Monte Carlo Methodology Serves Up a Software Success

About this technology

Overview

NASA's Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Analysis Code (DAC) software package is now considered the Agency's premier high fidelity simulation tool for predicting vehicle aerodynamics and aerothermodynamic environments in rarefied, or low-density, gas flows. Additionally, DAC was recognized as the co-winner of the prestigious 2002 NASA Software of the Year Award, for its time- and money-saving abilities. Because tests to acquire information on the interactions of spacecraft and rarefied environments are difficult and expensive to perform, NASA believes DAC has the potential to save millions of dollars. NASA also acknowledges that DAC is easier to use and 100 times faster than the standard process" software it replaced. Developed by an engineering team in Johnson Space Flight Center's Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division DAC models the flow of low-density gases over flight surfaces. The accurate modeling of these flows for which experimental facilities are virtually nonexistent is critical for the protection of valuable NASA assets and for ensuring crew safety and overall mission success. The generality incorporated into DAC has allowed for widespread use of the software within the aerospace community beyond NASA."