Nonlinear analysis of spacecraft thermal models

We study the differential equations of lumped-parameter models of spacecraft thermal control. Firstly, we consider a satellite model consisting of two isothermal parts (nodes): an outer part that absorbs heat from the environment as radiation of various types and radiates heat as a black-body, and an inner part that just dissipates heat at a constant rate. The resulting system of two nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the satellite's temperatures is analyzed with various methods, which prove that the temperatures approach a steady state if the heat input is constant, whereas they approach a limit cycle if it varies periodically. Secondly, we generalize those methods to study a many-node thermal model of a spacecraft: this model also has a stable steady state under constant heat inputs that becomes a limit cycle if the inputs vary periodically. Finally, we propose new numerical analyses of spacecraft thermal models based on our results, to complement the analyses normally carried out with commercial software packages.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figure

Modeling partially coupled objects with smooth particle hydrodynamics

A very simple phenomenological model is presented to model objects that are partially coupled (i.e. welded or bonded) where usually the coupled interface is weaker than the bulk material. The model works by letting objects fully interact in compression and having the objects only partially interact in tension. A disconnect factor is provided to adjust the tensile interaction to simulate coupling strengths. Three cases of an example impact calculation are shown-no coupling, full coupling and partial coupling

Experimental and computational studies of rod-deployment mechanisms

We describe experimental measurements and hydrocode simulations of two tests in which long (L/D=12), steel rods were accelerated laterally with charges of Detasheet-C high explosive (HE). In each test configuration, 84 rods were initially aligned parallel to one another in an array of four concentric rings. The first test had a central core of HE that dispersed the rods isotropically. The second test had a narrow, 180 degree strip of HE on one side of the assembly that focused the rods directionally. Using radiographic data taken at several milliseconds after HE initiation, we measured the dynamic distributions of the rods, and their translational velocities and tumble rates. To compare with the data, we also modeled the experiments with our smooth particle hydrocode SPHINX. Within the context of our numerical model, the hydrocode results agree satisfactorily with the test data. We include in our discussion many of the inferences and insights that our results provide to the phenomenology and performance of multimode, rod-deployment mechanisms

A distributed particle simulation code in C++

Although C++ has been successfully used in a variety of computer science applications, it has just recently begun to be used in scientific applications. We have found that the object-oriented properties of C++ lend themselves well to scientific computations by making maintenance of the code easier, by making the code easier to understand, and by providing a better paradigm for distributed memory parallel codes. We describe here aspects of developing a particle plasma simulation code using object-oriented techniques for use in a distributed computing environment. We initially designed and implemented the code for serial computation and then used the distributed programming toolkit ISIS to run it in parallel. In this connection we describe some of the difficulties presented by using C++ for doing parallel and scientific computation