Engineering topics

Bencic, T. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Bencic, T. J..

8 records

NASA NTRS2012

Boundary Layer Flow Control by an Array of Ramp-Shaped Vortex Generators

Flow field survey results for the effect of ramp-shaped vortex generators (VG) on a turbulent boundary layer are presented. The experiments are carried out in a low-speed wind tunnel and the data are acquired primarily by hot-wire anemometry. Distributions of mean velocity and turbulent stresses as well as streamwise vorticity, on cross-sectional planes at various downstream locations, are obtained. These detailed flow field properties, including the boundary layer characteristics, are documented with the primary objective of aiding possible computational investigations. The results show that VG orientation with apex upstream, that produces a downwash directly behind it, yields a stronger pair of streamwise vortices. This is in contrast to the case with apex downstream that produces a pair of vortices of opposite sense. Thus, an array of VG s with the former orientation, usually considered for film-cooling application, may also be superior for mixing enhancement and boundary layer separation control. (See CASI ID 20120009374 for Supplemental CD-ROM.)

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Boundary Layer Flow Control by an Array of Ramp-Shaped Vortex Generators

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Detecting Thermal Barrier Coating Delamination Using Visible and Near-Infrared Luminescence from Erbium-Doped Sublayers

Nondestructive diagnostic tools are needed to monitor early stages of delamination progression in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) because the risk of delamination induced coating failure will compromise engine performance and safety. Previous work has demonstrated that for TBCs composed of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), luminescence from a buried europium-doped sublayer can be utilized to identify the location of TBC delamination from the substantially higher luminescence intensity observed from the delaminated regions of the TBC. Luminescence measurements from buried europium-doped layers depend on sufficient transmittance of the 532 nm excitation and 606 nm emission wavelengths through the attenuating undoped YSZ overlayer to produce easily detected luminescence. In the present work, improved delamination indication is demonstrated using erbium-doped YSZ sublayers. For visible-wavelength luminescence, the erbium-doped sublayer offers the advantage of a very strong excitation peak at 517 nm that can be conveniently excited a 514 nm Ar ion laser. More importantly, the erbium-doped sublayer also produces near-infrared luminescence at 1550 nm that is effectively excited by a 980 nm laser diode. Both the 980 nm excitation and the 1550 nm emission are transmitted through the TBC with much less attenuation than visible wavelengths and therefore show great promise for delamination monitoring through thicker or more highly scattering TBCs. The application of this approach for both electron beam physical vapor deposited (EB-PVD) and plasma-sprayed TBCs is discussed.

Eldridge, J. I.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Optical Diagnostics for Thermal Barrier Coatings

The translucent nature of ceramic oxide thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) provides an opportunity to employ optical probes to monitor temperature gradients and buried damage propagation within the coating. An important advantage of noncontact optical diagnostics is that they are amendable to health monitoring of TBCs in service. In this paper, two optical diagnostic approaches, operating in different wavelength regimes, are discussed. The first approach is the use of mid-infrared reflectance (MIR) to monitor the progression of TBC delamination produced by thermal cycling. This approach takes advantage of the maximum transparency of the TBCs at mid-infrared wavelengths, in particular, between 3 and 5 microns. Recent progress in extending the MIR method to a more practical visual inspection tool will be presented. A second approach, using visible wavelengths, is the embedding of thermographic phosphors within the TBC to add sensing functions to the coating that can provide depth-selective information about temperature gradients and TBC integrity. Emphasis will be given to the use of fluorescence decay time measurements to provide temperature readings from a thermographic phosphor layer residing beneath the TBC.

Eldridge, J. I.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Depth-Selective Diagnostics of Thermal Barrier Coatings Incorporating Thermographic Phosphors

Thermographic phosphors have been previously demonstrated to provide effective non- contact, emissivity-independent surface temperature measurements. Because of the translucent nature of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), thermographic-phosphor-based temperature measurements can be extended beyond the surface to provide depth-selective temperature measurements by incorporating the thermographic phosphor layer at the depth where the temperature measurement is desired. In this paper, the use of thermographic phosphor (Y2O3:Eu) luminescence decay time measurements is demonstrated for the first time for through-the-thickness temperature readings up to 1000 C with the phosphor placed beneath a 100-micron-thick TBC (plasma-sprayed 8wt% yttria-stabilized zirconia). With an appropriately chosen excitation wavelength and detection configuration, it is shown that sufficient phosphor emission is generated to provide effective temperature measurements, despite the attenuation of both the excitation and emission intensities by the overlying TBC. This depth-selective temperature measurement capability should prove particularly useful for TBC diagnostics, where a large thermal gradient is typically present across the TBC thickness.

Eldridge, J. I.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Experimental Investigation of 'Transonic Resonance' with Convergent-Divergent Nozzles

Convergent-divergent nozzles, when run at pressure ratios lower than the design value, often undergo a flow resonance accompanied by the emission of acoustic tones. The phenomenon, different in characteristics from conventional 'screech' tones, has been studied experimentally. Unlike screech, the frequency increases with increasing supply pressure. There is a 'staging' behavior; 'odd harmonic' stages resonate at lower pressures while the fundamental occurs in a range of higher pressures corresponding to a fully expanded Mach number (M(sub j)) around unity. The frequency (f(sub N)) variation with M(sub j) depends on the half angle-of-divergence (theta) of the nozzle. At smaller theta, the slope of f(sub N) versus M(sub j) curve becomes steeper. The resonance involves standing waves and is driven by unsteady shock/boundary layer interaction. The distance between the foot of the shock and the nozzle exit imposes the lengthscale (L'). The fundamental corresponds to a quarterwave resonance, the next stage at a lower supply pressure corresponds to a three-quarter-wave resonance, and so on. The principal trends in the frequency variation are explained simply from the characteristic variation of the length-scale L'. Based on the data, correlation equations are provided for the prediction of f(sub N). A striking feature is that tripping of the boundary layer near the nozzle's throat tends to suppress the resonance. In a practical nozzle a tendency for the occurrence of the phenomenon is thought to be a source of 'internal noise'; thus, there is a potential for noise benefit simply by appropriate boundary layer tripping near the nozzle's throat.

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Application of Pressure Sensitive Paint to Confined Flow at Mach Number 2.5

Pressure sensitive paint (PSP) is a novel technology that is being used frequently in external aerodynamics. For internal flows in narrow channels, and applications at elevated nonuniform temperatures, however, there are still unresolved problems that complicate the procedures for calibrating PSP signals. To address some of these problems, investigations were carried out in a narrow channel with supersonic flows of Mach 2.5. The first set of tests focused on the distribution of the wall pressure in the diverging section of the test channel downstream of the nozzle throat. The second set dealt with the distribution of wall static pressure due to the shock/wall interaction caused by a 25 deg. wedge in the constant Mach number part of the test section. In addition, the total temperature of the flow was varied to assess the effects of temperature on the PSP signal. Finally, contamination of the pressure field data, caused by internal reflection of the PSP signal in a narrow channel, was demonstrated. The local wall pressures were measured with static taps, and the wall pressure distributions were acquired by using PSP. The PSP results gave excellent qualitative impressions of the pressure field investigated. However, the quantitative results, specifically the accuracy of the PSP data in narrow channels, show that improvements need to be made in the calibration procedures, particularly for heated flows. In the cases investigated, the experimental error had a standard deviation of +/- 8.0% for the unheated flow, and +/- 16.0% for the heated flow, at an average pressure of 11 kpa.

Lepicovsky, J.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Modern Experimental Techniques in Turbine Engine Testing

The paper describes application of two modern experimental techniques, thin-film thermocouples and pressure sensitive paint, to measurement in turbine engine components. A growing trend of using computational codes in turbomachinery design and development requires experimental techniques to refocus from overall performance testing to acquisition of detailed data on flow and heat transfer physics to validate these codes for design applications. The discussed experimental techniques satisfy this shift in focus. Both techniques are nonintrusive in practical terms. The thin-film thermocouple technique improves accuracy of surface temperature and heat transfer measurements. The pressure sensitive paint technique supplies areal surface pressure data rather than discrete point values only. The paper summarizes our experience with these techniques and suggests improvements to ease the application of these techniques for future turbomachinery research and code verifications.

Lepicovsky, J.↗