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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1997

Future Aerospace Technology in the Service of the Alliance: Sustained Hypersonic Flight - Volume 3

Sustained Hypersonic Flight capability is envisioned for several future military and civilian applications, such as long range immediate reaction reconnaissance, high speed interception of air targets, long range precision strike against hardened or time critical targets, and access to space. The inherent reduction in time-to-target and low vulnerability will permit new operational tactics. The symposium outlined mission needs and operational scenarios for hypersonic vehicles. Addressed were: Technological issues and challenges in external hypersonic aerodynamics and design, propulsion and engine/airframe integration, military ramjet applications, overall system design including structures and materials development needs, and test facilities. Ground based test facilities cannot provide full simulation at Mach numbers above 5. Therefore, the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics design tools is essential. For routine use of the computational tools in analysis, design and optimization, it is necessary to reduce the time for the entire computational process by two orders of magnitude. Hypersonic boundary layer transition remains a critical design issue because of the important impact on engine drag and on heating, which can affect the choice of materials and thermal protection systems. In addition, reliable prediction of scramjet net thrust is an absolute must in resolving hypersonic air breathing vehicle design issues. Due to current facility and computational shortfalls, the development of future hypersonic flight systems requires research flight tests in the technology areas of boundary layer transition and air-breathing propulsion engine performance. For sustained hypersonic flight beyond Mach 6, the supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine is the only choice for the near future. Only this air-breathing concept offers a significant promise of large reductions in required propellant fractions, increased payload fractions, and reduced size vehicles, together with a foreseeable technological feasibility. Airframe/engine integration, combustor design and thermal management are the predominant engineering tasks. Fuels, hydrogen or hydrocarbon, must be matched to the operational needs of military or civil use. Experience in existing ramjet propelled missiles capable of speeds up to Mach 4 can support the development effort. The potential mission and cost benefits of sustained hypersonic flight to both military and civil applications are tremendous. From the budget point of view, the possibility of sharing development costs between military and civil programs offers a specific advantage.

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigation of Improved Wall Heat Flux Behavior Observed When Computing Hypersonic Flow Using a Face-averaged Nodal-gradient Approach On Tetrahedral Grids

We investigate the origin of a significant reduction in computed numerical “noise” in the spatial variation of computed wall heat flux observed when using a node-centered weighted least squares(WLSQ) gradient approach when solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations for hypersonic boundary layer flows on highly stretched tetrahedral grids. This investigation is conducted using a 2nd-order, cell-centered, finite-volume, discretization which we employ to contrast results obtained using two WLSQ gradient approaches: a conventional 3-D, cell-centered, node-neighbor, WLSQ gradient (NN-CCG) approach and a 3-D, face-averaged, node-centered gradient (F-ANG)approach. The F-ANG approach, is shown to produce significantly less “noise” in the spatial variation of wall heat flux, than the NN-CCG approach and we demonstrate the cause of this “noise” via a series of numerical experiments where we compute hypersonic laminar and turbulent boundary layer flows.We further investigate the level of grid resolution required for a tetrahedral grid to approach the fidelity of a grid resolved hexahedral grid solution obtained using an equivalent structured grid method.

Jeffery A. White↗
NASA NTRS2012

Global Infrared Observations of Roughness Induced Transition on the Space Shuttle Orbiter

High resolution infrared observations made from a mobile ground based optical system captured the laminar-to-turbulent boundary layer transition process as it occurred during Space Shuttle Endeavour's return to earth following its final mission in 2011. The STS-134 imagery was part of a larger effort to demonstrate an emerging and reliable non-intrusive global thermal measurement capability and to complement a series of boundary layer transition flight experiments that were flown on the Shuttle. The STS-134 observations are believed to be the first time that the development and movement of a hypersonic boundary layer transition front has been witnessed in flight over the entire vehicle surface and in particular, at unprecedented spatial resolution. Additionally, benchmark surface temperature maps of the Orbiter lower surface collected over multiple flights and spanning a Mach range of 18 to 6 are now available and represent an opportunity for collaborative comparison with computational techniques focused on hypersonic transition and turbulence modeling. The synergy of the global temperature maps with the companion in-situ thermocouple measurements serve as an example of the effective leveraging of resources to achieve a common goal of advancing our understanding of the complex nature of high Mach number transition. It is shown that quantitative imaging can open the door to a multitude of national and international opportunities for partnership associated with flight-testing and subsequent validation of numerical simulation techniques. The quantitative imaging applications highlighted in this paper offer unique and complementary flight measurement alternatives and suggest collaborative instrumentation opportunities to advance the state of the art in transition prediction and maximize the return on investment in terms of developmental flight tests for future vehicle designs.

Horvath, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Joint AFOSR/ONR/NASA HTP Boundary Layer Transition Workshop Summary for RAeS

A workshop hosted by three US government entities (the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Hypersonic Technology Project) was held in June 2023. This workshop focused on high supersonic and hypersonic boundary layer transition. The purpose of the workshop was to gather subject matter experts in the nation to determine the current state of the art in the field, any gaps or areas that require more studies, and the future of the field. Participants of the workshop were drawn from industry, academia, and government agencies. Prior to the workshop they were provided a questionnaire to spark discussion during the workshop. Roadmaps for six different areas were created as one of the final end products of the workshop.

boundary layer transition↗
NASA NTRS1975

Correlation of boundary layer quantities for hypersonic laminar flows with zero pressure gradient for several gases

The laminar boundary layer has been theoretically studied for six gases for flows over cold walls with zero pressure gradient at Mach numbers between 5.5 and 12.5 to correlate boundary layer quantities for the various gases. The flow conditions considered correspond to those that can be generated in test facilities such as the shock tunnel and the expansion tube. Computed results obtained using real gas properties indicate that the Eckert number based on edge conditions serves to correlate the results in terms of the wall shear stress and enthalpy gradient, the Stanton number, and the momentum thickness for the various gases within plus or minus 10 per cent for Te = Tw and Te approximately 3Tw. Computed Reynolds analogy factors exhibit very good agreement with those predicted by the Colburn analogy. Velocity and displacement thicknesses correlate well with Eckert number for Te = Tw, but fail to correlate for Te approximately 3Tw. Differences in results are traced to property variations. Results show that the Eckert number is a significant correlating variable for the flows considered.

Cook, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Developing mass spectrometric techniques for boundary layer measurement in hypersonic high enthalpy test facilities

Thermodynamic flow properties of gases in the boundary layer or the flowfield have been mainly deduced from pressures and temperatures measured on a model. However, further progress with respect to an understanding of these properties requires a more complete characterization of the layer including determination of the gas composition and chemistry. Most attempts to measure boundary layer chemistry involve the employment of a mass spectrometer and an associated gas sampling system. The three major limiting factors which must be addressed for species measurement in aerothermodynamic investigations on models at reentry stream velocities, are gas sampling effects, instrument limitations, and problems with data acquisition. The present investigation is concerned with a concentrated effort to quantitatively identify and correct for instrument and sampling system effects, and to develop a miniaturized high performance mass spectrometer for on-model real-time analysis of the boundary layer and its associated atmosphere.

Wood, G. M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Streak Instability Analysis for BOLT Configuration

The BOLT configuration designed for an upcoming flight experiment exemplifies the complexities of hypersonic boundary layer transition in the presence of multiple and potentially interacting instability mechanisms. A numerical study of the boundary layer instabilities over this configuration has been performed with the goal of applying state-of-the-art tools in multidimensional stability analysis that complement the other ongoing research related to the BOLT flight campaign. Specifically, the paper outlines modal instability characteristics of the boundary layer streaks adjacent to the minor-axis symmetry plane of a 1/3 rd scale BOLT configuration that was tested in the low-disturbance hypersonic wind tunnel at Purdue University and both quiet and conventional tunnels at Texas A&M University (TAMU). The basic state computations agree well with the heat flux measurements in the Purdue quiet tunnel as well as with the off-body velocity field described in a previous DNS study at the University of Minnesota. The encouraging agreement between the predicted frequency spectra of the streak instability in the region of increased boundary layer thickness and the surface pressure spectra measured during the TAMU experiments suggests that these streak instabilities may play an important role during the transition process near the symmetry plane. The modest value of the predicted peak N-factor (N max ≈ 5) for the streak instabilities provides a potential explanation for why transition is not observed under quiet flow conditions, but may occur in a noisy wind tunnel. Similar instability analyses are performed for the flight configuration at two selected flow conditions from the ascent portion of the planned flight trajectory. The predicted values of the peak N-factor suggest that transition onset in the vicinity of the center plane is possible at the ascent time of t = 26.98 seconds (N max ≈ 12.5 at X/L = 0.77), but the streak instabilities weaken sufficiently at the later time of t = 28.88 seconds (N max ≈ 11.5 at X/L ≈ 1.00) and are less likely to cause transition at that time.

Laminar turbulent transition↗
NASA NTRS1992

Boundary layer study on nozzle wall at hypersonic velocities

The boundary layer on the wall of the Hypervelocity Tunnel 9 was investigated with pitot pressure and total temperature measurements. Experimental results are presented for standard and supercooled Mach 14 runs. The boundary layer data at supercooled conditions are compared to numerical predictions made with a Navier-Stokes algorithm including vibrational nonequilibrium and intermolecular force effects. For standard tunnel conditions, the numerical solutions agree well with experimental data. For the supercooled cases, the numerical code predicts the total temperature but overpredicts the pitot pressure.

Jones, Kenneth M.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Geometric Effects on the Amplification of First Mode Instability Waves

The effects of geometric changes on the amplification of first mode instability waves in an external supersonic boundary layer were investigated using numerical techniques. Boundary layer stability was analyzed at Mach 6 conditions similar to freestream conditions obtained in quiet ground test facilities so that results obtained in this study may be applied to future test article design to measure first mode instability waves. The DAKOTA optimization software package was used to optimize an axisymmetric geometry to maximize the amplification of the waves at first mode frequencies as computed by the 2D STABL hypersonic boundary layer stability analysis tool. First, geometric parameters such as nose radius, cone half angle, vehicle length, and surface curvature were examined separately to determine the individual effects on the first mode amplification. Finally, all geometric parameters were allowed to vary to produce a shape optimized to maximize the amplification of first mode instability waves while minimizing the amplification of second mode instability waves. Since first mode waves are known to be most unstable in the form of oblique wave, the geometries were optimized using a broad range of wave frequencies as well as a wide range of oblique wave angles to determine the geometry that most amplifies the first mode waves. Since first mode waves are seen most often in flows with low Mach numbers at the edge of the boundary layer, the edge Mach number for each geometry was recorded to determine any relationship between edge Mach number and the stability of first mode waves. Results indicate that an axisymmetric cone with a sharp nose and a slight flare at the aft end under the Mach 6 freestream conditions used here will lower the Mach number at the edge of the boundary layer to less than 4, and the corresponding stability analysis showed maximum first mode N factors of 3.

Kirk, Lindsay C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

CFD lends the government a hand

The present survey of important and novel CFD applications being developed and implemented by U.S. Government contractors gives attention to naval vessel flow-modeling, Army ballistic and rotary wing aerodynamics, and NASA hypersonic vehicle related applications of CFD. CFD-generated knowledge of numerical algorithms, fluid motion, and supercomputer use is being incorporated into such additional areas as computational electromagnetics and acoustics. Attention is presently given to CFD methods' development status in such fields as submarine boundary layers, hypersonic kinetic energy projectile shock structures, helicopter main rotor tip flows, and National Aerospace Plane aerothermodynamics.

Lekoudis, Spiro↗
NASA NTRS1998

Hypersonic Laminar-Turbulent Transition

The computational and experimental progress covering the four basic instability mechanisms that contribute to laminar-turbulent transition is reviewed. Streamwise, crossflow, centrifugal, and attachment-line instabilities and their principal means for initiating transition in hypersonic boundary layers are discussed. Comparisons between computations and experiments are given. Issues relating to how freestream disturbances influence the initial amplitudes of disturbances are also documented. Particular attention is paid to prediction schemes based on linear theory although other techniques are reviewed. This discussion is used to review the capabilities of present and future transition prediction methods as well as flow-quality requirements for hypersonic experimental facilities.

WILLIAM s. Saric↗
NASA NTRS1998

Spurious Numerical Oscillations in Numerical Simulation of Supersonic Flows Using Shock Capturing Schemes

The numerical simulation of transitional and turbulent processes in hypersonic boundary layers often involves a physical process of a shock-disturbance wave interaction in complex two-dimensional and three-dimensional flow fields. For such simulations, it is required that there be a high order of accuracy in capturing both the shock and the small disturbances. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the viability of using high order shock capturing schemes to track small disturbances in a multi-dimensional steady hypersonic flow. The numerical methods that are to be studied are the Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) scheme, and Essentially Non-Oscillatory (ENO) scheme. This paper shows that the presence of numerical oscillations in the flow field solution may drastically hinder any attempt at tracking the propagation of any physical disturbances. It has been found that the numerical oscillations that exist for shock capturing methods may be significant enough to pollute a flow field containing small physical disturbances. The effects of the refinement of the grid do not reduce the oscillations, but rather they decrease the wavelength of the oscillations. It is shown that by aligning the shock with the grid, the amplitude of these spurious oscillations may be greatly reduced.

Lee, Theodore K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

On the Goertler vortex instability mechanism at hypersonic speeds

The linear instability of the hypersonic boundary layer on a curved wall is considered. As a starting point, the viscosity of the fluid is taken to be a linear function of temperature and real-gas effects are ignored. It is shown that the flow is susceptible to Goertler vortices and that they are trapped in the logarithmically thin adjustment layer in which the temperature of the basic flow changes rapidly to its free stream value. The vortices decay exponentially in both directions away from this layer and are most unstable when their wavelength is comparable with the depth of the adjustment layer. The nonuniqueness of the neutral stability curve associated with incompressible Goertler vortices is shown to disappear at high Mach numbers if the appropriate 'fast' streamwise dependence of the instability is built into the disturbance flow structure. It is shown that in the hypersonic limit, wall-cooling affects the leading-order term in the expansion of the Goertler number which is independent of the wavenumber, and which is due to the curvature of the basic state but it has a negligible effect on the other terms which are dependent on the wavenumber.

Hall, Philip↗
NASA NTRS1989

On the Gortler vortex instability mechanism at hypersonic speeds

The linear instability of the hypersonic boundary layer on a curved wall is considered. As a starting point the viscosity of the fluid is taken to be a linear function of temperature and real-gas effects are ignored. It is shown that the flow is susceptible to Gortler vortices and that they are trapped in the logarithmically thin adjustment layer in which the temperature of the basic flow changes rapidly to its free stream value. The vortices decay exponentially in both directions away from this layer and are most unstable when their wavelength is comparable with the depth of the adjustment layer. The non-uniqueness of the neutral stability curve associated with incompressible Gortler vortices is shown to disappear at high Mach numbers if the appropriate fast streamwise dependence of the instability is built into the disturbance flow structure. It is shown that in the hypersonic limit wall-cooling has a negligible effect on the stability of a fluid with a given value of the Chapman constant.

Hall, Philip↗
NASA NTRS2011

Stereoscopic Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence Imaging at 500 kHz

A new measurement technique for obtaining time- and spatially-resolved image sequences in hypersonic flows is developed. Nitric-oxide planar laser-induced fluorescence (NO PLIF) has previously been used to investigate transition from laminar to turbulent flow in hypersonic boundary layers using both planar and volumetric imaging capabilities. Low flow rates of NO were typically seeded into the flow, minimally perturbing the flow. The volumetric imaging was performed at a measurement rate of 10 Hz using a thick planar laser sheet that excited NO fluorescence. The fluorescence was captured by a pair of cameras having slightly different views of the flow. Subsequent stereoscopic reconstruction of these images allowed the three-dimensional flow structures to be viewed. In the current paper, this approach has been extended to 50,000 times higher repetition rates. A laser operating at 500 kHz excites the seeded NO molecules, and a camera, synchronized with the laser and fitted with a beam-splitting assembly, acquires two separate images of the flow. The resulting stereoscopic images provide three-dimensional flow visualizations at 500 kHz for the first time. The 200 ns exposure time in each frame is fast enough to freeze the flow while the 500 kHz repetition rate is fast enough to time-resolve changes in the flow being studied. This method is applied to visualize the evolving hypersonic flow structures that propagate downstream of a discrete protuberance attached to a flat plate. The technique was demonstrated in the NASA Langley Research Center s 31-Inch Mach 10 Air Tunnel facility. Different tunnel Reynolds number conditions, NO flow rates and two different cylindrical protuberance heights were investigated. The location of the onset of flow unsteadiness, an indicator of transition, was observed to move downstream during the tunnel runs, coinciding with an increase in the model temperature.

Medford, Taylor L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A comprehensive and fair comparison of two neural operators (with practical extensions) based on $\mathrm{FAIR}$ data

Neural operators can learn nonlinear mappings between function spaces and offer a new simulation paradigm for real-time prediction of complex dynamics for realistic diverse applications as well as for system identification in science and engineering. Herein, we investigate the performance of two neural operators, which have shown promising results so far, and we develop new practical extensions that will make them more accurate and robust and importantly more suitable for industrial-complexity applications. The first neural operator, DeepONet, was published in 2019 (Lu et al., 2019), and its original architecture was based on the universal approximation theorem of Chen & Chen (1995). The second one, named Fourier Neural Operator or FNO, was published in 2020, and it is based on parameterizing the integral kernel in the Fourier space. DeepONet is represented by a summation of products of neural networks (NNs), corresponding to the branch NN for the input function and the trunk NN for the output function; both NNs are general architectures, e.g., the branch NN can be replaced with a CNN or a ResNet. According to Kovachki et al. (2021), FNO in its continuous form can be viewed conceptually as a DeepONet with a specific architecture of the branch NN and a trunk NN represented by a trigonometric basis. In order to compare FNO with DeepONet computationally for realistic setups, we develop several extensions of FNO that can deal with complex geometric domains as well as mappings where the input and output function spaces are of different dimensions. We also develop an extended DeepONet with special features that provide inductive bias and accelerate training, and we present a faster implementation of DeepONet with cost comparable to the computational cost of FNO, which is based on the Fast Fourier Transform. Here we consider 16 different benchmarks to demonstrate the relative performance of the two neural operators, including instability wave analysis in hypersonic boundary layers, prediction of the vorticity field of a flapping airfoil, porous media simulations in complex-geometry domains, etc. We follow the guiding principles of FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) for scientific data management and stewardship. The performance of DeepONet and FNO is comparable for relatively simple settings, but for complex geometries the performance of FNO deteriorates greatly. We also compare theoretically the two neural operators and obtain similar error estimates for DeepONet and FNO under the same regularity assumptions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1976

Effect of geometry modifications on effectiveness of slot injection in hypersonic flow

The study presents wind-tunnel measurements of surface static pressures, equilibrium temperatures, and skin friction downstream of tangential slot injection into a thick turbulent hypersonic boundary layer from two modified slot configurations. The data are compared with results obtained for baseline configurations reported by Cary and Hefner (1970, 1972) to determine whether simple modifications to the slot configuration can produce improved cooling effectiveness and skin friction reduction. The baseline slot configurations are simply modified by thickening the slot lip and by elevating the location of the slot exit above the flat plate. Although the results indicate that simple modifications of the baseline slot configurations can enhance the skin friction reductions obtained with tangential slot injection, slot base drag estimates show that neither of the modifications will lessen the impact of the systems penalties for collecting, ducting, and injecting the slot air.

Hefner, J. N.↗