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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 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Validation of Design and Analysis Techniques of Tailored Composite Structures

Aeroelasticity is the relationship between the elasticity of an aircraft structure and its aerodynamics. This relationship can cause instabilities such as flutter in a wing. Engineers have long studied aeroelasticity to ensure such instabilities do not become a problem within normal operating conditions. In recent decades structural tailoring has been used to take advantage of aeroelasticity. It is possible to tailor an aircraft structure to respond favorably to multiple different flight regimes such as takeoff, landing, cruise, 2-g pull up, etc. Structures can be designed so that these responses provide an aerodynamic advantage. This research investigates the ability to design and analyze tailored structures made from filamentary composites. Specifically the accuracy of tailored composite analysis must be verified if this design technique is to become feasible. To pursue this idea, a validation experiment has been performed on a small-scale filamentary composite wing box. The box is tailored such that its cover panels induce a global bend-twist coupling under an applied load. Two types of analysis were chosen for the experiment. The first is a closed form analysis based on a theoretical model of a single cell tailored box beam and the second is a finite element analysis. The predicted results are compared with the measured data to validate the analyses. The comparison of results show that the finite element analysis is capable of predicting displacements and strains to within 10% on the small-scale structure. The closed form code is consistently able to predict the wing box bending to 25% of the measured value. This error is expected due to simplifying assumptions in the closed form analysis. Differences between the closed form code representation and the wing box specimen caused large errors in the twist prediction. The closed form analysis prediction of twist has not been validated from this test.

Jegley, Dawn C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Atmospheric Structure of Triton and Pluto

The goal of this research was to better determine the atmospheric structures of Triton and Pluto through further analysis of three occultation data sets obtained with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO.) As the research progressed, we concentrated our efforts on the Triton data, as this appeared to be the most fruitful. Three papers have been prepared as a result of this research. The first paper presents new results about Triton's atmospheric structure from the analysis of all ground-based stellar occultation data recorded to date, including one single-chord occultation recorded on 1993 July 10 and nine occultation lightcurves from the double-star event on 1995 August 14. These stellar occultation observations made both in the visible and in the infrared have good spatial coverage of Triton, including the first Triton central-flash observations, and are the first data to probe the altitude level 20-100 km on Triton. The small-planet lightcurve model of J. L. Elliot and L. A. Young was generalized to include stellar flux refracted by the far limb, and then fitted to the data. Values of the pressure, derived from separate immersion and emersion chords, show no significant trends with latitude, indicating that Triton's atmosphere is spherically symmetric at approximately 50 km altitude to within the error of the measurements; however, asymmetry observed in the central flash indicates the atmosphere is not homogenous at the lowest levels probed (approximately 20 km altitude). From the average of the 1995 occultation data, the equivalent isothermal temperature of the atmosphere is 47 plus or minus 1 K and the atmospheric pressure at 1400 km radius (approximately 50 km altitude) is 1.4 plus or minus 0.1 microbar. Both of these are not consistent with a model based on Voyager UVS and RSS observations in 1989. The atmospheric temperature from the occultation is 5 K colder than that predicted by the model and the observed pressure is a factor of 1.8 greater than the model. In our opinion, the disagreement in temperature and pressure is probably due to modeling problems at the microbar level, since measurements at this level have not previously been made. Alternatively, the difference could be due to seasonal change in Triton's atmospheric structure. The second paper reports observations of a recent stellar occultation by Triton which, when combined with earlier results, show that Triton has undergone a period of global warming since 1989. The most conservative estimates of the rate of temperature and surface-pressure increase during this period imply that the atmosphere is doubling in bulk every 10 years -- significantly faster than predicted by published frost model for Triton. Our results suggests that permanent polar caps on Triton play a dominant role in regulating seasonal atmospheric changes. Similar processes should also be active on Pluto. A third paper 'Global Warming on Triton' will appear in a the January 1999 issue of Sky and Telescope.

Elliot, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A hierarchical structure for automatic meshing and adaptive FEM analysis

A new algorithm for generating automatically, from solid models of mechanical parts, finite element meshes that are organized as spatially addressable quaternary trees (for 2-D work) or octal trees (for 3-D work) is discussed. Because such meshes are inherently hierarchical as well as spatially addressable, they permit efficient substructuring techniques to be used for both global analysis and incremental remeshing and reanalysis. The global and incremental techniques are summarized and some results from an experimental closed loop 2-D system in which meshing, analysis, error evaluation, and remeshing and reanalysis are done automatically and adaptively are presented. The implementation of 3-D work is briefly discussed.

Kela, Ajay↗
DOE OSTI2021

Phase-curve Pollution of Exoplanet Transmission Spectra

The occurrence of a planet transiting in front of its host star offers the opportunity to observe the planet’s atmosphere filtering starlight. The fraction of occulted stellar flux is roughly proportional to the optically thick area of the planet, the extent of which depends on the opacity of the planet’s gaseous envelope at the observed wavelengths. Chemical species, haze, and clouds are now routinely detected in exoplanet atmospheres through rather small features in transmission spectra, i.e., collections of planet-to-star area ratios across multiple spectral bins and/or photometric bands. Technological advances have led to a shrinking of the error bars down to a few tens of parts per million (ppm) per spectral point for the brightest targets. The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is anticipated to deliver transmission spectra with precision down to 10 ppm. The increasing precision of measurements requires a reassessment of the approximations hitherto adopted in astrophysical models, including transit light-curve models. Recently, it has been shown that neglecting the planet’s thermal emission can introduce significant biases in the transit depth measured with the JWST/Mid-InfraRed Instrument, integrated between 5 and 12 μm. In this paper, we take a step forward by analyzing the effects of the approximation on transmission spectra over the 0.6–12 μm wavelength range covered by various JWST instruments. We present open-source software to predict the spectral bias, showing that, if not corrected, it may affect the inferred molecular abundances and thermal structure of some exoplanet atmospheres.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Moving closer to experimental level materials property prediction using AI

Abstract While experiments and DFT-computations have been the primary means for understanding the chemical and physical properties of crystalline materials, experiments are expensive and DFT-computations are time-consuming and have significant discrepancies against experiments. Currently, predictive modeling based on DFT-computations have provided a rapid screening method for materials candidates for further DFT-computations and experiments; however, such models inherit the large discrepancies from the DFT-based training data. Here, we demonstrate how AI can be leveraged together with DFT to compute materials properties more accurately than DFT itself by focusing on the critical materials science task of predicting “formation energy of a material given its structure and composition”. On an experimental hold-out test set containing 137 entries, AI can predict formation energy from materials structure and composition with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.064 eV/atom; comparing this against DFT-computations, we find that AI can significantly outperform DFT computations for the same task (discrepancies of $$>0.076$$ > 0.076 eV/atom) for the first time.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Flexible, integrated modeling of tokamak stability, transport, equilibrium, and pedestal physics

The STEP (Stability, Transport, Equilibrium, and Pedestal) integrated-modeling tool has been developed in OMFIT to predict stable, tokamak equilibria self-consistently with core-transport and pedestal calculations. STEP couples theory-based codes to integrate a variety of physics, including magnetohydrodynamic stability, transport, equilibrium, pedestal formation, and current-drive, heating, and fueling. The input/output of each code is interfaced with a centralized ITER-Integrated Modelling & Analysis Suite data structure, allowing codes to be run in any order and enabling open-loop, feedback, and optimization workflows. This paradigm simplifies the integration of new codes, making STEP highly extensible. STEP has been verified against a published benchmark of six different integrated models. Core-pedestal calculations with STEP have been successfully validated against individual DIII-D H-mode discharges and across more than 500 discharges of the H98,y2 database, with a mean error in confinement time from experiment less than 19%. STEP has also reproduced results in less conventional DIII-D scenarios, including negative-central-shear and negative-triangularity plasmas. Predictive STEP modeling has been used to assess performance in several tokamak reactors. Simulations of a high-field, large-aspect-ratio reactor show significantly lower fusion power than predicted by a zero-dimensional study, demonstrating the limitations of scaling-law extrapolations. STEP predictions have found promising scenarios for an EXhaust and Confinement Integration Tokamak Experiment, including a high-pressure, 80%-bootstrap-fraction plasma. ITER modeling with STEP has shown that pellet fueling enhances fusion gain in both the baseline and advanced-inductive scenarios. Finally, STEP predictions for the SPARC baseline scenario are in good agreement with published results from the physics basis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multichannel deconvolution of vibrational signals: A state-space inverse filtering approach

Deconvolution of noisy measurements, especially when they are multichannel, has always been a challenging problem. The processing techniques developed range from simple Fourier methods to more sophisticated model-based parametric methodologies based on the underlying acoustics of the problem at hand. Methods relying on multichannel mean-squared error processors (Wiener filters) have evolved over long periods from the seminal efforts in seismic processing. However, when more is known about the acoustics, then model-based state-space techniques incorporating the underlying process physics can improve the processing significantly. The problems of interest are the vibrational response of tightly coupled acoustic test objects excited by an out-of-the-ordinary transient, potentially impairing their operational performance. Further, employing a multiple input/multiple output structural model of the test objects under investigation enables the development of an inverse filter by applying subspace identification techniques during initial calibration measurements. Feasibility applications based on a mass transport experiment and test object calibration test demonstrate the ability of the processor to extract the excitations successfully.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Preconditioning of Interplanetary Space Due to Transient CME Disturbances

Interplanetary space is characteristically structured mainly by high-speed solar wind streams emanating from coronal holes and transient disturbances such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While high-speed solar wind streams pose a continuous outflow, CMEs abruptly disrupt the rather steady structure, causing large deviations from the quiet solar wind conditions. For the first time, we give a quantification of the duration of disturbed conditions (preconditioning) for interplanetary space caused by CMEs. To this aim, we investigate the plasma speed component of the solar wind and the impact of in situ detected interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs), compared to different background solar wind models (ESWF, WSA, persistence model) for the time range 2011–2015. We quantify in terms of standard error measures the deviations between modeled background solar wind speed and observed solar wind speed. Using the mean absolute error, we obtain an average deviation for quiet solar activity within a range of 75.1–83.1 km s{sup −1}. Compared to this baseline level, periods within the ICME interval showed an increase of 18%–32% above the expected background, and the period of two days after the ICME displayed an increase of 9%–24%. We obtain a total duration of enhanced deviations over about three and up to six days after the ICME start, which is much longer than the average duration of an ICME disturbance itself (∼1.3 days), concluding that interplanetary space needs ∼2–5 days to recover from the impact of ICMEs. The obtained results have strong implications for studying CME propagation behavior and also for space weather forecasting.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1979

A structural model of the adaptive human pilot

A compensatory tracking model of the human pilot is offered which attempts to provide a more realistic representation of the human's signal processing structure than that which is exhibited by pilot models currently in use. Two features of the model distinguish it from other representations of the human pilot. First, proprioceptive information from the control stick or manipulator constitutes one of the major feedback paths in the model, providing feedback of vehicle output rate due to control activity. Implicit in this feedback loop is a model of the vehicle dynamics which is valid in and beyond the region of crossover. Second, error-rate information is continuously derived and independently but intermittently controlled. An output injected remnant model is offered and qualitatively justified on the basis of providing a measure of the effect of inaccuracies such as time variations in the pilot's internal model of the controlled element dynamics. The data from experimental tracking tasks involving five different controlled element dynamics and one nonideal viewing condition were matched with model generated describing functions and remnant power spectral densities.

Hess, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Tenth NASTRAN User's Colloquium

The development of the NASTRAN computer program, a general purpose finite element computer code for structural analysis, was discussed. The application and development of NASTRAN is presented in the following topics: improvements and enhancements; developments of pre and postprocessors; interactive review system; the use of harmonic expansions in magnetic field problems; improving a dynamic model with test data using Linwood; solution of axisymmetric fluid structure interaction problems; large displacements and stability analysis of nonlinear propeller structures; prediction of bead area contact load at the tire wheel interface; elastic plastic analysis of an overloaded breech ring; finite element solution of torsion and other 2-D Poisson equations; new capability for elastic aircraft airloads; usage of substructuring analysis in the get away special program; solving symmetric structures with nonsymmetric loads; evaluation and reduction of errors induced by Guyan transformation.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1983

Research on the control of large space structures

The research effort on the control of large space structures at the University of Houston has concentrated on the mathematical theory of finite-element models; identification of the mass, damping, and stiffness matrix; assignment of damping to structures; and decoupling of structure dynamics. The objective of the work has been and will continue to be the development of efficient numerical algorithms for analysis, control, and identification of large space structures. The major consideration in the development of the algorithms has been the large number of equations that must be handled by the algorithm as well as sensitivity of the algorithms to numerical errors.

Denman, E. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Dual keel space station control/structures interaction study

A study was made to determine the influence of truss bay size on the performance of the space station control system. The objective was to determine if any control problems existed during reboost and to assess the level of potential control/structures interaction during operation of the control moment gyros used for vertical stabilization. The models analyzed were detailed finite-element representations of the 5 meter and 9 foot growth versions of the 300 kW dual keel station. Results are presented comparing the performance of the reboost control system for both versions of the space station. Standards for comparison include flexible effects at the attitude control sensor locations and flexible contributions to pointing error at the solar collectors. Bode analysis results are presented for the attitude control system and control, structural, and damping sensitivities are examined.

Young, John W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Sensitivity of Space Station alpha joint robust controller to structural modal parameter variations

The photovoltaic array sun tracking control system of Space Station Freedom is described. A synthesis procedure for determining optimized values of the design variables of the control system is developed using a constrained optimization technique. The synthesis is performed to provide a given level of stability margin, to achieve the most responsive tracking performance, and to meet other design requirements. Performance of the baseline design, which is synthesized using predicted structural characteristics, is discussed and the sensitivity of the stability margin is examined for variations of the frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios of dominant structural modes. The design provides enough robustness to tolerate a sizeable error in the predicted modal parameters. A study was made of the sensitivity of performance indicators as the modal parameters of the dominant modes vary. The design variables are resynthesized for varying modal parameters in order to achieve the most responsive tracking performance while satisfying the design requirements. This procedure of reoptimization design parameters would be useful in improving the control system performance if accurate model data are provided.

Kumar, Renjith R.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Detection of the Pairwise Kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect with BOSS DR11 and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

We present a new measurement of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Using 600 square degrees of overlapping sky area, we evaluate the mean pairwise baryon momentum associated with the positions of 50,000 bright galaxies in the BOSS DR11 Large Scale Structure catalog. A non-zero signal arises from the large-scale motions of halos containing the sample galaxies. The data fits an analytical signal model well, with the optical depth to microwave photon scattering as a free parameter determining the overall signal amplitude. We estimate the covariance matrix of the mean pairwise momentum as a function of galaxy separation, using microwave sky simulations, jackknife evaluation, and bootstrap estimates. The most conservative simulation-based errors give signal-to-noise estimates between 3.6 and 4.1 for varying galaxy luminosity cuts. We discuss how the other error determinations can lead to higher signal-to-noise values, and consider the impact of several possible systematic errors. Estimates of the optical depth from the average thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal at the sample galaxy positions are broadly consistent with those obtained from the mean pairwise momentum signal.

De Bernardis, F.↗
NASA NTRS1994

HRMA calibration handbook: EKC gravity compensated XRCF models

This document, consisting of hardcopy printout of explanatory text, figures, and tables, represents one incarnation of the AXAF high resolution mirror assembly (HRMA) Calibration Handbook. However, as we have envisioned it, the handbook also consists of electronic versions of this hardcopy printout (in the form of postscript files), the individual scripts which produced the various figures and the associated input data, the model raytrace files, and all scripts, parameter files, and input data necessary to generate the raytraces. These data are all available electronically as either ASCII or FITS files. The handbook is intended to be a living document and will be updated as new information and/or fabrication data on the HRMA are obtained, or when the need for additional results are indicated. The SAO Mission Support Team (MST) is developing a high fidelity HRMA model, consisting of analytical and numerical calculations, computer software, and databases of fundamental physical constants, laboratory measurements, configuration data, finite element models, AXAF assembly data, and so on. This model serves as the basis for the simulations presented in the handbook. The 'core' of the model is the raytrace package OSAC, which we have substantially modified and now refer to as SAOsac. One major structural modification to the software has been to utilize the UNIX binary pipe data transport mechanism for passing rays between program modules. This change has made it possible to simulate rays which are distributed randomly over the entrance aperture of the telescope. It has also resulted in a highly efficient system for tracing large numbers of rays. In one application to date (the analysis of VETA-I ring focus data) we have employed 2 x 10(exp 7) rays, a substantial improvement over the limit of 1 x 10(exp 4) rays in the original OSAC module. A second major modification is the manner in which SAOsac incorporates low spatial frequency surface errors into the geometric raytrace. The original OSAC included the ability to use Legendre-Fourier polynomials to describe deviations from the basic optical prescription. To this we have added bicubic splines to address a deficiency in the handling of the sharper deformations in the areas of mirror support pads. SAO has developed software (TRANS-FIT) to translate the most common finite element analysis models into these forms for incorporation into the raytrace program.

Tananbaum, H. D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comparing Compressed and Full-Modeling analyses with FOLPS: implications for DESI 2024 and beyond

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will provide unprecedented information about the large-scale structure of our Universe. In this work, we study the robustness of the theoretical modelling of the power spectrum of F OLPS , a novel effective field theory-based package for evaluating the redshift space power spectrum in the presence of massive neutrinos. We perform this validation by fitting the AbacusSummit high-accuracy N -body simulations for Luminous Red Galaxies, Emission Line Galaxies and Quasar tracers, calibrated to describe DESI observations. We quantify the potential systematic error budget of F OLPS finding that the modelling errors are fully sub-dominant for the DESI statistical precision within the studied range of scales. Additionally, we study two complementary approaches to fit and analyse the power spectrum data, one based on direct Full-Modelling fits and the other on the ShapeFit compression variables, both resulting in very good agreement in precision and accuracy. In each of these approaches, we study a set of potential systematic errors induced by several assumptions, such as the choice of template cosmology, the effect of prior choice in the nuisance parameters of the model, or the range of scales used in the analysis. Furthermore, we show how opening up the parameter space beyond the vanilla ΛCDM model affects the DESI observables. These studies include the addition of massive neutrinos, spatial curvature, and dark energy equation of state. We also examine how relaxing the usual Cosmic Microwave Background and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis priors on the primordial spectral index and the baryonic matter abundance, respectively, impacts the inference on the rest of the parameters of interest. This paper pathways towards performing a robust and reliable analysis of the shape of the power spectrum of DESI galaxy and quasar clustering using F OLPS .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Equation of state of boron nitride combining computation, modeling, and experiment

The equation of state (EOS) of materials at warm dense conditions poses significant challenges to both theory and experiment. We report a combined computational, modeling, and experimental investigation leveraging new theoretical and experimental capabilities to investigate warm-dense boron nitride (BN). The simulation methodologies include path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC), several density functional theory (DFT) molecular dynamics methods [plane-wave pseudopotential, Fermi operator expansion (FOE), and spectral quadrature (SQ)], activity expansion (actex), and all-electron Green's function Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (mecca), and compute the pressure and internal energy of BN over a broad range of densities and temperatures. Our experiments were conducted at the Omega laser facility and the Hugoniot response of BN to unprecedented pressures (1200–2650 GPa). The EOSs computed using different methods cross validate one another in the warm-dense matter regime, and the experimental Hugoniot data are in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. By comparing the EOS results from different methods, we assess that the largest discrepancies between theoretical predictions are ≲ 4% in pressure and ≲ 3% in energy and occur at 10 6 K, slightly below the peak compression that corresponds to the K -shell ionization regime. At these conditions, we find remarkable consistency between the EOS from DFT calculations performed on different platforms and using different exchange-correlation functionals and those from PIMC using free-particle nodes. This provides strong evidence for the accuracy of both PIMC and DFT in the high-pressure, high-temperature regime. Moreover, the recently developed SQ and FOE methods produce EOS data that have significantly smaller statistical error bars than PIMC, and so represent significant advances for efficient computation at high temperatures. The shock Hugoniot predicted by PIMC, actex, and mecca shows a maximum compression ratio of 4.55 ± 0.05 for an initial density of 2.26 g/cm 3 , higher than the Thomas-Fermi predictions by about 5%. In addition, we construct tabular EOS models that are consistent with the first-principles simulations and the experimental data. Our findings clarify the ionic and electronic structure of BN over a broad range of temperatures and densities and quantify their roles in the EOS and properties of this material. The tabular models may be utilized for future simulations of laser-driven experiments that include BN as a candidate ablator material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Long-term spatial distributions and trends of the latent heat fluxes over the global cropland ecosystem using multiple satellite-based models

Estimating cropland latent heat flux (LE) from continental to global scales is vital to modeling crop production and managing water resources. Over the past several decades, numerous LE models were developed, such as the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer LE (MOD16) algorithm, revised remote sensing-based Penman–Monteith LE algorithm (RRS), the Priestley–Taylor LE algorithm of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT-JPL) and the modified satellite-based Priestley-Taylor LE algorithm (MS-PT). However, these LE models have not been directly compared over the global cropland ecosystem using various algorithms. In this study, we evaluated the performances of these four LE models using 34 eddy covariance (EC) sites. The results showed that mean annual LE for cropland varied from 33.49 to 58.97 W/m2 among the four models. The inter-annual LE slightly increased during 1982– 2009 across the global cropland ecosystem. All models had acceptable performances with the coefficient of determination (R2 ) ranging from 0.4 to 0.7 and a root mean squared error (RMSE) of approximately 35 W/m2 . MS-PT had good overall performance across the cropland ecosystem with the highest R2 , lowest RMSE and a relatively low bias. The reduced performances of MOD16 and RRS, with R2 ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 and RMSEs from 30 to 39 W/m2 , might be attributed to empirical parameters in the structure algorithms and calibrated coefficients.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗