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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Real-Time Screening for Uranium Enrichment by Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Field Applications

A rapid isotope ratio screening technique for uranium enrichment is demonstrated by utilizing paper spray ionization (PSI) high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Measurements were conducted using an ambient ionization mass spectrometer coupled to a custom-made JEOL PSI attachment apparatus, with de minimus sample preparation requirements. The current method detection limit for individual isotopes (e.g., 235 U and 238 U) is approximately 50 pg, with subsequent optimization expected to further improve U isotopic sensitivity. The PSI analytical method described herein can support rapid analysis (both in-field and in-lab screening) of isotopes-of-interest, as demonstrated by empirical differentiation of depleted uranium (DU) and low enriched uranium (LEU) analytical aliquots. Furthermore, this analytical workflow holds promise for applications in nuclear forensics, international nuclear safeguards, and nonproliferation missions.

Anions↗
NASA NTRS1989

Near Hartree-Fock quality Gaussian type orbital basis sets for the first- and third-row atoms

Energy-optimized, near Hartree-Fock (NHF) quality Gaussian type orbital (GTO) basis sets are reported for the second-row (Li to Ne) and fourth-row (K to Kr) atoms. The most accurate basis sets reported for the second row are (18s 13p) sets which are with 4 micro E(H) of the numerical Hartree-Fock (NHF) results. For B to Ne basis sets with more than 15s functions are quadruple zeta in the valence space. For the second-row transition metal atoms the (20s 12p 9d) basis sets are triple zeta in the valence space and are approximately equivalent to Clementi and Roetti's accurate Slater type orbital sets. Supplementing the (20s 12p 9d) basis sets optimized for the lowest state with the 4s(2)3d(n) occupation with a diffuse d function gives self-consistent-field energy separations to the 4s(1)3d(n+1) and 3d(n+2) states which are within 100 micro E(H) of the NHF results. The most accurate basis sets for the transition metal atoms are with 30 micro E(H) of the NHF results. In addition, energy optimized sets are reported for He(3P), Li(2P) and Be(3P).

Partridge, Harry↗
NASA NTRS2014

Evaluating LSM-Based Water Budgets Over a West African Basin Assisted with a River Routing Scheme

Within the framework of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) Land Surface Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 (ALMIP-2), this study evaluates the water balance simulated by the Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere (ISBA) over the upper Oum River basin, in Benin, using a mesoscale river routing scheme (RRS). The RRS is based on the nonlinear Muskingum Cunge method coupled with two linear reservoirs that simulate the time delay of both surface runoff and base flow that are produced by land surface models. On the basis of the evidence of a deep water-table recharge in that region,a reservoir representing the deep-water infiltration (DWI) is introduced. The hydrological processes of the basin are simulated for the 2005-08 AMMA field campaign period during which rainfall and stream flow data were intensively collected over the study area. Optimal RRS parameter sets were determined for three optimization experiments that were performed using daily stream flow at five gauges within the basin. Results demonstrate that the RRS simulates stream flow at all gauges with relative errors varying from -22% to 3% and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients varying from 0.62 to 0.90. DWI varies from 24% to 67% of the base flow as a function of the sub-basin. The relatively simple reservoir DWI approach is quite robust, and further improvements would likely necessitate more complex solutions (e.g., considering seasonality and soil type in ISBA); thus, such modifications are recommended for future studies. Although the evaluation shows that the simulated stream flows are generally satisfactory, further field investigations are necessary to confirm some of the model assumptions.

Multidisciplinary↗
NASA NTRS1992

Orbit maintenance for low altitude near-circular lunar orbits

The behavior of low altitude near-circular lunar orbits is a key design issue for some missions in the proposed Space Exploration Initiative. The lunar gravity field strongly perturbs low altitude orbits, so an effective orbit maintenance strategy is needed. This strategy must contend with the long term orbit evolution due to the zonal gravity field. Two possible orbit control scenarios are passive control using a frozen orbit and active orbit control using maneuvers. A maneuver strategy can be designed which optimizes the propellant required for long term orbit sustenance. The long term requirements dominate the total propellant required for orbit control. Additional propellant may be required to offset the impact of medium period gravity field effects. Careful selection of maneuver times and directions, however, can eliminate any medium period penalty.

Cook, Richard A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multi-objective optimization with an integrated electromagnetics and beam dynamics workflow

In particle accelerators, RF cavities are used to accelerate charged particle beams to designed high energy for physical applications. In a typical accelerator design, the optimization of RF cavities and the optimization of beam dynamics are carried out in separate studies. For a more general and unrestricted accelerator design, a coupled optimization of the RF cavities and the beam parameters is required. For this coupled optimization problem, we have developed an integrated electromagnetics and beam dynamics workflow management system. Within this system, the geometries for a set of cavity components are first adjusted; the field modes are then computed with an electromagnetics program, and imported into a beam dynamics program for beam dynamics simulation. This workflow is encapsulated into a parallel multi-objective optimizer to achieve the integrated accelerator design optimization. A multi fidelity strategy is developed to improve the speed of the optimizer. Furthermore, this integrated global optimization capability is illustrated using a photoinjector design example and yields an improved design.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS2008

Assimilation of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) Profiles using WRF-Var

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model contains a three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation system (WRF-Var), which allows a user to join data from multiple sources into one coherent analysis. WRF-Var combines observations with a background field traditionally generated using a previous model forecast through minimization of a cost function. In data sparse regions, remotely-sensed observations may be able to improve analyses and produce improved forecasts. One such source comes from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), which together with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), represents one of the most advanced space-based atmospheric sounding systems. The combined AIRS/AMSU system provides radiance measurements used as input to a sophisticated retrieval scheme which has been shown to produce temperature profiles with an accuracy of 1 K over 1 km layers and humidity profiles with accuracy of 15% in 2 km layers in both clear and partly cloudy conditions. The retrieval algorithm also provides estimates of the accuracy of the retrieved values at each pressure level, allowing the user to select profiles based on the required error tolerances of the application. The purpose of this paper is to describe a procedure to optimally assimilate high-resolution AIRS profile data into a regional configuration of the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) version 2.2 using WRF-Var. The paper focuses on development of background error covariances for the regional domain and background field type using gen_be and an optimal methodology for ingesting AIRS temperature and moisture profiles as separate overland and overwater retrievals with different error characteristics in the WRF-Var. The AIRS thermodynamic profiles are obtained from the version 5.0 Earth Observing System (EOS) science team retrieval algorithm and contain information about the quality of each temperature layer. The quality indicators are used to select the highest quality temperature and moisture data for each profile location and pressure level. Analyses are run to produce quasi-real-time regional weather forecasts over the continental U.S. The preliminary assessment of the impact of the AIRS profiles will focus on intelligent use of the quality indicators, optimized tuning of the WRF-Var, and comparison of analysis soundings to radiosondes.

Zavodsky, Brad↗
NASA NTRS2014

Tuning Monotonic Basin Hopping: Improving the Efficiency of Stochastic Search as Applied to Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization

Trajectory optimization methods using monotonic basin hopping (MBH) have become well developed during the past decade [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. An essential component of MBH is a controlled random search through the multi-dimensional space of possible solutions. Historically, the randomness has been generated by drawing random variable (RV)s from a uniform probability distribution. Here, we investigate the generating the randomness by drawing the RVs from Cauchy and Pareto distributions, chosen because of their characteristic long tails. We demonstrate that using Cauchy distributions (as first suggested by J. Englander [3, 6]) significantly improves monotonic basin hopping (MBH) performance, and that Pareto distributions provide even greater improvements. Improved performance is defined in terms of efficiency and robustness. Efficiency is finding better solutions in less time. Robustness is efficiency that is undiminished by (a) the boundary conditions and internal constraints of the optimization problem being solved, and (b) by variations in the parameters of the probability distribution. Robustness is important for achieving performance improvements that are not problem specific. In this work we show that the performance improvements are the result of how these long-tailed distributions enable MBH to search the solution space faster and more thoroughly. In developing this explanation, we use the concepts of sub-diffusive, normally-diffusive, and super-diffusive random walks (RWs) originally developed in the field of statistical physics.

autonomous↗
NASA NTRS2017

Exponentially-Biased Ground-State Sampling of Quantum Annealing Machines with Transverse-Field Driving Hamiltonians

We study the performance of the D-Wave 2X quantum annealing machine on systems with well-controlled ground-state degeneracy. While obtaining the ground state of a spin-glass benchmark instance represents a difficult task, the gold standard for any optimization algorithm or machine is to sample all solutions that minimize the Hamiltonian with more or less equal probability. Our results show that while naive transverse-field quantum annealing on the D-Wave 2X device can find the ground-state energy of the problems, it is not well suited in identifying all degenerate ground-state configurations associated to a particular instance. Even worse, some states are exponentially suppressed, in agreement with previous studies on toy model problems [New J. Phys. 11, 073021 (2009)]. These results suggest that more complex driving Hamiltonians are needed in future quantum annealing machines to ensure a fair sampling of the ground-state manifold.

Quantum Annealing↗
DOE OSTI2024

Identifying Green Solvent Mixtures for Bioproduct Separation Using Bayesian Experimental Design

Liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) is a widely used technique for the separation and purification of liquid-phase products with applications in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and renewable chemistry. A critical step in the design of an LLE process is the selection of appropriate solvents. This study presents a new methodology for identifying solvent mixtures for bioproduct separation using Bayesian experimental design (BED). Motivated by the need for environmentally friendly and effective separation methods, we address the challenge of selecting solvent systems that balance separation efficiency, selectivity, and environmental impact while also tackling the difficulty of separating multiple bioproducts using complex solvent systems. Our approach specifically seeks to predict product partition coefficients (log10 Kp values) as thermodynamic parameters underlying solvent selection. The iterative approach integrates Bayesian optimization with experimental measurements to guide solvent selection and leverages COSMO-RS simulations to enhance high-throughput experimentation. Using the design of solvent systems for the separation of lignin-derived aromatic products via centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) as a case study, we show that within seven iterations/cycles of the methodology, we can identify new mixtures of green solvents that align with CPC design principles. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the efficacy of the BED framework in optimizing green solvent systems for complex separations, highlighting the potential of this method to advance the field of green chemistry and contribute to the development of sustainable industrial processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1991

Doppler lidar for measurement of atmospheric wind fields

Measurements of wind fields in the earth's troposphere with daily global coverage is widely considered as a significant advance for forecasting and transport studies. For optimal use by NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) models the horizontal and vertical resolutions should be approximately 100 km and 1 km, respectively. For boundary layer studies vertical resolution of a few hundred meters seems essential. Earth-orbiting Doppler lidar has a unique capability to measure global winds in the troposphere with the high vertical resolution required. The lidar approach depends on transmission of pulses with high spectral purity and backscattering from the atmospheric aerosol particles or layered clouds to provide a return signal. Recent field measurement campaigns using NASA research aircraft have resulted in collection of aerosol and cloud data which can be used to optimize the Doppler lidar instrument design and measurement strategy.

Menzies, Robert T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Heat Flow and Segregation in Directional Solidification

This research is composed of three major components: (1) development of interface morphology control for automated Bridgman growth of semiconductor systems; (2) comparative analysis of segregation during crystal growth in a reduced gravity environment and in the presence of magnetic fields; and (3) consequences of seeding by meltback in Bridgman growth under reduced gravity conditions. In attempts to optimize furnace design for crystal growth in a reduced gravity environment, an analytical approach to heat transfer was developed. It was thus found that charge confining crucibles diminish the ability to control the growth interface morphology through its position within the gradient zone. A heat pipe hot zone system for Bridgman growth, in reduced gravity environment, of crystal with diameters up to 16 mm was developed. For growth of Ga-doped germanium in the multipurpose (ASTP) furnace, it was found that the application of transverse magnetic fields (up to 36 kg) does not substantially increase the effective distribution coefficient; i.e., diffusion-controlled segregation observed in reduced gravity environment cannot be reached nor approached by magnetic field induced melt stabilization.

Witt, A. F.↗
DOE OSTI2020

A catalogue of Locus Algorithm pointings for optimal differential photometry for 23 779 quasars

ABSTRACT This paper presents a catalogue of optimized pointings for differential photometry of 23 779 quasars extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Catalogue and a Score for each indicating the quality of the Field of View (FoV) associated with that pointing. Observation of millimagnitude variability on a time-scale of minutes typically requires differential observations with reference to an ensemble of reference stars. For optimal performance, these reference stars should have similar colour and magnitude to the target quasar. In addition, the greatest quantity and quality of suitable reference stars may be found by using a telescope pointing which offsets the target object from the centre of the FoV. By comparing each quasar with the stars which appear close to it on the sky in the SDSS Catalogue, an optimum pointing can be calculated, and a figure of merit, referred to as the ‘Score’ is calculated for that pointing. Highly flexible software has been developed to enable this process to be automated and implemented in a distributed computing paradigm, which enables the creation of catalogues of pointings given a set of input targets. Applying this technique to a sample of 40 000 targets from the fourth SDSS quasar catalogue resulted in the production of pointings and Scores for 23 779 quasars based on their magnitudes in the SDSS r-band. This catalogue is a useful resource for observers planning differential photometry studies and surveys of quasars to select those which have many suitable celestial neighbours for differential photometry.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dislocation half-loop control for optimal V-defect density in GaN-based light emitting diodes

V-defects are morphological defects that typically form on threading dislocations during epitaxial growth of $(0001)$-oriented GaN layers. A V-defect is a hexagonal pyramid-shaped depression with six {$10\bar{1}1$}-oriented sidewalls. These semipolar sidewalls have a lower polarization barrier than the polarization barriers present between the polar c-plane quantum wells and quantum barriers and can laterally inject carriers directly into quantum wells in GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). This is especially important, as the high polarization field in c-plane GaN is a significant factor in the high forward voltage of GaN LEDs. The optimal V-defect density for efficient lateral carrier injection in a GaN LED (∼10 9 cm −2 ) is typically an order of magnitude higher than the threading dislocation density of GaN grown on patterned sapphire substrates (∼10 8 cm −2 ). Pure-edge dislocation loops have been known to exist in GaN, and their formation into large V-defects via low-temperature growth with high Si-doping has recently been studied. Here, in this work, we develop a method for pure-edge threading dislocation half-loop formation and density control via disilane flow, growth temperature, and thickness of the half-loop generation layer. We also develop a method of forming the threading dislocation half-loops into V-defects of comparable size to those originating from substrate threading dislocations.

Crystallographic defects↗
NASA NTRS2004

Optimization of Thin Film Ferroelectrics for Communication Applications

The application of thin film ferroelectrics for the development of tunable microwave components have been a very active field of investigation thraughout the last decade. This presentation will provide an overview of some of the activities in the aforementioned area by other research groups and the current status of the field. In particular, we will discuss the efforts currently underway at the NASA Glenn Research Center in the area of phase shifter development using Ba2Sr(1-x)TiO3 ferroelectric thin films. Emphasis will be given to the approaches that have been investigated in order to improve the performance (i.e., figure of merit) of these devices. Some of these approaches deal with the details of circuit design parameters, while others are related to Experimental results and discussions on the aforementioned topics will be presented the optimization of material properties through different deposition techniques.

Miranda, Felix A.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ambient-temperature liquid jet targets for high-repetition-rate HED discovery science

High-power lasers can generate energetic particle beams and astrophysically relevant pressure and temperature states in the high-energy-density (HED) regime. Recently-commissioned high-repetition-rate (HRR) laser drivers are capable of producing these conditions at rates exceeding 1 Hz. However, experimental output from these systems is often limited by the difficulty of designing targets that match these repetition rates. To overcome this challenge, we have developed tungsten microfluidic nozzles, which produce a continuously replenishing jet that operates at flow speeds of approximately 10 m/s and can sustain shot frequencies up to 1 kHz. The ambient-temperature planar liquid jets produced by these nozzles can have thicknesses ranging from hundreds of nanometers to tens of micrometers. In this work, we illustrate the operational principle of the microfluidic nozzle and describe its implementation in a vacuum environment. Further, we provide evidence of successful laser-driven ion acceleration using this target and discuss the prospect of optimizing the ion acceleration performance through an in situ jet thickness scan. Future applications for the jet throughout HED science include shock compression and studies of strongly heated nonequilibrium plasmas. When fielded in concert with HRR-compatible laser, diagnostic, and active feedback technology, this target will facilitate advanced automated studies in HRR HED science, including machine learning-based optimization and high-dimensional statistical analysis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2020

OSA Spotlight Summary: Designing Miniature X-ray Optics for the SmallSat Lunar Science Mission Concept CubeX

The scientific demand for extended field X-Ray remote sensing for mapping of planetary bodies has produced the CubeSat X-ray Telescope (CubeX) lunar mission concept. Orbiting the Moon at 6,000 km for 1 year sometime during the mid-decade solar maximum, the primary objectives of CubeX are to map lunar surface elemental abundances and to assess feasibility of x-ray pulsar timing navigation. CubeX’s Miniature X-ray Optics (MiXO) design builds on heritage of existing X-ray imaging designs using new electroformed NiCo alloy replication (ENR) to create shells of 1 mm thickness. MiXO will provide 1 arcmin resolution X-Ray imaging for an extended instantaneous field of view, at various energy range sensitivities. Based on the classic Wolter-Type I design (using a paraboloid/hyperboloid grazing mirror pair), mirror parameters were expanded to allow both shell length and focal-plane offsets to vary independently. The design was optimized with a merit function that factored together four sub-merits: PSF sharpness (measured as half-power diameter), consistency across the field, minimized scattering, and maximized effective area. Monte Carlo analysis was used to predict final performance, including surface scatter effects. The demonstrated configurations include a compact 34 shell design with a diameter of 105 mm more efficient at higher energies, and a larger 130 mm/24 shell version with a larger overall effective area at lower energies. The compact design carries more expensive fabrication and assembly cost (with more shells) as well as a more challenging alignment (with denser packing). Both have overall resolution <1’ up to 26’ off-axis and <1.5’ up to 33’ off-axis, whereas a conventional design’s image quality degrades quickly beyond 15’ off-axis. This opens up new possibilities for future SmallSat missions that could use two different configurations for wide energy ranges or midsized instruments using multiple identical modules for larger collecting area.

x-ray↗
NASA NTRS2011

MoSST DAS: The First Working Geomagnetic Data Assimilation System

The Earth possesses an internal magnetic field (geomagnetic field) generated by convection in the outer core (geodynamo). Previous efforts have been focused along two distinct paths: (1) numerical geodynamo modeling to understand the origin of the geomagnetic field, and the mechanisms of geomagnetic secular variations (SV); and (2) geomagnetic field modeling to map the spatial/temporal variations of the field from geomagnetic data, and to derive core properties, e.g. inversion of core flow near the core-mantle boundary (CMB). Geomagnetic data assimilation is a new approach emerged over the past 5 years: surface observations are assimilated with geodynamo models for better understanding of the core dynamical state, and accurately prediction of SV. In collaboration with several geomagnetic research groups, we have developed the first working geomagnetic data assimilation system, Modular, Scalable, Self-consistent, and Three-dimensional (MoSST) DAS, that includes the MoSST numerical dynamo model; 7000 years of geomagnetic field maps from several field models utilizing satellite and ground observatory data, historical magnetic records and archeo/paleo magnetic data; and an ensemble based optimal interpolation (01) assimilation algorithm. With this system, we have demonstrated clearly that the assimilated core dynamical state is substantially different from those of pure geodynamo simulations. Ensemble assimilation runs also show the convergence of the assimilated solutions inside the core, suggesting that the simulation state is pulled closer to the truth via data assimilation. The forecasts from this system are also very accurate: the 5-year forecast of the geomagnetic field agrees very well with the observations; and the 5-year secular variation forecast is more accurate than the IGRF SV forecast models in the past. Using geomagnetic records up to 2009, we have made an SV forecast for the period from 2010-2015, and is a candidate SV model for IGRF-11.

Kuang, Weijia↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Bayesian Approach for In-Situ Stress Prediction and Uncertainty Quantification for Subsurface Engineering

Many subsurface engineering applications require accurate knowledge of the in-situ state of stress for their safe design and operation. Existing methods to meet this need primarily include field measurements for estimating one or more of the principal stresses from a borehole, or optimization methods for constructing a 3D geomechanical model in terms of geophysical measurements. These methods, however, often contain considerable uncertainty in estimating the state of stress. Here, in this paper, we build on a Bayesian approach to quantify uncertainty in stress estimations for subsurface engineering applications. This approach can provide an estimate of the 3D distribution of stress throughout the volume of interest and provide an estimate of the uncertainty arising from the stress measurement, the rheology parameters, and a paucity of measurements. The value of this approach is demonstrated using stress measurements from the In Salah carbon storage site, which was one of the world’s first industrial carbon capture and storage projects. This demonstration shows the application of this Bayesian approach for estimating the initial state of stress for In Salah and quantifying the uncertainty in the estimated stress. Also, an assessment of a maximum injection pressure to prevent geomechanical risks from CO 2 injection pressures is provided in terms of the probability distribution of the minimum principal stress quantified by the approach. With the In Salah case study, this paper demonstrates that using the Bayesian approach can provide additional insights for site explorations and/or project operations to make informed-site decisions for subsurface engineering applications.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗