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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 NTRS1992

Development of the KIVA-2 CFD code for rocket propulsion applications

The KIVA-2 code, originally developed to solve computational fluid dynamics problems in internal combustion engines, has been developed to solve rocket propulsion type flows. The objective of the work was to develop a code such that both liquid and solid particle motion could be simulated for arbitrary geometry and high speed as well as low speed reacting flows. Modification to the original code include: incorporating independently specific supersonic and subsonic inflows and outflows; symmetric as well as periodic boundary conditions; and the capability to use generalized single or multi-specie thermodynamic data and transport coefficients allowing the user to specify arbitrary wall temperature/heat flux distributions. This code has been shown to successfully solve rocket propulsion flows as well as flows with entrained particles for several different rocket nozzles.

Shannon, Robert V., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1921

Causes of Cracking of Ignition Cable

The experiments described here show that the cracking at sharp bends, observed in the insulation of internal combustion engine high tension ignition wires after service, is due to a chemical attack upon the rubber by the ozone produced by the electric discharge that takes place at the surface of the cable. This cracking does not occur if the insulating material is not under tension, or if the cable is surrounded by some medium other than air. But it does occur even if the insulation is not subjected to electric stress, provided that the atmosphere near the cable contains ozone. The extent of this cracking varies greatly with the insulating material used. The cracking can be materially reduced by using braided cable and by avoiding sharp bends.

Silsbee, F B↗
NASA NTRS1920

A Variable Speed Fan Dynamometer

Fan brakes used as absorption dynamometers in testing internal combustion engines have the disadvantage that a given fan will run only at one speed when the engine is delivering full power. In order to be able to vary the speed at which a given power will be absorbed, English manufacturers have for some time been using a cylindrical housing around the fan with one or two variable openings in the periphery. Here, results are given of tests conducted to determine how great a range of speed can be obtained from such a device. The tests show that a power ratio of five to 1 can be obtained, the power ratio being defined as the ratio of the power absorbed by the fan at a given speed with the outlet open to the power absorbed at the same speed with the second outlet closed. Data show that improvements in the design of the fan brake can make the speed ratio approach but not exceed a value of two to one. Also given here are a brief outline of previous work on fan brakes, a description of the experimental apparatus and methods used in the tests, and a more detailed statement of test results.

Wood, Karl D↗
NASA NTRS1923

The time lag and interval of discharge with a spring actuated fuel injection pump

Discussed here is research on a spring activated fuel pump for solid or airless injection with small, high speed internal combustion engines. The pump characteristics under investigation were the interval of fuel injection in terms of degrees of crank travel and in absolute time, the lag between the time the injection pump plunger begins its stroke and the appearance of the jet at the orifice, and the manner in which the fuel spray builds up to a maximum when the fuel valve is opened, and then diminishes.

Matthews, Robertson↗
NASA NTRS1933

The N.A.C.A. Combustion Chamber Gas-sampling Valve and Some Preliminary Test Results

A gas sampling valve of the inertia-operated type was designed for procuring samples of the gases in the combustion chamber of internal combustion engines at identical points in successive cycles so that the analysis of the gas samples thus procured may aid in the study of the process of combustion. The operation of the valve is described. The valve was used to investigate the CO2 content of gases taken from the quiescent combustion chamber of a high speed compression-ignition engine when operating with two different multiple-orifice fuel injection nozzles. An analysis of the gas samples thus obtained shows that the state of quiescence in the combustion chamber is maintained during the combustion of the fuel.

Spanogle, J A↗
NASA NTRS1923

"AM" gasoline cock.

The "AM" cock was designed specially for gasoline pipes on vehicles using internal combustion engines (airplanes, airships, automobiles, tractors, battle "tanks", boats, etc.).

FUEL COCKS - A M↗
NASA NTRS1923

Aviation spirit - past, present, and future

The volatile fuel of the high-speed internal combustion engine has, in the past, consisted almost exclusively of the lighter distillates from crude petroleum. Alternative and supplementary fuels are discussed such as: tetraline, dekalin, alcohol, cyclo-hexenes.

FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1929

Impact waves and detonation. Part I

Among the numerous thermodynamic and kinetic problems that have arisen in the application of the gaseous explosive reaction as a source of power in the internal combustion engine, the problem of the mode or way by which the transformation proceeds and the rate at which the heat energy is delivered to the working fluid became very early in the engine's development a problem of prime importance. The work of Becker here given is a notable extension of earlier investigations, because it covers the entire range of the explosive reaction in gases - normal detonation and burning.

DETONATION↗
NASA NTRS1921

Comparison of alcogas aviation fuel with export aviation gasoline

Mixtures of gasoline and alcohol when used in internal combustion engines designed for gasoline have been found to possess the advantage of alcohol in withstanding high compression without "knock" while retaining advantages of gasoline with regard to starting characteristics. Test of such fuels for maximum power-producing ability and fuel economy at various rates of consumption are thus of practical importance, with especial reference to high-compression engine development. This report discusses the results of tests which compares the performance of alcogas with x gasoline (export grade) as a standard.

Gage, V R↗
NASA NTRS1924

The effect of electrode temperature on the sparking voltage of short spark gaps

This report presents the results of an investigation to determine what effect the temperature of spark plug electrodes might have on the voltage at which a spark occurred. A spark gap was set up so that one electrode could be heated to temperatures up to 700 degrees C., while the other electrode and the air in the gap were maintained at room temperature. The sparking voltages were measured both with direct voltage and with voltage impulse from ignition coil. It was found that the sparking voltage of the gap decreased materially with increase of temperature. This change was more marked when the hot electrode was of negative polarity. The phenomena observed can be explained by the ionic theory of gaseous conduction, and serve to account for certain hitherto unexplained actions in the operation of internal combustion engines. These results indicate that the ignition spark will pass more readily when the spark-plug design is such as to make the electrodes run hot. This possible gain is, however, very closely limited by the danger of producing preignition. These experiments also show that sparking is somewhat easier when the hot electrode (which is almost always the central electrode) is negative than when the polarity is reversed.

Silsbee, F B↗
NASA NTRS1925

The sparking voltage of spark plugs

This report has been prepared in order to collect and correlate into convenient and useful form the available data on this subject. The importance of the subject lies in the fact that it forms the common meeting ground for studies of the performance of spark generators and spark plugs on the one hand and of the internal combustion engines on the other hand. While much of the data presented was obtained from various earlier publications, numerous places were found where necessary data were lacking, and these have been provided by experiments in gasoline engines at the Bureau of Standards.

Silsbee, F B↗
NASA NTRS1931

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Ignition Sparks

The effectiveness of ignition sparks was determined by measuring the volume (or mass) of hydrogen and of oxygen which combines at low pressures. The sparks were generated by a magneto and an ignition spark coil. It was found that with constant energy the amount of reaction increases as the capacitance component of the spark increases. The use of a series spark gap may decrease or increase the amount of reaction, the effect depending upon the amount and distribution of capacitance in the circuit. So far as the work has progressed, it has been found that sparks reported by other investigations as being most efficient for igniting lean mixtures cause the largest amount of reaction. Differences between the amount of reaction with a magneto spark and an ignition spark coil were noted. The method appears to offer a means of determining the most efficient spark generator for internal-combustion engines as well as determining a relation between the character of spark, energy, and effectiveness in igniting inflammable mixtures.

Peters, Melville F↗
NASA NTRS1935

The Physical Effects of Detonation in a Closed Cylindrical Chamber

Detonation in the internal-combustion engine is studied as a physical process. It is shown that detonation is accompanied by pressure waves within the cylinder charge. Sound theory is applied to the calculation of resonant pressure-wave frequencies. Apparatus is described for direct measurement of pressure-wave frequencies. Frequencies determined from two engines of different cylinder sizes are shown to agree with the values calculated from sound theory. An outline of the theoretically possible modes of vibration in a right circular cylinder with flat ends is included. An appendix by John P. Elting gives a method of calculating pressure in the sound wave following detonation.

Draper, C S↗
NASA NTRS1938

Interrelation of exhaust-gas constituents

This report presents the results of an investigation conducted to determine the interrelation of the constituents of the exhaust gases of internal-combustion engines and the effect of engine performance on these relations. Six single-cylinder, liquid-cooled tests engines and one 9-cylinder radial air-cooled engine were tested. Various types of combustion chambers were used and the engines were operated at compression ratios from 5.1 to 7.0 using spark ignition and from 13.5 to 15.6 using compression ignition. The investigation covered a range of engine speeds from 1,500 to 2,100 r.p.m. The fuels used were two grades of aviation gasoline, auto diesel fuel, and laboratory diesel fuel. Power, friction, and fuel-consumption data were obtained from the single-cylinder engines at the same time that the exhaust-gas samples were collected.

Gerrish, Harold C↗
NASA NTRS1942

Recording Rapidly Changing Cylinder-wall Temperatures

The present report deals with the design and testing of a measuring plug suggested by H. Pfriem for recording quasi-stationary cylinder wall temperatures. The new device is a resistance thermometer, the temperature-susceptible part of which consists of a gold coating applied by evaporation under high vacuum and electrolytically strengthened. After overcoming initial difficulties, calibration of plugs up to and beyond 400 degrees C was possible. The measurements were made on high-speed internal combustion engines. The increasing effect of carbon deposit at the wall surface with increasing operating period is indicated by means of charts.

Meier, Adolph↗
NASA NTRS1993

Direct simulation of compressible wall-bounded turbulence

When analyzing many turbulent flows, the effects of compressibility can be neglected. Even some relatively high-speed flows, such as boundary layers generated by a supersonic aircraft, produce turbulent statistics that are similar to those found for the incompressible case. There are other situations, however, in which the non-zero divergence of the turbulence leads to behavior that is fundamentally different from that found at constant density. Examples include flows created by internal combustion engines, hypersonic flight, and supersonic combustion. It is with instances such as these that this project is concerned. In particular, we are interested in the effects of compressibility on turbulence near a smooth solid constant temperature surface; our primary objective is an increased physical understanding that can be used to improve turbulence models of wall-bounded compressible flows. With this in mind, we have begun a direct numerical simulation (DNS) study of turbulence in a plane channel. Because all of the relevant spatial and temporal scales are to be resolved, the simulations require no subgrid scale parameterization. The DNS code developed by Buell to study compressible plane Couette flow was modified to solve the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in the plane channel. The channel was chosen over the Couette flow for two reasons: (1) to avoid using the very large streamwise domains needed to adequately capture the large Couette vortical structures; and (2) to make use of previous experience by considering the compressible version of a well established case and isolate finite Mach number effects by comparing to the incompressible channel.

Coleman, Gary N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Estimation of the vortex length scale and intensity from two-dimensional samples

A method is proposed for estimating flow features that influence flame wrinkling in reciprocating internal combustion engines, where traditional statistical measures of turbulence are suspect. Candidate methods were tested in a computed channel flow where traditional turbulence measures are valid and performance can be rationally evaluated. Two concepts are tested. First, spatial filtering is applied to the two-dimensional velocity distribution and found to reveal structures corresponding to the vorticity field. Decreasing the spatial-frequency cutoff of the filter locally changes the character and size of the flow structures that are revealed by the filter. Second, vortex length scale and intensity is estimated by computing the ensemble-average velocity distribution conditionally sampled on the vorticity peaks. The resulting conditionally sampled 'average vortex' has a peak velocity less than half the rms velocity and a size approximately equal to the two-point-correlation integral-length scale.

Reuss, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

High-pressure combustion of binary fuel sprays

The ultimate objective of this study is to obtain fundamental information relevant to combustion processes that occur in fuel sprays of practical interest at high pressures in internal combustion engines. Since practical fuels are multicomponent and derived from petroleum, the present work involves the model alkane mixture of n-heptane and n-hexadecane. Since burning droplets in sprays can interact with each other, the present work involves investigation of the effects of this interaction on flame shapes and droplet burning times. The small droplets in practical combustion chambers are not significantly influenced by buoyancy. Since such small droplets are difficult to study experimentally, the present work takes advantage of microgravity to lessen buoyancy and enable information about droplet interactions to be obtained by studying larger droplets. The results are intended to provide fundamental understanding that can be used in improving descriptions of practical spray combustion.

Mikami, Masato↗