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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 37 records · Page 2

The thermal structure and thermal evolution of the continental lithosphere

The thermal structure and evolution of the continental lithosphere are examined. Surface heat flow data and the factors which modify them are addressed, and the diversity of thermal phenomena in the lithosphere is discussed in the framework of plate interactions. The lithosphere is divided into three sections for the purposes of discussion. In the upper, near-surface zone, temperatures can be strongly affected by near-surface processes, which must be taken into account in the measurement and evaluation of surface heat flow. The thermal structure of the middle, internal zone of the lithosphere responds to the heat balance and thermal properties of the lithosphere, which define its steady state thermal structure. Internal deformation and magmatic intrusion within this zone, and interaction between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere in the lower boundary zone of the lithosphere cause transient thermal disturbances in the lithosphere. The criteria for defining the base of the thermal lithosphere are briefly discussed.

Morgan, P.↗

Application of integrated fluid-thermal-structural analysis methods

Hypersonic vehicles operate in a hostile aerothermal environment which has a significant impact on their aerothermostructural performance. Significant coupling occurs between the aerodynamic flow field, structural heat transfer, and structural response creating a multidisciplinary interaction. Interfacing state-of-the-art disciplinary analysis methods is not efficient, hence interdisciplinary analysis methods integrated into a single aerothermostructural analyzer are needed. The NASA Langley Research Center is developing such methods in an analyzer called LIFTS (Langley Integrated Fluid-Thermal-Structural) analyzer. The evolution and status of LIFTS is reviewed and illustrated through applications.

Wieting, Allan R.↗

Application of integrated fluid-thermal structural analysis methods

Hypersonic vehicles operate in a hostile aerothermal environment which has a significant impact on their aerothermostructural performance. Significant coupling occurs between the aerodynamic flow field, structural heat transfer, and structural response creating a multidisciplinary interaction. Interfacing state-of-the-art disciplinary analysis methods are not efficient, hence interdisciplinary analysis methods integrated into a single aerothermostructural analyzer are needed. The NASA Langley Research Center is developing such methods in an analyzer called LIFTS (Langley Integrated Fluid-Thermal-Structural) analyzer. The evolution and status of LIFTS is reviewed and illustrated through applications.

Wieting, Allan R.↗

NASA Lewis Steady-State Heat Pipe Code Architecture

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has developed the LERCHP code. The PC-based LERCHP code can be used to predict the steady-state performance of heat pipes, including the determination of operating temperature and operating limits which might be encountered under specified conditions. The code contains a vapor flow algorithm which incorporates vapor compressibility and axially varying heat input. For the liquid flow in the wick, Darcy s formula is employed. Thermal boundary conditions and geometric structures can be defined through an interactive input interface. A variety of fluid and material options as well as user defined options can be chosen for the working fluid, wick, and pipe materials. This report documents the current effort at GRC to update the LERCHP code for operating in a Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Corporation) environment. A detailed analysis of the model is presented. The programming architecture for the numerical calculations is explained and flowcharts of the key subroutines are given

Mi, Ye↗

Thermal-Interaction Matrix For Resistive Test Structure

Linear mathematical model predicts increase in temperature in each segment of 15-segment resistive structure used to test electromigration. Assumption of linearity based on fact: equations that govern flow of heat are linear and coefficients in equations (heat conductivities and capacities) depend only weakly on temperature and considered constant over limited range of temperature.

Buehler, Martin G.↗

Heart Pump Design for Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Through a Lewis CommTech Program project with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the NASA Lewis Research Center is playing a key role in the design and development of a permanently implantable, artificial heart pump assist device. Known as the Innovative Ventricular Assist System (IVAS), this device will take on the pumping role of the damaged left ventricle of the heart. The key part of the IVAS is a nonpulsatile (continuous flow) artificial heart pump with centrifugal impeller blades, driven by an electric motor. Lewis is part of an industry and academia team, led by the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI), that is working with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to make IVAS a reality. This device has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year, since 80 percent of heart attack victims suffer irreversible damage to the left ventricle, the part of the heart that does most of the pumping. Impeller blade design codes and flow-modeling analytical codes will be used in the project. These codes were developed at Lewis for the aerospace industry but will be applicable to the IVAS design project. The analytical codes, which currently simulate the flow through the compressor and pump systems, will be used to simulate the flow within the blood pump in the artificial heart assist device. The Interdisciplinary Technology Office heads up Lewis' efforts in the IVAS project. With the aid of numerical modeling, the blood pump will address many design issues, including some fluid-dynamic design considerations that are unique to the properties of blood. Some of the issues that will be addressed in the design process include hemolysis, deposition, recirculation, pump efficiency, rotor thrust balance, and bearing lubrication. Optimum pumping system performance will be achieved by modeling all the interactions between the pump components. The interactions can be multidisciplinary and, therefore, are influenced not only by the fluid dynamics of adjacent components but also by thermal and structural effects. Lewis-developed flow-modeling codes to be used in the pump simulations will include a one-dimensional code and an incompressible three-dimensional Navier-Stokes flow code. These codes will analyze the prototype pump designed by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. With an improved understanding of the flow phenomena within the prototype pump, design changes to improve the performance of the pump system can be verified by computer prior to fabrication in order to reduce risks. The use of Lewis flow modeling codes during the design and development process will improve pump system performance and reduce the number of prototypes built in the development phase. The first phase of the IVAS project is to fully develop the prototype in a laboratory environment that uses a water/glycerin mixture as the surrogate fluid to simulate blood. A later phase of the project will include testing in animals for final validation. Lewis will be involved in the IVAS project for 3 to 5 years.

Source record↗

Thermal Modeling of Permafrost Melt by Overlying Lava Flows with Applications to Flow-associated Outflow Channel Volumes in the Cerberus Plains, Mars

The Cerberus region of Mars has numerous geologically recent fluvial and volcanic features superimposed spatially, with some of them using the same flow channels and apparent vent structures. Lava-water interaction landforms such as psuedocraters suggest some interaction of emplacing lava flows with underlying ground ice or water. This study investigates a related interaction type a region where the emplaced lava might have melted underlying ice in the regolith, as there are small outflow channel networks emerging from the flank flows of a lava shield over a portion of the Eastern Cerberus Rupes. Specifically, we use high-resolution Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topography to constrain channel and flow dimensions, and thus estimate the thermal pulse from the emplaced lava into the substrate and the resulting melting durations and refreezing intervals. These preliminary thermal models indicate that the observed flows could easily create thermal pulse(s) sufficient to melt enough ground ice to fill the observed fluvial small outflow channels. Depending on flow eruption timing and hydraulic recharge times, this system could easily have produced multiple thermal pulses and fluvial releases. This specific case suggests that regional small water releases from similar cases may be more common than suspected, and that there is a possibility for future fluvial releases if ground ices are currently present and future volcanic eruptions in this young region are possible.

Chase, Z. A. J.↗

For operation of the Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC)

Computer programs for large systems of normal equations, an interactive digital signal process, structural analysis of cylindrical thrust chambers, swirling turbulent axisymmetric recirculating flows in practical isothermal combustor geometrics, computation of three dimensional combustor performance, a thermal radiation analysis system, transient response analysis, and a software design analysis are summarized.

Carmon, J. L.↗

Magnetohydrodynamic interaction of high-speed streams

Numerical solutions of a magnetohydrodynamic model are carried out to describe the nonlinear interaction of corotating high-speed streams near the solar equatorial plane. Two problems are studied. The first problem is to simulate the evolution of an idealized high-speed stream. Numerical solutions are obtained to represent the variations of flow velocity, magnetic field, plasma density, temperature, and conduction heat flux in the interaction region. They demonstrate that the dynamical interaction and heat conduction process are responsible for the thermal structure of a high-speed stream. The second problem deals with the formation of corotating shock waves near the leading edge of a broad stream resulting from the merging of characteristic curves. Corotating shocks do not necessarily occur in pairs; a reverse shock can be formed without a forward shock nearby.

Whang, Y. C.↗

Development of a Aerothermoelastic-Acoustics Simulation Capability of Flight Vehicles

A novel numerical, finite element based analysis methodology is presented in this paper suitable for accurate and efficient simulation of practical, complex flight vehicles. An associated computer code, developed in this connection, is also described in some detail. Thermal effects of high speed flow obtained from a heat conduction analysis are incorporated in the modal analysis which in turn affects the unsteady flow arising out of interaction of elastic structures with the air. Numerical examples pertaining to representative problems are given in much detail testifying to the efficacy of the advocated techniques. This is a unique implementation of temperature effects in a finite element CFD based multidisciplinary simulation analysis capability involving large scale computations.

Gupta, K. K.↗

The stable auroral red arc of October 31 - November 1, 1968 and its interaction with the neutral atmosphere

Satellite observations of electron temperature and the topside electron density structure are used to calculate the red arc according to the thermal conduction model. In this model, energy from the magnetosphere flows in the electron gas along geomagnetic field lines into the ionosphere. This energy heats the ambient F-region electrons sufficiently to excite the oxygen atoms to the O I(1D) level by collisional impact giving rise to the 6300 A emission characteristic of the arc. For the 31 October/1 November 1968 red arc, the calculated emission rate, geographical position, and horizontal extent of the red arc are in agreement with the photometric data obtained by airglow observatories. Almost all of the energy conducted into the red arc is ultimately transferred to the neutral gas through elastic and inelastic collisions. This energy drives a large thermal cell and the circulation extends the influence of the arc thousands of kilometers beyond the region of direct heat input. The calculated neutral gas temperature response to electron heating within the arc is small.

Roble, R. G.↗

Solar rocket plume/mirror interactions

The extent to which the plume from a solar thermal rocket will impinge on the solar collector is studied by flow field analysis. Such interaction can adversely affect collector performance through fouling, excessive heat loading, or pressure loads that deform the delicate structures. The geometrical shape of the collector is such that only the flow from the nozzle boundary layer can reach it, but the thrust levels of interest lead to very viscous nozzle flows with thick boundary layers. Reasonable accuracy in solving these flows requires a fully coupled viscous-inviscid procedure. Results show that the fraction of the plume that hits the collector can be well estimated by continuum theory, but that transitional and rarefied phenomena will have some impact on how it is distributed over the surface. Initial results for one representative condition show that approx. 4 percent of the total flow in the jet makes its way to the collector. The pressures on the collector, however, remain quite low because of its distance from the engine. Additional work is needed to document the effect of thrust scaling and wall cooling on impingement.

Yu, Sheng-Tao↗

Ares I-X Flight Evaluation Tasks in Support of Ares I Development

NASA s Constellation Program successfully launched the Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle on October 28, 2009. The Ares I-X flight was a development flight test that offered a unique opportunity for early engineering data to impact the design and development of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. As the primary customer for flight data from the Ares I-X mission, the Ares Projects Office established a set of 33 flight evaluation tasks to correlate fight results with prospective design assumptions and models. Included within these tasks were direct comparisons of flight data with pre-flight predictions and post-flight assessments utilizing models and modeling techniques being applied to design and develop Ares I. A discussion of the similarities and differences in those comparisons and the need for discipline-level model updates based upon those comparisons form the substance of this paper. The benefits of development flight testing were made evident by implementing these tasks that used Ares I-X data to partially validate tools and methodologies in technical disciplines that will ultimately influence the design and development of Ares I and future launch vehicles. The areas in which partial validation from the flight test was most significant included flight control system algorithms to predict liftoff clearance, ascent, and stage separation; structural models from rollout to separation; thermal models that have been updated based on these data; pyroshock attenuation; and the ability to predict complex flow fields during time-varying conditions including plume interactions.

Huebner, Lawrence D.↗

Numerical Simulations of A Conceptual MSR-EES Shoulder Recession

The present study demonstrates our in-house material response solver, Icarus's capability to simulate the ablative conditions, including pyrolysis effects due to the interaction between hypersonic boundary layers and the thermal protection system (TPS). A conceptual aeroshell shoulder design, which undergoes mission-relevant flow and material conditions, is selected for the demonstration purpose. LAURA, a structured flow solver, is used to solve flow around the shoulder at several trajectory points of a flight path. The aerothermal dataset obtained from LAURA is used to enforce boundary conditions on the aeroshell wall to simulate ablation processes. The two-layered material system is stacked with HEEET (TPS) and Aluminum (actual material). A set of base parameters, such as the angle of material orientation with respect to the flow direction, convective heat-transfer co-efficient, and aerothermal boundary conditions on the rear end of the HEEET material layer, is selected to conduct a base-case simulation. A small amount of recession was observed, indicating that the design should be fine to go through the selected flow and material conditions. Furthermore, the parameters mentioned above are individually altered and are observed to affect the shoulder design's recession compared to the base case. Verification of our Icarus setup was also carried out using a one-dimensional grid and FIAT, a one-dimensional material-response solver, to build credibility for our results. As the current work is an uncoupled fluid-material-response simulation, a local sharp mesh deformation in the recessed surface near the shoulder corner is observed.

Prakash Shrestha↗

SSME LOX post flow analysis/fluid structure interaction. Volume 1: Flow analysis

The realization of measures to improve the performance of the Space Shuttle is, to a large extent, dependent on an improved understanding of the fluid flow phenomena occurring in the main engine. The overall arrangement of the primary components of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) are presented. The impingement of the hot gases from the transfer ducts onto the LOX posts causes them to be subjected to severe thermal and gas dynamic loads, which in the past have resulted in the occasional breakage of some elements of the outer row of posts during test firings of the engine, particularly at higher power levels. Large velocities in the gap between the LOX posts may also be a contributing factor in causing dynamic stability problems. The deforming structural response of the posts to the pressure loading may likely affect the gas flowfield by producing a moving flowfield boundary, thereby creating a dynamically coupled unsteady fluid-structure system. The objective was to investigate the three-dimensional, turbulent flow around a simplified SSME LOX post array using an existing Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver and a suitable turbulence model to parameterize the turbulent shear stresses. Numerical computations were performed to analyze the effect on the flowfield of varying the spacing between the LOX posts, which were modeled as rigid, three-dimensional circular cylinders. The methodology used in the computations is described. Results are presented.

Burke, Roger W.↗

Coupled flow, thermal and structural analysis of aerodynamically heated panels

A finite element approach to coupling flow, thermal and structural analyses of aerodynamically heated panels is presented. The Navier-Stokes equations for laminar compressible flow are solved together with the energy equation and quasi-static structural equations of the panel. Interactions between the flow, panel heat transfer and deformations are studied for thin stainless steel panels aerodynamically heated by Mach 6.6 flow.

Thornton, Earl A.↗

Coupled flow, thermal and structural analysis of aerodynamically heated panels

A finite element approach for coupling flow, thermal and structural analyses of aerodynamically heated panels is presented. The Navier-Stokes equations for laminar compressible flow are solved together with the energy equation and quasi-static structural equations of the panel. Interactions between the flow, panel heat transfer and deformations are studied for thin stainless steel panels aerodynamically heated by Mach 6.6 flow.

Thornton, Earl A.↗

Fluid-Thermal-Structural Interactions Induced by an Asymmetric Shock-Wave/Boundary-Layer Interaction in a Mach-6 Compression Corner

An experimental study is conducted of the fluid-thermal-structural interaction of a clamped compliant panel exposed to a three dimensional shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction (SWBLI) induced by a Mach-6 compression ramp with a spanwise nonuniform incoming boundary layer. The nonuniform boundary layer was produced by placing trips on one side of the upstream flat plate, resulting in largely turbulent flow on the tripped side and transitional flow on the untripped side. Measurements of the flowfield confirmed that the tripped boundary layer contained elevated levels of unsteadiness, and the SWBLI was observed to vary from attached to fully separated as the ramp angle was increased from 10◦ to 38◦; the separation region on the tripped side of the panel was noticeably smaller, showing the elevated turbulence levels of the tripped-side flow to remain relatively localized rather than diffusing across the whole model. Full-field, time-resolved panel deformations were measured using high-speed photogrammetry and the vibrational response at each compression angle was characterized. Although the measured modes conformed largely to those from classical clamped-plate theory, some skewing of the mode shapes was observed. IR thermography highlighted regions of the compliant region where elevated temperatures were likely to promote thermal softening effects to the transient panel response. The quasi-static deformation and stress field was used to characterize the internal stress factor of each mode and showed a meaningful relationship between transient panel response and stress contained within each mode: modes with antinodes lying in high-stress areas of the plate tended to exhibit increases in vibrational frequency and decreases in vibrational power, whereas the opposite was true for modes with antinodes in low-stress areas.

Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition↗