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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

The performance of a seasonal global climatic model

A seasonal global climatic model developed by Sellers is studied. Several changes are made to correct errors in the original model and to allow its use in a time dependent simulation mode. The major changes are in the infrared radiation formulation and in the size of the time steps. The seasonal cycles of surface temperature, wind, ice, snow, albedo, horizontal heat transport, and vertical flux of solar and infrared radiation are compared to recent observations. The seasonal cycle of temperature is fairly well reproduced, but has too small an amplitude in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes. An overestimate of albedo at the poles is found, which is related to errors in some of the other variables. The sensitivity of the model to CO2 and solar constant (O) changes is summarized. Doubling the CO2 amount causes a 2.45 K increase in global average surface temperature (T). Increasing Q by 1% increases T by 3.14K. Decreasing 0 by 1% decreases T by 4.65K. An annual average version of the model is more sensitive to changes in Q than the model with the seasonal cycle.

Robock, A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Data-Driven Linear Parameter-Varying Modeling and Control of Flexible Loads for Grid Services: Preprint

Flexible loads have great potential to improve the power grid's flexibility and stability. To effectively control large ensembles of heterogeneous loads, reliable models thereof are required. The paper presents a data-driven modeling and control approach to manage flexible loads for providing grid services. We leverage a linear parameter-varying autoregressive moving average (LPV-ARMA) model to describe the aggregate load response, where the parameters in the model are used to capture external environment impacts (e.g., weather). A gain-scheduling feedback controller is then developed to adapt to environmental variations. This data-driven approach can be easily applied to different types of loads in various environmental conditions. In addition to the ensemble controller, distributed load controllers are designed to deliver grid services, while maintaining the quality of service of inherent load tasks. We demonstrate the work on the IEEE 37-node distribution system for real-time power regulation services through control of thermostatically controlled loads.

control↗
NASA NTRS1994

Local dynamic subgrid-scale models in channel flow

The dynamic subgrid-scale (SGS) model has given good results in the large-eddy simulation (LES) of homogeneous isotropic or shear flow, and in the LES of channel flow, using averaging in two or three homogeneous directions (the DA model). In order to simulate flows in general, complex geometries (with few or no homogeneous directions), the dynamic SGS model needs to be applied at a local level in a numerically stable way. Channel flow, which is inhomogeneous and wall-bounded flow in only one direction, provides a good initial test for local SGS models. Tests of the dynamic localization model were performed previously in channel flow using a pseudospectral code and good results were obtained. Numerical instability due to persistently negative eddy viscosity was avoided by either constraining the eddy viscosity to be positive or by limiting the time that eddy viscosities could remain negative by co-evolving the SGS kinetic energy (the DLk model). The DLk model, however, was too expensive to run in the pseudospectral code due to a large near-wall term in the auxiliary SGS kinetic energy (k) equation. One objective was then to implement the DLk model in a second-order central finite difference channel code, in which the auxiliary k equation could be integrated implicitly in time at great reduction in cost, and to assess its performance in comparison with the plane-averaged dynamic model or with no model at all, and with direct numerical simulation (DNS) and/or experimental data. Other local dynamic SGS models have been proposed recently, e.g., constrained dynamic models with random backscatter, and with eddy viscosity terms that are averaged in time over material path lines rather than in space. Another objective was to incorporate and test these models in channel flow.

Cabot, William H.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Detached-Eddy Simulation Based on the V2-F Model

Detached-eddy simulation (DES) based on the v(sup 2)-f Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model is developed and tested. The v(sup 2)-f model incorporates the anisotropy of near-wall turbulence which is absent in other RANS models commonly used in the DES community. The v(sup 2)-f RANS model is modified in order the proposed v(sup 2)-f-based DES formulation reduces to a transport equation for the subgrid-scale kinetic energy isotropic turbulence. First, three coefficients in the elliptic relaxation equation are modified, which is tested in channel flows with friction Reynolds number up to 2000. Then, the proposed v(sup 2)-f DES model formulation is derived. The constant, C(sub DES), required in the DES formulation was calibrated by simulating both decaying and statistically-steady isotropic turbulence. After C(sub DES) was calibrated, the v(sub 2)-f DES formulation is tested for flow around a circular cylinder at a Reynolds number of 3900, in which case turbulence develops after separation. Simulations indicate that this model represents the turbulent wake nearly as accurately as the dynamic Smagorinsky model. Spalart-Allmaras-based DES is also included in the cylinder flow simulation for comparison.

Jee, Sol Keun↗
DOE OSTI2024

Linear Time-Invariant Models of a Large Cumulus Ensemble

Abstract Methods in system identification are used to obtain linear time-invariant state-space models that describe how horizontal averages of temperature and humidity of a large cumulus ensemble evolve with time under small forcing. The cumulus ensemble studied here is simulated with cloud-system-resolving models in radiative–convective equilibrium. The identified models extend steady-state linear response functions used in past studies and provide accurate descriptions of the transfer function, the noise model, and the behavior of cumulus convection when coupled with two-dimensional gravity waves. A novel procedure is developed to convert the state-space models into an interpretable form, which is used to elucidate and quantify memory in cumulus convection. The linear problem studied here serves as a useful reference point for more general efforts to obtain data-driven and interpretable parameterizations of cumulus convection.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2021

Machine Learning Screening of Metal-Ion Battery Electrode Materials

Here, in this work we present deep neural network regression machine learning models (ML) for predicting the average voltage and the percentage change in volume of battery electrodes upon charging and discharging with metal ions. Our models exhibit good performance as measured by the average mean absolute error obtained from a 10-fold cross-validation as well as on independent test sets. We further assess the robustness our ML models by investigating their screening potential beyond the training database. We produce novel Na-ion electrodes by systematically replacing Li-ions in the original database by Na-ions, and then selecting a set of 22 electrodes that exhibit a good performance in energy density as well as small volume variations upon charging and discharging, as predicted by the machine learning model. The ML predictions for these new materials are then compared to quantum-mechanics based calculations. Our results reaffirm the significant role of machine learning techniques in the exploration of materials for battery applications.

,electrode volume change↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantification of Physical and Numerical Mixing in a Coastal Ocean Model Using Salinity Variance Budgets

Numerical mixing, the spurious mixing primarily generated by the discretization of advection, is often significant in estuarine and coastal models due to sharp, energetic fronts. In this study, we compare on- and offline estimates of numerical mixing in a submesoscale-resolving realistic simulation of the ocean state over the Texas-Louisiana continental shelf. While offline estimates of numerical mixing differ from online estimates, offline methods may be the only analysis available. This study offers insight into the differences between the on- and offline methods. We use two methods to estimate numerical mixing offline, based on salinity squared $s^2$ and volume-mean salinity variance $s^{\prime^2}$. Numerical mixing estimated from the $s^{\prime^2}$ budget is generally within 60\% of the magnitude for the online method but captures the temporal variability well. However, the $s^2$ budget compares poorly due to larger truncation errors associated with the tendency and advection terms, which can be reduced by increasing the model output frequency. We also investigate the effects of horizontal resolution on numerical mixing using a two-way nested grid. The volume-integrated numerical mixing constitutes 57\% of the bulk physical mixing -- the mixing prescribed by the turbulence closure scheme -- in the coarse model and may exceed the physical mixing by half an order of magnitude. We find that numerical mixing is reduced by 35\% on average in the nested model, less than expected based on scaling of the numerical mixing for an upwind advection scheme, likely due to new dynamical processes that emerge in the nested simulation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1984

A numerical simulation of barotropic instability. II Wave-wave interaction

A fully nonlinear numerical model of the point jet barotropic instability is used to test and confirm the hypothesis that the magnitude of the wave vorticity does not exceed the magnitude of the initial shear. This result arises directly from the local conservation of vorticity following a parcel and the fact that unstable waves are principally confined to the region where the zonal mean vorticity can be smoothed by the wave so as to eliminate the instability. Comparisons are made between fully nonlinear and quasi-linear models of the point jet instability and their tracer transport properties. Differences become particularly evident after wave saturation. The most important effect neglected by the wave-mean flow model appears to be the advection of wave vorticity by the most unstable mode. However, as equilibration of the instability proceeds, the globally averaged properties of both models are found to be similar.

Nielsen, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Ares I Vehicle Computed Turbulent Ascent Aerodynamic Data Development and Analysis

An overview of the computational ascent aerodynamic data development from a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver for the Ares I vehicle design is presented. The computed results are assessed for grid and turbulence model effects and verified against the results obtained from other flow solvers. The numerical predictions are analyzed for the surface pressure, sectional line loads, longitudinal aerodynamic and rolling moment coefficients, and their trends with respect to angle of attack, Mach number, and the vehicle's roll angle. The results revealed that the solution development with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model was the most robust, stable, and efficient. These predictions were generally found to compare well with experimental data. Relative to wind-tunnel flow conditions, the results at flight Reynolds number showed the largest reduction of about 7% in the computed longitudinal aerodynamic coefficients. Protuberance size and relative position were found to have a significant effect on the vehicle's force and moment coefficients. The strake concept was proposed and shown to reduce the vehicle's maximum rolling moment coefficient Results and analyses have demonstrated the feasibility of the present numerical method, as an engineering tool, for predicting the external flow aerodynamic characteristics of this class of vehicle designs.

Aerodynamic characteristics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Investigating Electron Conductivity Regimes in the Bacterial Cytochrome Wire OmcS

The anaerobic bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens produces extracellular, electronically conductive cytochrome polymer wires that are conductive over micron length scales. Structure models from cryo-electron microscopy data show OmcS wires form a linear chain of hemes along the protein wire axis, which is proposed as the structural basis supporting their electronic properties. However, the mechanism by which this heme arrangement supports long-range electronic conduction remains unknown. Structure models from cryo-electron microscopy data show these wires form a linear chain of hemes along the protein wire axis, which is proposed as the structural basis supporting their electronic properties. Existing computational models using static heme redox potentials and coupling energies fail to explain experimental observations, predicting conductances 10,000 to 100,000 times lower than measured values. Here, we investigate how dynamic disorder affects site energies, interheme coupling, and long-range electronic conductivity within these cytochrome wires. We introduce an approach to extract charge carrier site information directly from Kohn–Sham density functional theory, without employing projector schemes, and show that site and coupling energies are highly sensitive to changes in interheme geometry and the surrounding electrostatic environment. Unlike models that incorporate dynamic disorder as a thermally averaged quantity, our quantum charge carrier model incorporates proxies for dynamic disorder through decoherence corrections, yielding predicted diffusion coefficient closer to what is expected from experiment and comparable with other organic-based electronic materials. Based on these simulations, we propose that the instantaneous fluctuations of the local electrostatic environment can transiently lift energy degeneracies and delocalize charge carriers. Furthermore, these studies reveal how incorporating dynamic fluctuations associated with the environment resolves the discrepancy between theory and experiment in microbial cytochrome wires and highlight design principles for bioinspired, heme-based conductive materials.

Bioinorganic chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling of streamflow in a 30 km long reach spanning 5 years using OpenFOAM 5.x

Abstract. Developing accurate and efficient modeling techniques for streamflow at the tens-of-kilometers spatial scale and multi-year temporal scale is critical for evaluating and predicting the impact of climate- and human-induced discharge variations on river hydrodynamics. However, achieving such a goal is challenging because of limited surveys of streambed hydraulic roughness, uncertain boundary condition specifications, and high computational costs. We demonstrate that accurate and efficient three-dimensional (3-D) hydrodynamic modeling of natural rivers at 30 km and 5-year scales is feasible using the following three techniques within OpenFOAM, an open-source computational fluid dynamics platform: (1) generating a distributed hydraulic roughness field for the streambed by integrating water-stage observation data, a rough wall theory, and a local roughness optimization and adjustment strategy; (2) prescribing the boundary condition for the inflow and outflow by integrating precomputed results of a one-dimensional (1-D) hydraulic model with the 3-D model; and (3) reducing computational time using multiple parallel runs constrained by 1-D inflow and outflow boundary conditions. Streamflow modeling for a 30 km long reach in the Columbia River (CR) over 58 months can be achieved in less than 6 d using 1.1 million CPU hours. The mean error between the modeled and the observed water stages for our simulated CR reach ranges from −16 to 9 cm (equivalent to approximately ±7 % relative to the average water depth) at seven locations during most of the years between 2011 and 2019. We can reproduce the velocity distribution measured by the acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The correlation coefficients of the depth-averaged velocity between the model and ADCP measurements are in the range between 0.71 and 0.83 at 75 % of the survey cross sections. With the validated model, we further show that the relative importance of dynamic pressure versus hydrostatic pressure varies with discharge variations and topography heterogeneity. Given the model's high accuracy and computational efficiency, the model framework provides a generic approach to evaluate and predict the impacts of climate- and human-induced discharge variations on river hydrodynamics at tens-of-kilometers and decadal scales.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1992

Present status and future prospects for ionospheric propagation corrections for precise time transfer using GPS

The ionosphere can be the greatest variable source of error in precise time transfer using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. For single frequency GPS users, the ionospheric correction algorithm can provide an approximate 50 percent r.m.s. correction to the time delay, but users who desire a more complete correction must make actual measurements of ionospheric time delay along the path to the GPS satellite. Fortunately, at least three commercial GPS receivers, specifically designed to measure and correct for ionospheric time delay, are now, or soon will be, available. Initial operation with two different types of GPS ionospheric receivers demonstrated a high degree of accuracy in measuring the ionospheric group delay. Results of these measurements are presented. For those who use a model to correct for ionospheric time delay, it is tempting to use daily values of solar 10.7 cm radio flux to correct a monthly average ionospheric time delay model for each day's operation. The results of correlation of daily maximum ionospheric time delay against solar radio flux values show a poor correlation will be obtained by this procedure. Prospects for improving ionospheric corrections during the declining phase of the present solar cycle are discussed.

Klobuchar, John A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Hybrid LES/RANS Simulation of Transverse Sonic Injection into a Mach 2 Flow

A computational study of transverse sonic injection of air and helium into a Mach 1.98 cross-flow is presented. A hybrid large-eddy simulation / Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (LES/RANS) turbulence model is used, with the two-equation Menter baseline (Menter-BSL) closure for the RANS part of the flow and a Smagorinsky-type model for the LES part of the flow. A time-dependent blending function, dependent on modeled turbulence variables, is used to shift the closure from RANS to LES. Turbulent structures are initiated and sustained through the use of a recycling / rescaling technique. Two higher-order discretizations, the Piecewise Parabolic Method (PPM) of Colella and Woodward, and the SONIC-A ENO scheme of Suresh and Huyhn are used in the study. The results using the hybrid model show reasonably good agreement with time-averaged Mie scattering data and with experimental surface pressure distributions, even though the penetration of the jet into the cross-flow is slightly over-predicted. The LES/RANS results are used to examine the validity of commonly-used assumptions of constant Schmidt and Prandtl numbers in the intense mixing zone downstream of the injection location.

Boles, John A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Toward Supersonic Retropropulsion CFD Validation

This paper begins the process of verifying and validating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes for supersonic retropropulsive flows. Four CFD codes (DPLR, FUN3D, OVERFLOW, and US3D) are used to perform various numerical and physical modeling studies toward the goal of comparing predictions with a wind tunnel experiment specifically designed to support CFD validation. Numerical studies run the gamut in rigor from code-to-code comparisons to observed order-of-accuracy tests. Results indicate that this complex flowfield, involving time-dependent shocks and vortex shedding, design order of accuracy is not clearly evident. Also explored is the extent of physical modeling necessary to predict the salient flowfield features found in high-speed Schlieren images and surface pressure measurements taken during the validation experiment. Physical modeling studies include geometric items such as wind tunnel wall and sting mount interference, as well as turbulence modeling that ranges from a RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes) 2-equation model to DES (Detached Eddy Simulation) models. These studies indicate that tunnel wall interference is minimal for the cases investigated; model mounting hardware effects are confined to the aft end of the model; and sparse grid resolution and turbulence modeling can damp or entirely dissipate the unsteadiness of this self-excited flow.

Kleb, Bil↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Possible Phase-Dependent Absorption Feature in the Transient X-Ray Pulsar SAX J2103.5+4545

We present an X-ray spectral and timing analysis of two Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observations of the transient Be X-ray binary SAX J2103.5+4545 during its 2016 April outburst, which was characterized by the highest flux since NuSTAR's launch. These observations provide detailed hard X-ray spectra of this source during its bright precursor flare and subsequent fainter regular outburst for the first time. In this work, we model the phase-averaged spectra for these observations with a negative and positive power law with an exponential cutoff (NPEX - Negative and Positive power-laws EXponential) model and compare the pulse profiles at different flux states. We found that the broadband pulse profile changes from a three-peaked pulse in the first observation to a two-peaked pulse in the second observation, and that each of the pulse peaks has some energy dependence. We also perform pulse-phase spectroscopy and fit phase-resolved spectra with NPEX to evaluate how spectral parameters change with pulse phase. We find that while the continuum parameters are mostly constant with pulse phase, a weak absorption feature at approximately 12 kiloelectronvolts which might, with further study, be classified as a cyclotron line, does show strong pulse-phase dependence.

Brumback, M.C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The role of global cloud climatologies in validating numerical models

The purpose of this work is to estimate sampling errors of area-time averaged rain rate due to temporal samplings by satellites. In particular, the sampling errors of the proposed low inclination orbit satellite of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) (35 deg inclination and 350 km altitude), one of the sun synchronous polar orbiting satellites of NOAA series (98.89 deg inclination and 833 km altitude), and two simultaneous sun synchronous polar orbiting satellites--assumed to carry a perfect passive microwave sensor for direct rainfall measurements--will be estimated. This estimate is done by performing a study of the satellite orbits and the autocovariance function of the area-averaged rain rate time series. A model based on an exponential fit of the autocovariance function is used for actual calculations. Varying visiting intervals and total coverage of averaging area on each visit by the satellites are taken into account in the model. The data are generated by a General Circulation Model (GCM). The model has a diurnal cycle and parameterized convective processes. A special run of the GCM was made at NASA/GSFC in which the rainfall and precipitable water fields were retained globally for every hour of the run for the whole year.

HARSHVARDHAN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Concurrent Inter-Model Spread of Boreal Winter Westerly Jet Meridional Positions Between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in CMIP6 Models

Here, this study investigates the inter-model spread of climatological extratropical westerly jets in boreal winter, using the historical simulation of 52 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) models from 1851 to 2014. The results show that there is a substantial spread in the latitude of the upper-tropospheric westerly jet across models, characterised by large inter-model standard deviations to both the poleward and equatorward sides of the jet axis, although the multi-model ensemble mean (MME) performs well in simulating meridional position of westerly jets. Furthermore, we detect the consistency of inter-model jet position spread between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, based on the inter-model empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition and correlation of regional-averaged zonal winds. Specifically, the models that simulate the westerly jets poleward/equatorward relative to the MME position in one hemisphere also tend to simulate the jets poleward/equatorward in the other hemisphere. Accordingly, we define a global jet spread index to depict the concurrence of jet shift in the two hemispheres. The results of inter-model regression analyses based on this index indicate that the models positioning the jets poleward than the MME tend to simulate a wider Hadley Cell, a poleward-shifted Ferrel Cell in the Southern Hemisphere, enhanced precipitation in the subtropics and suppressed precipitation in the tropics, and warmer sea surface temperatures in the subtropics and mid-latitudes. The present results suggest that improving the simulation of jet positions in climate models requires a comprehensive consideration of thermal states in the tropics and subtropics/mid latitudes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of turbulence-radiation coupling in pressurized oxy-combustion

Concerns over climate change have led to numerous efforts in developing low-carbon energy technologies. Pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) is a promising candidate to reduce carbon emission in power generation. Due to the strong impact of pressure on thermal radiation, heat transfer in POC differs significantly from the situation of conventional atmospheric pressure combustion. Thus thermal radiation in POC needs to be investigated to aid new combustor development. The present computational work is a step in this direction, initiating a systematic analysis of thermal radiation and heat transfer in a pilot-scale POC combustor, which has been developed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). In a POC process, pulverized coal is burned under elevated pressure and O2-CO2 environment. While most previous computational works on flame radiation focused on atmospheric pressure condition, this work considered a pressurized flame. Specifically, a 15-bar POC combustor of power 50 kW is modeled employing the Ansys FLUENT commercial platform, using both Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modeling and large-eddy simulation (LES). A recently published and validated global radiation model is used to predict the radiative property of the flue gas. The discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model is chosen to solve the radiative transport equation. Incident radiation on the walls of the combustor is identified and investigated. It is revealed that for this pilot-scale, pressurized combustor, thermal radiation exhibits similar patterns in the RANS and LES models. However, the magnitudes of radiation are different in both models, presumably because interactions between radiation and turbulence are embedded in the LES model but not in the RANS model. This difference thereby underlines the major goal of this research: investigating the impact of such turbulence-to-radiation coupling on thermal radiation in a pilot-scale POC setting. Most previous studies on turbulence-to-radiation interactions focused on bench-scale, atmospheric pressure flames. This work is the first effort to extend this study to a pilot-scale, pressurized flame.

Li, Lei↗