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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 1,405 records · Page 78
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

WE-FG-206-05: New Arterial Spin Labeling Method for Simultaneous Estimation of Arterial Cerebral Blood Volume, Cerebral Blood Flow and Arterial Transit Time

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of a novel Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) method for simultaneously measuring cerebral blood flow (CBF), arterial transit time (ATT), and arterial cerebral blood volume (aCBV) without the use of a contrast agent. Methods: A series of multi-TI ASL images were acquired from one healthy subject on a 3T Siemens Skyra, with the following parameters: PCASL labeling with variable TI [300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000] ms, labeling bolus 1400 ms when TI allows, otherwise 100 ms less than TI, TR was minimized for each TI, two sinc shaped pre-saturation pulses were applied in the imaging plane immediately before 2D EPI acquisition. 64×64×24 voxels, 5 mm slice thickness, 1 mm gap, full brain coverage, 6 averages per TI, no crusher gradients, 11 ms TE, scan time of 4:56. The perfusion weighted time-series was created for each voxel and fit to a novel model. The model has two components: 1) the traditional model developed by Buxton et al., accounting for CBF and ATT, and 2) a box car function characterizing the width of the labeling bolus, with variable timing and height in proportion to the aCBV. All three parameters were fit using a nonlinear fitting routine that constrained all parameters to be positive. The main purpose of the high-temporal resolution TI sampling for the first second of data acquisition was to precisely estimate the blood volume component for better detection of arrival time and magnitude of signal. Results: Whole brain maps of CBF, ATT, and aCBV were produced, and all three parameters maps are consistent with similar maps described in the literature. Conclusion: Simultaneous mapping of CBF, ATT, and aCBV is feasible with a clinically tractable scan time (under 5 minutes).

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Noise suppressed partial volume correction for cardiac SPECT/CT

Purpose: Partial volume correction (PVC) methods typically improve quantification at the expense of increased image noise and reduced reproducibility. In this study, the authors developed a novel voxel-based PVC method that incorporates anatomical knowledge to improve quantification while suppressing noise for cardiac SPECT/CT imaging. Methods: In the proposed method, the SPECT images were first reconstructed using anatomical-based maximum a posteriori (AMAP) with Bowsher’s prior to penalize noise while preserving boundaries. A sequential voxel-by-voxel PVC approach (Yang’s method) was then applied on the AMAP reconstruction using a template response. This template response was obtained by forward projecting a template derived from a contrast-enhanced CT image, and then reconstructed using AMAP to model the partial volume effects (PVEs) introduced by both the system resolution and the smoothing applied during reconstruction. To evaluate the proposed noise suppressed PVC (NS-PVC), the authors first simulated two types of cardiac SPECT studies: a {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion scan and a {sup 99m}Tc-labeled red blood cell (RBC) scan on a dedicated cardiac multiple pinhole SPECT/CT at both high and low count levels. The authors then applied the proposed method on a canine equilibrium blood pool study following injection with {sup 99m}Tc-RBCs at different count levels by rebinning the list-mode data into shorter acquisitions. The proposed method was compared to MLEM reconstruction without PVC, two conventional PVC methods, including Yang’s method and multitarget correction (MTC) applied on the MLEM reconstruction, and AMAP reconstruction without PVC. Results: The results showed that the Yang’s method improved quantification, however, yielded increased noise and reduced reproducibility in the regions with higher activity. MTC corrected for PVE on high count data with amplified noise, although yielded the worst performance among all the methods tested on low-count data. AMAP effectively suppressed noise and reduced the spill-in effect in the low activity regions. However it was unable to reduce the spill-out effect in high activity regions. NS-PVC yielded superior performance in terms of both quantitative assessment and visual image quality while improving reproducibility. Conclusions: The results suggest that NS-PVC may be a promising PVC algorithm for application in low-dose protocols, and in gated and dynamic cardiac studies with low counts.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Poster - 36: Effect of Planning Target Volume Coverage on the Dose Delivered in Lung Radiotherapy

Purpose: In lung radiotherapy, breathing motion may be encompassed by contouring the internal target volume (ITV). Remaining uncertainties are included in a geometrical expansion to the planning target volume (PTV). In IMRT, the treatment is then optimized until a desired PTV fraction is covered by the appropriate dose. The resulting beams often carry high fluence in the PTV margin to overcome low lung density and to generate steep dose gradients. During treatment, the high density tumour can enter the PTV margin, potentially increasing target dose. Thus, planning lung IMRT with a reduced PTV dose may still achieve the desired ITV dose during treatment. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out with 25 IMRT plans prescribed to 63 Gy in 30 fractions. The plans were re-normalized to cover various fractions of the PTV by different isodose lines. For each case, the isocentre was moved using 125 shifts derived from all 3D combinations of 0 mm, (PTV margin - 1 mm), and PTV margin. After each shift, the dose was recomputed to approximate the delivered dose. Results and Conclusion: Our plans typically cover 95% of the PTV by 95% of the dose. Reducing the PTV covered to 94% did not significantly reduce the delivered ITV doses for (PTV margin - 1 mm) shifts. Target doses were reduced significantly for all other shifts and planning goals studied. Thus, a reduced planning goal will likely deliver the desired target dose as long as the ITV rarely enters the last mm of the PTV margin.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Physical Constraints on Geologic CO2 Sequestration in Low-Volume Basalt Formations

Deep basalt formations within large igneous provinces have been proposed as target reservoirs for carbon capture and sequestration on the basis of favorable CO2-water-rock reaction kinetics that suggest carbonate mineralization rates on the order of 102–103 d. Although these results are encouraging, there exists much uncertainty surrounding the influence of fracture-controlled reservoir heterogeneity on commercial-scale CO2 injections in basalt formations. This work investigates the physical response of a low-volume basalt reservoir to commercial-scale CO2 injections using a Monte Carlo numerical modeling experiment such that model variability is solely a function of spatially distributed reservoir heterogeneity. Fifty equally probable reservoirs are simulated using properties inferred from the deep eastern Snake River Plain aquifer in southeast Idaho, and CO2 injections are modeled within each reservoir for 20 yr at a constant mass rate of 21.6 kg s–1. Results from this work suggest that (1) formation injectivity is generally favorable, although injection pressures in excess of the fracture gradient were observed in 4% of the simulations; (2) for an extensional stress regime (as exists within the eastern Snake River Plain), shear failure is theoretically possible for optimally oriented fractures if Sh is less than or equal to 0.70SV; and (3) low-volume basalt reservoirs exhibit sufficient CO2 confinement potential over a 20 yr injection program to accommodate mineral trapping rates suggested in the literature.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Analysis of Fringe Field Formed Inside LDA Measurement Volume Using Compact Two Hololens Imaging Systems

We have designed and fabricated four LDA optical setups consisting of aberration compensated four different compact two hololens imaging systems. We have experimentally investigated and realized a hololens recording geometry which is interferogram of converging spherical wavefront with mutually coherent planar wavefront. Proposed real time monitoring and actual fringe field analysis techniques allow complete characterizations of fringes formed at measurement volume and permit to evaluate beam quality, alignment and fringe uniformity with greater precision. After experimentally analyzing the fringes formed at measurement volume by all four imaging systems, it is found that fringes obtained using compact two hololens imaging systems get improved both qualitatively and quantitatively compared to that obtained using conventional imaging system. Results indicate qualitative improvement of non-uniformity in fringe thickness and micro intensity variations perpendicular to the fringes, and quantitative improvement of 39.25% in overall average normalized standard deviations of fringe width formed by compact two hololens imaging systems compare to that of conventional imaging system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Peculiarities of FeSi phonon spectrum induced by a change of atomic volume

We analyze in detail the results of experimental investigations of the evolution of the thermal vibration spectra for iron atoms in iron monosilicide FeSi depending on two external parameters, viz., temperature T (in the range 46–297 K at pressure P = 0.1 MPa) and pressure P (in the range 0.1 MPa–43 GPa at temperature T = 297 K), obtained by nuclear inelastic scattering of synchrotron radiation. The decrease of the atomic volume is accompanied by a rearrangement of the phonon spectrum, which is manifested, in particular, in the splitting of the low-energy peak in the spectrum and in an increase of the energy for all phonons. The changes of the average energy of the iron atom vibrational spectrum and of the Debye energy with decreasing atomic volume are analyzed. Different versions of FeSi electron spectrum variation, which can be used to explain the observed phonon anomalies, are considered.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Generation of plasma inhomogeneities and their total suppression in a volume self-sustained discharge

The principle types of inhomogeneities formed in a volume self-sustained discharge are analyzed. Possible mechanisms and conditions for suppression of their development are considered. An ultimately homogeneous volume self-sustained discharge in CO{sub 2}: N{sub 2}: He mixtures where local plasma inhomogeneities are absent is obtained. At the energy contribution of 170 J/l, the duration of steady discharge burning in the CO{sub 2}: N{sub 2}: He = 1: 2: 3 mixtures at atmospheric pressure is 10 {mu}s.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Expansion of the cathode spot and generation of shock waves in the plasma of a volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure helium

The expansion of the cathode spot and the generation of shock waves during the formation and development of a pulsed volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure helium were studied by analyzing the emission spectra of the cathode plasma and the spatiotemporal behavior of the plasma glow. The transition of a diffuse volume discharge in a centimeter-long gap into a high-current diffuse mode when the gas pressure increased from 1 to 5 atm and the applied voltage rose from the statistical breakdown voltage to a 100% overvoltage was investigated. Analytical expressions for the radius of the cathode spot and its expansion velocity obtained in the framework of a spherically symmetric model agree satisfactorily with the experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Large-volume flux closure during plasmoid-mediated reconnection in coaxial helicity injection

A large-volume flux closure during transient coaxial helicity injection (CHI) in NSTX-U is demonstrated through resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations. Several major improvements, including the improved positioning of the divertor poloidal field coils, are projected to improve the CHI start-up phase in NSTX-U. Simulations in the NSTX-U configuration with constant in time coil currents show that with strong flux shaping the injected open field lines (injector flux) rapidly reconnect and form large volume of closed flux surfaces. This is achieved by driving parallel current in the injector flux coil and oppositely directed currents in the flux shaping coils to form a narrow injector flux footprint and push the injector flux into the vessel. As the helicity and plasma are injected into the device, the oppositely directed field lines in the injector region are forced to reconnect through a local Sweet–Parker type reconnection, or to spontaneously reconnect when the elongated current sheet becomes MHD unstable to form plasmoids. In these simulations for the first time, it is found that the closed flux is over 70% of the initial injector flux used to initiate the discharge. These results could work well for the application of transient CHI in devices that employ super conducting coils to generate and sustain the plasma equilibrium.

Current Drive↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nuclear waste calorimeter for very large drums with 385 litres sample volume

Calorimetry is a very precise and well adapted tool for the classification of drums containing nuclear waste material depending on their level of activities (low, medium, high). A new calorimeter has been developed by SETARAM Instrumentation and the CEA Valduc in France. This new calorimeter is designed for drums having a volume bigger than 100 liters. It guarantees high operator safety by optimizing drum handling and air circulation for cooling, and optimized software for direct measurement of the quantity of nuclear material. The LVC1380 calorimeter makes it possible to work over the range 10 to 3000 mW, which corresponds to approximately 0.03 to 10 g of tritium or 3 to 955 g of {sup 241}Pu in a volume up to 385 liters. This calorimeter is based on the heat flow measurement using Peltier elements which surround the drum in the 3 dimensions and therefore measure all the heat coming from the radioactive stuff whatever its position inside the drum. Calorimeter's insulating layers constitute a thermal barrier designed to filter disturbances until they represent less than 0.001 Celsius degrees and to eliminate long term disturbances associated, for example, with laboratory temperature variations between day and night. A calibration device based on Joule effect has also been designed. Measurement time has been optimized but remains long compared with other methods of measurement such as gamma spectrometry but its main asset is to have a good accuracy for low level activities.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Monitoring Volume: A Summary of Monitoring Studies Conducted in Niagaran Carbonate Pinnacle Reefs During Enhanced Oil Recovery with CO2

This introductory report to the Integrated Monitoring Volume provides an executive summary style overview of each of the monitoring methods deployed during the MRCSP Phase III Program. Each method is discussed in detail in a separate report that together with this Executive Summary comprise the Integrated Monitoring Volume.

BHG,DAS,Monitoring,PNC,VSP,borehole gravity,distri↗
DOE OSTI2012

Uncertainties in peat volume and soil carbon estimated using ground penetrating radar and probing

We evaluate the uncertainty in calculations of peat basin volume using high-resolution data . to resolve the three-dimensional structure of a peat basin using both direct (push probes) and indirect geophysical (ground penetrating radar) measurements. We compared volumetric estimates from both approaches with values from literature. We identified subsurface features that can introduce uncertainties into direct peat thickness measurements including the presence of woody peat and soft clay or gyttja. We demonstrate that a simple geophysical technique that is easily scalable to larger peatlands can be used to rapidly and cost effectively obtain more accurate and less uncertain estimates of peat basin volumes critical to improving understanding of the total terrestrial carbon pool in peatlands.

Parsekian, Andrew D.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydration-driven stabilization and volume collapse of grain boundaries in Mg2SiO4 forsterite predicted by first-principles simulations

Grain boundaries in mantle minerals are of critical importance to geophysical and geochemical processes of the Earth’s interior. One of the fundamental issues is to understand how the water (H 2 O) component influences the properties of grain boundaries in silicate materials. Here, we report the results of the structure and stability of several tilt grain boundaries in Mg 2 SiO 4 forsterite over the pressure range 0 to 15 GPa using density functional theory-based first-principles simulations. Here, the results suggest greater energetic stability and hydration-driven volume collapse (negative excess volume) at zero pressure for the majority of hydrous grain boundaries relative to the anhydrous (dry) ones. All the hydrous grain boundaries become increasingly favorable at elevated pressures as the calculated hydration enthalpy systematically decreases with increasing pressure. The hydrous components at the interfacial regions are predominantly in the hydroxyl form and, to a lesser extent, in the molecular H 2 O form. Their calculated ratio ranges from 1.6 to 8.7 among the different grain boundary configurations. Our structural analysis also reveals that the hydroxyls are bound to either both Mg and Si or to Mg only. In comparison, the molecular species are bound only to Mg sites. Besides direct oxygen-hydrogen bonding, intermolecular hydrogen bonding becomes important with compression. On the basis of our results, we suggest that local atomic rearrangements caused by dissociative adsorption of water facilitate efficient compaction of the boundary interfaces, which, in turn, results in greater relative stability of hydrous grain boundaries. This means that water prefers to be incorporated within the grain boundaries over the bulk of silicate materials.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of finite-volume methods to capture shocks and turbulence spectra in compressible flows

The aim of the present paper is to provide a comparison between several finite-volume methods of different numerical accuracy: the second-order Godunov method with PPM interpolation and the high-order finite-volume WENO method. In this work, the results show that while on a smooth problem the high-order method performs better than the second-order one, when the solution contains a shock all the methods collapse to first-order accuracy. In the context of the decay of compressible homogeneous isotropic turbulence with shocklets, the actual overall order of accuracy of the methods reduces to second-order, despite the use of fifth-order reconstruction schemes at cell interfaces. Most important, results in terms of turbulent spectra are similar regardless of the numerical methods employed, except that the PPM method fails to provide an accurate representation in the high-frequency range of the spectra. It is found that this specific issue comes from the slope-limiting procedure and a novel hybrid PPM/WENO method is developed that has the ability to capture the turbulent spectra with the accuracy of a high-order method, but at the cost of the second-order Godunov method. Overall, it is shown that virtually the same physical solution can be obtained much faster by refining a simulation with the second-order method and carefully chosen numerical procedures, rather than running a coarse high-order simulation. Our results demonstrate the importance of evaluating the accuracy of a numerical method in terms of its actual spectral dissipation and dispersion properties on mixed smooth/shock cases, rather than by the theoretical formal order of convergence rate.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2011

SAPHIRE 8 Volume 2 - Technical Reference

The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of computer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessment (PRAs). Herein information is provided on the principles used in the construction and operation of Version 8.0 of the SAPHIRE system. This report summarizes the fundamental mathematical concepts of sets and logic, fault trees, and probability. This volume then describes the algorithms used to construct a fault tree and to obtain the minimal cut sets. It gives the formulas used to obtain the probability of the top event from the minimal cut sets, and the formulas for probabilities that apply for various assumptions concerning reparability and mission time. It defines the measures of basic event importance that SAPHIRE can calculate. This volume gives an overview of uncertainty analysis using simple Monte Carlo sampling or Latin Hypercube sampling, and states the algorithms used by this program to generate random basic event probabilities from various distributions. Also covered are enhance capabilities such as seismic analysis, Workspace algorithms, cut set "recovery," end state manipulation, and use of "compound events."

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2011

Volume and surface area of a spherical harmonic surface approximation to a NIF implosion core defined by HGXI/GXD images from the equator and pole

A solid object, such as a simplified approximation to an implosion core defined by the 17% intensity contour, can be described by a sum of spherical harmonics, following the notation of Butkov (Mathematical Physics, ISBN 0-201-00727-4, 1968; there are other notations so care is required), with Pl(x) being the usual (apparently standard) Legendre polynomial. For the present purposes, finding the volume and surface area of an implosion core defined by P0, P2, P4, M0, and M4, I will restrict the problem to consider only A 00 , A 20 , A 40 , and A 44 , with the phase angle set to eliminate the sin(mΦ) term. Once the volume and surface area are determined, I will explore how these coefficients relate to measured quantities A0, A2/A0, A4/A0, M0, and M4/M0.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Sodium Fast Reactor Safety and Licensing Research Plan – Volume II

Expert panels comprised of subject matter experts identified at the U.S. National Laboratories (SNL, ANL, INL, ORNL, LBL, and BNL), universities (University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University), international agencies (IRSN, CEA, JAEA, KAERI, and JRC-IE) and private consultation companies (Radiation Effects Consulting) were assembled to perform a gap analysis for sodium fast reactor licensing. Expert-opinion elicitation was performed to qualitatively assess the current state of sodium fast reactor technologies. Five independent gap analyses were performed resulting in the following topical reports: (1) Accident Initiators and Sequences (i.e., Initiators/Sequences Technology Gap Analysis), (2) Sodium Technology Phenomena (i.e., Advanced Burner Reactor Sodium Technology Gap Analysis), (3) Fuels and Materials (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs), (4) Source Term Characterization (i.e., Advanced Sodium Fast Reactor Accident Source Terms: Research Needs), and (5) Computer Codes and Models (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Gaps Analysis of Computer Codes and Models for Accident Analysis and Reactor Safety). Volume II of the Sodium Research Plan consolidates the five gap analysis reports produced by each expert panel, wherein the importance of the identified phenomena and necessities of further experimental research and code development were addressed. The findings from these five reports comprised the basis for the analysis in Sodium Fast Reactor Research Plan Volume I.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dynamical crossover between the infinite-volume and empty-lattice limits of ultra-cold fermions in 1D optical lattices

Unlike typical condensed-matter systems, ultra-cold atoms loaded into optical lattices allow separate control of both the particle number and system size. As a consequence, there are two distinct "thermodynamic” limits that can be defined for these systems: i) ’’infinite-volume limit” at constant finite density, and ii) "empty-lattice limit” at constant particle number. To probe the difference between these two limits and their crossover, we consider a partially occupied lattice and study the transport into the unoccupied region of non-interacting fermions and fermions interacting at the mean-field level. In the infinite-volume limit, a finite steady-state current emerges. On the other hand, in the empty-lattice limit there is no finite steady-state current. By changing the initial filling, we find a smooth crossover between the two limits. Our predictions may be verified using available experimental tools and demonstrate a fundamental difference between isolated small systems such as ultra-cold atoms and conventional condensed-matter systems.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗