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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 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Numerical simulation of linear fiction welding (LFW) processes

Solid state welding processes are becoming increasingly important due to a large number of advantages related to joining ''unweldable'' materials and in particular light weight alloys. Linear friction welding (LFW) has been used successfully to bond non-axisymmetric components of a range of materials including titanium alloys, steels, aluminum alloys, nickel, copper, and also dissimilar material combinations. The technique is useful in the research of quality of the joints and in reducing costs of components and parts of the aeronautic and automotive industries.LFW involves parts to be welded through the relative reciprocating motion of two components under an axial force. In such process the heat source is given by the frictional forces work decaying into heat determining a local softening of the material and proper bonding conditions due to both the temperature increase and the local pressure of the two edges to be welded. This paper is a comparative test between the numerical model in two dimensions, i.e. in plane strain conditions, and in three dimensions of a LFW process of AISI1045 steel specimens. It must be observed that the 3D model assures a faithful simulation of the actual threedimensional material flow, even if the two-dimensional simulation computational times are very short, a few hours instead of several ones as the 3D model. The obtained results were compared with experimental values found out in the scientific literature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Optimization of Design and Manufacturing Process of Metal Foam Filled Anti-Intrusion Bars

The role of an anti-intrusion bar for automotive use is to absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding bodies that is partially converted into internal work of the bodies involved in the crash. The aim of this paper is to investigate the performances of a new kind of anti-intrusion bars for automotive use, filled with metallic foams. The reason for using a cellular material as a filler deals with its capacity to absorb energy during plastic deformation, while being lightweight. The study is the evolution of a previous paper presented by the authors at Esaform 2010 and will present new results and findings. It is conducted by evaluating some key technical issues of the manufacturing problem and by conducting experimental and numerical analyses. The evaluation of materials and shapes of the closed sections to be filled is made in the perspective of a car manufacturer (production costs, weight reduction, space availability in a car door, etc.). Experimentally, foams are produced starting from an industrial aluminium precursor with a TiH{sub 2} blowing agent. Bars are tested in three point bending, in order to evaluate their performances in terms of force-displacement response and other specific performance parameters. In order to understand the role of interface between the inner surface of the tube and the external surface of the foam, different kinds of interface are tested.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Calibration of higher eigenmodes of cantilevers

A method is presented for calibrating the higher eigenmodes (resonant modes) of atomic force microscopy cantilevers that can be performed prior to any tip-sample interaction. The method leverages recent efforts in accurately calibrating the first eigenmode by providing the higher-mode stiffness as a ratio to the first mode stiffness. A one-time calibration routine must be performed for every cantilever type to determine a power-law relationship between stiffness and frequency, which is then stored for future use on similar cantilevers. Then, future calibrations only require a measurement of the ratio of resonant frequencies and the stiffness of the first mode. This method is verified through stiffness measurements using three independent approaches: interferometric measurement, AC approach-curve calibration, and finite element analysis simulation. Power-law values for calibrating higher-mode stiffnesses are reported for several cantilever models. Once the higher-mode stiffnesses are known, the amplitude of each mode can also be calibrated from the thermal spectrum by application of the equipartition theorem.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2011

Uncertainty Analysis on the Design of Thermal Conductivity Measurement by a Guarded Cut-Bar Technique

A technique adapted from the guarded-comparative-longitudinal heat flow method was selected for the measurement of the thermal conductivity of a nuclear fuel compact over a temperature range characteristic of its usage. This technique fulfills the requirement for non-destructive measurement of the composite compact. Although numerous measurement systems have been created based on the guarded comparative method, comprehensive systematic (bias) and measurement (precision) uncertainty associated with this technique have not been fully analyzed. Using finite element modeling, this paper presents the study of two types of error sources in the thermal conductivity measurement process: sample and system geometries and working conditions. The results and conclusions provide valuable reference for designing and operating an experimental measurement system using this technique.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Low-Rank Multigrid Method for the Stochastic Steady-State Diffusion Problem

We study a multigrid method for solving large linear systems of equations with tensor product structure here. Such systems are obtained from stochastic finite element discretization of stochastic partial differential equations such as the steady-state diffusion problem with random coefficients. When the variance in the problem is not too large, the solution can be well approximated by a low-rank object. In the proposed multigrid algorithm, the matrix iterates are truncated to low rank to reduce memory requirements and computational effort. The technique is proved convergent with an analytic error bound. Numerical experiments show its effectiveness in solving the Galerkin systems compared to the original multigrid solver, especially when the number of degrees of freedom associated with the spatial discretization is large.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Measurement of Young's modulus of GaAs nanowires growing obliquely on a substrate

A convenient and fast method for measuring Young's modulus of semiconductor nanowires obliquely standing on the growth substrate is presented. In this method, the nanowire is elastically bent under the force exerted by the probe of an atomic-force microscope, and the load-unload dependences for the bending of the probe cantilever are recorded. Next, these curves are used to find the bending stiffness of the tilted nanowires, after which, taking into account the nanowire dimensions, Young's modulus is obtained. The implementation of this method is demonstrated for tilted GaAs nanowires growing on a GaAs (111) substrate. Young's modulus is determined by applying finite-element analysis to the problem of the stationary elastic bending of a nanowire taking into account the actual nanowire shape and faceting. It proves that a fairly accurate estimate of Young's modulus can be obtained even if the nanowire shape is approximated by a circular cylinder with a single cross-sectional area. The values of Young's modulus obtained for GaAs nanowires of cubic lattice symmetry are 2 to 3 times smaller than its value for bulk GaAs. This difference is attributed to the presence of stacking faults in the central part of the nanowires.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Advancement of Functional Expansion Tallies Capabilities in Serpent 2

The need for accident tolerant fuels (ATFs) became self-evident after the series of unfortunate nuclear events at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011. Restarting the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at INL is one component in this concerted effort to establish the ATF development and testing program under the United States Department of Energy. Prior to the closure of TREAT in 1994, each experiment required multiple low-power calibration tests before and after each run. Since then, computing advancements have set computer-based modeling and simulation (M and S) as the preferred calibration method. The anticipated savings are both temporal and monetary. MAMMOTH, a collection of M and S tools built from the finite element-based MOOSE Framework, has been established to support the designed experiments intended for TREAT. This collection of tools includes: 1) Rattlesnake, a striking diffusion-based neutronics code, 2) BISON, an advanced materials and fuels performance code, and 3) RELAP-7, a powerful thermal-hydraulics solver. Each is capable of independently performing its function accurately and effectively; unified, they create a powerful multiphysics reactor core M and S application. One unfortunate weakness in this configuration lies in the unique geometry and design of TREAT's core. Although simple to model, this poses a challenge to the diffusion solver in Rattlesnake. One alternative is to replace Rattlesnake with Serpent, a fully-fledged Monte Carlo (MC) neutronics code. Coincidentally, Rattlesnake calculations are frequently validated against Serpent simulations.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Development of a Crush and Mix Machine for Composite Brick Fabrication

Currently, people are more and more concerned about the environmental protection. Municipal solid wastes (MSW) have bad effect on the environment and also human health. In addition, the amounts of municipal solid wastes are increasing due to the economic development, density of population, especially in the developing countries and they are recycled in a little percentage. To address this problem, the composite brick forming machine was designed and developed to make brick using combination of MSW and mortar. The machine consists of two independent parts, crusher and mixer part, and molding part. This paper explores the design of crusher and mixer part. The crusher has ability to cut MSW such as wood, paper and plastic into small size. There are two mixers; one is used for making mortar and other use for making slurry. FEA analyses were carried out to address the suitable strength of the critical parts of the crusher which ensures that crusher can run properly with high efficiency. The experimentation of the crusher shows that it has high performance for cutting MSW. The mixers also work very well in high efficiency. The results of composite brick testing have been shown that ability of the machine can performance well. This is the innovation of crush and mix machine which is portable and economic by using MSW in replacement of sand.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2013

A 2.5D boundary element formulation for modeling damped waves in arbitrary cross-section waveguides and cavities

Highlights: •Dispersive properties of viscoelastic waveguides and cavities are computed using a regularized 2.5D BEM. •Linear viscoelasticity is introduced at the constitutive level by means of frequency dependent complex moduli. •A contour integral algorithm is used to solve the nonlinear eigenvalue problem. •The Sommerfeld radiation condition is used to select the permissible Riemann sheets. •Attenuation of surface waves in cavities approaches the attenuation of Rayleigh waves. -- Abstract: A regularized 2.5D boundary element method (BEM) is proposed to predict the dispersion properties of damped stress guided waves in waveguides and cavities of arbitrary cross-section. The wave attenuation, induced by material damping, is introduced using linear viscoelastic constitutive relations and described in a spatial manner by the imaginary component of the axial wavenumber. The discretized dispersive wave equation results in a nonlinear eigenvalue problem, which is solved obtaining complex axial wavenumbers for a fixed frequency using a contour integral algorithm. Due to the singular characteristics and the multivalued feature of the wave equation, the requirement of holomorphicity inside the contour region over the complex wavenumber plane is fulfilled by the introduction of the Sommerfeld branch cuts and by the choice of the permissible Riemann sheets. A post processing analysis is developed for the extraction of the energy velocity of propagative guided waves. The reliability of the method is demonstrated by comparing the results obtained for a rail and a bar with square cross-section with those obtained from a 2.5D Finite Element formulation also known in literature as Semi Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) method. Next, to show the potential of the proposed numerical framework, dispersion properties are predicted for surface waves propagating along cylindrical cavities of arbitrary cross-section. It is demonstrated that the attenuation of surface waves approaches asymptotically the attenuation of Rayleigh waves.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Predicting Stress vs. Strain Behaviors of Thin-Walled High Pressure Die Cast Magnesium Alloy with Actual Pore Distribution

In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) microstructure-based finite element modeling method (i.e., extrinsic modeling method) is developed, which can be used in examining the effects of porosity on the ductility/fracture of Mg castings. For this purpose, AM60 Mg tensile samples were generated under high-pressure die-casting in a specially-designed mold. Before the tensile test, the samples were CT-scanned to obtain the pore distributions within the samples. 3D microstructure-based finite element models were then developed based on the obtained actual pore distributions of the gauge area. The input properties for the matrix material were determined by fitting the simulation result to the experimental result of a selected sample, and then used for all the other samples’ simulation. The results show that the ductility and fracture locations predicted from simulations agree well with the experimental results. This indicates that the developed 3D extrinsic modeling method may be used to examine the influence of various aspects of pore sizes/distributions as well as intrinsic properties (i.e., matrix properties) on the ductility/fracture of Mg castings.

Ductility↗
DOE OSTI2016

Finite element model for brittle fracture and fragmentation

A new computational model for brittle fracture and fragmentation has been developed based on finite element analysis of non-linear elasticity equations. The proposed model propagates the cracks by splitting the mesh nodes alongside the most over-strained edges based on the principal direction of strain tensor. To prevent elements from overlapping and folding under large deformations, robust geometrical constraints using the method of Lagrange multipliers have been incorporated. In conclusion, the model has been applied to 2D simulations of the formation and propagation of cracks in brittle materials, and the fracture and fragmentation of stretched and compressed materials.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2011

Superplastic Forming of Duplex Stainless Steel for Aerospace Part

In this study, the high temperature forming behavior of duplex stainless steel has been characterized and the outer shell of a combustion chamber was fabricated with pressure difference of hot gas. It consists of two parts which are the outer skin made of stainless steel to sustain the internal pressure and the inner shell made of copper alloy for regenerative cooling channels. Two outer skins partitioned to half with respect to the symmetric axis was prepared by hot gas forming process with a maximum pressure of 7 MPa following to FEM analysis. For inner layer, copper alloy was machined for cooling channels and then placed in the gas pressure welding fixture. It is shown that the optimum condition of gas pressure welding is 7 MPa at 890 deg. C, for one hour. EDX analysis and scanning electron microscope micrograph confirm the atomic diffusion process is observed at the interface and copper atoms diffuse into steel, while iron and chrome atoms diffuse into copper. The result shows that the manufacturing method with superplastic forming and gas pressure welding of steel and copper alloy has been successful for near net shape manufacturing of scaled combustion chamber of launch vehicle.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A matrix-free approach for finite-strain hyperelastic problems using geometric multigrid

This paper investigates matrix-free algorithms for problems in quasi-static finite-strain hyperelasticity. Iterative solvers with matrix-free operator evaluation have emerged as an attractive alternative to sparse matrices in the fluid dynamics and wave propagation communities because they significantly reduce the memory traffic, the limiting factor in classical finite element solvers. Specifically, we study different matrix-free realizations of the finite element tangent operator and determine whether generalized methods of incorporating complex constitutive behavior might be feasible. Furthermore, in order to improve the convergence behavior of iterative solvers, we also propose a method by which to construct level tangent operators and employ them to define a geometric multigrid preconditioner. Additionally, the performance of the matrix-free operator and the geometric multigrid preconditioner is compared to the matrix-based implementation with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) preconditioner on a single node for a representative numerical example of a heterogeneous hyperelastic material in two and three dimensions. We find that matrix-free methods for finite-strain solid mechanics are very promising, outperforming linear matrix-based schemes by two to five times, and that it is possible to develop numerically efficient implementations that are independent of the hyperelastic constitutive law.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Bi-directional evolutionary optimization for photonic band gap structures

Toward an efficient and easy-implement optimization for photonic band gap structures, this paper extends the bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) method for maximizing photonic band gaps. Photonic crystals are assumed to be periodically composed of two dielectric materials with the different permittivity. Based on the finite element analysis and sensitivity analysis, BESO starts from a simple initial design without any band gap and gradually re-distributes dielectric materials within the unit cell so that the resulting photonic crystal possesses a maximum band gap between two specified adjacent bands. Numerical examples demonstrated the proposed optimization algorithm can successfully obtain the band gaps from the first to the tenth band for both transverse magnetic and electric polarizations. Some optimized photonic crystals exhibit novel patterns markedly different from traditional designs of photonic crystals.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electrode size and boundary condition independent measurement of the effective piezoelectric coefficient of thin films

The determination of the piezoelectric coefficient of thin films using interferometry is hindered by bending contributions. Using finite element analysis (FEA) simulations, we show that the Lefki and Dormans approximations using either single or double-beam measurements cannot be used with finite top electrode sizes. We introduce a novel method for characterising piezoelectric thin films which uses a differential measurement over the discontinuity at the electrode edge as an internal reference, thereby eliminating bending contributions. This step height is shown to be electrode size and boundary condition independent. An analytical expression is derived which gives good agreement with FEA predictions of the step height.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2010

Long Fibre Composite Modelling Using Cohesive User's Element

The development glass matrix composites reinforced by unidirectional long ceramic fibre has resulted in a family of very perspective structural materials. The only disadvantage of such materials is relatively high brittleness at room temperature. The main micromechanisms acting as toughening mechanism are the pull out, crack bridging, matrix cracking. There are other mechanisms as crack deflection etc. but the primer mechanism is mentioned pull out which is governed by interface between fibre and matrix. The contribution shows a way how to predict and/or optimise mechanical behaviour of composite by application of cohesive zone method and write user's cohesive element into the FEM numerical package Abaqus. The presented results from numerical calculations are compared with experimental data. Crack extension is simulated by means of element extinction algorithms. The principal effort is concentrated on the application of the cohesive zone model with the special traction separation (bridging) law and on the cohesive zone modelling. Determination of micro-mechanical parameters is based on the combination of static tests, microscopic observations and numerical calibration procedures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Second-Order Invariant Domain Preserving ALE Approximation of Euler Equations

Abstract An invariant domain preserving arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method for solving non-linear hyperbolic systems is developed. The numerical scheme is explicit in time and the approximation in space is done with continuous finite elements. The method is made invariant domain preserving for the Euler equations using convex limiting and is tested on various benchmarks.

Guermond, Jean-Luc↗
DOE OSTI2011

Experimental and Numerical Analysis on the Distortion of Parts Made of 20MnCr5 by Hot Metal Forming

For high performance applications, shafts and gears made of 20MnCr5 (AISI 5120) are manufactured in large numbers every year. Inhomogeneities in the material properties, process perturbations and asymmetries in shape and operation setups provide a potential for the distortion of parts, often released by heat treatment. In this contribution experimental results on the distortion of shafts and the dishing of disk-like gear wheel blanks are presented. The numerical analysis of the hot-rolling process allowed to trace a peculiar segregation distribution at the cross-section of the bars back to the casting process, and to identify an asymmetric strain distribution which may be the main cause for shaft distortion. For the dishing of the disks a correlation to the resulting distribution of the material flow was found and, a process perturbation parameter identified which is assumed to be responsible for the observed material flow variation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗