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At least 1,315 records · Page 73

Numerical Simulation of Three-Dimensional Boattail Afterbody Flowfields

The thin shear-layer approximations of the three-dimensional, compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic now over axisymmetric boattail bodies at moderate angles of attack. The plume is simulated by a solid body configuration identical to those used In experimental tests. An implicit algorithm of second-order accuracy is used to solve the equations on the ILLIAC 4 computer. The turbulence is expressed by an algebraic model applicable to three-dimensional flowfields with moderate separation. The formulation used is attractive in its independence of boundary-layer parameters. Such a simple model, however, is incapable of supporting detailed quantitative descriptions of complex shear flows. Never-the-less, good qualitative comparisons are found with three different sets of experimental date. Quantitative improvement will depend on improved turbulence transport descriptions.

Deiwert, G. S.↗

Rollable Corrugated Tubular Booms

A promising candidate for a new class of deployable composite boom is the COrrugated ROllable TUbular Boom (COROTUB), which is to be employed on future large space structures by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The COROTUB’s two corrugated thin shells form a closed section, which yields high bending and torsional stiffness, allowing for high dimensional stability. The corrugation geometry that dictates the boom cross-section shape was completely defined by closed-form analytical equations given a set of key design parameters. Parametric studies of two geometric variables were used to evaluate which parameters most influence the cross-section’s area moment of inertia and torsional constant. The number of corrugations, flattened height of the boom, and concave and convex corrugation radii were varied to study the complete boom design space. Deeper corrugations increased the local buckling (crimpling) loads of the thin-shell boom but reduced the area moment of inertia and therefore the global buckling load of the beam-column member, and thus a fine balance was sought. Finite element analyses of pure bending and compression load cases for short, 1.22-m-long fully-deployed booms ofeither the same size (flattened height) or similar inertia properties, were first carried out to efficiently study this design trade-off in detail.A second computational study evaluated the boom transition shape and the structural response of a 6-m-long partially-deployed boom, where the effects of partially bracing the root of the boom were also assessed. It was found that bracing length could greatly affect the strength and stiffness of this boom.Bracing type (as in the discrete number of clamps at the root) had no effect on stiffness, but particularly impacted strength for loading cases and boundary conditions that promoted the onset of local web buckling at the root. The corrugated designs were also found to improve, by as much as 20%, the boom bending and axial strength and boom transition length from flat to deployed when compared to a state-of-the-art boom alternative of the same size, for short bracing distances, such as those that would be required by small satellite applications. In addition, they showed a comparable structural response for longer bracing supports.

Booms↗

Vertebral Compression Fractures in Elderly: How to Recognize and Report

Purpose of Review: In elderly patients, when there is no obvious evidence of malignancy on plain radiography, it can be difficult to evaluate benign and malignant vertebral fractures, because these patients are predisposed to senile osteoporosis and malignant disease. The only complaint could be back pain, as both types of fractures have the same symptoms and signs. Recent Findings: A reliable imaging modality is always required, as appropriate management and early diagnosis of malignant vertebral fractures are important. Summary: The aim of this study was to highlight the importance of recognizing, through diagnostic techniques, the presence of vertebral fractures, since the majority of vertebral fractures do not come to clinical attention and to determine the parameters that are useful for the early differentiation between benign versus malignant vertebral fractures.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Modeling the non-Schmid crystallographic slip in MAX phases

We present a crystal plasticity constitutive relation for the description of experimentally observed non-Schmid crystallographic slip in a class of ternary carbides and nitrides commonly referred to as MAX phases. In the constitutive relation, we assume that the evolution of the slip system strength in MAX phases has two components – a classical component that depends on the Taylor cumulative shear strain and a non-Schmid component that depends on the stress normal to the slip plane. The non-Schmid crystal plasticity constitutive relation is then used to carry out finite element simulations of micropillar compression of single crystals of two MAX phases, Ti 2 AlC and Ti 3 AlC 2 . The finite element simulations not only quantitatively predict the stress – strain response of a wide range of crystallographic orientations of the micropillars but also rationalize the non-uniform deformation and the deformed shape of the micropillars observed in the experiments for the two materials. As a result, parametric studies are also carried out to quantify the role of the non-Schmid effect and understand the effects of key experimental parameters on the stress – strain response of the micropillars of the two MAX phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development and application of a uranium mononitride (UN) potential: Thermomechanical properties and Xe diffusion

We report that atomic-scale modeling of thermophysical and defect properties of uranium mononitride (UN) plays an important role in establishing a better understanding and improved models of UN fuel performance. Having an accurate interatomic potential is crucial for generating reliable data at finite temperatures using molecular dynamic simulations. We report a new interatomic potential for UN, based on a combination of many-body and pairwise interactions, a simple form that we later show could be easily adapted to include Xe-U and Xe-N interactions, i.e., generating a U-N-Xe interatomic potential. The potential was fitted to experimental thermal expansion and single crystal elastic constants, as well as Frenkel, Schottky, anti-Schottky, and antisite pair reaction energies from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Using the potential, we successfully reproduced experimental lattice parameters, thermal expansion, single crystal elastic constants, and temperature dependent heat capacity. The potential also performs reasonably well in reproducing the energy of the aforementioned stoichiometric defect reactions and defect migration barriers calculated using DFT. However, the potential underestimates the energy difference between the tetrahedral and dumbbell uranium interstitials, and a more complex potential form might be needed to overcome this issue. The potential was also used to predict UN single crystal elastic constants and elastic properties at different temperatures, showing that UN becomes softer and more compressible with increasing temperature. We also compare our potential against literature data from previous empirical potentials, demonstrating similar or better behavior depending on the property of interest. To enable the simulation of Xe in UN a Buckingham potential has been fitted to DFT-derived Xe incorporation energies. The potential was then used to determine the activation energy for Xe diffusion due to various Xe-containing defects, with {XeU : VU} exhibiting the lowest activation energy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Decomposition of plasma kinetic entropy into position and velocity space and the use of kinetic entropy in particle-in-cell simulations

In this work, we describe a systematic development of kinetic entropy as a diagnostic in fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and use it to interpret plasma physics processes in heliospheric, planetary, and astrophysical systems. In the beginning, we calculate kinetic entropy in two forms—the “combinatorial” form related to the logarithm of the number of microstates per macrostate and the “continuous” form related to flnf, where f is the particle distribution function. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and discuss subtleties about implementing them in PIC codes. Using collisionless PIC simulations that are two-dimensional in position space and three-dimensional in velocity space, we verify the implementation of the kinetic entropy diagnostics and discuss how to optimize numerical parameters to ensure accurate results. We show the total kinetic entropy is conserved to three percent in an optimized simulation of antiparallel magnetic reconnection. Kinetic entropy can be decomposed into a sum of a position space entropy and a velocity space entropy, and we use this to investigate the nature of kinetic entropy transport during collisionless reconnection. We find the velocity space entropy of both electrons and ions increases in time due to plasma heating during magnetic reconnection, as the position space entropy decreases due to plasma compression. This project uses collisionless simulations, so it cannot address physical dissipation mechanisms; nonetheless, the infrastructure developed here should be useful for studies of collisional or weakly collisional heliospheric, planetary, and astrophysical systems. Beyond reconnection, the diagnostic is expected to be applicable to plasma turbulence and collisionless shocks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Structure and orientations of solar-wind interaction fronts - Pioneer 6.

An analysis is given of five stream-stream interaction events observed in the Pioneer 6 plasma and field data. That the time profiles of all the parameters are consistent among the events and with previous descriptions given in the literature substantiates the notion of a common interaction type. The velocity variations in four of the events tend to lie in planes approximately parallel to the corotation spiral; thus it is implied that the events are reasonably stationary in time in the corotating frame. The data are interpreted in terms of a corotating interaction front, which is a ridge of high pressure parallel to a corotating spiral. The increased pressure is due to radial compression of the streams. The east-west (zonal) flow directions also occur in the front and are shown to be produced by the zonal pressure gradient of the pressure ridge.

Siscoe, G. L.↗

Postbuckling behavior of axially compressed graphite-epoxy cylindrical panels with circular holes

The results of an experimental and analytical study of the effects of circular holes on the postbuckling behavior of graphite-epoxy cylindrical panels loaded in axial compression are presented. The STAGSC-1 general shell analysis computer code is used to determine the buckling and postbuckling response of the panels. The loaded, curved ends of the specimens were clamped by fixtures and the unloaded, straight edges were simply supported by knife-edge restraints. The panels are loaded by uniform end shortening to several times the end shortening at buckling. The unstable equilibrium path of the postbuckling response is obtained analytically by using a method based on controlling an equilibrium-path-arc-length parameter instead of the traditional load parameter. The effects of hole diameter, panel radius, and panel thickness on postbuckling response are considered in the study. Experimental results are compared with the analytical results and the failure characteristics of the graphite-epoxy panels are described.

Knight, N. F., Jr.↗

Analysis of the Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine (HURE) with Ice Crystal Cloud Ingestion at Simulated Altitudes

The Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine (HURE), a research version of a turbofan engine that never entered production, was tested in the NASA Propulsion System Laboratory (PSL), an altitude test facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The PSL is a facility that is equipped with water spray bars capable of producing an ice cloud consisting of ice particles, having a controlled particle diameter and concentration in the air flow. To develop the test matrix of the HURE, numerical analysis of flow and ice particle thermodynamics was performed on the compression system of the turbofan engine to predict operating conditions that could potentially result in a risk of ice accretion due to ice crystal ingestion. The goal of the test matrix was to have ice accrete in two regions of the compression system: region one, which consists of the fan-stator through the inlet guide vane (IGV), and region two which is the first stator within the high pressure compressor. The predictive analyses were performed with the mean line compressor flow modeling code (COMDES-MELT) which includes an ice particle model. The HURE engine was tested in PSL with the ice cloud over the range of operating conditions of altitude, ambient temperature, simulated flight Mach number, and fan speed with guidance from the analytical predictions. The engine was fitted with video cameras at strategic locations within the engine compression system flow path where ice was predicted to accrete, in order to visually confirm ice accretion when it occurred. In addition, traditional compressor instrumentation such as total pressure and temperature probes, static pressure taps, and metal temperature thermocouples were installed in targeted areas where the risk of ice accretion was expected. The current research focuses on the analysis of the data that was obtained after testing the HURE engine in PSL with ice crystal ingestion. The computational method (COMDES-MELT) was enhanced by computing key parameters through the fan-stator at multiple span wise locations, in order to increase the fidelity with the current mean-line method. The Icing Wedge static wet bulb temperature thresholds were applicable for determining the risk of ice accretion in the fan-stator, which is thought to be an adiabatic region. At some operating conditions near the splitter-lip region, other sources of heat (non-adiabatic walls) were suspected to be the cause of accretion, and the Icing Wedge was not applicable to predict accretion at that location. A simple order-of-magnitude heat transfer model was implemented into the COMDES-MELT code to estimate the wall temperature minimum and maximum thresholds that support ice accretion, as observed by video confirmation. The results from this model spanned the range of wall temperatures measured on a previous engine that experienced ice accretion at certain operating conditions.

Veres, Joseph P.↗

Analysis of the Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine (HURE) with Ice Crystal Cloud Ingestion at Simulated Altitudes

The Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine (HURE), a research version of a turbofan engine that never entered production, was tested in the NASA Propulsion System Laboratory (PSL), an altitude test facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The PSL is a facility that is equipped with water spray bars capable of producing an ice cloud consisting of ice particles, having a controlled particle diameter and concentration in the air flow. To develop the test matrix of the HURE, numerical analysis of flow and ice particle thermodynamics was performed on the compression system of the turbofan engine to predict operating conditions that could potentially result in a risk of ice accretion due to ice crystal ingestion. The goal of the test matrix was to have ice accrete in two regions of the compression system: region one, which consists of the fan-stator through the inlet guide vane (IGV), and region two which is the first stator within the high pressure compressor. The predictive analyses were performed with the mean line compressor flow modeling code (COMDES-MELT) which includes an ice particle model. The HURE engine was tested in PSL with the ice cloud over the range of operating conditions of altitude, ambient temperature, simulated flight Mach number, and fan speed with guidance from the analytical predictions. The engine was fitted with video cameras at strategic locations within the engine compression system flow path where ice was predicted to accrete, in order to visually confirm ice accretion when it occurred. In addition, traditional compressor instrumentation such as total pressure and temperature probes, static pressure taps, and metal temperature thermocouples were installed in targeted areas where the risk of ice accretion was expected. The current research focuses on the analysis of the data that was obtained after testing the HURE engine in PSL with ice crystal ingestion. The computational method (COMDES-MELT) was enhanced by computing key parameters through the fan- stator at multiple span wise locations, in order to increase the fidelity with the current mean-line method. The Icing Wedge static wet bulb temperature thresholds were applicable for determining the risk of ice accretion in the fan-stator, which is thought to be an adiabatic region. At some operating conditions near the splitter-lip region, other sources of heat (non-adiabatic walls) were suspected to be the cause of accretion, and the Icing Wedge was not applicable to predict accretion at that location. A simple order-of-magnitude heat transfer model was implemented into the COMDES-MELT code to estimate the wall temperature minimum and maximum thresholds that support ice accretion, as observed by video confirmation. The results from this model spanned the range of wall temperatures measured on a previous engine that experienced ice accretion at certain operating conditions.

Veres, Joseph P.↗

MERRA-2 Data and Analytic Services at NASA GES DISC for Climate Extremes Study

NASA's climate reanalysis datasets from the Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) contains numerous long-term atmosphere, land, and ocean data products from 1980-present. MERRA-2 datasets, such as precipitation, soil moisture, and temperature, have been used widely to study extreme events. The native archived MERRA-2 data files are day-file (hourly time interval) and month-file, containing up to 125 parameters in one file. Due to the large number of data files and volumes, it is challenging for users, especially the applications research community, to handle the original hourly data files for long time periods to analyze extreme events. In this presentation, we review MERRA-2 data for studies of extreme conditions, and demonstrate analytic services at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). One of the current operational services, 'subsetter', allows users to download only specific data of interest, i.e. data selected by parameter, region, and time period. New services are under development that will provide more 'on-the-fly' statistical calculations when downloading data; improve efficiency when accessing long time-series data. We will provide additional "How-to" resources that include step-by-step instructions on data access and usage. We have tested restructuring of day-files in an optimized data cube, which has significantly improved system performance for accessing long time-series. Overall performance is associated with cube size and structure, data compression method, and how the data are accessed. The optimized data cube structure will enable better online analytic services for statistical analysis and extreme events mining. To demonstrate the service, we use an extreme drought associated with the anomalous 2016 monsoon over southern Asia. This prototype time-series service may be augmented in the cloud infrastructure in the future.

data access↗

Analysis of the Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine with Ice Crystal Cloud Ingestion at Simulated Altitudes

The Honeywell Uncertified Research Engine (HURE), a research version of a turbofan engine that never entered production, was tested in the NASA Propulsion System Laboratory (PSL), an altitude test facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The PSL is a facility that is equipped with water spray bars capable of producing an ice cloud consisting of ice particles, having a controlled particle diameter and concentration in the air flow. To develop the test matrix of the HURE, numerical analysis of flow and ice particle thermodynamics was performed on the compression system of the turbofan engine to predict operating conditions that could potentially result in a risk of ice accretion due to ice crystal ingestion. The goal of the test matrix was to provide operating conditions such that ice would accrete in either the fan-stator through the inlet guide vane region of the compression system or within the first stator of the high pressure compressor. The predictive analyses were performed with the mean line compressor flow modeling code (COMDESMELT) which includes an ice particle model. The HURE engine was tested in PSL with the ice cloud over the range of operating conditions of altitude, ambient temperature, simulated flight Mach number, and fan speed with guidance from the analytical predictions. The engine was fitted with video cameras at strategic locations within the engine compression system flow path where ice was predicted to accrete, in order to visually confirm ice accretion when it occurred. In addition, traditional compressor instrumentation such as total pressure and temperature probes, static pressure taps, and metal temperature thermocouples were installed in targeted areas where the risk of ice accretion was expected. The current research focuses on the analysis of the data that was obtained after testing the HURE engine in PSL with ice crystal ingestion. The computational method (COMDES-MELT) was enhanced by computing key parameters through the fan-stator at multiple span wise locations, in order to increase the fidelity with the current mean-line method. The Icing Wedge static wet-bulb temperature thresholds were applied for determining the risk of ice accretion in the fan-stator, which is thought to be an adiabatic region. At some operating conditions near the splitter-lip region, other sources of heat (non-adiabatic walls) were suspected to be the cause of accretion, and the Icing Wedge was not applied to predict accretion at that location. A simple order-of-magnitude heat transfer model was implemented into the COMDES-MELT code to estimate the wall temperature minimum and maximum thresholds that support ice accretion, as observed by video confirmation. The results from this model spanned the range of wall temperatures measured on a previous engine that experienced ice accretion at certain operating conditions. The goal of this study is to show that the computational process developed on earlier engine icing tests can be used to provide an icing risk assessment in adiabatic regions for other engines.

Turbofan engine↗

Elastic Properties of Lithium and Sodium Amides

This paper presents the optimization of the structural parameters of tetragonal and orthorhombic crystals α-LiNH{sub 2} and α-NaNH{sub 2} and computation of elastic constants and flexibility coefficients using the all-electron implementation of the Gaussian and augmented plane wave density functional method. The obtained elastic constants satisfy all conditions of mechanical stability of LiNH{sub 2} and α-NaNH{sub 2} crystals. From the viewpoint of elastic properties, α-LiNH{sub 2} crystal is isotropic, while α-NaNH{sub 2} crystal is rather anisotropic. Anisotropy under compression in α-NaNH{sub 2} crystal is higher than that under shear. The former is brittle, the latter is more plastic.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Acoustic velocities, elasticity, and pressure-induced elastic softening in compressed neodymium

For the first time, the acoustic velocities and elasticity of double hexagonal close-packed neodymium (Nd) were measured at high pressure using ultrasonic interferometry in conjunction with synchrotron X-ray techniques. Here, both the compressional and shear wave velocities increased with an increase in pressure of up to ~5.4 GPa before they exhibited almost constant values upon further compression. This pressure-induced elastic wave velocity softening can be attributed to the structural instability in dhcp-Nd. From the current sound velocities and density data, we obtained new bulk and shear moduli as well as their pressure dependence for polycrystalline dhcp-Nd, yielding $B_0$=33.2(9) GPa, $G_0$=14.1(5) GPa, $\partial$$B/$$\partial$$P$ = 3.6 (4) and $\partial$$=G/$$\partial$$P$ = 1.3 (2) while other elasticity-related/mechanical properties, including Young's modulus, Debye temperature, Poisson's ratio, and Grüneisen parameter, which are important parameters for the application of Nd in extreme environments, were also derived.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On the accuracy of the pseudocompressibility method in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

The method of pseudocompressibility is being tested for its accuracy in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit, finite-difference computer code is used to solve the equations in a three-dimensional, curvilinear coordinate system. The code employs artificial compressibility for solving the pressure field, coupled with an implicit, approximate-factorization scheme. This coupling is known as the pseudocompressibility method. The pseudocompressibility method introduces pressure waves of finite speed into the fluid medium that would otherwise have an infinite sound speed. The waves die out as the solution converges, and the steady state solution approaches a divergence-free condition. However, these waves limit the time-accuracy of the computations. The effects of these waves are analyzed and criteria are set for choosing the pseudocompressibility parameters that govern the pressure wave speed. Test cases are presented that verify these criteria. The code is tested by computing laminar flow over a two-dimensional, backward-facing step and over a two-dimensional, impulsively started circular cylinder.

Rogers, S. E.↗

Fast magnetization of a high-to-low-beta plasma beam

The magnetization of a high-beta (plasma energy density/magnetic-field energy density) hydrogen-plasma beam injected into a vacuum transverse magnetic field is studied experimentally. Nominal parameters were Ti = 1 eV, Te = 5 eV, n = 3 x 10 to the 13th/cu cm or less, v(i) = 7 x 10 to the 6th cm/sec or less, t(pulse) less than 70 microsec, and Bz = 300 G or less. Plasma characteristics were measured for a wide beam and a downstream distance, x = 300 rho(i) or less, where x is the downstream distance and rho(i) is the ion gyroradius. A brief initial state of diamagnetic propagation is observed, followed by magnetized propagation accompanied by beam compression transverse to B with as much as a factor of 4 increase in density and a slight drift of the beam in the ion Lorentz force direction.

Song, J. J.↗

Spatially Developing Secondary Instabilities in Compressible Swept Airfoil Boundary Layers

Two-dimensional eigenvalue analysis is used on a massive scale to study spatial instabilities of compressible shear flows with two inhomogeneous directions. The main focus of the study is crossflow dominated swept-wing boundary layers although the methodology can also be applied to study other type of flows, such as the attachment-line flow. Certain unique aspects of formulating a spatial, two-dimensional eigenvalue problem for the secondary instability of finite amplitude crossflow vortices are discussed, namely, fixing the spatial growth direction unambiguously through a non-orthogonal formulation of the linearized disturbance equations. A primary test case used for parameter study corresponds to the low-speed, NLF-0415(b) airfoil configuration as tested in the ASU Unsteady Wind Tunnel, wherein a spanwise periodic array of roughness elements was placed near the leading edge in order to excite stationary crossflow modes with a specified fundamental wavelength. The two classes of flow conditions selected for this analysis include those for which the roughness array spacing corresponds to either the naturally dominant crossflow wavelength, or a subcritical wavelength that serves to reduce the growth of the naturally excited dominant crossflow modes. Numerical predictions are compared with the measured database, both as indirect validation for the spatial instability analysis and to provide a basis for comparison with a higher Reynolds number, supersonic swept-wing configuration. Application of the eigenvalue analysis to the supersonic configuration reveals that a broad spectrum of stationary crossflow modes can sustain sufficiently strong secondary instabilities as to potentially cause transition over this configuration. Implications of this finding for transition control in swept wing boundary layers are examined.

Li, Fei↗

GLobal Integrated Design Environment

The GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE) is a collaborative engineering application built to resolve the design session issues of real-time passing of data between multiple discipline experts in a collaborative environment. Utilizing Web protocols and multiple programming languages, GLIDE allows engineers to use the applications to which they are accustomed in this case, Excel to send and receive datasets via the Internet to a database-driven Web server. Traditionally, a collaborative design session consists of one or more engineers representing each discipline meeting together in a single location. The discipline leads exchange parameters and iterate through their respective processes to converge on an acceptable dataset. In cases in which the engineers are unable to meet, their parameters are passed via e-mail, telephone, facsimile, or even postal mail. The result of this slow process of data exchange would elongate a design session to weeks or even months. While the iterative process remains in place, software can now exchange parameters securely and efficiently, while at the same time allowing for much more information about a design session to be made available. GLIDE is written in a compilation of several programming languages, including REALbasic, PHP, and Microsoft Visual Basic. GLIDE client installers are available to download for both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh systems. The GLIDE client software is compatible with Microsoft Excel 2000 or later on Windows systems, and with Microsoft Excel X or later on Macintosh systems. GLIDE follows the Client-Server paradigm, transferring encrypted and compressed data via standard Web protocols. Currently, the engineers use Excel as a front end to the GLIDE Client, as many of their custom tools run in Excel.

Kunkel, Matthew↗