Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “phase problem”

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 199 records · Page 11

Design of cryogenic tanks for launch vehicles

During the period since January 1990, work was concentrated on the problem of the buckling of the structure of an ALS (advanced launch systems) tank during the boost phase. The primary problem was to analyze a proposed hat stringer made by superplastic forming, and to compare it with an integrally stiffened stringer design. A secondary objective was to determine whether structural rings having the identical section to the stringers will provide adequate support against overall buckling. All of the analytical work was carried out with the TESTBED program on the CONVEX computer, using PATRAN programs to create models. Analyses of skin/stringer combinations have shown that the proposed stringer design is an adequate substitute for the integrally stiffened stringer. Using a highly refined mesh to represent the corrugations in the vertical webs of the hat stringers, effective values were obtained for cross-sectional area, moment of inertia, centroid height, and torsional constant. Not only can these values be used for comparison with experimental values, but they can also be used for beams to replace the stringers and frames in analytical models of complete sections of tank. The same highly refined model was used to represent a section of skin reinforced by a stringer and a ring segment in the configuration of a cross. It was intended that this would provide a baseline buckling analysis representing a basic mode, however, the analysis proved to be beyond the scope of the CONVEX computer. One quarter of this model was analyzed, however, to provide information on buckling between the spot welds. Models of large sections of the tank structure were made, using beam elements to model the stringers and frames. In order to represent the stiffening effects of pressure, stresses and deflections under pressure should first be obtained, and then the buckling analysis should be made on the structure so deflected. So far, uncharacteristic deflections under pressure were obtained from the TESTBED program using two types of structural elements. Similar results were obtained using the ANSYS program on a mainframe computer, although two finite element programs on microcomputers have yielded realistic results.

Copper, Charles↗

Inverse multiple scattering problems. III - Inadequacy of certain limb darkening and phase curves for retrieving atmospheric information and limitations of approximate scattering models

The paper considers three complementary inverse multiple scattering problems relating to a uniquely defined atmospheric scattering model. Consideration is given to the appropriateness, for data inversion purposes, of intensities observed in diffuse reflection under a variety of experimental conditions; the uniqueness of the inverse solution is investigated. It is found that light curves representing monotonic variations, such as limb darkening curves and phase curves for a planetary (e.g., Venus) disk center are unsuitable for inferring atmospheric and scattering parameters.

Fymat, A. L.↗

Specifying angular reference for robust three-phase state estimation

While the phase angle of any of the bus voltages can be chosen as the angular reference in the state estimation formulation of positive sequence networks, the same approach does not readily extend to three-phase network state estimation problem. It is commonly assumed that there is at least one bus where the bus voltages are perfectly balanced with phase angles displaced ±120° and these balanced three phase voltages are used as the three-phase reference in solving the three-phase state estimation problem. This assumption may be quite realistic in transmission networks, and for distribution networks with a strong transmission system connection. However, it might not be realistic to assume existence of a perfectly balanced reference bus in today’s distribution systems with ever increasing penetration of renewable sources or for isolated operation of microgrids. In this paper, a novel state estimation formulation will be presented which facilitates correct solution irrespective of the existence of buses with perfectly balanced voltages. The new formulation is general, and lends itself to bad data processing. It yields accurate results in any three-phase power system irrespective of its operating conditions (balanced or highly unbalanced), configuration (isolated microgrid, connected to transmission system, etc.) and whether or not it contains any synchronous generators. The performance of the method is validated using the IEEE 123 bus three-phase system.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Computationally Robust Line Outage Detection and Identification in Three-Phase Networks

Detection and identification of individual phase outages remains a challenging problem due to insufficient metering in three-phase unbalanced power networks. This problem was tackled for the transmission systems in our previous work as documented in [1]. In this paper, this work is extended to detect phase outages in three-phase unbalanced systems using only the sparse estimation method. In addition, further improvements are introduced to increase the estimation accuracy for the virtual power injections at the terminal buses of disconnected lines, once the disconnected line is identified by sparse estimation methods. Simulation results are provided to experimentally validate the increased accuracy in detecting phase outages while decreasing the computational time by using the proposed approach.

Sparse Estimation, Line Outage, Phase Outage, LASS↗

Thin Film Ba(x) Sr(1-x)TiO3 Coupled Microstrip Ku- and K-band Phase Shifters

In this report authors found that the: (1) Best room temperature CMPS performance seen on 1% Mn-doped Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)TiO3 annealed films on MgO: K = 74 C/dB. Phase Shift/coupled length: 1427 C/cm (2) Attempt to improve phase shifters through thicker as-deposited films stymied by declining film quality with film thickness. Annealing may alleviate this problem. (3) CMPS phase shift at Ku-band didn't experience the great rise in tunability seen in 1 MHz epsilon(sub r)(0) data. (4) While CMPS circuits may be well suited for arrays, simpler circuits like CPW would be more useful for characterizing epsilon(sub r) and tan(delta) at Ku-and K-band. (5) New substrates and designs are being tested.

VanKeuls, F. W.↗

VERA BWR progression problems

During the first phase of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) program, the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) was developed with a focus on capabilities for high-fidelity, multiphysics simulation of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). During this development effort, a set of progression problems was created ranging from smaller pin cell calculations to larger 3D full-core calculations. These progression problems helped to guide the development of the software and served as benchmarks against which to test VERA. Since 2019, efforts have been made to extend the capabilities of VERA to model boiling water reactors (BWRs). Because BWR simulations come with many unique challenges, a set of BWR progression problems was developed to aid in this new effort. The BWR progression problems range from 2D lattice calculations to 3D mini-core problems, and reference neutronic solutions were computed using continuous-energy Monte Carlo codes. MPACT, one of the neutronics code in VERA, was benchmarked using the BWR progression problems. The code is capable of computing solutions to all problems. The eigenvalues computed by MPACT agree well with the Monte Carlo reference solutions. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Chandra Observations of the Crab Pulsar as a Function of Pulse Phase

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory was used to observe the Crab Nebula and its pulsar using the LETGS, i.e. the Low-Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) with the High Resolution Camera Spectroscopy detector (HRC-S). Data from the zeroth-order image was utilized to isolate the pulsar from the surrounding nebula and to measure the pulsar emission as a function of pulse phase. HRC timing problems were overcome by developing special techniques to process the data. For the first time, pulsed x-ray emission has been detected at all pulse phases, allowing us to set a new upper limit to the thermal emission from the surface of the neutron star.

Weisskopf, Martin C.↗

Benchmark problems for the Me soscale M ultiphysics Ph ase F i eld S imulator (MEMPHIS)

This report details the current benchmark results to verify, validate and demonstrate the capabilities of the in-house multi-physics phase-field modeling framework Me soscale M ultiphysics Ph ase F i eld S imulator (MEMPHIS) developed at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT). MEMPHIS is a general phase-field capability to model various nanoscience and materials science phenomena related to microstructure evolution. MEMPHIS has been benchmarked against a suite of reported 'classical' phase-field benchmark problems to verify and validate the correctness, accuracy and precision of the models and numerical methods currently implemented into the code.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A new formulation for anisotropic radiative transfer problems. I - Solution with a variational technique

The equations of radiative transfer in anisotropically scattering media are reformulated as linear operator equations in a single independent variable. The resulting equations are suitable for solution by a variety of standard mathematical techniques. The operators appearing in the resulting equations are in general nonsymmetric; however, it is shown that every bounded linear operator equation can be embedded in a symmetric linear operator equation and a variational solution can be obtained in a straightforward way. For purposes of demonstration, a Rayleigh-Ritz variational method is applied to three problems involving simple phase functions. It is to be noted that the variational technique demonstrated is of general applicability and permits simple solutions for a wide range of otherwise difficult mathematical problems in physics.

Cheyney, H., III↗

An analysis of carrier phase jitter in an MPSK receiver utilizing map estimation

The use of 8 and 16 PSK TCM to support satellite communications in an effort to achieve more bandwidth efficiency in a power-limited channel has been proposed. This project addresses the problem of carrier phase jitter in an M-PSK receiver utilizing the high SNR approximation to the maximum aposteriori estimation of carrier phase. In particular, numerical solutions to the 8 and 16 PSK self-noise and phase detector gain in the carrier tracking loop are presented. The effect of changing SNR on the loop noise bandwidth is also discussed. These data are then used to compute variance of phase error as a function of SNR. Simulation and hardware data are used to verify these calculations. The results show that there is a threshold in the variance of phase error versus SNR curves that is a strong function of SNR and a weak function of loop bandwidth. The M-PSK variance thresholds occur at SNR's in the range of practical interest for the use of 8 and 16-PSK TCM. This suggests that phase error variance is an important consideration in the design of these systems.

Osborne, William P.↗

A Singular Perturbation Approach for Time-Domain Assessment of Phase Margin

This paper considers the problem of time-domain assessment of the Phase Margin (PM) of a Single Input Single Output (SISO) Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system using a singular perturbation approach, where a SISO LTI fast loop system, whose phase lag increases monotonically with frequency, is introduced into the loop as a singular perturbation with a singular perturbation (time-scale separation) parameter Epsilon. First, a bijective relationship between the Singular Perturbation Margin (SPM) max and the PM of the nominal (slow) system is established with an approximation error on the order of Epsilon(exp 2). In proving this result, relationships between the singular perturbation parameter Epsilon, PM of the perturbed system, PM and SPM of the nominal system, and the (monotonically increasing) phase of the fast system are also revealed. These results make it possible to assess the PM of the nominal system in the time-domain for SISO LTI systems using the SPM with a standardized testing system called "PM-gauge," as demonstrated by examples. PM is a widely used stability margin for LTI control system design and certification. Unfortunately, it is not applicable to Linear Time-Varying (LTV) and Nonlinear Time-Varying (NLTV) systems. The approach developed here can be used to establish a theoretical as well as practical metric of stability margin for LTV and NLTV systems using a standardized SPM that is backward compatible with PM.

Zhu, J. Jim↗

A pseudo-kinetic model to simulate phase changes in gas hydrate bearing sediments

Herein, modeling of the phase transitions anticipated in gas hydrate bearing sediments (GHBS) is critical for a proper understanding of time-dependent changes in states and volumes (e.g. the production of methane from this type of soils). We propose a new pseudo-kinetic approach to simulate the typical phase changes anticipated in GHBS, using published experimental results involving gas hydrate dissociation that are the basis of a widely used kinetic model. The proposed pseudo-kinetic model is formulated in the pressure-temperature (P-T) plane and assumes a rate of gas hydrate dissociation (or formation) proportional to the distance between the current state and the phase boundary. The model consists of only one parameter and is simple to implement in numerical simulators. A similar concept is used to model ice formation/thawing phenomena, but based on the ice/liquid-water phase boundary. We implemented the pseudo-kinetic model in a fully coupled thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical (THCM) finite element code and validated it against experimental results performed on the dissociation of synthetic gas hydrate. We also evaluated the pseudo-kinetic model using synthetic cases covering several scenarios associated with gas hydrate formation/dissociation and ice formation/thawing. The model successfully reproduced the gas production test from a natural GHBS core from Korea (scaled gas venting experiment over 14 h), and also the formation of gas hydrate and ice in permafrost in Alaska (over 2 × 10 6 years). -The analyses show the versatility of the proposed pseudo-kinetic approach by applying it to model the different types of phase transitions typically encounter in GHBS. The simple formulation, easy implementation in numerical simulator, and reduced number of parameters (only one per phase change) make this model an attractive option for simulating phase transformations in problems involving GHBS.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Study of techniques for redundancy verification without disrupting systems, phases 1-3

The problem of verifying the operational integrity of redundant equipment and the impact of a requirement for verification on such equipment are considered. Redundant circuits are examined and the characteristics which determine adaptability to verification are identified. Mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories for verification approaches are established. The range of applicability of these techniques is defined in terms of signal characteristics and redundancy features. Verification approaches are discussed and a methodology for the design of redundancy verification is developed. A case study is presented which involves the design of a verification system for a hypothetical communications system. Design criteria for redundant equipment are presented. Recommendations for the development of technological areas pertinent to the goal of increased verification capabilities are given.

Source record↗

Detection of lack of fusion using opaque additives, phase 1

Two major problems in welded aluminum spacecraft structure, reliable nondestructive inspection for incomplete weldment penetration and the rapid oxidation of aluminum surfaces left exposed to the atmosphere are investigated. The approach employed to solve both problems was to employ copper as a coating to prevent oxidation of the aluminum and as an opaque additive in the weldment to enhance X-ray detection in the event of incomplete penetration. Both plasma spray and vacuum vapor deposition techniques were evaluated for depositing the copper. A series of welded panels was made using three thicknesses of vacuum-vapor-deposited copper. All weldments were nondestructively inspected by X-ray, then excised into tensile and bend specimens. Mechanical tests were conducted and all data evaluated. It was determined that the vacuum-vapor-deposited coating was superior to a plasma sprayed coating of the same thickness. The vacuum-vapor-deposited coating was more uniform in thickness, provided complete coverage of the aluminum, and was free of cracks and porosity.

Cook, J. L.↗

Fuel containment and damage tolerance for large composite primary aircraft structures. Phase 1: Testing

Technical problems associated with fuel containment and damage tolerance of composite material wings for transport aircraft were identified. The major tasks are the following: (1) the preliminary design of damage tolerant wing surface using composite materials; (2) the evaluation of fuel sealing and lightning protection methods for a composite material wing; and (3) an experimental investigation of the damage tolerant characteristics of toughened resin graphite/epoxy materials. The test results, the test techniques, and the test data are presented.

Sandifer, J. P.↗

Defect-phase-dynamics approach to statistical domain-growth problem of clock models

The growth of statistical domains in quenched Ising-like p-state clock models with p = 3 or more is investigated theoretically, reformulating the analysis of Ohta et al. (1982) in terms of a phase variable and studying the dynamics of defects introduced into the phase field when the phase variable becomes multivalued. The resulting defect/phase domain-growth equation is applied to the interpretation of Monte Carlo simulations in two dimensions (Kaski and Gunton, 1983; Grest and Srolovitz, 1984), and problems encountered in the analysis of related Potts models are discussed. In the two-dimensional case, the problem is essentially that of a purely dissipative Coulomb gas, with a sq rt t growth law complicated by vertex-pinning effects at small t.

Kawasaki, K.↗