SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Spectral element”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

At least 109 records · Page 6

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2025

A high-order computational framework for particle-resolved simulations of disperse multiphase flows

This work presents a high-order numerical approach for particle-resolved simulations of disperse multiphase flows, where the Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow are solved using a high-order spectral element method in the Eulerian framework, and the particle phase is directly simulated with a discrete element method. The coupling between particles and fluids is explicitly handled using an adapted direct-forcing immersed boundary method. Unlike the conventional schemes, a high-order barycentric Lagrange interpolation method and a Gaussian projection kernel are used to ensure accurate momentum exchange between local boundary points and surrounding fluid nodes in the framework of high-order fluid solver. Benchmark tests of increasing complexity are conducted to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method. Here, it is found that our approach exhibits an excellent convergence performance, as the fluid element/grid is refined and the number of boundary points increases. Compared to conventional low-order methods, the proposed high-order framework enables the use of substantially larger fluid elements while maintaining high accuracy in modeling fluid-particle interactions, owing to the enhanced resolution of high-order basis functions. Moreover, since the primary unknowns are stored at element or grid nodes, the high-order approach offers improved efficiency in both CPU memory usage and total computational cost.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1995

Parallelized modelling and solution scheme for hierarchically scaled simulations

This two-part paper presents the results of a benchmarked analytical-numerical investigation into the operational characteristics of a unified parallel processing strategy for implicit fluid mechanics formulations. This hierarchical poly tree (HPT) strategy is based on multilevel substructural decomposition. The Tree morphology is chosen to minimize memory, communications and computational effort. The methodology is general enough to apply to existing finite difference (FD), finite element (FEM), finite volume (FV) or spectral element (SE) based computer programs without an extensive rewrite of code. In addition to finding large reductions in memory, communications, and computational effort associated with a parallel computing environment, substantial reductions are generated in the sequential mode of application. Such improvements grow with increasing problem size. Along with a theoretical development of general 2-D and 3-D HPT, several techniques for expanding the problem size that the current generation of computers are capable of solving, are presented and discussed. Among these techniques are several interpolative reduction methods. It was found that by combining several of these techniques that a relatively small interpolative reduction resulted in substantial performance gains. Several other unique features/benefits are discussed in this paper. Along with Part 1's theoretical development, Part 2 presents a numerical approach to the HPT along with four prototype CFD applications. These demonstrate the potential of the HPT strategy.

Padovan, Joe↗

DOE OSTI2024

High-Order Hybrid RANS-LES Study of NACA0012 Wing Sections

We develop hybrid RANS-LES strategies within Nek5000 for application to airfoil sections at small flight configurations. We present a validation and verification study of $k \space – \space \tau$ SST applied to a NACA 0012 wing section in a pure RANS and in a hybrid RANS-LES setup. The study shows good corroboration with existing experimental and numerical datasets. We also analyze some of the observed discrepancies with the experiments by evaluating the side wall “blocking” effect. We demonstrate that for the hybrid turbulence modeling approach a high-order spectral- element discretization converges faster (i.e., with less resolution) than a representative low-order finite-volume-based approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2003

Aircraft Engine Noise Scattering By Fuselage and Wings: A Computational Approach

The paper presents a time-domain method for computation of sound radiation from aircraft engine sources to the far-field. The effects of nonuniform flow around the aircraft and scattering of sound by fuselage and wings are accounted for in the formulation. The approach is based on the discretization of the inviscid flow equations through a collocation form of the Discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method. An isoparametric representation of the underlying geometry is used in order to take full advantage of the spectral accuracy of the method. Large-scale computations are made possible by a parallel implementation based on message passing. Results obtained for radiation from an axisymmetric nacelle alone are compared with those obtained when the same nacelle is installed in a generic configuration, with and without a wing.

FUSELAGE-NACELLE CONFIGURATION↗

DOE OSTI2023

Turbulence Modeling with Nek5000/RS, SOD2D and Alya

We present Validation and Verification (V & V) study of two high-order spectral element method (SEM) based Computational Fluid Dyanimcs (CFD) codes that we will utilize for work on turbulence modeling: Nek5000 and SOD2D. While the former solves the incompressible form of Navier-Stokes equation, the latter works with compressible set of equations and uses an entropy-viscosity formulation to account for the discontinuities for high Mach number flows. We demonstrate the accuracy of these codes for two benchmark sub-sonic turbulent flows: periodic channel and pipe flow, by carrying out first and second order statistical analysis, grid convergence and turbulent structure analysis using wall-resolved large eddy simulations (WRLES). Later, we report on the implementation and testing of various wall-modeling strategies for large eddy simulation of turbulent flows in Nek5000. These include both classical log-law based and decision-tree based machine-learning models. Accuracy of these closure strategies are analyzed and necessary future work is outlined.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Investigating the Origins of Cyclic Variability in Internal Combustion Engines Using Wall-Resolved Large Eddy Simulations

Modern internal combustion engines (ICE) operate at the ragged edge of stable operation characterized by high cycle-to-cycle variations (CCV). A key scientific challenge for ICE is the understanding, modeling, and control of CCV in engine performance, which can contribute to partial burns, misfire, and knock. The objective of this study is to use high-fidelity numerical simulations to improve the understanding of the causes of CCV. Nek5000, a leading high-order spectral element, open source code, is used to simulate the turbulent flow in the engine combustion chamber. Multicycle, wall-resolved large-eddy simulations (LESs) are performed for the General Motors (GM), Transparent Combustion Chamber (TCC-III) optical engine under motored operating conditions. The mean and root-mean-square (rms) of the in-cylinder flow fields at various piston positions are validated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements during the intake and compression strokes. The large-scale flow structures, including the swirl and tumble flow patterns, are analyzed in detail and the causes for cyclic variabilities in these flow features are explained. The energy distribution across the different scales of the flow are quantified using one-dimensional (1D) energy spectra, and the effect of the tumble breakdown process on the energy distribution is examined. Finally, the insights from this study can help us develop improved engine designs with reduced cyclic variabilities in the in-cylinder flow leading to enhanced engine performance.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Development of MOSCATO: A CFD-Level Electrochemistry and Corrosion Simulator for Molten Salt Systems

For both coolant and fueled variants of molten salt reactors (MSRs), the corrosion of structural materials is a significant challenge. The corrosion stems from chemical and electrochemical reactions initiated by fissile material, fission products, and impurities in the salt. Lower-fidelity models rely on empirical correlations for mass transfer, simplified lumped temperature profiles, and similar assumptions. They do not capture detailed spatial variations in complex geometries, creating the need for high-fidelity modeling to bridge this gap.As we approach the demonstration and possible deployment of MSRs in this decade, the development of a high-fidelity, high-performance simulator becomes imperative. To simulate the complex electrochemical environment and corrosion within molten salt systems, we have developed the Molten Salt Chemistry And TranspOrt (MOSCATO) code. This endeavor is comprised of three essential components. First, mass transfer equations are coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations in order to account for the transport of species in the salt. Second, the diffusion of alloy constituents, such as Cr, Fe, Ni, etc. is simulated within the structural metals. Third, the alloy and salt domains are coupled to account for the heterogeneous chemical and electrochemical reactions that occur at the salt-alloy interface.MOSCATO manages all three components within the framework of the highly scalable, open-source spectral element method computational fluid dynamics code Nek5000/NekRS. This integration enables MOSCATO to harness the immense computational power of modern high-performance computing resources, ensuring both high fidelity and computational speed.In addition to code development, we have initiated a comprehensive verification and validation campaign, utilizing data from diverse sources. First, MOSCATO's electrochemical solver was verified with reference numerical data. Then validation occurred against experiments: one of a thermal galvanic cell and the other for corrosion in flowing molten salt of FLiNaK (LiF-NaF-KF). This campaign verified and validated MOSCATO as a reliable tool for simulating electrochemical environments and corrosion in molten salt systems.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Implementation of a High-Fidelity Interface Resolving Method in Nek5000

The development and utilization of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for large, high-temperature electric melters in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) in eastern Washington State have proven to be valuable for various purposes. These models allow for a better understanding of the physio-chemical processes occurring within the melter vessels and can contribute to improving operational efficiency, throughput, and addressing operational issues related to vitrification. The CFD models employed for these melter vessels incorporate multiphase fluid flow and heat transfer simulations in different regions, including the plenum, cold cap, and molten glass regions. As the tank waste and glass formers are introduced into the melter, a reacting batch layer known as the cold cap forms on top of the molten glass. To enhance the melt rate, forced convection bubblers located at the bottom of the melters generate convection currents that help homogenize the molten glass and provide heat to the cold cap. As the bubbles rise through the highly viscous glass, they adopt a spherical-cap shape [1]. Meanwhile, the conversion of the batch to glass generates significant amounts of gases (such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and NOx) due to thermal decomposition [2]. These gases become trapped between the cold cap and molten glass, forming a foam layer [3]. For modeling multiphase flow in CFD and heat transfer simulations of waste glass melters at different scales, efforts are underway to augment the capabilities of the Nek5000 [4] and NekRS [5] open-source codes [6]. Nek5000/NekRS is a scalable and efficient spectral element code that has been successfully applied to a wide range of fluid dynamics problems. By leveraging the Nek5000/NekRS software, it becomes possible to model the melter systems more affordably and with lower computational requirements compared to currently utilized commercial CFD software. The specific objectives of this ongoing effort include: 1. Implementation of a level set method in Nek5000/NekRS: The level set method is a numerical technique commonly employed in CFD simulations to track and represent the interface between different phases or materials accurately. By incorporating this method into Nek5000/NekRS, the ability to simulate multiphase flows in waste glass melters at a high level of fidelity can be achieved. 2. Demonstration of capability for air bubbling through molten glass: As part of the development process, a specific case of air bubbling through molten glass will be simulated using the augmented Nek5000/NekRS code. This demonstration aims to showcase the ability of the software to accurately capture and analyze the complex phenomena involved in the multiphase flow within waste glass melters. By achieving these objectives, the improved Nek5000/NekRS code will offer a powerful computational tool for simulating and analyzing waste glass melter systems, enabling better understanding, optimization, and troubleshooting of these vitrification processes. The ability to accurately model and simulate multiphase flows has broad relevance across many industries and scientific domains, and the improved functionality can contribute to advancements in various fields beyond waste glass melter simulations.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2025

High-Fidelity CFD Simulation of Mixed Convection and Forced Convection in a Pebble Bed Test Reactor Core

The Hermes low-power [35-MW(thermal)] reactor will be built and operated by Kairos Power LLC (KP) to demonstrate its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) technology. In the KP FHR, the reactor core is composed of randomly packed pebbles with TRISO fuel particles inside with FLiBe flow upward through the core acting as a coolant. Previous numerical and experimental studies have been limited to either a small-size bed or to a lack of detailed measurements for heat transfer. Here, to address the lack of high-fidelity heat transfer data in a real-size FHR core, in this study, we simulated a pebble bed core with 34 374 pebbles randomly packed, similar to the Hermes reactor's size. The core radius was 14 times that of the pebble diameter, while the core height was 45 times. In this work, we were particularly interested in a mixed convection regime, where buoyancy is important. Therefore, we performed several large-eddy simulations at different Reynolds numbers (160 to 1000) with gravitational force included. The spectral element computational fluid dynamics code NekRS with graphics processing unit acceleration was used for this study. The low-Mach number approximation was applied to address property changes in the FLiBe and to account for buoyancy. A pure hexahedral mesh with 60 million elements was generated by the Voronoi cell method. At the polynomial order of 5, the total degrees of freedom was 7.5 billion. The developed case in this work is the first of its kind in terms of size and complexity. The local numerical data across the domain were obtained and compared with empirical correlations. After examining the data, we found the following conclusions. For pressure drop, the Reger correlation predicted less than a 5% error. On the other hand, for heat transfer, the Wakao correlation outperformed the others. Based on our findings, we recommend the use of the Wakao correlation for the Nusselt number calculation, and for pressure drop, the KTA (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss) correclation, among the available experimental correlations. In conclusion, the Reger direct numerical simulation-driven correlation for pressure drops should also be considered, given its best agreement with our calculations.

Mixed Convection↗

NASA NTRS1999

Multi-Gas Sensor

A multi-gas sensor is provided which modulates a polarized light beam over a broadband of wavelengths between two alternating orthogonal polarization components. The two orthogonal polarization components of the polarization modulated beam are directed along two distinct optical paths. At least one optical path contains one or more spectral discrimination element, with each spectral discrimination element having spectral absorption features of one or more gases of interest being measured. The two optical paths then intersect, and one orthogonal component of the intersected components is transmitted and the other orthogonal component is reflected. The combined polarization modulated beam is partitioned into one or more smaller spectral regions of interest where one or more gases of interest has an absorption band. The difference in intensity between the two orthogonal polarization components is then determined in each partitioned spectral region of interest as an indication of the spectral emission/absorption of the light beam by the gases of interest in the measurement path. The spectral emission/absorption is indicative of the concentration of the one or more gases of interest in the measurement path. More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention is a gas filter correlation radiometer which comprises a polarizer, a polarization modulator, a polarization beam splitter, a beam combiner, wavelength partitioning element, and detection element. The gases of interest are measured simultaneously and, further, can be measured independently or non-independently. Furthermore, optical or electronic element are provided to balance optical intensities between the two optical paths.

Sachse, Glenn W.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Method for Balancing Detector Output to a Desired Level of Balance at a Frequency

A multi-gas sensor is provided which modulates a polarized light beam over a broadband of wavelengths between two alternating orthogonal polarization components. The two orthogonal polarization components of the polarization modulated beam are directed along two distinct optical paths. At least one optical path contains one or more spectral discrimination elements, with each spectral discrimination element having spectral absorption features of one or more gases of interest being measured. The two optical paths then intersect, and one orthogonal component of the intersected components is transmitted and the other orthogonal component is reflected. The combined polarization modulated beam is partitioned into one or more smaller spectral regions of interest where one or more gases of interest has an absorption band. The difference in intensity between the two orthogonal polarization components is then determined in each partitioned spectral region of interest as an indication of the spectral emission/absorption of the light beam by the gases of interest in the measurement path. The spectral emission/absorption is indicative of the concentration of the one or more gases of interest in the measurement path. More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention is a gas filter correlation radiometer which comprises a polarizer, a polarization modulator, a polarization beam splitter, a beam combiner, wavelength partitioning element, and detection element. The gases of interest are measured simultaneously and, further, can be measured independently or non-independently. Furthermore, optical or electronic element are provided to balance optical intensities between the two optical paths.

Sachse, Glenn W.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Spectrally Stabilized Interface Capturing Formulation and Implementation in Nek5000/NekRS

This report documents the formulation of a novel level-set method for incompressible two-phase flows in the continuous Galerkin (CG) high order spectral element framework. The overall method hinges on a novel implementation of the spectral vanishing viscosity (SVV) operator for the stabilization of linear/non-linear hyperbolic problems. The multidimensional SVV convolution kernels, which in essence, have a similar effect as a high pass filter applied to the derivatives, are formulated by exploiting the tensor product form, analogous to the construction of the usual stiffness matrix system. The resulting kernels are directionally decoupled and ensure a linear, symmetric positive definite, elliptic matrix operator. The SVV formulation is demonstrated to provide a robust stabilizing mechanism through challenging linear and non-linear hyperbolic problems, including problems pertinent to the level-set formulation. The two-phase framework conceptualized herein is based on the conservative level-set (CLS) method which represents the interface between the fluids by the 0.5 iso-contour of the smoothed Heaviside function. The CLS method is augmented with a preconditioning procedure for interface normals using the signed distance function which precludes the manifestation of spurious oscillations in the vicinty of the interface. Further, the existing mixed explicit-implicit approach for the solution of Navier-Stokes equations in Nek5000, as described in Tomboulides et al, is augmented with a pressure coefficient splitting approach for the Poisson equation, which greatly accelerated the convergence of pressure solver for two-phase systems with large density ratio. The robustness and accuracy of the overall two-phase method is demonstrated through canonical challenging problems involving high density and viscosity ratios, with and without surface tension. The two-phase formulation is wholly implemented in Nek5000 and the SVV stabilization method is implemented in NekRS, which is the essential precursor to the two-phase framework, undergoing active development.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Islet: interpolation semi-Lagrangian element-based transport

Abstract. Advection of trace species, or tracers, also called tracer transport, in models of the atmosphere and other physical domains is an important and potentially computationally expensive part of a model's dynamical core. Semi-Lagrangian (SL) advection methods are efficient because they permit a time step much larger than the advective stability limit for explicit Eulerian methods without requiring the solution of a globally coupled system of equations as implicit Eulerian methods do. Thus, to reduce the computational expense of tracer transport, dynamical cores often use SL methods to advect tracers. The class of interpolation semi-Lagrangian (ISL) methods contains potentially extremely efficient SL methods. We describe a finite-element ISL transport method that we call the interpolation semi-Lagrangian element-based transport (Islet) method, such as for use with atmosphere models discretized using the spectral element method. The Islet method uses three grids that share an element grid: a dynamics grid supporting, for example, the Gauss–Legendre–Lobatto basis of degree three; a physics parameterizations grid with a configurable number of finite-volume subcells per element; and a tracer grid supporting use of Islet bases with particular basis again configurable. This method provides extremely accurate tracer transport and excellent diagnostic values in a number of verification problems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2018

Robust Metric-Aligned Quad-Dominant Meshing Using L(sub p) Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation

We introduce a meshing algorithm that can be used to both generate and adapt meshes for bounded domains in an anisotropic manner. This is particularly beneficial when anisotropic flow features like shock waves or contact discontinuities are present in the computational domain. The algorithm presented in this paper is based upon meshing under the imposed Riemannian metric tensor, which controls the orientation and size of the mesh elements. In this way there is no need for user intervention to recognize these features. We demonstrate that the method indeed aligns the elements with the underlying metric and produces right-angled simplices that can be recombined into quadrilateral elements. The aim is to eventually incorporate this meshing strategy in the monolithic high-order spectral element solver that is currently being developed at NASA Ames. This paper has two main contributions: First, we demonstrate that we can generate quad-dominant metric-aligned meshes for bounded domains using a generalized form of L(sub p)-Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation (L(sub p)-CVT). Unlike previous works, we do not rely on a background mesh and discretize the bounded domain in a hierarchical way by first discretizing the boundaries and then the volume using the underlying metric. Second, we present an alternative for clipping the Voronoi cells on the boundary, which is common practice in CVT-based meshing algorithms, by reconstructing the Voronoi cells using the defined metric field. In this way we avoid the geometrical complexity of the clipping procedure and we show that we evaluate the energy and its gradient correctly. We show that the reconstruction of the computational domain is consistent with the Lloyds’ algorithm that is used to compute the L(sub p)-CVT.

Centroidal↗

NASA NTRS2017

Multispectral Snapshot Imagers Onboard Small Satellite Formations for Multi-Angular Remote Sensing

Multispectral snapshot imagers are capable of producing 2D spatial images with a single exposure at selected, numerous wavelengths using the same camera, therefore operate differently from push broom or whiskbroom imagers. They are payloads of choice in multi-angular, multi-spectral imaging missions that use small satellites flying in controlled formation, to retrieve Earth science measurements dependent on the targets Bidirectional Reflectance-Distribution Function (BRDF). Narrow fields of view are needed to capture images with moderate spatial resolution. This paper quantifies the dependencies of the imagers optical system, spectral elements and camera on the requirements of the formation mission and their impact on performance metrics such as spectral range, swath and signal to noise ratio (SNR). All variables and metrics have been generated from a comprehensive, payload design tool. The baseline optical parameters selected (diameter 7 cm, focal length 10.5 cm, pixel size 20 micron, field of view 1.15 deg) and snapshot imaging technologies are available. The spectral components shortlisted were waveguide spectrometers, acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTF), electronically actuated Fabry-Perot interferometers, and integral field spectrographs. Qualitative evaluation favored AOTFs because of their low weight, small size, and flight heritage. Quantitative analysis showed that waveguide spectrometers perform better in terms of achievable swath (10-90 km) and SNR (greater than 20) for 86 wavebands, but the data volume generated will need very high bandwidth communication to downlink. AOTFs meet the external data volume caps well as the minimum spectral (wavebands) and radiometric (SNR) requirements, therefore are found to be currently feasible in spite of lower swath and SNR.

Nag, Sreeja↗

NASA NTRS2003

Aircraft Engine Noise Scattering by Fuselage and Wings: A Computational Approach

The paper presents a time-domain method for computation of sound radiation from aircraft engine sources to the far field. The effects of non-uniform flow around the aircraft and scattering of sound by fuselage and wings are accounted for in the formulation. The approach is based on the discretization of the inviscid flow equations through a collocation form of the discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method. An isoparametric representation of the underlying geometry is used in order to take full advantage of the spectral accuracy of the method. Large-scale computations are made possible by a parallel implementation based on message passing. Results obtained for radiation from an axisymmetric nacelle alone are compared with those obtained when the same nacelle is installed in a generic configuration, with and without a wing. 0 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Farassat, F.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Aircraft Engine Noise Scattering by Fuselage and Wings: A Computational Approach

Stanescu, D.↗

DOE OSTI2021

CARDINAL

Cardinal is a code that automates the workflow for iteratively solving neutral particle transport via the OpenMC code and computational fluid dynamics via the NekRS code within the Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE), a finite element framework for solving general partial differential equations. Cardinal establishes a mapping between the Monte Carlo geometry representation used in OpenMC and the spectral element mesh used in NekRS to other physics applications built upon the MOOSE framework, allowing high-resolution particle transport and fluid dynamics physics feedback to the MOOSE application ecosystem. Heat generation rates as solved by OpenMC are used as heat sources in MOOSE, while the temperature and density fields from NekRS are used as conjugate heat transfer boundary conditions and/or source fields in MOOSE. OpenMC, Nek5000, and MOOSE are open source, community-developed simulation codes.

NOVAK, APRILJEAN RODGERS↗