Results for “computer simulation model development” — Page 22

NASA NTRS2013

Ground Contact Modeling for the Morpheus Test Vehicle Simulation

The Morpheus vertical test vehicle is an autonomous robotic lander being developed at Johnson Space Center (JSC) to test hazard detection technology. Because the initial ground contact simulation model was not very realistic, it was decided to improve the model without making it too computationally expensive. The first development cycle added capability to define vehicle attachment points (AP) and to keep track of their states in the lander reference frame (LFRAME). These states are used with a spring damper model to compute an AP contact force. The lateral force is then overwritten, if necessary, by the Coulomb static or kinetic friction force. The second development cycle added capability to use the PolySurface class as the contact surface. The class can load CAD data in STL (Stereo Lithography) format, and use the data to compute line of sight (LOS) intercepts. A polygon frame (PFRAME) is computed from the facet intercept normal and used to convert the AP state to PFRAME. Three flat plane tests validate the transitions from kinetic to static, static to kinetic, and vertical impact. The hazardous terrain test will be used to test for visual reasonableness. The improved model is numerically inexpensive, robust, and produces results that are reasonable.

Cordova, Luis↗

NASA NTRS2014

Ground Contact Modeling for the Morpheus Test Vehicle Simulation

The Morpheus vertical test vehicle is an autonomous robotic lander being developed at Johnson Space Center (JSC) to test hazard detection technology. Because the initial ground contact simulation model was not very realistic, it was decided to improve the model without making it too computationally expensive. The first development cycle added capability to define vehicle attachment points (AP) and to keep track of their states in the lander reference frame (LFRAME). These states are used with a spring damper model to compute an AP contact force. The lateral force is then overwritten, if necessary, by the Coulomb static or kinetic friction force. The second development cycle added capability to use the PolySurface class as the contact surface. The class can load CAD data in STL (Stereo Lithography) format, and use the data to compute line of sight (LOS) intercepts. A polygon frame (PFRAME) is computed from the facet intercept normal and used to convert the AP state to PFRAME. Three flat plane tests validate the transitions from kinetic to static, static to kinetic, and vertical impact. The hazardous terrain test will be used to test for visual reasonableness. The improved model is numerically inexpensive, robust, and produces results that are reasonable.

Cordova, Luis↗

NASA NTRS2001

Computational Hemodynamics Involving Artificial Devices

This paper reports the progress being made towards developing complete blood flow simulation capability in human, especially, in the presence of artificial devices such as valves and ventricular assist devices. Devices modeling poses unique challenges different from computing the blood flow in natural hearts and arteries. There are many elements needed such as flow solvers, geometry modeling including flexible walls, moving boundary procedures and physiological characterization of blood. As a first step, computational technology developed for aerospace applications was extended in the recent past to the analysis and development of mechanical devices. The blood flow in these devices is practically incompressible and Newtonian, and thus various incompressible Navier-Stokes solution procedures can be selected depending on the choice of formulations, variables and numerical schemes. Two primitive variable formulations used are discussed as well as the overset grid approach to handle complex moving geometry. This procedure has been applied to several artificial devices. Among these, recent progress made in developing DeBakey axial flow blood pump will be presented from computational point of view. Computational and clinical issues will be discussed in detail as well as additional work needed.

Kwak, Dochan↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Summary of the First AIAA Stability and Control Prediction Workshop

Results from the First AIAA Stability and Control Prediction Workshop are summarized in this paper. The workshop series was developed in support of three primary objectives: (1) to establish best practices for the prediction of stability and control derivatives using industry-standard Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solvers, (2) to provide an impartial forum for evaluating the effectiveness of Reynolds-averaged-Navier-Stokes- and Detached-Eddy-Simulation-based modeling techniques, and (3) to identify areas in need of additional research and development. To address these objectives, the inaugural workshop focused on generating computational aerodynamic predictions for the ONERA version of the NASA/Boeing Common Research Model. The configuration includes the wing, body, horizontal tail, and a vertical tail designed by ONERA. While longitudinal wind tunnel test data for the model had been previously documented, unpublished lateral test data at small sideslip angles provided a unique opportunity for participants to generate blind computational predictions for wind tunnel data comparisons. Additional test cases included assessments of the Mach number effect on static lateral/directional stability and the impact of the wind tunnel sting on longitudinal stability. Participants were invited to generate solutions using two workshop-provided series of structured overset and unstructured grids, in addition to any participant custom grids of interest. Total and component-level breakdowns for the force and moment coefficients for each test case are presented, as well as sectional pressure distribution data on the wing and tail components, to assess the agreement between several different Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD solvers.

CFD↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Probabilistic Framework for the Validation and Certification of Computer Simulations

The paper presents a methodology for quantifying, propagating, and managing the uncertainty in the data required to initialize computer simulations of complex phenomena. The purpose of the methodology is to permit the quantitative assessment of a certification level to be associated with the predictions from the simulations, as well as the design of a data acquisition strategy to achieve a target level of certification. The value of a methodology that can address the above issues is obvious, specially in light of the trend in the availability of computational resources, as well as the trend in sensor technology. These two trends make it possible to probe physical phenomena both with physical sensors, as well as with complex models, at previously inconceivable levels. With these new abilities arises the need to develop the knowledge to integrate the information from sensors and computer simulations. This is achieved in the present work by tracing both activities back to a level of abstraction that highlights their commonalities, thus allowing them to be manipulated in a mathematically consistent fashion. In particular, the mathematical theory underlying computer simulations has long been associated with partial differential equations and functional analysis concepts such as Hilbert spares and orthogonal projections. By relying on a probabilistic framework for the modeling of data, a Hilbert space framework emerges that permits the modeling of coefficients in the governing equations as random variables, or equivalently, as elements in a Hilbert space. This permits the development of an approximation theory for probabilistic problems that parallels that of deterministic approximation theory. According to this formalism, the solution of the problem is identified by its projection on a basis in the Hilbert space of random variables, as opposed to more traditional techniques where the solution is approximated by its first or second-order statistics. The present representation, in addition to capturing significantly more information than the traditional approach, facilitates the linkage between different interacting stochastic systems as is typically observed in real-life situations.

Ghanem, Roger↗

NASA NTRS2002

A New Method for Estimating the Single Scattering Phase Functions of Regolith Grains

Hapke's photometric model has been widely used in solar system remote sensing applications for nearly two decades. Recently, Hapke extended his model to describe the coherent-backscatter opposition effect and multiple-scattering by particles with anisotropic single particle phase functions (SPPF's). A practical difficulty for retrieving Hapke's model parameters from typical planet, satellite, and asteroid photometry data sets is that the model employs a large number of adjustable parameters (at least eight) that can be reliably constrained only for a small number of planetary data sets in which both disk-resolved and whole-disk observations are available from opposition to very large phase angles. The present work aims to reduce the number of adjustable parameters and preserve (or even enhance) the model's accuracy and usefulness by expressing Hapke's parameters in terms of more fundamental physical properties on which they mutually depend. The most difficult part of this task, described here, is to develop a simple method for computing the effective SPPF for structurally complex regolith grains from optical constants, grain-size distribution, and average regolith porosity. The development of light-scattering models for irregularly shaped particles is a large, complex subject and many sophisticated methods, such as Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) and Monte-Carlo simulations, have been explored elsewhere. Many of these methods are computationally intensive and probably impractical for routine substitution in Hapke's model. Here, progress is reported in developing a practical, semi-empirical method for estimating the directional scattering behavior (i.e. SPPF) of irregular regolith grains. The method employs Optical Transfer Function (OTF) techniques to model how the structural complexity of regolith particles broaden and attenuate the angular distribution of scattered light relative to that expected from ideal spherical particles of equivalent size and composition.

Helfenstein, P.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Improvements in the Scalability of the NASA Goddard Multiscale Modeling Framework for Hurricane Climate Studies

Improving our understanding of hurricane inter-annual variability and the impact of climate change (e.g., doubling CO2 and/or global warming) on hurricanes brings both scientific and computational challenges to researchers. As hurricane dynamics involves multiscale interactions among synoptic-scale flows, mesoscale vortices, and small-scale cloud motions, an ideal numerical model suitable for hurricane studies should demonstrate its capabilities in simulating these interactions. The newly-developed multiscale modeling framework (MMF, Tao et al., 2007) and the substantial computing power by the NASA Columbia supercomputer show promise in pursuing the related studies, as the MMF inherits the advantages of two NASA state-of-the-art modeling components: the GEOS4/fvGCM and 2D GCEs. This article focuses on the computational issues and proposes a revised methodology to improve the MMF's performance and scalability. It is shown that this prototype implementation enables 12-fold performance improvements with 364 CPUs, thereby making it more feasible to study hurricane climate.

Shen, Bo-Wen↗

NASA NTRS1989

Topology of modified helical gears and Tooth Contact Analysis (TCA) program

The contents of this report covers: (1) development of optimal geometries for crowned helical gears; (2) a method for their generation; (3) tooth contact analysis (TCA) computer programs for the analysis of meshing and bearing contact of the crowned helical gears; and (4) modelling and simulation of gear shaft deflection. The developed method for synthesis was used to determine the optimal geometry for a crowned helical pinion surface and was directed to localize the bearing contact and guarantee favorable shape and a low level of transmission errors. Two new methods for generation of the crowned helical pinion surface are proposed. One is based on the application of a tool with a surface of revolution that slightly deviates from a regular cone surface. The tool can be used as a grinding wheel or as a shaver. The other is based on a crowning pinion tooth surface with predesigned transmission errors. The pinion tooth surface can be generated by a computer-controlled automatic grinding machine. The TCA program simulates the meshing and bearing contact of the misaligned gears. The transmission errors are also determined. The gear shaft deformation was modelled and investigated. It was found that the deflection of gear shafts has the same effect as gear misalignment.

Litvin, Faydor L.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Effect of the Inhomogeneity of Ice Crystals on Retrieving Ice Cloud Optical Thickness and Effective Particle Size

Spherical or spheroidal air bubbles are generally trapped in the formation of rapidly growing ice crystals. In this study the single-scattering properties of inhomogeneous ice crystals containing air bubbles are investigated. Specifically, a computational model based on an improved geometric-optics method (IGOM) has been developed to simulate the scattering of light by randomly oriented hexagonal ice crystals containing spherical or spheroidal air bubbles. A combination of the ray-tracing technique and the Monte Carlo method is used. The effect of the air bubbles within ice crystals is to smooth the phase functions, diminish the 22deg and 46deg halo peaks, and substantially reduce the backscatter relative to bubble-free particles. These features vary with the number, sizes, locations and shapes of the air bubbles within ice crystals. Moreover, the asymmetry factors of inhomogeneous ice crystals decrease as the volume of air bubbles increases. Cloud reflectance lookup tables were generated at wavelengths 0.65 m and 2.13 m with different air-bubble conditions to examine the impact of the bubbles on retrieving ice cloud optical thickness and effective particle size. The reflectances simulated for inhomogeneous ice crystals are slightly larger than those computed for homogenous ice crystals at a wavelength of 0.65 microns. Thus, the retrieved cloud optical thicknesses are reduced by employing inhomogeneous ice cloud models. At a wavelength of 2.13 microns, including air bubbles in ice cloud models may also increase the reflectance. This effect implies that the retrieved effective particle sizes for inhomogeneous ice crystals are larger than those retrieved for homogeneous ice crystals, particularly, in the case of large air bubbles.

Xie, Yu↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Predictive Modeling of Carbon Ablators

Efforts to build a Predictive Material Modeling (PMM) framework from the micro-scale to the macro-scale are presented in this abstract. To reduce the need for extensive testing, accelerate the design cycle process, and reduce uncertainty margins applied to final designs, NASA is developing simulation and modeling tools that enable characterization of material properties and response to high-enthalpy environments. The Porous Microstructure Analysis (PuMA) code has been developed for computing macroscale (volume averaged) properties of porous materials using microscale images from micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Microscale modeling requires a realistic representation of a material microstructure; these are obtained either synthetically during the design of the material or through X-ray micro-CT. Volume averaged properties are then used to inform macroscale material response models, such as those implemented in the Porous-material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) software, also actively developed by NASA. The computational model in PATO is a generic heat and mass transfer model for porous reactive materials containing several solid phases and a single gas phase. The detailed chemical interactions occurring between the solid phases and the gas phase are modeled at the pore scale assuming local thermal equilibrium. These tools were developed to efficiently interface with other pre-existing codes such as SPARTA (direct simulation Monte Carlo), DPLR (hypersonic CFD), NEQAIR (radiative transport) and DAKOTA (uncertainty quantification and optimization). Detailed flight data (Mars Science Laboratory [MSL] Entry Descent and Landing Instrument [MEDLI]) is critical for validating these computational tools for NASA applications. Examples of modeling ablative material response using these codes will be presented including 3D simulations of the full-scale heatshield of the MSL capsule. The simulations demonstrate the ability of the modern material response code, PATO, to handle the material response of geometrically complex and large domains, through the use of massively parallel computations.

Thermal Protection Systems↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Predictive Modeling of Carbon Ablators Using Micro and Macro-Scale Modeling

Efforts to build a Predictive Material Modeling (PMM) framework from the micro-scale to the macro-scale are presented in this abstract. To reduce the need for extensive testing, accelerate the design cycle process, and reduce uncertainty margins applied to final designs, NASA is developing simulation and modeling tools that enable characterization of material properties and response to high-enthalpy environments. The Porous Microstructure Analysis (PuMA) code has been developed for computing macroscale (volume averaged) properties of porous materials using microscale images from micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Microscale modeling requires a realistic representation of a material microstructure; these are obtained either synthetically during the design of the material or through X-ray micro-CT. Volume averaged properties are then used to inform macroscale material response models, such as those implemented in the Porous-material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) software, also actively developed by NASA. The computational model in PATO is a generic heat and mass transfer model for porous reactive materials containing several solid phases and a single gas phase. The detailed chemical interactions occurring between the solid phases and the gas phase are modeled at the pore scale assuming local thermal equilibrium. These tools were developed to efficiently interface with other pre-existing codes such as SPARTA (direct simulation Monte Carlo), DPLR (hypersonic CFD), NEQAIR (radiative transport) and DAKOTA (uncertainty quantification and optimization). Detailed flight data (Mars Science Laboratory [MSL] Entry Descent and Landing Instrument [MEDLI]) is critical for validating these computational tools for NASA applications. Examples of modeling ablative material response using these codes will be presented including 3D simulations of the full-scale heatshield of the MSL capsule. The simulations demonstrate the ability of the modern material response code, PATO, to handle the material response of geometrically complex and large domains, through the use of massively parallel computations.

Thermal Protection Systems↗

NASA NTRS1973

User's instructions for the cardiovascular Walters model

The model is a combined, steady-state cardiovascular and thermal model. It was originally developed for interactive use, but was converted to batch mode simulation for the Sigma 3 computer. The model has the purpose to compute steady-state circulatory and thermal variables in response to exercise work loads and environmental factors. During a computer simulation run, several selected variables are printed at each time step. End conditions are also printed at the completion of the run.

Croston, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Terminal area air traffic control simulation

To study the impact of advanced aeronautical technologies on operations to and from terminal airports, a computer model of air traffic movements was developed. The advantages of fast-time simulation are discussed, and the arrival scheduling and flight simulation are described. A New York area study, user's guide, and programmer's guide are included.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2002

Fast Three-Dimensional Method of Modeling Atomic Oxygen Undercutting of Protected Polymers

A method is presented to model atomic oxygen erosion of protected polymers in low Earth orbit (LEO). Undercutting of protected polymers by atomic oxygen occurs in LEO due to the presence of scratch, crack or pin-window defects in the protective coatings. As a means of providing a better understanding of undercutting processes, a fast method of modeling atomic-oxygen undercutting of protected polymers has been developed. Current simulation methods often rely on computationally expensive ray-tracing procedures to track the surface-to-surface movement of individual "atoms." The method introduced in this paper replaces slow individual particle approaches by substituting a model that utilizes both a geometric configuration-factor technique, which governs the diffuse transport of atoms between surfaces, and an efficient telescoping series algorithm, which rapidly integrates the cumulative effects stemming from the numerous atomic oxygen events occurring at the surfaces of an undercut cavity. This new method facilitates the systematic study of three-dimensional undercutting by allowing rapid simulations to be made over a wide range of erosion parameters.

Snyder, Aaron↗

NASA NTRS2011

NASA's Integrated Instrument Simulator Suite for Atmospheric Remote Sensing from Spaceborne Platforms (ISSARS) and Its Role for the ACE and GPM Missions

Forward simulation is an indispensable tool for evaluation of precipitation retrieval algorithms as well as for studying snow/ice microphysics and their radiative properties. The main challenge of the implementation arises due to the size of the problem domain. To overcome this hurdle, assumptions need to be made to simplify compiles cloud microphysics. It is important that these assumptions are applied consistently throughout the simulation process. ISSARS addresses this issue by providing a computationally efficient and modular framework that can integrate currently existing models and is also capable of expanding for future development. ISSARS is designed to accommodate the simulation needs of the Aerosol/Clouds/Ecosystems (ACE) mission and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission: radars, microwave radiometers, and optical instruments such as lidars and polarimeter. ISSARS's computation is performed in three stages: input reconditioning (IRM), electromagnetic properties (scattering/emission/absorption) calculation (SEAM), and instrument simulation (ISM). The computation is implemented as a web service while its configuration can be accessed through a web-based interface.

real-aperture instruments↗

NASA NTRS1977

A real-time, dual processor simulation of the rotor system research aircraft

A real-time, man-in-the loop, simulation of the rotor system research aircraft (RSRA) was conducted. The unique feature of this simulation was that two digital computers were used in parallel to solve the equations of the RSRA mathematical model. The design, development, and implementation of the simulation are documented. Program validation was discussed, and examples of data recordings are given. This simulation provided an important research tool for the RSRA project in terms of safe and cost-effective design analysis. In addition, valuable knowledge concerning parallel processing and a powerful simulation hardware and software system was gained.

Mackie, D. B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A fast recursive algorithm for molecular dynamics simulation

The present recursive algorithm for solving molecular systems' dynamical equations of motion employs internal variable models that reduce such simulations' computation time by an order of magnitude, relative to Cartesian models. Extensive use is made of spatial operator methods recently developed for analysis and simulation of the dynamics of multibody systems. A factor-of-450 speedup over the conventional O(N-cubed) algorithm is demonstrated for the case of a polypeptide molecule with 400 residues.

Jain, A.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Microbial Communities in Microgravity: Simulation in Lab and on the Computer

Microorganisms grow differently in spaceflight than they do on Earth. While much remains unexplained about how microgravity affects microbial growth, one dominant hypothesis is that the lack of density-driven convection in the liquid growth environment makes mixing diffusion-limited, and therefore slower. This is supported by evidence that individual microbial strains experience starvation and acid stress in microgravity. However, if it is true, then microgravity would also have measurable effects on microbes in mixed communities, because many interspecies interactions involve the exchange of soluble metabolites through the medium (cross-feeding). Specifically, cooperative cross-feeding communities would grow more slowly in microgravity, and cooperation would be less stable on evolutionary timescales. Here we describe our efforts to test this hypothesis by simulating microgravity in silico and in the lab, using a model system of Eschericia coli and Salmonella enterica that grow only when they can exchange methionine and acetate. We created CAMDLES (CFD-DEM Artificial Microgravity Developments for Living Ecosystem Simulation) as an extension of CFDEM®coupling software, to carry out computational modeling of biological flows, growth, and mass transfer in microgravity and also in laboratory artificial microgravity devices (rotating wall vessels, RWV). Using CAMDLES, we found distinct differences in growth rates between RWV and true microgravity, and we were able to identify several features, such as spatial distribution, biofilm formation, and product yield parameters, that influence the degree to which RWV growth recapitulates microgravity growth. In addition, we report on the development of a laboratory system for monitoring growth rates and species ratios of the community in RWVs, using fluorescent strains. Pairing CAMDLES with the laboratory model system allows us to generate quantitative predictions about the effects of spaceflight on organisms that will be essential to sustaining human space exploration in the long term.

microbiology↗