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This dataset contains X-ray diffraction (XRD) data taken from wells and outcrops as part of the DOE GTO supported Utah FORGE project located near Roosevelt Hot Springs. It contains an Excel spreadsheet with the XRD data, a text file with sample site names, types, and locations in UTM, Zone 12, NAD83 coordinates, and a GIS shapefile of the sample locations with attributes.
Photoproduction of mesons from the nucleon has a long and ongoing tradition for exploring nucleon excitations and the baryon-baryon interaction. Polarization observables which play a role in the photoproduction mechanism are, therefore, essential in addition to the differential cross section. The CLAS collaboration at Jefferson Lab, has been active in measuring these observables, but until now only on a proton targets. However, a comprehensive picture of the pseudoscalar meson photoproduction requires neutron data as well. That is, paired measurements of observables in p and n reactions are necessary to disentangle the photoproduction mechanism on the basis of isospin I = 0, and I = 1 photo-coupling transition amplitudes. The g14 experiment with 'HDIce,' a longitudinally polarized solid target of molecular hydrogen-deuteride with low background contamination from other nuclear species, provided an unique opportunity to measure several polarization observables|for the first time|on the neutron for different channels. In particular, we present our measurements of the E beam-target polarization observable, which requires circularly polarized beam and a longitudinally polarized target, for p pi^-, K^0Lambda, and K^0Sigma^0 channels in the energy range of 1.5 lte W lte 2.3 GeV. In addition, we also utilized the g14 dataset to investigate the intrinsic spin of a possible dibaryonic ND bound state by measuring the E (beam-target) observable on the d-pi^+/-d channel of the reaction yd --> pi^+pi^-d(0). Finally, this thesis also discusses a highly efficient multivariate analysis method called Boosted Decision Trees, which we employed extensively for this work and which has not been used before in CLAS data analysis.
Thorium(Th) contamination in the ground water an emerging environmental issue and Th recovery from sea water and nuclear wastewater is of high significance, as it is a major player in the energy sector. For the adsorption and recovery of Th, polymer grafted bio materials are reported as most efficient materials. P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB was prepared and all the steps in the synthetic routes were monitored using FTIR, SEM–EDS, and XRD, TG. Efficiency in removal of Th(IV) by P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB was tested by batch adsorption technique. The pH dependent Th(IV) adsorption process, was optimized at 4.5 and adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 120 min. Experimental kinetic data correlates well with pseudo-second-order equation, indicates adsorption was chemical process via ion exchange followed by complexation reaction, also could explain the film diffusion process of adsorption. Sips isotherm proved to best fit for the adsorption of Th(IV) onto P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB with maximum adsorption capacity of 95.19 mg/g. Thermodynamic studies revealed the endothermic nature, feasibility and spontaneity of the adsorption process. ΔHx and ΔSx were decreased to a small extent from −5.567 to −3.439 kJ/mol and increased from 11.18 to 18.39 J/mol, respectively, with increase in surface loading from 50 to 70 mg/g, indicating that the surface of the onto P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB is having energetically heterogeneous surface and there may be some lateral interactions between the adsorbed Th(IV) ions Repeated adsorption–desorption study over six cycles, adsorption percentage decreases from 99.0 to 94.6 %, proved the efficiency of P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB as an effective adsorbent for the removal and recovery of Th(IV) from aqueous solutions. Complete removal of Th(IV) ions from seawater containing 10 mg/L with a dose of 0.25 g/L P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB achieved. Batch adsorption system as double stage reactor designed from the adsorption isotherm data of Th(IV) by constructing operational lines. From these could be concluded that P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB is a promising candidate for the effective removal and removal of Th(IV) from industrial effluents phase and sea water. The maximum adsorption capacity Qs for Ceralite IRC-50 calculated which was found to be 179.67 mg/g which are considerably lower than those for P(IA/MAA)-g-NC/NB.
More than just a payload, machines now haul data as well. Wood Environment and Infrastructure's maiden voyage into civil engineering automation at the Port Granby Project Long-Term Waste Management Facility demonstrated enormous potential for the remediation industry. The Port Granby Project will relocate approximately 450,000 cubic meters of historic low-level radioactive waste and marginally contaminated soils, located at an existing waste management facility on the shoreline of Lake Ontario, to a new, engineered aboveground mound to be built about a kilometer north of the current site. Sounds simple, right? Just move a bunch of dirt up the road? Hardly, this is marginally contaminated soil situated near Lake Ontario in a beautiful little village an hour east of Toronto. We must relocate safely, meaning limiting the number of staff in the field and efficiently to deliver according to our agreed upon budget and schedule. As if that wasn't enough we were asked to keep track of where each truckload of dirt was excavated from (with a high degree of accuracy), where it was placed in the new engineered disposal facility, how much it weighed and the amount of radioactivity in each load... a virtual chain of custody for each load. Presented is an overview of the Information Technology that supports the Port Granby Project and how the Data Management System (DMS) is being leveraged to make the project safer, more effective and efficient. (authors)
Even though the interaction of a <1 mT magnetic field with an electron spin is less than a millionth of the thermal energy at room temperature (k{sub B}T), it still can have a profound effect on the quantum yields of radical pair reactions. We present a study of the effects of sub-millitesla magnetic fields on the photoreaction of flavin mononucleotide with ascorbic acid. Direct control of the reaction pathway is achieved by varying the rate of electron transfer from ascorbic acid to the photo-excited flavin. At pH 7.0, we verify the theoretical prediction that, apart from a sign change, the form of the magnetic field effect is independent of the initial spin configuration of the radical pair. The data agree well with model calculations based on a Green’s function approach that allows multinuclear spin systems to be treated including the diffusive motion of the radicals, their spin-selective recombination reactions, and the effects of the inter-radical exchange interaction. The protonation states of the radicals are uniquely determined from the form of the magnetic field-dependence. At pH 3.0, the effects of two chemically distinct radical pair complexes combine to produce a pronounced response to ∼500 μT magnetic fields. These findings are relevant to the magnetic responses of cryptochromes (flavin-containing proteins proposed as magnetoreceptors in birds) and may aid the evaluation of effects of weak magnetic fields on other biologically relevant electron transfer processes.
The 16S and 23S rRNA higher-order structures inferred from comparative analysis are now quite refined. The models presented here differ from their immediate predecessors only in minor detail. Thus, it is safe to assert that all of the standard secondary-structure elements in (prokaryotic) rRNAs have been identified, with approximately 90% of the individual base pairs in each molecule having independent comparative support, and that at least some of the tertiary interactions have been revealed. It is interesting to compare the rRNAs in this respect with tRNA, whose higher-order structure is known in detail from its crystal structure (36) (Table 2). It can be seen that rRNAs have as great a fraction of their sequence in established secondary-structure elements as does tRNA. However, the fact that the former show a much lower fraction of identified tertiary interactions and a greater fraction of unpaired nucleotides than the latter implies that many of the rRNA tertiary interactions remain to be located. (Alternatively, the ribosome might involve protein-rRNA rather than intramolecular rRNA interactions to stabilize three-dimensional structure.) Experimental studies on rRNA are consistent to a first approximation with the structures proposed here, confirming the basic assumption of comparative analysis, i.e., that bases whose compositions strictly covary are physically interacting. In the exhaustive study of Moazed et al. (45) on protection of the bases in the small-subunit rRNA against chemical modification, the vast majority of bases inferred to pair by covariation are found to be protected from chemical modification, both in isolated small-subunit rRNA and in the 30S subunit. The majority of the tertiary interactions are reflected in the chemical protection data as well (45). On the other hand, many of the bases not shown as paired in Fig. 1 are accessible to chemical attack (45). However, in this case a sizeable fraction of them are also protected against chemical modification (in the isolated rRNA), which suggests that considerable higher-order structure remains to be found (although all of it may not involve base-base interactions and so may not be detectable by comparative analysis). The agreement between the higher-order structure of the small-subunit rRNA and protection against chemical modification is not perfect, however; some bases shown to covary canonically are accessible to chemical modification (45).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).
The eukaryote-specific ribosomal protein of the small subunit eS6 is phosphorylated through the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase pathway. Although this phosphorylation event responds dynamically to environmental conditions and has been studied for over 50 years, its biochemical and physiological significance remains controversial and poorly understood. Here, we report data from Arabidopsis thaliana, which indicate that plants expressing only a phospho-deficient isoform of eS6 grow essentially normally under laboratory conditions. The eS6z (RPS6A) paralog of eS6 functionally rescued a double mutant in both rps6a and rps6b genes when expressed at approximately twice the wild-type dosage. A mutant isoform of eS6z lacking the major six phosphorylatable serine and threonine residues in its carboxyl-terminal tail also rescued the lethality, rosette growth, and polyribosome loading of the double mutant. This isoform also complemented many mutant phenotypes of rps6 that were newly characterized here, including photosynthetic efficiency, and most of the gene expression defects that were measured by transcriptomics and proteomics. However, compared with plants rescued with a phospho-enabled version of eS6z, the phospho-deficient seedlings retained a mild pointed-leaf phenotype, root growth was reduced, and certain cell cycle-related mRNAs and ribosome biogenesis proteins were misexpressed. The residual defects of the phospho-deficient seedlings could be understood as an incomplete rescue of the rps6 mutant defects. There was little or no evidence for gain-of-function defects. As previously published, the phospho-deficient eS6z also rescued the rps6a and rps6b single mutants; however, phosphorylation of the eS6y (RPS6B) paralog remained lower than predicted, further underscoring that plants can tolerate phospho-deficiency of eS6 well. Our data also yield new insights into how plants cope with mutations in essential, duplicated ribosomal protein isoforms.
PGBA, a plant growth facility developed for commercial space biotechnology research, successfully grew a total of 30 plants (6 species) for 10 days on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-77) and is scheduled for reflight on board MSL-1 (STS-83) for a 16 day flight. The PGBA life support systems provide atmospheric, thermal, and humidity control as well as lighting and nutrient supply in a 23.6 liter chamber. Atmosphere treatment includes ethylene and other hydrocarbon removal, CO2 replenishment, and O2 control. The normally closed system uses controlled CO2 replenishment from the crew cabin as required by the plants. Temperature is controlled (1 C) at user-specified setpoints between 20-32 C, using water-filled coolant loops, solid state Peltier thermoelectric devices, and liquid heat exchangers. The thermoelectric cooling systems were optimized for low power consumption and high cooling efficiencies. Relative humidity is maintained between 60-100% using a cooled porous metal plate to remove water vapor from the air stream without cooling the bulk air below the dew point. The lighting system utilizes three compact fluorescent bi-axial lights with variable lighting control and light intensity (PAR) between 220 and 330 micromol/sq m/s at a distance of 20 cm in spaceflight configuration (on orbit power limited to 230 Watt for entire payload). A ground, up to 550 micromol/sq m/s light intensity can be achieved with 330 Watt payload power consumption. Plant water and nutrient support is sustained via the 'Nutrient Pack' system including the passive or active 'Water Replenishable Nutrient Pack.' The root matrix material (soil or Agar) and nutrient formulation of each pack is prepared according to plant species and experimental requirements. These systems were designed by NASA Ames personnel. Data acquisition and control systems provide 32 channels of environmental data as well as digitized or analog video signals for downlink.
We present a statistical method, predicated on the use of surrogate models, for the 'real-time' characterization of partially observed epidemics. Observations consist of counts of symptomatic patients, diagnosed with the disease, that may be available in the early epoch of an ongoing outbreak. Characterization, in this context, refers to estimation of epidemiological parameters that can be used to provide short-term forecasts of the ongoing epidemic, as well as to provide gross information on the dynamics of the etiologic agent in the affected population e.g., the time-dependent infection rate. The characterization problem is formulated as a Bayesian inverse problem, and epidemiological parameters are estimated as distributions using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, thus quantifying the uncertainty in the estimates. In some cases, the inverse problem can be computationally expensive, primarily due to the epidemic simulator used inside the inversion algorithm. We present a method, based on replacing the epidemiological model with computationally inexpensive surrogates, that can reduce the computational time to minutes, without a significant loss of accuracy. The surrogates are created by projecting the output of an epidemiological model on a set of polynomial chaos bases; thereafter, computations involving the surrogate model reduce to evaluations of a polynomial. We find that the epidemic characterizations obtained with the surrogate models is very close to that obtained with the original model. We also find that the number of projections required to construct a surrogate model is O(10)-O(10{sup 2}) less than the number of samples required by the MCMC to construct a stationary posterior distribution; thus, depending upon the epidemiological models in question, it may be possible to omit the offline creation and caching of surrogate models, prior to their use in an inverse problem. The technique is demonstrated on synthetic data as well as observations from the 1918 influenza pandemic collected at Camp Custer, Michigan.
Room-temperature static and cyclic tests were made on 21 aluminum plates in the shape of a 91.4x91.4-cm Maltese cross with 45 deg flaws to develop crack growth and fracture toughness data under mixed-mode conditions. During cyclic testing, it was impossible to maintain a high proportion of shear-mode deformation on the crack tips. Cracks either branched or turned. Under static loading, cracks remained straight if shear stress intensity exceeded normal stress intensity. Mixed-mode crack growth rate data compared reasonably well with published single-mode data, and measured crack displacements agreed with the straight and branched crack analyses. Values of critical strain energy release rate at fracture for pure shear were approximately 50% higher than for pure normal opening, and there was a large reduction in normal stress intensity at fracture in the presence of high shear stress intensity. Net section stresses were well into the inelastic range when fracture occurred under high shear on the cracks.
Accurate subseasonal weather forecasts, from two weeks up to a season, can help reduce costs and impacts related to weather and corresponding extremes. The quality of weather forecasts has improved considerably in recent decades as models represent more details of physical processes, and they benefit from assimilating comprehensive Earth observation data as well as increasing computing power. However, with ever–growing model complexity, it becomes increasingly difficult to pinpoint weaknesses in the forecast models’ process representations which is key to improving forecast accuracy. In this study, we use a comprehensive set of observation–based ecological, hydrological and meteorological variables to study their potential for explaining temperature forecast errors at the weekly time scale. For this purpose, we compute Spearman correlations between each considered variable and the forecast error obtained from the ECMWF subseasonal–to–seasonal (S2S) reforecasts at lead times of 1–6 weeks. This is done across the globe for the time period 2001–2017. The results show that temperature forecast errors globally are most strongly related with climate–related variables such as surface solar radiation and precipitation, which highlights the model’s difficulties in accurately capturing the evolution of the climate–related variables during the forecasting period. At the same time, we find particular regions in which other variables are more strongly related to forecast errors. For instance, in central Europe, eastern North America and southeastern Asia, vegetation greenness and soil moisture are relevant, while in western South America and central North America, circulation–related variables such as surface pressure relate more strongly with forecast errors. Overall, the identified relationships between forecast errors and independent Earth observations reveal promising variables on which future forecasting system development could focus by specifically considering related process representations and data assimilation.
The stacking fault width (R$_{eq}$) between partial dislocations within an FCC crystalline lattice characterizes the onset of numerous plastic flow mechanisms, as well as the relationship between material strength and grain size. Continuum models traditionally consider a complete unit of dislocation slip ( b ) along the $\langle{110}$$\rangle$ direction distributed between two discrete partial dislocations, each with a fixed partial Burgers vector ( b p ), which bound a stacking fault. Across the stacking fault, the vectorial slip is assumed to be constant, yielding a constant intrinsic stacking fault energy density, $\gamma$$_{isf}$ Here, we demonstrate that the vectorial displacement path taken in accomplishing a complete unit of slip (b) deviates from the expected displacement path containing the local minima, $\gamma$$_{isf}$ leading to a correction in the nominally derived stacking fault width. The magnitude of the correction depends on both the net orientation of the dislocation within the lattice, and also the degree of relaxation of each partial Burgers vector along the $\langle{\bar{1}12}$$\rangle$ direction. We derive a simple analytic model for the corrected stacking fault width, explicitly accounting for the deviation, by introducing a variable ξ (0 < ξ < 1), which governs the magnitude of each partial dislocation component along the $\langle{\bar{1}12}$$\rangle$ direction. Significantly, our model predicts a correction to R$_{eq}$ of ~$\mathscr{O}$ (|b|) for the nominally screw dislocation, and has no noticeable influence on nominally edge dislocations. We apply our model towards computing the stacking fault width of several FCC metals, and demonstrate excellent agreement both with our own numerical data as well as that obtained from ab initio and Molecular Statics (MS) methods within the literature. Lastly, the results from this study demonstrate that, upon judicious application, discrete linear elastic models are successful in reproducing elastic interactions as computed from higher fidelity models on the spatial scale of metallic dislocation cores.
We present here identification and characterization of the young stellar population associated with an active star-forming site Sh2-242. We used our own new optical imaging and spectroscopic observational data, as well as several archival catalogs, e.g., Pan-STARRS 1, Gaia DR2, IPHAS, Wide-field InfraRed Camera, 2MASS, and Spitzer. Slit spectroscopic results confirm the classification of the main ionizing source BD+26 980 as an early-type star of spectral type B0.5 V. The spectrophotometric distance of the star is estimated as 2.08 ± 0.24 kpc, which confirms the source as a member of the cluster. An extinction map covering a large area (diameter ∼50′) is generated with H and K photometry toward the region. From the map, three distinct locations of peak extinction complexes (A {sub V} ≃ 7–17 mag) are identified for the very first time. Using the infrared color excess, a total of 33 Class I and 137 Class II young objects are classified within the region. The IPHAS photometry reveals classification of 36 Hα emitting sources, which might be class II objects. Among 36 Hα emitting sources, 5 are already identified using infrared excess emission. In total, 201 young objects are classified toward S242 from this study. The membership status of the young sources is further windowed with the inclusion of parallax from the Gaia DR2 catalog. Using the optical and infrared color–magnitude diagrams, the young stellar objects are characterized with an average age of ∼1 Myr and masses in the range 0.1–3.0 M {sub ☉}. The census of the stellar content within the region is discussed using combined photometric and spectroscopic data.
A preliminary Performance Assessment (PA) of Single-Shell Tank (SST) Waste Management Area A-AX (WMA A-AX) located at DoE's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington is being conducted to satisfy the requirements of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (HFFACO), as well as other Federal and State requirements of closure plans and permits. The WMA A-AX PA effort is assessing the fate, transport, and impacts of radionuclides and hazardous chemicals within residual wastes left in tanks, ancillary equipment, and facilities in their assumed closed configuration, and the subsequent risks to humans into the far future. WMA A-AX includes the 241-A Tank Farm (A Farm), the 241-AX Tank Farm (AX Farm), and the ancillary equipment associated with each Farm. There are six underground SSTs in A Farm, and four underground SSTs in AX Farm. Each of these SSTs have a storage capacity of 1,000,000 gallons. A complex waste transfer system of ancillary equipment supported the transfer and storage of waste within WMA A-AX SSTs. This ancillary equipment includes transfer lines, catch tanks, diversion boxes, vaults, valve pits, and other miscellaneous structures. This paper emphasizes the development of the PA effort focused on radiological impacts to meet the requirements for a closure authorization under DOE Order 435.1. Lessons learned from retrieval and development of a recently completed PA of the nearby Waste Management Area C (WMA C) led to the decision to develop a preliminary PA for WMA A-AX prior to initiation of retrieval efforts so that a site-specific risk management capability could be available to support anticipated retrieval decisions. The technical approach for the PA analysis includes developing both a process-level model using site-specific hydrogeological data, as well as a system-level model. The system model is being developed to facilitate uncertainty and sensitivity analyses being conducted in the PA effort. Preliminary results of the DOE Order 435.1 PA are evaluating potential impacts to the groundwater and air pathways to determine radiation exposure once radionuclides are released to the environment from residual waste after closure of the tank farm. To meet other analysis requirements in DOE Order 435.1, the PA effort must also evaluate potential radiological impacts from inadvertent intruder scenarios into the closed WMA A-AX facility. The results of the PA evaluation will be compared to performance objectives and measures in the DOE Order 435.1 to support retrieval and eventual closure decisions at WMA A-AX. (authors)
After a lengthy incubation period, the year 2012 saw the release of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Version 2.2 monthly dataset and the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) Version 7. One primary feature of the new data sets is that DMSP SSMIS data are now used, which entailed a great deal of development work to overcome calibration issues. In addition, the GPCP V2.2 included a slight upgrade to the gauge analysis input datasets, particularly over China, while the TMPA V7 saw more-substantial upgrades: 1) The gauge analysis record in Version 6 used the (older) GPCP monitoring product through April 2005 and the CAMS analysis thereafter, which introduced an inhomogeneity. Version 7 uses the Version 6 GPCC Full analysis, switching to the Version 4 Monitoring analysis thereafter. 2) The inhomogeneously processed AMSU record in Version 6 is uniformly processed in Version 7. 3) The TMI and SSMI input data have been upgraded to the GPROF2010 algorithm. The global-change, water cycle, and other user communities are acutely interested in how these data sets compare, as consistency between differently processed, long-term, quasi-global data sets provides some assurance that the statistics computed from them provide a good representation of the atmosphere's behavior. Within resolution differences, the two data sets agree well over land as the gauge data (which tend to dominate the land results) are the same in both. Over ocean the results differ more because the satellite products used for calibration are based on very different algorithms and the dominant input data sets are different. The time series of tropical (30 N-S) ocean average precipitation shows that the TMPA V7 follows the TMI-PR Combined Product calibrator, although running approximately 5% higher on average. The GPCP and TMPA time series are fairly consistent, although the GPCP runs approximately 10% lower than the TMPA, and has a somewhat larger interannual variation. As well, the GPCP and TMPA interannual variations have an apparent phase shift, with GPCP running a few months later. Additional diagnostics will include mean maps and selected scatter plots.
We present Wavemoth, an experimental open source code for computing scalar spherical harmonic transforms (SHTs). Such transforms are ubiquitous in astronomical data analysis. Our code performs substantially better than existing publicly available codes owing to improvements on two fronts. First, the computational core is made more efficient by using small amounts of pre-computed data, as well as paying attention to CPU instruction pipelining and cache usage. Second, Wavemoth makes use of a fast and numerically stable algorithm based on compressing a set of linear operators in a pre-computation step. The resulting SHT scales as O(L{sup 2}log{sup 2} L) for the resolution range of practical interest, where L denotes the spherical harmonic truncation degree. For low- and medium-range resolutions, Wavemoth tends to be twice as fast as libpsht, which is the current state-of-the-art implementation for the HEALPix grid. At the resolution of the Planck experiment, L {approx} 4000, Wavemoth is between three and six times faster than libpsht, depending on the computer architecture and the required precision. Because of the experimental nature of the project, only spherical harmonic synthesis is currently supported, although adding support for spherical harmonic analysis should be trivial.
As automotive fuel economy requirements increase, the push for reducing overall vehicle weight will likely include the consideration of materials that have not previously been part of mainstream vehicle design and manufacturing, including carbon fiber composites. Vehicle manufacturers currently rely on computer-aided engineering (CAE) methods as part of the design and development process, so going forward, the ability to accurately and predictably model carbon fiber composites will be necessary. If composites are to be used for structural components, this need applies to both, crash and quasi-static modeling. This final report covers the results of a five-year, $6.89M, 50% cost-shared research project between Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Advanced Materials Partnership (USAMP) under Cooperative Agreement DE-EE-0005661 known as “Validation of Material Models for Automotive Carbon Fiber Composite Structures Via Physical and Crash Testing (VMM).” The objective of the VMM Composites Project was to validate and assess the ability of physics-based material models to predict crash performance of automotive primary load-carrying carbon fiber composite structures. Simulation material models that were evaluated included micro-mechanics based meso-scale models developed by the University of Michigan (UM) and micro-plane models by Northwestern University (NWU) under previous collaborations with the DOE and Automotive Composites Consortium/USAMP, as well as five commercial crash codes: LS-DYNA, RADIOSS, VPS/PAM-CRASH, Abaqus, and GENOA-MCQ. CAE predictions obtained from seven organizations were compared with experimental results from quasi-static testing and dynamic crash testing of a thermoset carbon fiber composite front-bumper and crush-can (FBCC) system gathered under multiple loading conditions. This FBCC design was developed to demonstrate progressive crush, virtual simulation, tooling, fabrication, assembly, non-destructive evaluation and crash testing advances in order to assess the correlation of the predicted results to the physical tests. The FBCC was developed to meet a goal of 30-35% mass reduction while aiming for equivalent energy absorption as a steel component for which baseline experimental results were obtained from testing in the same crash modes. The project also evaluated crash performance of thermoplastic composite structures fabricated from commercial prepreg materials and low cost carbon fiber sourced from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The VMM Project determined that no set of predictions from a CAE supplier were found to be universally accurate among all the six crash modes evaluated. In general, crash modes that were most dependent on the properties of the prepreg were more accurate than those that were dependent on the behavior of the joints. The project found that current CAE modeling methods or best practices for carbon fiber composites have not achieved standardization, and accuracy of CAE is highly reliant on the experience of its users. Coupon tests alone are not sufficient to develop an accurate material model, but it is necessary to bridge the gap between the coupon data and performance of the actual structure with a series of subcomponent level tests. Much of the unreliability of the predictions can be attributed to shortcomings in our ability to mathematically link the effects of manufacturing and material variability into the material models. This is a subject of ongoing research in the industry. The final report is organized by key technical tasks to describe how the validation project developed, modeled and compared crash data obtained on the composite FBCC to the multiple sets of CAE predictions. Highlights of the report include a discussion of the quantitative comparison between predictions and experimental data, as well as an in-depth discussion of remaining technological gaps that exist in the industry, which are intended to spur innovations and improvements in CAE technology.
Understanding of carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere can be improved through direct observations and experiments, as well as through modeling activities. Terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) have become an integral tool for extrapolating local observations and understanding to much larger terrestrial regions. Although models vary in their specific goals and approaches, their central role within carbon cycle science is to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms currently controlling carbon exchange. Recently, the North American Carbon Program (NACP) organized several interim-synthesis activities to evaluate and inter-compare models and observations at local to continental scales for the years 2000 to 2005. Here, we compare the results from the TBMs collected as part of the regional and continental interim-synthesis (RCIS) activities. The primary objective of this work is to synthesize and compare the 19 participating TBMs to assess current understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle in North America.