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Narasimha, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Narasimha, R..

13 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

The Many Worlds of Transition Research.

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow in a boundary layer is a complex phenomenon that may take different routes, each involving distinct stages governed by different, often not-yet unraveled dynamical principles. There are, surprisingly, questions concerning virtually every stage in the process, beginning with receptivity to external disturbances, the linear stability of spatially developing flows, different possible nonlinear end games, the formation and propagation of turbulent spots and the emergence of fully developed turbulent flow. There seems no doubt that the flow has to be seen as a forced, nonlinear spatio-temporal system, but the system is so complex that to extract simple insights is still very difficult.

Narasimha, R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Modelling the transitional boundary layer

Recent developments in the modelling of the transition zone in the boundary layer are reviewed (the zone being defined as extending from the station where intermittency begins to depart from zero to that where it is nearly unity). The value of using a new non-dimensional spot formation rate parameter, and the importance of allowing for so-called subtransitions within the transition zone, are both stressed. Models do reasonably well in constant pressure 2-dimensional flows, but in the presence of strong pressure gradients further improvements are needed. The linear combination approach works surprisingly well in most cases, but would not be so successful in situations where a purely laminar boundary layer would separate but a transitional one would not. Intermittency-weighted eddy viscosity methods do not predict peak surface parameters well without the introduction of an overshooting transition function whose connection with the spot theory of transition is obscure. Suggestions are made for further work that now appears necessary for developing improved models of the transition zone.

Narasimha, R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A Proposed International Tropical Reference Atmosphere up to 80 Km

Based upon previous standard reference atmosphere, which are usually inspired by temperature regions, a proposal is made for an International Tropical Reference Atmosphere (ITRA). It is a modification of the Indian Standard Tropical Atmosphere (ISIA). The data at the available longitudinal stations in the tropics was considered in formulating the present proposal. Balloonsonde, rocketsonde, and grenade and falling sphere data was used in developing the temperature data bse fromt he stratosphere, troposphere and mesosphere. Temperature distribution and mean sea level pressures up to 80 km altitudes is discussed.

Ananthasayanam, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Relaminarization of fluid flows

The mechanisms of the relaminarization of turbulent flows are investigated with a view to establishing any general principles that might govern them. Three basic archetypes of reverting flows are considered: the dissipative type, the absorptive type, and the Richardson type exemplified by a turbulent boundary layer subjected to severe acceleration. A number of other different reverting flows are then considered in the light of the analysis of these archetypes, including radial Poiseuille flow, convex boundary layers, flows reverting by rotation, injection, and suction, as well as heated horizontal and vertical gas flows. Magnetohydrodynamic duct flows are also examined. Applications of flow reversion for turbulence control are discussed.

Narasimha, R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Injection slot location for boundary-layer control in shock-induced separation

An experimental investigation of the effect of tangential air injection, when the injection slot is located inside of what would otherwise have been the dead air zone in a separated flow, in controlling shock-induced turbulent boundary layer separation is presented. The experiments were carried out at a free-stream Mach number of 2.5 in the separated flow induced by a compression corner with a 20 deg angle. The observations made were wall static pressures, pitot profiles, and schlieren visualizations of the flow. The results show that the present location for injection is more effective in suppressing boundary-layer separation than the more conventional one, where the slot is located upstream of where separation would occur in the absence of injection.

Viswanath, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Visualization of relaminarizing flows

The experiments described in the present paper provided conclusive evidence for the feasibility of achieving reverse transition by several different mechanisms. Turbulent-to-laminar transition in water was visualized by injection of purple and green dyes. Air flows were visualized by colored schlieren photography.

Viswanath, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Parametric analysis of turbulent wall jets in still air.

An examination has been made of all the data available on incompressible (nominally) plane wall jets in still air, supplementing these when necessary with some additional measurements. For a wall jet in still air, the chief mean flow qualities of interest are the maximum velocity, the inner length scale, and a total thickness, in addition to the wall stress. On the basis of the analysis, a (nominally) plane wall jet flow can be divided into an initial region, a fully developed flow region, and a confined wall jet flow region.

Narasimha, R.↗