Summary of Research 1994

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.This report contains 359 summaries of research projects which were carried out under funding of the Naval Postgraduate School Research Program. A list of recent publications is also included which consists of conference presentations and publications, books, contributions to books, published journal papers, and technical reports. The research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Meteorology, National Security Affairs, Oceanography, Operations Research, Physics, and Systems Management. This also includes research by the Command, Control and Communications (C3) Academic Group, Electronic Warfare Academic Group, Space Systems Academic Group, and the Undersea Warfare Academic Group

Proceedings of the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics 2015

This volume contains the full papers accepted for presentation at the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics 2015 held in the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, on June 29 - July 2, 2015. The ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics is an international meeting held once every two years in a European country. Continuing the very successful series of past conferences that have been organized in Lisbon (2003), Madrid (2005), Milan (2007), Warsaw (2009), Brussels (2011) and Zagreb (2013); this edition will once again serve as a meeting point for the international researchers, scientists and experts from academia, research laboratories and industry working in the area of multibody dynamics. Applications are related to many fields of contemporary engineering, such as vehicle and railway systems, aeronautical and space vehicles, robotic manipulators, mechatronic and autonomous systems, smart structures, biomechanical systems and nanotechnologies. The topics of the conference include, but are not restricted to: ● Formulations and Numerical Methods ● Efficient Methods and Real-Time Applications ● Flexible Multibody Dynamics ● Contact Dynamics and Constraints ● Multiphysics and Coupled Problems ● Control and Optimization ● Software Development and Computer Technology ● Aerospace and Maritime Applications ● Biomechanics ● Railroad Vehicle Dynamics ● Road Vehicle Dynamics ● Robotics ● Benchmark ProblemsPostprint (published version

Multibody dynamics 2015

This volume contains the full papers accepted for presentation at the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics 2015 held in the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, on June 29 - July 2, 2015. The ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics is an international meeting held once every two years in a European country. Continuing the very successful series of past conferences that have been organized in Lisbon (2003), Madrid (2005), Milan (2007), Warsaw (2009), Brussels (2011) and Zagreb (2013); this edition will once again serve as a meeting point for the international researchers, scientists and experts from academia, research laboratories and industry working in the area of multibody dynamics. Applications are related to many fields of contemporary engineering, such as vehicle and railway systems, aeronautical and space vehicles, robotic manipulators, mechatronic and autonomous systems, smart structures, biomechanical systems and nanotechnologies. The topics of the conference include, but are not restricted to: Formulations and Numerical Methods, Efficient Methods and Real-Time Applications, Flexible Multibody Dynamics, Contact Dynamics and Constraints, Multiphysics and Coupled Problems, Control and Optimization, Software Development and Computer Technology, Aerospace and Maritime Applications, Biomechanics, Railroad Vehicle Dynamics, Road Vehicle Dynamics, Robotics, Benchmark Problems. The conference is organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona. The organizers would like to thank the authors for submitting their contributions, the keynote lecturers for accepting the invitation and for the quality of their talks, the awards and scientific committees for their support to the organization of the conference, and finally the topic organizers for reviewing all extended abstracts and selecting the awards nominees.Postprint (published version

Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Magnus Force on an Axis-Symmetric, Disk-Type AUV with Symmetric Propulsion

In this paper, the Magnus force induced by a disk-type, spinnable autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), i.e., autonomous underwater helicopter (AUH), was predicted to promote the spinning AUH moving away from a deep-sea region with temporary and shockable ocean current. The simulation technique of the ANSYS-CFX solver based on viscous computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was employed to analyze the hydrodynamic performance of the spinning AUH and its high-speed propellers in uniform flow conditions. The behavior of the spinning AUH in currents can obviously alter the pressure distribution on both sides of the disk-shaped hull form, resulting in a differential pressure force in the horizontal plane, i.e., Magnus force. The simulation results show that this induced force can enable an AUH at 1 knot service speed to successfully move away from a sudden, transient, and/or steady, uniform ocean current region with inflow velocities of 1–2 knots in deep-sea conditions. The Magnus force induced by symmetrically configurated propeller couple force can be more efficient and effective at driving the AUH’s escape from the current spoiler zone than driving the AUH using the two high-revolution propellers directly. A suitable mechanical power energy-saving matching point integrating the AUH and symmetric propulsion was determined to compare the proposed method and two conventional methods for AUH escape from currents. The comparison results prove that the proposed method is effective and efficient. This study provides a significant reference for the interdependent relationship between the effective spinning speed of an AUH, subject to couple force, controlled propeller revolution, AUH speed, and battery capacity, and the range of ocean currents

Spray Flame and Exhaust Jet Characteristics of a Pressurized Swirl Combustor

This work describes an investigation of swirl-stabilized flames, created in a combustor featuring co-annular swirling airflows, under unenclosed, enclosed, and submerged conditions. A centrally-located fuel nozzle, which uses air-assist atomization, creates a methanol fuel spray. This approach provides great control over fuel spray properties in a compact geometry. Factors affecting the structure of the flames, including the effect of the central atomization air jet, are investigated using three-dimensional particle image velocimetry, direct imaging, and phase-Doppler particle analysis techniques. Exhaust jet temperatures are measured. The dynamic events affecting two-phase exhaust jets from the combustor under submerged conditions are examined using high-speed cinematography and sound spectrum analysis. It is found that the structures of the flames examined, which feature low overall equivalence ratios, are closely linked to the features of the air flowfield in the combustor. Swirl numbers of flows emerging from twisted-vane swirl assemblies are characterized. The structure of the flow is affected by the swirl configuration, but does not depend heavily on the Reynolds number. The central atomization air jet (with or without fuel) reshapes the recirculation region in the swirling flow and has a significant, controllable effect on the structure of the airflow and flame. The effect is the same for nonreacting and reacting flows. In one unique case, the central atomization air interacts with the swirling flow to create two recirculation regions and a lifted flame. The lifted flame is more compact than similar non-lifted flames. The twin-fluid atomization approach is shown to provide effective atomization over a wide range of operating conditions. The two-phase interaction of the exhaust jet is found to depend on the pressure drop over the exhaust nozzle. The dynamic behavior of the exhaust jet is buoyancy-driven at low pressure drops, and is affected by complex instability mechanisms at high pressure drops. Strouhal numbers of large-scale unstable events occurring in the two-phase flow are two orders of magnitude smaller than those associated with instabilities in single-phase flows. Evidence is presented, indicating that acoustic pressure waves in the exhaust jet may be involved in the generation of bubbles surrounding exhaust jets at high pressure drops