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At least 289 records · Page 16

Flight critical system design guidelines and validation methods

Efforts being expended at NASA-Langley to define a validation methodology, techniques for comparing advanced systems concepts, and design guidelines for characterizing fault tolerant digital avionics are described with an emphasis on the capabilities of AIRLAB, an environmentally controlled laboratory. AIRLAB has VAX 11/750 and 11/780 computers with an aggregate of 22 Mb memory and over 650 Mb storage, interconnected at 256 kbaud. An additional computer is programmed to emulate digital devices. Ongoing work is easily accessed at user stations by either chronological or key word indexing. The CARE III program aids in analyzing the capabilities of test systems to recover from faults. An additional code, the semi-Markov unreliability program (SURE) generates upper and lower reliability bounds. The AIRLAB facility is mainly dedicated to research on designs of digital flight-critical systems which must have acceptable reliability before incorporation into aircraft control systems. The digital systems would be too costly to submit to a full battery of flight tests and must be initially examined with the AIRLAB simulation capabilities.

Holt, H. M.↗

NASA Discovery Program Workshop

The purpose of the workshop was to review concepts for Discover-class missions that would follow the first two missions (MESUR-Pathfinder and NEAR) of this new program. The concepts had been generated by scientists involved in NASA's Solar System Exploration Program to carry out scientifically important investigations within strict guidelines -- $150 million cap on development cost and 3 year cap on development schedule. Like the Astrophysics Small Explorers (SMEX), such 'faster and cheaper' missions could provide vitality to solar system exploration research by returning high quality data more frequently and regularly and by involving many more young researchers than normally participate directly in larger missions. An announcement of opportunity (AO) to propose a Discovery mission to NASA is expected to be released in about two years time. One purpose of the workshop was to assist Code SL in deciding how to allocate its advanced programs resources. A second, complimentary purpose was to provide the concept proposers with feedback to allow them to better prepare for the AO.

Source record↗

Π4U: A high performance computing framework for Bayesian uncertainty quantification of complex models

We present Π4U,{sup 1} an extensible framework, for non-intrusive Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification and Propagation (UQ+P) of complex and computationally demanding physical models, that can exploit massively parallel computer architectures. The framework incorporates Laplace asymptotic approximations as well as stochastic algorithms, along with distributed numerical differentiation and task-based parallelism for heterogeneous clusters. Sampling is based on the Transitional Markov Chain Monte Carlo (TMCMC) algorithm and its variants. The optimization tasks associated with the asymptotic approximations are treated via the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES). A modified subset simulation method is used for posterior reliability measurements of rare events. The framework accommodates scheduling of multiple physical model evaluations based on an adaptive load balancing library and shows excellent scalability. In addition to the software framework, we also provide guidelines as to the applicability and efficiency of Bayesian tools when applied to computationally demanding physical models. Theoretical and computational developments are demonstrated with applications drawn from molecular dynamics, structural dynamics and granular flow.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Study on Radionuclides Selection for DCGLs Development for Site Release of KRR Units 1 and 2 site in Korea - 20256

The selection of Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) in nuclear facilities decommissioning is important because they serve as criteria for site characterization and final status surveys. DCGLs should be derived for KAERI TRIGA Mark II and III research reactor site clearance and prior to the work, a radionuclides list for DCGLs consideration was created. Radionuclides selection for DCGLs was performed according to the procedure proposed by the US NRC based on the characterization survey related to the decommission site. By evaluating the dose contribution of each radionuclide using D and D computer code, radionuclides with a dose contribution fraction of 0.1% or more for the entire radionuclide were selected. As a result, the selected radionuclides were beta radionuclides H-3, C-14 and Sr-90 and gamma radionuclides Co-60, Cs-137, Eu-152 and Eu-154. The selected radionuclides can be presented for consultation with domestic regulatory agencies in the future and will be used as the technical base of DCGLs for the final status survey. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Analysis of Wind Speed Shear and Turbulence LiDAR Measurements to Support Offshore Wind in the Northeast United States

In this paper, we present wind speed measurements collected at 40m to 200m above sea-level to support the New England Aqua Ventus I 12 MW Floating Offshore Wind Farm to be located 17km offshore the Northeast United States. The high-altitude wind speed data are unique and represent some of the first measurements made offshore in this part of the country which is actively being developed for offshore wind. Multiple LiDAR measurements were made using a DeepCLiDAR floating buoy and LiDARs located on land on a nearby island. The LiDARs compared favorably thereby confirming the LiDAR buoy measurements. Wind speed shear profiles are presented. The measurements are compared against industry standard mesoscale model outputs and offshore design codes including the American Bureau of Shipping, American Petroleum Institute, and DNV-GL guides. Significant variation in the vertical wind speed profile occurs throughout the year. This variation is not currently addressed in offshore wind design standards which typically recommend the use of only a few values for wind shear in operational and extreme conditions. The mean wind shears recorded were also higher than industry recommended values. Additionally, turbulence measurements made from the LiDAR, although not widely accepted in the scientific community, are presented and compared against industry guidelines.

American Petroleum Institute↗

SU-F-T-667: Development and Validation of Dose Calculation for An Open-Source KV Treatment Planning System for Small Animal Radiotherapy

Purpose: An open-source, convolution/superposition based kV-treatment planning system(TPS) was developed for small animal radiotherapy from previously existed in-house MV-TPS. It is flexible and applicable to both step and shoot and helical tomotherapy treatment delivery. For initial commissioning process, the dose calculation from kV-TPS was compared with measurements and Monte Carlo(MC) simulations. Methods: High resolution, low energy kernels were simulated using EGSnrc user code EDKnrc, which was used as an input in kV-TPS together with MC-simulated x-ray beam spectrum. The Blue Water™ homogeneous phantom (with film inserts) and heterogeneous phantom (with film and TLD inserts) were fabricated. Phantom was placed at 100cm SSD, and was irradiated with 250 kVp beam for 10mins with 1.1cm × 1.1cm open field (at 100cm) created by newly designed binary micro-MLC assembly positioned at 90cm SSD. Gafchromic™ EBT3 film was calibrated in-phantom following AAPM TG-61 guidelines, and were used for measurement at 5 different depths in phantom. Calibrated TLD-100s were obtained from ADCL. EGS and MNCP5 simulation were used to model experimental irradiation set up calculation of dose in phantom. Results: Using the homogeneous phantom, dose difference between film and kV-TPS was calculated: mean(x)=0.9%; maximum difference(MD)=3.1%; standard deviation(σ)=1.1%. Dose difference between MCNP5 and kV-TPS was: x=1.5%; MD=4.6%; σ=1.9%. Dose difference between EGS and kV-TPS was: x=0.8%; MD=1.9%; σ=0.8%. Using the heterogeneous phantom, dose difference between film and kV-TPS was: x=2.6%; MD=3%; σ=1.1%; and dose difference between TLD and kV-TPS was: x=2.9%; MD=6.4%; σ=2.5%. Conclusion: The inhouse, open-source kV-TPS dose calculation system was comparable within 5% of measurements and MC simulations in both homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms. The dose calculation system of the kV-TPS is validated as a part of initial commissioning process for small animal radiotherapy. The kV-TPS has the potential for accurate dose calculation for any kV treatment or imaging modalities.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Computational simulation of structural fracture in fiber composites

A methodology was developed for the computational simulation of structural fracture in fiber composites. This methodology consists of step-by-step procedures for mixed-mode fracture in generic components and an integrated computer code, Composite Durability Structural Analysis (CODSTRAN). The generic types of composite structural fracture include: (1) single and combined mode fracture in beams; 2) laminate free-edge delamination fracture; and (3) laminate center flaw progressive fracture. Structural fracture is identified by rapid changes in one or all of the following: (1) displacements, (2) frequencies, (3) the buckling loads, or (4) the strain energy release rate. These rapid changes are herein assumed to denote imminent structural fracture. Based on these rapid changes, parameters are identified which can be used as guidelines for structural fracture, inspection intervals and retirement for cause.

Chamis, Christos C.↗

Computational characterization of high temperature composites via METCAN

The computer code 'METCAN' (METal matrix Composite ANalyzer) developed at NASA Lewis Research Center can be used to predict the high temperature behavior of metal matrix composites using the room temperature constituent properties. A reference manual that characterizes some common composites is being developed from METCAN generated data. Typical plots found in the manual are shown for graphite/copper. These include plots of stress-strain, elastic and shear moduli, Poisson's ratio, thermal expansion, and thermal conductivity. This manual can be used in the preliminary design of structures and as a guideline for the behavior of other composite systems.

Brown, H. C.↗

A Study on Safety Evaluation of Safety Grade Smart Transmitter in Nuclear Power Plants

Smart transmitters contain microprocessors and the use of firmware and software in these microprocessors presents challenges to the nuclear industry, particularly when they are used in safety systems. Non-safety grade smart transmitters have been used for I and C systems of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Recently, smart transmitters have been used for safety grade I and C systems as well as non-safety grade I and C system for SKN 3 and 4 NPPs in Korea. Due to potential benefits of smart transmitter, it is anticipated smart transmitters will be widely used safety-related applications in NPPs. But there is currently no specific nuclear sector standard specifying the criteria for smart transmitter. Therefore, Smart transmitter's technology and characteristics need to be investigated and also develop review guideline of smart transmitter. For this reason, we performed a study on safety evaluation of safety grade Smart Transmitter in NPPs. This paper presents the results of study on safety evaluation of smart transmitter. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Continuous Integration, In-Code Documentation, and Automation for Nuclear Quality Assurance Conformance

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) is an open-source, finite element framework for solving highly coupled sets of nonlinear equations. The development of the framework and applications occurs concurrently using an agile, continuous-integration software package. Included in the framework is an in-code, extensible documentation system. Using these two tools in union with the repository management tools GitHub and GitLab, a software quality plan was created and followed such that MOOSE and a MOOSE-based application (BISON) have been shown to meet the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 standard. The approach relies heavily on automation for both testing and documentation. The resulting effort demonstrates that a rigorous software quality plan may be implemented that incurs a minimal impact on day-to-day development of the software, satisfying the stringent guidelines necessary to operate the software in a safety function within a nuclear facility.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A computational study of advanced exhaust system transition ducts with experimental validation

The current study is an application of CFD to a 'real' design and analysis environment. A subsonic, three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) code is used to construct stall margin design charts for optimum-length advanced exhaust systems' circular-to-rectangular transition ducts. Computer code validation has been conducted to examine the capability of wall static pressure predictions. The comparison of measured and computed wall static pressures indicates a reasonable accuracy of the PNS computer code results. Computations have also been conducted on 15 transition ducts, three area ratios, and five aspect ratios. The three area ratios investigated are constant area ratio of unity, moderate contracting area ratio of 0.8, and highly contracting area ratio of 0.5. The degree of mean flow acceleration is identified as a dominant parameter in establishing the minimum duct length requirement. The effect of increasing aspect ratio in the minimum length transition duct is to increase the length requirement, as well as to increase the mass-averaged total pressure losses. The design guidelines constructed from this investigation may aid in the design and manufacture of advanced exhaust systems for modern fighter aircraft.

Wu, C.↗

Use of the SPoRT Stoplight Product to Support NWS Decision Support Services

The National Weather Service Forecast Offices (NWSFOs) use many weather tools and observational datasets to provide support for critical decision-making by core partners such as public safety officials, emergency managers, and first responders. These core partners who need weather decision support services (DSS) for outdoor events require up-to-the-minute weather information to ensure the safety and protection of attendees and workers. Storms and lightning, potentially deadly, pose a significant threat during outdoor events and are among the weather phenomena frequently cited as a DSS requirement. According to the National Lightning Safety Council, from 2014 up to August 2024, lightning resulted in 222 fatalities in the U.S. For outdoor events with hundreds to thousands of attendees, having the right tools to detect and monitor lightning activity is of utmost importance to protect lives. Common guidelines for lightning safety include moving inside a substantial structure at the first sight of threatening skies or the first sound of thunder, and waiting 30 minutes after the last lightning flash or thunder before returning outside. Using this guidance as a framework, scientists at the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) center have developed the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) Stoplight tool. This experimental tool uses the GLM Flash Extent Density imagery to display the location and recency of lightning flashes. To simplify interpretation, these lightning pixels are color-coded in 10-minute bins, ranging from red (lightning detected 0 to 10 minutes ago) to yellow (10 to 20 minutes ago) to green (20 to 30 minutes ago). The Stoplight tool also allows users to place markers at the location of outdoor events with range rings around the location to help in assessing the location and relative age of lightning flashes near and upstream of the event. The goal is to help NWS forecasters provide core partners with the necessary information to make the best decisions possible. While the Stoplight tool is experimental, forecasters at NWSFO Raleigh, NC, have periodically used the Stoplight guidance to evaluate its utility within NWS DSS. This presentation will discuss how the Stoplight tool was successfully used for DSS for four outdoor events in central NC in 2023 and 2024. Future improvements to this tool, including the addition of AI applications and the merging of ground-based lightning data with GLM data, will be reviewed.

Gail Hartfield↗

Do Flashing and Sealant Materials Need to be Exposed to Extreme Cycling?

In the U.S., over 50% of homes were built before 1980, when minimal building codes existed. The aging of building envelopes can significantly contribute to the air leakage, moisture intrusion, and durability of buildings leading to higher energy demands. Although the durability of building materials and envelope systems has been studied extensively, the durability of specific components like window-wall flashing and sealants remains underexplored. Current standards such as ASTM, NIST, and AAMA primarily focus on durability testing considering the high temperatures only and require sealant testing on anodized aluminum panels, leaving questions about performance in cold or fluctuating temperatures unanswered. Current ASTM and AAMA standards provide guidelines for durability testing but predominantly focus on exposure to higher temperature conditions. It remains unclear how exposure to cold temperatures, or cycles of both hot and cold conditions, affect the durability of these materials. Furthermore, AAMA standards mandate that flashing materials be tested on anodized aluminum panels, which may not reflect real-world applications. Therefore, this initial study aims to explore this concern through testing by constructing two window-wall interface prototypes and applying five different flashing and sealant materials to their joints. These samples were subjected to extreme temperatures, ranging from −34 ℃ (−30 °F) to 50 ℃ (122 °F), over a 28-day period (fourteen cycles of 24 hours), with daily visual inspections to document any signs of deterioration such as wrinkling, distortion, or warping. The study has two main objectives: (1) to determine whether flashing and sealant materials lose their durability and strength when exposed to varying climate conditions, specifically cold climates, and (2) to assess whether the interaction of these materials with different substrates (e.g., lumber, PVC, insulation) affects their durability and strength under varying climate conditions. The findings demonstrate how aging impacts the durability of window-wall systems interfaces, justifying future research that potentially could lead to the development of new testing protocols if significant defects are identified.

Palani, Hevar [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000220211994)↗

Lightning Protection Guidelines for Aerospace Vehicles

This technical memorandum provides lightning protection engineering guidelines and technical procedures used by the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch for aerospace vehicles. The overviews illustrate the technical support available to project managers, chief engineers, and design engineers to ensure that aerospace vehicles managed by MSFC are adequately protected from direct and indirect effects of lightning. Generic descriptions of the lightning environment and vehicle protection technical processes are presented. More specific aerospace vehicle requirements for lightning protection design, performance, and interface characteristics are available upon request to the MSFC Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch, mail code EL23.

Goodloe, C. C.↗

Method for extracting forward acoustic wave components from rotating microphone measurements in the inlets of turbofan engines

This report describes a procedure for enhancing the use of the basic rotating microphone system so as to determine the forward propagating mode components of the acoustic field in the inlet duct at the microphone plane in order to predict more accurate far-field radiation patterns. In addition, a modification was developed to obtain, from the same microphone readings, the forward acoustic modes generated at the fan face, which is generally some distance downstream of the microphone plane. Both these procedures employ computer-simulated calibrations of sound propagation in the inlet duct, based upon the current radiation code. These enhancement procedures were applied to previously obtained rotating microphone data for the 17-inch ADP fan. The forward mode components at the microphone plane were obtained and were used to compute corresponding far-field directivities. The second main task of the program involved finding the forward wave modes generated at the fan face in terms of the same total radial mode structure measured at the microphone plane. To obtain satisfactory results with the ADP geometry it was necessary to limit consideration to the propagating modes. Sensitivity studies were also conducted to establish guidelines for use in other fan configurations.

Cicon, D. E.↗

An assessment of viscous effects in computational simulation of benign and burst vortex flows on generic fighter wind-tunnel models using TEAM code

Vortex flows on a twin-tail and a single-tail modular transonic vortex interaction (MTVI) model, representative of a generic fighter configuration, are computationally simulated in this study using the Three-dimensional Euler/Navier-Stokes Aerodynamic Method (TEAM). The primary objective is to provide an assessment of viscous effects on benign (10 deg angle of attack) and burst (35 deg angle of attack) vortex flow solutions. This study was conducted in support of a NASA project aimed at assessing the viability of using Euler technology to predict aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft configurations at moderate-to-high angles of attack in a preliminary design environment. The TEAM code solves the Euler and Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes equations on patched multiblock structured grids. Its algorithm is based on a cell-centered finite-volume formulation with multistage time-stepping scheme. Viscous effects are assessed by comparing the computed inviscid and viscous solutions with each other and experimental data. Also, results of Euler solution sensitivity to grid density and numerical dissipation are presented for the twin-tail model. The results show that proper accounting of viscous effects is necessary for detailed design and optimization but Euler solutions can provide meaningful guidelines for preliminary design of flight vehicles which exhibit vortex flows in parts of their flight envelope.

Kinard, Tim A.↗

Generalized serial search code acquisition - The equivalent circular state diagram approach

A transform-domain method for deriving the generating function of the acquisition process resulting from an arbitrary serial search strategy is presented. The method relies on equivalent circular state diagrams, uses Mason's formula from flow-graph theory, and employs a minimum number of required parameters. The transform-domain approach is briefly described and the concept of equivalent circular state diagrams is introduced and exploited to derive the generating function and resulting mean acquisition time for three particular cases of interest, the continuous/center Z search, the broken/center Z search, and the expanding window search. An optimization of the latter technique is performed whereby the number of partial windows which minimizes the mean acquisition time is determined. The numerical results satisfy certain intuitive predictions and provide useful design guidelines for such systems.

Polydoros, A.↗

Benchmarking and Evaluating Unified Memory for OpenMP GPU Offloading

Here, the latest OpenMP standard offers automatic device offloading capabilities which facilitate GPU programming. Despite this, there remain many challenges. One of these is the unified memory feature introduced in recent GPUs. GPUs in current and future HPC systems have enhanced support for unified memory space. In such systems, CPU and GPU can access each other's memory transparently, that is, the data movement is managed automatically by the underlying system software and hardware. Memory over subscription is also possible in these systems. However, there is a significant lack of knowledge about how this mechanism will perform, and how programmers should use it. We have modified several benchmarks codes, in the Rodinia benchmark suite, to study the behavior of OpenMP accelerator extensions and have used them to explore the impact of unified memory in an OpenMP context. We moreover modified the open source LLVM compiler to allow OpenMP programs to exploit unified memory. The results of our evaluation reveal that, while the performance of unified memory is comparable with that of normal GPU offloading for benchmarks with little data reuse, it suffers from significant overhead when GPU memory is over subcribed for benchmarks with large amount of data reuse. Based on these results, we provide several guidelines for programmers to achieve better performance with unified memory.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗