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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 1,387 records · Page 77

End-to-end optimization for battery materials and molecules by combining graph neural networks and reinforcement learning

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), together with the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and Colorado State University (CSU), has developed a machine learning-enhanced approach to design new battery materials. Currently, such materials are designed in part via numerous expensive high-fidelity computational simulations that predict the performance of a given composition. Even with computational screening tools, the vast landscape of possible molecular or crystal structures exceeds current and future computational capacity. Improving the efficiency by which new materials can be optimized will therefore disrupt the cost, risk, and time required to bring new energy solutions to the marketplace. Predicting the properties of an organic molecule or periodic crystalline material given its structure has grown increasingly common. These approaches leverage large-scale computational and experimental databases and ML approaches such as graph neural networks. The inverse design problem of finding a material that possesses desired properties is substantially more challenging, since enumerating all valid material structures is not feasible. In this project, we leveraged recent success in reinforcement learning to efficiently navigate this high-dimensional search space. Just as algorithms can find the optimal chess moves from nearly limitless options, we train an approach to evolve a simple starting structure into a complex structure that possess the desired properties. Our solution has been demonstrated by applying it to two related design application tasks for short- and long-term energy storage, respectively: (1) the design of solid-state ion conductors and (2) the design of organic redox-active materials. The project has resulted an open-source software library for material design, documented examples of applying the library to both organic and inorganic material optimization, and peer-reviewed publications detailing the data, computational models, and resulting candidate materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Solving Inverse Stochastic Problems from Discrete Particle Observations Using the Fokker--Planck Equation and Physics-Informed Neural Networks

The Fokker--Planck (FP) equation governing the evolution of the probability density function (PDF) is applicable to many disciplines, but it requires specification of the coefficients for each case, which can be functions of space-time and not just constants and hence require the development of a data-driven modeling approach. When the data available is directly on the PDF, there exist methods for inverse problems that can be employed to infer the coefficients and thus determine the FP equation and subsequently obtain its solution. Herein, we address a more realistic scenario, where only sparse data are given on the particles' positions at a few time instants, which are not sufficient to accurately construct directly the PDF even at those times from existing methods, e.g., kernel estimation algorithms. To this end, we develop a general framework based on physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) that introduces a new loss function using the Kullback--Leibler divergence to connect the stochastic samples with the FP equation to simultaneously learn the equation and infer the multidimensional PDF at all times. In particular, we consider two types of inverse problems, type I, where the FP equation is known but the initial PDF is unknown, and type II, in which, in addition to the unknown initial PDF, the drift and diffusion terms are also unknown. In both cases, we investigate problems with either Brownian or Lévy noise or a combination of both. Here, we demonstrate the new PINN framework in detail in the one-dimensional (1D) case, but we also provide results for up to five dimensions demonstrating that we can infer both the FP equation and dynamics simultaneously at all times with high accuracy using only very few discrete observations of the particles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A co-kurtosis PCA based dimensionality reduction with nonlinear reconstruction using neural networks

For turbulent reacting flow systems, identification of low-dimensional representations of the thermo-chemical state space is vitally important, primarily to significantly reduce the computational cost of device-scale simulations. Principal component analysis (PCA), and its variants, are a widely employed class of methods. Recently, an alternative technique that focuses on higher-order statistical interactions, co-kurtosis PCA (CoK-PCA), has been shown to effectively provide a low-dimensional representation by capturing the stiff chemical dynamics associated with spatiotemporally localized reaction zones. While its effectiveness has only been demonstrated based on a priori analyses with linear reconstruction, in this work, we employ nonlinear techniques to reconstruct the full thermo-chemical state and evaluate the efficacy of CoK-PCA compared to PCA. Specifically, we combine a CoK-PCA-/PCA-based dimensionality reduction (encoding) with an artificial neural network (ANN) based reconstruction (decoding) and examine, a priori, the reconstruction errors of the thermo-chemical state. In addition, we evaluate the errors in species production rates and heat release rates, which are nonlinear functions of the reconstructed state, as a measure of the overall accuracy of the dimensionality reduction technique. We employ four datasets to assess CoK-PCA/PCA coupled with ANN-based reconstruction: zero-dimensional (homogeneous) reactor for autoignition of an ethylene/air mixture that has conventional single-stage ignition kinetics, a dimethyl ether (DME)/air mixture which has two-stage (low and high temperature) ignition kinetics, a one-dimensional freely propagating premixed ethylene/air laminar flame, and a two-dimensional dataset representing turbulent autoignition of ethanol in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. Finally, results from the analyses demonstrate the robustness of the CoK-PCA based low-dimensional manifold with ANN reconstruction in accurately capturing the data, specifically from the reaction zones.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Neural network methods for radiation detectors and imaging

Recent advances in image data proccesing through deep learning allow for new optimization and performance-enhancement schemes for radiation detectors and imaging hardware. This enables radiation experiments, which includes photon sciences in synchrotron and X-ray free electron lasers as a subclass, through data-endowed artificial intelligence. We give an overview of data generation at photon sources, deep learning-based methods for image processing tasks, and hardware solutions for deep learning acceleration. Most existing deep learning approaches are trained offline, typically using large amounts of computational resources. However, once trained, DNNs can achieve fast inference speeds and can be deployed to edge devices. A new trend is edge computing with less energy consumption (hundreds of watts or less) and real-time analysis potential. While popularly used for edge computing, electronic-based hardware accelerators ranging from general purpose processors such as central processing units (CPUs) to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are constantly reaching performance limits in latency, energy consumption, and other physical constraints. These limits give rise to next-generation analog neuromorhpic hardware platforms, such as optical neural networks (ONNs), for high parallel, low latency, and low energy computing to boost deep learning acceleration (LA-UR-23-32395).

edge computing↗

Development of a hybrid neural network and transfer learning model for optimized ICP-MS/MS operation

Correct function and calibration of instrumentation is a crucial assumption for any scientific experiment. One such instrument, tandem inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS/MS), has in-depth calibration settings that range across 30+ different parameters, making it difficult to determine optimal conditions without expertise and some degree of trial and error. Often, these settings are hand-tuned, a time-intensive process prone to local maxima and human error. While some automation is available, the automation also may favor local optimizations over a global optimum. In addition to these difficulties, day to day instrument variability can further complicate the calibration process. We propose a solution to this problem as a machine learning (ML) algorithm that learns how each parameter helps determine the calibration sensitivity across several elements, and re-weights parameters over time as instrument variability changes (e.g., a global neural network (NN) with a time-dependent transfer learning (TL) component). This model would be able to generate a surface of predicted calibration sensitivities and their respective parameters, and a simple multivariate algorithm would be able to pull out the optimum results with the settings associated with them. Here-in, we describe our initial findings in working towards this goal, including data extraction from historical files, exploratory data analysis, and some initial model building to better describe the data and the feasibility of our goal.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Potential Cooling Energy Savings of Economizer Control and Artificial-Neural-Network-Based Air-Handling Unit Discharge Air Temperature Control for Commercial Building

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems play a significant role in building energy consumption, accounting for around 50% of total energy usage. As a result, it is essential to explore ways to conserve energy and improve HVAC system efficiency. One such solution is the use of economizer controls, which can reduce cooling energy consumption by using the free-cooling effect. However, there are various types of economizer controls available, and their effectiveness may vary depending on the specific climate conditions. To investigate the cooling energy-saving potential of economizer controls, this study employs a dry-bulb temperature-based economizer control approach. The dry-bulb temperature-based control strategy uses the outdoor air temperature as an indicator of whether free cooling can be used instead of mechanical cooling. This study also introduces an artificial neural network (ANN) prediction model to optimize the control of the HVAC system, which can lead to additional cooling energy savings. To develop the ANN prediction model, the EnergyPlus program is used for simulation modeling, and the Python programming language is employed for model development. The results show that implementing a temperature-based economizer control strategy can lead to a reduction of 7.6% in annual cooling energy consumption. Moreover, by employing an ANN-based optimal control of discharge air temperature in air-handling units, an additional 22.1% of cooling energy savings can be achieved. In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrate that the implementation of economizer controls, especially the dry-bulb temperature-based approach, can be an effective strategy for reducing cooling energy consumption in HVAC systems. Additionally, using ANN prediction models to optimize HVAC system controls can further increase energy savings, resulting in improved energy efficiency and reduced operating costs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Water dissociation at the water–rutile TiO 2 (110) interface from ab initio-based deep neural network simulations

The interaction of water with TiO 2 surfaces is of crucial importance in various scientific fields and applications, from photocatalysis for hydrogen production and the photooxidation of organic pollutants to self-cleaning surfaces and bio-medical devices. In particular, the equilibrium fraction of water dissociation at the TiO 2 –water interface has a critical role in the surface chemistry of TiO 2 , but is difficult to determine both experimentally and computationally. Among TiO 2 surfaces, rutile TiO 2 (110) is of special interest as the most abundant surface of TiO 2 ’s stable rutile phase. While surface-science studies have provided detailed information on the interaction of rutile TiO 2 (110) with gas-phase water, much less is known about the TiO 2 (110)–water interface, which is more relevant to many applications. In this work, we characterize the structure of the aqueous TiO 2 (110) interface using nanosecond timescale molecular dynamics simulations with ab initio-based deep neural network potentials that accurately describe water/TiO 2 (110) interactions over a wide range of water coverages. Simulations on TiO 2 (110) slab models of increasing thickness provide insight into the dynamic equilibrium between molecular and dissociated adsorbed water at the interface and allow us to obtain a reliable estimate of the equilibrium fraction of water dissociation. We find a dissociation fraction of 22 ± 6% with an associated average hydroxyl lifetime of 7.6 ± 1.8 ns. These quantities are both much larger than corresponding estimates for the aqueous anatase TiO 2 (101) interface, consistent with the higher water photooxidation activity that is observed for rutile relative to anatase.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Deep Neural Network Assisted Distributed Strain and Temperature Fiber Sensor System for Natural Gas Pipeline Monitoring

Natural gas pipeline integrity monitoring is crucial to detect potential leaks, find structural issues, and prevent environmental damage. This article presents a system of natural gas pipeline monitoring that uses a specialized double Brillouin peak sensing fiber along with the Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDAs) technique. The calibrated sensing fiber coefficients for strain and temperature are 41.8 kHz/ με and 0.9 MHz/°C for peak 1; and 47.2 kHz/ με , and 1.11 MHz/°C for peak 2, respectively. Initially, lab tests were performed by installing a short section of double Brillouin peak fiber (DBPF) on a 1-in steel pipe under pressure up to 1000 per square inch (psi) at elevated temperatures. Simultaneous distributed measurements of temperature and pressure-induced hoop strain were successfully measured. Considering the long processing speed to extract Brillouin frequency shift (BFS), we employ a novel probabilistic deep neural network (PDNN) framework for rapid BFS prediction. Additionally, using the Finite Element Method, the effects of the pipeline pressure on hoop strain were modeled and compared to the experimental hoop strain under the same set of pipeline conditions. Finally, an actual 4-in outer diameter steel natural gas pipeline was used for pilot-scale tests, where hoop strain was measured at various pressure levels. Leaks were simulated to demonstrate accurate pipeline integrity monitoring. At an internal pipe pressure of 1000 psi, hoop strain of approximately 300 με was observed, and the sensitivity was calculated as 0.28 με /psi. The results of this pilot-scale study demonstrated that the system is capable of performing distributed monitoring sufficient to detect pipeline pressure and the presence of leaks to ensure the safe operation of gas pipelines in the field.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Physics-informed neural networks for inverse problems in nano-optics and metamaterials

In this paper, we employ the emerging paradigm of physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for the solution of representative inverse scattering problems in photonic metamaterials and nano-optics technologies. In particular, we successfully apply mesh-free PINNs to the difficult task of retrieving the effective permittivity parameters of a number of finite-size scattering systems that involve many interacting nanostructures as well as multi-component nanoparticles. Our methodology is fully validated by numerical simulations based on the finite element method (FEM). The development of physics-informed deep learning techniques for inverse scattering can enable the design of novel functional nanostructures and significantly broaden the design space of metamaterials by naturally accounting for radiation and finite-size effects beyond the limitations of traditional effective medium theories.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Reconstruction and Selection of Neutrino Interactions in MicroBooNE using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

In this document, we describe a new reconstruction workflow developed for the MicroBooNE experiment. It features the use of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks trained to recognize key structures within the data sufficient for the 3D reconstruction of neutrino interactions within the detector. As a test of the reconstruction utility, the products of the reconstruction workflow are used to select inclusive charged-current (CC) $\nu_e$ and $\nu_\mu$ interactions in both simulated and real MicroBooNE data. In simulation, our $\nu_e$ and $\nu_\mu$ selections achieve an efficiency of 57% and 68\%, respectively, with a purity of 91% and 96%, respectively. We find that these selections are competitive with the inclusive selections used for the most recent MicroBooNE LEE searches. In particular, the CC-$\nu_e$ inclusive selection efficiency improves by over 20% while also improving sample purity. As a first step in quantifying potential bias, the data and Monte Carlo expectati ons are compared for both selections using the MicroBooNE open data. Within statistical and systematic uncertainties, both the electron and muon CC-inclusive event samples agree. A comparison of the real data events chosen by our work and another reconstruction framework shows that the two analyses each identify a sizeable fraction of events the other does not. This suggests that future analyses integrating the strengths of each could lead to combined gains. This work demonstrates, for the first time on real LArTPC data, state-of-the-art neutrino interaction reconstruction centered around deep learning algorithms.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

NSGA-PINN: A Multi-Objective Optimization Method for Physics-Informed Neural Network Training

This paper presents NSGA-PINN, a multi-objective optimization framework for the effective training of physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). The proposed framework uses the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) to enable traditional stochastic gradient optimization algorithms (e.g., ADAM) to escape local minima effectively. Additionally, the NSGA-II algorithm enables satisfying the initial and boundary conditions encoded into the loss function during physics-informed training precisely. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by applying NSGA-PINN to several ordinary and partial differential equation problems. In particular, we show that the proposed framework can handle challenging inverse problems with noisy data.

Lu, Binghang (ORCID:0009000160016632)↗

Physically-Informed Artificial Neural Networks for Atomistic Modeling of Materials

A new approach is presented for the development of classical interatomic potentials using physically-informed neural networks (PINN) combined with an analytical bond-order atomic interaction model. Due to the strong physical underpinnings, the PINN potentials demonstrate much better transferability than the existing machine-learning potentials while drastically improving the accuracy in comparison with traditional potentials. PINN potentials can be constructed for both metallic and covalent materials in a unified manner. A number of applications of PINN potentials to large-scale molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations and calculation of thermal and mechanical properties of diverse materials are demonstrated. Some of the specific materials systems include silicon and aluminum, as well as alloys and compounds. Computational aspects of PINN potentials are discussed and future developments in this field are outlined.

J Hickman↗

Flood Mapping Using UAVSAR and Convolutional Neural Networks

We have mapped flooded areas in data collected by the NASA/JPL Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) using two convolutional neural network (CNN) image classifier architectures: U-Net and SegNet. Our study area was a region around Houston, TX, USA affected by widespread flooding in 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey. To train and test the classifiers, we manually labelled over 10000 image segments in two flight lines. Both U-Net and SegNet yielded higher accuracy than a previous non-machine learning classifier we used as a baseline. U-Net had slightly higher accuracy than SegNet. The classifiers performed better in areas with more homogeneous land cover. To independently validate the classifier accuracy we used NOAA aerial imagery, with overall accuracy around 80%. Future work includes assessing the classifier robustness in other study areas, assessing the classifier dependence on UAVSAR incidence angle, particularly for open water and bare ground, and collecting more training data, particularly in urban areas. This study demonstrates the potential of CNN image classifiers for mapping flooded areas in airborne polarimetric SAR imagery, and for land cover classification of polarimetric SAR imagery more generally.

Denbina, Michael W↗

Developing Data-Driven Artificial Neural Network for A High Throughput Retrieval of Aerosol Optical Depth and Surface Temperature of Mars

In this work, we aim to developartificial neural network(ANN)techniquesto reproduce the retrieval results ofphysical quantities from spacecraft observations of solar system bodiesusing radiative transfer methods. The particular application here is the retrieval of dust optical depth, water-ice optical depth, and surface temperatureonMarsusingdaytime observationsobtained by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor.Compared against the results obtained from traditional radiative transfer retrieval techniques, our ANN successfully recoveredthe three quantitiesusingdaytime observations. The principal advantage of thesemachine learning(ML) algorithms istheir complete automation and highthroughput. Therefore, the algorithms presented here would be useful for very large datasets andwould make practical the sampling of many different approximations or boundary conditions related to a given observation dataset and retrieval problem.

Rafael Moreno↗

Predictive model using artificial neural network to design phase change material-based ocean thermal energy harvesting systems for powering uncrewed underwater vehicles

Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) are a major beneficiary of the phase change material (PCM)-based ocean thermal energy harvesting technology for their mission needs. However, this technology relies on different parameters and energy conversion steps that could be critical to the general energy generation efficiency. Sea trials showed that the design performed lower than their laboratory design specifications. This underperformance results from different factors, mainly the UUV’s trajectory, travel time, underwater ocean currents, temperature fluctuations, and biofouling on the heat exchanger due to long term underwater operations. Therefore, there exists a need to continuously monitor the ambient energy harvesting system and predict system performance, for mission planning purposes. Two major parameters influencing the energy harvesting system include the final pressure inside the hydraulic energy storage vessel or accumulator, and the electrical load value. Here, this work focuses on the hydraulic to electric energy conversion system. Therefore, a combination of numerical model and experimental testing is used to develop a predictive model using artificial neural network using MATLAB. After validation with experimental testing, 1000 data samples obtained from the numerical model are used to train the ANN. Compared to the experimental results, the developed ANN model can predict in less than a second the designed benchtop system’s total efficiency with less than 15 percent maximum error range. This predictive model development represents a cost-effective way for optimization and a computational energy efficient mode aboard UUVs for mission planning for deployed UUVs using PCM-based ocean thermal energy harvesting technology.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗