Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Preheating”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet combustor component development tests

Technology is being developed for a hydrocarbon-fueled engine operating as a scramjet over the flight Mach number range from 5.6 to 7. A series of connected-pipe tests were performed to define scramjet combustor design criteria applicable to the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) engine concept which comprises a pair of modular axisymmetric combustor underslung on a supersonic/hypersonic missile. The development of key pilot and fuel injector components of the combustor is pursued in a variable-geometry two-dimensional test section over a range of combustor entrance conditions simulating the intended flight regime. The applicability of the two-dimensional test results to the axisymmetric engine is ensured by maintaining a proper simulation of combustor entrance conditions and preserving the actual length scale in the two-dimensional test configuration. An air-breathing pilot was developed and tested to evaluate flame stabilization and flame propagation characteristics. A pilot configuration was developed that operated stably, with minimal flow spillage, at exhaust stagnation temperatures as high as 4500 R with ethylene fuel. It was demonstrated that the pilot promotes efficient combustion of either gaseous ethylene or preheated liquid Jet-A (JP-5) when they are injected into the supersonic mainstream flow as primary fuels. For the tests with Jet-A fuel, the fuel was heated in an array of internal cooling passages within the pilot walls to a thermodynamic condition such that it would flash-vaporize upon injection into the mainstream flow. The idea of using the air-breathing pilot and distributed primary and secondary fuel injectors to achieve efficient supersonic combustion over a wide range of equivalence ratios was also experimentally demonstrated during the program. During staged fuel injection tests with gaseous ethylene fuel, high secondary fuel combustion efficiencies were achieved and smooth transitions from fully supersonic to dual mode (supersonic/subsonic) operation were demonstrated at high overall equivalence ratios.

Kay, Ira W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A technique for measurement of instantaneous heat transfer in steady-flow ambient-temperature facilities

An experimental technique is described for obtaining time-resolved heat flux measurements with high-frequency response (up to 100 kHz) in a steady-flow ambient-temperature facility. The heat transfer test object is preheated and suddenly injected into an established steady flow. Thin-film gages deposited on the test surface detect the unsteady substrate surface temperature. Analog circuitry designed for use in short-duration facilities and based on one-dimensional semiinfinite heat conduction is used to perform the temperature/heat flux transformation. A detailed description of substrate properties, instrumentation, experimental procedure, and data reduction is given, along with representative results obtained in the stagnation region of a circular cylinder subjected to a wake-dominated unsteady flow. An in-depth discussion of related work is also provided.

O'Brien, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet combustor investigation

An experimental program is being conducted for developing the technology required by a hydrocarbon-fueled engine capable of operating as a scramjet in the Mach 5.6-7.0 range. A series of tests have been run to define scramjet combustor design criteria applicable to a scramjet configuration involving a pair of modular, axisymmetric combustors mounted on the lower surface of a supersonic/hypersonic missile. The airbreathing pilot combustor incorporates an external mainstream fuel injector which serves as the primary fuel injection stage for the supersonic combustor; it has been demonstrated that the pilot promotes the efficient combustion of either gaseous ethylene or preheated JP-5, when they are injected into the mainstream flow as a primary fuel.

Kay, I. W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Fuel-rich catalytic combustion - A fuel processor for high-speed propulsion

Fuel-rich catalytic combustion of Jet-A fuel was studied over the equivalence ratio range 4.7 to 7.8, which yielded combustion temperatures of 1250 to 1060 K. The process was soot-free and the gaseous products were similar to those obtained in the iso-octane study. A carbon atom balance across the catalyst bed calculated for the gaseous products accounted for about 70 to 90 percent of the fuel carbon; the balance was condensed as a liquid in the cold trap. It was shown that 52 to 77 percent of the fuel carbon was C1, C2, and C3 molecules. The viability of using fuel-rich catalytic combustion as a technique for preheating a practical fuel to very high temperatuers was demonstrated. Preliminary results from the scaled up version of the catalytic combustor produced a high-temperature fuel containing large amounts of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The balance of the fuel was completely vaporized and in various stages of pyrolysis and oxidation. Visual observations indicate that there was no soot present.

Brabbs, Theodore A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Thermal management for a Mach 5 cruise aircraft using endothermic fuel

The present thermal management system for a carrier-based Mach 5 cruise-capable aircraft whose propulsion system does not entail cryogenic fuels is predicated on the use of the catalytic endothermic reaction of a petroleum-derived hydrocarbon fuel as the heat sink for engine cooling. The insulation of engine flowpath surfaces reduces cooling requirements. The primary elements of this closed-cycle cooling system are a fuel preheater, a catalytic fuel reactor, and engine wall-cooling panels; a silicone-based liquid polymer is used as the coolant. Structural, weight, and thermal analysis results are presented for each of the primary components.

Petley, Dennis H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Fast, Nonspattering Inert-Gas Welding

Proposed welding technique combines best features of metal (other than tungsten)/inert-gas welding, plasma arc welding, and tungsten/inert-gas welding. Advantages include: wire fed to weld joint preheated, therefore fed at high speed without spattering; high-frequency energy does not have to be supplied to workpiece to initiate welding; size of arc gap not critical, power-supply control circuit adjusts voltage across gap to compensate for changes; only low gas-flow rate needed; welding electrode replaced easily as prefabricated assembly; external wire-feeding manipulator not needed; and welding process relatively forgiving of operator error.

Gilbert, Jeffrey L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Manufacturing Ethyl Acetate From Fermentation Ethanol

Conceptual process uses dilute product of fermentation instead of concentrated ethanol. Low-concentration ethanol, extracted by vacuum from fermentation tank, and acetic acid constitutes feedstock for catalytic reaction. Product of reaction goes through steps that increases ethyl acetate content to 93 percent by weight. To conserve energy, heat exchangers recycle waste heat to preheat process streams at various points.

Rohatgi, Naresh K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Influence of engineered interfaces on residual stresses and mechanical response in metal matrix composites

Because of the inherent coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between fiber and matrix within metal and intermetallic matrix composite systems, high residual stresses can develop under various thermal loading conditions. These conditions include cooling from processing temperature to room temperature as well as subsequent thermal cycling. As a result of these stresses, within certain composite systems, radial, circumferential, and/or longitudinal cracks have been observed to form at the fiber matrix interface region. A number of potential solutions for reducing this thermally induced residual stress field have been proposed recently. Examples of some potential solutions are high CTE fibers, fiber preheating, thermal anneal treatments, and an engineered interface. Here the focus is on designing an interface (by using a compensating/compliant layer concept) to reduce or eliminate the thermal residual stress field and, therefore, the initiation and propagation of cracks developed during thermal loading. Furthermore, the impact of the engineered interface on the composite's mechanical response when subjected to isothermal mechanical load histories is examined.

Arnold, Steven M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

X-ray observations of filament eruption in the 1980 May 21 flare

X-ray and H-alpha observations of an erupting filament and other observations of the associated flare on May 21, 1980 suggest that an erupting filament played a major role in the X-ray flare. While Antonucci et al. (1985) analyzed the May 21 flare as one of the best cases of chromospheric evaporation, the possible contribution from X-ray emitting erupting plasma has been ignored. It is that preheated plasma existed and may have contributed part of the blue-shifted X-ray emission observed in the Ca XIX line, which was formerly attributed solely to chromospheric evaporation. Thus it remains an open question - in two-ribbon flares in particular - just how important chromospheric evaporation is in flare dynamics.

Batchelor, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The structure of premixed particle-cloud flames

The structure of premixed flames propagating in combustible systems, containing uniformly distributed volatile fuel particles, in an oxidizing gas mixture, is analyzed. It is presumed that the fuel particles vaporize first to yield a gaseous fuel of known chemical structure, which is subsequently oxidized in the gas phase. The analysis is performed in the asymptotic limit, where the value of the characteristic Zeldovich number, based on the gas-phase oxidation of the gaseous fuel is large, and for values of phi(u) greater than or equal to 1.0, where phi(u) is the equivalence ratio based on the fuel available in the fuel particles. The structure of the flame is presumed to consist of a preheat vaporization zone where the rate of the gas-phase chemical reaction is small, a reaction zone where convection and the rate of vaporization of the fuel particles are small and a convection zone where diffusive terms in the conservation equations are small. For given values phi(u) the analysis yields results for the burning velocity and phi(g) where phi(g) is the effective equivalence ratio in the reaction zone. The analysis shows that even though phi(u) greater than or equal to 1.0, for certain cases the calculated value of phi(g) is less than unity. This prediction is in agreement with experimental observations.

Seshadri, K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Process for bonding elastomers to metals

A process for bonding elastomeric material to a metal part includes coating a heat curable adhesive on the surfaces of the metal part to be bonded. The metal part is placed in a mold, a bottom plate and an upper transfer pot of a transfer molding machine is preheated to a predetermined cure temperature. A predetermined quantity of uncured elastomeric material is loaded into the transfer pot. The mold containing the adhesive coated metal part is clamped to the bottom plate, and almost contemporaneously, the uncured elastomeric material is pressed into the mold while maintaining heat and pressure in the mold for a time sufficient to vulcanize and thereby cure the elastomeric material simultaneously with the adhesive, whereby contacting surfaces of the metal part are strongly bonded to the vulcanized elastomeric material.

Dickerson, George E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Observations on infiltration of silicon carbide compacts with an aluminium alloy

The melt infiltration of ceramic particulates permits an opportunity to observe such fundamental materials phenomena as nucleation, dynamic wetting and growth in constrained environments. Experimental observations are presented on the infiltration behavior and matrix microstructures that form when porous compacts of platelet-shaped single crystals of alpha- (hexagonal) silicon carbide are infiltrated with a liquid 2014 Al alloy. The infiltration process involved counter gravity infiltration of suitably tamped and preheated compacts of silicon carbide platelets under an external pressure in a special pressure chamber for a set period, then by solidification of the infiltrant metal in the interstices of the bed at atmospheric pressure.

Asthana, R.↗
NASA NTRS1949

Constant-Pressure Combustion Charts Including Effects of Diluent Addition

Charts are presented for the calculation of (a) the final temperatures and the temperature changes involved in constant-pressure combustion processes of air and in products of combustion of air and hydrocarbon fuels, and (b) the quantity of hydrocarbon fuels required in order to attain a specified combustion temperature when water, alcohol, water-alcohol mixtures, liquid ammonia, liquid carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, or their mixtures are added to air as diluents or refrigerants. The ideal combustion process and combustion with incomplete heat release from the primary fuel and from combustible diluents are considered. The effect of preheating the mixture of air and diluents and the effect of an initial water-vapor content in the combustion air on the required fuel quantity are also included. The charts are applicable only to processes in which the final mixture is leaner than stoichiometric and at temperatures where dissociation is unimportant. A chart is also included to permit the calculation of the stoichiometric ratio of hydrocarbon fuel to air with diluent addition. The use of the charts is illustrated by numerical examples.

Turner, L Richard↗
NASA NTRS1994

Apparatus Removes Organic Contaminants From Water

Catalytic-oxidation apparatus removes low-molecular-weight, polar, nonionizable organic contaminants from wastewater. Wastewater stream, previously treated by multifiltration process, pumped through apparatus for removal of trace organic contaminants. After injection of oxygen, flow preheated and enters catalytic reactor, where organic contaminants broken down into carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide and unused oxygen removed in degasser.

Akse, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Combination Of Investment And Centrifugal Casting

Modifications, including incorporation of centrifugal casting, made in investment-casting process reducing scrap rate. Used to make first- and second-stage high-pressure-fuel-turbopump nozzles, containing vanes with thin trailing edges and other thin sections. Investment mold spun for short time while being filled, and stopped before solidification occurs. Centrifugal force drives molten metal into thin trailing edges, ensuring they are filled. With improved filling, preheat and pour temperatures reduced and solidification hastened so less hot tearing.

Creeger, Gordon A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Fluid absorption solar energy receiver

A conventional solar dynamic system transmits solar energy to the flowing fluid of a thermodynamic cycle through structures which contain the gas and thermal energy storage material. Such a heat transfer mechanism dictates that the structure operate at a higher temperature than the fluid. This investigation reports on a fluid absorption receiver where only a part of the solar energy is transmitted to the structure. The other part is absorbed directly by the fluid. By proportioning these two heat transfer paths the energy to the structure can preheat the fluid, while the energy absorbed directly by the fluid raises the fluid to its final working temperature. The surface temperatures need not exceed the output temperature of the fluid. This makes the output temperature of the gas the maximum temperature in the system. The gas can have local maximum temperatures higher than the output working temperature. However local high temperatures are quickly equilibrated, and since the gas does not emit radiation, local high temperatures do not result in a radiative heat loss. Thermal radiation, thermal conductivity, and heat exchange with the gas all help equilibrate the surface temperature.

Bair, Edward J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

CFD simulation of coaxial injectors

The development of improved performance models for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) is an important, ongoing program at NASA MSFC. These models allow prediction of overall system performance, as well as analysis of run-time anomalies which might adversely affect engine performance or safety. Due to the complexity of the flow fields associated with the SSME, NASA has increasingly turned to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques as modeling tools. An important component of the SSME system is the fuel preburner, which consists of a cylindrical chamber with a plate containing 264 coaxial injector elements at one end. A fuel rich mixture of gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen is injected and combusted in the chamber. This process preheats the hydrogen fuel before it enters the main combustion chamber, powers the hydrogen turbo-pump, and provides a heat dump for nozzle cooling. Issues of interest include the temperature and pressure fields at the turbine inlet and the thermal compatibility between the preburner chamber and injector plate. Performance anomalies can occur due to incomplete combustion, blocked injector ports, etc. The performance model should include the capability to simulate the effects of these anomalies. The current approach to the numerical simulation of the SSME fuel preburner flow field is to use a global model based on the MSFC sponsored FNDS code. This code does not have the capabilities of modeling several aspects of the problem such as detailed modeling of the coaxial injectors. Therefore, an effort has been initiated to develop a detailed simulation of the preburner coaxial injectors and provide gas phase boundary conditions just downstream of the injector face as input to the FDNS code. This simulation should include three-dimensional geometric effects such as proximity of injectors to baffles and chamber walls and interaction between injectors. This report describes an investigation into the numerical simulation of GH2/LOX coaxial injectors. The following sections will discuss the physical aspects of injectors, the CFD code employed, and preliminary results of a simulation of a single coaxial injector for which experimental data is available. It is hoped that this work will lay the foundation for the development of a unique and useful tool to support the SSME program.

Landrum, D. Brian↗
NASA NTRS1993

Prediction of prompt NO(x) in hydrocarbon air flames

The gas turbine industry is directing particular attention to very low NOx combustors, whether for aircraft or land based CCGT systems. These low NOx combustors frequently use liquid fuels or natural gas burning under very lean premixed conditions with air or under rich-lean conditions, although only the first case is studied here. In land based systems, diluted steam or nitrogen are sometimes injected into the combustion chambers to reduce flame temperature. The NOx emissions from such systems are the product of three chemical mechanisms which are interrelated: the hydrocarbon prompt NO, the thermal NO (extended Zeldovich mechanism), and the nitrous oxide route to NO. Formation of NO2 from NO also occurs, as well as emission of carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons. When the fuel-oxidant proportion decreases towards leaner conditions, flame temperatures are lowered, resulting in the total NO being reduced and the thermal-NO contribution greatly diminished to the benefit of the remaining two mechanisms of NO formation. While knowledge of the elementary reactions and their chemical kinetics concerning methane and simple hydrocarbons combustion has existed for a number of years, its use for computer modeling is limited to simple flow dynamics configurations. Nevertheless, understanding of such combusting flows under a wide range of experimental conditions allows for analogies or speculations with more complex actual systems. Such understanding can be achieved by means of one dimensional laminar premixed flame modeling, with a full chemical mechanism which incorporates the three routes of NO formation. Complementary to this understanding is the modeling of the actual combustion system using a full description of the fluid dynamics coupled with a reduced chemical scheme, which is then compared against the first model. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the relative importance of the three mechanisms of NO formation in lean premixed methane-air combustion with increasing pressure using the one dimensional plug flow package PREMIX, and to test the validity of a three dimensional model with a global chemical mechanism against the one dimensional model in the atmospheric pressure case. Methane is chosen because it is the only mechanism which is reasonably well known and is a good guide to the behavior of other hydrocarbons. The mixture ratio chosen is richer than that in lean gas turbines, but the combustion of this mixture with the low preheat gives realistic gas turbine final flame temperatures. Conditions of NO2 formation are also analyzed in the one dimensional model and results extrapolated to the case of gas turbines.

Valerie Dupont↗