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At least 217 records · Page 12

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NASA NTRS2016

Budget of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in a Shock Wave Boundary-Layer Interaction

Implicit large-eddy simulation (ILES) of a shock wave/boundary-layer interaction (SBLI) was performed. Quantities present in the exact equation of the turbulent kinetic energy transport were accumulated and used to calculate terms like production, dissipation, molecular diffusion, and turbulent transport. The present results for a turbulent boundary layer were validated by comparison with direct numerical simulation data. It was found that a longer development domain was necessary for the boundary layer to reach an equilibrium state and a finer mesh resolution would improve the predictions. In spite of these findings, trends of the present budget match closely with that of the direct numerical simulation. Budgets for the SBLI region are presented at key axial stations. These budgets showed interesting dynamics as the incoming boundary layer transforms and the terms of the turbulent kinetic energy budget change behavior within the interaction region.

shock wave/boundary-layer interaction↗

DOE OSTI2025

Micropolar deep material network

This study extends the Deep Material Network (DMN), a physics-informed machine learning framework, to predict the homogenized mechanical response of composite materials with micropolar (Cosserat-type) constitutive behavior. This extension incorporates microstructure-dependent size effects, enabling accurate, efficient, and size-aware predictions for composites with complex internal architectures. While traditional, direct numerical simulation micropolar models effectively capture size effects by introducing extra local degrees of freedom, they bring significant computational challenges, particularly for multiscale analyses relevant to engineering applications. The micropolar DMN developed in this paper achieves high accuracy while significantly reducing computation time compared to micropolar direct numerical simulations. This advancement enables multiscale analyses and parameter studies that were previously impractical, such as high-cycle fatigue simulations and comprehensive investigations of internal length scale effects notably in size-dependent plastic response and the optimization of lattice structures. By uniting microstructure-sensitive modeling, physics-driven learning, and scalable surrogate modeling, the micropolar DMN paves the way for accelerated material design, large-scale parametric studies, and the reliable incorporation of size-dependent effects across a wide range of engineering applications, including optimization and next-generation composite design.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1993

Large-eddy simulation of laminar-turbulent breakdown at high speeds with dynamic subgrid-scale modeling

The laminar-turbulent breakdown of a boundary-layer flow along a hollow cylinder at Mach 4.5 is investigated with large-eddy simulation. The subgrid scales are modeled dynamically, where the model coefficients are determined from the local resolved field. The behavior of the dynamic-model coefficients is investigated through both an a priori test with direct numerical simulation data for the same case and a complete large-eddy simulation. Both formulations proposed by Germano et al. and Lilly are used for the determination of unique coefficients for the dynamic model and their results are compared and assessed. The behavior and the energy cascade of the subgrid-scale field structure are investigated at various stages of the transition process. The investigations are able to duplicate a high-speed transition phenomenon observed in experiments and explained only recently by the direct numerical simulations of Pruett and Zang, which is the appearance of 'rope-like' waves. The nonlinear evolution and breakdown of the laminar boundary layer and the structure of the flow field during the transition process were also investigated.

El-Hady, Nabil M.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Effect of Swirl on Turbulent Structures in Supersonic Jets

Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) is used to study the mechanism of generation and evolution of turbulence structures in a temporally evolving supersonic swirling round jet and also to examine the resulting acoustic radiations. Fourier spectral expansions are used in the streamwise and azimuthal directions and a 1-D b-spline Galerkin representation is used in the radial direction. Spectral-like accuracy is achieved using this numerical scheme. Direct numerical simulations, using the b-spline spectral method, are carried out starting from mean flow initial conditions which are perturbed by the most unstable linear stability eigenfunctions. It is observed that the initial helical instability waves evolve into helical vortices which eventually breakdown into smaller scales of turbulence. 'Rib' structures similar to those seen in incompressible mixing layer flow of Rogers and Moserl are observed. The jet core breakdown stage exhibits increased acoustic radiations.

Rao, Ram Mohan↗

NASA NTRS1998

Effect of Swirl on Turbulent Structures in Supersonic Jets

Rao, Ram Mohan↗

NASA NTRS1998

Effect of Swirl on Turbulent Structures in Supersonic Jets

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to study the mechanism of generation and evolution of turbulence structures in a temporally evolving supersonic swirling round jet and also to examine the resulting acoustic radiations. Fourier spectral expansions are used in the streamwise and azimuthal directions and a 1-D b-spline Galerkin representation is used in the radial direction. Spectral-like accuracy is achieved using this numerical scheme. Direct numerical simulations, using the b-spline spectral method, are carried out starting from mean flow initial conditions which are perturbed by the most unstable linear stability eigenfunctions. It is observed that the initial.helical instability waves evolve into helical vortices which eventually breakdown into smaller scales of turbulence. 'Rib' structures similar to those seen in incompressible mixing layer flow of Rogers and Moser are observed. The jet core breakdown stage exhibits increased acoustic radiations.

Rao, Ram Mohan↗

NASA NTRS1992

Tollmien-Schlichting wave/Dean vortex interactions in curved channel flow

Results from direct numerical simulations are presented to show that the weakly nonlinear results of Daudpota et al. (1988) are in error with respect to the influence of the Tollmien-Schlichting wave on the Dean vortex. The results of a new weakly nonlinear theory are then presented, and it is shown that the new results are consistent with the direct numerical simulations.

Singer, Bart A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Role of secondary instability theory and parabolized stability equations in transition modeling

In modeling the laminar-turbulent transition region, the designer depends largely on benchmark data from experiments and/or direct numerical simulations that are usually extremely expensive. An understanding of the evolution of the Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energy, and quantifies in the transport equations like the dissipation and production is essential in the modeling process. The secondary instability theory and the parabolized stability equations method are used to calculate these quantities, which are then compared with corresponding quantities calculated from available direct numerical simulation data for the incompressible boundary-layer flow of laminar-turbulent transition conditions. The potential of the secondary instability theory and the parabolized stability equations approach in predicting these quantities is discussed; results indicate that inexpensive data that are useful for transition modeling in the early stages of the transition region can be provided by these tools.

El-Hady, Nabil M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Micro- and Macro-Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics of Resonant Liners

The objectives of this project are to perform direct numerical simulation of the micro-fluid and acoustic fields of a resonant acoustic liner and to investigate the physical processes by which incident sound waves are damped by the acoustic liner. We would like to report that our research work and results have fulfilled both objectives of the grant. The following is a summary of the important accomplishments: (1) Two dimensional direct numerical simulation of the flow and acoustic field around the cavity of resonant liner were successfully carried out; (2) The simulations of (1) were extended to include a laminar grazing flow; (3) The numerical simulations provided strong evidence that there are two principal mechanisms by which a resonant liner damps out an incident acoustic wave; (4) A validation test was performed by comparing the computed dissipation coefficients (not impedance) with impedance tube measurements done at GTRI; and (5) Some resources of this grant were used to support the development of new CAA methods. (Our work on numerical simulation of acoustic liners has benefited by the availability of these improved methods).

Tam, Christopher K. W.↗

NASA NTRS2009

A Computational and Experimental Study of Resonators in Three Dimensions

In a previous work by the present authors, a computational and experimental investigation of the acoustic properties of two-dimensional slit resonators was carried out. The present paper reports the results of a study extending the previous work to three dimensions. This investigation has two basic objectives. The first is to validate the computed results from direct numerical simulations of the flow and acoustic fields of slit resonators in three dimensions by comparing with experimental measurements in a normal incidence impedance tube. The second objective is to study the flow physics of resonant liners responsible for sound wave dissipation. Extensive comparisons are provided between computed and measured acoustic liner properties with both discrete frequency and broadband sound sources. Good agreements are found over a wide range of frequencies and sound pressure levels. Direct numerical simulation confirms the previous finding in two dimensions that vortex shedding is the dominant dissipation mechanism at high sound pressure intensity. However, it is observed that the behavior of the shed vortices in three dimensions is quite different from those of two dimensions. In three dimensions, the shed vortices tend to evolve into ring (circular in plan form) vortices, even though the slit resonator opening from which the vortices are shed has an aspect ratio of 2.5. Under the excitation of discrete frequency sound, the shed vortices align themselves into two regularly spaced vortex trains moving away from the resonator opening in opposite directions. This is different from the chaotic shedding of vortices found in two-dimensional simulations. The effect of slit aspect ratio at a fixed porosity is briefly studied. For the range of liners considered in this investigation, it is found that the absorption coefficient of a liner increases when the open area of the single slit is subdivided into multiple, smaller slits.

Tam, C. K. W.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Tensor-Product Preconditioners for Higher-Order Space-Time Discontinuous Galerkin Methods

space-time discontinuous-Galerkin spectral-element discretization is presented for direct numerical simulation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equat ions. An efficient solution technique based on a matrix-free Newton-Krylov method is developed in order to overcome the stiffness associated with high solution order. The use of tensor-product basis functions is key to maintaining efficiency at high order. Efficient preconditioning methods are presented which can take advantage of the tensor-product formulation. A diagonalized Alternating-Direction-Implicit (ADI) scheme is extended to the space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretization. A new preconditioner for the compressible Euler/Navier-Stokes equations based on the fast-diagonalization method is also presented. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of these preconditioners for the direct numerical simulation of subsonic turbulent flows.

Diosady, Laslo T.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Simulations of Evaporating Multicomponent Fuel Drops

A paper presents additional information on the subject matter of Model of Mixing Layer With Multicomponent Evaporating Drops (NPO-30505), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 3 (March 2004), page 55. To recapitulate: A mathematical model of a three-dimensional mixing layer laden with evaporating fuel drops composed of many chemical species has been derived. The model is used to perform direct numerical simulations in continuing studies directed toward understanding the behaviors of sprays of liquid petroleum fuels in furnaces, industrial combustors, and engines. The model includes governing equations formulated in an Eulerian and a Lagrangian reference frame for the gas and drops, respectively, and incorporates a concept of continuous thermodynamics, according to which the chemical composition of a fuel is described by use of a distribution function. In this investigation, the distribution function depends solely on the species molar weight. The present paper reiterates the description of the model and discusses further in-depth analysis of the previous results as well as results of additional numerical simulations assessing the effect of the mass loading. The paper reiterates the conclusions reported in the cited previous article, and states some new conclusions. Some new conclusions are: 1. The slower evaporation and the evaporation/ condensation process for multicomponent-fuel drops resulted in a reduced drop-size polydispersity compared to their single-component counterpart. 2. The inhomogeneity in the spatial distribution of the species in the layer increases with the initial mass loading. 3. As evaporation becomes faster, the assumed invariant form of the molecular- weight distribution during evaporation becomes inaccurate.

Bellan, Josette↗

NASA NTRS1994

Drag reduction strategies

previously a description was given of an active control scheme using wall transpiration that leads to a 15% reduction in surface skin friction beneath a turbulent boundary layer, according to direct numerical simulation. In this research brief further details of that scheme and its variants are given together with some suggestions as to how sensor/actuator arrays could be configured to reduce surface drag. The research which is summarized here was performed during the first half of 1994. This research is motivated by the need to understand better how the dynamics of near-wall turbulent flow can be modified so that skin friction is reduced. The reduction of turbulent skin friction is highly desirable in many engineering applications. Experiments and direct numerical simulations have led to an increased understanding of the cycle of turbulence production and transport in the boundary layer and raised awareness of the possibility of disrupting the process with a subsequent reduction in turbulent skin friction. The implementation of active feedback control in a computational setting is a viable approach for the investigation of the modifications to the flow physics that can be achieved. Bewley et al. and Hill describe how ideas from optimal control theory are employed to give 'sub-optimal' drag reduction schemes. The objectives of the work reported here is to investigate in greater detail the assumptions implicit within such schemes and their limitations. It is also our objective to describe how an array of sensors and actuators could be arranged and interconnected to form a 'smart' surface which has low skin friction.

Hill, D. Christopher↗

DOE OSTI2024

Posterior comparison of model dynamics in several hybrid turbulence model forms

Hybrid turbulence models that can accurately reproduce unsteady three-dimensional flow physics across the entire range of grid scales and turbulence dynamics from Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS), through large-eddy simulation (LES), down to direct numerical simulations (DNS) are of increasing interest to the turbulence modeling community. However, despite decades of research and development, the basic tasks of eliminating poor-performing hybrid RANS-LES models and accelerating adoption of superior models through well-designed validation and verification have yet to occur. As a step in this direction, in this work we evaluate thirteen different hybrid RANS-LES models via systematic grid refinement of decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence. We further derive a novel mathematical framework for assessing the energy partitioning dynamics of each Hybrid RANS-LES model, wherein model-to-model variations in energy partitioning can be interpreted as different feedback mechanisms operating on a low-dimensional nonlinear dynamical system. We found that model forms similar to the flow simulation methodology—also often termed very-large eddy simulation—are dynamically inconsistent with DNS at all resolutions. Additionally, we found a strong dynamical similarity in the feedback mechanisms of all models related to detached eddy simulation and partially averaged Navier–Stokes that is inherent to their general model forms.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRS1995

Numerical Study of Boundary Layer Interaction with Shocks: Method Improvement and Test Computation

The objective is the development of a high-order and high-resolution method for the direct numerical simulation of shock turbulent-boundary-layer interaction. Details concerning the spatial discretization of the convective terms can be found in Adams and Shariff (1995). The computer code based on this method as introduced in Adams (1994) was formulated in Cartesian coordinates and thus has been limited to simple rectangular domains. For more general two-dimensional geometries, as a compression corner, an extension to generalized coordinates is necessary. To keep the requirements or limitations for grid generation low, the extended formulation should allow for non-orthogonal grids. Still, for simplicity and cost efficiency, periodicity can be assumed in one cross-flow direction. For easy vectorization, the compact-ENO coupling algorithm as used in Adams (1994) treated whole planes normal to the derivative direction with the ENO scheme whenever at least one point of this plane satisfied the detection criterion. This is apparently too restrictive for more general geometries and more complex shock patterns. Here we introduce a localized compact-ENO coupling algorithm, which is efficient as long as the overall number of grid points treated by the ENO scheme is small compared to the total number of grid points. Validation and test computations with the final code are performed to assess the efficiency and suitability of the computer code for the problems of interest. We define a set of parameters where a direct numerical simulation of a turbulent boundary layer along a compression corner with reasonably fine resolution is affordable.

Adams, N. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Theoretical and computational study of rotating isotropic turbulence

The various flow regimes that occur in rotating isotropic turbulence and their associated turbulence structure are studied. Direct numerical simulations are conducted for moderate and rapid rotation rates and comparisons are made with the predictions of generalized Eddy Damped Quasi-Normal Markovian (EDQNM) approximations. It is shown that at high rotation rates the nonlinear transfer terms remain small and that the development of the spectrum is through pure viscous decay. This shows that the effect of rapid rotation on the turbulence kinetic energy is through the shutting off of the production term in the dissipation rate equation. At moderate and relatively rapid rates, the rotation causes a discernible anisotropy to develop in the integral length scale with a mild trend toward a two-dimensionalization of the flow. As the flow decays, the Rossby number decreases, leading again to the shutting off of the nonlinear transfer terms. For extremely rapid rotation rates, the anisotropies in the integral length scales are small and direct numerical simulation results are in good agreement with rapid distortion theory.

Mansour, N. N.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Search for subgrid scale parameterization by projection pursuit regression

The dependence of subgrid-scale stresses on variables of the resolved field is studied using direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence, homogeneous shear flow, and channel flow. The projection pursuit algorithm, a promising new regression tool for high-dimensional data, is used to systematically search through a large collection of resolved variables, such as components of the strain rate, vorticity, velocity gradients at neighboring grid points, etc. For the case of isotropic turbulence, the search algorithm recovers the linear dependence on the rate of strain (which is necessary to transfer energy to subgrid scales) but is unable to determine any other more complex relationship. For shear flows, however, new systematic relations beyond eddy viscosity are found. For the homogeneous shear flow, the results suggest that products of the mean rotation rate tensor with both the fluctuating strain rate and fluctuating rotation rate tensors are important quantities in parameterizing the subgrid-scale stresses. A model incorporating these terms is proposed. When evaluated with direct numerical simulation data, this model significantly increases the correlation between the modeled and exact stresses, as compared with the Smagorinsky model. In the case of channel flow, the stresses are found to correlate with products of the fluctuating strain and rotation rate tensors. The mean rates of rotation or strain do not appear to be important in this case, and the model determined for homogeneous shear flow does not perform well when tested with channel flow data. Many questions remain about the physical mechanisms underlying these findings, about possible Reynolds number dependence, and, given the low level of correlations, about their impact on modeling. Nevertheless, demonstration of the existence of causal relations between sgs stresses and large-scale characteristics of turbulent shear flows, in addition to those necessary for energy transfer, provides important insight into the relation between scales in turbulent flows.

Meneveau, C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Bypass transition in compressible boundary layers

Transition to turbulence in aerospace applications usually occurs in a strongly disturbed environment. For instance, the effects of free-stream turbulence, roughness and obstacles in the boundary layer strongly influence transition. Proper understanding of the mechanisms leading to transition is crucial in the design of aircraft wings and gas turbine blades, because lift, drag and heat transfer strongly depend on the state of the boundary layer, laminar or turbulent. Unfortunately, most of the transition research, both theoretical and experimental, has focused on natural transition. Many practical flows, however, defy any theoretical analysis and are extremely difficult to measure. Morkovin introduced in his review paper the concept of bypass transition as those forms of transition which bypass the known mechanisms of linear and non-linear transition theories and are currently not understood by experiments. In an effort to better understand the mechanisms leading to transition in a disturbed environment, experiments are conducted studying simpler cases, viz. the effects of free stream turbulence on transition on a flat plate. It turns out that these experiments are very difficult to conduct, because generation of free stream turbulence with sufficiently high fluctuation levels and reasonable homogeneity is non trivial. For a discussion see Morkovin. Serious problems also appear due to the fact that at high Reynolds numbers the boundary layers are very thin, especially in the nose region of the plate where the transition occurs, which makes the use of very small probes necessary. The effects of free-stream turbulence on transition are the subject of this research and are especially important in a gas turbine environment, where turbulence intensities are measured between 5 and 20 percent, Wang et al. Due to the fact that the Reynolds number for turbine blades is considerably lower than for aircraft wings, generally a larger portion of the blade will be in a laminar transitional state. The effects of large free stream turbulence in compressible boundary layers at Mach numbers are examined both in the subsonic and transonic regime using direct numerical simulations. The flow is computed over a flat plate and curved surface. while many applications operate in the transonic regime. Due the nature of their numerical scheme, a non-conservation formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations, it is a non-trivial extension to compute flow fields in the transonic regime. This project aims at better understanding the effects of large free-stream turbulence in compressible boundary layers at mach number both in the subsonic and transonic regime using direct numerical simulations. The present project aims at computing the flow over a flat plate and curved surface. This research will provide data which can be used to clarify mechanisms leading to transition in an environment with high free stream turbulence. This information is useful for the development of turbulence models, which are of great importance for CFD applications, and are currently unreliable for more complex flows, such as transitional flows.

Vandervegt, J. J.↗