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At least 271 records · Page 15

COMPARING NUMERICAL METHODS FOR ISOTHERMAL MAGNETIZED SUPERSONIC TURBULENCE

Many astrophysical applications involve magnetized turbulent flows with shock waves. Ab initio star formation simulations require a robust representation of supersonic turbulence in molecular clouds on a wide range of scales imposing stringent demands on the quality of numerical algorithms. We employ simulations of supersonic super-Alfvenic turbulence decay as a benchmark test problem to assess and compare the performance of nine popular astrophysical MHD methods actively used to model star formation. The set of nine codes includes: ENZO, FLASH, KT-MHD, LL-MHD, PLUTO, PPML, RAMSES, STAGGER, and ZEUS. These applications employ a variety of numerical approaches, including both split and unsplit, finite difference and finite volume, divergence preserving and divergence cleaning, a variety of Riemann solvers, and a range of spatial reconstruction and time integration techniques. We present a comprehensive set of statistical measures designed to quantify the effects of numerical dissipation in these MHD solvers. We compare power spectra for basic fields to determine the effective spectral bandwidth of the methods and rank them based on their relative effective Reynolds numbers. We also compare numerical dissipation for solenoidal and dilatational velocity components to check for possible impacts of the numerics on small-scale density statistics. Finally, we discuss the convergence of various characteristics for the turbulence decay test and the impact of various components of numerical schemes on the accuracy of solutions. The nine codes gave qualitatively the same results, implying that they are all performing reasonably well and are useful for scientific applications. We show that the best performing codes employ a consistently high order of accuracy for spatial reconstruction of the evolved fields, transverse gradient interpolation, conservation law update step, and Lorentz force computation. The best results are achieved with divergence-free evolution of the magnetic field using the constrained transport method and using little to no explicit artificial viscosity. Codes that fall short in one or more of these areas are still useful, but they must compensate for higher numerical dissipation with higher numerical resolution. This paper is the largest, most comprehensive MHD code comparison on an application-like test problem to date. We hope this work will help developers improve their numerical algorithms while helping users to make informed choices about choosing optimal applications for their specific astrophysical problems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Thermal Hydraulics Analysis of a Divertor Monoblock Using SALAMANDER

Divertors are critical components in magnetic confinement fusion devices. One of the Divertor's crictial roles is absorbing the highest heat flux from the plasma. The Divertor accomplishes this through the use of divertor monoblocks and cooling channels. This work presents a thermal hydraulic analysis of a divertor monoblock using the Software for Advanced Large-scale Analysis of MAgnetic confinement for Numerical Design, Engineering and Research (SALAMANDER). SALAMANDER is an open source tool developed at Idaho National Laboratory for conducting multiphysics and multscale analysis of Plasma Facing Components (PFCs). For the monoblock, solid heat conduction is modeled in the block with a constant heat flux of 1E7 W/m^2 applied to the top of the block to represent peak heat flux from the plasma. The cooling channel (which is pressurized water at a Reynolds number of ~1,000,000) is modeled using a k-epsilon turbulence model with standard wall functions. The heat transfer between the solid and fluid domain is modeled using the Dittus-Boelter correlation for the convective heat transfer coefficient. This work aims to show the importance of a multiphysics modeling approach when performing simulations on PFCs.

70 - PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Applications of Magnetic Suspension Technology to Large Scale Facilities: Progress, Problems and Promises

This paper will briefly review previous work in wind tunnel Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems (MSBS) and will examine the handful of systems around the world currently known to be in operational condition or undergoing recommissioning. Technical developments emerging from research programs at NASA and elsewhere will be reviewed briefly, where there is potential impact on large-scale MSBSS. The likely aerodynamic applications for large MSBSs will be addressed, since these applications should properly drive system designs. A recently proposed application to ultra-high Reynolds number testing will then be addressed in some detail. Finally, some opinions on the technical feasibility and usefulness of a large MSBS will be given.

Britcher, Colin P.↗

Effect of the length of the poloidal ducts on flow balancing in a liquid metal blanket

To address concerns associated with liquid metal (LM) flow balancing among multiple poloidal channels of a LM blanket, we investigate the factors (first of all the length of the channels) that influence the flow distribution when the duct walls are electrically insulated. We simulate LM MHD flow through multiple channels fed by a prototypical manifold for a range of channel lengths using a 3D MHD solver, HIMAG. The simplified manifold geometry consists of a rectangular, electrically insulated feeding duct which suddenly expands such that the duct thickness in the magnetic field direction abruptly increases by a factor of 4. After a short length downstream of the expansion, the flow is divided into three identical parallel channels. By measuring the flow rate in each of the channels, we conclude that flow balance among the channels is improved by increasing the length of the channels. An effort is made to obtain scaling laws that characterize flow balancing as a function of the flow parameters and the manifold geometry using a Resistor Network Model (RNM). Associated Hartman and Reynolds numbers in the computations were ~10 3 and 10 2 respectively. Compared to the full 3D analysis, the proposed RNM suggests a relatively quick and simpler way of computing the blanket length that might be needed to provide balanced flow among the parallel channels.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Cryogenic wind tunnels for high Reynolds number testing

This paper begins with a brief review of cryogenic wind tunnels and their use for high Reynolds number testing. Emphasis is on operational experience and recent aerodynamic tesing in the NASA Langley 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel (TCT). Specific area covered in this paper include development of test techniques and aerodynamic testing in cryogenic tunnels. Details of research experience in developing model construction techniques, including airfoils as thin as 5 percent, are given. The use of advanced testing techniques to increase the value of cryogenic tunnels to the research community is recommended. These include adaptive wall test sections using solid but flexible top and bottom walls and magnetic suspension and balance systems.

Kilgore, Robert A.↗

Hybridized Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Computational Fluid Dynamics

Hybridizable Discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods hold promise for any applications with significant advection character, including thermal hydraulics in light water reactors and advanced reactor concepts and fluid models of plasmas in magnetic confinement fusion. Its features include natural upwinding, local element conservation, and extensibility to arbitrarily high order accuracy. In the last fiscal year we have implemented HDG in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). We developed a first-of-its-kind automatic static condensation system in MOOSE’s underlying finite element library libMesh which can condense out arbitrarily many internal variables. Finally, we developed the first preconditioner for HDG discretizations of the Navier-Stokes equations which shows robust performance across a wide range of problem sizes and Reynolds numbers. This preconditioner yields solution times that are equivalent to the fastest developed for industry standard finite volume methods. Moreover, the arbitrarily high-order nature of HDG makes it a prime candidate for acceleration via graphical processing units (GPUs). We believe these developments will hold significant importance for future DOE Nuclear Energy (NE) and Fusion Energy Science (FES) programs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Magnetohydrodynamic pressure drop and flow balancing of liquid metal flow in a prototypic fusion blanket manifold

Understanding magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) phenomena associated with the flow of electrically conducting fluids in complex geometry ducts subject to a strong magnetic field is required to effectively design liquid metal (LM) blankets for fusion reactors. Specifically, accurately predicting the 3D MHD pressure drop and flow distribution is important. To explore these topics, we simulate a LM MHD flow through an electrically non-conducting prototypic manifold for a wide range of flow and geometry parameters using a 3D MHD solver, HyPerComp incompressible MHD solver for arbitrary geometry. The reference manifold geometry consists of a rectangular feeding duct which suddenly expands such that the duct thickness in the magnetic field direction abruptly increases by a factor r exp . Downstream of the sudden expansion, the LM is distributed into several parallel channels. As a first step in qualifying the flow, a magnitude of the curl of the induced Lorentz force was used to distinguish between inviscid, irrotational core flows and boundary and internal shear layers where inertia and/or viscous forces are important. Scaling laws have been obtained which characterize the 3D MHD pressure drop and flow balancing as a function of the flow parameters and the manifold geometry. Associated Hartmann and Reynolds numbers in the computations were ~10 3 and ~10 1 -10 3 , respectively, while r exp was varied from 4 to 12. An accurate model for the pressure drop was developed for the first time for inertial-electromagnetic and viscous-electromagnetic regimes based on 96 computed cases. Analysis reflects that flow balance can be improved by lengthening the distance between the manifold inlet and the entrances of the parallel channels by utilizing the effect of flow transitioning to a quasi-two-dimensional state in the expansion region of the manifold.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Resolving turbulent magnetohydrodynamics: a hybrid operator-diffusion framework

We present a hybrid machine learning framework that combines physics-informed neural operators (PINOs) with score-based generative diffusion models to simulate the full spatio-temporal evolution of two-dimensional, incompressible, resistive magnetohydrodynamic turbulence across a broad range of Reynolds numbers (Re). The framework leverages the equation-constrained generalization capabilities of PINOs to predict coherent, low-frequency dynamics, while a conditional diffusion model stochastically corrects high-frequency residuals, enabling accurate modeling of fully developed turbulence. Trained on a comprehensive ensemble of high-fidelity simulations with Re ϵ {100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 3000, 10000}, the approach achieves state-of-the-art accuracy in regimes previously inaccessible to deterministic surrogates. At Re = 1000 and 3000, the model faithfully reconstructs the full spectral energy distributions of both velocity and magnetic fields late into the simulation, capturing non-Gaussian statistics, intermittent structures, and cross-field correlations with high fidelity. At extreme turbulence levels (Re = 10 000), it remains the first surrogate capable of recovering the high-wavenumber evolution of the magnetic field, preserving large-scale morphology and enabling statistically meaningful predictions.

Diffusion-Integrated Neural Operators↗

Stability of quasi-Keplerian shear flow in a laboratory experiment

Subcritical transition to turbulence has been proposed as a source of turbulent viscosity required for the associated angular momentum transport for fast accretion in Keplerian disks. Previously cited laboratory experiments in supporting this hypothesis were performed either in a different type of flow than Keplerian or without quantitative measurements of angular momentum transport and mean flow profile, and all of them appear to suffer from Ekman effects, secondary flows induced by nonoptimal axial boundary conditions. Such Ekman effects are expected to be absent from astronomical disks, which probably have stress-free vertical boundaries unless strongly magnetized. To quantify angular momentum transport due to subcritical hydrodynamic turbulence, if exists, in a quasi-Keplerian flow with minimized Ekman effects. We perform a local measurement of the azimuthal–radial component of the Reynolds stress tensor in a novel laboratory apparatus where Ekman effects are minimized by flexible control of axial boundary conditions. We find significant Ekman effects on angular momentum transport due to nonoptimal axial boundary conditions in quasi-Keplerian flows. With the optimal control of Ekman effects, no statistically meaningful angular momentum transport is detected in such flows at Reynolds number up to two millions. Either a subcritical transition does not occur, or, if a subcritical transition does occur, the associated radial transport of angular momentum in optimized quasi-Keplerian laboratory flows is too small to directly support the hypothesis that subcritical hydrodynamic turbulence is responsible for accretion in astrophysical disks. Possible limitations in applying laboratory results to astrophysical disks due to experimental geometry are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Results of aerodynamic heat transfer tests of a 0.0175-scale model of the Rockwell International Space Shuttle Orbiter 139 (model number 22-0) in the NASA/Ames 3.5-foot hypersonic wind tunnel (test OH6)

The results of a hypersonic wind tunnel test program conducted using a 0.0175 scale thin-skin thermocouple model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter to obtain aerodynamic heat transfer data on the Orbiter under simulated reentry conditions were presented. The test program was conducted at a Mach number of 7.3 and a freestream Reynolds number ranging between 1.0 and 6.0 million/foot. The model was tested for angles of attack ranging between 10 deg and 30 deg and a sideslip angle of 0 deg. The model was constructed of 15-5 PH stainless steel with the instrumented areas machined to a nominal skin thickness of 0.030 in. The model instrumentation consisted of 288 iron-constantan thermocouples spot welded to the skin inner surface, but only 75 of these were used in this test program. A high-speed, analog-to-digital data acquisition system was used to record data on magnetic tape.

Dye, W. H.↗

Using 3D Measurements from MRI to Improve VVUQ

Magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) is a diagnostic that can measure 3D, three-component turbulent velocity fields in arbitrarily complex flow configurations. The approach uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is a system commonly available in radiology departments or medical research centers. MRV acquires signal from hydrogen protons in water channel flows. Despite the obvious utility of the measurements for investigating a variety of flows, comparisons with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations largely retain traditional metrics, comparing velocity profiles and planes at discrete regions within the flow rather than using the 3D nature of the measured field. In this effort, MRV was conducted in a simple water channel with six spanwise-centered periodic obstacles roughly shaped as cubes. At a fully turbulent Reynolds number of 15,000, the channel includes two flows: a main streamwise flow and, in the wake of the second obstacle, an injected flow oriented perpendicular to the streamwise flow. The flow geometry includes partial obstacles on the side walls and is inherently 3D because of the interaction of the two streams and the wake features, making the flow challenging to completely measure with traditional optical techniques. Aside from line profiles and planar comparisons, two 3D metrics are used to compare the data with a steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulation result. A brief discussion about the comparison is provided, including comments about uncertainty.

Benson, Mike [ORNL] (ORCID:000000023210116X)↗

Spatial redistribution of turbulent and mean kinetic energy

The turbulent spatial redistribution of turbulent and mean kinetic energy and its exchange is investigated in the framework of an K-{epsilon} model in a magnetized plasma column. The kinetic energy is transferred from the turbulence into the zonal flow around the shear layer. The Reynolds stress profile adjusts to the shear layer, which results in a transport of mean kinetic energy from the region around the shear layer into the shear layer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Improved Productivity with Multilaser Rotary Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) enables the fabrication of intricate, geometrically complex structures with a sufficiently fine surface finish for many engineering applications with a diversity of available feedstock metals. However, the production rate of LPBF systems is not well suited for mass production in comparison to traditional manufacturing methods. LPBF systems measure their deposition rates in 100's of grams per hour, while other processes measure in kilograms per hour or even in the case of processes such as forming, stamping, and casting, 100's of kilograms per hour. To be widely adopted in industry for mass production, LPBF requires a new scalable architecture that enables many orders of magnitude improvement in deposition rate, while maintaining the geometry freedom of additive manufacturing. This article explores concepts that could achieve as much as four orders of magnitude increase in the production rate through the application of (1) rotary table kinematic arrangements; (2) a dramatic number of simultaneously operating lasers; (3) reductions of laser optic size; (4) improved scanning techniques; and (5) an optimization of toroidal build plate size. To theoretically demonstrate the possibilities of production improvements, a productivity analysis is proposed for synchronous reluctance motors with relevance to the electric vehicle industry, given the recent increase in the diversity of printable soft magnetic alloys. The analysis provides insights into the impact of the architecture and process parameters necessary to optimize rotary powder bed fusion for mass production.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Interactions among convection, magnetic fields and p-mode oscillations in the sun

Two papers on different aspects of the excitation and damping of solar oscillations were accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. The first paper evaluates the rate at which turbulent convection feeds energy into individual p-modes. It is shown that stochastic excitation by turbulent convection provides a satisfactory fit to the product of the mode energies and linewidths. A somewhat surprising conclusion is that entropy fluctuations are about an order of magnitude more significant than are fluctuations of the Reynolds stress in exciting p-modes. However, entropy fluctuations cannot excite f-modes. This may account for the relatively low energies of the f-modes compared to those of the p-modes. The second paper explores the role of scattering of acoustic modes by turbulent velocity fluctuations. Scattering of a mode is concentrated near the top of its acoustic cavity. Because the turbulence has low Mach number, scattering couples modes having similar frequencies. Its net effects are to increase the linewidths of all modes and to transfer energy from p-modes to f-modes. Scattering is likely to be the dominant source for the linewidths of p-modes. In particular, it may account for the unexpectedly large linewidths measured for low frequency modes. Copies of preprints of the two papers referred to above are attached. The remainder of the report is devoted to a description of unpublished results.

Goldreich, Peter↗

Experimental evaluation of thermal-fluids performance of Helium-Cooled Flat Plate (HCFP) divertor

Various helium (He)-cooled solid-tungsten (W) divertor concepts have been proposed for long-pulse magnetic fusion energy reactors. Among these concepts, the He-cooled flat plate divertor (HCFP) modules have the largest plasma-facing surface area of ~0.2 m 2 . Simulations have shown that the most recent version of the design can withstand heat fluxes as great as 8 MW/m 2 . Earlier experimental studies of a single shortened HCFP cooling unit with a slot length of 7.6 cm used air at ambient temperature and pressures below 0.6 MPa. Here, we present initial experimental studies of a copper alloy and steel test section modeling a shortened HCFP cooling unit using He at prototypical pressure of 10 MPa, inlet temperatures T i ≤ 200 °C and steady-state incident heat fluxes q" ≤ 1.2 MW/m 2 . Results for Nusselt number Nu as a function of Reynolds number Re were obtained for Re = 1.2×10 4 –3.4×10 4 , and used to develop a Nu(Re) correlation and validate numerical models of the test section using commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Simulations with this model are performed to evaluate the effect of the shortened slot. Furthermore, these analyses are used to estimate the thermal-fluids performance of the HCFP under prototypical conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A MULTI-COMPONENT ANALYSIS INDICATES A POSITRONIC MAJOR FLARE IN GRS 1915+105

A modeling strategy that is adapted to the study of synchrotron-self-absorbed plasmoids that was developed for the quasar Mrk 231 by Reynolds et al. is applied to the microquasar GRS 1915+105. The major flare from 1993 December shows spectral evidence of three such self-absorbed components. The analysis yields an estimate of the power that is required to eject the plasmoids from the central engine that is independent of other estimates that exist in the literature for different flares. The technique has an advantage since the absorbed spectrum contains an independent constraint provided by the optical depth at each epoch of observation. The modeling procedure presented here self-consistently determines the dimensions of the radio-emitting plasma from the spectral shape. Thus, structural dimensions are determined analytically that can be much smaller than interferometer beamwidths. A synthesis of the time evolution of the components allows one to address the fundamental uncertainties in previous estimates. First, the plasma is not protonic, but comprises an electron-positron gas. The minimum electron energy is determined to be less than six times the electron rest-mass energy. The analysis also indicates that the plasmoids are ejected from the central engine magnetically dominated. The temporal behavior is one of magnetic energy conversion to mechanical energy as the plasmoids approach equipartition. The time-dependent models bound the impulsive energy flux, Q, required to eject the individual major flare plasmoids from the central engine to, 4.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 37} erg s{sup -1} < Q < 6.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 38} erg s{sup -1}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Toward Verification of RANS Simulations of the T-Tube Modular Divertor Using Large Eddy Simulations of Impinging Turbulent Plane Jets

Turbulent impinging jets have been proposed to cool high heat flux plasma-facing components such as the solid tungsten target plates of the divertor in long-pulse magnetic fusion energy reactors. In particular, the T-tube modular divertor, originally developed by the ARIES Team, consists of two concentric cylindrical tubes where helium flows through a slot in the inner tube, forming an approximately planar jet that impinges upon and cools the inner surface of the pressure boundary (namely, the outer tube) and the ~15-cm 2 plasma-facing W target. The objective of this work is to demonstrate that large eddy simulations (LESs) accurately simulate the thermal transport in canonical flows that comprise the cooling flow in the T-tube, as well as validate temperatures from LES with experimental measurements in a simplified T-tube geometry. Wall‑resolved LESs, validated by experimental data and verified by direct numerical simulations (DNSs), provide benchmark data for two canonical flows in the T‑tube, namely, planar impinging and wall jets, for Reynolds numbers Re B = 4 × 10 3 to 2 × 10 4 . Our LES results are within 4% to 12% root-mean-square error (RMSE) of surface Nusselt number distributions (Nu) from experiments and DNSs. The validated LES results are then used as the ground truth to evaluate four Reynolds‑averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence closures, namely, the k‑ω SST, realizable k‑ε, GEKO, and γ‑SST models. The k‑ω SST model has the best overall performance in terms of heat transfer, giving surface Nu within 12% RMSE of the LES results for high‑ReB impinging jets and reduced overprediction in the wall‑jet region. The GEKO model with default constants has the next best performance, providing slightly better Nu predictions for low ReB impinging jets (versus k-ω SST) but worse overall performance over the full range of ReB studied here. The realizable k‑ε turbulence model significantly overestimates turbulence near the stagnation point, while the γ‑SST model suppresses near‑wall production, biasing the simulations toward simulating laminar surface heat transfer. Simulations of the simplified T‑tube show that LES and RANS simulations with the k‑ω SST model give nearly identical average heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) over the impingement surface. The realizable k‑ε model predicts significantly lower wall temperatures due to overestimation of HTC in the outlet flow.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Turbulent Concentration of mm-Size Particles in the Protoplanetary Nebula: Scale-Dependent Cascades

The initial accretion of primitive bodies (here, asteroids in particular) from freely-floating nebula particles remains problematic. Traditional growth-by-sticking models encounter a formidable "meter-size barrier" (or even a mm-to-cm-size barrier) in turbulent nebulae, making the preconditions for so-called "streaming instabilities" difficult to achieve even for so-called "lucky" particles. Even if growth by sticking could somehow breach the meter size barrier, turbulent nebulae present further obstacles through the 1-10km size range. On the other hand, nonturbulent nebulae form large asteroids too quickly to explain long spreads in formation times, or the dearth of melted asteroids. Theoretical understanding of nebula turbulence is itself in flux; recent models of MRI (magnetically-driven) turbulence favor low-or- no-turbulence environments, but purely hydrodynamic turbulence is making a comeback, with two recently discovered mechanisms generating robust turbulence which do not rely on magnetic fields at all. An important clue regarding planetesimal formation is an apparent 100km diameter peak in the pre-depletion, pre-erosion mass distribution of asteroids; scenarios leading directly from independent nebula particulates to large objects of this size, which avoid the problematic m-km size range, could be called "leapfrog" scenarios. The leapfrog scenario we have studied in detail involves formation of dense clumps of aerodynamically selected, typically mm-size particles in turbulence, which can under certain conditions shrink inexorably on 100-1000 orbit timescales and form 10-100km diameter sandpile planetesimals. There is evidence that at least the ordinary chondrite parent bodies were initially composed entirely of a homogeneous mix of such particles. Thus, while they are arcane, turbulent concentration models acting directly on chondrule size particles are worthy of deeper study. The typical sizes of planetesimals and the rate of their formation can be estimated using a statistical model with properties inferred from large numerical simulations of turbulence. Nebula turbulence is described by its Reynolds number Re = (L/eta)(exp 4/3), where L = H alpha(exp 1/2) is the largest eddy scale, H is the nebula gas vertical scale height, alpha the turbulent viscosity parameter, and eta is the Kolmogorov or smallest scale in turbulence (typically about 1km), with eddy turnover time t(sub eta). In the nebula, Re is far larger than any numerical simulation can handle, so some physical arguments are needed to extend the results of numerical simulations to nebula conditions. In this paper, we report new physics to be incorporated into our statistical models.

mm-size particles↗