Geometry definition and grid generation for a complete fighter aircraft

Recent advances in computing power and numerical solution procedures have enabled computational fluid dynamicists to attempt increasingly difficult problems. In particular, efforts are focusing on computations of complex three-dimensional flow fields about realistic aerodynamic bodies. To perform such computations, a very accurate and detailed description of the surface geometry must be provided, and a three-dimensional grid must be generated in the space around the body. The geometry must be supplied in a format compatible with the grid generation requirements, and must be verified to be free of inconsistencies. This paper presents a procedure for performing the geometry definition of a fighter aircraft that makes use of a commercial computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing system. Furthermore, visual representations of the geometry are generated using a computer graphics system for verification of the body definition. Finally, the three-dimensional grids for fighter-like aircraft are generated by means of an efficient new parabolic grid generation method. This method exhibits good control of grid quality

Enhancing Design Features of Asymmetric Spur Gears Operating on a Specified Center Distance Using Tooth Sum Altered Gear Geometry

Asymmetric gears have evolved from the rising demand for power transmission drives with high load-carrying capacity, surface durability, and service life. Direct design and S± profile shifted system are the most common approaches used for enhancing design features by geometry modification in asymmetric gears. This paper aims at establishing asymmetric gear geometry modification using tooth sum alteration for a family of gears running on a specified center distance as a feasible design approach. A complete mathematical treatment of the design approach is provided, and an in-house developed computer program is used for numerical simulation. The paper explores the influence of dynamic load factors, location factors for bending, specific sliding on load-bearing capacity, and surface durability on different tooth sum alterations. The study concludes that tooth sum altered asymmetric gear geometry can be employed as an effective design technique that offers designers flexibility in designing gears for surface wear, load-bearing, and tooth life

The use of computer-generated color graphic images for transient thermal analysis

Color computer graphics techniques were investigated as a means of rapidly scanning and interpreting large sets of transient heating data. The data presented were generated to support the conceptual design of a heat-sink thermal protection system (TPS) for a hypersonic research airplane. Color-coded vector and raster displays of the numerical geometry used in the heating calculations were employed to analyze skin thicknesses and surface temperatures of the heat-sink TPS under a variety of trajectory flight profiles. Both vector and raster displays proved to be effective means for rapidly identifying heat-sink mass concentrations, regions of high heating, and potentially adverse thermal gradients. The color-coded (raster) surface displays are a very efficient means for displaying surface-temperature and heating histories, and thereby the more stringent design requirements can quickly be identified. The related hardware and software developments required to implement both the vector and the raster displays for this application are also discussed

CAD/CAM DESIGN AND GENETIC OPTIMIZATION OF FEEDERS FOR SAND CASTING PROCESS

The paper proposes methodology of feeder design and optimization for sand casting process. Casting part is a part of excavator buckets, i.e. holder of the cutting tooth. Process of design and optimization is based on the application of the rules, which are the result of many years of work researchers in the field of metal casting. Computer Aided Design (CAD) is used as a methodology in the design of feeders. Genetic Algorithm (GA) as an artificial intelligence technique is used in the optimization process of the feeder geometry. Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) is used as methodology that involves numerical simulation of the casting process. Numerical simulation is used to verify the validity of the optimized geometry of the feeding system

Parallel computing aided design of earthing systems for electrical substations in non-homogeneous soil models

An accurate design of grounding systems is essential to assure the safety of the persons, to protect the equipment and to avoid interruptions in the power supply. In order to attain these targets, it is necessary to compute the equivalent electrical resistance of the system and the potential distribution on the earth surface in fault conditions. In this paper, a numerical approach for grounding analysis embedded in stratified soils and its implementation in a high-performance parallel computer are presented. The feasibility of this system is shown with its application to the grounding analysis in layered soils by using the geometry of real grounding grids

On the Polyak momentum variants of the greedy deterministic single and multiple row-action methods

For solving a consistent system of linear equations, the classical row-action (also known as Kaczmarz) method is a simple while really effective iteration solver. Based on the greedy index selection strategy and Polyak's heavy-ball momentum acceleration technique, we propose two deterministic row-action methods and establish the corresponding convergence theory. We show that our algorithm can linearly converge to a least-squares solution with minimum Euclidean norm. Several numerical studies have been presented to corroborate our theoretical findings. Real-world applications, such as data fitting in computer-aided geometry design, are also presented for illustrative purposes

Commercialization of NESSUS: Status

A plan was initiated in 1988 to commercialize the Numerical Evaluation of Stochastic Structures Under Stress (NESSUS) probabilistic structural analysis software. The goal of the on-going commercialization effort is to begin the transfer of Probabilistic Structural Analysis Method (PSAM) developed technology into industry and to develop additional funding resources in the general area of structural reliability. The commercialization effort is summarized. The SwRI NESSUS Software System is a general purpose probabilistic finite element computer program using state of the art methods for predicting stochastic structural response due to random loads, material properties, part geometry, and boundary conditions. NESSUS can be used to assess structural reliability, to compute probability of failure, to rank the input random variables by importance, and to provide a more cost effective design than traditional methods. The goal is to develop a general probabilistic structural analysis methodology to assist in the certification of critical components in the next generation Space Shuttle Main Engine

Development of the PC-based Integrated Interface System of STEP file for CNC Machining Application: Circular Features

STEP is a general data format that observes the international standard ISO 10303-21. STEP means Standard for the Exchange of Product model data. It consists of the 3D geometry of a computer-aided design (CAD) model in the configuration of boundary representation (B-rep). By extracting, refining and decoding the geometric data correctly, the data can be utilized for writing G-code for Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining application.  Usually G-codes can either be manually generated by skilled machinists or automatically generated by computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. However, manually generated G-code is inefficient and susceptible to error. Meanwhile automated generation G-code requires significant setup cost. This paper describes the design and development of an integrated interface system, an instrument aimed to be used to analyze STEP files and generate machining tool path based on ISO 6983 format. This developed interface reduces the need for high setup cost as well as eliminates human limitations. The interface at present is able of detecting circular machining features on the workpiece. Circular machining features are created by 3D modelling software and retained as STEP file. The STEP file which contains geometrical data is then uploaded to the interface system as an input file which is structurally analyzed and processed.  Finally, the ideal machining tool path in the G Code format is proposed and generated. By bypassing the CAM software and its proprietary post processor, the outcome of this research is important to enhance compatibility between different CNC machine system

Modernizing PHCpack through phcpy

PHCpack is a large software package for solving systems of polynomial equations. The executable phc is menu driven and file oriented. This paper describes the development of phcpy, a Python interface to PHCpack. Instead of navigating through menus, users of phcpy solve systems in the Python shell or via scripts. Persistent objects replace intermediate files.Comment: Part of the Proceedings of the 6th European Conference on Python in Science (EuroSciPy 2013), Pierre de Buyl and Nelle Varoquaux editors, (2014