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NASA NTRS1992

A study of equation solvers for linear and non-linear finite element analysis on parallel processing computers

Concurrent computing environments provide the means to achieve very high performance for finite element analysis of systems, provided the algorithms take advantage of multiple processors. The authors have examined several algorithms for both linear and nonlinear finite element analysis. The performance of these algorithms on an Alliant FX/80 parallel supercomputer has been studied. For single load case linear analysis, the optimal solution algorithm is strongly problem dependent. For multiple load cases or nonlinear analysis through a modified Newton-Raphson method, decomposition algorithms are shown to have a decided advantage over element-by-element preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithms.

Watson, Brian C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Finite element nonlinear panel flutter with arbitrary temperatures in supersonic flow

A finite element frequency domain method for predicting nonlinear flutter response of panels with temperature effects is presented. By using the principle of virtual work, the element nonlinear stiffness formulation for a panel under a combined thermal and aerodynamic loads is derived on the bases of von Karman's large deflection plate theory, the first-order piston theory aerodynamics and the quasi-steady thermal stress theory. The system equations of motion can be mathematically separated into two sets of equations and then solved in sequence. The first set of equations yields the panel thermal-aerodynamic equilibrium and the second set of equations of motion leads to the flutter limit-cycle oscillations. Stability and flutter boundaries can also be obtained from the two sets of system equations. Finite element large amplitude limit-cycle flutter results at different uniform temperatures are obtained for a simply supported square panel and are compared with existing Galerkin/time integration and other finite element solutions. Effects of nonuniform temperature distributions, panel length-to-width ratios, and boundary conditions on flutter responses of rectangular and triangular panels are presented.

Xue, David Y.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Finite element method for optimal guidance of an advanced launch vehicle

A temporal finite element based on a mixed form of Hamilton's weak principle is summarized for optimal control problems. The resulting weak Hamiltonian finite element method is extended to allow for discontinuities in the states and/or discontinuities in the system equations. An extension of the formulation to allow for control inequality constraints is also presented. The formulation does not require element quadrature, and it produces a sparse system of nonlinear algebraic equations. To evaluate its feasibility for real-time guidance applications, this approach is applied to the trajectory optimization of a four-state, two-stage model with inequality constraints for an advanced launch vehicle. Numerical results for this model are presented and compared to results from a multiple-shooting code. The results show the accuracy and computational efficiency of the finite element method.

Hodges, Dewey H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Finite element approach for transient analysis of multibody systems

A three-dimensional, finite element based formulation for the transient dynamics of constrained multibody systems with trusslike configurations is presented. A convected coordinate system is used to define the rigid-body motion of individual elements in the system. Deformation of each element is defined relative to its convected coordinate system. The formulation is oriented toward joint-dominated structures. Through a series of sequential transformations, the joint degree of freedom is built into the equations of motion of the element to reduce geometric constraints. Based on the derivation, a general-purpose code has been developed. Two examples are presented to illustrate the application of the code.

Wu, Shih-Chin↗

NASA NTRS1992

Mixing characteristics of injector elements in liquid rocket engines - A computational study

A computational study has been performed to better understand the mixing characteristics of liquid rocket injector elements. Variations in injector geometry as well as differences in injector element inlet flow conditions are among the areas examined in the study. Most results involve the nonreactive mixing of gaseous fuel with gaseous oxidizer but preliminary results are included that involve the spray combustion of oxidizer droplets. The purpose of the study is to numerically predict flowfield behavior in individual injector elements to a high degree of accuracy and in doing so to determine how various injector element properties affect the flow.

Lohr, Jonathan C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

General-Purpose Element-Extracting Process

Proposed ore-refining or element-extracting process nonspecific: decomposes any ore or other raw material into constituent elements, regardless of composition. Enables conversion of ores into elements and recombination of elements into usefulmaterials as necessary. Effected on small scale to supplement such other mineral-refining processes as fluidized-bed reduction or carbochlorination. Alternatively, effected on large scale to produce wide range of materials. Conceived to provide materials for self-sufficient lunar base from such local ores as anorthite, ilmenite, and olivine. Proves useful on Earth in recovery or extraction of scarce, valuable, or hazardous materials.

Curreri, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Experimental validation of boundary element methods for noise prediction

Experimental validation of methods to predict radiated noise is presented. A combined finite element and boundary element model was used to predict the vibration and noise of a rectangular box excited by a mechanical shaker. The predicted noise was compared to sound power measured by the acoustic intensity method. Inaccuracies in the finite element model shifted the resonance frequencies by about 5 percent. The predicted and measured sound power levels agree within about 2.5 dB. In a second experiment, measured vibration data was used with a boundary element model to predict noise radiation from the top of an operating gearbox. The predicted and measured sound power for the gearbox agree within about 3 dB.

Seybert, A. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An x ray scatter approach for non-destructive chemical analysis of low atomic numbered elements

A non-destructive x-ray scatter (XRS) approach has been developed, along with a rapid atomic scatter algorithm for the detection and analysis of low atomic-numbered elements in solids, powders, and liquids. The present method of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (EDXRF) makes the analysis of light elements (i.e., less than sodium; less than 11) extremely difficult. Detection and measurement become progressively worse as atomic numbers become smaller, due to a competing process called 'Auger Emission', which reduces fluorescent intensity, coupled with the high mass absorption coefficients exhibited by low energy x-rays, the detection and determination of low atomic-numbered elements by x-ray spectrometry is limited. However, an indirect approach based on the intensity ratio of Compton and Rayleigh scattered has been used to define light element components in alloys, plastics and other materials. This XRS technique provides qualitative and quantitative information about the overall constituents of a variety of samples.

Ross, H. Richard↗

NASA NTRS1993

Large-scale computation of incompressible viscous flow by least-squares finite element method

The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation is applied to large-scale/three-dimensional steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method can accommodate equal-order interpolations and results in symmetric, positive definite algebraic system which can be solved effectively by simple iterative methods. The first-order velocity-Bernoulli function-vorticity formulation for incompressible viscous flows is also tested. For three-dimensional cases, an additional compatibility equation, i.e., the divergence of the vorticity vector should be zero, is included to make the first-order system elliptic. The simple substitution of the Newton's method is employed to linearize the partial differential equations, the LSFEM is used to obtain discretized equations, and the system of algebraic equations is solved using the Jacobi preconditioned conjugate gradient method which avoids formation of either element or global matrices (matrix-free) to achieve high efficiency. To show the validity of this scheme for large-scale computation, we give numerical results for 2D driven cavity problem at Re = 10000 with 408 x 400 bilinear elements. The flow in a 3D cavity is calculated at Re = 100, 400, and 1,000 with 50 x 50 x 50 trilinear elements. The Taylor-Goertler-like vortices are observed for Re = 1,000.

Jiang, Bo-Nan↗

NASA NTRS1993

Use of system identification techniques for improving airframe finite element models using test data

A method for using system identification techniques to improve airframe finite element models using test data was developed and demonstrated. The method uses linear sensitivity matrices to relate changes in selected physical parameters to changes in the total system matrices. The values for these physical parameters were determined using constrained optimization with singular value decomposition. The method was confirmed using both simple and complex finite element models for which pseudo-experimental data was synthesized directly from the finite element model. The method was then applied to a real airframe model which incorporated all of the complexities and details of a large finite element model and for which extensive test data was available. The method was shown to work, and the differences between the identified model and the measured results were considered satisfactory.

Hanagud, Sathya V.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Heavy element abundances and massive star formation

The determination of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) remains a great challenge in astronomy. In the solar neighborhood, the IMF is reasonable well determined for stellar masses from about 0.1 to 60 solar mass. However, outside the solar neighborhood, the IMF is poorly known. Among those frequently discussed arguments favoring a different IMF outside the solar neighborhood are the estimated time to consume the remaining gas in spiral galaxies, and the high rate of forming massive stars in starburst galaxies. An interesting question then is whether there may be an independent way of testing possible variations in the IMF. Indeed, the heavy elements in the interstellar medium are mostly synthesized in massive stars, so increasing, or decreasing, the fraction of massive stars naturally leads to a variation in the heavy element yield, and thus, the metallicity. The observed abundance should severely constrain any deviations of the IMF from the locally determined IMF. We focus on element oxygen, which is the most abundant heavy element in the interstellar medium. Oxygen is ejected only by massive stars that can become Type 1 supernovae, and the oxygen abundance is, therefore, a sensitive function of the fraction of massive stars in the IMF. Adopting oxygen enables us to avoid uncertainties in Type 1 supernovae. We use the nucleosynthesis results to calculate the oxygen yield for given IMF. We then calculate the oxygen abundance in the interstellar medium assuming instantaneous recycling of oxygen.

Wang, Boqi↗

NASA NTRS1993

Contact stress analysis of spiral bevel gears using nonlinear finite element static analysis

A procedure is presented for performing three-dimensional stress analysis of spiral bevel gears in mesh using the finite element method. The procedure involves generating a finite element model by solving equations that identify tooth surface coordinates. Coordinate transformations are used to orientate the gear and pinion for gear meshing. Contact boundary conditions are simulated with gap elements. A solution technique for correct orientation of the gap elements is given. Example models and results are presented.

Bibel, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Laer-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Instrument for Element Analysis of Planetary Surfaces

One of the most fundamental pieces of information about any planetary body is the elemental and mineralogical composition of its surface materials. We are developing an instrument to obtain such data at ranges of up to several hundreds of meters using the technique of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). We envision our instrument being used from a spacecraft in close rendezvous with small bodies such as comets and asteroids, or deployed on surface-rover vehicles on large bodies such as Mars and the Moon. The elemental analysis is based on atomic emission spectroscopy of a laser-induced plasma or spark. A pulsed, diode pumped Nd:YAG laser of several hundred millijoules optical energy is used to vaporize and electronically excite the constituent elements of a rock surface remotely located from the laser. Light emitted from the excited plasma is collected and introduced to the entrance slit of a small grating spectrometer. The spectrally dispersed spark light is detected with either a linear photo diode array or area CCD array. When the latter detector is used, the optical and spectrometer components of the LIBS instrument can also be used in a passive imaging mode to collect and integrate reflected sunlight from the same rock surface. Absorption spectral analysis of this reflected light gives mineralogical information that provides a remote geochemical characterization of the rock surface. We performed laboratory calibrations in air and in vacuum on standard rock powders to quantify the LIBS analysis. We performed preliminary field tests using commercially available components to demonstrate remote LIBS analysis of terrestrial rock surfaces at ranges of over 25 m, and we have demonstrated compatibility with a six-wheeled Russian robotic rover vehicle. Based on these results, we believe that all major and most minor elements expected on planetary surfaces can be measured with absolute accuracy of 10-15 percent and much higher relative accuracy. We have performed preliminary systems analysis of a LIBS instrument to evaluate probable mass and power requirements; results of this analysis are summarized.

Blacic, J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Review of Rover fuel element protective coating development at Los Alamos

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) entered the nuclear propulsion field in 1955 and began work on all aspects of a nuclear propulsion program with a target exhaust temperature of about 2750 K. A very extensive chemical vapor deposition coating technology for preventing catastrophic corrosion of reactor core components by the high temperature, high pressure hydrogen propellant gas was developed. Over the 17-year term of the program, more than 50,000 fuel elements were coated and evaluated. Advances in performance were achieved only through closely coupled interaction between the developing fuel element fabrication and protective coating technologies. The endurance of fuel elements in high temperature, high pressure hydrogen environment increased from several minutes at 2000 K exit gas temperature to 2 hours at 2440 K exit gas temperature in a reactor test and 10 hours at 2350 K exit gas temperature in a hot gas test. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the rationale for selection of coating materials used (NbC and ZrC), identify critical fuel element-coat interactions that had to be modified to increase system performance, and review the evolution of protective coating technology.

Wallace, Terry C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Improved accuracy for finite element structural analysis via an integrated force method

A comparative study was carried out to determine the accuracy of finite element analyses based on the stiffness method, a mixed method, and the new integrated force and dual integrated force methods. The numerical results were obtained with the following software: MSC/NASTRAN and ASKA for the stiffness method; an MHOST implementation method for the mixed method; and GIFT for the integrated force methods. The results indicate that on an overall basis, the stiffness and mixed methods present some limitations. The stiffness method generally requires a large number of elements in the model to achieve acceptable accuracy. The MHOST method tends to achieve a higher degree of accuracy for course models than does the stiffness method implemented by MSC/NASTRAN and ASKA. The two integrated force methods, which bestow simultaneous emphasis on stress equilibrium and strain compatibility, yield accurate solutions with fewer elements in a model. The full potential of these new integrated force methods remains largely unexploited, and they hold the promise of spawning new finite element structural analysis tools.

Patnaik, S. N.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Active plate and wing research using EDAP elements

The deflection characteristics of structures using directionally attached piezoelectric (DAP) and enhanced DAP (EDAP) elements are investigated analytically and experimentally. It is shown that directional attachment can be achieved by partial attachment, transverse shear lag, and differential stiffness bonding. The effective stiffnesses of DAP elements can be accurately modeled by an active element area estimation of partial attachment with a shear lag modification. Methods of integrating DAP and EDAP elements in missile wings and ways of alleviating such difficulties as control power degradation and adverse coupling are discussed.

Barrett, Ron↗

NASA NTRS1993

Experimental partitioning studies near the Fe-FeS eutectic, with an emphasis on elements important to iron meteorite chronologies (Pb, Ag, Pd, and Tl)

Partitioning coefficients for metal/sulfide liquid, troilite/sulfide liquid, and schreibersite/sulfide liquid were determined for Ag, Au, Mo, Ni, Pd, and Tl (using EMPA and proton-induced X-ray microprobe and ion microprobe analyses) in order to understand the chronometer systems of iron meteorites. In general, the obtained schreibersite/metal and troilite/metal partition coefficients for 'compatible' elements were quite similar to those inferred from natural assemblages, reinforcing an earlier made conclusion that there is a class of elements for which experimental troilite/metal and schreibersite/metal partition coefficients approximate those inferred from natural samples. The consistency between experimental and natural assemblages, however, was not observed for Ag, Pb, and Tl, indicating that the abundances of these elements determined in 'metal' and 'troilite' separates from iron meteorites are influenced by trace minerals that concentrate incompatible elements.

Jones, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A new parallel-vector finite element analysis software on distributed-memory computers

A new parallel-vector finite element analysis software package MPFEA (Massively Parallel-vector Finite Element Analysis) is developed for large-scale structural analysis on massively parallel computers with distributed-memory. MPFEA is designed for parallel generation and assembly of the global finite element stiffness matrices as well as parallel solution of the simultaneous linear equations, since these are often the major time-consuming parts of a finite element analysis. Block-skyline storage scheme along with vector-unrolling techniques are used to enhance the vector performance. Communications among processors are carried out concurrently with arithmetic operations to reduce the total execution time. Numerical results on the Intel iPSC/860 computers (such as the Intel Gamma with 128 processors and the Intel Touchstone Delta with 512 processors) are presented, including an aircraft structure and some very large truss structures, to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of MPFEA.

Qin, Jiangning↗