Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “data consistent”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 163 records · Page 9

Dataset for SIAM MPI23 Project "Model inversion for complex physical systems using low-dimensional surrogates"

Training and testing data for the SIAM MPI23 workshop "Model inversion for complex physical systems using low-dimensional surrogates". The data consists of ensembles of input and output pairs corresponding to queries of a 2D saturated groundwater flow model. The inputs consist of random vectors which map to discretized model parameter fields via a Kosambi-Karhunen-Loève expansion. Output corresponds to discretized pressure fields.

basis adaptation, conditional Karhunen-Loève expan↗

Pyrolysis_Molecular_Beam_Mass_Spectra_for_Standard_Biomass_Samples_and_Natural_Variants_of_Switchgrass_Grown_Under_Different_Conditions

This data consists of total ion chromatogram (TIC) normalized Pyrolysis-Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry (py-MBMS) spectra collected to predict lignin content and lignin monomeric ratios for “Variation in Biomass Yield and Cell Wall Composition in Switchgrass Natural Variants Under Two Nitrogen Regimes” (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-025-10838-8).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

ON PROCESS STABILITY IN WAAM-CMT OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS

Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has become a cost-efficient metal additive manufacturing process. However, depositing aluminum with WAAM is challenging due to its sensitivity to heat input (linear energy density), which can cause undesirable surface topology waviness if not controlled. Thus, a process window is needed that can produce stable geometry and deposition conditions while minimizing production times. In this study, 5183 aluminum alloy wire is used to deposit 10-layer walls with varying wire feed speeds (WFS) and traverse speeds (TS) (at a constant WFS/TS ratio) and varying interpass temperature (IPT). In-situ process data consisting of optical contact-tip-workpiece-distance (CTWD) and current/voltage measurements are collected to determine process condition stability throughout the build. Part geometry is measured using a 3D scanner and build porosity is characterized via digital X-ray. A process window is identified that produces stable surface topology and process conditions at a minimal production time.

aluminum alloy↗

Influence functions for the Delaware Oil and Gas Basin Tower Network

This data consists of influence functions created for the Delaware tower network for the purpose of calculating methane enhancements in the region. Two different footprint models were used. The Lagrangian Particle Dispersion model (LPDM, Uliasz 1993) was run from March 2020-May 2023. The model uses in-house WRF simulations for the meteorological transport as described in Barkley et al., (2023). Nine hundred (900) particles were released during each hourly period and are traced back 72 hours backwards in time. A static binning height of 110 m AGL was used to calculate surface influence. After May 2023, the LPDM simulations were phased out and replaced with influence functions created using HYSPLIT under the STILT configuration (Lin et al., 2003). The STILT influence functions use HRRR for the meteorological transport (Dowell et al., 2022). Nine hundred (900) particles were released during each hourly period and are traced back 72 hours backwards in time. A binning height of half the boundary layer height was used to calculate surface influence. Footprints are currently available from Sept 2020-December 2024 and will be updated periodically as more are generated in time. No STILT influence functions were created for tower site Maljimar, which was decommissioned in March 2022. Lat/Lon grid information for the LPDM influence functions is contained in lpdm-lat-lon-grid.nc. STILT grid information is contained within the influence functions themselves. Tower coordinates and heights can be found in tower-info.csv

Barkley, Z. R.↗

Recent streamflow trends across permafrost basins of North America

Introduction Climate change impacts, including changing temperatures, precipitation, and vegetation, are widely anticipated to cause major shifts to the permafrost with resulting impacts to hydro-ecosystems across the high latitudes of the globe. However, it is challenging to examine streamflow shifts in these regions owing to a paucity of data, discontinuity of records, and other issues related to data consistency and accuracy. Methods Recent trends for long-term periods (1990–2021, 1976–2021) in observed minimum, mean, and maximum seasonal and annual streamflow were analyzed for a range of watersheds across North America affected by varying degrees of permafrost coverage. Results Streamflow trend analysis revealed that areas affected by permafrost are changing variably over the periods in terms of maximum, mean, and minimum seasonal and annual streamflow. These changes indicate a significant shift occurring in the most recent 46 years towards increasing mean streamflow for the dominant (> 50%) permafrost systems. Meanwhile, minimum streamflow increases for all permafrost-dominant systems and many of the other permafrost-affected systems across the seasons and annual periods considered, with the greatest number of significant changes in streamflow over other metrics. Maximum streamflow is shifting variably with significant increases in the permafrost-dominant systems in winter and fall over longer time periods of analysis. Our analysis suggests that streamflow trends are driven by climate (precipitation, followed by temperature), while variables such as permafrost coverage only appear important in the most recent 32-year period. Discussion The increases in streamflow trends observed in this study are reflective of deepening active layers and thawing permafrost, indicating that the entire hydrograph is undergoing change within permafrost-dominant streamflow systems as the Arctic moves towards a warmer future under climate change. Despite the many challenges to understanding changing streamflow in cold regions, there are new products and datasets in development that are increasingly allowing researchers to better understand the patterns of change in Arctic and subarctic systems affected by permafrost, offering a range of new tools, which, along with continued observational records, may help in improved understanding of changing Arctic streamflow patterns.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Failure in Confined Brazilian Tests on Sandstone

Strength of rocks in the confined tension region, where the minimum principal stress is tensile, has only infrequently been measured and is not well understood. Quasi-static confined Brazilian tests under a range of confining stresses (2.76 to 27.58 MPa) where used to determine the strength of sandstone in the confined tension region. The test results indicate that the strength in the confined tension region was a strong function of the intermediate principal stress: increasing the intermediate principal stress significantly increased the strength of the sandstone. The strength data were well fit by the Mogi–Coulomb criterion, which accounts for the intermediate principal stress. Unconfined Brazilian strength data were not well fit to the Mogi–Coulomb criterion derived from the confined Brazilian test data, consistent with a transition from tensile to shear processes dominating failure with increasing confining pressure. Observations of post-failure fracture surfaces reveal more indication of shear processes with increasing confining pressure. Numerical simulations from combined finite-discrete element method are compared to the experimental results and reflect similar conditions for failure compared to the experimental tests in the confined tension region.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Extrapolation of Type Ia Supernova Spectra into the Near-infrared Using Principal Component Analysis

Abstract We present a method of extrapolating the spectroscopic behavior of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength regime up to 2.30 μ m using optical spectroscopy. Such a process is useful for accurately estimating K-corrections and other photometric quantities of SNe Ia in the NIR. A principal component analysis is performed on data consisting of Carnegie Supernova Project I & II optical and NIR FIRE spectra to produce models capable of making these extrapolations. This method differs from previous spectral template methods by not parameterizing models strictly by photometric light-curve properties of SNe Ia, allowing for more flexibility of the resulting extrapolated NIR flux. A difference of around −3.1% to −2.7% in the total integrated NIR flux between these extrapolations and the observations is seen here for most test cases including Branch core-normal and shallow-silicon subtypes. However, larger deviations from the observation are found for other tests, likely due to the limited high-velocity and broad-line SNe Ia in the training sample. Maximum-light principal components are shown to allow for spectroscopic predictions of the color-stretch light-curve parameter, s BV , within approximately ±0.1 units of the value measured with photometry. We also show these results compare well with NIR templates, although in most cases the templates are marginally more fitting to observations, illustrating a need for more concurrent optical+NIR spectroscopic observations to truly understand the diversity of SNe Ia in the NIR.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Enhanced Safety of Heavy-Duty Vehicles on Highways through Automatic Speed Enforcement – A Simulation Study

Highway safety remains a significant concern, especially in mixed traffic scenarios involving heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) and smaller passenger cars. The vulnerability of HDVs following closely behind smaller cars is evident in incidents involving the lead vehicle, potentially leading to catastrophic rear-end collisions. Here, this paper explores how automatic speed enforcement systems, using speed cameras, can mitigate risks for HDVs in such critical situations. While historical crash data consistently demonstrates the reduction of accidents near speed cameras, this paper goes beyond the conventional notion of crash occurrence reduction. Instead, it investigates the profound impact of driver behavior changes within desired travel speed distribution, especially around speed cameras, and their contribution to the safety of trailing vehicles, with a specific focus on heavy-duty trucks in accident-prone scenarios. To conduct this analysis, we utilize SUMO, an open-source microscopic traffic simulator, enabling realistic simulations of real-world driving behaviors with and without speed cameras. The simulations also consider empirical distributions of desired headway gaps and reaction times exhibited by human drivers. This study offers a fresh perspective on highway safety by examining how the influence of automatic speed enforcement systems on driver behavior enhances the safety of HDV when faced with challenging situations. By shedding light on these dynamics, we contribute valuable insights to the ongoing research efforts on using technology to create safer roadways, ultimately promoting safer coexistence between heavy-duty and passenger vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Implementation of an Experimental Setup Based on the Three-Omega Method for Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Molten Salts

Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are one of the most promising next-generation nuclear reactor designs which use molten salts as the fuel and coolant. To design, model, predict, license, and operate MSRs, the behavior of the fuel and coolant must be understood as a function of temperature and irradiation, i.e., burnup. Of particular importance and complexity is the reliable and reproducible measurement of thermal conductivity of molten salts at high temperatures (> 500 °C). Thermal conductivity provides information on the rate at which heat passes through a specified material and is dependent on chemical composition. Currently, in the national laboratory complex, several methods for measuring thermal conductivity on molten salt systems are under development, however, to date, consistent data have not been produced. Typically, thermal conductivity measurements of high-temperature melts have been conducted by using the Transient Hot Wire (THW) method where thermal conductivity is determined by the change in temperature over time at a certain distance from a heating wire. Another time-dependent technique is the laser flash method, commonly used for solid samples. Laser flash requires prior measurements of density and heat capacity to calculate the thermal conductivity of the sample, introducing additional measurement errors. Steady state and time-dependent measurements such as THW and laser flash have errors from convection and ambient temperature fluctuations (heat radiation). In order to produce high fidelity thermal conductivity data, a measurement technique needs to be developed that will reduce the effect of convection at high temperatures by measuring in a very fast time window. In addition, to measure on actinide and irradiated salts the sample size should be small. Therefore, this project aims to develop a frequency-domain technique based on the three-omega (3?) method, previously proven to work on solids, nanofluids and low temperature solar salts (25 to 250 °C). If the 3?-device can be designed with materials that can withstand high temperatures (>500 °C) and can be configured to reduce errors due to convection, then it would prove to be a valuable technique for ensuring thermal conductivity on molten salt systems needed for MSR development. For this proposal, the 3? instrument will be designed, assembled, and tested on non-radioactive salts before being used on actinide bearing salts. In addition, a thermal model will be developed to determine the thermal conductivity of the sample from the measured thermal oscillation of the sensor. Because 3? is a direct method that requires a small volume of sample and works in a very fast time window, it will aid in suppressing the interference due to convection which is ideal when working with high temperature liquid samples.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Methods and systems for detection of man-in-the-middle attacks for SCADA communication networks and applications of same

A system for detecting MITM for SCADA communication networks includes secure substation-substation communication links for providing secure and reliable paths to exchange OT data between substations for OT data consistency check; a SIB in each substation for sampling CT and PT measurements to calculate voltage magnitude and phase angle thereof; a S&C server in each substation coupled to the SIB for receiving the voltage magnitude and phase angle from the SIB and obtaining a packet carrying active power flow in transmission lines between two substations and a time stamp; an IDS server placed in a SCADA center for collecting the packet of each substation sent by the S&C server; analyzing the received packet from every adjacent substation; inspecting the payload of the received packet; and triggering an intrusion alarm to a SCADA operator when the power flow is not the same as the payload of the packets.

McCann, Roy A.↗

Λ Baryon Production in ν¯µ Interactions in the MicroBooNE Detector

The Cabibbo suppressed production of $\Lambda$ baryons in anti-neutrino interactions with nuclei is a rare process that is yet to be measured with a modern neutrino detector with automated reconstruction. The cross section for this process is sensitive to a number of unique nuclear effects, most notably the secondary interactions of the produced hyperon while attempting to escape from the nucleus. Other interactions within the nuclear remnant can impact the estimation of neutrino energy in oscillation measurements, and thus an accurate description of the nuclear environment is required. The strangeness violating hyperon production process is only available to anti-neutrinos. The model of this interaction is implemented into the NuWro neutrino interaction Monte Carlo simulation, and some predictions are presented, focusing on the role of nuclear effects. This model introduces a hyperon-nucleus potential, which calculations from hypernuclear theory permit to be strongly repulsive in th e case of $\Sigma$ baryons. The presence of this potential is found to sculpt the shape of the differential cross section in some variables. The MicroBooNE detector will be described, followed by a description of a measurement of the flux averaged, restricted phase space cross section of Cabibbo suppressed $\Lambda$ baryon production. A sophisticated event selection is employed, as a very large quantity of background neutrino interactions must be removed to perform the measurement with any sensitivity. This selection introduces some novel techniques such as the island finding method, and achieves a background reduction of $\sim 10^6$, with an efficiency of around 7\%. The calculation of the systematic uncertainties will be explained, including two procedures explored to handle sources of background with extremely poor simulation statistics: an in-situ constraint using data from sidebands, and a visual inspection of the data and simulation to remove the troublesome background events. The sensitivity to the $\Lambda$ baryon production cross section is calculated in the form of Bayesian posterior probability distributions, combining the systematic uncertainties with data and simulation statistical uncertainties. As a rare process, the statistical uncertainties are highly non-Gaussian, and the Bayesian approach is applied to include the full shapes of these uncertainties. Data corresponding to $2.2 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target of neutrino mode running and $4.9 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target of anti-neutrino running is analysed. When the data was unblinded, five $\Lambda$ production candidates were selected from the data, consistent with the MC simulation prediction of $5.3 \pm 1.1$ events. The final estimated cross section is $1.8^{+2.0}_{-1.6} \times 10^{-40}$cm$^2/$Ar when employing the sideband constraint procedure. A similar result of $2.0^{+2.2}_{-1.8} \times 10^{-40}$cm$^2/$Ar is obtained when performing the visual scan instead. The methods used in t his analysis are intended to be easily exported to other LArTPC detectors such as the Short Baseline Near Detector.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Learning to Branch with Interpretable Machine Learning Models

The data consists of a slide deck that was presented at the INFORMS 2023 conference. The presentation summarizes our approach to learning how to branch and compares our approach to the popular solver SCIP and a state-of-the-art ML-based branching rule.

Bayramoglu, Selin↗

Evaluation of the Sum-of-Fractions Methodology for Water and Polyethylene Moderated Systems

Sum-of-Fractions is a method intended to assure a subcritical margin for aqueous solutions and slurries of fissionable isotopes. The method indicates that a system is subcritical if the sum of the ratios of the mass of each isotope in a mixture to its individual minimum subcritical mass limit is less than or equal to one. The basis of the Sum-of Fractions has historically been derived from allowances given in ANSI/ANS-8.15-1981. However, the allowance was removed in ANSI/ANS-8.15-2014 due to a lack of technical basis. A methodology was developed to assess the validity of using the Sum-of-Fractions for water or polyethylene moderated systems for the following nuclides: 232 U, 233 U, 234 U, 235 U, 237 Np, 236 Pu, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 240 Pu, 241 Pu, 242 Pu, 241 Am, 242 mAm, 243 Am, 242 Cm, 243 Cm, 244 Cm, 245 Cm, 246 Cm, 247 Cm, 249 Cf, and 251 Cf. The methodology uses available benchmark data for mixtures of 233 U, 235 U, and 239 Pu to establish the calculational margin, and a mass limit reduction to establish the margin of subcriticality. Water or polyethylene moderated and reflected mixtures containing the nuclides are evaluated with SCALE 6.2.4. Including the calculational margin, subcritical mass limits for each nuclide were computed for optimally water or polyethylene moderated and fully reflected systems. These masses were used to create nuclide mixtures in which the sum of the mass to subcritical mass limit ratios is one. The various nuclide mixtures were modeled over a range of moderation and demonstrate the k eff does not exceed the calculational margin. For additional assurance of subcriticality, a significant mass reduction is applied to each computed minimum critical mass of the nuclides without adequate benchmark data consistent with the method in ANSI/ANS-8.15-2014.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Sum-of-Fractions Method

Sum-of-fractions is a method intended to make sure a subcritical margin for aqueous solutions and slurries of fissionable isotopes exists. The method indicates that a system is subcritical if the sum of the ratios of the mass of each isotope (in a mixture) to its individual minimum subcritical mass limit is less than or equal to one. Historically, the basis of the sum-of-fractions has been derived from allowances given in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ American Nuclear Society (ANS)-8.15-1981. However, the allowance was removed in ANSI/ANS-8.15-2014 due to a lack of technical basis. A methodology was developed to assess the validity of using the sum-of-fractions for water- or polyethylene-moderated systems for the following nuclides: 232U, 233U, 234U, 235U, 237Np, 236Pu, 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Pu, 242Pu, 241Am, 242mAm, 243Am, 242Cm, 243Cm, 244Cm, 245Cm, 246Cm, 247Cm, 249Cf, and 251Cf. The methodology uses available benchmark data for mixtures of 233U, 235U, and 239Pu to establish the calculational margin, and a mass limit reduction to establish the margin of subcriticality. Water- or polyethylene-moderated and -reflected mixtures containing the nuclides are evaluated with the code system, SCALE 6.2.4. Including the calculational margin, subcritical mass limits for each nuclide were computed for optimally water- or polyethylene-moderated and fully reflected systems. These masses were used to create nuclide mixtures in which the sum of the mass to subcritical mass limit ratios is one. The various nuclide mixtures were modeled over a range of moderation and demonstrate the keff does not exceed the calculational margin. For additional assurance of subcriticality, a significant mass reduction is applied to each computed minimum critical mass of the nuclides without adequate benchmark data consistent with the method in ANSI/ANS-8.15-2014.

criticality safety, Actinide↗

Scripts and raw/processed precipitation NRCS network data, Upper Colorado, 2008-2017

This data package consists of scripts and data that were used to generate all the results and figures for Mital et al., 2020 (https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2020.00020). The purpose of the study was to develop a new algorithm to impute (or gap-fill) missing daily precipitation data. Study area was the Upper Colorado Water Resources Region (UCWRR), over a time period of 2008-2017. In terms of data, the package consists of raw precipitation measurements from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) network. These raw measurements are compiled into a single csv file (NRCS_dates_2008_2017.csv). The corresponding metadata are compiled in Metadata_processed.csv. The package also consists of outputs generated during Baseline and Sequential imputation runs as documented in Mital et al., 2020. Scripts used to generate all the results and figures for Mital et al., 2020 are also uploaded. A readme file documenting the layout of the data archive is also uploaded, and a KML file shows the geographic range for the data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Using Large Language Models to help customers monitor global threat data

Large Language Models have proven adept at answering general knowledge questions. To make these generative AI tools useful to our mission customers for monitoring global threats, the data sciences team at Sandia is utilizing retrieval augmented generation (RAG) techniques to customize these models with local data. The local data we use consists of data such as research articles and patent abstracts that we've collected over the last several years using automated pipelines.

Herzer, John Andrew [Sandia National Laboratories ↗

SPRUCE Vegetation Phenology in Experimental Plots from Phenocam Imagery, 2015-2020

The most recent version of these data are available https://doi.org/10.25581/spruce.100/1874948 and supersedes all previous versions. This data set consists of PhenoCam data from the SPRUCE experiment from the beginning of whole ecosystem warming (Hanson et al. 2017) in August 2015 through March 31 of 2021, with start- and end-of-season phenological transition dates derived through the end of autumn 2020. Digital cameras, or phenocams, installed in each SPRUCE enclosure track seasonal variation in vegetation “greenness”, a proxy for vegetation phenology and associated physiological activity. Three separate regions of interest (ROIs) were defined for each camera field of view, corresponding to different vegetation types and demarcating (1) Picea trees (vegetation type EN, for evergreen needleleaf); (2) Larix trees (vegetation type DN, for deciduous needleleaf); and (3) the mixed shrub layer (vegetation type SH). User note: A list of previous versions can be found in the Related Datasets section of the user guide.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗