We propose a new activity on verification and validation (V&V) of MHD codes presently employed by the fusion community as a predictive capability tool for liquid metal cooling applications, such as liquid metal blankets. The important steps in the development of MHD codes starting from the 1970s are outlined first and then basic MHD codes, which are currently in use by designers of liquid breeder blankets, are reviewed. A benchmark database of five problems has been proposed to cover a wide range of MHD flows from laminar fully developed to turbulent flows, which are of interest for fusion applications: (A) 2D fully developed laminar steady MHD flow, (B) 3D laminar, steady developing MHD flow in a non-uniform magnetic field, (C) quasitwo-dimensional MHD turbulent flow, (D) 3D turbulent MHD flow, and (E) MHD flow with heat transfer (buoyant convection). Finally, we introduce important details of the proposed activities, such as basic V&V rules and schedule. The main goal of the present paper is to help in establishing an efficient V&V framework and to initiate benchmarking among interested parties. The comparison results computed by the codes against analytical solutions and trusted experimental and numerical data as well as code-to-code comparisons will be presented and analyzed in companion paper/papers.
The creation of curved CCD's and the mosaicing of contoured CCD's mounted within the curved focal planes of telescopes and stereo panoramic imaging cameras introduces a revolution in optical design that greatly enhances the scientific potential of such instruments. In the alteration of the primary detection surface within the instrument's optical system from flat to curved, and precisely matching the applied CCD's shape to the contour of the curved focal plane, a major increase in the amount of transmittable light at various wavelengths through the system is achieved, thereby enabling multi-spectral ultrasensitive imaging for a variety of experiments simultaneously, including autostereoscopic image acquisition. For earth-based and space-borne optical telescopes, the advent of curved CCD's as the principle detectors provides a simplification of the telescope's adjoining optics, reducing the number of optical elements and the occurrence of optical aberrations associated with large corrective optics used to conform to flat detectors. New astronomical experiments may be devised in the presence of curved CCD applications, including 3 dimensional imaging spectroscopy conducted over multiple wavelengths simultaneously, wide field real-time stereoscopic tracking of remote objects within the solar system at high resolution, and deep field mapping of distant objects such as galaxies with much greater precision and over larger sky regions. Stereo panoramic cameras equipped with arrays of curved CCD's will require less optical glass and no mechanically moving parts to maintain proper stereo convergence over wider perspective viewing fields than their flat CCD counterparts, making the cameras lighter and faster in their ability to scan and record 3 dimensional objects moving within an industrial or terrain environment. Preliminary experiments conducted at the Sarnoff Corporation indicate the feasibility of curved CCD imagers with acceptable electro-optic integrity. Currently, we are in the process of evaluatingthe electro-optic performance of a curved wafer scale CCD imager. Detailed ray trace modeling and experimental electro-optical data performance obtained from the curved imager will be presented at the conference.
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