Kinetic Solvers with Adaptive Mesh in Phase Space

An Adaptive Mesh in Phase Space (AMPS) methodology has been developed for solving multi-dimensional kinetic equations by the discrete velocity method. A Cartesian mesh for both configuration (r) and velocity (v) spaces is produced using a tree of trees data structure. The mesh in r-space is automatically generated around embedded boundaries and dynamically adapted to local solution properties. The mesh in v-space is created on-the-fly for each cell in r-space. Mappings between neighboring v-space trees implemented for the advection operator in configuration space. We have developed new algorithms for solving the full Boltzmann and linear Boltzmann equations with AMPS. Several recent innovations were used to calculate the discrete Boltzmann collision integral with dynamically adaptive mesh in velocity space: importance sampling, multi-point projection method, and the variance reduction method. We have developed an efficient algorithm for calculating the linear Boltzmann collision integral for elastic and inelastic collisions in a Lorentz gas. New AMPS technique has been demonstrated for simulations of hypersonic rarefied gas flows, ion and electron kinetics in weakly ionized plasma, radiation and light particle transport through thin films, and electron streaming in semiconductors. We have shown that AMPS allows minimizing the number of cells in phase space to reduce computational cost and memory usage for solving challenging kinetic problems

Lagrangian simulation of transverse jets with a distribution-based diffusion scheme

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 248-255).Transverse jets form a dominant group of flow fields arising in many applications of modern energy utilization, including propulsion and effluent dispersion. Furthermore, they form canonical examples where the flow field is dominated by large-scale and small-scale vortical structures, whose inter-related dynamics is a challenging subject in modern fluid mechanics. This study seeks a mechanistic understanding of the vortical structures of the transverse jet and their evolution. A set of massively parallel three-dimensional vortex simulations of high-momentum transverse jets at intermediate Reynolds number, utilizing a discrete filament representation of the vorticity field to capture stretching and tilting of vorticity, is performed. A diffusion scheme to treat viscosity at intermediate Reynolds number is formulated and analyzed in a distribution-based description. The implementation of the diffusion scheme is achieved by performing interpolation, which is a process that has been widely used to regularize particle distributions in vortex simulations, with a new set of interpolation kernels. These kernels provide an accurate and efficient way to simulate vorticity diffusion in transverse jets. An improved formulation of the vorticity flux boundary conditions is rigorously derived.(cont.) This formulation includes separation of the wall boundary layer and feedback from the jet to the wall boundary layer, and describes detailed near-field jet structures. The results present the underlying mechanisms by which vortical structures evolve. Transformation of the jet shear layer emanating from the nozzle starts with jet streamwise lift-up of its lee side to form sections of counter-rotating vorticity aligned with the jet trajectory. Periodic rollup of the shear layer, which is similar to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in free shear layers, accompanies this deformation. A sudden breakdown of these coherent structures into dense vortical structures of smaller scales is observed. This breakdown to small-scale structures is due to the interaction of counter-rotating vortices and rolled-up shear layer. With a separated wall boundary layer, strong near-wall counter-rotating vortices are observed. This observation substantiates the importance of including the full interaction between the wall boundary layer and the jet shear layer in the investigation of transverse jet dynamics.by Daehyun Wee.Sc.D

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2018

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 19, 2018 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia. 155 pp

Mathematical Studies of Photochemical Air Pollution

In Part I a new, comprehensive model for a chemically reacting plume, is presented, that accounts for the effects of incomplete turbulent macro- and micro- mixing on chemical reactions between plume and ambient constituents. This "Turbulent Reacting Plume Model" (TRPM) is modular in nature, allowing for the use of different levels of approximation of the phenomena involved. The core of the model consists of the evolution equations for reaction progress variables appropriate for evolving, spatially varying systems ("local phenomenal extent of reaction"). These equations estimate the interaction of mixing and chemical reaction and require input parameters characterizing internal plume behavior, such as relative dispersion and fine scale plume segregation. The model addresses deficiencies in previous reactive plume models. Calculations performed with the TRPM are compared with the experimental data of P.J.H. Builtjes for the reaction between NO in a point source plume and ambient O3, taking place in a wind tunnel simulating a neutral atmospheric boundary layer. The comparison shows the TRPM capable of quantitatively predicting the retardation imposed on the evolution of nonlinear plume chemistry by incomplete mixing. Part IA (Chapters 1 to 3) contains a detailed description of the TRPM structure and comparisons of calculations with measurements, as well as a literature survey of reactive plume models. Part IB (Chapters 4 to 7) contains studies on the turbulent dispersion and reaction phenomena and plume dynamics, thus exposing in detail the underlying concepts and methods relevant to turbulent reactive plume modeling. New formulations for describing in-plume phenomena, such as the "Localized Production of Fluctuations Model" for the calculation of the plume concentration variance are included here. Part II (Chapter 8) presents a collection of distribution-based statistical methods that are appropriate for characterizing extreme events in air pollution studies. Applications to the evaluation of air quality standards, formulation of rollback calculations, and to the use of plume models are included here.</p

Working Notes from the 1992 AAAI Workshop on Automating Software Design. Theme: Domain Specific Software Design

The goal of this workshop is to identify different architectural approaches to building domain-specific software design systems and to explore issues unique to domain-specific (vs. general-purpose) software design. Some general issues that cut across the particular software design domain include: (1) knowledge representation, acquisition, and maintenance; (2) specialized software design techniques; and (3) user interaction and user interface

Electromagnetic Waves

This book is dedicated to various aspects of electromagnetic wave theory and its applications in science and technology. The covered topics include the fundamental physics of electromagnetic waves, theory of electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering, methods of computational analysis, material characterization, electromagnetic properties of plasma, analysis and applications of periodic structures and waveguide components, and finally, the biological effects and medical applications of electromagnetic fields

At war with women military humanitarianism and imperial feminism in an era of permanent war

This book provides an analysis of US imperialism that keeps the present in tension with the past, clarifying where colonial ideologies of race, gender, and sexuality have resurfaced and how they are changing today