Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “weight loss”

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

A Modified Network Alteration Model to Predict Quasi-Static Behavior of the Cross-Linked Polymers During Hydrolytic Aging

Abstract The network alteration theory is utilized to capture the effects of hydrolytic aging on the mechanical integrity of the polymer matrix. Hydrolytic degradation generally considered as a result of two simultaneous chemical phenomena; (i) reduction of the cross-links, and (ii) active chain loss. Assuming the alteration of the chain density is identical to the change of the number average molecular weight along the aging trajectory, the strain energy of polymer matrix can be rewritten as a function of deformation, deformation history, storage time, and aging temperature. The proposed model includes only five physically inspired material parameters. Thus, while it is computationally efficient, it shows good agreement with own experimental data, which performed on various range of accelerated aging temperatures and times. With respect to its computational efficiency, simplicity, accuracy, and interpret-ability, the model is a good choice for advanced implementations in FE programs.

Bahrololoumi, Amir↗

PV Generation and Load Forecasting for Adjuntas PR Community Microgrids

Existing frameworks to forecast time-series photovoltaic (PV) output power and consumer load for microgrid operations and controls assume a near-continuous availability of real-time input features from the field assets such as PV inverters, energy meters, and weather station. These incoming data points are used to periodically retrain models and update forecast snapshots over a moving horizon window, be it one hour-ahead, one-day ahead, or one-week ahead. However, such frameworks are not resilient to disruptions in data availability caused by losses in communications between the field sensors and data loggers. Hence, there is a need for programs that assume no availability of real-time microgrid asset data and still make reliable forecasts that can be used for decision-making. Such programs would be apt to function in extreme weather events such as hurricanes and would use lightweight recursive time-series models to independently forecast solar irradiance and ambient temperature, then compute PV power from those forecasts, as well as independently forecast consumer load. The codebase performs forecasting for the scenario of when the microgrid does not have a reliable access to forecasts or real-time observations of solar irradiance (I) and ambient temperature (AT) and load (Load) to be able to adequately forecast, in real-time, the PV power production or a business' load. In this case, using historical values of PV power and load, a univariate forecasting of generation and consumption are respectively made. The use-case in particular has two sub-scenarios: one, a normal 7-day ahead forecast where the unavailability of real-time data is assumed due to infrastructure issues such as loss of communication or sensor maintenance or service downtimes. Whereas a hurricane-caused unavailability of real-time data requires a second model trained specifically on historical hurricane days to be able to capture the extreme day behavior of generation in particular, and load if applicable. A gradient boosted regression tree comprises an ensemble of additive models that map between the input of historical values (be it irradiance, temperature, or load) and their corresponding output forecasts of a given horizon such that the individual learner predictions are summed up over the total number of such learners in the ensemble to produce an aggregate forecast. A weighting mechanism is applied to the training data in each iteration, where actual and forecast values are compared to penalize incorrect forecasts by increasing the weight and reducing it to reward correct forecasts. The code's benefits are that it: (a) accounts for a contingency where communication loss renders newly measured real-time data unavailable for model tuning and snapshot updates; (b) presents blind forecasting that recursively determines the next time-step value in a horizon using the forecast of the same attribute from a prior step; and (c) employs lightweight models that, once trained, can reliably generalize for different horizons, which make them suitable for enhancing the resilience of field microgrids prone to extreme events that encounter disruptions to data availability.

Sundararajan, Aditya [Oak Ridge National Laborator↗

Evaluating sealability of blended smart polymer and fiber additive for geothermal drilling with the effect of fracture opening size

Geothermal formations often contain extensive fracture networks. These fracture networks contribute to the significant loss of drilling fluids during geothermal drilling. Multiple loss circulation materials (LCM) such as fiber, granules, and pills have been proposed to tackle this problem but with only limited success. Recent advances in materials science have led to the development of thermoset shape memory polymers (SMP) to address the lost circulation problem. In this paper, we evaluate a thermoset SMP performance in sealing near wellbore fractures of different sizes in geothermal wells. The SMP performance was assessed using granite disks and cylindrical granite cores having fracture sizes of 1000 μm and 3000 μm. A static filtration test was performed using cedar fiber, CaCO 3 , and SMP. Results showed cedar fiber performed better than the CaCO 3 ., reducing fluid loss by 89% and improving sealing pressure by 200 psi. A novel dynamic testing unit that allows for high-temperature testing under flowing conditions was used in this study. The analysis showed that 3% by weight SMP and fiber blends could bridge and plug the 1000 μm fracture. For a larger fracture of 3000 μm width, there was a need to increase the weight concentration of the SMP to 6% to plug the fracture opening effectively. We showed the influence of key parameters such as the type of LCM, concentration, and particle size distribution in optimizing the performance of drilling fluid loss treatment.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Gut microbiome associations with outcome following co-infection with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) in pigs immunized with a PRRS modified live virus vaccine

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) are two of the most significant pathogens affecting swine. Co-infections are common and result in respiratory disease and reduced weight gain in growing pigs. Although PRRS modified live virus (MLV) vaccines are widely used to decrease PRRS-associated losses, they are generally considered inadequate for disease control. The gut microbiome provides an alternative strategy to enhance vaccine efficacy and improve PRRS control. The objective of this work was to identify gut microbiome characteristics associated with improved outcome in pigs immunized with a PRRS MLV and co-challenged with PRRSV and PCV2b. Twenty-eight days after vaccination and prior to co-challenge, fecal samples were collected from an experimental population of 50 nursery pigs. At 42 days post-challenge, 20 pigs were retrospectively identified as having high or low growth outcomes during the post-challenge period. Gut microbiomes of the two outcome groups were compared using the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA) and 16S rDNA sequencing. High growth outcomes were associated with several gut microbiome characteristics, such as increased bacterial diversity, increased Bacteroides pectinophilus, decreased Mycoplasmataceae species diversity, higher Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratios, increased relative abundance of the phylum Spirochaetes, reduced relative abundance of the family Lachnospiraceae, and increased Lachnospiraceae species C6A11 and P6B14. Overall, this study identifies gut microbiomes associated with improved outcomes in PRRS vaccinated pigs following a polymicrobial respiratory challenge and provides evidence towards the gut microbiome playing a role in PRRS vaccine efficacy.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NeRVI: Compressive neural representation of visualization images for communicating volume visualization results

We present NeRVI, a new deep-learning approach that compresses a large collection of visualization images generated from time-varying data for communicating volume visualization results. Based on an image-based implicit neural representation, our approach represents tens of thousands of high-resolution rendering images parametrized by different parameters via a hybrid model of multilayer perceptrons and convolutional neural networks. Here, our model predicts images and corresponding masks, and the masks are utilized for loss computation and network training to capture fine structural details and small components. In conjunction with model quantization and weight encoding, NeRVI yields highly compact compressive neural representations while preserving the image fidelity well. We demonstrate the effectiveness of NeRVI with isosurface rendering and direct volume rendering images generated from multiple data sets and compare NeRVI with other state-of-the-art deep learning-based (InSituNet, SIREN, NeRF, and NeRV) methods. Quantitative and qualitative results show that NeRVI provides an alternative solution that augments domain scientists' ability to manage, represent, and communicate scientific visualization output.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Amorphous Metal Ribbon (AMR) and Metal Amorphous Nanocomposite (MANC) Materials Enabled High Power Density Vehicle Motor Applications (Final Technical Report)

A collaborative team from Carnegie Mellon Univ. (CMU), North Carolina State Univ. (NCSU) and Metglas, South Carolina have studied new high speed motors (HSMs) with high-power density for traction motor applications. These are enabled by hybrid designs, including Flux Switching with Permanent Magnets (FSWPM) motors, exploiting permanent magnets without heavy rare earths (RE-lean) and high induction/high resistivity soft magnetic materials that allow for high switching frequencies needed to increase power densities. Team members include Michael E. McHenry, Prof. Materials Science & Eng., CMU, with > 30 years experience in magnetic materials development; Subashish Bhattacharya, Prof. Electrical Eng. and Freedom Center Director at NCSU with > 30 years experience in development of power electronic components and systems and Eric Theisen, Director of Research at Metglas, the only US located supplier of AMR and MANC materials. The team offers novel axial motor architectures exploiting soft magnetic materials (SMMs) that switch with low loss at high frequencies and heavy rare earth free permanent magnets that address materials criticality issues, supply chain risks, and high costs for traction motors. Axial-flux permanent magnet motors (APFM), offer efficiency improvements reducing rotor losses and also significantly higher power density. Axial-flux construction requires less core material, high torque-to-weight ratio. Since AFPM machines have thin magnets, they are smaller than radial flux motors making them attractive in space-limited applications. Noise and vibration are less and planar air gaps are easily adjusted. Flexibility in air-gap direction allows many topologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Loss Landscape Analysis for Reliable Quantized ML Models for Scientific Sensing

In this paper, we propose a method to perform empirical analysis of the loss landscape of machine learning (ML) models. The method is applied to two ML models for scientific sensing, which necessitates quantization to be deployed and are subject to noise and perturbations due to experimental conditions. Our method allows assessing the robustness of ML models to such effects as a function of quantization precision and under different regularization techniques -- two crucial concerns that remained underexplored so far. By investigating the interplay between performance, efficiency, and robustness by means of loss landscape analysis, we both established a strong correlation between gently-shaped landscapes and robustness to input and weight perturbations and observed other intriguing and non-obvious phenomena. Our method allows a systematic exploration of such trade-offs a priori, i.e., without training and testing multiple models, leading to more efficient development workflows. This work also highlights the importance of incorporating robustness into the Pareto optimization of ML models, enabling more reliable and adaptive scientific sensing systems.

Baldi, Tommaso [Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore]↗

Towards Low-Overhead Resilience for Data Parallel Deep Learning

Data parallel techniques have been widely adopted both in academia and industry as a tool to enable scalable training of deep learning models. At scale, DL training jobs can fail due to software or hardware bugs, may need to be preempted or terminated due to unexpected events, or may perform suboptimally because they were misconfigured. Under such circumstances, there is a need to recover and/or reconfigure data-parallel DL training jobs on-the-fly, while minimizing the impact on the accuracy of the DNN model and the runtime overhead. In this regard, state-of-art techniques adopted by the HPC community mostly rely on checkpoint-restart, which inevitably leads to loss of progress, thus increasing the runtime overhead. In this paper we explore alternative techniques that exploit the properties of modern deep learning frameworks (overlapping of gradient averaging and weight updates with local gradient computations through pipeline parallelism) to reduce the overhead of resilience/elasticity. To this end we introduce a failure simulation framework and two resilience strategies (immediate mini-batch rollback and lossy forward recovery), which we study compared with checkpoint-restart approaches in a variety of settings in order to understand the trade-offs between the accuracy loss of the DNN model and the runtime overhead.

data-parallel training↗

Enhancing high-fidelity neural network potentials through low-fidelity sampling

The efficacy of neural network potentials (NNPs) critically depends on the quality of the configurational datasets used for training. Prior research using empirical potentials has shown that well-selected liquid–solid transitional configurations of a metallic system can be translated to other metallic systems. This study demonstrates that such validated configurations can be relabeled using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, thereby enhancing the development of high-fidelity NNPs. Training strategies and sampling approaches are efficiently assessed using empirical potentials and subsequently relabeled via DFT in a highly parallelized fashion for high-fidelity NNP training. Our results reveal that relying solely on energy and force for NNP training is inadequate to prevent overfitting, highlighting the necessity of incorporating stress terms into the loss functions. To optimize training involving force and stress terms, we propose employing transfer learning to fine-tune the weights, ensuring that the potential surface is smooth for these quantities composed of energy derivatives. This approach markedly improves the accuracy of elastic constants derived from simulations in both empirical potential-based NNPs and relabeled DFT-based NNPs. Overall, this study offers significant insights into leveraging empirical potentials to expedite the development of reliable and robust NNPs at the DFT level.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NREL Price Series Developed for the ARPA-E FLECCS Program

The price data for four regions (CAISO, ERCOT, MISO-W, and PJM-W) are developed using the ReEDS to PLEXOS conversion as described in (Gagnon et al. 2020). The reference ReEDS case chosen is based on the 2020 Standard Scenario Mid-case, which uses the 2020 ReEDS model version (Cole et al. 2020; Ho et al. 2021). All ReEDS model inputs use 2020 Standard Scenarios Mid-case assumptions except for CO2 prices, which are implemented as linearly increasing CO2 price trajectories beginning at $0/tCO2 in 2020 and ending at either $100/tCO2 or $150/tCO2 in 2035 to dive capacity expansion towards a low-carbon system that could support CCS deployment. However, these scenarios also prohibit CCS deployment in this time frame so that resulting price data are not influenced by the deployment and operation of CCS itself. Implementing the ReEDS to PLEXOS conversion tool, PLEXOS is then simulated using the 2035 ReEDS infrastructure for both CO2 price scenarios, with the following model version and setup: PLEXOS Version: 8.2 Solver: Xpress-MP 35.01.01 Mixed integer optimization relative gap 1% System configuration: • Total number of nodes: 134 (consistent with ReEDS balancing areas) • Line losses enforced using piecewise linear approximation • Energy dump was enabled Price data is aggregated to the ISO/RTO level using load-weighted averages. References: Cole, Wesley, Sean Corcoran, Nathaniel Gates, Daniel Mai, Trieu, and Paritosh Das. 2020. “2020 Standard Scenarios Report: A U.S. Electricity Sector Outlook.” NREL/TP-6A20-77442. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77442.pdf. Gagnon, Pieter, Will Frazier, Elaine Hale, and Wesley Cole. 2020. “Cambium Documentation: Version 2020.” NREL/TP-6A20-78239. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). https://doi.org/10.2172/1734551. Ho, Jonathan, Jonathon Becker, Maxwell Brown, Patrick Brown, Ilya (ORCID:0000000284917814) Chernyakhovskiy, Stuart Cohen, Wesley (ORCID:000000029194065X) Cole, et al. 2021. “Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) Model Documentation: Version 2020.” NREL/TP-6A20-78195. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.2172/1788425.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Bayesian Framework for Multi-Timescale State Estimation in Low-Observable Distribution Systems

To support the smart grid paradigm, there has been a significant increase in sensor deployments and metering infrastructure in distribution systems. However, the measurements provided by these sensors and metering devices are typically sampled at different rates and could suffer from losses during the aggregation process. It is crucial to effectively reconcile the time-series measurements for a reliable state estimation. While weighted least squares has been the traditional approach for state estimation, sparsity-based approaches like matrix completion have become popular due to their superior performance in low-observability conditions. This paper proposes a Bayesian framework for both multi-timescale data aggregation and matrix completion based state estimation. Specifically, the multiscale time-series data aggregated from heterogenous sources are reconciled using a multitask Gaussian process that exploits the spatio-temporal correlations. Here, the resulting consistent timeseries alongwith the confidence bound on the imputations are fed into a Bayesian matrix completion method augmented with linearized power-flow constraints to accurately estimate the states in low-observability conditions. Results on three phase unbalanced IEEE 37 and IEEE 123 bus test systems reveal the superior performance of the proposed Bayesian framework. The computational complexity for the proposed Bayesian framework is also quantified.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Enhancing functionalities in carbon fiber composites by titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Carbon fiber composite's high specific strength makes it incredibly useful for structural applications. However, their low strain-to-failure can be problematic in structural applications that can potentially see high strain conditions or high fatigue cycles resulting in sudden, catastrophic failure. This is further complicated by damage manifesting within the composite thus not showing damage indicators on the surface. Therefore, monitoring the structural integrity and strain history of the composite in application by itself—while maintaining positive composite performance—is vital to ensure safe operation. In this study, a homogeneous dispersion of TiO 2 nanoparticles on carbon fiber is demonstrated to generate a piezoresistive carbon fiber polymer matrix composite with enhanced self-sensing capabilities. The nanoparticle-embedded composites also exhibited superior strength and damping potential compared to the nanoparticle-free composites. The apparent interlaminar shear strength increased by up to 15% and the damping loss factor increased by an average of 150% while the piezoresistive sensitivity increased by up to 180% with the addition of a small weight fraction of nanoparticles to the fiber surface. These results demonstrate an approach to simultaneously improve the sensing capabilities, damping behavior and mechanical strength of carbon fiber composites by simply adding nanoparticles in the fiber sizing using a commercially scalable deposition method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optimal Control Strategy With Efficiency and Reliability Improvement for Offshore DC Microgrids

Offshore microgrids, due to their remote location and lack of external energy support, face significant challenges in wide-range load operation and maintenance. Consequently, efficiency and reliability are critical concerns for converters in offshore dc microgrids. This article presents an optimal control strategy aimed at enhancing both efficiency and reliability. A normalized nonlinear relationship between power loss and thermal stress of a paralleled converter is first established. Based on this, a dual-objective optimization function with an active weight function as well as a system overall performance index is established. The active weight function dynamically adjusts the control priority based on converter efficiency and switching device thermal stress. Then, the optimal power-sharing strategy is derived by the Lagrange multiplier method with the proposed optimal function. Additionally, to accommodate a wide load range, an optimal selection strategy for operating converter combinations is proposed, requiring only low-bandwidth communication. Experiment verification is given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed control strategy can improve the overall performance of offshore microgrids by optimizing efficiency and reliability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Embedded Error Bayesian Calibration of Thermal Decomposition of Organic Materials

Organic materials are an attractive choice for structural components due to their light weight and versatility. However, because they decompose at low temperatures relative to tradiational materials they pose a safety risk due to fire and loss of structural integrity. To quantify this risk, analysts use chemical kinetics models to describe the material pyrolysis and oxidation using thermogravimetric analysis. This process requires the calibration of many model parameters to closely match experimental data. Previous efforts in this field have largely been limited to finding a single best-fit set of parameters even though the experimental data may be very noisy. Furthermore the chemical kinetics models are often simplified representations of the true de- composition process. The simplification induces model-form errors that the fitting process cannot capture. In this work we propose a methodology for calibrating decomposition models to thermogravimetric analysis data that accounts for uncertainty in the model-form and experimental data simultaneously. The methodology is applied to the decomposition of a carbon fiber epoxy composite with a three-stage reaction network and Arrhenius kinetics. The results show a good overlap between the model predictions and thermogravimetric analysis data. Uncertainty bounds capture devia- tions of the model from the data. The calibrated parameter distributions are also presented. In conclusion, the distributions may be used in forward propagation of uncertainty in models that leverage this material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Estimation Matrix Calibration of PMU Data-driven State Estimation Using Neural Network

Linear state estimation (LSE) is a phasor measurement unit (PMU) data-based power system state estimation that incorporates a linear measurement model in rectangular coordinates. Due to the high computational efficiency and high observational time-resolution, LSE can act as a supplementary state estimation in a wide-area monitoring system (WAMS). The performance of LSE is relatively sensitive to noises in measurements. Therefore, the estimation accuracy relies heavily on the accuracy of the estimation matrix, which is directly influenced by the measurement weight matrix. This paper proposes two novel calibration method of the estimation matrix using neural networks. One is based on the minimum absolute network loss (ANL), and the other is based on the minimum average squared network loss (ASNL). Both methods are tested and compared with LSE algorithms on the IEEE 14-bus system

neural network↗

HAWC+ Far-infrared Observations of the Magnetic Field Geometry in M51 and NGC 891

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera Plus polarimetry at 154 μm is reported for the face-on galaxy M51 and the edge-on galaxy NGC 891. For M51, the polarization vectors generally follow the spiral pattern defined by the molecular gas distribution, the far-infrared (FIR) intensity contours, and other tracers of star formation. The fractional polarization is much lower in the FIR-bright central regions than in the outer regions, and we rule out loss of grain alignment and variations in magnetic field strength as causes. When compared with existing synchrotron observations, which sample different regions with different weighting, we find the net position angles are strongly correlated, the fractional polarizations are moderately correlated, but the polarized intensities are uncorrelated. We argue that the low fractional polarization in the central regions must be due to significant numbers of highly turbulent segments across the beam and along lines of sight in the beam in the central 3 kpc of M51. For NGC 891, the FIR polarization vectors within an intensity contour of 1500 MJy sr{sup −1} are oriented very close to the plane of the galaxy. The FIR polarimetry is probably sampling the magnetic field geometry in NGC 891 much deeper into the disk than is possible with NIR polarimetry and radio synchrotron measurements. In some locations in NGC 891, the FIR polarization is very low, suggesting we are preferentially viewing the magnetic field mostly along the line of sight, down the length of embedded spiral arms. There is tentative evidence for a vertical field in the polarized emission off the plane of the disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Isotope-Resolved Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy in a Monochromated Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

The development and implementation of high-stability monochromators in state-of-the-art aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopes has enabled materials characterization with an energy resolution as good as 3 meV. This allows the vibrational modes, which would otherwise be obscured by the energy spread of the electron beam, to be probed with very high precision in molecular materials. Since the vibrational energies depend on the weight of the atomic nuclei, vibrational spectroscopy can distinguish isotopes whose only difference lies in their neutron content. This opens up isotopic analysis and mapping in transmission electron microscopy as two important new research areas. In this paper, we review the monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) instrumentation, discuss optimal methods for probing beam-sensitive materials without destroying them, and review key nanoscale isotope-resolved results.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Transcriptomic and metabolomic changes in postharvest sugarbeet roots reveal widespread metabolic changes in storage and identify genes potentially responsible for respiratory sucrose loss

Endogenous metabolism is primarily responsible for losses in sucrose content and processing quality in postharvest sugarbeet roots. The genes responsible for this metabolism and the transcriptional changes that regulate it, however, are largely unknown. To identify genes and metabolic pathways that participate in postharvest sugarbeet root metabolism and the transcriptional changes that contribute to their regulation, transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles were generated for sugarbeet roots at harvest and after 12, 40 and 120 d storage at 5 and 12°C and gene expression and metabolite concentration changes related to storage duration or temperature were identified. During storage, 8656 genes, or 34% of all expressed genes, and 225 metabolites, equivalent to 59% of detected metabolites, were altered in expression or concentration, indicating extensive transcriptional and metabolic changes in stored roots. These genes and metabolites contributed to a wide range of cellular and molecular functions, with carbohydrate metabolism being the function to which the greatest number of genes and metabolites classified. Because respiration has a central role in postharvest metabolism and is largely responsible for sucrose loss in sugarbeet roots, genes and metabolites involved in and correlated to respiration were identified. Seventy-five genes participating in respiration were differentially expressed during storage, including two bidirectional sugar transporter SWEET17 genes that highly correlated with respiration rate. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified 1896 additional genes that positively correlated with respiration rate and predicted a pyruvate kinase gene to be a central regulator or biomarker for respiration rate. Overall, these results reveal the extensive and diverse physiological and metabolic changes that occur in stored sugarbeet roots and identify genes with potential roles as regulators or biomarkers for respiratory sucrose loss.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗