SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Viewgraphs on automatic management of parallel and distributed system resources are presented. Topics covered include: parallel applications; intelligent management of multiprocessing systems; performance evaluation of parallel architecture; dynamic concurrent programs; compiler-directed system approach; lattice gaseous cellular automata; and sparse matrix Cholesky factorization.
The author develops a computational approach to multivariable frequency domain identification, based on 2-norm minimization. In particular, a Gauss-Newton (GN) iteration is developed to minimize the 2-norm of the error between frequency domain data and a matrix fraction transfer function estimate. To improve the global performance of the optimization algorithm, the GN iteration is initialized using the solution to a particular sequentially reweighted least squares problem, denoted as the SK iteration. The least squares problems which arise from both the SK and GN iterations are shown to involve sparse matrices with identical block structure. A sparse matrix QR factorization method is developed to exploit the special block structure, and to efficiently compute the least squares solution. A numerical example involving the identification of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) plant having 286 unknown parameters is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
A 3D multistage simulation of each component of a modern GE Turbofan engine has been made. An axisymmetric view of this engine is presented in the document. This includes a fan, booster rig, high pressure compressor rig, high pressure turbine rig and a low pressure turbine rig. In the near future, all components will be run in a single calculation for a solution of 49 blade rows. The simulation exploits the use of parallel computations by using two levels of parallelism. Each blade row is run in parallel and each blade row grid is decomposed into several domains and run in parallel. 20 processors are used for the 4 blade row analysis. The average passage approach developed by John Adamczyk at NASA Lewis Research Center has been further developed and parallelized. This is APNASA Version A. It is a Navier-Stokes solver using a 4-stage explicit Runge-Kutta time marching scheme with variable time steps and residual smoothing for convergence acceleration. It has an implicit K-E turbulence model which uses an ADI solver to factor the matrix. Between 50 and 100 explicit time steps are solved before a blade row body force is calculated and exchanged with the other blade rows. This outer iteration has been coined a "flip." Efforts have been made to make the solver linearly scaleable with the number of blade rows. Enough flips are run (between 50 and 200) so the solution in the entire machine is not changing. The K-E equations are generally solved every other explicit time step. One of the key requirements in the development of the parallel code was to make the parallel solution exactly (bit for bit) match the serial solution. This has helped isolate many small parallel bugs and guarantee the parallelization was done correctly. The domain decomposition is done only in the axial direction since the number of points axially is much larger than the other two directions. This code uses MPI for message passing. The parallel speed up of the solver portion (no 1/0 or body force calculation) for a grid which has 227 points axially.
A viewgraph presentation describing an analytical thermal model used to enable research on autonomous soaring for a small UAV aircraft is given. The topics include: 1) Purpose; 2) Approach; 3) SURFRAD Data; 4) Convective Layer Thickness; 5) Surface Heat Budget; 6) Surface Virtual Potential Temperature Flux; 7) Convective Scaling Velocity; 8) Other Calculations; 9) Yearly trends; 10) Scale Factors; 11) Scale Factor Test Matrix; 12) Statistical Model; 13) Updraft Strength Calculation; 14) Updraft Diameter; 15) Updraft Shape; 16) Smoothed Updraft Shape; 17) Updraft Spacing; 18) Environment Sink; 19) Updraft Lifespan; 20) Autonomous Soaring Research; 21) Planned Flight Test; and 22) Mixing Ratio.
This paper develops methods for noninteracting control of articulated, possibly flexible, multibody space vehicles based on the diagonalized equation of motion.
This paper uses spatial operators to develop new spatially recursive dynamics algorithms for flexible multibody systems. The operator description of the dynamics is identical to that for rigid multibody systems. Assumed-mode models are used for the deformation of each individual body. The algorithms are based on two spatial operator factorizations of the system mass matrix. The first (Newton-Euler) factorization of the mass matrix leads to recursive algorithms for the inverse dynamics, mass matrix evaluation, and composite-body forward dynamics for the systems. The second (innovations) factorization of the mass matrix, leads to an operator expression for the mass matrix inverse and to a recursive articulated-body forward dynamics algorithm. The primary focus is on serial chains, but extensions to general topologies are also described. A comparison of computational costs shows that the articulated-body, forward dynamics algorithm is much more efficient than the composite-body algorithm for most flexible multibody systems.
The digital calculations that drive the classification portion of the Hybrid Pattern Recognition System (HYMPS) are considered. A revision of these calculations is suggested that involves three items: matrix inversion, det calculations and singularity, and covariance factorization. It is shown that it is more economical to first factor the covariance matrix, and by so doing, delete the matrix inversion routine. In addition, the necessary det calculations can be more easily realized by use of simple theoretical facts about the factorization.
Several fiber bridging models were reviewed and applied to study the matrix fatigue crack growth behavior in center notched (0)(sub 8) SCS-6/Ti-15-3 and (0)(sub 4) SCS-6/Ti-6Al-4V laminates. Observations revealed that fatigue damage consisted primarily of matrix cracks and fiber matrix interfacial failure in the (0)(sub 8) SCS-6/Ti-15-3 laminates. Fiber-matrix interface failure included fracture of the brittle reaction zone and cracking between the two carbon rich fiber coatings. Intact fibers in the wake of the matrix cracks reduce the stress intensity factor range. Thus, an applied stress intensity factor range is inappropriate to characterize matrix crack growth behavior. Fiber bridging models were used to determine the matrix stress intensity factor range in titanium metal matrix composites. In these models, the fibers in the wake of the crack are idealized as a closure pressure. An unknown constant frictional shear stress is assumed to act along the debond or slip length of the bridging fibers. The frictional shear stress was used as a curve fitting parameter to available data (crack growth data, crack opening displacement data, and debond length data). Large variations in the frictional shear stress required to fit the experimental data indicate that the fiber bridging models in their present form lack predictive capabilities. However, these models provide an efficient and relatively simple engineering method for conducting parametric studies of the matrix growth behavior based on constituent properties.
Due to their structural flexibility, spacecraft and space manipulators are multibody systems with complex dynamics and possess a large number of degrees of freedom. Here the spatial operator algebra methodology is used to develop a new dynamics formulation and spatially recursive algorithms for such flexible multibody systems. A key feature of the formulation is that the operator description of the flexible system dynamics is identical in form to the corresponding operator description of the dynamics of rigid multibody systems. A significant advantage of this unifying approach is that it allows ideas and techniques for rigid multibody systems to be easily applied to flexible multibody systems. The algorithms use standard finite-element and assumed modes models for the individual body deformation. A Newton-Euler Operator Factorization of the mass matrix of the multibody system is first developed. It forms the basis for recursive algorithms such as for the inverse dynamics, the computation of the mass matrix, and the composite body forward dynamics for the system. Subsequently, an alternative Innovations Operator Factorization of the mass matrix, each of whose factors is invertible, is developed. It leads to an operator expression for the inverse of the mass matrix, and forms the basis for the recursive articulated body forward dynamics algorithm for the flexible multibody system. For simplicity, most of the development here focuses on serial chain multibody systems. However, extensions of the algorithms to general topology flexible multibody systems are described. While the computational cost of the algorithms depends on factors such as the topology and the amount of flexibility in the multibody system, in general, it appears that in contrast to the rigid multibody case, the articulated body forward dynamics algorithm is the more efficient algorithm for flexible multibody systems containing even a small number of flexible bodies. The variety of algorithms described here permits a user to choose the algorithm which is optimal for the multibody system at hand. The availability of a number of algorithms is even more important for real-time applications, where implementation on parallel processors or custom computing hardware is often necessary to maximize speed.
This paper considers an algebraic preconditioning algorithm for hyperbolic-elliptic fluid flow problems. The algorithm is based on a parallel non-overlapping Schur complement domain-decomposition technique for triangulated domains. In the Schur complement technique, the triangulation is first partitioned into a number of non-overlapping subdomains and interfaces. This suggests a reordering of triangulation vertices which separates subdomain and interface solution unknowns. The reordering induces a natural 2 x 2 block partitioning of the discretization matrix. Exact LU factorization of this block system yields a Schur complement matrix which couples subdomains and the interface together. The remaining sections of this paper present a family of approximate techniques for both constructing and applying the Schur complement as a domain-decomposition preconditioner. The approximate Schur complement serves as an algebraic coarse space operator, thus avoiding the known difficulties associated with the direct formation of a coarse space discretization. In developing Schur complement approximations, particular attention has been given to improving sequential and parallel efficiency of implementations without significantly degrading the quality of the preconditioner. A computer code based on these developments has been tested on the IBM SP2 using MPI message passing protocol. A number of 2-D calculations are presented for both scalar advection-diffusion equations as well as the Euler equations governing compressible fluid flow to demonstrate performance of the preconditioning algorithm.
Ionizing radiation (IR) is a known human breast carcinogen. Although the mutagenic capacity of IR is widely acknowledged as the basis for its action as a carcinogen, we and others have shown that IR can also induce growth factors and extracellular matrix remodeling. As a consequence, we have proposed that an additional factor contributing to IR carcinogenesis is the potential disruption of critical constraints that are imposed by normal cell interactions. To test this hypothesis, we asked whether IR affected the ability of nonmalignant human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) to undergo tissue-specific morphogenesis in culture by using confocal microscopy and imaging bioinformatics. We found that irradiated single HMEC gave rise to colonies exhibiting decreased localization of E-cadherin, beta-catenin, and connexin-43, proteins necessary for the establishment of polarity and communication. Severely compromised acinar organization was manifested by the majority of irradiated HMEC progeny as quantified by image analysis. Disrupted cell-cell communication, aberrant cell-extracellular matrix interactions, and loss of tissue-specific architecture observed in the daughters of irradiated HMEC are characteristic of neoplastic progression. These data point to a heritable, nonmutational mechanism whereby IR compromises cell polarity and multicellular organization.
Design, temperature, carbon dioxide, and current density effects on alkaline hydrogen oxygen fuel cell performance
NASA Lewis Research Center conducted a study to determine the stress intensity factor solutions for periodic arrays of bridged cracks for various crack spacings and crack lengths. Initially, the stress intensity factor of an array of unbridged multiple edge cracks was determined under constant global displacement as well as at a point load along the crack wake. These solutions are expected to contribute toward the development of a damage-based life-prediction methodology for CMC engine components.
Great advances have been made in the identification of the soluble angiogenic factors, insoluble extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, and receptor signaling pathways that mediate control of angiogenesis--the growth of blood capillaries. This review focuses on work that explores how endothelial cells integrate these chemical signals with mechanical cues from their local tissue microenvironment so as to produce functional capillary networks that exhibit specialized form as well as function. These studies have revealed that ECM governs whether an endothelial cell will switch between growth, differentiation, motility, or apoptosis programs in response to a soluble stimulus based on its ability to mechanically resist cell tractional forces and thereby produce cell and cytoskeletal distortion. Transmembrane integrin receptors play a key role in this mechanochemical transduction process because they both organize a cytoskeletal signaling complex within the focal adhesion and preferentially focus mechanical forces on this site. Molecular filaments within the internal cytoskeleton--microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments--also contribute to the cell's structural and functional response to mechanical stress through their role as discrete support elements within a tensegrity-stabilized cytoskeletal array. Importantly, a similar form of mechanical control also has been shown to be involved in the regulation of contractility in vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiac myocytes. Thus, the mechanism by which cells perform mechanochemical transduction and the implications of these findings for morphogenetic control are discussed in the wider context of vascular development and cardiovascular physiology.
A numerical procedure for simultaneous consideration of structural/thermal interactions during aircraft design is presented, with an emphasis on reentry vehicles such as the Orbiter. It has been shown that sequential design is inappropriate for reentry vehicles, due to the degradation of the material properties at elevated reentry temperatures. Attention is focused on thermal buckling, using an analytical technique that involves requiring that the stability matrix be positive definite, with the diagonal terms on the Gauss-Doolittle factor of the matrix also constrained to be positive. A finite element method is employed to calculate the derivative of the diagonal matrix, with optimization achieved by minimization of the mass of the structure and thermal protection system. Sample calculations are presented in terms of the aluminum structure and insulation for a section of the Orbiter wing bay.
A finite element CFD algorithm is developed for Euler and Navier-Stokes aerodynamic applications. For the linear basis, the resultant approximation is at least second-order-accurate in time and space for synergistic use of three procedures: (1) a Taylor weak statement, which provides for derivation of companion conservation law systems with embedded dispersion-error control mechanisms; (2) a stiffly stable second-order-accurate implicit Rosenbrock-Runge-Kutta temporal algorithm; and (3) a matrix tensor product factorization that permits efficient numerical linear algebra handling of the terminal large-matrix statement. Thorough analyses are presented regarding well-posed boundary conditions for inviscid and viscous flow specifications. Numerical solutions are generated and compared for critical evaluation of quasi-one- and two-dimensional Euler and Navier-Stokes benchmark test problems.
An improved computational form of the discrete Kalman filter is derived using an upper triangular factorization of the error covariance matrix. The covariance P is factored such that P = UDUT where U is unit upper triangular and D is diagonal. Recursions are developed for propagating the U-D covariance factors together with the corresponding state estimate. The resulting algorithm, referred to as the U-D filter, combines the superior numerical precision of square root filtering techniques with an efficiency comparable to that of Kalman's original formula. Moreover, this method is easily implemented and involves no more computer storage than the Kalman algorithm. These characteristics make the U-D method an attractive realtime filtering technique. A new covariance error analysis technique is obtained from an extension of the U-D filter equations. This evaluation method is flexible and efficient and may provide significantly improved numerical results. Cost comparisons show that for a large class of problems the U-D evaluation algorithm is noticeably less expensive than conventional error analysis methods.
In this paper new factorization techniques for computation of the Operational Space Mass Matrix and its inverse are developed.