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At least 181 records · Page 10

Numerical Modeling of Propellant Boiloff in Cryogenic Storage Tank

This Technical Memorandum (TM) describes the thermal modeling effort undertaken at Marshall Space Flight Center to support the Cryogenic Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for a study of insulation materials for cryogenic tanks in order to reduce propellant boiloff during long-term storage. The Generalized Fluid System Simulation program has been used to model boiloff in 1,000-L demonstration tanks built for testing the thermal performance of glass bubbles and perlite insulation. Numerical predictions of boiloff rate and ullage temperature have been compared with the measured data from the testing of demonstration tanks. A satisfactory comparison between measured and predicted data has been observed for both liquid nitrogen and hydrogen tests. Based on the experience gained with the modeling of the demonstration tanks, a numerical model of the liquid hydrogen storage tank at launch complex 39 at KSC was built. The predicted boiloff rate of hydrogen has been found to be in good agreement with observed field data. This TM describes three different models that have been developed during this period of study (March 2005 to June 2006), comparisons with test data, and results of parametric studies.

Majumdar, A. K.

Current status of one- and two-dimensional numerical models: Successes and limitations

The capabilities of one and two-dimensional numerical solar cell modeling programs (SCAP1D and SCAP2D) are described. The occasions when a two-dimensional model is required are discussed. The application of the models to design, analysis, and prediction are presented along with a discussion of problem areas for solar cell modeling.

Schwartz, R. J.

Analytic and numerical models of wave-CISK with conditional heating

Wave-CISK with conditional heating is investigated in the equatorial zonal-height plane by analytic and numerical techniques. For two- and three-level models, previous results are extended to give additional evidence that the most unstable mode has a single wet region of infinitesimal width. A three-level model has qualitatively similar behavior as the two-level model except that propagating solutions are possible due to coalescence of internal vertical modes. Phase speeds with conditional heating are found to be slightly greater than those for unconditional heating. The structure has one circulation cell in the vertical and is asymmetric in longitude with stronger motion on the leading edge. Growth rate is inversely proportional to the width of the single wet region. That width can be limited by second-order diffusion. A general integral relationship between growth rate, viscosity, phase speed, and heating is derived. The main conclusion is that the linear wave-CISK catastrophe is modified by conditional heating but not eliminated. The preferred mode of instability has one wet region, but it occurs on the smallest possible scale. It is likely that numerical models that use conditional heating are sensitive to resolution, especially for the commonly used spectral truncations, unless there is sufficiently strong damping at the smallest scales.

Crum, Francis X.

Numerical modeling of a vortex stabilized arcjet thruster

A numerical method to solve the equations governing a vortex stabilized arcjet thruster is being developed. The model will allow the effects of swirling flow and geometry on arcjet thruster performance to be determined. The propellant flow equations, i.e., the axisymmetric, thin layer, Navier-Stokes equations, are solved using a Gauss-Siedel line-relaxation procedure. An implicit FTCS method is used to solve the electromagnetic field equations. A grid generation scheme was developed for an arbitrary arcjet geometry. The model will allow the radial and axial components of velocity and current distributions to be determined from a region upstream of the cathode, through the constrictor, to the exit plane of the nozzle.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.

Numerical modeling of runback water on ice protected aircraft surfaces

A numerical simulation for 'running wet' aircraft anti-icing systems is developed. The model includes breakup of the water film, which exists in regions of direct impingement, into individual rivulets. The wetness factor distribution resulting from the film breakup and the rivulet configuration on the surface are predicted in the numerical solution procedure. The solid wall is modeled as a multilayer structure and the anti-icing system used is of the thermal type utilizing hot air and/or electrical heating elements embedded with the layers. Details of the calculation procedure and the methods used are presented.

Al-Khalil, Kamel M.

A numerical model of the Uranian dust rings

The present numerical simulations of the Uranian rings discovered by Voyager 2 indicate that they may be the visible component of low optical depth moonlet belts made up of 10 to 100,000 cm objects; these objects would serve as the sources of dust, via both micrometeoroid bombardment and the collisional release of ejecta. It is proposed that the dust bands are generated by continuous ejection and reabsorption of micron-scale regolith material within the hypothesized moolet belts, and it is noted that numerical simulations of such a system in a Markov-chain formalism can reproduce Uranian dust ring characteristics.

Colwell, Joshua E.

Numerical modeling tools for chemical vapor deposition

Development of general numerical simulation tools for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was the objective of this study. Physical models of important CVD phenomena were developed and implemented into the commercial computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. The resulting software can address general geometries as well as the most important phenomena occurring with CVD reactors: fluid flow patterns, temperature and chemical species distribution, gas phase and surface deposition. The physical models are documented which are available and examples are provided of CVD simulation capabilities.

Jasinski, Thomas J.

Application of triggered lightning numerical models to the F106B and extension to other aircraft

The goal of the F106B Thunderstorm Research Program is to characterize the lightning environment for aircraft in flight. This report describes the application of numerical electromagnetic models to this problem. Topics include: (1) Extensive application of linear triggered lightning to F106B data; (2) Electrostatic analysis of F106B field mill data; (3) Application of subgrid modeling to F106B nose region, including both static and nonlinear models; (4) Extension of F106B results to other aircraft of varying sizes and shapes; and (5) Application of nonlinear model to interaction of F106B with lightning leader-return stroke event.

Ng, Poh H.

TEAMER Technical Support of Ramboll's for Numerical Modeling of WECs to Support OES Task 10: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report)

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (NTESS) in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and with guidance from Ramboll, will perform fluid dynamics simulations to support of The Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Energy Technology Collaboration Program Task 10 Wave Energy Converters (WEC) Modelling Verification and Validation effort. Specific numerical simulations include the fixed device wave impingement studies to benchmark the performance of simulation techniques against physical testing results.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER

Mean Sea Level Derived from Altimetry and Wind-Driven Numerical Models in the Indian Ocean

Wind-driven model skill in simulating sea level variations in the Indian Ocean depends on our knowledge of the mean ocean dynamic topography. This is demonstrated by running the nonlinear or linear version of a shallow-water model driven by observed winds over Geosat and TOPEX periods. Geosat variations are assimilated in the nonlinear shallow-water model with the objective of obtaining topography data.

numerical models Indian ocean mean sea level remot

Numerical modelling of turbulent flow in a combustion tunnel

A numerical technique is presented for the analysis of turbulent flow associated with combustion. The technique uses Chorin's random vortex method (rvm), an algorithm capable of tracing the action of elementary turbulent eddies and their cumulative effects without imposing any restriction upon their motion. In the past, the rvm has been used with success to treat nonreacting turbulent flows, revealing in particular the mechanics of large-scale flow patterns, the so-called coherent structures. Introduced here is a flame propagation algorithm, also developed by Chorin, in conjunction with volume sources modelling the mechanical effects of the exothermic process of combustion. As an illustration of its use, the technique is applied to flow in a combustion tunnel where the flame is stabilized by a back-facing step. Solutions for both nonreacting and reacting flow fields are obtained which satisfactorily describe the essential features of turbulent combustion in a lean propane-air mixture that were observed in the laboratory by means of high speed Schlieren photography.

Ghoniem, A. F.

Numerical Modeling of Shatter Cones Development in Impact Craters

Shatter cones are the characteristic forms of rock fractures in impact structures. They have been used for decades as unequivocal fingerprints of meteoritic impacts on Earth. The abundant data about shapes, apical angles, sizes and distributions of shatter cones for many terrestrial impact structures should provide insights for the determination of impact conditions and characteristics of shock waves produced by high-velocity projectiles in geologic media. However, previously proposed models for the formation of shatter cones do not agree with observations. For example, the widely accepted Johnson-Talbot mechanism requires that the longitudinal stress drops to zero between the arrival of the elastic precursor and the main plastic wave. Unfortunately, observations do not support such a drop. A model has been also proposed to explain the striated features on the surface of shatter cones but can not invoked for their conical shape. The mechanism by which shatter cones form thus remains enigmatic to date. In this paper we present a new model for the formation of shatter cones. Our model has been tested by means of numerical simulations using the hydrocodes SALE 2D enhanced with the Grady-Kipp-Melosh fragmentation model.

Baratoux, D.

Numerical models of solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays, including drifts

Numerical solutions are presented of the steady-state modulation of galactic cosmic rays for a realistic two-dimensional model which includes drifts. Calculations of energy spectra and the spatial density variation of protons are shown for a model that incorporates the solar-minimum magnetic field and nominal interplanetary propagation parameters. The calculated values are relatively insensitive to the assumed size of the modulating region and to the magnitude of the particle diffusion coefficient. The solutions show a broad interior 'plateau' in which radial gradients are small. A simple model that neglects diffusion but includes drifts and adiabatic cooling accounts for these results. It is concluded that in this model and the range of parameters, diffusion plays a role secondary to that of drifts and adiabatic cooling.

Jokipii, J. R.

Numerical modeling of passive microwave O2 observations over precipitation

Radiometric observations at 118 GHz are compared to a planar-stratified numerical radiative transfer model, in order to study the microwave scattering and emission properties of precipitation cells. Agreement between observed and computed brightness perturbations is shown to be within 10 percent over the radiometrically opaque, mature regions of the cell. Transparent-channel cell top reflectivities of up to 50 percent in the convective core region and 6 percent in the anvil region are determined, using perturbed and nonscattering weighting functions. A parameterized rain cell model is used in a content analysis of 118 GHz precipitation cell spectra. The dominant 118-GHz spectral modes are found to contain useful data on the cell top altitude; they are applicable for detection of transparent anvil regions.

Gasiewski, A. J.

Numerical modeling of impact erosion of atmospheres: Preliminary results

It is clear from the great diversity of atmospheres among the terrestrial planets that their formation and evolution must have depended on a balance among a number of different processes. One of these processes is atmospheric erosion by impacts, which may have been particularly effective on Mars. The reason is that geomorphic evidence on Mars suggests that this planet had, early in its history, dense enough atmosphere to sustain active precipitation over geologically significant periods of time. Analytic calculations indicate that neither the projectile entering the atmosphere nor the main crater ejecta can cause the lose of significant amounts of atmosphere. The vapor plume that is formed, however, expands rapidly as its internal energy is converted into kinetic energy, and may blow off the overlying atmosphere. A model of this part of the impact/atmosphere interaction predicts Mars could have lost a substantial early atmosphere by impact erosion alone. Although our more detailed calculations, which took into account the anisotropy of the atmosphere with respect to zenith angle, show that the process isn't quite as effective, they still indicate the probability of substantial atmospheric loss from Mars. The first results from 2-D hydrocode runs are discussed. These include two runs which make most of the same simplifying approximations as the analytic models, in order to compare the analytic and numerical results directly, and one run (as yet incomplete) that models the full impact.

Vickery, A. M.

A VAS-numerical model impact study using the Gal-Chen variational approach

Numerical experiments to assess the impact of incorporating temperature data from the VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) using the assimilation technique developed by Gal-Chen (1986) modified for use in the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS) model were conducted. The scheme is designed to utilize the high temporal and horizontal resolution of satellite retrievals while maintaining the fine vertical structure generated by the model. This is accomplished by adjusting the model lapse rates to reflect thicknesses retrieved from VAS and applying a three-dimensional variational that preserves the distribution of the geopotential fields in the model. A nudging technique whereby the model temperature fields are gradually adjusted toward the updated temperature fields during model integration is also tested. An adiabatic version of MASS is used in all experiments to better isolate mass-momentum imbalances. The method has a sustained impact over an 18 hr model simulation.

Aune, Robert M.