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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 1,171 records · Page 65
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

GX: a GPU-native gyrokinetic turbulence code for tokamak and stellarator design

GX is a code designed to solve the nonlinear gyrokinetic system for low-frequency turbulence in magnetized plasmas, particularly tokamaks and stellarators. In GX, our primary motivation and target is a fast gyrokinetic solver that can be used for fusion reactor design and optimization along with wide-ranging physics exploration. Here, this has led to several code and algorithm design decisions, specifically chosen to prioritize time to solution. First, we have used a discretization algorithm that is pseudospectral in the entire phase space, including a Laguerre–Hermite pseudospectral formulation of velocity space, which allows for smooth interpolation between coarse gyrofluid-like resolutions and finer conventional gyrokinetic resolutions and efficient evaluation of a model collision operator. Additionally, we have built GX to natively target graphics processors (GPUs), which are among the fastest computational platforms available today. Finally, we have taken advantage of the reactor-relevant limit of small $\rho _*$ by using the radially local flux-tube approach. In this paper we present details about the gyrokinetic system and the numerical algorithms used in GX to solve the system. We then present several numerical benchmarks against established gyrokinetic codes in both tokamak and stellarator magnetic geometries to verify that GX correctly simulates gyrokinetic turbulence in the small $\rho _*$. Moreover, we show that the convergence properties of the Laguerre–Hermite spectral velocity formulation are quite favourable for nonlinear problems of interest. Coupled with GPU acceleration, which we also investigate with scaling studies, this enables GX to be able to produce useful turbulence simulations in minutes on one (or a few) GPUs and higher fidelity results in a few hours using several GPUs. GX is open-source software that is ready for fusion reactor design studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dispersion and the speed-limited particle-in-cell algorithm

This paper discusses temporally continuous and discrete forms of the speed-limited particle-in-cell (SLPIC) method first treated by Werner et al. [Phys. Plasmas 25, 123512 (2018)]. The dispersion relation for a 1D1V electrostatic plasma whose fast particles are speed-limited is derived and analyzed. By examining the normal modes of this dispersion relation, we show that the imposed speed-limiting substantially reduces the frequency of fast electron plasma oscillations while preserving the correct physics of lower-frequency plasma dynamics (e.g. ion acoustic wave dispersion and damping). We then demonstrate how the timestep constraints of conventional electrostatic particle-in-cell methods are relaxed by the speed-limiting approach, thus enabling larger timesteps and faster simulations. Here, these results indicate that the SLPIC method is a fast, accurate, and powerful technique for modeling plasmas wherein electron kinetic behavior is nontrivial (such that a fluid/Boltzmann representation for electrons is inadequate) but evolution is on ion timescales.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fast methods for multisite charge transfer processes. I. Constrained, state averaged CASSCF(1,n) and CASSCF(2n − 1,n) simulations

We design a dynamically weighted state-averaged constrained complete active space self-consistent field (DW-SA-cCASSCF) algorithm to treat electrons or holes moving between n molecular fragments (where n can be larger than 2). Within such a so-called eDSCn/hDSCn approach, we consider configurations that are mutually single excitations of each other, and we apply a generalized set of constraints to tailor the method for studying charge transfer problems. The constrained optimization problem is efficiently solved using a DIIS-SQP algorithm, thus maintaining computational efficiency. We demonstrate the method for a finite Su–Schrieffer–Heeger chain, successfully reproducing the expected exponential decay of diabatic couplings with distance. When combined with a gradient, the current extension immediately enables efficient nonadiabatic dynamics simulations of complex multi-state charge transfer processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Robust Communication-Free Protection Scheme for Islanded Microgrids with Relay Logic and Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation

This paper presents the Imbalance Square Factor (ISF) detection algorithm, an effective, computationally lightweight method for detecting faults in inverter-based microgrids. ISF provides a high magnitude at the time of the fault, which allows for fast detection and coordination between primary and backup relays. The imbalance squared factor, calculated using local voltage and currents, is used for fault detection and coordination among three relays. ISF is validated in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) implementation inside commercial-grade relay logic (SEL-751). The HIL validation shows that ISF can coordinate primary, secondary, and tertiary relays in the 13-bus system in islanded operation.

Ferrari Maglia, Max [ORNL]↗
NASA NTRS1989

Fourier transform methods in local gravity modeling

New algorithms were derived for computing terrain corrections, all components of the attraction of the topography at the topographic surface and the gradients of these attractions. These algoriithms utilize fast Fourier transforms, but, in contrast to methods currently in use, all divergences of the integrals are removed during the analysis. Sequential methods employing a smooth intermediate reference surface were developed to avoid the very large transforms necessary when making computations at high resolution over a wide area. A new method for the numerical solution of Molodensky's problem was developed to mitigate the convergence difficulties that occur at short wavelengths with methods based on a Taylor series expansion. A trial field on a level surface is continued analytically to the topographic surface, and compared with that predicted from gravity observations. The difference is used to compute a correction to the trial field and the process iterated. Special techniques are employed to speed convergence and prevent oscillations. Three different spectral methods for fitting a point-mass set to a gravity field given on a regular grid at constant elevation are described. Two of the methods differ in the way that the spectrum of the point-mass set, which extends to infinite wave number, is matched to that of the gravity field which is band-limited. The third method is essentially a space-domain technique in which Fourier methods are used to solve a set of simultaneous equations.

Harrison, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Lifetime Reliability Prediction of Ceramic Structures Under Transient Thermomechanical Loads

An analytical methodology is developed to predict the probability of survival (reliability) of ceramic components subjected to harsh thermomechanical loads that can vary with time (transient reliability analysis). This capability enables more accurate prediction of ceramic component integrity against fracture in situations such as turbine startup and shutdown, operational vibrations, atmospheric reentry, or other rapid heating or cooling situations (thermal shock). The transient reliability analysis methodology developed herein incorporates the following features: fast-fracture transient analysis (reliability analysis without slow crack growth, SCG); transient analysis with SCG (reliability analysis with time-dependent damage due to SCG); a computationally efficient algorithm to compute the reliability for components subjected to repeated transient loading (block loading); cyclic fatigue modeling using a combined SCG and Walker fatigue law; proof testing for transient loads; and Weibull and fatigue parameters that are allowed to vary with temperature or time. Component-to-component variation in strength (stochastic strength response) is accounted for with the Weibull distribution, and either the principle of independent action or the Batdorf theory is used to predict the effect of multiaxial stresses on reliability. The reliability analysis can be performed either as a function of the component surface (for surface-distributed flaws) or component volume (for volume-distributed flaws). The transient reliability analysis capability has been added to the NASA CARES/ Life (Ceramic Analysis and Reliability Evaluation of Structures/Life) code. CARES/Life was also updated to interface with commercially available finite element analysis software, such as ANSYS, when used to model the effects of transient load histories. Examples are provided to demonstrate the features of the methodology as implemented in the CARES/Life program.

Nemeth, Noel N.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Online Tools for Uncovering Data Quality (DQ) Issues in Satellite-Based Global Precipitation Products

Data quality (DQ) has many attributes or facets (i.e., errors, biases, systematic differences, uncertainties, benchmark, false trends, false alarm ratio, etc.)Sources can be complicated (measurements, environmental conditions, surface types, algorithms, etc.) and difficult to be identified especially for multi-sensor and multi-satellite products with bias correction (TMPA, IMERG, etc.) How to obtain DQ info fast and easily, especially quantified info in ROI Existing parameters (random error), literature, DIY, etc.How to apply the knowledge in research and applications.Here, we focus on online systems for integration of products and parameters, visualization and analysis as well as investigation and extraction of DQ information.

precipitation↗
NASA NTRS2015

Airborne Simulation of Launch Vehicle Dynamics

In this paper we present a technique for approximating the short-period dynamics of an exploration-class launch vehicle during flight test with a high-performance surrogate aircraft in relatively benign endoatmospheric flight conditions. The surrogate vehicle relies upon a nonlinear dynamic inversion scheme with proportional-integral feedback to drive a subset of the aircraft states into coincidence with the states of a time-varying reference model that simulates the unstable rigid body dynamics, servodynamics, and parasitic elastic and sloshing dynamics of the launch vehicle. The surrogate aircraft flies a constant pitch rate trajectory to approximate the boost phase gravity turn ascent, and the aircraft's closed-loop bandwidth is sufficient to simulate the launch vehicle's fundamental lateral bending and sloshing modes by exciting the rigid body dynamics of the aircraft. A novel control allocation scheme is employed to utilize the aircraft's relatively fast control effectors in inducing various failure modes for the purposes of evaluating control system performance. Sufficient dynamic similarity is achieved such that the control system under evaluation is configured for the full-scale vehicle with no changes to its parameters, and pilot-control system interaction studies can be performed to characterize the effects of guidance takeover during boost. High-fidelity simulation and flight-test results are presented that demonstrate the efficacy of the design in simulating the Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle dynamics using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center Fullscale Advanced Systems Testbed (FAST), a modified F/A-18 airplane (McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois), over a range of scenarios designed to stress the SLS's Adaptive Augmenting Control (AAC) algorithm.

airborne simulation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Real-Time XFEL Data Analysis at SLAC and NERSC: a Trial Run of Nascent Exascale Experimental Data Analysis

X-ray scattering experiments using Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) are a powerful tool to determine the molecular structure and function of unknown samples (such as COVID-19 viral proteins). XFEL experiments are a challenge to computing in two ways: i) due to the high cost of running XFELs, a fast turnaround time from data acquisition to data analysis is essential to make informed decisions on experimental protocols; ii) data collection rates are growing exponentially, requiring new scalable algorithms. Here we report our experiences analyzing data from two experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) during September 2020. Raw data were analyzed on NERSC's Cori XC40 system, using the Superfacility paradigm: our workflow automatically moves raw data between LCLS and NERSC, where it is analyzed using the software package CCTBX. We achieved real time data analysis with a turnaround time from data acquisition to full molecular reconstruction in as little as 10 min -- sufficient time for the experiment's operators to make informed decisions. By hosting the data analysis on Cori, and by automating LCLS-NERSC interoperability, we achieved a data analysis rate which matches the data acquisition rate. Furthermore, completing data analysis with 10 mins is a first for XFEL experiments and an important milestone if we are to keep up with data collection trends.

Blaschke, Johannes P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Unsupervised texture image segmentation by improved neural network ART2

We here propose a segmentation algorithm of texture image for a computer vision system on a space robot. An improved adaptive resonance theory (ART2) for analog input patterns is adapted to classify the image based on a set of texture image features extracted by a fast spatial gray level dependence method (SGLDM). The nonlinear thresholding functions in input layer of the neural network have been constructed by two parts: firstly, to reduce the effects of image noises on the features, a set of sigmoid functions is chosen depending on the types of the feature; secondly, to enhance the contrast of the features, we adopt fuzzy mapping functions. The cluster number in output layer can be increased by an autogrowing mechanism constantly when a new pattern happens. Experimental results and original or segmented pictures are shown, including the comparison between this approach and K-means algorithm. The system written in C language is performed on a SUN-4/330 sparc-station with an image board IT-150 and a CCD camera.

Wang, Zhiling↗
DOE OSTI2022

Space-Split Algorithm for Sensitivity Analysis of Discrete Chaotic Systems With Multidimensional Unstable Manifolds

Accurate approximations of the change of a system's output and its statistics with respect to the input are highly desired in computational dynamics. Ruelle's linear response theory provides breakthrough mathematical machinery for computing the linear response of chaotic dynamical systems. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for sensitivity analysis of discrete chaos with an arbitrary number of positive Lyapunov exponents. We combine the concept of perturbation space-splitting, which regularizes Ruelle's original expression, together with measure-based parameterization of the expanding subspace. We use these tools to rigorously derive trajectory-following recursive relations that converge exponentially fast, and construct a memory-efficient Monte Carlo scheme for derivatives of the output statistics. Thanks to the regularization and lack of simplifying assumptions on the system's behavior, our method is immune to the common problems of other popular methods such as the exploding tangent solutions and unphysical shadowing directions. Here, we provide a ready-to-use algorithm, analyze its complexity, and demonstrate several numerical examples of sensitivity computation using physically-inspired low-dimensional systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Distilling particle knowledge for fast reconstruction at high-energy physics experiments

Knowledge distillation is a form of model compression that allows artificial neural networks of different sizes to learn from one another. Its main application is the compactification of large deep neural networks to free up computational resources, in particular on edge devices. In this article, we consider proton-proton collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) and demonstrate a successful knowledge transfer from an event-level graph neural network (GNN) to a particle-level small deep neural network (DNN). Our algorithm, DistillNet, is a DNN that is trained to learn about the provenance of particles, as provided by the soft labels that are the GNN outputs, to predict whether or not a particle originates from the primary interaction vertex. The results indicate that for this problem, which is one of the main challenges at the HL-LHC, there is minimal loss during the transfer of knowledge to the small student network, while improving significantly the computational resource needs compared to the teacher. This is demonstrated for the distilled student network on a CPU, as well as for a quantized and pruned student network deployed on a field programmable gate array. Our study proves that knowledge transfer between networks of different complexity can be used for fast artificial intelligence (AI) in high-energy physics that improves the expressiveness of observables over non-AI-based reconstruction algorithms. Such an approach can become essential at the HL-LHC experiments, e.g. to comply with the resource budget of their trigger stages.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Distributed approximate minimal Steiner trees with millions of seed vertices on billion-edge graphs

In this report, we present a parallel 2-approximation Steiner minimal tree algorithm and its MPI-based distributed implementation. In place of expensive distance computations between all pairs of seed vertices, the solution we employ exploits a cheaper Voronoi cell computation. Our design leverages asynchronous processing and message prioritization to accelerate convergence of distance computations, and harnesses vertex and edge centric processing to offer fast time-to-solution. We demonstrate scalability and performance using real-world graphs with up to 128 billion edges and 512 compute nodes, and show the ability to find Steiner trees with up to one million seed vertices. Using 12 data instances, we present comparison with the state-of-the-art exact solver, SCIP-Jack, and two sequential 2-approximate algorithms. We empirically show that, on average, the total distance of the Steiner tree identified by our solution is 1.1290 times greater than the Steiner minimal tree – well within the theoretical approximation bound of 2.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Updates to the Regional Seismic Travel Time (RSTT) Model: 1. Tomography

Abstract A function of global monitoring of nuclear explosions is the development of Earth models for predicting seismic travel times for more accurate calculation of event locations. Most monitoring agencies rely on fast, distance-dependent one-dimensional (1D) Earth models to calculate seismic event locations quickly and in near real-time. RSTT (Regional Seismic Travel Time) is a seismic velocity model and computer software package that captures the major effects of three-dimensional crust and upper mantle structure on regional seismic travel times, while still allowing for fast prediction speed (milliseconds). We describe updates to the RSTT model using a refined data set of regional phases (i.e., Pn, Pg, Sn, Lg) using the Bayesloc relative relocation algorithm. The tomographic inversion shown here acts to refine the previous RSTT public model ( rstt201404um ) and displays significant features related to areas of global tectonic complexity as well as further reduction in arrival residual values. Validation of the updated RSTT model demonstrates significant reduction in median epicenter mislocation (15.3 km) using all regional phases compared to the iasp91 1D model (22.1 km) as well as to the current station correction approach used at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization International Data Centre (18.9 km).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sparse Approximate Multifrontal Factorization with Composite Compression Methods

This article presents a fast and approximate multifrontal solver for large sparse linear systems. In a recent work by Liu et al., we showed the efficiency of a multifrontal solver leveraging the butterfly algorithm and its hierarchical matrix extension, HODBF (hierarchical off-diagonal butterfly) compression to compress large frontal matrices. The resulting multifrontal solver can attain quasi-linear computation and memory complexity when applied to sparse linear systems arising from spatial discretization of high-frequency wave equations. To further reduce the overall number of operations and especially the factorization memory usage to scale to larger problem sizes, in this article we develop a composite multifrontal solver that employs the HODBF format for large-sized fronts, a reduced-memory version of the nonhierarchical block low-rank format for medium-sized fronts, and a lossy compression format for small-sized fronts. This allows us to solve sparse linear systems of dimension up to 2.7 × larger than before and leads to a memory consumption that is reduced by 70% while ensuring the same execution time. The code is made publicly available in GitHub.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1986

Image Interpolation With Dedicated Digital Hardware

Algorithm for interpolating two-dimensional image data to change picture-element spacing implemented in dedicated digital hardware for high-speed execution. System interpolates 100 times as fast as generalpurpose computer. Image resampling occurs first along one image axis and then along other, using two interpolation devices implemented in series.

Hartenstein, R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Prototype part task trainer: A remote manipulator system simulator

The Part Task Trainer program (PTT) is a kinematic simulation of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) for the orbiter. The purpose of the PTT is to supply a low cost man-in-the-loop simulator, allowing the student to learn operational procedures which then can be used in the more expensive full scale simulators. PTT will allow the crew members to work on their arm operation skills without the need for other people running the simulation. The controlling algorithms for the arm were coded out of the Functional Subsystem Requirements Document to ensure realistic operation of the simulation. Relying on the hardware of the workstation to provide fast refresh rates for full shaded images allows the simulation to be run on small low cost stand alone work stations, removing the need to be tied into a multi-million dollar computer for the simulation. PTT will allow the student to make errors which in full scale mock up simulators might cause failures or damage hardware. On the screen the user is shown a graphical representation of the RMS control panel in the aft cockpit of the orbiter, along with a main view window and up to six trunion and guide windows. The dials drawn on the panel may be turned to select the desired mode of operation. The inputs controlling the arm are read from a chair with a Translational Hand Controller (THC) and a Rotational Hand Controller (RHC) attached to it.

Shores, David↗
NASA NTRS1992

Interactive collision detection

The assembly of Space Station Freedom will require operations where large bodies are manipulated in close proximity to one other. A fast and reliable method for performing collision detection would greatly benefit the development and verification of such operations. The Interactive Graphics and Operations Analysis Laboratory (IGOAL) has developed an algorithm for performing collision detection which provides accurate results at interactive speeds. This algorithm uses a highly-optimized ray tracer for performing the analysis. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the algorithm and demonstrate its capabilities.

Bell, Brad↗