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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Electromagnetic Simulations of Ground-Penetrating Radar Propagation near Lunar Pits and Lava Tubes

Placing an Orion capsule at the Earth-Moon L2 point (EML2) would potentially enable telerobotic operation of a rover on the lunar surface. The Human Exploration Virtual Institute (HEVI) is proposing that rover operations be carried out near one of the recently discovered lunar pits, which may provide radiation shielding for long duration human stays as well as a cross-disciplinary, science-rich target for nearer-term telerobotic exploration. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) instrumentation included onboard a rover has the potential to reveal many details of underground geologic structures near a pit, as well as characteristics of the pit itself. In the present work we employ the full-wave electromagnetic code MEEP to simulate such GPR reflections from a lunar pit and other subsurface features including lava tubes. These simulations will feed forward to mission concepts requiring knowledge of where to hide from harmful radiation and other environmental hazards such as plama charging and extreme diurnal temperatures.

Lava Tubes↗
NASA NTRS2018

Estimating a Large Phased Array Antenna Radiation Pattern by Computer Electromagnetic Simulation

The design of a conformal antenna for use on UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and other aircraft can be enhanced with computational electromagnetic modeling to determine the expected radiation patterns of the antenna when mounted on the aircraft. However, detailed simulation of the antenna structure and the aircraft together requires significant computational resources and time which may not be available. This paper details several methods for estimating the radiation pattern of a 50 by 50-element patch antenna. The Conformal Lightweight Antenna Structures for Aeronautical Communication Technologies (CLASACT) Program aims to build and test a 14.25 gigaherz (Ku-band) conformal antenna on a NASA-owned UAV. The antenna is intended for satellite communications and will enable communication between a ground station and a UAV when the separation distance is too great for line-of-sight communication. It is estimated that a 2 degree beamwidth will be necessary, requiring a 50 by 50 array of patch elements. The narrow beamwidth requirement, together with an element spacing of 0.6 lambda means that the array length will be 30 wavelengths, electrically very large. Three methods of varying complexity are described for estimating the total far-field radiation pattern. The results are shown for each method in the form of a normalized power pattern.

Mackenzie, Anne I.↗
NASA NTRS2022

PATOKA: Simulating Electromagnetic Observables of Black Hole Accretion

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has released analyses of reconstructed images of horizon-scale millimeter emission near the supermassive black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy. Parts of the analyses made use of a large library of synthetic black hole images and spectra, which were produced using numerical general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics fluid simulations and polarized ray tracing. In this article, we describe the PATOKA pipeline, which was used to generate the Illinois contribution to the EHT simulation library. We begin by describing the relevant accretion systems and radiative processes. We then describe the details of the three numerical codes we use, iharm, ipole, and igrmonty, paying particular attention to differences between the current generation of the codes and the originally published versions. Finally, we provide a brief overview of simulated data as produced by PATOKA and conclude with a discussion of limitations and future directions.

supermassive black holes↗
NASA NTRS1980

Simulation of electromagnetic aspects of lightning

Electromagnetic processes peculiar to the direct-strike case are reviewed with respect to their implications for lightning electromagnetic simulation. At low frequencies (quasistatic) there are important surface-charge-density and corona effects in addition to the surface-current-density effects. At resonant frequencies the frequency-spectral content of the excitation and properties of the arc (attachment, detachment, time history, spatial distribution, resistance, etc.) are significant. Of great complexity in all this are nonlinear aspects of the arc and corona around the system of interest. The complexity of these various processes requires rigor in the simulator design. Potential simulation concepts are presented and their relative merits are discussed.

Baum, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Electromagnetic particle simulation codes

Electromagnetic particle simulations solve the full set of Maxwell's equations. They thus include the effects of self-consistent electric and magnetic fields, magnetic induction, and electromagnetic radiation. The algorithms for an electromagnetic code which works directly with the electric and magnetic fields are described. The fields and current are separated into transverse and longitudinal components. The transverse E and B fields are integrated in time using a leapfrog scheme applied to the Fourier components. The particle pushing is performed via the relativistic Lorentz force equation for the particle momentum. As an example, simulation results are presented for the electron cyclotron maser instability which illustrate the importance of relativistic effects on the wave-particle resonance condition and on wave dispersion.

Pritchett, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1970

The Darwin model as a tool for electromagnetic plasma simulation

The Darwin model of electromagnetic interaction is presented as a self-consistent theory, and is shown to be an excellent approximation to the Maxwell theory for slow electromagnetic waves. Since the fast waves of the Maxwell theory are absent, it is convenient for use in the computer simulation of the electromagnetic dynamics of nonrelativistic plasma.

Kaufman, A. N.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Diffusion at the magnetopause: Hybrid simulations

Electromagnetic wave generation and resulting cross-field diffusion of plasma are considered at a tangential discontinuity, which characterizes the magnetopause for northward interplanetary magnetic field. Two-dimensional hybrid (particle ions, massless fluid electrons) simulations, in which the tangential discontinuity is generated self-consistently via a stream-stream interaction, are used to show that wave growth occurs when the ambient magnetic field is predominantly perpendicular to the direction of the density gradient. Low-frequency (much less than ion gyrofrequency) waves, with amplitudes delta B/B less than or equal to 0.2 and anticorrelated density fluctuations delta n/n less than or equal to 0.6, are generated at the discontinuity, resulting in cross-field diffusion that is comparable to the Bohm rate. Both the fluctuation level and the lack of ion heating in the calculations are consistent with observations at the magnetopause. The magnitude of the diffusion is considered in the presence of numerical effects and in the context of the inferred diffusion rate at the magnetopause. The relation of the low-frequency waves and their consequences to faster growing, short-wavelength waves due to the lower hybrid drift instability is also addressed. The overall conclusion of this initial study is that diffusion due to low frequency waves is not likely to be a major effect at the magnetopause.

Winske, D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Theory and simulation of electromagnetic beam modes and whistlers

Using particle-in-cell simulations and analytical methods, a study of the nonlinear evolution of electromagnetic instabilities driven by an anisotropic electron beam in an external magnetic field is performed. The unstable waves are either whistlerlike or beam-mode-like depending on the external field strength and beam velocity. The evolution of the particle distribution differs significantly in the two regimes. Even in the presence of a faster electrostatic instability, the electromagnetic waves grow to a significant amplitude. In certain cases, an energetic tail is formed, resulting in enhanced Cerenkov emission of electrostatic waves. The initial evolution of the particle distribution is explained in terms of the interaction of a given linearly unstable wave with the self-consistent perturbed distribution.

Newman, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Computer simulations of electromagnetic cool ion beam instabilities

Electromagnetic ion beam instabilities driven by cool ion beams at propagation parallel or antiparallel to a uniform magnetic field are studied using computer simulations. The elements of linear theory applicable to electromagnetic ion beam instabilities and the simulations derived from a one-dimensional hybrid computer code are described. The quasi-linear regime of the right-hand resonant ion beam instability, and the gyrophase bunching of the nonlinear regime of the right-hand resonant and nonresonant instabilities are examined. It is detected that in the quasi-linear regime the instability saturation is due to a reduction in the beam core relative drift speed and an increase in the perpendicular-to-parallel beam temperature; in the nonlinear regime the instabilities saturate when half the initial beam drift kinetic energy density is converted to fluctuating magnetic field energy density.

Gary, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

(abstract) 3D Electromagnetic Plasma Particle Simulations

A 3D electromagnetic plasma particle-in-cell code has been developed using the General Concurrent PIC algorithm. The GCPIC algorithm uses a domain decomposition to divide the computation among the processors. Particles must be exchanged between processors as they move. The efficiencies for 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional partitions of the three dimensional domain are compared, and the algorithm is found to be very efficient even when a large fraction (e.g., 30%) of the particles must be exchanged at every time step. This PIC code has been used to perform simulations of a variety of space plasma physics problems. Results of three applications will be discussed: 1) plasma disturbances induced by moving conducting bodies in a magnetized plasma; 2) plasma plume interactions; and 3) solar wind termination shock.

electromagnetic plasma particles simulations 3D al↗
NASA NTRS1994

Investigation of finite element: ABC methods for electromagnetic field simulation

The mechanics of wave propagation in the presence of obstacles is of great interest in many branches of engineering and applied mathematics like electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, geophysics, seismology, etc. Such problems can be broadly classified into two categories: the bounded domain or the closed problem and the unbounded domain or the open problem. Analytical techniques have been derived for the simpler problems; however, the need to model complicated geometrical features, complex material coatings and fillings, and to adapt the model to changing design parameters have inevitably tilted the balance in favor of numerical techniques. The modeling of closed problems presents difficulties primarily in proper meshing of the interior region. However, problems in unbounded domains pose a unique challenge to computation, since the exterior region is inappropriate for direct implementation of numerical techniques. A large number of solutions have been proposed but only a few have stood the test of time and experiment. The goal of this thesis is to develop an efficient and reliable partial differential equation technique to model large three dimensional scattering problems in electromagnetics.

Chatterjee, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Flight test techniques for validating simulated nuclear electromagnetic pulse aircraft responses

An attempt has been made to determine the effects of nuclear EM pulses (NEMPs) on aircraft systems, using a highly instrumented NASA F-106B to document the simulated NEMP environment at the Kirtland Air Force Base's Vertically Polarized Dipole test facility. Several test positions were selected so that aircraft orientation relative to the test facility would be the same in flight as when on the stationary dielectric stand, in order to validate the dielectric stand's use in flight configuration simulations. Attention is given to the flight test portions of the documentation program.

Winebarger, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Comparison of the Experimental Performance of Ferroelectric CPW Circuits with Method of Moment Simulations and Conformal Mapping

Experimental measurements of coplanar waveguide (CPW) circuits atop thin films of ferroelectric Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 (BST) were made as a function bias from 0 to 200 V and frequency from 0.045 to 20 GHz. The resulting phase shifts are compared with method of moments electromagnetic simulations and a conformal mapping analysis to determine the dielectric constant of the BST films. Based on the correlation between the experimental and the modeled data, an analysis of the extent to which the electromagnetic simulators provide reliable values for the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric in these structures has been performed. In addition, to determine how well the modeled data compare with experimental data, the dielectric constant values were also compared to low frequency measurements of interdigitated capacitor circuits on the same films. Results of these comparisons will be presented.

VanKeuls, Fred W.↗