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At least 307 records · Page 17

The effects of Venus' thermal structure on buoyant magma ascent

The recent Magellan images have revealed a broad spatial distribution of surface volcanism on Venus. Previous work in modeling the ascent of magma on both Venus and Earth has indicated that the planetary thermal structure significantly influences the magmatic cooling rates and thus the amount of magma that can be transported to the surface before solidification. In order to understand which aspects of the thermal structure have the greatest influence on the cooling of ascending magma, we have constructed magma cooling curves for both plutonic and crack buoyant ascent mechanisms, and evaluated the curves for variations in the planetary mantle temperature, thermal gradient curvature with depth, surface temperature gradient, and surface temperature. The planetary thermal structure is modeled as T/T(sub 0) = 1-tau(1-Z/Z(sub 0)(exp n), where T is the temperature, T(sub 0) is the source depth temperature, tau = 1-(T(sub s)/T(sub 0)) where T(sub s) is the planetary surface temperature, Z is the depth, Z(sub 0) is the source depth, and n is a constant that controls thermal gradient curvature with depth. The equation is used both for mathematical convenience and flexibility, as well as its fit to the thermal gradients predicted by the cooling half-space models. We assume a constant velocity buoyant ascent, body-averaged magma temperatures and properties, an initially crystal-free magma, and the same liquidus and solidus for both Venus and Earth.

Sakimoto, S. E. H.↗

A lag model for turbulent boundary layers developing over rough bleed surfaces

Boundary layer mass removal (bleed) through spanwise bands of holes on a surface is used to prevent or control separation and to stabilize the normal shock in supersonic inlets. The addition of a transport equation lag relationship for eddy viscosity to the rough wall algebraic turbulence model of Cebeci and Chang was found to improve agreement between predicted and measured mean velocity distributions downstream of a bleed band. The model was demonstrated for a range of bleed configurations, bleed rates, and local free stream Mach numbers. In addition, the model was applied to the boundary layer development over acoustic lining materials for the inlets and nozzles of commercial aircraft. The model was found to yield accurate results for integral boundary layer properties unless there was a strong adverse pressure gradient.

Lee, J.↗

An experimental study of near wall flow parameters in the blade end-wall corner region

The near wall flow parameters in the blade end-wall corner region is investigated. The blade end-wall corner region was simulated by mounting an airfoil section (NACA 65-015 base profile) symmetric blades on both sides of the flat plate with semi-circular leading edge. The initial 7 cm from the leading edge of the flat plate was roughened by gluing No. 4 floor sanding paper to artificially increase the boundary layer thickness on the flat plate. The initial flow conditions of the boundary layer upstream of the corner region are expected to dictate the behavior of flow inside the corner region. Therefore, an experimental investigation was extended to study the combined effect of initial roughness and increased level of free stream turbulence on the development of a 2-D turbulent boundary layer in the absence of the blade. The measurement techniques employed in the present investigation included, the conventional pitot and pitot-static probes, wall taps, the Preston tube, piezoresistive transducer and the normal sensor hot-wire probe. The pitot and pitot-static probes were used to obtain mean velocity profile measurements within the boundary layer. The measurements of mean surface static pressure were obtained with the surface static tube and the conventional wall tap method. The wall shear vector measurements were made with a specially constructed Preston tube. The flush mounted piezoresistive type pressure transducer were employed to measure the wall pressure fluctuation field. The velocity fluctuation measurements, used in obtaining the wall pressure-velocity correlation data, were made with normal single sensor hot-wire probe. At different streamwise stations, in the blade end-wall corner region, the mean values of surface static pressure varied more on the end-wall surface in the corner region were mainly caused by the changes in the curvature of the streamlines. The magnitude of the wall shear stress in the blade end-wall corner region increased significantly in the close vicinity of the corner line. The maximum value of the wall shear stress and its location from the corner line, on both the surfaces forming the corner region, were observed to change along the corner. These observed changes in the maximum values of the wall shear stress and its location from the corner line could be associated with the stretching and attenuation of the horseshoe vortex. The wall shear stress vectors in the blade end-wall corner region were observed to be more skewed on the end-wall surface as compared to that on the blade surface. The differences in the wall shear stress directions obtained with the Preston tube and flow visualization method were within the range in which the Preston tube was found to be insensitive to the yaw angle.

Bhargava, Rakesh K.↗

The Impacts of Freshwater Input and Surface Wind Velocity on the Strength and Extent of a Large High Latitude River Plume

Arctic Ocean physical and biogeochemical properties are strongly influenced by freshwater input from land and through the Bering Strait, where the mean currents transport water northward from the Bering Sea. The Yukon River is one of the largest rivers in North America and the Arctic, contributing large quantities of freshwater and terrigenous material to the coastal ocean in the northern Bering Sea. However, a detailed analysis of the coastal hydrodynamics at the outflow of the river has not been conducted in this remote but regionally important river. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was built to represent the lower Yukon River and coastal ocean for the ice-free months in 7 years. On average, a large anticyclonic eddy persisted at the main outflow of the Yukon that recirculates water back toward the coast where the currents converge to form a mean northward transport along the delta. Interannual spatial variance in salinity was relatively small, while there was substantial variance in u and v current velocity. u velocity spatial variance was correlated to the volume of freshwater discharge across years, while v velocity spatial variance was correlated to the N–S wind velocity. During strong wind events, plume structure was substantially altered: southerly winds deepened the plume and enhanced northward transport, while northerly winds shoaled and strengthened the pycnocline, and reversed the flow toward the south. The variability in plume dispersion on short time scales due to wind forcing has implications for where terrigenous material is processed in and settles out of the water column.

river plume↗

Measurements of the boundary layer and near wake of a supercritical airfoil at cruise conditions

The flow behavior within the upper-surface boundary layer and near wake of a supercritical airfoil operating at cruise conditions is discussed. Experimental results obtained from wind-tunnel tests are presented which provide a more detailed description of the flow in these regions than was previously available. Mean streamwise velocity profiles measured by pitot-pressure-probe and laser-velocimeter techniques were found to be in excellent agreement. Other mean-flow properties obtained by the laser-velocimeter technique were the local flow angles in the viscous layers and the static pressures at the edges of the boundary layer and wake. The data set also includes measurements of the turbulence intensity and turbulent Reynolds-stress distributions as obtained by the laser-velocimeter technique. To assess the effects of the shock wave, a less extensive set of measurements was realized at a subcritical test condition. The two test conditions (Mach number at free-stream conditions = 0.72, airfoil section lift coefficient = 0.76 and Mach number of free-stream conditions = 0.5, airfoil section lift coefficient = 0.75) provide a good test for state-of-the-art prediction methods because the upper-surface-boundary layer is separated just upstream of the trailing edge in both cases.

Johnson, D. A.↗

Heat transfer distributions around nominal ice accretion shapes formed on a cylinder in the NASA Lewis icing research tunnel

Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained on irregular cylindrical shapes which typify the accretion of ice on circular cylinders in cross flow. The ice shapes were grown on a 5.1 cm (2.0 in.) diameter cylinder in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. The shapes were 2, 5, and 15 min accumulations of glaze ice and 15 min accumulation of rime ice. Heat transfer coefficients were also measured around the cylinder with no ice accretion. These icing shapes were averaged axially to obtain a nominal shape of constant cross section for the heat transfer tests. Heat transfer coefficients around the perimeter of each shape were measured with electrically heated copper strips embedded in the surface of the model which was cast from polyurethane foam. Each strip contained a thermocouple to measure the local surface temperature. The models were run in a 15.2 x 68.6 cm (6 x 27 in.) wind tunnel at several velocities. Background turbulence in the wind tunnel was less than 0.5 percent. The models were also run with a turbulence producing grid which gave about 3.5 percent turbulence at the model location with the model removed. The effect of roughness was also simulated with sand grains glued to the surface. Results are presented as Nusselt number versus angle from the stagnation line for the smooth and rough models for both high and low levels of free stream turblence. Roughness of the surface in the region prior to flow separation plays a major role in determining the heat transfer distribution.

Vanfossen, G. J.↗

Preliminary results of a study of the relationship between free stream turbulence and stagnation region heat transfer

The mechanism that causes free stream turbulence to increase heat transfer in the stagnation region of turbine vanes and blades was studied. The work is being conducted in a wind tunnel at atmospheric conditions to facilitate measurements of turbulence and heat transfer. The model size is scaled up to simulate Reynolds numbers (based on leading edge diameter) that are to be expected on a turbine blade leading edge. Reynolds numbers from 13,000 to 177,000 were run in the present tests. Spanwise averaged heat transfer measurement with high and low turbulence were made with rough and smooth surface stagnation regions. Results of these measurements show that the boundary layer remains laminar in character even in the presence of free stream turbulence at the Reynolds numbers tested. If roughness is added the boundary layer becomes transitional as evidenced by the heat transfer increase with increasing distance from the stagnation line. Hot wire measurements near the stagnation region downstream of an array of parallel wires has shown that vorticity in the form of mean velocity gradients is amplified as flow approaches the stagnation region.

Vaanfossen, G. J., Jr.↗

Preliminary results of a study of the relationship between free stream turbulence and stagnation region heat transfer

The mechanism that causes free stream turbulence to increase heat transfer in the stagnation region of turbine vanes and blades was studied. The work is being conducted in a wind tunnel at atmospheric conditions to facilitate measurements of turbulence and heat transfer. The model size is scaled up to simulate Reynolds numbers (based on leading edge diameter) that are to be expected on a turbine blade leading edge. Reynolds numbers from 13,000 to 177,000 were run in the present tests. Spanwise averaged heat transfer measurement with high and low turbulence were made with rough and smooth surface stagnation regions. Results of these measurements show that the boundary layer remains laminar in character even in the presence of free stream turbulence at the Reynolds numbers tested. If roughness is added the boundary layer becomes transitional as evidenced by the heat transfer increase with increasing distance from the stagnation line. Hot wire measurements near the stagnation region downstream of an array of parallel wires have shown that vorticity in the form of mean velocity gradients is amplified as flow approaches the stagnation region.

Vanfossen, G. J., Jr.↗

Boulder Capture System Design Options for the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission Alternate Approach Trade Study

This paper presents a boulder acquisition and asteroid surface interaction electromechanical concept developed for the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission (ARRM) option to capture a free standing boulder on the surface of a 100 m or larger Near Earth Asteroid (NEA). It details the down select process and ranking of potential boulder capture methods, the evolution of a simple yet elegant articulating spaceframe, and ongoing risk reduction and concept refinement efforts. The capture system configuration leverages the spaceframe, heritage manipulators, and a new microspine technology to enable the ARRM boulder capture. While at the NEA it enables attenuation of terminal descent velocity, ascent to escape velocity, boulder collection and restraint. After departure from the NEA it enables, robotic inspection, sample caching, and crew Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA).

Belbin, Scott P.↗

Vapor condensation at the free surface of an axisymmetric liquid mixed by a laminar jet

This paper presents numerical solutions of jet-induced mixing in a partially full cryogenic tank. An axisymmetric laminar jet is discharged from the central part of the tank bottom toward the liquid-vapor interface. Liquid is withdrawn at the same volume flow rate from the outer part of the tank. The jet is at a temperature lower than the interface, which is maintained at a certain saturation temperature. The interface is assumed to be flat and shear free and the condensation-induced velocity is assumed to be negligibly small compared with radial interface velocity. Finite-difference method is used to slove the nondimensional form of steady-state continuity, momentum, and energy equations. Calculations are conducted for jet Reynolds numbers ranging from 150 to 600 and Prandtl numbers ranging from 0.85 to 2.65. The effects of previously stated parameters on the condensation Nusselt and Stanton numbers that characterize the steady-state interface condensation process are investigated. Detailed analysis is performed to gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of fluid mixing and interface condensation.

Lin, Chin-Shun↗

Unsteady Loss in the Stator Due to the Incoming Rotor Wake in a Highly-Loaded Transonic Compressor

The present paper reports an investigation of unsteady loss generation in the stator due to the incoming rotor wake in an advanced GE transonic compressor design with a high-fidelity numerical method. This advanced compressor with high reaction and high stage loading has been investigated both experimentally and analytically in the past. The measured efficiency in this advanced compressor is significantly lower than the design intention/goal. The general understanding is that the current generation of compressor design/analysis tools miss some important flow physics in this modern compressor design. To pinpoint the source of the efficiency miss, an advanced test with a detailed flow traverse was performed for the front one and a half stage at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Detailed data-match analysis by GE identified an unexpected high loss generation in the pressure side of the stator passage. Higher total temperature and lower total pressure are measured near the pressure side of the stator. Various analyses based on the RANS and URANS of the compressor stage do not calculate the measured higher total temperature and lower total pressure on the pressure side of the stator. In the present paper, a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is applied to find the fundamental mechanism of this unsteady loss generation in the stator due to the incoming rotor wake. The results from the LES were first compared with the NASA test results and the GE interpretation of the test data. LES calculates lower total pressure and higher total temperature on the pressure side of the stator, as the measured data showed, resulting in large loss generation on the pressure side of the stator. Detailed examination of the unsteady flow field from LES shows that the rotor wake, which has higher total temperature and higher total pressure relative to the free stream, interacts quite differently with the pressure side of the blade compared to the suction side of the blade. The higher temperature in the wake remains high as the wake passes through the pressure side of the blade. On the other hand, the total temperature diffuses as it passes through near the suction surface. For the presently investigated compressor, the classical intra-stator wake transport to the pressure side of the blade by the slip velocity in the wake seems to be minor. The main causes of this phenomenon are three-dimensional unsteady vortex interactions near the blade surface. The stabilizing effect of the concave curvature on the suction side keeps the rotor wake thin. On the other hand, the destabilizing effect of the convex curvature of the pressure side makes the rotor wake thicker, which results in a higher total temperature measurement at the stator exit. Additionally, wake stretching through the stator seems to contribute to the redistribution of the total temperature and the loss generation.

Efficiency↗

The Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for Computational Electromagnetics

The upwind leapfrog or Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme (LBS) has previously been implemented and demonstrated on electromagnetic wave propagation problems. This paper extends the Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for computational electromagnetics to treat lossy dielectric and magnetic materials and perfect electrical conductors. This is accomplished by proper implementation of the LBS for homogeneous lossy dielectric and magnetic media, and treatment of perfect electrical conductors (PECs) are shown to follow directly in the limit of high conductivity. Heterogeneous media are treated through implementation of surface boundary conditions and no special extrapolations or interpolations at dielectric material boundaries are required. Results are presented for one-dimensional model problems on both uniform and nonuniform grids, and the FDTD algorithm is chosen as a convenient reference algorithm for comparison. The results demonstrate that the explicit LBS is a dissipation-free, second-order accurate algorithm which uses a smaller stencil than the FDTD algorithm, yet it has approximately one-third the phase velocity error. The LBS is also more accurate on nonuniform grids.

Beggs, John H.↗

The Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for Electromagnetics

The upwind leapfrog or Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme (LBS) has previously been implemented and demonstrated on electromagnetic wave propagation problems. This paper extends the Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for computational electromagnetics to model lossy dielectric and magnetic materials and perfect electrical conductors. This is accomplished by proper implementation of the LBS for homogeneous lossy dielectric and magnetic media and for perfect electrical conductors. Heterogeneous media are modeled through implementation of surface boundary conditions and no special extrapolations or interpolations at dielectric material boundaries are required. Results are presented for one-dimensional model problems on both uniform and nonuniform grids, and the FDTD algorithm is chosen as a convenient reference algorithm for comparison. The results demonstrate that the explicit LBS is a dissipation-free, second-order accurate algorithm which uses a smaller stencil than the FDTD algorithm, yet it has approximately one-third the phase velocity error. The LBS is also more accurate on nonuniform grids.

Beggs, John H.↗

A Two-Dimensional Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for Electromagnetics

The upwind leapfrog or Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme (LBS) has previously been implemented and demonstrated on one-dimensional electromagnetic wave propagation problems. This memorandum extends the Linear Bicharacteristic Scheme for computational electromagnetics to model lossy dielectric and magnetic materials and perfect electrical conductors in two dimensions. This is accomplished by proper implementation of the LBS for homogeneous lossy dielectric and magnetic media and for perfect electrical conductors. Both the Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic polarizations are considered. Computational requirements and a Fourier analysis are also discussed. Heterogeneous media are modeled through implementation of surface boundary conditions and no special extrapolations or interpolations at dielectric material boundaries are required. Results are presented for two-dimensional model problems on uniform grids, and the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) algorithm is chosen as a convenient reference algorithm for comparison. The results demonstrate that the two-dimensional explicit LBS is a dissipation-free, second-order accurate algorithm which uses a smaller stencil than the FDTD algorithm, yet it has less phase velocity error.

Beggs, John H.↗

Enhanced Design of Turbo-jet LPT by Separation Control Using Phased Plasma Actuators

This work deals with the documentation and control of flow separation that occurs over turbine blades in the low-pressure turbine stage at low Reynolds numbers that exist at high altitude cruise. We utilize a specially constructed linear cascade that is designed to study the flow field over a generic LPT cascade consisting of Pratt & Whitney 'Pak B' shaped blades. This facility was constructed under a previous one-year NASA Glenn RC initiative. The center blade in the cascade is instrumented to measure the surface pressure coefficient distribution. Optical access allows two-component LDV measurement for boundary layer profiles. Experimental conditions have been chosen to give a range of chord Reynolds numbers from 10 to 100K, and a range of free-stream turbulence levels from u'/U(sub infinity)= 0.08 to 3 percent. The surface pressure measurements were used to define a region of separation and reattachment that depend on the free-stream conditions. The location of separation was found to be relatively insensitive to the experimental conditions. However, reattachment location was very sensitive to the turbulence level and Reynolds number. Excellent agreement was found between the measured pressure distributions and predictions from Euler and RANS simulations. Two-component LDV measurements are presently underway to document the mean and fluctuating velocity components in the boundary layer over the center blade for the range of experimental conditions. The fabrication of the plasma actuator is underway. These are designed to produce either streamwise vortices, or a downstream-directed wall jet. A precursor experiment for the former approach was performed with an array of vortex generators placed just upstream of the separation line. These led to reattachment except for the lowest Reynolds number. Progress has also been made on the proposed concept for a laterally moving wake. This involved constructing a smaller wind tunnel and molding an array of symmetric airfoils to form an array. Following its development, it will be scaled up and used to introduce lateral moving wakes upstream up the Pak-B cascade.

Ashpis, David↗

Aerothermodynamics of a 1.6-m-diameter sphere in hypersonic rarefied flow

Results of a numerical study using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method are presented for hypersonic rarefied flow about a 1.6-m-diameter sphere. The flow conditions considered are those experienced by a typical satellite in orbit or by a space vehicle during entry. The altitude range considered is that from 90 to 200 km, which encompasses the near continuum, transitional and free-molecular flow regimes. A freestream velocity of 7.5 km/s is assumed in the simulations. The results show that transitional effects are significant at all altitudes below 200 km, but at 200 km the flow about the sphere attains the free-molecular limit. Very little chemical activity is present above 120 km. Both the stagnation point heat transfer and the sphere drag approach their respective free molecule values at 200 km. Results highlight the thermal and chemical nonequilibrium nature of the flowfield. Nonequilibrium effects on the surface heating and body drag are also investigated.

Dogra, Virendra K.↗

Conjugate heat transfer from a heated disk to a thin liquid film formed by a controlled impinging jet

An experimental and numerical study of the heat transfer from a heated horizontal disk to a thin film of liquid is described. The liquid was delivered to the disk by a collar arrangement such that the film thickness and radial velocity were known at the outer radius of the collar. This method of delivery is termed as a controlled impinging jet. Flow visualization tests were performed and heat transfer data were collected along the radius of the disk for different volumetric flow rates and inlet temperatures in the supercritical and subcritical regions. The heat transfer coefficient was found to increase with flow rate when both supercritical and subcritical regions were present on the heated surface. A numerical simulation of this free surface problem was performed, which included the effects of conjugate heat transfer within the heated disk and the liquid. The numerical predictions agree with the experimental results and show that conjugate heat transfer has a significant effect on the local wail temperature and heat transfer coefficient.

Faghri, A.↗

Wall Interference in a Perforated Wind Tunnel

The theory of cascades, made up of a series of flat plates placed one behind the other, is extended to the case where the impinging stream is not uniform, and the deduced properties of this cascade-flow are then applied to the study of the wall interference between such as cascade-like boundary and a vortex-source type of singularity. It is shown that the induced velocities, produced by the presence of such a wall, are equal to what is obtained by action of a suitably chosen 'reflected' singularity situated on one side of the wall, together with the action of another suitably chosen 'transmitted' singularity placed on the other side. The concepts of a reflection factor and a transmission factor are introduced to characterize various types of tunnel boundary, whether this is composed of solid wall, open and closed sequences, or just a free fluid surface. These ideas are then extended to cover the situation in which a pair of such walls are allowed to coalesce, especially in the event that one of the walls consists of open and closed portions and the other is a fluid surface. This latter particular combination of boundaries is called a perforated wall. Finally, the interference arising from an arbitrary general singularity placed symmetrically in between two such perforated walls is analyzed, and these results are then applied to the determination of the particular kinds of wall geometry that will produce no interference effects in the case of a slender lifting wing and also in the case of a symmetric profile having a finite thickness.

Brescia, Riccardo↗