Spectral decomposition in advection-diffusion analysis by finite element methods

In a recent study of the convergence properties of finite element methods in nonlinear fluid mechanics, an indirect approach was taken. A two-dimensional example with a known exact solution was chosen as the vehicle for the study, and various mesh refinements were tested in an attempt to extract information on the effect of the local Reynolds number. However, more direct approaches are usually preferred. In this study one such direct approach is followed, based upon the spectral decomposition of the solution operator. Spectral decomposition is widely employed as a solution technique for linear structural dynamics problems and can be applied readily to linear, transient heat transfer analysis; in this case, the extension to nonlinear problems is of interest. It was shown previously that spectral techniques were applicable to stiff systems of rate equations, while recent studies of geometrically and materially nonlinear structural dynamics have demonstrated the increased information content of the numerical results. The use of spectral decomposition in nonlinear problems of heat and mass transfer would be expected to yield equally increased flow of information to the analyst, and this information could include a quantitative comparison of various solution strategies, meshes, and element hierarchies

Pension reform, the stock market, capital formation and economic growth: a critical commentary on the World Bank's proposals

Abstract Proposing far-reaching reforms to the pension systems, the World Bank has recently suggested that the existing pay-as-you-go pension systems in many rich as well as poor countries, should be replaced by fully funded, mandatory, preferably private pensions, as the main pillars of the new system. It argues that these reforms will not only benefit the pensioners, but also enhance savings, promote capital formation and economic development. This paper provides a critical examination of the Bank's theses and concludes that it has adopted a one-sided view of the relationships between the key critical variables. The proposed reform may therefore neither protect the old nor achieve faster economic growth

Fluid-structure interaction in BWR suppression pool systems. Final report. [PELE-IC code]

The discharge of safety relief valves or a severe loss-of-coolant event in a boiling-water-cooled reactor steam supply system triggers a complex pressure suppression system that is based upon sub-surface steam condensation in large pools of water. The physical problems fall into two categories. The first is referred to as vent clearing and describes the process of expelling non-condensables from the system prior to steam flow. The second category covers a variety of phenomena related to the transient overexpansion of a condensable volume and the subsequent inertially-driven volume decrease. The dynamic loading of either event, depending upon fluid-structural design parameters, can be of concern in safety analysis. This report describes the development of a method for calculating the loads and the structural response for both types of problems. The method is embedded in a computer code, called PELE-IC, that couples a two-dimensional, incompressible eulerian fluid algorithm to a finite element shell algorithm. The fluid physics is based upon the SOLA algorithm, which provideds a trial velocity field using the Navier-Stokes equations that is subsequently corrected iteratively so that incompressibility, fluid-structure interface compatibility, and boundary conditions are satisfied. These fluid and fluid-structure algorithms have been extensively verified through calculations of known solutions from the classical literature, and by comparison to air and steam blowdown experiments

Retrievable storage concept designs. Final report

Three tasks related to the reference design of retrievable storage canisters for radioactive waste have been completed. The three tasks consist of the reference design itself, the definition of failure modes most appropriate for structural integrity determinations for the reference canister, and the development of a failure methodology for the structural integrity of the containers. The reference design is a sealed storage canister concept based upon the waste isolation pilot plant (WIPP) design, with slight modifications. The modifications consist of an alternate lifting yoke arrangement for the top head and a revised bottom head design for absorption of impact energy. Welded closures provide the seal at each end. Overpacking is considered as a possibility, but is not included in the preliminary reference design. The four failure modes that are deemed the most appropriate for the design of the reference canister are: (i) a loss of functional capability; (ii) ductile rupture of the canister; (iii) buckling of the structural members; and (iv) stress corrosion cracking. Failure scenarios are provided for each of the relevant failure modes. In addition, a failure methodology based upon the distribution of demand and the distribution of capacity for the structural members, with respect to each failure mode, is proffered

3. 6 simplified methods for design

Simplified design analysis methods for elevated temperature construction are classified and reviewed. Because the major impetus for developing elevated temperature design methodology during the past ten years has been the LMFBR program, considerable emphasis is placed upon results from this source. The operating characteristics of the LMFBR are such that cycles of severe transient thermal stresses can be interspersed with normal elevated temperature operational periods of significant duration, leading to a combination of plastic and creep deformation. The various simplified methods are organized into two general categories, depending upon whether it is the material, or constitutive, model that is reduced, or the geometric modeling that is simplified. Because the elastic representation of material behavior is so prevalent, an entire section is devoted to elastic analysis methods. Finally, the validation of the simplified procedures is discussed

Nonlinear stress analysis of vertical-axis wind turbine blades

Non

Effects of brine migration on waste storage systems. Final report. [Thermomechanical effects]

Processes which can lead to mobilization of brine adjacent to spent fuel or nuclear waste canisters and some of the thermomechanical consequences have been investigated. Velocities as high as 4 x 10/sup -7/ m s/sup -1/ (13 m y/sup -1/) are calculated at the salt/canister boundary. As much as 40 liters of pure NaCl brine could accumulate around each canister during a 10-year storage period. Accumulations of bittern brines would probably be less, in the range of 2 to 5 liters. With 0.5% water, NaCl brine accumulation over a 10-year storage cycle around a spent fuel canister producing 0.6 kW of heat is expected to be less than 1 liter for centimeter-size inclusions and less than 0.5 liter for millimeter-size inclusions. For bittern brines, about 25 years would be required to accumulate 0.4 liter. The most serious mechanical consequence of brine migration would be the increased mobility of the waste canister due to pressure solution. In pressure solution enhanced deformation, the existence of a thin film of fluid either between grains or between media (such as between a canister and the salt) provides a pathway by which the salt can be redistributed leading to a marked increase in strain rates in wet rock relative to dry rock. In salt, intergranular water will probably form discontinuous layers rather than films so that they would dominate pressure solution. A mathematical model of pressure solution indicates that pressure solution will not lead to appreciable canister motions except possibly in fine grained rocks (less than 10/sup -4/ m). In fine grained salts, details of the contact surface between the canister and the salt bed may lead to large pressure solution motions. A numerical model indicates that heat transfer in the brine layer surrounding a spent fuel canister is not conduction dominated but has a significant convective component