Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Process Scaling”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,423 records · Page 79
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Large-Eddy Simulations of Marine Boundary Layer Clouds Associated with Cold-Air Outbreaks during the ACTIVATE Campaign. Part I: Case Setup and Sensitivities to Large-Scale Forcings

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is able to capture key boundary layer (BL) turbulence and cloud processes. Yet, large-scale forcing and surface turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat are often poorly prescribed for LESs. We derive these quantities from measurements and reanalysis obtained for two cold-air outbreak (CAO) events during Phase I of the Aerosol Cloud Meteorology Interactions over the Western Atlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) in February–March 2020. We study the two contrasting CAO cases by performing LES and test the sensitivity of BL structure and clouds to large-scale forcings and turbulent heat fluxes. Profiles of atmospheric state and large-scale divergence and surface turbulent heat fluxes obtained from ERA5 data agree reasonably well with those derived from ACTIVATE field measurements for both cases at the sampling time and location. Therefore, we adopt the time-evolving heat fluxes, wind, and advective tendencies profiles from ERA5 data to drive the LES. We find that large-scale thermodynamic advective tendencies and wind relaxations are important for the LES to capture the evolving observed BL meteorological states characterized by the hourly ERA5 data and validated by the observations. We show that the divergence (or vertical velocity) is important in regulating the BL growth driven by surface heat fluxes in LESs. The evolution of liquid water path is largely affected by the evolution of surface heat fluxes. The liquid water path simulated in LES agrees reasonably well with the ACTIVATE measurements. This study paves the path to investigate aerosol–cloud–meteorology interactions using LES informed and evaluated by ACTIVATE field measurements.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamic voltage frequency scaling based on active memory barriers

A processing unit includes compute units partitioned into one or islands that are provided with operating voltages and clock signals having clock frequencies independent of providing operating voltages or clock signals to other islands of compute units. The processing unit also includes dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) hardware configured to compute one or more numbers of active memory barriers in the one or more islands. The DVFS hardware is also configured to modify the operating voltages or clock frequencies provided to the one or more islands in response to a change in numbers of active memory barriers in the one or more islands. In some cases, the operating voltage or clock frequency provided to an island is increased in response to the number of active memory barriers in the island decreasing. The operating voltage or clock frequency provided to the island is decreased in response to the number of active memory barriers in the island increasing.

Bharadwaj, Vedula Venkata Srikant↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-Throughput Computing: Case Study of Medical Image Processing Applications

HPC is designed for large-scale simulations using monolithic codes of tightly coupled processes highly optimized to deliver decreased time to solution. Medical image processing is not a traditional field of HPC. Similar to AI applications, medical image processing parses large datasets, typically multiple times, to support a variety of studies for classification, diagnosis or monitoring purposes. The convergence of AI, HPC and Big Data encouraged more fields using image processing to transition to HPC. However, not all applications benefit from the same optimizations. In this paper we focus on high throughput medical image processing applications that analyze a huge dataset of small MRI images and that require HPC systems to decrease the time of parsing the entire dataset and not individual MRIs. We show in this research the performance of running SLANT, an image processing application for a whole brain segmentation, on large-scale systems and highlight performance limitations. We present optimizations prioritizing throughput that exhibit a 3.5x speed-up on the Summit Supercomputer that can be used as a baseline for building a high-throughput execution framework for other HPC systems.

Predescu, Maria↗
DOE OSTI2022

The COMBLE campaign: a study of marine boundary-layer clouds in Arctic cold-air outbreaks

One of the most intense air mass transformations on Earth happens when cold air flows from frozen surfaces to much warmer open water in cold-air outbreaks (CAOs), a process captured beautifully in satellite imagery. Despite the ubiquity of the CAO cloud regime over high-latitude oceans, we have a rather poor understanding of its properties, its role in energy and water cycles, and its treatment in weather and climate models. The Cold-air Outbreaks in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) was conducted to better understand this regime and its representation in models. COMBLE aimed to examine the relations between surface fluxes, boundary-layer structure, aerosol, cloud and precipitation properties, and mesoscale circulations in marine CAOs. Processes affecting these properties largely fall in a range of scales where boundary-layer processes, convection, and precipitation are tightly coupled, which makes accurate representation of the CAO cloud regime in numerical weather prediction and global climate models most challenging. COMBLE deployed an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Mobile Facility at a coastal site in northern Scandinavia (69°N), with additional instruments on Bear Island (75°N), from December 2019 to May 2020. CAO conditions were experienced 19% (21%) of the time at the main site (on Bear Island). A comprehensive suite of continuous in situ and remote sensing observations of atmospheric conditions, clouds, precipitation, and aerosol were collected. Because of the clouds’ well-defined origin, their shallow depth, and the broad range of observed temperature and aerosol concentrations, the COMBLE dataset provides a powerful modeling test bed for improving the representation of mixed-phase cloud processes in large-eddy simulations and large-scale models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2019

Pot-ability Assessment of Litz Wires for High Power Density Electric Motor

An alternative process technique, namely vacuum-assisted axial injection potting (VaAIP), has been developed to pot the Litz wires in the stator winding of high power density electric motors for the future electrified aircrafts. Initial trials of the process showed significant improvement in potting quality with less voids, thus potential improvement in thermal management of the motors. As an initial effort of pot-ability assessment, microstructures, 2-D and 3-D, of the Litz wires including dimensions and distribution of conductor filament, coating, and open spaces; packing patterns; shape/configuration changes of each bundles or the overall cross-sections per degree of twist were determined and quantified successfully. The microstructure analyses were performed not only for effective potting process development but also for more realistic electro-thermal modeling solutions. This paper will present results of the microstructure analyses, potentials of the VaAIP process from the trials, and future plans for scale-up and implementation of the process into a full-scale prototype stator winding.

Electrified aircraft↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multi-resolution Arctic Shrub Cover Dataset Derived from UAS and Airborne SfM and LiDAR (2013-2025)

We synthesized 177 unoccupied aerial system flights and 77 airborne flights across the Arctic and created a multi-resolution benchmark data of low-to-tall shrub fractional cover leveraging Structure-from-Motion and Light Detection and Ranging. The resulting dataset covered a total of 1899 km2 across Alaska, Western Canada, Sweden, and Siberian Arctic, including key sites from the Oro Arctic to the High Arctic. The dataset is organized into 6 primary data collection directories (“Abisko,” “AWI,” “ERE,” “Fairbanks,” “NGEE,” “Toolik”), each containing site and flight subdirectories. Flight directories include shrub cover rasters (*.tifs) at 1 m, 5 m, and 30 m resolution, the canopy height model at 1 m resolution (*.tifs), and a bounding box *.kml file. For the AWI, Abisko, NGEE, and Fairbanks collections, we also include the GCC raster at 1 m resolution (*.tif). Files are organized by Collection > Site > Flight Name > Data Files. Flight rasters are in the local UTM zone and the .kml files are in the geographic coordinate system EPSG 4326. We also include a .csv file that details the source datasets for every flight. The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic (NGEE Arctic) project is a research effort to reduce uncertainty in the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) by developing a predictive understanding of Arctic tundra ecosystems underlain by permafrost and to quantify feedbacks from the Arctic tundra to the Earth system. NGEE Arctic is supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. Over Phases 1–3, observations made by the NGEE Arctic team across a gradient of permafrost landscapes in Arctic Alaska improved the representation of tundra processes in the land surface component of E3SM (the E3SM Land Model, ELM). Model improvements emphasized unique aspects of permafrost environments and explored reductions in model complexity while retaining predictive power. The Arctic-informed ELM developed by NGEE Arctic has been used to make novel predictions on processes ranging from permafrost thaw to soil biogeochemical cycling to Earth system feedbacks associated with the unique characteristics of tundra plants. In Phase 4, the NGEE Arctic team is evaluating our new predictive understanding under novel conditions across the Arctic domain. In collaboration with partners at long-term pan-Arctic research sites we are examining whether an Arctic-informed ELM can faithfully simulate interactions among surface and subsurface processes at site, regional, and pan-Arctic scales. In turn, we are using variety of tools to dynamically extend and evaluate ELM inference, with an emphasis on data synthesis and pan-Arctic model evaluation, reintegration of code with an evolving E3SM, scaling across heterogeneous Arctic landscapes, and the appropriate representation of the impacts of increasingly frequent Arctic disturbances.

canopy height model↗
DOE OSTI2021

The prevalence of precipitation from polar supercooled clouds

Abstract. Supercooled clouds substantially impact polar surface energy budgets, but large-scale models often underestimate their occurrence, which motivates accurately establishing metrics of basic processes. An analysis of long-term measurements at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, combines lidar-validated use of soundings to identify supercooled cloud layers and colocated ground-based profiling radar measurements to quantify cloud base precipitation. We find that more than 85 % (75 %) of sampled supercooled layers are precipitating over the Arctic (Antarctic) site, with more than 75 % (50 %) precipitating continuously to the surface. Such high frequencies can be reconciled with substantially lesser spaceborne estimates by considering differences in radar hydrometeor detection sensitivity. While ice precipitation into supercooled clouds from aloft is common, we also find that the great majority of supercooled cloud layers without ice falling into them are themselves continuously generating precipitation. Such sustained primary ice formation is consistent with continuous activation of immersion-mode ice-nucleating particles (INPs), suggesting that supercooled cloud formation is a principal gateway to ice formation at temperatures greater than ∼-38 ∘C over polar regions. The prevalence of weak precipitation fluxes is also consistent with supercooled cloud longevity and with well-observed and widely simulated case studies. An analysis of colocated microwave radiometer retrievals suggests that weak precipitation fluxes can be nonetheless consequential to moisture budgets for supercooled clouds owing to small liquid water paths. The results here also demonstrate that the observed abundance of mixed-phase clouds can vary substantially with instrument sensitivity and methodology. Finally, we suggest that these ground-based precipitation rate statistics offer valuable guidance for improving the representation of polar cloud processes in large-scale models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1988

The role of gravity wave generated advection and diffusion in transport of tracers in the mesosphere

The roles of advection and turbulent diffusion in controlling tracer transport in the meridional plane of the mesosphere are compared using a version of the global primitive equation model for the middle atmosphere developed by Holton and Wehrbein (1980). The results of model sensitivity tests demonstrated that transport in the mesosphere for long-lived species with large-scale heights, such as H2O, CO, and NO(x), is primarily an advective process; on a global scale, small-scale turbulent diffusion produced by gravity wave breaking plays a secondary role. It is concluded that, for such tracers, the eddy diffusion coefficient used in one-dimensional chemical models of the mesosphere should be regarded as a parameterization of the transport by the meridional circulation, not as a parameterization of mixing by small-scale diffusion.

Holton, James R.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Prevalence of Precipitation from Polar Supercooled Clouds

Supercooled clouds substantially impact polar surface energy budgets but large-scale models often underestimate their occurrence, which motivates accurately establishing metrics of basic processes. An analysis of long-term measurements at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, combines lidar-validated use of soundings to identify supercooled cloud layers and colocated ground-based profiling radar measurements to quantify cloud base precipitation. We find that more than 85 % (75 %) of sampled supercooled layers are precipitating over the Arctic (Antarctic) site, with more than 75 % (50 %) precipitating continuously to the surface. Such high frequencies can be reconciled with substantially lesser spaceborne estimates by considering differences in radar hydrometeor detection sensitivity. While ice precipitation into supercooled clouds from aloft is common, we also find that the great majority of supercooled cloud layers without ice falling into them are themselves continuously generating precipitation. Such sustained primary ice formation is consistent with continuous activation of immersion-mode ice nucleating particles (INPs), suggesting that supercooled cloud formation is a principal gateway to ice formation at temperatures greater than ~ −38 °C over polar regions. The prevalence of weak precipitation fluxes is also consistent with supercooled cloud longevity, and with well-observed and widely simulated case studies. An analysis of colocated microwave radiometer retrievals suggests that weak precipitation fluxes can be nonetheless consequential to moisture budgets for supercooled clouds owing to small liquid water paths. Finally, we suggest that these ground-based precipitation rate statistics offer valuable guidance for improving the representation of polar cloud processes in large-scale models.

Polar clouds↗
NASA NTRS2021

The Prevalence of Precipitation From Polar Supercooled Clouds

Supercooled clouds substantially impact polar surface energy budgets, but large-scale models often underestimate their occurrence, which motivates accurately establishing metrics of basic processes. An analysis of long-term measurements at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, combines lidar-validated use of soundings to identify supercooled cloud layers and colocated ground-based profiling radar measurements to quantify cloud base precipitation. We find that more than 85 % (75 %) of sampled supercooled layers are precipitating over the Arctic (Antarctic) site, with more than 75 % (50 %) precipitating continuously to the surface. Such high frequencies can be reconciled with substantially lesser spaceborne estimates by considering differences in radar hydrometeor detection sensitivity. While ice precipitation into supercooled clouds from aloft is common, we also find that the great majority of supercooled cloud layers without ice falling into them are themselves continuously generating precipitation. Such sustained primary ice formation is consistent with continuous activation of immersion-mode ice-nucleating particles (INPs), suggesting that supercooled cloud formation is a principal gateway to ice formation at temperatures greater than ∼−38 ∘C over polar regions. The prevalence of weak precipitation fluxes is also consistent with supercooled cloud longevity and with well-observed and widely simulated case studies. An analysis of colocated microwave radiometer retrievals suggests that weak precipitation fluxes can be nonetheless consequential to moisture budgets for supercooled clouds owing to small liquid water paths. The results here also demonstrate that the observed abundance of mixed-phase clouds can vary substantially with instrument sensitivity and methodology. Finally, we suggest that these ground-based precipitation rate statistics offer valuable guidance for improving the representation of polar cloud processes in large-scale models.

Supercooled clouds↗
DOE OSTI2022

The influence of cooling rate on condensation of iron, aluminum, and uranium oxide nanoparticles

Fundamental observations of particle size distributions are needed to develop models that predict the fate and transport of radioactive materials in the atmosphere following a nuclear incident. The extent of material transport is influenced by the time scales of particle formation processes (e.g., condensation, coagulation). In this study, we investigated the influence of cooling time scales on size distributions of uranium, aluminum, and iron oxide particles that are synthesized separately under identical run conditions inside the controlled environment of an argon plasma flow reactor. Two distinct temperature distributions are imposed along the flow reactor by varying the argon flow rate downstream of the plasma torch. The vaporized reactants of uranium, aluminum, and iron are cooled from about 5000K to 1000K before they are collected on silicon wafers for ex situ scanning electron microscope analysis. The microscope images show that the sizes of the largest aluminum and iron oxide particles heavily depend on the cooling time scales, whereas significant size variation with cooling rate is not observed for uranium oxide particles. In addition, the size distribution of aluminum oxide particles exhibits the broadest range among all three metal oxides studied. We performed simulations of particle size distributions using a kinetic model that couples gas phase oxidation chemistry with particle formation processes, including nucleation, condensation, and coagulation. The model results demonstrate the strong sensitivity of particle size distribution to different cooling histories (i.e., temperature vs residence time) along the flow reactor. In conclusion, the kinetic model also helps identify directions for future research to improve the predictions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Relating Texture and Thermomechanical Processing Variables in Mg–Zn–Ca Alloys

It is well known that the strong basal texture commonly produced in magnesium alloy sheets leads to poor formability at room temperature. A sizable body of work has explored how changing the alloy composition and rolling conditions can yield more desirable textures; however important thermomechanical variables, such as the feed rate during rolling, are often not included in the literature, making it difficult to correlate how changes in processing affect the final crystallographic texture. This work explores the texture evolution and grain refinement in Mg-Zn-Ca alloys during plane strain compression (PSC) using a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator. This instrument allows for precise control and capture of the thermomechanical history of the sample. The texture and grain morphology of the compressed samples were characterized using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). The texture results will be used to identify which alloys and processing conditions should be scaled up for future rolling studies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy growth in VLVL → VLVL, VLVLh scattering to probe Higgs cubic and HEFT interactions

Abstract We compute the energy scales of perturbative unitarity violation inV L V L →V L V L hprocesses and compare them toV L V L →hhhprocess, whereV L refers to a longitudinal mode ofZorWboson, andhthe Higgs boson. Using these energy scales, we determine which process is more sensitive to potential modifications in the Higgs sector at high-energy colliders. Within the Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT), we consider the Higgs cubic coupling and other interactions with and without derivatives. Any HEFT interactions predict the perturbative unitarity violation at a finite scale, and in a generic case, the minimalistic process is 2 → 3 scattering. Our analysis reveals that the energy scales for unitarity violation inV L V L →V L V L handV L V L →hhhprocesses are similar across all scenarios considered. If the backgrounds are similar,V L V L hfinal states are more feasible becauseV L V L hhas higher branching ratios in cleaner decay modes thanhhh. We also investigate HEFT derivative interactions derived from various UV models. In these cases, bothV L V L →V L V L andV L V L →hhprocesses exhibit unitarity violating behavior. We demonstrate that the energy scales for unitarity violation inV L V L final states are comparable to or even lower than those in thehhfinal state.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Need for Urban‐Resolving Climate Modeling Across Scales

Abstract Increasing urbanization, evolving urban landscapes, and growing populations require an accurate representation of urban areas and urban processes at microscale, regional, and global scales and their feedback across the scales. Important urban processes should be represented in climate models, and current approaches used are discussed. We discuss strategies for urban‐resolving climate research to capture the effect of climate on urban regions and the non‐linear urban processes on climate. Advancing urban‐resolving climate modeling will take us closer to capabilities that can truly capture relevant natural and human components.

Sharma, Ashish↗
DOE OSTI2023

One-Parameter Analytical Derivation in Modified Budyko Framework for Unsteady-State Streamflow Elasticity in Humid Catchments

The changes in climate and catchment properties have altered the hydrological processes significantly at different spatiotemporal scales around the world. In particular for finer time scales, changes in water storage, which has been commonly neglected for long-term temporal scales, may play an important role on hydrological processes. Nevertheless, few studies addressed this question in modifying the Budyko framework, with most of them remaining a steady-state assumption on catchment characteristics. Here, in this work, we derive new analytical formulas of unsteady-state streamflow elasticity in a modified Budyko framework, incorporating both storage change and one specific parameter for catchment properties. We study 78 humid catchments in the USA with simulation data of daily hydrological processes from a probability-distribution-based hydrological model (the modified HyMOD). As indicated by results, the annual storage change ratio is linearly correlated with the annual aridity index, and this relationship can be used to estimate elasticity coefficients with our formulas. The estimated elasticity coefficients perform well in simulating the annual streamflow with the power-law model. For different catchments, variability of the unsteady-state elasticity is higher than that of the steady-state elasticity. Unsteady-state streamflow coefficients show significant linear correlation with catchment properties, such as the average slope, average elevation, and catchment area. This study provides a new analytical approach to investigate the interannual stability of catchments with varying climate and catchment properties.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Block Scale Rooftop Solar Technical Potential for the City of Orlando

The html maps are provided as supplementary information for the publication titled Parcel Scale Assessment of Rooftop Solar Technical Potential (NREL/PR-7A40-80780). The maps contain information on rooftop solar technical potential at the block scale for the city of Orlando in Florida. The rooftop solar technical potential information is based on data from two different datasets. The first dataset is LiDAR data for the city of Orlando obtained from the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) (Koebrich et al. 2021). The second dataset is a national parcel dataset (HIFLD 2020) which contains descriptive data and geometries for parcels in the U.S. Parcel scale data from both these datasets have been processed and aggregated to block scale to produce these html maps. The first html map (block scale developable roof area for Orlando) contains the developable roof area for solar. The second html map (block scale rooftop solar technical potential for Orlando) contains the rooftop solar technical potential in units of kilowatts as well as additional information on the most common building use type and the most common building occupancy type for the block. These html maps are provided to demonstrate the proof-of-concept analysis conducted for Orlando.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2002

Conformal Membrane Reflectors for Deployable Optics

This presentation reports the Phase I results on NASA's Gossamer Spacecraft Exploratory Research and Technology Program. Cornerstone Research Group, Inc., the University of Rochester, and International Photonics Consultants collaborated to investigate the feasibility of free-standing, liquid-crystal-polymer (LCP) reflectors for integration into space-based optical systems. The goal of the program was to achieve large-diameter, broadband. reflective membranes that are resistant to the effects of space, specifically cryogenic environments and gamma-ray irradiation. Additionally, we assessed the applicability of utilizing the technology as tight sails, since, by their very nature, these films offer high-reflectivity at specified wavelengths. Previous research programs have demonstrated all-polymer, narrow-band Specular reflectors and diffuse membrane reflectors. The feasibility of fabricating an all-polymer broadband specular reflector and a narrow-band specular membrane reflector was assessed in the Phase I Gossamer program. In addition, preliminary gamma irradiation studies were conducted to determine the stability of the polymer reflectors to radiation. Materials and process technology were developed to fabricate coupon-scale reflectors of both broad- and narrow-band specular reflectors in Phase 1. This presentation will report the results of these studies, including, the performance of a narrow-band specular membrane. Gamma irradiation exposures indicate limited impact on the optical performance although additional exposure studies are warranted. Plans to scale up the membrane fabrication process will be presented.

Hood, Patrick J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy conversion and transport in molecular-scale junctions

Molecular-scale junctions (MSJs) have been considered the ideal testbed for probing physical and chemical processes at the molecular scale. Due to nanometric confinement, charge and energy transport in MSJs are governed by quantum mechanically dictated energy profiles, which can be tuned chemically or physically with atomic precision, offering rich possibilities beyond conventional semiconductor devices. While charge transport in MSJs has been extensively studied over the past two decades, understanding energy conversion and transport in MSJs has only become experimentally attainable in recent years. As demonstrated recently, by tuning the quantum interplay between the electrodes, the molecular core, and the contact interfaces, energy processes can be manipulated to achieve desired functionalities, opening new avenues for molecular electronics, energy harvesting, and sensing applications. This Review provides a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of various forms of energy conversion and transport processes in MSJs and their associated applications. We elaborate on energy-related processes mediated by the interaction between the core molecular structure in MSJs and different external stimuli, such as light, heat, electric field, magnetic field, force, and other environmental cues. Key topics covered include photovoltaics, electroluminescence, thermoelectricity, heat conduction, catalysis, spin-mediated phenomena, and vibrational effects. Furthermore, the review concludes with a discussion of existing challenges and future opportunities, aiming to facilitate in-depth future investigation of promising experimental platforms, molecular design principles, control strategies, and new application scenarios.

Charge transport↗