Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Scaling behavior”

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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Vector-level feedforward control of LPBF melt pool area using a physics-based thermal model

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technique that has gained popularity thanks to its ability to produce geometrically complex, fully dense metal parts. However, these parts are prone to internal defects and geometric inaccuracies, stemming in part from variations in the melt pool. Here, this paper proposes a novel vector-level feedforward control framework for regulating melt pool area in LPBF. By decoupling part-scale thermal behavior from small-scale melt pool physics, the controller provides a scale-agnostic prediction of melt pool area and efficient optimization over it. This is done by operating on two coupled lightweight models: a finite-difference thermal model that efficiently captures vector-level temperature fields and a reduced-order, analytical melt pool model. Each model is calibrated separately with minimal single-track and 2D experiments, and the framework is validated on a complex 3D geometry in both Inconel 718 and 316L stainless steel. Results showed that feedforward vector-level laser power scheduling reduced geometric inaccuracy in key dimensions by 62%, overall porosity by 16.5%, and photodiode root-mean-squared deviation by 38.5% on average. Overall, this modular, data-efficient approach demonstrates that proactively compensating for known thermal effects can significantly improve part quality while remaining computationally efficient and readily extensible to other materials and machines.

Additive manufacturing↗
NASA NTRS2012

Thermal Behavior of Unusual Local-Scale Features on Vesta

On Vesta, the thermal behavior of areas of unusual albedo seen at the local scale can be related to physical properties that can provide information about the origin of those materials. Dawn's Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) hyperspectral cubes are used to retrieve surface temperatures and emissivities, with high accuracy as long as temperatures are greater than ~180 K. Data acquired in the Survey phase (23 July through 29 August 2011) show several unusual surface features: 1) high-albedo (bright) and low-albedo (dark) material deposits, 2) spectrally distinct ejecta and pitted materials, 3) regions suggesting finer-grained materials. Some of the unusual dark and bright features were re-observed by VIR in the subsequent High-Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) and Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) phases at increased pixel resolution. In particular, bright and dark surface materials on Vesta, and pitted materials, are currently being investigated by the Dawn team. In this work we present temperature maps and emissivities of several local-scale features that were observed by Dawn under different illumination conditions and different local solar times. To calculate surface temperatures, we applied a Bayesian approach to nonlinear inversion based on the Kirchhoff law and the Planck function, and whose results were compared with those provided by the application of alternative methods. Data from the IR channel of VIR show that bright regions generally correspond to regions with lower thermal emission, i.e. lower temperature, while dark regions correspond to areas with higher thermal emission, i.e. higher temperature. This behavior confirms that many of the dark appearances in the VIS mainly reflect albedo variations, and not, for example, shadowing. During maximum daily insolation, dark features in the equatorial region may rise to temperatures greater than 270 K, while brightest features stop at roughly 258 K for similar local solar times. However, pitted materials, showing relatively low reflectance, have significantly lower temperatures, as a result of differences in composition and/or structure (e.g, average grain size of the surface regolith, porosity, etc.). To complement this work, we provide preliminary values of thermal inertia for some bright and dark features.

Tosi, Federico↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding the effect of specimen size on the properties of fine-grain isotropic nuclear graphite for irradiation studies: Mechanical properties

Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are investigating the effects of neutron irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) on properties of fine-grain isotropic nuclear graphites. Specimens were irradiated in the HFIR flux trap, which requires using specimens that are smaller than the sizes recommended by ASTM standards. Here, this work has investigated whether subsized specimens can be used to reliably predict strength behavior. The results show that (1) tensile strength was loosely coupled to specimen volume, (2) the compression specimens had a slightly higher strength for larger volumes, (3) the uniaxial flexural strength was nearly independent of specimen effective area for one orientation whereas the other orientation showed a slight strength–size scaling Weibull behavior, and (4) equibiaxial flexural strength followed traditional strength–size scaling Weibull behavior. These results suggest that fine-grain graphite is more similar to ceramics than to medium- and large-grained graphite with respect to both the strength-limiting flaws (Griffith theory) and the effect of machining on the strength behavior. This work shows that using specimens that are smaller than ASTM recommendations are suitable for investigating the strength changes caused by neutron irradiation because the primary interest is the relative change in the strength distribution parameters rather than their absolute values.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Game-Theoretic Modeling of Vegetation Composition, Structure, and Dynamics: Physical Constraints, Fundamental Processes, and Emergent Properties

Vegetation structural and compositional dynamics emerge from plant physiological and demographic processes, individual-based competition, vegetation-soil feedbacks, and environmental variations and disturbance events. Predicting long-term changes in vegetation requires scaling plant individual behavior to large scale ecosystem processes. In this presentation, we summarize our studies in the modeling of vegetation demographic processes, competitively dominant plant traits, plant hydraulic processes, and stochastic disturbance effects on ecosystems, and illustrate the roles of the underlying ecological processes and eco-evolutionary optimization in vegetation modeling. With the case studies of evolutionarily stable strategy of allocation, leaf traits, and plant hydraulic processes, we show how the ecosystem processes and vegetation dynamics are determined by the individual-based plant competition and variations of soil and climate conditions. The predictions of ecosystem carbon dynamics can be greatly different with those from the traditional “single-tree” models. We also discuss the tradeoffs of plant traits and evolutionarily optimal strategies in the modeling of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics in an Earth system model.

vegetation models↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multi-scale investigation on mechanical behavior and microstructural alteration of C-S-H in carbonated Alite paste

Carbonation treatment is a promising option to enhance recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) quality and eventually improve concrete performance. This study investigated the multi-scale mechanical properties of calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) in a mature alite paste subjected to accelerated carbonation treatment by testing macro compressive strength, microhardness and nanoindentation. The results show that, carbonation treatment resulted in a heterogeneous distribution of carbonation products in the alite sample. Reinforcement of C-S-H by the randomly precipitated calcite and vaterite crystals prevailed over the nano-structural and compositional alteration of C-S-H induced by carbonation, leading to an increase of nano-indentation modulus at the edge of the sample. Also, the microhardness at the edge zone was markedly higher than that at the core of the carbonated sample. The carbonated peripheral zone with improved nano-scale modulus and microhardness was likely serving as a “hard shell”, contributing to the improved macro compressive strength. The new insights into the multi-scale mechanical properties of carbonated C-S-H contribute to further understanding of the enhanced properties of RCA after carbonation treatment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation of 1/100-Scale Mooring Systems for Wave Energy Converters

This study evaluates the feasibility, accuracy, and limitations of using 1/100th scale physical mooring systems to represent full-scale mooring behavior for wave energy converters (WECs) during small-scale tank testing. The work focuses on an RM3-style point absorber deployed in conditions representative of the PacWave South test site and examines whether small-scale physical testing can reliably inform numerical modeling, design decisions, and future prototype development. Overall, this study concludes that small-scale (1/100th) physical mooring models can provide valuable qualitative insights, including relative comparisons between mooring types and trends in device behavior, but cannot reliably replicate full-scale mooring loads or dynamic response without significant scaling distortion. Physical tests at this scale are most appropriate for motion characterization and model validation within known limitations, not for deriving absolute mooring loads or final engineering design values. Key lessons learned emphasize the importance of improved instrumentation strategies, iterative wave tank tuning, more precisely manufactured scaled mooring components, and enhanced anchoring systems to reduce experimental uncertainty.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS2019

Complex Dynamics of Air Traffic Flow

Air traffic in the United States has continued to grow at a steady pace since 1980, except for a dip immediately after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. There are different growth scenarios associated both with the magnitude and the composition of the future air traffic. The Terminal Area Forecast (TAF), prepared every year by the FAA, projects the growth of traffic in the United States. Both Boeing and Airbus publish market outlooks for air travel annually. Although predicting the future growth of traffic is difficult, there are two significant trends: heavily congested major airports continue to see an increase in traffic, and the emergence of regional jets and other smaller aircraft with fewer passengers operating directly between non-major airports. The interaction between air traffic demand and the ability of the system to provide the necessary airport and airspace resources can be modeled as a network. The size of the resulting network varies depending on the choice of its nodes. It would be useful to understand the properties of this network to guide future design and development. Many questions, such as the growth of delay with increasing traffic demand and impact of the en route weather on future air traffic, require a systematic understanding of the properties of the air traffic network. There has been a major advance in the understanding of the behavior of networks with a large number of components. Several theories have been advanced about the evolution of large biological and engineering networks by authors in diversified disciplines like physics, mathematics, biology and computer science. Several networks exhibit a scale-free property in the sense that the probabilistic distribution of their nodes as a function of connections decreases slower than an exponential. These networks are characterized by the fact that a small number of components have a disproportionate influence on the performance of the network. Scale-free networks are tolerant to random failure of components, but are vulnerable to selective attack on components. This paper examines two network representations for the baseline air traffic system. A network defined with the 40 major airports as nodes and with standard flight routes as links has a characteristic scale: all nodes have 60 or more links and no node has more than 460 links. Another network is defined with baseline aircraft routing structure exhibits an exponentially truncated scale-free behavior. Its degree ranges from 2 connections to 2900 connections, and 225 nodes have more than 250 connections. Furthermore, those high-degree nodes are homogeneously distributed in the airspace. A consequence of this scale-free behavior is that the random loss of a single node has little impact, but the loss of multiple high-degree nodes (such as occurs during major storms in busy airspace) can adversely impact the system. Two future scenarios of air traffic growth are used to predict the growth of air traffic in the United States. It is shown that a three-times growth in the overall traffic may result in a ten-times impact on the density of traffic in certain parts of the United States.

Scale-free Networks↗
DOE OSTI2023

Visualizing the atomic-scale origin of metallic behavior in Kondo insulators

A Kondo lattice is often electrically insulating at low temperatures. However, several recent experiments have detected signatures of bulk metallicity within this Kondo insulating phase. In this study, we visualized the real-space charge landscape within a Kondo lattice with atomic resolution using a scanning tunneling microscope. We discovered nanometer-scale puddles of metallic conduction electrons centered around uranium-site substitutions in the heavy-fermion compound uranium ruthenium silicide (URu 2 Si 2 ) and around samarium-site defects in the topological Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride (SmB 6 ). These defects disturbed the Kondo screening cloud, leaving behind a fingerprint of the metallic parent state. Our results suggest that the three-dimensional quantum oscillations measured in SmB 6 arise from Kondo-lattice defects, although we cannot exclude other explanations. Finally, our imaging technique could enable the development of atomic-scale charge sensors using heavy-fermion probes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2002

Compression Buckling Behavior of Large-Scale Friction Stir Welded and Riveted 2090-T83 Al-Li Alloy Skin-Stiffener Panels

To evaluate the potential of friction stir welding (FSW) as a replacement for traditional rivet fastening for launch vehicle dry bay construction, a large-scale friction stir welded 2090-T83 aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloy skin-stiffener panel was designed and fabricated by Lockheed-Martin Space Systems Company - Michoud Operations (LMSS) as part of NASA Space Act Agreement (SAA) 446. The friction stir welded panel and a conventional riveted panel were tested to failure in compression at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The present paper describes the compression test results, stress analysis, and associated failure behavior of these panels. The test results provide useful data to support future optimization of FSW processes and structural design configurations for launch vehicle dry bay structures.

Hoffman, Eric K.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Scaling, rotation, and channeling behavior of helical and skyrmion spin textures in thin films of Te-doped Cu 2 OSeO 3

Topologically nontrivial spin textures such as vortices, skyrmions, and monopoles are promising candidates as information carriers for future quantum information science. Their controlled manipulation including creation and annihilation remains an important challenge toward practical applications and further exploration of their emergent phenomena. Here, we report controlled evolution of the helical and skyrmion phases in thin films of multiferroic Te-doped Cu 2 OSeO 3 as a function of material thickness, dopant, temperature, and magnetic field using in situ Lorentz phase microscopy. We report two previously unknown phenomena in chiral spin textures in multiferroic Cu 2 OSeO 3 : anisotropic scaling and channeling with a fixed-Q state. The skyrmion channeling effectively suppresses the recently reported second skyrmion phase formation at low temperature. Our study provides a viable way toward controlled manipulation of skyrmion lattices, envisaging chirality-controlled skyrmion flow circuits and enabling precise measurement of emergent electromagnetic induction and topological Hall effects in skyrmion lattices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nanometer-Scale Correlations in Aqueous Salt Solutions

The intermediate-range (1–4 nm) correlation of cations, an- ions, and water in aqueous alkaline earth salt solutions is measured using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We differentiate from the entire solution structure factor, S(Q), a separate region at low Q (<1 °A-1) containing local diffraction maxima (pre-peaks) that indicate nanometer-scale oscillatory behavior. These features are quantitatively reproduced with classical molecular dynamics simulations. At high concentrations, the pre-peaks emerge from correlations arising from existence of small quasi close-packed lattice- like structures comprised of cation hydration spheres. We also analyze the concentration dependence of the pre-peak and discuss the overall results in light of the rich literature dealing with intermediate-range correlations underlying universal phenomena in concentrated electrolytes. The authors were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-76RL01830. Computing resources were generously allocated by PNNL's Institutional Computing program. DOE Contract No. DEAC02- 06CH11357 supports operation of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.

Chemical physics, nucleation, Madelung potential↗
DOE OSTI2026

From observation to replication: machine-learning-driven quantification and replication of fine-scale fish kinematics and behavior

Long-term quantification of fish behavior is essential for aquatic ecology, wildlife telemetry, and biomechanical device development. However, the observation duration required to obtain reliable behavioral and kinematic metrics remains unclear, and few tools exist to physically reproduce natural swimming motion for controlled experimentation. We address these challenges by developing a generalizable framework that models behavioral reliability (Spearman–Brown reliability index) as a function of observation duration and derives metric-specific monitoring thresholds. Using juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) as a case study, we demonstrate that the minimum duration needed for reliable estimates varies substantially across kinematic features: to exceed a reliability of 0.8, total distance traveled requires 12 days, average curvature (mm?¹) 15 days, tail-beat frequency (Hz) 8 days, and average speed (body length/s) 17 days. We further bridge digital analysis and physical testing by developing a hardware-in-the-loop simulator that reconstructs machine-learning-derived swimming kinematics with high fidelity (correlation coefficient 0.98–0.99, RMSE 1.22–1.27 mm over a 5-minute segment). This platform enables realistic, repeatable motion stimuli for evaluating aquatic sensing technologies and bio-integrated devices under controlled conditions. Together, these contributions provide a scalable approach for designing long-term behavioral studies and a data-driven connection between ecological observation and robotic experimentation.

Hwang, SungJoo↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modeling the effects of active wake mixing on wake behavior through large-scale coherent structures

The use of active wake mixing (AWM) to mitigate downstream turbine wakes has created new opportunities for reducing power losses in wind farms. However, many current analytical or semi-empirical wake models do not capture the flow instabilities that are excited through the blade pitch actuation. In this work, we develop a framework, which accounts for the impacts of the large-scale coherent structures and turbulence on the mean flow, for modeling AWM. The framework uses a triple-decomposition approach for the unsteady flow field and models the mean flow and fine-scale turbulence with a parabolized Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) system. The wave components are modeled using a simplified spatial linear stability formulation that captures the growth and evolution of the coherent structures. Comparisons with high-fidelity large eddy simulations (LESs) of the turbine wakes showed that this framework was able to capture the additional wake mixing and faster wake recovery in the far-wake regions for both the pulse and helix AWM strategies with minimal computational expense. In the near-wake region, some differences are observed in both the RANS velocity profiles and initial growth of the large-scale structures, which may be due to some simplifying assumptions used in the model.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1976

Finite element solutions for crack-tip behavior in small-scale yielding

The subject considered is the stress and deformation fields in a cracked elastic-plastic power law hardening material under plane strain tensile loading. An incremental plasticity finite element formulation is developed for accurate analysis of the complete field problem including the extensively deformed near tip region, the elastic-plastic region, and the remote elastic region. The formulation has general applicability and was used to solve the small scale yielding problem for a set of material hardening exponents. Distributions of stress, strain, and crack opening displacement at the crack tip and through the elastic-plastic zone are presented as a function of the elastic stress intensity factor and material properties.

Tracey, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Fracture behavior of large-scale thin-sheet aluminum alloy

A series of fracture tests on large-scale, pre-cracked, aluminum alloy panels is being carried out to examine and to characterize the process by which cracks propagate and link up in this material. Extended grips and test fixtures were specially designed to enable the panel specimens to be loaded in tension, in a 1780-kN-capacity universal testing machine. Twelve panel specimens, each consisting of a single sheet of bare 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, 3988 mm high, 2286 mm wide, and 1.016 mm thick are being fabricated with simulated through-cracks oriented horizontally at mid-height. Using existing information, a test matrix has been set up that explores regions of failure that are controlled by fracture mechanics, with additional tests near the boundary between plastic collapse and fracture. In addition, a variety of multiple site damage (MSD) configurations have been included to distinguish between various proposed linkage mechanisms. All tests but one use anti-buckling guides. At this writing seven specimens have been tested. Three were fabricated with a single central crack, three others had multiple cracks on each side of the central crack, and one had a single crack but no anti-buckling guides. Each fracture event was recorded on film, video, computer, magnetic tape, and occasionally optical microscopy. The visual showed the crack tip with a load meter in the field of view, using motion picture film for one tip and SVHS video tape for the other. The computer recorded the output of the testing machine load cell, the stroke, and twelve strain gages at 1.5 second intervals. A wideband FM magnetic tape recorder was used to record data from the same sources. The data were analyzed by two different procedures: (1) the plastic zone model based on the residual strength diagram; and (2) the R-curve. The first three tests were used to determine the basic material properties, and these results were then used in the analysis of the two subsequent tests with MSD cracks. There is good agreement between measured values and results obtained from the model.

Dewit, Roland↗
NASA NTRS2013

Effect of Boundary-Layer Bleed Hole Inclination Angle and Scaling on Flow Coefficient Behavior

Phase II data results of the Fundamental Inlet Bleed Experiments study at NASA Glenn Research Center are presented which include flow coefficient behavior for 21 bleed hole configurations. The bleed configurations are all round holes with hole diameters ranging from 0.795 to 6.35 mm, hole inclination angles from 20deg to 90deg, and thickness-to-diameter ratios from 0.25 to 2.0. All configurations were tested at a unit Reynolds number of 2.46 10(exp 7)/m and at discrete local Mach numbers of 1.33, 1.62, 1.98, 2.46, and 2.92. Interactions between the design parameters of hole diameter, hole inclination angle, and thickness-to-diameter as well as the interactions between the flow parameters of pressure ratio and Mach number upon the flow coefficient are examined, and a preliminary statistical model is proposed. An existing correlation is also examined with respect to this data.

Eichorn, Michael B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Use of Dynamically Scaled Models for Studies of the High-Angle-of-Attack Behavior of Airplanes

Dynamically scaled, free-flying models are used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the stalling and spinning characteristics of civil and military airplane configurations. Such tests have been conducted for many different designs, and it has been possible to correlate the results predicted by the model tests with flight test results obtained in the investigations. The present paper describes four of the dynamic model testing techniques used at the NASA Langley Research Center, including the scaling laws used in the construction of models and in the interpretation of results. Predictions of stall/spin behavior based on model results have generally been very accurate, and the model tests are regarded as an invaluable precursor to full-scale flight tests. However, aerodynamic scale effects between some models and full-scale airplanes due to differences in test values of Reynolds number have resulted in erroneous predictions for a few configurations. A discussion of these effects is provided, together with the approach used to modify the model so that its behavior more closely matches that of the airplane. Finally, two typical applications of the techniques to the X-29A research airplane and several general aviation research airplanes are presented to illustrate the type of information provided by the tests.

Joseph R Chambers↗