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At least 1,189 records · Page 66

An optimization framework for workplace charging strategies

The workplace charging (WPC) has been recently recognized as the most important secondary charging point next to residential charging for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The current WPC practice is spontaneous and grants every PEV a designated charger, which may not be practical or economic when there are a large number of PEVs present at workplace. This study is the first research undertaken that develops an optimization framework for WPC strategies to satisfy all charging demand while explicitly addressing different eligible levels of charging technology and employees’ demographic distributions. The optimization model is to minimize the lifetime cost of equipment, installations, and operations, and is formulated as an integer program. We demonstrate the applicability of the model using numerical examples based on national average data. The results indicate that the proposed optimization model can reduce the total cost of running a WPC system by up to 70% compared to the current practice. The WPC strategies are sensitive to the time windows and installation costs, and dominated by the PEV population size. The WPC has also been identified as an alternative sustainable transportation program to the public transit subsidy programs for both economic and environmental advantages.

Optimization↗

Sustainable sanitary landfills for neglected small cities in developing countries: The semi-mechanized trench method from Villanueva, Honduras

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Open dumping is the most common form of waste disposal in neglected small cities. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Semi-mechanized landfills can be a sustainable option for small cities. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We present the theory of design and operation of semi-mechanized landfills. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Villanueva, Honduras has operated its semi-mechanized landfill for 15 years. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The cost of operation is US$4.60/ton with a land requirement of 0.2m{sup 2}/person-year. - Abstract: Open dumping is the most common practice for the disposal of urban solid wastes in the least developed regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Sanitary landfill design and operation has traditionally focused on large cities, but cities with fewer than 50,000 in population can comprise from 6% to 45% of a given country's total population. These thousands of small cities cannot afford to operate a sanitary landfill in the way it is proposed for large cities, where heavy equipment is used to spread and compact the waste in daily cells, and then to excavate, transport and apply daily cover, and leachate is managed with collection and treatment systems. This paper presents an alternative approach for small cities, known as the semi-mechanized trench method, which was developed in Villanueva, Honduras. In the semi-mechanized trench method a hydraulic excavator is used for 1-3 days to dig a trench that will last at least a month before it is filled with waste. Trucks can easily unload their wastes into the trench, and the wastes compact naturally due to semi-aerobic biodegradation, after which the trenches are refilled and covered. The exposed surface area is minimal since only the top surface of the wastes is exposed, the remainder being covered by the sides and bottom of the trench. The surplus material from trench excavation can be valorized for use as engineering fill onsite or off. The landfill in Villanueva has operated for 15 years, using a total land area of approximately 11 ha for a population that grew from 23,000 to 48,000, with a land requirement of 0.2 m{sup 2}/person year, a cover to waste ratio of 0.2, and an estimated soil surplus of 298,000 m{sup 3} that is valorized and used onsite. The landfill has been operated solely by the municipality with an operational cost in 2010 estimated at US$4.60 per ton. A modified water balance analysis at Villanueva shows negligible leachate generation from covered trenches and 700 m{sup 3}/yr (60 m{sup 3}/ha yr) from the two open trenches required for daily operation. If the site were an open dump, however, leachate generation is estimated to be 3900 m{sup 3}/ha yr and contaminated runoff 5000 m{sup 3}/ha yr. A simple model used to estimate dilution of generated leachate based on groundwater flow data and aquifer stratigraphy suggests that the leachate will be diluted by a factor of 0.01 in the aquifer. Leachate contaminants will not accumulate because the aquifer discharges to the Ulua River 2 km south of the landfill. While not suitable for all sites, the Villanueva method nevertheless serves as an excellent example of how a small city landfill with natural compaction of waste and attenuation of leachate can be sustainably operated.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Updating the U.S. Life Cycle GHG Petroleum Baseline to 2014 with Projections to 2040 Using Open-Source Engineering-Based Models

Here, the National Energy Technology Laboratory produced a well-to-wheels (WTW) life cycle greenhouse gas analysis of petroleum-based fuels consumed in the U.S. in 2005, known as the NETL 2005 Petroleum Baseline. This study uses a set of engineering-based, open-source models combined with publicly available data to calculate baseline results for 2014. An increase between the 2005 baseline and the 2014 results presented here (e.g., 92.4 vs 96.2 g CO 2 e/MJ gasoline, + 4.1%) are due to changes both in modeling platform and in the U.S. petroleum sector. An updated result for 2005 was calculated to minimize the effect of the change in modeling platform, and emissions for gasoline in 2014 were about 2% lower than in 2005 (98.1 vs 96.2 g CO 2 e/MJ gasoline). The same methods were utilized to forecast emissions from fuels out to 2040, indicating maximum changes from the 2014 gasoline result between +2.1% and –1.4%. The changing baseline values lead to potential compliance challenges with frameworks such as the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) Section 526, which states that Federal agencies should not purchase alternative fuels unless their life cycle GHG emissions are less than those of conventionally produced, petroleum-derived fuels.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Diagnostic Tool for Measuring Early Chemical Signatures of Pond Crash

The DOE is devoted to improving national energy security and reducing carbon emissions through the development of renewable alternatives to fossil fuel usage. This work demonstrates a pathway to improve the feasibility of large-scale biofuel production by reducing the occurrences of pond failures and their associated economic burdens. We have done this by identifying unique volatile chemical signals that indicate predator attack on an algal biofuel pond. These volatiles are easy to collect in the field and could be rapidly analyzed for state-of- health monitoring. This will allow producers to intervene early during predator attack on a pond and minimize crop loss.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Screen-Printed SHJ Solar Cells with Complex Silver Inks

Metallization using complex metal inks has gained significant research interest due to its cost-effectiveness and ability to achieve performance comparable to traditional nanoparticle pastes. This study introduces the use of complex silver (Ag) inks applied via industrial screen-printing for silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell metallization. The printed Ag lines exhibit a contact resistivity on SHJ tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) surfaces as low as approximately 0.2-12 mO cm2. Photoluminescence imaging reveals minimal surface passivation degradation (iVoc < 3.5 mV), while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows a denser structure compared to Ag layer from nanoparticle pastes. The printed Ag grid features thin (approximately 1 micrometer), continuous fingers approximately 100-120 micrometer wide, significantly thinner than conventional approximately 20-30 micrometer fingers produced with nanoparticle-based pastes. Double printing achieves SHJ device efficiencies exceeding 20%, the highest reported for industrial solar cell precursors using this technology. These findings highlight the potential of complex Ag inks as a sustainable alternative to particle-based pastes, reducing Ag consumption and processing temperatures without compromising efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Optimizing Material Selection and Operational Conditions for XHV Systems: Lessons from AISI 1020 and 316L Comparative Studies

In this study, AISI 1020 low-carbon steel is investigated as a cost-effective alternative to SS316 stainless steel for reaching extreme high vacuum (XHV) conditions. After being baked at 400°C, a vacuum chamber made of the low-carbon steel material exhibited an outgassing rate approximately 2000 times smaller than a similar chamber made of stainless steel. Its activation energy for hydrogen diffusion (27 kJ/mol) is less than half that of stainless steel (60.3 kJ/mol), indicating more efficient hydrogen removal during bakeout. MolFlow+ simulations supported the experimental data and demonstrated the importance of system geometry optimization and minimizing stainless steel content for achieving optimal vacuum performance. AISI 1020's magnetic properties, typically considered disadvantageous for accelerator applications, could benefit spin-polarized electron sources by shielding photocathodes from stray fields while simultaneously providing improved vacuum through reduced outgassing. To optimize AISI 1020's performance in XHV systems, practical considerations include pre-baking protocols and careful system design to minimize stainless steel components.

Al-Allaq, Aiman H.↗

Preliminary Routing for a National Laboratory Lab-Wide Commuting Program

There is a growing interest in reducing the amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT), both in public and private sector organizations, in an effort to reduce overall carbon emissions. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and located within close proximity to Knoxville, Tennessee, has more than 4,500 employees, most of which live in and around Knoxville. ORNL is currently developing a pilot commuting program for all employees, which incorporates the use of park-and-ride facilities. This study outlines the methodology behind the preliminary geoanalysis and routing used in developing a lab-wide commuting program. Due to privacy concerns, the data used for the study included numbers of employee residences per zip code rather than actual residential addresses. Commuting configurations by clustered zip code area and vehicle type were developed based on number of residences in a limited area, and the desire to minimize VMT. Central locations were selected using ArcGIS software. Satellite imagery was used to locate actual, suitable parking facilities to accommodate the specified number of residents involved in each commuting configuration. Optimized routing, and estimations of travel times, were performed using TransCAD GIS software. Energy estimates in kilowatt-hours (kwh) and gallons of gasoline, and gallons of gasoline equivalent, were all determined based on the scenarios. Standard petroleum-fueled vehicles were used in the initial estimates. Standard electric vehicles were also used in alternative scenarios to estimate potential additional energy and fuel savings. Furthermore the initial findings from this work will be used to develop a pilot program for ORNL.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Comparative analysis of image binarization methods for crack identification in concrete structures

Surface cracks in concrete structures are critical indicators of structural damage and durability. Manual visual inspection, the most commonly used method in practice, is inefficient from cost, time, accuracy, and safety perspectives. A promising alternative is computer vision-based methods that can automatically extract crack information from images. Image binarization, developed for text detection, is appropriate for crack identification, as texts and cracks are similar, consisting of distinguishable lines and curves. However, standardizing crack identification using image binarization is challenging, because binarization depends on the method and associated parameters. We investigate image binarization for crack identification, focusing on optimal parameter determination and comparative performance evaluation for five common binarization methods. Crack images are prepared to obtain optimal parameters by minimizing errors in estimated crack widths. Subsequently, comparative analysis is conducted using crack images with different conditions based on three performance evaluation criteria: crack width and length measurement accuracy and computation time.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mineral Scale Prevention on Electrically Conducting Membrane Distillation Membranes Using Induced Electrophoretic Mixing

The growth of mineral crystals on surfaces is a challenge across multiple industrial processes. Membrane-based desalination processes, in particular, are plagued by crystal growth (known as scaling), which restricts the flow of water through the membrane, can cause membrane wetting in membrane distillation, and can lead to the physical destruction of the membrane material. Scaling occurs when supersaturated conditions develop along the membrane surface due to the passage of water through the membrane, a process known as concentration polarization. To reduce scaling, concentration polarization is minimized by encouraging turbulent conditions and by reducing the amount of water recovered from the saline feed. In addition, antiscaling chemicals can be used to reduce the availability of cations. Here, we report on an energy-efficient electrophoretic mixing method capable of nearly eliminating CaSO4 and silicate scaling on electrically conducting membrane distillation (ECMD) membranes. The ECMD membrane material is composed of a percolating layer of carbon nanotubes deposited on porous polypropylene support and cross-linked by poly(vinyl alcohol). The application of low alternating potentials (2 Vpp,1Hz) had a dramatic impact on scale formation, with the impact highly dependent on the frequency of the applied signal, and in the case of silicate, on the pH of the solution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Nonlatching positive feedback enables robust bimodality by decoupling expression noise from the mean

Fundamental to biological decision-making is the ability to generate bimodal expression patterns where two alternate expression states simultaneously exist. Here in this study, we use a combination of single-cell analysis and mathematical modeling to examine the sources of bimodality in the transcriptional program controlling HIV’s fate decision between active replication and viral latency. We find that the HIV Tat protein manipulates the intrinsic toggling of HIV’s promoter, the LTR, to generate bimodal ON-OFF expression, and that transcriptional positive feedback from Tat shifts and expands the regime of LTR bimodality. This result holds for both minimal synthetic viral circuits and full-length virus. Strikingly, computational analysis indicates that the Tat circuit’s non-cooperative ‘non-latching’ feedback architecture is optimized to slow the promoter’s toggling and generate bimodality by stochastic extinction of Tat. In contrast to the standard Poisson model, theory and experiment show that non-latching positive feedback substantially dampens the inverse noise-mean relationship to maintain stochastic bimodality despite increasing mean-expression levels. Given the rapid evolution of HIV, the presence of a circuit optimized to robustly generate bimodal expression appears consistent with the hypothesis that HIV’s decision between active replication and latency provides a viral fitness advantage. More broadly, the results suggest that positive-feedback circuits may have evolved not only for signal amplification but also for robustly generating bimodality by decoupling expression fluctuations (noise) from mean expression levels.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Implementation of a coupled treatment of the one-turn mapping in the ray-tracing code Zgoubi

The spin is an intrinsic property of elementary particles and is considered as a quantum angular momentum. It is defined by a direction which is either up or down and an absolute value which is proportional to the elementary quantum of action. It has no analogue in classical mechanics but, as the angular momentum in classic mechanics, the spin of composite systems such as the proton is a combination of its spin components. Although knowing the proton components and their spin, their contribution to the proton spin is unknown and the physicists are still trying to unravel the mystery. A recent theoretical work suggests that the contribution carried by the gluons may be large but it has to be confirmed experimentally. The main accelerator facility which is looking for answers about the origin of the proton spin is located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, New York, United States of America). This laboratory has the biggest accelerator complex dedicated to the colliding of polarized proton beam. The protons are first supplied by the Optically Pumped Polarized Ion Source (OPPIS), followed by a 200-MeV Linac and are then transferred to the Booster synchrotron. The protons go into the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) which accelerate and prepair them to be injected into the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Finally the proton beam is stored into the RHIC ring for several hours and supplies collisions in two detectors of particle experiments placed. The data collected are used for studying the decay products of polarized proton collisions. Although the current RHIC spin experiments are already providing the first information about the proton's spin origin, the complex RHIC is still under improvement. Indeed it is working at minimizing undesirable effects which damage the beam polarization along the acceleration. The polarized proton beam is prone to depolarization due to spin resonances. They could be partially avoided by improving the control of some beam parameters. For instance coupling between the two transverse motions occurs in AGS and modifies the beam parameters predicted by the simulations. The locations of all the coupling sources in the AGS are not really known which makes their removal or compensation difficult to elaborate. This requires improving the simulations of beam dynamics made in the AGS. They need to be performed with, on one hand, a very accurate model and, on the other hand, a code capable of analyzing a coupled motion. Two codes are mainly used: MADX and a ray-tracing code called ZGOUBI 4 which is developing by Dr. François MÉOT. It is scheduled to install ZGOUBI onto the computers of the RHIC complex main control room in order to facilitate and extend its use. Nevertheless ZGOUBI is not completely able to deal with coupled one-turn mapping produced by the ray-tracing so it is necessary to find a way of treating the coupled systems and to implement it within the existing code, that will allow producing coupled optical functions and transporting them using the ray-tracing method. The purpose of this report is to present the results of my research work performed during this 5-month internship. It mainly consisted in searching and synthesizing the appropriate formalism in order to fully treat the coupled which outcomes from ZGOUBI. It required to nd a way of implementing it into the existing ZGOUBI code then to test it. Finally after validation of these add-ons some simulations have been handled by ZGOUBI for the AGS.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Implementation of a Coupled Treatment of the One-Turn Mapping in the Ray-Tracing Code ZGOUBI

The spin is an intrinsic property of elementary particles and is considered as a quantum angular momentum. It is defined by a direction which is either up or down and an absolute value which is proportional to the elementary quantum of action. It has no analogue in classical mechanics but, as the angular momentum in classic mechanics, the spin of composite systems such as the proton is a combination of its spin components. Although knowing the proton components and their spin, their contribution to the proton spin is unknown and the physicists are still trying to unravel the mystery. A recent theoretical work suggests that the contribution carried by the gluons may be large but it has to be confirmed experimentally. The main accelerator facility which is looking for answers about the origin of the proton spin is located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, New York, United States of America). This laboratory has the biggest accelerator complex dedicated to the colliding of polarized proton beam. The protons are first supplied by the Optically Pumped Polarized Ion Source (OPPIS), followed by a 200-MeV Linac and are then transferred to the Booster synchrotron. The protons go into the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) which accelerate and prepare them to be injected into the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Finally the proton beam is stored into the RHIC ring for several hours and supplies collisions in two detectors of particle experiments placed. The data collected are used for studying the decay products of polarized proton collisions. Although the current RHIC spin experiments are already providing the first information about the proton's spin origin, the complex RHIC is still under improvement. Indeed it is working at minimizing undesirable effects which damage the beam polarization along the acceleration. The polarized proton beam is prone to depolarization due to spin resonances. They could be partially avoided by improving the control of some beam parameters. For instance coupling between the two transverse motions occurs in AGS and modifies the beam parameters predicted by the simulations. The locations of all the coupling sources in the AGS are not really known which makes their removal or compensation difficult to elaborate.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Coiled Tube Gas Heaters For Nuclear Gas-Brayton Power Conversion

This project developed an alternative design for heat exchangers for application to heating supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) or air for power conversion. We have identified an annular coiled tube bundle configuration–where hot sodium enters tubes from multiple vertical inlet manifold pipes, flows in a spiral pattern radially inward and downward, and then exits into an equal number of vertical outlet manifold pipes–as a potentially attractive option. The S-CO 2 gas or air flows radially outward through the tube bundle. Coiled tube gas heaters (CTGHs) are expected to have excellent thermal shock, long-term thermal creep, in-service inspection, and reparability characteristics, compared to alternative options. CTGHs have significant commonality with modern nuclear steam generators. Extensive experience exists with the design, manufacture, operation, in-service inspection and maintenance of nuclear steam generators. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also has extensive experience with regulatory guidance documented in NUREG 0800. CTGHs leverage this experience and manufacturing capability. The most important difference between steam generators and gas-Brayton cycles such as the S-CO 2 cycle is that the heat exchangers must operate with counter flow with high effectiveness to minimize the pinch-point temperature difference between the hot liquid coolant and the heated gas. S-CO 2 -cycle gas heaters also operate at sufficiently elevated temperatures that time dependent creep is important and allowable stresses are relatively low. Designing heat exchangers to operate in this regime requires configurations that minimize stresses and stress concentrations. The cylindrical tubes and cylindrical manifold pipes used in CTGHs are particularly effective geometries. The first major goal of this research project was to develop and experimentally validate a detailed, 3-D multi-phase (gas-solid-liquid) heat transport model for CTGHs, using methods similar to earlier UCB multi-scale models for PCHEs, which will enable optimization of CTGH designs with respect to the number of manifold pipes, S-CO 2 and sodium circulating power, and other design parameters. CTGHs are relatively novel because the tubes loaded in compression as well as the manifold pipes which form the tube sheets. The second major goal of the experimental and modeling effort was to optimize the assembly and heat treatment of the tube-to-tubesheet joints, using a novel tapered joint configuration, and to develop diffusion-bonded joints with high shear strength and creep resistance, as has been done in other applications for tapered plugs. The project would also conduct creep testing of these tubesheet joints in pressurized furnaces under prototypical conditions of stress and temperature, however this was not feasible due to numerous hinderances. Detailed microstructural investigations was conducted on the diffusion bond interface, while the bond strength was evaluated by tensile testing. The mechanical testing quantified the overall strength of the bond and measured the pull out force as well as long term behavior, which complemented the microstructural analysis and gave a complete understanding of the diffusion bond.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Application of active control landing gear technology to the A-10 aircraft

Two concepts which reduce the A-10 aircraft's wing/gear interface forces as a result of applying active control technology to the main landing gear are described. In the first concept, referred to as the alternate concept a servovalve in a closed pressure control loop configuration effectively varies the size of the third stage spool valve orifice which is embedded in the strut. This action allows the internal energy in the strut to shunt hydraulic flow around the metering orifice. The command signal to the loop is reference strut pressure which is compared to the measured strut pressure, the difference being the loop error. Thus, the loop effectively varies the spool valve orifice size to maintain the strut pressure, and therefore minimizes the wing/gear interface force referenced.

Ross, I.↗

Analysis and simulation of the MAST (COFS-1 flight hardware)

In-house analysis work in support of the Control of Flexible Structures (COFS) program is being performed at the NASA Langley Research Center. The work involves evaluation of the proposed design configuration, controller design as well as actuator dynamic modeling, and MAST/actuator dynamic simulation of excitation and damping. A complete finite element model of the MAST has been developed. This finite element model has been incorporated into an optimization procedure which minimizes total mass while maintaining modal coupling. Results show an increase in the total mass due to additional constraints (namely, the diagonal frequency constraint) imposed on the baseline design. A valid actuator dynamic model is presented and a complete test sequence of the proposed flight experiment is demonstrated. The actuator dynamic model is successfully used for damping and the stroke limitations for first mode excitation are demonstrated. Plans are to incorporate additional design variables and constraints into the optimization procedure (such as actuator location) and explore alternative formulations of the objective function. A different actuator dynamic model to include hardware limitations will be investigated.

Horta, Lucas G.↗

Bubble memory module for spacecraft application

Bubble domain technology offers an all-solid-state alternative for data storage in onboard data systems. A versatile modular bubble memory concept was developed. The key module is the bubble memory module which contains all of the storage devices and circuitry for accessing these devices. This report documents the bubble memory module design and preliminary hardware designs aimed at memory module functional demonstration with available commercial bubble devices. The system architecture provides simultaneous operation of bubble devices to attain high data rates. Banks of bubble devices are accessed by a given bubble controller to minimize controller parts. A power strobing technique is discussed which could minimize the average system power dissipation. A fast initialization method using EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable read-only memory) devices promotes fast access. Noise and crosstalk problems and implementations to minimize these are discussed. Flight memory systems which incorporate the concepts and techniques of this work could now be developed for applications.

Hayes, P. J.↗

A boundary element alternating method for two-dimensional mixed-mode fracture problems

A boundary element alternating method, denoted herein as BEAM, is presented for two dimensional fracture problems. This is an iterative method which alternates between two solutions. An analytical solution for arbitrary polynomial normal and tangential pressure distributions applied to the crack faces of an embedded crack in an infinite plate is used as the fundamental solution in the alternating method. A boundary element method for an uncracked finite plate is the second solution. For problems of edge cracks a technique of utilizing finite elements with BEAM is presented to overcome the inherent singularity in boundary element stress calculation near the boundaries. Several computational aspects that make the algorithm efficient are presented. Finally, the BEAM is applied to a variety of two dimensional crack problems with different configurations and loadings to assess the validity of the method. The method gives accurate stress intensity factors with minimal computing effort.

Raju, I. S.↗

The SGI/Cray T3E: Experiences and Insights

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the fifth most powerful supercomputer in the world, a 1024 processor SGI/Cray T3E-600. The original 512 processor system was placed at Goddard in March, 1997 as part of a cooperative agreement between the High Performance Computing and Communications Program's Earth and Space Sciences Project (ESS) and SGI/Cray Research. The goal of this system is to facilitate achievement of the Project milestones of 10, 50 and 100 GFLOPS sustained performance on selected Earth and space science application codes. The additional 512 processors were purchased in March, 1998 by the NASA Earth Science Enterprise for the NASA Seasonal to Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP). These two "halves" still operate as a single system, and must satisfy the unique requirements of both aforementioned groups, as well as guest researchers from the Earth, space, microgravity, manned space flight and aeronautics communities. Few large scalable parallel systems are configured for capability computing, so models are hard to find. This unique environment has created a challenging system administration task, and has yielded some insights into the supercomputing needs of the various NASA Enterprises, as well as insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the T3E architecture and software. The T3E is a distributed memory system in which the processing elements (PE's) are connected by a low latency, high bandwidth bidirectional 3-D torus. Due to the focus on high speed communication between PE's, the T3E requires PE's to be allocated contiguously per job. Further, jobs will only execute on the user specified number of PE's and PE timesharing is possible but impractical. With a highly varied job mix in both size and runtime of jobs, the resulting scenario is PE fragmentation and an inability to achieve near 100% utilization. SGI/Cray has provided several scheduling and configuration tools to minimize the impact of fragmentation. These tools include PScheD (the political scheduler), GRM (the global resource manager) and NQE (the Network Queuing Environment). Features and impact of these tools will be discussed, as will resulting performance and utilization data. As a distributed memory system, the T3E is designed to be programmed through explicit message passing. Consequently, certain assumptions related to code design are made by the operating system (UNICOS/mk) and its scheduling tools. With the exception of HPF, which does run on the T3E, however poorly, alternative programming styles have the potential to impact the T3E in unexpected and undesirable ways. Several examples will be presented (preceeded with the disclaimer, "Don't try this at home! Violators will be prosecuted!")

Bernard, Lisa Hamet↗