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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

Quantum many-body calculations using body-centered cubic lattices

It is often computationally advantageous to model space as a discrete set of points forming a lattice grid. This technique is particularly useful for computationally difficult problems such as quantum many-body systems. For reasons of simplicity and familiarity, nearly all quantum many-body calculations have been performed on simple cubic lattices. Since the removal of lattice artifacts is often an important concern, it would be useful to perform calculations using more than one lattice geometry. In this paper we show how to perform quantum many-body calculations using auxiliary-field Monte Carlo simulations on a three-dimensional body-centered cubic (BCC) lattice. As a benchmark test we compute the ground state energy of 33 spin-up and 33 spin-down neutrons in the unitary limit, which is an idealized limit where the interaction range is zero and scattering length is infinite. As a fraction of the free Fermi gas energy E FG , we find that the ground state energy is E 0 /E FG =0.369(2),0.371(2), using two different definitions of the finite-system energy ratio. This is in excellent agreement with recent results obtained on a cubic lattice [He et al., Phys. Rev. A 101, 063615 (2020)]. We find that the computational effort and performance on a BCC lattice is approximately the same as that for a cubic lattice with the same number of lattice points. We discuss how the lattice simulations with different geometries can be used to constrain the size of lattice artifacts in simulations of continuum quantum many-body systems.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Synchrophasor Data Compression Under Disturbance Conditions via Cross-Entropy-Based Singular Value Decomposition

The increasing deployment of phasor measurement units and the advances of their reporting rates are challenging the present data centers in terms of storing and analyzing large-volume data. Under power system disturbance conditions, it is difficult to retain critical information while compressing the synchrophasor data effectively. This article combines the cross entropy and the singular value decomposition, proposing a novel model to compress the synchrophasor data to an extremely small size yet keep superior accuracy. The proposed model is extensively tested and compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms using the simulated and the FNET/GridEye field-collected data. The result indicates that the proposed algorithm has superior performance in compressing the data while retaining critical information under disturbance conditions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of a dynamical model and energy analysis for wheel loader

The objective of this paper is to develop a fully integrated model for the wheel loader, including the subsystem dynamics of the engine, drivetrain, working circuit, steering circuit, and vehicle. It leads to a high-order strongly nonlinear system, and all state variables are coupled together to form a Multi-Input and Multi-Output (MIMO) system. A control architecture is proposed to decouple the MIMO system into several Single-Input and Single-Output (SISO) systems. Here, a tracking problem has been formulated to validate this fully integrated model with the field test data. The accuracy of the model is verified by the 2.3% difference between the measured and simulated fuel consumption. Meanwhile, an energy distribution analysis is conducted to reveal the energy consumption and energy loss of each portion of the wheel loader. Such a model can be used to plan the working pattern, guide the driving habits of human operators, or refine the underlying architecture, leading to the ultimate goal of reducing total fuel consumption and improving productivity.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The Effect of Large-scale Magnetic Fluctuations on Energetic Particle Profiles across Interplanetary Shocks

In situ observations of energetic particles associated with interplanetary (IP) shocks, known as energetic storm particle (ESP) events, often show time-intensity profiles quite different from predictions of classical diffusive shock acceleration theory. We use numerical simulations, including test-particle simulations and hybrid simulations (with fluid electrons and kinetic protons) for shocks propagating into a turbulent magnetic field to study the ESP intensity-time profiles across a strong IP shock. We find that several types of energetic particle intensity profiles similar to in situ observations can be produced in our simulations. The peak of energetic particle count is often near, but can be shifted from, the locations of the shock front, with the peak usually being observed downstream of the shock. These findings may help understand particle acceleration at both traveling IP shocks and shocks in other heliospheric and astrophysical environments.

Lo, Ming-Yuan [New Mexico Consortium (NMC), Los Al↗

Coannular nozzle noise characteristics and application to advanced supersonic transport engines

Recent programs in the field of jet noise, sponsored by the NASA Lewis Research Center, have indicated that the variable stream control engines (VSCE) which are being considered for advanced supersonic cruise aircraft have inherent jet noise advantages over earlier engines. This characteristic is associated with the exit velocity profile produced by such an engine. The high velocity fan stream, on the outer periphery, is acoustically dominant while the primary stream is held to a low velocity and therefore contributes little to the overall noise. Scale model tests have indicated low noise levels. Operation under static conditions, as well as in a relative velocity field (simulating take-off speeds) has indicated large reductions are available from the coannular nozzle and the VSCE. The inherently low levels of jet noise prompted changes in the cycle, which allowed an increase in the amount of augmentation incorporated in the fan stream, without exceeding the suggested noise guidelines, thereby allowing the use of a considerably smaller engine, with obvious vehicle advantages.

Kozlowski, H.↗

Prototype solar-heating system-engineering analysis

Space and domestic-water solar-heating prototype was tested in three phases: simulated energy function, winter normal operation, summer normal operation. Prototype was judged suitable for field installation.

Source record↗

Fuel injector characterization studies

The atomization of several general aviation piston engine manifold port fuel injectors was investigated. The injectors were installed in a test rig and operated under simulated conditions. Laser interferometric techniques were used to optically probe the spray droplet fields for droplet size and velocity at numerous spatial locations throughout the field.

Houser, M. J.↗

Tracer water transport and subgrid precipitation variation within atmospheric general circulation models

A capability is developed for monitoring tracer water movement in the three-dimensional Goddard Institute for Space Science Atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM). A typical experiment with the tracer water model follows water evaporating from selected grid squares and determines where this water first returns to the Earth's surface as precipitation or condensate, thereby providing information on the lateral scales of hydrological transport in the GCM. Through a comparison of model results with observations in nature, inferences can be drawn concerning real world water transport. Tests of the tracer water model include a comparison of simulated and observed vertically-integrated vapor flux fields and simulations of atomic tritium transport from the stratosphere to the oceans. The inter-annual variability of the tracer water model results is also examined.

Koster, Randal D.↗

Aeroheating Predictions for the X-43 Cowl-Closed Configuration at Mach 7 and 10

A pre-flight analysis was conducted for the Mach 7 and Mach 10 X-43 cowl-closed configurations to evaluate three-dimensional flow-field effects on localized heating in the vicinity of the closed cowl flap and sidewall. First, engineering-level analyses based on documented laminar and turbulent surface heating database were used to estimate localized heating amplification factors to account for turbulent flow effects, corner flow effects and the presence of forebody boundary layer trip devices. These estimated factors were applied to 2-D computational predictions to develop surface heat loads. Second, thin-film gauge surface heating data were obtained for a Mach 10 cowl-closed configuration in a reflected shock tunnel at simulated flight conditions. Third, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow-field predictions were obtained at Mach 10 ground test conditions to provide comparisons with the engineering database predictions and experimental measurements. Similarly, a CFD solution was also obtained at Mach 7 flight conditions to provide qualitative comparisons with engineering predictions. The Mach 10 CFD predictions compare favorably with the experimental measurements and the engineering estimates for surface heating amplification on the closed cowl. However, experimental measurements were not of sufficient quantity on the sidewall surface to capture the highest localized heating rates, and also the Mach 10 CFD predictions suggest higher peak heating on the sidewall compared to the engineering estimates. Also, the Mach 7 CFD predictions indicate qualitative agreement with the database estimates in terms of flow-field structure and peak heating locations on the closed-cowl flap and sidewall surfaces.

Cockrell, Charles E., Jr.↗

Simulations of Dynamics and Transport during the September 2002 Antarctic Major Warming

A mechanistic model simulation initialized on 14 September 2002, forced by 100-hPa geopotential heights from Met Office analyses, reproduced the dynamical features of the 2002 Antarctic major warming. The vortex split on approx.25 September; recovery after the warming, westward and equatorward tilting vortices, and strong baroclinic zones in temperature associated with a dipole pattern of upward and downward vertical velocities were all captured in the simulation. Model results and analyses show a pattern of strong upward wave propagation throughout the warming, with zonal wind deceleration throughout the stratosphere at high latitudes before the vortex split, continuing in the middle and upper stratosphere and spreading to lower latitudes after the split. Three-dimensional Eliassen-Palm fluxes show the largest upward and poleward wave propagation in the 0(deg)-90(deg)E sector prior to the vortex split (coincident with the location of strongest cyclogenesis at the model's lower boundary), with an additional region of strong upward propagation developing near 180(deg)-270(deg)E. These characteristics are similar to those of Arctic wave-2 major warmings, except that during this warming, the vortex did not split below approx.600 K. The effects of poleward transport and mixing dominate modeled trace gas evolution through most of the mid- to high-latitude stratosphere, with a core region in the lower-stratospheric vortex where enhanced descent dominates and the vortex remains isolated. Strongly tilted vortices led to low-latitude air overlying vortex air, resulting in highly unusual trace gas profiles. Simulations driven with several meteorological datasets reproduced the major warming, but in others, stronger latitudinal gradients at high latitudes at the model boundary resulted in simulations without a complete vortex split in the midstratosphere. Numerous tests indicate very high sensitivity to the boundary fields, especially the wave-2 amplitude. Major warmings occurred for initial fields with stronger winds and larger vortices, but not smaller vortices, consistent with the initiation of wind-deceleration by upward-propagating waves near the poleward edge of the region where wave 2 can propagate above the jet core. Thus, given the observed 100-hPa boundary forcing, stratospheric preconditioning is not needed to reproduce a major warming similar to that observed. The anomalously strong forcing in the lower stratosphere can be viewed as the primary direct cause of the major warming.

winds↗

Coronal Magnetic Field Profiles from Shock-CME Standoff Distances

Coronagraphs observe coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and driven shocks in white light images.From these observations the shocks speed and the shocks standoff distance from the CMEs leading edge can be derived. Using these quantities, theoretical relationships between the shocks Alfvenic Mach number MA and standoff distance, and empirical radial profiles for the solar wind velocity and number density, the radial magnetic field profile upstream of the shock can be calculated. These profiles cannot be measured directly. We test the accuracy of this method for estimating the radial magnetic field profile upstream of the shock by simulating a sample CME that occurred on 29 November 2013 using the three-dimensional (3-D) magnetohydrodynamic Block-Adaptive-Tree-Solar wind-Roe-Upwind-Scheme code, retrieving shock-CME standoff distances from the simulation, and comparing the estimated and simulated radial magnetic field profiles. We find good agreement between the two profiles (within +/-30%) between 1.8 and 10R.Our simulations confirm that a linear relationship exists between the standoff distance and the inverse compression ratio at the shock. We also find very good agreement between the empirical and simulated radial profiles of the number density and speed of the solar wind and inner corona.

Schmidt, J. M.↗

Performance Characteristics of a Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet - Distortion Tolerant Fan Through CFD Code Coupling

A method of constructing a high-fidelity simulation using two NASA CFD codes, Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA), which is the general-purpose solver, and a turbomachinery specific code NASA-TURBO (TURBO), will be presented. Validation of the code coupling is performed through comparison to experimental data obtained in the 2017 wind tunnel test of NASA’s Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet - Distortion Tolerant Fan (BLI2DTF). For the simulation, the external flow field is computed by LAVA utilizing a steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methodology. Data from LAVA is exchanged with TURBO, which simulated the propulsor utilizing an unsteady-RANS methodology. A sensitivity analysis is performed using averaged and instantaneous data transfer between the two codes, as well as varying the amount of simulation time TURBO computes between updates. The results of the coupled simulations appear to replicate the BLI2DTF experiment correctly. Static pressure taps leading into and around the nacelle, total pressure ratio and efficiency of the propulsor, and profiles of total temperature, pressure, and Mach number at the rear measurement plane, aft of the propulsor, are in good agreement with experimental data. These results provide confidence that the coupled simulation is behaving in a physically realizable manner.

CFD↗

Ground Heat Flux Reconstruction Using Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification Machinery and Surrogate Modeling

Ground heat flux (G 0 ) is a key component of the land-surface energy balance of high-latitude regions. Despite its crucial role in controlling permafrost degradation due to global warming, G 0 is sparsely measured and not well represented in the outputs of global scale model simulation. In this study, an analytical heat transfer model is tested to reconstruct G 0 across seasons using soil temperature series from field measurements, Global Climate Model, and climate reanalysis outputs. The probability density functions of ground heat flux and of model parameters are inferred using available G 0 data (measured or modeled) for snow-free period as a reference. When observed G 0 is not available, a numerical model is applied using estimates of surface heat flux (dependent on parameters) as the top boundary condition. These estimates (and thus the corresponding parameters) are verified by comparing the distributions of simulated and measured soil temperature at several depths. Aided by state-of-the-art uncertainty quantification methods, the developed G 0 reconstruction approach provides novel means for assessing the probabilistic structure of the ground heat flux for regional permafrost change studies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Evidence of a toroidal magnetic field in the core of 3C 84

The spatial scales of relativistic radio jets, probed by relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (RMHD) jet launching simulations and by most very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations differ by an order of magnitude. Bridging the gap between these RMHD simulations and VLBI observations requires selecting nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN), the parsec-scale region of which can be resolved. The radio source 3C 84 is a nearby bright AGN fulfilling the necessary requirements: it is launching a powerful, relativistic jet powered by a central supermassive black hole, while also being very bright. Using 22 GHz globe-spanning VLBI measurements of 3C 84 we studied its sub-parsec region in both total intensity and linear polarisation to explore the properties of this jet, with a linear resolution of ~0.1 parsec. We tested different simulation set-ups by altering the bulk Lorentz factor Γ of the jet, as well as the magnetic field configuration (toroidal, poloidal, helical). We confirm the persistence of a limb brightened structure, which reaches deep into the sub-parsec region. The corresponding electric vector position angles (EVPAs) follow the bulk jet flow inside but tend to be orthogonal to it near the edges. Our state-of-the-art RMHD simulations show that this geometry is consistent with a spine-sheath model, associated with a mildly relativistic flow and a toroidal magnetic field configuration.

3C 84 (NGC 1275)↗

Effect of Geometric Granularity on the Noise Signature of a Full-Scale Large Civil Transport Nose Landing Gear

Results from a comprehensive simulation campaign focused on characterizing the air-frame noise signature of a full-scale Boeing 777-300ER nose landing gear are presented. The as-flown, installed nose gear geometry was used to assess how accurately the selected computational methodology can predict far-field noise before extending the simulation approach to the complete B777-300ER aircraft in landing configuration. To facilitate direct comparisons with experimental data, the simulations were conducted for conditions matching those recorded for a flyby of the same aircraft over the ground-based phased microphone array used during the 2005 Quiet Technology Demonstrator II test. The far-field acoustic footprint of the nose landing gear was computed via a Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings integral approach, with pressures on the model solid surface or flow quantities on a permeable data surface enclosing the gear used as input. A grid refinement study performed for the baseline gear con-figuration to establish the convergence behavior of the far-field spectrum indicated that the sound pressure levels had converged at frequencies slightly beyond 5 kHz for the finest spatial resolution attempted. To ascertain the effects of geometric granularity on far-field noise, simulations of a defeatured version of the nose gear were undertaken. Comparisons with fully-dressed gear results indicated that finer geometric details add 2–4 dB to the sound pressure levels at mid- to high-frequencies (800 Hz to 5 kHz), suggesting that for accurate noise prediction such details cannot be neglected.

airframe noise↗

A finite-volume scheme for modeling compressible magnetohydrodynamic flows at low Mach numbers in stellar interiors

Fully compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations are a fundamental tool for investigating the role of dynamo amplification in the generation of magnetic fields in deep convective layers of stars. The flows that arise in such environments are characterized by low (sonic) Mach numbers ($\mathscr{M}$ son ≲ 10 –2 ). In these regimes, conventional MHD codes typically show excessive dissipation and tend to be inefficient as the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) constraint on the time step becomes too strict. In this work we present a new method for efficiently simulating MHD flows at low Mach numbers in a space-dependent gravitational potential while still retaining all effects of compressibility. The proposed scheme is implemented in the finite-volume SEVEN-LEAGUE HYDRO (SLH) code, and it makes use of a low-Mach version of the five-wave Harten–Lax–van Leer discontinuities (HLLD) solver to reduce numerical dissipation, an implicit–explicit time discretization technique based on Strang splitting to overcome the overly strict CFL constraint, and a well-balancing method that dramatically reduces the magnitude of spatial discretization errors in strongly stratified setups. The solenoidal constraint on the magnetic field is enforced by using a constrained transport method on a staggered grid. We carry out five verification tests, including the simulation of a small-scale dynamo in a star-like environment at $\mathscr{M}$ son ~ 10 –3 . We demonstrate that the proposed scheme can be used to accurately simulate compressible MHD flows in regimes of low Mach numbers and strongly stratified setups even with moderately coarse grids.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Evaluating and Improving Scale–Awareness of a Convective Parameterization Closure Using Cloud–Resolving Model Simulations of Convection

This study aims to evaluate a revised closure of the Zhang-McFarlane (ZM) scheme for deep convection and to further improve its scale awareness. Output from two cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulations of both midlatitude organized (MC3E) and tropical unorganized (TWP-ICE) convection are used for the evaluation. By averaging the CRM output over different subdomain sizes from 64 km to 4 km, convection-associated fields are obtained to represent the fields at different horizontal resolutions of global climate models (GCMs). The convection parameterization closure is then tested using these fields. Results show that the cloud base mass flux M b determined from the closure has a relatively good relationship with CRM-simulated convection at coarse resolutions for both MC3E and TWP-ICE, but their correlation degrades at higher resolutions, especially when approaching the gray zone scale under 10 km. The fluctuation of CAPE consumption rate per unit cloud base mass flux for different convective events is found to be an important factor affecting the correlation. When averaged over the base domain, the cloud base mass flux determined by the closure is found to increase with decreasing subdomain size, implying that the closure is not scale-aware. To improve its scale-awareness, a modified closure is designed to alleviate the overprediction of convection at high GCM resolutions. Furthermore, results show that the modified closure has the scale-aware ability to suppress the overprediction problem at high GCM resolutions for both MC3E and TWP-ICE.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Position-dependent matter density probability distribution function

Here, we introduce the position-dependent probability distribution function (PDF) of the smoothed matter field as a cosmological observable. In comparison to the PDF itself, the spatial variation of the position-dependent PDF is simpler to model and has distinct dependence on cosmological parameters. We demonstrate that the position-dependent PDF is characterized by variations in the local mean density, and we compute the linear response of the PDF to the local density using separate universe N-body simulations. The linear response of the PDF to the local density field can be thought of as the linear bias of regions of the matter field selected based on density. We provide a model for the linear response, which accurately predicts our simulation measurements. We also validate our results and test the separate universe consistency relation for the local PDF using global universe simulations. We find excellent agreement between the two, and we demonstrate that the separate universe method gives a lower variance determination of the linear response.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗