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At least 1,459 records · Page 81

Platinum Surface Oxide and Oxygen Reduction Reaction Kinetics during Transient Fuel Cell Operation

Pt surface oxide coverage (POC) and Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) were measured under a range of operating conditions in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Sensitivity analysis suggests that adsorption of sulfonate groups of the ionomer on the Pt surface plays an important role in POC and ORR kinetics. Although both Pt oxide growth and ORR activity decay follow a logarithm of time behavior, it is found that ORR kinetics are affected by at least two different types of Pt oxide. A semi-empirical ORR kinetic model is proposed taking into account the effect of ionomer and Pt oxide types. The model is capable of providing a quantitative prediction of POC and ORR activity over a range of potential, temperature, relative humidity, and time that is relevant to normal PEMFC operation.

Electrochemistry↗

Boundary-Layer Transition on Hollow Cylinders in Supersonic Free Flight as Affected by Mach Number and a Screwthread Type of Surface Roughness

The effects of Mach number and surface-roughness variation on boundary-layer transition were studied using fin-stabilized hollow-tube models in free flight. The tests were conducted over the Mach number range from 2.8 to 7 at a nominally constant unit Reynolds number of 3 million per inch, and with heat transfer to the model surface. A screwthread type of distributed two-dimensional roughness was used. Nominal thread heights varied from 100 microinches to 2100 microinches. Transition Reynolds number was found to increase with increasing Mach number at a rate depending simultaneously on Mach number and roughness height. The laminar boundary layer was found to tolerate increasing amounts of roughness as Mach number increased. For a given Mach number an optimum roughness height was found which gave a maximum laminar run greater than was obtained with a smooth surface.

James, Carlton S.↗

Application of TRMM PR and TMI Measurements to Assess Cloud Microphysical Schemes in the MM5 Model for a Winter Storm

Seen by the human eye, precipitation particles are commonly drops of rain, flakes of snow, or lumps of hail that reach the ground. Remote sensors and numerical models usually deal with information about large collections of rain, snow, and hail (or graupel --also called soft hail ) in a volume of air. Therefore, the size and number of the precipitation particles and how particles interact, evolve, and fall within the volume of air need to be represented using physical laws and mathematical tools, which are often implemented as cloud and precipitation microphysical parameterizations in numerical models. To account for the complexity of the precipitation physical processes, scientists have developed various types of such schemes in models. The accuracy of numerical weather forecasting may vary dramatically when different types of these schemes are employed. Therefore, systematic evaluations of cloud and precipitation schemes are of great importance for improvement of weather forecasts. This study is one such endeavor; it pursues quantitative assessment of all the available cloud and precipitation microphysical schemes in a weather model (MM5) through comparison with the observations obtained by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) s and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) and microwave imager (TMI). When satellite sensors (like PR or TMI) detect information from precipitation particles, they cannot directly observe the microphysical quantities (e.g., water species phase, density, size, and amount etc.). Instead, they tell how much radiation is absorbed by rain, reflected away from the sensor by snow or graupel, or reflected back to the satellite. On the other hand, the microphysical quantities in the model are usually well represented in microphysical schemes and can be converted to radiative properties that can be directly compared to the corresponding PR and TMI observations. This study employs this method to evaluate the accuracy of the simulated radiative properties by the MM5 model with different microphysical schemes. It is found that the representations of particle density, size, and mass in the different schemes in the MM5 model determine the model s performance when predicting a winter storm over the eastern Pacific Ocean. Schemes lacking moderate density particles (i.e. graupel), with snow flakes that are too large, or with excessive mass of snow or graupel lead to degraded prediction of the radiative properties as observed by the TRMM satellite. This study demonstrates the uniqueness of the combination of both an active microwave sensor (PR) and passive microwave sensor (TMI) onboard TRMM on assessing the accuracy of numerical weather forecasting. It improves our understanding of the physical and radiative properties of different types of precipitation particles and provides suggestions for better representation of cloud and precipitation processes in numerical models. It would, ultimately, contribute to answering questions like "Why did it not rain when the forecast says it would?"

Han, Mei↗

Search for light pseudoscalar boson pairs produced from Higgs boson decays using the 4τ and 2μ2τ final states in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV

A search for a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons (a 1 ) produced in the decay of the 125 GeV Higgs boson is presented. The analysis examines decay modes where one a 1 decays into a pair of tau leptons and the other decays into either another pair of tau leptons or a pair of muons. The a1 boson mass probed in this study ranges from 4 to 15 GeV. The data sample was recorded by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb −1 . No excess above standard model (SM) expectations is observed. The study combines the 4τ and 2μ2τ channels to set upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) on the product of the Higgs boson production cross section and the branching fraction to the 4τ final state, relative to the Higgs boson production cross section predicted by the SM. In this interpretation, the a 1 boson is assumed to have Yukawa-like couplings to fermions, with coupling strengths proportional to the respective fermion masses. The observed (expected) upper limits range between 0.007 (0.011) and 0.079 (0.066) across the mass range considered. The results are also interpreted in the context of models with two Higgs doublets and an additional complex singlet field (2HD+S). The tightest constraints are obtained for the Type III 2HD+S model. In this case, assuming the Higgs boson production cross section equals the SM prediction, values of the branching ratio for the Higgs boson decay into a pair of a1 bosons exceeding 16% are excluded at 95% CL for a1 boson masses between 5 and 15 GeV and tan β > 2, with the exception of scenarios in which the a1 boson mixes with charm or bottom quark-antiquark bound states.

Higgs physics↗

A Morphological Model to Separate Resolved–Unresolved Sources in the DESI Legacy Surveys: Application in the LS4 Alert Stream

Separating resolved and unresolved sources in large imaging surveys is a fundamental step to enable downstream science, such as searching for extragalactic transients in wide-field time-domain surveys. Here we present our method to effectively separate point sources from the resolved, extended sources in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Surveys (LS). We develop a supervised machine learning model based on the Gradient Boosting algorithm XGBoost. The features input to the model are purely morphological and are derived from the tabulated LS data products. We train the model using ∼2 × 10 5 LS sources in the COSMOS field with HST morphological labels and evaluate the model performance on LS sources with spectroscopic classification from the DESI Data Release 1 (∼2 × 10 7 objects) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 17 (∼3 × 10 6 objects), as well as on ∼2 × 10 8 Gaia stars. A significant fraction of LS sources are not observed in every LS filter, and we therefore build a “Hybrid” model as a linear combination of two XGBoost models, each containing features combining aperture flux measurements from the “blue” (gr) and “red” (iz) filters. The Hybrid model shows a reasonable balance between sensitivity and robustness, and achieves higher accuracy and flexibility compared to the LS morphological typing. With the Hybrid model, we provide classification scores for ∼3 × 10 9 LS sources, making this the largest ever machine learning catalog separating resolved and unresolved sources. The catalog has been incorporated into the real-time pipeline of the La Silla Schmidt Southern Survey (LS4), enabling the identification of extragalactic transients within the LS4 alert stream.

astrostatistics↗

Outer atmospheres of cool stars. IV - A discussion of cool stellar wind models

Possible wind models for late-type stars which appear not to have hot coronae and transition regions are investigated; taking Arcturus and the prototypical star, models with T less than approximately 20,000 K are considered, and solutions with mass loss rates of 10 to the -9th solar masses per year are sought. The radiation pressure of L-alpha resonance scattering can exceed the force of gravity in the chromosphere and initiate a net outflow, but is insufficient to sustain a wind, except perhaps in the presence of an additional momentum input term such as Alfven wave pressure. It is concluded that L-alpha radiation-pressure-initiated winds can occur in stars to the right of the Linsky-Haisch dividing line in the H-R diagram between stars with and without transition regions and presumably hot coronae, and that the existence of these winds may explain energetically the absence of hot coronae in these stars.

Haisch, B. M.↗

Helicopter simulation validation using flight data

A joint NASA/Army effort to perform a systematic ground-based piloted simulation validation assessment is described. The best available mathematical model for the subject helicopter (UH-60A Black Hawk) was programmed for real-time operation. Flight data were obtained to validate the math model, and to develop models for the pilot control strategy while performing mission-type tasks. The validated math model is to be combined with motion and visual systems to perform ground based simulation. Comparisons of the control strategy obtained in flight with that obtained on the simulator are to be used as the basis for assessing the fidelity of the results obtained in the simulator.

Key, D. L.↗

HEAO 3 limits on the Ti-44 yield in Galactic supernovae

Data fron the high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy experiment on HEAO 3 have been searched for line emission from the decay of Ti-44 created in recent, as yet unobserved, Galactic supernova explosions, where the ages and locations are unknown. Because the 78 yr mean life of Ti-44 is comparable to the average time between Galactic supernovae, the gamma-ray line emission from its decay should appear as Galactic point sources. No evidence was found for such emission from a point source anywhere in the Galactic plane, with a 1-sigma limit of 8.3 x 10 exp -5 photons/sq cm per sec. Detailed models were developed to simulate the Galactic gamma-ray emission from the decay of Ti-44 produced in both type I and type II supernovae. These models were used with the measured gamma-ray line limits to constrain the supernova yields and recurrence periods.

Mahoney, W. A.↗

Interlaminar stress analysis at the skin-stiffener interface of a grid-stiffened composite panel

Results are presented of an analysis of the interlaminar stress components at the skin-wrap, skin-core, and wrap-core interfaces for an advanced-concept stiffened panel using a global/local finite element procedure. The procedure consists of a global model of two-dimensional shell elements that is used to design a grid-stiffened panel with blade-type stiffeners, a local model of three-dimensional solid elements that is used to compute interlaminar stress components, and a scheme devised to assign displacement boundary conditions for the local model that are derived from displacement and rotation data of a few nodes of the global model. The interlaminar stresses for this panel design were found to be well below typical tensile normal and shearing strengths of a graphite-epoxy material.

Wiggenraad, J. F. M.↗

Pulsar distances and the galactic distribution of free electrons

The present quantitative model for Galactic free electron distribution abandons the assumption of axisymmetry and explicitly incorporates spiral arms; their shapes and locations are derived from existing radio and optical observations of H II regions. The Gum Nebula's dispersion-measure contributions are also explicitly modeled. Adjustable quantities are calibrated by reference to three different types of data. The new model is estimated to furnish distance estimates to known pulsars that are accurate to about 25 percent.

Taylor, J. H.↗

Material characterization and modeling with shear ography

Shearography has emerged as a useful technique for nondestructible evaluation and materials characterization of aerospace materials. A suitable candidate for the technique is to determine the response of debonds on foam-metal interfaces such as the TPS system on the External Tank. The main thrust is to develop a model which allows valid interpretation of shearographic information on TPS type systems. Confirmation of the model with shearographic data will be performed.

Workman, Gary L.↗

Ginga observations of Seyfert galaxies

We observed twenty-eight Seyfert 2 galaxies with the Japanese X-ray satellite, Ginga, and found Seyfert 2 galaxies, in general, have the X-ray spectral characteristics of obscured Seyfert 1 nuclei. This results agrees with the predictions from the Unified Seyfert model proposed by Antonucci and Miller. However, among the observed Seyfert 2 galaxies, there are a few galaxies with no evidence of an obscuration, contrary to the general predictions of the unified model. We note that type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) will contribute to the Cosmic Diffuse X-ray Background, if the unified Seyfert model can be extended to the far distant AGN such as quasars.

Awaki, H.↗

Geomagnetic model investigations for 1980 - 1989: A model for strategic defense initiative particle beam experiments and a study in the effects of data types and observatory bias solutions

Two suites of geomagnetic field models were generated at the request of Los Alamos National Lab. concerning Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) research. The first is a progression of five models incorporating MAGSAT data and data from a sequence of batches as a priori information. The batch sequence is: post 1979.5 observatory data, post 1980 land survey and selected aeromagnetic and marine survey data, a special White Sands (NM) area survey by Project Magnet with some additional post 1980 marine survey data, and finally DE-2 satellite data. These models are of 13th deg and order in their main field terms, and deg and order 10 in their first derivative temporal terms. The second suite consists of four models based solely upon post 1983.5 observatory and survey data. They are of deg and order 10 in main field and 8 in a first deg Taylor series. A comprehensive error analysis was applied to both series, which accounted for error sources such as the truncated core and crustal fields, and the neglected Sq and low deg crustal fields. Comparison of the power spectrum of the MGST (10/81) model with those of this series show good agreement.

Langel, Robert A.↗

ANS MultiApps tutorial

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) [1] is an open-source, parallel finite element framework which provides the foundation formany advanced modeling and simulation tools developed under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program [2] for the analysis of advanced reactors. The MOOSE framework provides the common foundational capability on which many NEAMS codes for reactor analysis are built. The MOOSE framework also includes several systems to assemble unique workflows and coupling amongMOOSE-based applications. In particular, the MultiApp and Transfer systems are widely used to assemble different MOOSE-based or MOOSE- wrapped physics applications together to perform loosely or tightly coupled multiphysics simulations. The National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC’s) Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [3] hosts publicly available nuclear reactor multiphysics simulation examples which leverage MOOSE’s MultiApp system to meet the modeling needs of different reactor types. The flexibility and robustness of coupling provided by MOOSE permits rapid development of coupled physics models for a wide range of reactor types and events.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Assembling Multiphysics Nuclear Reactor Simulations Using the MOOSE Framework

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) [1] is an open-source, parallel finite element framework which provides the foundation for many advanced modeling and simulation tools developed under the Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program [2] for the analysis of advanced reactors. The MOOSE framework provides the common foundational capability on which many NEAMS codes for reactor analysis are built. The MOOSE framework also includes several systems to assemble unique workflows and couplingamong MOOSE-based applications. In particular, the MultiApp and Transfer Systems are widely used to assemble different MOOSE-based or MOOSE-wrapped physics applications together to perform loosely or tightly coupled multiphysics simulations. The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [3] hosts publicly available nuclear reactor multiphysics simulation examples which leverage MOOSE’s MultiApp System to meet the modeling needs of different reactor types. The flexibility and robustness of coupling provided by MOOSE permits rapid development of coupled physics models for a wide range of reactor types and events

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Prognostic simulations of mixed-phase clouds with model AC-1D v1.0: the impact of aerosol types and freezing parameterizations on ice crystal budgets

Mixed-phase clouds at high latitudes contribute to the uncertainty in predicting cloud feedbacks and climate sensitivity, mainly due to the complexity of microphysical processes that influence the partitioning between the supercooled liquid and ice phases, and hence, cloud radiative effects on regional scales. Particularly in Arctic mixed-phase clouds, the activation of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) from various aerosol populations remains a leading source of uncertainty. We developed an aerosol-cloud one-dimensional (AC-1D) model, which provides a novel framework to prognostically treat INP and ice crystal budgets while explicitly accounting for polydisperse and multicomponent aerosol that activate INPs following different freezing parameterizations. The AC-1D model is informed by large-eddy simulations to probe the impact of INP representation on predicted ice crystal number concentrations (N i ) and ice crystal budgets in mixed-phase Arctic stratus. We apply three immersion freezing (IMF) parameterizations, two time-independent (singular) and one time-dependent (classical nucleation theory), to predict the evolution of the INP reservoir and resulting ice crystal budget from polydisperse mineral dust, organic (humic-like substances), and sea spray aerosol particle size distributions. Our analysis focuses on how variations in aerosol number concentration and cloud system parameters such as cloud cooling rate, cloud-top entrainment rate, and ice crystal fall speed influence the INP reservoir and ice crystal budgets. Furthermore, this study investigates the competitive ice nucleation dynamics in mixed aerosol environments and provides a process-level quantification of the INP budget terms, which directly controls ice crystal budgets. For all studied case scenarios, the aerosol types and associated particle size distributions significantly impact INP and N i , and the choice between a time-dependent and a singular freezing description yields orders-of-magnitude differences in the predicted INP and N i over the 10 h simulation time, reflecting typical cloud lifetimes. Our results show that the influence of cloud cooling, INP entrainment, and sedimentation varies significantly depending on the chosen freezing parameterization. These findings underscore the critical need for robust IMF parameterizations and precise cloud system observations to enhance the accuracy of models in predicting mixed-phase cloud structure and evolution.

Arctic clouds↗

WEC fault modelling and condition monitoring: A graph-theoretic approach

The nature of wave resources usually requires wave energy converter (WEC) components to handle peak loads (i.e., torques, forces, and powers) that are many times greater than their average loads, accelerating equipment degradation. Moreover, due to their isolated nature and harsh operating environment, WEC systems are projected to possess high operations and maintenance (O&M) cost, i.e., around 27% of their leveled cost of energy. As such, developing techniques to mitigate these costs through the application of condition monitoring and fault tolerant control will significantly impact the economic feasibility of grid connected WEC power. Toward this goal, models of faulty components are developed in the open source modeling platform, WEC-Sim, to estimate the performance and measurable states of a WEC operating with likely device and sensor failures. Two types of faulty component models are then applied to a point absorber WEC model with basic controller damping and spring forces. Resulting changes in device behavior are recorded as a benchmark, and a graph-theoretic approach is proposed for fault detection and identification utilizing multivariate time series. Simulation results demonstrate that these faults can greatly affect the WEC performance, and that the proposed method can effectively detect and classify different types of faults.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Comparative Evaluation of the Ability of the MYNN‐EDMF PBL Scheme in WRF Model to Reproduce Near Surface Wind Speed Over Different Topographical Types

Abstract This study systematically evaluates the performance of the Mellor‐Yamada‐Nakanishi‐Niino‐Eddy‐Diffusion‐Mass‐Flux planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme within the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in simulating near‐surface wind speeds across various topographies in New York State (NYS). Simulated wind speeds are compared with in‐situ measurements from 22 surface sites, grouped into six topographic categories: continental plain (CT), lakeside (LS), river valley (RV), Long Island (LI), Block Island (BI), and offshore ocean (OO). A quantitative evaluation based on Relative Euclidean Distance shows that wind speeds at the OO site are the most accurately reproduced, followed by those at LI sites, while the model performs less accurately for the remaining topographic groups. Wind speeds over CT sites tend to be overestimated by approximately 1 m/s, although their diurnal variability (DV) is well captured. In contrast, the model underestimates wind DV at LS, RV, LI, and BI sites, with the largest biases occurring at LI and BI, resulting in underestimated daytime wind speed and/or overestimated nighttime wind speed. The OO winds exhibit minimal diurnal variation, accurately captured by our WRF model. The surface wind diurnal variation is closely linked to PBL development. Among the indicators of PBL development, surface potential temperature biases most strongly correlate with wind speed biases. Our WRF model faces challenges in capturing the distinctions between winds influenced by local circulations and those over continental plains, and the significantly stronger winds at OO compared to BI. Potential causes for these biases are discussed, offering pathways for improving surface wind simulations in future.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗