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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Exploiting parallel computing with limited program changes using a network of microcomputers

Network computing and multiprocessor computers are two discernible trends in parallel processing. The computational behavior of an iterative distributed process in which some subtasks are completed later than others because of an imbalance in computational requirements is of significant interest. The effects of asynchronus processing was studied. A small existing program was converted to perform finite element analysis by distributing substructure analysis over a network of four Apple IIe microcomputers connected to a shared disk, simulating a parallel computer. The substructure analysis uses an iterative, fully stressed, structural resizing procedure. A framework of beams divided into three substructures is used as the finite element model. The effects of asynchronous processing on the convergence of the design variables are determined by not resizing particular substructures on various iterations.

Rogers, J. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Numerical Simulation of Flow Field Within Parallel Plate Plastometer

Parallel Plate Plastometer (PPP) is a device commonly used for measuring the viscosity of high polymers at low rates of shear in the range 10 4 to 10 9 poises. This device is being validated for use in measuring the viscosity of liquid glasses at high temperatures having similar ranges for the viscosity values. PPP instrument consists of two similar parallel plates, both in the range of 1 inch in diameter with the upper plate being movable while the lower one is kept stationary. Load is applied to the upper plate by means of a beam connected to shaft attached to the upper plate. The viscosity of the fluid is deduced from measuring the variation of the plate separation, h, as a function of time when a specified fixed load is applied on the beam. Operating plate speeds measured with the PPP is usually in the range of 10 -3 cm/s or lower. The flow field within the PPP can be simulated using the equations of motion of fluid flow for this configuration. With flow speeds in the range quoted above the flow field between the two plates is certainly incompressible and laminar. Such flows can be easily simulated using numerical modeling with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes. We present below the mathematical model used to simulate this flow field and also the solutions obtained for the flow using a commercially available finite element CFD code.

Basil N. Antar↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Multi-Season Study of the Effects of MODIS Sea-Surface Temperatures on Operational WRF Forecasts at NWS Miami, FL

Studies at the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPORT) Center have suggested that the use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sea-surface temperature (SST) composites in regional weather forecast models can have a significant positive impact on short-term numerical weather prediction in coastal regions. Recent work by LaCasse et al (2007, Monthly Weather Review) highlights lower atmospheric differences in regional numerical simulations over the Florida offshore waters using 2-km SST composites derived from the MODIS instrument aboard the polar-orbiting Aqua and Terra Earth Observing System satellites. To help quantify the value of this impact on NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), the SPORT Center and the NWS WFO at Miami, FL (MIA) are collaborating on a project to investigate the impact of using the high-resolution MODIS SST fields within the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) prediction system. The project's goal is to determine whether more accurate specification of the lower-boundary forcing within WRF will result in improved land/sea fluxes and hence, more accurate evolution of coastal mesoscale circulations and the associated sensible weather elements. The NWS MIA is currently running WRF in real-time to support daily forecast operations, using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model dynamical core within the NWS Science and Training Resource Center's Environmental Modeling System (EMS) software. Twenty-seven hour forecasts are run dally initialized at 0300, 0900, 1500, and 2100 UTC on a domain with 4-km grid spacing covering the southern half of Florida and adjacent waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Each model run is initialized using the Local Analysis and Prediction System (LAPS) analyses available in AWIPS. The SSTs are initialized with the NCEP Real-Time Global (RTG) analyses at 1/12deg resolution (approx.9 km); however, the RTG product does not exhibit fine-scale details consistent with its grid resolution. SPORT is conducting parallel WRF EMS runs identical to the operational runs at NWS MIA except for the use of MODIS SST composites in place of the RTG product as the initial and boundary conditions over water, The MODIS SST composites for initializing the SPORT WRF runs are generated on a 2-km grid four times daily at 0400, 0700, 1600, and 1900 UTC, based on the times of the overhead passes of the Aqua and Terra satellites. The incorporation of the MODIS SST data into the SPORT WRF runs is staggered such that SSTs are updated with a new composite every six hours in each of the WRF runs. From mid-February to July 2007, over 500 parallel WRF simulations have been collected for analysis and verification. This paper will present verification results comparing the NWS MIA operational WRF runs to the SPORT experimental runs, and highlight any substantial differences noted in the predicted mesoscale phenomena for specific cases.

Case, Jonathan L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Dynamic Load Balancing for Computational Plasticity on Parallel Computers

The simulation of the computational plasticity on a complex structure remains a formidable computational task, especially when a highly nonlinear, complex material model was used. It appears that the computational requirements for a such problem can only be satisfied by massively parallel architectures. In order to effectively harness the tremendous computational power provided by such architectures, it is imperative to investigate and to study the algorithmic and implementation issues pertaining to dynamic load balancing for computational plasticity on a highly parallel, distributed-memory, multiple-instruction, multiple-data computers. This paper will measure the effectiveness of the algorithms developed in handling the dynamic load balancing.

Pramono, Eddy↗
NASA NTRS1994

Long range forecasts of the Northern Hemisphere anomalies with antecedent sea surface temperature patterns

The contract research has been conducted in the following three major areas: analysis of numerical simulations and parallel observations of atmospheric blocking, diagnosis of the lower boundary heating and the response of the atmospheric circulation, and comprehensive assessment of long-range forecasting with numerical and regression methods. The essential scientific and developmental purpose of this contract research is to extend our capability of numerical weather forecasting by the comprehensive general circulation model. The systematic work as listed above is thus geared to developing a technological basis for future NASA long-range forecasting.

Kung, Ernest C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Large-scale structure after COBE: Peculiar velocities and correlations of cold dark matter halos

Large N-body simulations on parallel supercomputers allow one to simultaneously investigate large-scale structure and the formation of galactic halos with unprecedented resolution. Our study shows that the masses as well as the spatial distribution of halos on scales of tens of megaparsecs in a cold dark matter (CDM) universe with the spectrum normalized to the anisotropies detected by Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is compatible with the observations. We also show that the average value of the relative pairwise velocity dispersion sigma(sub v) - used as a principal argument against COBE-normalized CDM models-is significantly lower for halos than for individual particles. When the observational methods of extracting sigma(sub v) are applied to the redshift catalogs obtained from the numerical experiments, estimates differ significantly between different observation-sized samples and overlap observational estimates obtained following the same procedure.

Zurek, Wojciech H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computational heat transfer analysis for oscillatory channel flows

An accurate finite-difference scheme has been utilized to investigate oscillatory, laminar and incompressible flow between two-parallel-plates and in circular tubes. The two-parallel-plates simulate the regenerator of a free-piston Stirling engine (foil type regenerator) and the channel wall was included in the analysis (conjugate heat transfer problem). The circular tubes simulate the cooler and heater of the engine with an isothermal wall. The study conducted covered a wide range for the maximum Reynolds number (from 75 to 60,000), Valensi number (from 2.5 to 700), and relative amplitude of fluid displacement (0.714 and 1.34). The computational results indicate a complex nature of the heat flux distribution with time and axial location in the channel. At the channel mid-plane we observed two thermal cycles (out of phase with the flow) per each flow cycle. At this axial location the wall heat flux mean value, amplitude and phase shift with the flow are dependent upon the maximum Reynolds number, Valensi number and relative amplitude of fluid displacement. At other axial locations, the wall heat flux distribution is more complex.

Ibrahim, Mounir↗
NASA NTRS1996

Two-Dimensional Dynamic Simulation of a Continuous Foil Bearing

In this paper, the two dimensional(radial and circumferential) transient Navier-Stokes equations are used to solve the hydrodynamic problem in conjunction with the time dependent motion of the journal, and the deformable, spring supported foil. The elastic deformation of the foil and its supports are simulated by a finite element model. The time-dependent Navier-Stokes formulation is used to solve for the interaction between the fluid lubricant, the motion of the journal and the deformable foil boundary. The steady state, the quasi-transient and the full transient dynamic simulation of the foil-fluid journal interaction are examined on a comparative basis. For the steady state simulation, the fluid lubricant pressures are evaluated for a particular journal position, by means of an iterative scheme until convergence is achieved in both the fluid pressures and the corresponding foil deformation. For the quasi-transient case, the transient motion of the journal is calculated using a numerical integration scheme for the velocity and displacement of the journal. The deformation of the foil is evaluated through numerical iteration in feedback mode with the fluid film pressure generated by the journal motion until convergence at every time step is achieved. For the full transient simulation, a parallel real-time integration scheme is used to evaluate simultaneously the new journal position and the new deformed shape of the foil at each time step. The pressure of the fluid lubricant is iterated jointly with the corresponding journal position and the deformed foil geometry until convergence is achieved. A variable time-stepping Newmark-Beta integration procedure is used to evaluate the transient dynamics at each time step of the bearing.

Braun, M. Jack↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Java-Enabled Interactive Graphical Gas Turbine Propulsion System Simulator

This paper describes a gas turbine simulation system which utilizes the newly developed Java language environment software system. The system provides an interactive graphical environment which allows the quick and efficient construction and analysis of arbitrary gas turbine propulsion systems. The simulation system couples a graphical user interface, developed using the Java Abstract Window Toolkit, and a transient, space- averaged, aero-thermodynamic gas turbine analysis method, both entirely coded in the Java language. The combined package provides analytical, graphical and data management tools which allow the user to construct and control engine simulations by manipulating graphical objects on the computer display screen. Distributed simulations, including parallel processing and distributed database access across the Internet and World-Wide Web (WWW), are made possible through services provided by the Java environment.

Reed, John A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Optimization of Microelectronic Devices for Sensor Applications

The NASA/JPL goal to reduce payload in future space missions while increasing mission capability demands miniaturization of active and passive sensors, analytical instruments and communication systems among others. Currently, typical system requirements include the detection of particular spectral lines, associated data processing, and communication of the acquired data to other systems. Advances in lithography and deposition methods result in more advanced devices for space application, while the sub-micron resolution currently available opens a vast design space. Though an experimental exploration of this widening design space-searching for optimized performance by repeated fabrication efforts-is unfeasible, it does motivate the development of reliable software design tools. These tools necessitate models based on fundamental physics and mathematics of the device to accurately model effects such as diffraction and scattering in opto-electronic devices, or bandstructure and scattering in heterostructure devices. The software tools must have convenient turn-around times and interfaces that allow effective usage. The first issue is addressed by the application of high-performance computers and the second by the development of graphical user interfaces driven by properly developed data structures. These tools can then be integrated into an optimization environment, and with the available memory capacity and computational speed of high performance parallel platforms, simulation of optimized components can proceed. In this paper, specific applications of the electromagnetic modeling of infrared filtering, as well as heterostructure device design will be presented using genetic algorithm global optimization methods.

Cwik, Tom↗
NASA NTRS2000

Generation and Radiation of Acoustic Waves from a 2-D Shear Layer

A parallel numerical simulation of the radiation of sound from an acoustic source inside a 2-D jet is presented in this paper. This basic benchmark problem is used as a test case for scattering problems that are presently being solved by using the Impedance Mismatch Method (IMM). In this technique, a solid body in the domain is represented by setting the acoustic impedance of each medium, encountered by a wave, to a different value. This impedance discrepancy results in reflected and scattered waves with appropriate amplitudes. The great advantage of the use of this method is that no modifications to a simple Cartesian grid need to be made for complicated geometry bodies. Thus, high order finite difference schemes may be applied simply to all parts of the domain. In the IMM, the total perturbation field is split into incident and scattered fields. The incident pressure is assumed to be known and the equivalent sources for the scattered field are associated with the presence of the scattering body (through the impedance mismatch) and the propagation of the incident field through a non-uniform flow. An earlier version of the technique could only handle uniform flow in the vicinity of the source and at the outflow boundary. Scattering problems in non-uniform mean flow are of great practical importance (for example, scattering from a high lift device in a non-uniform mean flow or the effects of a fuselage boundary layer). The solution to this benchmark problem, which has an acoustic wave propagating through a non-uniform mean flow, serves as a test case for the extensions of the IMM technique.

Agarwal, Anurag↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Tech Briefs, February 2008

Topics discussed include: Optical Measurement of Mass Flow of a Two-Phase Fluid; Selectable-Tip Corrosion-Testing Electrochemical Cell; Piezoelectric Bolt Breakers and Bolt Fatigue Testers; Improved Measurement of B(sub 22) of Macromolecules in a Flow Cell; Measurements by a Vector Network Analyzer at 325 to 508 GHz; Using Light to Treat Mucositis and Help Wounds Heal; Increasing Discharge Capacities of Li-(CF)(sub n) Cells; Dot-in-Well Quantum-Dot Infrared Photodetectors; Integrated Microbatteries for Implantable Medical Devices; Oxidation Behavior of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites; GIDEP Batching Tool; Generic Spacecraft Model for Real-Time Simulation; Parallel-Processing Software for Creating Mosaic Images; Software for Verifying Image-Correlation Tie Points; Flexcam Image Capture Viewing and Spot Tracking; Low-Pt-Content Anode Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells; Graphite/Cyanate Ester Face Sheets for Adaptive Optics; Atomized BaF2-CaF7 for Better-Flowing Plasma-Spray Feedstock; Nanophase Nickel-Zirconium Alloys for Fuel Cells; Vacuum Packaging of MEMS With Multiple Internal Seal Rings; Compact Two-Dimensional Spectrometer Optics; and Fault-Tolerant Coding for State Machines.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

Cartesian Off-Body Grid Adaption for Viscous Time- Accurate Flow Simulation

An improved solution adaption capability has been implemented in the OVERFLOW overset grid CFD code. Building on the Cartesian off-body approach inherent in OVERFLOW and the original adaptive refinement method developed by Meakin, the new scheme provides for automated creation of multiple levels of finer Cartesian grids. Refinement can be based on the undivided second-difference of the flow solution variables, or on a specific flow quantity such as vorticity. Coupled with load-balancing and an inmemory solution interpolation procedure, the adaption process provides very good performance for time-accurate simulations on parallel compute platforms. A method of using refined, thin body-fitted grids combined with adaption in the off-body grids is presented, which maximizes the part of the domain subject to adaption. Two- and three-dimensional examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness and performance of the adaption scheme.

Buning, Pieter G.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Simulations of Continuous Descent Operations with Arrival-management Automation and Mixed Flight-deck Interval Management Equipage

Air traffic management simulations conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center have addressed the integration of trajectory-based arrival-management automation, controller tools, and Flight-Deck Interval Management avionics to enable Continuous Descent Operations (CDOs) during periods of sustained high traffic demand. The simulations are devoted to maturing the integrated system for field demonstration, and refining the controller tools, clearance phraseology, and procedures specified in the associated concept of operations. The results indicate a variety of factors impact the concept's safety and viability from a controller's perspective, including en-route preconditioning of arrival flows, useable clearance phraseology, and the characteristics of airspace, routes, and traffic-management methods in use at a particular site. Clear understanding of automation behavior and required shifts in roles and responsibilities is important for controller acceptance and realizing potential benefits. This paper discusses the simulations, drawing parallels with results from related European efforts. The most recent study found en-route controllers can effectively precondition arrival flows, which significantly improved route conformance during CDOs. Controllers found the tools acceptable, in line with previous studies.

arrival management↗
NASA NTRS2014

Communications Technology Assessment for the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) Link

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) is performing communications systems research for the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. One of the goals of the communications element is to select and test a communications technology for the UAS Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) link. The GRC UAS Modeling and Simulation (M/S) Sub Team will evaluate the performance of several potential technologies for the CNPC link through detailed software simulations. In parallel, an industry partner will implement a technology in hardware to be used for flight testing. The task necessitated a technical assessment of existing Radio Frequency (RF) communications technologies to identify the best candidate systems for use as the UAS CNPC link. The assessment provides a basis for selecting the technologies for the M/S effort and the hardware radio design. The process developed for the technical assessments for the Future Communications Study1 (FCS) was used as an initial starting point for this assessment. The FCS is a joint Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Eurocontrol study on technologies for use as a future aeronautical communications link. The FCS technology assessment process methodology can be applied to the UAS CNPC link; however the findings of the FCS are not directly applicable because of different requirements between a CNPC link and a general aeronautical data link. Additional technologies were added to the potential technologies list from the State of the Art Unmanned Aircraft System Communication Assessment developed by NASA GRC2. This document investigates the state of the art of communications as related to UAS. A portion of the document examines potential communications systems for a UAS communication architecture. Like the FCS, the state of the art assessment surveyed existing communications technologies. It did not, however, perform a detailed assessment of the technology necessary to recommend a technology for the UAS CNPC link. The technical assessment process, as shown in Figure 1, consists of the following steps. First, candidate RF communications technologies are identified. An initial review of each of these technologies is then performed to determine if the technology appears to be a good candidate and requires further review. Any technology that can be shown to be inadequate at that point is removed from consideration to allow for more detailed analysis of the remaining technologies. Criteria for the detailed assessments are defined and a scoring methodology is devised. This is followed by the detailed review and scoring of each technology. The least favorable technologies are removed during the process until only the few best candidates remain.

Aircraft Command and Control↗
NASA NTRS2000

Processing CCD Images to Detect Transits of Earth-Sized Planets: Maximizing Sensitivity While Achieving Reasonable Downlink Requirements

We have performed end-to-end laboratory and numerical simulations to demonstrate the capability of differential photometry under realistic operating conditions to detect transits of Earth-sized planets orbiting solar-like stars. Data acquisition and processing were conducted using the same methods planned for the proposed Kepler Mission. These included performing aperture photometry on large-format CCD images of an artificial star fields obtained without a shutter at a readout rate of 1 megapixel/sec, detecting and removing cosmic rays from individual exposures and making the necessary corrections for nonlinearity and shutterless operation in the absence of darks. We will discuss the image processing tasks performed `on-board' the simulated spacecraft, which yielded raw photometry and ancillary data used to monitor and correct for systematic effects, and the data processing and analysis tasks conducted to obtain lightcurves from the raw data and characterize the detectability of transits. The laboratory results are discussed along with the results of a numerical simulation carried out in parallel with the laboratory simulation. These two simulations demonstrate that a system-level differential photometric precision of 10-5 on five- hour intervals can be achieved under realistic conditions.

Earth-size planets↗
NASA NTRS1988

Experiences with serial and parallel algorithms for channel routing using simulated annealing

Two algorithms for channel routing using simulated annealing are presented. Simulated annealing is an optimization methodology which allows the solution process to back up out of local minima that may be encountered by inappropriate selections. By properly controlling the annealing process, it is very likely that the optimal solution to an NP-complete problem such as channel routing may be found. The algorithm presented proposes very relaxed restrictions on the types of allowable transformations, including overlapping nets. By freeing that restriction and controlling overlap situations with an appropriate cost function, the algorithm becomes very flexible and can be applied to many extensions of channel routing. The selection of the transformation utilizes a number of heuristics, still retaining the pseudorandom nature of simulated annealing. The algorithm was implemented as a serial program for a workstation, and a parallel program designed for a hypercube computer. The details of the serial implementation are presented, including many of the heuristics used and some of the resulting solutions.

Brouwer, Randall Jay↗