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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 235 records · Page 13

Ground signature extrapolation of three-dimensional near-field CFD predictions for several HSCT configurations

A CFD analysis of the near-field sonic boom environment of several low boom High Speed Civilian Transport (HSCT) concepts is presented. The CFD method utilizes a multi-block Euler marching code within the context of an innovative mesh topology that allows for the resolution of shock waves several body lengths from the aircraft. Three-dimensional pressure footprints at one body length below three-different low boom aircraft concepts are presented. Models of two concepts designed by NASA to cruise at Mach 2 and Mach 3 were built and tested in the wind tunnel. The third concept was designed by Boeing to cruise at Mach 1.7. Centerline and sideline samples of these footprints are then extrapolated to the ground using a linear waveform parameter method to estimate the ground signatures or sonic boom ground overpressure levels. The Mach 2 concept achieved its centerline design signature but indicated higher sideline booms due to the outboard wing crank of the configuration. Nacelles are also included on two of NASA's low boom concepts. Computations are carried out for both flow-through nacelles and nacelles with engine exhaust simulation. The flow-through nacelles with the assumption of zero spillage and zero inlet lip radius showed very little effect on the sonic boom signatures. On the other hand, it was shown that the engine exhaust plumes can have an effect on the levels of overpressure reaching the ground depending on the engine operating conditions. The results of this study indicate that engine integration into a low boom design should be given some attention.

Siclari, M. J.↗

Adaptive EAGLE dynamic solution adaptation and grid quality enhancement

In the effort described here, the elliptic grid generation procedure in the EAGLE grid code was separated from the main code into a subroutine, and a new subroutine which evaluates several grid quality measures at each grid point was added. The elliptic grid routine can now be called, either by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code to generate a new adaptive grid based on flow variables and quality measures through multiple adaptation, or by the EAGLE main code to generate a grid based on quality measure variables through static adaptation. Arrays of flow variables can be read into the EAGLE grid code for use in static adaptation as well. These major changes in the EAGLE adaptive grid system make it easier to convert any CFD code that operates on a block-structured grid (or single-block grid) into a multiple adaptive code.

Luong, Phu Vinh↗

Multidisciplinary aeroelastic analysis of a generic hypersonic vehicle

This paper presents details of a flutter and stability analysis of aerospace structures such as hypersonic vehicles. Both structural and aerodynamic domains are discretized by the common finite element technique. A vibration analysis is first performed by the STARS code employing a block Lanczos solution scheme. This is followed by the generation of a linear aerodynamic grid for subsequent linear flutter analysis within subsonic and supersonic regimes of the flight envelope; the doublet lattice and constant pressure techniques are employed to generate the unsteady aerodynamic forces. Flutter analysis is then performed for several representative flight points. The nonlinear flutter solution is effected by first implementing a CFD solution of the entire vehicle. Thus, a 3-D unstructured grid for the entire flow domain is generated by a moving front technique. A finite element Euler solution is then implemented employing a quasi-implicit as well as an explicit solution scheme. A novel multidisciplinary analysis is next effected that employs modal and aerodynamic data to yield aerodynamic damping characteristics. Such analyses are performed for a number of flight points to yield a large set of pertinent data that define flight flutter characteristics of the vehicle. This paper outlines the finite-element-based integrated analysis procedures in detail, which is followed by the results of numerical analyses of flight flutter simulation.

Gupta, K. K.↗

Computational Analysis of a Chevron Nozzle Uniquely Tailored for Propulsion Airframe Aeroacoustics

A computational flow field and predicted jet noise source analysis is presented for asymmetrical fan chevrons on a modern separate flow nozzle at take off conditions. The propulsion airframe aeroacoustic asymmetric fan nozzle is designed with an azimuthally varying chevron pattern with longer chevrons close to the pylon. A baseline round nozzle without chevrons and a reference nozzle with azimuthally uniform chevrons are also studied. The intent of the asymmetric fan chevron nozzle was to improve the noise reduction potential by creating a favorable propulsion airframe aeroacoustic interaction effect between the pylon and chevron nozzle. This favorable interaction and improved noise reduction was observed in model scale tests and flight test data and has been reported in other studies. The goal of this study was to identify the fundamental flow and noise source mechanisms. The flow simulation uses the asymptotically steady, compressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations on a structured grid. Flow computations are performed using the parallel, multi-block, structured grid code PAB3D. Local noise sources were mapped and integrated computationally using the Jet3D code based upon the Lighthill Acoustic Analogy with anisotropic Reynolds stress modeling. In this study, trends of noise reduction were correctly predicted. Jet3D was also utilized to produce noise source maps that were then correlated to local flow features. The flow studies show that asymmetry of the longer fan chevrons near the pylon work to reduce the strength of the secondary flow induced by the pylon itself, such that the asymmetric merging of the fan and core shear layers is significantly delayed. The effect is to reduce the peak turbulence kinetic energy and shift it downstream, reducing overall noise production. This combined flow and noise prediction approach has yielded considerable understanding of the physics of a fan chevron nozzle designed to include propulsion airframe aeroacoustic interaction effects.

Massey, Steven J.↗

Transonic flow solutions on general 3D regions using composite-block grids

The construction of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes for complicated regions is greatly simplified by a composite-block grid structure since, with the use of a surrounding layer of points on each block, a flow code is then only required basically to operate on rectangular computational regions. The necessary correspondence of points on the surrounding layers (image points) with interior points (object points) is set up by the grid code and made available to the CFD solution code.

Thompson, Joe F.↗

Protograph LDPC Codes for the Erasure Channel

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use of protograph Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes for erasure channels. A protograph is a Tanner graph with a relatively small number of nodes. A "copy-and-permute" operation can be applied to the protograph to obtain larger derived graphs of various sizes. For very high code rates and short block sizes, a low asymptotic threshold criterion is not the best approach to designing LDPC codes. Simple protographs with much regularity and low maximum node degrees appear to be the best choices Quantized-rateless protograph LDPC codes can be built by careful design of the protograph such that multiple puncturing patterns will still permit message passing decoding to proceed

long erasure codes↗

LADEE Satellite Modeling and Simulation Development

As human activity on and around the Moon increases, so does the likelihood that our actions will have an impact on its atmosphere. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), a NASA satellite scheduled to launch in 2013, will orbit the Moon collecting composition, density, and time variability data to characterize the current state of the lunar atmosphere. LADEE will also test the concept of the "Modular Common Bus" spacecraft architecture, an effort to reduce both development time and cost by designing reusable, modular components for use in multiple missions with similar requirements. An important aspect of this design strategy is to both simulate the spacecraft and develop the flight code in Simulink, a block diagram-style programming language that allows easy algorithm visualization and performance testing. Before flight code can be tested, however, a realistic simulation of the satellite and its dynamics must be generated and validated. This includes all of the satellite control system components such as actuators used for force and torque generation and sensors used for inertial orientation reference. My primary responsibilities have included designing, integrating, and testing models for the LADEE thrusters, reaction wheels, star trackers, and rate gyroscopes.

Adams, Michael↗

Rate-Compatible LDPC Codes with Linear Minimum Distance

A recently developed method of constructing protograph-based low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes provides for low iterative decoding thresholds and minimum distances proportional to block sizes, and can be used for various code rates. A code constructed by this method can have either fixed input block size or fixed output block size and, in either case, provides rate compatibility. The method comprises two submethods: one for fixed input block size and one for fixed output block size. The first mentioned submethod is useful for applications in which there are requirements for rate-compatible codes that have fixed input block sizes. These are codes in which only the numbers of parity bits are allowed to vary. The fixed-output-blocksize submethod is useful for applications in which framing constraints are imposed on the physical layers of affected communication systems. An example of such a system is one that conforms to one of many new wireless-communication standards that involve the use of orthogonal frequency-division modulation

Divsalar, Dariush↗

Surface Modeling and Grid Generation of Orbital Sciences X34 Vehicle

The surface modeling and grid generation requirements, motivations, and methods used to develop Computational Fluid Dynamic volume grids for the X34-Phase 1 are presented. The requirements set forth by the Aerothermodynamics Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center serve as the basis for the final techniques used in the construction of all volume grids, including grids for parametric studies of the X34. The Integrated Computer Engineering and Manufacturing code for Computational Fluid Dynamics (ICEM/CFD), the Grid Generation code (GRIDGEN), the Three-Dimensional Multi-block Advanced Grid Generation System (3DMAGGS) code, and Volume Grid Manipulator (VGM) code are used to enable the necessary surface modeling, surface grid generation, volume grid generation, and grid alterations, respectively. All volume grids generated for the X34, as outlined in this paper, were used for CFD simulations within the Aerothermodynamics Branch.

Alter, Stephen J.↗

Some practical universal noiseless coding techniques, part 3, module PSl14,K+

The algorithmic definitions, performance characterizations, and application notes for a high-performance adaptive noiseless coding module are provided. Subsets of these algorithms are currently under development in custom very large scale integration (VLSI) at three NASA centers. The generality of coding algorithms recently reported is extended. The module incorporates a powerful adaptive noiseless coder for Standard Data Sources (i.e., sources whose symbols can be represented by uncorrelated non-negative integers, where smaller integers are more likely than the larger ones). Coders can be specified to provide performance close to the data entropy over any desired dynamic range (of entropy) above 0.75 bit/sample. This is accomplished by adaptively choosing the best of many efficient variable-length coding options to use on each short block of data (e.g., 16 samples) All code options used for entropies above 1.5 bits/sample are 'Huffman Equivalent', but they require no table lookups to implement. The coding can be performed directly on data that have been preprocessed to exhibit the characteristics of a standard source. Alternatively, a built-in predictive preprocessor can be used where applicable. This built-in preprocessor includes the familiar 1-D predictor followed by a function that maps the prediction error sequences into the desired standard form. Additionally, an external prediction can be substituted if desired. A broad range of issues dealing with the interface between the coding module and the data systems it might serve are further addressed. These issues include: multidimensional prediction, archival access, sensor noise, rate control, code rate improvements outside the module, and the optimality of certain internal code options.

Rice, Robert F.↗

Space communication system for compressed data with a concatenated Reed-Solomon-Viterbi coding channel

A space communication system incorporating a concatenated Reed Solomon Viterbi coding channel is discussed for transmitting compressed and uncompressed data from a spacecraft to a data processing center on Earth. Imaging (and other) data are first compressed into source blocks which are then coded by a Reed Solomon coder and interleaver, followed by a convolutional encoder. The received data is first decoded by a Viterbi decoder, followed by a Reed Solomon decoder and deinterleaver. The output of the latter is then decompressed, based on the compression criteria used in compressing the data in the spacecraft. The decompressed data is processed to reconstruct an approximation of the original data-producing condition or images.

Rice, R. F.↗

Algorithms for high-speed universal noiseless coding

This paper provides the basic algorithmic definitions and performance characterizations for a high-performance adaptive noiseless (lossless) 'coding module' which is currently under separate developments as single-chip microelectronic circuits at two NASA centers. Laboratory tests of one of these implementations recently demonstrated coding rates of up to 900 Mbits/s. Operation of a companion 'decoding module' can operate at up to half the coder's rate. The functionality provided by these modules should be applicable to most of NASA's science data. The hardware modules incorporate a powerful adaptive noiseless coder for 'standard form' data sources (i.e., sources whose symbols can be represented by uncorrelated nonnegative integers where the smaller integers are more likely than the larger ones). Performance close to data entries can be expected over a 'dynamic range' of from 1.5 to 12-15 bits/sample (depending on the implementation). This is accomplished by adaptively choosing the best of many Huffman equivalent codes to use on each block of 1-16 samples. Because of the extreme simplicity of these codes no table lookups are actually required in an implementation, thus leading to the expected very high data rate capabilities already noted.

Rice, Robert F.↗

TIGGERC: Turbomachinery interactive grid generator energy distributor and restart code

A two dimensional multi-block grid generator was developed for a new design and analysis system for studying multi-blade row turbomachinery problems with an axisymmetric viscous/inviscid 'average passage' through flow code. TIGGERC is a mouse driven, fully interactive grid generation program which can be used to modify boundary coordinates and grid packing. TIGGERC generates grids using a hyperbolic tangent or algebraic distribution of grid points on the block boundaries and the interior points of each block grid are distributed using a transfinite interpolation approach. TIGGERC generates a blocked axisymmetric H grid, C grid, I grid, or O grid for studying turbomachinery flow problems. TIGGERC was developed for operation on small high speed graphic workstations.

Miller, David P.↗

Numerical study of supersonic combustors by multi-block grids with mismatched interfaces

A three-dimensional, finite-rate chemistry, Navier-Stokes code has been extended to a multi-block with mismatched interface code for practical calculations of supersonic combustors. To ensure global conservation, a conservative algorithm was used for the treatment of mismatched interfaces. The extended code was checked against one test case, i.e., a generic supersonic combustor with transverse fuel injection, examining solution accuracy, convergence, and local mass flux error. After testing, the code was used to simulate the chemically reacting flow fields in a scramjet combustor with parallel fuel injectors (unswept and swept ramps). Computational results were compared with experimental shadowgraph and pressure measurements. Fuel-air mixing characteristics of the unswept and swept ramps were compared and investigated.

Moon, Young J.↗

Protograph LDPC Codes Over Burst Erasure Channels

In this paper we design high rate protograph based LDPC codes suitable for binary erasure channels. To simplify the encoder and decoder implementation for high data rate transmission, the structure of codes are based on protographs and circulants. These LDPC codes can improve data link and network layer protocols in support of communication networks. Two classes of codes were designed. One class is designed for large block sizes with an iterative decoding threshold that approaches capacity of binary erasure channels. The other class is designed for short block sizes based on maximizing minimum stopping set size. For high code rates and short blocks the second class outperforms the first class.

protgraph based codes↗

Status of Glenn-HT Code Applications to Complex Cooling Geometries

The Glenn-HT code is a 3D Navier-Stokes solver that has been used and validated for a variety of convective heat transfer problems associated with turbine flows. These flows have included tip clearance, simplified internal cooling, and film cooling. The multi-block capability of the code makes it particularly useful for the complex geometries of such flows. One of the goals of the UEET program is to reduce turbine cooling flow while increasing turbine inlet temperature. The Glenn-HT code gives researchers a tool to analyze the flow within the very complicated geometries associated with actual cooled turbine designs. Through these analyses and their comparison with experimental data, it is hoped to extend the applicability of the Glenn-HT code for use as a tool to improve turbine cooling designs to meet UEET goals.

Heidmann, James↗

TCGRID: A three dimensional C-grid generator for turbomachinery

A fast 3-D grid code for turbomachinery was developed. The code, TCGRID (Turbomachinery C-GRID), can generate either C or H type grids for fairly arbitrary axial or radical turbomachinery geometries. The code also has limited blocked grid capability and can generate an axisymmetric H type grid upstream of the blade row or an O type grid within the tip clearance region. Hub and tip geometries are input as a simple list of pairs. All geometric data is handled using parametric splines so that geometries that turn 90 degrees can be handled without difficulty. Blade input is in standard MERIDL or Lewis compressor design code format. TCGRID adds leading and trailing edge circles to MERIDL geometries and intersects the blade with the hub and tip if necessary using a novel intersection algorithm. The procedure used to generate the grid is given. Output is in PLOT3D format, which can also be read by the RVC3D (Rotor Viscous Code 3-D) Navier-Stokes code for turbomachinery. Intermediate 2-D or 3-D grids useful for debug and other purposes can also be output using a convenient output flag. A grid generated figure is given.

Chima, Rodrick V.↗

Object-Oriented Version of Glenn-HT Code Released: Glenn-HT2000

NASA Glenn Research Center s General Multi-Block Navier-Stokes Convective Heat Transfer Code (Glenn-HT) has been used extensively to predict heat transfer and fluid flow for a variety of steady gas turbine engine problems. Efforts have focused on turbine heat transfer, where computations have modeled tip clearance, internal coolant, and film cooling flows. Excellent agreement has been achieved for a variety of experimental test cases, and results have been published in over 40 technical publications. The code is available to U.S. industry and has been used by several domestic gas turbine engine companies. The following figure shows a typical flow solution from the Glenn-HT code for a film-cooled turbine blade.

Heidmann, James D.↗