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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

The E-3 Test Facility at Stennis Space Center: Research and Development Testing for Cryogenic and Storable Propellant Combustion Systems

This paper will provide the reader a broad overview of the current upgraded capabilities of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center E-3 Test Facility to perform testing for rocket engine combustion systems and components using liquid and gaseous oxygen, gaseous and liquid methane, gaseous hydrogen, hydrocarbon based fuels, hydrogen peroxide, high pressure water and various inert fluids. Details of propellant system capabilities will be highlighted as well as their application to recent test programs and accomplishments. Data acquisition and control, test monitoring, systems engineering and test processes will be discussed as part of the total capability of E-3 to provide affordable alternatives for subscale to full scale testing for many different requirements in the propulsion community.

Pazos, John T.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The measurement, modeling, and prediction of traction for rocket propellant 1

Traction tests were performed on RP-1, a common kerosene based rocket propellant. Traction data on this fluid are required for purposes of turbopump bearing design, using codes such as SHABERTH. To obtain the traction data, an existing twin disc machine was used, operating under the side slip mode and using elliptical contacts. The range of test variables were: contact peak Hertz stress from 1.0 to 2.0 GPa, disc surface speed from 10 to 50 m/s, fluid inlet temperature from 30 to 70 C, and with a contact aspect ratio of 1.7. The resulting traction curves were reduced to fundamental fluid property parameters using the Johnson and Tevaarwerk traction model. Theoretical traction predictions were performed by back substitution of the fundamental properties into the traction model. Comparison of the predicted with the measured curves gives a high degree of confidence in the correctness of the traction model. For purposes of input to the NASA SHABERTH program, the traction model was next used to predict the expected traction of RP-1 under line contact conditions.

Tevaarwerk, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1930

Tests of Large Airfoils in the Propeller Research Tunnel, Including Two with Corrugated Surfaces

This report gives the results of the tests of seven 2 by 12 foot airfoils (Clark Y, smooth and corrugated, Gottingen 398, N.A.C.A. M-6, and N.A.C.A. 84). The tests were made in the propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Reynolds numbers up to 2,000,000. The Clark Y airfoil was tested with three degrees of surface smoothness. Corrugating the surface causes a flattening of the lift curve at the burble point and an increase in drag at small flying angles.

Wood, Donald H↗
NASA NTRS1932

Comparison of Full-Scale Propellers Having R.A.F.-6 and Clark Y Airfoil Sections

In this report the efficiencies of two series of propellers having two types of blade sections are compared. Six full-scale propellers were used, three having R. A. F.-6 and three Clark Y airfoil sections with thickness/chord ratios of 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10. The propellers were tested at five pitch setting, which covered the range ordinarily used in practice. The propellers having the Clark Y sections gave the highest peak efficiency at the low pitch settings. At the high pitch settings, the propellers with R. A. F.-6 sections gave about the same maximum efficiency as the Clark Y propellers and were more efficient for the conditions of climb and take-off.

Freeman, Hugh B↗
NASA NTRS1987

Wind tunnel tests on a one-foot diameter SR-7L propfan model

Wind tunnel tests have been conducted on a one-foot diameter model of the SR-7L propfan in the Langley 16-Foot and 4 x 7 Meter Wind Tunnels as part of the Propfan Test Assessment (PTA) Program. The model propfan was sized to be used on a 1/9-scale model of the PTA testbed aircraft. The model propeller was tested in isolation and wing-mounted on the aircraft configuration at various Mach numbers and blade pitch angles. Agreement between data obtained from these tests and data from Hamilton Standard validate that the 1/9-scale propeller accurately simulates the aerodynamics of the SR-7L propfan. Predictions from an analytical computer program are presented and show good agreement with the experimental data.

Aljabri, Abdullah S.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Slosh Baffle Design and Test for Spherical Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane Propellant Tank for a Lander

A Vertical Test Bed (VTB) is being developed to investigate exploration technologies with earth-based landing trajectories. During this activity, a concern emerged that the VTB, with large liquid tanks, could experience unstable slosh interaction between the propellant fluid motion and the control system, leading to an investigation of slosh characteristics of the VTB. As such, slosh modeling, analysis and testing were performed, that both verified models and lead to the conclusion that baffles would be required for the full-scale vehicle. Follow-on design and testing supported development of these baffles and measurement of their performance. The majority of the tests conducted, including both subscale and full, involved the use of clear tanks containing water as a reasonable substitute for the cryogenic propellants, though a few tests involved the actual liquid oxygen and methane. Along the way, some unique test and data recording methods were employed to reduce testing complexity and cost.

Strahan, Alan↗
NASA NTRS2001

Real-Time Inhibitor Recession Measurements in the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors

Real-time char line recession measurements were made on propellant inhibitors of the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM). The RSRM FSM-8 static test motor propellant inhibitors (composed of a rubber insulation material) were successfully instrumented with eroding potentiometers and thermocouples. The data was used to establish inhibitor recession versus time relationships. Normally, pre-fire and post-fire insulation thickness measurements establish the thermal performance of an ablating insulation material. However, post-fire inhibitor decomposition and recession measurements are complicated by the fact that most of the inhibitor is back during motor operation. It is therefore a difficult task to evaluate the thermal protection offered by the inhibitor material. Real-time measurements would help this task. The instrumentation program for this static test motor marks the first time that real-time inhibitors. This report presents that data for the center and aft field joint forward facing inhibitors. The data was primarily used to measure char line recession of the forward face of the inhibitors which provides inhibitor thickness reduction versus time data. The data was also used to estimate the inhibitor height versus time relationship during motor operation.

McWhorter, Bruce B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

GUI for Computational Simulation of a Propellant Mixer

Control Panel is a computer program that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for computational simulation of a rocket-test-stand propellant mixer in which gaseous hydrogen (GH2) is injected into flowing liquid hydrogen (LH2) to obtain a combined flow having desired thermodynamic properties. The GUI is used in conjunction with software that models the mixer as a system having three inputs (the positions of the GH2 and LH2 inlet valves and an outlet valve) and three outputs (the pressure inside the mixer and the outlet flow temperature and flow rate). The user can specify valve characteristics and thermodynamic properties of the input fluids via userfriendly dialog boxes. The user can enter temporally varying input values or temporally varying desired output values. The GUI provides (1) a set-point calculator function for determining fixed valve positions that yield desired output values and (2) simulation functions that predict the response of the mixer to variations in the properties of the LH2 and GH2 and manual- or feedback-control variations in valve positions. The GUI enables scheduling of a sequence of operations that includes switching from manual to feedback control when a certain event occurs.

Figueroa, Fernando↗
NASA NTRS1983

Test program to demonstrate the stability of hydrazine in propellant tanks

A 24-month coupon test program to evaluate the decomposition of propellant tanks is reported. The propellant fuel evaluated was monopropellant-grade hydrazine (N2H4), which is normally a colorless, fuming, corrosive, strongly reducing liquid. The degree of hydrazine decomposition was determined by means of chemical analyses of the liquid and evolved gases at the end of the test program. The experimental rates of hydrazine decomposition were determined to be within acceptable limits. The propellant tank materials and material combinations were not degraded by a 2-year exposure to hydrazine propellant. This was verified using change-of-weight determinations and microscopic examination of the specimen surface before and after exposure, and by posttest chemical analyses of hydrazine liquid for residual metal content.

Moran, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Low-speed stability and control characteristics of a transport model with aft-fuselage-mounted advanced turboprops

A limited experimental investigation was conducted in the Langley 4- by 7-Meter Tunnel to explore the effects of aft-fuselage-mounted advanced turboprop installations on the low-speed stability and control characteristics of a representative transport aircraft in a landing configuration. In general, the experimental results indicate that the longitudinal and lateral-directional stability characteristics for the aft-fuselage-mounted single-rotation tractor and counter-rotation pusher propeller configurations tested during this investigation are acceptable aerodynamically. For the single-rotation tractor configuration, the propeller-induced aerodynamics are significantly influenced by the interaction of the propeller slipstream with the pylon and nacelle. The stability characteristics for the counter-rotation pusher configuration are strongly influenced by propeller normal forces. The longitudinal and directional control effectiveness, engine-out characteristics, and ground effects are also presented. In addition, a tabulated presentation of all aerodynamic data presented in this report is included as an appendix.

Applin, Z. T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Additional noise data on the SR-3 propeller

The noise generated by supersonic-tip-speed propellers is investigated. An eight bladed propeller was tested in the Lewis 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel with conditions providing data in the subsonic operating region of the propeller. These conditions resulted in a slight reshaping of the curve for blade passing tone as a function of helical tip Mach number as compared with previous results. Directivity curves with an additional transducer position gave an indication of a lobe pattern for this propeller that was not previously observed. The present data at the aft-most position indicate that some reflections, possibly from the test rig support strut, may have affected the data taken previously.

Dittmar, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Tone noise of three supersonic helical tip speed propellers in a wind tunnel at 0.8 Mach number

Three supersonic helical tip speed propellers were tested in the NASA Lewis 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel. Noise data were obtained while these propellers were operating at a simulated cruise condition. The walls of this tunnel were not acoustically treated and therefore this was not an ideal location for taking noise data, but it was thought that the differences in noise among the three propellers would be meaningful. The straight bladed propeller which did not incorporate sweep was the noisiest with the aerodynamically swept propeller only slightly quieter. However, the acoustically swept propeller was significantly quieter than the straight propeller, thereby indicating the merit of this design technique.

Dittmar, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1980

High speed turboprops for executive aircraft, potential and recent test results

Four high speed propeller models were designed and tested in an 8x6 foot wind tunnel in order to evaluate the potential of advanced propeller technology. Results from these tests show that the combination of: increased blade number, aerodynamically integrated propeller/nacelles, reduced blade thickness, spinner area ruling, and blade sweep are important in achieving high propeller efficiency at the high cruise speeds.

Mikkelson, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Noise of two high-speed model counter-rotation propellers at takeoff/approach conditions

This paper presents acoustic results for two model counter-rotation propellers which were tested in the NASA Lewis 9- x 15-ft Anechoic Wind Tunnel. The propellers had a common forward rotor, but the diameter of the aft rotor of the second propeller was reduced in an effort to reduce its interaction with the forward rotor tip vortex. The propellers were tested at Mach 0.20, which is representative of takeoff/approach operation. Acoustic results are presented for these propellers which show the effect of rotor spacing, reduced aft rotor diameter, operation at angle-of-attack, blade loading, and blade number. Limited aerodynamic results are also presented to establish the propeller operating conditions.

Woodward, Richard P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Tone noise of three supersonic helical tip speed propellers in a wind tunnel

Three eight bladed supersonic helical tip speed propellers were tested in the NASA Lewis Wind Tunnel at through flow Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, and 0.85. Such propellers are being considered as propulsors for a future energy conservative aircraft. The three propellers of equal performance, incorporate different plan forms and different amounts of sweep in order to investigate their noise generation, which could cause a cabin environment problem. The acoustically designed propeller SR-3 had 45 deg of tip sweep and was significantly quieter at Mach 0.8 cruise than the straight bladed propeller, SR-2. An intermediate 30 deg tip sweep propeller, SR-1m exhibited a noise level between the other two. Enhanced pressure-time traces indicated that SR-2 and SR-1m exhibited shock-like pressure traces at Mach-0.8 cruise while the SR-3 did not. Noise trends with varying helical tip Mach number and blade loading were also observed.

Dittmar, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

LOX/hydrocarbon rocket engine analytical design methodology development and validation. Volume 2: Appendices

This final report includes a discussion of the work accomplished during the period from Dec. 1988 through Nov. 1991. The objective of the program was to assemble existing performance and combustion stability models into a usable design methodology capable of designing and analyzing high-performance and stable LOX/hydrocarbon booster engines. The methodology was then used to design a validation engine. The capabilities and validity of the methodology were demonstrated using this engine in an extensive hot fire test program. The engine used LOX/RP-1 propellants and was tested over a range of mixture ratios, chamber pressures, and acoustic damping device configurations. This volume contains time domain and frequency domain stability plots which indicate the pressure perturbation amplitudes and frequencies from approximately 30 tests of a 50K thrust rocket engine using LOX/RP-1 propellants over a range of chamber pressures from 240 to 1750 psia with mixture ratios of from 1.2 to 7.5. The data is from test configurations which used both bitune and monotune acoustic cavities and from tests with no acoustic cavities. The engine had a length of 14 inches and a contraction ratio of 2.0 using a 7.68 inch diameter injector. The data was taken from both stable and unstable tests. All combustion instabilities were spontaneous in the first tangential mode. Although stability bombs were used and generated overpressures of approximately 20 percent, no tests were driven unstable by the bombs. The stability instrumentation included six high-frequency Kistler transducers in the combustion chamber, a high-frequency Kistler transducer in each propellant manifold, and tri-axial accelerometers. Performance data is presented, both characteristic velocity efficiencies and energy release efficiencies, for those tests of sufficient duration to record steady state values.

Niiya, Karen E.↗