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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

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NASA NTRS1981

Heat transfer on a flat plate in continuum to rarefied hypersonic flows at Mach numbers of 19.2 and 25.4

Local heat transfer rates were measured on a flat steel plate (10 in. wide and 16 in. long) with sharp and blunt leading edges (0.001 and 0.010 in.) in the transition from the strong interaction boundary layer regime with no slip at the surface to the free molecule regime. The tests were conducted in a combustion driven hypersonic shock tunnel, with the nominal free stream Mach numbers of 19.2 and 25.4, and a reflected stagnation temperature of approximately 2340 R. The twelve heat transfer gages were made of platinum sputtered on a Pyrex backing to a thickness of approximately 350 A, insulated by a silicone dioxide film. For both Mach numbers the heat transfer data agreed reasonably well with the strong interaction prediction of Li and Nagamatsu (1953, 1955) for unit Reynolds numbers greater than approximately 100,000 and leading edge Knudsen numbers less than approximately 4. At lower density conditions the rarefied flow effects began to dominate the flow phenomena near the leading edge region of the sharp flat plate. A systematic reduction in the heat transfer rate close to the leading edge was observed for both Mach number tests as the leading edge density was reduced and the mean free path was increased.

Nagamatsu, H. T.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Sharp flat plate heat transfer in helium at Mach numbers of 22.8 to 86.8

Surface heat transfer rates were measured on a sharp flat plate at zero angle of attack with helium over a Mach number range of 22.8 to 86.8 in a hypersonic shock tunnel. The density and leading edge Knudsen numbers were varied to span the continuum to near free molecule regimes. The strong interaction parameter varied from 11 to 16,000 with leading edge Knudsen numbers from 0.56 to 17.1, respectively. For high unit Reynolds number the rate of change of the heat transfer coefficient with the strong interaction parameter agreed well with the strong interaction theory of Li and Nagamatsu (1953, 1955).

Nagamatsu, H. T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Experimental and theoretical studies of time-averaged and time resolved rotor heat transfer

Efforts in support of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) structural durability program have concentrated on obtaining detailed time-averaged and time-resolved (or phase-locked) measurements on a full-scale rotating turbine both with and without cold gas injection and on theoretical studies designed to improve the prediction capability for these turbine flows. The experimental efforts have concentrated on use of the Garrett TFE 731-2 hp turbine. However, it has been possible to apply the theoretical efforts to predicting heat-flux distributions obtained for two additional turbines - i.e., (1) the Garrett low aspect ratio turbine (LART) and (2) the Teledyne 702 turbine. The experimental technique is the short duration, shock-tunnel approach, in which fast-response, thin-film resistance thermometers are used to measure surface temperature histories at prescribed locations on the turbine component parts. Heat-flux values are then inferred from the temperature histories by using standard data reduction procedures. The turbine being used is the Garrett TFE 731-2 hp stage, and both the nozzle guide vanes and the rotor blades are heavily instrumented with thin-film heat-flux gauges. Depending on how the data from a particular heat-flux gauge are recorded, one can get either time-resolved (or phase-locked) or time-averaged results. Both types of data are illustrated.

Dunn, M. G.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Silane as an ignition aid in scramjets

This paper presents the results of experiments on silane/hydrogen combustion in a scramjet model configured as a constant area duct with a central injector. Intake flow conditions were created by free piston shock tunnels with simulated flight speeds ranging between 1.4 and 4.2 km/s. Intake conditions were restricted to three nominal Mach numbers. Boundary layer heating appeared to be responsible for ignition at low temperature, high Mach number conditions. Concentration of silane in hydrogen was varied, as well as intake temperature and pressure. Results indicated that silane in concentrations as low as 2.5 percent in hydrogen, was effective as a fuel additive for scramjets at conditions where hydrogen alone could not support combustion. An unsteady effect was observed as the intake temperature approached the lower limit for combustion. The combustion temperature limit rose significantly as the intake pressure was reduced to low levels. Computer simulations using a one dimensional premixed analysis suggested that although silane enhanced the combustion process, it was strongly dependent on the initial concentration of free radical oxygen. Results from the simulations were comparable to experimental results for some conditions.

Morris, N. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Wave processes in scramjet thrust generation

The investigation explores the steady, supersonic expansion and compression wave processes involved in generating thrust from a combustion jet in a two-dimensional scramjet. Two types of thrust generating wave are produced by the jet. The first is the injection compression waves associated with injection and combustion of the fuel, and the second is the expansion interaction waves associated with interaction between the exhaust nozzle expansion and the jet. Analysis shows that the strength of a wave is not modified by crossing the jet, which implies that, with a given flow configuration, the jets in a multiple jet combustion array produce thrust independently of one another. Shock tunnel experiments with hydrogen fuel and three simple scramjet configurations are used to identify the two types of waves, to confirm the effect on a wave of crossing the jet, and to demonstrate the influence of the basic, fuel-off flow configuration on the effects produced by the waves.

Stalker, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Numerical analysis of pulse facility transient flow through a supersonic combustion model

The supersonic high enthalpy flow from a shock tunnel facility flowing through a two-dimensional duct simulating a combustor has been computed for two test conditions for both steady and transient inflow. The nominal test conditions had stagnation enthalpies of 4.3 and 12.1 MJ/kg, with corresponding flight Mach numbers of 9 and 16, respectively. A full Navier-Stokes code (SPARK) was used to compute the flow development and the mixing of a hydrogen jet injected from the base of a central strut. Results of the calculations are presented and compared with wall pressure data. Additional comparisons of the transient and steady inflow results are presented to assess the effect of transient flow on the data. This paper presents a status of the progress in applying CFD codes to analyze the transient flow from a pulse facility.

Rogers, R. Clayton↗

NASA NTRS1988

Experimental program for real gas flow code validation at NASA Ames Research Center

The experimental program for validating real gas hypersonic flow codes at NASA Ames is described. Ground based test facilities used include ballistic ranges, shock tubes and shock tunnels, arcjet facilities and heated air hypersonic wind tunnels. Also included are large scale computer systems for kinetic theory simulations and benchmark code solutions. Flight tests consist of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment, the Space Shuttle, Project Fire 2, and planetary probes such as Galileo, Pioneer Venus and PAET.

Deiwert, George S.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Experimental program for real gas flow code validation at NASA Ames Research Center

The experimental program for validating real gas hypersonic flow codes at NASA Ames Rsearch Center is described. Ground-based test facilities used include ballistic ranges, shock tubes and shock tunnels, arc jet facilities and heated-air hypersonic wind tunnels. Also included are large-scale computer systems for kinetic theory simulations and benchmark code solutions. Flight tests consist of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment, the Space Shuttle, Project Fire 2, and planetary probes such as Galileo, Pioneer Venus, and PAET.

Deiwert, George S.↗

NASA NTRS1989

A code calibration program in support of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment

The code calibration program for the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm to be used as support for the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE) is discussed. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical simulations are made which focus on perfect-gas tests involving a scale model of the AFE. Aspects of the thermochemical nonequilibrium model are called into question by the results of ground tests performed in a ballistic range and in a shock tunnel.

Gnoffo, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Scramjet testing from Mach 4 to 20 - Present capability and needs for the nineties

Consideration is given to the development of testing methods for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) program, focusing on techniques for simulating and testing scramjet engines and scramjet engine components during flight from Mach 4 to Mach 20. The flight conditions associated with the NASP are outlined and the stagnation temperatures and pressures required to simulate flight up to orbital speeds are presented. The types of test facilities needed for scramjet propulsion testing are discussed, including combustion-heated facilities, electric arc-heated facilities, convection-heated facilities, shock tunnels, and expansion tubes. Issues related to assessing the flow quality in the scramjet ground testing facilities are examined, including uniformity, contamination, dissociation, ionization, nonequilibrium, and turbulence. Direct-connect combustor versus free-jet scramjet engine tests are compared and the capabilities of current and near-future scramjet engine test facilities are evaluated.

Thomas, Scott R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Preliminary calibration of a generic scramjet combustor

The results of a preliminary investigation of the combustion of hydrogen fuel at hypersonic flow conditions are provided. The tests were performed in a generic, constant-area combustor model with test gas supplied by a free-piston-driven reflected-shock tunnel. Static pressure measurements along the combustor wall indicated that burning did occur for combustor inlet conditions of P(static) approximately equal to 19kPa, T(static) approximately equal to 1080 K, and U approximately equal to 3630 m/s with a fuel equivalence ratio approximately equal to 0.9. These inlet conditions were obtained by operating the tunnel with stagnation enthalpy approximately equal to 8.1 MJ/kg, stagnation pressure approximately equal to 52 MPa, and a contoured nozzle with a nominal exit Mach number of 5.5.

Jacobs, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Heat-transfer and surface-pressure measurements for the SSME fuel-side turbopump turbine

Detailed heat flux and surface pressure distribution on the first-stage vane and blade of the Space Shuttle Main Engine fuel side turbopump turbine are examined. The specific turbine being utilized for the study is a combination of actual engine hardware and reproduced hardware consistent with that being used at NASA-Marshall for the initial measurements in their newly constructed blow-down turbine test facility. The facility is of the short duration shock tunnel variety, which permits use of thin film thermometers which are used to measure the surface temperature histories at prescribed locations on the turbine component parts. Heat flux values are then inferred from the temperature histories using standard data reduction procedures. The measurement program is described in detail.

Dunn, Michael G.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical performance estimates for a generic hypersonic forebody

The computation of a hypersonic flow past the forebody of a hypersonic vehicle is analyzed for two sets of flow conditions: the first represents flow conditions of an experimental test of the model in the Calspan 96-inch shock tunnel, and the second set is chosen to represent actual flight conditions. Solutions are derived for sharp- and blunt-nose versions of the geometry in order to understand the effects of the entropy layer on the forebody pressure and heat transfer rates. Some sensitivity of predicted heating rates to grid refinement is observed, but it is found to be small compared to the effects of bluntness. Real-gas effects are studied for the blunt-nose version at flight-like conditions, and these effects are found to have a significant effect on inlet-face performance measures such as mass capture and kinetic energy efficiency.

Lawrence, Scott L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Hypervelocity flow in axisymmetric nozzles

A simple procedure for the design of axisymmetric supersonic nozzles for use in reflected-mode shock tunnels is described. This method has been used to design a moderate Mach number (M = 4) nozzle and a high Mach number (M = 10) nozzle. Both nozzles have been calibrated by measuring the pitot profiles near the nozzle exit planes and, although the M = 4 nozzle performs well, the M = 10 appears to have reached a Mach number - pressure limit in which the unsteady nozzle boundary layers significantly affect the test flow.

Jacobs, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Supersonic combustion with transverse, circular wall jets

A series of experiments are reported using inclined circular wall jets in rectangular scramjet combustion chambers configured as constant area ducts. A free piston shock tunnel was used to create inlet flow Mach numbers between 4.2 and 5.5, at enthalpies corresponding to flight speeds of between 3.5 and 5.3 km/s. Measurements of duct static pressure levels indicated that significant mixing and combustion was achieved. Using hydrogen as a fuel, it was found that multipoint injection from two sides of the duct gave a larger, and more rapid, pressure rise. In hypersonic flow, it was found that combustion only occurred for the same duct dimensions and operating conditions that supported combustion with central injection from a two-dimensional strut. Wall injection from discrete orifice circular jets was found to be more effective than two-dimensional wall injection across the whole width of the duct.

Morgan, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Experimental investigation of nozzle/plume aerodynamics at hypersonic speeds

An extensive program to improve the operation of the Ames 16 Inch Shock Tunnel was carried out. This included reduction of driver slosh wave amplitudes and detonation risk by the use of premixed He/O2 gas, longer wait times between the last gas load and driver gas ignition, an improved gas loading sequence, the use of four instead of one ignition wire, and the use of lower ignition wire voltages. Successful operation of the tunnel at pressures of 2000-6000 psi and enthalpies up to 12,000 J/gm was achieved. A new diaphragm breaking technique, self break on the driver combustion pressure rise, was tested and found to produce clean breaks over the full pressure range of the tunnel. Improvements were made to the driver gas loading manifold and a preliminary design was made of a gas mixing system which mixes all three gases on the fly just before injection into the driver. Other improvements as well as tests are discussed.

Bogdanoff, David W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Perspectives on hypersonic viscous and nonequilibrium flow research

An attempt is made to reflect on current focuses in certain areas of hypersonic flow research by examining recent works and their issues. Aspects of viscous interaction, flow instability, and nonequilibrium aerothermodynamics pertaining to theoretical interest are focused upon. The field is a diverse one, and many exciting works may have either escaped the writer's notice or been abandoned for the sake of space. Students of hypersonic viscous flow must face the transition problems towards the two opposite ends of the Reynolds or Knudsen number range, which represents two regimes where unresolved fluid/gas dynamic problems abound. Central to the hypersonic flow studies is high-temperature physical gas dynamics; here, a number of issues on modelling the intermolecular potentials and inelastic collisions remain the obstacles to quantitative predictions. Research in combustion and scramjet propulsion will certainly be benefitted by advances in turbulent mixing and new computational fluid dynamics (CFD) strategies on multi-scaled complex reactions. Even for the sake of theoretical development, the lack of pertinent experimental data in the right energy and density ranges is believed to be among the major obstacles to progress in aerothermodynamic research for hypersonic flight. To enable laboratory simulation of nonequilibrium effects anticipated for transatmospheric flight, facilities capable of generating high enthalpy flow at density levels higher than in existing laboratories are needed (Hornung 1988). A new free-piston shock tunnel capable of realizing a test-section stagnation temperature of 10(exp 5) at Reynolds number 50 x 10(exp 6)/cm is being completed and preliminary tests has begun (H. Hornung et al. 1992). Another laboratory study worthy of note as well as theoretical support is the nonequilibrium flow experiment of iodine vapor which has low activation energies for vibrational excitation and dissociation, and can be studied in a laboratory with modest resources (Pham-Van-Diep et al. 1992).

Cheng, H. K.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An experimental study of a cold-wall hypersonic boundary layer

The boundary layer that developed on a one-meter long flat plate at a nominal Mach number of 8 and a Reynolds number of 10.2 million per meter was studied using a shock tunnel. The wall-to-stagnation temperature ratio was 0.35. The turbulent velocity profiles possessed very small wake components. The small wake component is characteristic of low Reynolds number flows and may indicate that a turbulent boundary layer was not fully developed. The magnitude of the surface pressure fluctuations in the turbulent part of the flow was found to be in agreement with semi-empirical predictions. These fluctuations were larger than those obtained at lower supersonic Mach numbers and indicated that pressure fluctuations may not be neglected at hypersonic Mach numbers. The fluctuations also possessed a convection velocity that increased with transducer spacing and followed the trend of previous investigations.

Chung, Kung-Ming↗