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Dunn, M. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Dunn, M. G..

At least 19 records

A study of the relationship between mineral content and mechanical properties of turkey gastrocnemius tendon

The vertebrate skeletal system undergoes adaptation in response to external forces, but the relation between the skeletal changes and such forces is not understood. In this context, the variation in the amount and location of calcification has been compared with changes in mechanical properties of the normally mineralizing turkey gastrocnemius tendon using ash weight measurements, X-ray radiography, and mechanical testing. Radiographic evidence from 12- to 17-week-old birds showed calcification in only portions of gastrocnemius tendons proximal to the tarsometatarsal joint. Mechanical testing of these dissected proximal regions demonstrated an increased ultimate stress and modulus and a decreased maximum strain that appeared to parallel calcification. Further, stress-strain curves of portions of uncalcified turkey gastrocnemius tendon were shaped similar to those of other typical unmineralized tendon curves while highly calcified tendons yielded curves resembling those of bone. The proximal portions of the gastrocnemius where mineralization begins were observed to have a decreased tendon cross-sectional area compared with distal portions which do not mineralize. Based on the resultant measures of mineral content and location and mechanical properties, it is hypothesized that increased calcification is a result of increased stresses at certain locations of the tendon, perhaps the consequence of the natural forces exerted by the large leg muscles of the bird into which the gastrocnemius inserts. More specifically, tendon calcification may be the result of stress-induced exposure of charged sites on the surfaces of collagen molecules, fibrils, or fibers so that deposition of mineral and subsequent mechanical reinforcement occur in the tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

Non-NASA Center

Time-averaged heat transfer and pressure measurements and comparison with prediction for a two-stage turbine

Time-averaged Stanton number and surface-pressure distributions are reported for the first-stage vane row and the first-stage blade row of the Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engine two-stage fuel-side turbine. These measurements were made at 10 percent, 50 percent, and 90 percent span on both the pressure and suction surfaces of the component. Stanton-number distributions are also reported for the second-stage vane at 50 percent span. A shock tube is used as a short-duration source of heated and pressurized air to which the turbine is subjected. Platinum thin-film gages are used to obtain the heat-flux measurements and miniature silicone-diaphragm pressure transducers are used to obtain the surface pressure measurements. The first-stage vane Stanton number distributions are compared with predictions obtained using a quasi-3D Navier-Stokes solution and a version of STAN5. This same N-S technique was also used to obtain predictions for the first blade and the second vane.

Dunn, M. G.

Heat transfer and pressure measurements and comparison with prediction for the SSME two-stage turbine

Time averaged Stanton number and surface pressure distributions are reported for the first stage vane row, the first stage blade row, and the second stage vane row of the Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) two-stage fuel-side turbine. Unsteady pressure envelope measurements for the first blade are also reported. These measurements were made at 10 percent, 50 percent, and 90 percent span on both the pressure and suction surfaces of the first stage components. Additional Stanton number measurements were made on the first stage blade platform, blade tip, and shroud, and at 50 percent span on the second vane. A shock tube was used as a short duration source of heated and pressurized air to which the turbine was subjected. Platinum thin film heat flux gages were used to obtain the heat flux measurements, while miniature silicon diaphragm flush-mounted pressure transducers were used to obtain the pressure measurements. The first stage vane Stanton number distributions are compared with predictions obtained using a version of STAN5 and quasi-3D Navier-Stokes solution. This same quasi-3D N-S code was also used to obtain predictions for the first blade and the second vane.

Dunn, M. G.

Phase and time-resolved measurements of unsteady heat transfer and pressure in a full-stage rotating turbine

This paper presents detailed phase-resolved heat-flux data obtained on rotor blades and a comparison of simultaneously obtained time-resolved heat-flux and static pressure data obtained on the stationary shroud of a Garrett TFE 731-2 HP full-stage rotating turbine. A shock tube is used to generate a short-duration source of heated and pressurized air and platinum thin-film gages are used to obtain heat-flux measurements. Blade results are presented at several selected blade locations. Shroud surface pressure and heat-flux time histories are presented for comparable locations relative to the blade position.

Dunn, M. G.

Phase-resolved heat-flux measurements on the blade of a full-scale rotating turbine

This paper presents detailed phase-resolved heat-flux data obtained on the blade of a Teledyne 702 HP full-stage rotating turbine. A shock tube is used as a short-duration source of heated air, and platinum thin-film gages are used to obtain the heat-flux measurements. Results are presented along the midspan at several locations on the blade suction and pressure surfaces from the stagnation point to near the trailing edge. For these measurements, the turbine was operating at the design flow function and at 100 percent corrected speed. Results are presented for the design vane/blade spacing (0.19 Cs) and at a wide spacing (0.50 Cs). Data are also presented illustrating the phase-resolved blade heat-flux distribution with upstream cold gas injection from discrete holes on the vane surface. The results illustrate that several successive passages can be superimposed upon each other and that a heat-flux pattern can be determined within the passage.

Dunn, M. G.

Experimental and theoretical studies of time-averaged and time resolved rotor heat transfer

Efforts in support of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) structural durability program have concentrated on obtaining detailed time-averaged and time-resolved (or phase-locked) measurements on a full-scale rotating turbine both with and without cold gas injection and on theoretical studies designed to improve the prediction capability for these turbine flows. The experimental efforts have concentrated on use of the Garrett TFE 731-2 hp turbine. However, it has been possible to apply the theoretical efforts to predicting heat-flux distributions obtained for two additional turbines - i.e., (1) the Garrett low aspect ratio turbine (LART) and (2) the Teledyne 702 turbine. The experimental technique is the short duration, shock-tunnel approach, in which fast-response, thin-film resistance thermometers are used to measure surface temperature histories at prescribed locations on the turbine component parts. Heat-flux values are then inferred from the temperature histories by using standard data reduction procedures. The turbine being used is the Garrett TFE 731-2 hp stage, and both the nozzle guide vanes and the rotor blades are heavily instrumented with thin-film heat-flux gauges. Depending on how the data from a particular heat-flux gauge are recorded, one can get either time-resolved (or phase-locked) or time-averaged results. Both types of data are illustrated.

Dunn, M. G.

Turbine-stage heat transfer - Comparison of short-duration measurements with state-of-the-art predictions

Comparisons are made between calculated and measured heat-transfer distributions on the midspan locations of the stators and rotors of two turbine stages. The agreement is generally good, except in regions near the leading edge, and is better for blading of higher aspect ratio. It is suggested that the discrepancies near the leading edge are caused by free-stream turbulence, and attempts to improve the modeling of this factor show improved agreement.

Rae, W. J.

Heat-flux measurements for the rotor of a full-stage turbine. I - Time-averaged results

Blade measurements of time-averaged flux distribution are obtained with and without gas injection for a full-stage rotating turbine. Results are presented along the blade in the flow direction at 10, 50, and 90 percent span locations for both the pressure and suction surfaces; enough measurements were obtained to present spanwise distributions as well. The results suggest that the suction surface laminar flat plate prediction is in reasonable agreement with the data from the stagnation point up to about 10 percent of the wetted distance. The influence of upstream nozzle guide vane injection is to significantly increase the local blade heat flux in the immediate vicinity of the leading edge.

Dunn, M. G.

Heat-flux measurements for the rotor of a full-stage turbine. II - Description of analysis technique and typical time-resolved measurements

An analytical technique for obtaining the time-resolved heat flux of a turbine blade is applied to the case of a TFE 731-2 hp full-stage rotating turbine. In order to obtain the heat flux values from the thin film gage temperature histories, a finite difference procedure is used to solve the heat equation with variable thermal properties. After setting out the data acquisition and analysis procedures, their application is illustrated for three midspan locations on the blade and operation at the design flow function. Results demonstrate that the magnitude of the heat flux fluctuation due to vane-balde interaction is large by comparison to the time-averaged heat flux at all investigated locations; FFT of a portion of the heat flux record illustrates that the dominant frequencies occur at the wake-cutting frequency and its harmonics.

Dunn, M. G.

Experimental Measurements and Analysis of Heat Transfer and Gas Dynamics in a Rotating Turbine Stage

The life-cycle fatigue of a particular component of a high-pressure turbine stage is influenced by the local heat flux and the resulting metal temperature excursions experienced by this component during normal operation. Flow through a turbine stage is seldom uniform and is often influenced by non-uniform incoming gas streams that can result in locally high heat fluxes. In the case of the rotor blades passing through the nozzle guide vane wakes and passages, these local heat rates translate into local temperature fluctuations that will likely affect the fatigue life of the blade. In order to better understand the influence of the heat load on the component life, one would like to have both the local steady-state heat flux and the high-frequency component of the heat flux.

Dunn, M. G.

Gasdynamics of the cryogenic cooler of the Nimbus F spacecraft

This paper presents a theoretical study of the gasdynamic behavior of the system used to vent methane gas from an open-cycle cryogenic cooler carried on the Nimbus F satellite. The flow of this gas from the cryogen tank to the vent-line exit takes place at very low Reynolds number, and is strongly affected by variations in the tube cross-sectional area, substantial heat addition, and important frictional effects. All three of these factors play a role in determining the choking mass flow. Finite-difference calculations are used to establish the mass flow rates for a range of cryogen temperatures. Finite-difference calculations are also used to determine the flowfield in the plume that results when the vented gas exits from the spacecraft. The momentum-flux distributions within the plume are then used to estimate the torques applied to the spacecraft when the plume impinges on several surfaces near the exit point. These torque estimates compare favorably with flight data.

Rae, W. J.

Antenna admittance determination of electron density.

A circular-aperture flush-mounted antenna for which a theoretical description of the antenna-plasma interaction has been developed was used to obtain a comparison between theoretical and experimental antenna admittance in the presence of ionized boundary layers of low-collision frequency. The antenna was located in a flat-plate model which was in turn located in the expanding-flow environment of a reflected-shock tunnel. The electron-temperature and electron-density distributions in the plate boundary layer at the antenna location were independently measured using voltage-swept thin-wire Langmuir probes for one of the test conditions. The antenna admittance was measured using a four-probe microwave reflectometer and these measured values were found to be in good agreement with those predicted from the theory. Measurements were also performed with another type of circular-aperture antenna which did not satisfy all of the constraints of the theoretical model, although good agreement was obtained between the calculations and the experimental results.

Dunn, M. G.

Theoretical and experimental studies of reentry plasmas

A viscous shock-layer analysis was developed and used to calculate nonequilibrium-flow species distributions in the plasma layer of the RAM vehicle. The theoretical electron-density results obtained are in good agreement with those measured in flight. A circular-aperture flush-mounted antenna was used to obtain a comparison between theoretical and experimental antenna admittance in the presence of ionized boundary layers of low collision frequency. The electron-temperature and electron-density distributions in the boundary layer were independently measured. The antenna admittance was measured using a four-probe microwave reflectometer and these measured values were found to be in good agreement with those predicted. Measurements were also performed with another type of circular-aperture antenna and good agreement was obtained between the calculations and the experimental results. A theoretical analysis has been completed which permits calculation of the nonequilibrium, viscous shock-layer flow field for a sphere-cone body. Results are presented for two different bodies at several different altitudes illustrating the influences of bluntness and chemical nonequilibrium on several gas dynamic parameters of interest. Plane-wave transmission coefficients were calculated for an approximate space-shuttle body using a typical trajectory.

Dunn, M. G.

Theoretical and measured electron-density distributions for the ram vehicle at high altitudes.

Application of a viscous shock-layer analysis to the calculation of nonequilibrium-flow species distributions in the plasma layer of a blunt-nosed vehicle at high altitudes. The theoretical electron-density results obtained are in good agreement with those measured in flight for a hemisphere-9 deg cone entry vehicle. The flight measurements were obtained using electrostatic probes that protruded well into the shock layer. In addition, the theoretically obtained heavy-particle translational temperatures appear to agree fairly well with the electron temperatures that were measured in the flight experiments using voltage-swept thin-wire electrostatic probes. The influence of the reaction rate coefficients on the calculated electron densities has been assessed and shown to be within the uncertainty in the flight data. The theoretical results demonstrate the importance of including in the chemical model the positive ions N2(+), O2(+), N(+), and O(+), in addition to NO(+), for the high altitudes and velocities considered.

Kang, S.-W.

Experimental plasma studies

The rate coefficients for the reactions C(+) + e(-) + e(-) yields C + e(-) and CO(+) + e(-) yields C + O were measured over the electron temperature range of approximately 1500 deg K to 7000 deg K. The measurements were performed in CO that had expanded from equilibrium reservoir conditions of 7060 deg K at 17.3 atm pressure and from 6260 deg K at 10.0 atm pressure. Two RAM flight probes were used to measure electron density and electron temperature in the expanding flow of a shock tunnel. Experiments were performed in the inviscid flow with both probes and in the nozzle-wall boundary layer with the constant bias-voltage probe. The distributions of electron density and electron temperature were independently measured using voltage-swept thin-wire probes. Thin-wire Langmuir probes were also used to measure the electron-density and electron-temperature distributions in the boundary layer of a sharp flat plate located on the nozzle centerline. Admittance measurements were performed with the RAM C and RAM C-C S-band antennas in the presence of an ionized boundary layer.

Dunn, M. G.