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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 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Coupling localized Noah-MP-Crop model with the WRF model improved dynamic crop growth simulation across Northeast China

Croplands play a critical role in regulating the energy and moisture exchanges between the land surface and atmosphere. However, the interactions between cropland and climate are usually poorly represented due to a lack of detailed representation in crop types and field management. Here, we coupled the Noah-MP-Crop model with the state-of-the-art Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to explore and evaluate the crop growth dynamics in response to climate variations across Northeast China. The default parameters of the crop model were not exactly suitable for the agricultural ecosystems in Northeast China. The detailed cropland distribution, and crop phenology parameters including growing degree days (GDD) and planting (harvesting) date were first created using multi-source remote sensing products and reanalysis data, and was then successfully used to simulate the growth and yield for corn and soybean and associated energy exchanges. We also optimized and calibrated other crop parameters using the time-series of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface products. The modified crop model substantially improved the simulation of crop growth, plant physiology, and biomass accumulation for both corn and soybean. Coupling the localized dynamic crop model into the WRF led to considerable decreases in the simulated mean-absolute-errors (MAEs) and biases of the leaf area index, evapotranspiration, and gross primary production compared with the MODIS observed values. Compared with the statistical yield from each province, the modified crop model underestimated the corn yield from 11.1% to 48.6%, whereas overestimated the soybean yield from 16.5% to 162.6%.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1989

A continuum model for dynamic analysis of the Space Station

Dynamic analysis of the International Space Station using MSC/NASTRAN had 1312 rod elements, 62 beam elements, 489 nodes and 1473 dynamic degrees of freedom. A realtime, man-in-the-loop simulation of such a model is impractical. This paper discusses the mathematical model for realtime dynamic simulation of the Space Station. Several key questions in structures and structural dynamics are addressed. First, to achieve a significant reduction in the number of dynamic degrees of freedom, a continuum equivalent representation of the Space Station truss structure which accounted for the unsymmetry of the basic configuration and resulted in the coupling of extensional and transverse deformation, is developed. Next, dynamic equations for the continuum equivalent of the Space Station truss structure are formulated using a matrix version of Kane's dynamical equations. Flexibility is accounted for by using a theory that accommodates extension, bending in two principal planes and shear displacement. Finally, constraint equations suitable for dynamic analysis of flexible bodies with closed loop configuration are developed and solution of the resulting system of equations is based on the zero eigenvalue theorem.

Thomas, Segun↗
NASA NTRS1988

Characterizing forest ecosystem dynamics through modelling and remote sensing observations

To gain a better understanding of northern/boreal forest dynamics over a range of spatial and temporal scales, an approach to integrate models of forest growth, soil processes and radiative transfer with remote sensing observations was developed. The integrated model and remote sensing can be used to examine descriptors of ecosystem dynamics. To examine the scaling of vegetation pattern from the local to the regional domain, distributions of area and perimeters of vegetation community associations were determined from satellite and aircraft images. Relationships between computed fractal dimensions (1.5 to 1.8) and succession history for managed and unmanaged areas are being explored.

Ranson, K. J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Dynamic Fountain Model for Lunar Dust

During the Apollo era of exploration it was discovered that sunlight was scattered at the terminators giving rise to horizon glow and streamers above the lunar surface. This was observed from the dark side of the Moon during sunset and sunrise by both surface landers and astronauts in orbit. These observations were quite unexpected, as the Moon was thought to be a pristine environment with a negligible atmosphere or exosphere. Subsequent investigations have shown that the sunlight was most likely scattered by electrostatically charged dust grains originating from the surface. It has since been demonstrated that this dust population could have serious implications for astronomical observations from the lunar surface. The lunar surface is electrostatically charged by the Moon s large-scale interaction with the local plasma environment and the photoemission of electrons due to solar ultra-violet (UV) light and X-rays. The like-charged surface and dust grains then act to repel each other, such that under certain conditions the dust grains are lifted above the surface. We present a dynamic fountain model which can explain how sub-micron dust is able to reach altitudes of up to approximately 100 km above the lunar surface. Previous static dust levitation models are most applicable to the heavier micron-sized grains in close proximity proximity to the surface, but they cannot explain the presence of extremely light grains at high altitudes. If we relax the static constraint applied to previous models, and instead assume that the grains are in constant motion (under the action of dynamic forces), a new picture emerges for the behavior of sub-micron lunar dust.

Stubbs, T. J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Full Vorticity Budget of the Arabian Sea from a 0.1° Ocean Model: Sverdrup Dynamics, Rossby Waves, and Nonlinear Eddy Effects

Abstract The Arabian Sea, influenced by the Indian monsoon, has many unique features, including its basin-scale seasonally reversing surface circulation and the Great Whirl, a seasonal anticyclonic system appearing during the southwest monsoon close to the western boundary. To establish a comprehensive dynamical picture of the Arabian Sea, we utilize numerical model output and design a full vorticity budget that includes a fully decomposed nonlinear term. The ocean general circulation model has 0.1° resolution and is mesoscale eddy-resolving in the region. In the western boundary current system, we highlight the role of nonlinear eddies in the life cycle of the Great Whirl. The nonlinear eddy term is of leading-order importance in this feature’s vorticity balance. Specifically, it contributes to the Great Whirl’s persistence in boreal fall after the weakening of the southwesterly winds. In the open ocean, Sverdrup dynamics and annual Rossby waves are found to dominate the vorticity balance; the latter is considered as a key factor in the formation of the Great Whirl and the seasonal reversal of the western boundary current. In addition, we discuss different forms of vertically integrated vorticity equations in the model and argue that the bottom pressure torque term can be interpreted analogously as friction in the western boundary and vortex stretching in the open ocean.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2018

Modeling and Control Design for a Turboelectric Single Aisle Aircraft Propulsion System

A nonlinear dynamic model with full flight envelope controller is developed for the propulsion system of a partially turboelectric single-aisle aircraft. The propulsion system model consists of two turbofan engines with a large percentage of power extraction, feeding an electric tail fan for boundary layer ingestion. The dynamic model is compared against an existing steady state design model. An electrical system model using a simple power flow approach is integrated into existing modeling tools used for dynamic simulation of the turbomachinery of the vehicle. In addition to the simple power flow model of the electrical system, a more detailed model is used for comparison at a key vehicle transient flight condition. The controller is a gain scheduled proportional-integral type that is examined throughout the flight envelope for performance metrics such as rise time and operability margins. Potential improvements in efficiency for the vehicle are explored by adjusting the power split between the energy used for thrust by the turbofans and that extracted to supply power to the tail fan. Finally, an operability study of the vehicle is conducted using a 900 nautical mile mission profile for a nominal vehicle configuration, a deteriorated propulsion system at the end of its operating life, and an optimized power schedule with improved efficiency.

Turboelectric↗
NASA NTRS1997

Dynamic Electrothermal Model of a Sputtered Thermopile Thermal Radiation Detector for Earth Radiation Budget Applications

The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is a program sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aimed at evaluating the global energy balance. Current scanning radiometers used for CERES consist of thin-film thermistor bolometers viewing the Earth through a Cassegrain telescope. The Thermal Radiation Group, a laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, is currently studying a new sensor concept to replace the current bolometer: a thermopile thermal radiation detector. This next-generation detector would consist of a thermal sensor array made of thermocouple junction pairs, or thermopiles. The objective of the current research is to perform a thermal analysis of the thermopile. Numerical thermal models are particularly suited to solve problems for which temperature is the dominant mechanism of the operation of the device (through the thermoelectric effect), as well as for complex geometries composed of numerous different materials. Feasibility and design specifications are studied by developing a dynamic electrothermal model of the thermopile using the finite element method. A commercial finite element-modeling package, ALGOR, is used.

Weckmann, Stephanie↗
NASA NTRS1983

Structural considerations for a software life cycle dynamic simulation model

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study into the prospects for simulating the software implementation and maintenance life cycle process, with the aim of producing a computerized tool for use by management and software engineering personnel in project planning, tradeoff studies involving product, environmental, situational, and technological factors, and training. The approach taken is the modular application of a 'flow of resource' concept to the systems dynamics simulation modeling technique. The software life cycle process is represented as a number of stochastic, time-varying, interacting work tasks that each achieves one of the project milestones. Each task is characterized by the item produced, the personnel applied, and the budgetary profile.

Tausworthe, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Thermal-Flow Code for Modeling Gas Dynamics and Heat Transfer in Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Joints

A new, thermal-flow simulation code, called SFLOW. has been developed to model the gas dynamics, heat transfer, as well as O-ring and flow path erosion inside the space shuttle solid rocket motor joints by combining SINDA/Glo, a commercial thermal analyzer. and SHARPO, a general-purpose CFD code developed at Thiokol Propulsion. SHARP was modified so that friction, heat transfer, mass addition, as well as minor losses in one-dimensional flow can be taken into account. The pressure, temperature and velocity of the combustion gas in the leak paths are calculated in SHARP by solving the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations while the heat conduction in the solid is modeled by SINDA/G. The two codes are coupled by the heat flux at the solid-gas interface. A few test cases are presented and the results from SFLOW agree very well with the exact solutions or experimental data. These cases include Fanno flow where friction is important, Rayleigh flow where heat transfer between gas and solid is important, flow with mass addition due to the erosion of the solid wall, a transient volume venting process, as well as some transient one-dimensional flows with analytical solutions. In addition, SFLOW is applied to model the RSRM nozzle joint 4 subscale hot-flow tests and the predicted pressures, temperatures (both gas and solid), and O-ring erosions agree well with the experimental data. It was also found that the heat transfer between gas and solid has a major effect on the pressures and temperatures of the fill bottles in the RSRM nozzle joint 4 configuration No. 8 test.

Wang, Qunzhen↗
DOE OSTI2023

Adaptively Learned Modeling for a Digital Twin of Hydropower Turbines with Application to a Pilot Testing System

In the development of a digital twin (DT) for hydropower turbines, dynamic modeling of the system (e.g., penstock, turbine, speed control) is crucial, along with all the necessary data interface, virtualization, and dashboard designs. Since the DT must mimic the actual dynamics of the hydropower turbine accurately, adaptive learning is required to train these dynamic models online so that the models in the DT can effectively follow the representation of the actual hydropower turbine dynamics accurately and reliably. This study presents an adaptive learning method for obtaining the hydropower turbine models for DT development of hydropower systems using the recursive least squares algorithm. To simplify the formulation, the hydropower turbine under consideration was assumed to operate near a fixed operating point, where the system dynamics can be well represented by a set of linear differential equations with constant parameters. In this context, the well-known six-coefficient model for the Francis turbine was formulated as the starting point to obtain input and output models for the turbine. Then, an adaptive learning mechanism was developed to learn model parameters using real-time data from a hydropower turbine testing system. This led to semi-physical modeling, in which first principles and data-driven modeling are integrated to produce dynamic models for DT development. Applications to a pilot system at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) were made, and the models learned adaptively using the data collected from the university’s pilot system. Desired modeling and validation results were obtained.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1963

Investigation of Propeller-power-plant Autoprecession Boundaries for a Dynamic-aeroelastic Model of a Four-engine Turboprop Transport Airplane

A flexibly mounted aircraft engine may under certain conditions experience a self-excited whirling instability involving a coupling between the gyroscopic and aerodynamic forces acting on the propeller, and the inertial, elastic, and damping forces contributed by the power plant, nacelle, and wing. This phenomenon has been called autoprecession, or whirl instability. An experimental investigation was made in the Langley transonic dynamics tunnel at Mach numbers below 0.3 to study some of the pertinent parameters influencing the phenomenon. These parameters included propeller rotational speed, stiffness of the power-plant assembly in the pitch and yaw planes and the ratio of pitch stiffness to yaw stiffness, structural damping of the power-plant assembly in the pitch and yaw planes, simulated fuel load in the wings, and the location and number of autoprecessing powerplant assemblies. A large dynamic-aeroelastic model of a four-engine turboprop transport airplane mounted on a vertical rod in a manner which provided several limited body degrees of freedom was used in the investigation. It was found that the boundary for autoprecession decreased markedly with Increasing proreduction of power-plant stiffness and/or damping, and to a lesser degree decreased with reduction of simulated fuel load in the wings. peller rotational speed generally lowered the autoprecession boundary. This effect was more pronounced as the stiffness was increased. An inboard power plant was found to be more susceptible to autoprecession than an outboard one. Combinations in which two or more power plants had the same level of reduced stiffness resulted in autoprecession boundaries considerably lower than that of a single power plant with the same level of reduced stiffness.

POWER PLANT↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experimental investigation of abnormal transverse flow enhancement of α particles in heavy-ion collisions

The mass dependence of the transverse flow for Z = 1–5 fragments from the collisions of 40 Ar + 27 Al, 40 Ar + 48 Ti, and 40 Ar + 58 Ni at 47 MeV/nucleon is investigated experimentally in this article. The transverse flow values are determined using the in-plane components of the fragment transverse momenta, where three conventional methods, i.e., the kinetic flow tensor method, the transverse momentum analysis method, and the azimuthal correlation method, are applied to reconstruct the reaction plane in an event-by-event basis. It is demonstrated from the comparison of the present experimental mass dependent flow measurements and the model simulations using an improved antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model that the experimentally observed abnormal α transverse flow enhancement is closely related to the reaction plane reconstruction procedure in the flow extraction. We further investigate the physical existence of the abnormal α flow behavior using a two-particle azimuthal correlation method, which allows us to provide the relative flow magnitude information with an identification of fragment charge number without the knowledge of the reaction plane differing from the three conventional methods. It is found that the relative flow magnitudes deduced from the two-particle azimuthal correlation functions with an identification of Z, with the correction for the recoil effect imposed by the momentum conservation, show a monotonically increasing trend as a function of fragment charge number, with no exception of the α flow enhancement. These results, in addition to those from the improved antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model simulations, definitely provide experimental evidences for the inexistence of the abnormal α flow behavior in the heavy-ion collisions at the present incident energy region in nature.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamic optimization with flexible heat integration of a solar parabolic trough collector plant with thermal energy storage used for industrial process heat

There is an increasing need to reduce fossil fuel consumption used for industrial process heat to slow the effects of climate change. Using solar thermal heat is a viable way to replace fossil fuel use, but solar industrial process heat plants have limited implementation due to large upfront costs and inefficiencies from the inherent variability from solar energy. Having more flexible and optimized control over these plants can enable them to be more efficient. Here in this work, a solar industrial process heat plant with thermal energy storage that can flexibly collect and deliver heat to two industrial processes (flexible heat integration) is dynamically modeled with control setpoints found by a dynamic optimization method. The optimized case can increase the solar efficiency of the plant by 7.5% on average relative to a base case. The results show that it is best to collect heat at lower temperatures for all but ideal solar conditions, only medium to high quality heat should be stored in large quantities, and exchanging heat with a lower temperature heat sink is generally more efficient. The optimized case is able to reduce the levelized cost of heat of the plant to $31.83/MWh th compared to a base case value of $34.10/MWh th . The optimized case can reduce emissions by 22.2% compared to a plant which uses only natural gas. This work shows that dynamic optimization with flexible heat integration can be a cost-effective way to increase efficiency so that more of these types of plants can be implemented.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1986

Torsional vibrations and dynamic loads in a basic planetary gear system

An iterative method has been developed for analyzing dynamic loads in a light weight basic planetary gear system. The effects of fixed, semi-floating, and fully-floating sun gear conditions have been emphasized. The load dependent variable gear mesh stiffness were incorporated into a practical torsional dynamic model of a planetary gear system. The dynamic model consists of input and output units, shafts, and a planetary train. In this model, the sun gear has three degrees of freedom; two transverse and one rotational. The planets, ring gear, and the input and output units have one degree of freedom, (rotation) thus giving a total of nine degrees of freedoms for the basic system. The ring gear has a continuous radial support. The results indicate that the fixed sun gear arrangement with accurate or errorless gearing offers in general better performance than the floating sun gear system.

August, R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Lunar articulated remote transportation system

The students of the Florida A&M/Florida State University College of Engineering continued their design from 1988 to 1989 on a first generation lunar transportation vehicle for use on the surface of the Moon between the years 2010 and 2020. Attention is focused on specific design details on all components of the Lunar Articulated Remote Transportation System (Lunar ARTS). The Lunar ARTS will be a three-cart, six-wheeled articulated vehicle. Its purpose will be the transportation of astronauts and/or materials for excavation purposes at a short distance from the base (37.5 km). The power system includes fuel cells for both the primary system and the back-up system. The vehicle has the option of being operated in a manned or unmanned mode. The unmanned mode includes stereo imaging with signal processing for navigation. For manned missions the display console is a digital readout displayed on the inside of the astronaut's helmet. A microprocessor is also on board the vehicle. Other components of the vehicle include a double wishbone/flexible hemispherical wheel suspension; chassis; a steering system; motors; seat retraints; heat rejection systems; solar flare protection; dust protection; and meteoroid protection. A one-quarter scale dynamic model has been built to study the dynamic behavior of the vehicle. The dynamic model closely captures the mechanical and electrical details of the total design.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

Life and dynamic capacity modeling for aircraft transmissions

A computer program to simulate the dynamic capacity and life of parallel shaft aircraft transmissions is presented. Five basic configurations can be analyzed: single mesh, compound, parallel, reverted, and single plane reductions. In execution, the program prompts the user for the data file prefix name, takes input from a ASCII file, and writes its output to a second ASCII file with the same prefix name. The input data file includes the transmission configuration, the input shaft torque and speed, and descriptions of the transmission geometry and the component gears and bearings. The program output file describes the transmission, its components, their capabilities, locations, and loads. It also lists the dynamic capability, ninety percent reliability, and mean life of each component and the transmission as a system. Here, the program, its input and output files, and the theory behind the operation of the program are described.

Savage, Michael↗
NASA NTRS1992

A nonlinear dynamical analogue model of geomagnetic activity

Consideration is given to the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction within the framework of deterministic nonlinear dynamics. An earlier dripping faucet analog model of the low-dimensional solar wind-magnetosphere system is reviewed, and a plasma physical counterpart to that model is constructed. A Faraday loop in the magnetotail is considered, and the relationship of electric potentials on the loop to changes in the magnetic flux threading the loop is developed. This approach leads to a model of geomagnetic activity which is similar to the earlier mechanical model but described in terms of the geometry and plasma contents of the magnetotail. The model is characterized as an elementary time-dependent global convection model. The convection evolves within a magnetotail shape that varies in a prescribed manner in response to the dynamical evolution of the convection. The result is a nonlinear model capable of exhibiting a transition from regular to chaotic loading and unloading. The model's behavior under steady loading and also some elementary forms of time-dependent loading is discussed.

Klimas, A. J.↗