suspended 3D artificial spin-ice

Artificial spin-ice systems are patterned arrays of magnetic nanoislands arranged into frustrated geometries and provide insight into the physics of ordering and emergence. The majority of these systems have been realized in two-dimensions, mainly due to the ease of fabrication, but with recent developments in advanced nanolithography, three-dimensional artificial spin ice (ASI) structures have become possible, providing a new paradigm in their study. Such artificially engineered 3D systems provide new opportunities in realizing tunable ground states, new domain wall topologies, monopole propagation, and advanced device concepts, such as magnetic racetrack memory. Direct imaging of 3DASI structures with magnetic force microscopy has thus far been key to probing the physics of these systems but is limited in both the depth of measurement and resolution, ultimately restricting measurement to the uppermost layers of the system. In this work, a method is developed to fabricate 3DASI lattices over an aperture using two-photon lithography, thermal evaporation, and oxygen plasma exposure, allowing the probe of element-specific structural and magnetic information using soft x-ray microscopy with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) as magnetic contrast. The suspended polymer–permalloy lattices are found to be stable under repeated soft x-ray exposure. Analysis of the x-ray absorption signal allows the complex cross section of the magnetic nanowires to be reconstructed and demonstrates a crescent-shaped geometry. Measurement of the XMCD images after the application of an in-plane field suggests a decrease in magnetic moment on the lattice surface due to oxidation, while a measurable signal is retained on sub-lattices below the surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A dynamic solvent chamber propagation estimation framework using RNN for warm solvent injection in heterogeneous reservoirs

Warm solvent injection (WSI), injecting low-temperature solvent into formations to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil, is a clean technology for heavy oil production through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water usage. The success of WSI operation depends on the uniform development and propagation of solvent chambers in reservoirs. However, reservoir heterogeneity stemming from shale barriers plays a detrimental role in the conformance of solvent chamber development and oil production rate. In this work, we developed a novel recurrent neural network (RNN)-based framework with the capability of efficiently tracking and estimating the solvent chamber positions in heterogeneous reservoirs based on only production time-series data. The developed estimation model utilizes the “sequence-to-sequence" mapping methodology to correlate observed production time-series sequence and solvent chamber edge sequence via a long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithm. The trained RNN models exhibit high accuracy, evidenced by the predicted dynamic solvent chamber locations match the corresponding true locations from numerical simulation, with a high coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and a low mean squared error. Specifically, the achieved R 2 values exceed 0.98 on both the training and testing data. The developed RNN-based workflow was tested via several cases from both regularly- and irregularly-shaped shale barriers, and the results were promising. The predicted solvent chambers showed strong agreement with those obtained from numerical simulations. The major benefits of this workflow include reducing computational time and saving overall monitoring and tracking costs for conventional techniques. In conclusion, the present work would provide a good demonstration of the capability of practical integration of machine learning methods in solving engineering problems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Stilbene cell development to improve radioxenon detection

A prototype stilbene beta cell has been designed, manufactured, tested, and compared to a plastic scintillator beta cell used for nuclear explosion monitoring of radioxenon. Measurements of the four isotopes of interest show similar responses for both the plastic scintillator and stilbene cell. However, we show that the stilbene cell exhibits minimal memory effect (0.043%), a capability that is of interest in nuclear explosion monitoring because it improves detection sensitivity, allowing for decreased time between measurements. The resolution of the stilbene cell is improved slightly (2.2 keV at 129 keV) when compared to the plastic scintillator cell. The efficiency of the stilbene cell is lower than that of the plastic by an average 15%. These results suggest that an improvement in light collection are needed. Pulse shape discrimination analysis decreases the minimum detectable concentration by 1%. The use of this geometry allows for a simple replacement of the plastic cells currently used in the field versus a complete overhaul of the existing radioxenon monitoring stations.

Sivels, Ciara B.↗

Complementary first and second derivative methods for ansatz optimization in variational Monte Carlo

We present a comparison between a number of recently introduced low-memory wave function optimization methods for variational Monte Carlo in which we find that first and second derivative methods possess strongly complementary relative advantages. While we find that low-memory variants of the linear method are vastly more efficient at bringing wave functions with disparate types of nonlinear parameters to the vicinity of the energy minimum, accelerated descent approaches are then able to locate the precise minimum with less bias and lower statistical uncertainty. By constructing a simple hybrid approach that combines these methodologies, we show that all of these advantages can be had at once when simultaneously optimizing large determinant expansions, molecular orbital shapes, traditional Jastrow correlation factors, and more nonlinear many-electron Jastrow factors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Challenges of Monte Carlo Transport

These are slides from a presentation for Parallel Summer School at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Solving discretized partial differential equations (PDEs) of interest can require a large number of computations. We can identify concurrency to allow parallel solution of discrete PDEs. Simulated particles histories can be used to solve the Boltzmann transport equation. Particle histories are independent in neutral particle transport, making them amenable to parallel computation. Physical parameters and method type determine the data dependencies of particle histories. Data requirements shape parallel algorithms for Monte Carlo. Then, Parallel Computational Physics and Parallel Monte Carlo are discussed and, finally, the results are given. The mesh passing method greatly simplifies the IMC implementation and allows simple load-balancing. Using MPI windows and passive, one-sided RMA further simplifies the implementation by removing target synchronization. The author is very interested in implementations of PGAS that may allow further optimization for one-sided, read-only memory access (e.g. Open SHMEM). The MPICH_RMA_OVER_DMAPP option and library is required to make one-sided messaging scale on Trinitite - Moonlight scales poorly. Interconnect specific libraries or functions are likely necessary to ensure performance. BRANSON has been used to directly compare the current standard method to a proposed method on idealized problems. The mesh passing algorithm performs well on problems that are designed to show the scalability of the particle passing method. BRANSON can now run load-imbalanced, dynamic problems. Potential avenues of improvement in the mesh passing algorithm will be implemented and explored. A suite of test problems that stress DD methods will elucidate a possible path forward for production codes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Field-driven sense elements for chirality-dependent domain wall detection and storage

A method for locally sensing and storing data of transverse domain wall chirality in planar nanowire logic and memory systems is presented. Patterned elements, in close proximity to the nanowires, respond to the asymmetry in the stray field from the domain wall to produce a chirality-dependent response. When a bias field is applied, a stray field-assisted reversal of the element magnetization results in a reversed remanent state, measurable by scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA). The elements are designed as triangles with tips pointing toward the nanowire, allowing the shape anisotropy to be dominated by the base but having a portion with lower volume and lower energy barrier closest to the domain wall. Micromagnetic modeling assists in the design of the nanowire-triangle systems and experiments using SEMPA confirm the importance of aspect ratio and spacing given a constant bias field magnitude.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

On the bipolar resistive-switching characteristics of Al₂O₃- and HfO₂-based memory cells operated in the soft-breakdown regime

In this article, we investigate extensively the bipolar-switching properties of Al₂O₃- and HfO₂-based resistive-switching memory cells operated at low current down to <1 μA. We show that the switching characteristics differ considerably from those typically reported for larger current range (>15 μA), which we relate as intrinsic to soft-breakdown (SBD) regime. We evidence a larger impact of the used switching-oxide in this current range, due to lower density of oxygen-vacancy (V{sub o}) defects in the SBD regime. In this respect, deep resetting and large memory window may be achieved using the stoichiometric Al₂O₃ material due to efficient V{sub o} annihilation, although no complete erasure of the conductive-filament (CF) is obtained. We finally emphasize that the conduction may be described by a quantum point-contact (QPC) model down to very low current level where only a few V{sub o} defects compose the QPC constriction. The large switching variability inherent to this latter aspect is mitigated by CF shape tuning through adequate engineering of an Al₂O₃\HfO₂ bilayer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

The principle of minimal power

This article is devoted to the memory of Yuri P Raizer, who passed away in 2021. He left a noticeable trace in gas discharge physics. The principle of minimal power (the state that requires minimal power is most probable) is thoroughly used in his books. Although the fundamental laws of physics do not imply this ad hoc principle, a detailed analysis of underlying phenomena can often reveal why nature prefers this path. Raizer illustrated this principle for plasma stratification, formation of electrode spots, discharge constriction, the shape of an arc channel, etc. We argue that the nonlinearity of equations describing gas discharges can often justify the realization of a plasma state maintained at minimal electric power. This nonlinearity appears because small groups of energetic electrons often control the ionization processes. The number of these electrons depends strongly on the ratio of the electric field to gas density, E/N. Under certain conditions, the ionization rate can also depend nonlinearly on electron density due to stepwise ionization and Coulomb collisions. Here, we use the principle of minimal power to illustrate some of Raizer's contributions to gas discharge physics from a single point of view. We demonstrate that nonlinearity of ionization processes in gas discharges can substantiate this principle for plasma stratification. However, striations of s, p, and r types in neon could exist with minimal or no ionization enhancement. This reminds us of Raizer's warning that applying the minimal power principle could lead to erroneous predictions, and a proper theory is required in each case to justify its use. 'The phenomenon of striations satisfies the principle of minimal power' – Yuri Raizer

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Autonomous nondestructive evaluation of resistance spot welded joints

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

42 ENGINEERING↗

Measuring the Energy Consumption and Efficiency of Deep Neural Networks: An Empirical Analysis and Design Recommendations

Addressing the "Red-AI" trend of rising energy consumption by large-scale neural networks, this study investigates the measured energy consumption of training various fully connected neural network architectures. We introduce the BUTTER-E dataset, an augmentation to the BUTTER Empirical Deep Learning dataset, containing energy consumption and performance data from 41,129 individual experimental runs spanning 30,582 distinct configurations: 13 datasets, 20 sizes (trainable parameters), 8 "shapes", and 14 depths on both CPUs and GPUs using node-level watt-meters. This dataset reveals the complex relationship between dataset size, network structure, and energy use. Our analysis uncovers a surprising, hardware-mediated non-linear relationship between energy efficiency and network design, challenging the assumption that reducing the number of parameters or FLOPs is the best way to achieve greater energy efficiency. We propose a straightforward and effective energy model that accounts for network size, computing, and memory hierarchy. Highlighting the need for cache-considerate algorithm development, we suggest a codesign approach to energy efficient network, algorithm, and hardware design. This work contributes to the fields of sustainable computing and Green AI, offering practical guidance for creating more energy-efficient neural networks and promoting sustainable AI.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Influence of a Nitrogen Admixture on the Anomalous Memory Effect in the Breakdown of Low-Pressure Argon in a Long Discharge Tube

The memory effect (the dependence of the dynamic breakdown voltage U{sub b} on the time interval τ between voltage pulses) in pulse-periodic discharges in pure argon and the Ar + 1%N{sub 2} mixture was studied experimentally. The discharge was ignited in a 2.8-cm-diameter tube with an interelectrode distance of 75 cm. The measurements were performed at gas pressures of P = 1, 2, and 5 Torr and discharge currents in a steady stage of the discharge of I = 20 and 56 mA. Breakdown was produced by applying positive-polarity voltage pulses, the time interval between pulses being in the range of τ = 0.5–40 ms. In this range of τ values, a local maximum (the anomalous memory effect) was observed in the dependence U{sub b}(τ). It is shown that addition of nitrogen to argon substantially narrows the range of τ values at which this effect takes place. To analyze the measurement results, the plasma parameters in a steady-state discharge (in both pure argon and the Ar + 1%N{sub 2} mixture) and its afterglow were calculated for the given experimental conditions. Analysis of the experimental data shows that the influence of the nitrogen admixture on the shape of the dependence U{sub b}(τ) is, to a large extent, caused by the change in the decay rate of the argon afterglow plasma in the presence of a nitrogen admixture.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗