Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Numerical Methods”

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 937 records · Page 52

Research in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer science

Research conducted at the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer science is summarized and abstracts of published reports are presented. The major categories of the ICASE research program are: (1) numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; (2) control and parameter identification; (3) computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and (4) computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers.

Source record↗

Fluid Stochastic Petri Nets: Theory, Applications, and Solution

In this paper we introduce a new class of stochastic Petri nets in which one or more places can hold fluid rather than discrete tokens. We define a class of fluid stochastic Petri nets in such a way that the discrete and continuous portions may affect each other. Following this definition we provide equations for their transient and steady-state behavior. We present several examples showing the utility of the construct in communication network modeling and reliability analysis, and discuss important special cases. We then discuss numerical methods for computing the transient behavior of such nets. Finally, some numerical examples are presented.

Horton, Graham↗

Accurate Evaluation of Quantum Integrals

Combining an appropriate finite difference method with Richardson's extrapolation results in a simple, highly accurate numerical method for solving a Schr\"{o}dinger's equation. Important results are that error estimates are provided, and that one can extrapolate expectation values rather than the wavefunctions to obtain highly accurate expectation values. We discuss the eigenvalues, the error growth in repeated Richardson's extrapolation, and show that the expectation values calculated on a crude mesh can be extrapolated to obtain expectation values of high accuracy.

Galant, David C.↗

Accurate Evaluation of Quantum Integrals

Combining an appropriate finite difference method with Richardson's extrapolation results in a simple, highly accurate numerical method for solving a Schrodinger's equation. Important results are that error estimates are provided, and that one can extrapolate expectation values rather than the wavefunctions to obtain highly accurate expectation values. We discuss the eigenvalues, the error growth in repeated Richardson's extrapolation, and show that the expectation values calculated on a crude mesh can be extrapolated to obtain expectation values of high accuracy.

Galant, D. C.↗

FAST Model Calibration and Validation of the OC5- DeepCwind Floating Offshore Wind System Against Wave Tank Test Data: Preprint

During the course of the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation (OC5) project, which focused on the validation of numerical methods through comparison against tank test data, the authors created a numerical FAST model of the 1:50-scale DeepCwind semisubmersible system that was tested at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands ocean basin in 2013. This paper discusses several model calibration studies that were conducted to identify model adjustments that improve the agreement between the numerical simulations and the experimental test data. These calibration studies cover wind-field-specific parameters (coherence, turbulence), hydrodynamic and aerodynamic modeling approaches, as well as rotor model (blade-pitch and blade-mass imbalances) and tower model (structural tower damping coefficient) adjustments. These calibration studies were conducted based on relatively simple calibration load cases (wave only/wind only). The agreement between the final FAST model and experimental measurements is then assessed based on more-complex combined wind and wave validation cases.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

FAST Model Calibration and Validation of the OC5-DeepCwind Floating Offshore Wind System Against Wave Tank Test Data

During the course of the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation (OC5) project, which focused on the validation of numerical methods through comparison against tank test data, the authors created a numerical FAST model of the 1:50-scale DeepCwind semisubmersible system that was tested at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands ocean basin in 2013. This paper discusses several model calibration studies that were conducted to identify model adjustments that improve the agreement between the numerical simulations and the experimental test data. These calibration studies cover wind-field-specific parameters (coherence, turbulence), hydrodynamic and aerodynamic modeling approaches, as well as rotor model (blade-pitch and blade-mass imbalances) and tower model (structural tower damping coefficient) adjustments. These calibration studies were conducted based on relatively simple calibration load cases (wave only/wind only). The agreement between the final FAST model and experimental measurements is then assessed based on more-complex combined wind and wave validation cases.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Development and Verification of a Numerical Library for Solving Global Terrestrial Multiphysics Problems

Abstract Current generation Land Surface Models (LSMs) routinely simulate many nonlinear multiphysics processes. The complexity of future generation LSMs is expected to increase as critical new biophysical and biogeochemical processes are incorporated. Current generation LSMs have several shortcomings including the lack of robust numerical methods to solve discretized equations, monolithic software design that hinders testing of a process representation in isolation from other components, and absence of a flexible coupling framework to solve tightly coupled multiphysics problems. While the LSMs community vigorously evaluates the accuracy of the conceptual model to represent reality (validation), the accuracy of the numerical implementation of the conceptual model (verification) is seldom examined. Method of Manufactured Solutions is a technique for verifying complex codes when analytical solutions are unavailable. In this work, we present a stand‐alone, open source numerical library for solving global terrestrial multiphysics processes that includes a flexible coupling framework. Robust numerical solution for linear and nonlinear equations is provided via the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation library. We verify the numerical library using Method of Manufactured Solutions for a range of problems comprising single and multiphysics steady state problems that are applied in one or multiple physical domains. This work provides an example of incorporating code verification as an integral part of Land Surface Model development activities.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

The CE/SE Method: a CFD Framework for the Challenges of the New Millennium

The space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method, which was originated and is continuously being developed at NASA Glenn Research Center, is a high-resolution, genuinely multidimensional and unstructured-mesh compatible numerical method for solving conservation laws. Since its inception in 1991, the CE/SE method has been used to obtain highly accurate numerical solutions for 1D, 2D and 3D flow problems involving shocks, contact discontinuities, acoustic waves, vortices, shock/acoustic waves/vortices interactions, shock/boundary layers interactions and chemical reactions. Without the aid of preconditioning or other special techniques, it has been applied to both steady and unsteady flows with speeds ranging from Mach number = 0.00288 to 10. In addition, the method has unique features that allow for (i) the use of very simple non-reflecting boundary conditions, and (ii) a unified wall boundary treatment for viscous and inviscid flows. The CE/SE method was developed with the conviction that, with a solid foundation in physics, a robust, coherent and accurate numerical framework can be built without involving overly complex mathematics. As a result, the method was constructed using a set of design principles that facilitate simplicity, robustness and accuracy. The most important among them are: (i) enforcing both local and global flux conservation in space and time, with flux evaluation at an interface being an integral part of the solution procedure and requiring no interpolation or extrapolation; (ii) unifying space and time and treating them as a single entity; and (iii) requiring that a numerical scheme be built from a nondissipative core scheme such that the numerical dissipation can be effectively controlled and, as a result, will not overwhelm the physical dissipation. Part I of the workshop will be devoted to a discussion of these principles along with a description of how the ID, 2D and 3D CE/SE schemes are constructed. In Part II, various applications of the CE/SE method, particularly those involving chemical reactions and acoustics, will be presented. The workshop will be concluded with a sketch of the future research directions.

Chang, Sin-Chung↗

Manufactured solutions for an electromagnetic slot model

The accurate modeling of electromagnetic penetration is an important topic in computational electromagnetics. Electromagnetic penetration occurs through intentional or inadvertent openings in an otherwise closed electromagnetic scatterer, which prevent the contents from being fully shielded from external fields. To efficiently model electromagnetic penetration, aperture or slot models can be used with surface integral equations to solve Maxwell's equations. A necessary step towards establishing the credibility of these models is to assess the correctness of the implementation of the underlying numerical methods through code verification. Surface integral equations and slot models yield multiple interacting sources of numerical error and other challenges, which render traditional code-verification approaches ineffective. In this paper, we provide approaches to separately measure the numerical errors arising from these different error sources for the method-of-moments implementation of the electric-field integral equation with a slot model. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches for a variety of cases.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Conservative DG method for the micro-macro decomposition of the Vlasov–Poisson–Lenard–Bernstein model

The micro-macro (mM) decomposition approach is considered for the numerical solution of the Vlasov– Poisson–Lenard–Bernstein (VPLB) system, which is relevant for plasma physics applications. In the mM approach, the kinetic distribution function is decomposed as $f$ = $\mathscr{E}$[$ρ_f$] + g , where $\mathscr{E}$ is a local equilibrium distribution, depending on the macroscopic moments $ρ_f$ = $∫_{\mathbb{R}}$ $efdv$ = $\langle$$ef$$\rangle$$_{\mathbb{R}}$, where e = (1, $v$, $\frac{1}{2}$ $v^2$) T , and $g$, the microscopic distribution, is defined such that $\langle$$eg$$\rangle$$_{\mathbb{R}}$ = 0. We aim to design numerical methods for the mM decomposition of the VPLB system, which consists of coupled equations for $ρ_f$ and $g$. To this end, we use the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for phase-space discretization, and implicit-explicit (IMEX) time integration, where the phase-space advection terms are integrated explicitly and the collision operator is integrated implicitly. We give special consideration to ensure that the resulting mM method maintains the $\langle$$eg$$\rangle$$_{\mathbb{R}}$ = 0 constraint, which may be necessary for obtaining (i) satisfactory results in the collision dominated regime with coarse velocity resolution, and (ii) unambiguous conservation properties. The constraint-preserving property is achieved through a consistent discretization of the equations governing the micro and macro components. Here, we present numerical results that demonstrate the performance of the mM method. The mM method is also compared against a corresponding DG-IMEX method solving directly for $f$.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Direct Coupling Method for Time-Accurate Solution of Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations

A noniterative finite difference numerical method is presented for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with second order accuracy in time and space. Explicit treatment of convection and diffusion terms and implicit treatment of the pressure gradient give a single pressure Poisson equation when the discretized momentum and continuity equations are combined. A pressure boundary condition is not needed on solid boundaries in the staggered mesh system. The solution of the pressure Poisson equation is obtained directly by Gaussian elimination. This method is tested on flow problems in a driven cavity and a curved duct.

Soh, Woo Y.↗

Atomization simulations using an Eulerian-VOF-Lagrangian method

This paper summarizes the technical development and validation of a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical method using the volume-of-fluid (VOF) model and a Lagrangian tracking model which can be employed to analyze general multiphase flow problems with free surface mechanism. The gas-liquid interface mass, momentum and energy conservations are modeled by continuum surface mechanisms. A new solution method is developed such that the present VOF model can be applied for all-speed flow regimes. The objectives of the present study are to develop and verify the fractional volume-of-fluid cell partitioning approach into a predictor-corrector algorithm and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present innovative approach by simulating benchmark problems including the coaxial jet atomization.

Chen, Yen-Sen↗

Euler solution of multiblade rotor flow

A numerical method for solving the Euler equations for multiblade rotors has been developed and some preliminary results reported. The numerical scheme is a combination of several recent methods and algorithm improvements, adapted to the particular requirements of rotor-body interactions. A cylindrical basic grid has been used to study conventional multiblade helicopter rotors. Test calculations have been made for two- and six-blade rotors in hover and for a two-blade rotor in forward flight, under transonic tip conditions but without lift. The results show good agreement with experimental data.

Chen, C. L.↗

Euler solution of multiblade rotor flow

A numerical method for solving the Euler equations for multiblade rotors has been developed and some preliminary results reported. The numerical scheme is a combination of several recent methods and algorithm improvements, adapted to the particular requirements of rotor-body interactions. A cylindrical basic grid has been used to study conventional multiblade helicopter rotors. Test calculations have been made for two- and six-blade rotors in hover and for a two-blade rotor in forward flight, under transonic tip conditions but without lift. The results show good agreement with experimental data.

Chen, C. L.↗

A class of efficient difference method for time fractional reaction–diffusion equation

The fractional reaction–diffusion equation has profound physical background and theoretical connotation, and its numerical methods are of great scientific significance and practical value. In this paper, a class of explicit–implicit (E–I) difference method and implicit–explicit (I–E) difference method are proposed for one-dimensional time fractional reaction–diffusion equation. The methods are constructed by combining classical explicit scheme and classical implicit scheme. The existence, uniqueness and convergence of solutions are given for E–I and I–E schemes. Theoretical analysis and numerical experiments show that the E–I and I–E schemes are unconditionally stable, with second-order spatial accuracy and 2−α order temporal accuracy. Compared with the classical implicit difference method with the similar accuracy, the computation time of the presented methods is improved by nearly 41%. It is shown that the E–I difference method and I–E difference method are effective for solving the time fractional reaction–diffusion equation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A phase-field formulation for dynamic cohesive fracture

We extend a phase-field/gradient damage formulation for cohesive fracture to the dynamic case. The model is characterized by a regularized fracture energy that is linear in the damage field, as well as non-polynomial degradation functions. Two categories of degradation functions are examined, and a process to derive a given degradation function based on a local stress-strain response in the cohesive zone is presented. The resulting model is characterized by a linear elastic regime prior to the onset of damage, and controlled strain-softening thereafter. The governing equations are derived according to macro- and microforce balance theories, naturally accounting for the irreversible nature of the fracture process by introducing suitable constraints for the kinetics of the underlying microstructural changes. The model is complemented by an efficient staggered solution scheme based on an augmented Lagrangian method. Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed model is a robust and effective method for simulating cohesive crack propagation, with particular emphasis on dynamic fracture.

42 ENGINEERING↗