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At least 55 records · Page 3

Monitoring estuarine circulation and ocean waste dispersion using an integrated satellite-aircraft-drogue approach

The author has identified the following significant results. An inexpensive, integrated drogue-aircraft-satellite approach was developed which is based on the Lagrangian technique and employs remotely tracked drogues and dyes together with satellite observation of natural tracers, such as suspended sediment. Results include current circulation studies in Delaware Bay in support of an oil slick movement model; investigations of the dispersion and movement of acid wastes dumped 40 miles off the Delaware coast; and coastal current circulation. In each case, the integrated drogue-aircraft-satellite approach compares favorably with other techniques on the basis of accuracy, cost effectiveness, and performance under severe weather conditions.

Klemas, V.↗

An accurate perturbative approach to redshift space clustering of biased tracers in modified gravity

We extend the scale-dependent Gaussian Streaming Model (GSM) to produce analytical predictions for the anisotropic redshift-space correlation function for biased tracers in modified gravity models. Employing the Convolution Lagrangian Perturbation Theory (CLPT) re-summation scheme, with a local Lagrangian bias schema provided by the peak-background split formalism, we predict the necessary ingredients that enter the GSM, the real-space halo pairwise velocity and the pairwise velocity dispersion. We further consider effective field theory contributions to the pairwise velocity dispersion in order to model correctly its large scale behavior. We apply our method on two widely-considered modified gravity models, the chameleon-screened ƒ(R) Hu-Sawicki model and the nDGP Vainshtein model and compare our predictions against state-of-the-art N-body simulations for these models. We demonstrate that the GSM approach to predict the monopole and the quadrupole of the redshift-space correlation function for halos, gives very good agreement with the simulation data, for a wide range of screening mechanisms, levels of screening and halo masses at z = 0.5 and z = 1. Our work shows the applicability of the GSM, for cosmologies beyond GR, demonstrating that it can serve as a powerful predictive tool for the next stage of cosmological surveys like DESI, Euclid, LSST and WFIRST.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the Reliability of Parameter Inferences in a Multiscale Model for Transport in Stream Corridors

Nonreacting tracer tests capture information about physical processes in transient storage zones including the hyporheic zone (HZ). However, reliably extracting this information from breakthrough curves (BTCs) and distinguishing the effects of in-channel dispersion and transient storage are well-known challenges. Using BTCs from a nonreacting tracer test monitored at multiple locations, we explore ways for reliable parameter estimations. The identifiability of parameters is greatly influenced by the choice of forward and inverse modeling frameworks in addition to the quality of the data. Our forward model is a recently proposed multiscale model that uses subgrid transport models written in the Lagrangian form to represent transport along a diverse set of HZ pathways with a shape-free distribution of travel times. Joint distributions of HZ and channel parameters are estimated using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique. Numerical experiments show ambiguity between channel dispersion and HZ transport when the reach length is too short to allow significant solute-HZ interaction, the observation period is too brief to observe the tailing behavior, or the solute source is spread in time. In contrast, we obtained reliable parameter estimates by simultaneously fitting BTCs observed at different locations in the test reach using a single set of HZ parameters and section-specific channel areas and dispersion coefficients. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the estimation of travel time distributions, HZ exchange rates, and channel parameters in a new multiscale approach and offers guidance for extracting reliable parameter estimates from multiple BTCs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

User guide for the Geospatial Risk Analysis Tool (V.1.0.1)

Developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Geospatial Risk Analysis Tool (GRAT) links to Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), a complete system for computing simple air parcel trajectories, as well as complex transport, dispersion, chemical transformation, and deposition simulations. The HYSPLIT model was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Research Center in 1998. GRAT is used to batch process meteorological data into ARL format. While HYSPLIT GUI limits users to convert meteorological data up to 6 date time points per operation, GRAT enables users to convert a significantly large amount of data (For example, 10 years of meteorological data measured with an interval of 5 minutes) within one operation. Incorporated with the Potential source distribution function (PSDF), GRAT can also be used to determine the areas influenced by the emission of hazardous chemicals.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Decoupling the Role of Inertia and Gravity on Particle Dispersion

Turbulent gas flows laden with small, dense particles are encountered in a wide number of important applications in both industrial settings and aerodynamics applications. Particle interactions with the underlying turbulent flow are exceedingly complex and, consequently, difficult to accurately model. The difficulty arises primarily due to the fact that response of a particle to the local environment is dictated by turbulence properties in the reference frame moving with the particle (particle-Lagrangian). The particle-Lagrangian reference frame is in turn dependent upon the particle relaxation time (time constant) as well as gravitational drift. The combination of inertial and gravitational effects in this frame complicates our ability to accurately predict particle-laden flows since measurements in the particle-Lagrangian reference frame are difficult to obtain. Therefore, in this work we will examine separately the effects of inertia and gravitational drift on particle dispersion through a combination of physical and numerical experiments. In this study, particle-Lagrangian measurements will be obtained in physical experiments using stereo image velocimetry. Gravitational drift will be varied in the variable-g environments of the NASA DC-9 and in the zero-g environment at the drop tower at NASA-Lewis. Direct numerical simulations will be used to corroborate the measurements from the variable-g experiments. We expect that this work will generate new insight into the underlying physics of particle dispersion and will, in turn, lead to more accurate models of particle transport in turbulent flows.

Rogers, Chris↗

Magnetohydrodynamic MACH Code Used to Simulate Magnetoplasmadynamic Thrusters

The On-Board Propulsion program at the NASA Glenn Research Center is utilizing a state of-the-art numerical simulation to model the performance of high-power electromagnetic plasma thrusters. Such thrusters are envisioned for use in lunar and Mars cargo transport, piloted interplanetary expeditions, and deep-space robotic exploration of the solar system. The experimental portion of this program is described in reference 1. This article describes the numerical modeling program used to guide the experimental research. The synergistic use of numerical simulations and experimental research has spurred the rapid advancement of high-power thruster technologies for a variety of bold new NASA missions. From its inception as a U.S. Department of Defense code in the mid-1980's, the Multiblock Arbitrary Coordinate Hydromagnetic (MACH) simulation tool has been used by the plasma physics community to model a diverse range of plasma problems--including plasma opening switches, inertial confinement fusion concepts, compact toroid formation and acceleration, z-pinch implosion physics, laser-target interactions, and a variety of plasma thrusters. The MACH2 code used at Glenn is a time-dependent, two-dimensional, axisymmetric, multimaterial code with a multiblock structure. MACH3, a more recent three-dimensional version of the code, is currently undergoing beta tests. The MACH computational mesh moves in an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) fashion that allows the simulation of diffusive-dominated and dispersive-dominated problems, and the mesh can be refined via a variety of adaptive schemes to capture regions of varying characteristic scale. The mass continuity and momentum equations model a compressible viscous fluid, and three energy equations are used to simulate nonthermal equilibrium between electrons, ions, and the radiation field. Magnetic fields are modeled by an induction equation that includes resistive diffusion, the Hall effect, and a thermal source for magnetic fields. Various models of plasma resistivity are included, along with ablation models and multiport circuit solvers. The set of equations is closed using either an ideal gas or real equation of state.

Mikellides, Pavlos G.↗

The Impact of MISR-Derived Injection Height Initialization on Wildfire and Volcanic Plume Dispersion in the HYSPLIT Model

The dispersion of particles from wildfires, volcanic eruptions, dust storms, and other aerosol sources can affect air quality and other environmental factors downwind. Aerosol injection height is one source attribute that mediates downwind dispersion, as wind speed and direction can vary dramatically with elevation. Using plume heights derived from space-based, multi-angle imaging, we examine the impact of initializing plumes with satellite-measured vs. nominal (model-calculated or VAAC observations) injection height on the simulated dispersion of six large aerosol plumes. When there are significant differences in nominal vs. satellite-derived particle injection heights, or if one injection height is within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and the other is above the PBL, differences in simulation results can arise. In the cases studied with significant nominal vs. satellite-derived injection height differences, the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory's Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model tends to represent plume evolution better if the injection height in the model is constrained by hyper-stereo satellite retrievals.

Plume heights↗

Enhanced Monitoring and Forecasting of South Asian Air Quality Episodes with Multi-Sensor Satellite Products and Dispersion Modeling

Air pollution and particulates represent a serious environmental, public health, and overarching societal concern in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region of south-central Asia, especially during the boreal winter and spring months. Frequent contributors to poor air quality of the region include dust and particulate matter transport from the Middle East region and western India, persistent nocturnal fog and smog during the stable dry monsoon months, and biomass burning during the pre-monsoon months of boreal spring. Nocturnal and multi-day persistent stable fog and smog events can occur during the stable conditions of the dry monsoon months that lead to hazardous visibility reductions (e.g., at major airports such as Delhi, India)and poor air quality, particularly in urban corridors.Our project goal is therefore to design and implement a robust air quality and chemistry observation and modeling system using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) and the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) models. This system effectively assimilates aerosol and trace gas retrievals from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites to advance the monitoring and prediction capabilities of air quality and visibility reductions throughout the HKH region. For this presentation, we highlight several[multi-spectral] geostationary satellite products and dispersion modeling capabilities being developed and implemented for improved situational awareness and forecasting of air quality episodes.Launched in December 2018, the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) aboard the Geostationary-Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite-2A (GEO-KOMPSAT-2A, or GK2A) provides 16 channels of multi-spectral information similar to the U.S. GOES-16/17 satellites. Proven community recipes for generating multi-spectral Red-Green-Blue (RGB) composite products to detect specific meteorological phenomena are applied to the AMI data for the HKH region. We implemented four such RGB products consisting of truecolor with Rayleigh correction to aid in smoke detection; dust RGB for monitoring larger particulate matter; nighttime microphysics for fog/smog detection;and natural color fire RGB and the shortwave 3.8 micron channel for fire hot-spot detection.We additionally configured HYSPLIT for dust/sand dispersion and concentration forecasts over HKH. The HYSPLIT dispersion simulations are initially being conducted with two different methodologies: (1) dust/sand lofting based on initializing plume releases from visual inspection of the dust RGB imagery; and (2) dust/sand release and dispersion using the internal HYSPLIT algorithm that determines lofting from input wind speeds and prescribed land use. The goal is to develop a near real-time HYSPLIT modeling solution for routinely simulating the transport and dispersion of dust plumes across the HKH region. This presentation illustrates these products and capabilities for various use cases from the 2019 to 2021 period, highlighting a particularly unhealthy episode during late March 2021 across Nepal.

Remote Sensing↗

Role of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the Transport of Aerosols from the Tropical Stratospheric Reservoir to Midlatitudes

The temporal evolution of the stratospheric aerosol distribution in the tropical stratospheric reservoir after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo was observed from 1992 to 1995 by the HALOE instrument on the UARS satellite. Since the spatial gradient of aerosol loading is large at the boundaries of the tropical stratospheric reservoir due to the volcanic aerosols, the effect of the meridional circulation on the distribution is seen clearly. The mechanism for dispersal of aerosol in the lower stratosphere from the tropics into midlatitudes strongly depends on the phase of the equatorial zonal wind. The time-latitude cross sections of the normalized distribution of aerosol on isentropic surfaces are used to observe the equatorial variation as well as change in meridional dispersal during the quasi-biennial period. Observed tropical stratospheric winds are used with a simple analytical dynamical model to examine transport processes of tracers from the tropics during several phases of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) from 1992 to 1995. The Lagrangian meridional circulation in the tropics is consistent with the vertical and meridional velocities correlated with the QBO in the zonal wind. We find that vertical motion plays a crucial role in vertical and subsequent meridional transport. The pattern of meridional divergence derived from the vertical velocity is closely related to the observed HALOE aerosol distributions and their temporal development in the equatorial region. The westerly (easterly) shear phase of the QBO is associated with sinking (rising) motions at the equator and subsequent poleward (equatorward) transport in the lower stratosphere.

Choi, Wookap↗

Quality Assurance Project Plan for the Salish Sea Model – Continuing Development of New Capabilities and Applications: European Green Crab (EGC) Larval Transport, Coupling to VELMA and Atlantis, Performance Improvements and Diagnostic Applications

This quality assurance project plan (QAPP) is for proposed FY24-FY27 efforts to (a) develop/expand a predictive European Green Crab (EGC) larval dispersal model for the Salish Sea, (b) add linkage between VELMA (Visualizing Ecosystem Land Management Assessments) watershed model and Atlantis model (ecosystem dynamics and food web) through SSM, and (c) continue SSM capability development through the addition of metals, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and FVCOM-LTRANS (Lagrangian Larval Transport) modules.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

CoSyR: A novel beam dynamics code for the modeling of synchrotron radiation effects

The self-consistent nonlinear dynamics of a relativistic charged particle beam interacting with its complete self-fields is a fundamental problem underpinning many of the accelerator design issues in high brightness beam applications, as well as the development of advanced accelerators. Particularly, synchrotron radiation induced effects in a magnetic dispersive beamline element can lead to collective beam instabilities and emittance growth. A novel beam dynamics code is developed based on a Lagrangian method for the calculation of the particles’ radiation near-fields using wavefront/wavelet meshes via the Green’s function of the Maxwell equations. These fields are then interpolated onto a moving mesh for dynamic update of the beam. This method allows radiation co-propagation and self-consistent interaction with the beam in 2D/3D simulations at greatly reduced numerical errors. Multiple levels of parallelisms are inherent in this method and implemented in our code CoSyR to enable at-scale simulations of nonlinear beam dynamics on modern computing platforms using MPI, multi-threading, and GPUs. Here, the current 2D implementation of CoSyR has been used to evaluate the transverse and longitudinal coherent radiation effects on the beam and to investigate beam optics designs proposed for mitigation of beam brightness degradation in a magnetic bunch compressor. In this paper, the design of CoSyR, as well as the benchmark with other coherent synchrotron radiation models, are described and discussed. Extension of the core algorithms to 3D is possible and planned.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Temperature statistics in a radiatively heated particle-laden turbulent square duct flow

Radiation absorption by preferentially concentrated particles in a turbulent square duct flow is studied experimentally. The particle-laden flow is exposed to near-infrared radiation, and the gas phase temperature statistics are measured along the wall bisector of the duct. It is found that the instantaneous temperature fluctuations are comparable to the overall mean temperature rise. The temperature statistics at the duct centerline and near the wall are qualitatively different. The former reflects preferential concentration in isotropic flows while the latter displays evidence of particle clustering into streamwise elongated streaks. Comparison of the experimental data to a simplified heat transfer model suggests that the Lagrangian evolution of particle clusters and voids, and turbulent mixing in the vicinity of particle clusters, are important. This work was motivated by particle solar receiver technology, but the findings are also relevant to systems where there is localized heat release or mass transfer from disperse particles or droplets. It shows that obtaining Lagrangian histories of particle trajectories is an important next step towards understanding thermal transport phenomena in particle-laden turbulent flows.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Visualizing turbulent mixing of gases and particles

A physical model and interactive computer graphics techniques have been developed for the visualization of the basic physical process of stochastic dispersion and mixing from steady-state CFD calculations. The mixing of massless particles and inertial particles is visualized by transforming the vector field from a traditionally Eulerian reference frame into a Lagrangian reference frame. Groups of particles are traced through the vector field for the mean path as well as their statistical dispersion about the mean position by using added scalar information about the root mean square value of the vector field and its Lagrangian time scale. In this way, clouds of particles in a turbulent environment are traced, not just mean paths. In combustion simulations of many industrial processes, good mixing is required to achieve a sufficient degree of combustion efficiency. The ability to visualize this multiphase mixing can not only help identify poor mixing but also explain the mechanism for poor mixing. The information gained from the visualization can be used to improve the overall combustion efficiency in utility boilers or propulsion devices. We have used this technique to visualize steady-state simulations of the combustion performance in several furnace designs.

Ma, Kwan-Liu↗

Numerical Predictions of Dust-Induced Heat Flux Augmentation in Hypersonic Blunt-Body Flows Using a Discontinuous Galerkin Multiphase Flow Solver

Recent interest in human-scale missions to Mars has motivated the need for high-fidelity simulations of reentry flows. During a dust storm, there can be high levels of suspended dust in the Martian atmosphere, which cannot only enhance erosion of thermal protection systems but also transfer energy and momentum to the shock layer, thereby significantly augmenting the surface heat flux. Second-order finite-volume schemes are typically employed for hypersonic flow simulations, but such schemes suffer from a number of disadvantages. An attractive alternative is discontinuous Galerkin methods, which benefit from arbitrarily high spatial order of accuracy, geometric flexibility, and other properties. To enable accurate computations of high-speed particle-laden flows, an Euler-Lagrange methodology was developed in which the Eulerian field of the carrier gas is calculated using a discontinuous Galerkin scheme while the disperse phase is treated with Lagrangian particle tracking. We discuss challenges associated with coupling these two formulations and how to handle them. Momentum and energy transfer between the carrier gas and the particle phase is considered, and the importance of accounting for interparticle collisions is assessed. In addition, we describe the physical model of the particle phase and examine effects of its uncertainties on the numerical solution. We demonstrate the performance of the Euler-Lagrange method in representative testcases, with focus on the accurate prediction of particle trajectories and heating augmentation. Quantitative comparisons with experiments are provided.

Ching, Eric J.↗

Numerical modeling for dilute and dense sprays

We have successfully implemented a numerical model for spray-combustion calculations. In this model, the governing gas-phase equations in Eulerian coordinate are solved by a time-marching multiple pressure correction procedure based on the operator-splitting technique. The droplet-phase equations in Lagrangian coordinate are solved by a stochastic discrete particle technique. In order to simplify the calculation procedure for the circulating droplets, the effective conductivity model is utilized. The k-epsilon models are utilized to characterize the time and length scales of the gas phase in conjunction with turbulent modulation by droplets and droplet dispersion by turbulence. This method entails random sampling of instantaneous gas flow properties and the stochastic process requires a large number of computational parcels to produce the satisfactory dispersion distributions even for rather dilute sprays. Two major improvements in spray combustion modelings were made. Firstly, we have developed a probability density function approach in multidimensional space to represent a specific computational particle. Secondly, we incorporate the Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model for handling the dense spray effects. This breakup model is based on the reasonable assumption that atomization and drop breakup are indistinguishable processes within a dense spray near the nozzle exit. Accordingly, atomization is prescribed by injecting drops which have a characteristic size equal to the nozzle exit diameter. Example problems include the nearly homogeneous and inhomogeneous turbulent particle dispersion, and the non-evaporating, evaporating, and burning dense sprays. Comparison with experimental data will be discussed in detail.

Chen, C. P.↗

Mixing by barotropic instability in a nonlinear model

A global, nonlinear, equivalent barotropic model is used to study the isentropic mixing of passive tracers by barotropic instability. Basic states are analytical zonal-mean jets representative of the zonal-mean flow in the upper stratosphere, where the observed 4-day wave is thought to be a result of barotropic, and possibly baroclinic, instability. As is known from previous studies, the phase speed and growth rate of the unstable waves is fairly sensitive to the shape of the zonal-mean jet; and the dominant wave mode at saturation is not necessarily the fastest growing mode; but the unstable modes share many features of the observed 4-day wave. Lagrangian trajectories computed from model winds are used to characterize the mixing by the flow. For profiles with both midlatitude and polar modes, mixing is stronger in midlatitude than inside the vortex; but there is little exchange of air across the vortex boundary. There is a minimum in the Lyapunov exponents of the flow and the particle dispersion at the jet maximum. For profiles with only polar unstable modes, there is weak mixing inside the vortex, no mixing outside the vortex, and no exchange of air across the vortex boundary. These results support the theoretical arguments that, whether wave disturbances are generated by local instability or propagate from other regions, the mixing properties of the total flow are determined by the locations of the wave critical lines and that strong gradients of potential vorticity are very resistant to mixing.

Bowman, Kenneth P.↗

Numerical Simulations of Homogeneous Turbulence Using Lagrangian-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations

The Lagrangian-averaged Navier-Stokes (LANS) equations are numerically evaluated as a turbulence closure. They are derived from a novel Lagrangian averaging procedure on the space of all volume-preserving maps and can be viewed as a numerical algorithm which removes the energy content from the small scales (smaller than some a priori fixed spatial scale alpha) using a dispersive rather than dissipative mechanism, thus maintaining the crucial features of the large scale flow. We examine the modeling capabilities of the LANS equations for decaying homogeneous turbulence, ascertain their ability to track the energy spectrum of fully resolved direct numerical simulations (DNS), compare the relative energy decay rates, and compare LANS with well-accepted large eddy simulation (LES) models.

Mohseni, Kamran↗

Investigation of turbulent inflow specification in Euler–Lagrange simulations of mid-field spray

The process of atomization of a liquid jet by a parallel high-speed gas stream results in a spray, whose downstream development is of considerable interest to several applications. The round jet spray can be spatially divided into (i) a near-field (near-nozzle) region of liquid atomization and (ii) a downstream mid-field region of fully-dispersed droplets. In order to accurately model mid-field droplet dispersion, this work aims at developing a rigorous and robust injection model for Euler–Lagrange spray simulations. Results from experiments are used to obtain the relevant droplet number density, size distribution, and mean and standard deviation velocity distributions of the injection model, systematically in a step-by-step process. Two-phase large eddy simulations are performed by stochastically generating the Lagrangian droplets at the inlet of the mid-field region. Number flux, diameter distribution, mean velocity, and other time-averaged statistics at several downstream locations are shown to agree well with the corresponding experimental data.

42 ENGINEERING↗