Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Numerical Simulation”

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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of interplanetary magnetic field changes at 1 AU as a consequence of simulated solar flares

In order to study the relationship between different forms of activity and transient variations of the north-south component, B(sub z), of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), at 1 AU, a three dimensional numerical simulation code was employed to study several aspects of this problem. One form of solar activity, the flare, is simulated by using a pressure pulse at different locations near the solar surface and observing the simulated IMF evolution of B(sub theta)(-B(sub z)) at 1 AU. It was found, for a given pressure pulse, that the orientation of the corresponding transient variation of B(sub z) has a strong relationship with the location of the pressure pulse and the initial condition of IMF.

Wu, S. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Numerical simulation of the non-Newtonian mixing layer

This work is a continuing effort to advance our understanding of the effects of polymer additives on the structures of the mixing layer. In anticipation of full nonlinear simulations of the non-Newtonian mixing layer, we examined in a first stage the linear stability of the non-Newtonian mixing layer. The results of this study show that, for a fluid described by the Oldroyd-B model, viscoelasticity reduces the instability of the inviscid mixing layer in a special limit where the ratio (We/Re) is of order 1 where We is the Weissenberg number, a measure of the elasticity of the flow, and Re is the Reynolds number. In the present study, we pursue this project with numerical simulations of the non-Newtonian mixing layer. Our primary objective is to determine the effects of viscoelasticity on the roll-up structure. We also examine the origin of the numerical instabilities usually encountered in the simulations of non-Newtonian fluids.

Azaiez, Jalel↗
NASA NTRS1998

Numerical Simulations of Unsteady Low-Reynolds-Number Flows Over the APEX Airfoil

Laminar and transitional separation bubbles are an important feature of low-Reynolds-number flows over airfoils. The separation bubbles are unsteady and have a significant impact on the aerodynamic properties of the airfoils. In this paper unsteady low-Reynolds-number separated flows over the APEX airfoil are calculated using a Navier-Stokes solver. The numerical results show the presence of unsteady separation bubbles in the flowfield. An analysis of the numerical results shows that flowfield disturbances are amplified significantly in the separation bubble, leading to periodic vortex shedding. A linear stability analysis of the separated boundary layer is performed and the results show that the dominant wavenumber and frequency in the numerical simulations agree with the most unstable wavenumber and frequency from the linear stability analysis. The numerical results also show the growth and interaction of disturbance waves in the separation bubble. For transonic flows over the APEX airfoil, the calculations show that the presence of shocks causes significant changes in the separation location and consequently, the overall flowfield.

Tatineni, Mahidhar↗
NASA NTRS1995

Direct Numerical Simulation of Transitional and Turbulent Flow Over a Heated Flat Plate Using Finite-Difference Schemes

The work in this report was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center during the period from August 1993 to January 1995 deals with the direct numerical simulation of transitional and turbulent flow at low Mach numbers using high-order-accurate finite-difference techniques. A computation of transition to turbulence of the spatially-evolving boundary layer on a heated flat plate in the presence of relatively high freestream turbulence was performed. The geometry and flow conditions were chosen to match earlier experiments. The development of the momentum and thermal boundary layers was documented. Velocity and temperature profiles, as well as distributions of skin friction, surface heat transfer rate, Reynolds shear stress, and turbulent heat flux were shown to compare well with experiment. The numerical method used here can be applied to complex geometries in a straightforward manner.

Madavan, Nateri K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Cloud interactions and merging - Numerical simulations

A total of 48 numerical experiments have been performed to study cloud interactions adn merging by means of a two-dimensional multi-cell model. Two soundings of deep convection during GATE and two different magnitudes of large-scale lifting have been used as the initial conditions and as the main forcing on the model. Over two hundred groups of cloud systems with a life history of over sixty minutes have been generated under the influence of different combinations of the stratification and large-scale lifting. The results demonstrate the increase in convective activity and in amount of precipitation with increased intensity of large-scale lifting. The results also show increased occurrence of cloud merger with increased intensity of large-scale lifting. The most unfavorable environmental conditions for cloud merging are (1) less unstable stratification of the atmosphere and (2) weaker large-scale lifting. A total of fourteen cloud systems qualify as mergers. Two selected cases will be described dynamically and thermodynamically in this paper. Although these cloud mergers have been simulated under the influence of different synoptic-scale conditions, the major physical mechanism related to the cloud merging process is the same as that proposed by Simpson. Cumulus downdrafts and associated cold outflows play a dominant role in the merging process in all cases studied.

Tao, W.-K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Meso-Beta scale numerical simulation studies of terrain-induced jet streak mass/momentum perturbations

The Control-B simulation experiment was designed to improve on the Control-A experiment performed with the GMASS model. This experiment addressed several inadequacies with the first smooth terrain numerical simulation by including: (1) increased nested-grid resolution to better define the simulated gravity waves, (2) increased horizontal diffusion to remove outflow boundary condition noise, and (3) the use of reanalyzed rawinsonde data and surface observations in the initial state to increase the definition of the observed jet streak as well as other low-level features. A smoothed-terrain dry simulation with the nested-grid GMASS model has revealed many important aspects of the processes which resulted in the generation of gravity waves in the region and time when and where they were observed. However, the vertical structure, number, and characteristics of the waves are still quite different from observed waves as diagnosed thus necessitating future improved simulations. However, this control simulation has produced substantial insight into processes which occur on many spatial scales over a 30 hour time period thus allowing one to draw promising inferences as to the mechanisms for the complex process which occurred in nature during the CCOPE case study. The theoretical aspects of the project have focus on understanding the nature of the ageostrophic circulations which are produced in idealized models of the atmosphere in which the troposphere is modeled in one of two ways. The first model assumes that the lower atmosphere can be represented as a single layer of homogeneous fluid whose upper surface is free to exhibit vertical displacement. Two-dimensional internal convergence (divergence) occurring during the adjustment to an asymptotic equilibrium state from an ageostrophic initial state whose momentum structure is representative of a midlatitude localized zonal wind anomaly will cause the free upper surface of the homogeneous atmosphere to rise (fall), and therefore the response can be viewed as being physically three-dimensional. The second model assumes that the troposphere can be represented by an unbounded continuously stratified Boussinesq fluid of constant Brunt-Vaisala frequency N, where the vertical gradient of the basic state potential temperature profile allows for the existence of vertically propagating internal inertia-gravity waves.

Lin, Yuh-Lang↗
NASA NTRS1990

Numerical simulation of the effects of variation of angle of attack and sweep angle on vortex breakdown over delta wings

In the present investigation of the vortical flowfield structure over delta wings at high angles of attack, three-dimensional Navier-Stokes numerical simulations were conducted to predict the complex leeward flowfield characteristics; these encompass leading-edge separation, secondary separation, and vortex breakdown. Attention is given to the effect on solution accuracy of circumferential grid-resolution variations in the vicinity of the wing leading edge, and well as to the effect of turbulence modeling on the solutions. When a critical angle-of-attack was reached, bubble-type vortex breakdown was found. With further angle-of-attack increase, a change from bubble-type to spiral-type vortex breakdown was predicted by the numerical solution.

Ekaterinaris, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulation of shrouded propellers

A numerical model was developed for the evaluation of the performance characteristics of a shrouded propeller. Using this model, a computational study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of improving the aerodynamic performance of a propeller by encasing it in a shroud. The propeller blade was modeled by a segmented bound vortex positioned along the span of the blade at its quarter-chord-line. The shroud was modeled by a number of discrete vortex rings. Due to the mutual dependence of shroud and propeller vortex strengths and the propeller vortex wake an iterative scheme was employed. Three shroud configurations were considered: a cylindrical and two conical shrouds. The computed performance of the shrouded propeller was compared with that of a free propeller of identical propeller geometry. The numerical results indicated that the cylindrical shroud outperformed the conical shroud configurations for the cases considered. Furthermore, when compared to the free propeller performance, the cylindrical shroud showed a considerable performance enhancement over the free propeller. However, the improvements were found to decrease with an increase in the advance ratio and to virtually diminish at advance ratios of about 2.5.

Afjeh, Abdollah A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulations of microflare evolution in the solar transition region and corona

Several observers report transient ultraviolet brightenings, often referred to as microflares, in the solar atmosphere. In this paper, the results are presented of a series of one-dimensional numerical simulations examining possible relationships between microflares and the generation of dynamical chromospheric and transition region features. Low-energy and medium-energy microflares eject long-lived cool, dense gas plugs into the corona, with the gas plug traversing the loop apex in the medium energy case. In the case of high-energy microflares, the gas plug is rapidly heated to the temperature of the surrounding corona, and the results resemble the dynamics occurring in standard solar flare thick-target electron beam models.

Sterling, Alphonse C.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Testing higher-order Lagrangian perturbation theory against numerical simulations. 2: Hierarchical models

We present results showing an improvement of the accuracy of perturbation theory as applied to cosmological structure formation for a useful range of scales. The Lagrangian theory of gravitational instability of Friedmann-Lemaitre cosmogonies is compared with numerical simulations. We study the dynamics of hierarchical models as a second step. In the first step we analyzed the performance of the Lagrangian schemes for pancake models, the difference being that in the latter models the initial power spectrum is truncated. This work probed the quasi-linear and weakly non-linear regimes. We here explore whether the results found for pancake models carry over to hierarchical models which are evolved deeply into the non-linear regime. We smooth the initial data by using a variety of filter types and filter scales in order to determine the optimal performance of the analytical models, as has been done for the 'Zel'dovich-approximation' - hereafter TZA - in previous work. We find that for spectra with negative power-index the second-order scheme performs considerably better than TZA in terms of statistics which probe the dynamics, and slightly better in terms of low-order statistics like the power-spectrum. However, in contrast to the results found for pancake models, where the higher-order schemes get worse than TZA at late non-linear stages and on small scales, we here find that the second-order model is as robust as TZA, retaining the improvement at later stages and on smaller scales. In view of these results we expect that the second-order truncated Lagrangian model is especially useful for the modelling of standard dark matter models such as Hot-, Cold-, and Mixed-Dark-Matter.

Melott, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Numerical Simulation of Noise from Supersonic Jets Passing Through a Rigid Duct

The generation, propagation and radiation of sound from a perfectly expanded Mach 2.5 cold supersonic jet flowing through an enclosed rigid-walled duct with an upstream J-deflector have been numerically simulated with the aid of OVERFLOW Navier-Stokes CFD code. A one-equation turbulence model is considered. While the near-field sound sources are computed by the CFD code, the far-field sound is evaluated by Kirchhoff surface integral formulation. Predictions of the farfield directivity of the OASPL (Overall Sound Pressure Level) agree satisfactorily with the experimental data previously reported by the author. Calculations also suggest that there is significant entrainment of air into the duct, with the mass flow rate of entrained air being about three times the jet exit mass flow rate.

Kandula, Max↗
NASA NTRS1987

Contributions of numerical simulation data bases to the physics, modeling and measurement of turbulence

The use of simulation data bases for the examination of turbulent flows is an effective research tool. Studies of the structure of turbulence have been hampered by the limited number of probes and the impossibility of measuring all desired quantities. Also, flow visualization is confined to the observation of passive markers with limited field of view and contamination caused by time-history effects. Computer flow fields are a new resource for turbulence research, providing all the instantaneous flow variables in three-dimensional space. Simulation data bases also provide much-needed information for phenomenological turbulence modeling. Three dimensional velocity and pressure fields from direct simulations can be used to compute all the terms in the transport equations for the Reynolds stresses and the dissipation rate. However, only a few, geometrically simple flows have been computed by direct numerical simulation, and the inventory of simulation does not fully address the current modeling needs in complex turbulent flows. The availability of three-dimensional flow fields also poses challenges in developing new techniques for their analysis, techniques based on experimental methods, some of which are used here for the analysis of direct-simulation data bases in studies of the mechanics of turbulent flows.

Moin, Parviz↗
NASA NTRS1987

Numerical simulation of unsteady viscous flows

Most unsteady viscous flows may be grouped into two categories, i.e., forced and self-sustained oscillations. Examples of forced oscillations occur in turbomachinery and in internal combustion engines while self-sustained oscillations prevail in vortex shedding, inlet buzz, and wing flutter. Numerical simulation of these phenomena was achieved due to the advancement of vector processor computers. Recent progress in the simulation of unsteady viscous flows is addressed.

Hankey, Wilbur L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Numerical simulation of torus-driven plasma transport in the Jovian magnetosphere

The Rice convection model has been modified for application to the transport of Io-generated plasma through the Jovian magnetosphere. The new code, called the RCM-J, has been used for several ideal-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations to study how interchange instability causes an initially assumed torus configuration to break up. In simulations that start from a realistic torus configuration but include no energetic particles, the torus disintegrates too quickly (approximately 50 hours). By adding an impounding distribution of energetic particles to suppress the interchange instability, resonable lifetimes were obtained. For cases in which impoundment is insufficient to produce ideal-MHD stability, the torus breaks up predominantly into long fingers, unless the initial condition strongly favors some other geometrical form. If the initial torus has more mass on one side of the planet than the other, fingers form predominatly on the heavy side (which we associate with the active sector). Coriolis force bends the fingers to lag corotation. The simulation results are consistent with the idea that the fingers are formed with a longitudinal thickness that is roughly equal to the latitudinal distance over which the invariant density declines at the outer edges of the initial torus. Our calculations give an average longitudinal distance between plasma fingers of about 15 deg which corresponds to 20 to 30 minutes of rotation of the torus. We point to some Voyager and Ulysses data that are consistent with this scale of torus longitudinal irregularity.

Yang, Y. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Numerical simulation of boundary layers. Part 1: Weak formulation and numerical method

A numerical method designed to solve the time-dependent, three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in boundary layers is presented. The fluid domain is the half-space over a flat plate, and periodic conditions are applied in the horizontal directions. The discretization is spectral. The basis functions are divergence-free and a weak formulation of the momentum equation is used, which eliminates the pressure term. An exponential mapping and Jacobi polynomials are used in the semi-infinite direction, with the irrotational component receiving special treatment. Issues related to the accuracy, stability and efficiency of the method are discussed. Very fast convergence is demonstrated on some model problems with smooth solutions. The method has also been shown to accurately resolve the fine scales of transitional and turbulent boundary layers.

Spalart, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Numerical Simulations of Single Flow Element in a Nuclear Thermal Thrust Chamber

The objective of this effort is to develop an efficient and accurate computational methodology to predict both detailed and global thermo-fluid environments of a single now element in a hypothetical solid-core nuclear thermal thrust chamber assembly, Several numerical and multi-physics thermo-fluid models, such as chemical reactions, turbulence, conjugate heat transfer, porosity, and power generation, were incorporated into an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics solver. The numerical simulations of a single now element provide a detailed thermo-fluid environment for thermal stress estimation and insight for possible occurrence of mid-section corrosion. In addition, detailed conjugate heat transfer simulations were employed to develop the porosity models for efficient pressure drop and thermal load calculations.

Cheng, Gary↗
NASA NTRS1995

Unsteady numerical simulations of the stability and dynamics of flames

In this report we describe the research performed at the Naval Research Laboratory in support of the NASA Microgravity Science and Applications Program over the past three years (from Feb. 1992) with emphasis on the work performed since the last microgravity combustion workshop. The primary objective of our research is to develop an understanding of the differences in the structure, stability, dynamics and extinction of flames in earth gravity and in microgravity environments. Numerical simulations, in which the various physical and chemical processes can be independently controlled, can significantly advance our understanding of these differences. Therefore, our approach is to use detailed time-dependent, multi-dimensional, multispecies numerical models to perform carefully designed computational experiments. The basic issues we have addressed, a general description of the numerical approach, and a summary of the results are described in this report. More detailed discussions are available in the papers published which are referenced herein. Some of the basic issues we have addressed recently are (1) the relative importance of wall losses and gravity on the extinguishment of downward-propagating flames; (2) the role of hydrodynamic instabilities in the formation of cellular flames; (3) effects of gravity on burner-stabilized flames, and (4) effects of radiative losses and chemical-kinetics on flames near flammability limits. We have also expanded our efforts to include hydrocarbon flames in addition to hydrogen flames and to perform simulations in support of other on-going efforts in the microgravity combustion sciences program. Modeling hydrocarbon flames typically involves a larger number of species and a much larger number of reactions when compared to hydrogen. In addition, more complex radiation models may also be needed. In order to efficiently compute such complex flames recent developments in parallel computing have been utilized to develop a state-of-the-art parallel flame code. This is discussed below in some detail after a brief discussion of the numerical models.

Kailasanath, K.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Rocket Engine Numerical Simulator (RENS)

Work is being done at three universities to help today's NASA engineers use the knowledge and experience of their Apolloera predecessors in designing liquid rocket engines. Ground-breaking work is being done in important subject areas to create a prototype of the most important functions for the Rocket Engine Numerical Simulator (RENS). The goal of RENS is to develop an interactive, realtime application that engineers can utilize for comprehensive preliminary propulsion system design functions. RENS will employ computer science and artificial intelligence research in knowledge acquisition, computer code parallelization and objectification, expert system architecture design, and object-oriented programming. In 1995, a 3year grant from the NASA Lewis Research Center was awarded to Dr. Douglas Moreman and Dr. John Dyer of Southern University at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to begin acquiring knowledge in liquid rocket propulsion systems. Resources of the University of West Florida in Pensacola were enlisted to begin the process of enlisting knowledge from senior NASA engineers who are recognized experts in liquid rocket engine propulsion systems. Dr. John Coffey of the University of West Florida is utilizing his expertise in interviewing and concept mapping techniques to encode, classify, and integrate information obtained through personal interviews. The expertise extracted from the NASA engineers has been put into concept maps with supporting textual, audio, graphic, and video material. A fundamental concept map was delivered by the end of the first year of work and the development of maps containing increasing amounts of information is continuing. Find out more information about this work at the Southern University/University of West Florida. In 1996, the Southern University/University of West Florida team conducted a 4day group interview with a panel of five experts to discuss failures of the RL10 rocket engine in conjunction with the Centaur launch vehicle. The discussion was recorded on video and audio tape. Transcriptions of the entire proceedings and an abbreviated video presentation of the discussion highlights are under development. Also in 1996, two additional 3year grants were awarded to conduct parallel efforts that would complement the work being done by Southern University and the University of West Florida. Dr. Prem Bhalla of Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, is developing the architectural framework for RENS. By employing the Rose Rational language and Booch Object Oriented Programming (OOP) technology, Dr. Bhalla is developing the basic structure of RENS by identifying and encoding propulsion system components, their individual characteristics, and cross-functionality and dependencies. Dr. Ruknet Cezzar of Hampton University, located in Hampton, Virginia, began working on the parallelization and objectification of rocket engine analysis and design codes. Dr. Cezzar will use the Turbo C++ OOP language to translate important liquid rocket engine computer codes from FORTRAN and permit their inclusion into the RENS framework being developed at Jackson State University. The Southern University/University of West Florida grant was extended by 1 year to coordinate the conclusion of all three efforts in 1999.

Davidian, Kenneth O.↗