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At least 91 records · Page 5

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2018

Analysis of Cavern and Well Stability at the Bryan Mound SPR Site Using the M–D Salt Creep Model

This report presents computational analyses that simulate the structural response of caverns at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Bryan Mound site. The cavern field comprises 20 caverns. Five caverns (1, 2, 4, and 5; 3 was later plugged and abandoned) were acquired from industry and have unusual shapes and a history dating back to 1946. The other 16 caverns (101-116) were leached according to SPR standards in the mid-1980s and have tall cylindrical shapes. The history of the caverns and their shapes are simulated in a 3-D geomechanics model of the site that predicts deformations, strains, and stresses. Historical wellhead pressures are used to calculate cavern pressures up through July 2016. Because of the extent of heterogeneous creep behavior observed throughout the Bryan Mound site, a set of cavern-specific creep coefficients was developed to produce better matches with measured cavern closure and surface subsidence. For this new implementation of the model, there are two significant advances: the use of the multimechanism deformation (M-D) salt creep model to evaluate both steady-state and transient salt creep; and the creation of finite element mesh geometries for the caverns that nearly exactly match the geometries obtained through sonar measurements. The results of the finite element model are interpreted to provide information on the current and future status of subsidence, well integrity, cavern stability, and drawdown availability.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

MCNP® Code Version 6.3.0 Unstructured-mesh HDF5-based Output Verification

This report describes the verification performed to ensure that a new HDF5-based MCNP® unstructured mesh (UM) [1] file correctly represents elemental values on the associated mesh geometry.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1972

Analysis of the transient response of shell structures by numerical methods.

This paper examines some basic considerations underlying dynamic shell response analysis and the impact of these considerations upon the practical aspects of solution by numerical methods. Emphasis is placed on the solution of linear problems. The present states of development of the finite difference and finite element methods are reviewed, and techniques for the treatment of temporal variation are discussed. An examination is made of the frequency parameters characteristic of thin shell theory, applied excitations, and spatial mesh geometries, and the significance of these parameters with respect to computational convergence is illustrated.

Geers, T. L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Shock capturing schemes for multidimensional flow

Progress made in the development of a genuinely multidimensional finite volume algorithm for problems in inviscid gas dynamics is presented. The approach entails: (1) the reconstruction of flowfield data using a planar wave pattern in which the strengths and orientations of the component waves are derived independently of the mesh geometry; and (2) the development of a flux formula which provides a numerical approximation to the flux at a finite volume cell face during the passage of waves which are in general oblique to the face. Several algorithms are outlined, and the most recent developments are included. The results of several numerical cases are also included.

Parpia, Ijaz H.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Ultra-Sensitive Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) for Far-IR/Submm Space-Borne Spectroscopy

We have built surface micromachined thin-film metallized Si(x)N(y) optical absorbers for transition-edge sensors (TESs) suitable for the Background - Limited far-IR/Submm Spectrograph (BLISS). BLISS is a broadband (38 micrometers - 433 micrometers), grating spectrometer consisting of five wavebands each with a modest resolution of R (is) approx. 1000. Because BLISS requires the effective noise equivalent power (NEP) of the TES to be below 10 (exp 19) W/Hz(exp 1/2), our TESs consist of four long (1000 micrometers), narrow (0.4 micrometers ), and thin (0.25 micrometers ) Si(x) N(y) support beams that reduce the thermal conductance G between the substrate and the optical absorber. To reduce the heat capacity of the absorber and make the response time tau fast enough for BLISS, our absorbers are patterned into a mesh geometry with a fill factor of less than 10%. We use a bilayer of Ti/Au to make the effective impedance of the absorber match the impedance of the incoming radiation for each band. Measurements of the response time of the metallized absorbers to heat pulses show that their heat capacity exceeds the predictions of the Debye model. Our results are suggestive that the surface of the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) Si(x)N(y) used in the absorbers' construction is the source of microstates that dominate the heat capacity.

far-IR spectrometer↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plume Impingement Software Module for Real-Time Proximity Operations

Successfully executing proximity operations in space, such as docking or in-orbit servicing, requires sophisticated spacecraft design that accounts for induced environments. As a chaser vehicle’s attitude control thrusters fire, they create rarefied plumes that can impact the target vehicle, with the potential to overload components, exceed thermal limits, and spin the target vehicle out of control. High-fidelity simulations of the thruster plume impingement environment require the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, but DSMC is too computationally expensive to simulate proximity operations that involve thousands of thruster firings. For this analysis to be tractable, engineering models of the plume flowfield and impingement events are used to simulate these trajectories [1]. Currently, on-orbit plume impingement environments are modeled through an inefficient open-loop analysis cycle where the vehicle’s flight controller and plume impingement teams iterate on the trajectories until they pass the target vehicle’s plume requirements. As complex on-orbit missions evolve and become more frequent, lengthy design cycles will become operational bottlenecks. To address this gap, this work develops an advanced plume impingement module capable of operating at real-time scale that can be integrated with existing mission planning tools and onboard flight systems. The plume module leverages state-of-the-art plume simulation techniques [2] to deliver fast, physics-based impingement predictions in a software architecture that can be tailored to diverse proximity operations scenarios. A prototype of this plume impingement module is built to demonstrate the feasibility of real-time performance. This prototype completes plume impingement calculations in microseconds per target geometry mesh point. The software serves as a foundational capability for plume-aware trajectory design, operational risk assessment, and future autonomous decision-making systems.

Plume Impingement↗

DOE OSTI2019

Verification and Validation of COMSOL for Heat Transfer in Thin Rectangular Channels Using NACA Test Results

Currently efforts are underway at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) to convert the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) from high enriched uranium to low enriched uranium fuel. In order to provide confidence to the thermal hydraulics calculations, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations – simulated using COMOSOL – have been employed to calculate the pressure drop and heat transfer in the coolant. While CFD simulations provide well resolved results, turbulence models include a large amount of assumptions and must be validated for use in any safety-based analysis. In HFIR, long thin involute fuel plates are separated by coolant channels of equal size. The coolant channels are best described as thin rectangular channels. Unfortunately, there are few studies verifying and validating CFD for use in thin rectangular channels. This study seeks to bridge that gap by verifying, validating, and comparing various CFD models used in thin channels. To verify and validate CFD for use in thin channels, a series of simple analytic test cases are employed, and MMS is used to further verify the COMSOL tool and mesh geometry. For the validation, a series of tests conducted at NASA were simulated in COMSOL. The results of this study are three-fold. First, it verifies the ability of COMSOL to model heat transfer in thin channels. Second, it addresses the various aspects of CFD modeling that are of greatest concern for heat transfer simulations in the geometry. Third, and finally, it discusses the ability of various CFD models used in COMSOL to accurately predict heat transfer in narrow rectangular channels.

Howard, Trevor↗

DOE OSTI2018

Neutron production in the beryllium filter of a linac using 6 MeV treatment beam - 25425

In most conventional radiation therapy treatments, special attention is paid for neutron contamination when working with energy beams above 8 MeV. Generally, neutron generation it is only considered for shielding requirements, not for dose study in patients or employees. The present work is focused on studying the unwanted generated photoneutrons in a Medical Linear Accelerator (Linac) Varian TrueBeam using a 6 MeV radiation treatment beam. To that, Monte Carlo (MC) simulation code MCNP6.1.1 was used. This new version of the code allows the use of unstructured mesh geometries models, offering more geometric reliable results. The particularity of the studied Linac is the presence of a beryllium filter at the treatment head. Since Beryllium causes photonuclear reactions (γ, n) at energies much lower than other Linac composing materials, this work aims to analyze if this type of unit, when using low energy treatment beams (6 MeV), produce significant neutron dose and to ensure that this unwanted radiation can be considered negligible. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

NASA NTRS2019

Geometry Modeling for Unstructured Mesh Adaptation

The quantification and control of discretization error is critical to obtaining reliable simulation results. Adaptive mesh techniques have the potential to automate discretization error control, but have made limited impact on production analysis workflow. Recent progress has matured a number of independent implementations of flow solvers, error estimation methods, and anisotropic mesh adaptation mechanics. However, the poor integration of initial mesh generation and adaptive mesh mechanics to typical sources of geometry has hindered adoption of adaptive mesh techniques, where these geometries are often created in Mechanical Computer- Aided Design (MCAD) systems. The difficulty of this coupling is compounded by two factors: the inherent complexity of the model (e.g., large range of scales, bodies in proximity, details not required for analysis) and unintended geometry construction artifacts (e.g., translation, uneven parameterization, degeneracy, self-intersection, sliver faces, gaps, large tolerances be- tween topological elements, local high curvature to enforce continuity). Manual preparation of geometry is commonly employed to enable fixed-grid and adaptive-grid workflows by reducing the severity and negative impacts of these construction artifacts, but manual process interaction inhibits workflow automation. Techniques to permit the use of complex geometry models and reduce the impact of geometry construction artifacts on unstructured grid workflows are models from the AIAA Sonic Boom and High Lift Prediction are shown to demonstrate the utility of the current approach.

Park, Michael A.↗

NASA NTRS2023

Predicting Two-Dimensional Airfoil Performance Using Graph Neural Networks

Computer simulations require the use of meshes to simulate geometries. These meshes capture important geometric features of the design and can be used in machine learning modeling. This report explores the use of graph neural networks (GNNs) to learn features from two-dimensional (2D) airfoil designs represented as a set of nodes connected using edges. This type of network is common in aerospace applications: most geometries are represented as a mesh in order to perform analysis. The objective of this work is to use GNNs to predict the performance of 2D airfoils generated using the program XFOIL. The predicted performance parameters include bulk quantities such as coefficients of lift (C L ), drag (C d , C dp ), moment (C m ), and node-specific quantities such as coefficient of pressure (C p ). In this report, a spline convolutional graph-based neural network is compared with deep learning neural networks to predict both bulk and node-specific quantities. The findings indicate the GNNs are able to predict bulk quantities quite well; however, when the number of outputs is increased, the deep neural network (DNN) proves to be better in its prediction capability. Two different normalization strategies were compared in the training of both GNNs and DNNs: minmax and standard deviation. In both types of networks, standard deviation scaling proved to be the best.

machine learning↗

DOE OSTI2017

Construction of hexahedral finite element mesh capturing realistic geometries of a petroleum reserve

Abstract not provided.

Park, Byoung Yoon↗

DOE OSTI2023

HLPW-4/GMGW-3: High-Order Discretization Technology Focus Group Workshop Summary

This paper summarizes the High-Order Technical Focus Group (HO-TFG) submissions for the joint 4th AIAA High Lift Prediction (HLPW-4) and 3rd Geometry and Mesh Generation Workshop (GMGW-3). The goal of the workshop was to assess the state-of-the-art in mesh generation and computational fluid dynamics software. The Common Research Model High-Lift (CRM-HL) variant served as the primary focus of the workshop, and a two-dimensional airfoil section from the CRM-HL was used as a verification test case. Here, the HO-TFG was tasked with generating high-order curved meshes for both geometries, and computing high-order solutions using both Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and scale-resolving formulations. While limited by computational resources, the final results demonstrate the potential of higher-order methods to increase solution accuracy with a lower degree-of-freedom count relative to second-order discretizations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

HLPW-4/GMGW-3: High Order Discretization Technology Focus Group Workshop Summary

This paper summarizes the High-Order Technical Focus Group (HO-TFG) submissions for the joint 4th AIAA High Lift Prediction and 3rd Geometry and Mesh Generation Workshop. The goal of the workshop was to assess the state-of-the-art in mesh generation and computational fluid dynamics software. The Common Research Model High-Lift (CRM-HL) variant served as the primary focus of the workshop, and a 2D airfoil section from the CRM-HL was used as a verification test case. The HO-TFG was tasked with generating high-order curved meshes for both geometries, and computing high-order solutions using both Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes and scale resolving formulations. While limited by computational resources, the final results demonstrate the potential of higher-order methods to increase solution accuracy with a lower degree of freedom count relative to second-order discretizations.

Galbraith, Marshall C.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Euler and Navier-Stokes computations for two-dimensional geometries using unstructured meshes

A general purpose unstructured mesh solver for steady-state two-dimensional inviscid and viscous flows is described. The efficiency and accuracy of the method are enhanced by the simultaneous use of adaptive meshing and an unstructured multigrid technique. A method for generating highly stretched triangulations in regions of viscous flow is outlined, and a procedure for implementing an algebraic turbulence model on unstructured meshes is described. Results are shown for external and internal inviscid flows and for turbulent viscous flow over a multi-element airfoil configuration.

Mavriplis, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1989