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At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Climatic controls on erosional efficiency vary with lithology across the Himalaya

Although climate can strongly influence erosional efficiency (i.e., erosion rate for a given topography), demonstrating its impact in tectonically active areas has been challenging due to other confounding controlling factors, such as lithology. Here, we show that 10 Be-derived erosion rates and efficiencies in the Himalayan orogen exhibit distinct relationships with climatic factors depending on lithology. We compile 173 10 Be-derived, basin-averaged erosion rates across the orogen, including 12 newly measured rates from the Dibang and Lohit valleys in the easternmost Himalaya, regions characterized by high precipitation magnitudes and variability. We group basins based on lithologies separated by orogen-scale thrust faults and quantify erosional efficiency coefficients based on the relationships between erosion rates and topographic metrics. Our results show that erosion rates and erosional efficiency from sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks along the Himalayan range front display a positive, nonlinear correlation with climatic factors, such as the number of extreme rainfall events and mean annual precipitation rates. In contrast, erosion rates from crystalline lithologies in the hanging wall of the Main Central thrust show a strong correlation with fluvial topography, whereas erosional efficiency shows no statistically significant correlation with climatic factors. Rapid erosion rates and high erosional efficiencies in the eastern Himalayan range front are likely driven by extreme precipitation on tectonically active, steep slopes composed of mechanically weak metasedimentary rocks. Our findings highlight the importance of the interplay between controlling factors, which include tectonics, lithology, and climate, that drive surface erosion and influence the topographic evolution of orogenic systems.

Channel steepness↗

Community vulnerability is the key determinant of diverse energy burdens in the United States

Low-income households generally experience a high energy burden; however, the factors influencing energy burdens are beyond socio-economics. This study explores the relationships between the multidimensionality of community vulnerability factors and energy burden across multiple geospatial levels in the United States. Our study found the distribution of energy burden in 2020 showed a great deal of variety, ranging from a minimum of 2.93 % to a maximum of 30.45 % across 3142 counties. The results of non-spatial and spatial regressions showed that the vulnerability ranks of socioeconomic, household composition and disability, minority and language, household type and transportation, and COVID mortality rate are significant predictors of energy burdens at the national level. However, at the regional level, only socioeconomic, minority and language significantly influence energy burdens. Minority and language negatively impact energy burdens except for the South East-Central region. Additionally, our analyses highlight the need to consider community vulnerability indicators' spatial homogeneity and heterogeneity. At the national level, only the epidemiological factors index is a spatially homogeneous predictor; on the regional and state level, the spatially homogeneous predictors such as socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, and household type and transportation vary by region. Such a region-sensitive relationship between energy burden and the predictors indicates spatial heterogeneity. Here this study suggests policy recommendations through the lens of the multidimensionality of community vulnerability factors. Implementing flexible national energy policies while making particular energy assistance policies for the vulnerable population at the regional or state levels is essential.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Optimizing Phase Change Composite Thermal Energy Storage Using the Thermal Ragone Framework

The thermal Ragone framework can be applied to the design of thermal energy storage heat exchangers to identifying relationships between their power requirements and energy capabilities. This presentation focuses on the design of planar thermal energy storage heat exchangers with phase change materials and thermal conductivity additives. Finite-difference models were used to optimize thermal storage heat exchanger designs focusing on key design parameters of conductivity additive volume fraction, spacing between tubes, and the phase transition temperatures. Design trends were developed for optimal designs based on varying thermal power requirements. To aid in future device design, models of reduced complexity were developed with the ability to predict optimal designs with computational speeds up to 5,000 times faster than finite-difference models.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION,↗

National forest timber bids and export price interlinkages in the USA: The bounds testing approach

We examine the interrelationships of national forest timber bid and log export prices for Douglas-fir (Region 6) in 2003–2021 and loblolly pine (Region 8) using time-series stationarity and bounds-testing approaches. The analysis shows the difference in time series properties across different geographies and time scales. Bid prices for these dominant species of timber in each of two Forest Service regions are found to be stationary, while log export prices for those same species appear to be non-stationary. Bounds testing conducted with autoregressive distributed lag modeling methods provides strong evidence for a cointegrating relationship between timber bid prices and log export prices in Forest Service Region 6. In Region 8, evidence for a cointegrating relationship was weak. Here, the share of salvage wood in national forest timber sales is a statistically significant control variable in all models estimated.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Machine learning assisted rediscovery of methane storage and separation in porous carbon from material literature

Porous carbon (PC) has been widely regarded as one of the most promising absorbents for methane storage. Studies show that its uptake capacity and selectivity highly depend on textural structures. Although much effort has been made, unveiling their detailed structure-performance relationship remains a challenge. Here, we propose an innovative study where, with the assistance of machine learning, the hidden relationship of the textural structures of PC with the methane uptake and separation can be derived from existing data in material literature. Machine learning models were trained by the data, including specific surface area, micropore volume, mesopore volume, temperature, and pressure as the input variables and methane uptake as the output variable for prediction. Among the tested models, the multilayer perceptron (MLP) shows the highest accuracy in predicting the methane uptake. In addition, the model enables to automatically construct a uptake performance map in terms of micropore volume and mesopore volume. The obtained MLP model was also extended to explore the CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity by retraining it with the data collected from literature of PC for the CO 2 uptake. Finally, the constructed 2D selectivity map shows that the high selectivity can be achieved in the low CH 4 uptake region.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The Effect of Air Separations on Fast Pyrolysis Products for Forest Residue Feedstocks

This study investigates the intricate relationship between biomass preprocessing and pyrolysis product yields, employing the air classification technique for the treatment of loblolly pine residues with varying moisture content. A comprehensive exploration of the physicochemical properties of air-classified loblolly pine informs a sophisticated pyrolysis simulation model. Given the complex and multifaceted nature of biomass pyrolysis, operating across diverse temporal and spatial scales, a pyrolysis kinetics-based CFD–DEM simulation method is employed to predict product yields. Results showed that the elevated moisture content amplifies particle adhesiveness, necessitating augmented air velocities for effective separation, thereby influencing the efficiency of the separation process. While carbon and hydrogen contents exhibit relative stability across diverse moisture contents and blower frequencies, the oxygen content undergoes noticeable changes. For example, the oxygen contents were measured as 29.2 and 38.6 wt% in the light fraction of 30% moisture content sample at blower frequencies of 10 and 20 Hz, respectively. An intriguing finding emerges from pyrolysis simulation, indicating that a lower blower frequency in air classification moderately enhances bio-oil yield and significantly improves its quality, particularly in terms of water content. For instance, the water content in the bio-oil was about 1.5% and 10% in the heavy and light fractions, respectively from 10% moisture sample under 15 Hz blower frequency. In summary, a detailed understanding and strategic manipulation of critical material attributes in biomass through efficient fractionation techniques are imperative for advancing fast pyrolysis as a sustainable avenue for renewable energy and chemical production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

The role of specimen size and grain boundary characteristics in the yield strength of tungsten in microtensile tests

To effectively use the measured properties from small-scale tensile tests for bulk material performance predictions, it is essential to understand the threshold of specimen size-effect strengthening and the interaction between dislocations and microstructures within miniaturized specimens. This study uses pure tungsten to investigate the size effect in terms of specimen size, grain size, and grain boundary characteristics relative to the yield strength of tungsten at room temperature. We evaluate the transition from miniaturized specimen properties to bulk properties and the deformation behavior through small-scale tensile tests of three specimen sizes (large: 80 × 100 × 233 µm³; medium: 7 × 7 × 18 µm³; and small: 2 × 2 × 5 µm³). The testing results reveal that the small and medium specimens exhibit high yield strength with ductile behavior, while the large specimens exhibit brittle failure, consistent with the room temperature strength of tungsten, indicating bulk behavior. We further explore the specimen size-effect sensitivity to yield stress and the scaling relationship between yield strength and the number of grains involved in the deformation. A power-law relationship with the exponent value of approximately -0.5 was found in the yield strength–grain number scaling, implying the Hall-Petch like behavior. A minimum of 7–17 effective grain boundaries across the tensile gauge dimension is required to accurately measure bulk properties.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The combined effects of Mg 2+ and Sr 2+ incorporation during CaCO 3 precipitation and crystal growth

Calcite (CaCO 3 ) composition and properties are defined by the chemical environment in which CaCO 3 forms. However, a complete understanding of the relationship between aqueous chemistry during calcite precipitation and resulting chemical and physical CaCO 3 properties remains elusive; therefore, we present an investigation into the coupled effects of divalent cations Sr 2+ and Mg 2+ on CaCO 3 precipitation and subsequent crystal growth. Through chemical analysis of the aqueous phases and microscopy of the resulting calcite phases in compliment with density functional theory calculations, we elucidate the relationship between crystal growth and the resulting composition (elemental and isotopic) of calcite. The results of this experimental and modeling work suggest that Mg 2+ and Sr 2+ have cation-specific impacts that inhibit calcite crystal growth, including: (1) Sr 2+ incorporates more readily into calcite than Mg 2+ (D Sr > D Mg ), and increasing [Sr 2+ ] t or [Mg 2+ ] t increases D Sr ; (2) the inclusion of Mg 2+ into structure leads to a reduction in the calcite unit cell volume, whereas Sr 2+ leads to an expansion; (3) the inclusion of both Mg 2+ and Sr 2+ results in a distribution of unit cell impacts based on the relative positions of the Sr 2+ and Mg 2+ in the lattice. These experiments were conducted at saturation indices of CaCO 3 of ~4.1, favoring rapid precipitation. This rapid precipitation resulted in observed Sr isotope fractionation confirming Sr isotopic fractionation is dependent upon the precipitation rate. We further note that the precipitation and growth of calcite favors the incorporation of the lighter 86 Sr isotope over the heavier 87 Sr isotope, regardless of the initial solution conditions, and the degree of fractionation increases with D Sr . In sum, these results demonstrate the impact of solution environment to influence the incorporation behavior and crystal growth behavior of calcite. These factors are important to understand in order to effectively use geochemical signatures resulting from calcite precipitation or dissolution to gain specific information.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Refined views of ancient ocean chemistry: Tracking trace element incorporation in pyrite framboids using atom probe tomography

The trace element chemistry of pyrite can be used to determine the origin, timing, and conditions of formation of ore deposits; as a vectoring tool for mineral exploration; and to determine the evolution of the Earth’s oceanic and atmospheric chemistry. However, little is known about whether trace elements are held with the pyrite structure or within nano-inclusions of other phases. This distinction is important for two primary reasons. First, trace element incorporation into the pyrite structure can affect the partitioning of other trace elements. Second, if trace elements are held within nano-inclusions, the partition coefficient of the mineral phases that make up the nano-inclusion, rather than pyrite, are the critical consideration in related interpretations. Previous studies addressing this topic have used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; however, the resulting data do not provide sufficient spatial resolution to delineate trace element distributions unless the inclusions are large. Further, they use these flat element profiles in time resolved laser ablation output graphs to argue that pyrite trace element content provides a direct relationship between trace element content of seawater and pyrite trace element content. To improve resolution, we have used atom probe tomography to characterize trace element distributions in pyrite framboids from the Cariaco Basin and Demerara Rise in three-dimensions at sub-nanometer resolution. Manganese was found to be concentrated in the pyrite nanocrystal part of the original framboid structure. In contrast, Ni was mostly found along the grain boundary, though it still appeared to be contained within the pyrite structure. Copper was concentrated in later pyrite overgrowths, and As varied in its location. These observations suggest that some important trace elements are incorporated into pyrite during early diagenesis, even in euxinic settings dominated by water-column pyrite formation. Statistical analysis was used to determine whether trace elements were incorporated in the lattice or within nanoscale inclusions (referred to here are nano-inclusions). We found that As, Ni, Cu, and Mn were commonly held within the pyrite structure, but As, Ni, and Cu can also be held as nano-inclusions or within grain interfaces. Incorporation of As is known to enhance the incorporation of other trace elements and in this case appears to correlated to elevated Ni and Cu concentrations in the Cariaco Basin samples. Furthermore, understanding these relationships strongly impacts our ability to utilize pyrite trace metal concentrations to analyze and quantify early ocean chemistry and its evolution through time.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Quantifying pH buffering capacity in acidic, organic-rich Arctic soils: Measurable proxies and implications for soil carbon degradation

Dynamic pH change promoted by biogeochemical reactions in Arctic tundra soils can be a major control on the production and release of CO 2 and CH 4 , which contribute to rising global temperatures. Large quantities of soil organic matter (SOM) in these soils are susceptible to microbial decomposition, leading to pH changes during permafrost thaw. Soil pH buffering capacity (β) modulates the extent of pH change but has not been thoroughly studied and represented in predictive ecosystem scale biogeochemical models in Arctic tundra soils. In this study, we generated titration curves for 21 acidic tundra soils from three Arctic sites across northern Alaska, United States of America. Geochemical and hydrological soil properties were evaluated, and correlations with β were developed. Strong correlations between β and both gravimetric water content (Θ g ) (R 2 = 0.847, p < 0.001) and soil water retention (SWR) (R 2 = 0.849, p = 0.001) indicate that the ability of soil to retain water could be associated with its buffering properties. Correlations between β and soil organic carbon (SOC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were also explored, and relationships to SWR are discussed. These correlations were then used with existing soil databases reporting SOC, CEC, and SWR to estimate β across Alaska soils. We further demonstrated the quantitative relationships between β and the simulated rates of biogeochemical reactions and show that lower β leads to higher soil pH and more CH 4 production. Overall, our study provides simple proxies for β in Arctic soils and highlights the importance and implications of representing soil buffering in predictive models, thereby enabling quantitative coupling between pH dynamics associated with biogeochemical reactions. Integrating β into predictive models of Arctic biogeochemical cycling may reduce model uncertainty and further our understanding of permafrost SOM degradation accelerated by warming.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A deep learning-based direct forecasting of CO 2 plume migration

Accurate and timely forecasts of CO 2 plume evolution in geological reservoirs are crucial for CO 2 migration detection, leakage risk assessment, and operation decision support. Conventional forecasting usually adopts a two-step strategy, first calibrating reservoir model parameters against observations using iterative inverse modeling (or history matching) and then applying the calibrated model for predictions. This method impedes real-time forecasts due to the heavy computational demand in inverse modeling and may suffer from poor prediction accuracy because of the limited observation data. In this work, we propose a deep learning-based latent space mapping framework to forecast CO 2 plume migration directly by avoiding the inverse modeling. We first use the convolutional autoencoder to map the high-dimensional complex plume extents onto low-dimensional latent space. Next, we use neural networks to learn the relationship between the observation variables and the prediction latent variables. And then for given observation data, we infer the prediction values directly. This one-step direct forecasting is computationally efficient which requires a few number of parallelizable reservoir simulations and it can provide accurate predictions with limited observations by learning the observation-prediction relationship in the reduced dimension. Therefore, our proposed method enables an in-time forecast of dynamic CO 2 plume distributions. In this work, we demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of our method in predicting the CO 2 plume migration using four metrics such as plume area, centroid movement distance, and plume spreading in the primary and secondary directions. And the spatio-temporal evolution patterns of plume migration under diverse geological complexities are also accurately quantified.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Relative permeabilities for two-phase flow through wellbore cement fractures

Multiple fluids are likely to exist in fractures and flow paths associated with leaky wellbores, including liquids (e.g., crude oil) and gases (e.g., gas exsolved from liquid). These fluids occupy and move through different portions of the pore spaces within the fractures depending on many factors, including fluid properties, fracture size, and the amount of the different fluids. Upward leakage of any phase, through the fracture, can contaminate water-bearing formations, create hazardous surface conditions, and compromise the functionality of the wellbore. Early signs of wellbore leaks may be expressed by anomalous pressure behavior at surface monitoring points on cavern storage wells. These pressure anomalies are difficult to interpret, necessitating knowledge of the factors that affect the multiphase flow in fractures and porous media. These parameters are critical to modeling multiphase flow in fractures. This insight can guide further diagnosis and maximize leak remediation. Here, our study focuses on the relationship of the liquid–gas relative permeabilities for representative variable-aperture wellbore cement fracture. To obtain the relative permeability of each phase, two-phase flow tests were conducted where both fluids were flowing simultaneously through a fractured wellbore cement specimen under a range of factors, namely (1) aperture size, (2) capillary numbers, and (3) viscosity ratio. The flow experiments were conducted under a range of confining stresses and flow velocities, using nitrogen gas and silicone oils (of different viscosities) in a specially designed pressure vessel. The sum of gas and oil relative permeabilities were found to be less than one under all conditions, which indicates that the presence of one phase affects the permeability of the other phase, and vice versa. Since the gas phase flow conditions include a significant inertial flow component in addition to viscous flow, the inertial flow coefficients at different saturation states are presented. The factors affecting the relationship between the relative permeabilities are discussed in detail. A new mathematical model for estimating the relative permeability of wellbore cement fracture is presented and experimentally validated.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Urban morphology from a landscape perspective: How building morphology distribution land models (BMDLM) emulate pattern and process

Urban form (e.g., building morphology such as height or footprint) can be used to predict environmental footprints, such as energy/water consumption and carbon emissions. Although progress has been made in predicting building characteristics to fill gaps in observation or derive 3-D representations, the relationships between morphology and other variables such as land use and population are poorly understood. Understanding these relationships may enable projections for how cities will evolve with landscapes in the future. A suite of random forest models, the Building Morphology Distribution Land Models (BMDLM), was developed to determine how well building morphology for two distinct statistical measures (central tendency and frequency) can be predicted using land use (e.g., zoning) and population at different resolutions. Clark County, Nevada and Los Angeles County, California are explored as case studies. Generally, 1-km models outperformed 30-m models. Frequency distribution models had the best performance, especially in LA County. Frequency models significantly outperformed spatial autocorrelative models using inverse distance weighting (IDW). BMDLM offers a new take on modeling urban form in which generalized landscape patterns are characterized to understand the influence of population and zoning on urban development, as described by urban scaling theory.

Sturtevant, Jillian [Baylor Univ., Waco, TX (Unite↗

Evaluating methods to reduce duration of near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate measurements for low-alloy steels in hydrogen gas

Measurement of the near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate (da/dN) vs. stress-intensity factor range (∆K) relationship in hydrogen gas is essential for maximizing the calculated design fatigue life of high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels. However, such measurements are rarely performed, since the low cyclic loading frequencies applied in standard practice lead to prohibitively protracted test durations. The objective of this study was to demonstrate two means for reducing test durations when measuring near-threshold da/dN vs. ΔK relationships under decreasing ΔK for low-alloy pressure vessel steels in hydrogen gas: 1) imposing steeper K-gradients relative to the recommended limits in standards such as ASTM E647, and 2) increasing cyclic loading frequency relative to typical values applied during fatigue crack growth testing of low-alloy steels in hydrogen gas. Recognizing that steeper K-gradients could amplify loading-history effects, test methods employing this approach were designed to mitigate such effects by either maintaining constant K max or gradually increasing the K-gradient as the threshold was approached. Although the varying K-gradient method was vulnerable to loading-history effects in the form of plasticity-induced crack closure, particularly at lower stress ratio (R) and higher starting K max values, these effects could be compensated by applying the adjusted compliance ratio (ACR) method. Here, it was demonstrated that steeper K-gradients in concert with increased cyclic loading frequency reduced the duration of near-threshold fatigue crack growth tests in hydrogen gas by more than 99% relative to standard practices.

Fatigue threshold↗

A crystal plasticity finite element model embedding strain-rate sensitivities inherent to deformation mechanisms: Application to alloy AZ31

We report the fundamental power-law relationship representing the flow rule in crystal visco-plasticity ensures uniqueness in the selection of slip systems accommodating imposed plastic strain-rates. The power-law relationship also introduces an artificially high strain-rate sensitivity in crystal plasticity simulations, unless a high value of the power-law exponent is used. However, the use of high values for the exponent is limited by numerical tractability. This paper presents a numerical method implemented in a crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) model for embedding any value of the power-law exponent reflecting the true material strain-rate sensitivity. Importantly, the method does not increase computation time involved in the simulations. The enhanced CPFE model is used to interpret and predict a complex strain-rate sensitive response and microstructural evolution of AZ31 Mg alloy. Measured values of strain-rate sensitivity for slip and twinning modes are used in the simulations. Calculations show that the model successfully captures the phenomena pertaining to the effect of changing applied strain-rate on the mechanical response including flow stress and evolution of texture and twinning for a broad range of strain-rates ranging from 10 -3 s -1 to 10 3 s -1 and loading orientations in tension and compression. It is shown that such predictions are a consequence of not only relative amounts of slip and twinning activities driven by a set of accurately characterized hardening law parameters but also values of the strain-rate sensitivities inherent to individual deformation mechanisms. Besides, the model validates the measured strain-rate dependency of deformation mechanisms while accurately reproducing the mechanical data. Hence, the model can be used to verify and further refine or infer measured strain-rate sensitivity per deformation mechanism by reproducing experimental data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A macro-micro approach for identifying crystal plasticity parameters for necking and failure in nickel-based alloy haynes 282

Here, this work develops a two-scales macro-micro approach to address the challenge in calibrating crystal plasticity microstructural models when samples undergo necking prior to fracture. The crystal plasticity models are crucial for predicting the materials’ plastic deformation and failure at the microstructure level, identifying the materials’ intrinsic properties as well as investigating the microstructure-properties relationships. However, after necking occurs, the experimentally measured stress-strain curves fail to reflect the materials ‘true’ stress-strain behavior and cannot be directly fitted into crystal plasticity models. The proposed macro-micro approach employs a top-down strategy to address this challenge, which has been studied with experimental tests on precipitation-strengthened Ni-based superalloy Haynes® 282®. In this approach, a macro rate-dependent anisotropic plasticity model with Voce-type hardening and Rice-Tracey damage law is first utilized to model the deformation and failure of the tensile bar, and calibrated by matching the stress-strain curves, necking strain, and reduction of area. Especially, to match the testing results under different applied strain rates, the rate-sensitivity parameter m and saturation stress in the elasticity model are modified to incorporate dependence on the local strain rate. Then, the ‘true’ stress-strain behaviors are extracted from the necking zone of the macro-model, which are used to calibrate a micro-model with explicit microstructures and governed by an extended crystal plasticity law. The consistency between the micro-model and macro-model are enforced during calibration. The calibration outcomes from the crystal plasticity model elucidate the materials intrinsic properties for slip, hardening, and failure, which is vital for further investigations into the microstructure-properties relationship and for accurate prediction of the material behavior under various test and service conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Prediction and demonstration of periodic tensile cracking in rate-dependent porous cement

Periodic dilation bands are shown to occur when cylinder-shaped saturated cement specimens are subjected to rapid decompression, with the spacing between the bands scaling as a power law of the decompression time. This behavior is predicted by theory, which is specified to this scenario based on prior work that was more general and applied to compaction. Specifically, the formation of the bands is shown to coincide with periodicity that naturally arises in the effective stress when the material follows a Terzaghi-type consolidation law, although in reverse for dilation and with material deformation described by a rate-dependent viscoplastic law. When strain rate is proportional to effective stress to a power that is greater than one, periodic regions of tensile effective stress arise through the poromechanical fluid-solid coupling. The theoretically-predicted exponent of the resulting power-law relationship between dilation band spacing and unloading time successfully brackets the experimental results, for which it is observed that the exponent is slightly stronger than a square-root relationship (0.28 to 0.67) at testing temperatures of 20 °C and 90 °C. Further, these results demonstrate that rapid-depressurization leads to periodic fracturing that could, on the one hand, be detrimental to the isolation provided by cement used to seal wellbores in the petroleum industry. On the other hand, the dilation bands could also be favorable to production if generated in low-permeability reservoir rocks such as shales that are targeted for petroleum production or granites that are targeted for geothermal energy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗