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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Evaluation of the Intel iWarp parallel processor for space flight applications

The potential of a DARPA-sponsored advanced processor, the Intel iWarp, for use in future SSF Data Management Systems (DMS) upgrades is evaluated through integration into the Ames DMS testbed and applications testing. The iWarp is a distributed, parallel computing system well suited for high performance computing applications such as matrix operations and image processing. The system architecture is modular, supports systolic and message-based computation, and is capable of providing massive computational power in a low-cost, low-power package. As a consequence, the iWarp offers significant potential for advanced space-based computing. This research seeks to determine the iWarp's suitability as a processing device for space missions. In particular, the project focuses on evaluating the ease of integrating the iWarp into the SSF DMS baseline architecture and the iWarp's ability to support computationally stressing applications representative of SSF tasks.

Hine, Butler P., III↗
NASA NTRS1989

Merlin - Massively parallel heterogeneous computing

Hardware and software for Merlin, a new kind of massively parallel computing system, are described. Eight computers are linked as a 300-MIPS prototype to develop system software for a larger Merlin network with 16 to 64 nodes, totaling 600 to 3000 MIPS. These working prototypes help refine a mapped reflective memory technique that offers a new, very general way of linking many types of computer to form supercomputers. Processors share data selectively and rapidly on a word-by-word basis. Fast firmware virtual circuits are reconfigured to match topological needs of individual application programs. Merlin's low-latency memory-sharing interfaces solve many problems in the design of high-performance computing systems. The Merlin prototypes are intended to run parallel programs for scientific applications and to determine hardware and software needs for a future Teraflops Merlin network.

Wittie, Larry↗
NASA NTRS2000

Self-Scheduling Parallel Methods for Multiple Serial Codes with Application to WOPWOP

This paper presents a scheme for efficiently running a large number of serial jobs on parallel computers. Two examples are given of computer programs that run relatively quickly, but often they must be run numerous times to obtain all the results needed. It is very common in science and engineering to have codes that are not massive computing challenges in themselves, but due to the number of instances that must be run, they do become large-scale computing problems. The two examples given here represent common problems in aerospace engineering: aerodynamic panel methods and aeroacoustic integral methods. The first example simply solves many systems of linear equations. This is representative of an aerodynamic panel code where someone would like to solve for numerous angles of attack. The complete code for this first example is included in the appendix so that it can be readily used by others as a template. The second example is an aeroacoustics code (WOPWOP) that solves the Ffowcs Williams Hawkings equation to predict the far-field sound due to rotating blades. In this example, one quite often needs to compute the sound at numerous observer locations, hence parallelization is utilized to automate the noise computation for a large number of observers.

Long, Lyle N.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Hybrid Reduced Order Model for N2-N2 Interactions for Application to Dissociation and Energy Transfer Processes

Recent work in the aerothermodynamics community has focused on the development of reduced-order models for thermo-chemical non-equilibrium which avoid the restrictive assumptions of multi-temperature models and the prohibitive cost associated with State-to-State (StS) models. In the present work, this is accomplished by lumping energy states together and assuming groups of states are roughly in equilibrium. As a result, the non-equilibrium behavior of a gas can be captured at a reduced computational cost from a full StS simulation. In this work, we present a hybrid grouping model for studying energy transfer and dissociation in a mixture of nitrogen molecules due to N2-N2 reactions. This is accomplished by making use of a grouping strategy informed by data from the N2-N StS kinetic data. However, due to the massive computational cost associated with constructing StS data for the N2-N2 system, the kinetic data for the hybrid grouping model are calculated using the quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) method by sampling states for trajectory within the groups. This general framework is called the Maximum-Entropy Quasi-Classical Trajectory (ME-QCT) method. The primary challenge associated with this method is that rates for reverse grouped reactions cannot be obtained through detailed balance at a group level, due to the variation of group internal temperatures. To construct the full model for N2-N2 grouped kinetics using the ME-QCT method, detailed balance is invoked at the microscopic level, allowing for the calculation of the full kinetic data from QCT. Results will be presented using the full ME-QCT model for the N2-N2 system in an isothermal and isochoric reactor simulation. In addition, simple CFD test cases for a one-dimensional standing shock and for a quasi-one-dimensional nozzle will be used for demonstration of the ME-QCT method. This method allows for the calculation of non-equilibrium behavior for the N2-N2 system without the prohibitive cost of a full StS simulation. Moreover, it enables the construction of a unified model for the dissociating and recombining non-equilibrium flows.

nonequilibrium modeling↗
NASA NTRS1987

Chemical network problems solved on NASA/Goddard's massively parallel processor computer

The single instruction stream, multiple data stream Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) unit consists of 16,384 bit serial arithmetic processors configured as a 128 x 128 array whose speed can exceed that of current supercomputers (Cyber 205). The applicability of the MPP for solving reaction network problems is presented and discussed, including the mapping of the calculation to the architecture, and CPU timing comparisons.

Cho, Seog Y.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Blood Pump Development Using Rocket Engine Flow Simulation Technology

This paper reports the progress made towards developing complete blood flow simulation capability in humans, especially in the presence of artificial devices such as valves and ventricular assist devices. Devices modeling poses unique challenges different from computing the blood flow in natural hearts and arteries. There are many elements needed to quantify the flow in these devices such as flow solvers, geometry modeling including flexible walls, moving boundary procedures and physiological characterization of blood. As a first step, computational technology developed for aerospace applications was extended to the analysis and development of a ventricular assist device (VAD), i.e., a blood pump. The blood flow in a VAD is practically incompressible and Newtonian, and thus an incompressible Navier-Stokes solution procedure can be applied. A primitive variable formulation is used in conjunction with the overset grid approach to handle complex moving geometry. The primary purpose of developing the incompressible flow analysis capability was to quantify the flow in advanced turbopump for space propulsion system. The same procedure has been extended to the development of NASA-DeBakey VAD that is based on an axial blood pump. Due to massive computing requirements, high-end computing is necessary for simulating three-dimensional flow in these pumps. Computational, experimental, and clinical results are presented.

Kwak, Dochan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Efficient, massively parallel eigenvalue computation

In numerical simulations of disordered electronic systems, one of the most common approaches is to diagonalize random Hamiltonian matrices and to study the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a single electron in the presence of a random potential. An effort to implement a matrix diagonalization routine for real symmetric dense matrices on massively parallel SIMD computers, the Maspar MP-1 and MP-2 systems, is described. Results of numerical tests and timings are also presented.

Huo, Yan↗
NASA NTRS1983

Massively parallel processor computer

An apparatus for processing multidimensional data with strong spatial characteristics, such as raw image data, characterized by a large number of parallel data streams in an ordered array is described. It comprises a large number (e.g., 16,384 in a 128 x 128 array) of parallel processing elements operating simultaneously and independently on single bit slices of a corresponding array of incoming data streams under control of a single set of instructions. Each of the processing elements comprises a bidirectional data bus in communication with a register for storing single bit slices together with a random access memory unit and associated circuitry, including a binary counter/shift register device, for performing logical and arithmetical computations on the bit slices, and an I/O unit for interfacing the bidirectional data bus with the data stream source. The massively parallel processor architecture enables very high speed processing of large amounts of ordered parallel data, including spatial translation by shifting or sliding of bits vertically or horizontally to neighboring processing elements.

Fung, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Computational chaos in massively parallel neural networks

A fundamental issue which directly impacts the scalability of current theoretical neural network models to massively parallel embodiments, in both software as well as hardware, is the inherent and unavoidable concurrent asynchronicity of emerging fine-grained computational ensembles and the possible emergence of chaotic manifestations. Previous analyses attributed dynamical instability to the topology of the interconnection matrix, to parasitic components or to propagation delays. However, researchers have observed the existence of emergent computational chaos in a concurrently asynchronous framework, independent of the network topology. Researcher present a methodology enabling the effective asynchronous operation of large-scale neural networks. Necessary and sufficient conditions guaranteeing concurrent asynchronous convergence are established in terms of contracting operators. Lyapunov exponents are computed formally to characterize the underlying nonlinear dynamics. Simulation results are presented to illustrate network convergence to the correct results, even in the presence of large delays.

Barhen, Jacob↗
NASA NTRS1991

Computations on the massively parallel processor at the Goddard Space Flight Center

Described are four significant algorithms implemented on the massively parallel processor (MPP) at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Two are in the area of image analysis. Of the other two, one is a mathematical simulation experiment and the other deals with the efficient transfer of data between distantly separated processors in the MPP array. The first algorithm presented is the automatic determination of elevations from stereo pairs. The second algorithm solves mathematical logistic equations capable of producing both ordered and chaotic (or random) solutions. This work can potentially lead to the simulation of artificial life processes. The third algorithm is the automatic segmentation of images into reasonable regions based on some similarity criterion, while the fourth is an implementation of a bitonic sort of data which significantly overcomes the nearest neighbor interconnection constraints on the MPP for transferring data between distant processors.

Strong, James P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The massively parallel processor

Future sensor systems will utilize massively parallel computing systems for rapid analysis of two-dimensional data. The Goddard Space Flight Center has an ongoing program to develop these systems. A single-instruction multiple data computer known as the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) is being fabricated for NASA by the Goodyear Aerospace Corporation. This processor contains 16,384 processing elements arranged in a 128 x 128 array. The MPP will be capable of adding more than 6 billion 8-bit numbers per second. Multiplication of eight-bit numbers can occur at a rate of 2 billion per second. Delivery of the MPP to Goddard Space Flight Center is scheduled for 1983.

Schaefer, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The factorization of large composite numbers on the MPP

The continued fraction method for factoring large integers (CFRAC) was an ideal algorithm to be implemented on a massively parallel computer such as the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP). After much effort, the first 60 digit number was factored on the MPP using about 6 1/2 hours of array time. Although this result added about 10 digits to the size number that could be factored using CFRAC on a serial machine, it was already badly beaten by the implementation of Davis and Holdridge on the CRAY-1 using the quadratic sieve, an algorithm which is clearly superior to CFRAC for large numbers. An algorithm is illustrated which is ideally suited to the single instruction multiple data (SIMD) massively parallel architecture and some of the modifications which were needed in order to make the parallel implementation effective and efficient are described.

Mckurdy, Kathy J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

CFD in design - A government perspective

Some of the research programs involving the use of CFD in the aerodynamic design process at government laboratories around the United States are presented. Technology transfer issues and future directions in the discipline or CFD are addressed. The major challengers in the aerosciences as well as other disciplines that will require high-performance computing resources such as massively parallel computers are examined.

Kutler, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1991

Micro- and meso-scale simulations of magnetospheric processes related to the aurora and substorm morphology

The primary methodology during the grant period has been the use of micro or meso-scale simulations to address specific questions concerning magnetospheric processes related to the aurora and substorm morphology. This approach, while useful in providing some answers, has its limitations. Many of the problems relating to the magnetosphere are inherently global and kinetic. Effort during the last year of the grant period has increasingly focused on development of a global-scale hybrid code to model the entire, coupled magnetosheath - magnetosphere - ionosphere system. In particular, numerical procedures for curvilinear coordinate generation and exactly conservative differencing schemes for hybrid codes in curvilinear coordinates have been developed. The new computer algorithms and the massively parallel computer architectures now make this global code a feasible proposition. Support provided by this project has played an important role in laying the groundwork for the eventual development or a global-scale code to model and forecast magnetospheric weather.

Swift, Daniel W.↗
NASA NTRS2016

An Overview of Spray Modeling With OpenNCC and its Application to Emissions Predictions of a LDI Combustor at High Pressure

The open national combustion code (Open- NCC) is developed with the aim of advancing the current multi-dimensional computational tools used in the design of advanced technology combustors. In this paper we provide an overview of the spray module, LSPRAY-V, developed as a part of this effort. The spray solver is mainly designed to predict the flow, thermal, and transport properties of a rapidly evaporating multi-component liquid spray. The modeling approach is applicable over a wide-range of evaporating conditions (normal, superheat, and supercritical). The modeling approach is based on several well-established atomization, vaporization, and wall/droplet impingement models. It facilitates large-scale combustor computations through the use of massively parallel computers with the ability to perform the computations on either structured & unstructured grids. The spray module has a multi-liquid and multi-injector capability, and can be used in the calculation of both steady and unsteady computations. We conclude the paper by providing the results for a reacting spray generated by a single injector element with 600 axially swept swirler vanes. It is a configuration based on the next-generation lean-direct injection (LDI) combustor concept. The results include comparisons for both combustor exit temperature and EINOX at three different fuel/air ratios.

spray modeling↗
NASA NTRS1991

Box schemes and their implementation on the iPSC/860

Research on algoriths for efficiently solving fluid flow problems on massively parallel computers is continued in the present paper. Attention is given to the implementation of a box scheme on the iPSC/860, a massively parallel computer with a peak speed of 10 Gflops and a memory of 128 Mwords. A domain decomposition approach to parallelism is used.

Chattot, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

SIAM Conference on Parallel Processing for Scientific Computing, 4th, Chicago, IL, Dec. 11-13, 1989, Proceedings

Attention is given to such topics as an evaluation of block algorithm variants in LAPACK and presents a large-grain parallel sparse system solver, a multiprocessor method for the solution of the generalized Eigenvalue problem on an interval, and a parallel QR algorithm for iterative subspace methods on the CM2. A discussion of numerical methods includes the topics of asynchronous numerical solutions of PDEs on parallel computers, parallel homotopy curve tracking on a hypercube, and solving Navier-Stokes equations on the Cedar Multi-Cluster system. A section on differential equations includes a discussion of a six-color procedure for the parallel solution of elliptic systems using the finite quadtree structure, data parallel algorithms for the finite element method, and domain decomposition methods in aerodynamics. Topics dealing with massively parallel computing include hypercube vs. 2-dimensional meshes and massively parallel computation of conservation laws. Performance and tools are also discussed.

Dongarra, Jack↗
NASA NTRS1990

Mapping unstructured grid problems to the connection machine

We present a highly parallel graph mapping technique that enables one to solve unstructured grid problems on massively parallel computers. Many implicit and explicit methods for solving discretizated partial differential equations require each point in the discretization to exchange data with its neighboring points every time step or iteration. The time spent communicating can limit the high performance promised by massively parallel computing. To eliminate this bottleneck, we map the graph of the irregular problem to the graph representing the interconnection topology of the computer such that the sum of the distances that the messages travel is minimized. We show that, in comparison to a naive assignment of processors, our heuristic mapping algorithm significantly reduces the communication time on the Connection Machine, CM-2.

Hammond, Steven W.↗