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At least 91 records · Page 5

Computation of load performance and other parameters of extra high speed modified Lundell alternators from 3D-FE magnetic field solutions

The combined magnetic vector potential - magnetic scalar potential method of computation of 3D magnetic fields by finite elements, introduced in a companion paper, in combination with state modeling in the abc-frame of reference, are used for global 3D magnetic field analysis and machine performance computation under rated load and overload condition in an example 14.3 kVA modified Lundell alternator. The results vividly demonstrate the 3D nature of the magnetic field in such machines, and show how this model can be used as an excellent tool for computation of flux density distributions, armature current and voltage waveform profiles and harmonic contents, as well as computation of torque profiles and ripples. Use of the model in gaining insight into locations of regions in the magnetic circuit with heavy degrees of saturation is demonstrated. Experimental results which correlate well with the simulations of the load case are given.

Wang, R.

Design and Evaluation of Composite Fuselage Panels Subjected to Combined Loading Conditions

Methodologies used in industry for designing transport aircraft composite fuselage structures are discussed. Several aspects of the design methodologies are based on assumptions from metallic fuselage technology which requires that full-scale structures be tested with the actual loading conditions to validate the designs. Composite panels which represent crown and side regions of a fuselage structure are designed using this approach and tested in biaxial tension. Descriptions of the state-of-the-art test facilities used for this structural evaluation are presented. These facilities include a pressure-box test machine and a D-box test fixture in a combined loads test machine which are part of a Combined Loads Test System (COLTS). Nonlinear analysis results for a reference shell and a stiffened composite panel tested in the pressure-box test machine with and without damage are presented. The analytical and test results are compared to assess the ability of the pressure-box test machine to simulate a shell stress state with and without damage. A combined loads test machine for testing aircraft primary structures is described. This test machine includes a D-box test fixture to accommodate curved stiffened panels and the design features of this test fixture are presented. Finite element analysis results for a curved panel to be tested in the D-box test fixture are also discussed.

Ambur, Damodar R.

Verification of Numerical Algorithms

The following strategy is suggested for specification and proof: (1) Defer the construction of a formal program specification with respect to I/O assertions unit the correctness of the program with respect to an abstract mathematical model of program intent is demonstrated. (2) Prove that an abstract machine (using infinite precision arithmetic) would compute that object exactly. (3) Prove that the computational sequences of arithmetic operations that occur in the abstract machine must be precisely the same at every step as those occurring on an actual machine (with finite precision arithmetic), executing the same program. (4) Use a Verification Conditions VC-generator that knows about the semantics of arithmetic operations to annotate the program with assertions that bound (or in some circumstances estimate) the difference between the actual machine state variables and the corresponding ones of the abstract machine. Construct the formal program specification by combining the verification conditions into theorems about computational error that can be proved with mechanical assistance.

Source record

Active magnetic bearing control loop modeling for a finite element rotordynamics code

A mathematical model of an active electromagnetic bearing which includes the actuator, the sensor and the control system is developed and implemented in a specialized finite element code for rotordynamic analysis. The element formulation and its incorporation in the model of the machine are described in detail. A solution procedure, based on a modal approach in which the number of retained modes is controlled by the user, is then shown together with other procedures for computing the steady-state response to both static and unbalance forces. An example of application shows the numerical results obtained on a model of an electric motor suspended on a five active-axis magnetic suspension. The comparison of some of these results with the experimental characteristics of the actual system shows the ability of the present model to predict its performance.

Genta, Giancarlo

Local Analysis-Test Correlation Of Tow-Steered Composite Shells With Small Cutouts

The prebuckling and postbuckling behavior of two composite tow-steered shells with small cutouts is assessed using nonlinear dynamic finite element analyses and compared in detail with experimental measurements. The cylindrical shells were manufactured without cutouts using an automated fiber placement system, where the shells’ fiber orientation angles vary continuously around the shell circumference from ±10 degrees on the axially stiff crown and keel, to ±45 degrees on the shear-stiff sides. The first shell with overlaps has laminate thickness variations on the crown and keel that result from application of all 24 tows during each pass of the fiber placement system. The second shell without overlaps uses the fiber placement system’s tow drop/add capability to achieve a more uniform shell wall thickness. An unreinforced cutout representing a passenger door on a commercial aircraft fuselage is machined into the side of each of the two shells. These shells with cutouts were tested in axial compression and buckled elastically in previous work. Detailed nonlinear finite element analysis results are compared with their corresponding measured local load-displacement and load-strain responses in prebuckling, at global buckling, and into a stable postbuckled state. Test data from displacement transducers, strain gages, and digital image correlation are extracted at the centers of the crown and keel, and at the middles of the top and left edges of the cutout. The overall agreement between these measured and analytical responses is excellent in prebuckling through global buckling, and very good from global buckling through postbuckling. As such, the excellent correlation observed here increases confidence in applying tow-steered composites in operational vehicles.

Composites

Local Analysis-Test Correlation Of Tow-Steered Composite Shells With Small Cutouts

The prebuckling and postbuckling behavior of two composite tow-steered shells with small cutouts is assessed using nonlinear dynamic finite element analyses and compared in detail with experimental measurements. The cylindrical shells were manufactured without cutouts using an automated fiber placement system, where the shells’ fiber orientation angles vary continuously around the shell circumference from ±10 degrees on the axially stiff crown and keel, to ±45 degrees on the shear-stiff sides. The first shell with overlaps has laminate thickness variations on the crown and keel that result from application of all 24 tows during each pass of the fiber placement system. The second shell without overlaps uses the fiber placement system’s tow drop/add capability to achieve a more uniform shell wall thickness. An unreinforced cutout representing a passenger door on a commercial aircraft fuselage is machined into the side of each of the two shells. These shells with cutouts were tested in axial compression and buckled elastically in previous work. Detailed nonlinear finite element analysis results are compared with their corresponding measured local load-displacement and load-strain responses in prebuckling, at global buckling, and into a stable postbuckled state. Test data from displacement transducers, strain gages, and digital image correlation are extracted at the centers of the crown and keel, and at the middles of the top and left edges of the cutout. The overall agreement between these measured and analytical responses is excellent in prebuckling through global buckling, and very good from global buckling through postbuckling. As such, the excellent correlation observed here increases confidence in applying tow-steered composites in operational vehicles.

Composites

Three dimensional magnetic fields in extra high speed modified Lundell alternators computed by a combined vector-scalar magnetic potential finite element method

A 3D finite element (FE) approach was developed and implemented for computation of global magnetic fields in a 14.3 kVA modified Lundell alternator. The essence of the new method is the combined use of magnetic vector and scalar potential formulations in 3D FEs. This approach makes it practical, using state of the art supercomputer resources, to globally analyze magnetic fields and operating performances of rotating machines which have truly 3D magnetic flux patterns. The 3D FE-computed fields and machine inductances as well as various machine performance simulations of the 14.3 kVA machine are presented in this paper and its two companion papers.

Demerdash, N. A.

Analysis of composite ablators using massively parallel computation

In this work, the feasibility of using massively parallel computation to study the response of ablative materials is investigated. Explicit and implicit finite difference methods are used on a massively parallel computer, the Thinking Machines CM-5. The governing equations are a set of nonlinear partial differential equations. The governing equations are developed for three sample problems: (1) transpiration cooling, (2) ablative composite plate, and (3) restrained thermal growth testing. The transpiration cooling problem is solved using a solution scheme based solely on the explicit finite difference method. The results are compared with available analytical steady-state through-thickness temperature and pressure distributions and good agreement between the numerical and analytical solutions is found. It is also found that a solution scheme based on the explicit finite difference method has the following advantages: incorporates complex physics easily, results in a simple algorithm, and is easily parallelizable. However, a solution scheme of this kind needs very small time steps to maintain stability. A solution scheme based on the implicit finite difference method has the advantage that it does not require very small times steps to maintain stability. However, this kind of solution scheme has the disadvantages that complex physics cannot be easily incorporated into the algorithm and that the solution scheme is difficult to parallelize. A hybrid solution scheme is then developed to combine the strengths of the explicit and implicit finite difference methods and minimize their weaknesses. This is achieved by identifying the critical time scale associated with the governing equations and applying the appropriate finite difference method according to this critical time scale. The hybrid solution scheme is then applied to the ablative composite plate and restrained thermal growth problems. The gas storage term is included in the explicit pressure calculation of both problems. Results from ablative composite plate problems are compared with previous numerical results which did not include the gas storage term. It is found that the through-thickness temperature distribution is not affected much by the gas storage term. However, the through-thickness pressure and stress distributions, and the extent of chemical reactions are different from the previous numerical results. Two types of chemical reaction models are used in the restrained thermal growth testing problem: (1) pressure-independent Arrhenius type rate equations and (2) pressure-dependent Arrhenius type rate equations. The numerical results are compared to experimental results and the pressure-dependent model is able to capture the trend better than the pressure-independent one. Finally, a performance study is done on the hybrid algorithm using the ablative composite plate problem. It is found that there is a good speedup of performance on the CM-5. For 32 CPU's, the speedup of performance is 20. The efficiency of the algorithm is found to be a function of the size and execution time of a given problem and the effective parallelization of the algorithm. It also seems that there is an optimum number of CPU's to use for a given problem.

Shia, David

Absolute stability analysis of attitude control systems for large boosters.

A method for performing absolute stability analyses of attitude control systems for large launch vehicles is presented. Absolute stability of these systems is shown in a finite region of the state space. The regions are computed by using the Lur'e-Postnikov Liapunov function. This function is chosen to provide additional information about the exponential property of absolute stability. Significant advantages of the method proposed in this paper are: it is independent of the order of the system; algebraic operations involved in the computations are relatively simple and convenient for machine implementation; and the obtained results are valid not only for a particular nonlinearity but also for an entire class of nonlinear characteristics that satisfy certain general conditions. A system model representing the Saturn V launch vehicle is used to illustrate the method.

Seltzer, S. M.

Progress Toward the Critical Design of the Superconducting Rotor for NASA's 1.4 MW High-Efficiency Electric Machine

NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a 1.4 MW high-efficiency electric machine for future electrified aircraft to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and noise. This wound-field, synchronous machine employs a self-cooled, superconducting rotor to achieve excellent specific power and efficiency. This paper presents the progress made over the past year toward a critical design of the superconducting rotor, including refined analysis and risk reduction testing on prototype superconducting coils. A 3D finite element model of the rotor is developed to simulate the combined loading imposed by the initial cool down of the rotor from room temperature to cryogenic temperature and the subsequent rotation of the rotor up to the design speed. The model is evaluated to better predict the stress state in the critical components and the reduction in physical gap between the stator and rotor due to the resulting radial deflections. This model includes an enhanced model of the superconducting coil that considers the coil as an assembly of four individual coil layers. An improved coil fabrication process is described in detail. Two sub-scale test coils are fabricated and then tested under repeated thermal cycling between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). It is demonstrated that the proposed coil fabrication procedure can produce no-insulation, high temperature superconducting coils that can survive several thermal cycles without apparent degradation.

electric machines

Towards real-time simulation of large space structures: Stabilization of fluid/thermal/structure interactions and implementation on high performance supercomputers

Within the Center for Space Construction, the SIMSTRUC project's objectives center around the development of simulation tools for the realistic analysis of large space structures. The word 'tools' is the broad sense; it designates mathematical models, finite element/finite difference formulations, computational algorithms, implementations on advanced computer architectures, and visualization capabilities. The results of our activities during the first year within the SIMSTRUC project are reported. On the modeling side, an alternative approach to fluid/thermal/structure interaction analysis that is a departure from the 'loosely coupled' and 'unified' approaches that are being currently practiced are described. The advantages of our approach both in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency were demonstrated. On the computational side, a software architecture for parallel/vector and massively parallel supercomputers that speeds up finite element and finite difference computations by several orders of magnitude is presented. As an example, the simulation of the deployment of a space structure that used to require over six hours of a workstation using a conventional finite element software, now runs on a multiprocessor using a parallel computation strategy in less than three seconds. In order to promote the physical understanding of the simulation behavior, a real-time visualization capability on the Connection Machine, which allows the analyst to watch the graphical animation of the results at the same time these are generated, was also developed. It is believed that by combining efficient analytical formulations with the state-of-the-art high performance computer implementations and superfast visualization capabilities, SIMSTRUC is moving fast towards the real-time simulation of large space structures. The designers as well as the researchers will certainly benefit from this technology.

Farhat, C.

Application of two-point difference schemes to the conservative Euler equations for one-dimensional flows

An implicit finite difference method is presented for obtaining steady state solutions to the time dependent, conservative Euler equations for flows containing shocks. The method used the two-point differencing approach of Keller with dissipation added at supersonic points via the retarded density concept. Application of the method to the one-dimensional nozzle flow equations for various combinations of subsonic and supersonic boundary conditions shows the method to be very efficient. Residuals are typically reduced to machine zero in approximately 35 time steps for 50 mesh points. It is shown that the scheme offers certain advantages over the more widely used three-point schemes, especially in regard to application of boundary conditions.

Wornom, S. F.

Application of two-point difference schemes to the conservative Euler equations for one-dimensional flows

An implicit finite-difference method is presented for obtaining steady-state solutions to the time-dependent, conservative Euler equations for flows containing shocks. The method uses a two-point central difference scheme with dissipation added at supersonic points via the retarded density concept. Application of the method to the one-dimensional nozzle flow equations for various combinations of subsonic and supersonic boundary conditions show the method to be very efficient. Residuals are typically reduced to machine zero in approximately 35 time steps for 50 mesh points. It is shown that the scheme offers certain advantages over the more widely-used three-point schemes, especially in regard to application of boundary conditions.

Wornom, S. F.

A two-point difference scheme for computing steady-state solutions to the conservative one-dimensional Euler equations

An implicit finite-difference method is presented for obtaining steady-state solutions to the time-dependent, conservative Euler equations for flows containing shocks. The method uses a two-point central-difference scheme for the flux derivatives with dissipation added at supersonic points via the retarded density concept. Application of the method to 1-dimensional nozzle flow equations for various combinations of subsonic and supersonic boundary conditions show the method to be very efficient. Residuals are typically reduced to machine zero in approximately 35 time steps for 50 mesh points. For 1-dimensional Euler calculations, it is shown that the scheme offers two advantages over the more widely-used three-point schemes. The first is in regard to application of boundary conditions, and the second relates to the fact that the two-point algorithm is well-conditioned for large time steps.

Wornom, S. F.

Annular Seals of High Energy Centrifugal Pumps: Presentation of Full Scale Measurement

Prediction of rotordynamic behavior for high energy concentration centrifugal pumps is a challenging task which still imposes considerable difficulties. While the mechanical modeling of the rotor is solved most satisfactorily by finite element techniques, accurate boundary conditions for arbitrary operating conditions are known for journal bearings only. Little information is available on the reactive forces of annular seals, such as neck ring and interstage seals and balance pistons, and on the impeller interaction forces. The present focus is to establish reliable boundary conditions at annular seals. For this purpose, a full scale test machine was set up and smooth and serrated seal configurations measured. Dimensionless coefficients are presented and compared with a state of the art theory.

Florjancic, S.

Progress Toward the Critical Design of the Superconducting Rotor for NASA's 1.4 MW High Efficiency Electric Machine

NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a 1.4 MW high-efficiency electric machine for future electrified aircraft to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and noise. This wound-field, synchronous machine employs a self-cooled, superconducting rotor to achieve excellent specific power and efficiency. This paper presents the progress made over the past year toward a critical design of the superconducting rotor, including refined analysis and risk reduction testing on prototype superconducting coils. A 3D finite element model of the rotor is developed to simulate the combined loading imposed by the initial cool down of the rotor from room temperature to cryogenic temperature and the subsequent rotation of the rotor up to the design speed. The model is evaluated to better predict the stress state in the critical components and the reduction in physical gap between the stator and rotor due to the resulting radial deflections. This model includes an enhanced model of the superconducting coil that considers the coil as an assembly of four individual coil layers. An improved coil fabrication process is described in detail. Two sub-scale test coils are fabricated and then tested under repeated thermal cycling between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). It is demonstrated that the proposed coil fabrication procedure can produce no-insulation, high temperature superconducting coils that can survive several thermal cycles without apparent degradation.

Scheidler, Justin

Design and Manufacture of Elastically Tailored Tow Placed Plates

Elastic stiffness tailoring of laminated composite panels by allowing the fibers to curve within the plane of the laminate is a relatively novel design concept that has been demonstrated to be both beneficial and practical. In particular, for structures with highly non-uniform stress states, such as the case of a flat panel with a central hole subjected to in-plane loading, the concept is likely to provide substantial improvements in load carrying capability. The objective of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of stiffness tailoring through the use of curvilinear fibers to reduce stress concentrations around the hole and improve the load carrying capability of panels with holes. In this study software was created that translates standard finite element models with traditional laminate definitions into ones that possess stacking sequences with curvilinear fiber paths that are directly manufacturable using an advanced tow placement machine. Preliminary designs for the manufacturing and testing phase were determined through rudimentary design studies for flat plates without holes under axial compression. These candidate designs were then analyzed using finite element models that accurately reflect the test conditions and geometries in order to select final designs for testing. A total of six large panels, measuring three feet by six feet, each of which are used to produce four specimens with or without holes, were fabricated and delivered to NASA for machining and testing.

Tatting, Brain F.

Development of Individually Addressable Micro-Mirror-Arrays for Space Applications

We have been developing a 32 x 32 prototype array of individually addressable Micro-Mirrors capable of operating at cryogenic temperature for Earth and Space Science applications. Micro-Mirror-Array technology has the potential to revolutionize imaging and spectroscopy systems for NASA's missions of the 21st century. They can be used as programmable slits for the Next Generation Space Telescope, as smart sensors for a steerable spectrometer, as neutral density filters for bright scene attenuation etc. The, entire fabrication process is carried out in the Detector Development Laboratory at NASA, GSFC. The fabrication process is low temperature compatible and involves integration of conventional CMOS technology and surface micro-machining used in MEMS. Aluminum is used as the mirror material and is built on a silicon substrate containing the CMOS address circuit. The mirrors are 100 microns x l00 microns in area and deflect by +/- 10 deg induced by electrostatic actuation between two parallel plate capacitors. A pair of thin aluminum torsion straps allow the mirrors to tilt. Finite-element-analysis and closed form solutions using electrostatic and mechanical torque for mirror operation were developed and the results were compared with laboratory performance. The results agree well both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperature. The development demonstrates the first cryogenic operation of two-dimensional Micro-Mirrors with bi-state operation. Larger arrays will be developed meeting requirements for different science applications. Theoretical analysis, fabrication process, laboratory test results and different science applications will be described in detail.

Dutta, Sanghamitra B.