Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “accelerator 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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Sensitivity of Simulations of Double-detonation Type Ia Supernovae to Integration Methodology

Abstract We study the coupling of hydrodynamics and reactions in simulations of the double-detonation model for Type Ia supernovae. When assessing the convergence of simulations, the focus is usually on spatial resolution; however, the method of coupling the physics together as well as the tolerances used in integrating a reaction network also play an important role. In this paper, we explore how the choices made in both coupling and integrating the reaction portion of a simulation (operator/Strang splitting versus the simplified spectral deferred corrections method we introduced previously) influences the accuracy, efficiency, and nucleosynthesis of simulations of double detonations. We find no need to limit reaction rates or reduce the simulation time step to the reaction timescale. The entire simulation methodology used here is GPU-accelerated and made freely available as part of the Castro simulation code.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2007

Influence of World and Gravity Model Selection on Surface Interacting Vehicle Simulations

A vehicle simulation is surface-interacting if the state of the vehicle (position, velocity, and acceleration) relative to the surface is important. Surface-interacting simulations perform ascent, entry, descent, landing, surface travel, or atmospheric flight. Modeling of gravity is an influential environmental factor for surface-interacting simulations. Gravity is the free-fall acceleration observed from a world-fixed frame that rotates with the world. Thus, gravity is the sum of gravitation and the centrifugal acceleration due to the world s rotation. In surface-interacting simulations, the fidelity of gravity at heights above the surface is more significant than gravity fidelity at locations in inertial space. A surface-interacting simulation cannot treat the gravity model separately from the world model, which simulates the motion and shape of the world. The world model's simulation of the world's rotation, or lack thereof, produces the centrifugal acceleration component of gravity. The world model s reproduction of the world's shape will produce different positions relative to the world center for a given height above the surface. These differences produce variations in the gravitation component of gravity. This paper examines the actual performance of world and gravity/gravitation pairs in a simulation using the Earth.

Madden, Michael M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Compression Acceleration of Protons and Heavier Ions at the Heliospheric Current Sheet

Abstract Recent observations by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) suggest that protons and heavier ions are accelerated to high energies by magnetic reconnection at the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). By solving the energetic particle transport equation in large-scale MHD simulations, we study the compression acceleration of protons and heavier ions in the reconnecting HCS. We find that the acceleration of multispecies ions results in nonthermal power-law distributions with a spectral index consistent with the PSP observations. Our study shows that the high-energy cutoff of protons can reach E max ∼ 0.1 –1 MeV depending on the particle diffusion coefficients. We also study how the high-energy cutoff of different ion species scales with the charge-to-mass ratio E max ∝ ( Q / M ) α . When determining the diffusion coefficients from the quasi-linear theory with a Kolmogorov magnetic power spectrum, we find that α ∼ 0.4, which is somewhat smaller than α ∼ 0.7 observed by PSP.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deployment and validation of predictive 6-dimensional beam diagnostics through generative reconstruction with standard accelerator elements

Understanding the 6-dimensional phase space distribution of particle beams is essential for optimizing accelerator performance. Conventional diagnostics such as use of transverse deflecting cavities offer detailed characterization but require dedicated hardware and space. Generative phase space reconstruction (GPSR) methods have shown promise in beam diagnostics, yet prior implementations still rely on such components. Here we present the first experimental implementation and validation of the GPSR methodology, realized by the use of standard accelerator elements including accelerating cavities and dipole magnets, to achieve complete 6-dimensional phase space reconstruction. Through simulations and experiments at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser facility, we successfully reconstruct complex, nonlinear beam structures. Furthermore, we validate the methodology by predicting independent downstream measurements excluded from training, revealing the reconstruction closely resembling ground truth. This advancement establishes a pathway for predictive diagnostics across beamline segments while reducing hardware requirements and expanding applicability to various accelerator facilities.

Kim, Seongyeol [Pohang Univ. of Science and Techno↗
NASA NTRS2003

Particle Acceleration and Emission in Relativistic Jets

Shock wave acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The 'jitter' radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Particle Acceleration and Radiation associated with Magnetic Field Generation from Relativistic Collisionless Shocks

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Jets Due to Weibel Instability

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a three-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K.-I.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Investigations of Pole Erosion Mechanisms in the 12.5 kW HERMeS Hall Thruster Using Numerical Simulations and Ion Velocity Measurements

When the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) was tested at the NASA GRC’s VF-5 the erosion rate on the pole covers was found to be at least a factor of two higher at 300 V and 20.8 A than at other operating conditions in the 400 V to 600 V range. Simulations using our hydrodynamics code Hall2De do not predict increased erosion rates at 300 V but accurately compute erosion rates similar to the measurements at the other operating conditions. We investigate the source of the discrepancy between measurements and simulations at 300 V using a combination of numerical simulations and experimental measurements of the ion velocity fields in the acceleration region of the thruster. By examining previous simulations that predicted the measured erosion rates for other thrusters and operating conditions, we determine that sputtering of the pole surfaces by high energy ions is the most likely mechanism behind the erosion rates at 300 V. High energy ions sputter the pole surfaces when the acceleration region of the thruster is downstream of the pole surface plane. When the latter occurs, the curvature of the plasma potential contours at the edges of the channel accelerates a small fraction of the high energy ions radially. We find that neither our Hall2De simulations nor the experimental measurements produce ions of sufficiently high energy and flux to the inner pole cover to explain the measured erosion there. Only at the outer edge of the cover is where we find the ions needed to yield simulation results that are comparable to the erosion measurements. We argue that one possible mechanism for the higher erosion is high energy ions that graze the channel corner of the pole and become trapped in a sheath that develops downstream. Within the sheath, we find that the electric field is large enough to turn the ions towards the surface of the pole. A simplified calculation shows that the erosion rates produced by sputtering of trapped ions are similar to the measurements. We also propose that the presence of local oscillations and high-energy cathode ions may be sources of the enhanced erosion We conclude this article by proposing a combination of analysis, simulation, and experimental measurements that can be used to address the validity of these hypotheses.

Mikellides, Ioannis G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Charge-exchange erosion studies of accelerator grids in ion thrusters

A particle simulation model is developed to study the charge-exchange grid erosion in ion thrusters for both ground-based and space-based operations. Because the neutral gas downstream from the accelerator grid is different for space and ground operation conditions, the charge-exchange erosion processes are also different. Based on an assumption of now electric potential hill downstream from the ion thruster, the calculations show that the accelerator grid erosion rate for space-based operating conditions should be significantly less than experimentally observed erosion rates from the ground-based tests conducted at NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). To resolve this erosion issue completely, we believe that it is necessary to accurately measure the entire electric potential field downstream from the thruster.

Peng, Xiaohang↗
DOE OSTI2026

Challenges of conventional iterative all-atom and coarse-grained multiscale molecular dynamics

In this work, we evaluate the biomolecular dynamics behaviors when conventionally iterating between all-atom (AA) and coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations over multiple cycles. We implemented the workflow to iterate between AA and CG in OpenMM, namely the iterative multiscale MD (iMMD) simulation workflow. In particular, we aim to identify practical applications for iterating between AA and CG simulations in a conventional manner without any constraints or model modifications. We evaluate the iMMD workflow on four representative systems, spanning folding of two soluble proteins and protein-protein as well as protein-lipid interactions of two membrane proteins. We observe that iteration between AA and CG representations could help the soluble proteins exit undesirable metastable states to fold, resulting from random protein structural distortions due to cycling. Consequently, the most reliable use of iterative AA and CG simulations appears to be to accelerating complex lipid mixing for membrane-bound protein systems rather than sampling protein conformational space. Our work explores the practical usages and limitations for iterative AA and CG simulations using readily available AA and CG force fields. The evaluated iMMD workflow in OpenMM is made available at https://github.com/lanl/iMMD.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Novel Washout Filters to Enhance Simulation of Motion

We are seeking a physical simulator of a vehicle driven on the surface of a celestial body. This will be added to a virtual reality simulation. We desire that the motion of the simulator be so that the acceleration forces experienced by the vestibular system are similar to if the crew member were to actually drive the vehicle on the surface of the celestial body. But the simulator is constrained, first in its position in that it cannot travel far, and second in its orientation in that it must approximately face the same direction.

washout filter↗
NASA NTRS2021

High-Fidelity Simulation of Turbulent Flow Past a Gaussian Bump

A spanwise-periodic computation of a turbulent flow past a Gaussian bump is performed in the form of a hybrid direct numerical simulation and wall-resolved large-eddy simulation. A fourth-order spatially-accurate flow solver is employed to perform the simulation, using 10.2 billion grid points for a Reynolds number of 170000 based on the bump height. The key findings from the simulation are reported in the acceleration and deceleration flow regions associated with the bump shape. Significant anisotropy in the normal Reynolds stresses, along both the wall-normal and streamwise directions, is observed within the acceleration region. The ratio between the Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy in that region also experiences significant deviations from the norms of a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer. The chosen Reynolds number generates strong flow separation in the adverse pressure gradient region, which is in contrast with a previous simulation at half the Reynolds number that only indicated incipient separation. An internal layer generated in the acceleration region evolves into a free shear layer that develops in the deceleration region and separates. Proper modeling of this inner layer appears crucial to predict the flow separation. Surface curvature effects on the attached flow development are also discussed.

Turbulent Boundary Layer↗
DOE OSTI2025

Active Learning Surrogates for Integrating Electron Microscopy and Computational Insights from Simulations in Autonomous Experiments

Artificial Intelligence (AI) combined with simulations and experiments has great potential to accelerate scientific discovery across technology and pharmaceuticals. However, the gap between simulations and experiments is challenging due to disparities in time and scale, making it difficult to estimate properties like energy and electronic states from experiments, and to provide feedback based on theoretical insights.Our research addresses the challenge by developing unique deep kernel based surrogate models that learns from microscopic images, mapping structural features to energy differences from defect formation. We start with full-training using simulated images to determine optimal settings, establishing a baseline for active learning. Using these settings from the baseline, active learning is trained, and predicts structures along simulation trajectories based on uncertainty and energetic stability, thus reducing data requirements, simulation time and computational costs. The results demonstrate that the model achieves a low average error margin of approximately 0.03 meV, indicating good performance. To enhance feature extraction and reconstruction capabilities, we developed an autoencoder-decoder as additional surrogate to create latent space to capture essential features, enabling precise comparisons between simulations and experiments. The results from this model achieved a reconstruction loss of around 0.2 and accurately reconstructed molecular structures.Overall, this work advances the steering of experiments through computational simulations by employing a surrogate models that actively predicts the trajectories of structural evolution, achieving time-to-solution comparable to experimental measurements.

Saranathan, Gayathri [Hewlett-Packard]↗
NASA NTRS2007

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Associated Emission in Collisionless Relativistic Jets

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron)jets show that acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields. These magnetic fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K.-I.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation and Associated Emission in Collisionless Relativistic Jets

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron) jets show that acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields. These magnetic fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K. I.↗
NASA NTRS1975

A simulator study on information requirements for precision hovering

A fixed base simulator study of an advanced helicopter instrument display utilizing translational acceleration, velocity and position information is reported. The simulation involved piloting a heavy helicopter using the Integrated Trajectory Error Display (ITED) in a precision hover task. The test series explored two basic areas. The effect on hover accuracy of adding acceleration information was of primary concern. Also of interest was the operators' ability to use degraded information derived from less sophisticated sources. The addition of translational acceleration to a display containing velocity and position information did not appear to improve the hover performance significantly. However, displayed acceleration information seemed to increase the damping of the man machine system. Finally, the pilots could use translational information synthesized from attitude and angular acceleration as effectively as perfect acceleration.

Lemons, J. L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unified differentiable digital twin for the IOTA/FAST facility

As the design complexity of modern accelerators grows, there is more interest in using advanced simulations that have fast execution time or produce insights about accelerator state. One notable example of additional information are gradients of physical observables with respect to design parameters produced by differentiable simulations. The IOTA/FAST facility has recently begun a program to implement and experimentally validate a unified start-to-end differentiable digital twin to serve as a virtual accelerator test stand, allowing for rapid prototyping of new software and experiments with minimal beam time costs. In this contribution we will discuss our plans and progress. Specifically, we will cover the selection and benchmarking of both physics and ML codes, the development of generic interfaces between device models and surrogate or physics-based sections, and the export of the parameters through either a deterministic event loop or a fully asynchronous EPICS soft input/output controller. We will also discuss challenges in model calibration and uncertainty quantification, as well as future plans to support larger proton accelerators like PIPII and Booster.

Kuklev, Nikita [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1974

Man-systems evaluation of moving base vehicle simulation motion cues

A motion cue investigation program is reported that deals with human factor aspects of high fidelity vehicle simulation. General data on non-visual motion thresholds and specific threshold values are established for use as washout parameters in vehicle simulation. A general purpose similator is used to test the contradictory cue hypothesis that acceleration sensitivity is reduced during a vehicle control task involving visual feedback. The simulator provides varying acceleration levels. The method of forced choice is based on the theory of signal detect ability.

Kirkpatrick, M.↗