Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP) fourth annual review, 1989

The Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP) is operated jointly by Case Western Reserve University and the NASA Lewis Research Center. The purpose of ICOMP is to develop techniques to improve problem solving capabilities in all aspects of computational mechanics related to propulsion. The activities at ICOMP during 1989 are described

The treatment of time in distributed simulation

Simulation is one of the most important tools to analyse, design, and operate complex processes and systems. Simulation allows us to make a 'trial and error' in order to understand a system and describe a problem. Therefore, it is of great interest to use simulation easily and practically. The advent of parallel processors and languages help simulation studies. A recent simulation trend is distributed simulation which may be called discrete- event simulation, because distributed simulation has a great potential for the speed-up. This thesis will survey discrete-event simulation and examine one particular algorithm. It will first survey simulation in general and secondly, distributed simulation. Distributed simulation has broadly two mechanisms: conservative and optimistic. The treatment of time in these mechanisms is different, we will look into both mechanisms. Finally, we will examine the conservative mechanism on a network of transputers using Occam. We will conclude with the result of the experiments and the perspective of distributed simulation

Model-Based Robot Control and Multiprocessor Implementation

Model-based control of robot manipulators has been gaining momentum in recent years. Unfortunately there are very few experimental validations to accompany simulation results and as such majority of conclusions drawn lack the credibility associated with the real control implementation

Probabilistic structural mechanics research for parallel processing computers

Aerospace structures and spacecraft are a complex assemblage of structural components that are subjected to a variety of complex, cyclic, and transient loading conditions. Significant modeling uncertainties are present in these structures, in addition to the inherent randomness of material properties and loads. To properly account for these uncertainties in evaluating and assessing the reliability of these components and structures, probabilistic structural mechanics (PSM) procedures must be used. Much research has focused on basic theory development and the development of approximate analytic solution methods in random vibrations and structural reliability. Practical application of PSM methods was hampered by their computationally intense nature. Solution of PSM problems requires repeated analyses of structures that are often large, and exhibit nonlinear and/or dynamic response behavior. These methods are all inherently parallel and ideally suited to implementation on parallel processing computers. New hardware architectures and innovative control software and solution methodologies are needed to make solution of large scale PSM problems practical

Real-time implementation of an adaptive control system for a 3-zone rapid thermal processing station

In this thesis, the implementation details of a real time adaptive control system for a TI 3-zone RTP station, as well as the simulation and the experimental results are presented. Extensive simulation of the system is performed in order to ensure proper operation of the system. The experimental results are used to verify proper operation of the closed loop control system. Initial experiments were conducted using two thermocouples. Further experiments were conducted using one thermocouple for the purpose of testing the performance of the system using Extended Kalman Filter as the state estimator. The implementation of the control system is carried out on an IBM compatible PC hosting a Transputer parallel -processing system. The motivation for utilizing the parallel processing system is to ensure future extensibility of the system. The eventual incorporation of a remote temperature sensing method such as Multi-Wavelength Imaging Pyrometer (M-WIP) will require great deal of computing power from the system. The implementation of the software for the system is also carried out with goal of providing ease of maintenance and extensibility. The implementation of graphical user environment also provides to the user point and click operation of the system as well as real time plotting capability

The Application Of RISC Processors To Training Simulators

Report on a study of the utility of reduced instruction set computer processors as the control computers in a training simulator. Report includes a master\u27s thesis on detailed hardware design for interfacing transputer hardware to the NeXT computer

Domain growth in alloys

This thesis describes Monte-Carlo computer simulations of binary alloys, with comparisons between small angle neutron scattering (SANS) data, and numerically integrated solutions to the Cahn-Hilliard-Cook (CHC) equation. Elementary theories for droplet growth are also compared with computer simulated data. Monte-Carlo dynamical algorithms are investigated in detail, with special regard for universal dynamical times. The computer simulated systems are Fourier transformed to yield partial structure functions which are compared with SANS data for the binary Iron-Chromium system. A relation between real time and simulation time is found. Cluster statistics are measured in the simulated systems, and compared to droplet formation in the Copper-Cobalt system. Some scattering data for the complex steel PE16 is also discussed. The characterisation of domain size and its growth with time are investigated, and scaling laws fitted to real and simulated data. The simple scaling law of Lifshitz and Slyozov is found to be inadequate, and corrections such as those suggested by Huse, are necessary. Scaling behaviour is studied for the low-concentration nucleation regime and the high-concentration spinodal-decomposition regime. The need for multi-scaling is also considered. The effect of noise and fluctuations in the simulations is considered in the MonteCarlo model, a cellular-automaton (CA) model and in the Cahn-Billiard-Cook equation. The Cook noise term in the CHC equation is found to be important for correct growth scaling properties