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At least 1,207 records · Page 67

Numerical simulation of boundary layers. Part 1: Weak formulation and numerical method

A numerical method designed to solve the time-dependent, three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in boundary layers is presented. The fluid domain is the half-space over a flat plate, and periodic conditions are applied in the horizontal directions. The discretization is spectral. The basis functions are divergence-free and a weak formulation of the momentum equation is used, which eliminates the pressure term. An exponential mapping and Jacobi polynomials are used in the semi-infinite direction, with the irrotational component receiving special treatment. Issues related to the accuracy, stability and efficiency of the method are discussed. Very fast convergence is demonstrated on some model problems with smooth solutions. The method has also been shown to accurately resolve the fine scales of transitional and turbulent boundary layers.

Spalart, P. R.↗

Grid generation and its application to separated flows

A method for the computation of recirculating flows on a nonorthogonal boundary-fitted coordinate system is presented. The algebraic grid generation technique is used to generate grids in a flow field of arbitrary shape. Computations are performed by using the set of governing equations transformed for use on a generalized curvilinear coordinate system. Turbulent flow computations were made by using the k-epsilon model for most of the flow cases. Three pressure correction algorithms - SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, and PISO - were incorporated for use on a nonorthogonal grid. Comparisons were made on the basis of numerical stability and accuracy. The present method was found to be efficient for computations of recirculating flows.

Maruszewski, J. P.↗

An in-line burn-up algorithm: proposal and preliminary analysis

A new burn-up algorithm is proposed for coupling neutronics and isotopic depletion. The algorithm is analogous to those proposed for enforcing xenon equilibrium and converging neutronics and thermal-hydraulics. During the corrector step of standard predictor-corrector methods, the corrector nuclide density is updated as neutronics converges. This is expected to improve stability while reducing computational expense compared to other implicit algorithms. The stability of the algorithm is investigated by Fourier analysis for a simple case whose results have been successfully compared with numerical experiments.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Compact finite difference schemes for the time fractional diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions

Fourth-order compact finite difference schemes for solving the time fractional diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions are considered in this paper. The second-order derivative in one space variable is approximated by a fourth-order compact finite difference. Two different time derivatives, the Caputo derivative and Riemann–Liouville derivative are considered in the equations that we discuss. The Caputo time derivative is discretized by the L1-approximation and a second-order approximation is used for the Riemann–Liouville derivative. Stability analysis using the discrete energy method for Scheme I is given, and error estimation of this scheme is derived by conducting the local truncation error analysis, using the stability result. Numerical results are provided to show that both two fully discrete schemes have fourth-order accuracy in space, and 2−γ order of accuracy in time for Scheme I with γ being the order of the fractional derivative, while Scheme II has second-order accuracy in time when the theoretical solutions are smooth with zero initial values.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Implicit–explicit (IMEX) Runge–Kutta methods for non-hydrostatic atmospheric models

Abstract. The efficient simulation of non-hydrostatic atmospheric dynamics requires time integration methods capable of overcoming the explicit stability constraints on time step size arising from acoustic waves. In this work, we investigate various implicit–explicit (IMEX) additive Runge–Kutta (ARK) methods for evolving acoustic waves implicitly to enable larger time step sizes in a global non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. The IMEX formulations considered include horizontally explicit – vertically implicit (HEVI) approaches as well as splittings that treat some horizontal dynamics implicitly. In each case, the impact of solving nonlinear systems in each implicit ARK stage in a linearly implicit fashion is also explored. The accuracy and efficiency of the IMEX splittings, ARK methods, and solver options are evaluated on a gravity wave and baroclinic wave test case. HEVI splittings that treat some vertical dynamics explicitly do not show a benefit in solution quality or run time over the most implicit HEVI formulation. While splittings that implicitly evolve some horizontal dynamics increase the maximum stable step size of a method, the gains are insufficient to overcome the additional cost of solving a globally coupled system. Solving implicit stage systems in a linearly implicit manner limits the solver cost but this is offset by a reduction in step size to achieve the desired accuracy for some methods. Overall, the third-order ARS343 and ARK324 methods performed the best, followed by the second-order ARS232 and ARK232 methods.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Spectral methods in fluid dynamics

Fundamental aspects of spectral methods are introduced. Recent developments in spectral methods are reviewed with an emphasis on collocation techniques. Their applications to both compressible and incompressible flows, to viscous as well as inviscid flows, and also to chemically reacting flows are surveyed. The key role that these methods play in the simulation of stability, transition, and turbulence is brought out. A perspective is provided on some of the obstacles that prohibit a wider use of these methods, and how these obstacles are being overcome.

Hussaini, M. Y.↗

Spectral methods in fluid dynamics

Fundamental aspects of spectral methods are introduced. Recent developments in spectral methods are reviewed with an emphasis on collocation techniques. Their applications to both compressible and incompressible flows, to viscous as well as inviscid flows, and also to chemically reacting flows are surveyed. The key role that these methods play in the simulation of stability, transition, and turbulence is brought out. A perspective is provided on some of the obstacles that prohibit a wider use of these methods, and how these obstacles are being overcome.

Hussaini, M. Y.↗

Effect of surface tension on the onset of convection in a double-diffusive layer

The effect of surface tension on the stability of a double-diffusive layer is considered using linear stability analysis. The surface tension is assumed to vary linearly with temperature and solute concentration. The eigenvalue problem is solved by the Galerkin method. Results show that the predicted stability boundary based on Marangoni effects alone is completely altered in the presence of buoyancy effects induced by low gravity levels (about 10 exp -5 g). At reduced gravity levels, salt-finger instability may onset in the overstable mode due to the stabilizing effect of surface tension. Fluid properties in terms of the Prandtl and the Lewis numbers have a profound effect on the stability conditions; opposite stability characteristics are found in salt solutions and in molten metals.

Chen, C. F.↗

Predictive Thermal Control Applied to HabEx

Exoplanet science can be accomplished with a telescope that has an internal coronagraph or with an external starshade. An internal coronagraph architecture requires extreme wavefront stability (10 pm change/10 minutes for 10(exp -10) contrast), so every source of wavefront error (WFE) must be controlled. Analysis has been done to estimate the thermal stability required to meet the wavefront stability requirement. This paper illustrates the potential of a new thermal control method called predictive thermal control (PTC) to achieve the required thermal stability. A simple development test using PTC indicates that PTC may meet the thermal stability requirements. Further testing of the PTC method in flight-like environments will be conducted in the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

Brooks, Thomas E.↗

Factors Affecting Lateral Stability and Controllability

The effects on dynamic lateral stability and controllability of some of the important aerodynamic and mass characteristics are discussed and methods are presented for estimating the various stability parameters to be used in the calculation of the dynamic lateral stability of airplanes with swept and low-aspect-ratio wings.

STABILITY, DIRECTIONAL - STATIC↗

Correlation of analytical and experimental hot structure vibration results

High surface temperatures and temperature gradients can affect the vibratory characteristics and stability of aircraft structures. Aircraft designers are relying more on finite-element model analysis methods to ensure sufficient vehicle structural dynamic stability throughout the desired flight envelope. Analysis codes that predict these thermal effects must be correlated and verified with experimental data. Experimental modal data for aluminum, titanium, and fiberglass plates heated at uniform, nonuniform, and transient heating conditions are presented. The data show the effect of heat on each plate's modal characteristics, a comparison of predicted and measured plate vibration frequencies, the measured modal damping, and the effect of modeling material property changes and thermal stresses on the accuracy of the analytical results at nonuniform and transient heating conditions.

Kehoe, Michael W.↗

Method of fabricating a twisted composite superconductor

A method of producing a twisted, stabilized wire or tube superconductor which can be used to wind electromagnets, armatures, rotors, field windings for motors and generators, and other magnetic devices which use a solenoid, toroidal, or other type winding is reported. At least one groove is formed along the length of a wire substrate which is then twisted into a helix and a layer of intermetallic superconducting material is formed in the groove. This layer can be formed by depositing the desired intermetallic compound into the groove or by diffusing one component of the superconductor into the groove formed in a substrate composed of the other component. The superconductor prepared by this method comprises a non-superconductor wire twisted into the shape of a helix, having at least one groove containing a layer of superconductor material along the length of the wire.

Brown, G. V.↗

Study of the impact of pre- and real-time deposition of lithium on plasma performance on NSTX

The efficiency of two lithium (Li) injection methods used on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) are compared in terms of the amount of Li used to produce equivalent plasma performance improvements, namely Li evaporation over the divertor plates, prior to the initiation of the discharge, and real-time Li injection directly into the plasma scrape-off layer during the discharge. The measurements show that the real-time method can affect the energy confinement and edge stability of NSTX plasmas in a more efficient way than the Li evaporation method as it requires only a fraction of the amount of Li used by the evaporation method to produce similar improvements.

Lithium↗

Space simulation facilities providing a stable thermal vacuum facility

CBI has recently constructed the Intermediate Thermal Vacuum Facility. Built as a corporate facility, the installation will first be used on the Boost Surveillance and Tracking System (BSTS) program. It will also be used to develop and test other sensor systems. The horizontal chamber has a horseshoe shaped cross section and is supported on pneumatic isolators for vibration isolation. The chamber structure was designed to meet stability and stiffness requirements. The design process included measurement of the ambient ground vibrations, analysis of various foundation test article support configurations, design and analysis of the chamber shell and modal testing of the chamber shell. A detailed 3-D finite element analysis was made in the design stage to predict the lowest three natural frequencies and mode shapes and to identify local vibrating components. The design process is described and the results are compared of the finite element analysis to the results of the field modal testing and analysis for the 3 lowest natural frequencies and mode shapes. Concepts are also presented for stiffening large steel structures along with methods to improve test article stability in large space simulation facilities.

Tellalian, Martin L.↗

Calculation of the Lateral Stability of a Directly Coupled Tandem-Towed Fighter Airplane and Correlation with Experimental Data

A theoretical method is presented for predicting the dynamic lateral stability characteristics of an airplane towed in tandem by a much larger airplane. Values of period and time to damp to one-half amplitude and rolling motions calculated by an analog computer have been correlated with results of two experimental investigations conducted in the Langley free-flight tunnel which were part of a U.S. Air Force program (Project FICON) to develop a satisfactory arrangement by which a bomber could tow a parasite fighter. In general, the theoretical results agree with the experimental results.

Shanks, Robert E.↗

Non‐Equilibrium Synthesis Methods to Create Metastable and High‐Entropy Nanomaterials

Stabilizing multiple elements within a single phase enables the creation of advanced materials with exceptional properties arising from their complex composition. However, under equilibrium conditions, the Hume–Rothery rules impose strict limitations on solid-state miscibility, restricting combinations of elements with mismatched crystal structures, atomic radii, valence states, or electronegativities. This severely narrows the accessible compositional space for creating new inorganic materials. In this review, we highlight how non-equilibrium synthesis methods, featuring ultrafast heating and quenching, can overcome these thermodynamic barriers, enabling integration of immiscible elements into metastable and high-entropy nanostructures. The resulting materials benefit from both kinetic trapping and stabilization by high configurational entropy, leading to enhanced phase stability. These materials can exhibit unique structural and functional properties that are needed for advancing catalysis, energy storage, thermoelectrics, and sensing. Furthermore, the ability of non-equilibrium methods to generate unconventional compositions and structures expands the material design space dramatically, offering rich datasets for AI-guided materials discovery. When combined with their inherent high-throughput and scalable characteristics, these approaches enable rapid, iterative optimization and accelerate the development and industrial production of next-generation inorganic materials.

high-entropy materials↗

thornado-transport: IMEX schemes for two-moment neutrino transport respecting Fermi-Dirac statistics

We develop implicit-explicit (IMEX) schemes for neutrino transport in a background material in the context of a two-moment model that evolves the angular moments of a neutrino phase-space distribution function. Considering the upper and lower bounds that are introduced by Pauli's exclusion principle on the moments, an algebraic moment closure based on Fermi-Dirac statistics and a convex-invariant time integrator both are demanded. A finite-volume/first-order discontinuous Galerkin(DG) method is used to illustrate how an algebraic moment closure based on Fermi-Dirac statistics is needed to satisfy the bounds. Several algebraic closures are compared with these bounds in mind, and the Cernohorsky and Bludman closure, which satisfies the bounds, is chosen for our IMEX schemes. For the convex-invariant time integrator, two IMEX schemes named PD-ARS have been proposed. PD-ARS denotes a convex-invariant IMEX Runge-Kutta scheme that is high-order accurate in the streaming limit, and works well in the diffusion limit. Our two PD-ARS schemes use second-and third-order, explicit, strong-stability-preserving Runge-Kutta methods as their explicit part, respectively, and therefore are second-and third-order accurate in the streaming limit, respectively. The accuracy and convex-invariance of our PD-ARS schemes are demonstrated in the numerical tests with a third-order DG method for spatial discretization and a simple Lax-Friedrichs flux. The method has been implemented in our high-order neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics (thornado) toolkit. We show preliminary results employing tabulated neutrino opacities.

Chu, Ran↗