8,525 research outputs found
Ablative performance of carbon-carbon nosetips in simulated re-entry environments
A summary is presented of ablation performance data for carbon-carbon nosetip models obtained over a range of pressures from 10 to 168 atm. Two classes of tests are reviewed: (1) steady state, in which a constant environment is imposed on the model, and (2) ramp, in which the pressure is increased from 10 to 80 atmospheres to simulate re-entry pressure history. Comparison of arc test parameters with typical reentry vehicle parameters is included, to assess the adequacy of the test simulation. Based on this comparison, recommendations are made for facility developments which would yield improved simulation capability for reentry vehicle nosetip ablative performance
A finite element approach for vector- and tensor-valued surface PDEs
We derive a Cartesian componentwise description of the covariant derivative
of tangential tensor fields of any degree on general manifolds. This allows to
reformulate any vector- and tensor-valued surface PDE in a form suitable to be
solved by established tools for scalar-valued surface PDEs. We consider
piecewise linear Lagrange surface finite elements on triangulated surfaces and
validate the approach by a vector- and a tensor-valued surface Helmholtz
problem on an ellipsoid. We experimentally show optimal (linear) order of
convergence for these problems. The full functionality is demonstrated by
solving a surface Landau-de Gennes problem on the Stanford bunny. All tools
required to apply this approach to other vector- and tensor-valued surface PDEs
are provided
Phase-field simulations of solidification in binary and ternary systems using a finite element method
We present adaptive finite element simulations of dendritic and eutectic
solidification in binary and ternary alloys. The computations are based on a
recently formulated phase-field model that is especially appropriate for
modelling non-isothermal solidification in multicomponent multiphase systems.
In this approach, a set of governing equations for the phase-field variables,
for the concentrations of the alloy components and for the temperature has to
be solved numerically, ensuring local entropy production and the conservation
of mass and inner energy. To efficiently perform numerical simulations, we
developed a numerical scheme to solve the governing equations using a finite
element method on an adaptive non-uniform mesh with highest resolution in the
regions of the phase boundaries. Simulation results of the solidification in
ternary NiCuCr alloys are presented investigating the
influence of the alloy composition on the growth morphology and on the growth
velocity. A morphology diagram is obtained that shows a transition from a
dendritic to a globular structure with increasing Cr concentrations.
Furthermore, we comment on 2D and 3D simulations of binary eutectic phase
transformations. Regular oscillatory growth structures are observed combined
with a topological change of the matrix phase in 3D. An outlook for the
application of our methods to describe AlCu eutectics is given.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, To appear in the proceedings of 14th
"International Conference on Crystal Growth", ICCG-14, 9-13 August 2004
Grenoble Franc
Phase field analysis of eutectic breakdown.
In this paper an isotropic multi-phase-field model is extended to include the effects of anisotropy and the spontaneous nucleation of an absent phase. This model is derived and compared against a published single phase model. Results from this model are compared against results from other multi-phase models, additionally this model is used to examine the break down of a regular two dimensional eutectic into a single phase dendritic front
Nematic liquid crystals on curved surfaces - a thin film limit
We consider a thin film limit of a Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor model. In the
limiting process we observe a continuous transition where the normal and
tangential parts of the Q-tensor decouple and various intrinsic and extrinsic
contributions emerge. Main properties of the thin film model, like uniaxiality
and parameter phase space, are preserved in the limiting process. For the
derived surface Landau-de Gennes model, we consider an L2-gradient flow. The
resulting tensor-valued surface partial differential equation is numerically
solved to demonstrate realizations of the tight coupling of elastic and bulk
free energy with geometric properties.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
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