496 research outputs found

    Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP)

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    The Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP) is a combined activity of Case Western Reserve University, Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) and NASA Lewis. 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 1991 are described

    Anisotropic Fast-Marching on cartesian grids using Lattice Basis Reduction

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    We introduce a modification of the Fast Marching Algorithm, which solves the generalized eikonal equation associated to an arbitrary continuous riemannian metric, on a two or three dimensional domain. The algorithm has a logarithmic complexity in the maximum anisotropy ratio of the riemannian metric, which allows to handle extreme anisotropies for a reduced numerical cost. We prove the consistence of the algorithm, and illustrate its efficiency by numerical experiments. The algorithm relies on the computation at each grid point of a special system of coordinates: a reduced basis of the cartesian grid, with respect to the symmetric positive definite matrix encoding the desired anisotropy at this point.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figure

    PyFrac: A planar 3D hydraulic fracture simulator

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    Fluid driven fractures propagate in the upper earth crust either naturally or in response to engineered fluid injections. The quantitative prediction of their evolution is critical in order to better understand their dynamics as well as to optimize their creation. We present a Python implementation of an open-source hydraulic fracture propagation simulator based on the implicit level set algorithm originally developed by Peirce & Detournay (2008) -- "An implicit level set method for modeling hydraulically driven fractures". Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engng, (33-40):2858--2885. This algorithm couples a finite discretization of the fracture with the use of the near tip asymptotic solutions of a steadily propagating semi-infinite hydraulic fracture. This allows to resolve the multi-scale processes governing hydraulic fracture growth accurately, even with relatively coarse meshes. We present an overview of the mathematical formulation, the numerical scheme and the details of our implementation. A series of problems including a radial hydraulic fracture verification benchmark, the propagation of a height contained hydraulic fracture, the lateral spreading of a magmatic dyke and the handling of fracture closure are presented to demonstrate the capabilities, accuracy and robustness of the implemented algorithm

    Small-scale anisotropy induced by spectral forcing and by rotation in non-helical and helical turbulence

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    We study the effect of large-scale spectral forcing on the scale-dependent anisotropy of the velocity field in direct numerical simulations of homogeneous incompressible turbulence. Two forcing methods are considered: the steady ABC single wavenumber scheme and the unsteady non-helical or helical Euler scheme. The results are also compared with high resolution data obtained with the negative viscosity scheme. A fine-grained characterization of anisotropy, consisting in measuring some quantities related to the two-point velocity correlations, is used: we perform a modal decomposition of the spectral velocity tensor into energy, helicity and polarization spectra. Moreover, we include the explicit dependence of these three spectra on the wavevector direction. The conditions that allow anisotropy to develop in the small scales due to forcing alone are clearly identified. It is shown that, in turbulent flows expected to be isotropic, the ABC forcing yields significant energy and helicity directional anisotropy down to the smallest resolved scales, like the helical Euler scheme when an unfavourable forcing scale is used. The direction-and scale-dependent anisotropy is then studied in rotating turbulence. It is first shown that, in the ABC-forced simulations the slope of the energy spectrum is altered and the level of anisotropy is similar to that obtained at lower Rossby number in Euler-forced runs, a result due both to the nature of the forcing itself and to the fact that it allows an inverse cascade to develop. Second, we show that, even at low rotation rate, the natural anisotropy induced by the Coriolis force is visible at all scales. Finally, we identify two different wavenumber ranges in which anisotropy behaves differently, and show that if the Rossby number is not too low the characteristic lenghscale separating them is the one at which rotation and dissipation effects balance

    Problems in cosmology and numerical relativity

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    Includes bibliographical references.A generic feature of most inflationary scenarios is the generation of primordial perturbations. Ordinarily, such perturbations can interact with a weak magnetic field in a plasma, resulting in a wide range of phenomena, such as the parametric excitation of plasma waves by gravitational waves. This mechanism has been studied in different contexts in the literature, such as the possibility of indirect detection of gravitational waves through electromagnetic signatures of the interaction. In this work, we consider this concept in the particular case of magnetic field amplification. Specifically, we use non-linear gauge-in variant perturbation theory to study the interaction of a primordial seed magnetic field with density and gravitational wave perturbations in an almost Friedmann-Lemaıtre-Robertson- Walker (FLRW) spacetime with zero spatial curvature. We compare the effects of this coupling under the assumptions of poor conductivity, perfect conductivity and the case where the electric field is sourced via the coupling of velocity perturbations to the seed field in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) regime, thus generalizing, improving on and correcting previous results. We solve our equations for long wavelength limits and numerically integrate the resulting equations to generate power spectra for the electromagnetic field variables, showing where the modes cross the horizon. We find that the interaction can seed Electric fields with non-zero curl and that the curl of the electric field dominates the power spectrum on small scales, in agreement with previous arguments. The second focus area of the thesis is the development a stable high order mesh refinement scheme for the solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations. It has now become customary in the field of numerical relativity to couple high order finite difference schemes to mesh refinement algorithms. This approach combines the efficiency of local mesh refinement with the robustness and accuracy of higher order methods. To this end, different modifications of the standard Berger-Oliger adaptive mesh refinement a logarithm have been proposed. In this work we present a new fourth order convergent mesh refinement scheme with sub- cycling in time for numerical relativity applications. One of the distinctive features of our algorithm is that we do not use buffer zones to deal with refinement boundaries, as is currently done in the literature, but explicitly specify boundary data for refined grids instead. We argue that the incompatibility of the standard mesh refinement algorithm with higher order Runge Kutta methods is a manifestation of order reduction phenomena which is caused by inconsistent application of boundary data in the refined grids. Indeed, a peculiar feature of high order explicit Runge Kutta schemes is that they behave like low order schemes when applied to hyperbolic problems with time dependent Dirichlet boundary conditions. We present a new algorithm to deal with this phenomenon and through a series of examples demonstrate fourth order convergence. Our scheme also addresses the problem of spurious reflections that are generated when propagating waves cross mesh refinement boundaries. We introduce a transition zone on refined levels within which the phase velocity of propagating modes is allowed to decelerate in order to smoothly match the phase velocity of coarser grids. We apply the method to test problems involving propagating waves and show a significant reduction in spurious reflections

    Efficient computation of seismic traveltimes in anisotropic media and the application in pre-stack depth migration

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    This study is concerned with the computation of seismic first-arrival traveltimes in anisotropic media using finite difference eikonal methods. For this purpose, different numerical schemes that directly solve the eikonal equation are implemented and assessed numerically. Subsequently, they are used for pre-stack depth migration on synthetic and field data. The thesis starts with a detailed examination of different finite difference methods that have gained popularity in scientific literature for computing seismic traveltimes in isotropic media. The most appropriate for an extension towards anisotropic media are found to be the so-called Fast Marching/Sweeping methods. Both schemes rely on different iteration strategies, but incorporate the same upwind finite difference Godunov schemes that are implemented up to the second order. As a result, the derived methods exhibit high numerical accuracy and perform robustly even in highly contrasted velocity models. Subsequently, the methods are adapted for transversely isotropic media with vertical (VTI) and tilted (TTI) symmetry axes, respectively. Therefore, two different formulations for approximating the anisotropic phase velocities are tested, which are the weakly-anisotropic and the pseudo-acoustic approximation. As expected, the pseudo-acoustic formulation shows superior accuracy especially for strongly anisotropic media. Moreover, it turns out that the tested eikonal schemes are generally more accurate than anisotropic ray tracing approaches, since they do not require an approximation of the group velocity. Numerical experiments are carried out on homogeneous models with varying strengths of anisotropy and the industrial BP 2007 benchmark model. They show that the computed eikonal traveltimes are in good agreement with independent results from finite difference modelling of the isotropic and anisotropic elastic wave equations, and traveltimes estimated by ray-based wavefront construction, respectively. The computational performance of the TI eikonal schemes is largely increased compared to their original isotropic implementations, which is due to the algebraic complexity of the anisotropic phase velocity formulations. At this point, the Fast Marching Method is found to be more efficient on models containing up to 50 million grid points. For larger models, the anisotropic Fast Sweeping implementation gradually becomes advantageous. Here, both techniques perform independently well of the structural complexity of the underlying velocity model. The final step of this thesis is the application of the developed eikonal schemes in pre-stack depth migration. A synthetic experiment over a VTI/TTI layer-cake model demonstrates that the traveltime computation leads to accurate imaging results including a tilted, strongly anisotropic shale layer. The experiment shows further that the estimation of anisotropic velocity models solely from surface reflection data is highly ambiguous. In a second example, the eikonal solvers are applied for depth imaging of two-dimensional field data that were acquired for geothermal exploration in southern Tuscany, Italy. The developed methods also produce clear imaging results in this setting, which illustrates their general applicability for pre-stack depth imaging, particularly in challenging environments

    Decay of swirl in turbulent pipe flows

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    Center for Modeling of Turbulence and Transition (CMOTT). Research briefs: 1990

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    Brief progress reports of the Center for Modeling of Turbulence and Transition (CMOTT) research staff from May 1990 to May 1991 are given. The objectives of the CMOTT are to develop, validate, and implement the models for turbulence and boundary layer transition in the practical engineering flows. The flows of interest are three dimensional, incompressible, and compressible flows with chemistry. The schemes being studied include the two-equation and algebraic Reynolds stress models, the full Reynolds stress (or second moment closure) models, the probability density function models, the Renormalization Group Theory (RNG) and Interaction Approximation (DIA), the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS)
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