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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Sub-Grid Modeling of Electrokinetic Effects in Micro Flows

Advances in micro-fabrication processes have generated tremendous interests in miniaturizing chemical and biomedical analyses into integrated microsystems (Lab-on-Chip devices). To successfully design and operate the micro fluidics system, it is essential to understand the fundamental fluid flow phenomena when channel sizes are shrink to micron or even nano dimensions. One important phenomenon is the electro kinetic effect in micro/nano channels due to the existence of the electrical double layer (EDL) near a solid-liquid interface. Not only EDL is responsible for electro-osmosis pumping when an electric field parallel to the surface is imposed, EDL also causes extra flow resistance (the electro-viscous effect) and flow anomaly (such as early transition from laminar to turbulent flow) observed in pressure-driven microchannel flows. Modeling and simulation of electro-kinetic effects on micro flows poses significant numerical challenge due to the fact that the sizes of the double layer (10 nm up to microns) are very thin compared to channel width (can be up to 100 s of m). Since the typical thickness of the double layer is extremely small compared to the channel width, it would be computationally very costly to capture the velocity profile inside the double layer by placing sufficient number of grid cells in the layer to resolve the velocity changes, especially in complex, 3-d geometries. Existing approaches using "slip" wall velocity and augmented double layer are difficult to use when the flow geometry is complicated, e.g. flow in a T-junction, X-junction, etc. In order to overcome the difficulties arising from those two approaches, we have developed a sub-grid integration method to properly account for the physics of the double layer. The integration approach can be used on simple or complicated flow geometries. Resolution of the double layer is not needed in this approach, and the effects of the double layer can be accounted for at the same time. With this approach, the numeric grid size can be much larger than the thickness of double layer. Presented in this report are a description of the approach, methodology for implementation and several validation simulations for micro flows.

Chen, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1996

3-D Simulations of NSTAR Ion Thruster Plasma Interactions

Described is a Particle-in-Cell with Monte Carlo Collision code developed to perform detailed three-dimensional ion thruster simulations. To capture the full kinetic behavior of ion thruster plumes, both the electrons and ions are treated as test particles. Simulation results are given of the NSTAR ion thruster under ground test and in space conditions. Numerical results are compared.

NSTAR Ion Thruster Plasma Ionization Particles↗
NASA NTRS1988

Nonlinear 3-D evolution of bounded kinetic Alfven waves due to shear flow and collisionless tearing instability

The three-dimensional nonlinear simulation of the evolution of a kinetic Alfven wave is presented for simple boundary conditions that resemble those of a discrete auroral breakup arc. The model used is a variant of the reduced megnetohydrodynamic description that includes, in addition, the important dispersive effect of electron inertia. It is found that with a 'generator' boundary condition corresponding to a current generator and a fully conducting 'load' boundary, the wave evolves three-dimensionally through a combination of shear flow and collisionless tearing mode instability.

Seyler, Charles E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Grain dynamics in zero gravity

The dynamics of granular materials has proved difficult to model, primarily because of the complications arising from inelastic losses, friction, packing, and the effect of many grains being in contact simultaneously. The kinetic model of granular systems is similar to the kinetic theory of gases, except that collisional energy losses are always present in the former and must be treated explicity. Few granular materials on Earth are describable by this limiting model, since gravity tends to collapse the grains into a high density state where Coulombic friction effects are dominant. The planned Space Station offers an unusual opportunity to test the kinetic grain model and to explore its predictions. Without gravity, the regime of low interparticle velocities (where an elastic description of the collision is still valid) can be investigated. This will allow for direct interpretation by dynamical computer simulations as well as by the kinetic theory. The dynamics of spherical grains inside a clear box would be examined. Results would be compared with the predictions of the kinetic theory and computer simulations.

Werner, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The interaction of quasiperpendicular shock waves in a collisionless plasma

The interaction between collisionless shocks is examined from a kinetic viewpoint using computer simulations of shock collisions spanning the range of ambient plasma and shock parameters typical of the interplanetary medium. It is found that the interaction between two subcritical, perpendicular shocks is largely fluidlike with no evidence for accelerated particles. The electromagnetic fields associated with each shock, but not the plasmas, pass through each other during the collision. This interaction is due to self-consistently generated electric fields which adjust to the value needed to bring to rest the two incoming streams. The interaction between two supercritical perpendicular collisionless shocks is similar to the subcritical case, in that the electromagnetic fields associated with each shock are transmitted whereas particles are not. However, the interaction is also highly dynamic with substantial acceleration of ions. Increasing the Mach number gives rise to an increasing number of energetic particles.

Cargill, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Particle and fluid simulations of resistive current-driven electrostatic ion cyclotron waves

The results from 1-D numerical simulations of electrostatic ion cyclotron waves (EIC) are presented for a model in which the electrons are a resistive (collisional) fluid. Simulations of both the kinetic and fluid descriptions are performed and compared in order to assess the fundamental limitations of fluid theory for EIC waves. The effect of ion-neutral collisions is also included using a simple Monte Carlo technique. It is found that a small ion-neutral collision frequency destroys the frequency harmonic coupling of kinetic EIC waves and tends to validate the fluid description. The saturation amplitude of the current-driven EIC instability is in agreement with recent laboratory experiments. The coherent nature (extremely narrow spectral width) and phase velocity agree with ground based (coherent backscatter radars) and in situ observations of current-driven EIC waves in the high latitude ionosphere.

Seyler, Charles E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Modeling of wave-coherent pressures in the turbulent boundary layer above water waves

The behavior of air pressure fluctuations induced by progressive water waves generated mechanically in a laboratory tank was simulated by solving a modified Orr-Sommerfeld equation in a transformed Eulerian wave-following frame of reference. Solution is obtained by modeling the mean and wave-coherent turbulent Reynolds stresses, the behavior of which in the turbulent boundary layer above the waves was simulated using a turbulent kinetic energy-dissipation model, properly modified to account for free-surface proximity and favorable pressure gradient effects. The distribution of both the wave-coherent turbulent Reynolds stress and pressure amplitudes and their corresponding phase lags was found to agree reasonably well with available laboratory data.

Papadimitrakis, Yiannis ALEX.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Melt-processing of lunar ceramics

The goal of this project is to produce useful ceramics materials from lunar resources using the by products of lunar oxygen production processes. Emphasis is being placed on both fabrication of a variety of melt-processed ceramics, and on understanding the mechanical properties of these materials. Previously, glass-ceramics were formed by casting large glass monoliths and heating these to grow small crystallites. The strengths of the resulting glass-ceramics were found to vary with the inverse square root of the crystal grain size. The highest strengths (greater than 300 MPa) were obtained with the smallest crystal sizes (less than 10 microns). During the past year, the kinetics of crystallization in simulated lunar regolith were examined in an effort to optimize the microstructure and, hence, mechanical properties of glass ceramics. The use of solar energy for melt-processing of regolith was examined, and strong (greater than 630 MPa) glass fibers were successfully produced by melt-spinning in a solar furnace. A study of the mechanical properties of simulated lunar glasses was completed during the past year. As on Earth, the presence of moisture was found to weaken simulated lunar glasses, although the effects of surface flaws was shown to outweigh the effect of atmospheric moisture on the strength of lunar glasses. The effect of atmospheric moisture on the toughness was also studied. As expected, toughness was found to increase only marginally in an anhydrous atmosphere. Finally, our efforts to involve undergraduates in the research lab fluorished this past year. Four undergraduates worked on various aspects of these projects; and two of them were co-authors on papers which we published.

Fabes, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Hybrid simulations of the saturated Farley-Buneman instability in the ionosphere

Numerical simulations of the Farley-Buneman instability in 2-1/2 dimensions using particle ions and fluid electrons show the growth, saturation and nonlinear behavior of two-stream waves. This hybrid technique models the saturated state of the instability for a much longer period of time than the pure particle codes that preceded it. While focusing principally on modeling the topside E region equatorial electrojet, many of these results apply to the auroral two-stream instability as well. The following features are seen in all our hybrid simulations: (1) wave growth at an angle offset from the electron drift direction where the angle depends on the strength of the driving electric field, (2) nonlinear coupling to waves traveling perpendicular to the propagation direction of the principal two-stream waves, (3) a saturated wave phase velocity at or above the sound speed but well below the velocity predicted by linear theory and (4) phase velocities which remain almost constant as a simulated radar sweeps from a horizontal direction to nearly vertical. The nonlinear electron motion dominates the behavior of these waves. Further, these simulations indicate that ion kinetic effects are not essential for the saturation of the instability and that electron temperature effects have a minor impact on the final saturated state.

Oppenheim, Meers↗
NASA NTRS1999

Buoyancy Driven Shear Flows of Bubble Suspensions

In this work the gas volume fraction and the root-mean-squared fluid velocity are measured in buoyancy driven shear flows of bubble suspensions in a tall, inclined, rectangular channel. The experiments are performed under conditions where We << 1a nd Re >> 1, for which comparisons are made with kinetic theory and numerical simulations. Here Re = gamma(a(exp 2)/nu is the Reynolds number and We = rho(gamma(exp 2))a(exp 3)/sigma is the Weber number; gamma is the shear rate, a is the bubble radius, nu is the kinematic viscosity of the liquid, rho is the density of the liquid, and sigma is the surface tension of the gas/liquid interface. Kang et al. calculated the bubble phase pressure and velocity variance of sheared bubble suspensions under conditions where the bubbles are spherical and the liquid phase velocity field can be approximated using potential flow theory, i.e. We= 0 and Re >> 1. Such conditions can be achieved in an experiment using gas bubbles, with a radius of O(0.5mm), in water. The theory requires that there be no average relative motion of the gas and liquid phases, hence the motivation for an experimental program in microgravity. The necessity of performing preliminary, Earth based experiments, however, requires performing experiments where the gas phase rises in the liquid, which significantly complicates the comparison of experiments with theory. Rather than comparing experimental results with theory for a uniform, homogeneous shear flow, experiments can be compared directly with solutions of the averaged equations of motion for bubble suspensions. This requires accounting for the significant lift force acting on the gas phase when the bubbles rise parallel to the average velocity of the sheared suspension. Shear flows can be produced in which the bubble phase pressure gradient, arising from shear induced collisions amongst the bubbles, balances a body force (centrifugal or gravitational) on the gas phase. A steady, non-uniform gas volume fraction can be measured, from which the bubble phase pressure gradient can be obtained and compared to theory and numerical simulations. The presence of bounding walls further complicates the experiments, since the detailed interactions of the bubbles with bounding walls is not well understood, especially in the presence of gravity, where the momentum and energy exchange depends on the inclination of the wall.

Koch, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulation of Jet-A combustion approximated by improved propane chemical kinetics

Through the effort devoted to the chemical kinetics for propane air combustion, three mechanisms are developed. The full mechanism consists of 131 reactions. This mechanism is used as a guide for the evaluation of other mechanisms, but because of the long expected cpu time, it is not to be incorporated into the computer code KIVA-II for actual simulation. Through the sensitivity analysis, a reduced mechanism of 45 reactions is produced. But the calculated results from the 45 reaction mechanism are always low in temperature. Some efforts are devoted to correct this situation and details are included in this report. A simplified mechanism of reactions is successfully improved and computed results are compared with experimental data. Contour plots of physical parameters and species concentrations and results for emission indices of CO and NOx are presented.

Ying, Shuh-Jing↗
NASA NTRS1989

RTM user's guide

RTM is a FORTRAN '77 computer code which simulates the infiltration of textile reinforcements and the kinetics of thermosetting polymer resin systems. The computer code is based on the process simulation model developed by the author. The compaction of dry, woven textile composites is simulated to describe the increase in fiber volume fraction with increasing compaction pressure. Infiltration is assumed to follow D'Arcy's law for Newtonian viscous fluids. The chemical changes which occur in the resin during processing are simulated with a thermo-kinetics model. The computer code is discussed on the basis of the required input data, output files and some comments on how to interpret the results. An example problem is solved and a complete listing is included.

Claus, Steven J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A kinetic model for the thermal nitridation of SiO2/Si

To explain the observed nitrogen distributions in thermally nitridated SiO2 films, a kinetic model is proposed in which the nitridation process is simulated, using the first-order chemical kinetics and Arrhenius dependence of the diffusion and reaction rates on temperature. The calculations show that initially, as the substrate reacts with diffusing nitrogen, a nitrogen-rich oxynitride forms at the SiO2-Si interface, while at nitridation temperatures above 1000 C, an oxygen-rich oxynitride subsequently forms at the interface, due to reaction of the substrate with an increasingly concentrated oxygen displaced by the slower nitridation of the SiO2. This sequence of events results in a nitrogen distribution in which the peak of the interfacial nitrogen concentration occurs away from the interface. The results are compared with the observed nitrogen distribution. The calculated results have correctly predicted the positions of the interfacial nitrogen peaks at the temperatures of 800, 1000, and 1150 C. To account for the observed width of the interfacial nitrogen distribution, it was found necessary to include in the simulations the effect of interfacial strain.

Vasquez, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Structure and length scales of rotational discontinuities

Results are presented of a series of 1D hybrid (kinetic ions and fluid electrons) simulations, using a nondynamic method to form rotational discontinuities (RDs) at an angle of 60 deg between the normal direction and the upstream magnetic field. Ion kinetic effects are found to be important with regard to the stability of the current layer, its thickness and scaling, and its dependence on initial conditions. A detailed examination of the downstream wave train and gradient scale size showed that RDs with alpha1 = +/-180 deg are stable within the framework of the simulation. With proper initialization, electron-sense rotations of -270 deg were found that do not disintegrate immediately but rather appear to consist of a superposition of a solitary wave with -360-deg rotation and a 90-deg ion-sense rotation.

Krauss-Varban, D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Morphological evolution of growing crystals - A Monte Carlo simulation

The combined effects of nutrient diffusion and surface kinetics on the crystal morphology were investigated using a Monte Carlo model to simulate the evolving morphology of a crystal growing from a two-component gaseous nutrient phase. The model combines nutrient diffusion, based on a modified diffusion-limited aggregation process, with anisotropic surface-attachment kinetics and surface diffusion. A variety of conditions, ranging from kinetic-controlled to diffusion-controlled growth, were examined. Successive transitions from compact faceted (dominant surface kinetics) to open dendritic morphologies (dominant volume diffusion) were obtained.

Xiao, Rong-Fu↗
NASA NTRS2010

Multiscale Modeling of Solar Coronal Magnetic Reconnection

Magnetic reconnection is widely believed to be the primary process by which the magnetic field releases energy to plasma in the Sun's corona. For example, in the breakout model for the initiation of coronal mass ejections/eruptive flares, reconnection is responsible for the catastrophic destabilizing of magnetic force balance in the corona, leading to explosive energy release. A critical requirement for the reconnection is that it have a "switch-on' nature in that the reconnection stays off until a large store of magnetic free energy has built up, and then it turn on abruptly and stay on until most of this free energy has been released. We discuss the implications of this requirement for reconnection in the context of the breakout model for CMEs/flares. We argue that it imposes stringent constraints on the properties of the flux breaking mechanism, which is expected to operate in the corona on kinetic scales. We present numerical simulations demonstrating how the reconnection and the eruption depend on the effective resistivity, i.e., the effective Lundquist number, and propose a model for incorporating kinetic flux-breaking mechanisms into MHO calculation of CMEs/flares.

Antiochos, Spiro K.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Modeling Macro- and Micro-Scale Turbulent Mixing and Chemistry in Engine Exhaust Plumes

Simulation of turbulent mixing and chemical processes in the near-field plume and plume-vortex regimes has been successfully carried out recently using a reduced gas phase kinetics mechanism which substantially decreased the computational cost. A detailed mechanism including gas phase HOx, NOx, and SOx chemistry between the aircraft exhaust and the ambient air in near-field aircraft plumes is compiled. A reduced mechanism capturing the major chemical pathways is developed. Predictions by the reduced mechanism are found to be in good agreement with those by the detailed mechanism. With the reduced chemistry, the computer CPU time is saved by a factor of more than 3.5 for the near-field plume modeling. Distributions of major chemical species are obtained and analyzed. The computed sensitivities of major species with respect to reaction step are deduced for identification of the dominant gas phase kinetic reaction pathways in the jet plume. Both the near field plume and the plume-vortex regimes were investigated using advanced mixing models. In the near field, a stand-alone mixing model was used to investigate the impact of turbulent mixing on the micro- and macro-scale mixing processes using a reduced reaction kinetics model. The plume-vortex regime was simulated using a large-eddy simulation model. Vortex plume behind Boeing 737 and 747 aircraft was simulated along with relevant kinetics. Many features of the computed flow field show reasonable agreement with data. The entrainment of the engine plumes into the wing tip vortices and also the partial detrainment of the plume were numerically captured. The impact of fluid mechanics on the chemical processes was also studied. Results show that there are significant differences between spatial and temporal simulations especially in the predicted SO3 concentrations. This has important implications for the prediction of sulfuric acid aerosols in the wake and may partly explain the discrepancy between past numerical studies (that employed parabolic or temporal approximations) and the measured data. Finally to address the major uncertainty in the near-field plume modeling related to the plume processing of sulfur compounds and advanced model was developed to evaluate its impact on the chemical processes in the near wake. A comprehensive aerosol model is developed and it is coupled with chemical kinetics and the axisymmetric turbulent jet flow models. The integrated model is used to simulate microphysical processes in the near-field jet plume, including sulfuric acid and water binary homogeneous nucleation, coagulation, non-equilibrium heteromolecular condensation, and sulfur-induced soot activation. The formation and evolution of aerosols are computed and analyzed. The computed results show that a large number of ultra-fine (0.3--0.6 nm in radius) volatile HSO4 - HO embryos are generated in the near-field plume. These embryos further grow in size by self coagulation and condensation. Soot particles can be activated by both heterogeneous nucleation and scavenging of H2SO4-H2O aerosols. These activated soot particles can serve as water condensation nuclei for contrail formation. Conditions under which ice contrails can form behind aircrafts are studied. The sensitivities of the threshold temperature for contrail formation with respect to aircraft propulsion efficiency, relative humidity, and ambient pressure are evaluated. The computed aerosol properties for different extent of fuel sulfur conversion to S(VI) (SO3 and H2SO4) in engine are examined and the results are found to be sensitive to this conversion fraction.

Menon, Suresh↗
NASA NTRS2017

Relating a Jet-Surface Interaction Experiment to a Commercial Supersonic Transport Aircraft Using Numerical Simulations

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were performed for a commercial supersonic transport aircraft concept and experimental hardware models designed to represent the installed propulsion system of the conceptual aircraft in an upcoming test campaign. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effects of jet-surface interactions from supersonic aircraft on airport community noise. RANS simulations of the commercial supersonic transport aircraft concept were performed to relate the representative experimental hardware to the actual aircraft. RANS screening simulations were performed on the proposed test hardware to verify that it would be free from potential rig noise and to predict the aerodynamic forces on the model hardware to assist with structural design. The simulations showed a large region of separated flow formed in a junction region of one of the experimental configurations. This was dissimilar with simulations of the aircraft and could invalidate the noise measurements. This configuration was modified and a subsequent RANS simulation showed that the size of the flow separation was greatly reduced. The aerodynamic forces found on the experimental models were found to be relatively small when compared to the expected loads from the model’s own weight.Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were completed for two configurations of a three-stream inverted velocity profile (IVP) nozzle and a baseline single-stream round nozzle (mixed-flow equivalent conditions). For the Sideline and Cutback flow conditions, while the IVP nozzles did not reduce the peak turbulent kinetic energy on the lower side of the jet plume, the IVP nozzles did significantly reduce the size of the region of peak turbulent kinetic energy when compared to the jet plume of the baseline nozzle cases. The IVP nozzle at Sideline conditions did suffer a region of separated flow from the inner stream nozzle splitter that did produce an intense, but small, region of turbulent kinetic energy in the vicinity of the nozzle exit. When viewed with the understanding that jet noise is directly related to turbulent kinetic energy, these IVP nozzle simulations show the potential to reduce noise to observers located below the nozzle. However, these RANS simulations also show that some modifications may be needed to prevent the small region of separated flow-induced turbulent kinetic energy from the inner stream nozzle splitter at Sideline conditions.

Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes↗