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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.

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At least 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

The Adjoint Petrov–Galerkin method for non-linear model reduction

Here, we formulate a new projection-based reduced-order modeling technique for non-linear dynamical systems. The proposed technique, which we refer to as the Adjoint Petrov–Galerkin (APG) method, is derived by decomposing the generalized coordinates of a dynamical system into a resolved coarse-scale set and an unresolved fine-scale set. A Markovian finite memory assumption within the Mori–Zwanzig formalism is then used to develop a reduced-order representation of the coarse scales. This procedure leads to a closed reduced-order model that displays commonalities with the adjoint stabilization method used in finite elements. The formulation is shown to be equivalent to a Petrov–Galerkin method with a non-linear, time-varying test basis, thus sharing some similarities with the Least-Squares Petrov–Galerkin method. Theoretical analysis examining a priori error bounds and computational cost is presented. Numerical experiments on the compressible Navier–Stokes equations demonstrate that the proposed method can lead to improvements in numerical accuracy, robustness, and computational efficiency over the Galerkin method on problems of practical interest. Improvements in numerical accuracy and computational efficiency over the Least-Squares Petrov–Galerkin method are observed in most cases.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fast Bayesian optimization of Needle-in-a-Haystack problems using zooming memory-based initialization (ZoMBI)

Abstract Needle-in-a-Haystack problems exist across a wide range of applications including rare disease prediction, ecological resource management, fraud detection, and material property optimization. A Needle-in-a-Haystack problem arises when there is an extreme imbalance of optimum conditions relative to the size of the dataset. However, current state-of-the-art optimization algorithms are not designed with the capabilities to find solutions to these challenging multidimensional Needle-in-a-Haystack problems, resulting in slow convergence or pigeonholing into a local minimum. In this paper, we present a Zooming Memory-Based Initialization algorithm, entitled ZoMBI, that builds on conventional Bayesian optimization principles to quickly and efficiently optimize Needle-in-a-Haystack problems in both less time and fewer experiments. The ZoMBI algorithm demonstrates compute time speed-ups of 400× compared to traditional Bayesian optimization as well as efficiently discovering optima in under 100 experiments that are up to 3× more highly optimized than those discovered by similar methods.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1983

A grid-embedding transonic flow analysis computer program for wing/nacelle configurations

An efficient grid-interfacing zonal algorithm was developed for computing the three-dimensional transonic flow field about wing/nacelle configurations. the algorithm uses the full-potential formulation and the AF2 approximate factorization scheme. The flow field solution is computed using a component-adaptive grid approach in which separate grids are employed for the individual components in the multi-component configuration, where each component grid is optimized for a particular geometry such as the wing or nacelle. The wing and nacelle component grids are allowed to overlap, and flow field information is transmitted from one grid to another through the overlap region using trivariate interpolation. This report represents a discussion of the computational methods used to generate both the wing and nacelle component grids, the technique used to interface the component grids, and the method used to obtain the inviscid flow solution. Computed results and correlations with experiment are presented. also presented are discussions on the organization of the wing grid generation (GRGEN3) and nacelle grid generation (NGRIDA) computer programs, the grid interface (LK) computer program, and the wing/nacelle flow solution (TWN) computer program. Descriptions of the respective subroutines, definitions of the required input parameters, a discussion on interpretation of the output, and the sample cases illustrating application of the analysis are provided for each of the four computer programs.

Atta, E. H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Computational chemistry

With the advent of supercomputers, modern computational chemistry algorithms and codes, a powerful tool was created to help fill NASA's continuing need for information on the properties of matter in hostile or unusual environments. Computational resources provided under the National Aerodynamics Simulator (NAS) program were a cornerstone for recent advancements in this field. Properties of gases, materials, and their interactions can be determined from solutions of the governing equations. In the case of gases, for example, radiative transition probabilites per particle, bond-dissociation energies, and rates of simple chemical reactions can be determined computationally as reliably as from experiment. The data are proving to be quite valuable in providing inputs to real-gas flow simulation codes used to compute aerothermodynamic loads on NASA's aeroassist orbital transfer vehicles and a host of problems related to the National Aerospace Plane Program. Although more approximate, similar solutions can be obtained for ensembles of atoms simulating small particles of materials with and without the presence of gases. Computational chemistry has application in studying catalysis, properties of polymers, all of interest to various NASA missions, including those previously mentioned. In addition to discussing these applications of computational chemistry within NASA, the governing equations and the need for supercomputers for their solution is outlined.

Arnold, J. O.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A unified lunar control network - The near side

A unified lunar control network for the moon's near side, which combines all the data collected by the Lunokhod 2 and Apollo 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17 missions, is presented. Transformations involving translation, rotation, and scale were determined that adjusted the coordinates of the points of three Apollo control networks, computed previously, to the center of mass origin and the mean earth/polar axis coordinate system defined by the lunar ranging retroreflector experiment. The transformed control network computed by the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center was found to be the best fit to the Apollo ALSEP antenna coordinates and was selected as a base to transform all points in Meyer's (1979) telescopic network to the new origin and coordinate system. New coordinates of 1156 of these points are given as are 10 points from a Mariner 10 solution in the north polar region.

Davies, Merton E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of a hypersonic crossing shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction

A combined theoretical and experimental study is presented for the interaction between crossing shock waves generated by (10 deg, 10 deg) sharp fins and a flat plate turbulent boundary layer at Mach 8.3. The theoretical model is the full 3D mean compressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations incorporating the algebraic turbulent eddy viscosity model of Baldwin and Lomax (1978). A grid refinement study indicated that adequate resolution of the flow field has been achieved. Computed results agree well with experiment for surface pressure and surface flow patterns and for pitot pressure and yaw angle profiles in the flow field. The computations, however, significantly overpredict surface heat transfer. Analysis of the computed flow field results indicates the formation of complex streamline and wave structures within the interaction region.

Narayanswami, N↗
NASA NTRS1994

Results of a laboratory experiment that tests rotating unbalanced-mass devices for scanning gimbaled payloads and free-flying spacecraft

Rotating unbalanced-mass (RUM) devices are a new way to scan space-based, balloon-borne, and ground-based gimbaled payloads, like x-ray and gamma-ray telescopes. They can also be used to scan free-flying spacecraft. Circular scans, linear scans, and raster scans can be generated. A pair of RUM devices generates the basic scan motion and an auxiliary control system using torque motors, control moment gyros, or reaction wheels keeps the scan centered on the target and produces some complementary motion for raster scanning. Previous analyses and simulation results show that this approach offers significant power savings compared to scanning only with the auxiliary control system, especially with large payloads and high scan frequencies. However, these claims have never been proven until now. This paper describes a laboratory experiment which tests the concept of scanning a gimbaled payload with RUM devices. A description of the experiment is given and test results that prove the concept are presented. The test results are compared with those from a computer simulation model of the experiment and the differences are discussed.

Alhorn, D. C.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Progress on Understanding Rayleigh–Taylor Flow and Mixing Using Synergy Between Simulation, Modeling, and Experiment

Simultaneous advances in numerical methods and computing, theoretical techniques, and experimental diagnostics have all led independently to better understanding of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability, turbulence, and mixing. In particular, experiments have provided significant motivation for many simulation and modeling studies, as well as validation data. Numerical simulations have also provided data that is not currently measurable or very difficult to measure accurately in RT unstable flows. Thus, simulations have also motivated new measurements in this class of buoyancy-driven flows. This overview discusses simulation and modeling studies synergistic with experiments and examples of how experiments have motivated simulations and models of RT instability, flow, and mixing. First, a brief summary of measured experimental and calculated simulation quantities, of experimental approaches, and of issues and challenges in the simulation and modeling of RT experiments is presented. Implicit large-eddy, direct numerical, and large-eddy simulations validated using RT experimental data are then discussed. This is followed by a discussion of modeling using analytical, modal, buoyancy–drag, and turbulent transport models of RT mixing experiments. The discussion will focus on three-dimensional RT mixing arising from multimode perturbations. Finally, this focused review concludes with a perspective on future simulation, modeling, and experimental directions for further research. Research in simulation and modeling of RT unstable flows, coupled with experiments, has made significant progress over the past several decades. This overview serves as an opportunity to both discuss progress and to stimulate future research on simulation and modeling of this unique class of hydrodynamically unstable turbulent flows.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2014

Self-Pressurization and Spray Cooling Simulations of the Multipurpose Hydrogen Test Bed (MHTB) Ground-Based Experiment

This paper presents a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model for simulating the self-pressurization of a large scale liquid hydrogen storage tank. In this model, the kinetics-based Schrage equation is used to account for the evaporative and condensing interfacial mass flows. Laminar and turbulent approaches to modeling natural convection in the tank and heat and mass transfer at the interface are compared. The flow, temperature, and interfacial mass fluxes predicted by these two approaches during tank self-pressurization are compared against each other. The ullage pressure and vapor temperature evolutions are also compared against experimental data obtained from the MHTB (Multipuprpose Hydrogen Test Bed) self-pressurization experiment. A CFD model for cooling cryogenic storage tanks by spraying cold liquid in the ullage is also presented. The Euler- Lagrange approach is utilized for tracking the spray droplets and for modeling interaction between the droplets and the continuous phase (ullage). The spray model is coupled with the VOF (volume of fluid) model by performing particle tracking in the ullage, removing particles from the ullage when they reach the interface, and then adding their contributions to the liquid. Droplet ullage heat and mass transfer are modeled. The flow, temperature, and interfacial mass flux predicted by the model are presented. The ullage pressure is compared with experimental data obtained from the MHTB spray bar mixing experiment. The results of the models with only droplet/ullage heat transfer and with heat and mass transfer between the droplets and ullage are compared.

cryogenic fluid storage↗
NASA NTRS2002

Three-Dimensional Effects on Multi-Element High Lift Computations

In an effort to discover the causes for disagreement between previous 2-D computations and nominally 2-D experiment for flow over the 3-clement McDonnell Douglas 30P-30N airfoil configuration at high lift, a combined experimental/CFD investigation is described. The experiment explores several different side-wall boundary layer control venting patterns, document's venting mass flow rates, and looks at corner surface flow patterns. The experimental angle of attack at maximum lift is found to be sensitive to the side wall venting pattern: a particular pattern increases the angle of attack at maximum lift by at least 2 deg. A significant amount of spanwise pressure variation is present at angles of attack near maximum lift. A CFD study using 3-D structured-grid computations, which includes the modeling of side-wall venting, is employed to investigate 3-D effects of the flow. Side-wall suction strength is found to affect the angle at which maximum lift is predicted. Maximum lift in the CFD is shown to be limited by the growth of all off-body corner flow vortex and consequent increase in spanwise pressure variation and decrease in circulation. The 3-D computations with and without wall venting predict similar trends to experiment at low angles of attack, but either stall too earl or else overpredict lift levels near maximum lift by as much as 5%. Unstructured-grid computations demonstrate that mounting brackets lower die the levels near maximum lift conditions.

Rumsey, Christopher L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Three-Dimensional Effects in Multi-Element High Lift Computations

In an effort to discover the causes for disagreement between previous two-dimensional (2-D) computations and nominally 2-D experiment for flow over the three-element McDonnell Douglas 30P-30N airfoil configuration at high lift, a combined experimental/CFD investigation is described. The experiment explores several different side-wall boundary layer control venting patterns, documents venting mass flow rates, and looks at corner surface flow patterns. The experimental angle of attack at maximum lift is found to be sensitive to the side-wall venting pattern: a particular pattern increases the angle of attack at maximum lift by at least 2 deg. A significant amount of spanwise pressure variation is present at angles of attack near maximum lift. A CFD study using three-dimensional (3-D) structured-grid computations, which includes the modeling of side-wall venting, is employed to investigate 3-D effects on the flow. Side-wall suction strength is found to affect the angle at which maximum lift is predicted. Maximum lift in the CFD is shown to be limited by the growth of an off-body corner flow vortex and consequent increase in spanwise pressure variation and decrease in circulation. The 3-D computations with and without wall venting predict similar trends to experiment at low angles of attack, but either stall too early or else overpredict lift levels near maximum lift by as much as 5%. Unstructured-grid computations demonstrate that mounting brackets lower the lift levels near maximum lift conditions.

Rumsey, Christopher L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Comparison of GPU-Accelerated Multiphase CFD Solvers on the Polaris Supercomputer: Part 1

This report is in support of the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE). With INCITE-level resources, one project, titled BubblyFlow, was granted computational resources for the 2025 calendar year on the Polaris supercomputer at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF). The project aims to conduct simulations to understand the fundamental characteristics of turbulent bubbly flow phenomena in nature. Staff at the ALCF and Argonne’s Computational Science division, along with collaborators at the City College of New York and University of Illinois at Chicago, helped a summer student to assess the accuracy and performance of two high performance computing (HPC) codes. Both codes, ImExLBM and FluTAS, are fundamentally different in their mathematical and numerical modeling. However, both may be used to solve the same physical problem. The collaboration sought to better understand the differences between both codes in terms of accuracy and efficiency. This would ultimately help the BubblyFlow project better utilize resources and establish a knowledge-base of code capabilities in future simulation campaigns. We compare ImExLBM and FluTAS, two high-performance multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers, in terms of physical fidelity, time-to-solution, and parallel efficiency. We validate ImExLBM (Implicit-Explicit Lattice Boltzmann Method) against a canonical benchmark and assess it’s performance relative to FluTAS (Fluid Transport Accelerated Solver), a well-established open-source CFD code.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1994

Rotating Unbalanced-Mass devices for scanning: Results from the proof-of-concept test

Rotating unbalanced-mass (RUM) devices are a new way to scan space-based, balloon-borne, and ground-based gimbaled payloads, like x-ray and gamma-ray telescopes. They can also be used to scan free-flying spacecraft. Circular scans, linear scans, and raster scans can be generated. A pair of RUM devices generates the basic scan motion and an auxiliary control system using torque motors, control moment gyros, or reaction wheels keeps the scan centered on the target and produces some complementary motion for raster scanning. Previous analyses and simulation results show that this approach offers significant power savings compared to scanning only with the auxiliary control system, especially with large payloads and high scan frequencies. However, these claims have never been proven until now. This paper describes a laboratory experiment which tests the concept of scanning a gimbaled payload with RUM devices. The test results are compared with those from a computer simulation model of the experiment and the differences are discussed.

Alhorn, Dean C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Performance Analysis of Distributed Object-Oriented Applications

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of a distributed simulation architecture which creates individual modules which are made self-scheduling through the use of a message-based communication system used for requesting input data from another module which is the source of that data. To make the architecture as general as possible, the message-based communication architecture was implemented using standard remote object architectures (Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) and/or Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)). A series of experiments were run in which different systems are distributed in a variety of ways across multiple computers and the performance evaluated. The experiments were duplicated in each case so that the overhead due to message communication and data transmission can be separated from the time required to actually perform the computational update of a module each iteration. The software used to distribute the modules across multiple computers was developed in the first year of the current grant and was modified considerably to add a message-based communication scheme supported by the DCOM distributed object architecture. The resulting performance was analyzed using a model created during the first year of this grant which predicts the overhead due to CORBA and DCOM remote procedure calls and includes the effects of data passed to and from the remote objects. A report covering the distributed simulation software and the results of the performance experiments has been submitted separately. The above report also discusses possible future work to apply the methodology to dynamically distribute the simulation modules so as to minimize overall computation time.

Schoeffler, James D.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Synthetic Vision Systems - Operational Considerations Simulation Experiment

Synthetic vision is a computer-generated image of the external scene topography that is generated from aircraft attitude, high-precision navigation information, and data of the terrain, obstacles, cultural features, and other required flight information. A synthetic vision system (SVS) enhances this basic functionality with real-time integrity to ensure the validity of the databases, perform obstacle detection and independent navigation accuracy verification, and provide traffic surveillance. Over the last five years, NASA and its industry partners have developed and deployed SVS technologies for commercial, business, and general aviation aircraft which have been shown to provide significant improvements in terrain awareness and reductions in the potential for Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain incidents/accidents compared to current generation cockpit technologies. It has been hypothesized that SVS displays can greatly improve the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) to a level comparable to clear-day Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual weather conditions or time of day. An experiment was conducted to evaluate SVS and SVS-related technologies as well as the influence of where the information is provided to the pilot (e.g., on a Head-Up or Head-Down Display) for consideration in defining landing minima based upon aircraft and airport equipage. The "operational considerations" evaluated under this effort included reduced visibility, decision altitudes, and airport equipage requirements, such as approach lighting systems, for SVS-equipped aircraft. Subjective results from the present study suggest that synthetic vision imagery on both head-up and head-down displays may offer benefits in situation awareness; workload; and approach and landing performance in the visibility levels, approach lighting systems, and decision altitudes tested.

Kramer, Lynda J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Vortical Flows Research Program of the Fluid Dynamics Research Branch

The research interests of the staff of the Fluid Dynamics Research Branch in the general area of vortex flows are summarized. A major factor in the development of enchanced maneuverability and reduced drag by aerodynamic means is the use of effective vortex control devices. The key to control is the use of emerging computational tools for predicting viscous fluid flow in close coordination with fundamental experiments. In fact, the extremely complex flow fields resulting from numerical solutions to boundary value problems based on the Navier-Stokes equations requires an intimate relationship between computation and experiment. The field of vortex flows is important in so many practical areas that a concerted effort in this area is justified. A brief background of the research activity undertaken is presented, including a proposed classification of the research areas. The classification makes a distinction between issues related to vortex formation and structure, and work on vortex interactions and evolution. Examples of current research results are provided, along with references where available. Based upon the current status of research and planning, speculation on future research directions of the group is also given.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enabling Modular Autonomous Feedback‐Loops in Materials Science through Hierarchical Experimental Laboratory Automation and Orchestration

Abstract Materials acceleration platforms (MAPs) operate on the paradigm of integrating combinatorial synthesis, high‐throughput characterization, automatic analysis, and machine learning. Within a MAP, one or multiple autonomous feedback loops may aim to optimize materials for certain functional properties or to generate new insights. The scope of a given experiment campaign is defined by the range of experiment and analysis actions that are integrated into the experiment framework. Herein, the authors present a method for integrating many actions within a hierarchical experimental laboratory automation and orchestration (HELAO) framework. They demonstrate the capability of orchestrating distributed research instruments that can incorporate data from experiments, simulations, and databases. HELAO interfaces laboratory hardware and software distributed across several computers and operating systems for executing experiments, data analysis, provenance tracking, and autonomous planning. Parallelization is an effective approach for accelerating knowledge generation provided that multiple instruments can be effectively coordinated, which the authors demonstrate with parallel electrochemistry experiments orchestrated by HELAO. Efficient implementation of autonomous research strategies requires device sharing, asynchronous multithreading, and full integration of data management in experimental orchestration, which to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is demonstrated for the first time herein.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identifying Entangled Physics Relationships Through Sparse Matrix Decomposition to Inform Plasma Fusion Design

We report a sustainable burn platform through inertial confinement fusion (ICF) has been an ongoing challenge for over 50 years. Mitigating engineering limitations and improving the current design involves an understanding of the complex coupling of physical processes. While sophisticated simulation codes are used to model ICF implosions, these tools contain necessary numerical approximation but miss physical processes that limit predictive capability. Identification of relationships between controllable design inputs to ICF experiments and measurable outcomes (e.g., neutron yield, neutron velocity, areal density) from performed experiments can help guide the future design of experiments and development of simulation codes, to potentially improve the accuracy of the computational models used to simulate ICF experiments. We use sparse matrix decomposition methods to identify clusters of a few related design variables. Sparse principal component analysis (SPCA) identifies groupings that are related to the physical origin of the variables (laser, hohlraum, and capsule). A variable importance analysis finds that in addition to variables highly correlated with neutron yield, such as picket power and laser energy, variables that represent a dramatic change of the ICF design, such as number of pulse steps, are also very important. The obtained sparse components are then used to train a random forest (RF) regression surrogate for predicting total yield. The RF performance on the training and testing data compares with the performance of the RF trained using all the design variables considered. This work is intended to inform design changes in future ICF experiments by augmenting the expert intuition and simulation results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗