Publications

Thermal analysts address a wide variety of applications requiring the simulation of radiation heat transfer phenomena. The re are gaps in the currently available modeling capabilities. Addressing these gaps w ould allow for the consideration of additional physics and increase confidence in simulation predictions. This document outlines a five year plan to address the current and future needs of the analyst community with regards to modeling radiation heat tran sfer processes. This plan represents a significant multi - year effort that must be supported on an ongoing basis.

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In many applications, the thermal response of structures exposed to solar heat loads is of interest. Solar mechanics governing equations were developed and integrated with the Calore thermal response code via user subroutines to provide this computational simulation capability. Solar heat loads are estimated based on the latitude and day of the year. Vector algebra is used to determine the solar loading on each face of a finite element model based on its orientation relative to the sun as the earth rotates. Atmospheric attenuation is accounted for as the optical path length varies from sunrise to sunset. Both direct and diffuse components of solar flux are calculated. In addition, shadowing of structures by other structures can be accounted for. User subroutines were also developed to provide convective and radiative boundary conditions for the diurnal variations in air temperature and effective sky temperature. These temperature boundary conditions are based on available local weather data and depend on latitude and day of the year, consistent with the solar mechanics formulation. These user subroutines, coupled with the Calore three-dimensional thermal response code, provide a complete package for addressing complex thermal problems involving solar heating. The governing equations are documented in sufficient detail to facilitate implementation into other heat transfer codes. Suggestions for improvements to the approach are offered.

Sandia National Laboratories, as a Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Agency, has major responsibility to ensure the safety and security needs of nuclear weapons. As such, with an experienced research staff, Sandia maintains a spectrum of modeling and simulation capabilities integrated with experimental and large-scale test capabilities. This expertise and these capabilities offer considerable resources for addressing issues of interest to the space power and propulsion communities. This paper presents Sandia's capability to perform thermal qualification (analysis, test, modeling and simulation) using a representative weapon system as an example demonstrating the potential to support NASA's Lunar Reactor System.

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The efficiency of the design-to-analysis process for translating solid-model-based design data to computational analysis model data plays a central role in the application of computational analysis to engineering design and certification. A review of the literature from within Sandia as well as from industry shows that the design-to-analysis process involves a number of complex organizational and technological issues. This study focuses on the design-to-analysis process from a business process standpoint and is intended to generate discussion regarding this important issue. Observations obtained from Sandia staff member and management interviews suggest that the current Sandia design-to-analysis process is not mature and that this cross-organizational issue requires committed high-level ownership. A key recommendation of the study is that additional resources should be provided to the computer aided design organizations to support design-to-analysis. A robust community of practice is also needed to continuously improve the design-to-analysis process and to provide a corporate perspective.