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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 613 records · Page 34

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NASA NTRS1991

Leading-edge receptivity for blunt-nose bodies

This research program investigates boundary-layer receptivity in the leading-edge region for bodies with blunt leading edges. Receptivity theory provides the link between the unsteady distrubance environment in the free stream and the initial amplitudes of the instability waves in the boundary layer. This is a critical problem which must be addressed in order to develop more accurate prediction methods for boundary-layer transition. The first phase of this project examines the effects of leading-edge bluntness and aerodynamic loading for low Mach number flows. In the second phase of the project, the investigation is extended to supersonic Mach numbers. Singular perturbation techniques are utilized to develop an asymptotic theory for high Reynolds numbers. In the first year, the asymptotic theory was developed for leading-edge receptivity in low Mach number flows. The case of a parabolic nose is considered. Substantial progress was made on the Navier-Sotkes computations. Analytical solutions for the steady and unsteady potential flow fields were incorporated into the code, greatly expanding the types of free-stream disturbances that can be considered while also significantly reducing the the computational requirements. The time-stepping algorithm was modified so that the potential flow perturbations induced by the unsteady pressure field are directly introduced throughout the computational domain, avoiding an artificial 'numerical diffusion' of these from the outer boundary. In addition, the start-up process was modified by introducing the transient Stokes wave solution into the downstream boundary conditions.

Kerschen, Edward J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

An intrinsically n-dimensional generalized flux vector splitting implicit finite element Euler algorithm

A generalized flux-vector splitting implicit Galerkin finite-element algorithm for the Euler equations in curvilinear coordinates for ideal and reacting gases is derived. For an arbitrary equation of state, the curvilinear-coordinate flux vector is split in kinematic and kinetic components, and the associated jacobian matrix eigenvalues explicitly depend on the metric data. After directional semidiscretization, the terminal ordinary differential-equation system is solved via a nonlinearly stable implicit Runge-Kutta scheme in concert with an accurate tensor matrix product factorization. The results for selected two-dimensional supersonic and axisymmetric hypersonic flows validate the algorithm and verify its robustness for curvilinear-coordinate computations. The evolution towards a steady state is achieved for large Courant numbers without indication of numerical instabilities.

Iannelli, G. S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Computation of incompressible viscous flows through artificial heart devices with moving boundaries

The extension of computational fluid dynamics techniques to artificial heart flow simulations is illustrated. Unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations written in 3-D generalized curvilinear coordinates are solved iteratively at each physical time step until the incompressibility condition is satisfied. The solution method is based on the pseudo compressibility approach and uses an implicit upwind differencing scheme together with the Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. The efficiency and robustness of the time accurate formulation of the algorithm are tested by computing the flow through model geometries. A channel flow with a moving indentation is computed and validated with experimental measurements and other numerical solutions. In order to handle the geometric complexity and the moving boundary problems, a zonal method and an overlapping grid embedding scheme are used, respectively. Steady state solutions for the flow through a tilting disk heart valve was compared against experimental measurements. Good agreement was obtained. The flow computation during the valve opening and closing is carried out to illustrate the moving boundary capability.

Kiris, Cetin↗

NASA NTRS1992

Acceleration of FDNS flow simulations using initial flowfields generated with a parabolized Navier-Stokes method

The capability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to predict complex flowfields has been greatly advanced by the widespread use of flow simulation programs based on the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. The flow physics are theoretically well represented, and with proper care the numerical solution should not introduce appreciable uncertainties. However, the computational cost of a typical simulation in terms of both memory and execution time are large by current standards. Therefore, the efficiency of the numerical algorithm in solving the set of model equations is one factor determining the usefulness of CFD tools. The objective of the present study is to reduce the execution time of the FDNS flow simulation code by using the parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) equations to provide a 'good' starting condition. The technique is not universal, however the PNS model can be applied to convection dominated flows with moderate deflection in geometries that are free of large obstructions.

Tenpas, Peter W.↗

NASA NTRS2008

AutoBayes Program Synthesis System Users Manual

Program synthesis is the systematic, automatic construction of efficient executable code from high-level declarative specifications. AutoBayes is a fully automatic program synthesis system for the statistical data analysis domain; in particular, it solves parameter estimation problems. It has seen many successful applications at NASA and is currently being used, for example, to analyze simulation results for Orion. The input to AutoBayes is a concise description of a data analysis problem composed of a parameterized statistical model and a goal that is a probability term involving parameters and input data. The output is optimized and fully documented C/C++ code computing the values for those parameters that maximize the probability term. AutoBayes can solve many subproblems symbolically rather than having to rely on numeric approximation algorithms, thus yielding effective, efficient, and compact code. Statistical analysis is faster and more reliable, because effort can be focused on model development and validation rather than manual development of solution algorithms and code.

Schumann, Johann↗

NASA NTRS2020

A Numerical Investigation of Parachute Deployment in Supersonic Flow

A validated computational fluid-structure interaction method applied to supersonic parachute inflation is extended to consider a unique, parallel self-contact algorithm, porosity interface conditions on the canopy, improved flow field sampling procedures for obtaining quality loading on the parachute canopy, adaptive mesh refinement, and improved treatment of thin geometries in an immersed boundary framework. These extensions are discussed in detail and demonstrated individually on test problems. Finally, the developments are brought together for demonstration on a sub-scale MSL parachute geometry.

Boustani, Jonathan↗

NASA NTRS2002

An Automated Method to Compute Orbital Re-entry Trajectories with Heating Constraints

Determining how to properly manipulate the controls of a re-entering re-usable launch vehicle (RLV) so that it is able to safely return to Earth and land involves the solution of a two-point boundary value problem (TPBVP). This problem, which can be quite difficult, is traditionally solved on the ground prior to flight. If necessary, a nearly unlimited amount of time is available to find the 'best' solution using a variety of trajectory design and optimization tools. The role of entry guidance during flight is to follow the pre- determined reference solution while correcting for any errors encountered along the way. This guidance method is both highly reliable and very efficient in terms of onboard computer resources. There is a growing interest in a style of entry guidance that places the responsibility of solving the TPBVP in the actual entry guidance flight software. Here there is very limited computer time. The powerful, but finicky, mathematical tools used by trajectory designers on the ground cannot in general be converted to do the job. Non-convergence or slow convergence can result in disaster. The challenges of designing such an algorithm are numerous and difficult. Yet the payoff (in the form of decreased operational costs and increased safety) can be substantiaL This paper presents an algorithm that incorporates features of both types of guidance strategies. It takes an initial RLV orbital re-entry state and finds a trajectory that will safely transport the vehicle to Earth. During actual flight, the computed trajectory is used as the reference to be flown by a more traditional guidance method.

Zimmerman, Curtis↗

NASA NTRS1987

The hypercluster: A parallel processing test-bed architecture for computational mechanics applications

The development of numerical methods and software tools for parallel processors can be aided through the use of a hardware test-bed. The test-bed architecture must be flexible enough to support investigations into architecture-algorithm interactions. One way to implement a test-bed is to use a commercial parallel processor. Unfortunately, most commercial parallel processors are fixed in their interconnection and/or processor architecture. In this paper, we describe a modified n cube architecture, called the hypercluster, which is a superset of many other processor and interconnection architectures. The hypercluster is intended to support research into parallel processing of computational fluid and structural mechanics problems which may require a number of different architectural configurations. An example of how a typical partial differential equation solution algorithm maps on to the hypercluster is given.

Blech, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

An Automated Method to Compute Orbital Re-Entry Trajectories with Heating Constraints

Determining how to properly manipulate the controls of a re-entering re-usable launch vehicle (RLV) so that it is able to safely return to Earth and land involves the solution of a two-point boundary value problem (TPBVP). This problem, which can be quite difficult, is traditionally solved on the ground prior to flight. If necessary, a nearly unlimited amount of time is available to find the "best" solution using a variety of trajectory design and optimization tools. The role of entry guidance during flight is to follow the pre-determined reference solution while correcting for any errors encountered along the way. This guidance method is both highly reliable and very efficient in terms of onboard computer resources. There is a growing interest in a style of entry guidance that places the responsibility of solving the TPBVP in the actual entry guidance flight software. Here there is very limited computer time. The powerful, but finicky, mathematical tools used by trajectory designers on the ground cannot in general be made to do the job. Nonconvergence or slow convergence can result in disaster. The challenges of designing such an algorithm are numerous and difficult. Yet the payoff (in the form of decreased operational costs and increased safety) can be substantial. This paper presents an algorithm that incorporates features of both types of guidance strategies. It takes an initial RLV orbital re-entry state and finds a trajectory that will safely transport the vehicle to a Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM) region. During actual flight, the computed trajectory is used as the reference to be flown by a more traditional guidance method.

Zimmerman, Curtis↗

NASA NTRS1985

On an algorithm for analysis of the radiation patterns of dual reflector and segmented reflector antennas

An algorithm has been developed to calculate the radiation patterns of a large reflector antenna for space applications. The algorithm treats each panel in the reflector array as an analytic surface having n-sided polygonal boundaries. The radiation fields for individual panels are computed and stored separately, and then added to yield a uniform radiation pattern for the entire reflector. Numerical methods developed to reduce the overlap of the aperture fields of adjacent panels are described in detail. Calculations of the tangential field components of the aperture plane are carried out based on the principles of geometric optics (GO). Some radiation patterns calculated with the algorithm are compared with patterns produced by other methods, together with measured data for a classical Cassegrain antenna and the calculated patterns are illustrated.

Christodoulou, C. G.↗

NASA NTRS1973

An algorithm for calculation of the Jordan canonical form of a matrix

Jordan canonical forms are used extensively in the literature on control systems. However, very few methods are available to compute them numerically. Most numerical methods compute a set of basis vectors in terms of which the given matrix is diagonalized when such a change of basis is possible. Here, a simple and efficient method is suggested for computing the Jordan canonical form and the corresponding transformation matrix. The method is based on the definition of a generalized eigenvector, and a natural extension of Gauss elimination techniques.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1997

NAS Applications and Advanced Algorithms

This paper examines the applications most commonly run on the supercomputers at the Numerical Aerospace Simulation (NAS) facility. It analyzes the extent to which such applications are fundamentally oriented to vector computers, and whether or not they can be efficiently implemented on hierarchical memory machines, such as systems with cache memories and highly parallel, distributed memory systems.

Bailey, David H.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Fast Solution in Sparse LDA for Binary Classification

An algorithm that performs sparse linear discriminant analysis (Sparse-LDA) finds near-optimal solutions in far less time than the prior art when specialized to binary classification (of 2 classes). Sparse-LDA is a type of feature- or variable- selection problem with numerous applications in statistics, machine learning, computer vision, computational finance, operations research, and bio-informatics. Because of its combinatorial nature, feature- or variable-selection problems are NP-hard or computationally intractable in cases involving more than 30 variables or features. Therefore, one typically seeks approximate solutions by means of greedy search algorithms. The prior Sparse-LDA algorithm was a greedy algorithm that considered the best variable or feature to add/ delete to/ from its subsets in order to maximally discriminate between multiple classes of data. The present algorithm is designed for the special but prevalent case of 2-class or binary classification (e.g. 1 vs. 0, functioning vs. malfunctioning, or change versus no change). The present algorithm provides near-optimal solutions on large real-world datasets having hundreds or even thousands of variables or features (e.g. selecting the fewest wavelength bands in a hyperspectral sensor to do terrain classification) and does so in typical computation times of minutes as compared to days or weeks as taken by the prior art. Sparse LDA requires solving generalized eigenvalue problems for a large number of variable subsets (represented by the submatrices of the input within-class and between-class covariance matrices). In the general (fullrank) case, the amount of computation scales at least cubically with the number of variables and thus the size of the problems that can be solved is limited accordingly. However, in binary classification, the principal eigenvalues can be found using a special analytic formula, without resorting to costly iterative techniques. The present algorithm exploits this analytic form along with the inherent sequential nature of greedy search itself. Together this enables the use of highly-efficient partitioned-matrix-inverse techniques that result in large speedups of computation in both the forward-selection and backward-elimination stages of greedy algorithms in general.

Moghaddam, Baback↗

NASA NTRS1972

A theoretical study of mixing downstream of transverse injection into a supersonic boundary layer

A theoretical and analytical study was made of mixing downstream of transverse hydrogen injection, from single and multiple orifices, into a Mach 4 air boundary layer over a flat plate. Numerical solutions to the governing three-dimensional, elliptic boundary layer equations were obtained using a general purpose computer program. Founded upon a finite element solution algorithm. A prototype three-dimensional turbulent transport model was developed using mixing length theory in the wall region and the mass defect concept in the outer region. Excellent agreement between the computed flow field and experimental data for a jet/freestream dynamic pressure ratio of unity was obtained in the centerplane region of the single-jet configuration. Poorer agreement off centerplane suggests an inadequacy of the extrapolated two-dimensional turbulence model. Considerable improvement in off-centerplane computational agreement occured for a multi-jet configuration, using the same turbulent transport model.

Baker, A. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Terminal guidance and navigation for comet and asteroid rendezvous

A terminal guidance and navigation scheme developed in earlier work was modified and evaluated for a solar electric propulsion rendezvous mission to comet Encke. The scheme is intended for autonomous, on-board use. The guidance algorithm is based on optimal control theory and minimizes the time integrated square of thrust acceleration. The navigation algorithm employs a modified Kalman filter set in measurement variables. Random sequences were generated to simulate measurement errors, and the evaluation was conducted with detailed numerical computations which include actual motions of spacecraft and comet. The evaluations showed that the scheme attains rendezvous and maintains station after rendezvous within less than 10 km for estimated best measurements and within less than 100 km for estimated worst measurements. The measurements required are angles, range, and range rate. Angles and range appear to be absolutely necessary; range rate is not as strong a measurement type, and further modifications of the filter will allow a scheme that does not require the rate measurements.

Bennett, A. G.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Development of analytical orbit propagation technique with drag

Two orbit computation methods were used: (1) numerical method- The solution to the satellite differential equations were solved in a step-by-step manner, using a mathematical algorithm taken from numerical analysis; and (2) analytical method - The solution was expressed by explicit functions of the independent variable. Analytical drag modules, tesseral terms initialization module, second order and long period terms module, and verification testing of the ASOP program were also considered.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1979

Multiclass Bayes error estimation by a feature space sampling technique

A general Gaussian M-class N-feature classification problem is defined. An algorithm is developed that requires the class statistics as its only input and computes the minimum probability of error through use of a combined analytical and numerical integration over a sequence simplifying transformations of the feature space. The results are compared with those obtained by conventional techniques applied to a 2-class 4-feature discrimination problem with results previously reported and 4-class 4-feature multispectral scanner Landsat data classified by training and testing of the available data.

Mobasseri, B. G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Dynamics analysis of electrodynamic satellite tethers. Equations of motion and numerical solution algorithms for the tether

The equations of motion are developed for a perfectly flexible, inelastic tether with a satellite at its extremity. The tether is attached to a space vehicle in orbit. The tether is allowed to possess electrical conductivity. A numerical solution algorithm to provide the motion of the tether and satellite system is presented. The resulting differential equations can be solved by various existing standard numerical integration computer programs. The resulting differential equations allow the introduction of approximations that can lead to analytical, approximate general solutions. The differential equations allow more dynamical insight of the motion.

Nacozy, P. E.↗