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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 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2018

Numerically Simulating an Expanding Continuum Jet into a Surrounding Non-Continuum Region

A numerical technique that simulates the interaction between a continuum jet and a free-molecular, rarefied or transitional flow field is presented and applied. The technique is based on selecting a boundary between the expanding jet plume and interacting flow field defined by the Bird breakdown parameter, P. By properly choosing the boundary, the jet plume computed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is uncoupled from the interaction region that is simulated by direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC). The mechanics of uncoupling the continuum and non-continuum regions is discussed first. Also, a discussion of expanding continuum plume breakdown and the formulation of the Bird breakdown parameter is presented. To show the usefulness, examples of applying the CFD-DSMC technique are given. Many of the examples were taken from projects worked by the staff of the Aerothermodynamics Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. These examples show a variety of applications of the technique and allow those examples not previously documented to be formally presented.

Jet interaction↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technique to eliminate computational instability in multibody simulations employing the Lagrange multiplier

A programming technique to eliminate computational instability in multibody simulations that use the Lagrange multiplier is presented. The computational instability occurs when the attached bodies drift apart and violate the constraints. The programming technique uses the constraint equation, instead of integration, to determine the coordinates that are not independent. Although the equations of motion are unchanged, a complete derivation of the incorporation of the Lagrange multiplier into the equation of motion for two bodies is presented. A listing of a digital computer program which uses the programming technique to eliminate computational instability is also presented. The computer program simulates a solid rocket booster and parachute connected by a frictionless swivel.

Watts, G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

An introduction to three-dimensional climate modeling

The development and use of three-dimensional computer models of the earth's climate are discussed. The processes and interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice are examined. The basic theory of climate simulation which includes the fundamental equations, models, and numerical techniques for simulating the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice is described. Simulated wind, temperature, precipitation, ocean current, and sea ice distribution data are presented and compared to observational data. The responses of the climate to various environmental changes, such as variations in solar output or increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, are modeled. Future developments in climate modeling are considered. Information is also provided on the derivation of the energy equation, the finite difference barotropic forecast model, the spectral transform technique, and the finite difference shallow water waved equation model.

Washington, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The definition of the Shuttle Tethered Aerothermodynamic Research Facility

Studies have been conducted to define the feasibility and practical limitations of the Shuttle Orbiter Tethered 'wind-tunnel' concept. This concept, referred to as the Shuttle Tethered Aerothermodynamic Research Facility (STARFAC), is proposed to provide researchers access to altitudes above 90 km to accomplish aerothermodynamic research in the rarefied upper atmosphere. Determining the feasibility and limitations of the concept has required the enhancement and/or development of mission simulation analytical techniques and control laws; the accomplishment of candidate mission simulations; the definition of instrumentation requirements, both for science and engineering; and the establishment of tether and satellite design requirements to meet STARFAC objectives. The results of the study, to date, indicate that such a concept is both feasible and practical. Representative results are presented, as are recommendations for continued studies which would result in program implementation.

Siemers, P. M., III↗
NASA NTRS1991

Performance analysis of static locking in replicated distributed database systems

Data replication and transaction deadlocks can severely affect the performance of distributed database systems. Many current evaluation techniques ignore these aspects, because it is difficult to evaluate through analysis and time consuming to evaluate through simulation. A technique is used that combines simulation and analysis to closely illustrate the impact of deadlock and evaluate performance of replicated distributed database with both shared and exclusive locks.

Kuang, Yinghong↗
NASA NTRS1987

Approximate Simulation of Turbulence

Computed spectra resemble von Karman spectra of frequencies of interest. Numerical technique yields simulated atmospheric-turbulence spectra that closely approximates von Karman spectra within frequency ranges of interest for aircraft response. Suitable for computation in that they represent stable systems and roll off as f-2 at high frequencies outside range of interest.

Campbell, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1960

A Radiant Heater to Simulate Aerodynamic Heating in a Wind Tunnel

A recently developed radiant-heating test technique for simulation of aerodynamic heating in wind tunnel is describes. The heating device, which utilized quartz-tube lamps, was operated successfully while exposed directly to a supersonic airstream. Tests were made on a calibration panel, and experimental temperature and pressure data are presented. Results indicate that initial heating rates of about 26 Btu/(sq ft) (sec) are obtainable at a distance of 12 inches from the heater. Further applications of the basic design are discussed briefly.

Trussell, Donald H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Analysis of Composite Skin-Stiffener Debond Specimens Using Volume Elements and a Shell/3D Modeling Technique

The debonding of a skin/stringer specimen subjected to tension was studied using three-dimensional volume element modeling and computational fracture mechanics. Mixed mode strain energy release rates were calculated from finite element results using the virtual crack closure technique. The simulations revealed an increase in total energy release rate in the immediate vicinity of the free edges of the specimen. Correlation of the computed mixed-mode strain energy release rates along the delamination front contour with a two-dimensional mixed-mode interlaminar fracture criterion suggested that in spite of peak total energy release rates at the free edge the delamination would not advance at the edges first. The qualitative prediction of the shape of the delamination front was confirmed by X-ray photographs of a specimen taken during testing. The good correlation between prediction based on analysis and experiment demonstrated the efficiency of a mixed-mode failure analysis for the investigation of skin/stiffener separation due to delamination in the adherents. The application of a shell/3D modeling technique for the simulation of skin/stringer debond in a specimen subjected to three-point bending is also demonstrated. The global structure was modeled with shell elements. A local three-dimensional model, extending to about three specimen thicknesses on either side of the delamination front was used to capture the details of the damaged section. Computed total strain energy release rates and mixed-mode ratios obtained from shell/3D simulations were in good agreement with results obtained from full solid models. The good correlations of the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the shell/3D modeling technique for the investigation of skin/stiffener separation due to delamination in the adherents.

Krueger, Ronald↗
NASA NTRS1978

Measurement of transient strain and surface temperature on simulated turbine blades using noncontacting techniques

Noncontacting techniques were used to measure strain and temperature in thermally cycled simulated turbine blades. An electro-optical extensometer was used to measure the displacement between parallel targets mounted on the leading edge of the blades throughout a complete heating and cooling cycle. An infrared photographic pyrometry method was used to measure blade steady state surface temperature. The blade was cyclically heated and cooled by moving it into and out of a Mach 1 hot-gas stream. Transient leading edge strain and steady state surface temperature distributions are presented for blades of three different configurations.

Calfo, F. D.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Resource Selection Using Execution and Queue Wait Time Predictions

Computational grids provide users with many possible places to execute their applications. We wish to help users select where to run their applications by providing predictions of the execution times of applications on space shared parallel computers and predictions of when scheduling systems for such parallel computers will start applications. Our predictions are based on instance based learning techniques and simulations of scheduling algorithms. We find that our execution time prediction techniques have an average error of 37 percent of the execution times for trace data recorded from SGI Origins at NASA Ames Research Center and that this error is 67 percent lower than the error of user estimates. We also find that the error when predicting how long applications will wait in scheduling queues is 95 percent of mean queue wait times when using our execution time predictions and this is 57 percent lower than if we use user execution time estimates.

Warren, Smith↗
NASA NTRS2002

Resource Selection Using Execution and Queue Wait Time Predictions

Computational grids provide users with many possible places to execute their applications. We wish to help users select where to run their applications by providing predictions of the execution times of applications on space shared parallel computers and predictions of when scheduling systems for such parallel computers will start applications. Our predictions are based on instance based learning techniques and simulations of scheduling algorithms. We find that our execution time prediction techniques have an average error of 37 percent of the execution times for trace data recorded from SGI Origins at NASA Ames Research Center and that this error is 67 percent lower than the error of user estimates. We also find that the error when predicting how long applications will wait in scheduling queues is 95 percent of mean queue wait times when using our execution time predictions and this is 57 percent lower than if we use user execution time estimates.

Smith, Warren↗
NASA NTRS2000

IFSAR Simulation Using the Shooting and Bouncing Ray Technique

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) is a technique that allows an automated way to carry out terrain mapping. IFSAR is carried out by first generating a SAR image pair from two antennas that are spatially separated. The phase difference between the SAR image pair is proportional to the topography. After registering the SAR images, the difference in phase in each pixel is extracted to generate an interferogram. Since the phase can only be measured within 2pi radians, phase unwrapping is carried out to extract the absolute phase for each pixel that will be proportional to the local height. While IFSAR algorithm is typically applied to measurement data, it is useful to develop an IFSAR simulator to develop a better understanding of the IFSAR technique. The IFSAR simulator can be used in choosing system parameters, experimenting with processing procedures and mission planning. In this paper we will present an IFSAR simulation methodology to simulate the interferogram based on the shooting and bouncing ray (SBR) technique. SBR is a standard ray-tracing technique used to simulate scattering from large, complex targets. SBR is carried out by shooting rays at the target or scene. At the exit point of each ray, a ray-tube integration is done to find its contribution to the total field. A fast algorithm has been developed for the SBR for simulating SAR images of complex targets. In the IFSAR simulation, we build upon the fast SAR simulation technique. Given the antenna pair configuration, radar system parameters and the geometrical description of the scene, we first simulate two SAR images from each antenna. After post processing the two SAR images, we generate an interferogram. Phase unwrapping is then performed on the interferogram to arrive at the desired terrain map. We will present results from the SBR-based IFSAR simulator. The results will include terrain map reconstruction of urban environments. The reconstruction will be compared to the ground truth to examine the fidelity of the simulation. We will also investigate the effect of multi-bounce scattering in urban environments on phase unwrapping and reconstruction.

Houshmand, Bijan↗
NASA NTRS1985

Development and testing of a simple assimilation technique to derive average wind fields from simulated scatterometer data

A simple algorithm is developed and tested to derive a regularly spaced wind field in a limited area from simulated multiorbit scatterometer data. The data are generated by sampling a time-varying known wind field, the 1000-mb FGGE data, from a simulated scatterometer. A simple assimilation technique is used to derive a regularly spaced (100-km grid) wind field representation of two-day averages from the simulated data. Several test cases are considered, and it is noted that the assimilation technique might be applicable to large-scale ocean or atmospheric models.

Legler, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Qualification of HiMAT flight systems

The highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) remotely piloted research vehicle is discussed with emphasis on the advanced composite and metallic structures, digital fly-by-wire controls, and digitally implemented integrated propulsion control systems. Techniques used to qualify the systems for flight are examined. Computation and simulation of the HiMAT system are investigated in relation to Cyber-Varian simulation. The techniques used in flight qualification are complicated by ground based flight critical systems and severe onboard volume constraints imposed by the scale design.

Myers, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Electric propulsion system technology

The work performed on the Ion Propulsion System Technology Task in FY90 is described. The objectives of this work fall under two broad categories. The first of these deals with issues associated with the application of xenon ion thrusters for primary propulsion of planetary spacecraft, and the second with the investigation of technologies which will facilitate the development of larger, higher power ion thrusters to support more advanced mission applications. Most of the effort was devoted to investigation of the critical issues associated with the use of ion thrusters for planetary spacecraft. These issues may be succinctly referred to as life time, system integration, and throttling. Chief among these is the engine life time. If the engines do not have sufficient life to perform the missions of interest, then the other issues become unimportant. Ion engine life time was investigated through two experimental programs: an investigation into the reduction of ion engine internal sputter erosion through the addition of small quantities of nitrogen, and a long duration cathode life test. In addition, a literature review and analysis of accelerator grid erosion were performed. The nitrogen addition tests indicated that the addition of between 0.5 and 1.0 percent of nitrogen by mass to the xenon propellant results in a reduction in the sputter erosion of discharge chamber components by a factor of between 20 and 50, with negligible reduction in thruster performance. The long duration test of a 6.35-mm dia. xenon hollow cathode is still in progress, and has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of operation at an emission current of 25 A at the time of this writing. One of the major system integration issues concerns possible interactions of the ion thruster produced charge exchange plasma with the spacecraft. A computer model originally developed to describe the behavior of mercury ion thruster charge exchange plasmas was resurrected and modified for xenon propellant. This model enables one to calculate the flow direction and local density of the charge exchange plasma, and indicates the degree to which this plasma can flow upstream of the thruster exhaust plane. A continuing effort to investigate the most desirable throttling technique for noble gas ion thrusters concentrated this year on experimentally determining the fixed flow rate throttling range of a 30-cm dia. thruster with a two-grid accelerator system. These experiments demonstrated a throttling capability which covers a 2.8 to 1 variation in input power. This throttling range is 55 percent greater than expected, and is due to better accelerator system performance at low net-to-total voltage ratios than indicated in the literature. To facilitate the development of large, higher power ion thrusters several brief studies were performed. These include the development of a technique which simulates ion thruster operation without beam extraction, the development of an optical technique to measure ion thruster grid distortion due to thermal expansion, tests of a capacitance measurement technique to quantify the accelerator system grid separation, and the development of a segmented thruster geometry which enables near term development of ion thrusters at power levels greater than 100 kW. Finally, a paper detailing the benefits of electric propulsion for the Space Exploration Initiative was written.

Brophy, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A large eddy simulation scheme for turbulent reacting flows

The recent development of the dynamic subgrid-scale (SGS) model has provided a consistent method for generating localized turbulent mixing models and has opened up great possibilities for applying the large eddy simulation (LES) technique to real world problems. Given the fact that the direct numerical simulation (DNS) can not solve for engineering flow problems in the foreseeable future (Reynolds 1989), the LES is certainly an attractive alternative. It seems only natural to bring this new development in SGS modeling to bear on the reacting flows. The major stumbling block for introducing LES to reacting flow problems has been the proper modeling of the reaction source terms. Various models have been proposed, but none of them has a wide range of applicability. For example, some of the models in combustion have been based on the flamelet assumption which is only valid for relatively fast reactions. Some other models have neglected the effects of chemical reactions on the turbulent mixing time scale, which is certainly not valid for fast and non-isothermal reactions. The probability density function (PDF) method can be usefully employed to deal with the modeling of the reaction source terms. In order to fit into the framework of LES, a new PDF, the large eddy PDF (LEPDF), is introduced. This PDF provides an accurate representation for the filtered chemical source terms and can be readily calculated in the simulations. The details of this scheme are described.

Gao, Feng↗