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At least 181 records · Page 10

Mechanisms of atomic oxygen induced materials degradation

This paper includes discussions of mechanisms by which atomic oxygen may attack materials being flown in low earth orbit (LEO), suggestions for development of materials intrinsically resistant to the harsh LEO environment, and results of an Arrhenius fit to mass loss of Kapton under exposure to thermal atomic oxygen in a laboratory environment. Oxygen atoms are powerful oxidizing agents which can rapidly degrade many types of polymeric materials. The process details depend upon the specific material, its detailed bonding, the thermodynamic stability of potential products, temperature, and particle dynamics. With regard to spacecraft, many effects associated with atomic oxygen may be explained simply by ordinary thermal oxidation processes and by the fact that the oxygen has a preferred direction of impingement.

Pippin, H. G.↗

Validation of chemistry models employed in a particle simulation method

The chemistry models employed in a statistical particle simulation method, as implemented in the Intel iPSC/860 multiprocessor computer, are validated and applied. Chemical relaxation of five-species air in these reservoirs involves 34 simultaneous dissociation, recombination, and atomic-exchange reactions. The reaction rates employed in the analytic solutions are obtained from Arrhenius experimental correlations as functions of temperature for adiabatic gas reservoirs in thermal equilibrium. Favorable agreement with the analytic solutions validates the simulation when applied to relaxation of O2 toward equilibrium in reservoirs dominated by dissociation and recombination, respectively, and when applied to relaxation of air in the temperature range 5000 to 30,000 K. A flow of O2 over a circular cylinder at high Mach number is simulated to demonstrate application of the method to multidimensional reactive flows.

Haas, Brian L.↗

Hyperthermal atomic oxygen reactions with kapton and polyethylene

Gas phase reaction products produced by the interaction of high kinetic energy (1-3 eV) 3p ground state atomic oxygen (AO) with polyethylene and kapton were found to be H2, H2O, CO, and CO2 with NO being a possible secondary product from kapton. Hydrogen abstraction at high AO kinetic energy is postulated to be the key reaction controlling the erosion rate of kapton and polyethylene. An Arrhenius-like expression having an activation barrier of 0.4 eV can be fit to the data, which suggests that the rate limiting step in the AO/kapton reaction mechanism can be overcome by translational energy.

Cross, J. B.↗

Heat Transfer to a Thin Solid Combustible in Flame Spreading at Microgravity

The heat transfer rate to a thin solid combustible from an attached diffusion flame, spreading across the surface of the combustible in a quiescent, microgravity environment, was determined from measurements made in the drop tower facility at NASA-Lewis Research Center. With first-order Arrhenius pyrolysis kinetics, the solid-phase mass and energy equations along with the measured spread rate and surface temperature profiles were used to calculate the net heat flux to the surface. Results of the measurements are compared to the numerical solution of the complete set of coupled differential equations that describes the temperature, species, and velocity fields in the gas and solid phases. The theory and experiment agree on the major qualitative features of the heat transfer. Some fundamental differences are attributed to the neglect of radiation in the theoretical model.

Bhattacharjee, S.↗

Ignition and structure of a laminar diffusion flame in the field of a vortex

The distortion of flames in flows with vortical motion is examined via asymptotic analysis and numerical simulation. The model consists of a constant density, one step, irreversible Arrhenius reaction between initially unmixed species occupying adjacent half-planes which are then allowed to mix and react in the presence of a vortex. The evolution in time of the temperature and mass fraction fields is followed. Emphasis is placed on the ignition time and location as a function of vortex Reynolds number and initial temperature differences of the reacting species. The study brings out the influence of the vortex on the chemical reaction. In all phases, good agreement is observed between asymptotic analysis and the full numerical solution of the model equations.

Macaraeg, Michele G.↗

Phase transformations in SrAl2Si2O8 glass

Bulk glass of SrAl2Si2O8 composition crystallized at temperatures below 1000 C into hexacelsian, a hexagonal phase which undergoes a reversible, rapid transformation to an orthorhombic phase at 758 C, and at higher temperatures crystallized as celsian, a monoclinic phase. The glass transition temperature and crystallization onset temperature were determined to be 883 C and 1086 C, respectively, from DSC at a heating rate of 20 C/min. Thermal expansion of the various phases and density and bend strengths of cold isostatically pressed glass powder bars, sintered at various temperatures, were measured. The kinetics of the hexacelsian-to-celsian transformation for SrAl2Si2O8 were studied. Hexacelsian flakes were isothermally heat treated at temperatures from 1025-1200 C for various times. Avrami plots were determined by quantitatively measuring the amount of monoclinic celsian formed at various times using x ray diffraction. The Avrami constant was determined to be 1.1, suggesting a diffusionless, one dimensional transformation mechanism. The activation energy was determined from an Arrhenius plot of 1n k vs. 1/T to be 125 kilocal/mole. This value is consistent with a mechanism which transforms the layered hexacelsian structure to a three dimensional framework celsian structure and involves the breaking of Si-O bonds.

Drummond, Charles H., III↗

The compositional structure and the effects of exothermicity in an unpremixed planar jet flame

Results are presented of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a randomly perturbed compressible, spatially developing planar jet under the influence of a finite rate Arrhenius chemical reaction of the type F + O yields Product + Heat. The objectives of the simulations are to assess the compositional structure of the flame and to determine the influence of reaction exothermicity by means of statistical sampling of the data generated by DNS. It is shown that even with this idealized kinetics model, the simulated results exhibit features in accordance with experimental data. These results indicate that the Damkoehler number is an important parameter in determining the statistical composition of the reacting field, and that the results are insensitive to the mechanism by which this parameter is varied. It is demonstrated that as the intensity of mixing is increased and the effect of finite rate chemistry is more pronounced, the magnitudes of the ensemble mean and rms of the product mass fraction decrease, and those of the reactants mass fraction increase. Also, at higher mixing rates the joint probability density functions of the reactants' mass fractions shift towards higher values within the composition domain indicating a lower reactedness. These trends are consistent with those observed experimentally and are very useful in portraying the statistical structure of non-equilibrium diffusion flames. The DNS generated data are also utilized to examine the applicability of the 'laminar diffusion flamelet model' in predicting the rate of the reactant conversion with finite rate chemistry. This examination indicates that the bounds of the product formation scale reasonably well with those obtained by the flamelet model. However, in the range of the relatively low values of the Damkoehler numbers considered, the scatter of the results is substantially more than that to be completely determined by the closure.

Steinberger, C. J.↗

Statistics for laminar flamelet modeling

Statistical information required to support modeling of turbulent premixed combustion by laminar flamelet methods is extracted from a database of the results of Direct Numerical Simulation of turbulent flames. The simulations were carried out previously by Rutland (1989) using a pseudo-spectral code on a three dimensional mesh of 128 points in each direction. One-step Arrhenius chemistry was employed together with small heat release. A framework for the interpretation of the data is provided by the Bray-Moss-Libby model for the mean turbulent reaction rate. Probability density functions are obtained over surfaces of the constant reaction progress variable for the tangential strain rate and the principal curvature. New insights are gained which will greatly aid the development of modeling approaches.

Cant, R. S.↗

The influence of Lewis number and nonhomogeneous mixture on premixed turbulent flame structure

The structure of a premixed flame front in two-dimensional turbulence is investigated using full numerical simulation including heat release, variable fluid properties, and one-step Arrhenius chemistry. Non-unity Lewis number (Le) effects are described by comparing the local instantaneous turbulent flame structure to the steady one dimensional laminar flame structure for the same thermochemical parameters. Flame surface area, mean reactant consumption rate per unit area of flame, turbulent flame speed, and statistical descriptions of the flame geometry are also reported. Principal findings are that the local flame structure correlates strongly with the local flame curvature, while global properties depend both on strain and on curvature. Preliminary results for cases with nonhomogeneous reactant mixture strength are reported. Here, the emphasis is on the ability of a propagating flame to recover after encountering a fuel-lean pocket in an otherwise homogeneous mixture. Both one dimensional and two dimensional cases are described.

Haworth, D. C.↗

Relative rate constants for the reactions of OH with methane and methyl chloroform

Atmospheric lifetimes of methane and methyl chloroform are largely determined by the rates of their reactions with hydroxyl radical. The relative lifetimes for this loss path are inversely proportional to the ratio of the corresponding rate coefficients. The relative rate constants were measured in a slow-flow, temperature-controlled photochemical reactor, and were based on rates of disappearance of the parent compounds as measured by FTIR spectroscopy. The temperature range was 277-356 K. Hydroxyl radicals were generated by 254 nm photolysis of O3 in the presence of water vapor. The preferred Arrhenius expression for the results is k(CH3CCl3)/k(CH4) = 0.62 exp (291/T), corresponding to a value of 1.65 at 298 K and 1.77 at 277 K. The respective uncertainties are 5 and 7 percent.

Demore, W. B.↗

Thermal protection materials: Thermophysical property data

This publication presents a thermophysical property survey on materials that could potentially be used for future spacecraft thermal protection systems (TPS). This includes data that was reported in the 1960's as well as more current information reported through the 1980's. An attempt was made to cite the manufacturers as well as the data source in the bibliography. This volume represents an attempt to provide in a single source a complete set of thermophysical data on a large variety of materials used in spacecraft TPS analysis. The property data is divided into two categories: ablative and reusable. The ablative materials have been compiled into twelve categories that are descriptive of the material composition. An attempt was made to define the Arrhenius equation for each material although this data may not be available for some materials. In a similar manner, char data may not be available for some of the ablative materials. The reusable materials have been divided into three basic categories: thermal protection materials (such as insulators), adhesives, and structural materials.

Williams, S. D.↗

Role of acoustics in flame/vortex interactions

The role of acoustics in flame/vortex interactions is examined via asymptotic analysis and numerical simulation. The model consists of a one-step, irreversible Arrhenius reaction between initially unmixed species occupying adjacent half-planes which are allowed to mix and react by convection and diffusion in the presence of an acoustic field or a time-varying pressure field of small amplitude. The main emphasis is on the influence of the acoustics on the ignition time and flame structure as a function of vortex Reynolds number and initial temperature differences of the reactants.

Jackson, T. L.↗

A temperature dependent kinetic study of the reaction of the hydroxyl radical with CH2Br

Rate constants have been measured for the gas phase reaction of the hydroxyl radical (OH) with CH3Br over the temperature range 250 to 400 K. The Arrhenius expression k = (5.79 x 10 exp -12) exp(-1560/T) cu cm/molecule per sec was derived from the kinetic data. From the rate constant at 277 K, the tropospheric lifetime of CH3Br with respect to reaction with OH is estimated to be 2.2 years and the overall atmospheric lifetime to be 2.1 years.

Zhang, Zhengyu↗

Mixing and chemical reaction in sheared and nonsheared homogeneous turbulence

Direct numerical simulations were made to examine the local structure of the reaction zone for a moderately fast reaction between unmixed species in decaying, homogeneous turbulence and in a homogeneous turbulent shear flow. Pseudospectral techniques were used in domains of 64 exp 3 and higher wavenumbers. A finite-rate, single step reaction between non-premixed reactants was considered, and in one case temperature-dependent Arrhenius kinetics was assumed. Locally intense reaction rates that tend to persist throughout the simulations occur in locations where the reactant concentration gradients are large and are amplified by the local rate of strain. The reaction zones are more organized in the case of a uniform mean shear than in isotropic turbulence, and regions of intense reaction rate appear to be associated with vortex structures such as horseshoe vortices and fingers seen in mixing layers. Concentration gradients tend to align with the direction of the most compressive principal strain rate, more so in the isotropic case.

Leonard, Andy D.↗

Direct simulations of premixed turbulent flames with nonunity Lewis numbers

A principal effect of turbulence on premixed flames in the flamelet regime is to wrinkle the flame fronts. For nonunity Lewis numbers, Le is not equal to 1, the local flame structure is altered in curved regions. This effect is examined using direct numerical simulations of 3D isotropic turbulence with constant density, single-step Arrhenius kinetics chemistry. Simulations of Lewis numbers 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 are compared. At the local level, curvature effects dominated changes to the flame structure while strain effects were insignificant. A strong Lewis-number-dependent correlation was found between surface curvature and the local flame speed. The correlation was positive for Le less than 1 and negative for Le greater than 1. At the global level, strain-related effects were more significant than curvature effects. The turbulent flame speed changed significantly with Lewis number, increasing as Le decreased. This was found to be due to strain effects that have a nonzero mean over the flame surface, rather than to curvature effects that have a nearly zero mean. The mean product temperature was also found to vary with Lewis number, being higher for Le greater than 1 and lower for Le less than 1.

Rutland, C. J.↗

Computation of the flow field in an annular gas turbine combustor

The KIVA-II code was modified to calculate the 3D flow field in a typical annular gas turbine combustor. The airblast fuel nozzle, cooling baffle, cooling slots, primary and dilution jets, and effusion cooling (bleed) pads were accounted for in this calculation. The turbulence and combustion were modeled using the k-epsilon model and laminar Arrhenius kinetics, respectively. The fuel was modeled as an evaporating liquid spray. The results illustrate the complicated flow fields present in such combustors. From the results obtained to date it appears that the modified KIVA-II code can be used to study the effects of different annular combustor designs and operating conditions.

Cline, Michael C.↗

Rate constant for the reaction of OH with CH3CCl2F (HCFC-141b) determined by relative rate measurements with CH4 and CH3CCl3

Determination of accurate rate constants for OH abstraction is of great importance for the calculation of lifetimes for HCFCs and their impact on the atmosphere. For HCFC-141b there has been some disagreement in the literature for absolute measurements of this rate constant. In the present work rate constant ratios for HCFC-141b were measured at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 298-358 K, with CH4 and CH3CCl3 as reference gases. Ozone was photolyzed at 254 nm in the presence of water vapor to produce OH radicals. Relative depletions of 141b and the reference gases were measured by FTIR. Arrhenius expressions for 141b were derived from each reference gas and found to be in good agreement with each other. The combined expression for HCFC-141b which we recommend is 1.4 x 10 exp -12 exp(-1630/T) with k at 298 K being 5.9 x 10 exp -15 cu cm/molec-s. This value is in excellent agreement with the JPL 92-20 recommendation.

Huder, Karin↗

Ignition dynamics of a laminar diffusion flame in the field of a vortex embedded in a shear flow

The role of streamwise-spanwise vorticity interactions that occur in turbulent shear flows on flame/vortex interactions is examined by means of asymptotic analysis and numerical simulation in the limit of small Mach number. An idealized model is employed to describe the interaction process. The model consists of a one-step, irreversible Arrhenius reaction between initially unmixed species occupying adjacent half-planes which are then allowed to mix and react in the presence of a streamwise vortex embedded in a shear flow. It is found that the interaction of the streamwise vortex with shear gives rise to small-scale velocity oscillations which increase in magnitude with shear strength. These oscillations give rise to regions of strong temperature gradients via viscous heating, which can lead to multiple ignition points and substantially decrease ignition times. The evolution in time of the temperature and mass-fraction fields is followed, and emphasis is placed on the ignition time and structure as a function of vortex and shear strength.

Macaraeg, Michele G.↗