Software of the Year
2001
NASA software designs rocket engines, pipelines,
or HVAC systems
Generalized
Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) v 3.0
When engineers
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama
couldn't find software to meet their needs in analyzing rocket engine
fluid flow they invented it. As requirements changed and needs evolved,
so did the software. Now in its third version, Generalized Fluid
System Simulation Program (GFSSP v3.0) has received accolades from
NASA by being selected to share NASA's Software of the Year 2001.
This versatile tool may soon be available to industry through MSFC's
Technology Transfer Department. More details. >>
What if I Don't
Design Rocket Engines?
Admittedly NASA is one of the world's prime candidates for a tool
that analyzes rocket engines. However, even GFSSP's development
team struggled with the fact that most analysis tools they used
were either engine or turbopump specific and didn't allow for much
flexibility. According to team lead Alok Majumdar, " Due to
the uniqueness of rocket engines, the tools associated with them
are also unique. It seems that we were always running into roadblocks
with tools that only did a specific engine, or only performed one
part of the analysis. So we had do use multiple software tools and
modules that often times couldn't communicate and their source code
were proprietary."
What was needed
was a tool that could plug into virtually any scenario and be operated
with a minimum of training, care and feeding and computer processing
horsepower. "Quite frankly, the development of GFSSP was an
exercise in not having to re-invent the wheel every time analysis
was required," said Majumdar.
The team of
engineers from NASA, Sverdrup Technology, and ERC kept flexibility
in mind when developing the base code that serves as the building
block of the system. Version 3 introduced a User Subroutine module
making it possible to develop specific applications of the code
for various disciplines and customize those applications as needed.
As a result, GFSSP can be applied across a wide variety of commercial
industries and applications where flow predictions in complex flow
circuits are necessary. Its modular structure allows it to be used
for other applications such as Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning
(HVAC) systems, water hammer, chemical processing, gas processing,
power plants, hydraulic control circuits and various kinds of fluid
distribution systems.
Rocket Scientists Not Required
Don't let the fact that it was developed for rocket engines confuse
GFSSP's ease of use. According to Majumdar, "A goal of ours
was to make GFSSP so that an undergraduate engineering student can
quickly become proficient with the software."
Utilizing a
point-and-click graphical user interface (GUI), the program models
liquid fuel phase changes including compressibility, mixture thermodynamics
and allows the user to apply and vary what-if effects of external
influences, such as gravity and centrifugal force. A three-day training
course takes the user from the basics of laying out and mapping
the parameters to utilizing extensive features, including user-defined,
specific industry customization. Customization, flexibility and
reduced training time yield cost savings through reducing hardware
testing and continuous improvement.
Furthering its
ease of use and flexibility, GFSSP doesn't require enormous computing
power and is at home on your desktop workstation, operating on the
PC, Macintosh, and Silicon Graphics platforms. Easily transferred
to other applications, data can be ported to numerous commercial
presentation applications.
Used on seven
NASA/industry projects, GFSSP has already made a significant impact
and promises to become more valuable in time. It is estimated that
one organization's use of GFSSP can save between $825,000 and $1.5
million. A U.S. patent has been filed and potential licensees are
in negotiation with NASA for its commercial use.
For more information
go to: http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/software/gfssp.html
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