Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “generators”

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 NTRS1994

Three Dimensional Compressible Turbulent Flow Computations for a Diffusing S-Duct With/Without Vortex Generators

Numerical investigations on a diffusing S-duct with/without vortex generators and a straight duct with vortex generators are presented. The investigation consists of solving the full three-dimensional unsteady compressible mass averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit finite volume lower-upper time marching code (RPLUS3D) has been employed and modified. A three-dimensional Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model has been modified in conjunction with the flow physics. A model for the analysis of vortex generators in a fully viscous subsonic internal flow is evaluated. A vortical structure for modeling the shed vortex is used as a source term in the computation domain. The injected vortex paths in the straight duct are compared with the analysis by two kinds of prediction models. The flow structure by the vortex generators are investigated along the duct. Computed results of the flow in a circular diffusing S-duct provide an understanding of the flow structure within a typical engine inlet system. These are compared with the experimental wall static-pressure, static- and total-pressure field, and secondary velocity profiles. Additionally, boundary layer thickness, skin friction values, and velocity profiles in wall coordinates are presented. In order to investigate the effect of vortex generators, various vortex strengths are examined in this study. The total-pressure recovery and distortion coefficients are obtained at the exit of the S-duct. The numerical results clearly depict the interaction between the low velocity flow by the flow separation and the injected vortices.

Cho, Soo-Yong↗
NASA NTRS1995

Three-dimensional hybrid grid generation using advancing front techniques

A new 3-dimensional hybrid grid generation technique has been developed, based on ideas of advancing fronts for both structured and unstructured grids. In this approach, structured grids are first generate independently around individual components of the geometry. Fronts are initialized on these structure grids, and advanced outward so that new cells are extracted directly from the structured grids. Employing typical advancing front techniques, cells are rejected if they intersect the existing front or fail other criteria When no more viable structured cells exist further cells are advanced in an unstructured manner to close off the overall domain, resulting in a grid of 'hybrid' form. There are two primary advantages to the hybrid formulation. First, generating blocks with limited regard to topology eliminates the bottleneck encountered when a multiple block system is used to fully encapsulate a domain. Individual blocks may be generated free of external constraints, which will significantly reduce the generation time. Secondly, grid points near the body (presumably with high aspect ratio) will still maintain a structured (non-triangular or tetrahedral) character, thereby maximizing grid quality and solution accuracy near the surface.

Steinbrenner, John P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Tuned grid generation with ICEM CFD

ICEM CFD is a CAD based grid generation package that supports multiblock structured, unstructured tetrahedral and unstructured hexahedral grids. Major development efforts have been spent to extend ICEM CFD's multiblock structured and hexahedral unstructured grid generation capabilities. The modules added are: a parametric grid generation module and a semi-automatic hexahedral grid generation module. A fully automatic version of the hexahedral grid generation module for around a set of predefined objects in rectilinear enclosures has been developed. These modules will be presented and the procedures used will be described, and examples will be discussed.

Wulf, Armin↗
NASA NTRS1995

Generating grids directly on CAD database surfaces using a parametric evaluator approach

A very important, but often overlooked step in grid generation is acquiring a suitable geometry definition of the vehicle to be analyzed. In the past, geometry was usually obtained by generating a number of cross-sections of each component. A number of recent efforts have focussed on non-uniform rational B-spline surfaces (NURBS) to provide as single type of analytic surface to deal with inside the grid generator. This approach has required the development of tools to read other types of surfaces and convert them, either exactly or by approximation, into a NURBS surface. This paper describes a more generic parametric evaluator approach, which does not rely on a particular surface type internal to the grid generation system and is less restrictive in the number of surface types that can be represented exactly. This approach has been implemented in the McDonnell Douglas grid generation system, MACGS, and offers direct access to all types of surfaces from a Unigraphics part file.

Gatzhe, Timothy D.↗
NASA NTRS1994

On sound generation by turbulent convection: A new look at old results

We have revisited the problem of acoustic wave generation by turbulent convection in stellar atmospheres. The theory of aerodynamically generated sound, originally developed by Lighthill and later modified by Stein to include the effects of stratification, has been used to estimate the acoustic wave energy flux generated in solar and stellar convection zones. We correct the earlier computations by incorporating an improved description of the spatial and temporal spectrum of the turbulent convection. We show the dependence of the resulting wave fluxes on the nature of the turbulence, and compute the wave energy spectra and wave energy fluxes generated in the Sun on the basis of a mixing-length model of the solar convection zone. In contrast to the previous results, we show that the acoustic energy generation does not depend very sensitively on the turbulent energy spectrum. However, typical total acoustic fluxes of order F(sub A) = 5 x 10(exp 7) ergs/sq cm/s with a peak of the acoustic frequency spectrum near omega = 100 mHz are found to be comparable to those previously calculated. The acoustic flux turns out to be strongly dependent on the solar model, scaling with the mixing-length parameter alpha as alpha(exp 3.8). The computed fluxes most likely constitute a lower limit on the acoustic energy produced in the solar convection zone if recent convection simulations suggesting the presence of shocks near the upper layers of the convection zone apply to the Sun.

Musielak, Z. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Midfit dislocation generation mechanisms in InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures

An experimental investigation of misfit dislocation generation mechanisms at an InGaAs/GaAs heterointerface is reported. InGaAs epitaxial layers were grown by low-pressure oragnometallic vapor-phase epitaxy on patterned and unpatterned GaAs substrate having etch-pit densities (EPD) of 200, 1400, and 10,000 cm(exp -2). After epitaxial growth, the samples were annealed at temperatures between 650 and 750 C, and analyzed by optical and transmission electron microscopy. For the range of substrate EPD studied, it was found that the substrate EPD controls the onset of misfit dislocation generation for low-temperature epitaxy (less than 600 C) on unpatterned substrates. When epilayers were annealed at 750 C, the density of misfit dislocations was independent of the substrate EPD. These studies also show that the dominant misfit dislocation generation mechanism for films grown on patterned substrates is nucleation at the growth-mesa edge. The density of preexisting threading dislocations has little influence on misfit dislocation generation for films selectively deposited within 100 x 100 sq micrometer growth windows. For selective heteroepitaxy, misfit dislocation generation strongly depends on the crystallographic orientation of the growth-mesa edge.

Kui, J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

High efficiency radioisotope thermophotovoltaic prototype generator

A radioisotope thermophotovoltaic generator space power system (RTPV) is lightweight, low-cost alternative to the present radioisotope thermoelectric generator system (RTG). The fabrication of such an RTPV generator has recently become feasible as the result of the invention of the GaSb infrared sensitive photovoltaic cell. Herein, we present the results of a parametric study of emitters and optical filters in conjuction with existing data on gallium antimonide cells. We compare a polished tungsten emitter with an Erbia selective emitter for use in combination with a simple dielectric filter and a gallium antimonide cell array. We find that the polished tungsten emitter is by itself a very selective emitter with low emissivity beyond 4 microns. Given a gallium antimonide cell and a tungsten emitter, a simple dielectric filter can be designed to transmit radiant energy below 1.7 microns and to reflect radiant energy between 1.7 and 4 microns back to the emitter. Because of the low long wavelength emissivity associated with the polished tungsten emitter, this simple dielectric filter then yields very respectable system performance. Also as a result of the longer wavelength fall-off in the tungsten emissivity curve, the radiation energy peak for a polished tungsten emitter operating at 1300 K shifts to shorter wavelengths relative to the blackbody spectrum so that the radiated energy peak falls right at the gallium antimonide cell bandedge. The result is that the response of the gallium antimonide cell is well matched to a polished tungsten emitter. We propose, therefore, to fabricate an operating prototype of a near term radioisotope thermophotovoltaic generator design consisting of a polished tungsten emitter, standard gallium antimonide cells, and a near-term dielectric filter. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will design and build the thermal cavity, and JX Crystals will fabricate the gallium antimonide cells, dielectric filters, and resultant receiver panels. With 250 Watts of heat input, we expect this prototype to produce over 300 Watts of electrical energy output for a system energy conversion efficiency of over 12%. This low risk, near term design provides advances relative to present radioisotope thermophotovoltaic generators and has the additional advantage of allowing component and system development and testing to begin immediately. Improved cells and filters can easily be incorporated in this baseline system if they should become available in the future.

Avery, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

PARC3D calculations of the F/A-18A HARV inlet vortex generators

NASA Lewis Research Center is currently engaged in a research effort as a team member of the High Alpha Technology Program within the NASA agency. This program uses a specially-equipped F/A-18A aircraft called the High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV), in an effort to improve the maneuverability of high performance military aircraft at low-subsonic-speed, high-angle-of-attack conditions. The overall objective of the NASA Lewis effort is to develop inlet analysis technology towards efficient airflow delivery to the engine during these maneuvers. One portion of this inlet analysis technology uses computational fluid dynamics to predict installed inlet performance. Most of the F/A-18A HARV geometry, which includes the ramp/splitter plate, side diverter and slot, inlet lip and upper diverter, and deflected leading-edge flap has been modeled. The empennage and rear fuselage have not. A pair of vortex generators located on the bottom wall of the inlet were not modeled initially. These vortex generators were installed to alleviate any flow separation that may be induced by the wheel well protrusion into the inlet wall. Calculations completed with the PARC3D code showed that the pressure recovery has been underpredicted and the flow distortion over-predicted. To improve the correlation of PARC3D predictions with flight and wind tunnel tests, the vortex generators were included in the grid geometry and the results are presented in this report. The grid totals 27 blocks or 1.3 million grid points for the half model, which includes the vortex generator grid blocks. Two flight cases were calculated, a high speed case with a Mach number of 0.8 and angle of attack of 3.4; and a low speed case with a Mach number of 0.43 and angle of attack of 32.2. The vortex generators have a significant effect on the inlet boundary layers at high speed, low angle of attack; and have no effect at low speed, high angle of attack.

Podleski, Steve D.↗
NASA NTRS1996

The modelling of symmetric airfoil vortex generators

An experimental study is conducted to determine the dependence of vortex generator geometry and impinging flow conditions on shed vortex circulation and crossplane peak vorticity for one type of vortex generator. The vortex generator is a symmetric airfoil having a NACA 0012 cross-sectional profile. The geometry and flow parameters varied include angle-of-attack alfa, chordlength c, span h, and Mach number M. The vortex generators are mounted either in isolation or in a symmetric counter-rotating array configuration on the inside surface of a straight pipe. The turbulent boundary layer thickness to pipe radius ratio is delta/R = 0. 17. Circulation and peak vorticity data are derived from crossplane velocity measurements conducted at or about 1 chord downstream of the vortex generator trailing edge. Shed vortex circulation is observed to be proportional to M, alfa, and h/delta. With these parameters held constant, circulation is observed to fall off in monotonic fashion with increasing airfoil aspect ratio AR. Shed vortex peak vorticity is also observed to be proportional to M, alfa, and h/delta. Unlike circulation, however, peak vorticity is observed to increase with increasing aspect ratio, reaching a peak value at AR approx. 2.0 before falling off.

Reichert, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Vortex generator installation studies on steady state and dynamic inlet distortion

The theoretical and experimental work carried out under the NASA/MOD Joint Aeronautical Program has shown that CFD vortex generator installations designs successfully managed inlet duct flow distortion and that significant benefits in flow unsteadiness at the engine face were also present. The main conclusions to date from the collaborative effort between NASA/Lewis and DRA/Bedford are as follows: (1) vortex generator installations can be designed to be effective over a wide range of inlet operating conditions using Computational Fluid Dynamics and formal optimization procedures, (2) reductions in steady state engine face distortion of up to 80% have been measured in the M2129 inlet S-duct using CFD designed vortex generator installations, (3) reductions in flow unsteadiness of up to 80% have been measured in the W129 inlet S-duct using CFD designed vortex generator installations, and (4) the Reduced Navier-Stokes code RNS3D is a useful tool to design vortex generator installations to manage engine face distortions over a wide range of inlet operating conditions.

Anderson, Bernhard H.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A Computational-Experimental Development of Vortex Generator Use for a Transitioning S-Diffuser

The development of an effective design strategy for surface-mounted vortex generator arrays in a subsonic diffuser is described in this report. This strategy uses the strengths of both computational and experimental analyses to determine beneficial vortex generator locations and sizes. A parabolized Navier-Stokes solver, RNS3D, was used to establish proper placement of the vortex generators for reduction in circumferential total pressure distortion. Experimental measurements were used to determine proper vortex generator sizing to minimize total pressure recovery losses associated with vortex generator device drag. The best result achieved a 59% reduction in the distortion index DC60, with a 0.3% reduction in total pressure recovery.

Wendt, Bruce J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

MMPP Traffic Generator for the Testing of the SCAR 2 Fast Packet Switch

A prototype MWP Traffic Generator (TG) has been designed for testing of the COMSAT-supplied SCAR II Fast Packet Switch. By generating packets distributed according to a Markov-Modulated Poisson Process (MMPP) model. it allows the assessment of the switch performance under traffic conditions that are more realistic than could be generated using the COMSAT-supplied Traffic Generator Module. The MMPP model is widely believed to model accurately real-world superimposed voice and data communications traffic. The TG was designed to be as much as possible of a "drop-in" replacement for the COMSAT Traffic Generator Module. The latter fit on two Altera EPM7256EGC 192-pin CPLDs and produced traffic for one switch input port. No board changes are necessary because it has been partitioned to use the existing board traces. The TG, consisting of parts "TGDATPROC" and "TGRAMCTL" must merely be reprogrammed into the Altera devices of the same name. However, the 040 controller software must be modified to provide TG initialization data. This data will be given in Section II.

Chren, William A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Automated Concurrent Blackboard System Generation in C++

In his 1992 Ph.D. thesis, "Design and Analysis Techniques for Concurrent Blackboard Systems", John McManus defined several performance metrics for concurrent blackboard systems and developed a suite of tools for creating and analyzing such systems. These tools allow a user to analyze a concurrent blackboard system design and predict the performance of the system before any code is written. The design can be modified until simulated performance is satisfactory. Then, the code generator can be invoked to generate automatically all of the code required for the concurrent blackboard system except for the code implementing the functionality of each knowledge source. We have completed the port of the source code generator and a simulator for a concurrent blackboard system. The source code generator generates the necessary C++ source code to implement the concurrent blackboard system using Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) running on a heterogeneous network of UNIX(trademark) workstations. The concurrent blackboard simulator uses the blackboard specification file to predict the performance of the concurrent blackboard design. The only part of the source code for the concurrent blackboard system that the user must supply is the code implementing the functionality of the knowledge sources.

Kaplan, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Fastrac Gas Generator Testing

A rocket engine gas generator component development test was recently conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center. This gas generator was intended to power a rocket engine turbopump by the combustion of Lox and RP-1. The testing demonstrated design requirements for start sequence, wall compatibility, performance, and stable combustion. During testing the gas generator injector was modified to improve distribution of outer wall coolant and the igniter boss was modified to investigate the use of a pyrotechnic igniter, Expected chamber pressure oscillations at longitudinal acoustic modes were measured for three different chamber lengths tested. High amplitude discrete oscillations occurred in the chamber-alone configurations when chamber acoustic modes coupled with feed-system acoustics modes. For the full gas generator configuration, which included the turbine inlet manifold simulator, high amplitude oscillations occurred only at off-design very low power levels. This testing led to a successful gas generator design for the Fastrac 60,000 lb thrust engine.

Nesman, Tomas E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Evaluation of the Use of Second Generation Wavelets in the Coherent Vortex Simulation Approach

The objective of this study is to investigate the use of the second generation bi-orthogonal wavelet transform for the field decomposition in the Coherent Vortex Simulation of turbulent flows. The performances of the bi-orthogonal second generation wavelet transform and the orthogonal wavelet transform using Daubechies wavelets with the same number of vanishing moments are compared in a priori tests using a spectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) database of isotropic turbulence fields: 256(exp 3) and 512(exp 3) DNS of forced homogeneous turbulence (Re(sub lambda) = 168) and 256(exp 3) and 512(exp 3) DNS of decaying homogeneous turbulence (Re(sub lambda) = 55). It is found that bi-orthogonal second generation wavelets can be used for coherent vortex extraction. The results of a priori tests indicate that second generation wavelets have better compression and the residual field is closer to Gaussian. However, it was found that the use of second generation wavelets results in an integral length scale for the incoherent part that is larger than that derived from orthogonal wavelets. A way of dealing with this difficulty is suggested.

Goldstein, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Solid-State Power Generating Microdevices for Distributed Space System Architectures

Deep space missions have a strong need for compact, high power density, reliable and long life electrical power generation and storage under extreme temperature conditions. Conventional power generating devices become inefficient at very low temperatures (temperatures lower than 200 K encountered during Mars missions for example) and rechargeable energy storage devices cannot be operated thereby limiting mission duration. At elevated temperatures (for example for planned solar probe or Venus lander missions), thin film interdiffusion destroys electronic devices used for generating and storing power. Solar power generation strongly depends upon the light intensity, which falls rapidly in deep interplanetary missions (beyond 5 AU), and in planetary missions in the sun shadow or in dusty environments (Mars, for example). Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) have been successfully used for a number of deep space missions RTGs. However, their energy conversion efficiency and specific power characteristics are quite low, and this technology has been limited to relatively large systems (more than 100 W). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been planning the use of much smaller spacecrafts that will incorporate a variety of microdevices and miniature vehicles such as microdetectors, microsensors, and microrovers. Except for electrochemical batteries and solar cells, there are currently no available miniaturized power sources. Novel technologies that will function reliably over a long duration mission (ten years and over), in harsh environments (temperature, pressure, and atmosphere) must be developed to enable the success of future space missions. It is also expected that such micropower sources could have a wide range of terrestrial applications, in particular when the limited lifetime and environmental limitations of batteries are key factors. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Fleurial, J.-P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hyperbolic Prismatic Grid Generation and Solution of Euler Equations on Prismatic Grids

A hyperbolic grid generation method is used to generate prismatic grids and an approach using prismatic grids to solve the Euler equations is presented. The theory of the stability and feasibility of the hyperbolic grid generation method is presented. The hyperbolic grid generation method of Steger et al for structured grids is applied to a three dimensional triangularized surface definition to generate a grid that is unstructured on each successive layer. The grid, however, retains structure in the body-normal direction and has a computational cell shaped like a triangular prism. In order to take advantage of the structure in the normal direction, a finite-volume scheme that treats the unknowns along the normal direction implicitly is introduced and the flow over a sphere is simulated.

Pandya, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Survey of Volumetric Grid Generators

This document is the result of an Internet Survey of Volumetric grid generators. As such we have included information from only the responses which were sent to us. After the initial publication and posting of this survey, we would encourage authors and users of grid generators to send further information. Here is the initial query posted to SIGGRID@nas and the USENET group sci.physics.computational.fluid-dynamics. Date: Sun, 30 Jan 94 11:37:52 -0800 From: woo (Alex Woo x6010 227-6 rm 315) Subject: Info Sought for Survey of Grid Generators I am collecting information and reviews of both government sponsored and commercial mesh generators for large scientific calculations, both block structured and unstructured. If you send me a review of a mesh generator, please indicate its availability and cost. If you are a commercial concern with information on a product, please also include references for possible reviewers. Please email to woo@ra-next.arc.nasa.gov. I will post a summary and probably write a short note for the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. Alex Woo, MS 227-6 woo@ames.arc.nasa.gov NASA Ames Research Center NASAMAIL ACWOO Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 SPANET 24582::W00 (415) 604-6010 (FAX) 604-4357 fhplabs,decwrl,uunet)!ames!woo Disclaimer: These are not official statements of NASA or EMCC. We did not include all the submitted text here. Instead we have created a database entry in the freely available and widely used BIBTeX format which has an Uniform Resource Locator (URL) field pointing to more details. The BIBTeX database is modeled after those available from the BIBNET project at University of Utah.

Woo, Alex↗