Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Code development”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 721 records · Page 40

Evaluation of Baldwin-Barth turbulence model with thin-layer Navier-Stokes computation of an axisymmetric afterbody-exhaust jet flowfield

Axisymmetric steady flowfield over a steep circular arc afterbody with a choked exhaust jet in a subsonic freestream is numerically investigated using overflow code, developed by NASA Ames. The accuracy of Baldwin-Barth one-equation turbulence model for the computation of separated flow and plume shear layers is assessed by a comparison of predictions with available measurements from NASA Langley. The results show that the Baldwin-Barth turbulence model performs better than the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model in predicting the surface pressure distribution in the separated flow region of the afterbody. In the jet mixing layer, the Baldwin-Barth model considerably unpredicts the growth of the shear layer, as does the Baldwin-Lomax model. It is shown that the one-equation turbulence model needs improvement for the prediction of separated flow due to smooth adverse pressure gradient, and mixing layer growth.

Kandula, M.↗

Time-variant analysis of rotorcraft systems dynamics - An exploitation of vector processors

In this paper a generalized algorithmic procedure is presented for handling constraints in mechanical transmissions. The latter are treated as multibody systems of interconnected rigid/flexible bodies. The constraint Jacobian matrices are generated automatically and suitably updated in time, depending on the geometrical and kinematical constraint conditions describing the interconnection between shafts or gears. The type of constraints are classified based on the interconnection of the bodies by assuming that one or more points of contact exist between them. The effects due to elastic deformation of the flexible bodies are included by allowing each body element to undergo small deformations. The procedure is based on recursively formulated Kane's dynamical equations of motion and the finite element method, including the concept of geometrical stiffening effects. The method is implemented on an IBM-3090-600j vector processor with pipe-lining capabilities. A significant increase in the speed of execution is achieved by vectorizing the developed code in computationally intensive areas. An example consisting of two meshing disks rotating at high angular velocity is presented. Applications are intended for the study of the dynamic behavior of helicopter transmissions.

Amirouche, F. M. L.↗

Chemical and luminosity evolution, and counts of galaxies in a merger model

A merger model is applied to the chemical and luminosity evolution of galaxies. Two aspects are focused on. The first is the problem of abundance ratios as a function of metallicity. The second is related to the luminosity evolution of galaxies. In relation to the former, we calculate the evolution of several chemical elements exploring a broad space of possible star formation rates, including those derived using phenomenological arguments from a multiple merger galaxy formation scenario. We are able to reproduce the observed plateau in the ratio of the abundances of oxygen to iron versus metallicity as a direct consequence of one of the merging SFR used; we have utilized a standard Type II supernovae nucleosynthesis scenario coupled with a reasonable binary model for Type Ia supernovae and its consequent nucleosynthetic yields. Following the consequent luminosity effects in a straightforward way enables the estimation of the evolution of bolometric luminosity. We have used our recently developed code for photometric evolution of galaxies to make a preliminary computation of the number-magnitude relationship, assuming a standard picture of galaxy evolution, in the B and K bands.

Colin, P.↗

ControlShell - A real-time software framework

ControlShell is designed to enable modular design and impplementation of real-time software. It is an object-oriented tool-set for real-time software system programming. It provides a series of execution and data interchange mechansims that form a framework for building real-time applications. These mechanisms allow a component-based approach to real-time software generation and mangement. By defining a set of interface specifications for intermodule interaction, ControlShell provides a common platform that is the basis for real-time code development and exchange.

Schneider, Stanley A.↗

Calculation of scramjet inlet with thick boundary-layer ingestion

Numerical flowfields around a scramjet inlet model are simulated and analyzed. The present inlet flowfield is characterized by thick boundary-layer ingestion and strong viscous/inviscid interaction because of a combined effect of high hypersonic freestream Mach and low Reynolds numbers. Shock-induced separation further enlarges regions of viscous flows which occupy most of the inlet flowfield. Results obtained from the computations with the PARC code developed for ideal gas are presented for several 2D cases at various hypersonic Mach numbers ranging from 10 to 25, and two 3D simulations at Mach numbers of 12 and 19 are also discussed. Comparison between computation and experiment is made in terms of pressure distributions at the wall center line. Large discrepancy is observed and may be partially attributed to the lack of real gas and/or 3D effects in the simulation as well as to the uncertainty of the experiment.

Lai, H. T.↗

Overview of CFD flow modeling and validation: NASA. Ames Research Center

NASA Ames Center personnel presented data on stages of code development and corresponding experiments in the application of computational fluid dynamics for aeronautical investigations. Specific subjects included algorithms, grid generation, facilities, instrumentation, and data acquisition. Numerical simulation and flow modelling were described to show the procedure for calibration and validation.

Marvin, Joe G.↗

Computing Flows Of Coolants In Turbomachines

Coolant Passage Flow (CPF) computer code developed to predict accurately coolant flow and heat transfer inside turbomachinery cooling passages (either radial or axial blading). Computes flow in one-inlet/one-outlet passage of any shape. Calculates rate of flow of coolant, temperature, pressure, velocity, and heat-transfer coefficients along passage. Integrates one-dimensional momentum and energy equations along defined flow path, taking into account change in area, addition or subtraction of mass, pumping, friction, and transfer of heat. Written in FORTRAN IV.

Meitner, P. L.↗

Analyzing Acoustic Propagation In A Pump Diffuser And Volute

Theory and computer codes developed for use in analyzing propagation of sinusoidal components of fluctuations of pressure (acoustic waves) through fluid in diffuser and in volute or discharge duct of centrifugal pump. Reflections from impedance mismatches taken into account. Such analysis of propagation and resultant fluctuations of pressure important part of analysis of fluid-borne contributions to stresses on volute housing, volute liner, and/or discharge duct.

Chon, Juliet T.↗

Carbon and nitrogen in Type 2 supernova diamonds

Abundant diamonds found in meteorites seem either to have condensed within supernova interiors during their expansions and coolings or to have been present around those explosions. Either alternative allows implantation of Xe-HL prior to interstellar mixing. A puzzling feature is the near normalcy of the carbon isotopes, considering that the only C-rich matter, the He-burning shell, is pure C-12 in that region. That last fact has caused many to associate supernova carbon with C-12 carbon, so that its SUNOCONS have been anticipated as very C-12-rich. We show that this expectation is misleading because the C-13-rich regions of Type 2's have been largely overlooked in this thinking. We here follow the idea that the diamonds nucleated in the C-12-rich He shell, the only C-rich site for nucleation, but then attached C-13-rich carbon during turbulent encounters with overlying C-13-rich matter. That is, the initial diamonds continued to grow during the same collisional encounters that cause the Xe-HL implantation. Instead of interacting with the small carbon mass having 13/12 = 0.2 in the upper He zone, however, we have calculated the remnants of the initial H-burning core, which left behind C-13-rich matter as it receded during core hydrogen burning. Howard et al. described why the velocity mixing would be essential to understanding the implantation of both the Xe-H and Xe-L components. Velocity mixing is now known to occur from the X-ray and gamma-ray light curves of supernova 1987A. Using the stellar evolution code developed at Goettingen, we calculated at Clemson the evolution of a grid of massive stars up to the beginning of core He burning. We paid attention to all H-burning reactions throughout the star, to the treatment of both convection and semiconvection, and to the recession of the outer boundary of the convective H-burning core as the star expands toward a larger redder state. This program was to generate a careful map of the CNO isotope distribution as He burning begins. Our result for the 30 solar mass star is shown.

Clayton, Donald D.↗

Direct simulation of compressible wall-bounded turbulence

When analyzing many turbulent flows, the effects of compressibility can be neglected. Even some relatively high-speed flows, such as boundary layers generated by a supersonic aircraft, produce turbulent statistics that are similar to those found for the incompressible case. There are other situations, however, in which the non-zero divergence of the turbulence leads to behavior that is fundamentally different from that found at constant density. Examples include flows created by internal combustion engines, hypersonic flight, and supersonic combustion. It is with instances such as these that this project is concerned. In particular, we are interested in the effects of compressibility on turbulence near a smooth solid constant temperature surface; our primary objective is an increased physical understanding that can be used to improve turbulence models of wall-bounded compressible flows. With this in mind, we have begun a direct numerical simulation (DNS) study of turbulence in a plane channel. Because all of the relevant spatial and temporal scales are to be resolved, the simulations require no subgrid scale parameterization. The DNS code developed by Buell to study compressible plane Couette flow was modified to solve the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in the plane channel. The channel was chosen over the Couette flow for two reasons: (1) to avoid using the very large streamwise domains needed to adequately capture the large Couette vortical structures; and (2) to make use of previous experience by considering the compressible version of a well established case and isolate finite Mach number effects by comparing to the incompressible channel.

Coleman, Gary N.↗

Analysis of electromagnetic scattering from irregularly shaped, thin, metallic flat plates

This report describes an application of the method of moments to calculate the electromagnetic scattering from irregularly shaped, thin, metallic flat plates in free space. In the present technique, an irregularly shaped plate is enclosed by a rectangle on which the surface-current density is then expressed in terms of subdomain functions by dividing the rectangle into subsections. A shape function is introduced to ensure zero current outside the patch. The surface-current density is determined using the electric field integral equation (EFIE) approach in conjunction with the method of moments, and from a knowledge of the surface-current density, the electromagnetic scattering from a plate is calculated. Using this technique, the electromagnetic scattering from a hexagonal plate; an equilateral triangular plate; an equilateral triangular plate with a concentric, equilateral triangular hole and an inverted, equilateral triangular hole; and a diamond-shaped plate is computed and compared with the numerical results obtained by using the Electromagnetic Surface Patch (ESP) code developed by Ohio State University. The numerical results compare favorably with the measurements performed on these shapes in the Langley Experimental Test Range facility.

Deshpande, Manohar D.↗

The VLBA correlator: Real-time in the distributed era

The correlator is the signal processing engine of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Radio signals are recorded on special wideband (128 Mb/s) digital recorders at the 10 telescopes, with sampling times controlled by hydrogen maser clocks. The magnetic tapes are shipped to the Array Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico, where they are played back simultaneously into the correlator. Real-time software and firmware controls the playback drives to achieve synchronization, compute models of the wavefront delay, control the numerous modules of the correlator, and record FITS files of the fringe visibilities at the back-end of the correlator. In addition to the more than 3000 custom VLSI chips which handle the massive data flow of the signal processing, the correlator contains a total of more than 100 programmable computers, 8-, 16- and 32-bit CPUs. Code is downloaded into front-end CPU's dependent on operating mode. Low-level code is assembly language, high-level code is C running under a RT OS. We use VxWorks on Motorola MVME147 CPU's. Code development is on a complex of SPARC workstations connected to the RT CPU's by Ethernet. The overall management of the correlation process is dependent on a database management system. We use Ingres running on a Sparcstation-2. We transfer logging information from the database of the VLBA Monitor and Control System to our database using Ingres/NET. Job scripts are computed and are transferred to the real-time computers using NFS, and correlation job execution logs and status flow back by the route. Operator status and control displays use windows on workstations, interfaced to the real-time processes by network protocols. The extensive network protocol support provided by VxWorks is invaluable. The VLBA Correlator's dependence on network protocols is an example of the radical transformation of the real-time world over the past five years. Real-time is becoming more like conventional computing. Paradoxically, 'conventional' computing is also adopting practices from the real-time world: semaphores, shared memory, light-weight threads, and concurrency. This appears to be a convergence of thinking.

Wells, D. C.↗

Thermohydrodynamic analysis of cryogenic liquid turbulent flow fluid film bearings

A thermohydrodynamic analysis is presented and a computer code developed for prediction of the static and dynamic force response of hydrostatic journal bearings (HJB's), annular seals or damper bearing seals, and fixed arc pad bearings for cryogenic liquid applications. The study includes the most important flow characteristics found in cryogenic fluid film bearings such as flow turbulence, fluid inertia, liquid compressibility and thermal effects. The analysis and computational model devised allow the determination of the flow field in cryogenic fluid film bearings along with the dynamic force coefficients for rotor-bearing stability analysis.

Andres, Luis San↗

Advanced electromagnetic methods for aerospace vehicles

The Advanced Helicopter Electromagnetics (AHE) Industrial Associates Program has fruitfully completed its fourth year. Under the support of the AHE members and the joint effort of the research team, new and significant progress has been achieved in the year. Following the recommendations by the Advisory Task Force, the research effort is placed on more practical helicopter electromagnetic problems, such as HF antennas, composite materials, and antenna efficiencies. In this annual report, the main topics to be addressed include composite materials and antenna technology. The research work on each topic has been driven by the AHE consortium members' interests and needs. The remarkable achievements and progresses in each subject is reported respectively in individual sections of the report. The work in the area of composite materials includes: modeling of low conductivity composite materials by using Green's function approach; guidelines for composite material modeling by using the Green's function approach in the NEC code; development of 3-D volume mesh generator for modeling thick and volumetric dielectrics by using FD-TD method; modeling antenna elements mounted on a composite Comanche tail stabilizer; and antenna pattern control and efficiency estimate for a horn antenna loaded with composite dielectric materials.

Balanis, Constantine A.↗

Design of orbital debris shields for oblique hypervelocity impact

A new impact debris propagation code was written to link CTH simulations of space debris shield perforation to the Lagrangian finite element code DYNA3D, for space structure wall impact simulations. This software (DC3D) simulates debris cloud evolution using a nonlinear elastic-plastic deformable particle dynamics model, and renders computationally tractable the supercomputer simulation of oblique impacts on Whipple shield protected structures. Comparison of three dimensional, oblique impact simulations with experimental data shows good agreement over a range of velocities of interest in the design of orbital debris shielding. Source code developed during this research is provided on the enclosed floppy disk. An abstract based on the work described was submitted to the 1994 Hypervelocity Impact Symposium.

Fahrenthold, Eric P.↗

Simulation studies for surfaces and materials strength

Computer simulation studies were conducted to investigate materials properties. All the calculations were carried out using atomic level simulation techniques which are based on semiempirical or model functions. During this project, functions with varying degrees of complexity were derived and employed in simulations. Investigations include covalently bonded materials as well as systems involving metal atoms. For small clusters calculated results provided information on various energy- and structure-related properties along with vibrational characteristics. Also, energy barriers for configurational transitions were calculated for selected cases. Simulation calculations for surfaces produced new results in areas related to surface energies, reconstructions and relaxations, surface defects, surface stresses as well as adsorption and nucleation processes. Simulations were also performed on bulk materials. Calculated results provided an atomic level understanding on energetics and structures of point defects, crystal stability, elastic properties, and materials strength for various systems. Calculations involving polymeric materials include studies of polar polymer melts and polymer/solid interfaces. Simulations employing specially developed codes provided significant information about energetics and conformational characteristics of different polymeric chains.

Halicioglu, Timur↗

A streamlined software environment for situated skills

This paper documents a powerful set of software tools used for developing situated skills. These situated skills form the reactive level of a three-tiered intelligent agent architecture. The architecture is designed to allow these skills to be manipulated by a task level engine which is monitoring the current situation and selecting skills necessary for the current task. The idea is to coordinate the dynamic activations and deactivations of these situated skills in order to configure the reactive layer for the task at hand. The heart of the skills environment is a data flow mechanism which pipelines the currently active skills for execution. A front end graphical interface serves as a debugging facility during skill development and testing. We are able to integrate skills developed in different languages into the skills environment. The power of the skills environment lies in the amount of time it saves for the programmer to develop code for the reactive layer of a robot.

Yu, Sophia T.↗

Probabilistic assessment of space nuclear propulsion system nozzle

In assessing the reliability of a space nuclear propulsion system (SNPS) nozzle, uncertainties associated with the following design parameters were considered: geometry, boundary conditions, material behavior, and thermal and pressure loads. A preliminary assessment of the reliability was performed using NESSUS (Numerical Evaluation of Stochastic Structures Under Stress), a finite-element computer code developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The sensitivity of the nozzle reliability to the uncertainties in the random variables was quantified. With respect to the effective stress, preliminary results showed that the nozzle spatial geometry uncertainties have the most significant effect at low probabilities whereas the inner wall temperature has the most significant effect at higher probabilities.

Shah, Ashwin R.↗