Engineering topics

Gerstenmaier, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Gerstenmaier, W..

5 records

NASA NTRS1992

Operational considerations to reduce solar array loads

The key parameters associated with solar array plume loads are examined, and operational considerations aimed at minimizing the effect of the Shuttle plumes on the Space Station solar arrays are discussed. These include solar array pointing to reduce loads and restrictions on Shuttle piloting. Particular attention is given to the method used to obtain the forcing functions (thruster time firing histories) for solar array plume calculation.

Gerstenmaier, W.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Influence of pressure driven secondary flows on the behavior of turbofan forced mixers

A finite difference procedure was developed to analyze the three dimensional subsonic turbulent flows in turbofan forced mixer nozzles. The method is based on a decomposition of the velocity field into primary and secondary flow components which are determined by solution of the equations governing primary momentum, secondary vorticity, thermal energy, and continuity. Experimentally, a strong secondary flow pattern was identified which is associated with the radial inflow and outflow characteristics of the core and fan streams and forms a very strong vortex system aligned with the radial interface between the core and fan regions. A procedure was developed to generate a similar generic secondary flow pattern in terms of two constants representing the average radial outflow or inflow in the core and fan streams as a percentage of the local streamwise velocity. This description of the initial secondary flow gave excellent agreement with experimental data. By identifying the nature of large scale secondary flow structure and associating it with characteristic mixer nozzle behavior, it is felt that the cause and effect relationship between lobe design and nozzle performance can be understood.

Anderson, B.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Influence of pressure driven secondary flows on the behavior of turbofan forced mixers

An analytical and experimental study was performed to determine the influence of pressure driven secondary flows on the behavior of turbofan forced mixer nozzles. The basic secondary flow structure entering the nozzle was identified experimentally and was composed of a strong vortex system aligned with the radial interface between the fan and core streams. A generic secondary flow vortex structure was constructed for input to the analysis to represent the large scale structure of this inflow condition. Comparison between experiment and analysis at five axial stations showed very good agreement and indicated that this vortex system was convected downstream and dominated the mixing process.

Anderson, B.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Computation of three-dimensional flow in turbofan mixers and comparison with experimental data

A three dimensional, viscous computer code was used to calculate the mixing downstream of a typical turbofan mixer geometry. Experimental data obtained using pressure and temperature rakes at the lobe and nozzle exit stations were used to validate the computer results. The relative importance of turbulence in the mixing phenomenon as compared with the streamwise vorticity set up by the secondary flows was determined. The observations suggest that the generation of streamwise vorticity plays a significant role in determining the temperature distribution at the nozzle exit plane.

Povinelli, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Computation of three-dimensional flow in turbofan mixers and comparison with experimental data

A three-dimensional, viscous computer code was used to calculate the mixing downstream of a typical turbofan mixer geometry. Experimental data were obtained using pressure and temperature rakes at the lobe and nozzle exit stations. Secondary flow velocities were also obtained. These data were used to validate the computer results. An assessment was also made to determine the relative importance of turbulence in the mixing phenomenon as compared with the streamwise vorticity set up by the secondary flows. The observations suggest that the generation of streamwise vorticity appears to play a significant role in determining the temperature distribution at the nozzle exit plane.

Povinelli, L. A.↗