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

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Survey of Deep Learning and Physics-Based Approaches in Computational Wave Imaging

Computational wave imaging (CWI) extracts hidden structure and physical properties of a volume of material by analyzing wave signals that traverse that volume. Applications include seismic exploration of the Earth’s subsurface, acoustic imaging and nondestructive testing (NDT) in material science, and ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) in medicine. Current approaches for solving CWI problems can be divided into two categories: those rooted in traditional physics and those based on deep learning. Physics-based methods stand out for their ability to provide high-resolution and quantitatively accurate estimates of acoustic properties within the medium. However, they can be computationally intensive and are susceptible to ill-posedness and nonconvexity typical of CWI problems. Machine learning (ML)-based computational methods have recently emerged, offering a different perspective to address these challenges. Diverse scientific communities have independently pursued the integration of deep learning in CWI. This review discusses how contemporary scientific ML techniques, and deep neural networks in particular, have been developed to enhance and integrate with traditional physics-based methods for solving CWI problems. We present a structured framework that consolidates existing research spanning multiple domains, including computational imaging, wave physics, and data science. This study concludes with important lessons learned from existing ML-based methods and identifies technical hurdles and emerging trends through a systematic analysis of the extensive literature on this topic.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deep Learning-Based Weather-Related Power Outage Prediction with Socio-Economic and Power Infrastructure Data

This paper presents a deep learning-based approach for hourly power outage probability prediction within census tracts encompassing a utility company's service territory. Two distinct deep learning models, conditional Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and unconditional MLP, were developed to forecast power outage probabilities, leveraging a rich array of input features gathered from publicly available sources including weather data, weather station locations, power infrastructure maps, socio-economic and demographic statistics, and power outage records. Given a one-hour-ahead weather forecast, the models predict the power outage probability for each census tract, taking into account both the weather prediction and the location's characteristics. The deep learning models employed different loss functions to optimize prediction performance. Our experimental results underscore the significance of socio-economic factors in enhancing the accuracy of power outage predictions at the census tract level.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Denoising Seismograms in the Time Domain Using a Deep Learning Model

Deep learning has emerged as a transformative tool for enhancing the extraction of reliable information from seismograms, addressing the increasing demand for precise and efficient seismic data analysis. We introduce an innovative encoder–decoder deep learning model, named WaveDenoiser, designed for noise reduction in the time domain, thereby eliminating the need for spectrogram computations that have been used for existing deep learning tools and significantly improving processing speed. Utilizing the benchmark dataset that is Stanford Earthquake Dataset, we developed three models of varying sizes: base, medium, and large. Notably, the large (referred to as WaveDenoiser) model demonstrated superior performance, achieving a median signal‐to‐noise ratio improvement of 8.8 dB on in‐distribution unseen data (in the same geographic region) and 7.7 dB on out‐distribution unseen data (in a new geographic region), outpacing both the base and medium models. Further evaluation of the WaveDenoiser model revealed a reduction in median arrival‐time errors by 0.02 s for P waves and 0.01 s for S waves when processing waveforms prior to phase picking using PhaseNet on in‐distribution unseen data. When tested on out‐distribution unseen data, the model also effectively reduced the P‐wave median arrival‐time error by 0.02 and 0.01 s in median arrival‐time error for S waves. Importantly, the application of WaveDenoiser resulted in a significant reduction of phase picking outliers by 1.1% to 3.6% for both P and S waves. In addition, we achieved over five times acceleration in processing speed compared with the seisBench implementation of DeepDenoiser. Our findings underscore the potential of WaveDenoiser as a powerful tool for improving seismic data analysis and processing efficiency.

P-waves↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multi-Level Structural Damage Characterization Using Sparse Acoustic Sensor Networks and Knowledge Transferred Deep Learning

Standard structural health monitoring techniques face well-known difficulties for comprehensive defect diagnosis in real-world structures that have structural, material, or geometric complexity. This motivates the exploration of machine-learning-based structural health monitoring methods in complex structures. However, creating sufficient training data sets with various defects is an ongoing challenge for data-driven machine (deep) learning algorithms. The ability to transfer the knowledge of a trained neural network from one component to another or to other sections of the same component would drastically reduce the required training data set. Also, it would facilitate computationally inexpensive machine learning based inspection systems. In this work, a machine-learning-based multi-level damage characterization is demonstrated with the ability to transfer trained knowledge within the sparse sensor network. A novel network spatial assistance and an adaptive convolution technique are proposed for efficient knowledge transfer within the deep learning algorithm. Proposed structural health monitoring method is experimentally evaluated on an aluminum plate with artificially induced defects. It was observed that the method improves the performance of knowledge transferred damage characterization by 50% during localization and 24% during severity assessment. Further, experiments using time windows with and without multiple edge reflections are studied. Results reveal that multiply scattered waves contain rich and deterministic defect signatures that can be mined using deep learning neural networks, improving the accuracy of both identification and quantification. In the case of a fixed sensor network, using multiply scattered waves shows 100% prediction accuracy at all levels of damage characterization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

G2PDeep-v2: A Web-Based Deep-Learning Framework for Phenotype Prediction and Biomarker Discovery for All Organisms Using Multi-Omics Data

Multi-omics data offers rich insights into complex traits across organisms, yet integrating and analyzing these datasets for phenotype prediction and marker discovery remains challenging. Researchers need accessible tools that combine deep learning, hyperparameter optimization, visualization, and downstream analysis in a unified web platform. To address this, we developed G2PDeep-v2, a web-based platform powered by deep learning for phenotype prediction and marker discovery from multi-omics data across a wide range of organisms, including humans and plants. The server provides multiple services for researchers to create deep-learning models through an interactive interface and train these models using an automated hyperparameter tuning algorithm on high-performance computing resources. Users can visualize the results of phenotype and markers predictions and perform Gene Set Enrichment Analysis for the significant markers to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying complex diseases, conditions and other biological phenotypes being studied.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deep Eutectic Solvents as Candidates for Lithium Isotope Enrichment

Nuclear fusion is a phenomenon that is well known within the nuclear physics community as a viable option for alternative energy as many natural gases and fossil fuels are phased out of commercial use. Deuterium and tritium fusion reactions are currently the leading candidates for nuclear fusion, with a major limiting factor being a means to produce tritium on an industrial scale. Lithium-6 is a well-known isotope that can produce tritium and helium following a fission reaction with a neutron. Unfortunately, the lithium-6 enrichment methods are limited to the COLEX process, which leaves behind an alarming amount of mercury waste as a potential environmental contaminant. Deep eutectic solvents are believed to be a potential alternative to lithium isotope separations due to the ease of generation, in addition to the minimum environmental waste generated when these solvents are employed. Previous studies have suggested that deep eutectic solvents are capable of separating lithium isotopes by utilizing a 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone and trioctylphosphine oxide system that can biphasically react with a buffered solution containing lithium chloride. This system displays a separation factor of 1.068, which when compared to the 1.054 separation within the COLEX process, makes it a potential candidate for lithium-6/7 separation. Within this study, we investigate this system in comparison to two newly synthesized deep eutectic solvents and find that within these acetylacetone-based systems, little isotopic separation is observed. We investigate these systems both experimentally and computationally, showing the different lithium cation affinities, in addition to proposing how the electron-donating or -withdrawing nature can influence these systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Introduction to and comparison of deep learning and optimization approaches to analytical wake modeling of a tilted wind turbine

This paper introduces innovative optimization and deep learning techniques to enhance the prediction of complex wake dynamics in the downstream wind velocity of tilted wind turbines. Traditional methods for calibrating the Bastankhah wake model often lead to increased errors in wind velocity distribution due to overfitting of the local wake characteristics. To address this issue, we propose an additional global optimization step to reduce errors in wind velocity predictions with respect to various wake parameters. Despite this improvement, the Bastankhah model's axisymmetric Gaussian wake shape limits its accuracy for complex wake structures. Therefore, we also propose a deep learning approach, which demonstrates promising results by accurately modeling complex wake shapes across a broader range of tilt angles with minimal computational cost. The deep learning approach achieves near-identical predictions to high-fidelity large-eddy simulations, representing a promising advancement in wake modeling.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Increasing the Stability of Deep Blue Phosphor‐Sensitized OLEDs Using the Polariton‐Enhanced Purcell Effect

Abstract The stability of efficient, deep blue organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) remains a major challenge in the field of organic electronics. Poor device stability originates from the high probability for destructive non‐radiative triplet exciton annihilation events. Phosphor‐sensitized fluorescence (PSF) is proposed to achieve an efficient, deep blue color by energy transfer from phosphors to fluorophores. Recently, the polariton‐enhanced Purcell (PEP) effect is introduced to decrease the triplet radiative lifetime and density, resulting in an increase in blue phosphorescent OLED lifetime. Here, the PEP effect is introduced to enhance the stability of the PSF‐OLEDs. It is shown that the PEP effect increases all radiative decay rates of the phosphors and fluorophores, leading to a reduction in the triplet annihilation events. Using a Pt‐complex phosphor sensitizer and a so‐called multi‐resonance fluorescent emitter in a PEP cavity, a 3.1‐fold lifetime increase is observed at a current density ofJ= 10 mA cm −2 , reduced EQE roll‐off and deep blue color with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinates of (0.13, 0.09). The PEP effect maximally extends PSF‐OLED lifetimes in devices with the highest triplet‐to‐singlet energy transfer rates. Moreover, this work suggests that the benefits of PEPs apply to all triplet‐based OLEDs.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2024

Report on the AAPM grand challenge on deep generative modeling for learning medical image statistics

Abstract Background The findings of the 2023 AAPM Grand Challenge on Deep Generative Modeling for Learning Medical Image Statistics are reported in this Special Report. Purpose The goal of this challenge was to promote the development of deep generative models for medical imaging and to emphasize the need for their domain‐relevant assessments via the analysis of relevant image statistics. Methods As part of this Grand Challenge, a common training dataset and an evaluation procedure was developed for benchmarking deep generative models for medical image synthesis. To create the training dataset, an established 3D virtual breast phantom was adapted. The resulting dataset comprised about 108 000 images of size 512 512. For the evaluation of submissions to the Challenge, an ensemble of 10 000 DGM‐generated images from each submission was employed. The evaluation procedure consisted of two stages. In the first stage, a preliminary check for memorization and image quality (via the Fréchet Inception Distance [FID]) was performed. Submissions that passed the first stage were then evaluated for the reproducibility of image statistics corresponding to several feature families including texture, morphology, image moments, fractal statistics, and skeleton statistics. A summary measure in this feature space was employed to rank the submissions. Additional analyses of submissions was performed to assess DGM performance specific to individual feature families, the four classes in the training data, and also to identify various artifacts. Results Fifty‐eight submissions from 12 unique users were received for this Challenge. Out of these 12 submissions, 9 submissions passed the first stage of evaluation and were eligible for ranking. The top‐ranked submission employed a conditional latent diffusion model, whereas the joint runners‐up employed a generative adversarial network, followed by another network for image superresolution. In general, we observed that the overall ranking of the top 9 submissions according to our evaluation method (i) did not match the FID‐based ranking, and (ii) differed with respect to individual feature families. Another important finding from our additional analyses was that different DGMs demonstrated similar kinds of artifacts. Conclusions This Grand Challenge highlighted the need for domain‐specific evaluation to further DGM design as well as deployment. It also demonstrated that the specification of a DGM may differ depending on its intended use.

Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging↗
DOE OSTI2025

Heterogeneous Mixtures of Dictionary Functions to Approximate Subspace Invariance in Koopman Operators: Why Deep Koopman Operators Work

Abstract Koopman operators model nonlinear dynamics as a linear dynamic system acting on a nonlinear function as the state. This nonstandard state is often called a Koopman observable and is usually approximated numerically by a superposition of functions drawn from a dictionary . In a widely used algorithm, extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD), the dictionary functions are drawn from a fixed class of functions. Deep learning combined with EDMD has been used to learn novel dictionary functions in an algorithm called deep dynamic mode decomposition (deepDMD). The learned representation both (1) accurately models and (2) scales well with the dimension of the original nonlinear system. In this paper, we analyze the learned dictionaries from deepDMD and explore the theoretical basis for their strong performance. We explore State-Inclusive Logistic Lifting (SILL) dictionary functions to approximate Koopman observables. Error analysis of these dictionary functions show they satisfy a property of subspace approximation, which we define as uniform finite approximate closure. Typically, a Koopman dictionary’s nonlinear functions are homogeneous. In this paper, we discover that structured mixing of heterogeneous dictionary functions drawn from different classes of nonlinear functions achieve the same accuracy and dimensional scaling as the deep-learning-based deepDMD algorithm Yeung et al. ( In: 2019 American Control Conference (ACC), 2019). We specifically show this by building a heterogeneous dictionary comprised of SILL functions and conjunctive radial basis functions (RBFs). This mixed dictionary achieves similar accuracy and dimensional scaling to deepDMD with an order of magnitude reduction in parameters, while maintaining geometric interpretability. These results strengthen the viability of dictionary-based Koopman models to solving high-dimensional nonlinear learning problems.

Johnson, Charles A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Karhunen–Loève deep learning method for surrogate modeling and approximate Bayesian parameter estimation

We evaluate the performance of the Karhunen-Loève Deep Neural Network (KL-DNN) framework for surrogate modeling and approximate Bayesian parameter estimation in partial differential equation models. In the surrogate model, the Karhunen-Loève (KL) expansions are used for the dimensionality reduction of the number of unknown parameters and variables, and a deep neural network is employed to relate the reduced space of parameters to that of the state variables. The KL-DNN surrogate model is used to formulate a maximum-a-posteriori-like least-squares problem, which is randomized to draw samples of the posterior distribution of the parameters. We test the proposed framework for a hypothetical unconfined aquifer via comparison with the forward MODFLOW and inverse PEST++ iterative ensemble smoother (IES) solutions as well as the state-of-the-art Fourier neural operator (FNO) and deep operator networks (DeepONets) operator learning surrogate models. Our results show that the KL-DNN surrogate model outperforms FNO and DeepONet for forward predictions. For solving inverse problems, the randomized algorithm provides the same or more accurate Bayesian predictions of the parameters than IES as evidenced by the higher log-predictive probability of both the estimated parameter field and the forecast hydraulic head. The posterior mean obtained from the randomized algorithm is closer to the reference parameter field than that obtained with FNO as the maximum a posteriori estimate.

Approximate Bayesian inference↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bayesian reduced-order deep learning surrogate model for dynamic systems described by partial differential equations

We propose a reduced-order deep-learning surrogate model for dynamic systems described by time-dependent partial differential equations. This method employs space–time Karhunen–Loève expansions (KLEs) of the state variables and space-dependent KLEs of space-varying parameters to identify the reduced (latent) dimensions. Subsequently, a deep neural network (DNN) is used to map the parameter latent space to the state variable latent space. An approximate Bayesian method is developed for uncertainty quantification (UQ) in the proposed KL-DNN surrogate model. The KL-DNN method is tested for the linear advection–diffusion and nonlinear diffusion equations, and the Bayesian approach for UQ is compared with the deep ensembling (DE) approach, commonly used for quantifying uncertainty in DNN models. It was found that the approximate Bayesian method provides a more informative distribution of the PDE solutions in terms of the coverage of the reference PDE solutions (the percentage of nodes where the reference solution is within the confidence interval predicted by the UQ methods) and log predictive probability. The DE method is found to underestimate uncertainty and introduce bias. For the nonlinear diffusion equation, we compare the KL-DNN method with the Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) method and find that KL-DNN is 10% more accurate and needs less training time than the FNO method.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Arm and shoulder muscle segmentation in axial MRI with UNet deep learning model

Quantifying individual upper-limb muscle volumes from MRI provides key insight into muscle-specific strength, deficits, and adaptations. Manual delineation is the gold standard but time‑intensive, and the performance of current deep learning approaches, particularly for small or anatomically complex muscles, remains incompletely characterized. We evaluated a state‑of‑the‑art deep learning framework across the entire upper limb and analyzed factors governing segmentation performance, with attention to the forearm. Three previously published MRI datasets (1.5 T, 3D GRE T1‑weighted; total n = 39) spanning young, middle‑aged, and older adults were curated and quality‑checked, including expert manual segmentations for 31 muscles. Following multiclass mask reconstruction, we trained three 3D nnU‑Net multiclass models matched to the muscle subsets present across datasets, using five‑fold cross‑validation and a composite Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) + cross entropy loss. Segmentation accuracy was assessed with DSC. Performance varied across muscles (mean DSC = 0.806 ± 0.098), ranging from 0.920 (Deltoid) to 0.461 (Extensor pollicis brevis). In uncertainty‑weighted regressions, muscle volume was positively associated with DSC (R2 = 0.36, p < 0.001), whereas training segmentation count and muscle orientation showed negligible associations (R2 ≤ 0.06). A weighted mixed‑effects model identified volume as the strongest evaluated predictor, explaining 23.9% of variance in DSC; orientation and training count each contributed <1%, leaving 61.5% unexplained. These results indicate that deep learning–based segmentation can accurately quantify muscle volume for many upper‑limb muscles but remains constrained for small, low‑contrast forearm muscles.

Gillespie, Samuel↗
DOE OSTI2025

Environmental Influences on Deep Convective Upscale Growth Rate in Central Argentina From a Convection‐Permitting Simulation

This study uses a convection‐permitting model simulation to describe the environmental conditions under which convective upscale growth occurs in central Argentina, particularly examining environmental parameters when deep convection initially forms that could differentiate the rate of initial upscale growth. Simulated mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are separated into slow and rapid growth by the rate of spatial growth from convection initiation until reaching the MCS scale. A low‐level jet (LLJ) is found more frequently near the deep convection that experiences rapid growth to an MCS, but its presence alone is not predictive of rapid growth. Using spatially‐averaged parameters, we find that rapid growth to MCSs also occurs in environments that are significantly more thermodynamically favorable with greater low‐level moisture and instability. Fewer significant differences are found in the kinematic environment with only the 0–2 km vertical wind shear magnitude being significantly larger for rapid growth MCSs compared to slow growth MCSs, potentially related to LLJs often peaking near this height. When focusing only on MCSs with the slowest and fastest growth rates, elevated‐layer shear is significantly smaller for very rapid growth MCSs, suggesting elevated‐layer shear may help discriminate between the upper and lower bounds of growth rate. Finally, when upscale growth occurs near the Sierras de Córdoba (SDC) with a LLJ present, rapid growth is also supported by favorable wind shear orientation. However, this does not hold for upscale growth occurring away from the SDC, highlighting the importance of interpreting shear direction relative to the orientation of features initiating deep convection.

Sasaki, Clayton R. S. [Univ. of Washington, Seattl↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improved deep learning prediction of antigen–antibody interactions

Identifying antibodies that neutralize specific antigens is crucial for developing effective immunotherapies, but this task remains challenging for many target antigens. The rise of deep learning–based computational approaches presents a promising avenue to address this challenge. Here, we assess the performance of a deep learning approach through two benchmark tests aimed at predicting antibodies for the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. Three different strategies for constructing input sequence alignments are employed for predicting structural models of antigen–antibody complexes. In our initial testing set, which comprises known experimental structures, these strategies collectively yield a significant top-ranked prediction for 61% of cases and a success rate of 47%. Notably, one strategy that utilizes the sequences of known antigen binders outperforms the other two, achieving a precision of 90% in a subsequent test set of ~1,000 antibodies, balanced between true and control antibodies for the antigen, albeit with a lower recall of 25%. Our results underscore the potential of integrating deep learning methods with single B cell sequencing techniques to enhance the prediction accuracy of antigen–antibody interactions.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deep chalcogen donors and electron localization in aluminum nitride

Abstract We show with hybrid density functional theory calculations that chalcogen donors other than oxygen (i.e. S N , Se N , and Te N ) give rise to deep donor states in aluminum nitride. These donors trap a localized electron in their neutral charge state, leading to deep ( + / 0 ) donor levels that are 0.45 eV or more from the conduction-band edge. As such, this behavior is distinct from the DX behavior leads to deep (+/−) levels which affects other donors such as O N and Si Al . We highlight how these results hint at the formation of small electron polarons in AlN, which are found to be unstable in the bulk, but metastable when bound to donor dopants like Si Al and the chalocogens, with activation energies on the order of 0.2–0.3 eV. These results indicate that S, Se, and Te are not shallow donor dopants in aluminum nitride and identify origins of the experimentally observed ∼200–300 meV activation energies for dopant activation in donor-doped samples.

aluminum nitride↗
DOE OSTI2025

Feature learning and generalization in deep networks with orthogonal weights

Fully-connected deep neural networks with weights initialized from independent Gaussian distributions can be tuned to criticality, which prevents the exponential growth or decay of signals propagating through the network. However, such networks still exhibit fluctuations that grow linearly with the depth of the network, which may impair the training of networks with width comparable to depth. We show analytically that rectangular networks with tanh activations and weights initialized from the ensemble of orthogonal matrices have corresponding preactivation fluctuations which are independent of depth, to leading order in inverse width. Moreover, we demonstrate numerically that, at initialization, all correlators involving the neural tangent kernel (NTK) and its descendants at leading order in inverse width—which govern the evolution of observables during training—saturate at a depth of ~20, rather than growing without bound as in the case of Gaussian initializations. We speculate that this structure preserves finite-width feature learning while reducing overall noise, thus improving both generalization and training speed in deep networks with depth comparable to width. We provide some experimental justification by relating empirical measurements of the NTK to the superior performance of deep non-linear orthogonal networks trained under full-batch gradient descent on the MNIST and CIFAR-10 classification tasks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Simulation-based 𝑤CDM inference from weak lensing and galaxy clustering maps with deep learning: Analysis design

Data-driven approaches using deep learning are emerging as powerful techniques to extract non-Gaussian information from cosmological large-scale structure. Here, this work presents the first simulation-based inference (SBI) pipeline that combines weak lensing and galaxy clustering maps in a realistic Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES Y3) configuration and serves as preparation for a forthcoming analysis of the survey data. We develop a scalable forward model based on the CosmoGridV1 suite of N-body simulations to generate over one million self-consistent mock realizations of DES Y3 at the map level. Leveraging this large dataset, we train deep graph convolutional neural networks on the full survey footprint in spherical geometry to learn low-dimensional features that approximately maximize mutual information with target parameters. These learned compressions enable neural density estimation of the implicit likelihood via normalizing flows in a ten-dimensional parameter space spanning cosmological 𝑤CDM, intrinsic alignment, and linear galaxy bias parameters, while marginalizing over baryonic, photometric redshift, and shear bias nuisances. To ensure robustness, we extensively validate our inference pipeline using synthetic observations derived from both systematic contaminations in our forward model and independent Buzzard galaxy catalogs. Our forecasts yield significant improvements in cosmological parameter constraints, achieving 2−3× higher figures of merit in the 𝛺 𝑚 − 𝑆 8 plane relative to our implementation of baseline two-point statistics and effectively breaking parameter degeneracies through probe combination. These results demonstrate the potential of SBI analyses powered by deep learning for upcoming Stage-IV wide-field imaging surveys.

Thomsen, A. [Zurich, ETH] (ORCID:0000000203099021)↗