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Results for “methods in magnetism”

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.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Method for confining the magnetic field of the cross-tail current inside the magnetopause

A method is presented for analytically representing the magnetic field due to the cross-tail current and its closure on the magnetopause. It is an extension of a method used by Tsyganenko (1989b) to confine the dipole field inside an ellipsoidal magnetopause using a scalar potential. Given a model of the cross-tail current, the implied net magnetic field is obtained by adding to the cross-tail current field a potential field B = - del gamma, which makes all field lines divide into two disjoint groups, separated by the magnetopause (i.e., the combined field is made to have zero normal component with the magnetopause). The magnetopause is assumed to be an ellipsoid of revolution (a prolate spheroid) as an approximation to observations (Sibeck et al., 1991). This assumption permits the potential gamma to be expressed in spheroidal coordinates, expanded in spheroidal harmonics and its terms evaluated by performing inversion integrals. Finally, the field outside the magnetopause is replaced by zero, resulting in a consistent current closure along the magnetopause. This procedure can also be used to confine the modeled field of any other interior magnetic source, though the model current must always flow in closed circuits. The method is demonstrated on the T87 cross-tail current, examples illustrate the effect of changing the size and shape of the prescribed magnetopause and a comparison is made to an independent numerical scheme based on the Biot-Savart equation.

Sotirelis, T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Three dimensional magnetic fields in extra high speed modified Lundell alternators computed by a combined vector-scalar magnetic potential finite element method

A 3D finite element (FE) approach was developed and implemented for computation of global magnetic fields in a 14.3 kVA modified Lundell alternator. The essence of the new method is the combined use of magnetic vector and scalar potential formulations in 3D FEs. This approach makes it practical, using state of the art supercomputer resources, to globally analyze magnetic fields and operating performances of rotating machines which have truly 3D magnetic flux patterns. The 3D FE-computed fields and machine inductances as well as various machine performance simulations of the 14.3 kVA machine are presented in this paper and its two companion papers.

Demerdash, N. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Practical and efficient magnetic heat pump

Method for pumping heat magnetically at room temperature is more economical than existing refrigeration systems. Method uses natural magneto-thermal effect of gadolinium metal to establish temperature gradient across length of tube. Regenerative cyclic process in which gadolinium sample is magnetized and gives off heat at one end of tube, and then is demagnetized at other end to absorb heat has established temperature gradients of 144 degrees F in experiments near room temperature. Other materials with large magnetothermal effects can be used below room temperature. Possible commercial applications include freeze-drying and food processing, cold storage, and heating and cooling of buildings, plants, and ships.

Brown, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Test of Shi et al. Method to Infer the Magnetic Reconnection Geometry from Spacecraft Data: MHD Simulation with Guide Field and Antiparallel Kinetic Simulation

When analyzing data from an array of spacecraft (such as Cluster or MMS) crossing a site of magnetic reconnection, it is desirable to be able to accurately determine the orientation of the reconnection site. If the reconnection is quasi-two dimensional, there are three key directions, the direction of maximum inhomogeneity (the direction across the reconnection site), the direction of the reconnecting component of the magnetic field, and the direction of rough invariance (the "out of plane" direction). Using simulated spacecraft observations of magnetic reconnection in the geomagnetic tail, we extend our previous tests of the direction-finding method developed by Shi et al. (2005) and the method to determine the structure velocity relative to the spacecraft Vstr. These methods require data from four proximate spacecraft. We add artificial noise and calibration errors to the simulation fields, and then use the perturbed gradient of the magnetic field B and perturbed time derivative dB/dt, as described by Denton et al. (2010). Three new simulations are examined: a weakly three-dimensional, i.e., quasi-two-dimensional, MHD simulation without a guide field, a quasi-two-dimensional MHD simulation with a guide field, and a two-dimensional full dynamics kinetic simulation with inherent noise so that the apparent minimum gradient was not exactly zero, even without added artificial errors. We also examined variations of the spacecraft trajectory for the kinetic simulation. The accuracy of the directions found varied depending on the simulation and spacecraft trajectory, but all the directions could be found within about 10 for all cases. Various aspects of the method were examined, including how to choose averaging intervals and the best intervals for determining the directions and velocity. For the kinetic simulation, we also investigated in detail how the errors in the inferred gradient directions from the unmodified Shi et al. method (using the unperturbed gradient) depended on the amplitude of the calibration errors. For an accuracy of 3 for the maximum gradient direction, the calibration errors could be as large as 3% of reconnection magnetic field, while for the same accuracy for the minimum gradient direction, the calibration errors could only be as large as 0.03% of the reconnection magnetic field. These results suggest that the maximum gradient direction can normally be determined by the unmodified Shi et al. method, while the modified method or some other method must be used to accurately determine the minimum gradient direction. The structure velocity was found with magnitude accurate to 2% and direction accurate to within 5%.

Denton, R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The method of projected characteristics for the evolution of magnetic arches

A numerical method of solving fully nonlinear MHD equation is described. In particular, the formulation based on the newly developed method of projected characteristics (Nakagawa, 1981) suitable to study the evolution of magnetic arches due to motions of their foot-points is presented. The final formulation is given in the form of difference equations; therefore, the analysis of numerical stability is also presented. Further, the most important derivation of physically self-consistent, time-dependent boundary conditions (i.e. the evolving boundary equations) is given in detail, and some results obtained with such boundary equations are reported.

Nakagawa, Y.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Further Development of an Optimal Design Approach Applied to Axial Magnetic Bearings

Classical design methods involved in magnetic bearings and magnetic suspension systems have always had their limitations. Because of this, the overall effectiveness of a design has always relied heavily on the skill and experience of the individual designer. This paper combines two approaches that have been developed to aid the accuracy and efficiency of magnetostatic design. The first approach integrates classical magnetic circuit theory with modern optimization theory to increase design efficiency. The second approach uses loss factors to increase the accuracy of classical magnetic circuit theory. As an example, an axial magnetic thrust bearing is designed for minimum power.

Bloodgood, V. Dale, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Thick film magnetic nanoparticulate composites and method of manufacture thereof

Thick film magnetic/insulating nanocomposite materials, with significantly reduced core loss, and their manufacture are described. The insulator coated magnetic nanocomposite comprises one or more magnetic components, and an insulating component. The magnetic component comprises nanometer scale particles (about 1 to about 100 nanometers) coated by a thin-layered insulating phase. While the intergrain interaction between the immediate neighboring magnetic nanoparticles separated by the insulating phase provides the desired soft magnetic properties, the insulating material provides high resistivity, which reduces eddy current loss.

Ma, Xinqing↗
NASA NTRS1973

A variation of the Davis-Smith method for in-flight determination of spacecraft magnetic fields.

A variation of a procedure developed by Davis and Smith (1968) is presented for the in-flight determination of spacecraft magnetic fields. Both methods take statistical advantage of the observation that fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field over short periods of time are primarily changes in direction rather than in magnitude. During typical solar wind conditions between 0.8 and 1.0 AU, a statistical analysis of 2-3 days of continuous interplanetary field measurements yields an estimate of a constant spacecraft field with an uncertainty of plus or minus 0.25 gamma in the direction radial to the sun and plus or minus 15 gammas in the directions transverse to the radial. The method is also of use in estimating variable spacecraft fields with gradients of the order of 0.1 gamma/day and less and in other special circumstances.

Belcher, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Magnetic testing

Magnetic techniques are described for the nondestructive evaluation of defects in materials. The physical principles, and the magnetic-particle method are discussed along with magnetic-hysteresis measurements and electric current perturbations.

Pasley, R. L.↗