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At least 883 records · Page 49

Do Remote Camera Arrangements and Image Capture Settings Improve Individual Identification of Golden Eagles?

Individual identification of animals from camera traps has become an important task in wildlife research, but camera deployment methods often do not facilitate this important undertaking. Identification of individual golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) is possible using uniquely marked rectrices, but no studies have explored methods to maximize the rate of individual identification from camera images. Furthermore, our objectives were to assess whether different camera heights (1 m vs. 3 m), image capture settings (one image after a 1-min delay vs. burst of 5 images after a 30 sec delay), and arrangements relative to bait (dorsally vs. ventrally aimed) affected views of rectrices on golden eagles and our ability to identify individuals. We conducted our study from 15 December 2016 to 3 March 2017 on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. First, we developed a scoring system based on views of rectrices and used a linear mixed-effects model to compare image scores among different camera arrangements and image settings. Next, after identifying individual eagles, we used generalized linear mixed-effects models to compare total individual eagle detections, total days an individual was detected, and probability of obtaining an unknown individual identification among camera arrangements and settings. Overall, we scored a total of 27,499 images, with 8,083 providing views of marked rectrices that allowed identification of 18 individual eagles. Average image scores and proportion of images suitable for individual identification were higher from elevated (3 m) camera arrangements than standard arrangements (1 m) across sites. Regardless of camera height, faster frequency of image capture provided more images that could be used to identify individuals and the most trap days per individual. Researchers and managers should consider deploying elevated cameras traps with faster frequency of image capture to improve data quality and potential for analysis of golden eagle populations and trends across the species’ range.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Nucleus capture by macroscopic dark matter

For a class of macroscopic dark matter with a large interaction strength with Standard Model particles, a nucleus could be captured by the dense, heavy dark matter as it traverses ordinary material. The radiated photon carries most of the binding energy and is a characteristic signature for dark matter detection. We develop analytic formulas and present numerical results for this radiative capture process in the low energy, non-dipole limit. Large-volume neutrino detectors like NOνA, JUNO, DUNE and Super(Hyper)-K may detect multi-hit or single-hit radiative capture events and can search for dark matter up to one gram in mass.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Gaussian process autoregressive model capturing microstructure evolution paths in a Ni–Mo–Nb alloy

Additive manufacturing is increasingly being employed to produce components of complex geometries in structural alloys because of the expected energy savings associated with the near-net-shape capability and the ability to build in novel internal features that are not possible with many conventional manufacturing approaches. However, because of the extreme thermal conditions encountered, the non-equilibrium microstructures produced during powder bed-based additive manufacturing processes must be subjected to custom post-heat treatment processes to recover the target mechanical properties. Phase-field models and simulation techniques have matured to a state where the microstructure evolution paths, and the morphologies of the resulting precipitate phases can be predicted reasonably accurately, considering alloy-specific thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the nucleation and growth processes. However, phase-field simulations are computationally intensive, which precludes the ability to apply the simulations directly to the length scale of the entire component. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop low-computational-cost surrogate models that effectively capture the physics at the microstructural length scale, while facilitating the design of optimized processing conditions resulting in location-specific targeted microstructures at the component scale. The work presented here demonstrates the application of the materials knowledge system framework to develop a surrogate model that effectively captures the microstructural path during annealing of a Ni–Mo–Nb alloy containing different Mo and Nb compositions known to segregate during solidification under additive manufacturing conditions. Specifically, the surrogate model built in this work is based on a Gaussian process autoregressive model informed by statistical representation of simulated microstructures using two-point correlations and dimensionality reduction through principal component analysis. In conclusion, this surrogate model is shown to capture the bifurcation of the microstructural path during precipitation, which yields a microstructure dominated by the $\gamma^{\prime\prime}$ phase at high Nb concentrations and the $\delta$ phase at low Nb concentrations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Large Eddy Simulations of Electromagnetic Braking Effects on Argon Bubble Transport and Capture in a Steel Continuous Casting Mold

In continuous casting of steel, argon gas is often injected to prevent clogging of the nozzle, but the bubbles affect the flow pattern, and may become entrapped to form defects in the final product. Further, an electromagnetic field is frequently applied to induce a braking effect on the flow field and modify the inclusion transport. In this study, a previously validated GPU-based in-house code CUFLOW is used to investigate the effect of electromagnetic braking on turbulent flow, bubble transport, and capture. Well-resolved large eddy simulations are combined with two-way coupled Lagrangian computations of the bubbles. The drag coefficient on the bubbles is modified to account for the effects of the magnetic field. The distribution of the argon bubbles, capture, and escape rates, are presented and compared with and without the magnetic field. The bubble capture patterns are also compared with results of a previous RANS model as well as with plant measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Marine algae growth and carbon capture augmentation by antioxidant nanozymes

Large scale commercial cultivation of microalgae year-round is limited by seasonal stress conditions. The rapid growth and high CO 2 capture of the marine microalga Picochlorum celeri is largely inhibited under winter stress conditions of low temperature and high light. Herein, we demonstrated a nanotechnology approach to enhance the biomass productivity and CO 2 capture of P. celeri under abiotic stress by interfacing with antioxidant cerium oxide nanozymes (nanoceria). Antioxidant nanoceria catalytically scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated under stress conditions, reducing damage to the microalgae photosynthetic machinery in chloroplasts. Negatively charged poly-acrylic acid-coated nanoceria (PNC, 10 μM) were biocompatible in microalgae cells and colocalized with chloroplasts. In contrast, positively charged aminated nanoceria (ANC) resulted in microalgae aggregation (>50 μM) and were toxic at all concentrations tested (≥10 μM). PNC reduction of ROS levels in microalgae (78%) and superoxide levels (26%), enhanced microalgae growth (65%), photosynthetic performance (130%), and CO 2 uptake rate (380%) under low-temperature stress (15 °C) and high light (500 μmol/m 2 /s PAR) stress relative to controls without nanoceria. Nanoceria augmentation of microalgae provides a rapid and facile technology to increase algae CO 2 capture and biomass under stress conditions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Alkaline zirconates as effective materials for hydrogen production through consecutive carbon dioxide capture and conversion in methane dry reforming

In this work, H 2 production was evaluated using different carbonation conditions and two alkaline zirconates. For this purpose, Li 2 ZrO 3 and Na 2 ZrO 3 were synthesized, characterized and tested on a consecutive process composed of initial CO 2 capture, followed by methane dry reforming (MDR). Thermogravimetric results showed that under the four gas mixtures tested (diluted and saturated CO 2 , CO and CO-O 2 ), both ceramics are able to chemisorb CO 2 , with Na2ZrO3 having the highest capture with saturated CO 2 . In catalytic tests, ceramics carbonated with saturated CO 2 or CO-O 2 gas flows were able to act as sorbents and catalysts, producing H 2 at T > 750 °C through the partial oxidation of methane. This reaction was produced because CO2 desorption did not occur, thus avoiding the MDR process. On the other hand, carbonated ceramics under a CO-O2 gas mixture presented an outstanding catalytic performance. Between 450 and 750 °C, H 2 was formed through the MDR process promoted by CO 2 desorption from both ceramics. This result is in line with CO 2 desorption results, where a weaker CO 2 –solid interaction was observed in comparison with saturated CO 2 2. Afterward, both ceramics presented a similar catalytic behavior, good regeneration and cyclability after the double process proposed (CO 2 capture-MDR reaction). Lithium zirconate also presented high thermal stability during cycle tests; meanwhile, sodium zirconate showed an important H 2 production increase as a function of cycles. Finally, both materials are feasible options for producing a clean energy source in a moderate temperature range through the catalytic conversion of two greenhouse gases (CO 2 and CH 4 ).

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Chemoattractant receptors activate, recruit and capture G proteins for wide range chemotaxis

Highlights: • Chemotactic GPCR forms an unconventional complex with the activated Gα. • Receptors activate, recruit and capture G proteins at different cAMP concentrations. • Capture of Gα can contribute to gradient sensing at high cAMP concentrations. The wide range sensing of extracellular signals is a common feature of various sensory cells. Eukaryotic chemotactic cells driven by GPCRs and their cognate G proteins are one example. This system endows the cells directional motility towards their destination over long distances. There are several mechanisms to achieve the long dynamic range, including negative regulation of the receptors upon ligand interaction and spatial regulation of G proteins, as we found recently. However, these mechanisms are insufficient to explain the 10{sup 5}-fold range of chemotaxis seen in Dictyostelium. Here, we reveal that the receptor-mediated activation, recruitment, and capturing of G proteins mediate chemotactic signaling at the lower, middle and higher concentration ranges, respectively. These multiple mechanisms of G protein dynamics can successfully cover distinct ranges of ligand concentrations, resulting in seamless and broad chemotaxis. Furthermore, single-molecule imaging analysis showed that the activated Gα subunit forms an unconventional complex with the agonist-bound receptor. This complex formation of GPCR-Gα increased the membrane-binding time of individual Gα molecules and therefore resulted in the local accumulation of Gα. Our findings provide an additional chemotactic dynamic range mechanism in which multiple G protein dynamics positively contribute to the production of gradient information.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A crystal-plasticity-informed Gaussian Process Regression model to capture anisotropy in single crystal shape memory alloys

This work presents a machine learning (ML) framework that model the anisotropic actuation responses in a shape memory alloy. A Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) based ML model is trained on a set of different crystal orientations subjected to different actuation conditions. The training employed thermo-mechanical responses from a crystal-plasticity model that captures phase-transformation, stress-induced plasticity, and transformation-induced plasticity. Further, on training the GPR-ML model at fixed stress level for different orientations, it captured the thermo-mechanical responses accounting for the anisotropy, and predicted responses for new orientations with good accuracy. The GPR-ML model is able to capture the transformation temperature variations even when trained using multiple stress levels, and the transformation strain showed significant deviations. The developed GPR-ML model gave reasonable predictions for an unexplored sample set of orientations and loading conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nonrad: Computing nonradiative capture coefficients from first principles

Point defects in semiconductor crystals provide a means for carriers to recombine nonradiatively. This recombination process impacts the performance of devices. We present the Nonrad code that implements the first-principles approach of Alkauskas et al. (2014) [8] for the evaluation of nonradiative capture coefficients based on a quantum-mechanical description of the capture process. An approach for evaluating electron-phonon coupling within the projector augmented wave formalism is presented. We also show that the common procedure of replacing Dirac delta functions with Gaussians can introduce errors into the resulting capture rate, and implement an alternative scheme to properly account for vibrational broadening. Finally, we assess the accuracy of using an analytic approximation to the Sommerfeld parameter by comparing with direct numerical evaluation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A computational investigation of high-flux, plate-and-frame membrane modules for industrial carbon capture

In this work, we study the application of membrane-based separation systems for carbon capture, considering plate-and-frame membrane modules. The successful deployment of membrane CO 2 capture system relies on high-performing membranes as well as effective membrane modules that can fully exploit the developed membranes. A plate-and-frame membrane module is especially attractive for CO 2 capture from industrial flue gas due to its lower pressure drop compared to its counterparts such as spiral wound modules and hollow fiber modules. To design better plate-and-frame modules, we investigate their basic unit - a single membrane stack through a combination of computational modeling and experimental investigations. The modeling approach is based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to represent a multiphysics problem, including the fluid flow and diffusion processes within a membrane module. We use experimental data collected under different operating conditions to validate the CFD model. Numerical results suggest a good agreement between experiments and model outputs for the CO 2 recovery, CO 2 mole fraction in the retentate and permeate, and stage-cut. The CFD model is able to predict accurately the flow behavior, providing valuable insights on the effects of fluid dynamics on mass transfer of CO 2 . We also carry out a sensitivity analysis to identify the effect of key parameters on the CO 2 recovery and the CO 2 purity of the outlet streams.

CFD simulation↗

Which Reservoir for Low Cost Capture, Transportation, and Storage?

Quality and location of a carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) storage reservoir are critical for low cost carbon capture and storage (CCS). This analysis models the combination of capture, transportation, and storage costs to estimate a total cost of CCS. Cost of capture at the source is available for annual rates between 4.1 and 0.7 million tonnes of CO 2 . Cost of transportation is modeled for the distance between the source and the storage reservoir. Cost of CO 2 storage is modeled for four representative reservoirs, two Rose Run and two Mt Simon reservoirs, each reservoir in a dome or regional dip structural setting.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Industrial CO 2 and Carbon Capture: Near-term Benefit, Long-term Necessity

Industry emits approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO 2 each year (1 GTCO 2 /yr) in the United States–one-third of US stationary emissions–and an even greater amount in industry-heavy China. We hypothesize that capturing industrial CO 2 offers a near-term pathway to jumpstart CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) and is a long-term necessity to stabilize atmospheric CO 2 in order to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. We then explore this proposition using several new CO 2 emissions and storage databases for the United States, as well as emerging research including the economics of industrial CO 2 capture. We refer to our new “sources of CO 2 that are not electricity” database as SCO 2 NE.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Economic viability of using thermal energy storage for flexible carbon capture on natural gas power plants

Fossil fuel-based power plants generate 80% of the electricity in the United States and provide a reliable generation source for both base and peak power demands. These plants are expected to adapt to changes in environmental policies that will require carbon management with carbon capture and storage (CCS) representing a possible solution. Current solvent-based CCS has a detrimental impact on a power plant's performance due to large heat loads required for carbon capture solvent regeneration. This parasitic load restricts the power plant's output and operation flexibility. Therefore, this study evaluates the feasibility of using thermal storage technologies for natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants coupled with CCS to minimize the impact of solvent regeneration and enable the plant to operate at peak power output. Thermal storage can minimize the impact of CCS on the power plant by providing the heat load required for solvent regeneration during times of peak demand which will allow the plant to operate unrestricted and at full power. In total, fifteen unique thermal storage configurations were evaluated from three thermal storage categories: Brayton cycle heat pump, vapor compression heat pump, and heat recovery steam generator steam extraction for storage. The viability of these systems was determined by evaluating each configuration on thousands of real-world Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) profiles from the New York Independent System Operator and California Independent System Operator electricity markets using a techno-economic analysis. Afterwards, results were compared to the performance of a base power plant (NGCC with CCS and no thermal storage) to determine the impact of thermal storage on power plant economics. Overall, six of the thermal storage configurations performed better than base CCS enabled power plant on between 11.5% and 38.7% of the LMP signals evaluated. The best performing configuration was a vapor compression heat pump that used flue gas as the working fluid and had both hot and cold thermal storage units. This configuration performed better than the base CCS power plant on 38.7% of the LMP profiles. The results of this study show thermal storage can mitigate the economic impact of carbon capture solvent regeneration on NGCC power plants. Discussion focuses on the impact of electricity pricing on the optimal thermal storage system, the advantages and disadvantages of the systems evaluated, and identifies limitations with the study.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Neutron Capture Reactions on Fe and Ni Isotopes for the Astrophysical s-process

Neutron capture cross sections in the keV neutron energy region are the key nuclear physics input to study the astrophysical slow neutron capture process. In the past years, a series of neutron capture cross section measurements has been performed at the neutron time-of-flight facility n{sub T}OF at CERN focussing on the Fe/Ni mass region. Recent results and future developments in the neutron time-of-flight technique are discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A low-frequency buncher field-variation study on a 750 keV H – beam to increase Drift Tube Linac capture

We report low-frequency (such as 16.77 MHz) RF bunchers are widely used in RF accelerator systems for longitudinal compression of pulses into a single RF bucket, which increases instantaneous beam intensity for time-dependent studies. In this study, the dependency of capture into a 201.25 MHz Drift Tube Linac (DTL) was measured as a function of gap voltage for a 16.77 MHz buncher on chopped H - beam (approximately 25 ns at 750 keV, 10 mA peak current). The multiparticle code PARMILA was used to simulate the phase-space distribution of the 10 mA, 750 keV, H - beam at the entrance to DTL with a wide range of the Low-Frequency Buncher (LFB) field (10 kV to 35 kV). The measurement and simulation indicated that the DTL capture could be dilute (reduced) for a non-optimized buncher field to a pre-configured beamline geometry. The data shows that changing the bunch field while keeping the incoming beam current and energy constant does not significantly alter the beam’s emittance. However, downstream beam capture into the DTL is changed for a non-optimized phase-space bunching distance with the buncher field.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Satellite solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and near-infrared reflectance capture complementary aspects of dryland vegetation productivity dynamics

Mounting evidence indicates dryland ecosystems play an important role in driving the interannual variability and trend of the terrestrial carbon sink. Nevertheless, our understanding of the seasonal dynamics of dryland ecosystem carbon uptake through photosynthesis [gross primary productivity (GPP)] remains relatively limited due in part to the limited availability of long-term data and unique challenges associated with satellite remote sensing across dryland ecosystems. Here, we comprehensively evaluated longstanding and emerging satellite vegetation proxies in their ability to capture seasonal dryland GPP dynamics. Specifically, we evaluated: 1) reflectance-based proxies normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), near infrared reflectance index (NIR v ), and kernel NDVI (kNDVI) from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); and 2) newly available physiologically-based proxy solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). As a performance benchmark, we used GPP estimates from a robust network of 21 western United States eddy covariance tower sites that span representative gradients in dryland ecosystem climate and functional composition. We found that NIR v and SIF were the best performing GPP proxies and captured complementary aspects of seasonal GPP dynamics across dryland ecosystem types. NIR v offered better performance than the other proxies across relatively low-productivity, sparsely non-evergreen vegetated sites (R 2 = 0.59 ± 0.13); whereas SIF best captured seasonal dynamics across relatively high-productivity sites, including evergreen-dominated sites (R 2 = 0.74 ± 0.07). Notably, across grass-dominated sites, all reflectance-based proxies (NDVI, SAVI, NIRv and kNDVI) showed significant seasonal bias (hysteresis) that strengthened with the total fraction of woody vegetation cover, likely due to seasonal patterns in woody vegetation reflectance that are unrelated to or decoupled from GPP. In conclusion, future efforts to fully integrate the complementary strengths of NIR v and SIF could significantly improve our understanding and representation of dryland GPP dynamics in satellite-based models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Performance Degradation of Amine-Infused Fiber Sorbents for Direct Air Capture: Mechanisms and Solutions

Sorbent stability poses significant impacts on longterm performance of direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 and levelized cost of capture (LCOC). We report the DAC performance degradation of amine-infused fiber sorbents based on poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), mesoporous SiO 2 , and cellulose acetate (CA) over CO 2 cyclic sorption cycles in a nonoxidative environment. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra indicate that the aminolysis reactions between CA ester moieties and PEI amine sites lead to the formation of acetamides and hence lower CO 2 affinities of the sorbents. This stability issue can be remedied by hydrolysis treatment of the CA fiber sorbents before PEI impregnation or replacing CA with poly(ether sulfone). This study underscores the importance of selecting proper support or additive materials of DAC contactors that are compatible with active species of CO 2 capture.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A techno-economic analysis of a novel solvent-based oxycombustion CO2 capture process

The gas processing unit (GPU) has previously been identied as the least thermo-dynamically ecient element of an oxy-combustion process. A marginal improvementof this unit operation can provide a greater decrease of the parasitic power to the oxy-combustion process than an equivalent improvement in the air separation unit (ASU).Hence, capturing CO2 from oxy-combustion using an alternative method than the con-ventional cryogenic process has potential to reduce the parasitic power consumptionof the GPU. In this work, the authors present an initial evaluation of a new processconcept; a hybrid oxy-combustion process that uses a solvent-based GPU to captureCO2 from the ue gas. N-Ethyldiethanolamine (EDEA) is a tertiary alkanolamine that captures CO2 by forming a zwitterionic ammonium alkylcarbonate ionic liquid in theabsence of water as a co-solvent. The new solvent-based GPU proposed herein demon-strates a clear potential to improve the net power eciency by 1%, a 9% CAPEXreduction, and up to 5% LCOE reduction of an oxy-combustion process if EDEA priceis below $270/kg. Both lower CAPEX and the potential of reduced LCOE demonstratesthat alternative CO2 capture methods for oxy-combustion can be more economical.

Cabral, Renato P.↗