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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Second-Order-Potential Analysis and Optimization

Optimum camber designed for supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. Second Order Potential Analysis and Optimization (SOPA) package set of computer programs used to predict aerodynamic characteristics and design optimum camber for both supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. Analysis program incorporates second-order-potential, small-disturbance theory for analysis of wing/body configurations. Optimization program uses analysis results to generate optimum camber, twist, or flap deflections by minimizing zero suction drag. SOPA written in FORTRAN V for batch execution.

Clever, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Technology needs for high-speed rotorcraft, volume 1

High-speed rotorcraft concepts and the technology needed to extend rotorcraft cruise speeds up to 450 knots (while retaining the helicopter attributes of low downwash velocities) were identified. Task I identified 20 concepts with high-speed potential. These concepts were qualitatively evaluated to determine the five most promising ones. These five concepts were designed with optimum wing loading and disk loading to a common NASA-defined military transport mission. The optimum designs were quantitatively compared against 11 key criteria and ranked accordingly. The two highest ranking concepts were selected for the further study.

Wilkerson, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The design of trellis coded MPSK for fading channels: Set partitioning for optimum code design

A previous work on criteria for designing trellis-coded MPSK modulation to achieve minimum error probability performance on the Rician fading channel is extended. It is demonstrated that allowing for multiple symbols per trellis branch, i.e., multiple trellis-coded modulation (MTCM), provides an additional degree of freedom for designing a code to meet the optimization on the fading channel. Diversities larger than those achievable with conventional trellis codes having the same number of trellis states are now attainable, it is under these conditions that MTCM achieves its full potential.

Divsalar, Dariush↗
NASA NTRS1990

Mathematical theory of a relaxed design problem in structural optimization

Various attempts have been made to construct a rigorous mathematical theory of optimization for size, shape, and topology (i.e. layout) of an elastic structure. If these are represented by a finite number of parametric functions, as Armand described, it is possible to construct an existence theory of the optimum design using compactness argument in a finite dimensional design space or a closed admissible set of a finite dimensional design space. However, if the admissible design set is a subset of non-reflexive Banach space such as L(sup infinity)(Omega), construction of the existence theory of the optimum design becomes suddenly difficult and requires to extend (i.e. generalize) the design problem to much more wider class of design that is compatible to mechanics of structures in the sense of variational principle. Starting from the study by Cheng and Olhoff, Lurie, Cherkaev, and Fedorov introduced a new concept of convergence of design variables in a generalized sense and construct the 'G-Closure' theory of an extended (relaxed) optimum design problem. A similar attempt, but independent in large extent, can also be found in Kohn and Strang in which the shape and topology optimization problem is relaxed to allow to use of perforated composites rather than restricting it to usual solid structures. An identical idea is also stated in Murat and Tartar using the notion of the homogenization theory. That is, introducing possibility of micro-scale perforation together with the theory of homogenization, the optimum design problem is relaxed to construct its mathematical theory. It is also noted that this type of relaxed design problem is perfectly matched to the variational principle in structural mechanics.

Kikuchi, Noboru↗
NASA NTRS1993

Application of artificial neural networks to the design optimization of aerospace structural components

The application of artificial neural networks to capture structural design expertise is demonstrated. The principal advantage of a trained neural network is that it requires trivial computational effort to produce an acceptable new design. For the class of problems addressed, the development of a conventional expert system would be extremely difficult. In the present effort, a structural optimization code with multiple nonlinear programming algorithms and an artificial neural network code NETS were used. A set of optimum designs for a ring and two aircraft wings for static and dynamic constraints were generated by using the optimization codes. The optimum design data were processed to obtain input and output pairs, which were used to develop a trained artificial neural network with the code NETS. Optimum designs for new design conditions were predicted by using the trained network. Neural net prediction of optimum designs was found to be satisfactory for most of the output design parameters. However, results from the present study indicate that caution must be exercised to ensure that all design variables are within selected error bounds.

Berke, Laszlo↗
NASA NTRS1976

Design of optimum acoustic treatment for rectangular ducts with flow

A design optimization technique for acoustic treatment in rectangular ducts with uniform mean flow is presented. The technique is based on the acoustic wave solution in terms of series of characteristic duct modes. The analysis allows multiple axial treatment sections along the length of the duct and requires a known modal characterization of the sound source. Conditions of acoustic pressure and acoustic velocity continuity are used to match modal solutions at planes of impedance discontinuity in the duct. Experimental techniques for obtaining this modal characterization are presented. Using duct modes measured at the source plane, the optimization technique is exercised to design an optimized single element liner in a case without mean flow, and optimized single and dual element liners in cases with mean flow. The validity of the program for predicting noise suppression is demonstrated by comparing analytical predictions with measured data for several (non-optimum) cases. Application to treatment design in turbomachinery exhaust ducts is considered.

Motsinger, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Simultaneous analysis and design for eigenvalue maximization

A simultaneous analysis and design approach to the maximization of buckling or vibration eigenvalues is presented. Both unimodal and bimodal optimum solutions are considered. A discretization of the structure and response is used to obtain sets of nonlinear algebraic equations which are solved numerically. The formulation is applied to the solution of the optimum design of a beam-column supported by an elastic foundation for maximum buckling load. Two cases are considered: the optimum design of the column for a given foundation and the optimum design of the foundation for a given column. Results are compared to published solutions when possible.

Plaut, Raymond H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An enhanced integrated aerodynamic load/dynamic approach to optimum rotor blade design

An enhanced integrated aerodynamic load/dynamic optimization procedure is developed to minimize vibratory root shears and moments. The optimization is formulated with 4/rev vertical and 3/rev inplane shears at the blade root as objective functions and constraints, and 4/rev lagging moment. Constraints are also imposed on blade natural frequencies, weight, autorotational inertia, contrifugal stress, and rotor thrust. The Global Criteria Approach is used for formulating the multi-objective optimization. Design variables include spanwise distributions of bending stiffnesses, torsional stiffness, nonstructural mass, chord, radius of gyration, and blade taper ratio. The program CAMRAD is coupled with an optimizer, which consists of the program CONMIN and an approximate analysis, to obtain optimum designs. The optimization procedure is applied to an advanced rotor as a reference design. Optimum blade designs, obtained with and without a constraint on the rotor thrust, are presented and are compared to the reference blade. Substantial reductions are obtained in the vibratory root forces and moments. As a byproduct, improvements are also found in some performance parameters, such as total power required, which were not considered during optimization.

Chattopadhyay, Aditi↗
NASA NTRS1976

Optimum step design for centering of pistons moving in an incompressible fluid

Hydrodynamic effects are analyzed for a stepped piston moving within a tight clearance tube filled with an incompressible fluid. Hydrostatic effects are analyzed and a complete solution is obtained and an optimum step design for centering of the piston is suggested. The axial speed resulting from an axial driving force is calculated, and some experimental results for pistons falling in a water-filled tube are presented.

Etsion, I.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Optimal Design of Functionally Graded Metallic Foam Insulations

The focus of our work has been on developing an insight into the physics that govern the optimum design of thermal insulation for use in thermal protection systems of launch vehicle. Of particular interest was to obtain optimality criteria for designing foam insulations that have density (or porosity) distributions through the thickness for optimum thermal performance. We investigate the optimum design of functionally graded thermal insulation for steady state heat transfer through the foam. We showed that the heat transfer in the foam has competing modes, of radiation and conduction. The problem assumed a fixed inside temperature of 400 K and varied the aerodynamic surface heating on the outside surface from 0.2 to 1.0 MW/sq m. The thermal insulation develops a high temperature gradient through the thickness. Investigation of the model developed for heat conduction in foams showed that at high temperatures (as on outside wall) intracellular radiation dominates the heat transfer in the foam. Minimizing radiation requires reducing the pore size, which increases the density of the foam. At low temperatures (as on the inside wall), intracellular conduction (of the metal and air) dominates the heat transfer. Minimizing conduction requires increasing the pore size. This indicated that for every temperature there was an optimum value of density that minimized the heat transfer coefficient. Two optimization studies were performed. One was to minimize the heat transmitted though a fixed thickness insulation by varying density profiles. The second was to obtain the minimum mass insulation for specified thickness. Analytical optimality criteria were derived for the cases considered. The optimality condition for minimum heat transfer required that at each temperature we find the density that minimizes the heat transfer coefficient. Once a relationship between the optimum heat transfer coefficient and the temperature was found, the design problem reduced to the solution of a simple nonlinear differential equation. Preliminary results of this work were presented at the American Society of Composites meeting, and the final version was submitted for publication in the AIAA Journal. In addition to minimizing the transmitted heat, we investigated the optimum design for minimum weight given an acceptable level of heat transmission through the insulation. The optimality criterion developed was different from that obtained for minimizing beat transfer coefficient. For minimum mass design, we had to find for a given temperature the optimum density, which minimized the logarithmic derivative of the insulation thermal conductivity with respect to its density. The logarithmic derivative is defined as the ratio of relative change in the dependent response (thermal conductivity) to the relative change in the independent variable (density). The results have been documented as a conference paper that will be presented at the upcoming AIAA.

Haftka, Raphael T.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Optimum step design for centering of pistons moving in an incompressible fluid

Hydrodynamic effects are analyzed for a stepped piston moving within a tight clearance tube filled with an incompressible fluid. Together with the hydrostatic effects that were analyzed in an earlier paper, a complete solution is obtained and an optimum step design for centering of the piston is suggested. The axial speed resulting from an axial driving force is calculated, and some experimental results for pistons falling in a water filled tube are presented.

Etsion, I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An enhanced integrated aerodynamic load/dynamic optimization procedure for helicopter rotor blades

An enhanced integrated aerodynamic load/dynamic optimization procedure is developed to minimize vibratory root shears and moments. The optimization is formulated with 4/rev vertical and 3/rev inplane shears at the blade root as objective functions and constraints, and 4/rev lagging moment. Constraints are also imposed on blade natural frequencies, weight, autorotational inertia, centrifugal stress, and rotor thrust. The 'Global Criteria Approach' is used for formulating the multi-objective optimization. Design variables include spanwise distributions of bending stiffnesses, torsional stiffness, nonstructural mass, chord, radius of gyration, and blade taper ratio. The program CAMRAD is coupled with an optimizer, which consists of the program CONMIN and an approximate analysis, to obtain optimum designs. The optimization procedure is applied to an advanced rotor as a reference design. Optimum blade designs, obtained with and without a constraint on the rotor thrust, are presented and are compared to the reference blade. Substantial reductions are obtained in the vibratory root forces and moments. As a byproduct, improvements are also found in some performance parameters, such as total power required, which were not considered during optimization.

Chattopadhyay, Aditi↗
NASA NTRS1989

An improved algorithm for optimum structural design with multiple frequency constraints

An optimality criterion (OC) method for minimum-weight design of structures having multiple constraints on natural frequencies is presented. In this work a new resizing strategy is developed based on relaxation techniques. A computationally adaptive control parameter is used in conjunction with existing OC recursive formulae to promote convergence of optimum structural designs. Some considerations regarding the coupling of the modified Aitken accelerator with the OC method are discussed. Improved and rapidly converged minimum-weight designs are obtained when using an under-relaxed recursive scheme combined with the modified Aitken accelerator.

Mcgee, Oliver G.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Thermal Characterization of Functionally Graded Materials: Design of Optimum Experiments

This paper is a study of optimal experiment design applied to the measure of thermal properties in functionally graded materials. As a first step, a material with linearly-varying thermal properties is analyzed, and several different tran- sient experimental designs are discussed. An optimality criterion, based on sen- sitivity coefficients, is used to identify the best experimental design. Simulated experimental results are analyzed to verify that the identified best experiment design has the smallest errors in the estimated parameters. This procedure is general and can be applied to design of experiments for a variety of materials.

Cole, Kevin D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Alternative methods for calculating sensitivity of optimized designs to problem parameters

Optimum sensitivity is defined as the derivative of the optimum design with respect to some problem parameter, P. The problem parameter is usually fixed during optimization, but may be changed later. Thus, optimum sensitivity is used to estimate the effect of changes in loads, materials or constraint bounds on the design without expensive re-optimization. Here, the general topic of optimum sensitivity is discussed, available methods identified, examples given, and the difficulties encountered in calculating this information in nonlinear constrained optimization are identified.

Vanderplaats, G. N.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Quantum-well lasers for direct solar photopumping

Semiconductor lasers directly photopumped by focused sunlight may be viable sources of coherent light for intersatellite communications and other low-power spaceborne applications. In this work, we theoretically explore the possibility of realizing such devices. We specifically assess solar pumped operation of separate-confinement-quantum-well heterostructure (SCQWH) lasers based on InGaAs, GaAs, and AlGaA, as fabrication technology for these lasers is mature and they can operate at very low thresholds. We develop a model for step-index single-well SCQWH lasers photopumped by sunlight, examine how threshold solar photoexcitation intensities depend upon material and structure parameters, design optimum structures for solar-pumped operation, and identify design tradeoffs. Our results suggest that laser action should be possible in properly designed structures at readily achievable solar concentrations and that optimum designs for solar-pumped SCQWH lasers differ significantly from those for analogous current injection devices.

Unnikrishnan, Sreenath↗