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At least 1,405 records · Page 78

Flow Environment Study Near the Empennage of a 15-Percent Scale Helicopter Model

Development of advanced rotorcraft configurations has highlighted a need for high-quality experimental data to support the development of flexible and accurate analytical design tools. To provide this type of data, a test program was conducted in the Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel to measure the flow near the empennage of a 15-percent scale powered helicopter model with an operating tail fan. Three-component velocity profiles were measured with laser velocimetry (LV) one chord forward of the horizontal tail for four advance ratios to evaluate the effect of the rotor wake impingement on the horizontal tail angle of attack. These velocity data indicate the horizontal tail can experience unsteady angle of attack variations of over 30 degrees due to the rotor wake influence. The horizontal tail is most affected by the rotor wake above advance ratios of 0.10. Velocity measurements of the flow on the inlet side of the tail fan were made for a low-speed flight condition using conventional LV techniques. The velocity data show an accelerated flow near the tail fan duct, and vorticity calculations track the passage of main rotor wake vortices through the measurement plane.

Gorton, Susan Althoff↗

Acoustic and aerodynamic performance of a 1.83-meter (6-ft) diameter 1.25-pressure-ratio fan (QF-8)

A 1.25-pressure-ratio 1.83-meter (6-ft) tip diameter experimental fan stage with characteristics suitable for engine application on STOL aircraft was tested for acoustic and aerodynamic performance. The design incorporated proven features for low noise, including absence of inlet guide vanes, low rotor blade tip speed, low aerodynamic blade loading, and long axial spacing between the rotor and stator blade rows. The fan was operated with five exhaust nozzle areas. The stage noise levels generally increased with a decrease in nozzle area. Separation of the acoustic one-third octave results into broadband and pure-tone components showed the broadband noise to be greater than the corresponding pure-tone components. The sideline perceived noise was highest in the rear quadrants. The acoustic results of QF-8 were compared with those of two similar STOL application fans in the test series. The QF-8 had somewhat higher relative noise levels than those of the other two fans. The aerodynamic results of QF-8 and the other two fans were compared with corresponding results from 50.8-cm (20-in.) diam scale models of these fans and design values. Although the results for the full-scale and scale models of the other two fans were in reasonable agreement for each design, the full-scale fan QF-8 results showed poor performance compared with corresponding model results and design expectations. Facility effects of the full-scale fan QF-8 installation were considered in analyzing this discrepancy.

Woodward, R. P.↗

Determination of permeability for hydrocarbon release due to excavation-induced stress redistribution in rock salt

Due to a stress redistribution after the excavation of an underground tunnel for radioactive waste disposal, an Ed/DZ (excavation disturbed/damaged zone) will be generated in the near field of the opening, resulting in significant changes in the hydraulic and mechanical properties of the rock mass in the zone. Initially more or less randomly distributed hydrocarbons at grain boundaries in rock salt, which sometimes can only be observed with ultraviolet light, can then be mobilised and migrate at a potentially significant rate towards the excavation. Within the international cooperative project DECOVALEX 2019, the migration mechanism of such fluid inclusions in rock salt is being studied intensively. Specifically, a multi-scale modelling strategy has been developed. A macroscale coupled hydro-mechanical modelling of an underground excavation was performed to determine hydraulic and time-dependent deviatoric stress conditions, by taking into account the rock salt creep behaviour. Under the obtained macro-scale constraints, micro-scale modelling of a pathway dilation along halite grain boundaries was performed using different model strategies: a) coupled hydromechanical modelling with a consideration of hydraulic pressure-induced dilatant deformation, b) nonlinear dynamic model taking account of fluid migration, stress-dependent grain boundary wetting and shear-induced dilatancy of salt, and c) phase-field modelling of flow pathway propagation. The permeability increase resulting from the pathway dilation is estimated to be as high as two orders of magnitude. Based on the permeability determined, a series of pressure buildups measured from a borehole with a high hydrocarbon release rate, a total of 430 build-ups within a monitoring time of 938 days, can be simulated with a macro-scale compressible flow model accounting for different zones around the opening.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Reevaluation of Neptunium–Nitric Acid Radiation Chemistry by Multiscale Modeling

Here, multi-scale modelling has been used to quantitatively reevaluate the radiation chemistry of neptunium in a range of aerated nitric acid solutions (0.1 – 6.0 mol dm -3 ). Exact calculation of initial radiolytic yields accounting for changes in radiation track chemistry was found to be crucial for reproducing experimental data. The gamma irradiation induces changes in the Np(VI):Np(V) oxidation state distribution, predominantly driven by reactions involving HNO 2 , H 2 O 2 , NO 2 • , and NO 3 • from the radiolysis of aqueous nitric acid. Oxidation of Np(V) by NO 3 • ( k = 8.1 × 10 8 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 ) provides the initial increase in Np(VI) concentration, whilst also delaying net reduction of Np(VI) by consuming HNO 2 . Reduction of Np(VI) is dominated by thermal reactions with HNO 2 ( k = 0.7 – 73 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 ) and H 2 O 2 ( k = 1.9 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 ). A steady-state is eventually established once the concentration of Np(V) is sufficiently high enough to be oxidized by NO 2 • k = 2.4 × 10 2 – 3.1 × 10 4 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 ). An additional thermal oxidation reaction between Np(V) and HNO 3 ( k = 2.0 × 10 3 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 ) is required for nitric acid concentrations >4.0 mol dm -3 . For 0.1 mol dm -3 HNO 3 , the rate of Np(VI) reduction is in excess of that which can be accounted for by radiolytic product mass balance, suggesting the existence of a catalytic acid dependent reduction process.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

High-Resolution Global Modeling of the Effects of Subgrid-Scale Clouds and Turbulence on Precipitating Cloud Systems

The PI’s at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Chin-Hoh Moeng and Peter Bogenschutz, have primarily focused their time on the implementation of the Simplified-Higher Order Turbulence Closure (SHOC; Bogenschutz and Krueger 2013) to the Multi-scale Modeling Framework (MMF) global model and testing of SHOC on deep convective cloud regimes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Bridging particle and reactor scales in the simulation of biomass fast pyrolysis by coupling particle resolved simulation and coarse grained CFD-DEM

Efficient utilization of biomass is challenging due to the complexity of the feedstock at molecular, particle, and reactor scales. Direct coupling of particle scale model and reactor scale simulation is computationally infeasible. In this work, the results from a particle resolved simulation were used to calibrate the heat transfer and reaction kinetics of particles. A hybrid drag model was used to consider the different fluidization properties of sands and biomass particles. The computation cost was reduced using a coarse-grained Discrete Element Method (DEM). The simulated conversion rate, char yield, tar yield, and pyrolysis gas yield compare well with experiment. The residence time and axial distributions of biomass were also analyzed. This novel multi-scale method provides an efficient and accurate tool for the modeling of biomass pyrolysis reactors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Experimental investigation of an ejector-powered free-jet facility

The Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig (NATR) is a large free-jet test facility powered by an ejector system. Prior to the operation of the actual facility a 1/5-scale model of the NATR was built and tested to assess the pumping performance of the ejector concept as well as its sensitivity to various design parameters. The 1/5 scale model and full-scale facility are described as well as the design parameters which were investigated. The results of the scale model tests are discussed and compared with the findings of the full-scale tests.

Long, Mary J.↗

Efficient Computation Of Surface Sunlit Fractions In Urban-Scale Building Modeling Using Ray-Tracing Techniques

For building energy simulation at an urban-scale, solar shading calculations can be significantly slow when a large number of shading surfaces are considered in the solar shading calculations, due to the computational complexity of the geometry calculations. We developed a new algorithm using the ray-tracing technique to pre-calculate the sunlit fractions of all exterior surfaces in an urban district altogether. The ray tracing-based calculator is accelerated using General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPUs) and the Optix ray tracing library, and provides an efficient, flexible, and robust means for computing the sunlit fraction of large numbers of urban surfaces of complex geometries.

Luo, Xuan↗

Aeroacoustic Study of a 26%-Scale Semispan Model of a Boeing 777 Wing in the NASA Ames 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel

An acoustic and aerodynamic study was made of a 26%-scale unpowered Boeing 777 aircraft semispan model in the NASA Ames 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel for the purpose of identifying and attenuating airframe noise sources. Simulated approach and landing configurations were evaluated at Mach numbers between 0.12 and 0.24. Cruise configurations were evaluated at Mach numbers between 0.24 and 0.33. The research team used two Ames phased-microphone arrays, a large fixed array and a small traversing array, mounted under the wing to locate and compare various noise sources in the wing high-lift system and landing gear. Numerous model modifications and noise alleviation devices were evaluated. Simultaneous with acoustic measurements, aerodynamic forces were recorded to document aircraft conditions and any performance changes caused by the geometric modifications. Numerous airframe noise sources were identified that might be important factors in the approach and landing noise of the full-scale aircraft. Several noise-control devices were applied to each noise source. The devices were chosen to manipulate and control, if possible, the flow around the various tips and through the various gaps of the high-lift system so as to minimize the noise generation. Fences, fairings, tip extensions, cove fillers, vortex generators, hole coverings, and boundary-layer trips were tested. In many cases, the noise-control devices eliminated noise from some sources at specific frequencies. When scaled to full-scale third-octave bands, typical noise reductions ranged from 1 to 10 dB without significant aerodynamic performance loss.

Horne, W. Clifton↗

Pore-scale investigation on the response of heterotrophic respiration to moisture conditions in heterogeneous soils

The relationship between microbial respiration rate and soil moisture content is an important property for understanding and predicting soil organic carbon degradation, CO 2 production and emission, and their subsequent effects on climate change. This paper reports a pore-scale modeling study to investigate the response of heterotrophic respiration to moisture conditions in soils and to evaluate various factors that affect this response. X-ray computed tomography was used to derive soil pore structures, which were then used for pore-scale model investigation. The pore-scale results were then averaged to calculate the effective respiration rates as a function of water content in soils. The calculated effective respiration rate first increases and then decreases with increasing soil water content, showing a maximum respiration rate at water saturation degree of 0.75 that is consistent with field and laboratory observations. The relationship between the respiration rate and moisture content is affected by various factors, including pore-scale organic carbon bioavailability, the rate of oxygen delivery, soil pore structure and physical heterogeneity, soil clay content, and microbial drought resistivity. Simulations also illustrates that a larger fraction of CO 2 produced from microbial respiration can be accumulated inside soil cores under higher saturation conditions, implying that CO 2 flux measured on the top of soil cores may underestimate or overestimate true soil respiration rates under dynamic moisture conditions. Overall, this study provides mechanistic insights into the soil respiration response to the change in moisture conditions, and reveals a complex relationship between heterotrophic microbial respiration rate and moisture content in soils that is affected by various hydrological, geochemical, and biophysical factors.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Definition of the Stiesdal Offshore TetraSpar Floating Wind System for OC6 Phase IV

The Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation, and unCertainty (OC6) is an international project focused on verifying and validating modeling tools used in the analysis of floating offshore wind systems. The fourth phase of the project aims to assess the ability of the tools to model a novel floating wind design. The TetraSpar was designed by Stiesdal Offshore Technologies and was selected as the subject platform for the project. The platform is a unique design that features spar-like stability with a very low center of gravity, but does not require rare deep-water ports. This combination is achieved with a system made of two separate steel structures, a hull at the water's surface that supports the wind turbine tower, and a keel that is suspended below the main body. This lower keel has a very high density and drives the total platform's low center of gravity. The TetraSpar, with hull and keel, spar-type stability, and relatively slender components, is unique compared to platforms studied in earlier phases of OC3-OC6 projects, and it offers an opportunity to evaluate the applicability of modeling tools to a novel design, especially unique hydrodynamics and compliant cables. Scaled model tests of the TetraSpar design were performed in 2018-2019 by the University of Maine. The data collected in the model tests provides a detailed description of the response of the platform in various controlled and relatively well understood conditions. Comparison with this data provides a good opportunity for validation of numerical models. The OC6 Phase IV work focuses on the specific parameters used in these scaled model tests. Descriptions of the platform and the test campaign in this document are based on the report written by Allen and Fowler of the University of Maine in 2019.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

SPiRaL: a multiresolution global tomography model of seismic wave speeds and radial anisotropy variations in the crust and mantle

SUMMARY SPiRaL is a joint global-scale model of wave speeds (P and S) and anisotropy (vertical transverse isotropy, VTI) variations in the crust and mantle. The model is comprised of >2.1 million nodes with five parameters at each node that capture velocity variations for P- and S-waves travelling at arbitrary directions in transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). The crust (including ice, water, sediments and crystalline layers) is directly incorporated into the model. The default node spacing is approximately 2° in the lower mantle and 1° in the crust and upper mantle. The grid is refined with ∼0.25° minimum node spacing in highly sampled regions of the crust and upper mantle throughout North America and Eurasia. The data considered in the construction of SPiRaL includes millions of body wave traveltimes (crustal, regional and teleseismic phases with multiples) and surface wave (Rayleigh and Love) dispersion. A multiresolution inversion approach is employed to capture long-wavelength heterogeneities commonly depicted in global-scale tomography images as well as more localized details that are typically resolved in more focused regional-scale studies. Our previous work has demonstrated that such global-scale models with regional-scale detail can accurately predict both teleseismic and regional body wave traveltimes, which is necessary for more accurate location of small seismic events that may have limited signal at teleseismic distances. SPiRaL was constructed to predict traveltimes for event location and long-period waveform dispersion for seismic source inversion applications in regions without sufficiently tuned models. SPiRaL may also serve as a starting model for full-waveform inversion (FWI) with the goal of fitting waves with periods 10–50 s over multiple broad regions (thousands of kilometres) and potentially the globe. To gain insight to this possibility, we simulated waveforms for a small set of events using SPiRaL and independent waveform-based models for comparison. For the events tested, the performance of the traveltime-based SPiRaL model is shown to be generally on par with regional 3-D waveform-based models in three regions (western United States, Middle East, Korean Peninsula) suggesting SPiRaL may serve as a starting model for FWI over broad regions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

An Overview of Active Flow Control Enhanced Vertical Tail Technology Development

This paper summarizes a joint NASA/Boeing research effort to advance Active Flow Control (AFC) technology to enhance aerodynamic efficiency of a vertical tail. Sweeping jet AFC technology was successfully tested on subscale and full-scale models as well as in flight. The subscale test was performed at Caltech on a ~14% scale model. More than 50% side force enhancement was achieved by the sweeping jet actuation when the momentum coefficient was 1.7%. AFC caused significant increases in suction pressure on the actuator side and associated side force enhancement. Subsequently, a full-scale Boeing 757 vertical tail model equipped with sweeping jets was tested at the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. There, flow separation control optimization was performed at near flight conditions. Greater than 20% increase in side force were achieved for the maximum rudder deflection of 30deg at the key sideslip angles (0deg and -7.5deg) with a 31-actuator AFC configuration. Based on these tests, the momentum coefficient is shown to be a necessary, but not sufficient parameter to use for design and scaling of sweeping jet AFC from subscale tests to full-scale applications. Leveraging the knowledge gained from the wind tunnel tests, the AFC-enhanced vertical tail technology was successfully flown on the Boeing 757 ecoDemonstrator in the spring of 2015.

Lin, John C.↗

Qualitative investigation of booster recovery in open sea

Limited tests were conducted using 1/27 scale model of a Titan 3C booster plus 1/32.9 and 1/15.6 scale models of a solid rocket booster case to establish some of the characteristics that will effect recovery operations in open seas. This preliminary effort was designed to provide additional background information for conceptual development of a waterborne recovery system for space shuttle boosters, pending initiation of comprehensive studies. The models were not instrumented; therefore, all data are qualitative (approximations) and are based on observations plus photographic coverage.

Beck, P. E.↗

Constrained optimization framework for interface-aware sub-scale dynamics models for voids closure in Lagrangian hydrodynamics

In hydrocodes, voids are used to represent vacuum and model free boundaries between vacuum and real materials. We give a systematic description of a new treatment of void closure in the framework of the multimaterial arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) methods. This includes a new formulation of the interface-aware sub-scale-dynamics (IA-SSD) closure model for multimaterial cells with voids, which is used in the Lagrangian stage of our indirect ALE scheme. The results of the comprehensive testing of the new model are presented for one- and two-dimensional multimaterial calculations in the presence of voids. Finally, we also present a sneak peek of a realistic shaped charge calculation in the presence of voids and solids.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

High-resolution hourly surrogate modeling framework for physics-based large-scale building stock modeling

Surrogate modeling can play a key role in reducing high computational burdens for large-scale physics-based modeling and uncertainty quantification. With the rapid development of large-scale building stock energy modeling, surrogate modeling has also begun to be widely applied in this field; however, most existing surrogate models lack hourly time resolution for regional-scale modeling, which is essential for understanding building demand profiles and grid impacts. Further, there is generally a lack of necessary data and feature engineering frameworks specific to building modeling for efficiently managing large datasets and complex computations. Furthermore, this paper proposes a modeling framework for large-scale (city-/region-scale), high-resolution, high-fidelity surrogate building stock energy models. Our developed framework consists of six modules: (1) building stock energy modeling (ComStock TM and ResStock TM ), (2) data engineering for large simulation data, (3) high performance computing workflow, (4) feature engineering, (5) machine learning model development, and (6) model performance evaluation. Two case studies apply the developed framework in both residential and commercial building stock analysis to demonstrate its computational efficiency and surrogate modeling accuracies. Results show that surrogate models, when efficiently trained using the HPC workflow module, reach a high level of modeling accuracy for two case studies.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗