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At least 199 records · Page 11

Navier-Stokes predictions of the flowfield around the F-18 (HARV) wing and fuselage at large incidence

In support of the NASA High Alpha Technology Program, Navier-Stokes solutions have been obtained using the Chimera overset grid scheme for flow over the wing, fuselage, and wing leading-edge extension (LEX) of the F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) at high incidence. Solutions are also presented for flow over the fuselage forebody at high angles of attack. The solutions are for turbulent flows at high-Reynolds-number flight-test conditions, and are compared with available qualitative and quantitative experimental data. Comparisons of predicted surface flow patterns, off-surface flow visualization, and surface-pressure distributions are in good agreement with flight-test data. The ability of the numerical method to predict the bursting of the LEX vortex as it encounters the adverse pressure gradient field of the wing is demonstrated, and the capability of predicting high-angle-of-attack aerodynamics around realistic aircraft configurations is established.

Cummings, Russell M.↗

Numerical analysis of natural convection in liquid droplets by phase change

A numerical analysis is performed on thermocapillary buoyancy convection induced by phase change in a liquid droplet. A finite-difference code is developed using an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) scheme. The intercoupling relation between thermocapillary force, buoyancy force, fluid property, heat transfer, and phase change, along with their effects on the induced flow patterns, are disclosed. The flow is classified into three types: thermocapillary, buoyancy, and combined convection. Among the three mechanisms, the combined convection simulates the experimental observations quite well, and the basic mechanism of the observed convection inside evaporating sessile drops is thus identified. It is disclosed that evaporation initiates unstable convection, while condensation always brings about a stable density distribution which eventually damps out all fluid disturbances. Another numerical model is presented to study the effect of boundary recession due to evaporation, and the 'peeling-off' effect (the removal of the surface layer of fluid by evaporation) is shown to be relevant.

Duh, J. C.↗

Numerical simulation of high-incidence flow over the F-18 aircraft

Navier-Stokes solutions have been obtained using the Chimera overset grid scheme for flow over the wing, fuselage, and wing leading-edge extension (LEX) of the F-18 aircraft at high incidence. Solutions are also presented for flow over the fuselage forebody at high angles of attack. The solutions are for turbulent flows at high-Reynolds number flight-test conditions, and are compared with available qualitative and quantitative experimental data. Comparisons of predicted surface flow patterns, off-surface flow visualizations, and surface-pressure distributions are in good agreement with flight-test data. The ability of the numerical method to predict the bursting of the LEX vortex as it encounters the adverse pressure gradient field of the wing is demonstrated.

Cummings, Russell M.↗

General patterns of flow field growth - Aa and blocky lavas

Lava flowfields consist of one or more flows. Four ideal emplacement regimes are recognized: that for single flows and that for flowfields dominated by (1) widening, (2) thickening, or (3) lengthening, as a result of generating new flows. Most aa and blocky lavas belong to the flowfield widening or single-flow regimes. These two regimes are analyzed assuming advance is controlled by the distal core of a flow, where motion is treated as steady, uniform, and laminar. Because of low deformation rates, the distal core is also approximated to a Newtonian fluid. Widening and, possibly, lengthening are ultimately limited by crustal resistance. After a critical cooling interval, new flows are generated from the upper reaches of the flowfield. A simple relation is derived linking flowfield dimensions and underlying slope to eruption duration, independent of terms involving gravity or lava chemistry and rheology. The relation well describes field data from several volcanoes (involving lava compositions from K phonolitic tephrite to dacite). This supports the premise that the overall growth of aa and blocky flowfields is systematic and also suggests that such growth may be predictable at timescales greater than, or similar to, the emplacement times of major flows.

Kilburn, Christopher R. J.↗

Unsteady Phenomena During Operation of the SSME Fuel Flowmeter

This report describes a part of the analysis carried in support of the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) Fuel Flowmeter redesign, addressing an intensely researched phenomenon known as "shifting" of the flowmeter constant value. It consists of a sudden change in the flowmeter indication, which occurs simultaneously with the onset of an oscillatory variation of the rotor speed. The change in the flowmeter indications does not correspond to a real change in the volumetric flow through the device. Several causes have been investigated in detail, in the past, without conclusive evidence towards a cause of this phenomenon. The present analysis addresses the flow physics through the flowmeter by assembling results from 3-D CFD (computational fluid dynamics) calculations, airfoil C(sub D)/C(sub L) performance curves and mass moment of inertia characteristics of the rotor into a synergistic calculation which simulates the unsteady regime of the flowmeter operation. The results show that the 4-bladed rotor interacts with the periodic flow pattern created behind the flow straightener upstream in a manner that generates a steady, periodic fluctuation in the rotor's speed. The amplitude of this fluctuation is significantly smaller than the 0.5% of mean speed threshold which constitutes a flight operational limit. When manufacturing errors occur, however, the fluctuations are amplified and can generate a significant apparent change in the flowmeter indication. Two types of possible fabrication errors-which can occur even for parts fabricated within the accepted tolerances for the blade airfoil-are presented, together with their effect on the flowmeter operation.

Marcu, Bogdan↗

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Tidal Dissipation in Synchronous Satellites

Tidal heating is an important energy source for several solar system bodies, and there is a wide-spread perception that the pattern of surface heat flow is diagnostic of internal structure. We wish to clarify that situation. Our analysis depends upon two important assumptions: First, that heat transport is dominated by conduction. Second, that the body can be modeled by a sequence of spherically symmetric layers, each with a linear visco-elastic rheology. Under these assumptions, surface heat flow patterns in tidally dominated satellites will reflect radially integrated dissipation patterns. For synchronously rotating satellites with zero obliquity, this pattern depends quite strongly on orbital eccentricity but relatively little on purely radial variations in internal structure. The total amount of heat generated within the body does depend sensitively on internal structure, but the spatial pattern is rather insensitive to structure, especially at low orbital eccentricities.

Bills, Bruce G.↗

Reproducing the Photospheric Magnetic Field Evolution during the Rise of Cycle 24 with Flux Transport by Supergranules

We simulate the transport of magnetic flux in the Sun s photosphere by an evolving pattern of cellular horizontal flows (supergranules). Characteristics of the simulated flow pattern can match observed characteristics including the velocity power spectrum, cell lifetimes, and cell motions in longitude and latitude. Simulations using an average, and north-south symmetric, meridional motion of the cellular pattern produce polar magnetic fields that are too weak in the North and too strong in the South. Simulations using cellular patterns with meridional motions that evolve with the observed changes in strength and north-south asymmetry will be analyzed to see if they reproduce the polar field evolution observed during the rise of Cycle 24.

Hathaway, David↗

Reproducing the Photospheric Magnetic Field Evolution During the Rise of Cycle 24 with Flux Transport by Supergranules

We simulate the transport of magnetic flux in the Sun s photosphere by an evolving pattern of cellular horizontal flows (supergranules). Characteristics of the simulated flow pattern match observed characteristics including the velocity power spectrum, cell lifetimes, and cell pattern motion in longitude and latitude. Simulations using an average, and north-south symmetric, meridional motion of the cellular pattern produce polar magnetic fields that are too weak in the North and too strong in the South. Simulations using cellular patterns with meridional motions that evolve with the observed changes in strength and north-south asymmetry will be analyzed to see if they reproduce the polar field evolution observed during the rise of Cycle 24.

Hathaway, David H.↗

Experimental results for a hypersonic nozzle/afterbody flow field

The flow field created by the interaction of a single-expansion-ramp-nozzle (SERN) flow with a hypersonic external stream has been experimentally characterized using a generic nozzle/afterbody model in the 3.5-foot hypersonic wind tunnel of the NASA Ames Research Center. The presented results include oil-flow and shadowgraph flow visualization photographs, afterbody surface-pressure distributions, boundary layer rake measurements, and Preston-tube skin-friction measurements. The design, construction, and operation of the model was found to be successful. Surface oil-flow patterns show that the jet-plume flow attaches to the afterbody surface at jet pressure ratios between 154 and 234. The oil flow also shows the pattern of lines where the jet flow separates from the ramp, apparently as a result of interaction of the jet-plume internal shock wave with the ramp boundary layer.

Spaid, Frank W.↗

Flow properties along field lines in a 3-D tilted-dipole geometry

A 3-D MHD simulation of a global, tilted-dipole solar wind flow pattern is analyzed to determine flow properties along individual magnetic field lines. In the model, flow conditions near the Sun are chosen to provide a reasonable match to the interplanetary configuration prevailing during the recent south polar passage by Ulysses, i.e., a streamer belt inclined approximately 30 deg to the solar equator and speeds ranging from 325-800 km/s. Field lines all across the stream pattern are traced from 1 to 10 AU by following the motion of marker particles embedded in the flow. It is found that those field lines threading the core of the interaction region are subject to significant latitudinal and relative longitudinal displacement over this range of heliocentric distance. Thus, observations taken at a fixed latitude in the inner solar system sample, over the course of a solar rotation, field lines which connect to a range of latitudes in the outer heliosphere. Maps of the field line displacements are presented to help visualize these connections. In addition, it is found that depending upon the location relative to the CIR structure, the radial evolution of fluid elements frozen to different field lines can deviate considerably from that of the canonical solar wind. That is, for selected subsets of field lines, large speed changes (not just at shocks) can be experienced; the density variation can be far from 1/r(exp 2), and the magnetic field intensity need not decay monotonically with distance.

Pizzo, V. J.↗

Distribution and directional fabric of ash-flow sheets in the northwestern Mogollon Plateau, New Mexico.

Individual ash-flow sheets distributed over wide areas in the Mogollon-Datil volcanic province can be delineated and related by flow direction techniques to specific source cauldrons. Two major mid-Tertiary ash flows in the Mogollon Plateau have measurable microscopic directional fabric indicative of primary flow direction imprinted in the ash-flow sheets during late-stage laminar flow. Regional stratigraphic relationships and flow patterns of the ash-flow sheets indicate a late Tertiary origin of the Mogollon Plateau depression. They also show that Basin-Range faulting in southwestern New Mexico was not initiated until after emplacement of the younger ash flow (23 m.y. B.P.). Directional fabric is an inherent property of many calc-alkalic ash-flow sheets and measurement of preferred orientation provides a powerful tool in unravelling the geologic history of complex volcanic terrane.

Rhodes, R. C.↗

Transport processes in boiling and two-phase systems, including near-critical fluids

Aspects of pool boiling are considered, taking into account nucleate boiling, the nucleate boiling mechanism, film boiling, and the transition between nucleate and film boiling. The characteristics of two-phase flow are also investigated, giving attention to two-phase flow parameters and equations, the flow pattern in two-phase flow, the pressure drop in two-phase flow, heat transfer in two-phase flow, two-phase flow dynamics, the boiling crisis in two-phase flow, the critical flow rate, the propagation of the pressure pulse and the sonic velocity in two-phase media, instrumentation for two-phase flow, and geometry and field effects on boiling and two-phase flow. Near-critical fluids are also considered.

Hsu, Y.-Y.↗

Finite analytic numerical solution of two-dimensional channel flow over a backward-facing step

Laminar channel flow over a backward-facing step is investigated. The finite analytic (FA) method is used to obtain the numerical solution. The FA solutions predict the recirculation zone lengths and the recirculated mass flow rates for Reynolds numbers, Re, of 25, 50, 73, 125, 191 and 229 which correlate well with experimental measurements. The general flow patterns of the recirculation region flows for the Reynolds numbers considered in this study are similar to each other.

Ho, K.-S.↗

Navier-Stokes and Euler solutions for lee-side flows over supersonic delta wings. A correlation with experiment

An Euler flow solver and a thin layer Navier-Stokes flow solver were used to numerically simulate the supersonic leeside flow fields over delta wings which were observed experimentally. Three delta wings with 75, 67.5, and 60 deg leading edge sweeps were computed over an angle-of-attack range of 4 to 20 deg at a Mach number 2.8. The Euler code and Navier-Stokes code predict equally well the primary flow structure where the flow is expected to be separated or attached at the leading edge based on the Stanbrook-Squire boundary. The Navier-Stokes code is capable of predicting both the primary and the secondary flow features for the parameter range investigated. For those flow conditions where the Euler code did not predict the correct type of primary flow structure, the Navier-Stokes code illustrated that the flow structure is sensitive to boundary layer model. In general, the laminar Navier-Stokes solutions agreed better with the experimental data, especially for the lower sweep delta wings. The computational results and a detailed re-examination of the experimental data resulted in a refinement of the flow classifications. This refinement in the flow classification results in the separation bubble with the shock flow type as the intermediate flow pattern between separated and attached flows.

Mcmillin, S. Naomi↗

Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow Through Packed Beds in Microgravity

Experimental data on flow pattern transitions, pressure drop, and flow characteristics for cocurrent gas–liquid flow through packed columns in microgravity is analyzed. The pulse flow regime exists over a wider range of gas and liquid flow rates under microgravity conditions. Furthermore, maps used to predict transition boundaries in normal gravity do not apply in microgravity. The flow regime data are compared to the widely used Talmor map and a new transition criterion between bubble and pulse flow in microgravity is proposed. The pressure-drop data clearly show that interfacial effects can increase the pressure drop by as much as 300% compared to those predicted by the single-phase Ergun equation. A two-phase friction factor is correlated to the superficial gas and liquid Reynolds numbers and the Suratman number. New data are also presented on the influence of gravity on the pulse amplitude and frequency.

Brian J. Motil↗

Hydrodynamics of Two-Phase Flows through Porous Media in Microgravity: Packed Bed Reactor Experiment onboard of the International Space Station

The objective of the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment was to develop a fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamics of two-phase flow with no phase transition through porous media in microgravity. This work describes two experimental campaigns flown on the International Space Station (ISS) that were designed to achieve the objective. This work presents the results on flow patterns observed, two-phase flow pressure drop in porous media, and the impact of capillary effects on pressure drop at various gas and liquid flow rates. This work is the first to present predictive correlations of the two-phase friction factor for the different regimes identified based on the superficial liquid and gas velocity in microgravity, the first to hypothesize the different regimes based on the change in slope of the pressure gradient versus flow rate plots, the first to address the effects of the capillarity on the pressure gradient and the first to measure column holdup and assess the effective porosity based on the packing and the trapped gas bubbles. Experimental data on pressure drop in gas (N2) – liquid (water) flow show the presence of four different flow regimes in microgravity. Dispersed bubble flow (DB) and pulse (P) flow regimes are detected at high liquid flow rates, whereas at low liquid flow rates “large bubble” or elongated bubble (LB) and “gas channeling” (GC) regimes are observed. For these different flow regimes, different two-phase flow friction factor and pressure gradient correlations are presented for the first time as a function of the gas and liquid modified Reynolds numbers and Suratman number. Within the viscous-capillary (V-C) regime, it is found that the capillary contribution is the dominant force that contributes to the pressure drop for the wetting case (glass). However, for the non-wetting packing (Teflon), the viscous contribution dominates. It was found that the gas hold-up and pressure drop are functions of bed history at low liquid and gas flow rates with the magnitude of the hysteresis decreasing with increasing flow rates. PBRE-2 results show that the capillary force is a strong function of the superficial liquid velocity but is a much weaker function of the superficial gas velocity and varies inversely with the particle diameter. Within the Viscous-Capillary (V-C) regime, over 90% of the pressure gradient is attributed to the capillary contribution in the gas continuous regime. However, in the large bubble regime, the viscous and capillary contributions were comparable. After the completion of PBRE-2 with glass spherical beads, another bed packed with alumina was installed. Pressure gradient data for the alumina packed bed (PBRE-Water Recovery) were transferred to the PI and were not analyzed by the authors of this work. The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment concluded its on-orbit operation after two successful campaigns of testing in 2017 and in 2021. The flight hardware was brought back from orbit and is being reconditioned for a series of future experiments referred to as PBRE-WRS in support of water recovery (WRS). The WRS series consists of testing different two-phase fluid system components and packed beds to assess their pressure gradient characteristics, which will be used for designing packed bed reactors for various applications relevant to life support. Although there is so much relevance of the experimental results obtained from the two PBRE campaign in microgravity to life support, these findings also apply to other applications that involve two phase flow in porous medium such as fuel cells, transport of nutrient to plants in space and other chemical and materials processing that involve two phase flows. These systems operate differently in microgravity because, due to the lack of buoyancy, the density difference between the phases becomes irrelevant and no longer leads to phase separation.

Packed Bed↗