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At least 1,081 records · Page 60

The solution of linear systems of equations with a structural analysis code on the NAS CRAY-2

Two methods for solving linear systems of equations on the NAS Cray-2 are described. One is a direct method; the other is an iterative method. Both methods exploit the architecture of the Cray-2, particularly the vectorization, and are aimed at structural analysis applications. To demonstrate and evaluate the methods, they were installed in a finite element structural analysis code denoted the Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) Testbed. A description of the techniques used to integrate the two solvers into the Testbed is given. Storage schemes, memory requirements, operation counts, and reformatting procedures are discussed. Finally, results from the new methods are compared with results from the initial Testbed sparse Choleski equation solver for three structural analysis problems. The new direct solvers described achieve the highest computational rates of the methods compared. The new iterative methods are not able to achieve as high computation rates as the vectorized direct solvers but are best for well conditioned problems which require fewer iterations to converge to the solution.

Poole, Eugene L.↗

A general multiblock Euler code for propulsion integration. Volume 1: Theory document

A general multiblock Euler solver was developed for the analysis of flow fields over geometrically complex configurations either in free air or in a wind tunnel. In this approach, the external space around a complex configuration was divided into a number of topologically simple blocks, so that surface-fitted grids and an efficient flow solution algorithm could be easily applied in each block. The computational grid in each block is generated using a combination of algebraic and elliptic methods. A grid generation/flow solver interface program was developed to facilitate the establishment of block-to-block relations and the boundary conditions for each block. The flow solver utilizes a finite volume formulation and an explicit time stepping scheme to solve the Euler equations. A multiblock version of the multigrid method was developed to accelerate the convergence of the calculations. The generality of the method was demonstrated through the analysis of two complex configurations at various flow conditions. Results were compared to available test data. Two accompanying volumes, user manuals for the preparation of multi-block grids (vol. 2) and for the Euler flow solver (vol. 3), provide information on input data format and program execution.

Chen, H. C.↗

Computational flow predictions for hypersonic drag devices

The effectiveness of two types of hypersonic decelerators are computationally examined: mechanically deployable flares and inflatable ballutes. CFD is used to predict the flowfield around a solid rocket motor (SRM) with a deployed decelerator. The computations are performed with an ideal gas solver using an effective specific heat ratio of 1.15. The surface pressure coefficients, the drag, and the extent of the compression corner separation zone predicted by the ideal gas solver compare well with those predicted by the nonequilibrium solver. The ideal gas solver is computationally inexpensive and is shown to be well suited for preliminary design studies. The computed solutions are used to determine the size and shape of the decelerator that are required to achieve a drag coefficient of 5 in order to assure that the SRM will splash down in the Pacific Ocean. Heat transfer rates to the SRM and the decelerators are predicted to estimate the amount of thermal protection required.

Tokarcik, Susan↗

A robust quasi-simultaneous interaction method for a full potential flow with a boundary layer with application to wing/body configurations

The MATRICS flow solver calculates the inviscid transonic potential flow about a wing/body semi-configuration. At present, work is in progress to extend MATRICS to take viscous effects into account through coupling with a boundary layer solver. This solver, MATRICS-V, is based on robust calculation methods for the boundary layer, the outer wing flow and their interaction. MATRICS-V is intended for (inverse) design purposes. The boundary layer and wake are based on an integral formulation of the unsteady first order boundary layer equations, the inviscid method is the existing MATRICS potential flow solver, and the interaction algorithm is of the quasi-simultaneous type. The paper gives a progress report on the coupled potential-flow boundary-layer method for transonic wing/body configurations.

Vanderwees, A. J.↗

Application of fast Fourier transforms to the direct solution of a class of two-dimensional separable elliptic equations on the sphere

An efficient, direct, second-order solver for the discrete solution of a class of two-dimensional separable elliptic equations on the sphere (which generally arise in implicit and semi-implicit atmospheric models) is presented. The method involves a Fourier transformation in longitude and a direct solution of the resulting coupled second-order finite-difference equations in latitude. The solver is made efficient by vectorizing over longitudinal wave-number and by using a vectorized fast Fourier transform routine. It is evaluated using a prescribed solution method and compared with a multigrid solver and the standard direct solver from FISHPAK.

Moorthi, Shrinivas↗

Three-dimensional unstructured grid method applied to turbomachinery

This work has three objectives: to develop a three-dimensional flow solver based on unstructured tetrahedral meshes for turbomachinery flows; to validate the solver through comparisons with experimental data; and to apply the solver for better understanding of the flow through turbomachinery geometries and design improvement. The work followed three different approaches: an existing external flow solver/grid generator (USM3D/VGRID) was extensively modified for internal flows; a three-dimensional, finite-volume solver based on Roe's flux-difference splitting and explicit Runge-Kutta time stepping; and three-dimensional unstructured tetrahedral mesh generation using an advancing-front technique. A discussion of these topics is presented in viewgraph form.

Oh Joon Kwon↗

Implementing abstract multigrid or multilevel methods

Multigrid methods can be formulated as an algorithm for an abstract problem that is independent of the partial differential equation, domain, and discretization method. In such an abstract setting, problems not arising from partial differential equations can be treated. A general theory exists for linear problems. The general theory was motivated by a series of abstract solvers (Madpack). The latest version was motivated by the theory. Madpack now allows for a wide variety of iterative and direct solvers, preconditioners, and interpolation and projection schemes, including user callback ones. It allows for sparse, dense, and stencil matrices. Mildly nonlinear problems can be handled. Also, there is a fast, multigrid Poisson solver (two and three dimensions). The type of solvers and design decisions (including language, data structures, external library support, and callbacks) are discussed. Based on the author's experiences with two versions of Madpack, a better approach is proposed. This is based on a mixed language formulation (C and FORTRAN + preprocessor). Reasons for not using FORTRAN, C, or C++ (individually) are given. Implementing the proposed strategy is not difficult.

Douglas, Craig C.↗

The method of space-time conservation element and solution element-applications to one-dimensional and two-dimensional time-marching flow problems

A nontraditional numerical method for solving conservation laws is being developed. The new method is designed from a physicist's perspective, i.e., its development is based more on physics than numerics. Even though it uses only the simplest approximation techniques, a 2D time-marching Euler solver developed recently using the new method is capable of generating nearly perfect solutions for a 2D shock reflection problem used by Helen Yee and others. Moreover, a recent application of this solver to computational aeroacoustics (CAA) problems reveals that: (1) accuracy of its results is comparable to that of a 6th order compact difference scheme even though nominally the current solver is only of 2nd-order accuracy; (2) generally, the non-reflecting boundary condition can be implemented in a simple way without involving characteristic variables; and (3) most importantly, the current solver is capable of handling both continuous and discontinuous flows very well and thus provides a unique numerical tool for solving those flow problems where the interactions between sound waves and shocks are important, such as the noise field around a supersonic over- or under-expansion jet.

Chang, Sin-Chung↗

Time integration algorithms for the two-dimensional Euler equations on unstructured meshes

Explicit and implicit time integration algorithms for the two-dimensional Euler equations on unstructured grids are presented. Both cell-centered and cell-vertex finite volume upwind schemes utilizing Roe's approximate Riemann solver are developed. For the cell-vertex scheme, a four-stage Runge-Kutta time integration, a fourstage Runge-Kutta time integration with implicit residual averaging, a point Jacobi method, a symmetric point Gauss-Seidel method and two methods utilizing preconditioned sparse matrix solvers are presented. For the cell-centered scheme, a Runge-Kutta scheme, an implicit tridiagonal relaxation scheme modeled after line Gauss-Seidel, a fully implicit lower-upper (LU) decomposition, and a hybrid scheme utilizing both Runge-Kutta and LU methods are presented. A reverse Cuthill-McKee renumbering scheme is employed for the direct solver to decrease CPU time by reducing the fill of the Jacobian matrix. A comparison of the various time integration schemes is made for both first-order and higher order accurate solutions using several mesh sizes, higher order accuracy is achieved by using multidimensional monotone linear reconstruction procedures. The results obtained for a transonic flow over a circular arc suggest that the preconditioned sparse matrix solvers perform better than the other methods as the number of elements in the mesh increases.

Slack, David C.↗

A Geometry Based Infra-Structure for Computational Analysis and Design

The computational steps traditionally taken for most engineering analysis suites (computational fluid dynamics (CFD), structural analysis, heat transfer and etc.) are: (1) Surface Generation -- usually by employing a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) system; (2) Grid Generation -- preparing the volume for the simulation; (3) Flow Solver -- producing the results at the specified operational point; (4) Post-processing Visualization -- interactively attempting to understand the results. For structural analysis, integrated systems can be obtained from a number of commercial vendors. These vendors couple directly to a number of CAD systems and are executed from within the CAD Graphical User Interface (GUI). It should be noted that the structural analysis problem is more tractable than CFD; there are fewer mesh topologies used and the grids are not as fine (this problem space does not have the length scaling issues of fluids). For CFD, these steps have worked well in the past for simple steady-state simulations at the expense of much user interaction. The data was transmitted between phases via files. In most cases, the output from a CAD system could go to Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) or Standard Exchange Program (STEP) files. The output from Grid Generators and Solvers do not really have standards though there are a couple of file formats that can be used for a subset of the gridding (i.e. PLOT3D data formats). The user would have to patch up the data or translate from one format to another to move to the next step. Sometimes this could take days. Specifically the problems with this procedure are:(1) File based -- Information flows from one step to the next via data files with formats specified for that procedure. File standards, when they exist, are wholly inadequate. For example, geometry from CAD systems (transmitted via IGES files) is defined as disjoint surfaces and curves (as well as masses of other information of no interest for the Grid Generator). This is particularly onerous for modern CAD systems based on solid modeling. The part was a proper solid and in the translation to IGES has lost this important characteristic. STEP is another standard for CAD data that exists and supports the concept of a solid. The problem with STEP is that a solid modeling geometry kernel is required to query and manipulate the data within this type of file. (2) 'Good' Geometry. A bottleneck in getting results from a solver is the construction of proper geometry to be fed to the grid generator. With 'good' geometry a grid can be constructed in tens of minutes (even with a complex configuration) using unstructured techniques. Adroit multi-block methods are not far behind. This means that a million node steady-state solution can be computed on the order of hours (using current high performance computers) starting from this 'good' geometry. Unfortunately, the geometry usually transmitted from the CAD system is not 'good' in the grid generator sense. The grid generator needs smooth closed solid geometry. It can take a week (or more) of interaction with the CAD output (sometimes by hand) before the process can begin. One way Communication. (3) One-way Communication -- All information travels on from one phase to the next. This makes procedures like node adaptation difficult when attempting to add or move nodes that sit on bounding surfaces (when the actual surface data has been lost after the grid generation phase). Until this process can be automated, more complex problems such as multi-disciplinary analysis or using the above procedure for design becomes prohibitive. There is also no way to easily deal with this system in a modular manner. One can only replace the grid generator, for example, if the software reads and writes the same files. Instead of the serial approach to analysis as described above, CAPRI takes a geometry centric approach. This makes the actual geometry (not a discretized version) accessible to all phases of the analysis. The connection to the geometry is made through an Application Programming Interface (API) and NOT a file system. This API isolates the top-level applications (grid generators, solvers and visualization components) from the geometry engine. Also this allows the replacement of one geometry kernel with another, without effecting these top-level applications. For example, if UniGraphics is used as the CAD package then Parasolid (UG's own geometry engine) can be used for all geometric queries so that no solid geometry information is lost in a translation. This is much better than STEP because when the data is queried, the same software is executed as used in the CAD system. Therefore, one analyzes the exact part that is in the CAD system. CAPRI uses the same idea as the commercial structural analysis codes but does not specify control. Software components of the CAD system are used, but the analysis suite, not the CAD operator, specifies the control of the software session. This also means that the license issues (may be) minimized and individuals need not have to know how to operate a CAD system in order to run the suite.

Haimes, Robert↗

Parallel 3D Multi-Stage Simulation of a Turbofan Engine

A 3D multistage simulation of each component of a modern GE Turbofan engine has been made. An axisymmetric view of this engine is presented in the document. This includes a fan, booster rig, high pressure compressor rig, high pressure turbine rig and a low pressure turbine rig. In the near future, all components will be run in a single calculation for a solution of 49 blade rows. The simulation exploits the use of parallel computations by using two levels of parallelism. Each blade row is run in parallel and each blade row grid is decomposed into several domains and run in parallel. 20 processors are used for the 4 blade row analysis. The average passage approach developed by John Adamczyk at NASA Lewis Research Center has been further developed and parallelized. This is APNASA Version A. It is a Navier-Stokes solver using a 4-stage explicit Runge-Kutta time marching scheme with variable time steps and residual smoothing for convergence acceleration. It has an implicit K-E turbulence model which uses an ADI solver to factor the matrix. Between 50 and 100 explicit time steps are solved before a blade row body force is calculated and exchanged with the other blade rows. This outer iteration has been coined a "flip." Efforts have been made to make the solver linearly scaleable with the number of blade rows. Enough flips are run (between 50 and 200) so the solution in the entire machine is not changing. The K-E equations are generally solved every other explicit time step. One of the key requirements in the development of the parallel code was to make the parallel solution exactly (bit for bit) match the serial solution. This has helped isolate many small parallel bugs and guarantee the parallelization was done correctly. The domain decomposition is done only in the axial direction since the number of points axially is much larger than the other two directions. This code uses MPI for message passing. The parallel speed up of the solver portion (no 1/0 or body force calculation) for a grid which has 227 points axially.

Turner, Mark G.↗

WARP3D-Release 10.8: Dynamic Nonlinear Analysis of Solids using a Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient Software Architecture

This report describes theoretical background material and commands necessary to use the WARP3D finite element code. WARP3D is under continuing development as a research code for the solution of very large-scale, 3-D solid models subjected to static and dynamic loads. Specific features in the code oriented toward the investigation of ductile fracture in metals include a robust finite strain formulation, a general J-integral computation facility (with inertia, face loading), an element extinction facility to model crack growth, nonlinear material models including viscoplastic effects, and the Gurson-Tver-gaard dilatant plasticity model for void growth. The nonlinear, dynamic equilibrium equations are solved using an incremental-iterative, implicit formulation with full Newton iterations to eliminate residual nodal forces. The history integration of the nonlinear equations of motion is accomplished with Newmarks Beta method. A central feature of WARP3D involves the use of a linear-preconditioned conjugate gradient (LPCG) solver implemented in an element-by-element format to replace a conventional direct linear equation solver. This software architecture dramatically reduces both the memory requirements and CPU time for very large, nonlinear solid models since formation of the assembled (dynamic) stiffness matrix is avoided. Analyses thus exhibit the numerical stability for large time (load) steps provided by the implicit formulation coupled with the low memory requirements characteristic of an explicit code. In addition to the much lower memory requirements of the LPCG solver, the CPU time required for solution of the linear equations during each Newton iteration is generally one-half or less of the CPU time required for a traditional direct solver. All other computational aspects of the code (element stiffnesses, element strains, stress updating, element internal forces) are implemented in the element-by- element, blocked architecture. This greatly improves vectorization of the code on uni-processor hardware and enables straightforward parallel-vector processing of element blocks on multi-processor hardware.

Koppenhoefer, Kyle C.↗

The Thin Oil Film Equation

A thin film of oil on a surface responds primarily to the wall shear stress generated on that surface by a three-dimensional flow. The oil film is also subject to wall pressure gradients, surface tension effects and gravity. The partial differential equation governing the oil film flow is shown to be related to Burgers' equation. Analytical and numerical methods for solving the thin oil film equation are presented. A direct numerical solver is developed where the wall shear stress variation on the surface is known and which solves for the oil film thickness spatial and time variation on the surface. An inverse numerical solver is also developed where the oil film thickness spatial variation over the surface at two discrete times is known and which solves for the wall shear stress variation over the test surface. A One-Time-Level inverse solver is also demonstrated. The inverse numerical solver provides a mathematically rigorous basis for an improved form of a wall shear stress instrument suitable for application to complex three-dimensional flows. To demonstrate the complexity of flows for which these oil film methods are now suitable, extensive examination is accomplished for these analytical and numerical methods as applied to a thin oil film in the vicinity of a three-dimensional saddle of separation.

Brown, James L.↗

TADS: A CFD-Based Turbomachinery Analysis and Design System with GUI: Methods and Results

The primary objective of this study was the development of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based turbomachinery airfoil analysis and design system, controlled by a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The computer codes resulting from this effort are referred to as TADS (Turbomachinery Analysis and Design System). This document is the Final Report describing the theoretical basis and analytical results from the TADS system developed under Task 10 of NASA Contract NAS3-27394, ADPAC System Coupling to Blade Analysis & Design System GUI, Phase II-Loss, Design and. Multi-stage Analysis. TADS couples a throughflow solver (ADPAC) with a quasi-3D blade-to-blade solver (RVCQ3D) or a 3-D solver with slip condition on the end walls (B2BADPAC) in an interactive package. Throughflow analysis and design capability was developed in ADPAC through the addition of blade force and blockage terms to the governing equations. A GUI was developed to simplify user input and automate the many tasks required to perform turbomachinery analysis and design. The coupling of the various programs was done in such a way that alternative solvers or grid generators could be easily incorporated into the TADS framework. Results of aerodynamic calculations using the TADS system are presented for a multistage compressor, a multistage turbine, two highly loaded fans, and several single stage compressor and turbine example cases.

Koiro, M. J.↗

Practical Aerodynamic Design Optimization Based on the Navier-Stokes Equations and a Discrete Adjoint Method

The technical details are summarized below: Compressible and incompressible versions of a three-dimensional unstructured mesh Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver have been differentiated and resulting derivatives have been verified by comparisons with finite differences and a complex-variable approach. In this implementation, the turbulence model is fully coupled with the flow equations in order to achieve this consistency. The accuracy demonstrated in the current work represents the first time that such an approach has been successfully implemented. The accuracy of a number of simplifying approximations to the linearizations of the residual have been examined. A first-order approximation to the dependent variables in both the adjoint and design equations has been investigated. The effects of a "frozen" eddy viscosity and the ramifications of neglecting some mesh sensitivity terms were also examined. It has been found that none of the approximations yielded derivatives of acceptable accuracy and were often of incorrect sign. However, numerical experiments indicate that an incomplete convergence of the adjoint system often yield sufficiently accurate derivatives, thereby significantly lowering the time required for computing sensitivity information. The convergence rate of the adjoint solver relative to the flow solver has been examined. Inviscid adjoint solutions typically require one to four times the cost of a flow solution, while for turbulent adjoint computations, this ratio can reach as high as eight to ten. Numerical experiments have shown that the adjoint solver can stall before converging the solution to machine accuracy, particularly for viscous cases. A possible remedy for this phenomenon would be to include the complete higher-order linearization in the preconditioning step, or to employ a simple form of mesh sequencing to obtain better approximations to the solution through the use of coarser meshes. . An efficient surface parameterization based on a free-form deformation technique has been utilized and the resulting codes have been integrated with an optimization package. Lastly, sample optimizations have been shown for inviscid and turbulent flow over an ONERA M6 wing. Drag reductions have been demonstrated by reducing shock strengths across the span of the wing.

Grossman, Bernard↗

Integrated Modeling Tools for Thermal Analysis and Applications

Integrated modeling of spacecraft systems is a rapidly evolving area in which multidisciplinary models are developed to design and analyze spacecraft configurations. These models are especially important in the early design stages where rapid trades between subsystems can substantially impact design decisions. Integrated modeling is one of the cornerstones of two of NASA's planned missions in the Origins Program -- the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) and the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). Common modeling tools for control design and opto-mechanical analysis have recently emerged and are becoming increasingly widely used. A discipline that has been somewhat less integrated, but is nevertheless of critical concern for high precision optical instruments, is thermal analysis and design. A major factor contributing to this mild estrangement is that the modeling philosophies and objectives for structural and thermal systems typically do not coincide. Consequently the tools that are used in these discplines suffer a degree of incompatibility, each having developed along their own evolutionary path. Although standard thermal tools have worked relatively well in the past. integration with other disciplines requires revisiting modeling assumptions and solution methods. Over the past several years we have been developing a MATLAB based integrated modeling tool called IMOS (Integrated Modeling of Optical Systems) which integrates many aspects of structural, optical, control and dynamical analysis disciplines. Recent efforts have included developing a thermal modeling and analysis capability, which is the subject of this article. Currently, the IMOS thermal suite contains steady state and transient heat equation solvers, and the ability to set up the linear conduction network from an IMOS finite element model. The IMOS code generates linear conduction elements associated with plates and beams/rods of the thermal network directly from the finite element structural model. Conductances for temperature varying materials are accommodated. This capability both streamlines the process of developing the thermal model from the finite element model, and also makes the structural and thermal models compatible in the sense that each structural node is associated with a thermal node. This is particularly useful when the purpose of the analysis is to predict structural deformations due to thermal loads. The steady state solver uses a restricted step size Newton method, and the transient solver is an adaptive step size implicit method applicable to general differential algebraic systems. Temperature dependent conductances and capacitances are accommodated by the solvers. In addition to discussing the modeling and solution methods. applications where the thermal modeling is "in the loop" with sensitivity analysis, optimization and optical performance drawn from our experiences with the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), and the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) are presented.

Milman, Mark H.↗

Sonic Boom Prediction and Minimization of the Douglas Reference OPT5 Configuration

Conventional CFD methods and grids do not yield adequate resolution of the complex shock flow pattern generated by a real aircraft geometry. As a result, a unique grid topology and supersonic flow solver was developed at Northrop Grumman based on the characteristic behavior of supersonic wave patterns emanating from the aircraft. Using this approach, it was possible to compute flow fields with adequate resolution several body lengths below the aircraft. In this region, three-dimensional effects are diminished and conventional two-dimensional modified linear theory (MLT) can be applied to estimate ground pressure signatures or sonic booms. To accommodate real aircraft geometries and alleviate the burdensome grid generation task, an implicit marching multi-block, multi-grid finite-volume Euler code was developed as the basis for the sonic boom prediction methodology. The Thomas two-dimensional extrapolation method is built into the Euler code so that ground signatures can be obtained quickly and efficiently with minimum computational effort suitable to the aircraft design environment. The loudness levels of these signatures can then be determined using a NASA generated noise code. Since the Euler code is a three-dimensional flow field solver, the complete circumferential region below the aircraft is computed. The extrapolation of all this field data from a cylinder of constant radius leads to the definition of the entire boom corridor occurring directly below and off to the side of the aircraft's flight path yielding an estimate for the entire noise "annoyance" corridor in miles as well as its magnitude. An automated multidisciplinary sonic boom design optimization software system was developed during the latter part of HSR Phase 1. Using this system, it was found that sonic boom signatures could be reduced through optimization of a variety of geometric aircraft parameters. This system uses a gradient based nonlinear optimizer as the driver in conjunction with a computationally efficient Euler CFD solver (NIIM3DSB) for computing the three-dimensional near-field characteristics of the aircraft. The intent of the design system is to identify and optimize geometric design variables that have a beneficial impact on the ground sonic boom. The system uses a simple wave drag data format to specify the aircraft geometry. The geometry is internally enhanced and analytic methods are used to generate marching grids suitable for the multi-block Euler solver. The Thomas extrapolation method is integrated into this system, and hence, the aircraft's centerline ground sonic boom signature is also automatically computed for a specified cruise altitude and yields the parameters necessary to evaluate the design function. The entire design system has been automated since the gradient based optimization software requires many flow analyses in order to obtain the required sensitivity derivatives for each design variable in order to converge on an optimal solution. Hence, once the problem is defined which includes defining the objective function and geometric and aerodynamic constraints, the system will automatically regenerate the perturbed geometry, the necessary grids, the Euler solution, and finally the ground sonic boom signature at the request of the optimizer.

Siclari, Michael J.↗

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Electron Beams Focused by Periodic Permanent Magnets

A fully three-dimensional (3D) model of an electron beam focused by a periodic permanent magnet (PPM) stack has been developed. First, the simulation code MAFIA was used to model a PPM stack using the magnetostatic solver. The exact geometry of the magnetic focusing structure was modeled; thus, no approximations were made regarding the off-axis fields. The fields from the static solver were loaded into the 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) solver of MAFIA where fully 3D behavior of the beam was simulated in the magnetic focusing field. The PIC solver computes the time-integration of electromagnetic fields simultaneously with the time integration of the equations of motion of charged particles that move under the influence of those fields. Fields caused by those moving charges are also taken into account; thus, effects like space charge and magnetic forces between particles are fully simulated. The electron beam is simulated by a number of macro-particles. These macro-particles represent a given charge Q amounting to that of several million electrons in order to conserve computational time and memory. Particle motion is unrestricted, so particle trajectories can cross paths and move in three dimensions under the influence of 3D electric and magnetic fields. Correspondingly, there is no limit on the initial current density distribution of the electron beam, nor its density distribution at any time during the simulation. Simulation results including beam current density, percent ripple and percent transmission will be presented, and the effects current, magnetic focusing strength and thermal velocities have on beam behavior will be demonstrated using 3D movies showing the evolution of beam characteristics in time and space. Unlike typical beam optics models, this 3D model allows simulation of asymmetric designs such as non- circularly symmetric electrostatic or magnetic focusing as well as the inclusion of input/output couplers.

Kory, Carol L.↗