Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “diffusion equation”

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 55 records · Page 3

Adaptive grid relocation algorithms for transonic full potential calculations using one-dimensional or two-dimensional diffusion equation

The effect of solution-adaptive grids using an interpolative grid relocation algorithm on two-dimensional transonic full potential flow calculations is studied with extensions to three dimensions in mind. One-dimensional or two-dimensional diffusion equation is solved to obtain the grid density control function for generating adaptive grids. The results of flow solution for NACA-0012 and Gates-Leajet airfoils show a significant improvement of accuracy in the CP distributions. However, further studies are recommended on the questions (1) what information from the initial flow solution should be passed on to the solution-adaptive grid generation scheme, and (2) how to optimize the accuracy of the solution through the use of adaptive grids.

Nakamura, S.↗

On the Dynamics of Some Discretizations of Convection-Diffusion Equations

Numerical discretizations of differential equations which model physical processes can possess dynamics quite different from that of the equations themselves. Recently the emphasis has been on the the dynamics of numerical discretizations for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). For Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) using a method of lines approach the situation is more complex. First, the spatial discretisation may introduce dynamics not present in the original equations; second, the solution of the resulting system of ODEs is open to the modified dynamics of the ODE solver used. These two effects may interact in a complex manner. In this talk we present some results of our recent work on the dynamics of discretizations of convection-diffusion equations, including those produced using Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) schemes and adaptive grid techniques. A more general overview of the area may be found on our accompanying poster presentation.

Sweby, Peter K.↗

Multigrid techniques for the numerical solution of the diffusion equation

An accurate numerical solution of diffusion problems containing large local gradients can be obtained with a significant reduction in computational time by using a multigrid computational scheme. The spatial domain is covered with sets of uniform square grids of different sizes. The finer grid patterns overlap the coarse grid patterns. The finite-difference expressions for each grid pattern are solved independently by iterative techniques. Two interpolation methods were used to establish the values of the potential function on the fine grid boundaries with information obtained from the coarse grid solution. The accuracy and computational requirements for solving a test problem by a simple multigrid and a multilevel-multigrid method were compared. The multilevel-multigrid method combined with a Taylor series interpolation scheme was found to be best.

Phillips, R. E.↗

Periodic solutions to systems of reaction-diffusion equations

Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the existence of temporally periodic 'dissipative structure' solutions in weak diffusion with the reaction rate terms dominant in a generic system of reaction-diffusion differential equations. The enumerator index i of the equations denotes the density or concentration of the ith participating molecular or biological species, and D sub i is the diffusivity constant for the ith species while Q sub i (c), an algebraic function of the n-tuple c, expresses the local rate of production of the ith species due to chemical reactions or biological interactions.

Rosen, G.↗

Sylvester-preconditioned adaptive-rank implicit time integrators for advection-diffusion equations with variable coefficients

Here, we consider the adaptive-rank integration of multi-dimensional time-dependent advection-diffusion partial differential equations (PDEs) with variable coefficients. We employ a standard finite-difference method for spatial discretization coupled with high-order diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta temporal schemes. The discrete equation is a generalized Sylvester equation (GSE), which we solve with a projection-based adaptive-rank algorithm structured around two key strategies: (i) constructing dimension-wise subspaces using a novel atypical extended Krylov strategy, and (ii) efficiently solving the basis coefficient matrix with a preconditioned GMRES solver. The low-rank decomposition is performed in 2D using SVD and with high-order SVD (HOSVD) in 3D to represent the tensor in a compressed Tucker format. For d-dimensional problems (here, d = 2 or 3), the computational complexity and memory storage of the approach are found numerically to scale as and $\mathscr{O}(Nr^2) + \mathscr{O} (r^{d+1})$ and $\mathscr{O}(Nr) + \mathscr{O} (r^{d})$, respectively, with the one-dimensional resolution and the maximal rank during the Krylov iteration (which we find to be largely independent of on our numerical examples). We present numerical examples that illustrate the advertised properties of the algorithm.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

An efficient high-order numerical solver for diffusion equations with strong anisotropy

In this paper, we present an interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin finite element scheme for solving diffusion problems with strong anisotropy arising in magnetized plasmas for fusion applications. Additionally, we demonstrate the accuracy produced by the high-order scheme and develop an efficient preconditioning technique to solve the corresponding linear system, which is robust to the mesh size and anisotropy of the problem. Several numerical tests are provided to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Symmetry and separability of the neutron diffusion equation

Separation of variables is one of the oldest techniques for solving certain classes of partial differential equations (PDEs). As is the case with many other solution techniques for differential equations, separation of variables may be codified within the broader framework of symmetry analysis. Though the separation of variables technique is frequently used in the nuclear engineering context with various equations describing neutron transport, its connection to the symmetries of those equations has not yet been thoroughly established. It is thus the purpose of this work to establish that connection using neutron diffusion as both an initial step toward analysis of more generally applicable equations, and as a connection to previous results in related problems. Using Lie group analysis, it is found that the traditional space-time separable solution of the neutron diffusion equation (featuring a single α-eigenvalue) corresponds to time translation and flux scaling symmetries. Additional solutions of this equation are also constructed using its broader symmetry set.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Using the Diffusion Equation to Predict CST Resin Breakthroughs - 19051

The crystalline silicotitanate, CST, resin manufactured by UOP Honeywell is well-suited for single-use decontamination of caustic liquid wastes at Hanford and Savannah River Sites. There are many measurements of column loading and breakthrough for CST resin decontamination of Cs-137 in various Hanford and SRS waste simulants. Such measurements provide a very good basis for estimating CST resin demand and these more refined predictions make the CST column loading as efficient as possible given the very expensive CST resin. Although there are a variety of tools for predicting chromatographic resin column performance, [1-4], there is a particularly useful method that is suitable as a simple spreadsheet model [4]. This spreadsheet model is an analytical error function for the mass transfer zone (mtz) diffusion width in resin columns and is well-suited for resin breakthrough and column loading. This paper describes just such an error function spreadsheet model and how well the error function agrees with more traditional models and fits the observed small scale breakthrough curves for CST that can then better predict large scale column loading efficiency. The very high sorption of Cs onto CST tends to be slower than that of other lower sorption resins and as a result of the slow CST kinetics, there is also a marked asymmetry in many CST breakthrough curves. The CST breakthrough asymmetry is largely due to the distribution of CST particle sizes because smaller particles sorb much faster than larger particles. It is then the smaller particles that determine the leading mtz at a decontamination factor of 1,000 breakthrough and therefore the decontamination efficiency for a given loading. The larger CST particles correspondingly determine the tailing mtz width and therefore the overall loading efficiency and it is important to model both leading and tailing mtz widths to best optimize CST for a particular Cs-137 decontamination application. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Consistent solutions of the radiation diffusion equation in spherical and cylindrical geometries

We have extended the radiation diffusion model of Hammer and Rosen [Phys. Plasmas 10, 1829 (2003)] to diverging spherical and cylindrical geometries. The effect of curvilinear geometry on the supersonic, expanding wavefront increases as the internal radius of a spherical or cylindrical shell approaches zero. Small spherical geometries are important for modeling systems at the size scale of inertial confinement fusion capsules, at these scales existing quasi-analytic models for planar geometry significantly disagree with the results of simulation. With this method, the benefits of rapid iteration can be applied to common spherical systems at much smaller length scales. We present comparisons between numerical diffusion solutions and the analytic model to give ranges of applicability for the model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Application of implicit numerical techniques to the solution of the three-dimensional diffusion equation

Implicit techniques for calculating three-dimensional, time-dependent heat diffusion in a cube are tested with emphasis on storage efficiency, accuracy, and speed of calculation. For this purpose, a tensor product technique with both Chebyshev collocation and finite differences and a generalized conjugate gradient technique with finite differences are used in conjunction with Crank-Nicolson discretization. An Euler explicit finite difference calculation is performed for use as a benchmark. The implicit techniques are found to be competitive with the Euler explicit method in terms of storage efficiency and speed of calculation and offer advantages both in accuracy and stability. Mesh stretching in the finite difference calculations is shown to markedly improve the accuracy of the solution.

Peltier, Leonard Joel↗

Computer Program for Solving Nine-Group Diffusion Equations for Cylindrical Reactors

A method is presented for determining the critical size of a cylindrical reactor by a one-dimensional group-diffusion method extended to a two-dimensional solution by prescribing values of axial leakage based on assumed flux levels. The neutron energy spectrum is divided into nine groups, and the reactor into four concentric cylinders. A computing machine program for an IBM 650 computer with attachments and a method for using the program with nine, or less, groups and four, or less, regions are given.

Miser, James W.↗

Steady-state solution of the semi-empirical diffusion equation for area sources

The problem investigated can be solved exactly in a simple manner if the equations are written in terms of a similarity variable. The exact solution is used to explore two questions of interest in the modelling of urban air pollution, taking into account the distribution of surface concentration downwind of an area source and the distribution of concentration with height.

Lebedeff, S. A.↗