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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of thermal energy storage material with change-of-phase volumetric effects

NASA's Space Station Freedom proposed hybrid power system includes photovoltaic arrays with nickel hydrogen batteries for energy storage and solar dynamic collectors driving Brayton heat engines with change-of-phase Thermal Energy Storage (TES) devices. A TES device is comprised of multiple metallic, annular canisters which contain a eutectic composition LiF-CaF2 Phase Change Material (PCM) that melts at 1040 K. A moderately sophisticated LiF-CaF2 PCM computer model is being developed in three stages considering 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D canister geometries, respectively. The 1-D model results indicate that the void has a marked effect on the phase change process due to PCM displacement and dynamic void heat transfer resistance. Equally influential are the effects of different boundary conditions and liquid PCM natural convection. For the second stage, successful numerical techniques used in the 1-D phase change model are extended to a 2-D (r,z) PCM containment canister model. A prototypical PCM containment canister is analyzed and the results are discussed.

Kerslake, Thomas W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Mode-medium instability and its correction with a Gaussian reflectivity mirror

A high power CO2 laser beam is known to deteriorate after a few microseconds due to a mode-medium instability (MMI) which results from an intensity dependent heating rate related to the vibrational-to-translational decay of the upper and lower CO2 lasing levels. An iterative numerical technique is developed to model the time evolution of the beam as it is affected by the MMI. The technique is used to study the MMI in an unstable CO2 resonator with a hard-edge output mirror for different parameters like the Fresnel number and the gas density. The results show that the mode of the hard edge unstable resonator deteriorates because of the diffraction ripples in the mode. A Gaussian-reflectivity mirror was used to correct the MMI. This mirror produces a smoother intensity profile which significantly reduces the effects of the MMI. Quantitative results on peak density variation and beam quality are presented.

Webster, K. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Compensating for pneumatic distortion in pressure sensing devices

A general numerical technique for obtaining unsteady pressure measurements using conventional pressure sensing technology has been developed. A pneumatic distortion model, based on the Navier-Stokes equations of momentum and continuity, was reduced to a low-order, state-variable model retaining most of the dynamic characteristics of the full model. The reduced-order model is coupled with results from minimum variance estimation theory to develop an algorithm to compensate the effects of pneumatic distortion. Both postflight and real-time algorithms were developed and evaluated using simulated and flight data.

Whitmore, Stephen A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Current collection by a long conducting cylinder in a flowing magnetized plasma

The numerical techniques, the definitions, and the normalizations used in the simulations of plasma flow past a long conducting cylinder with a magnetic field along the cylinder axis are described. The effect of cross-field plasma transport on the current collection without any contribution to the current from the field-aligned motion of the plasma particles is highlighted. The electric fields in the structure create a two-cell circulation of the electrons near the cylinder. The cell in the wake region has negative potentials. A fan-shaped circulation cell forms around the cylinder and in this cell the potential is generally positive. The geometry and the size of this positive cell affect the current collection. The potential structure around the cylinder is examined, along with its effect on the current collection and its oscillatory behavior. The variation of the time-average current as a function of the relative motion between the plasma and the cylinder is also investigated.

Singh, Nagendra↗
NASA NTRS1990

An analysis of the shapes of ultraviolet extinction curves. III - An atlas of ultraviolet extinction curves

The basic data needed to produce UV extinction curves for a sample of 78 stars, including spectral types, visual photometry, parameters used to produce fits to the UV extinction curves, distances to the program stars, and line-of-sight H I column densities, are presented. The observational and numerical techniques used to obtain the results are discussed in detail. The UV extinction curves and their analytic fits are shown graphically.

Fitzpatrick, Edward L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Patch structured surface grid with dynamic curvature clustering

The numerical technique developed by Eiseman (1985) to generate surface grids with lines clustered in areas of greater curvature is described and demonstrated. This approach combines the direct active use of surface curvature with a mean-value relaxation scheme and multigrid methods; it permits an arbitrary number of patches to be organized in a single integer array based on a patch number, an edge number, and a boundary-condition index. Grids for typical CFD applications are presented and briefly characterized.

Wang, YI↗
NASA NTRS1990

CFD modeling of an arc-heated jet

On the basis of state-of-the-art numerical techniques and physical models, a new CFD program is developed for the simulation of a high-enthalpy reacting ionized thermally relaxing nitrogen plasma in a cylindrical plenum chamber. A preliminary validation by comparison with experimental results was obtained. The algorithm is shown to be very efficient, and the empirical modeling gave results of practical use for the configuration studied.

Rostand, Phillipe↗
NASA NTRS1990

Numerical methods for TVD transport and coupled relaxing processes in gases and plasmas

The construction of second-order upwind schemes for nonequilibrium plasmas, for both one- and two-fluid formulations is demonstrated. Coupled relaxation processes, including ionization kinetics and radiative processes and their algorithms for nonequilibrium, multiple temperature conditions are described as well. The paper applies the numerical techniques on some simple test cases, points out critical problems and their solutions, and makes qualitative comparisons with known results, whenever possible.

Cambier, Jean-Luc↗
NASA NTRS1989

Three-dimensional simulation of underexpanded plumes using upwind algorithms

Different numerical techniques have been examined for simulating the underexpanded plumes in supersonic flows. The results revealed that the monotone differentiable limiter is superior to the TVD (total variation diminishing) minmod limiter when the MUSCL (monotonic upstream schemes for conservation laws) approach is used for Roe's upwind scheme. Roe's upwind scheme is found to be superior to the central difference scheme not only for capturing shock waves, but also for capturing shear flows.

Obayashi, Shigeru↗
NASA NTRS1989

Simulation of powered-lift flows

The primary objective is to expose government, industry, and academic scientists to work underway at NASA-Ames towards the application of CFD to the powered lift area. One goal is to produce the technologies which will be required in the application of numerical techniques to, for example, the Supersonic STOVL program. The progress to date on the following specific projects is presented: Jet in ground effect with crossflow; Jet in a crossflow; Delta planform with multiple jets in ground effect; Integration of CFD with thermal and acoustic analyses; Improved flow visualization techniques for unsteady flows; YAV-8B Harrier simulation program; and E-7 simulation program.

Vandalsem, William R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of a time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes solver based on a fractional-step method

The development, validation and application of a fractional step solution method of the time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in generalized coordinate systems are discussed. A solution method that combines a finite-volume discretization with a novel choice of the dependent variables and a fractional step splitting to obtain accurate solutions in arbitrary geometries was previously developed for fixed-grids. In the present research effort, this solution method is extended to include more general situations, including cases with moving grids. The numerical techniques are enhanced to gain efficiency and generality.

Rosenfeld, Moshe↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of a time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes solver based on a fractional-step method

The main goals are the development, validation, and application of a fractional step solution method of the time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in generalized coordinate systems. A solution method that combines a finite volume discretization with a novel choice of the dependent variables and a fractional step splitting to obtain accurate solutions in arbitrary geometries is extended to include more general situations, including cases with moving grids. The numerical techniques are enhanced to gain efficiency and generality.

Rosenfeld, Moshe↗
NASA NTRS1990

Image correlation nondestructive evaluation of impact damage in a glass fiber composite

Presented in viewgraph format, digital image correlation, damage in fibrous composites, and damaged coupons (cross-ply scotchply GI-Ep laminate) are outlined. It was concluded that the image correlation accuracy was 0.03 percent; strains can be processed through Tsai-Hill failure criteria to qualify the damage; the statistical data base must be generated to evaluate certainty of the damage estimate; size effects need consideration; and better numerical techniques are needed.

Russell, Samuel S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Navier-Stokes simulation of the supersonic combustion flowfield in a ram accelerator

A computational study of the ram accelerator, a ramjet-in-tube device for accelerating projectiles to ultrahigh velocities, is presented. The analysis is performed using a fully implicit TVD scheme that efficiently solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the species continuity equations associated with a finite rate combustion model. Previous analyses of this concept were based on inviscid assumptions. The present results indicate that viscous effects are of primary importance; in all the cases studied, shock-induced combustion always started in the boundary layer. The effects of Mach number, mixture composition, pressure, and turbulence are investigated for various configurations. Two types of combustion processes, one stable and the other unstable, were observed depending on the inflow conditions. In the unstable case, a detonation wave is formed, which propagates upstream and unstarts the ram accelerator. In the stable case, a solution that converges to steady-state is obtained, in which the combustion wave remains stationary with respect to the ram accelerator projectile. The possibility of stabilizing the detonation wave by means of a backward facing step is also investigated. In addition to these studies, two numerical techniques were tested. These two techniques are vector extrapolation to accelerate convergence, and a diagonal formulation that eliminates the expense of inverting large block matrices that arise in chemically reacting flows.

Yungster, Shaye↗
NASA NTRS1991

Investigating decoherence in a simple system

The results of some simple calculations designed to study quantum decoherence are presented. The physics of quantum decoherence are briefly reviewed, and a very simple 'toy' model is analyzed. Exact solutions are found using numerical techniques. The type of incoherence exhibited by the model can be changed by varying a coupling strength. The author explains why the conventional approach to studying decoherence by checking the diagonality of the density matrix is not always adequate. Two other approaches, the decoherence functional and the Schmidt paths approach, are applied to the toy model and contrasted to each other. Possible problems with each are discussed.

Albrecht, Andreas↗
NASA NTRS1990

Finite-element models of continental extension

Numerical models of the initial deformation of extending continental lithosphere, computed to investigate the control of preexisting thermal and mechanical heterogeneities on the style of deformation, are presented. The finite element method is used to calculate deformation with a viscoelastic-plastic model for the lithosphere. Comparisons of the results of analytic models and finite-element models using this method show that good results may be obtained by the numerical technique, even with elements containing both brittle and viscoelastic sampling points. It is shown that the gross style of initial extensional deformation is controlled by the depth and width of the initial heterogeneity which localizes deformation.

Lynch, H. David↗
NASA NTRS1991

Local and overall aerodynamic coefficients for bodies in hypersonic, rarefied flow

A computational method is given for the prediction of local pressure and viscous shear stress on windward surfaces of bluff, convex, axisymmetric or quasi-axisymmetric, hypersonic bodies in the transitional, rarefied flow regime. Overall aerodynamic forces and moments are computed by integration of the local quantities. The method is based upon a correlation of local pressure and shear stress computed by the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) numerical technique for cold wall, real gas conditions and some supplemental data from low-density, hypersonic wind tunnels. The relative simplicity of the method makes it feasible to do the necessary calculations with a personal computer. Two-dimensional shapes and leeward surfaces are not included in the scope of the method as it is presented here. Results are compared with DSMC computations for both local and overall coefficients. The latter includes sphere and blunt cone drag as well as lift and pitching moment coefficients for the NASA AFE vehicle at various angles of attack. Very satisfactory agreement is shown.

Potter, J. Leith↗
NASA NTRS1991

Vibration-dissociation coupling in nonequilibrium flows

The purpose of the study is to evaluate all important physical phenomena contributing to the vibration-dissociation problem by developing a numerical technique for the simulation of the vibrational relaxation and dissociation/recombination of N(2) in an isothermal box. A set of coupled master equations representing each vibrational level of N(2) is solved, and both V-V and V-T exchanges between molecules and atoms are included, along with the effects of dissociation and recombustion from/to each level. It is observed that the inverse range parameter has a strong impact on the vibrational exchange rates and relaxation. In a heating case, the lower vibrational levels relax through a series of equilibrium distributions, while in a cooling case, a population inversion is formed in the upper levels. Other cases of heating and cooling will be simulated, and together with this work, used to develop a matrix of nonequilibrium relaxation runs.

Landrum, D. Brian↗