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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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Computational structural methods at NASA Lewis

Viewgraphs on computational structural methods at the Lewis Research Center are given. Program objectives, work elements, resources, parallel-processing, FY-87 accomplishments, FY-88 plans, and a summary of current and planned activities are illustrated.

Kiraly, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Analytic Method for Computing Instrument Pointing Jitter

A new method of calculating the root-mean-square (rms) pointing jitter of a scientific instrument (e.g., a camera, radar antenna, or telescope) is introduced based on a state-space concept. In comparison with the prior method of calculating the rms pointing jitter, the present method involves significantly less computation. The rms pointing jitter of an instrument (the square root of the jitter variance shown in the figure) is an important physical quantity which impacts the design of the instrument, its actuators, controls, sensory components, and sensor- output-sampling circuitry. Using the Sirlin, San Martin, and Lucke definition of pointing jitter, the prior method of computing the rms pointing jitter involves a frequency-domain integral of a rational polynomial multiplied by a transcendental weighting function, necessitating the use of numerical-integration techniques. In practice, numerical integration complicates the problem of calculating the rms pointing error. In contrast, the state-space method provides exact analytic expressions that can be evaluated without numerical integration.

Bayard, David↗
NASA NTRS1991

An Eulerian/Lagrangian method for computing blade/vortex impingement

A combined Eulerian/Lagrangian approach to calculating helicopter rotor flows with concentrated vortices is described. The method computes a general evolving vorticity distribution without any significant numerical diffusion. Concentrated vortices can be accurately propagated over long distances on relatively coarse grids with cores only several grid cells wide. The method is demonstrated for a blade/vortex impingement case in 2D and 3D where a vortex is cut by a rotor blade, and the results are compared to previous 2D calculations involving a fifth-order Navier-Stokes solver on a finer grid.

Steinhoff, John↗
NASA NTRS1989

An efficient method for computation of the manipulator inertia matrix

An efficient method of computation of the manipulator inertia matrix is presented. Using spatial notations, the method leads to the definition of the composite rigid-body spatial inertia, which is a spatial representation of the notion of augmented body. The previously proposed methods, the physical interpretations leading to their derivation, and their redundancies are analyzed. The proposed method achieves a greater efficiency by eliminating the redundancy in the intrinsic equations as well as by a better choice of coordinate frame for their projection. In this case, removing the redundancy leads to greater efficiency of the computation in both serial and parallel senses.

Fijany, Amir↗
NASA NTRS1994

Spectral Methods for Computational Fluid Dynamics

As a tool for large-scale computations in fluid dynamics, spectral methods were prophesized in 1944, born in 1954, virtually buried in the mid-1960's, resurrected in 1969, evangalized in the 1970's, and catholicized in the 1980's. The use of spectral methods for meteorological problems was proposed by Blinova in 1944 and the first numerical computations were conducted by Silberman (1954). By the early 1960's computers had achieved sufficient power to permit calculations with hundreds of degrees of freedom. For problems of this size the traditional way of computing the nonlinear terms in spectral methods was expensive compared with finite-difference methods. Consequently, spectral methods fell out of favor. The expense of computing nonlinear terms remained a severe drawback until Orszag (1969) and Eliasen, Machenauer, and Rasmussen (1970) developed the transform methods that still form the backbone of many large-scale spectral computations. The original proselytes of spectral methods were meteorologists involved in global weather modeling and fluid dynamicists investigating isotropic turbulence. The converts who were inspired by the successes of these pioneers remained, for the most part, confined to these and closely related fields throughout the 1970's. During that decade spectral methods appeared to be well-suited only for problems governed by ordinary diSerential eqllations or by partial differential equations with periodic boundary conditions. And, of course, the solution itself needed to be smooth. Some of the obstacles to wider application of spectral methods were: (1) poor resolution of discontinuous solutions; (2) inefficient implementation of implicit methods; and (3) drastic geometric constraints. All of these barriers have undergone some erosion during the 1980's, particularly the latter two. As a result, the applicability and appeal of spectral methods for computational fluid dynamics has broadened considerably. The motivation for the use of spectral methods in numerical calculations stems from the attractive approximation properties of orthogonal polynomial expansions.

Zang, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A new method to compute lunisolar perturbations in satellite motions

A new method to compute lunisolar perturbations in satellite motion is proposed. The disturbing function is expressed by the orbital elements of the satellite and the geocentric polar coordinates of the moon and the sun. The secular and long periodic perturbations are derived by numerical integrations, and the short periodic perturbations are derived analytically. The perturbations due to the tides can be included in the same way. In the Appendix, the motion of the orbital plane for a synchronous satellite is discussed; it is concluded that the inclination cannot stay below 7 deg.

Kozai, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A multigrid nonoscillatory method for computing high speed flows

A multigrid method using different smoothers has been developed to solve the Euler equations discretized by a nonoscillatory scheme up to fourth order accuracy. The best smoothing property is provided by a five-stage Runge-Kutta technique with optimized coefficients, yet the most efficient smoother is a backward Euler technique in factored and diagonalized form. The singlegrid solution for a hypersonic, viscous conic flow is in excellent agreement with the solution obtained by the third order MUSCL and Roe's method. Mach 8 inviscid flow computations for a complete entry probe have shown that the accuracy is at least as good as the symmetric TVD scheme of Yee and Harten. The implicit multigrid method is four times more efficient than the explicit multigrid technique and 3.5 times faster than the single-grid implicit technique. For a Mach 8.7 inviscid flow over a blunt delta wing at 30 deg incidence, the CPU reduction factor from the three-level multigrid computation is 2.2 on a grid of 37 x 41 x 73 nodes.

Li, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

An efficient method to compute microlensed light curves for point sources

We present a method to compute microlensed light curves for point sources. This method has the general advantage that all microimages contributing to the light curve are found. While a source moves along a straight line, all micro images are located either on the primary image track or on the secondary image tracks (loops). The primary image track extends from - infinity to + infinity and is made of many sequents which are continuously connected. All the secondary image tracks (loops) begin and end on the lensing point masses. The method can be applied to any microlensing situation with point masses in the deflector plane, even for the overcritical case and surface densities close to the critical. Furthermore, we present general rules to evaluate the light curve for a straight track arbitrary placed in the caustic network of a sample of many point masses.

Witt, Hans J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Computer-aided methods for analysis and synthesis of supersonic cruise aircraft structures

Computer-aided methods are reviewed which are being developed by Langley Research Center in-house work and by related grants and contracts. Synthesis methods to size structural members to meet strength and stiffness (flutter) requirements are emphasized and described. Because of the strong interaction among the aerodynamic loads, structural stiffness, and member sizes of supersonic cruise aircraft structures, these methods are combined into systems of computer programs to perform design studies. The approaches used in organizing these systems to provide efficiency, flexibility of use in an iterative process, and ease of system modification are discussed.

Giles, G. L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Systems, methods and computer program products for constructing complex geometries using layered and linked hexahedral element meshes

Systems, methods and computer program products for creating 3D representations of bodies are disclosed. The systems, methods and computer program products include the construction of FE meshes representing complex geometries. The complex geometries may be artificially or naturally formed or designed geometries. The techniques reduce the number of elements as much as possible to save on computer run time while maintaining computational accuracy.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1988

A numerical method for computing unsteady 2-D boundary layer flows

A numerical method for computing unsteady two-dimensional boundary layers in incompressible laminar and turbulent flows is described and applied to a single airfoil changing its incidence angle in time. The solution procedure adopts a first order panel method with a simple wake model to solve for the inviscid part of the flow, and an implicit finite difference method for the viscous part of the flow. Both procedures integrate in time in a step-by-step fashion, in the course of which each step involves the solution of the elliptic Laplace equation and the solution of the parabolic boundary layer equations. The Reynolds shear stress term of the boundary layer equations is modeled by an algebraic eddy viscosity closure. The location of transition is predicted by an empirical data correlation originating from Michel. Since transition and turbulence modeling are key factors in the prediction of viscous flows, their accuracy will be of dominant influence to the overall results.

Krainer, Andreas↗
NASA NTRS1984

Ultrasonic velocity measurement using phase-slope cross-correlation methods

Computer implemented phase-slope and cross-correlation methods are introduced for measuring time delays between pairs of broadband ultrasonic pulse-echo signals for determining velocity in engineering materials. The phase-slope and cross-correlation methods are compared with the overlap method which is currently in wide use. Comparison of digital versions of the three methods shows similar results for most materials having low ultrasonic attenuation. However, the cross-correlation method is preferred for highly attenuating materials. An analytical basis for the cross-correlation method is presented. Examples are given for the three methods investigated to measure velocity in representative materials in the megahertz range.

Hull, D. R.↗