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At least 343 records · Page 19

Finite element analysis in fluids; Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Finite Element Methods in Flow Problems, University of Alabama, Huntsville, Apr. 3-7, 1989

Recent advances in computational fluid dynamics are examined in reviews and reports, with an emphasis on finite-element methods. Sections are devoted to adaptive meshes, atmospheric dynamics, combustion, compressible flows, control-volume finite elements, crystal growth, domain decomposition, EM-field problems, FDM/FEM, and fluid-structure interactions. Consideration is given to free-boundary problems with heat transfer, free surface flow, geophysical flow problems, heat and mass transfer, high-speed flow, incompressible flow, inverse design methods, MHD problems, the mathematics of finite elements, and mesh generation. Also discussed are mixed finite elements, multigrid methods, non-Newtonian fluids, numerical dissipation, parallel vector processing, reservoir simulation, seepage, shallow-water problems, spectral methods, supercomputer architectures, three-dimensional problems, and turbulent flows.

Chung, T. J.↗

The application of neural networks to the SSME startup transient

Feedforward neural networks were used to model three parameters during the Space Shuttle Main Engine startup transient. The three parameters were the main combustion chamber pressure, a controlled parameter, the high pressure oxidizer turbine discharge temperature, a redlined parameter, and the high pressure fuel pump discharge pressure, a failure-indicating performance parameter. Network inputs consisted of time windows of data from engine measurements that correlated highly to the modeled parameter. A standard backpropagation algorithm was used to train the feedforward networks on two nominal firings. Each trained network was validated with four additional nominal firings. For all three parameters, the neural networks were able to accurately predict the data in the validation sets as well as the training set.

Meyer, Claudia M.↗

The application of neural networks to the SSME startup transient

Feedforward neural networks were used to model three parameters during the Space Shuttle Main Engine startup transient. The three parameters were the main combustion chamber pressure, a controlled parameter, the high pressure oxidizer turbine discharge temperature, a redlined parameter, and the high pressure fuel pump discharge pressure, a failure-indicating performance parameter. Network inputs consisted of time windows of data from engine measurements that correlated highly to the modeled parameter. A standard backpropagation algorithm was used to train the feedforward networks on two nominal firings. Each trained network was validated with four additional nominal firings. For all three parameters, the neural networks were able to accurately predict the data in the validation sets as well as the training set.

Meyer, Claudia M.↗

Status of NASA's Earth-to-Orbit Propulsion Technology program

Earth-to-Orbit Propulsion Technology program is considered. The program's three major technical areas include combustion devices, turbomachinery, and controls and monitoring. Directed toward reducing acquisition and operations risk and cost the ETO program is conducted in two serially-performed categories: technology acquisition and technology validation. The former is constituted of studies, tool building, and bench-scale experimentation. The latter involves next-step verification of the acquisition results and findings, usually leading to a test-bed validated technology 'product'.

Escher, W. J. D.↗

The NASA-OAST earth-to-orbit propulsion technology program - The action plan

The paper discusses the primary objective of the NASA-OAST earth-to-orbit (ETO) propulsion technology program, namely, to completely overhaul the nation's liquid rocket design and analysis capabilities which were found to be severely limited when used for the design and development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Meeting this objective is to provide a much sounder, very comprehensive technology base that will enable the cost-effective low-risk development, acquisition, and operation of high-performance, expendable, or reusable ETO propulsion systems. This in turn will enable the future development of space transportation system launch vehicles with greatly reduced life-cycle costs. Work is carried out in three major areas: combustion devices, turbomachinery, and controls and health management.

Escher, W. J. D.↗

NACA Investigation of a Jet-Propulsion System Applicable to Flight

Following a brief history of the NACA investigation of jet-propulsion, a discussion is given of the general investigation and analyses leading to the construction of the jet-propulsion ground-test mock-up. The results of burning experiments and of test measurements designed to allow quantitative flight-performance predictions of the system are presented and correlated with calculations. These calculations are then used to determine the performance of the system on the ground and in the air at various speeds and altitudes under various burning conditions. The application of the system to an experimental airplane is described and some performance predictions for this airplane are made. It was found that the main fire could be restricted to an intense, small, and short annular blue flame burning steadily and under control in the intended combustion space. With these readily obtainable combustion conditions, the combustion chamber the nozzle walls and the surrounding structure could be maintained at normal temperatures. The system investigated was found to be capable of burning one-half the intake air up the fuel rates of 3 pounds per second. Calculations were shown to agree well with experiment. It was concluded that the basic features of the jet-propulsion system investigation in the ground-test mock-up were sufficiently developed to be considered applicable to flight installation. Calculations indicated that an airplane utilizing this jet-propulsion system would have unusual capabilities in the high-speed range above the speeds of conventional aircraft and would, in addition, have moderately long cruising ranges if only the engine were used.

DUCTS↗

JANNAF Combustion Subcommittee Meeting

This volume, the first of four volumes, is a collection of 33 unclassified/unlimited papers which were presented at the 33rd Joint Army-Navy-NASA-Air Force (JANNAF) Combustion Subcommittee Meeting in conjunction with the Propulsion Systems Hazards at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. The JANNAF papers contained in this volume review airbreathing combustion measurement, performance and control; electrothermal-chemical gun experiment and modeling; liquid propellant gun experiment and modeling; solid propellant gun interior ballistics; formulation modeling and diagnostics, ignition, and gun barrel wear modeling, blast and flash; and ram, fastcore and gas generator gun propulsion concepts.

Fry, Ronald S.↗

Fluids and Combustion Facility: Combustion Integrated Rack Modal Model Correlation

The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is a modular, multi-user, two-rack facility dedicated to combustion and fluids science in the US Laboratory Destiny on the International Space Station. FCF is a permanent facility that is capable of accommodating up to ten combustion and fluid science investigations per year. FCF research in combustion and fluid science supports NASA's Exploration of Space Initiative for on-orbit fire suppression, fire safety, and space system fluids management. The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) is one of two racks in the FCF. The CIR major structural elements include the International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR), Experiment Assembly (optics bench and combustion chamber), Air Thermal Control Unit (ATCU), Rack Door, and Lower Structure Assembly (Input/Output Processor and Electrical Power Control Unit). The load path through the rack structure is outlined. The CIR modal survey was conducted to validate the load path predicted by the CIR finite element model (FEM). The modal survey is done by experimentally measuring the CIR frequencies and mode shapes. The CIR model was test correlated by updating the model to represent the test mode shapes. The correlated CIR model delivery is required by NASA JSC at Launch-10.5 months. The test correlated CIR flight FEM is analytically integrated into the Shuttle for a coupled loads analysis of the launch configuration. The analysis frequency range of interest is 0-50 Hz. A coupled loads analysis is the analytical integration of the Shuttle with its cargo element, the Mini Payload Logistics Module (MPLM), in the Shuttle cargo bay. For each Shuttle launch configuration, a verification coupled loads analysis is performed to determine the loads in the cargo bay as part of the structural certification process.

McNelis, Mark E.↗

Assessment of Durable SiC JFET Technology for +600 C to -125 C Integrated Circuit Operation

Electrical characteristics and circuit design considerations for prototype 6H-SiC JFET integrated circuits (ICs) operating over the broad temperature range of -125 C to +600 C are described. Strategic implementation of circuits with transistors and resistors in the same 6H-SiC n-channel layer enabled ICs with nearly temperature-independent functionality to be achieved. The frequency performance of the circuits declined at temperatures increasingly below or above room temperature, roughly corresponding to the change in 6H-SiC n-channel resistance arising from incomplete carrier ionization at low temperature and decreased electron mobility at high temperature. In addition to very broad temperature functionality, these simple digital and analog demonstration integrated circuits successfully operated with little change in functional characteristics over the course of thousands of hours at 500 C before experiencing interconnect-related failures. With appropriate further development, these initial results establish a new technology foundation for realizing durable 500 C ICs for combustion engine sensing and control, deep-well drilling, and other harsh-environment applications.

Neudeck, P. G.↗

Stable Electrical Operation of 6H-SiC JFETs and ICs for Thousands of Hours at 500 C

The fabrication and testing of the first semiconductor transistors and small-scale integrated circuits (ICs) to achieve up to 3000 h of stable electrical operation at 500 C in air ambient is reported. These devices are based on an epitaxial 6H-SiC junction field-effect transistor process that successfully integrated high temperature ohmic contacts, dielectric passivation, and ceramic packaging. Important device and circuit parameters exhibited less than 10% of change over the course of the 500 C operational testing. These results establish a new technology foundation for realizing durable 500 C ICs for combustion-engine sensing and control, deep-well drilling, and other harsh-environment applications.

Neudeck, Philip G.↗

Yearlong 500 C Operational Demonstration of Up-Scaled 4H-SiC JFET Integrated Circuits

This work describes recent progress in the design, processing, and testing of significantly up-scaled 500 C durable 4H-SiC junction field effect transistor (JFET) integrated circuit (IC) technology with two-level interconnect undergoing development at NASA Glenn Research Center. For the first time, stable electrical operation of semiconductor ICs for over one year at 500 C in air atmosphere is reported. These groundbreaking durability results were attained on two-level interconnect JFET demonstration ICs with 175 or more transistors on each chip. This corresponds to a more than 7-fold increase in 500 C-durable circuit complexity from the 24 transistor ring oscillator ICs reported at HiTEC 2016. These results advance the technology foundation for realizing long-term durable 500 C ICs with increased functional capability for combustion engine sensing and control, planetary exploration, deep-well drilling monitoring, and other harsh-environment applications.

Silicon carbides↗

Flat-H Redundant Frangible Joint Design Evolution 2018: Feasibility Study Conclusions

This paper reports results of an investigation into developing a single failure tolerant pyrotechnic linear separation system which features completely redundant explosive trains suitable for human spaceflight. It is a follow up to “Flat-H Redundant Frangible Joint Design Evolution 2017” and “Flat-H Redundant Frangible Joint Evolution”. The paper chronicles the history of the redundant frangible joint development program including testing, analysis, and design improvements from 2014 to the present culminating in a successful proof-of-concept prototype. The paper describes work done to address debris control and containment of combustion products. A performance optimization strategy is presented along with optimization results. Additionally a novel containment manifold design is presented with test results.

Structures↗

Design and Testing of a Water-Cooled Rotating Detonation Combustor at Elevated Operating Pressures - Abstract

This is an extended abstract being submitted for consideration that briefly describes the material that will be included in the final paper. This study will detail the design and testing of a water-cooled Rotating Detonation Combustor (RDC) that permits operation for extended periods of time ensuring that the device has reach a stable operating temperature. Extended run times also provides an opportunity to consider transient behaviors that occur as a result of altering the operating conditions such as equivalence ratio. The experimental setup is also unique in that it consists of a ducted exhaust with a downstream high-temperature valve that can control the pre-combustion pressure in the RDC independent of the combustor annulus and exit geometry. This paper will examine the results from the extended operation of the water-cooled RDC over a range of both transient and steady state equivalence ratios (0.5 - 1.0), pre-combustion operating pressures (0 - 207 kPa), mass flow rates (0.42 – 0.5 kg/sec) and air inlet throat area to combustor channel area ratios (0.09 – 0.32). All tests were performed while operating on hydrogen in air at a nominal air inlet temperature of 340 – 350 K. Limited data obtained at an elevated inlet air temperature of 480 K will also be discussed. Results suggest that under certain conditions the operating mode of the detonation wave can vary as it approaches a stable operating temperature. For the RDC tested, a stable operating temperature is not achieved until approximately 8-10 seconds of run time.

Ferguson, Donald↗

Effect of NO on DME-Methanol HCCI Experimental Observations

Methanol is an attractive fuel for the maritime sector due to its wide availability. Its direct use as a fuel, however, is accompanied by challenges such as high latent heat of vaporization and low cetane number. A potential solution to overcome the ignition properties of methanol could be through on-board generation of dimethyl ether (DME) via catalytic dehydration of methanol. The resulting mixture from dehydration can be mixed in with the intake air to generate a homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) preburn for subsequent direct injection (DI) and successful ignition methanol at diesel–like timescales. However, if the preburn species are treated separately from the complete methanol MCCI approach the preburn heat release rate (HRR) phasing and behavior do not replicate the preburn behavior of the complete approach. Thus, the presence of the main methanol mixing controlled compression ignition (MCCI) combustion event influences the DME/methanol preburn kinetics. Specifically, it was found that trapped residual temperature alone was insufficient alone to be responsible for the observed differences, and that trace species concentrations of NO in the trapped residual gas also influenced DME/methanol kinetics increasing low temperature heat release (LTHR) magnitude and advancing high temperature heat release (HTHR) phasing. NO is not present in HCCI combustion of neat DME or DME/methanol blends nor is elevated gas temperature in the trapped residuals; both of which result in failure to accurately predict the HCCI combustion of DME/methanol blends when coupled with subsequent DI methanol MCCI. This work experimentally explores the effect of trapped residual temperature and NO on DME and DME/methanol HCCI combustion.

Jatana, Gurneesh [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000288903225)↗

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 34, No. 1, January-March 1993]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 1 An Integrated Regional Approach To Risk Management of Industrial Systems, S. Chakraborty and R. Stratton; 9 Annual Technical Meeting of the NRC Cooperative Severe Accident Research Program, E. G. Silver; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 13 Deterministic Severe Accident Criteria as Severe Accident Design Criteria and Policy for the New Production Reactor-Heavy Water Reactor, P. T. Rhoads; 20 Proposed Deterministic Severe Accident Criteria for the Heavy Water Reactor-New Production Reactor Containment, K. D. Bergeron, S. E. Slezak, and C. E. Leach; 33 Quasi-Static Core Liquid Level Depression and Long-Term Core Uncovery During a PWR LOCA, Y. Kukita, R. R. Schultz, H. Nakamura, and J. Katayama; 49 LIRA: An Advanced Containment System to Minimize the Accidental Radioactivity Releases, A. Turricchia; 63 Errata to “A Review of Hydrogen Production During Melt/Water Interaction in LWRs,” Vol. 33, No. 4; CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION: 64 The Nuplex 80+™ Advanced Control Complex from ABB Combustion Engineering, F. Ridolfo, D. Harmon, and K. Scarola; DESIGN FEATURES: 76 A Scheme for Passive Isolation of the Containment of a Reactor, A. K. Ghosh, V. V. Raj, and K. Kakodkar; 84 Utility Requirements for Safety in the Passive Advanced Light-Water Reactor, T. U. Marston, W. H. Layman, and G. Bockhold, Jr.; WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT: 91 Activities Related to Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 103 Testing Deficiencies in Auxiliary Systems Feedwater Systems, J. D. Kueck; 110 Reactor Shutdown Experience, Compiled by J. W. Cletcher; 113 Selected Safety-Related Events, Compiled by G. A. Murphy; 115 Operating U.S. Power Reactors, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 133 General Administrative Activities, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; 145 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides, D. S. Queener; 150 Proposed Rule Changes as of Sept. 30, 1992; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 75 Harvard Short Course on Risk: Science, Assessment, and Management; 102 International Conference on Reactor Physics and Reactor Computations; 102 The Fourth International Conference on Nuclear Waste Reprocessing and Waste Management [RECOD ’94]; 132 International Symposium on the Radiological Exposure of the Population of the European Community from Radioactivity in the Mediterranean Sea [MARINA-MED]; 162 International High-Level Radioactive Waste Conference ‘Technology Integration—Above and Below”; 154 The Authors; 158 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 33.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Revealing the structure of a catalytic combustion active-site ensemble combining uniform nanocrystal catalysts and theory insights

Supported metal catalysts are extensively used in industrial and environmental applications. To improve their performance, it is crucial to identify the most active sites. This identification is, however, made challenging by the presence of a large number of potential surface structures that complicate such an assignment. Often, the active site is formed by an ensemble of atoms, thus introducing further complications in its identification. Being able to produce uniform structures and identify the ones that are responsible for the catalyst performance is a crucial goal. Here, we utilize a combination of uniform Pd/Pt nanocrystal catalysts and theory to reveal the catalytic active-site ensemble in highly active propene combustion materials. Using colloidal chemistry to exquisitely control nanoparticle size, we find that intrinsic rates for propene combustion in the presence of water increase monotonically with particle size on Pt-rich catalysts, suggesting that the reaction is structure dependent. We also reveal that water has a near-zero or mildly positive reaction rate order over Pd/Pt catalysts. Theory insights allow us to determine that the interaction of water with extended terraces present in large particles leads to the formation of step sites on metallic surfaces. These specific step-edge sites are responsible for the efficient combustion of propene at low temperature. This work reveals an elusive geometric ensemble, thus clearly identifying the active site in alkene combustion catalysts. These insights demonstrate how the combination of uniform catalysts and theory can provide a much deeper understanding of active-site geometry for many applications

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Gaseous fuel engine system operating strategy including hydrogen fueling amount based on performance target

Operating a gaseous fuel engine system includes outputting control commands to a first fuel admission valve and a second fuel admission valve to admit, respectively, a gaseous fuel blend containing a gaseous hydrogen fuel (H 2 ), and additional H 2 , into a gaseous fuel engine. An amount of the additional H 2 is determined by way of the respective control command based on a performance target for an engine parameter varying on the basis of a relative amount of H 2 in a combustion charge. Related apparatus and control logic is also disclosed.

Singh, Jaswinder↗

Device for quickly sensing the amount of O2 in a combustion product gas

A sensing device comprising an O2 sensor, a pump, a compressor, and a heater is provided to quickly sense the amount of O2 in a combustion product gas. A sample of the combustion product gas is compressed to a pressure slightly above one atmosphere by the compressor. Next, the heater heats the sample between 800 C and 900 C. Next, the pump causes the sample to be flushed against the electrode located in O2 sensor 6000 to 10,000 times per second. Reference air at approximately one atmosphere is provided to the electrode of O2 sensor. Accordingly, the O2 sensor produces a voltage which is proportional to the amount of oxygen in the combustion product gas. This voltage may be used to control the amount of O2 entering into the combustion chamber which produces the combustion product gas.

Singh, Jag J.↗