Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Computerized simulation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Two-Yukawa fluid at a hard wall: Field theory treatment

We apply a field-theoretical approach to study the structure and thermodynamics of a two-Yukawa fluid confined by a hard wall. We derive mean field equations allowing for numerical evaluation of the density profile which is compared to analytical estimations. Beyond the mean field approximation, analytical expressions for the free energy, the pressure, and the correlation function are derived. Subsequently, contributions to the density profile and the adsorption coefficient due to Gaussian fluctuations are found. Both the mean field and the fluctuation terms of the density profile are shown to satisfy the contact theorem. We further use the contact theorem to improve the Gaussian approximation for the density profile based on a better approximation for the bulk pressure. The results obtained are compared to computer simulation data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Plasma absorption evidence via chirped pulse spectral transmission measurements

This work aims at highlighting the plasma generation dynamics and absorption when a Bessel beam propagates in glass. We developed a simple diagnostics allowing us to retrieve clear indications of the formation of the plasma in the material, thanks to transmission measurements in the angular and wavelength domains. This technique featured by the use of a single chirped pulse having the role of pump and probe simultaneously leads to results showing the plasma nonlinear absorption effect on the trailing part of the pulse, thanks to the spectral-temporal correspondence in the measured signal, which is also confirmed by numerical simulations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Inverse patchy colloids with two and three patches. Analytical and numerical study

We propose an analytical solution of the multi-density Ornstein-Zernike equation supplemented by the associative Percus-Yevick closure relations specifically designed to describe the equilibrium properties of the novel class of patchy colloidal particles represented by the inverse patchy colloids with arbitrary number of patches. Using Baxter’s factorization method, we reduce solution of the problem to the solution of one nonlinear algebraic equation for the fraction of the particles with one non-bonded patch. We present closed-form expressions for the structure (structure factor) and thermodynamic (internal energy) properties of the system in terms of this fraction (and parameters of the model). We perform computer simulation studies and compare theoretical and computer simulation predictions for the pair distribution function, internal energy, and number of single and double bonds formed in the system, for two versions of the model, each with two and three patches. We consider the models with formation of the double bonds blocked by the patch-patch repulsion and the models without patch-patch repulsion. In general very good agreement between theoretical and computer simulation results is observed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

One-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics of a cylindrical liner imploded by an azimuthal magnetic field and compressing an axial field

The one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics of a plasma cylindrical liner is addressed in the case of a two components magnetic field. The azimuthal component is responsible for the implosion of the liner and the axial field is compressed inside the liner. A complete set of analytical profiles for the magnetic field components, the density, and the local velocity are proposed at the scale of the liner thickness. Numerical simulations are also presented to test the validity of the analytical formulas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Simulation of macromolecule self-assembly in solution: A multiscale approach

One of the most common processes to produce polymer nanoparticles is to induce self-assembly by using the solvent-displacement method, in which the polymer is dissolved in a “good” solvent and the solution is then mixed with an “anti-solvent”. The polymer ability to self-assemble in solution is therefore determined by its structural and transport properties in solutions of the pure solvents and at the intermediate compositions. In this work, we focus on poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) which is a biocompatible polymer that finds widespread application in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields, performing simulation at three different scales using three different computational tools: full atomistic molecular dynamics (MD), population balance modeling (PBM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Simulations consider PCL chains of different molecular weight in solution of pure acetone (good solvent), of pure water (anti-solvent) and their mixtures, and mixing at different rates and initial concentrations in a confined impinging jets mixer (CIJM). Our MD simulations reveal that the nano-structuring of one of the solvents in the mixture leads to an unexpected identical polymer structure irrespectively of the concentration of the two solvents. In particular, although in pure solvents the behavior of the polymer is, as expected, very different, at intermediate compositions, the PCL chain shows properties very similar to those found in pure acetone as a result of the clustering of the acetone molecules in the vicinity of the polymer chain. We derive an analytical expression to predict the polymer structural properties in solution at different solvent compositions and use it to formulate an aggregation kernel to describe the self-assembly in the CIJM via PBM and CFD. Simulations are eventually validated against experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multifractal moments in heavy ion Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV

In present work, we use the method of scaled factorial moments to search for intermittent behavior in Pb-Pb interactions at 158 A GeV. The analysis is done on photon distributions obtained using preshower photon multiplicity detector. Scaled factorial moments are used to study short range fluctuations in pseudorapidity distributions of photons. Scaled factorial moments are calculated using horizontal corrected and vertical analysis. The results are compared with simulation analysis using VENUS event generator.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Extreme multistability in a memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system

In this paper, a new memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system is designed. The proposed memristor-based system possesses multiple complex dynamic behaviors compared with other chaotic systems. Various coexisting attractors and hidden coexisting attractors are observed in this system, which means extreme multistability arises. Besides, by adjusting parameters of the system, this chaotic system can perform single-scroll attractors, double-scroll attractors, and four-scroll attractors. Basic dynamic characteristics of the system are investigated, including equilibrium points and stability, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, and so on. In addition, the presented system is also realized by an analog circuit to confirm the correction of the numerical simulations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hydrodynamic effects on β-amyloid (16-22) peptide aggregation

Computer simulations based on simplified representations are routinely used to explore the early steps of amyloid aggregation. However, when protein models with implicit solvent are employed, these simulations miss the effect of solvent induced correlations on the aggregation kinetics and lifetimes of metastable states. In this work, we apply the multi-scale Lattice Boltzmann Molecular Dynamics technique (LBMD) to investigate the initial aggregation phases of the amyloid Aβ{sub 16−22} peptide. LBMD includes naturally hydrodynamic interactions (HIs) via a kinetic on-lattice representation of the fluid kinetics. The peptides are represented by the flexible OPEP coarse-grained force field. First, we have tuned the essential parameters that control the coupling between the molecular and fluid evolutions in order to reproduce the experimental diffusivity of elementary species. The method is then deployed to investigate the effect of HIs on the aggregation of 100 and 1000 Aβ{sub 16−22} peptides. We show that HIs clearly impact the aggregation process and the fluctuations of the oligomer sizes by favouring the fusion and exchange dynamics of oligomers between aggregates. HIs also guide the growth of the leading largest cluster. For the 100 Aβ{sub 16−22} peptide system, the simulation of ∼300 ns allowed us to observe the transition from ellipsoidal assemblies to an elongated and slightly twisted aggregate involving almost the totality of the peptides. For the 1000 Aβ{sub 16−22} peptides, a system of unprecedented size at quasi-atomistic resolution, we were able to explore a branched disordered fibril-like structure that has never been described by other computer simulations, but has been observed experimentally.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Super massive black hole in galactic nuclei with tidal disruption of stars

Tidal disruption of stars by super massive central black holes from dense star clusters is modeled by high-accuracy direct N-body simulation. The time evolution of the stellar tidal disruption rate, the effect of tidal disruption on the stellar density profile, and, for the first time, the detailed origin of tidally disrupted stars are carefully examined and compared with classic papers in the field. Up to 128k particles are used in simulation to model the star cluster around a super massive black hole, and we use the particle number and the tidal radius of the black hole as free parameters for a scaling analysis. The transition from full to empty loss-cone is analyzed in our data, and the tidal disruption rate scales with the particle number, N, in the expected way for both cases. For the first time in numerical simulations (under certain conditions) we can support the concept of a critical radius of Frank and Rees, which claims that most stars are tidally accreted on highly eccentric orbits originating from regions far outside the tidal radius. Due to the consumption of stars moving on radial orbits, a velocity anisotropy is found inside the cluster. Finally we estimate the real galactic center based on our simulation results and the scaling analysis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Correction of Fluorescent Images of Biological Tissues for the Effects of Light Absorption and Scattering

A method for correcting the influence of light attenuation processes in biological tissues on their fluorescent images is proposed. The transfer function that takes into account the radiation losses in the medium at the wavelengths of excitation and emission of fluorescence is calculated analytically, depending on the transport scattering index and the hemoglobin tissue index. The latter is determined on the basis of a color image of the tissue in reflected visible light. Verification of the developed method was carried out on the basis of computer simulation of fluorescent images of biological tissue by the Monte Carlo method.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spectral–Dynamic Model of the Hot Plasma Layer Expansion

We propose a theoretical model describing the expansion of a plasma layer into vacuum for an arbitrary electron plasma component temperature. Comparison with the known limiting cases of the quasi-neutral outflow and the Coulomb explosion, as well as with the results of the 1D electrostatic simulation, has revealed a high accuracy of the proposed model in the description of the spectral–energy and spatial characteristics of ions accelerated during the plasma expansion. The procedure for obtaining the relations between the characteristics of accelerated ions and the laser pulse and target parameters is described with regard to qualitative predictions and the description of the results of numerical kinetic simulation and experiments on the laser and plasma acceleration of ions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Measurements of the populations of metastable and resonance levels in the plasma of an RF capacitive discharge in argon

The behavior of the populations of two metastable and two lower resonance levels of argon atoms in the plasma of an RF capacitive discharge was studied. The populations were measured by two methods: the method of emission self-absorption and the method based on measurements of the intensity ratios of spectral lines. It is shown that the populations of resonance levels increase with increasing power deposited in the discharge, whereas the populations of metastable levels is independent of the RF power. The distribution of the populations over energy levels is not equilibrium under these conditions. The population kinetics of argon atomic levels in the discharge plasma is simulated numerically. The distribution function of plasma electrons recovered from the measured populations of atomic levels and numerical simulations is found to be non-Maxwellian.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal performance sensitivity to radial power flattening considerations in Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Reactors

Nuclear thermal propulsion is currently being developed for manned Mars and Lunar missions by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration due to its increased specific impulse and significant thrust to reduce the total trip time and cost of deep space missions. To maximize the performance of the engine the exit hydrogen propellant temperature should, ideally, be uniformly distributed among all the fuel elements. Uniform exit temperatures imply that the power must be flattened as much as possible. This paper leverages decoupled neutronic and thermal-hydraulic models to assess the thermal performance and reactivity tradeoffs associated with flattening the radial power distribution by adjusting the fuel kernel loading for each fuel element within the core. The results suggest that a uniform radial power distribution for a single control drum position will not necessarily yield an optimal core design due to the higher variance in power and thus maximum fuel and exit propellant temperature as the control drums rotate out during operation. The results presented here only point to the design characteristics be considered when core-level multi-physics simulations are applied in the context of a specific mission. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Simulation of Statistical Fluctuations in the Spin Precession Measurements at RHIC

Measurements of the driven spin coherent precession S x (t)=S x (0) - S x (1) sin(ωt+φ 0 ) were initiated in RHIC Run13. The expected value of the precession amplitude S x (1) ~ 2 x 10 -4 is about the statistical error in a single measurement and data fit gives a biased estimate of the S x (1) . For a proper statistical interpretation of the results of the several measurements, statistical fluctuations were studied using Monte-Carlo simulation. Preliminary results of the spin precession measurements in RHIC Run13 are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NEAMS FPL M2 Milestone Report: Development of a UO₂ Grain Size Model using Multicale Modeling and Simulation

This report summarizes development work funded by the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling Simulation program's Fuels Product Line (FPL) to develop a mechanistic model for the average grain size in UO₂ fuel. The model is developed using a multiscale modeling and simulation approach involving atomistic simulations, as well as mesoscale simulations using INL's MARMOT code.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fire Intensity Data for Validation of the Radiative Transfer Equation

A set of experiments and test data are outlined in this report that provides radiation intensity data for the validation of models for the radiative transfer equation. The experiments were performed with lightly-sooting liquid hydrocarbon fuels that yielded fully turbulent fires 2 m diameter). In addition, supplemental measurements of air flow and temperature, fuel temperature and burn rate, and flame surface emissive power, wall heat, and flame height and width provide a complete set of boundary condition data needed for validation of models used in fire simulations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Initial Comparison of Direct and Legacy Modeling Approaches for Radial Core Expansion Analysis

Radial core expansion in sodium-cooled fast reactors provides an important reactivity feedback effect. As the reactor power increases due to normal start up conditions or accident scenarios, the core and surrounding materials heat up, causing both grid plate expansion and bowing of the assembly ducts. When the core restraint system is designed correctly, the resulting structural deformations introduce negative reactivity which decreases the reactor power. Historically, an indirect procedure has been used to estimate the reactivity feedback due to structural deformation which relies upon perturbation theory and coupling legacy physics codes with limited geometry capabilities. With advancements in modeling and simulation, radial core expansion phenomena can now be modeled directly, providing an assessment of the accuracy of the reactivity feedback coefficients generated by indirect legacy methods. Recently a new capability was added to the PROTEUS-SN unstructured geometry neutron transport solver to analyze deformed meshes quickly and directly. By supplying the deformed mesh in addition to the base configuration input files, PROTEUS-SN automatically processes material adjustments including calculation of region densities to conserve mass, calculation of isotopic densities according to material models (for example, sodium density as a function of temperature), and subsequent re-homogenization of materials. To verify the new capability of directly simulating deformed meshes, PROTEUS-SN was used to compute reactivity feedback for a series of contrived yet representative deformed configurations for the Advanced Burner Test Reactor design. The indirect legacy procedure was also performed to generate reactivity feedback coefficients for the same deformed configurations. Interestingly, the legacy procedure consistently overestimated reactivity feedbacks by 35% compared to direct simulations by PROTEUS-SN. This overestimation indicates that the legacy procedures are in fact not conservative and could be overestimating reactivity feedback effects that are closely tied to reactor safety. We conclude that there is indeed value in performing direct simulation of deformed meshes despite the increased computational expense. PROTEUS-SN is already part of the SHARP multi-physics toolkit where both thermal hydraulics and structural mechanical feedback modeling can be applied but this is the first comparison of direct simulation to legacy techniques for radial core expansion.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The criterion of supernova explosion revisited: The mass accretion history

By performing neutrino-radiation hydrodynamic simulations in spherical symmetry (1D) and axial symmetry (2D) with different progenitor models by Woosley and Heger from 12 to 100 M{sub ⊙}, we find that all 1D runs fail to produce an explosion and several 2D runs succeed. The difference in the shock evolutions for different progenitors can be interpreted by the difference in their mass accretion histories, which are in turn determined by the density structures of progenitors. The mass accretion history has two phases in the majority of the models: the earlier phase, in which the mass accretion rate is high and rapidly decreasing, and the later phase, with a low and almost constant accretion rate. They are separated by the so-called turning point, the origin of which is a change of the accreting layer. We argue that shock revival will most likely occur around the turning point and hence that its location in the M-dot --L{sub ν} plane will be a good measure for the possibility of shock revival: if the turning point lies above the critical curve and the system stays there for a long time, shock revival will obtain. In addition, we develop a phenomenological model to approximately evaluate the trajectories in the M-dot --L{sub ν} plane, which, after calibrating free parameters by a small number of 1D simulations, reproduces the location of the turning point reasonably well by using the initial density structure of progenitor alone. We suggest the application of the phenomenological model to a large collection of progenitors in order to infer without simulations which ones are more likely to explode.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗