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At least 37 records · Page 2

Combined Structural and Trajectory Control of Variable-Geometry Planetary Entry Systems

Some of the key challenges of planetary entry are to dissipate the large kinetic energy of the entry vehicle and to land with precision. Past missions to Mars were based on unguided entry, where entry vehicles carried payloads of less than 0.6 T and landed within 100 km of the designated target. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is expected to carry a mass of almost 1 T to within 20 km of the target site. Guided lifting entry is needed to meet these higher deceleration and targeting demands. If the aerodynamic characteristics of the decelerator are variable during flight, more trajectory options are possible, and can be tailored to specific mission requirements. In addition to the entry trajectory modulation, having variable aerodynamic properties will also favor maneuvering of the vehicle prior to descent. For proper supersonic parachute deployment, the vehicle needs to turn to a lower angle of attack. One approach to entry trajectory improvement and angle of attack control is to embed a variable geometry decelerator in the design of the vehicle. Variation in geometry enables the vehicle to adjust its aerodynamic performance continuously without additional fuel cost because only electric power is needed for actuating the mechanisms that control the shape change. Novel structural and control concepts have been developed that enable the decelerator to undergo variation in geometry. Changing the aerodynamic characteristics of a flight vehicle by active means can potentially provide a mechanically simple, affordable, and enabling solution for entry, descent, and landing across a wide range of mission types, sample capture and return, and reentry to Earth, Titan, Venus, or Mars. Unguided ballistic entry is not sufficient to meet this more stringent deceleration, heating, and targeting demands. Two structural concepts for implementing the cone angle variation, a segmented shell, and a corrugated shell, have been presented.

Quadrelli, Marco B.↗

2.1.2.403 - Fatigue and Structural Load Analysis and Control for Variable-Geometry Wave Energy Converters (VGWECs)

The VGWEC project will generate and disseminate the foundational knowledge enabling a paradigm shift in the design of wave energy converters (WECs) by adding a geometry control option on top of power-take-off load control. The variable-geometry modules (VGMs) provide control over a WEC's hydrodynamics that can emphasize power absorption or load shedding. Additional load shedding provided by the VGMs is expected to reduce the device structural mass and extend the sea state operating envelope, by limiting peak loading, both contributing towards reducing levelized cost of energy (LCOE) estimates.

hydrodynamic↗

Influence on Structural Loading of a Wave Energy Converter by Controlling Variable-Geometry Components and the Power Take-Off

Oceans are harsh environments and can impose significant loads on deployed structures. A wave energy converter (WEC) should be designed to maximize the energy absorbed while ensuring the operating wave condition does not exceed the failure limits of the device itself. Therefore, the loads endured by the support structure are a design constraint for the system. Furthermore, the WEC should be adaptable to different sea states. Herethis work uses a WEC-Sim model of a variable-geometry oscillating wave energy converter (VGOSWEC) mounted on a support structure simulated under different wave scenarios. A VGOSWEC resembles a paddle pitching about a fixed hinge perpendicular to the incoming wave fronts. The geometry of the VGOSWEC is varied by opening a series of controllable flaps on the pitching paddle when the structure experiences threshold loads. It is hypothesized that opening the flaps should result in load shedding at the base of the support structure by reducing the moments about the hinge axis. This work compares the hydrodynamic coefficients, natural periods, and response amplitude operators from completely closed to completely open configurations of the controllable flaps. This work shows that the completely open configuration can reduce the pitch and surge loads on the base of the support structure by as much as 80%. Increased loads at the structure’s natural period can be mitigated by an axial power take-off damping acting as an additional design parameter to control the loads at the WEC’s support structure.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Influence on Structural Loading of a Wave Energy Converter by Controlling Variable-Geometry Components and the Power Take-Off

Oceans are harsh environments and can impose significant loads on deployed structures. The deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) faces a design challenge with apparently contradictory goals. A WEC should be designed to maximize the energy absorbed while ensuring the operating wave condition does not exceed the failure limits of the device itself. Therefore, the loads endured by the support structure are a design constraint for the system. Adaptability to different sea states is, therefore, highly desirable. This work uses a WEC-Sim model of a variable-geometry oscillating wave energy converter (VGOSWEC) mounted on a support structure simulated under different wave scenarios. A VGOSWEC resembles a paddle pitching about a fixed hinge perpendicular to the incoming wave fronts. Therefore, the hinge experiences loads perpendicular to its axis as it maintains its position. The geometry of the VGOSWEC is varied by opening a series of controllable flaps on the pitching paddle when the structure experiences threshold loads. Because opening the flaps lets the waves transmit through the paddle, it is hypothesized that opening the flaps should result in load shedding at the base of the support structure. The load shedding is achieved by reducing the moments about the hinge axis. This work compares the hydrodynamic coefficients, natural periods, and response amplitude operators from completely closed to completely open configurations of the controllable flaps. The comparisons quantify the effects of letting the waves transmit through the VGOSWEC. This work shows that the completely open configuration can reduce the pitch and surge loads on the base of the support structure by as much as 80%. It was observed that at the paddle's resonance frequency, the loads on the structure increased substantially. This increase in loads can be mitigated by a rotational power take-off damping about the hinge axis. Changing the rotational power take-off damping was identified as an additional design parameter that can be used to control the loads experienced by the WEC's support structure.

fixed and floating structures↗

Influence on Structural Loading of a Wave Energy Converter by Controlling Variable-Geometry Components and the Power Take-Off: Preprint

Oceans are a harsh environment and can impose significant loads on deployed structures. Deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) faces a design challenge with apparently contradictory goals. A WEC should be designed to maximize the energy absorbed while ensuring the operating wave condition does not exceed the failure limits of the device itself. Therefore, the loads endured by the support structure are a design constraint for the system. Adaptability to different sea states is, therefore, highly desirable. This work uses a WEC-Sim model of a Variable Geometry Oscillating Wave Energy Converter (VGOSWEC) mounted on a support structure simulated under different wave scenarios. A VGOSWEC resembles a paddle pitching about a fixed hinge perpendicular to the incoming waves-fronts. Therefore, the hinge experiences loads perpendicular to its axis as it maintains its position. The geometry of the VGOSWEC was varied by opening a series of controllable flaps on the pitching paddle when the structure experiences threshold loads. Since opening the flaps lets the waves transmit through the paddle, it is hypothesized that opening the flaps should result in load shedding at the base of the support structure. This load shedding is achieved by reducing the moments about the hinge axis. This work compares the hydrodynamic coefficients, natural periods, and Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) from completely closed to completely open configurations of the controllable flaps. These comparisons quantify the effects of letting the waves transmit through the VGOSWEC. This work shows that the completely open configuration can reduce the pitch and surge loads on the base of the support structure by as much as 80%. It was observed that at the paddle's resonance frequency, the loads on the structure increased substantially. This increase in loads can be mitigated by a rotational Power Take-off (PTO) damping about the hinge axis. Changing the rotational PTO damping was identified as an additional design parameter that can be used to control the loads experienced by the WEC's support structure.

fixed and floating structures↗

Annual Performance of the Second-Generation Variable-Geometry Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter

Recent studies in wave energy have highlighted the need for a structured innovation approach in wave energy converter (WEC) design because cost-of-energy estimates have remained high. One specific innovation being investigated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is WEC geometry control, which uses control surfaces in combination with an oscillating surge WEC (OSWEC) to increase device availability and power generation while limiting structural costs. This study performs the first analysis of annual performance for a novel OSWEC with geometry control to understand how the geometry control affects availability, annual power generation, and structural loadings like the power-take-off (PTO) torque or surge foundation force. Device hydrodynamic coefficients are calculated using linear potential theory for six geometry configurations. A nonideal PTO system is assumed and quadratic viscous damping losses are considered. Annual performance is evaluated and compared for three U.S. wave energy sites. The WEC geometry and PTO system are controlled on a sea-state basis to optimize for power capture while remaining under limits set on motion amplitude and structural loads. Results indicate that geometry control can increase availability up to 25 days in an average year depending on design limits, increase average power generation, and significantly reduce peak structural loads.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

A review of advanced rotor research

This paper reviews advanced-rotor concepts including the advancing blade concept, the circulation control rotor, the X-wing rotor, the variable diameter rotor, the hingeless tilt rotor, the bearingless main rotor, the composite structures rotor, the variable geometry rotor, the multicyclic controllable pitch rotor, the multicyclic controllable twist rotor, and the live twist rotor. The rotor concepts are discussed in terms of performance (cruise speed, and lift/drag ratio) and dynamic loads and vibration.

Kelly, M. W.↗

Test plan. GCPS task 7, subtask 7.1: IHM development

The overall objective of Task 7 is to identify cost-effective life cycle integrated health management (IHM) approaches for a reusable launch vehicle's primary structure. Acceptable IHM approaches must: eliminate and accommodate faults through robust designs, identify optimum inspection/maintenance periods, automate ground and on-board test and check-out, and accommodate and detect structural faults by providing wide and localized area sensor and test coverage as required. These requirements are elements of our targeted primary structure low cost operations approach using airline-like maintenance by exception philosophies. This development plan will follow an evolutionary path paving the way to the ultimate development of flight-quality production, operations, and vehicle systems. This effort will be focused on maturing the recommended sensor technologies required for localized and wide area health monitoring to a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 and to establish flight ready system design requirements. The following is a brief list of IHM program objectives: design out faults by analyzing material properties, structural geometry, and load and environment variables and identify failure modes and damage tolerance requirements; design in system robustness while meeting performance objectives (weight limitations) of the reusable launch vehicle primary structure; establish structural integrity margins to preclude the need for test and checkout and predict optimum inspection/maintenance periods through life prediction analysis; identify optimum fault protection system concept definitions combining system robustness and integrity margins established above with cost effective health monitoring technologies; and use coupons, panels, and integrated full scale primary structure test articles to identify, evaluate, and characterize the preferred NDE/NDI/IHM sensor technologies that will be a part of the fault protection system.

Greenberg, H. S.↗

NbZr_BCC_SolidSolution_128atoms_VASP6

We performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations for body-centered-cubic (BCC) structures with 128 lattices sites of solid solution binary alloys niobium-zirconium (Nb-Zr). The electronic structures of alloys have been calculated using Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package (VASP). Within this package the DFT approach is used to reduce many-body Schrodinger equation to set of single particle Kohn-Sham (KS) equations. The generalized electronic exchange-correlation functional is described by generalized gradient approximation with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof parametrization. The electron-ion interactions is described by pseudopotentials developed within the plane-wave basis projector augmented-wave (PAW) approach \cite{PAW}. These pseudopotentials are available at the VASP portal (http://cms.mpi.univie.ac.at/vasp/). Our calculations have been run with the pseudopotentials treating s and p semi-core states as valence in case for the elements Nb and Zr. The electronic densities and potentials are expanded over plane-waves with energy cutoff of 350 eV. 2x2x2 k-mesh and normal precision were used. The alloys were modeled by supercell containing 128 randomly distributed atoms. At initial step the atoms occupy perfect bcc lattice cites. This initial structure was optimized until energy changes less than 1e-6 eV, while forces acting on atoms don't exceed 1e-2 eV/angstrom. The electron-ion interaction is described by PAW pseudopotentials. The calculations have been collected by sampling chemical compositions across the entire compositional range. The chemical compositions have been sampled by progressively changing the number of atoms per constituent by 4. For each chemical composition of binaries and ternaries, the first-principle calculations have been run for 100 randomized arrangements of the constituents on the BCC lattice sites. We collected data for a total of 3,100 randomized atomic structures over 31 chemical compositions. The calculations have been collected on NERSC-Perlmutter and OLCF-Summit using the VASP 6.3.2. The VASP calculations for every atomic structure have been performed in 2 main steps: 1. Starting from an ideal body-centered-cubic (BCC) structure, geometry optimization with low precision has been executed to perform a preliminary optimization of the atomic structure. The output for this calculations is available in the files 0.CONTCAR, 0.OUTCAR, rlx1.out. 2. Using the atomic structure resulting from the preliminary geometry optimization, a second geometry optimization has been performed using normal precision. The output for this calculations is available in the files CONTCAR, OUTCAR, rlx2.out, vaspout.h5, and vasprun.xml. Cases 1-10 have been run without generating the file 'vaspout.h5'. Every chemical composition sampled across the composition range in the dataset has its own directory. The convention used to name the directories for binary alloys is AXBY, where A and B refer to the constituents, whereas X and Y are positive integers that represent the number of atoms for each constituent and their values still sum up to 128. Each atomic structure associated with a specific chemical composition has its own sub-directory within the directory of the corresponding chemical composition. The sub-directories for each atomic structure for each chemical composition are named 'case-*', where * is a positive integer that spans all the values from 1 through 100, extremes included. The files contained in each sub-directory 'case-*' for each atomic structure are as follows: FILES contained in each subdirectory with name "case-N" where N ranges between 11 and 100, extremes included: 1. INCAR: input file that contains various parameters and settings for controlling the behavior of the electronic structure calculations 2. KPOINTS: input file that specifies the Bloch vectors (k points) used to sample the Brillouin zone 3. 0.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system 4. 0.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the first geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 5. 0.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the first geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 6. rlx1.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the first geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 7. POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system after the first geometry optimization has been run at low precision. This represents the input for the second geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 8. CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the second geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 9. OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the second geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 10. rlx2.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the second geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 11. vaspout.h5: hierarchical HDF5 file containing the inputs and outputs of a VASP calculation. To analyze the data in this file we recommend using py4vasp. This file is only produced if the VASP version used is compiled with HDF5 support 12. vasprun.xml: contains similar information to OUTCAR, but in an xml format. 13. CHGCAR: contains the charge density data of a system. This data is crucial for analyzing electronic structures, calculating electrostatic potential, and studying the distribution of charge in a crystal or molecular system FILES contained in each subdirectory with name "case-N" where N ranges between 1 and 10, extremes included: 1. INCAR: input file that contains various parameters and settings for controlling the behavior of the electronic structure calculations 2. KPOINTS: input file that specifies the Bloch vectors (k points) used to sample the Brillouin zone 3. {ID}.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system at the beginning of ID execution of geometry optimization with PREC=LOW 4. {ID}.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters at the end of ID execution of geometry optimization with PREC=LOW in the INCAR file 5. {ID}.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the ID execution of geometry optimization that has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 6. rlx1.{ID}.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the ID execution of the geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 7. N{ID}.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system after the geometry optimization run at low precision. This represents the input for the ID execution of the second geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 8. N{ID}.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the ID execution of the geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 9. N{ID}.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the ID execution of the geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 10. rlx2.{ID}.out: file with diagnostic information about the ID execution of geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 11. vaspout.h5: hierarchical HDF5 file containing the inputs and outputs of a VASP calculation. To analyze the data in this file we recommend using py4vasp. This file is only produced if the VASP version used is compiled with HDF5 support 12. vasprun.xml: contains similar information to OUTCAR, but in an xml format. 13. CHGCAR: contains the charge density data of a system. This data is crucial for analyzing electronic structures, calculating electrostatic potential, and studying the distribution of charge in a crystal or molecular system This research is sponsored by the Artificial Intelligence Initiative as part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. This work used resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725, under Directorate Discretionary awards MAT025 (Materials Science) and LRN026 (Machine Learning), and INCITE award MAT201. This work also used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, under award ERCAP0025216. REFERENCES (1) Kresse, G. & Hafner, J. Ab initio molecular dynamics for liquid metals. Phys. review B 47, 558 (1993). (2) Kresse, G. & Hafner, J. Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulation of the liquid-metal–amorphous-semiconductor transition in germanium. Phys. Rev. B 49, 14251 (1994) (3) Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set. Comput. materials science 6, 15–50 (1996) (4) Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set. Phys. review B 54, 11169 (1996) (5) Kresse, G. & Joubert, D. From ultrasoft pseudopotentials to the projector augmented-wave method. Phys. review b 59, 1758 (1999)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

TaZr_BCC_SolidSolution_128atoms_VASP6

We performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations for body-centered-cubic (BCC) structures with 128 lattices sites of solid solution binary alloys tantalum-zirconium (Ta-Zr). The electronic structures of alloys have been calculated using Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package (VASP). Within this package the DFT approach is used to reduce many-body Schrodinger equation to set of single particle Kohn-Sham (KS) equations. The generalized electronic exchange-correlation functional is described by generalized gradient approximation with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof parametrization. The electron-ion interactions is described by pseudopotentials developed within the plane-wave basis projector augmented-wave (PAW) approach \cite{PAW}. These pseudopotentials are available at the VASP portal (http://cms.mpi.univie.ac.at/vasp/). Our calculations have been run with the pseudopotentials treating s and p semi-core states as valence in case for the elements Ta and Zr. The electronic densities and potentials are expanded over plane-waves with energy cutoff of 350 eV. 2x2x2 k-mesh and normal precision were used. The alloys were modeled by supercell containing 128 randomly distributed atoms. At initial step the atoms occupy perfect bcc lattice cites. This initial structure was optimized until energy changes less than 1e-6 eV, while forces acting on atoms don't exceed 1e-2 eV/angstrom. The electron-ion interaction is described by PAW pseudopotentials. The calculations have been collected by sampling chemical compositions across the entire compositional range. The chemical compositions have been sampled by progressively changing the number of atoms per constituent by 4. For each chemical composition of binaries and ternaries, the first-principle calculations have been run for 100 randomized arrangements of the constituents on the BCC lattice sites. We collected data for a total of 3,100 randomized atomic structures over 31 chemical compositions. The calculations have been collected on NERSC-Perlmutter and OLCF-Summit using the VASP 6.3.2. The VASP calculations for every atomic structure have been performed in 2 main steps: 1. Starting from an ideal body-centered-cubic (BCC) structure, geometry optimization with low precision has been executed to perform a preliminary optimization of the atomic structure. The output for this calculations is available in the files 0.CONTCAR, 0.OUTCAR, rlx1.out. 2. Using the atomic structure resulting from the preliminary geometry optimization, a second geometry optimization has been performed using normal precision. The output for this calculations is available in the files CONTCAR, OUTCAR, rlx2.out, vaspout.h5, and vasprun.xml. Cases 1-10 have been run without generating the file 'vaspout.h5'. Every chemical composition sampled across the composition range in the dataset has its own directory. The convention used to name the directories for binary alloys is AXBY, where A and B refer to the constituents, whereas X and Y are positive integers that represent the number of atoms for each constituent and their values still sum up to 128. Each atomic structure associated with a specific chemical composition has its own sub-directory within the directory of the corresponding chemical composition. The sub-directories for each atomic structure for each chemical composition are named 'case-*', where * is a positive integer that spans all the values from 1 through 100, extremes included. The files contained in each sub-directory 'case-*' for each atomic structure are as follows: FILES contained in each subdirectory with name "case-N" where N ranges between 11 and 80, extremes included: 1. INCAR: input file that contains various parameters and settings for controlling the behavior of the electronic structure calculations 2. KPOINTS: input file that specifies the Bloch vectors (k points) used to sample the Brillouin zone 3. 0.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system 4. 0.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the first geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 5. 0.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the first geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 6. rlx1.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the first geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 7. POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system after the first geometry optimization has been run at low precision. This represents the input for the second geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 8. CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the second geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 9. OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the second geometry optimization has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 10. rlx2.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the second geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 11. vaspout.h5: hierarchical HDF5 file containing the inputs and outputs of a VASP calculation. To analyze the data in this file we recommend using py4vasp. This file is only produced if the VASP version used is compiled with HDF5 support 12. vasprun.xml: contains similar information to OUTCAR, but in an xml format. 13. CHGCAR: contains the charge density data of a system. This data is crucial for analyzing electronic structures, calculating electrostatic potential, and studying the distribution of charge in a crystal or molecular system FILES contained in each subdirectory with name "case-N" where N ranges between 1 and 10 and between 81 and 100, extremes included: 1. INCAR: input file that contains various parameters and settings for controlling the behavior of the electronic structure calculations 2. KPOINTS: input file that specifies the Bloch vectors (k points) used to sample the Brillouin zone 3. {ID}.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system at the beginning of ID execution of geometry optimization with PREC=LOW 4. {ID}.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters at the end of ID execution of geometry optimization with PREC=LOW in the INCAR file 5. {ID}.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the ID execution of geometry optimization that has been run with the precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 6. rlx1.{ID}.out: file with diagnostic information about the execution of the ID execution of the geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Low in the INCAR file 7. N{ID}.POSCAR: input file that defines the atomic structure of a system after the geometry optimization run at low precision. This represents the input for the ID execution of the second geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 8. N{ID}.CONTCAR: output file that provides the atomic positions and cell parameters after the ID execution of the geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 9. N{ID}.OUTCAR: output file that contains detailed information about the progress of a calculation after the ID execution of the geometry optimization run with the precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 10. rlx2.{ID}.out: file with diagnostic information about the ID execution of geometry optimization with precision variable set to PREC=Normal in the INCAR file 11. vaspout.h5: hierarchical HDF5 file containing the inputs and outputs of a VASP calculation. To analyze the data in this file we recommend using py4vasp. This file is only produced if the VASP version used is compiled with HDF5 support 12. vasprun.xml: contains similar information to OUTCAR, but in an xml format. 13. CHGCAR: contains the charge density data of a system. This data is crucial for analyzing electronic structures, calculating electrostatic potential, and studying the distribution of charge in a crystal or molecular system This research is sponsored by the Artificial Intelligence Initiative as part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. This work used resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725, under Directorate Discretionary awards MAT025 (Materials Science) and LRN026 (Machine Learning), and INCITE award MAT201. This work also used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, under award ERCAP0025216. REFERENCES (1) Kresse, G. & Hafner, J. Ab initio molecular dynamics for liquid metals. Phys. review B 47, 558 (1993). (2) Kresse, G. & Hafner, J. Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulation of the liquid-metal–amorphous-semiconductor transition in germanium. Phys. Rev. B 49, 14251 (1994) (3) Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set. Comput. materials science 6, 15–50 (1996) (4) Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set. Phys. review B 54, 11169 (1996) (5) Kresse, G. & Joubert, D. From ultrasoft pseudopotentials to the projector augmented-wave method. Phys. review b 59, 1758 (1999)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Toward accurate prediction of partial-penetration laser weld performance informed by three-dimensional characterization – Part II: μCT based finite element simulations

The mechanical behavior of partial-penetration laser welds exhibits significant variability in engineering quantities such as strength and apparent ductility. Understanding the root cause of this variability is important when using such welds in engineering designs. In Part II of this work, we develop finite element simulations with geometry derived from micro-computed tomography (μCT) scans of partial-penetration 304L stainless steel laser welds that were analyzed in Part I. We use these models to study the effects of the welds’ small-scale geometry, including porosity and weld depth variability, on the structural performance metrics of weld ductility and strength under quasi-static tensile loading. We show that this small-scale geometry is the primary cause of the observed variability for these mechanical response quantities. Additionally, we explore the sensitivity of model results to the conversion of the μCT data to discretized model geometry using different segmentation algorithms, and to the effect of small-scale geometry simplifications for pore shape and weld root texture. The modeling approach outlined and results of this work may be applicable to other material systems with small-scale geometric features and defects, such as additively manufactured materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact damage resistance of composite fuselage structure, part 2

The strength of laminated composite materials may be significantly reduced by foreign object impact induced damage. An understanding of the damage state is required in order to predict the behavior of structure under operational loads or to optimize the structural configuration. Types of damage typically induced in laminated materials during an impact event include transverse matrix cracking, delamination, and/or fiber breakage. The details of the damage state and its influence on structural behavior depend on the location of the impact. Damage in the skin may act as a soft inclusion or affect panel stability, while damage occurring over a stiffener may include debonding of the stiffener flange from the skin. An experiment to characterize impact damage resistance of fuselage structure as a function of structural configuration and impact threat was performed. A wide range of variables associated with aircraft fuselage structure such as material type and stiffener geometry (termed, intrinsic variables) and variables related to the operating environment such as impactor mass and diameter (termed, extrinsic variables) were studied using a statistically based design-of-experiments technique. The experimental design resulted in thirty-two different 3-stiffener panels. These configured panels were impacted in various locations with a number of impactor configurations, weights, and energies. The results obtained from an examination of impacts in the skin midbay and hail simulation impacts are documented. The current discussion is a continuation of that work with a focus on nondiscrete characterization of the midbay hail simulation impacts and discrete characterization of impact damage for impacts over the stiffener.

Dost, Ernest F.↗

Probabilistic Context Neighborhood model for lattices

Here we present the Probabilistic Context Neighborhood model designed for two-dimensional lattices as a variation of a Markov random field assuming discrete values. In this model, the neighborhood structure has a fixed geometry but a variable order, depending on the neighbors’ values. Our model extends the Probabilistic Context Tree model, originally applicable to one-dimensional space. It retains advantageous properties, such as representing the dependence neighborhood structure as a graph in a tree format, facilitating an understanding of model complexity. Furthermore, we adapt the algorithm used to estimate the Probabilistic Context Tree to estimate the parameters of the proposed model. We illustrate the accuracy of our estimation methodology through simulation studies. Additionally, we apply the Probabilistic Context Neighborhood model to spatial real-world data, showcasing its practical utility.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Feasibility of a 30-meter space based laser transmitter

A study was made of the application of large expandable mirror structures in future space missions to establish the feasibility and define the potential of high power laser systems for such applications as propulsion and power transmission. Application of these concepts requires a 30-meter diameter, diffraction limited mirror for transmission of the laser energy. Three concepts for the transmitter are presented. These concepts include consideration of continuous as well as segmented mirror surfaces and the major stow-deployment categories of inflatable, variable geometry and assembled-in-space structures. The mirror surface for each concept would be actively monitored and controlled to maintain diffraction limited performance at 10.6 microns during operation. The proposed mirror configurations are based on existing aerospace state-of-the-art technology. The assembled-in-space concept appears to be the most feasible, at this time.

Berggren, R. R.↗

Optimal design of a composite structure

This paper presents a design methodology for a laminated composite stiffened panel, subjected to multiple in-plane loads and bending moments. Design variables include the skin and stiffener ply orientation angles and stiffener geometry variables. Optimum designs are sought which minimize structural weight and satisfy mechanical performance requirements. Two types of mechanical performance requirements are placed on the panel, maximum strain and minimum strength. Minimum weight designs are presented which document that the choice of mechanical performance requirements cause changes in the optimum design. The effects of lay-up constraints which limit the ply angles to user specified values, such as symmetric or quasi-isotropic laminates, are also investigated.

Graesser, D. L.↗

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2011

The topics include: 1) Flight Test Results from the Rake Airflow Gage Experiment on the F-15B; 2) Telemetry and Science Data Software System; 3) CropEx Web-Based Agricultural Monitoring and Decision Support; 4) High-Performance Data Analysis Tools for Sun-Earth Connection Missions; 5) Experiment in Onboard Synthetic Aperture Radar Data Processing; 6) Microfabrication of a High-Throughput Nanochannel Delivery/Filtration System; 7) Improved Design and Fabrication of Hydrated-Salt Pills; 8) Monolithic Flexure Pre-Stressed Ultrasonic Horns; 9) Cryogenic Quenching Process for Electronic Part Screening; 10) Broadband Via-Less Microwave Crossover Using Microstrip-CPW Transitions; 11) Wheel-Based Ice Sensors for Road Vehicles; 12) G-DYN Multibody Dynamics Engine; 13) Multibody Simulation Software Testbed for Small-Body Exploration and Sampling; 14) Propulsive Reaction Control System Model; 15) Licklider Transmission Protocol Implementation; 16) Core Recursive Hierarchical Image Segmentation; 17) Two-Stage Centrifugal Fan; 18) Combined Structural and Trajectory Control of Variable-Geometry Planetary Entry Systems; 19) Pressure Regulator With Internal Ejector Circulation Pump, Flow and Pressure Measurement Porting, and Fuel Cell System Integration Options; 20) Temperature-Sensitive Coating Sensor Based on Hematite; 21) Standardization of a Volumetric Displacement Measurement for Two-Body Abrasion Scratch Test Data Analysis; 22) Detection of Carbon Monoxide Using Polymer-Carbon Composite Films; 23) Substituted Quaternary Ammonium Salts Improve Low-Temperature Performance of Double-Layer Capacitors; 24) Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer; 25) Integrated Lens Antennas for Multi-Pixel Receivers; 26) 180-GHz Interferometric Imager; 27) Maturation of Structural Health Management Systems for Solid Rocket Motors; 28) Validating Phasing and Geometry of Large Focal Plane Arrays; 29) Transverse Pupil Shifts for Adaptive Optics Non-Common Path Calibration; 30) Qualification of Fiber Optic Cables for Martian Extreme Temperature Environments; 31) Solid-State Spectral Light Source System; 32) Multiple-Event, Single-Photon Counting Imaging Sensor; 33) Surface Modeling to Support Small-Body Spacecraft Exploration and Proximity Operations; and 34) Achieving Exact and Constant Turnaround Ratio in a DDS-Based Coherent Transponder.

Source record↗

Benefits of advanced propulsion technology for the advanced supersonic transport

Future supersonic transports will have to provide improvement in the areas of economics, range, and emissions relative to the present generation of supersonic transports, as well as meeting or improving upon FAR 36 noise goals. This paper covers the promising propulsion systems including variable-cycle engine concepts for long-range supersonic commercial transport application. The benefits of applying advanced propulsion technology to solve the economic and environmental problems are reviewed. The advanced propulsion technologies covered are in the areas of structures, materials, cooling techniques, aerodynamics, variable engine geometry, jet noise suppressors, acoustic treatment, and low-emission burners. The results of applying the advanced propulsion technology are presented in terms of improvement in overall system takeoff gross weight and return on investment.

Hines, R. W.↗

A programing system for research and applications in structural optimization

The flexibility necessary for such diverse utilizations is achieved by combining, in a modular manner, a state-of-the-art optimization program, a production level structural analysis program, and user supplied and problem dependent interface programs. Standard utility capabilities in modern computer operating systems are used to integrate these programs. This approach results in flexibility of the optimization procedure organization and versatility in the formulation of constraints and design variables. Features shown in numerical examples include: variability of structural layout and overall shape geometry, static strength and stiffness constraints, local buckling failure, and vibration constraints.

Sobieszczanski-Sobieski, J.↗