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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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The design criteria for heterogeneous chemical reactions in liquid/liquid systems formally correspond to those of classical physical extraction. More complex models are presented which describe the material exchange at the individual droplets in an extraction with chemical reaction and in liquid membrane permeation.
Solid Modeling Program (SMP) version 2.0 provides capability to model complex solid objects mathematically through aggregation of geometric primitives (parts). System provides designer with basic set of primitive parts and capability to define new primitives. Six primitives included in present version: boxes, cones, spheres, paraboloids, tori, and trusses. Written in VAX/VMS FORTRAN 77.
Studies of planetary rings focus on the dynamical processes that govern astronomically observable ring properties and structure. These investigations thus help reveal properties of the rings as well as probe the gravity fields of the planets. Satellite studies involve interpretation of orbital motion to extract information regarding the gravity fields of the outer planets and the physical properties of the satellites themselves. Asteroid lightcurve work is designed to investigate the large-scale shapes of the asteroids, as well as to reveal anomalous features such as major topography, possible satellites, or albedo variations. Work on the nature of viscous transport in planetary rings, emphasizing the role of individual particles' physical properties, has yielded a method for estimating both angular momentum and mass transport given an optical-thickness gradient. This result offers the prospect of ringlet instability, which may explain the square-profile ringlets in Saturn's C Ring. Thermal and reflected lightcurves of 532 Herculina have been interpreted to show that albedo variations cannot be the primary cause of variations. A lightcurve simulation has been developed to model complex asteroidal figures. Bamberga was observed during the December occultation as part of the joint LPL-Lowell program.
Aircraft dynamic analyses are demanding of computer simulation capabilities. The modeling complexities of semi-monocoque construction, irregular geometry, high-performance materials, and high-accuracy analysis are present. At issue are the safety of the passengers and the integrity of the structure for a wide variety of flight-operating and emergency conditions. The technology which supports engineering of aircraft structures using computer simulation is examined. Available computer support is briefly described and improvement of accuracy and efficiency are recommended. Improved accuracy of simulation will lead to a more economical structure. Improved efficiency will result in lowering development time and expense.
General problems associated with on-board trajectory optimization, propulsion system cycle selection, and with the synthesis of guidance laws were addressed for an ascent to low-earth-orbit of an air-breathing single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. The NASA Generic Hypersonic Aerodynamic Model Example and the Langley Accelerator aerodynamic sets were acquired and implemented. Work related to the development of purely analytic aerodynamic models was also performed at a low level. A generic model of a multi-mode propulsion system was developed that includes turbojet, ramjet, scramjet, and rocket engine cycles. Provisions were made in the dynamic model for a component of thrust normal to the flight path. Computational results, which characterize the nonlinear sensitivity of scramjet performance to changes in vehicle angle of attack, were obtained and incorporated into the engine model. Additional trajectory constraints were introduced: maximum dynamic pressure; maximum aerodynamic heating rate per unit area; angle of attack and lift limits; and limits on acceleration both along and normal to the flight path. The remainder of the effort focused on required modifications to a previously derived algorithm when the model complexity cited above was added. In particular, analytic switching conditions were derived which, under appropriate assumptions, govern optimal transition from one propulsion mode to another for two cases: the case in which engine cycle operations can overlap, and the case in which engine cycle operations are mutually exclusive. The resulting guidance algorithm was implemented in software and exercised extensively. It was found that the approximations associated with the assumed time scale separation employed in this work are reasonable except over the Mach range from roughly 5 to 8. This phenomenon is due to the very large thrust capability of scramjets in this Mach regime when sized to meet the requirement for ascent to orbit. By accounting for flight path angle and flight path angle rate in construction of the flight path over this Mach range, the resulting algorithm provides the means for rapid near-optimal trajectory generation and propulsion cycle selection over the entire Mach range from take-off to orbit.
This paper reviews new approaches in CFD which have the potential for significantly increasing current capabilities of modeling complex flow phenomena and of treating difficult problems in fluid-structure interaction. These approaches are based on the notions of adaptive methods and smart algorithms, which use instantaneous measures of the quality and other features of the numerical flowfields as a basis for making changes in the structure of the computational grid and of algorithms designed to function on the grid. The application of these new techniques to several problem classes are addressed, including problems with moving boundaries, fluid-structure interaction in high-speed turbine flows, flow in domains with receding boundaries, and related problems.
One of the major achievements in engineering science has been the development of computer algorithms for solving nonlinear differential equations such as the Navier-Stokes equations. In the past, limited computer resources have motivated the development of efficient numerical schemes in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) utilizing structured meshes. The use of structured meshes greatly simplifies the implementation of CFD algorithms on conventional computers. Unstructured grids on the other hand offer an alternative to modeling complex geometries. Unstructured meshes have irregular connectivity and usually contain combinations of triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedra, and hexahedra. The generation and use of unstructured grids poses new challenges in CFD. The purpose of this note is to present recent developments in the unstructured grid generation and flow solution technology.
A multiphase computational fluid dynamics code (ARICC-3D) is presented and results of two simulations are discussed. The numerical framework of the CFD code is reviewed as well as some of the two-phase physical submodels. The simulations performed include a single coaxial element injector and a multielement injector using LOX/Hydrogen reactants. The single element injector simulation verified the interaction among the code's submodels. The multielement injector simulation transient results include the chamber response to a transverse pressure wave with and without a chamber baffle. The results of these simulations demonstrate the current capabilities and their limitations to model complex two-phase combustion phenomena. Possible ways to exceed these limitations are suggested.
Comprehensive thermal analysis system handles complex models such as evaporators and permits interaction of thermal and fluid problems. Design flexibility provided by 20,000 nodes, 100,000 conductors, 100 thermal submodels, and 10 fluid submodels.
STAGS models complex thin shell structures including separate shell branches or segments connected along their boundaries. Options include static stress and vibration, transient, and bifurcation buckling analysis. Also useful for submarine design.
A phase 2 research and development effort was conducted in area transonic, compressible, inviscid flows with an ultimate goal of numerically modeling complex flows inherent in advanced helicopter blade designs. The algorithms and methodologies therefore are classified as adaptive methods, which are error estimation techniques for approximating the local numerical error, and automatically refine or unrefine the mesh so as to deliver a given level of accuracy. The result is a scheme which attempts to produce the best possible results with the least number of grid points, degrees of freedom, and operations. These types of schemes automatically locate and resolve shocks, shear layers, and other flow details to an accuracy level specified by the user of the code. The phase 1 work involved a feasibility study of h-adaptive methods for steady viscous flows, with emphasis on accurate simulation of vortex initiation, migration, and interaction. Phase 2 effort focused on extending these algorithms and methodologies to a three-dimensional topology.
Integral equation methods have generally been the workhorse for antenna and scattering computations. In the case of antennas, they continue to be the prominent computational approach, but for scattering applications the requirement for large-scale computations has turned researchers' attention to near neighbor methods such as the finite element method, which has low O(N) storage requirements and is readily adaptable in modeling complex geometrical features and material inhomogeneities. In this paper, we review three hybrid finite element methods for simulating composite scatterers, conformal microstrip antennas, and finite periodic arrays. Specifically, we discuss the finite element method and its application to electromagnetic problems when combined with the boundary integral, absorbing boundary conditions, and artificial absorbers for terminating the mesh. Particular attention is given to large-scale simulations, methods, and solvers for achieving low memory requirements and code performance on parallel computing architectures.
Fuzzy logic has proven to be a simple and robust method for process control. Instead of requiring a complex model of the system, a user defined rule base is used to control the process. In this paper the principles of fuzzy logic control are applied to Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV). Two frames of digitally recorded, single exposure particle imagery are used as input. The fuzzy processor uses the local particle displacement information to determine the correct particle tracks. Fuzzy PTV is an improvement over traditional PTV techniques which typically require a sequence (greater than 2) of image frames for accurately tracking particles. The fuzzy processor executes in software on a PC without the use of specialized array or fuzzy logic processors. A pair of sample input images with roughly 300 particle images each, results in more than 200 velocity vectors in under 8 seconds of processing time.
Simulations have become a powerful mechanism for understanding and modeling complex phenomena. Their results have had substantial impact on a broad range of decisions in the military, government, and industry. Because of this, new techniques are continually being explored and developed to make them even more useful, understandable, extendable, and efficient. One such area of research is the application of the knowledge-based methods of artificial intelligence (AI) to the computer simulation field. The goal of knowledge-based simulation is to facilitate building simulations of greatly increased power and comprehensibility by making use of deeper knowledge about the behavior of the simulated world. One technique for representing and manipulating knowledge that has been enhanced by the AI community is object-oriented programming. Using this technique, the entities of a discrete-event simulation can be viewed as objects in an object-oriented formulation. Knowledge can be factual (i.e., attributes of an entity) or behavioral (i.e., how the entity is to behave in certain circumstances). Rome Laboratory's Advanced Simulation Environment (RASE) was developed as a research vehicle to provide an enhanced simulation development environment for building more intelligent, interactive, flexible, and realistic simulations. This capability will support current and future battle management research and provide a test of the object-oriented paradigm for use in large scale military applications.
In modern fighter aircraft air-to-air missile launch acceptable ranges (LARs) are provided to the pilot for his launch decision. These LARs are calculated in the avionic software, using very simple algebraic equations and algorithms, that attempt to model complex missile behavior. Frequently these algorithms are revised to reflect inaccuracies discovered, when comparisons are made with missile six degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) simulations. The process of modifying this software has become expensive. In the past, these simple LAR generators were modified based only on subjective judgmental approach, with little regard to the missile range design limits. With reduced budgets a more rational methodology should be taken to assess whether or not simple fighter LAR generators need to be modified. Any LAR generator can produce large amounts of range (minimum and maximum) data over the board engagement limits of modem fighter and air-to-air missiles. This infinite population lends itself to some statistical methodology to access simple LAR accuracy and the need for software modification. The methodology should produce statistical parameters for use in the decision making process of modifying a simple fighter LAR generator. This paper presents a regression method, based on a missile range design limit philosophy. Acceptance criteria from the regression method are given that provide simple statistical parameters to aid in this decision making process.
Accurate prediction of airframe/actuation coupling is required by the imposing demands of modern flight control systems. In particular, for agility enhancement at high angle of attack and low dynamic pressure, structural integration characteristics such as hinge moments, effective actuator stiffness, and airframe/control surface damping can have a significant effect on stability predictions. Actuator responses are customarily represented with low-order transfer functions matched to actuator test data, and control surface stiffness is often modeled as a linear spring. The inclusion of the physical properties of actuation and its installation on the airframe is therefore addressed in this paper using detailed actuator models which consider the physical, electrical, and mechanical elements of actuation. The aeroservoelastic analysis procedure is described in which the actuators are modeled as detailed high-order transfer functions and as approximate low-order transfer functions. The impacts of unsteady aerodynamic modeling on aeroservoelastic stability are also investigated in this paper by varying the order of approximation, or number of aerodynamic lag states, in the analysis. Test data from a thrust-vectoring configuration of an F/A-18 aircraft are compared to predictions to determine the effects on accuracy as a function of modeling complexity.
This paper describes the parallel version of the three-dimensional, chemically reacting, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, SPARK. This work was performed on the Intel iPSC/860-based parallel computers. The SPARK code utilizes relatively simple explicit numerical algorithms, but models complex chemical reactions. The code solves the equations over a regular structured mesh so a simple dam decomposition is used to assign work to the individual processors. The explicit nature of the algorithm, combined with the computational intensity of the chemistry calculations, results in a very low communication-to-computation ratio when compared to typical CFD codes. The efficiency of the parallel code is examined and shown to be about 65 percent when the problem size is scaled with the number of processors. Two low-angle wall-jet injection cases are solved to demonstrate the capability of the parallel code for solving large problems efficiently.
Accurate prediction of airframe/actuation coupling is required by the imposing demands of modern flight control systems. In particular, for agility enhancement at high angle of attack and low dynamic pressure, structural integration characteristics such as hinge moments, effective actuator stiffness, and airframe/control surface damping can have a significant effect on stability predictions. Actuator responses are customarily represented with low-order transfer functions matched to actuator test data, and control surface stiffness is often modeled as a linear spring. The inclusion of the physical properties of actuation and its installation on the airframe is therefore addressed using detailed actuator models which consider the physical, electrical, and mechanical elements of actuation. The aeroservoelastic analysis procedure is described in which the actuators are modeled as detailed high-order transfer functions and as approximate low-order transfer functions. The impacts of unsteady aerodynamic modeling on aeroservoelastic stability are also investigated by varying the order of approximation, or number of aerodynamic lag states, in the analysis. Test data from a thrust-vectoring configuration of an F/A-l8 aircraft are compared to predictions to determine the effects on accuracy as a function of modeling complexity.