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At least 559 records · Page 31

Simulation of Local Tie Accuracy on VLBI Antennas

We introduce a new mathematical model to compute the centering parameters of a VLBI antenna. These include the coordinates of the reference point, axis offset, orientation, and non-perpendicularity of the axes. Using the model we simulated how precisely parameters can be computed in different cases. Based on the simulation we can give some recommendations and practices to control the accuracy and reliability of the local ties at the VLBI sites.

Kallio, Ulla↗

Three-Dimensional Computational Model for Flow in an Over-Expanded Nozzle With Porous Surfaces

A three-Dimensional computational model is used to simulate flow in a non-axisymmetric, convergent-divergent nozzle incorporating porous cavities for shock-boundary layer interaction control. The nozzle has an expansion ratio (exit area/throat area) of 1.797 and a design nozzle pressure ratio of 8.78. Flow fields for the baseline nozzle (no porosity) and for the nozzle with porous surfaces of 10% openness are computed for Nozzle Pressure Ratio (NPR) varying from 1.29 to 9.54. The three dimensional computational results indicate that baseline (no porosity) nozzle performance is dominated by unstable, shock-induced, boundary-layer separation at over-expanded conditions. For NPR less than or equal to 1.8, the separation is three dimensional, somewhat unsteady, and confined to a bubble (with partial reattachment over the nozzle flap). For NPR greater than or equal to 2.0, separation is steady and fully detached, and becomes more two dimensional as NPR increased. Numerical simulation of porous configurations indicates that a porous patch is capable of controlling off design separation in the nozzle by either alleviating separation or by encouraging stable separation of the exhaust flow. In the present paper, computational simulation results, wall centerline pressure, mach contours, and thrust efficiency ratio are presented, discussed and compared with experimental data. Results indicate that comparisons are in good agreement with experimental data. The three-dimensional simulation improves the comparisons for over-expanded flow conditions as compared with two-dimensional assumptions.

Abdol-Hamid, K. S.↗

A Summary of Structural Test and Simulation Results for Hawker 4000 Composite Fuselage Hardware

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) was able to obtain a partially fabricated Hawker Beechcraft Model 4000 (Hawker 4000) aft aircraft section to use for study. The Hawker 4000 is a medium sized business jet (14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25 – Transport Category Aircraft) with seating for 8 to 14 people and fabricated out of carbon composite. The Hawker 4000 was designed in the early 2000s to compete with Gulfstream and Bombardier business jet units. The Hawker Beechcraft business unit declared bankruptcy in 2012, and abruptly halted production of the 4000 series aircraft. As a result, only 73 full production aircraft were built. This all-composite aft fuselage section was an ideal candidate to utilize for investigations of composite structures undergoing dynamic loading in order to satisfy NASA Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) project objectives. Thus, a team at NASA LaRC embarked on a test and simulation program in late 2021 in order to generate test data of composite structures undergoing dynamic loading conditions. As a part of these investigations, methods including reverse engineering the geometry, conducting as-fabricated materials testing and using non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques such as ultrasonic through transmission were utilized in order to develop digital twin finite element models for use in computational simulations.

dynamic composite testing↗

User's instructions for the cardiovascular Walters model

The model is a combined, steady-state cardiovascular and thermal model. It was originally developed for interactive use, but was converted to batch mode simulation for the Sigma 3 computer. The model has the purpose to compute steady-state circulatory and thermal variables in response to exercise work loads and environmental factors. During a computer simulation run, several selected variables are printed at each time step. End conditions are also printed at the completion of the run.

Croston, R. C.↗

Model of Mixing Layer With Multicomponent Evaporating Drops

A mathematical model of a three-dimensional mixing layer laden with evaporating fuel drops composed of many chemical species has been derived. The study is motivated by the fact that typical real petroleum fuels contain hundreds of chemical species. Previously, for the sake of computational efficiency, spray studies were performed using either models based on a single representative species or models based on surrogate fuels of at most 15 species. The present multicomponent model makes it possible to perform more realistic simulations by accounting for hundreds of chemical species in a computationally efficient manner. The model is used to perform Direct Numerical Simulations in continuing studies directed toward understanding the behavior of liquid petroleum fuel sprays. The model includes governing equations formulated in an Eulerian and a Lagrangian reference frame for the gas and the drops, respectively. This representation is consistent with the expected volumetrically small loading of the drops in gas (of the order of 10 3), although the mass loading can be substantial because of the high ratio (of the order of 103) between the densities of liquid and gas. The drops are treated as point sources of mass, momentum, and energy; this representation is consistent with the drop size being smaller than the Kolmogorov scale. Unsteady drag, added-mass effects, Basset history forces, and collisions between the drops are neglected, and the gas is assumed calorically perfect. The model incorporates the concept of continuous thermodynamics, according to which the chemical composition of a fuel is described probabilistically, by use of a distribution function. Distribution functions generally depend on many parameters. However, for mixtures of homologous species, the distribution can be approximated with acceptable accuracy as a sole function of the molecular weight. The mixing layer is initially laden with drops in its lower stream, and the drops are colder than the gas. Drop evaporation leads to a change in the gas-phase composition, which, like the composition of the drops, is described in a probabilistic manner

Bellan, Josette↗

Atmospheric modeling related to Thematic Mapper scan geometry

A simulation study was carried out to characterize atmospheric effects in LANDSAT-D Thematic Mapper data. In particular, the objective was to determine if any differences would result from using a linear vs. a conical scanning geometry. Insight also was gained about the overall effect of the atmosphere on Thematic Mapper signals, together with the effects of time of day. An added analysis was made of the geometric potential for direct specular reflections (sun glint). The ERIM multispectral system simulation model was used to compute inband Thematic Mapper radiances, taking into account sensor, atmospheric, and surface characteristics. Separate analyses were carried out for the thermal band and seven bands defined in the reflective spectral region. Reflective-region radiances were computed for 40 deg N, 0 deg, and 40 deg S latitudes; June, Mar., and Dec. days; and 9:30 and 11:00 AM solar times for both linear and conical scan modes. Also, accurate simulations of solar and viewing geometries throughout Thematic Mapper orbits were made. It is shown that the atmosphere plays an important role in determining Thematic Mapper radiances, with atmospheric path radiance being the major component of total radiances for short wavelengths and decreasing in importance as wavelength increases. Path radiance is shown to depend heavily on the direct radiation scattering angle and on haze content. Scan-angle-dependent variations were shown to be substantial, especially for the short-wavelength bands.

Malila, W. A.↗

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Implementation for Agent-Based Microbial Radiobiology Model

Sending human life past the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to explore the Moon and Mars will be challenging. The Earth’s magnetic field naturally protects life from deep-space particle radiation such as Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE); these will pose health risks to humans in deep space. Research has been done to investigate these effects, like BioSentinel, the first biological CubeSat to fly beyond the LEO, designed to culture yeast in a microfluidic device and record optical measurements of growth and metabolism. However, experiments can only report cell damage as bulk growth curves, while deep-space radiation causes damage that is heterogeneous among individual cells. AMMPER is an open-source, agent-based, computational model coded in Python to simulate the effects of deep-space radiation on individual yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to facilitate interpretation of biological radiation experiments. Version 1.0 of the code ran in a command line interface (CLI), limiting use to those familiar with modularization, object-oriented programming, and computational models. Here we present a graphical user interface (GUI) for AMMPER to increase its accessibility. GUI development included converting input points and UI files, designing an application and logo, and expanding program packages. Additionally, we added optical assistance that corresponded with simulation parameters, which included simulation type, cell type, ROS model, and radiation dosage, as well as customizable display and file exportation features. Following a pilot testing period, its structure was updated further to enhance abilities, adding increased runs, video visualization, data plotting, and an educational/tutorial component. Future work will include creating a bit installer and runtime environment for AMMPER. Ultimately, the creation of the GUI has two main goals: to facilitate the integration of computational models into the work of researchers in microbial radiobiology, and to act as an interactive and visual resource for space biology education.

yeast↗

Validation of High-Fidelity CFD/CAA Framework for Launch Vehicle Acoustic Environment Simulation against Scale Model Test Data

A hybrid Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Aero-Acoustics (CFD/CAA) modeling framework has been developed for launch vehicle liftoff acoustic environment predictions. The framework couples the existing highly-scalable NASA production CFD code, Loci/CHEM, with a high-order accurate discontinuous Galerkin solver developed in the same production framework, Loci/THRUST, to accurately resolve and propagate acoustic physics across the entire launch environment. Time-accurate, Hybrid RANS/LES CFD modeling is applied for predicting the acoustic generation physics at the plume source, and a high-order accurate unstructured discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is employed to propagate acoustic waves away from the source across large distances using high-order accurate schemes. The DG solver is capable of solving 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order Euler solutions for non-linear, conservative acoustic field propagation. Initial application testing and validation has been carried out against high resolution acoustic data from the Ares Scale Model Acoustic Test (ASMAT) series to evaluate the capabilities and production readiness of the CFD/CAA system to resolve the observed spectrum of acoustic frequency content. This paper presents results from this validation and outlines efforts to mature and improve the computational simulation framework.

Liever, Peter A.↗

Validation of High-Fidelity CFD/CAA Framework for Launch Vehicle Acoustic Environment Simulation against Scale Model Test Data

A hybrid Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Aero-Acoustics (CFD/CAA) modeling framework has been developed for launch vehicle liftoff acoustic environment predictions. The framework couples the existing highly-scalable NASA production CFD code, Loci/CHEM, with a high-order accurate Discontinuous Galerkin solver developed in the same production framework, Loci/THRUST, to accurately resolve and propagate acoustic physics across the entire launch environment. Time-accurate, Hybrid RANS/LES CFD modeling is applied for predicting the acoustic generation physics at the plume source, and a high-order accurate unstructured mesh Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is employed to propagate acoustic waves away from the source across large distances using high-order accurate schemes. The DG solver is capable of solving 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order Euler solutions for non-linear, conservative acoustic field propagation. Initial application testing and validation has been carried out against high resolution acoustic data from the Ares Scale Model Acoustic Test (ASMAT) series to evaluate the capabilities and production readiness of the CFD/CAA system to resolve the observed spectrum of acoustic frequency content. This paper presents results from this validation and outlines efforts to mature and improve the computational simulation framework.

Liever, Peter A.↗

Recent Advancements in the PATO Material Response Code

Introduction: Predicting the complicated multiphysics phenomena during atmospheric entry requires high-fidelity modeling tools to refine estimates of mission risks during entry. To this end, new capabilities are being added to the Porous-material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO). PATO is an open-source software for Computational Material Response (CMR) of reactive porous materials submitted to high-temperature environments. The objective of this work is to highlight current efforts to add to and improve upon the modeling capabilities of PATO. These include efforts to loosely couple PATO with other discipline specialized codes including hypersonic Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), to assess the interaction effects between pyrolysis gas blowing and the boundary layer, and Computational Solid Mechanics (CSM), to address modeling of mechanical erosion. Other refinements include surface phenomena modeling capabilities to address the effects of silicone-based coatings applied to the TPS during flight preparation, and a unified multiphase solver for a mixed porous-material and plain-fluid domain. Coupling CMR with CFD (CMR/CFD): A loose coupling between PATO and the Data Parallel Line Relaxation (DPLR) CFD code has been achieved by making use of a blowing boundary condition at the heatshield surface available in DPLR. Starting with heat flux estimates with no pyrolysis gas blowing at the surface, blowing gases are computed by the CMR and passed to the CFD such that aerothermal properties of the environment can be recomputed for a new CMR computation. This leads to an iterative process which is supplemented with an estimate of the radiative heat flux using the Nonequilibrium air radiation (NEQAIR) program. The entire iterative process is illustrated in Figure 1. This coupling strategy has been utilized in computing the MSL material response. The goal is to compare the coupled CMR/CFD results with material response results obtained using traditional blowing corrections. Coupling CMS with CMR: A mechanical erosion model is currently being implemented in PATO to account for the additional mass removal induced by high shear conditions. The modeling process at each timestep consists of updating the mechanical properties as a function of temperature and computing the stress tensor and displacement fields of the material. Then, a failure criteria model determines the regions in which the stress exceeds the ultimate strength values resulting in mesh movement to account for mass removal. This model allows the material response simulation to compute the recession due to both oxidation and shear-induced erosion. The model is demonstrated by computing material response of sphere-cone arc jet samples. Surface Modeling Capabilities: NuSil, a silicone-based coating, was sprayed onto the MSL and Mars 2020 heatshields to mitigate shedding of phenolic dust. To better understand the effects of the NuSil coating on the material response, a novel model has been implemented in PATO. In this model, the equilibrium of the charred NuSil surface is modeled as pure silica, and a constant offset, inspired by the classical spallation model, is added to the the char blowing rate and wall enthalpy to reproduce HyMETS experimental results. The model has also been used to estimate the 3D material response of the MSL heatshield. Unified Solver: In addition to the iterative loose coupling approach mentioned above, a multiphase unified solver is being developed to couple the environment (plain-fluid phase) and the porous-material phase. The solver is based on the volume averaged conservation of mass, momentum, and energy for the macroscale with closure models which include microscale effects through effective physicochemical properties. The unified solver has been used to compute flow through a porous plug and solve the Beavers and Joseph problem. Since the strong coupling between phases is inherent to this solver, modeling assumptions present in other coupling methods of material response are mitigated. This strategy also makes it feasible to capture the competition between surface and volume ablation in the same computational domain, which is usually not possible with other coupling approaches.

Material Response↗

Recent Advancements in the PATO Material Response Code

Introduction: Predicting the complicated multiphysics phenomena during atmospheric entry requires high-fidelity modeling tools to refine estimates of mission risks during entry. To this end, new capabilities are being added to the Porous-material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) [1,2,3]. PATO is an open-source software for Computational Material Response (CMR) of reactive porous materials submitted to high-temperature environments. The objective of this work is to highlight current efforts to add to and improve upon the modeling capabilities of PATO. These include efforts to loosely couple PATO with other discipline specialized codes including hypersonic Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), to assess the interaction effects between pyrolysis gas blowing and the boundary layer, and Computational Solid Mechanics (CSM), to address modeling of mechanical erosion. Other refinements include surface phenomena modeling capabilities to address the effects of silicone-based coatings applied to the TPS during flight preparation, and a unified multiphase solver for a mixed porous-material and plain-fluid domain. Coupling CMR with CFD (CMR/CFD): A loose coupling between PATO and the Data Parallel Line Relaxation (DPLR) [4] CFD code has been achieved by making use of a blowing boundary condition at the heatshield surface available in DPLR. Starting with heat flux estimates with no pyrolysis gas blowing at the surface, blowing gases are computed by the CMR and passed to the CFD such that aerothermal properties of the environment can be recomputed for a new CMR computation. This leads to an iterative process which is supplemented with an estimate of the radiative heat flux using the Nonequilibrium air radiation (NEQAIR) [5] program. The entire iterative process is illustrated in Figure 1. This coupling strategy has been utilized in computing the MSL material response. The goal is to compare the coupled CMR/CFD results with material response results obtained using traditional blowing corrections. Coupling CMS with CMR: A mechanical erosion model is currently being implemented in PATO to account for the additional mass removal induced by high shear conditions. The modeling process at each timestep consists of updating the mechanical properties as a function of temperature and computing the stress tensor and displacement fields of the material. Then, a failure criteria model determines the regions in which the stress exceeds the ultimate strength values resulting in mesh movement to account for mass removal. This model allows the material response simulation to compute the recession due to both oxidation and shear-induced erosion. The model is demonstrated by computing material response of sphere-cone arc jet samples. Surface Modeling Capabilities: NuSil, a silicone-based coating, was sprayed onto the MSL and Mars 2020 heatshields to mitigate shedding of phenolic dust. To better understand the effects of the NuSil coating on the material response, a novel model has been implemented in PATO. In this model, the equilibrium of the charred NuSil surface is modeled as pure silica, and a constant offset, inspired by the classical spallation model, is added to the the char blowing rate and wall enthalpy to reproduce HyMETS experimental results. The model has also been used to estimate the 3D material response of the MSL heatshield [6]. Unified Solver: In addition to the iterative loose coupling approach mentioned above, a multiphase unified solver is being developed to couple the environment (plain-fluid phase) and the porous-material phase. The solver is based on the volume averaged conservation of mass, momentum, and energy for the macroscale with closure models which include microscale effects through effective physicochemical properties. The unified solver has been used to compute flow through a porous plug and solve the Beavers and Joseph problem [7]. Since the strong coupling between phases is inherent to this solver, modeling assumptions present in other coupling methods of material response are mitigated. This strategy also makes it feasible to capture the competition between surface and volume ablation in the same computational domain, which is usually not possible with other coupling approaches.

Thermal Protection Systems↗

Water recovery and management test support modeling for Space Station Freedom

The water-recovery and management (WRM) subsystem proposed for the Space Station Freedom program is outlined, and its computerized modeling and simulation based on a Computer Aided System Engineering and Analysis (CASE/A) program are discussed. A WRM test model consisting of a pretreated urine processing (TIMES), hygiene water processing (RO), RO brine processing using TIMES, and hygiene water storage is presented. Attention is drawn to such end-user equipment characteristics as the shower, dishwasher, clotheswasher, urine-collection facility, and handwash. The transient behavior of pretreated-urine, RO waste-hygiene, and RO brine tanks is assessed, as well as the total input/output to or from the system. The model is considered to be beneficial for pretest analytical predictions as a program cost-saving feature.

Mohamadinejad, Habib↗

Composite Erosion by Computational Simulation

Composite degradation is evaluated by computational simulation when the erosion degradation occurs on a ply-by-ply basis and the degrading medium (device) is normal to the ply. The computational simulation is performed by a multi factor interaction model and by a multi scale and multi physics available computer code. The erosion process degrades both the fiber and the matrix simultaneously in the same slice (ply). Both the fiber volume ratio and the matrix volume ratio approach zero while the void volume ratio increases as the ply degrades. The multi factor interaction model simulates the erosion degradation, provided that the exponents and factor ratios are selected judiciously. Results obtained by the computational composite mechanics show that most composite characterization properties degrade monotonically and approach "zero" as the ply degrades completely.

Chamis, Christos C.↗

Model-based parameter estimation using cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress

This paper presents a cardiovascular model that is capable of simulating the short-term (< or approximately equal to 3 min) transient hemodynamic response to gravitational stress and a gradient-based optimization method that allows for the automated estimation of model parameters from simulated or experimental data. We perform a sensitivity analysis of the transient heart rate response to determine which parameters of the model impact the heart rate dynamics significantly. We subsequently include only those parameters in the estimation routine that impact the transient heart rate dynamics substantially. We apply the estimation algorithm to both simulated and real data and showed that restriction to the 20 most important parameters does not impair our ability to match the data.

Non-NASA Center↗

Galactic scale gas flows in colliding galaxies: 3-dimensional, N-body/hydrodynamics experiments

We present some results from three dimensional computer simulations of collisions between models of equal mass galaxies, one of which is a rotating, disk galaxy containing both gas and stars and the other is an elliptical containing stars only. We use fully self consistent models in which the halo mass is 2.5 times that of the disk. In the experiments we have varied the impact parameter between zero (head on) and 0.9R (where R is the radius of the disk), for impacts perpendicular to the disk plane. The calculations were performed on a Cray 2 computer using a combined N-body/smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) program. The results show the development of complicated flows and shock structures in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the disk and the propagation outwards of a density wave in both the stars and the gas. The collisional nature of the gas results in a sharper ring than obtained for the star particles, and the development of high volume densities and shocks.

Lamb, Susan A.↗

Computational Model of Human and System Dynamics in Free Flight: Studies in Distributed Control Technologies

This paper presents a set of studies in full mission simulation and the development of a predictive computational model of human performance in control of complex airspace operations. NASA and the FAA have initiated programs of research and development to provide flight crew, airline operations and air traffic managers with automation aids to increase capacity in en route and terminal area to support the goals of safe, flexible, predictable and efficient operations. In support of these developments, we present a computational model to aid design that includes representation of multiple cognitive agents (both human operators and intelligent aiding systems). The demands of air traffic management require representation of many intelligent agents sharing world-models, coordinating action/intention, and scheduling goals and actions in a potentially unpredictable world of operations. The operator-model structure includes attention functions, action priority, and situation assessment. The cognitive model has been expanded to include working memory operations including retrieval from long-term store, and interference. The operator's activity structures have been developed to provide for anticipation (knowledge of the intention and action of remote operators), and to respond to failures of the system and other operators in the system in situation-specific paradigms. System stability and operator actions can be predicted by using the model. The model's predictive accuracy was verified using the full-mission simulation data of commercial flight deck operations with advanced air traffic management techniques.

Corker, Kevin M.↗

In Pursuit of CFD-based Wind Tunnel Calibrations

Computational fluid dynamic simulations of models tested in wind tunnels require a high level of fidelity and accuracy, particularly for the purposes of CFD validation efforts. Considerable effort is required to ensure a sufficient characterization of both the physical geometry of the wind tunnel, the thermodynamics of the tunnel, and flow conditions in the test section. The condition setting process among subsonic wind tunnels, closed or open throat, is generally the same, though they can differ in specific details of the thermodynamics. The derivation, application, and error estimation of condition setting and calibration is discussed. Computational flow solutions of the high-speed leg of the NASA Langley Research Center 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel are used to evaluate the calibration process and discuss calibration curve sensitivities. Duplicating the characteristics of a particular wind tunnel is difficult at best. A calibration curve derived from the computational method is the most consistent method to use for tunnel condition setting.

wind tunnel↗

Experimental, Theoretical, and Computational Investigation of Separated Nozzle Flows

A detailed experimental, theoretical, and computational study of separated nozzle flows has been conducted. Experimental testing was performed at the NASA Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel Complex. As part of a comprehensive static performance investigation, force, moment, and pressure measurements were made and schlieren flow visualization was obtained for a sub-scale, non-axisymmetric, two-dimensional, convergent- divergent nozzle. In addition, two-dimensional numerical simulations were run using the computational fluid dynamics code PAB3D with two-equation turbulence closure and algebraic Reynolds stress modeling. For reference, experimental and computational results were compared with theoretical predictions based on one-dimensional gas dynamics and an approximate integral momentum boundary layer method. Experimental results from this study indicate that off-design overexpanded nozzle flow was dominated by shock induced boundary layer separation, which was divided into two distinct flow regimes; three- dimensional separation with partial reattachment, and fully detached two-dimensional separation. The test nozzle was observed to go through a marked transition in passing from one regime to the other. In all cases, separation provided a significant increase in static thrust efficiency compared to the ideal prediction. Results indicate that with controlled separation, the entire overexpanded range of nozzle performance would be within 10% of the peak thrust efficiency. By offering savings in weight and complexity over a conventional mechanical exhaust system, this may allow a fixed geometry nozzle to cover an entire flight envelope. The computational simulation was in excellent agreement with experimental data over most of the test range, and did a good job of modeling internal flow and thrust performance. An exception occurred at low nozzle pressure ratios, where the two-dimensional computational model was inconsistent with the three-dimensional separation observed in the experiment. In general, the computation captured the physics of the shock boundary layer interaction and shock induced boundary layer separation in the nozzle, though there were some differences in shock structure compared to experiment. Though minor, these differences could be important for studies involving flow control or thrust vectoring of separated nozzles. Combined with other observations, this indicates that more detailed, three-dimensional computational modeling needs to be conducted to more realistically simulate shock-separated nozzle flows.

Hunter, Craig A.↗