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210 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

Power Requirement for Nonequilibrium MHD-Bypass Scramjet

It has been suggested previously that the performance of scramjet propulsion system may be improved by the use of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy bypass: an MHD generator could be made to decelerate the flow entering the combustor, thereby improving combustion efficiency, and the electrical power generated could be made to accelerate the flow exiting from the combustor prior to expanding through the nozzle. In one of such proposed schemes, the MHD generator is proposed to be operated at a low temperature and ionization is to be achieved under nonequilibrium by the application of an external power. In the present work, the required power of such an external source is calculated assuming a 100%-efficient nonequilibrium ionization scheme. The power required is that needed to prevent the degree of ionization from reaching equilibrium with the low gas temperature. The flow is seeded with potassium or cesium. Specific impulse is calculated with and without turbulent friction. The results show that, for typical intended flight conditions, the specific impulse obtained is substantially higher than that of a typical scramjet, but the required external-power is several times that of the power generated in the MHD generator.

Park, Chul↗
NASA NTRS2002

Efficient Low Dissipative High Order Schemes for Multiscale MHD Flows

Accurate numerical simulations of complex multiscale compressible viscous flows, especially high speed turbulence combustion and acoustics, demand high order schemes with adaptive numerical dissipation controls. Standard high resolution shock-capturing methods are too dissipative to capture the small scales and/or long-time wave propagations without extreme grid refinements and small time steps. An integrated approach for the control of numerical dissipation in high order schemes for the compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations has been developed and verified by the authors and collaborators. These schemes are suitable for the problems in question. Basically, the scheme consists of sixth-order or higher non-dissipative spatial difference operators as the base scheme. To control the amount of numerical dissipation, multiresolution wavelets are used as sensors to adaptively limit the amount and to aid the selection and/or blending of the appropriate types of numerical dissipation to be used. Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) waves play a key role in drag reduction in highly maneuverable high speed combat aircraft, in space weather forecasting, and in the understanding of the dynamics of the evolution of our solar system and the main sequence stars. Although there exist a few well-studied second and third-order high-resolution shock-capturing schemes for the MHD in the literature, these schemes are too diffusive and not practical for turbulence/combustion MHD flows. On the other hand, extension of higher than third-order high-resolution schemes to the MHD system of equations is not straightforward. Unlike the hydrodynamic equations, the inviscid MHD system is non-strictly hyperbolic with non-convex fluxes. The wave structures and shock types are different from their hydrodynamic counterparts. Many of the non-traditional hydrodynamic shocks are not fully understood. Consequently, reliable and highly accurate numerical schemes for multiscale MHD equations pose a great challenge to algorithm development. In addition, controlling the numerical error of the divergence free condition of the magnetic fields for high order methods has been a stumbling block. Lower order methods are not practical for the astrophysical problems in question. We propose to extend our hydrodynamics schemes to the MHD equations with several desired properties over commonly used MHD schemes.

Sjoegreen, Bjoern↗
NASA NTRS1994

Elsaesser variable analysis of fluctuations in the ion foreshock and undisturbed solar wind

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) fluctuations in the solar wind have been investigated previously by use of Elsaesser variables. In this paper, we present a comparison of the spectra of Elsaesser variables in the undisturbed solar wind at 1 AU and in the ion foreshock in front of the Earth. Both observations take place under relatively strong solar wind flow speed conditions (approximately equal 600 km/s). In the undisturbed solar wind we find that outward propagating Alfven waves dominate, as reported by other observers. In the ion foreshock the situation is more complex, with neither outward nor inward propagation dominating over the entire range investigated (1-10 mHz). Measurements of the Poynting vectors associated with the fluctuations are consistent with the Elsaesser variable analysis. These results generally support interpretations of the Elsaesser variables which have been made based strictly on solar wind data and provide additional insight into the nature of the ion foreshock turbulence.

Labelle, James↗
NASA NTRS2011

Three-Dimensional Modeling of the Solar Wind: From the Coronal Base to the Outer Heliosphere

We have developed a global fully three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic solar wind model for the region that extends from the coronal base to 100 AU. The simulation domain consists of tree spherical shell subdomains with computational boundaries between them placed at 20 solar radii and 0.3 AU. The location of the first boundary ensures that the flow at the boundary is both supersonic and super-Alfvenic. A steady-state solution in the innermost (coronal) region is obtained by the time-relaxation method. The solution uses a tilted dipole model or solar magnetograms as the boundary condition at the coronal base and includes a flux of Alfven waves in the WKB approximation which provide additional acceleration for the coronal outflow in the open field regions. The intermediate region solution is constructed by the integration of steady-state equations along radius using a marching scheme. The outer region solution (0.3-100 AU) is obtained again by the time relaxation and takes into account turbulence transport and heating as well as heating, flow deceleration, and other effects due to the interstellar pickup protons treated as a separate fluid. We use the model to simulate the global steady-state structure of the solar wind from the coronal base to the heliospheric boundary and compare the results with Ulysses and Voyager observations.

Usmanov, A. V↗
NASA NTRS1992

On the physics of waves in the solar atmosphere: Wave heating and wind acceleration

In the area of solar physics, new calculations of the acoustic wave energy fluxes generated in the solar convective zone was performed. The original theory developed was corrected by including a new frequency factor describing temporal variations of the turbulent energy spectrum. We have modified the original Stein code by including this new frequency factor, and tested the code extensively. Another possible source of the mechanical energy generated in the solar convective zone is the excitation of magnetic flux tube waves which can carry energy along the tubes far away from the region. The problem as to how efficiently those waves are generated in the Sun was recently solved. The propagation of nonlinear magnetic tube waves in the solar atmosphere was calculated, and mode coupling, shock formation, and heating of the local medium was studied. The wave trapping problems and evaluation of critical frequencies for wave reflection in the solar atmosphere was studied. It was shown that the role played by Alfven waves in the wind accelerations and the coronal hole heating is dominant. Presently, we are performing calculations of wave energy fluxes generated in late-type dwarf stars and studying physical processes responsible for the heating of stellar chromospheres and coronae. In the area of physics of waves, a new analytical approach for studying linear Alfven waves in smoothly nonuniform media was recently developed. This approach is presently being extended to study the propagation of linear and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in stratified, nonisothermal and solar atmosphere. The Lighthill theory of sound generation to nonisothermal media (with a special temperature distribution) was extended. Energy cascade by nonlinear MHD waves and possible chaos driven by these waves are presently considered.

Musielak, Z. E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Comparative Study on High-Order Positivity-preserving WENO Schemes

In gas dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics flows, physically, the density and the pressure p should both be positive. In a standard conservative numerical scheme, however, the computed internal energy is obtained by subtracting the kinetic energy from the total energy, resulting in a computed p that may be negative. Examples are problems in which the dominant energy is kinetic. Negative may often emerge in computing blast waves. In such situations the computed eigenvalues of the Jacobian will become imaginary. Consequently, the initial value problem for the linearized system will be ill posed. This explains why failure of preserving positivity of density or pressure may cause blow-ups of the numerical algorithm. The adhoc methods in numerical strategy which modify the computed negative density and/or the computed negative pressure to be positive are neither a conservative cure nor a stable solution. Conservative positivity-preserving schemes are more appropriate for such flow problems. The ideas of Zhang & Shu (2012) and Hu et al. (2012) precisely address the aforementioned issue. Zhang & Shu constructed a new conservative positivity-preserving procedure to preserve positive density and pressure for high-order WENO schemes by the Lax-Friedrichs flux (WENO/LLF). In general, WENO/LLF is too dissipative for flows such as turbulence with strong shocks computed in direct numerical simulations (DNS) and large eddy simulations (LES). The new conservative positivity-preserving procedure proposed in Hu et al. (2012) can be used with any high-order shock-capturing scheme, including high-order WENO schemes using the Roe's flux (WENO/Roe). The goal of this study is to compare the results obtained by non-positivity-preserving methods with the recently developed positivity-preserving schemes for representative test cases. In particular the more difficult 3D Noh and Sedov problems are considered. These test cases are chosen because of the negative pressure/density most often exhibited by standard high-order shock-capturing schemes. The simulation of a hypersonic nonequilibrium viscous shock tube that is related to the NASA Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) is also included. EAST is a high-temperature and high Mach number viscous nonequilibrium flow consisting of 13 species. In addition, as most common shock-capturing schemes have been developed for problems without source terms, when applied to problems with nonlinear and/or sti source terms these methods can result in spurious solutions, even when solving a conservative system of equations with a conservative scheme. This kind of behavior can be observed even for a scalar case (LeVeque & Yee 1990) as well as for the case consisting of two species and one reaction (Wang et al. 2012). For further information concerning this issue see (LeVeque & Yee 1990; Griffiths et al. 1992; Lafon & Yee 1996; Yee et al. 2012). This EAST example indicated that standard high-order shock-capturing methods exhibit instability of density/pressure in addition to grid-dependent discontinuity locations with insufficient grid points. The evaluation of these test cases is based on the stability of the numerical schemes together with the accuracy of the obtained solutions.

WENO↗
NASA NTRS2014

Comparitive Study of High-Order Positivity-Preserving WENO Schemes

In gas dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics flows, physically, the density ρ and the pressure p should both be positive. In a standard conservative numerical scheme, however, the computed internal energy is The ideas of Zhang & Shu (2012) and Hu et al. (2012) precisely address the aforementioned issue. Zhang & Shu constructed a new conservative positivity-preserving procedure to preserve positive density and pressure for high-order Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) schemes by the Lax-Friedrichs flux (WENO/LLF). In general, WENO/LLF is obtained by subtracting the kinetic energy from the total energy, resulting in a computed p that may be negative. Examples are problems in which the dominant energy is kinetic. Negative ρ may often emerge in computing blast waves. In such situations the computed eigenvalues of the Jacobian will become imaginary. Consequently, the initial value problem for the linearized system will be ill posed. This explains why failure of preserving positivity of density or pressure may cause blow-ups of the numerical algorithm. The adhoc methods in numerical strategy which modify the computed negative density and/or the computed negative pressure to be positive are neither a conservative cure nor a stable solution. Conservative positivity-preserving schemes are more appropriate for such flow problems. too dissipative for flows such as turbulence with strong shocks computed in direct numerical simulations (DNS) and large eddy simulations (LES). The new conservative positivity-preserving procedure proposed in Hu et al. (2012) can be used with any high-order shock-capturing scheme, including high-order WENO schemes using the Roe's flux (WENO/Roe). The goal of this study is to compare the results obtained by non-positivity-preserving methods with the recently developed positivity-preserving schemes for representative test cases. In particular the more di cult 3D Noh and Sedov problems are considered. These test cases are chosen because of the negative pressure/density most often exhibited by standard high-order shock-capturing schemes. The simulation of a hypersonic nonequilibrium viscous shock tube that is related to the NASA Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) is also included. EAST is a high-temperature and high Mach number viscous nonequilibrium ow consisting of 13 species. In addition, as most common shock-capturing schemes have been developed for problems without source terms, when applied to problems with nonlinear and/or sti source terms these methods can result in spurious solutions, even when solving a conservative system of equations with a conservative scheme. This kind of behavior can be observed even for a scalar case as well as for the case consisting of two species and one reaction.. This EAST example indicated that standard high-order shock-capturing methods exhibit instability of density/pressure in addition to grid-dependent discontinuity locations with insufficient grid points. The evaluation of these test cases is based on the stability of the numerical schemes together with the accuracy of the obtained solutions.

Schemes↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Role of Compressibility in Energy Release by Magnetic Reconnection

Using resistive compressible magnetohydrodynamics, we investigate the energy release and transfer by magnetic reconnection in finite (closed or periodic) systems. The emphasis is on the magnitude of energy released and transferred to plasma heating in configurations that range from highly compressible to incompressible, based on the magnitude of the background beta (ratio of plasma pressure over magnetic pressure) and of a guide field in two-dimensional reconnection. As expected, the system becomes more incompressible, and the role of compressional heating diminishes, with increasing beta or increasing guide field. Nevertheless, compressional heating may dominate over Joule heating for values of the guide field of 2 or 3 (in relation to the reconnecting magnetic field component) and beta of 5-10. This result stems from the strong localization of the dissipation near the reconnection site, which is modeled based on particle simulation results. Imposing uniform resistivity, corresponding to a Lundquist number of 10(exp 3) to 10(exp 4), leads to significantly larger Ohmic heating. Increasing incompressibility greatly reduces the magnetic flux transfer and the amount of energy released, from approx. 10% of the energy associated with the reconnecting field component, for zero guide field and low beta, to approx. 0.2%-0.4% for large values of the guide field B(sub y0) > 5 or large beta. The results demonstrate the importance of taking into account plasma compressibility and localization of dissipation in investigations of heating by turbulent reconnection, possibly relevant for solar wind or coronal heating.

Birn, J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Local shear instabilities in weakly ionized, weakly magnetized disks

We extend the analysis of axisymmetric magnetic shear instabilities from ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows to weakly ionized plasmas with coupling between ions and neutrals caused by collisions, ionization, and recombination. As part of the analysis, we derive the single-fluid MHD dispersion relation without invoking the Boussinesq approximation. This work expands the range of applications of these instabilities from fully ionized accretion disks to molecular disks in galaxies and, with somewhat more uncertainty, to protostellar disks. Instability generally requires the angular velocity to decrease outward, the magnetic field strengths to be subthermal, and the ions and neutrals to be sufficiently well coupled. If ionization and recombination processes can be neglected on an orbital timescale, adequate coupling is achieved when the collision frequency of a given neutral with the ions exceeds the local epicyclic freqency. When ionization equilibrium is maintained on an orbital timescale, a new feature is present in the disk dynamics: in contrast to a single-fluid system, subthermal azimuthal fields can affect the axisymmetric stability of weakly ionized two-fluid systems. We discuss the underlying causes for this behavior. Azimuthal fields tend to be stabilizing under these circumstances, and good coupling between the neutrals and ions requires the collision frequency to exceed the epicyclic frequency by a potentially large secant factor related to the magnetic field geometry. When the instability is present, subthermal azimuthal fields may also reduce the growth rate unless the collision frequency is high, but this is important only if the field strengths are very subthermal and/or the azimuthal field is the dominant field component. We briefly discuss our results in the context of the Galactic center circumnuclear disk, and suggest that the shear instability might be present there, and be responsible for the observed turbulent motions.

Blaes, Omer M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Nonlinear filtering and limiting in high order methods for ideal and non-ideal MHD

The various filtering mechanisms and base scheme options of the newly developed adaptive numerical dissipation control in spatially high order filter schemes for the ideal and non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations are investigated. These filter schemes are applicable to complex unsteady MHD high-speed shock/shear/turbulence problems. They also provide a natural and efficient way for the minimization of Div(B) numerical error. The type of spatial base scheme to be used in conjunction with our filter idea is very general. For example, spectral, compact and non-compact spatially central finite difference schemes are possible candidates. The adaptive numerical dissipation mechanism consists of automatic detection of different flow features as distinct sensors to signal the appropriate type and amount of numerical dissipation/filter where needed and to leave the rest of the region free from numerical dissipation contamination. The numerical dissipation considered consists of high order linear dissipation for the suppression of high frequency oscillation and the nonlinear dissipative portion of high-resolution shock-capturing methods for discontinuity capturing. The applicable nonlinear dissipative portion of high-resolution shock-capturing methods is also very general. The objective of this paper is to investigate the performance of using compact and non-compact central base schemes in conjunction with three commonly used types of nonlinear numerical dissipation for both the ideal and non-ideal MHD. This extended abstract shows the performance of three nonlinear filters in conjunction with a sixth-order non-compact spatial central base scheme. In the final paper, the high order compact spatial central base scheme will be illustrated and compared with the non-compact base scheme. The reason for the investigation of the high order compact spatial central base scheme over the non-compact base scheme is to evaluate if additional accuracy can be gained in regions of fine scale turbulence that are away from shocks/shears.

Yee,H. C.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Observation of a Magnetic Switchback in the Solar Corona

Switchbacks are sudden, large radial deflections of the solar wind magnetic field, widely revealed in interplanetary space by the Parker Solar Probe. The switchbacks’ formation mechanism and sources are still unresolved, although candidate mechanisms include Alfvénic turbulence, shear-driven Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities, interchange reconnection, and geometrical effects related to the Parker spiral. This Letter presents observations from the Metis coronagraph on board a Solar Orbiter of a single large propagating S-shaped vortex, interpreted as the first evidence of a switchback in the solar corona. It originated above an active region with the related loop system bounded by open-field regions to the east and west. Observations, modeling, and theory provide strong arguments in favor of the interchange reconnection origin of switchbacks. Metis measurements suggest that the initiation of the switchback may also be an indicator of the origin of slow solar wind.

Solar corona↗
NASA NTRS2015

Testing Secondary Models for the Origin of Radio Mini-Halos in Galaxy Clusters

We present an MHD simulation of the emergence of a radio minihalo in a galaxy cluster core in a "secondary" model, where the source of the synchrotron-emitting electrons is hadronic interactions between cosmic-ray protons with the thermal intracluster gas, an alternative to the "reacceleration model" where the cosmic ray electrons are reaccelerated by turbulence induced by core sloshing, which we discussed in an earlier work. We follow the evolution of cosmic-ray electron spectra and their radio emission using passive tracer particles, taking into account the time-dependent injection of electrons from hadronic interactions and their energy losses. We find that secondary electrons in a sloshing cluster core can generate diffuse synchrotron emission with luminosity and extent similar to observed radio minihalos. However, we also find important differences with our previous work. We find that the drop in radio emission at cold fronts is less prominent than that in our reacceleration-based simulations, indicating that in this flavor of the secondary model the emission is more spatially extended than in some observed minihalos. We also explore the effect of rapid changes in the magnetic field on the radio spectrum. While the resulting spectra in some regions are steeper than expected from stationary conditions, the change is marginal, with differences in the synchrotron spectral index of delta(spectral index) less than approximately 0.15-0.25, depending on the frequency band. This is a much narrower range than claimed in the best-observed minihalos and produced in the reacceleration model. Our results provide important suggestions to constrain these models with future observations.

clusters: general aEuro" magnetohydrodynamics (MHD↗