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At least 649 records · Page 36

Characterizing the Properties of a Woven SiC/SiC Composite Using W-CEMCAN Computer Code

A micromechanics based computer code to predict the thermal and mechanical properties of woven ceramic matrix composites (CMC) is developed. This computer code, W-CEMCAN (Woven CEramic Matrix Composites ANalyzer), predicts the properties of two-dimensional woven CMC at any temperature and takes into account various constituent geometries and volume fractions. This computer code is used to predict the thermal and mechanical properties of an advanced CMC composed of 0/90 five-harness (5 HS) Sylramic fiber which had been chemically vapor infiltrated (CVI) with boron nitride (BN) and SiC interphase coatings and melt-infiltrated (MI) with SiC. The predictions, based on the bulk constituent properties from the literature, are compared with measured experimental data. Based on the comparison. improved or calibrated properties for the constituent materials are then developed for use by material developers/designers. The computer code is then used to predict the properties of a composite with the same constituents but with different fiber volume fractions. The predictions are compared with measured data and a good agreement is achieved.

Murthy, Pappu L. N.↗

GlennICE 2.2 Capabilities and Results

GlennICE (Glenn Icing Computational Environment) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is developing this tool to aid those evaluating, designing and certifying aircraft, engines, and aircraft components for flight in icing conditions. This domestically available software is being developed to enable the introduction of new icing physics into a computational environment in a manner that is open for evaluation and eventual use by industry, academia, and other government organizations. This paper will document the current capabilities for version 2.1 of this software and provide example cases with comparison to available experimental data.

Icing↗

GlennICE 2.2 Capabilities and Results

GlennICE (Glenn Icing Computational Environment) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is developing this tool to aid those evaluating, designing and certifying aircraft, engines, and aircraft components for flight in icing conditions. This domestically available software is being developed to enable the introduction of new icing physics into a computational environment in a manner that is open for evaluation and eventual use by industry, academia, and other government organizations. This paper will document the current capabilities for version 2.1 of this software and provide example cases with comparison to available experimental data.

Icing↗

GlennICE Manual 4.1.0

GlennICE (Glenn Icing Computational Environment) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is developing this tool to aid those evaluating, designing and certifying aircraft, engines, and aircraft components for flight in icing conditions. This domestically available software is being developed to enable the introduction of new icing physics into a computational environment in a manner that is open for evaluation and eventual use by industry, academia, and other government organizations.

Icing↗

Holographic pseudoentanglement and the complexity of the AdS/CFT dictionary

The `quantum gravity in the lab' paradigm suggests that quantum computers might shed light on quantum gravity by simulating the CFT side of the AdS/CFT correspondence and mapping the results to the AdS side. This relies on the assumption that the duality map (the `dictionary') is efficient to compute. In this work, we show that the complexity of the AdS/CFT dictionary is surprisingly subtle: there might be cases in which one can efficiently apply operators to the CFT state (a task we call 'operator reconstruction') without being able to extract basic properties of the dual bulk state such as its geometry (which we call 'geometry reconstruction'). Geometry reconstruction corresponds to the setting where we want to extract properties of a completely unknown bulk dual from a simulated CFT boundary state. We demonstrate that geometry reconstruction may be generically hard due to the connection between geometry and entanglement in holography. In particular we construct ensembles of states whose entanglement approximately obey the Ryu-Takayanagi formula for arbitrary geometries, but which are nevertheless computationally indistinguishable. This suggests that even for states with the special entanglement structure of holographic CFT states, geometry reconstruction might be hard. This result should be compared with existing evidence that operator reconstruction is generically easy in AdS/CFT. A useful analogy for the difference between these two tasks is quantum fully homomorphic encryption (FHE): this encrypts quantum states in such a way that no efficient adversary can learn properties of the state, but operators can be applied efficiently to the encrypted state. We show that quantum FHE can separate the complexity of geometry reconstruction vs operator reconstruction, which raises the question whether FHE could be a useful lens through which to view AdS/CFT.

FOS: Physical sciences↗

Comparison of kinetic and extended magnetohydrodynamics computational models for the linear ion temperature gradient instability in slab geometry

We perform linear stability studies of the ion temperature gradient (ITG) instability in unsheared slab geometry using kinetic and extended magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models, in the regime k{sub ∥}/k{sub ⊥}≪1. The ITG is a parallel (to B) sound wave that may be destabilized by finite ion Larmor radius (FLR) effects in the presence of a gradient in the equilibrium ion temperature. The ITG is stable in both ideal and resistive MHD; for a given temperature scale length L{sub Ti0}, instability requires that either k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub i} or ρ{sub i}/L{sub Ti0} be sufficiently large. Kinetic models capture FLR effects to all orders in either parameter. In the extended MHD model, these effects are captured only to lowest order by means of the Braginskii ion gyro-viscous stress tensor and the ion diamagnetic heat flux. We present the linear electrostatic dispersion relations for the ITG for both kinetic Vlasov and extended MHD (two-fluid) models in the local approximation. In the low frequency fluid regime, these reduce to the same cubic equation for the complex eigenvalue ω=ω{sub r}+iγ. An explicit solution is derived for the growth rate and real frequency in this regime. These are found to depend on a single non-dimensional parameter. We also compute the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions with the extended MHD code NIMROD, and a hybrid kinetic δf code that assumes six-dimensional Vlasov ions and isothermal fluid electrons, as functions of k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub i} and ρ{sub i}/L{sub Ti0} using a spatially dependent equilibrium. These solutions are compared with each other, and with the predictions of the local kinetic and fluid dispersion relations. Kinetic and fluid calculations agree well at and near the marginal stability point, but diverge as k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub i} or ρ{sub i}/L{sub Ti0} increases. There is good qualitative agreement between the models for the shape of the unstable global eigenfunction for L{sub Ti0}/ρ{sub i}=30 and 20. The results quantify how far fluid calculations can be extended accurately into the kinetic regime. We conclude that for the linear ITG problem in slab geometry with unsheared magnetic field when k{sub ∥}/k{sub ⊥}≪1, the extended MHD model may be a reliable physical model for this problem when ρ{sub i}/L{sub Ti0}<10{sup −2} and k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub i}<0.2.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Inlet flowfield investigation. Part 2: Computation of the flow about a supercruise forebody at supersonic speeds

A numerical procedure which solves the parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) equations on a body fitted mesh was used to compute the flow about the forebody of an advanced tactical supercruise fighter configuration in an effort to explore the use of a PNS method for design of supersonic cruise forebody geometries. Forebody flow fields were computed at Mach numbers of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5, and at angles-of-attack of 0 deg, 4 deg, and 8 deg. at each Mach number. Computed results are presented at several body stations and include contour plots of Mach number, total pressure, upwash angle, sidewash angle and cross-plane velocity. The computational analysis procedure was found reliable for evaluating forebody flow fields of advanced aircraft configurations for flight conditions where the vortex shed from the wing leading edge is not a dominant flow phenomenon. Static pressure distributions and boundary layer profiles on the forebody and wing were surveyed in a wind tunnel test, and the analytical results are compared to the data. The current status of the parabolized flow flow field code is described along with desirable improvements in the code.

Paynter, G. C.↗

Surface modeling and grid generation for aeropropulsion CFD

The efforts in geometry modeling and grid generation at the NASA Lewis Research Center, as applied to the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis of aeropropulsion systems, are presented. The efforts are mainly characterized by a focus on the analysis of components of an aeropropulsion system, which involve turbulent viscous flow with heat transfer and chemistry. Thus, this discussion will follow that characterization and will sequence through the components of typical propulsion systems consisting of inlets, compressors, combustors, turbines, and nozzles. For each component, some applications of CFD analysis will be presented to show how CFD is used to compute the desired performance information, how geometry modeling and grid generation are performed, and what issues have developed related to geometry modeling and grid generation. The discussion will illustrate the following needs related to geometry modeling and grid generation as observed in aeropropulsion analysis: (1) accurate and efficient resolution of turbulent viscous and chemically-reacting flowfields; (2) easy-to-use interfaces with CAD data for automated grid generation about complex geometries; and (3) automated batch grid generation software for use with design and optimization software.

Choo, Yung K.↗

Toward accurate prediction of partial-penetration laser weld performance informed by three-dimensional characterization – Part II: μCT based finite element simulations

The mechanical behavior of partial-penetration laser welds exhibits significant variability in engineering quantities such as strength and apparent ductility. Understanding the root cause of this variability is important when using such welds in engineering designs. In Part II of this work, we develop finite element simulations with geometry derived from micro-computed tomography (μCT) scans of partial-penetration 304L stainless steel laser welds that were analyzed in Part I. We use these models to study the effects of the welds’ small-scale geometry, including porosity and weld depth variability, on the structural performance metrics of weld ductility and strength under quasi-static tensile loading. We show that this small-scale geometry is the primary cause of the observed variability for these mechanical response quantities. Additionally, we explore the sensitivity of model results to the conversion of the μCT data to discretized model geometry using different segmentation algorithms, and to the effect of small-scale geometry simplifications for pore shape and weld root texture. The modeling approach outlined and results of this work may be applicable to other material systems with small-scale geometric features and defects, such as additively manufactured materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Computing the ankle-brachial index with parallel computational fluid dynamics

The ankle-brachial index (ABI), a ratio of arterial blood pressure in the ankles and upper arms, is used to diagnose and monitor circulatory conditions such as coarctation of the aorta and peripheral artery disease. Computational simulations of the ABI can potentially determine the parameters that produce an ABI indicative of ischemia or other abnormalities in blood flow. However, 0- and 1-D computational methods are limited in describing a 3-D patient-derived geometry. Thus, we present a massively parallel framework for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in the full arterial system. Additionally, using the lattice Boltzmann method to solve the Navier–Stokes equations, we employ highly parallelized and scalable methods to generate the simulation domain and efficiently distribute the computational load among processors. For the first time, we compute an ABI with 3-D CFD. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigate the dependence of ABI on the presence of stenoses, or narrowed regions of the arteries, by directly modifying the arterial geometry. As a result, our framework enables the computation a hemodynamic factor characterizing flow at the scale of the full arterial system, in a manner that is extensible to patient-specific imaging data and holds potential for treatment planning.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

pCalc User's Manual

pCalc is a software tool that computes travel-time predictions, ray path geometry and model queries. This software has a rich set of features, including the ability to use custom 3D velocity models to compute predictions using a variety of geometries. The pCalc software is especially useful for research related to seismic monitoring applications. The pCalc software is available on the web at: www.sandia.gov/salsa3d/Software.html The software is packaged with this user's manual and a set of example datasets, the use of which is described in this manual.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Bounding Methods for Heterogeneous Lidar-derived Navigational Geofences

Safe Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations near the ground require navigation methods that avoid fixed obstacles such as buildings, power lines and trees. Aerial lidar surveys of ground structures are available with the precision and accuracy to geolocate obstacles, but the high volume of raw survey data can exceed the compute power of onboard processors and the rendering ability of ground-based flight planning maps. Representing ground structures with bounding polyhedra instead of point clouds greatly reduces the data size and can enable effective obstacle avoidance, as long as the bounding geometry envelopes the structures with high spatial fidelity. This report describes in detail four methods to compute bounding geometries of ground obstacles from lidar point clouds. The four methods are: 1) 2.5D Maximum Elevation Box, 2) 2.5D Ground Map Extrusion, 3) 3D Bounding Cylinder, and 4) 3D Bounding Box. The methods are applied to five point cloud datasets from lidar surveys of UAV flight research sites in Georgia and Virginia with an average point spacing that ranges from 0.1m to 0.6m. The methods are assessed using survey areas with geometrically heterogeneous ground structures: buildings, vegetation, power lines, and sub-meter structures such as road signs and guy wires. The 2.5D Maximum Elevation Box method is useful for simple structures. The 2.5D Ground Map Extrusion method efficiently encloses vegetation, but requires handdrawn ground footprints. The 3D Bounding Cylinder method excels at enclosing linear structures such as power lines and fences. The 3D Bounding Box method excels at enclosing planar structures such as buildings. The methods are compared on the basis of data compression and boundary fidelity on selected areas. The 2.5D methods yield the highest data compression but the polyhedra produced by them enclose significant amounts of empty space. Boundary fidelity is superior for the 3D methods, though this fidelity comes at the cost of a roughly thirtyfold lower data compression ratio than the 2.5D Maximum Elevation Box method. A mix of these output geometries is proposed for autonomous UAV navigation with limited on-board computing. Both the accuracy and spatial detail of emerging satellite-based survey technology lower than that of aerial lidar scanning survey technology. Sub-meter structures and thin linear structures are not reliably mapped at present by satellite-based surveys.

Moore, Andrew J.↗

Scalability of GlennICE in a Parallel Environment

The Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The most significant developments in the advancement of GlennICE have been investigating the convergence of the collection efficiency, efficiently finding trajectories, and improving the refinement methodology. Such developments have increased the efficiency of GlennICE for practical engineering application. With the increasing demand for applying GlennICE for more memory-intensive problems, the scalability of GlennICE has yet to be investigated. This paper is aimed at presenting a method to benchmark the scalability of GlennICE utilizing a relevant engineering problem within a parallel environment. This leads to the final goal of investigating whether an increase in the number of processors utilized results in a linear speedup of the GlennICE software.

Computational Icing, Icing, CFD, MPI↗

Vortex ring bubbles

Toroidal bubbles with circulation are studied numerically and by means of a physically motivated model equation. Two series of computations are performed by a boundary-integral method. One set shows the starting motion of an initially spherical bubble as a gravitationally driven liquid jet penetrates through the bubble from below causing a toroidal geometry to develop. The jet becomes broader as surface tension increases and fails to penetrate if surface tension is too large. The dimensionless circulation that develops is not very dependent on the surface tension. The second series of computations starts from a toroidal geometry, with circulation determined from the earlier series, and follows the motion of the rising and spreading vortex ring. Some modifications to the boundary-integral formulation were devised to handle the multiply connected geometry. The computations uncovered some unexpected rapid oscillations of the ring radius. These oscillations and the spreading of the ring are explained by the model equation which provides a more general description of vortex ring bubbles than previously available.

Lundgren, T. S.↗

Black Holes in an Effective Field Theory Extension of General Relativity

Effective field theory methods suggest that some rather general extensions of general relativity include, or are mimicked by, certain higher-order curvature corrections, with coupling constants expected to be small but otherwise arbitrary. Thus, the tantalizing prospect to test the fundamental nature of gravity with gravitational-wave observations, in a systematic way, emerges naturally. Here, we build black hole solutions in such a framework and study their main properties. Once rotation is included, we find the first purely gravitational example of geometries without Z 2 symmetry. Despite the higher-order operators of the theory, we show that linearized fluctuations of such geometries obey second-order differential equations. We find nonzero tidal Love numbers. We study and compute the quasinormal modes of such geometries. These results are of interest to gravitational-wave science but also potentially relevant for electromagnetic observations of the galactic center or x-ray binaries.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Advanced Computational Aeroacoustics Methods for Fan Noise Prediction

Direct computation of fan noise is presently not possible. One of the major difficulties is the geometrical complexity of the problem. In the case of fan noise, the blade geometry is critical to the loading on the blade and hence the intensity of the radiated noise. The precise geometry must be incorporated into the computation. In computational fluid dynamics (CFD), there are two general ways to handle problems with complex geometry. One way is to use unstructured grids. The other is to use body fitted overset grids. In the overset grid method, accurate data transfer is of utmost importance. For acoustic computation, it is not clear that the currently used data transfer methods are sufficiently accurate as not to contaminate the very small amplitude acoustic disturbances. In CFD, low order schemes are, invariably, used in conjunction with unstructured grids. However, low order schemes are known to be numerically dispersive and dissipative. dissipative errors are extremely undesirable for acoustic wave problems. The objective of this project is to develop a high order unstructured grid Dispersion-Relation-Preserving (DRP) scheme. would minimize numerical dispersion and dissipation errors. contains the results of the funded portion of the project. scheme on an unstructured grid has been developed. constructed in the wave number space. The characteristics of the scheme can be improved by the inclusion of additional constraints. Stability of the scheme has been investigated. Stability can be improved by adopting the upwinding strategy.

Envia, Edmane↗

Numerical solution of transonic wing flow fields

A fast, fully implicit, approximate factorization algorithm designed to solve the conservative full-potential equation is used to compute lifting-wing flow fields with embedded transonic flow. The computer program (TWING - transonic wing analysis) uses an elliptic-solver numerical grid-generation routine and is capable of analyzing arbitrary wing geometries with sweep, twist, taper, and section variation. Computed flowfield results for several wing geometries are presented; they demonstrate substantial improvement in convergence speed relative to the FL028 computer code.

Holst, T. L.↗