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At least 1,495 records · Page 83

CRiSPPy: An advanced hydropower scheduling tool for the Colorado River Storage Project

The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) plays a vital role in delivering reliable and cost-effective hydroelectric power to millions of customers across the western United States. The Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) carries out WAPA’s mission in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming and Texas. Achieving this mission requires effective management of the Colorado River system, and depends on the use of advanced analytical tools and modeling methodologies. For many years, CRSP has relied on the Generation and Transmission Maximization Superlite (GTMax SL) model for its mid-term and long-term hydroscheduling needs. However, the evolving energy market, power system operations, environmental rules, and hydrology conditions, coupled with advancements in computational capabilities, have necessitated the development of a more modern and robust solution. This report introduces the Colorado River Storage Project Python-based (CRiSPPy) model, a new, advanced hydropower scheduling tool developed to address CRSP ever-evolving challenges. CRiSPPy represents a significant leap forward in our ability to model and optimize the operation of the Colorado River system. It incorporates state-of-the-art optimization algorithms, enhanced data management capabilities, and an advanced graphical user interface, providing WAPA CRSP personnel with unprecedented insights and decision-making support. This document details the development, capabilities, and implementation of CRiSPPy. It is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource for WAPA staff, stakeholders, and anyone interested in the future of hydropower scheduling in the Colorado River Basin. We are confident that CRiSPPy will enhance WAPA's mission while adapting to the challenges of a dynamic and increasingly complex environment. The version of CRiSPPy described in this report is the version 2.3. New versions of CRiSPPy will be developed as the tool keeps evolving to address CRSP challenges.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Environmental data display

Methods for using a combination of computer-generated color graphics and image processing techniques to display a large data base of environment information are described. The data source can be either field data or mathematical models, reduced to summary statistics that characterize the data field as a whole. Sharp gradients are plotted into contour plots, which can also feature shades, degree of brightness, and saturation levels for fine-tuning the image. The basic concepts of digital image processing are reviewed, including location of the pixels, intensity mapping operations, pseudocolor enhancements, neighborhood averaging, and smoothing. Sample applications are presented in terms of emissions and air quality distributions over the south coast air basin of southern California.

Hussey, K. J.↗

The effect of aerodynamic and structural detuning on turbomachine supersonic unstalled torsional flutter

The effects of alternate-blade structural detuning and adjacent-blade alternate-circumferential-spacing aerodynamic detuning on the supersonic unstalled torsional flutter stability of a turbomachine rotor are investigated analytically. An unsteady aerodynamic model employing influence coefficients is constructed for the case of a flat-plate-airfoil cascade in torsion-mode harmonic oscillation in a supersonic inviscid isentropic adiabatic irrotational perfect-gas inlet flow with a subsonic leading-edge locus. The influence coefficients and equations of motion are derived; the model is verified by applying it to the 12-blade cascade-B flow geometry studied by Verdon and McCune (1975); and the results are presented graphically. It is found that the rotor can be stabilized over the entire reduced frequency range by applying a combination of structural and aerodynamic detuning as the passive flutter-control mechanism.

Hoyniak, D.↗

An investigation of air transportation technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990-1991

Brief summaries are given of research activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the sponsorship of the FAA/NASA Joint University Program. Topics covered include hazard assessment and cockpit presentation issues for microburst alerting systems; the situational awareness effect of automated air traffic control (ATC) datalink clearance amendments; a graphical simulation system for adaptive, automated approach spacing; an expert system for temporal planning with application to runway configuration management; deterministic multi-zone ice accretion modeling; alert generation and cockpit presentation for an integrated microburst alerting system; and passive infrared ice detection for helicopter applications.

Simpson, Robert W.↗

Evaluation of structural integrity using integrated testing and analysis

An integrated approach to dynamic testing and mathematical model analysis is described. The overall approach addresses four key tasks, namely, pretest planning and analysis, test data acquisition, data reduction and analysis, and test/analysis correlation and mathematical model updates. Several key software programs are employed to accomplish this task. They are a leading finite element code, a sophisticated data analysis processor and a graphical pre- and post-processor along with an advanced interface utility. Several practical structures are used to illustrate tools and concepts employed in the integrated test analysis process.

Coppolino, Robert N.↗

Multi-Mission Power Analysis Tool

Multi-Mission Power Analysis Tool (MMPAT) Version 2 simulates spacecraft power generation, use, and storage in order to support spacecraft design, mission planning, and spacecraft operations. It can simulate all major aspects of a spacecraft power subsystem. It is parametrically driven to reduce or eliminate the need for a programmer. A user-friendly GUI (graphical user interface) makes it easy to use. Multiple deployments allow use on the desktop, in batch mode, or as a callable library. It includes detailed models of solar arrays, radioisotope thermoelectric generators, nickel-hydrogen and lithium-ion batteries, and various load types. There is built-in flexibility through user-designed state models and table-driven parameters.

Broderick, Daniel↗

Numerical groundwater-flow modeling to evaluate potential effects of pumping and recharge: implications for sustainable groundwater management in the Mahanadi delta region, India

Process-based groundwater models are useful to understand complex aquifer systems and make predictions about their response to hydrological changes. A conceptual model for evaluating responses to environmental changes is presented, considering the hydrogeologic framework, flow processes, aquifer hydraulic properties, boundary conditions, and sources and sinks of the groundwater system. Based on this conceptual model, a quasi-three-dimensional transient groundwater flow model was designed using MODFLOW to simulate the groundwater system of Mahanadi River delta, eastern India. The model was constructed in the context of an upper unconfined aquifer and lower confined aquifer, separated by an aquitard. Hydraulic heads of 13 shallow wells and 11 deep wells were used to calibrate transient groundwater conditions during 1997–2006, followed by validation (2007–2011). The aquifer and aquitard hydraulic properties were obtained by pumping tests and were calibrated along with the rainfall recharge. The statistical and graphical performance indicators suggested a reasonably good simulation of groundwater flow over the study area. Sensitivity analysis revealed that groundwater level is most sensitive to the hydraulic conductivities of both the aquifers, followed by vertical hydraulic conductivity of the confining layer. The calibrated model was then employed to explore groundwater-flow dynamics in response to changes in pumping and recharge conditions. The simulation results indicate that pumping has a substantial effect on the confined aquifer flow regime as compared to the unconfined aquifer. The results and insights from this study have important implications for other regional groundwater modeling studies, especially in multi-layered aquifer systems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Defect equilibrium in PrBaCo{sub 2}O{sub 5+δ} at elevated temperatures

A defect equilibrium model for PrBaCo{sub 2}O{sub 5+δ} is suggested based on oxygen non-stoichiometry data. The model includes reactions of oxygen exchange and charge disproportionation of Co{sup 3+} cations. The respective equilibrium constants, enthalpies and entropies for the reactions entering the model are obtained from the fitting of the experimental data for oxygen non-stoichiometry. The enthalpies of oxidation Co{sup 2+}→Co{sup 3+} and Co{sup 3+}→Co{sup 4+} are found to be equal to 115±9 kJ mol{sup –1} and 45±4 kJ mol{sup –1}, respectively. The obtained equilibrium constants were used in order to calculate variations in concentration of cobalt species with non-stoichiometry, temperature and oxygen pressure. - Graphical abstract: Variations in concentration of cobalt species with oxygen content in PrBaCo{sub n}{sup 2+}Co{sub z}{sup 3+}Co{sub p}{sup 4+}O{sub 5+δ} at 650 °S. Display Omitted - Highlights: • The defect equilibrium model based on oxygen non-stoichiometry data is suggested. • Disproportionation of Co{sup 3+} cations gives significant contribution to defect equilibrium. • The hole concentration obtained from the model is in accord with electrical properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment (SAGE) Software for the Visualization of Large Data Sets on a Video Wall

The use of collaborative scientific visualization systems for the analysis, visualization, and sharing of "big data" available from new high resolution remote sensing satellite sensors or four‐dimensional numerical model simulations is propelling the wider adoption of ultra‐resolution tiled display walls interconnected by high speed networks. These systems require a globally connected and well‐integrated operating environment that provides persistent visualization and collaboration services. This abstract and subsequent presentation describes a new collaborative visualization system installed for NASA's Shortterm Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) program at Marshall Space Flight Center and its use for Earth science applications. The system consists of a 3 x 4 array of 1920 x 1080 pixel thin bezel video monitors mounted on a wall in a scientific collaboration lab. The monitors are physically and virtually integrated into a 14' x 7' for video display. The display of scientific data on the video wall is controlled by a single Alienware Aurora PC with a 2nd Generation Intel Core 4.1 GHz processor, 32 GB memory, and an AMD Fire Pro W600 video card with 6 mini display port connections. Six mini display‐to‐dual DVI cables are used to connect the 12 individual video monitors. The open source Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment (SAGE) windowing and media control framework, running on top of the Ubuntu 12 Linux operating system, allows several users to simultaneously control the display and storage of high resolution still and moving graphics in a variety of formats, on tiled display walls of any size. The Ubuntu operating system supports the open source Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment (SAGE) software which provides a common environment, or framework, enabling its users to access, display and share a variety of data‐intensive information. This information can be digital‐cinema animations, high‐resolution images, high‐definition video‐teleconferences, presentation slides, documents, spreadsheets or laptop screens. SAGE is cross‐platform, community‐driven, open‐source visualization and collaboration middleware that utilizes shared national and international cyberinfrastructure for the advancement of scientific research and education.

Jedlovec, Gary↗

Using ASCEM Modeling and Visualization to Inform Stakeholders of Contaminant Plume Evolution and Remediation Efficacy at F-Basin Savannah River, SC – 15156

Communication with stakeholders, regulatory agencies, and the public is an essential part of implementing different remediation and monitoring activities, and developing site closure strategies at contaminated sites. Modeling of contaminant plume evolution plays a critical role in estimating the benefit, cost, and risk of particular options. At the same time, effective visualization of monitoring data and modeling results are particularly important for conveying the significance of the results and observations. In this paper, we present the results of the Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) project, including the discussion of the capabilities of newly developed ASCEM software package, along with its application to the F-Area Seepage Basins located in the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS). ASCEM software includes state-of-the-art numerical methods for simulating complex flow and reactive transport, as well as various toolsets such as a graphical user interface (GUI), visualization, data management, uncertainty quantification, and parameter estimation. Using this software, we have developed an advanced visualization of tritium plume migration coupled with a data management system, and simulated a three-dimensional model of flow and plume evolution on a high-performance computing platform. We evaluated the effect of engineered flow barriers on a nonreactive tritium plume, through advanced plume visualization and modeling of tritium plume migration. In addition, we developed a geochemical reaction network to describe complex geochemical processes at the site, and evaluated the impact of coupled hydrological and geochemical heterogeneity. These results are expected to support SRS’s monitoring activities and operational decisions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

TOPAS-nBio: An Extension to the TOPAS Simulation Toolkit for Cellular and Sub-cellular Radiobiology

The TOPAS Monte Carlo (MC) system is used in radiation therapy and medical imaging research, having played a significant role in making Monte Carlo simulations widely available for proton therapy related research. While TOPAS provides detailed simulations of patient scale properties, the fundamental unit of the biological response to radiation is a cell. Thus, our goal was to develop TOPAS-nBio, an extension of TOPAS dedicated to advance understanding of radiobiological effects at the (sub-)cellular, (i.e., the cellular and sub-cellular) scale. TOPAS-nBio was designed as a set of open source classes that extends TOPAS to model radiobiological experiments. TOPAS-nBio is based on and extends Geant4-DNA, which extends the Geant4 toolkit, the basis of TOPAS, to include very low-energy interactions of particles down to vibrational energies, explicitly simulates every particle interaction (i.e., without using condensed histories) and propagates radiolysis products. To further facilitate the use of TOPAS-nBio, a graphical user interface was developed. TOPAS-nBio offers full track-structure Monte Carlo simulations, integration of chemical reactions within the first millisecond, an extensive catalogue of specialized cell geometries as well as sub-cellular structures such as DNA and mitochondria, and interfaces to mechanistic models of DNA repair kinetics. We compared TOPAS-nBio simulations to measured and published data of energy deposition patterns and chemical reaction rates (G values). Our simulations agreed well within the experimental uncertainties. Additionally, we expanded the chemical reactions and species provided in Geant4-DNA and developed a new method based on independent reaction times (IRT), including a total of 72 reactions classified into 6 types between neutral and charged species. Chemical stage simulations using IRT were a factor of 145 faster than with step-by-step tracking. Finally, we applied the geometric/chemical modeling to obtain initial yields of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA fibers for proton irradiations of 3 and 50 MeV and compared the effect of including chemical reactions on the number and complexity of DSB induction. Over half of the DSBs were found to include chemical reactions with approximately 5% of DSBs caused only by chemical reactions. In conclusion, the TOPAS-nBio extension to the TOPAS MC application offers access to accurate and detailed multiscale simulations, from a macroscopic description of the radiation field to microscopic description of biological outcome for selected cells. TOPAS-nBio offers detailed physics and chemistry simulations of radiobiological experiments on cells simulating the initially induced damage and links to models of DNA repair kinetics.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

The MARS Code System User’s Guide Version 15(2016)

This paper is a user’s guide to the current version of the MARS15 Monte Carlo code. MARS allows inclusive and, in many cases, exclusive simulations of three-dimensional hadronic and electromagnetic cascades and modeling of heavy ion, muon and low energy neutron-photon transport in accelerator, detector, spacecraft and shielding components. Particles can have energies from a fraction of an electronvolt up to about 100 TeV. The code has undergone substantial improvements since the last documented version MARS13(95) and since previous releases of MARS15; all these as well as other specific features of the MARS code system are explained in detail. Descriptions of general input and output with commentary and recommendations are given. Examples are given for running the program with distributed sources, complex compounds, arbitrary geometries, and magnetic fields. A built-in graphical-user interface allows the visualization and detailed analysis of the geometry description. Enhanced options are described for the MARS code being coupled with: the DPMJET hadron event generator, the MCNP code for low-energy neutron transport, the ANSYS system for thermal and stress analysis, physics analysis and graphics packages, the MAD accelerator lattice description via a universal MAD-MARS beam line builder, the STRUCT program for tracking particles in accelerator lattices with beam loss recording, the DETRA code for nuclide decay and transmutation calculations, the EGS5 code for precise modeling of low-energy electromagnetic showers, and the ROOT system for description and visualization of arbitrary geometries. Use of the code in a multistage mode, coupled with event generators (DPMJET), with the STRUCT program for tracking particles in accelerator lattices with beam loss recording, and with physics analysis and graphics packages is demonstrated with typical input and output examples.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

H2Fills™ [SWR-19-67]

H2FillS: Hydrogen Filling Simulation The Hydrogen Filling Simulation (H2FillS) software is a thermodynamic model designed to track and report on the transient change in hydrogen temperature, pressure, and mass flow when filling a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). H2FillS simulates gas flow from the hydrogen station to the FCEV storage system. Using empirical fueling data sets, the model has been validated over a range of fueling conditions to match common light-duty FCEV fill profiles. Overall, it provides significant benefits to the light-duty fueling market and fill knowledge gaps of the interaction between a hydrogen station and an FCEV. Capabilities Use the comprehensive H2FillS model to: Safely design and operate a hydrogen fueling station Support code refinement with readily available data Develop system and operational improvements to reduce capital or operating costs at hydrogen stations or on-board FCEVs. How It Works H2FillS uses a "drag-and-drop" graphical user interface to simulate station and vehicle systems with preset parameters for common hydrogen station components as default values. When needed, users can define their own parameters to create their own station or vehicle components. Download H2FillS in Two Steps Read the terms of the end user software license agreement. Register to download the software. There are two versions of the model: A full-station model starts the simulation at high-pressure ground storage, runs through a dispenser, and ends at a vehicle storage system. A partial-station model starts at the dispenser breakaway and consists solely of the dispenser components and the vehicle storage system. H2FillS will automatically output fill performance data from the vehicle by tracking pressure and temperature throughout the fill. Users can input their own fill profiles into the model to run a variety of simulations.

Peters, Michael↗

Rule based design of conceptual models for formative evaluation

A Human-Computer Interface (HCI) Prototyping Environment with embedded evaluation capability has been investigated. This environment will be valuable in developing and refining HCI standards and evaluating program/project interface development, especially Space Station Freedom on-board displays for payload operations. This environment, which allows for rapid prototyping and evaluation of graphical interfaces, includes the following four components: (1) a HCI development tool, (2) a low fidelity simulator development tool, (3) a dynamic, interactive interface between the HCI and the simulator, and (4) an embedded evaluator that evaluates the adequacy of a HCI based on a user's performance. The embedded evaluation tool collects data while the user is interacting with the system and evaluates the adequacy of an interface based on a user's performance. This paper describes the design of conceptual models for the embedded evaluation system using a rule-based approach.

Moore, Loretta A.↗

Rule based design of conceptual models for formative evaluation

A Human-Computer Interface (HCI) Prototyping Environment with embedded evaluation capability has been investigated. This environment will be valuable in developing and refining HCI standards and evaluating program/project interface development, especially Space Station Freedom on-board displays for payload operations. This environment, which allows for rapid prototyping and evaluation of graphical interfaces, includes the following four components: (1) a HCI development tool; (2) a low fidelity simulator development tool; (3) a dynamic, interactive interface between the HCI and the simulator; and (4) an embedded evaluator that evaluates the adequacy of a HCI based on a user's performance. The embedded evaluation tool collects data while the user is interacting with the system and evaluates the adequacy of an interface based on a user's performance. This paper describes the design of conceptual models for the embedded evaluation system using a rule-based approach.

Moore, Loretta A.↗

Orthographic terrain views using data derived from digital elevation models

A fast algorithm for producing three-dimensional orthographic terrain views uses digital elevation data and co-registered imagery. These views are created using projective geometry and are designed for display on high-resolution raster graphics devices. The algorithm's effectiveness is achieved by (1) the implementation of two efficient gray-level interpolation routines that offer the user a choice between speed and smoothness, and (2) a unique visible surface determination procedure based on horizon angles derived from the elevation data set.

Dubayah, R. O.↗

Earthquake Ground Motion Simulations on the Sierra High-Performance Computing System

Physics-based three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations of earthquake ground motions provide an alternative to reliance on limited and highly scattered empirical data and models for seismic hazard assessment. We performed fully 3D earthquake ground motion simulations on the Sierra and Lassen high-performance computing (HPC) platforms at Livermore Computing. These new HPC platforms feature graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration for improved performance. Ground motions were computed with SW4, a summation-by-parts finite difference code for anelastic wave propagation. SW4 was recently enhanced to run efficiently on GPU-accelerated platforms. We found that SW4 runs almost fifty (50) times faster in terms of node-hours on new GPU-accelerated platforms compared to conventional central processing unit (CPU) platforms with agreement of computed ground motion time-series to the full single precision which they are written. We focused on moment magnitude, M W , 7.0 earthquakes on the Hayward Fault. We were able to run three simulations resolving ground motions from static displacements (0 Hz) to frequencies of 10 Hz (wavelengths as short as 50 meters) making these Sierra calculations the highest resolution regional-scale earthquake simulations ever made for California. Results show good agreement between simulated ground motion intensities (peak ground velocity and acceleration, spectral response) and empirical models, including frequencies above 10 Hz. On Lassen we were able to run a suite of 52 M W 7.0 Hayward Fault earthquake simulations resolved 0-5 Hz for both plane-layered, one-dimensional (1D) and 3D Earth models. These simulations were used to develop a methodology for characterizing and removing systematic path and site effects which bias ground motion intensities. These simulations using the newly enhanced SW4 code allow us to run higher resolution seismic simulations with shorter run times, providing a new capability for seismic hazard and risk studies. Results were presented at scientific conferences and workshops and two publications are being prepared based on work performed in this project.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Parallel beamlet dose calculation via beamlet contexts in a distributed multi‐GPU framework

Purpose Dose calculation is one of the most computationally intensive, yet essential tasks in the treatment planning process. With the recent interest in automatic beam orientation and arc trajectory optimization techniques, there is a great need for more efficient model‐based dose calculation algorithms that can accommodate hundreds to thousands of beam candidates at once. Foundational work has shown the translation of dose calculation algorithms to graphical processing units ( GPU s), lending to remarkable gains in processing efficiency. But these methods provide parallelization of dose for only a single beamlet, serializing the calculation of multiple beamlets and under‐utilizing the potential of modern GPU s. In this paper, the authors propose a framework enabling parallel computation of many beamlet doses using a novel beamlet context transformation and further embed this approach in a scalable network of multi‐ GPU computational nodes. Methods The proposed context‐based transformation separates beamlet‐local density and TERMA into distinct beamlet contexts that independently provide sufficient data for beamlet dose calculation. Beamlet contexts are arranged in a composite context array with dosimetric isolation, and the context array is subjected to a GPU collapsed‐cone convolution superposition procedure, producing the set of beamlet‐specific dose distributions in a single pass. Dose from each context is converted to a sparse representation for efficient storage and retrieval during treatment plan optimization. The context radius is a new parameter permitting flexibility between the speed and fidelity of the dose calculation process. A distributed manager‐worker architecture is constructed around the context‐based GPU dose calculation approach supporting an arbitrary number of worker nodes and resident GPU s. Phantom experiments were executed to verify the accuracy of the context‐based approach compared to Monte Carlo and a reference CPU ‐ CCCS implementation for single beamlets and broad beams composed by addition of beamlets. Dose for representative 4 π beam sets was calculated in lung and prostate cases to compare its efficiency with that of an existing beamlet‐sequential GPU ‐ CCCS implementation. Code profiling was also performed to evaluate the scalability of the framework across many networked GPU s. Results The dosimetric accuracy of the context‐based method displays <1.35% and 2.35% average error from the existing serialized CPU ‐ CCCS algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation for beamlet‐specific PDD s in water and slab phantoms, respectively. The context‐based method demonstrates substantial speedup of up to two orders of magnitude over the beamlet‐sequential GPU ‐ CCCS method in the tested configurations. The context‐based framework demonstrates near linear scaling in the number of distributed compute nodes and GPU s employed, indicating that it is flexible enough to meet the performance requirements of most users by simply increasing the hardware utilization. Conclusions The context‐based approach demonstrates a new expectation of performance for beamlet‐based dose calculation methods. This approach has been successful in accelerating the dose calculation process for very large‐scale treatment planning problems ‐ such as automatic 4 π IMRT beam orientation and VMAT arc trajectory selection, with hundreds of thousands of beamlets ‐ in clinically feasible timeframes. The flexibility of this framework makes it as a strong candidate for use in a variety of other very large‐scale treatment planning tasks and clinical workflows.

Neph, Ryan↗