Dynamic modeling and simulation of deploying process for space solar power satellite receiver

To reveal some dynamic properties of the deploying process for the solar power satellite via an arbitrarily large phased array (SPS-ALPHA) solar receiver, the symplectic Runge-Kuttamethod is used to simulate the simplified model with the consideration of the Rayleigh damping effect. The system containing the Rayleigh damping can be separated and transformed into the equivalent nondamping system formally to insure the application condition of the symplectic Runge-Kutta method©First, the Lagrange equation with the Rayleigh damping governing the motion of the system is derived via the variational principle. Then, with some reasonable assumptions on the relations among the damping, mass, and stiffness matrices, the Rayleigh damping system is equivalently converted into the nondamping system formally, so that the symplectic Runge-Kutta method can be used to simulate the deploying process for the solar receiver. Finally, some numerical results of the symplectic Runge-Kutta method for the dynamic properties of the solar receiver are reported. The numerical results show that the proposed simplified model is valid for the deploying process for the SPS-ALPHA solar receiver, and the symplectic Runge-Kutta method can preserve the displacement constraints of the system well with excellent long-time numerical stability.     

A spectral projection method for the analysis of autocorrelation functions and projection errors in discrete particle simulation

Discrete particle simulation is a well‐established tool for the simulation of particles and droplets suspended in turbulent flows of academic and industrial applications. The study of some properties such as the preferential concentration of inertial particles in regions of high shear and low vorticity requires the computation of autocorrelation functions. This can be a tedious task as the discrete point particles need to be projected in some manner to obtain the continuous autocorrelation functions. Projection of particle properties on to a computational grid, for instance, the grid of the carrier phase, is furthermore an issue when quantities such as particle concentrations are to be computed or source terms between the carrier phase and the particles are exchanged. The errors committed by commonly used projection methods are often unknown and are difficult to analyse. Grid and sampling size limit the possibilities in terms of precision per computational cost. Here, we present a spectral projection method that is not affected by sampling issues and addresses all of the above issues. The technique is only limited by computational resources and is easy to parallelize. The only visible drawback is the limitation to simple geometries and therefore limited to academic applications. The spectral projection method consists of a discrete Fourier‐transform of the particle locations. The Fourier‐transformed particle number density and momentum fields can then be used to compute the autocorrelation functions and the continuous physical space fields for the evaluation of the projection methods error. The number of Fourier components used to discretize the projector kernel can be chosen such that the corresponding characteristic length scale is as small as needed. This allows to study the phenomena of particle motion, for example, in a region of preferential concentration that may be smaller than the cell size of the carrier phase grid. The precision of the spectral projection method depends, therefore, only on the number of Fourier modes considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theory and a simulation capability for the growth of a solid electrolyte interphase layer at an anode particle in a Li-ion battery

A major mechanism for electrochemical aging of Li-ion batteries is the growth of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the surface of anode particles, which leads to capacity fade and also results in a rise in cell resistance. We have formulated a continuum theory for the growth of an SEI layer—a theory which accounts for the generation of the attendant growth stresses. The theory has been numerically implemented in a finite-element program. This simulation capability for SEI growth is coupled with our previously published chemo-mechanical simulation capability for intercalation of Li-ions in electrode particles. Using this new combined capability we have simulated the formation and growth of an SEI layer during cyclic lithiation and delithiation of an anode particle, and predicted the evolution of the growth stresses in the SEI layer. The evolution of the stress state within the SEI layer and at the SEI/anode-particle interface for spherical- and spheroidal-shaped graphite particles is studied. This knowledge of the local interfacial stresses provides a good estimate for the propensity of potential delamination of an SEI layer from an anode particle.