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At least 1,567 records · Page 87

TRANSP-based closed-loop simulations of current profile optimal regulation in NSTX-Upgrade

Active control of the toroidal current density profile is critical for the upgraded National Spherical Torus eXperiment device (NSTX-U) to maintain operation at the desired high-performance, MHD-stable, plasma regime. Initial efforts towards current density profile control have led to the development of a control-oriented, physics-based, plasma-response model, which combines the magnetic diffusion equation with empirical correlations for the kinetic profiles and the non-inductive current sources. The developed control-oriented model has been successfully tailored to the NSTX-U geometry and actuators. Moreover, a series of efforts have been made towards the design of model-based controllers, including a linear-quadratic-integral optimal control strategy that can regulate the current density profile around a prescribed target profile while rejecting disturbances. In this work, the tracking performance of the proposed current-profile optimal controller is tested in numerical simulations based on the physics-oriented code TRANSP. Furthermore, these high-fidelity closed-loop simulations, which are a critical step before experimental implementation and testing, are enabled by a flexible framework recently developed to perform feedback control design and simulation in TRANSP.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

TRANSP-based closed-loop simulations of current profile optimal regulation in NSTX-Upgrade

Active control of the toroidal current density profile is critical for the upgraded National Spherical Torus eXperiment device (NSTX-U) to maintain operation at the desired high-performance, MHD-stable, plasma regime. Initial efforts towards current density profile control have led to the development of a control-oriented, physics-based, plasma-response model, which combines the magnetic diffusion equation with empirical correlations for the kinetic profiles and the non-inductive current sources. The developed control-oriented model has been successfully tailored to the NSTX-U geometry and actuators. Moreover, a series of efforts have been made towards the design of model-based controllers, including a linear-quadratic-integral optimal control strategy that can regulate the current density profile around a prescribed target profile while rejecting disturbances. In this work, the tracking performance of the proposed current-profile optimal controller is tested in numerical simulations based on the physics-oriented code TRANSP. These high-fidelity closed-loop simulations, which are a critical step before experimental implementation and testing, are enabled by a flexible framework recentlydeveloped to perform feedback control design and simulation in TRANSP.

current profile control↗

Evaluation and Characterization Study of Dual Pulse Laser-Induced Spark (DPLIS) for Rocket Engine Ignition System Application

This paper addresses the progress of technology development of a laser ignition system at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Laser ignition has been used at MSFC in recent test series to successfully ignite RP1/GOX propellants in a subscale rocket chamber, and other past studies by NASA GRC have demonstrated the use of laser ignition for rocket engines. Despite the progress made in the study of this ignition method, the logistics of depositing laser sparks inside a rocket chamber have prohibited its use. However, recent advances in laser designs, the use of fiber optics, and studies of multi-pulse laser formats3 have renewed the interest of rocket designers in this state-of the-art technology which offers the potential elimination of torch igniter systems and their associated mechanical parts, as well as toxic hypergolic ignition systems. In support of this interest to develop an alternative ignition system that meets the risk-reduction demands of Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT), characterization studies of a dual pulse laser format for laser-induced spark ignition are underway at MSFC. Results obtained at MSFC indicate that a dual pulse format can produce plasmas that absorb the laser energy as efficiently as a single pulse format, yet provide a longer plasma lifetime. In an experiments with lean H2/air propellants, the dual pulse laser format, containing the same total energy of a single laser pulse, produced a spark that was superior in its ability to provide sustained ignition of fuel-lean H2/air propellants. The results from these experiments are being used to optimize a dual pulse laser format for future subscale rocket chamber tests. Besides the ignition enhancement, the dual pulse technique provides a practical way to distribute and deliver laser light to the combustion chamber, an important consideration given the limitation of peak power that can be delivered through optical fibers. With this knowledge, scientists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and CFD Research Corporation have designed and fabricated a miniaturized, first-generation optical prototype of a laser ignition system that could be the basis for a laser ignition system for rocket applications. This prototype will be tested at MSFC in future subscale rocket ignition tests.

Osborne, Robin↗

Bioconversion of Agave Bagasse Lignin to Medium-Chain-Length Polyhydroxyalkanoates by Pseudomonas putida

Inadequate disposal of Agave tequilana bagasse (ATB) brings environmental and economic issues to tequila producing regions. Recent works have proposed technologies for valorization of the polysaccharide’s fractions of ATB. However, lignin bioconversion has not been investigated due to its recalcitrant nature. In this work, a systematic pretreatment is proposed to release the lignocellulosic fractions and produce medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from the lignin fraction of ATB. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses revealed that ATB lignin contained 63% of β-O-4 interunit linkages, making this lignin more suitable for pretreatment and biodegradation compared to other lignins. Exploratory experiments revealed that two-stage fermentation is suitable for PHA production from ATB lignin using wild type and engineered Pseudomonas putida strains. PHA increased from 0.09 to 0.39 g/L compared to single batch fermentation. Further improvement to 0.76 g/L was possible by using a central composite design to optimize the inoculum, substrate, and nitrogen concentrations. Finally, PHA depolymerase gene phaZ was knocked out from P. putida and tested at optimal conditions, enabling a PHA titer of 0.97 g/L. Analyses by NMR and GC-MS confirmed lignin derivatives consumption and decrease of β-O-4 linkages. This study lays the foundations to enable agave lignin bioprocessing and opens new avenues for ATB biorefineries.

PHA↗

Opportunities in full-stack design of low-overhead fault-tolerant quantum computation

Quantum error correction provides a route to realizing large-scale quantum computation but incurs substantial resource overheads. Here, in this work, we highlight recent advances that reduce these overheads by co-designing different levels of the computational stack, including algorithms, quantum-error-correction strategies and hardware architecture. We then discuss opportunities for further optimization such as leveraging flexible qubit connectivity and quantum low-density parity check codes. These strategies can bring useful quantum computation closer to reality as experiments advance in the coming years.

quantum information↗

Development of ultralow energy (1–10 eV) ion scattering spectrometry coupled with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption for the investigation of molecular solids

Extremely surface specific information, limited to the first atomic layer of molecular surfaces, is essential to understand the chemistry and physics in upper atmospheric and interstellar environments. Ultra low energy ion scattering in the 1–10 eV window with mass selected ions can reveal extremely surface specific information which when coupled with reflection absorption infrared (RAIR) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) spectroscopies, diverse chemical and physical properties of molecular species at surfaces could be derived. These experiments have to be performed at cryogenic temperatures and at ultra high vacuum conditions without the possibility of collisions of neutrals and background deposition in view of the poor ion intensities and consequent need for longer exposure times. Here we combine a highly optimized low energy ion optical system designed for such studies coupled with RAIR and TPD and its initial characterization. Despite the ultralow collision energies and long ion path lengths employed, the ion intensities at 1 eV have been significant to collect a scattered ion spectrum of 1000 counts/s for mass selected CH{sub 2}{sup +}.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

ASK: Adversarial Soft k-Nearest Neighbor Attack and Defense

K-Nearest Neighbor (kNN)-based deep learning methods have been applied to many applications due to their simplicity and geometric interpretability. However, the robustness of kNN-based deep classification models has not been thoroughly explored and kNN attack strategies are underdeveloped. In this paper, we first propose an Adversarial Soft kNN (ASK) loss for developing more effective kNN-based deep neural network attack strategies and designing better defense methods against them. Our ASK loss provides a differentiable surrogate of the expected kNN classification error. It is also interpretable as it preserves the mutual information between the perturbed input and the in-class-reference data. We use the ASK loss to design a novel attack method called the ASK-Attack (ASK-Atk), which shows superior attack efficiency and accuracy degradation relative to previous kNN attacks on hidden layers. We then derive an ASK-Defense (ASK-Def) method that optimizes the worst-case ASK training loss. Experiments on CIFAR-10 (ImageNet) show that (i) ASK-Atk achieves ≥13% (≥ 13% ) improvement in attack success rate over previous kNN attacks, and (ii) ASK-Def outperforms the conventional adversarial training method by ≥ 6.9% (≥ 3.5% ) in terms of robustness improvement. Relevant codes are available at https://github.com/wangren09/ASK .

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

An Online Approach to Solve the Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Trip Requests for Paratransit Services

Many transit agencies operating paratransit and microtransit services have to respond to trip requests that arrive in real-time, which entails solving hard combinatorial and sequential decision-making problems under uncertainty. To avoid decisions that lead to significant inefficiency in the long term, vehicles should be allocated to requests by optimizing a non-myopic utility function or by batching requests together and optimizing a myopic utility function. While the former approach is typically offline, the latter can be performed online. We point out two major issues with such approaches when applied to paratransit services in practice. First, it is difficult to batch paratransit requests together as they are temporally sparse. Second, the environment in which transit agencies operate changes dynamically (e.g., traffic conditions can change over time), causing the estimates that are learned offline to become stale. To address these challenges, we propose a fully online approach to solve the dynamic vehicle routing problem (DVRP) with time windows and stochastic trip requests that is robust to changing environmental dynamics by construction. We focus on scenarios where requests are relatively sparse—our problem is motivated by applications to paratransit services. We formulate DVRP as a Markov decision process and use Monte Carlo tree search to evaluate actions for any given state. Accounting for stochastic requests while optimizing a non-myopic utility function is computationally challenging; indeed, the action space for such a problem is intractably large in practice. To tackle the large action space, we leverage the structure of the problem to design heuristics that can sample promising actions for the tree search. Our experiments using real-world data from our partner agency show that the proposed approach outperforms existing state-of-the-art approaches both in terms of performance and robustness.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Future neutrino long baseline experiments

Very soon a new generation of reactor and accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments—Double Chooz, Daya Bay, Reno and T2K—will seek for oscillation signals generated by the mixing parameter θ{sub 13}. The knowledge of this angle is a fundamental milestone to optimize further experiments aimed at detecting CP violation in the neutrino sector. Leptonic CP violation is a key phenomenon that has profound implications in particle physics and cosmology but it is clearly out of reach for the aforementioned experiments. Since late 90’s, a worldwide activity is in progress to design facilities that can access CP violation in neutrino oscillation and perform high precision measurements of the lepton counterpart of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Fracture Sustainability Test, Pre- and Post-Test Photomicrographs

The primary objective of this research is to understand how different rock types, mineral and fluid compositions, and fracture surface textures determine the longevity of fracture apertures, so that selection of reservoir rock can be economically optimized to reduce future refracturing. We are performing laboratory tests to study this in a custom apparatus at conditions relevant to EGS, with temperatures up to 250 degrees C (design maximum 300 degrees C). Our approach is to perform a number of long term (up to several months) laboratory experiments using relevant rock samples with different mineralogies to explore fracture sustainability under EGS conditions. We use an apparatus that allows direct application of a normal force on the fracture faces of a single fracture in a sample having a sheared, tensile fracture. We flow brine of a specified composition through the aperture, and simultaneously measure the fracture permeability and closure. We collect the effluent water for chemical and isotopic analysis. We are numerically modeling our tests and comparing experimental and numerical results. This submission includes photomicrographs of pre-test (unreacted) and post-test (reacted) samples from Brady well BCH-03 at various depths, Desert Peak well DP 35-13, and samples of Stripa granite. The photomicrographs are provided using uncrossed and crossed polarized light (xpl). UN is uncrossed nicols, CN and xpl are crossed nicols (crossed polars). The magnification listed is just referring to the objective lens that was used, not the total magnification of the images. With a 5x objective, the bottom dimension of an image is 1.75 mm. With 10x the bottom dimension of an image is 0.875 mm, and with 2x the bottom dimension of an image is 4.375 mm.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Simulation and Controls for Heavy Duty Dual Mode Hybrid Powertrain (Final CRADA Report)

Hybrid powertrains are of considerable interest because of potential reductions in fuel consumption, criteria pollutants and green house gas (GHG) emissions. Parallel hybrids have been applied to light and medium duty trucks, where urban driving cycles are prevalent, while series hybrids have been successfully used for other applications like transit and school buses. Unfortunately, hybridization of the Class 8, heavy-duty (HD) powertrain is inherently challenging due the expected long-haul driving requirements and limited opportunities for regenerative braking. The Participant has conceived and demonstrated a transformational Dual Mode Hybrid Powertrain (DMHP) technology developed specifically for the needs and function of Class 8 line haul trucks. The DMHP system enables a new paradigm in powertrain operational efficiency in the Class 8 truck segment. It decouples the connection between the engine operating point and the truck road load demands over a broad operating range through an innovative hybrid design. The DMHP operation choices include running in full series, full parallel and engine-off modes. The DMHP offers the opportunity for an engine to operate in a narrow range, thus providing a strategy for maximized fuel economy and minimized emissions. Further, it is expected that transient torque and power wheel demands are handled in whole or part by the electric system, thus reducing the frequency and intensity of engine transients and further improving the fuel economy and emissions. Fuel consumption and emissions have been further reduced through the elimination of overnight hoteling and idling at stops. Finally, based on the unique operating profile of an engine integrated into our hybrid powertrain, a transformational HD truck engine design concept next can emerge. Recent research activities by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have yielded significant data in real-life speed and load profiles of Class 8, long haul trucks. In addition, preliminary simulations of the DMHP carried out by ORNL reveal significant optimization opportunities of the DMHP by applying systematic simulation and controls approaches. An improved understanding of the complex interactions offered by the on-board engine, energy storing system, and electric machines is necessary for the development of control methodologies and practical implementation. We will continue to further this understanding through detailed experimentation and modeling, drawing on and expanding ORNL’s core competency in basic engine research and development (R&D) and advanced controls. This knowledge will be used to develop, implement, and evaluate control strategies on an actual DMHP using Meritor’s components and subsystems. Our initial focus will be on optimization of DMHP utilizing a “stock” diesel engine that is commercially available in the market place. A new DMHP-specific engine design concept will be pursued at a later phase of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). Meritor will develop the experimental setup, conduct sub-system experiments at their facility, and implement and evaluate potential control strategies resulting from this CRADA partnership. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will develop a real-time simulation model for use in real-time control of the DMHP. The model and potential algorithms will be evaluated on a HD, hybrid powertrain dynamometer facility that will also be developed at the ORNL Vehicle Systems Integration facility.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Institute for High Heat Flux Removal (IHHFR). Phases I, II, and III

The IHHFR focused on interdisciplinary applications as it relates to high heat flux engineering issues and problems which arise due to engineering systems being miniaturized, optimized, or requiring increased high heat flux performance. The work in the IHHFR focused on water as a coolant and includes: (1) the development, design, and construction of the high heat flux flow loop and facility; (2) test section development, design, and fabrication; and, (3) single-side heat flux experiments to produce 2-D boiling curves and 3-D conjugate heat transfer measurements for single-side heated test sections. This work provides data for comparisons with previously developed and new single-side heated correlations and approaches that address the single-side heated effect on heat transfer. In addition, this work includes the addition of single-side heated circular TS and a monoblock test section with a helical wire insert. Finally, the present work includes: (1) data base expansion for the monoblock with a helical wire insert (only for the latter geometry), (2) prediction and verification using finite element, (3) monoblock model and methodology development analyses, and (4) an alternate model development for a hypervapotron and related conjugate heat transfer controlling parameters.

2-D Boiling Curves↗

Developing a predictive model for the chemical composition of soot nanoparticles

In order to provide the scientific foundation to enable technology breakthroughs in transportation fuel, it is important to develop a combustion modeling capability to optimize the operation and design of evolving fuels in advanced engines for transportation applications. The goal of this proposal is to develop a validated predictive model to describe the chemical composition of soot nanoparticles in premixed and diffusion flames. Atomistic studies in conjunction with state-of-the-art experiments are the distinguishing characteristics of this unique interdisciplinary effort. The modeling effort has been conducted at the University of Michigan by Prof. A. Violi. The experimental work has entailed a series of studies using different techniques to analyze gas-phase soot precursor chemistry and soot particle production in premixed and diffusion flames. Measurements have provided spatial distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other gas-phase species and size and composition of incipient soot nanoparticles for comparison with model results. The experimental team includes Dr. N. Hansen and H. Michelsen at Sandia National Labs' Combustion Research Facility, and Dr. K. Wilson as collaborator at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's Advanced Light Source. Our results show that the chemical and physical properties of nanoparticles affect the coagulation behavior in soot formation, and our results on an experimentally validated, predictive model for the chemical composition of soot nanoparticles will not only enhance our understanding of soot formation since but will also allow the prediction of particle size distributions under combustion conditions. These results provide a novel description of soot formation based on physical and chemical properties of the particles for use in the next generation of soot models and an enhanced capability for facilitating the design of alternative fuels and the engines they will power.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Resistively Graded Insulation System for Next-Generation Converter-Fed Motors

The objective of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of a new insulation material system capable of withstanding 10 kV/μs switching voltage ramp rate (dV/dt) with operating frequencies and temperatures targeted at converter-fed motors. If successful, with additional development, this insulation material can enable 5%-10% electric machine energy savings from advanced silicon carbide (SiC) drive implementation. To accomplish these goals, we propose to eliminate partial discharge as a degradation mechanism in high voltage, taped insulation. This can be accomplished through the use of a two-sided coating on a polymer film system that will envelop any residual defects on all sides, effectively creating a Faraday cage around the defect. This project focused on demonstrating the proof of concept for the coating. It was shown that concept of providing a stress grading coating around voids can prevent partial discharge. Simulation and lab scale experiments showed that the design can be implemented in a practical layered structure without causing overheating of the insulation due to conduction. Short term testing and calculations show there is a reasonable likelihood to improved insulation life. A path to full scale production was demonstrated, with gaps in process optimization identified as needing to be closed for full scale implementation. Longer term testing and integration onto a conductor is required to fully quantify life and show benefits at an application level.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Creep and creep rupture of strongly reinforced metallic composites

A creep and creep damage theory is presented for metallic composites with strong fibers. Application is to reinforced structures in which the fiber orientation may vary throughout but a distinct fiber direction can be identified locally (local transverse isotropy). The creep deformation model follows earlier work and is based on a flow potential function that depends on invariants reflecting stress and the material symmetry. As the focus is on the interaction of creep and damage, primary creep is ignored. The creep rupture model is an extension of continuum damage mechanics and includes an isochronous damage function that depends on invariants specifying the local maximum transverse tension and the maximum longitudinal shear stress. It is posited that at high temperature and low stress, appropriate to engineering practice, these stress components damage the fiber/matrix interface through diffusion controlled void growth, eventually causing creep rupture. Experiments are outlined for characterizing a composite through creep rupture tests under transverse tension and longitudinal shear. Application is made to a thin-walled pressure vessel with reinforcing fibers at an arbitrary helical angle. The results illustrate the usefulness of the model as a means of achieving optimal designs of composite structures where creep and creep rupture are life limiting.

Robinson, D. N.↗

Status of diffused junction p+n InP solar cells for space applications

Recently, we have succeeded in fabricating diffused junction p(sup +)n(Cd,S) InP solar cells with measured AMO, 25 C open circuit voltage (V(sub OC)) of 887.6 mV, which, to the best of our knowledge, is higher than previously reported V(sub OC) values for any InP homojunction solar cells. The experiment-based projected achievable efficiency of these cells using LEC grown substrates is 21.3 percent. The maximum AMO, 25 C internal losses due to date on bare cells is, however, only 13.2 percent. This is because of large external and internal losses due to non-optimized front grid design, antireflection (AR) coating and emitter thickness. This paper summarizes recent advances in the technology of fabrication of p(sup +)n InP diffused structures and solar cells, resulted from a study undertaken in an effort to increase the cell efficiency. The topics discussed in this paper include advances in: (1) the formation on thin p(sup +) InP:Cd emitter layers, (2) electroplated front contacts, (3) surface passivation and (4) the design of a new native oxide/Al2O3/MgF2 tree layer AR coating using a chemically-grown P-rich passivating oxide as a first layer. Based on the high radiation resistance and the excellent post-irradiation annealing and recovery demonstrated in the early tests done to date, as well as the projected high efficiency and low-cost high-volume fabricability, these cells show a very good potential for space photovoltaic applications.

Faur, Mircea↗

Design of Composite Structures Using Knowledge-Based and Case Based Reasoning

A method of using knowledge based and case based reasoning to assist designers during conceptual design tasks of composite structures was proposed. The cooperative use of heuristics, procedural knowledge, and previous similar design cases suggests a potential reduction in design cycle time and ultimately product lead time. The hypothesis of this work is that the design process of composite structures can be improved by using Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) and Knowledge-Based (KB) reasoning in the early design stages. The technique of using knowledge-based and case-based reasoning facilitates the gathering of disparate information into one location that is easily and readily available. The method suggests that the inclusion of downstream life-cycle issues into the conceptual design phase reduces potential of defective, and sub-optimal composite structures. Three industry experts were interviewed extensively. The experts provided design rules, previous design cases, and test problems. A Knowledge Based Reasoning system was developed using the CLIPS (C Language Interpretive Procedural System) environment and a Case Based Reasoning System was developed using the Design Memory Utility For Sharing Experiences (MUSE) xviii environment. A Design Characteristic State (DCS) was used to document the design specifications, constraints, and problem areas using attribute-value pair relationships. The DCS provided consistent design information between the knowledge base and case base. Results indicated that the use of knowledge based and case based reasoning provided a robust design environment for composite structures. The knowledge base provided design guidance from well defined rules and procedural knowledge. The case base provided suggestions on design and manufacturing techniques based on previous similar designs and warnings of potential problems and pitfalls. The case base complemented the knowledge base and extended the problem solving capability beyond the existence of limited well defined rules. The findings indicated that the technique is most effective when used as a design aid and not as a tool to totally automate the composites design process. Other areas of application and implications for future research are discussed.

Lambright, Jonathan Paul↗

Low-Speed Flight Dynamic Tests and Analysis of the Orion Crew Module Drogue Parachute System

A test of a dynamically scaled model of the NASA Orion Crew Module (CM) with drogue parachutes was conducted in the NASA-Langley 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel. The primary test objective was to assess the ability of the Orion Crew Module drogue parachute system to adequately stabilize the CM and reduce angular rates at low subsonic Mach numbers. Two attachment locations were tested: the current design nominal and an alternate. Experimental results indicated that the alternate attachment location showed a somewhat greater tendency to attenuate initial roll rate and reduce roll rate oscillations than the nominal location. Comparison of the experimental data to a Program To Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST II) simulation of the experiment yielded results for the nominal attachment point that indicate differences between the low-speed pitch and yaw damping derivatives in the aerodynamic database and the physical model. Comparisons for the alternate attachment location indicate that riser twist plays a significant role in determining roll rate attenuation characteristics. Reevaluating the impact of the alternate attachment points using a simulation modified to account for these results showed significantly reduced roll rate attenuation tendencies when compared to the original simulation. Based on this modified simulation the alternate attachment point does not appear to offer a significant increase in allowable roll rate over the nominal configuration.

Hahne, David E.↗