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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 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for arbitrary 2-dimensional multi-element airfoils

Numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations, with an algebraic turbulence model, for time-dependent two dimensional flow about multi-element airfoils were developed. Fundamental to these solutions was the use of numerically-generated boundary-conforming curvilinear coordinate systems to allow bodies of arbitrary shape to be treated. A general two dimensional grid generation code for multiple-body configuration was written as a part of this project and made available through the COSMIC code library.

Thompson, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Optical systolic solutions of linear algebraic equations

The philosophy and data encoding possible in systolic array optical processor (SAOP) were reviewed. The multitude of linear algebraic operations achievable on this architecture is examined. These operations include such linear algebraic algorithms as: matrix-decomposition, direct and indirect solutions, implicit and explicit methods for partial differential equations, eigenvalue and eigenvector calculations, and singular value decomposition. This architecture can be utilized to realize general techniques for solving matrix linear and nonlinear algebraic equations, least mean square error solutions, FIR filters, and nested-loop algorithms for control engineering applications. The data flow and pipelining of operations, design of parallel algorithms and flexible architectures, application of these architectures to computationally intensive physical problems, error source modeling of optical processors, and matching of the computational needs of practical engineering problems to the capabilities of optical processors are emphasized.

Neuman, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Dynamics analysis of electrodynamic satellite tethers. Equations of motion and numerical solution algorithms for the tether

The equations of motion are developed for a perfectly flexible, inelastic tether with a satellite at its extremity. The tether is attached to a space vehicle in orbit. The tether is allowed to possess electrical conductivity. A numerical solution algorithm to provide the motion of the tether and satellite system is presented. The resulting differential equations can be solved by various existing standard numerical integration computer programs. The resulting differential equations allow the introduction of approximations that can lead to analytical, approximate general solutions. The differential equations allow more dynamical insight of the motion.

Nacozy, P. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Growth of crystals from solutions in low gravity (A0139A)

The objective of the low gravity crystal growth experiments is to develop a novel solute diffusion method for growing single crystals. The experiments will utilize specially designed reactors with three or more compartments separated by valves to keep the reactant solutions and solvent separated until the apparatus reaches low gravity. There will be a mechanism for opening the valves automatically to initiate the diffusion and growth processes. The reactant reservoirs will be large enough to take advantage of the time provided by the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) flight. An array of several reactors will be mounted in a 12-in.-deep end center tray located on the Earth-facing end of the LDEF. Several reactors operating simultaneously will allow experimentation with more than one crystal growth system and/or variations of conditions for each. The reactors will be enclosed in a vacuum tight container and will be surrounded by thermal insulation. The temperature (approximately 35 deg C) will be regulated and any departures from the desired temperature will be recorded. Power requirements will be provided by LiSO2 batteries.

Lind, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A solution procedure for three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equation and its application

An implicit, finite-difference procedure is presented for numerically solving viscous incompressible flows. For convenience of applying the present method to three-dimensional problems, primitive variables, namely the pressure and velocities, are used. One of the major difficulties in solving incompressible flows that use primitive variables is caused by the pressure field solution method which is used as a mapping procedure to obtain a divergence-free velocity field. The present method is designed to accelerate the pressure-field solution procedure. This is achieved by the method of pseudocompressibility in which the time derivative pressure term is introduced into the mass conservation equation. The pressure wave propagation and the spreading of the viscous effect is investigated using simple test problems. The present study clarifies physical and numerical characteristics of the pseudo-compressible approach in simulating incompressible flows. Computed results for external and internal flows are presented to verify the present procedure. The present algorithm has been shown to be very robust and accurate if the selection of the pseudo-compressibility parameter has been made according to the guidelines given.

Kwak, D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The mechanics of delamination in fiber-reinforced composite materials. I - Stress singularities and solution structure

The fundamental mechanics of delamination in fiber composite laminates is studied. Mathematical formulation of the problem is based on laminate anisotropic elasticity theory and interlaminar fracture mechanics concepts. Stress singularities and complete solution structures associated with general composite delaminations are determined. For a fully open delamination with traction-free surfaces, oscillatory stress singularities always appear, leading to physically inadmissible field solutions. A refined model is introduced by considering a partially closed delamination with crack surfaces in finite-length contact. Stress singularities associated with a partially closed delamination having frictional crack-surface contact are determined, and are found to be different from the inverse square-root one of the frictionless-contact case. In the case of a delamination with very small area of crack closure, a simplified model having a square-root stress singularity is employed by taking the limit of the partially closed delamination. The possible presence of logarithmic-type stress singularity is examined; no logarithmic singularity of any kind is found in the composite delamination problem. Numerical examples of dominant stress singularities are shown for delaminations having crack-tip closure with different frictional coefficients between general (1) and (2) graphite-epoxy composites. Previously announced in STAR as N84-13221

Wang, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Numerical solution of a coupled pair of elliptic equations from solid state electronics

Iterative methods are considered for the solution of a coupled pair of second order elliptic partial differential equations which arise in the field of solid state electronics. A finite difference scheme is used which retains the conservative form of the differential equations. Numerical solutions are obtained in two ways, by multigrid and dynamic alternating direction implicit methods. Numerical results are presented which show the multigrid method to be an efficient way of solving this problem. Previously announced in STAR as N83-30109

Phillips, T. N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Proposed solution methodology for the dynamically coupled nonlinear geared rotor mechanics equations

The equations which describe the three-dimensional motion of an unbalanced rigid disk in a shaft system are nonlinear and contain dynamic-coupling terms. Traditionally, investigators have used an order analysis to justify ignoring the nonlinear terms in the equations of motion, producing a set of linear equations. This paper will show that, when gears are included in such a rotor system, the nonlinear dynamic-coupling terms are potentially as large as the linear terms. Because of this, one must attempt to solve the nonlinear rotor mechanics equations. A solution methodology is investigated to obtain approximate steady-state solutions to these equations. As an example of the use of the technique, a simpler set of equations is solved and the results compared to numerical simulations. These equations represent the forced, steady-state response of a spring-supported pendulum. These equations were chosen because they contain the type of nonlinear terms found in the dynamically-coupled nonlinear rotor equations. The numerical simulations indicate this method is reasonably accurate even when the nonlinearities are large.

Mitchell, L. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Closed-form solutions for feedback control with terminal constraints

The problem of closed-loop control of maneuvers between two states for linear dynamical systems, subject to an arbitrarily specified terminal state, is considered. The feedback controller design is based on finite-time quadratic regulator theory. Closed-form expressions for the optimal control law are developed. Solutions are presented for both conventional and smoothed control profiles with fixed and/or free end condition problems. In the maneuvers using control-rate penalties, smooth profiles are generated throughout the maneuvers, in the sense that the initial condition jump discontinuities have been eliminated. Several examples involving large-angle maneuvers of a spacecraft are demonstrated. Results include control maneuvers from one state to another such as rest to rest and spin to rest, which effectively justify the solutions developed in this paper.

Juang, J.-N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Single cell performance studies on the FE/CR Redox Energy Storage System using mixed reactant solutions at elevated temperature

Experimental studies in a 14.5 sq cm single cell system using mixed reactant solutions at 65 C are described. Systems were tested under isothermal conditions, i.e., reactants and the cell were at the same temperature. Charging and discharging performance were evaluated by measuring watt-hour and coulombic efficiencies, voltage-current relationships, hydrogen evolution and membrane resistivity. Watt-hour efficiencies ranged from 86 percent at 43 ma/sq cm to 75 percent at 129 ma/sq cm with corresponding coulombic efficiencies of 92 percent and 97 percent, respectively. Hydrogen evolution was less than 1 percent of the charge coulumbic capacity during charge-discharge cycling. Bismuth amd bismuth-lead catalyzed chromium electrodes maintained reversible performance and low hydrogen evolution under normal and adverse cycling conditions. Reblending of the anode and cathode solutions was successfully demonstrated to compensate for osmotic volume changes. Improved performance was obtained with mixed reactant systems in comparison to the unmixed reactant systems. Previously announced in STAR as N83-25042

Gahn, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Optimal slewing maneuvers for flexible spacecraft using a closed form solution for the linear tracking problem

The problem of maneuvering a flexible spacecraft through a large angle while requiring the feedback control system to track a desired output state is considered. The desired output state is assumed to be provided by the corresponding open-loop maneuvering solution for the linear system model. Closed form solutions are provided for the Riccati and prefilter equations defining the optimal control. Example maneuvers are presented where control-rate penalties have been included in the performance index, in order to smooth both the open- and closed-loop control commands.

Turner, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Second-order analytic solution for aerocapture and ballistic fly-through trajectories

A generalized Yaroshevskii's system of equations is derived for analyzing ballistic entry at supercircular speeds. By an artificial introduction of a small parameter, the nonlinear system can then be integrated by Poincare's method. It is pointed out that the second-order theory displays explicitly the influence of the ballistic coefficient, entry speed, and entry angle on exit conditions. The analytic solution is found to be in excellent agreement with the numerical solution. Using an explicit formula, the critical entry angle at which the vehicle fails to skip out can be predicted to within one hundredth of a degree.

Vinh, N. X.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Using exact solutions to develop an implicit scheme for the baroclinic primitive equations

The exact solutions presently obtained by means of a novel method for nonlinear initial value problems are used in the development of numerical schemes for the computer solution of these problems. The method is applied to a new, fully implicit scheme on a vertical slice of the isentropic baroclinic equations. It was not possible to find a global scale phenomenon that could be simulated by the baroclinic primitive equations on a vertical slice.

Marchesin, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Numerical solution of Space Shuttle Orbiter flow field including real gas effects

The hypersonic, laminar flow around the Space Shuttle Orbiter has been computed for both an ideal gas (gamma = 1.2) and equilibrium air using a real-gas, parabolized Navier-Stokes code. This code employs a generalized coordinate transformation; hence, it places no restrictions on the orientation of the solution surfaces. The initial solution in the nose region was computed using a 3-D, real-gas, time-dependent Navier-Stokes code. The thermodynamic and transport properties of equilibrium air were obtained from either approximate curve fits or a table look-up procedure. Numerical results are presented for flight conditions corresponding to the STS-3 trajectory. The computed surface pressures and convective heating rates are compared with data from the STS-3 flight.

Prabhu, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Turbulent solutions of the equations of fluid motion

Some turbulent solutions of the unaveraged Navier-Stokes equations (equations of fluid motion) are reviewed. Those equations are solved numerically in order to study the nonlinear physics of incompressible turbulent flow. Initial three-dimensional cosine velocity fluctuations and periodic boundary conditions are used in most of the work considered. The three components of the mean-square velocity fluctuations are initially equal for the conditions chosen. The resulting solutions show characteristics of turbulence such as the linear and nonlinear excitation of small-scale fluctuations. For the stronger fluctuations, the initially nonrandom flow develops into an apparently random turbulence. Thus randomness or turbulence can arise as a consequence of the structure of the Navier-Stokes equations. The cases considered include turbulence which is statistically homogeneous or inhomogeneous and isotropic or anisotropic. A mean shear is present in some cases. A statistically steady-state turbulence is obtained by using a spatially periodic body force. Various turbulence processes, including the transfer of energy between eddy sizes and between directional components, and the production, dissipation, and spatial diffusion of turbulence, are considered. It is concluded that the physical processes occurring in turbulence can be profitably studied numerically.

Deissler, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Comparison of solutions of the Navier-Stokes and interacting boundary layer equations for separated turbulent flow

Comparisons are presented between numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes and interacting boundary-layer equations for the subsonic separated turbulent flow over an axisymmetric boattail configuration for which experimental data was available. Comparisons were made using a standard algebraic turbulence model and its modification using a streamwise relaxation model. Grid size studies were performed to provide an approximate assessment of the sensitivity of each method to mesh size. In general, good agreement was observed between the solutions of the Navier-Stokes and interacting boundary-layer equations; however, the interaction approach responded more strongly to the modified turbulence model thereby giving better agreement with experimental data.

Vatsa, V. N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Multigrid techniques for the numerical solution of the diffusion equation

An accurate numerical solution of diffusion problems containing large local gradients can be obtained with a significant reduction in computational time by using a multigrid computational scheme. The spatial domain is covered with sets of uniform square grids of different sizes. The finer grid patterns overlap the coarse grid patterns. The finite-difference expressions for each grid pattern are solved independently by iterative techniques. Two interpolation methods were used to establish the values of the potential function on the fine grid boundaries with information obtained from the coarse grid solution. The accuracy and computational requirements for solving a test problem by a simple multigrid and a multilevel-multigrid method were compared. The multilevel-multigrid method combined with a Taylor series interpolation scheme was found to be best.

Phillips, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

2 Pallas - 1982 and 1983 lightcurves and a new pole solution

Photoelectric lightcurves of the asteroid 2 Pallas obtained in March 1982 and May 1983 display amplitudes of 0.04 and 0.10 mag respectively. The latter lightcurve shows that Pallas was at V(1.0) mag of 4.51 + or -0.02 when it occulted 1 Vulpeculae on May 29, 1983. A least-squares best fit to an amplitude-aspect relation for all available lightcurve observations of Pallas between 1951 and 1983 yields two solutions for its pole position: lambda = 200, beta = 40 and lambda = 220, beta = 15, where the uncertainty regions correspond to an overall error estimate of + or -10 deg. Use of phase angle bisector coordinates give lower residuals than geocentric coordinates. The (220, 15) pole position is favored since it is in very good agreement with an independent pole solution obtained by photometric astrometry. This pole position implies that the latitude of the sub-earth point at the time of occultation was 22 deg.

Binzel, R. P.↗