50,996 research outputs found
A preliminary study of composite orbiter/ lander missions to satellites of the outer planets
Objectives and payload requirements for composite orbiter/lander missions to satellites of outer planet
Preliminary feasibility study of soft-lander missions to the Galilean satellites of Jupiter
Feasibility study of soft lander missions to Galilean satellites of Jupite
Computer program for solving compressible nonsimilar-boundary-layer equations for laminar, transitional, or turbulent flows of a perfect gas
A computer program is described which solves the compressible laminar, transitional, or turbulent boundary-layer equations for planar or axisymmetric flows. Three-point implicit difference relations are used to reduce the momentum and energy equations to finite-difference form. These equations are solved simultaneously without iteration. Turbulent flow is treated by the inclusion of either a two-layer eddy-viscosity model or a mixing-length formulation. The eddy conductivity is related to the eddy viscosity through a static turbulent Prandtl number which may be an arbitrary function of the distance from the wall boundary. The transitional boundary layer is treated by the inclusion of an intermittency function which modifies the fully turbulent model. The laminar-boundary-layer equations are recovered when the intermittency is zero, and the fully turbulent equations are solved when the intermittency is unity
Complementary approaches to the ab initio calculation of melting properties
Several research groups have recently reported {\em ab initio} calculations
of the melting properties of metals based on density functional theory, but
there have been unexpectedly large disagreements between results obtained by
different approaches. We analyze the relations between the two main approaches,
based on calculation of the free energies of solid and liquid and on direct
simulation of the two coexisting phases. Although both approaches rely on the
use of classical reference systems consisting of parameterized empirical
interaction models, we point out that in the free energy approach the final
results are independent of the reference system, whereas in the current form of
the coexistence approach they depend on it. We present a scheme for correcting
the predictions of the coexistence approach for differences between the
reference and {\em ab initio} systems. To illustrate the practical operation of
the scheme, we present calculations of the high-pressure melting properties of
iron using the corrected coexistence approach, which agree closely with earlier
results from the free energy approach. A quantitative assessment is also given
of finite-size errors, which we show can be reduced to a negligible size.Comment: 14 pages, two figure
Adaptive computational methods for aerothermal heating analysis
The development of adaptive gridding techniques for finite-element analysis of fluid dynamics equations is described. The developmental work was done with the Euler equations with concentration on shock and inviscid flow field capturing. Ultimately this methodology is to be applied to a viscous analysis for the purpose of predicting accurate aerothermal loads on complex shapes subjected to high speed flow environments. The development of local error estimate strategies as a basis for refinement strategies is discussed, as well as the refinement strategies themselves. The application of the strategies to triangular elements and a finite-element flux-corrected-transport numerical scheme are presented. The implementation of these strategies in the GIM/PAGE code for 2-D and 3-D applications is documented and demonstrated
Ab-initio chemical potentials of solid and liquid solutions and the chemistry of the Earth's core
A general set of methods is presented for calculating chemical potentials in
solid and liquid mixtures using {\em ab initio} techniques based on density
functional theory (DFT). The methods are designed to give an {\em ab initio}
approach to treating chemical equilibrium between coexisting solid and liquid
solutions, and particularly the partitioning ratio of solutes between such
solutions. For the liquid phase, the methods are based on the general technique
of thermodynamic integration, applied to calculate the change of free energy
associated with the continuous interconversion of solvent and solute atoms, the
required thermal averages being computed by DFT molecular dynamics simulation.
For the solid phase, free energies and hence chemical potentials are obtained
using DFT calculation of vibrational frequencies of systems containing
substitutional solute atoms, with anharmonic contributions calculated, where
needed, by thermodynamic integration. The practical use of the methods is
illustrated by applying them to study chemical equilibrium between the outer
liquid and inner solid parts of the Earth's core, modelled as solutions of S,
Si and O in Fe. The calculations place strong constraints on the chemical
composition of the core, and allow an estimate of the temperature at the
inner-core/outer-core boundary.Comment: 19 pages, two figure
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