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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.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

On Periodic Solutions of Autonomous Systems

We propose a method for the investigation of periodic solutions of autonomous dynamical systems described by ordinary differential equations with phase and integral restrictions. We formulate the general problem of periodic solutions as a boundary-value problem with restrictions. By introducing a fictitious control, we transform the boundary-value problem into a control problem for dynamical systems with phase and integral restrictions. The control problem is solved by reducing it to an integral Fredholm equation of the first kind. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic solutions and propose an algorithm for finding periodic solution according to the limit points of the minimizing sequences.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1989

A hybrid-perturbation-Galerkin technique which combines multiple expansions

A two-step hybrid perturbation-Galerkin method for the solution of a variety of differential equations type problems is found to give better results when multiple perturbation expansions are employed. The method assumes that there is parameter in the problem formulation and that a perturbation method can be sued to construct one or more expansions in this perturbation coefficient functions multiplied by computed amplitudes. In step one, regular and/or singular perturbation methods are used to determine the perturbation coefficient functions. The results of step one are in the form of one or more expansions each expressed as a sum of perturbation coefficient functions multiplied by a priori known gauge functions. In step two the classical Bubnov-Galerkin method uses the perturbation coefficient functions computed in step one to determine a set of amplitudes which replace and improve upon the gauge functions. The hybrid method has the potential of overcoming some of the drawbacks of the perturbation and Galerkin methods as applied separately, while combining some of their better features. The proposed method is applied, with two perturbation expansions in each case, to a variety of model ordinary differential equations problems including: a family of linear two-boundary-value problems, a nonlinear two-point boundary-value problem, a quantum mechanical eigenvalue problem and a nonlinear free oscillation problem. The results obtained from the hybrid methods are compared with approximate solutions obtained by other methods, and the applicability of the hybrid method to broader problem areas is discussed.

Geer, James F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A hybrid perturbation-Galerkin technique that combines multiple expansions

A two-step hybrid perturbation-Galerkin method for the solution of a variety of differential equations type problems is found to give better results when multiple perturbation expansions are employed. The method assumes that there is parameter in the problem formulation and that a perturbation method can be used to construct one or more expansions in this perturbation coefficient functions multiplied by computed amplitudes. In step one, regular and/or singular perturbation methods are used to determine the perturbation coefficient functions. The results of step one are in the form of one or more expansions each expressed as a sum of perturbation coefficient functions multiplied by a priori known gauge functions. In step two the classical Bubnov-Galerkin method uses the perturbation coefficient functions computed in step one to determine a set of amplitudes which replace and improve upon the gauge functions. The hybrid method has the potential of overcoming some of the drawbacks of the perturbation and Galerkin methods as applied separately, while combining some of their better features. The proposed method is applied, with two perturbation expansions in each case, to a variety of model ordinary differential equations problems including: a family of linear two-boundary-value problems, a nonlinear two-point boundary-value problem, a quantum mechanical eigenvalue problem and a nonlinear free oscillation problem. The results obtained from the hybrid methods are compared with approximate solutions obtained by other methods, and the applicability of the hybrid method to broader problem areas is discussed.

Geer, James F.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Simulation of Optical Phenomena in the Upper Atmosphere

This SAND report investigates the electron transport equation in the upper atmosphere and how it relates to auroral light emissions. The electron transport problem is a very stiff boundary value problem, so standard numerical methods such as symmetric collocation and shooting methods will not succeed unless if the boundary conditions are altered with unrealistic assumptions. We show this to be unnecessary and demon- strate a method in which the fast and slow modes of the boundary value problem are essentially decoupled. This allows for an upwind finite difference method to be applied to each mode as is appropriate. This greatly reduces the number of points needed in the mesh, and we demonstrate how this eliminates the need to define new boundary conditions. This method can be verified by showing that under certain restrictive as- sumptions, the electron transport equation has an exact solution that can be written as an integral. The connection between electron transport and the aurora is made explicit and a kinetic model for calculating auroral light emissions is given.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1988

Solving time-dependent two-dimensional eddy current problems

Results of transient eddy current calculations are reported. For simplicity, a two-dimensional transverse magnetic field which is incident on an infinitely long conductor is considered. The conductor is assumed to be a good but not perfect conductor. The resulting problem is an interface initial boundary value problem with the boundary of the conductor being the interface. A finite difference method is used to march the solution explicitly in time. The method is shown. Treatment of appropriate radiation conditions is given special consideration. Results are validated with approximate analytic solutions. Two stringent test cases of high and low frequency incident waves are considered to validate the results.

Lee, Min Eig↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vision-based stereo ranging as an optimal control problem

The recent interest in the use of machine vision for flight vehicle guidance is motivated by the need to automate the nap-of-the-earth flight regime of helicopters. Vision-based stereo ranging problem is cast as an optimal control problem in this paper. A quadratic performance index consisting of the integral of the error between observed image irradiances and those predicted by a Pade approximation of the correspondence hypothesis is then used to define an optimization problem. The necessary conditions for optimality yield a set of linear two-point boundary-value problems. These two-point boundary-value problems are solved in feedback form using a version of the backward sweep method. Application of the ranging algorithm is illustrated using a laboratory image pair.

Menon, P. K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Theoretical investigations of plasma processes in the ion bombardment thruster

A physical model for a thruster discharge was developed, consisting of a spatially diverging plasma sustained electrically between a small ring cathode and a larger ring anode in a cylindrical chamber with an axial magnetic field. The associated boundary-value problem for the coupled partial differential equations with mixed boundary conditions, which describe the electric potential and the plasma velocity fields, was solved in closed form. By means of quantum-mechanical perturbation theory, a formula for the number S(E) of atoms sputtered on the average by an ion of energy E was derived from first principles. The boundary-value problem describing the diffusion of the sputtered atoms through the surrounding rarefied electron-ion plasma to the system surfaces of ion propulsion systems was formulated and treated analytically. It is shown that outer boundary-value problems of this type lead to a complex integral equation, which requires numerical resolution.

Wilhelm, H. E.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Asymptotic solution of the problem for a thin axisymmetric cavern

The boundary value problem which describes the axisymmetric separation of the flow around a body by a stationary infinite stream is considered. It is understood that the cavitation number varies over the length of the cavern. Using the asymptotic expansions for the potential of a thin body, the orders of magnitude of terms in the equations of the problem are estimated. Neglecting small quantities, a simplified boundary value problem is obtained.

Serebriakov, V. V.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Autolanding Trajectory Design for the X-34

An Autolanding I-load Program (ALIP) is developed to design unpowered autolanding trajectories for the X-34 Mach 8 vehicle. The trajectory is comprised of geometric flight segments that are based on the shuttle approach and landing design (steep glideslope, circular flare, exponential flare to shallow glideslope). Enforcing physical constraints such as loads, vertical descent rate, continuity and smoothness reduces the design problem to a two point boundary value problem with conditions on the initial and final dynamic pressure. Finding a solution required the development of trajectory simulation techniques that constrained the flight profile to a prescribed geometry. The design methodology can be extended beyond the autolanding flight regime by repeating the series of geometric segments and solving multiple two-point boundary values problems (one for each series). The techniques described in this paper facilitate rapid design of reference trajectories.

Barton, Gregg H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Launch flexibility using NLP guidance and remote wind sensing

This paper examines the use of lidar wind measurements in the implementation of a guidance strategy for a nonlinear programming (NLP) launch guidance algorithm. The NLP algorithm uses B-spline command function representation for flexibility in the design of the guidance steering commands. Using this algorithm, the guidance system solves a two-point boundary value problem at each guidance update. The specification of different boundary value problems at each guidance update provides flexibility that can be used in the design of the guidance strategy. The algorithm can use lidar wind measurements for on pad guidance retargeting and for load limiting guidance steering commands. Examples presented in the paper use simulated wind updates to correct wind induced final orbit errors and to adjust the guidance steering commands to limit the product of the dynamic pressure and angle-of-attack for launch vehicle load alleviation.

Cramer, Evin J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Accurate computation and continuation of homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits for singular perturbation problems

In earlier papers, Doedel and the authors have developed a numerical method and derived error estimates for the computation of branches of heteroclinic orbits for a system of autonomous ordinary differential equations in R(exp n). The idea of the method is to reduce a boundary value problem on the real line to a boundary value problem on a finite interval by using a local (linear or higher order) approximation of the stable and unstable manifolds. A practical limitation for the computation of homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits has been the difficulty in obtaining starting orbits. Typically these were obtained from a closed form solution or via a homotopy from a known solution. Here we consider extensions of our algorithm which allow us to obtain starting orbits on the continuation branch in a more systematic way as well as make the continuation algorithm more flexible. In applications, we use the continuation software package AUTO in combination with some initial value software. The examples considered include computation of homoclinic orbits in a singular perturbation problem and in a turbulent fluid boundary layer in the wall region problem.

Vaughan, William W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Aerodynamics of an airfoil with a jet issuing from its surface

A simple, two dimensional, incompressible and inviscid model for the problem posed by a two dimensional wing with a jet issuing from its lower surface is considered and a parametric analysis is carried out to observe how the aerodynamic characteristics depend on the different parameters. The mathematical problem constitutes a boundary value problem where the position of part of the boundary is not known a priori. A nonlinear optimization approach was used to solve the problem, and the analysis reveals interesting characteristics that may help to better understand the physics involved in more complex situations in connection with high lift systems.

Tavella, D. A.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Submodels of model of nonlinear diffusion in the inhomogeneous medium involving absorption

We study the five-parameter model, describing the process of nonlinear diffusion in an inhomogeneous medium in the presence of absorption, for which the differential equation of the model admits a continuous Lie group of transformations, acting on the set of its solutions. We found six submodels of the original model of nonlinear diffusion, with different symmetry properties. Of these six submodels, the five submodels with transient absorption, for which the absorption coefficient depends on time according to a power law, represent the greatest interest with a mathematical point of view and with the point of view of physical applications. For each of these nonlinear submodels, we obtained formulas for producing new solutions that contain arbitrary constants, and we found all invariant submodels. All essentially distinct invariant solutions describing these invariant submodels are found in an explicit form or are reduced to finding the solution of nonlinear integral equations. The presence of the arbitrary constants in the integral equations that determine these solutions provide new opportunities for analytical and numerical study of boundary value problems for the received submodels and, thus, for the original model of nonlinear diffusion. For the received invariant submodels, we studied diffusion processes for which at the initial moment of the time at a fixed point is specified as a concentration and its gradient or as a concentration and its velocity. Solving of boundary value problems describing these processes is reduced to the solving of nonlinear integral equations. We established the existence and uniqueness of solutions of these boundary value problems under some additional conditions. The obtained results can be used to study the diffusion of substances, diffusion of conduction electrons and other particles, diffusion of physical fields and propagation of heat in inhomogeneous medium, and also to study a turbulence (Leith model, differential approximation to wave turbulence)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1994

Completed Beltrami-Michell Formulation for Analyzing Radially Symmetrical Bodies

A force method formulation, the completed Beltrami-Michell formulation (CBMF), has been developed for analyzing boundary value problems in elastic continua. The CBMF is obtained by augmenting the classical Beltrami-Michell formulation with novel boundary compatibility conditions. It can analyze general elastic continua with stress, displacement, or mixed boundary conditions. The CBMF alleviates the limitations of the classical formulation, which can solve stress boundary value problems only. In this report, the CBMF is specialized for plates and shells. All equations of the CBMF, including the boundary compatibility conditions, are derived from the variational formulation of the integrated force method (IFM). These equations are defined only in terms of stresses. Their solution for kinematically stable elastic continua provides stress fields without any reference to displacements. In addition, a stress function formulation for plates and shells is developed by augmenting the classical Airy's formulation with boundary compatibility conditions expressed in terms of the stress function. The versatility of the CBMF and the augmented stress function formulation is demonstrated through analytical solutions of several mixed boundary value problems. The example problems include a composite circular plate and a composite circular cylindrical shell under the simultaneous actions of mechanical and thermal loads.

Kaljevic, Igor↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fractional heat conduction with heat absorption in a sphere under Dirichlet boundary condition

The time-fractional heat conduction equation with the Caputo derivative and with heat absorption term proportional to temperature is considered in a sphere in the case of central symmetry. The fundamental solution to the Dirichlet boundary value problem is found, and the solution to the problem under constant boundary value of temperature is studied. The integral transform technique is used. The solutions are obtained in terms of series containing the Mittag-Leffler functions being the generalization of the exponential function. The numerical results are illustrated graphically.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1989

A hybrid perturbation-Galerkin method for differential equations containing a parameter

A two-step hybrid perturbation-Galerkin method to solve a variety of differential equations which involve a parameter is presented and discussed. The method consists of: (1) the use of a perturbation method to determine the asymptotic expansion of the solution about one or more values of the parameter; and (2) the use of some of the perturbation coefficient functions as trial functions in the classical Bubnov-Galerkin method. This hybrid method has the potential of overcoming some of the drawbacks of the perturbation method and the Bubnov-Galerkin method when they are applied by themselves, while combining some of the good features of both. The proposed method is illustrated first with a simple linear two-point boundary value problem and is then applied to a nonlinear two-point boundary value problem in lubrication theory. The results obtained from the hybrid method are compared with approximate solutions obtained by purely numerical methods. Some general features of the method, as well as some special tips for its implementation, are discussed. A survey of some current research application areas is presented and its degree of applicability to broader problem areas is discussed.

Geer, James F.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The semi-infinite strip problem in the mechanics of composite materials

Many problems, ranging from interface-fiber fracture to determining the strength of fiber-matrix interfaces in composites, can be greatly assisted by a complete understanding of the boundary value problem of a semi-infinite strip. The specific boundary value problem of a semi-infinite strip with symmetric tractions on the transverse edges and normal loads on the end is investigated in the present study. The nature of the singular behavior in the slope of the end vertical displacement at the corner points is found. An asymptotic analysis of the solution shows that, depending on the nature of the applied stresses in the vicinity of the corner points, the singularity in the slope of the end vertical displacement may either be a power or logarithmic type, both, or not exist at all. Illustrative examples, for which exact or numerical results are known, are given. Numerical procedures are also given. The direct application of the results of the paper are illustrated for several problems in the mechanics of composite materials.

Kaw, Autar K.↗