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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 775 records · Page 43

Deformation Mechanism Transition in Additively Manufactured Compositionally Graded Fe-Base Alloys

Microstructure-dependent deformation and fracture behavior was investigated for an additively manufactured compositionally graded alloy (CGA) printed using the laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED) method to explore an alternative approach for dissimilar metal joints in nuclear energy systems. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) maps from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) display a clear microstructural transition with decreasing austenite-forming elements (Ni and Mn), from an austenite (γ) dominant structure, to a complex composite structure containing ferrite (α), martensite (α') and retained austenite, and then to a fully ferritic structure. EBSD data were recorded in situ during tensile testing in SEM, and the evolution of the deformation mechanism and microstructure was characterized using Kikuchi diffraction pattern analysis. Complementary analysis for high-resolution features was also performed using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The Ni/Mn-rich austenite-dominant microstructures showed a complex deformation mechanism of two-step martensitic transformation (γ→ε→α'), whereas the minor austenite phase retained in the ferrite and/or martensite matrix showed a single transformation route (γ→α'). Ordinary dislocation glide and twinning via partial dislocation glide were observed in the austenite deformation. Meanwhile, the ferrite and martensite grains deformed mainly by ordinary dislocation slips and grain rotation. Furthermore, static tensile fracture was also highly dependent on local composition and phase constituents.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mapping Post-fire Conifer Regeneration using Snow-on Imagery

The 2000 Jasper Fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota was the largest wildfire to date in the region, burning over 83,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest. In collaboration with partners from the United States Forest Service (USFS) Black Hills Experimental Forest, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and United States Geological Survey Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, we characterized post-fire forest regeneration within high severity burn patches. We accomplished this by implementing novel conifer detection techniques using a snow index mask to create a winter, snow-on image composite from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data. We utilized 2015 USFS stem maps of field-observed regeneration plots and ocularly sampled reforestation sites planted from 2001–2013. The field data and imagery were used to train a Random Forest (RF) model in Google Earth Engine. The RF model classified conifer regeneration density as low, medium, or high across the high-severity burn area with an overall accuracy of 81.3% for 2021. Approximately 45.9% of the high-severity burn area had low or no regeneration (0-40 trees per acre) 20 years post-fire. Given our partners' desire to find easily accessible low conifer regeneration zones, we identified 4,079 acres of priority planting sites that were within 1,500 feet of roads, had not been planted previously, and were larger than 50 acres. This method supports the use of snow-on imagery as a successful technique to identify conifer regeneration in a post-wildfire landscape.

Yeshey Seldon↗

Black Hills Wildfires: Mapping Post-fire Conifer Regeneration using Snow-on Imagery

The 2000 Jasper Fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota was the largest wildfire to date in the region, burning over 83,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest. In collaboration with partners from the United States Forest Service (USFS) Black Hills Experimental Forest, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and United States Geological Survey Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, we characterized post-fire forest regeneration within high-severity burn patches. We accomplished this by implementing novel conifer detection techniques using a snow index mask to create a winter, snow-on image composite from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data. We utilized 2015 USFS stem maps of field-observed regeneration plots and ocularly sampled additional reforestation sites planted in 2001–2013. In Google Earth Engine (GEE), the field data and imagery were used to train a Random Forest (RF) model. The RF model classified 2021 conifer regeneration density as low, medium, or high across the high-severity burn area with an overall accuracy of 81.3%. Approximately 45.9% of the high-severity burn had low or no regeneration (0-40 trees per acre) 20 years post-fire. Given our partners' desire to find easily accessible low conifer regeneration zones, we identified 4,079 acres of priority planting sites that were within 1,500 feet of roads, had not been planted previously, and were larger than 50 acres. This method supports the use of snow-on imagery as a successful technique to identify conifer regeneration.

Casey Menick​↗

Black Hills Wildfires: Mapping Post-Fire Conifer Regeneration using Snow-On Imagery

The 2000 Jasper Fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota was the largest wildfire to date in the region, burning over 83,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest. In collaboration with partners from the United States Forest Service (USFS) Black Hills Experimental Forest, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and United States Geological Survey Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, we characterized post-fire forest regeneration within high-severity burn patches. We accomplished this by implementing novel conifer detection techniques using a snow index mask to create a winter, snow-on image composite from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data. We utilized 2015 USFS stem maps of field-observed regeneration plots and ocularly sampled additional reforestation sites planted in 2001–2013. In Google Earth Engine (GEE), the field data and imagery were used to train a Random Forest (RF) model. The RF model classified 2021 conifer regeneration density as low, medium, or high across the high-severity burn area with an overall accuracy of 81.3%. Approximately 45.9% of the high-severity burn had low or no regeneration (0-40 trees per acre) 20 years post-fire. Given our partners' desire to find easily accessible low conifer regeneration zones, we identified 4,079 acres of priority planting sites that were within 1,500 feet of roads, had not been planted previously, and were larger than 50 acres. This method supports the use of snow-on imagery as a successful technique to identify conifer regeneration.

Casey Menick↗

Robust Molecular Predictive Methods for Novel Polymer Discovery and Applications

Polymeric materials are ubiquitous in modern society and they play an instrumental role in almost all industries, undoubtedly including the energy and environment sectors. Increased demand of energy and awareness to sustainability both necessitates the development of novel polymers with enhanced properties. Unfortunately, their structural and behavioral complexity render such discovery challenging and impeded. To address this problem, scientists are developing various computational modeling techniques and leveraging their power to depict the relationship between structural characteristics of polymers and their properties (such as rheological behaviors), and use such prediction to guide the design and syntheses of novel polymeric materials with enhanced performances. Unfortunately, predicting the relationships between polymer structure and composition with rheological properties via atomistic modeling is still a major challenge because of the extended time and length scales involved. Studying dynamic shear viscosity and linear viscoelasticity using molecular models requires capabilities that have been elusive, including representation of large molecular weight chains with an effective internal scale capable of describing entanglement, shear-rates that are in the s-1 scale with accurate quantitative stresses, and chemically-realistic combinations of both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Motivated by these unmet challenges, the overall technical objective of this DOE-STTR Phase II project is to develop robust molecular predictive methods for advanced polymer discovery and applications and especially for designing and demonstrating the “smart” polymer-based waterflooding enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. In particular, we apply state-of-the-art molecular modeling methods developed by our academic partner, Materials Stimulation Center (MSC) at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), to facilitate and accelerate the experimental discovery processes. During the Phase I of this project, we had focused on development and demonstration of the molecular modeling methods to describe rheological properties of non-Newtonian polymer fluids, and to improve our fundamental understandings of shear-thickening mechanism and kinetics. In Phase II, we further apply the theoretical models to guide our experimental programs to improve our design of smart rheology modifier (SRM) polymers and their optimization for EOR. Specifically, we have three objectives in the Phase II study: (1) to further improve out computational modeling methods, coupling with the advanced machine learning algorithms; (2) to develop cost-effective and efficient SRM-flooding process suitable for EOR applications under typical reservoir conditions; and (3) to further explore the application of our molecular predictive models for innovative material discovery in other industrial applications. The recent development of our multiscale predictive framework allows the successful prediction of rheological properties from the chemical structure for polymers of experimentally relevant molecular weights, and provides an in-silico machine learning engine for screening novel compositions and structures with optimized non-Newtonian response, required for both shear-thinning and shear-thickening applications. Our framework provides: (1) procedures and tools for systematic coarsening from atomistic models and reverse mapping of coarse-grain models to atomistic, (2) unique ab initio methods to characterize the atomistic origin of colloidal and interfacial interactions and phenomena, (3) systematic structure and composition builders based on practical descriptors that drive rheological changes in polymer melts and diluted polymer mixtures, (4) a rheological properties engine capable of predicting viscosity in the zero-shear limit and under realistic dynamic conditions (for shear-rates commensurate with experiments) for large heterogeneous systems, (5) coarse-grain force fields with improved non-bond descriptions based on accurate quantum mechanics, (6) an in-silico screening machine learning engine that feeds from the systematic model builders to cover the descriptors search space, computes the rheological properties from converged trajectories spanning sub-milliseconds and ranks them for each structure/composition using an automated viscosity-vs-shear rate fitness function that can be tuned for shear-thickening, shear-thinning and other rheological responses.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Inferring Water Content from Neutron Die-away Curves for Planetary Science Applications

Signatures of liquid water on planetary bodies may provide evidence for past, present, or future life elsewhere in the solar system. Multiple current and upcoming planetary science missions are prioritizing the search for water, using innovative technologies and creative algorithms. For this project, we explore the capabilities of an instrument similar to the Dragonfly spacecraft to map water content on the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. We simulate Dragonfly’s neutron observations for a variety of soil compositions and develop multiple techniques to extract water content from the resultant neutron data. Additionally, we supplement neutron observations with gamma spectroscopy in an attempt to further refine water content estimates. This work is part of a larger study to employ Gaussian process regression to estimate a map of water content along the surface of Titan. Using the estimated map, an algorithm based on prediction difference mapping is employed to optimally move multiple Dragonfly detectors around the surface of Titan, fully autonomously.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Mars Target Encyclopedia: Information Extraction for Planetary Science

We created a new reference database called the Mars Target Encyclopedia (MTE) that contains compositional information about science targets (usually rocks or soils) on Mars. Users can search for all targets that contain an element (e.g., “calcium”) or mineral (e.g., “hematite”) and see a map view of their spatial locations (see Fig. 1). Clicking on a search result or searching for a specific target of interest (e.g., “Dillinger”) brings up a page that compiles previous findings about its composition (see Fig. 2). The information that populates the MTE was mined from the planetary science literature using information extraction technology. All information in the MTE is linked to the source publication from which it was extracted, so users can easily browse the full context in the original document (Fig. 2).

Singh, K.↗

Vegetative and geologic mapping of the western Seward Peninsula, Alaska, based on ERTS-1 imagery

ERTS-1 scene 1009-22095 (Western Seward Peninsula, Alaska) has been studied, partly as a training exercise, to evaluate whether direct visual examination of individual and custom color-composite prints can provide new information on the vegetation and geology of this relatively well known area of Alaska. The vegetation analysis reveals seven major vegetation types, only four of which are described on existing vegetation maps. In addition, the ERTS analysis provides greater detail than the existing maps on the areal distribution of vegetation types. The geologic analysis demonstrates that most of the major rock units and geomorphic boundaries shown on the available geologic maps could also be identified on the ERTS data. Several major high-angle faults were observed, but the zones of thrust faults which are much less obvious.

Anderson, J. H.↗

A Case Study of Multimodal, Multi-institutional Data Management for the Combinatorial Materials Science Community

Although the convergence of high-performance computing, automation, and machine learning has significantly altered the materials design timeline, transformative advances in functional materials and acceleration of their design will require addressing the deficiencies that currently exist in materials informatics, particularly a lack of standardized experimental data management. The challenges associated with experimental data management are especially true for combinatorial materials science, where advancements in automation of experimental workflows have produced datasets that are often too large and too complex for human reasoning. The data management challenge is further compounded by the multimodal and multi-institutional nature of these datasets, as they tend to be distributed across multiple institutions and can vary substantially in format, size, and content. Furthermore, modern materials engineering requires the tuning of not only composition but also of phase and microstructure to elucidate processing–structure–property–performance relationships. To adequately map a materials design space from such datasets, an ideal materials data infrastructure would contain data and metadata describing (i) synthesis and processing conditions, (ii) characterization results, and (iii) property and performance measurements. In this work, we present a case study for the low-barrier development of such a dashboard that enables standardized organization, analysis, and visualization of a large data lake consisting of combinatorial datasets of synthesis and processing conditions, X-ray diffraction patterns, and materials property measurements generated at several different institutions. While this dashboard was developed specifically for data-driven thermoelectric materials discovery, we envision the adaptation of this prototype to other materials applications, and, more ambitiously, future integration into an all-encompassing materials data management infrastructure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Scaling Field-Theoretic Simulation for Multicomponent Mixtures with Neural Operators

Multicomponent polymer mixtures are ubiquitous in biological self-organization but are notoriously difficult to study computationally. Plagued by both slow single molecule relaxation times and slow equilibration within dense mixtures, molecular dynamics simulations are typically infeasible at the spatial scales required to study the stability of mesophase structure. Polymer field theories offer an attractive alternative, but analytical calculations are only tractable for mean-field theories and nearby perturbations, constraints that become especially problematic for fluctuation-induced effects such as coacervation. Here, we show that a recently developed technique for obtaining numerical solutions to partial differential equations based on operator learning, neural operators, lends itself to a highly scalable training strategy by parallelizing per-species operator maps. We illustrate the efficacy of our approach on six-component mixtures with randomly selected compositions and that it significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art pseudospectral integrators for field-theoretic simulations, especially as polymer lengths become long.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Scaling of the strange-metal scattering in unconventional superconductors

Marked evolution of properties with minute changes in the doping level is a hallmark of the complex chemistry that governs copper oxide superconductivity as manifested in the celebrated superconducting domes and quantum criticality taking place at precise compositions. The strange-metal state, in which the resistivity varies linearly with temperature, has emerged as a central feature in the normal state of copper oxide superconductors. The ubiquity of this behaviour signals an intimate link between the scattering mechanism and superconductivity. However, a clear quantitative picture of the correlation has been lacking. In this study we report the observation of precise quantitative scaling laws among the superconducting transition temperature (T c ), the linear-in-T scattering coefficient (A 1 ) and the doping level (x) in electron-doped copper oxide La 2-x Ce x CuO 4 (LCCO). High-resolution characterization of epitaxial composition-spread films, which encompass the entire overdoped range of LCCO, has enabled us to systematically map its structural and transport properties with unprecedented accuracy and with increments of Δx = 0.0015. Additionally, we have uncovered the relations T c ~ (x c - x) 0.5 ~ (A 1 $\square$ ) 0.5 , where x c is the critical doping in which superconductivity disappears and A 1 $\square$ is the coefficient of the linear resistivity per CuO 2 plane. The striking similarity of the T c versus A 1 $\square$ relation among copper oxides, iron-based and organic superconductors may be an indication of a common mechanism of the strange-metal behaviour and unconventional superconductivity in these systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Optical fingerprints of the electronic band reconstruction in van der Waals magnetic materials

We report a broadband study of the charge dynamics in the van der Waals magnetic materials 2H-M x TaS 2 (M = Mn and Co), which span the onset of both long-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) order, depending on the intercalation M and its concentration x. We discover a spectral weight (SW) shift from high to low energy scales for FM compositions, while reversely SW is removed from low towards high spectral energies for AFM compounds. This maps the related reconstruction of the electronic band structure along the crossover from the FM to AFM order, which restores an occupation balance in the density of states between spin majority and minority bands of the intercalated 3d elements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Giant momentum-dependent spin splitting in centrosymmetric low-$\textit{Z}$ antiferromagnets

The energy vs crystal momentum $\textit{E(k)}$ diagram for a solid (band structure) constitutes the road map for navigating its optical, magnetic, and transport properties. By selecting crystals with specific atom types, composition, and symmetries, one could design a target band structure and thus desired properties. A particularly attractive outcome would be to design energy bands that are split into spin components with a momentum-dependent splitting, as envisioned by Pekar and Rashba, enabling spintronic application. The current paper provides “design principles” for wave-vector dependent spin splitting (SS) of energy bands that parallel the traditional Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC)–induced splitting, but originates from a fundamentally different source—antiferromagnetism. Here, we identify a few generic antiferromagnetic (AFM) prototypes with distinct SS patterns using magnetic symmetry design principles. These tools allow also the identification of specific AFM compounds with SS belonging to different prototypes. A specific compound—centrosymmetric tetragonal MnF 2 —is used via density functional band-structure calculations to quantitatively illustrate one type of AFM SS. Unlike the traditional SOC-induced effects restricted to noncentrosymmetric crystals, we show that antiferromagnetic-induced spin splitting broadens the playing field to include even centrosymmetric compounds, and gives SS comparable in magnitude to the best known (“giant’” SOC effects, even without traditional SOC, and consequently does not rely on the often-unstable high atomic number elements required for high SOC. We envision that use of the current design principles to identify an optimal antiferromagnet with spin-split energy bands would be beneficial for efficient spin-charge conversion and spin-orbit torque applications without the burden of requiring compounds containing heavy elements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Identification of Novel Genomic Associations and Gene Candidates for Grain Starch Content in Sorghum

Starch accumulated in the endosperm of cereal grains as reserve energy for germination serves as a staple in human and animal nutrition. Unraveling genetic control for starch metabolism is important for breeding grains with high starch content. In this study, we used a sorghum association panel with 389 individuals and 141,557 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to fit linear mixed models (LMM) for identifying genomic regions and potential candidate genes associated with starch content. Three associated genomic regions, one in chromosome (chr) 1 and two novel associations in chr-8, were identified using combination of LMM and Bayesian sparse LMM. All significant SNPs were located within protein coding genes, with SNPs ∼ 52 Mb of chr-8 encoding a Casperian strip membrane protein (CASP)-like protein (Sobic.008G111500) and a heat shock protein (HSP) 90 (Sobic.008G111600) that were highly expressed in reproductive tissues including within the embryo and endosperm. The HSP90 is a potential hub gene with gene network of 75 high-confidence first interactors that is enriched for five biochemical pathways including protein processing. The first interactors of HSP90 also showed high transcript abundance in reproductive tissues. The candidates of this study are likely involved in intricate metabolic pathways and represent candidate gene targets for source-sink activities and drought and heat stress tolerance during grain filling.

genomics↗

Application of ERTS-1 imagery in the fields of geology, agriculture, forestry, and hydrology to selected test sites in Iran

The preliminary study of the ERTS-1 imagery coverage of Iran, commenced on October 26, 1972. All of the images were carefully examined, and a photomosaic covering approximately ninety-five per cent of the country was prepared. A number of images of selected areas were studied in detail. In the field of geology, a number of large scale faults were identified, which do not figure on geological maps. Furthermore, a preliminary study was carried out on the recent sediments, their possible sources, and origin. A limited number of geological work maps were prepared as well. In the fields of agriculture and forestry, studies based on color composite prints of certain areas were undertaken, with a purpose of identifying potential arable areas. Investigations in the field of water resources resulted in the discovery of a number of small lakes, and streams. Furthermore, fluctuations of the water level in some lakes were observed.

Ebtehadj, K.↗

Evaluation of C-band SAR data from SAREX 1992: Tapajos study site

As part of the SAREX'92 (South American Radar Experiment), the Tapajos study site, located in Para State, Brazil was imaged by the Canada Center for Remote Sensing (CCRS) Convair 580 SAR system using a C-band frequency in HH and VV polarization and 3 different imaging modes (nadir, narrow, and wide swath). A preliminary analysis of this dataset is presented. The wide swath C-band HH polarized image was enlarged to 1:100,000 in a photographic form for manual interpretation. This was compared with a vegetation map produced primarily from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data and with single-band and color composite images derived from a decomposition analysis of TM data. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image shows well the topography and drainage network defining the different geomorphological units, and canopy texture differences which appear to be related to the size and maturity of the forest canopy. Areas of recent clearing of the primary forest can also be identified on the SAR image. The SAR system appears to be a source of information for monitoring tropical forest which is complementary to the Landsat Thematic Mapper.

Shimabukuro, Yosio Edemir↗

Pest Oxidation Regime in the Hi-Nicalon(Trademark)/BN/SiC Composite

SiC-SiC composites are prone to pest degradation at intermediate temperatures where the formation of a protective scale of silica by direct oxidation of SiC is too slow to offer effective protection from attack by ambient gases. The attack results in the removal of the BN interphase and its replacement by a borosilicate liquid (which dissolves and weakens the fiber) and finally by SiO2, (which embrittles the composite by bonding fiber to fiber or to matrix). This paper reports a study aimed at mapping out the temperature range of such pest degradation and the severity of its effect.

Ogbuji, Linus U. J. T.↗

MODIS Snow-Cover Products

On December 18, 1999, the Terra satellite was launched with a complement of five instruments including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Many geophysical products are derived from MODIS data including global snow-cover products. These products have been available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) since September 13, 2000. MODIS snow-cover products represent potential improvement to the currently available operation products mainly because the MODIS products are global and 500-m resolution, and have the capability to separate most snow and clouds. Also the snow-mapping algorithms are automated which means that a consistent data set is generated for long-term climates studies that require snow-cover information. Extensive quality assurance (QA) information is stored with the product. The snow product suite starts with a 500-m resolution swath snow-cover map which is gridded to the Integerized Sinusoidal Grid to produce daily and eight-day composite tile products. The sequence then proceeds to a climate-modeling grid product at 5-km spatial resolution, with both daily and eight-day composite products. A case study from March 6, 2000, involving MODIS data and field and aircraft measurements, is presented. Near-term enhancements include daily snow albedo and fractional snow cover.

Hall, Dorothy K.↗