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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 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Incorporating Snow Albedo Feedback into Downscaled Temperature and Snow Cover Projections for California’s Sierra Nevada

California’s Sierra Nevada is a high-elevation mountain range with significant seasonal snow cover. Under anthropogenic climate change, amplification of the warming is expected to occur at elevations near snow margins due to snow albedo feedback. However, climate change projections for the Sierra Nevada made by global climate models (GCMs) and statistical downscaling methods miss this key process. Dynamical downscaling simulates the additional warming due to snow albedo feedback. Ideally, dynamical downscaling would be applied to a large ensemble of 30 or more GCMs to project ensemble-mean outcomes and intermodel spread, but this is far too computationally expensive. To approximate the results that would occur if the entire GCM ensemble were dynamically downscaled, a hybrid dynamical–statistical downscaling approach is used. First, dynamical downscaling is used to reconstruct the historical climate of the 1981–2000 period and then to project the future climate of the 2081–2100 period based on climate changes from five GCMs. Next, a statistical model is built to emulate the dynamically downscaled warming and snow cover changes for any GCM. This statistical model is used to produce warming and snow cover loss projections for all available CMIP5 GCMs. These projections incorporate snow albedo feedback, so they capture the local warming enhancement (up to 3°C) from snow cover loss that other statistical methods miss. Capturing these details may be important for accurately projecting impacts on surface hydrology, water resources, and ecosystems

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Computationally Efficient Linear Semi-Lagrangian Scheme for the Advection of Microphysical Variables in Cloud-Resolving Models

An efficient semi-Lagrangian (SL) numerical scheme for the advection of positive-definite microphysical variables in cloud-resolving models is proposed. The scheme is a linear combination of SL schemes of the first and second order. The proposed scheme is compared with two high-order, monotonic, nonlinear Eulerian schemes, in two 2D tests. In the first test, advection of a positive scalar field with large gradients is performed within complicated idealized steering flows. In the second test, a hail storm is simulated using the 2D Hebrew University Cloud Model, describing the interactions between 15 size distributions of different microphysical quantities (each distribution is described by 43 mass bins). The proposed scheme is computationally efficient, has a low numerical diffusion and a high level of mass conservation accuracy, and preserves the sum of multiple advected variables as well as the linear relationships between the advected scalar variables. Although the proposed SL scheme is not exactly positive definite, the negative values and their number, which may appear only in the case of very strong gradients, are negligible. The scheme produces results similar to those of nonlinear Eulerian advection schemes while reducing computation time by approximately a factor of 10.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

CFL Optimized Forward–Backward Runge–Kutta Schemes for the Shallow-Water Equations

Abstract We present the formulation and optimization of a Runge–Kutta-type time-stepping scheme for solving the shallow-water equations, aimed at substantially increasing the effective allowable time step over that of comparable methods. This scheme, called FB-RK(3,2), uses weighted forward–backward averaging of thickness data to advance the momentum equation. The weights for this averaging are chosen with an optimization process that employs a von Neumann–type analysis, ensuring that the weights maximize the admittable Courant number. Through a simplified local truncation error analysis and numerical experiments, we show that the method is at least second-order in time for any choice of weights and exhibits low dispersion and dissipation errors for well-resolved waves. Further, we show that an optimized FB-RK(3,2) can take time steps up to 2.8 times as large as a popular three-stage, third-order strong stability-preserving Runge–Kutta method in a quasi-linear test case. In fully nonlinear shallow-water test cases relevant to oceanic and atmospheric flows, FB-RK(3,2) outperforms SSPRK3 in admittable time step by factors roughly between 1.6 and 2.2, making the scheme approximately twice as computationally efficient with little to no effect on solution quality. Significance Statement The purpose of this work is to develop and optimize time-stepping schemes for models relevant to oceanic and atmospheric flows. Specifically, for the shallow-water equations we optimize for schemes that can take time steps as large as possible while retaining solution quality. We find that our optimized schemes can take time steps between 1.6 and 2.2 times larger than schemes that cost the same number of floating point operations, translating directly to a corresponding speedup. Our ultimate goal is to use these schemes in climate-scale simulations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deep Learning–Assisted Multiobjective Optimization of Geological CO 2 Storage Performance under Geomechanical Risks

In geological CO 2 storage, designing the optimal well control strategy for CO 2 injection to maximize CO 2 storage while minimizing the associated geomechanical risks is not trivial. This challenge arises due to pressure buildup, CO 2 plume migration, the highly nonlinear nature of geomechanical responses to rock-fluid interaction, and the high computational cost associated with coupled flow and geomechanics simulations. In this paper, we introduce a novel optimization framework to address these challenges. The optimization problem is formulated as follows: maximize total CO 2 storage while minimizing geomechanical risks by adjusting the injection schedules within bounded constraints. The geomechanical risks are primarily driven by injection-induced pressure build-up, which is characterized by ground displacement and the induced microseismicity. We used the Fourier neural operator (FNO)-based deep learning model to construct surrogate models, replacing the time-consuming coupled flow and geomechanics simulations for evaluating the aforementioned objective functions. The developed surrogate models have been incorporated into a multiobjective optimization framework through a genetic algorithm to reduce the computational burden. The proposed optimization framework reduces the computational cost from approximately 2,400 hours, when using objective function evaluations based on physics-based simulations, to around 20 minutes. A set of Pareto-optimal solutions of the proposed workflow yields nontrivial optimal decisions, reducing the microseismicity potential and the vertical displacement. This Pareto front highlights the optimal trade-offs between CO 2 storage amount, safety, and ground displacement, emphasizing the need for careful optimization and management of injection strategies to achieve a balanced outcome. The novelty of this work is twofold. First, we demonstrate the importance of incorporating the minimization of the geomechanical risks as objective functions into the CO 2 storage optimization workflow to mitigate the potential risk of induced microseismicity and ground displacement. Second, we leverage the FNO-based surrogate models to optimize a real-field CO 2 storage operation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

360⁰ -View of Quantum Theory and Ab Initio Simulation at Extreme Conditions: 2014 Sanibel Symposium

The Sanibel Symposium 2014 was held February 16-21, 2014, at the King and Prince, St. Simons Island, GA. It was successful in bringing condensed-matter physicists and quantum chemists together productively to drive the emergence of those specialties. The Symposium had a significant role in preparing a whole generation of quantum theorists. The 54th Sanibel meeting looked to the future in two ways. We had 360⁰-View sessions to honor the exceptional contributions of Rodney Bartlett (70), Bill Butler (70), Yngve Öhrn (80), Fritz Schaefer (70), and Malcolm Stocks (70). The work of these five has greatly impacted several generations of quantum chemists and condensed matter physicists. The “360⁰” is the sum of their ages. More significantly, it symbolizes a panoramic view of critical developments and accomplishments in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics oriented toward the future. Thus, two of the eight 360⁰-View sessions focused specifically on younger scientists. The 360⁰-View program was the major component of the 2014 Sanibel meeting. Another four sessions included a sub-symposium on ab initio Simulations at Extreme Conditions, with focus on getting past the barriers of present-day Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics by advances in finite-temperature density functional theory, orbital-free DFT, and new all-numerical approaches.

360-view↗
DOE OSTI2016

Formulation And Implementation of A 1.75D Streamer Model

Streamers are a type of ionization wave occurring during the early time phase of a gas discharge. They are typically launched when the evolving space charge of an electron avalanche reaches a certain critical level, beyond which the field of the space charge itself is sufficient to drive further evolution of the ionization process. One of the most common ways to model streamers is known as a 1.5D model where the field of a uniformly charged set of discs of chosen radius is evaluated along the cylinder axis. This field drives a one-dimensional kinetic ionization process, which results in the nonlinear evolution of the streamer. This model is efficient, but has the drawback of fixing the radius and requiring it as an input parameter. Previously, we tried to extend the 1.5D model to include evolution of its radius by developing a two-step process of axial and radial expansion but we encountered stability issues with the model that we thought could have been due to decoupling the two steps. In this report we introduce a new formulation of a streamer model that includes radial expansion. The goal is to take radial moments of the starting axisymmetric fluid equations and thereby include the radial evolution of the streamer naturally and self-consistently from the beginning. We first develop the fluid model moments without electron attachment. We review the calculation of the electric fields required for the model and investigate approximations to improve computational efficiency. We discuss the code implementation of the model and finally, we add attachment to allow the treatment of electronegative gases.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1968

Computation and analysis

Direct summation of series involving higher transcendental functions, integrals of confluent hypergeometric functions, and computer methods for approximating continuous functions

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Transfer phenomena in reacting gas mixtures

In considering transfer phenomena in reacting gas mixtures, the following topics are discussed: (1) dynamics of paired collisions; (2) Enskog method for solving the Boltzmann equation, taking into account inelastic collisions; (3) use of the variation principle for approximate solutions; (4) computations of inelastic bracketed expressions; (5) calculation of collision integrals; and (6) formulas for transfer coefficients.

Alekseyev, B. V.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Aircraft maneuver optimization of reduced-order approximation

Review of recent work in recasting the energy type of approximation to aircraft flight in terms of singular perturbation theory and in extending this theory to three-dimensional maneuvers. Singular perturbations for differential equations arising in optimal control are first examined for a system of fairly general form but low order. The attitude dynamics for optimal flight of a rocket in vacuum is then studied as an introductory, and fairly transparent, example. The question of the choice of variables is then discussed. Finally, optimal aircraft flight in various reduced-order approximations is investigated. In particular, the problem of three-dimensional aircraft flight is formulated for singular perturbation treatment, and possibilities for decoupling into several lower-order problems are illustrated. The use of reduced-order approximation facilitates numerical computations by reducing the number of multiplier initial values that must be determined simultaneously and by improving the conditioning of the differential equations.

Kelley, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Fast direct numerical solution of the nonhomogeneous Cauchy-Riemann equations

A fast direct (noniterative) 'Cauchy-Riemann Solver' is developed for solving the finite-difference equations representing systems of first-order elliptic partial differential equations in the form of the nonhomogeneous Cauchy-Riemann equations. The method is second-order accurate and requires approximately the same computer time as a fast cyclic-reduction Poisson solver. The accuracy and efficiency of the direct solver are demonstrated in an application to solving an example problem in aerodynamics: subsonic inviscid flow over a biconvex airfoil. The analytical small-perturbation solution contains singularities, which are captured well by the computational technique. The algorithm is expected to be useful in nonlinear subsonic and transonic aerodynamics.

Lomax, H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A model of the effect of the satellite photosheath on a double floating probe system

Description of a model developed to predict the interactions between multiple electrostatic probes separated by distances that are shorter than or comparable to the characteristic plasma shielding length. The computation involves crude approximations accounting for space charge effects, currents due to the emission and exchange of photoelectrons, and currents from the ambient plasma. Floating potentials are calculated by requiring current balance for each probe and solving by iterating the resulting coupled nonlinear equations. Although only qualitative accuracy is claimed, predictions using the model are found to be in good agreement with observations from the Explorer 45 satellite. The Explorer 45 satellite measures the potential difference between a pair of symmetrical spherical floating probes. The Explorer 45 data show that with increasing altitude, first, the sunward sphere will typically assume a more negative potential than the antisunward sphere; second, the polarities of the probes in the region L = 2 to 4 may switch, sometimes several times; and, finally, near the plasmapause the detector output may saturate, the sunward sphere being more negative.

Cauffman, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of modal coupling procedures for the shuttle: A matrix method for damping synthesis

The damping method was applied successfully to real structures as well as analytical models. It depends on the ability to determine an appropriate modal damping matrix for each substructure. In the past, modal damping matrices were assumed diagonal for lack of being able to determine the coupling terms which are significant in the general case of nonproportional damping. This problem was overcome by formulating the damped equations of motion as a linear perturbation of the undamped equations for light structural damping. Damped modes are defined as complex vectors derived from the complex frequency response vectors of each substructure and are obtained directly from sinusoidal vibration tests. The damped modes are used to compute first order approximations to the modal damping matrices. The perturbation approach avoids ever having to solve a complex eigenvalue problem.

Hasselman, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Vibration-translation energy transfer in anharmonic diatomic molecules. 2: The vibrational quantum number dependence

A semiclassical model of the inelastic collision between a vibrationally excited anharmonic oscillator and a structureless atom was used to predict the variation of thermally averaged vibration-translation rate coefficients with temperature and initial-state quantum number. Multiple oscillator states were included in a numerical solution for collinear encounters. The results are compared with CO-He experimental values for both ground and excited initial states using several simplified forms of the interaction potential. The numerical model was also used as a basis for evaluating several less complete but analytic models. Two computationally simple analytic approximations were found that successfully reproduced the numerical rate coefficients for a wide range of molecular properties and collision partners. Their limitations were also identified. The relative rates of multiple-quantum transitions from excited states were evaluated for several molecular types.

Mckenzie, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Shape of the 5 mm oxygen band in the atmosphere

The problem of absorption of microwaves by molecular oxygen in the atmosphere is treated by means of a first-order approximation to the impact theory of overlapping spectral lines. By including only the coupling between adjacent rotational states in molecular collisions, we have devised a simple approximate method for computing the interference between lines from measurements on the resolved lines. The need for an empirically determined function describing the linewidth/pressure ratio is eliminated. Comparisons with measurements at atmospheric pressures show that the first-order interference accounts for the low absorption at the band wings near 1 atm pressure. It also predicts the correct amount of asymmetry between high and low frequency wings.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1975

Jupiter orbiter lifetime: The hazard of Galilean satellite collision

The four Galilean satellites of Jupiter present a long-term collision hazard to an uncontrolled orbiting spacecraft that repeatedly enters the spatial region occupied by the satellites. Satellite close encounters and the likelihood of collision over a wide range of initial orbit conditions were analyzed. The effect of orbit inclination was of key interest. The scope of the analysis was restricted to orbital dynamic considerations alone, i.e. the question of biological contamination given the event of collision was not considered. A quarantine or orbiter lifetime of 50 years was assumed. This time period begins at spacecraft shutdown following completion of the mission objectives. A numerical approach was adopted wherein each initial orbit is propagated for 50 years, and satellite closest encounter distances recorded on every revolution. The computer program includes approximations of the three major perturbation effects on the long-term motion of the orbiter: (1) Jupiter oblateness, (2) solar gravity, and (3) satellite gravity.

Friedlander, A. L.↗