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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 433 records · Page 24

Vibration dissociation coupling in nonequilibrium flows

The final report on research between North Carolina State University and the NASA Ames Research Center is presented. The research was aimed at using the Schwartz, Slawsky, Herzfeld (SSH) theory to simulate the vibrational relaxation of nitrogen molecules undergoing dissociation or recombination over a wide range of conditions. The results of these simulations were then treated as exact, and they were used to develop a model for the coupled vibration-dissociation process. This new model is simple enough to be used in computational fluid dynamics codes, but still captures the physics of the complex process. The model is used to simulate the flow over typical geometries to test it and to determine how much impact it has on the flow field. The key elements of this research are summarized.

Candler, Graham V.↗

Assessment of the Draft AIAA S-119 Flight Dynamic Model Exchange Standard

An assessment of a draft AIAA standard for flight dynamics model exchange, ANSI/AIAA S-119-2011, was conducted on behalf of NASA by a team from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center. The assessment included adding the capability of importing standard models into real-time simulation facilities at several NASA Centers as well as into analysis simulation tools. All participants were successful at importing two example models into their respective simulation frameworks by using existing software libraries or by writing new import tools. Deficiencies in the libraries and format documentation were identified and fixed; suggestions for improvements to the standard were provided to the AIAA. An innovative tool to generate C code directly from such a model was developed. Performance of the software libraries compared favorably with compiled code. As a result of this assessment, several NASA Centers can now import standard models directly into their simulations. NASA is considering adopting the now-published S-119 standard as an internal recommended practice.

Jackson, E. Bruce↗

Modeling Multibody Stage Separation Dynamics Using Constraint Force Equation Methodology

This paper discusses the application of the constraint force equation methodology and its implementation for multibody separation problems using three specially designed test cases. The first test case involves two rigid bodies connected by a fixed joint, the second case involves two rigid bodies connected with a universal joint, and the third test case is that of Mach 7 separation of the X-43A vehicle. For the first two cases, the solutions obtained using the constraint force equation method compare well with those obtained using industry- standard benchmark codes. For the X-43A case, the constraint force equation solutions show reasonable agreement with the flight-test data. Use of the constraint force equation method facilitates the analysis of stage separation in end-to-end simulations of launch vehicle trajectories

Tartabini, Paul V.↗

Acoustics and Performance Characteristics of an Ideally Twisted Rotor in Hover

A series of experiments were conducted in an anechoic chamber to investigate the noise and performance of an ideally twisted rotor design, leading to validation of a low-fidelity aerodynamic performance and acoustic modeling tool chain. An "ideally twisted" rotor was designed in order to simplify the theoretical rotor inflow for a target thrust condition in hover. This rotor design was then fabricated using state-of-the-art rapid prototyping and tested in an anechoic chamber facility. Aerodynamic load and acoustic data were acquired across a range of rotation rates (RPM) and rotor collective settings in order to ascertain the accuracy of the low-fidelity modeling codes. Emphasis was placed on modeling of the broadband self-noise generated by the rotor system due to the fact that it was found to be a prominent contributor to the overall rotor system noise.

Nicole A. Pettingill↗

Acoustic and Performance Characteristics of an Ideally Twisted Rotor in Hover

A series of experiments were conducted in an anechoic chamber to investigate the noise and performance of an ideally twisted rotor design, leading to validation of a low-fidelity aerodynamic performance and acoustic modeling tool chain. An “ideally twisted” rotor was designed in order to simplify the theoretical rotor inflow for a target thrust condition in hover. This rotor design was then fabricated using state-of-the-art rapid prototyping and tested in an anechoic chamber. Aerodynamic load and acoustic data were acquired across a range of rotation rates and rotor collective settings in order to both identify noise trends and ascertain the accuracy of the low-fidelity modeling codes. Emphasis was placed on modeling of the broadband self-noise generated by the rotor system due to the fact that it was found to be a prominent contributor to the overall rotor system noise.

Nicole A Pettingill↗

Fractals in biology and medicine

Our purpose is to describe some recent progress in applying fractal concepts to systems of relevance to biology and medicine. We review several biological systems characterized by fractal geometry, with a particular focus on the long-range power-law correlations found recently in DNA sequences containing noncoding material. Furthermore, we discuss the finding that the exponent alpha quantifying these long-range correlations ("fractal complexity") is smaller for coding than for noncoding sequences. We also discuss the application of fractal scaling analysis to the dynamics of heartbeat regulation, and report the recent finding that the normal heart is characterized by long-range "anticorrelations" which are absent in the diseased heart.

Review↗

Plasma Heating Simulation in the VASIMR System

The paper describes the recent development in the simulation of the ion-cyclotron acceleration of the plasma in the VASIMR experiment. The modeling is done using an improved EMIR code for RF field calculation together with particle trajectory code for plasma transport calculat ion. The simulation results correlate with experimental data on the p lasma loading and predict higher ICRH performance for a higher density plasma target. These simulations assist in optimizing the ICRF anten na so as to achieve higher VASIMR efficiency.

Ilin, Andrew V.↗

PATOKA: Simulating Electromagnetic Observables of Black Hole Accretion

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

supermassive black holes↗

Kinematic modeling of the Galaxy. I - The Yale Bright Star Catalogue

A code has been developed to investigate the kinematic properties of stellar populations of the Galaxy by modeling the distributions of proper motion and line-of-sight velocity. The coordinate frames of reference are discussed in detail and the general matrix transformations valid beyond the solar neighborhood are given. As a first application, the kinematic properties of the magnitude-selected sample of 3993 stars in the Bright Star Catalogue with V less than 6.0 and (B-V) greater than 0 are selected. The observed kinematic distributions are compared with a conventional model that has an exponential disk with scale heights, components of velocity dispersion ellipsoid, and asymmetric drift taken from the literature and defined as functions of spectral type. The comparisons suggest that a significant fraction of the Bright Star Catalogue belongs to a relatively young population that is not properly represented in the model.

Ratnatunga, Kavan U.↗

Continued Astrometric Follow-up Of Near-Earth Objects

As the grant periods overlapped, some of this information below will also be present on the previous final report. During the period May 1 2004 to April 30 2005, approximately 100 NEOs fainter than V = 20 were observed on separate nights from the 1.2-m telescope at Mt. Hopkins. Additionally, a few comets were targeted, including astrometric support of the Deep Impact mission by observing comet P/Tempel 1. Kyle Smalley was again employed as an independent contractor, and he was trained in use of the telescope, performed several remote observing runs on his own, and has now begun critical software support of the observing program. Code to automatically operate the telescope, given a target list, is approximately 90% done. During the first observing run scheduled in late September or early October, this code will be tested at on the telescope. It is probable that the 1.2m telescope will be run automatically all night without any interruption from the observer for anything during this time. Additional work on selecting which NEO targets to observe is progressing, with a beta-release of a simple target selection web page. Additionally, two-night objects with the potential of being NEOs have been extracted on a routine basis during this last grant cycle. These will also be added to a web page to facilitate additional astrometric follow-up.

Spahr, Timothy↗

INTEGRAL reloaded: Spacecraft, instruments and ground system

The European Space Agency’s INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (ESA/INTEGRAL) was launched aboard a Proton-DM2 rocket on 17 October 2002 at 06:41 CEST, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Since then, INTEGRAL has been providing long, uninterrupted observations (up to about 47 h, or 170 ksec, per satellite orbit of 2.7 days) with a large field-of-view (FOV, fully coded: 100 deg), millisecond time resolution, keV energy resolution, polarization measurements, as well as additional wavelength coverage at optical wavelengths. This is realized by two main instruments in the 15 keV to 10 MeV energy range, the spectrometer SPI (spectral resolution 3 keV at 1.8 MeV) and the imager IBIS (angular resolution: 12 arcmin FWHM), complemented by X-ray (JEM-X; 3–35 keV) and optical (OMC; Johnson V-band) monitor instruments. All instruments are co-aligned to simultaneously observe the target region. A particle radiation monitor (IREM) measures charged particle fluxes near the spacecraft. The Anti-coincidence subsystems of the main instruments, built to reduce the background, are also very efficient all-sky γ-ray detectors, which provide virtually omni-directional monitoring above ~75 keV. Besides the long, scheduled observations, INTEGRAL can rapidly (within a couple of hours) re-point and conduct Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations on a large variety of sources. INTEGRAL observations and their scientific results have been building an impressive legacy: The discovery of currently more than 600 new high-energy sources; the first-ever direct detection of (56)Ni and (56)Co radio-active decay lines from a Type Ia supernova; spectroscopy of isotopes from galactic nucleo-synthesis sources; new insights on enigmatic positron annihilation in the Galactic bulge and disk; and pioneering gamma-ray polarization studies. INTEGRAL is also a successful actor in the new multi-messenger astronomy introduced by non-electromagnetic signals from gravitational waves and from neutrinos: INTEGRAL found the first prompt electromagnetic radiation in coincidence with a binary neutron star merger. Up to now more than 1750 scientific papers based on INTEGRAL data have been published in refereed journals. In this paper, we will give a comprehensive update of the satellite status after more than 18 years of operations in a harsh space environment, and an account of the successful Ground Segment.

Erik Kuulkers↗

Stability of the Tilt Modes of an Actively Controlled Flywheel Analyzed

Applications of strongly gyroscopic rotors are becoming important, including flywheels for terrestrial and space energy storage and various attitude control devices for spacecraft. Some of these applications, especially the higher speed ones for energy storage, will have actively controlled magnetic bearings. These bearings will be required where speeds are too high for conventional bearings, where adequate lubrication is undesirable or impossible, or where bearing losses must be minimized for efficient energy storage. Flywheel rotors are highly gyroscopic, and above some speed that depends on the bandwidth of the feedback system, they always become unstable in an actively controlled magnetic bearing system. To assess ways to prevent instability until speeds well above the desired operating range, researchers at the NASA Lewis Research Center used a commercial controls code to calculate the eigenvalues of the tilt modes of a rigid gyroscopic rotor supported by active magnetic bearings. The real part of the eigenvalue is the negative of the damping of the mode, and the imaginary part is approximately equal to the mode s frequency.

Brown, Gerald V.↗

Large Scale Finite Element Modeling Using Scalable Parallel Processing

An iterative solver for use with finite element codes was developed for the Cray T3D massively parallel processor at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Finite element modeling is useful for simulating scattered or radiated electromagnetic fields from complex three-dimensional objects with geometry variations smaller than an electrical wavelength.

finite element modeling parallel processing iterat↗

Negative streamer development in FEP teflon

A computational model is developed which describes the evolution and propagation of an ionizing front (negative streamer) in solid materials. The ionization front consists of drifting avalanching electrons moving self-consistently under the influence of their own space-charge field together with an applied external field. The required input information for the model consists of the functional dependence of the macroscopic transport coefficients on the local electric field, the initial conditions for beginning the calculation, and the strength of the applied field. A computational approach for specifying the transport coefficients and initional conditions is also described. The approach has been implemented by constructing three computer codes which sequentially interface, beginning with single electron scattering, and ending with streamer development. Computational results are presented for model calculations in Teflon. The overall model is perceived to provide a picture of the initiation phase of a propagating discharge in electron-irradiated dielectrics.

Beers, B. L.↗

Turbofan forced mixer-nozzle internal flowfield. Volume 2: Computational fluid dynamic predictions

A general program was conducted to develop and assess a computational method for predicting the flow properties in a turbofan forced mixed duct. The detail assessment of the resulting computer code is presented. It was found that the code provided excellent predictions of the kinematics of the mixing process throughout the entire length of the mixer nozzle. The thermal mixing process between the hot core and cold fan flows was found to be well represented in the low speed portion of the flowfield.

Werle, M. J.↗

An algebraic turbulence model for three-dimensional viscous flows

An algebraic turbulence model is proposed for use with three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analyses. It incorporates features of both the Baldwin-Lomax and Cebeci-Smith models. The Baldwin-Lomax model uses the maximum of a function f(y) to determine length and velocity scales. An analysis of the Baldwin-Lomax model shows that f(y) can have a spurious maximum close to the wall, causing numerical problems and non-physical results. The proposed model uses integral relations to determine delta(*) u(sub e) and delta used in the Cebeci-Smith mode. It eliminates a constant in the Baldwin-Lomax model and determines the two remaining constants by comparison to the Cebeci-Smith formulation. Pressure gradient effects, a new wake model, and the implementation of these features in a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code are also described. Results are shown for a flat plate boundary layer, an annular turbine cascade, and endwall heat transfer in a linear turbine cascade. The heat transfer results agree well with experimental data which shows large variations in endwall Stanton number contours with Reynolds number.

Chima, R. V.↗

Ballistic limit regression analysis for Space Station Freedom meteoroid and space debris protection system

Relationships defining the ballistic limit of Space Station Freedom's (SSF) dual wall protection systems have been determined. These functions were regressed from empirical data found in Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Hypervelocity Impact Testing Summary (HITS) for the velocity range between three and seven kilometers per second. A stepwise linear least squares regression was used to determine the coefficients of several expressions that define a ballistic limit surface. Using statistical significance indicators and graphical comparisons to other limit curves, a final set of expressions is recommended for potential use in Probability of No Critical Flaw (PNCF) calculations for Space Station. The three equations listed below represent the mean curves for normal, 45 degree, and 65 degree obliquity ballistic limits, respectively, for a dual wall protection system consisting of a thin 6061-T6 aluminum bumper spaced 4.0 inches from a .125 inches thick 2219-T87 rear wall with multiple layer thermal insulation installed between the two walls. Normal obliquity is d(sub c) = 1.0514 v(exp 0.2983 t(sub 1)(exp 0.5228). Forty-five degree obliquity is d(sub c) = 0.8591 v(exp 0.0428) t(sub 1)(exp 0.2063). Sixty-five degree obliquity is d(sub c) = 0.2824 v(exp 0.1986) t(sub 1)(exp -0.3874). Plots of these curves are provided. A sensitivity study on the effects of using these new equations in the probability of no critical flaw analysis indicated a negligible increase in the performance of the dual wall protection system for SSF over the current baseline. The magnitude of the increase was 0.17 percent over 25 years on the MB-7 configuration run with the Bumper II program code.

Jolly, William H.↗

Collisional-Radiative Nonequilibrium and Precursor Effects in a Nitrogen Shock Wave

Improvements to a plasma code with a Collisional-Radiative (CR) non-equilibrium model are made, allowing for a more accurate description of the physical processes. The code allows for non-Boltzmann distributions of the electronic excited states by convecting separately each excited state, as a pseudo-specie. Each molecular state has also its own vibrational temperature, while a global rotational temperature is assumed. The free electron temperature is different from those of the excited states, and the electron heat conduction is also included. The CR model also uses a unique coupling between chemistry and vibrational energy (C-V coupling), which is fully coherent, and has the property of establishing thermal equilibrium as well as chemical equilibrium, on its own. We have also included a coupling between electronic excitations and vibrational energy (X-V coupling), which can have a strong influence on the vibrational temperature of some states. The recent improvements include the multi- temperature dependence of the chemical rates for associative ionization, as well as the estimation of the internal energies transferred during this process. Additionally, the distribution of energy into different translational modes (electron and heavy particles) is now correctly modeled. This provides a very rapid heating mechanism for the free electrons, since it is found that the electrons are generated with an average thermal energy of the same order as the heavy particle translational energy. This effect was observed by Gorelov et al in a recent paper, and lead to pronounced peaks in electron temperature immediately behind the shock. We will attempt ro reproduce this phenomenon. The last modification concerns the inclusion of the radiative terms into the calculations, thus enabling us to observe the effect of radiative losses and radiation transport. Preliminary tests have shown that the radiative losses are not negligible, i.e. the shock velocity drops when the radiative emission is included. In addition, we have observed some precursor excitation and ionization phenomena. These may be important at high shock velocities, and this will be investigated in detail. Precursor phenomena were also observed (in air) by Gorelov et al, and our results (for pure nitrogen) will be qualitatively compared with theirs.

Cambier, Jean-Luc↗