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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 937 records · Page 52

Generative adversarial networks for ensemble projections of future urban morphology

As city planners design and adapt cities for future resilience and intelligence, interactions among neighborhood morphological development with respect to changes in population and resultant built infrastructure's impact on the natural environment must be considered. For deep understanding of these interactions, explicit representation of future neighborhoods is necessary for future city modeling. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have been shown to produce spatially accurate urban forms at scales representing entire cities to those at neighborhood and single building scale. Here we demonstrate a GAN method for generating an ensemble of possible new neighborhoods given land use characteristics and designated neighborhood type.

Dumas, Melissa↗

The Influence of Aqueous Dispersivity on Transport of Radiological Material at LANL MDA G - 20450

Aqueous dispersivity is a phenomenon by which a solute moving in groundwater mixes with water that does not contain the solute and becomes diluted. Solutes take paths of varying lengths through pore networks or experience slower velocities due to interactions with pore walls. Aqueous dispersivity leads to breakthrough curves with earlier arrival than expected in purely advective systems and persistent 'tails,' or late-arriving, dilute concentrations of the solute. Dispersivity can be longitudinal (in the direction of flow) or transverse (orthogonal to flow). LANL has disposed of radioactive material at Material Disposal Area (MDA) G since the late 1950's. Most of the disposed materials at MDA G are low-level waste (LLW), but other types of radioactive wastes are disposed or stored at the site. For example, there is a collection of remote-handled transuranic waste (RH-TRU) waste in 33 shafts, which were intended to be stored retrievably. Aqueous-phase radionuclides included in models of contaminant transport at MDA G are subject to dispersive processes in porous media of the vadose zone and saturated zone. To model dispersivity at MDA G probabilistically, we created site-specific distributions of aqueous dispersivity. First, we performed a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed publications, reports from other performance assessments of MDA G, and documentation from sites that were considered similar based on expert opinion, such as Yucca Mountain. Data were included from a wide range of sources, so that distributions developed based on the data reflect the current state of knowledge in properties of the subsurface environment. Data were grouped based on value type (e.g., determined via experiment or used in a different model), rock type, zone type (saturated or unsaturated), and site, and were weighted in the distributions according to their relevance to the site and zone type. We combined Monte Carlo simulation and bootstrapping techniques to produce approximate distributions of mean aqueous dispersivity. Distributions of dispersivity for saturated and unsaturated zone transport are differentiated by data weight and the length scales over which transport occurs. We find that underestimating or disregarding transverse dispersivity may lead to overstating simulated well capture in the saturated zone at MDA G. Neglecting transverse dispersivity is a common assumption due in part to use of one-dimensional transport models that do not consider solute spreading orthogonal to flow. Also, we find that variability in longitudinal dispersivity is associated with substantial travel time alterations in the MDA G unsaturated zone and in simulated contaminant breakthrough times at a downstream observation plane in the MDA G saturated zone. Finally, at large scales (>1000 m), a linear trend between the dispersivity coefficient and length over which transport occurs may overestimate the dispersivity coefficient. Future modeling work with application to solute spreading could include interacting advective and diffusive zones in the highly fractured basalt below MDA G. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Improving Neutrino Energy Reconstruction with Machine Learning

Faithful energy reconstruction is foundational for precision neutrino experiments like DUNE, but is hindered by uncertainties in our understanding of neutrino--nucleus interactions. Here, we demonstrate that dense neural networks are very effective in overcoming these uncertainties by estimating inaccessible kinematic variables based on the observable part of the final state. We find improvements in the energy resolution by up to a factor of two compared to conventional reconstruction algorithms, which translates into an improved physics performance equivalent to a 10-30% increase in the exposure.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Petroleum pollution changes microbial diversity and network complexity of soil profile in an oil refinery

Petroleum pollution resulting from spills and leakages in oil refinery areas has been a significant environmental concern for decades. Despite this, the effects of petroleum pollutants on soil microbial communities and their potential for pollutant biodegradation still required further investigation. In this study, we collected 75 soil samples from 0 to 5 m depths of 15 soil profiles in an abandoned refinery to analyze the effect of petroleum pollution on soil microbial diversity, community structure, and network co-occurrence patterns. Our results suggested soil microbial a-diversity decreased under high C10–C40 levels, coupled with significant changes in the community structure of soil profiles. However, soil microbial network complexity increased with petroleum pollution levels, suggesting more complex microbial potential interactions. A module specific for methane and methyl oxidation was also found under high C10–C40 levels of the soil profile, indicating stronger methanotrophic and methylotrophic metabolic activities at the heavily polluted soil profile. The increased network complexity observed may be due to more metabolic pathways and processes, as well as increased microbial interactions during these processes. These findings highlight the importance of considering both microbial diversity and network complexity in assessing the effects of petroleum pollution on soil ecosystems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Distributed semantic networks and CLIPS

Semantic networks of frames are commonly used as a method of reasoning in many problems. In most of these applications the semantic network exists as a single entity in a single process environment. Advances in workstation hardware provide support for more sophisticated applications involving multiple processes, interacting in a distributed environment. In these applications the semantic network may well be distributed over several concurrently executing tasks. This paper describes the design and implementation of a frame based, distributed semantic network in which frames are accessed both through C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert systems and procedural C++ language programs. The application area is a knowledge based, cooperative decision making model utilizing both rule based and procedural experts.

Snyder, James↗

Sources of Uncertainty in Ultrasonic Phase-Based Assessment of Interfacial Stiffness in Adhesive Joints

Quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of adhesive joint strength is critical for certifying fastener-free bonded aerospace structures. Unfortunately, available adhesive NDE approaches are only suitable for detecting gross defects and delamination and cannot reliably detect variations in strength in intact bonds. Intact (i.e., nominally defect free) bonds are challenging to inspect because they, by definition, contain no macroscopic defects that would produce a strong NDE signature. Even in the absence of obvious defects, however, bond strength can vary substantially due to factors such as contamination, variations in the adhesive cure processes, and environmental exposure. For ultrasonic bond inspections, the effect of interactions from an imperfect adhesive interface are subtle and may include changes in the frequency content or phase of the ultrasonic signal. The bond condition can be deduced from these subtle changes in the acoustic response using an accompanying physics-based model of adhesive joint interaction. For example, researchers have used the spring network adhesion model of Baik and Thompson [1] to determine the interfacial stiffness of the joint from its ultrasonic response (e.g., [2]). This interfacial stiffness metric describes the bonds resistance to separation between the adhesive and adherent and has shown a strong correlation with joint strength. In this study, interfacial stiffness is assessed using the ultrasonic phase change associated with bond interaction in varying bond conditions. The phase change is measured precisely using a phase-locked-loop instrument over a swept range of frequencies. The phase transition at resonance, where the bond thickness is half the acoustic wavelength, produces a unique signature with which to fit a physics-based model. Interfacial stiffness is determined by minimizing the difference between the theoretical and experimental phase response. Experimental results are presented for glass specimens bonded with aerospace adhesives and a sensitivity analysis is performed to examine the effects of parameters that may be uncertain in the industrial inspection environment – namely bond thickness, adhesive and adherent properties, and porosity. The results are a first step toward an uncertainty quantified version of the measurement technique, show correlation between interfacial stiffness and bond strength, and are another key step toward maturing this approach for use in complex materials and joint geometries. [1] Baik, J.M. and Thompson, R.B., 1984. “Ultrasonic scattering from imperfect interfaces: a quasi-static model”. Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, 4. [2] Haldren, H.A., Perey, D.F., Yost, W.T., Cramer, K.E., and Gupta, M.C., 2019. “Swept-frequency ultrasonic phase evaluation of adhesive bonding in tri-layer structures”. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 145.

Matt Webster↗

Enabling Nanoparticle Networking in Semicrystalline Polymer Matrices

Among the physical and chemical attributes of the nanocomposite components and their interactions that contribute to the ultimate material properties, nanoparticle arrangement in the matrix is a key contributing factor that has been targeted through materials choices and processing strategies in numerous previous studies. Often, the desired nanocomposite morphology contains individually dispersed and distributed nanoparticles. In this research, a phase-segregated morphology containing nanoparticle networks was studied. A model nanocomposite system composed of calcium phosphate nanoparticles and a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) matrix was produced to understand how polymer crystallization and crystal structure can facilitate the formation of a phase-segregated morphology containing nanoparticle networks. Two chemically similar calcium phosphate nanoparticle systems with different shapes, near-spherical and nanofiber, were synthesized for use in the nanocomposites. The different shapes were used independently in nanocomposites in an attempt to understand the effect of the nanoparticle shapes on crystallization-mediated nanoparticle network formation. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized to establish the effects of component interactions on the polymer structure. Additionally from the viscoelastic properties, structure-property relationships in these materials can be defined as a function of nanoparticle shape and concentration. The results of this research suggest that when the nanocomposite components are not strongly interacting, polymer crystallization may be used as a forced assembly method for nanoparticle networks. Such a methodology has applications to the design of functional polymer nanocomposites such as biomedical implant materials and organic photovoltaic materials where judicious choice of nanoparticle-polymer pairs and control of polymer crystal nucleation and growth processes could be used to control the length scale of phase segregation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Holistic Small-Signal Stability Analysis for Large-Scale Inverter-Intensive Power Systems with Coupled and Full-Order Dynamics from Control Systems and Power Networks

The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) into the existing power systems introduces tremendous benefits for enhanced sustainability but also poses inevitable challenges in terms of insufficient inertia, potential instability, and complex network dynamics, among others. However, the additional coupling introduced by the interactions among gridfollowing (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) IBRs and the other components (i.e., synchronous generators [SGs], loads, and network, etc.) has not been clearly explored. A holistic, scalable, and quantitative stability analysis framework with the control systems and power networks is still missing. Here, in this paper, to fill in the technical gaps, a holistic small-signal model of the entire system with both rotating generation units and IBRs is established. An extended power flow model with operation dynamics from both generator control schemes and power networks is proposed to provide the varying steady-state operating points for small-signal modeling. The proposed method is compared with MATLAB solvers, and the results show that the proposed approach has a minimum calculation time, which can be less than 12 seconds for a large-scale power system with up to 2,000 buses. Furthermore, a quantitative method is developed to identify the impacts of IBRs on system performance with emphases on the potential stability issues with GFL IBRs, additional benefits of employing GFM IBRs, the feasibility of replacing SGs with GFM IBRs, and the impact of penetration level of different kinds of generation units. Finally, a field island power system is used to verify the proposed approach, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests are provided to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed analysis.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Ab Initio Study of Molecular Interactions in Cellulose Iα

Biomass recalcitrance, the resistance of cellulosic biomass to degradation, is due in part to the stability of the hydrogen bond network and stacking forces between the polysaccharide chains in cellulose microfibers. In this paper, the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method at the correlated Møller–Plesset second order perturbation level of theory was used on a model of the crystalline cellulose Iα core with a total of 144 glucose units. These computations show that the intersheet chain interactions are stronger than the intrasheet chain interactions for the crystalline structure, while they are more similar to each other for a relaxed structure. An FMO chain pair interaction energy decomposition analysis for both the crystal and relaxed structures reveals an intricate interplay between electrostatic, dispersion, charge transfer, and exchange repulsion effects. The role of the primary alcohol groups in stabilizing the interchain hydrogen bond network in the inner sheet of the crystal and relaxed structures of cellulose Iα, where edge effects are absent, was analyzed. Finally, the maximum attractive intrasheet interaction is observed for the GT-TG residue pair with one intrasheet hydrogen bond, suggesting that the relative orientation of the residues is as important as the hydrogen bond network in strengthening the interaction between the residues.

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ShapeShop: Towards Understanding Deep Learning Representations via Interactive Experimentation

Deep learning is the driving force behind many recent technologies; however, deep neural networks are often viewed as “black-boxes” due to their internal complexity that is hard to understand. Little research focuses on helping people explore and understand the relationship between a user’s data and the learned representations in deep learning models. We present our ongoing work, ShapeShop, an interactive system for visualizing and understanding what semantics a neural network model has learned. Built using standard web technologies, ShapeShop allows users to experiment with and compare deep learning models to help explore the robustness of image classifiers.

Hohman, Frederick M.↗

NNPDF2.1: Including heavy quark mass effects in NNPDF fits

In this contribution we present the NNPDF2.1 parton distribution functions (PDF) set. The NNPDF2.1 set is a set extracted from a global fit to Deep-Inelastic Scattering (DIS), fixed target Drell-Yan (DY), Electroweak vector boson and inclusive jet cross-sections at colliders data. It is performed using the NNPDF methodology which relies on Monte Carlo techniques for determination of uncertainties and Neural Networks as unbiased interpolants.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Computational Analysis of Interactions of the Oral Microbiota

The human oral microbiome is a complex site containing many hundreds of species with the community response of this microbiome having a large effect on human health. The complexity of this site has spoken to the need for applying –omics techniques to better understand which microbial species are present, their contribution to the microbiome and how this may change as a function of disease. The kinds of datasets that emerge from these –omics studies require computational analysis to gain robust results. New research has also been focused on applying these methods to build computational networks and models that better describe the myriad of interactions between microbial species of the oral cavity and how this changes as a result of infection. In this work, I describe the state of the field at this point, what kinds of computational networks have been inferred and what they show. I also describe where the field is heading in the next few years and how more in depth –omics analysis can lead to more detailed models of interactions at this site and improve human health.

-omics↗

Utilizing Semantic Big Data for realizing a National-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System

Critical Infrastructure systems(CIs) such as energy, water, transportation and communication are highly interconnected and mutually dependent in complex ways. Robust modeling of CIs interconnections is crucial to identify vulnerabilities in the CIs. We present here a national-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System (IVAS) vision leveraging Se- mantic Big Data (SBD) tools, Big Data, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools. We survey existing ap- proaches on vulnerability analysis of critical infrastructures and discuss relevant systems and tools aligned with our vi- sion. Next, we present a generic system architecture and discuss challenges including: (1) Constructing and manag- ing a CI network-of-networks graph, (2) Performing analytic operations at scale, and (3) Interactive visualization of ana- lytic output to generate meaningful insights. We argue that this architecture acts as a baseline to realize a national-scale network based vulnerability analysis system.

Chinthavali, Supriya↗

Architecture for Cognitive Networking within NASAs Future Space Communications Infrastructure

Future space mission concepts and designs pose many networking challenges for command, telemetry, and science data applications with diverse end-to-end data delivery needs. For future end-to-end architecture designs, a key challenge is meeting expected application quality of service requirements for multiple simultaneous mission data flows with options to use diverse onboard local data buses, commercial ground networks, and multiple satellite relay constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO, or even deep space relay links. Effectively utilizing a complex network topology requires orchestration and direction that spans the many discrete, individually addressable computer systems, which cause them to act in concert to achieve the overall network goals. The system must be intelligent enough to not only function under nominal conditions, but also adapt to unexpected situations, and reorganize or adapt to perform roles not originally intended for the system or explicitly programmed. This paper describes architecture features of cognitive networking within the future NASA space communications infrastructure, and interacting with the legacy systems and infrastructure in the meantime. The paper begins by discussing the need for increased automation, including inter-system collaboration. This discussion motivates the features of an architecture including cognitive networking for future missions and relays, interoperating with both existing endpoint-based networking models and emerging information-centric models. From this basis, we discuss progress on a proof-of-concept implementation of this architecture as a cognitive networking on-orbit application on the SCaN Testbed attached to the International Space Station.

space networks↗

Molecular Dialogues between Early Divergent Fungi and Bacteria in an Antagonism versus a Mutualism

Animals and plants interact with microbes by engaging specific surveillance systems, regulatory networks, and response modules that allow for accommodation of mutualists and defense against antagonists. Antimicrobial defense responses are mediated in both animals and plants by innate immunity systems that owe their functional similarities to convergent evolution. Like animals and plants, fungi interact with bacteria. However, the principles governing these relations are only now being discovered. In a study system of host and nonhost fungi interacting with a bacterium isolated from the host, we found that bacteria used a common gene repertoire to engage both partners. In contrast, fungal responses to bacteria differed dramatically between the host and nonhost. These findings suggest that as in animals and plants, the genetic makeup of the fungus determines whether bacterial partners are perceived as mutualists or antagonists and what specific regulatory networks and response modules are initiated during each encounter.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Application of machine learning for modeling brønsted-guggenheim-scatchard specific ion interaction theory (SIT) coefficients

Machine learning methodologies can provide insight into Brønsted-Guggenheim-Scatchard specific ion interaction theory (SIT) parameter values where experimental data availability may be limited. This study develops and executes machine learning frameworks to model the SIT interaction coefficient, ε. Key findings include successful estimations of ε via artificial neural networks using clustering and value prediction approaches. Additionally, applicability to other chemical parameters is also assessed briefly. Models developed here provide support for a use-case of machine learning in geologic nuclear waste disposal research applications, namely in predictions of chemical behaviors of high ionic strength solutions (i.e., subsurface brines).

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Investigating Spatial Variability of Aerosol, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, and Ice Nucleating Particles in Mountainous Terrain Field Campaign Report

The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research (ASR)-supported Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River Watershed (ERW) of the Upper Colorado River Basin in southwestern Colorado ran from fall 2021 to spring 2023. Two monitoring sites were deployed in the ERW as part of SAIL. The two sites were the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) located on Crested Butte Ski Mountain, and the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2), located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of aerosols in complex, mountainous terrain, Handix Scientific deployed SAIL-Net, a distributed network of six measurement nodes spanning the domain of the SAIL research area from October 2021 to July 2023. Each node measured aerosol particles between 140 nm and 3.4 μm in diameter using a small portable optical particle spectrometer (POPS; Gao et al. 2016), cloud condensation nuclei (CNN) using a miniature CCN counter (CloudPuck), and ice nucleating particles (INP) using the time-resolved aerosol filter sampler (TRAPS; Creamean et al. 2018). Our approach was similar to other studies that aimed to better characterize and understand aerosols and gas-phase pollutants using networks of lower-cost sensors (Caubel et al. 2019, Kelly et al. 2021, Asher et al. 2022). Such studies have identified neighborhood-level variations in pollutant concentrations (Schneider et al. 2017, Popoola et al. 2018, Caubel et al. 2019). Small-scale variations such as this are poorly represented in models and poorly measured by a single monitoring system (Caubel et al. 2019). Previous work has shown the representation error (the ability of measurements to represent a larger area) increases with complex orography, leading to decreases in model accuracy (Schutgens et al. 2017). The overall goal of SAIL-Net was to improve our understanding of the variability of aerosol in the ERW, thus increasing our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions in this region and informing the usefulness of distributed networks of measurements for future studies. We met this goal by answering the following science questions: 1. What is the aerosol temporal variability, and how does aerosol inhomogeneity vary seasonally? Is there significant seasonal variability in sources, or are short-term meteorological conditions the most important determining factor in sources for cloud nuclei? 2. What is the aerosol spatial variability? What are the aerosol characteristics at cloud base, presumably the particles most representative of those acting as cloud nuclei? 3. How should measurement networks be designed to capture aerosol-cloud interactions, and what do they need to measure? Can a single measurement site accurately represent aerosol properties in regions of complex terrain? SAIL-Net consisted of six measurement nodes spread across the ERW near Crested Butte, Colorado. The primary objective in site placement was to select locations that captured the vertical variation in aerosol properties while also spanning the domain of the SAIL campaign. The elevation of the sites ranged from roughly 2750 m along the valley floor of the ERW to approximately 3500 m near the top of Crested Butte Mountain, which is one of the taller peaks in the ERW. The farthest distance between sites was 14 km, while the closest two sites were approximately 1 km apart. Two of the sites were collocated with the ARM SAIL sites; our instruments sat on top of one of the trailers at AOS and another one of our sites was located in a meadow just above AMF2.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Syntheses, structures and properties of two new coordination polymers based on D-camphoric acid and 2-phenyl-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine

By hydrothermal method, two new coordination polymers [Co(ca)(phdat)]{sub n} (1), [Ni(ca)(phdat).0.125H{sub 2}O]{sub n} (2) (H{sub 2}ca=D-camphoric acid, phdat=2-phenyl-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine) have been achieved and structurally characterized by IR, elemental analyses, X-ray single-crystal diffraction and TGA. The X-ray single-crystal diffraction reveals that compounds 1 and 2 are isostructural, both of which exhibit two-dimensional layered network built up from paddle-wheel Co{sub 2}(CO{sub 2}){sub 4}/Ni{sub 2}(CO{sub 2}){sub 4} SBUs by ca{sup 2−} ligand. In the existence of π…π stacking interactions between triazine rings and phenyl rings, the 3D networks are constructed with the hanging phdat filled between the neighboring layers. Furthermore, compounds 1–2 exhibit antiferromagnetic behavior and compound 2 displays a good activity for methanol oxidation. - Graphical abstract: Two new coordination compounds 1–2 have been synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffractions, IR spectra, elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analyses, magnetic and electrochemical measurement. - Highlights: • This paper reports two new coordination polymers based on D-camphoric acid. • Both the compounds feather two-dimensional layered networks built up from paddle-wheel SBUs. • The magnetism and electrochemical property are investigated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗