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Tapered strap provides more torque than parallel one. Report describes theoretical and experimental-investigation of simplified model of tension/torsion strap. Proposed for use in helicopter rotor blade to hold otherwise freely pitching blade tip inward against centrifugal force and to apply torque about pitch axis to regulate pitching motions of tip. Intended to improve aerodynamic performances of rotors and to reduce vibrations.
The optimization of trajectories for coplaner, aeroassisted orbital transfer (AOT) from a high Earth orbit (HEO) to a low Earth orbit (LEO) is examined. In particular, HEO can be a geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). It is assumed that the initial and final orbits are circular, that the gravitational field is central and is governed by the inverse square law, and that two impulses are employed, one at HEO exit and one at LEO entry. During the atmospheric pass, the trajectory is controlled via the lift coefficient in such a way that the total characteristic velocity is minimized. First, an ideal optimal trajectory is determined analytically for lift coefficient unbounded. This trajectory is called grazing trajectory, because the atmospheric pass is made by flying at constant altitude along the edge of the atmosphere until the excess velocity is depleted. For the grazing trajectory, the lift coefficient varies in such a way that the lift, the centrifugal force due to the Earth's curvature, the weight, and the Coriolis force due to the Earth's rotation are in static balance. Also, the grazing trajectory minimizes the total characteristic velocity and simultaneously nearly minimizes the peak values of the altitude drop, dynamic pressure, and heating rate. Next, starting from the grazing trajectory results, a real optimal trajectory is determined numerically for the lift coefficient bounded from both below and above. This trajectory is characterized by atmospheric penetration with the smallest possible entry angle, followed by flight at the lift coefficient lower bound. Consistently with the grazing trajectory behavior, the real optimal trajectory minimizes the total characteristic velocity and simultaneously nearly minimizes the peak values of the altitude drop, the dynamic pressure, and the heating rate.
The factors that affect the interchange instability of the earth's plasmapause are investigated using an extension of Richmond's (1973) procedure based on computing individual particle motions. The effects of particle inertia, centrifugal force, and gravity are estimated. A general differential equation is derived for the time variation of the perturbation potential characterizing an electrostatic ripple with no field-aligned potential drop, which can be solved as an eigenvalue problem to find the linear growth rate. Approximate analytic solutions to this equation were obtained from which it was deduced that the interchange instability is caused by the sharp change in plasma pressure at the plasmapause; its growth rate is limited by ionospheric conductivity and, for very short wavelengths, by the inertia of the magnetospheric particles.
The physical behavior of superfluid and normal fluid helium II is discussed. It is shown that the centrifugal force due to a rotating container can never separate the superfluid from the normal fluid helium in a large rotating cylindrical spacecraft. A classical approach is appropriate for treating superfluid and normal fluid cryogenic helium as a mixture without separation in a large rotating cylinder in a spacecraft propellant systems.
A method is developed for predicting the behavior of three-dimensional, turbulent boundary layers occurring in internal flows, including those on turbomachinery rotor blades. These boundary layers are complex, turbulent, and subject to Coriolis and centrifugal forces. The major thrust of this paper is the development and use of an algebraic Reynolds stress model (ARSM) that captures the changes in turbulent flow structure arising from curvature, rotation, and three dimensionality. The prediction of pressure-driven secondary flow agrees well with the measured data, and all three turbulence models (k-epsilon, algebraic eddy viscosity, and ARSM) show the same level of agreement. The prediction of boundary-layer development on rotor blades shows much better agreement with measurements with the ARSM. It is essential to employ higher-order turbulence models to capture the effects of rotation, curvature, and three dimensionality on boundary layers in turbomachinery.
A 1D quasi-spherical approximation is presently used under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium to model giant-planet formation processes that encompass the accretion and transport of angular momentum for both radiative and convective zones. These calculations have been conducted up to masses comparable to those of Saturn. Angular momentum transport is strong, leading to strong concentration of angular momentum in the outer convective zones which develop envelope masses greater than 30 earth masses. When the models are allowed to contract near the calculation's end, the ratio of centrifugal force to gravity at the outer radius rises sufficiently to validate the quasi-spherical approximation.
Report presents additional information about engineering concept described in "Nonobtrusive Damping For Parts Vibrating In Flows", (MFS-29572). Implies "nonobstructive particle damping" (NOPD) applicable not only to vanes immersed in flows but also to other vibrating structures. Furthermore, damping fillings include not only powders and balls but also slurries or even liquids. NOPD treatment offers additional advantages: lasts much longer than more conventional treatments; slight decrease in weight of structure; is largely independent of temperature, pressure, centrifugal force, or other environmental parameters; and relatively easy to implement because damping holes drilled routinely during fabrication.
Free-tip rotor blades improve fuel efficiency and performance characteristics of helicopters. Outermost portion of blade pivots independently with respect to inboard portion about pitch axis parallel to blade axis, located forward of aerodynamic center. Centrifugal force acts on tension/torsion strap and biases tip nose-up. Airstream turns tip nose-down, other torques cause tip to "weathervane" to intermediate angular position resulting in net lift. Reduces fluctuations in lift, with two effects: flapwise vibratory loads on blade and vibratory loads on pitch-control mechanism reduced; negative lift produced by advancing fixed tip eliminated, reducing power required to achieve same overall lift. Applies to tilt rotors and tail rotors as well.
In the first section, improvements in the theoretical model and computational procedure for the prediction of film height and heat-transfer coefficient of the free surface flow of a radially-spreading thin liquid film adjacent to a flat horizontal surface of finite extent are presented. Flows in the presence and absence of gravity are considered. Theoretical results are compared to available experimental data with good agreement. In the presence of gravity, a hydraulic jump is present, isolating the flow into two regimes: supercritical upstream from the jump and subcritical downstream of it. In this situation, the effects of surface tension are important near the outer edge of the disk where the fluid experiences a free fall. A region of flow separation is present just downstream of the jump. In the absence of gravity, no hydraulic jump or separated flow region is present. The variation of the heat-transfer coefficient for flows in the presence and absence of gravity are also presented. In the second section, the results of a numerical simulation of the flow field and associated heat transfer coefficients are presented for the free surface flow of a thin liquid film adjacent to a horizontal rotating disk. The computation was performed for different flow rates and rotational velocities using a 3-D boundary-fitted coordinate system. Since the geometry of the free surface is unknown and dependent on flow rate, rate of rotation, and other parameters, an iterative procedure had to be used to ascertain its location. The computed film height agreed well with existing experimental measurements. The flow is found to be dominated by inertia near the entrance and close to the free surface and dominated by centrifugal force at larger radii and adjacent to the disk. The rotation enhances the heat transfer coefficient by a significant amount.
The work performed to develop composite load spectra (CLS) for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) using probabilistic methods. The three methods were implemented to be the engine system influence model. RASCAL was chosen to be the principal method as most component load models were implemented with the method. Validation of RASCAL was performed. High accuracy comparable to the Monte Carlo method can be obtained if a large enough bin size is used. Generic probabilistic models were developed and implemented for load calculations using the probabilistic methods discussed above. Each engine mission, either a real fighter or a test, has three mission phases: the engine start transient phase, the steady state phase, and the engine cut off transient phase. Power level and engine operating inlet conditions change during a mission. The load calculation module provides the steady-state and quasi-steady state calculation procedures with duty-cycle-data option. The quasi-steady state procedure is for engine transient phase calculations. In addition, a few generic probabilistic load models were also developed for specific conditions. These include the fixed transient spike model, the poison arrival transient spike model, and the rare event model. These generic probabilistic load models provide sufficient latitude for simulating loads with specific conditions. For SSME components, turbine blades, transfer ducts, LOX post, and the high pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) discharge duct were selected for application of the CLS program. They include static pressure loads and dynamic pressure loads for all four components, centrifugal force for the turbine blade, temperatures of thermal loads for all four components, and structural vibration loads for the ducts and LOX posts.
The objective of the proposed paper is to develop a computational procedure that solves incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for pump flows. The solution method is based on the pseudo-compressibility approach and uses an implicit-upwind differencing scheme together with the Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. The equations are solved in steadily rotating reference frames and the centrifugal force and the Coriolis force are added to the equation of motion. As a benchmark problem, the flow through the Rocketdyne inducer is numerically simulated. A coarse grid solution is obtained with a single zone by using an algebraic turbulence model. In multi-zone fine grid computation, a one-equation Baldwin-Barth turbulence model is utilized. Numerical results are compared with experimental measurements and a good agreement is found between the two. The resulting computer code is then applied to the flow analysis inside a two-stage fuel pump impeller operating at 80 percent, 100 percent, and 120 percent of design flow.
A method and apparatus for scanning balloon-borne experiments, free-flying spacecraft, or gimballed experiments mounted on a space shuttle or space station, makes use of one or more rotating unbalanced mass devices for selectively generating circular, line, or raster scan patterns for the experiment line of sight. An auxiliary control system may also be used in combination with the rotating unbalanced mass device, for target acquisition, keeping the scan centered on the target, or for producing complementary motion for raster scanning. The rotating unbalanced mass makes use of a mass associated with a drive shaft, such mass having a center of gravity which is displaced from the drive shaft rotation axis. The drive shaft is driven with a substantially constant angular velocity, thereby resulting in relatively low power requirements since no acceleration or deceleration of the mass is generally involved during steady state operations. The resulting centrifugal force of the rotating unbalanced mass is used to generate desired reaction forces on the experiment or spacecraft to create a desired scan pattern for the experiment line of sight.
Ultrasonic levitation is used to suspend single millimeter-size glycerol drops in a rectangular chamber. Audio-frequency laterally standing waves set up in the chamber are used to torque the suspended drops. The shape evolution of the drop under the combined effect of centrifugal forces and the acoustic radiation stress, along with its angular velocity are monitored, using video imaging and light scattering techniques. The results show good qualitative agreement with the theoretically predicted shape evolution as a function of angular velocity.
The results of a numerical simulation of the flow field and associated heat transfer coefficient are presented for the free surface flow of a thin liquid film adjacent to a horizontal rotating disk. The computation has been performed for different flow rates and rotational velocities using a three-dimensional boundary-fitted coordinate system. Since the geometry of the free surface is unknown and dependent on flow rate, rate of rotation, and other parameters, an interative procedure had to be used to ascertain its location. The computed film height agreed well with existing experimental measurements. The flow was dominated by inertia near the entrance and close to the free surface, and dominated by centrifugal force at larger radii and adjacent to the disk. The rotation enhanced the heat transfer coefficient by a significant amount.
Over the past 30 or more years, the National Research Council Space Studies Board and its various committees have published hundreds of recommendations concerning life sciences research. Several particularly noteworthy themes appear consistently: (1) Balance - the need for a well-balanced research program in terms of ground versus flight, basic versus clinical, and internal versus extramural; (2) Excellence - because of the extremely limited number of flight opportunities (as well as their associated relative costs), the need for absolute excellence in the research that is conducted, in terms of topic, protocol, and investigator, and (3) Facilities - the single most important facility for life sciences research in space, an on-board, variable force centrifuge. In this first assessment report, the Committee on Space Biology and Medicine emphasizes that these long-standing themes remain as essential today as when first articulated. On the brink of the twenty-first century, the nation is contemplating the goal of human space exploration; consequently, the themes bear repeating. Each is a critical component of what will be necessary to successfully achieve such a goal.
Flow through pump components, such as an inducer and an impeller, is efficiently simulated by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The solution method is based on the pseudocompressibility approach and uses an implicit-upwind differencing scheme together with the Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. the equations are solved in steadily rotating reference frames and the centrifugal force and the Coriolis force are added to the equation of motion. Current computations use a one-equation Baldwin-Barth turbulence model which is derived from a simplified form of the standard k-epsilon model equations. The resulting computer code is applied to the flow analysis inside a generic rocket engine pump inducer, a fuel pump impeller, and SSME high pressure fuel turbopump impeller. Numerical results of inducer flow are compared with experimental measurements. In the fuel pump impeller, the effect of downstream boundary conditions is investigated. Flow analyses at 80 percent, 100 percent, and 120 percent of design conditions are presented.
The suitability of the MARC code for the analysis of rotating composite blades was evaluated using a four-task process. A nonlinear displacement analysis and subsequent eigenvalue analysis were performed on a rotating spring mass system to ensure that displacement-dependent centrifugal forces were accounted for in the eigenvalue analysis. Normal modes analyses were conducted on isotropic plates with various degrees of twist to evaluate MARC's ability to handle blade twist. Normal modes analyses were conducted on flat composite plates to validate the newly developed coupled COBSTRAN-MARC methodology. Finally, normal modes analyses were conducted on four composite propfan blades that were designed, analyzed, and fabricated at NASA Lewis Research Center. Results were compared with experimental data. The research documented herein presents MARC as a viable tool for the analysis of rotating composite blades.
Time-averaged and fluctuating quantities are measured in a free turbulent swirling jet. Data from a two-component laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) are compared to the measurements via hot-wire and 5-hole pitot probes. To acquire the proper seeding density near the axis of a swirling jet for LDA measurements proved difficult. This is due to an imbalance of the centrifugal force and radial pressure gradient, which throws the seeding material off the axis. Despite this problem, close agreement between various measurement techniques is obtained.