Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “COUPLINGS”

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 1,135 records · Page 63
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Ordering Design Tasks Based on Coupling Strengths

The design process associated with large engineering systems requires an initial decomposition of the complex system into modules of design tasks which are coupled through the transference of output data. In analyzing or optimizing such a coupled system, it is essential to be able to determine which interactions figure prominently enough to significantly affect the accuracy of the system solution. Many decomposition approaches assume the capability is available to determine what design tasks and interactions exist and what order of execution will be imposed during the analysis process. Unfortunately, this is often a complex problem and beyond the capabilities of a human design manager. A new feature for DeMAID (Design Manager's Aid for Intelligent Decomposition) will allow the design manager to use coupling strength information to find a proper sequence for ordering the design tasks. In addition, these coupling strengths aid in deciding if certain tasks or couplings could be removed (or temporarily suspended) from consideration to achieve computational savings without a significant loss of system accuracy. New rules are presented and two small test cases are used to show the effects of using coupling strengths in this manner.

Rogers, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

NESTEM Probabilistic Analysis Used to Study Mistuned Bladed Disks and Blisks With Aerodynamic and Structural Coupling

This document summarizes the initial results from a research effort at the NASA Glenn Research Center on blisk and bladed disk mistuning, including both structural and aerodynamic coupling. The structural coupling model is based on the Fundamental Mistuning Model (FMM, developed by Feiner and Griffin). This effort extends the FMM technique to accept aerodynamic coupling coefficients from computational fluid dynamic codes. The model was applied to a representative modern front compressor stage. Flutter stability and forced response were determined with structural coupling only, with aerodynamic coupling only, and with both structural and aerodynamic coupling. Tuned, randomly mistuned, and near alternately mistuned rotors were considered.

Kielb, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Tunable Filter Made From Three Coupled WGM Resonators

A tunable third-order band-pass optical filter has been constructed as an assembly of three coupled, tunable, whispering-gallery-mode resonators similar to the one described in Whispering-Gallery-Mode Tunable Narrow-Band-Pass Filter (NPO-30896), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 4 (April 2004), page 5a. This filter offers a combination of four characteristics that are desirable for potential applications in photonics: (1) wide real-time tunability accompanied by a high-order filter function, (2) narrowness of the passband, (3) relatively low loss between input and output coupling optical fibers, and (4) a sparse spectrum. In contrast, prior tunable band-pass optical filters have exhibited, at most, two of these four characteristics. As described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonator is a spheroidal, disklike, or toroidal body made of a highly transparent material. It is so named because it is designed to exploit whispering-gallery electromagnetic modes, which are waveguide modes that propagate circumferentially and are concentrated in a narrow toroidal region centered on the equatorial plane and located near the outermost edge. Figure 1 depicts the optical layout of the present filter comprising an assembly of three coupled, tunable WGM resonators. Each WGM resonator is made from a disk of Z-cut LiNbO3 of 3.3-mm diameter and 50-m thickness. The perimeter of the disk is polished and rounded to a radius of curvature of 40 microns. The free spectral range of each WGM resonator is about 13.3 GHz. Gold coats on the flat faces of the disk serve as electrodes for exploiting the electro-optical effect in LiNbO3 for tuning. There is no metal coat on the rounded perimeter region, where the whispering-gallery modes propagate. Light is coupled from an input optical fiber into the whispering-gallery-modes of the first WGM resonator by means of a diamond prism. Another diamond prism is used to couple light from the whispering-gallery-modes of the third WGM resonator to an output optical fiber. The filter operates at a nominal wavelength of 1,550 nm and can be tuned over a frequency range of plus or minus 12 GHz by applying a potential in the range of plus or minus 150 V to the electrodes. The insertion loss (the loss between the input and output coupling optical fibers) was found to be repeatable at 6 dB. The resonance quality factor (Q) of the main sequence of resonator modes was found to be 5 x 10(exp 6), which corresponds to a bandwidth of 30 MHz. The filter can be shifted from one operating frequency to another within a tuning time less than or equal to 30 micro seconds. The transmission curve of the filter at frequencies near the middle of the passband closely approximates a theoretical third-order Butterworth filter profile, as shown in Figure 2.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Coupled Aeroelastic Model for Launch Vehicle Stability Analysis

A technique for incorporating distributed aerodynamic normal forces and aeroelastic coupling effects into a stability analysis model of a launch vehicle is presented. The formulation augments the linear state-space launch vehicle plant dynamics that are compactly derived as a system of coupled linear differential equations representing small angular and translational perturbations of the rigid body, nozzle, and sloshing propellant coupled with normal vibration of a set of orthogonal modes. The interaction of generalized forces due to aeroelastic coupling and thrust can be expressed as a set of augmenting non-diagonal stiffness and damping matrices in modal coordinates with no penalty on system order. While the eigenvalues of the structural response in the presence of thrust and aeroelastic forcing can be predicted at a given flight condition independent of the remaining degrees of freedom, the coupled model provides confidence in closed-loop stability in the presence of rigid-body, slosh, and actuator dynamics. Simulation results are presented that characterize the coupled dynamic response of the Ares I launch vehicle and the impact of aeroelasticity on control system stability margins.

Orr, Jeb S.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Investigation of Surface Flux Feedbacks for Coupled and Uncoupled Atmosphere-Ocean Anomalies

Variability in the atmosphere and ocean are linked through coupled processes via the surface exchanges of heat, moisture, and momentum. This coupling can occur predominantly via one-way (ocean forcing atmosphere or atmosphere forcing ocean) or two-way interactions. The dominant type of interaction can vary both regionally and with season. The existence of the coupled variability can act to enhance the persistence of anomalies and therefore may be important to seasonal (and longer) forecasts. The leading components of surface exchange that regulate the damping of the atmospheric and oceanic anomalies most likely also varies regionally and seasonally. This study seeks to elucidate the roles of the various surface flux components using satellite based data sets. Using dynamical relationships expected for one-way forcing regimes, coupled and uncoupled variability is isolated and used in conjunction with composite-type analyses to reveal the nature of these coupling mechanisms and their variation in space and time. Results of this study can be useful in examining the veracity of general circulation model output by understanding how the coupling mechanisms are replicated as found in satellite based observations.

Roberts, J. Brent↗
NASA NTRS2011

Diagnosing the Nature of Land-Atmosphere Coupling During the 2006-7 Dry/Wet Extremes in the U. S. Southern Great Plains

The degree of coupling between the land surface and PBL in NWP models remains largely undiagnosed due to the complex interactions and feedbacks present across a range of scales. In this study, a framework for diagnosing local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) is presented using a coupled mesoscale model with observations during the summers of 2006/7 in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. Specifically, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been coupled to NASA's Land Information System (LIS), which enables a suite of PBL and land surface model (LSM) options along provides a flexible and high-resolution representation and initialization of land surface physics and states. This coupling is one component of a larger project to develop a NASA-Unified WRF (NU-WRF) system. A range of diagnostics exploring the feedbacks between soil moisture and precipitation are examined for the dry/wet extremes, along with the sensitivity of PBL-LSM coupling to perturbations in soil moisture.

Santanello, Joseph A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Design and Impacts of Land-Biogenic-Atmosphere Coupling in the NASA-Unified WRF (NU-WRF) Modeling System

Land-Atmosphere coupling is typically designed and implemented independently for physical (e.g. water and energy) and chemical (e.g. biogenic emissions and surface depositions)-based models and applications. Differences in scale, data requirements, and physics thus limit the ability of Earth System models to be fully coupled in a consistent manner. In order for the physical-chemical-biological coupling to be complete, treatment of the land in terms of surface classification, condition, fluxes, and emissions must be considered simultaneously and coherently across all components. In this study, we investigate a coupling strategy for the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model that incorporates the traditionally disparate fluxes of water and energy through NASA's LIS (Land Information System) and biogenic emissions through BEIS (Biogenic Emissions Inventory System) and MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) into the atmosphere. In doing so, inconsistencies across model inputs and parameter data are resolved such that the emissions from a particular plant species are consistent with the heat and moisture fluxes calculated for that land cover type. In turn, the response of the atmospheric turbulence and mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) acts on the identical surface type, fluxes, and emissions for each. In addition, the coupling of dust emission within the NU-WRF system is performed in order to ensure consistency and to maximize the benefit of high-resolution land representation in LIS. The impacts of those self-consistent components on' the simulation of atmospheric aerosols are then evaluated through the WRF-Chem-GOCART (Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport) model. Overall, this ambitious project highlights the current difficulties and future potential of fully coupled. components. in Earth System models, and underscores the importance of the iLEAPS community in supporting improved knowledge of processes and innovative approaches for models and observations.

Tan, Qian↗
NASA NTRS2011

Diagnosing the Nature of Land-Atmosphere Coupling During the 2006-7 Dry/Wet Extremes in the U. S. Southern Great Plains

Land-atmosphere (L-A) interactions play a critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of land surface and planetary boundary layer (PBL) temperature and moisture states and fluxes. In turn, these interactions regulate the strength of the connection between surface moisture and precipitation in a coupled system. To address deficiencies in numerical weather prediction and climate models due to improper treatment of L-A interactions, recent studies have focused on development of diagnostics to quantify the strength and accuracy of the land-PBL coupling at the process-level. In this study, a diagnosis of the nature and impacts of local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) during dry and wet extreme conditions is presented using a combination of models and observations during the summers of2006-7 in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. Specifically, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been coupled to NASA's Land Information System (LIS), which provides a flexible and high resolution representation and initialization of land surface physics and states. A range of diagnostics exploring the links and feedbacks between soil moisture and precipitation are examined for the dry/wet regimes of this region, along with the behavior and accuracy of different land-PBL scheme couplings under these conditions. Results demonstrate how LoCo diagnostics can be applied to coupled model components in the context of their integrated impacts on the process-chain connecting the land surface to the PBL and support of hydrological anomalies.

Santanello, Joseph A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Diagnosing the Nature of Land-Atmosphere Coupling: A Case Study of Dry/Wet Extremes in the U. S. Southern Great Plains

Land-atmosphere (L-A) interactions play a critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of land surface and planetary boundary layer (PBL) temperature and moisture states and fluxes. In turn, these interactions regulate the strength of the connection between surface moisture and precipitation in a coupled system. To address model deficiencies, recent studies have focused on development of diagnostics to quantify the strength and accuracy of the land- PBL coupling at the process-level. In this paper, a diagnosis of the nature and impacts of local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) during dry and wet extreme conditions is presented using a combination of models and observations during the summers of 2006 and 2007 in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. A range of diagnostics exploring the links and feedbacks between soil moisture and precipitation are applied to the dry/wet regimes exhibited in this region, and in the process a thorough evaluation of nine different land-PBL scheme couplings is conducted under the umbrella of a high-resolution regional modeling testbed. Results show that the sign and magnitude of errors in land surface energy balance components are sensitive to the choice of land surface model, regime type, and running mode. In addition, LoCo diagnostics show that the sensitivity of L-A coupling is stronger towards the land during dry conditions, while the PBL scheme coupling becomes more important during the wet regime. Results also demonstrate how LoCo diagnostics can be applied to any modeling system (e.g. reanalysis products) in the context of their integrated impacts on the process-chain connecting the land surface to the PBL and in support of hydrological anomalies.

Santanello, Joseph A. Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Solid Rocket Motor with Flexible Inhibitors

Flexible inhibitors are generally used in solid rocket motors (SRMs) as a means to control the burning of propellant. Vortices generated by the flow of propellant around the flexible inhibitors have been identified as a driving source of instabilities that can lead to thrust oscillations in launch vehicles. Potential coupling between the SRM thrust oscillations and structural vibration modes is an important risk factor in launch vehicle design. As a means to predict and better understand these phenomena, a multidisciplinary simulation capability that couples the NASA production CFD code, Loci/CHEM, with CFDRC's structural finite element code, CoBi, has been developed. This capability is crucial to the development of NASA's new space launch system (SLS). This paper summarizes the efforts in applying the coupled software to demonstrate and investigate fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomena between pressure waves and flexible inhibitors inside reusable solid rocket motors (RSRMs). The features of the fluid and structural solvers are described in detail, and the coupling methodology and interfacial continuity requirements are then presented in a general Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. The simulations presented herein utilize production level CFD with hybrid RANS/LES turbulence modeling and grid resolution in excess of 80 million cells. The fluid domain in the SRM is discretized using a general mixed polyhedral unstructured mesh, while full 3D shell elements are utilized in the structural domain for the flexible inhibitors. Verifications against analytical solutions for a structural model under a steady uniform pressure condition and under dynamic modal analysis show excellent agreement in terms of displacement distribution and eigenmode frequencies. The preliminary coupled results indicate that due to acoustic coupling, the dynamics of one of the more flexible inhibitors shift from its first modal frequency to the first acoustic frequency of the solid rocket motor. This insight could have profound implications for SRM and flexible inhibitor designs for current and future launch vehicles including SLS.

Yang, H. Q.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Consequences of Different Air-Sea Feedbacks on Ocean Using MITgcm and MERRA-2 Forcing: Implications for Coupled Data Assimilation Systems

Ocean surface flux estimates from atmospheric and oceanic reanalyses contain errors that compensate for inaccuracies in the respective atmosphere and ocean models used to generate these reanalyses. A conundrum for climate studies is the discrepancy between surface fluxes that minimize model-data differences for an atmosphere-only model vs surface fluxes that minimize model-data differences for an ocean model. As a first step towards a consistent coupled ocean-atmosphere data-assimilation (DA) system, we compare surface net heat flux from a state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalysis, the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), to net heat flux from a state-of-the-art ocean state estimate, the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean Version 4 (ECCO-v4). The possible impacts of the MERRA-2 and ECCO-v4 air-sea net heat flux difference in a coupled DA system were assessed using a set of experiments designed to imitate different “flavors” of a coupled DA system in an ocean-only setup. This was done by forcing the ECCO-v4 underlying ocean model - the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) - with different sets of MERRA-2 fields and utilizing different forcing methods. By doing so we were able to turn off different air-sea feedbacks which, in a coupled DA setup, are partially muted by the constraining observations. The set of experiments, therefore, represents a range of active feedbacks in different “flavors” of coupled data-assimilation systems. For the period 1992–2011, MERRA-2 net heat flux has a global mean difference of -4.9 Wm(exp -2) relative to ECCO-v4. When MERRA-2 surface fields are used to force MITgcm, imbalances in the energy and the hydrological cycles of MERRA-2, which are directly related to the fact that MERRA-2 was created without an interactive ocean, propagate to the ocean. The experiment in which MITgcm is forced with MERRA-2 fluxes (MERRA-2-flux experiment) results in a 2.5°C global mean Sea Surface Temperature (SST) cooling, a 1m reduction in global mean sea level, and other drastic changes in the large scale ocean circulation relative to those resulting when the MITgcm is forced with the optimized ECCO-v4 net heat flux (the ECCO-v4 experiment itself). When MITgcm is forced with MERRA-2 state variables (MERRA-2-state experiment), the SST is somewhat restored to the observed SST, but the errors are shifted to the water cycle, resulting in a global mean sea level increase of 2.7 m. To further explore the pros and cons of these two approaches, we introduce a new intermediate forcing method in which the ocean is forced with turbulent fluxes but has a long wave feedback. This method, unlike MERRA-2 state, preserves the MERRA-2 water and salinity cycles, and it reduces the SST error compared to the MERRA-2-flux experiment, but the SST is not as good as that in the MERRA-2-state experiment. Our results have implications for ocean-model forcing recipes and clearly reveal the undesirable consequences of limiting the feedbacks in either these types of experiments or in coupled DA.

Ehud Strobach↗
DOE OSTI2011

Design and Analyisi of a Self-centered Cold Mass Support for the MICE Coupling Magnet

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) consists of eighteen superconducting solenoid coils in seven modules, which are magnetically hooked together since there is no iron to shield the coils and the return flux. The RF coupling coil (RFCC) module consists of a superconducting coupling solenoid mounted around four conventional conducting 201.25 MHz closed RF cavities. The coupling coil will produce up to a 2.2 T magnetic field on the centerline to keep the beam within the RF cavities. The peak magnetic force on the coupling magnet from other magnets in MICE is up to 500 kN in longitudinal direction, which will be transferred to the base of the RF coupling coil (RFCC) module through a cold mass support system. A self-centered double-band cold mass support system with intermediate thermal interruption is applied to the coupling magnet, and the design is introduced in detail in this paper. The thermal and structural analysis on the cold mass support assembly has been carried out using ANSYS. The present design of the cold mass support can satisfy with the stringent requirements for the magnet center and axis azimuthal angle at 4.2 K and fully charged.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Joint used for coupling long heaters

Systems for coupling ends of elongated heaters and methods of using such systems to treat a subsurface formation are described herein. A system may include two elongated heaters with an end portion of one heater abutted or near to an end portion of the other heater and a core coupling material. The core coupling material may extend between the two elongated heaters. The elongated heaters may include cores and at least one conductor substantially concentrically surrounds the cores. The cores may have a lower melting point than the conductors. At least one end portion of the conductor may have a beveled edge. The gap formed by the beveled edge may be filled with a coupling material for coupling the one or more conductors. One end portion of at least one core may have a recessed opening and the core coupling material may be partially inside the recessed opening.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transmission mounted electrical charging system and dual driveline load coupling

A system includes a PTO device that selectively couples to a driveline of a vehicle at each of two driveline coupling positions, and a motor/generator electrically coupled to an electrical power storage system. The system further includes a shared load selectively powered by the driveline or the motor/generator. The PTO device further includes a coupling actuator that couples the shared load to the motor/generator in a first position, and couples the shared load to the driveline in a second position.

Fortune, Glenn Clark↗
DOE OSTI2010

Progress on the MuCOOL and MICE Coupling Coils

The superconducting coupling solenoid for MuCOOL and MICE will have an inside radius of 750 mm, and a coil length of 285 mm. The MuCOOL coupling coil is identical to the MICE coupling coils. The MICE coupling magnet will have a self inductance of 592 H. When operated at it maximum design current of 210 A (the highest momentum operation of MICE), the magnet stored energy will be about 13 MJ. These magnets will be kept cold using a pair of pulse tube cryocoolers that deliver 1.5 W at 4.2 K and 55 W at 60 K. This report describes the progress on the MuCOOL and MICE coupling magnet design and engineering. The progress on the construction of the first coupling coil will also be presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Coupled full core neutron transport/CFD simulations of pressurized water reactors

Recently as part of the CASL project, a capability to perform 3D whole-core coupled neutron transport and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations was demonstrated. This work uses the 2D/1D transport code DeCART and the commercial CFD code STAR-CCM+. It builds on previous CASL work demonstrating coupling for smaller spatial domains. The coupling methodology is described along with the problem simulated and results are presented for fresh hot full power conditions. An additional comparison is made to an equivalent model that uses lower order T/H feedback to assess the importance and cost of high fidelity feedback to the neutronics problem. A simulation of a quarter core Combustion Engineering (CE) PWR core was performed with the coupled codes using a Fixed Point Gauss-Seidel iteration technique. The total approximate calculation requirements are nearly 10,000 CPU hours and 1 TB of memory. The problem took 6 coupled iterations to converge. The CFD coupled model and low order T/H feedback model compared well for global solution parameters, with a difference in the critical boron concentration and average outlet temperature of 14 ppm B and 0.94 deg. C, respectively. Differences in the power distribution were more significant with maximum relative differences in the core-wide pin peaking factor (Fq) of 5.37% and average relative differences in flat flux region power of 11.54%. Future work will focus on analyzing problems more relevant to CASL using models with less approximations. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrochemical cells with electrode material coupled directly to film and methods of making the same

Embodiments described herein relate to electrochemical cells with one or more electrodes coupled directly to a film material, and methods of making the same. In some embodiments, an electrochemical cell includes a first electrode material disposed on a first current collector, wherein the first current collector is coupled to a first non-conductive film. In some embodiments, a first tab is coupled to the first current collector. The electrochemical cell further includes a second electrode material capable of taking up or releasing ions during operation of the electrochemical cell. The second electrode material is coupled directly to a second non-conductive film. A second tab is electronically coupled to the second electrode material. A separator is disposed between the first electrode material and the second electrode material. In some embodiments, the second tab can be coupled directly to the second electrode material.

Chen, Junzheng↗
DOE OSTI2016

Application of Variance Reduction Techniques in RMC Burnup and Thermal-Hydraulic Coupled Calculation

In reactor analog simulation, the Monte Carlo method has relatively high fidelity since it can reduce calculation errors resulting from using approximation methods by describing complex geometry and neutron energy spectra. The Monte Carlo method is, in essence, a stochastic simulation of the neutron transport process, and statistical uncertainty of all the computed results must be provided. In large-scale reactor computation, this method can accurately estimate integral quantities such as the effective multiplication factor (K{sub eff}), and it can limit the uncertainty within an acceptable range via reasonably selecting simulation particles. Nevertheless, it faces great challenges in estimating local quantities like neutron flux and fission power, with uncertainty of estimators beyond acceptance. To decrease the uncertainty of local quantities by increasing simulation particles may cost much time and reduce efficiency. The main reasons are as follows. Firstly, the scale of reactors is so large that common pressurized water reactors have tens of thousands of lattice cells; secondly, uneven distribution of neutron flux and fission power causes uneven distribution of uncertainty. Smith K. puts forward the 95/95 principle to estimate whether uncertainty calculated with Monte Carlo Code satisfies the requirement. According to the principle, with a confidence level of 95%, statistical errors of power density in more than 95% of the regions should be less than 1%. To meet the requirement of the principle, the uniform fission site (UFS) method is raised currently. UFS aims at redistributing fission sources to uniformize the fission source sampling, which can make statistical variance distribution more uniform. This method, which is easy to use, will not obviously increase computation time. Many studies show that UFS has a good variance reduction effect in Monte Carlo criticality calculation, but less attention is paid to its performance in burnup calculation and thermal-hydraulic coupled calculation. Uncertainty arising from the Monte Carlo method has a large impact on burnup calculation and thermal-hydraulic coupled calculation. Variance propagates between burnup steps and between iterative steps of coupled calculation, which causes asymmetry of results of the physical symmetrical regions and instability of coupled iterative convergence errors. To further verify the effect of UFS, this study uses it in the RMC (the Reactor Monte Carlo code) burnup calculation module and the neutronics/thermohydraulics coupled calculation module, and conducts two-dimensional pressurized water reactor burnup calculation and BEAVRS benchmark thermalhydraulic coupled calculation. In this way, it verifies the improvement effect of UFS on variance propagation. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗