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SOFTWARE CATALOG
Aeronautics
Air Traffic Management Tools, Modeling and Simulation Tools
LAR-18774-1
MVL-15 (Modified Vortex Lattice)
MVL-15 is a Modified Vortex-Lattice (MVL) aerodynamics analysis code. The term modified refers to the primary modification of the core vortex-lattice methodology: the incorporation and assignment of viscous aerodynamics data associated with the wing section geometry to the inviscid vortex-lattice solution via iterative computational procedures. The strategy essentially converts an inviscid and purely analytic linearized method to a semi-empirical blend which retains the rapid execution speed of the linearized method while empirically characterizing the viscous aerodynamics at all spanwise lattice points. For the analysis of airplane configurations consisting of more than one wing, the resulting spanwise section aerodynamics can be integrated to determine the aerodynamics of each wing, both separately and combined. As implemented, the methodology inherently provides the capability to determine the non-linear viscous effects on lift and drag at relatively high angles of attack, to identify the maximum lift coefficient, and to characterize the onset of stall. Furthermore, the methodology provides the capability to determine the lift and drag associated with the application of aircraft design strategies for lift augmentation such as the use of flaps or blowing. The MVL-15 code is applicable to the analysis of aircraft in cruise configurations; however, it is most advantageously applied to the analysis of aircraft in various high-lift configurations.
U.S. Release Only
ARC-18184-1
RCOTOOLS - Rotorcraft Optimization Tools
RCOTOOLS provides utilities and application wrappers for the conceptual design of rotorcraft using an optimization framework. It currently has application wrappers for NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of RotorCraft), CAMRAD II (Comprehensive Analytical Model of Rotorcraft Aerodynamics and Dynamics II), NPSS (Numerical Propulsion System Simulation), IXGEN (Intelligent Cross-section Generator) and CHARM (Comprehensive Hierarchical Aeromechanics Rotorcraft Model). These wrappers can be used independently or within an optimization using NASA's OpenMDAO optimization framework.
U.S. and Foreign Release
ARC-19062-1
Launch Ascent And Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA)
The Launch, Ascent, and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) Framework, developed by NASA Ames Computational Aerosciences Branch, is an integrated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and multiphysics environment with automated pre and postprocessing and grid generation. Evolving since the late 2000s, LAVA uses a modern architecture to deliver advanced methods and high-performance computing efficiency. It minimizes user effort through robust automation across three mesh paradigms: blockstructured curvilinear overset meshes, Cartesian immersed boundary meshes with blockstructured adaptive mesh refinement, and arbitrary polyhedral unstructured meshes. Users can choose fully automated Cartesian meshes, the builtin Voronoi mesh generator, or handcrafted bodyfitted structured grids. LAVA solves compressible NavierStokes equations with finitedifference and finitevolume schemes up to fourthorder space/time accuracy, supporting WMLES with GPU acceleration, as well as hybrid RANS/LES and RANS on CPUs. Multiphysics capabilities include multispecies/multiphase flows, fluidstructure interaction, conjugate heat transfer, sixDOF motion, AMR, and shape optimization, with insitu visualization for large, practical aerospace simulations across research, development, and engineering.
U.S. Release Only
LEW-20538-1
Aviary
Aviary is an aircraft design, analysis, and optimization code based in OpenMDAO. It includes the propulsion, aerodynamics, weights, and mission computational routines of both the GASP and FLOPS codes, and allows for flexible switching between these routines. It also can incorporate external subsystems in OpenMDAO format, and can perform aircraft and mission optimizations of both conventional and hybrid electric aircraft.
Open Source
LAR-18934-1
Flight Optimization System (FLOPS) Software v.9
The Flight Optimization System (FLOPS) is a multidisciplinary system of computer programs for conceptual and preliminary design and evaluation of advanced aircraft concepts. It consists of six primary modules: 1) weights, 2) aerodynamics, 3) propulsion data scaling and interpolation, 4) mission performance, 5) takeoff and landing, and 6) program control.
General Public Release
LEW-20281-1
AcousticAnalogies.jl: A Propeller/Rotor Acoustics Code Especially Suitable for Gradient-Based Optimization
AcousticAnalogies.jl is an implementation of Farassat's "formulation 1A" (F1A), a mathematical technique used to predict the acoustics radiated by a fluid flow. The F1A method, like all acoustic analogies, is a solution to an inhomogeneous wave equation. The wave equation is derived by manipulating the Navier-Stokes equation into a "propagation" left-hand side and a "source" right-hand side. The wave equation is solved using the free-space Green's function, giving an expression with two surface integrals and one volume integral (typically ignored). The integrands of these integrals represent the acoustic sources in the flow, and computing them requires knowledge of the motion of and forces acting on the integration surfaces. These inputs may come from experiment, but more often are taken from the outputs of an aerodynamics code (e.g., one using blade element momentum theory, vortex lattice methods, or computational fluid dynamics).
Open Source



