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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 1,459 records · Page 81
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Satellite attitude motion models for capture and retrieval investigations

The primary purpose of this research is to provide mathematical models which may be used in the investigation of various aspects of the remote capture and retrieval of uncontrolled satellites. Emphasis has been placed on analytical models; however, to verify analytical solutions, numerical integration must be used. Also, for satellites of certain types, numerical integration may be the only practical or perhaps the only possible method of solution. First, to provide a basis for analytical and numerical work, uncontrolled satellites were categorized using criteria based on: (1) orbital motions, (2) external angular momenta, (3) internal angular momenta, (4) physical characteristics, and (5) the stability of their equilibrium states. Several analytical solutions for the attitude motions of satellite models were compiled, checked, corrected in some minor respects and their short-term prediction capabilities were investigated. Single-rigid-body, dual-spin and multi-rotor configurations are treated. To verify the analytical models and to see how the true motion of a satellite which is acted upon by environmental torques differs from its corresponding torque-free motion, a numerical simulation code was developed. This code contains a relatively general satellite model and models for gravity-gradient and aerodynamic torques. The spacecraft physical model for the code and the equations of motion are given. The two environmental torque models are described.

Cochran, John E., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Logarithmic profile of temperature in sheared and unstably stratified atmospheric boundary layers

The impact of buoyancy on the mean velocity, temperature, and scalar concentration profiles in the lower atmosphere is typically investigated within the framework of Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST). MOST is the theoretical foundation for parametrizing surface-atmosphere exchanges in nearly all weather, climate, and hydrological models.According to MOST, the classic logarithmic profiles of mean velocity and temperature break down as the buoyancy effects become important. However, recent studies on turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection and natural convection along vertical walls suggest that the mean temperature in the near-surface region still follows a logarithmic profile.Motivated by these new results, we study the mean potential temperature profile in sheared and unstably stratified atmospheric boundary layers using direct numerical simulations and field observations. We find that the mean potential temperature profile remains logarithmic across a wide range of stability parameters, which characterizes the relative importance of buoyancy versus shear effects. Compared to MOST, our results suggest that the buoyancy force does not modify the logarithmic nature of the mean potential temperature profile, but instead modulates its slope, which is no longer universal and differs from 1/κ,whereκisthe von Kármán constant. Furthermore, this study provides another perspective on scalar turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Two-Stage Quantum Reinforcement Learning Method for Multi-Objective Transmission Switching

Multi-objective transmission switching (MO-TS) problems involve the strategic reconfiguration of network topology to simultaneously optimize multiple objectives. As the system scale increases, finding feasible solutions becomes increasingly challenging due to the problem's nonlinearity and high computational complexity. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a two-stage quantum reinforcement learning method that leverages potential quantum advantages for MO-TS. In the first stage, candidate switching lines are identified using a graph-theoretical approach to reduce the problem's dimensionality. The second stage introduces a quantum-classical reinforcement learning framework, where a learnable measurement-based CNN-ResVQC architecture is developed to effectively reduce the input dimension for quantum processing, mitigate vanishing gradients, and enhance trainability while improving the quantum circuit's flexibility in modeling complex decision policies for MO-TS. Numerical studies on IEEE 14-bus, 57-bus, and 118-bus systems demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieves superior training stability and faster convergence with approximately 1% of the network parameters required by classical algorithms, highlighting its effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability. Furthermore, the practicality is validated through its stable convergence under three common quantum noise channels.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Novel Dynamic Polymer Synthesis via Chlorinated Solvent Quenched Depolymerization

Dynamic polymers with both physical interactions and dynamic covalent bonds exhibit superior performance while achieving such dry polymers in an efficient manner remains a challenge. Herein, we report a novel organic solvent quenched polymer synthesis using a natural molecule, i.e., thioctic acid (TA), which has both dynamic disulfide bond and carboxylic acid. The effects of the solvent types and concentrations along with reaction times on the proposed reaction have been thoroughly explored for polymer synthesis. Solid-state proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) and first-principles simulations are carried out to investigate the reaction mechanism. It shows that the chlorinated solvent can efficiently stabilize and mediate the depolymerization of poly(TA) which is more kinetically favorable upon lowering the temperature. Attributed to the numerous dynamic covalent disulfide bonds and noncovalent hydrogen bonding, the obtained poly(TA) shows high extensibility, self-healable and re-processable properties. It can also be employed as an efficient adhesive even on a Teflon surface and 3D printed using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. This new polymer synthesis approach on using organic solvents as catalysts along with the unique reaction mechanism provides a new pathway for efficient polymer synthesis, especially for those multi-functional dynamic polymers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1979

Finite beta effects on the drift-cyclotron instability

The effects of finite plasma beta and strong plasma inhomogeneities on the microinstability resulting from the unstable coupling of ion-cyclotron oscillations and an ion drift wave are examined. A local electromagnetic, kinetic dispersion equation, which takes into account finite orbit modifications of both ions and electrons as well as the effects of strong inhomogeneities on the ions and permits the continuous tracking of the instability from the weak gradient regime to the strong gradient regime, is derived and solved numerically. Finite beta is shown to increase the frequency and reduce the growth rate of the instability, but not completely stabilize it due to electromagnetic effects. When plasma inhomogeneity is sufficiently strong, finite beta reduces the growth rate of the large k sub y band of a given harmonic more than the small k sub y band; however, the most unstable bands remain the same as in the case of zero beta. Implications of these results for the Tandem Mirror Experiment are discussed.

Gladd, N. T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Instability and transition in rotating disk flow

The stability of three-dimensional rotating disk flow is investigated, including the effects of Coriolis forces and streamline curvature. The numerical results show that the critical Reynolds number for establishment of stationary vortex flow is 287. These vortices spiral outward at an angle of about 11.2 deg, and transition to turbulence occurs when their total amplification is about e to the 11th. New experimental results are also reported on the spatial growth rates of the stationary vortices. It is shown that the analysis gives growth rates that compare much better with the experimental results than do results obtained using the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. The experimental results tend to support the numerical prediction that the number of stationary vortices varies directly with the Reynolds number. The calculations also indicate the existence of weakly unstable propagating (type II) modes at low Reynolds numbers (Critical Reynolds Number being approximately equal to 49).

Malik, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Flows over wings with leading-edge vortex separation

The unsteady cross flow analogy reduces the steady three dimensional separation flow problem into an unsteady two dimensional flow problem in which the section shape changes with time. The two dimensional VORSEP code is extended to the case of arbitrary body growth rates in order to generate the initial vortex structures for the three dimensional free vortex sheet (FVS) code. Automatic procedures to reduce the wing geometry definition to a set of cross flow plane sections corresponding to the locations of the time step solutions and to generate the effective source distribution on each cross flow section to represent the section normal growth across the following steps are incorporated in the VORSEP code. Also, the wake shedding model is improved by adopting a redistribution scheme which improves the stability of the free sheet development with time. The improved wake shedding model combined with the redistribution scheme alleviated the numerical instabilities associated with the vortex rollup.

Rao, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Optimized retrievals of precipitable water fields from combinations of VAS satellite and conventional surface observations

VISSR (visible and infrared spin-scan radiometer) atmospheric sounder (VAS) radiances and conventional surface temperature and dewpoint data are used in several combinations within a regression approach to determine the optimum resolution and accuracy of precipitable water (PW) fields retrieved from satellite observations. Point retrievals at radiosonde stations are used to determine the numerical accuracy of each retrieval technique, and image sequences of the retrieved PW fields are used to determine the temporal stability and spatial coherence of mesoscale PW features. VAS channels 5, 6, 7, and 8 and the surface dewpoint contribute the most information to regression-based retrievals of PW. The most accurate PW retrievals are obtained when radiances are averaged to a resolution of 15 to 60 km. A physical 'split-window' approach provides better PW estimates than regression when only the 11- and 12-micron VAS channels are available or when radiosonde-based training is limited to only one time period.

Robinson, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

TS - Dean interactions in curved channel flow

A weakly nonlinear theory is developed to study the interaction of TS waves and Dean vortices in curved channel flow. The prediction obtained from the theory agree well with results obtained from direct numerical simulations of curved channel flow, especially for low amplitude disturbances. At low Reynolds numbers the wave interaction is generally stabilizing to both disturbances, though as the Reynolds number increases, many linearly unstable TS waves are further destabilized by the presence of Dean vortices.

Singer, Bart A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Constraint treatment techniques and parallel algorithms for multibody dynamic analysis

Computational procedures for kinematic and dynamic analysis of three-dimensional multibody dynamic (MBD) systems are developed from the differential-algebraic equations (DAE's) viewpoint. Constraint violations during the time integration process are minimized and penalty constraint stabilization techniques and partitioning schemes are developed. The governing equations of motion, a two-stage staggered explicit-implicit numerical algorithm, are treated which takes advantage of a partitioned solution procedure. A robust and parallelizable integration algorithm is developed. This algorithm uses a two-stage staggered central difference algorithm to integrate the translational coordinates and the angular velocities. The angular orientations of bodies in MBD systems are then obtained by using an implicit algorithm via the kinematic relationship between Euler parameters and angular velocities. It is shown that the combination of the present solution procedures yields a computationally more accurate solution. To speed up the computational procedures, parallel implementation of the present constraint treatment techniques, the two-stage staggered explicit-implicit numerical algorithm was efficiently carried out. The DAE's and the constraint treatment techniques were transformed into arrowhead matrices to which Schur complement form was derived. By fully exploiting the sparse matrix structural analysis techniques, a parallel preconditioned conjugate gradient numerical algorithm is used to solve the systems equations written in Schur complement form. A software testbed was designed and implemented in both sequential and parallel computers. This testbed was used to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the constraint treatment techniques, the accuracy of the two-stage staggered explicit-implicit numerical algorithm, and the speed up of the Schur-complement-based parallel preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm on a parallel computer.

Chiou, Jin-Chern↗
NASA NTRS1991

Navier-Stokes simulation of the supersonic combustion flowfield in a ram accelerator

A computational study of the ram accelerator, a ramjet-in-tube device for accelerating projectiles to ultrahigh velocities, is presented. The analysis is performed using a fully implicit TVD scheme that efficiently solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the species continuity equations associated with a finite rate combustion model. Previous analyses of this concept were based on inviscid assumptions. The present results indicate that viscous effects are of primary importance; in all the cases studied, shock-induced combustion always started in the boundary layer. The effects of Mach number, mixture composition, pressure, and turbulence are investigated for various configurations. Two types of combustion processes, one stable and the other unstable, were observed depending on the inflow conditions. In the unstable case, a detonation wave is formed, which propagates upstream and unstarts the ram accelerator. In the stable case, a solution that converges to steady-state is obtained, in which the combustion wave remains stationary with respect to the ram accelerator projectile. The possibility of stabilizing the detonation wave by means of a backward facing step is also investigated. In addition to these studies, two numerical techniques were tested. These two techniques are vector extrapolation to accelerate convergence, and a diagonal formulation that eliminates the expense of inverting large block matrices that arise in chemically reacting flows.

Yungster, Shaye↗
NASA NTRS1991

Hydrodynamic behavior and electrochemical impedance of the Hanging Meniscus Rotating Disk (HMRD) electrode. I - Meniscus shape under rotation. II - I-BIEM calculations of frequency dispersion and minimization

The shape equations for an HMRD in static and rotating configurations are developed and solved numerically. A rationale for the applicability of the standard Levich equations to the rotating case is given. The region of stability of the HMRD is examined, and the observed small negative intercept for a Levich plot is explained. The iterative boundary integral equation method is applied to the problem of frequency dispersion at an HMRD electrode. It is shown that a range of disk sizes and heights can be chosen to give almost uniform primary and secondary current distribution and minimal frequency disperison.

Cahan, Boris D.↗
NASA NTRS1932

Airplane stability in taxying

The stability analysis of an airplane while rolling is much more simplified to the extent that it can be obtained for numerical data which can be put to practical use in the design of landing gear dimensions. Every landing gear type attains to a critical ground friction coefficient that decides the beginning of instability, i.e., nosing over. This study has, in addition, a certain interest for the use of wheel brakes.

Anderlik, E↗
NASA NTRS1994

Acoustic effects of sprays

Since the early 1960's, it has been known that realistic combustion models for liquid fuel rocket engines should contain at least a rudimentary treatment of atomization and spray physics. This is of particular importance in transient operations. It has long been recognized that spray characteristics and droplet vaporization physics play a fundamental role in determining the stability behavior of liquid fuel rocket motors. This paper gives an overview of work in progress on design of a numerical algorithm for practical studies of combustion instabilities in liquid rocket motors. For flexibility, the algorithm is composed of semi-independent solution modules, accounting for different physical processes. Current findings are report and future work is indicated. The main emphasis of this research is the development of an efficient treatment to interactions between acoustic fields and liquid fuel/oxidizer sprays.

Pindera, Maciej Z.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Buckling and postbuckling of composite panels with cutouts subjected to combined edge shear and temperature change

The results of a detailed study of the buckling and postbuckling responses of composite panels with central circular cutouts are presented. The panels are subjected to combined edge shear and temperature change. The panels are discretized by using a two-field degenerate solid element with each of the displacement components having a linear variation throughout the thickness of the panel. The fundamental unknowns consist of the average mechanical strains through the thickness and the displacement components. The effects of geometric nonlinearities and laminated anisotropic material behavior are included. The stability boundary, postbuckling response and the hierarchical sensitivity coefficients are evaluated. The hierarchical sensitivity coefficients measure the sensitivity of the buckling and postbuckling responses to variations in the panel stiffnesses, and the material properties of both the individual layers and the constituents (fibers and matrix). Numerical results are presented for composite panels with central circular cutouts subjected to combined edge shear and temperature change, showing the effects of variations in the hole diameter, laminate stacking sequence and fiber orientation, on the stability boundary and postbuckling response and their sensitivity to changes in the various panel parameters.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Thermocapillary Motion in an Emulsion

The phenomenological model for the motion of an emulsion or a gas-liquid mixture exposed to thermocapillary forces and micro-acceleration is formulated. The analytical and numerical investigation of one-dimensional flows for these media is fulfilled, the structure of discontinuous motion is studied. The stability conditions of a space-uniform state and of the interface between an emulsion and a pure liquid are obtained.

Pukhnachov, Vladislav V.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Application of Chimera Grid Scheme to Combustor Flowfields at all Speeds

A CFD method for solving combustor flowfields at all speeds on complex configurations is presented. The approach is based on the ALLSPD-3D code which uses the compressible formulation of the flow equations including real gas effects, nonequilibrium chemistry and spray combustion. To facilitate the analysis of complex geometries, the chimera grid method is utilized. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of the chimera scheme to reacting flows. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this numerical approach, several benchmark calculations of subsonic flows are presented. These include steady and unsteady flows, and bluff-body stabilized spray and premixed combustion flames.

Yungster, Shaye↗