Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “FLOW VELOCITY - DISTRIBUTION”

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 433 records · Page 24

Analytical and experimental studies of flow-induced vibration of SSME components

Components of the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are subjected to a severe environment that includes high-temperature, high-velocity flows. Such flows represent a source of energy that can induce and sustain large-amplitude vibratory stresses and/or result in fluidelastic instabilities. Three components are already known to have experienced failures in evaluation tests as a result of flow-induced structural motion. These components include the liquid-oxygen (LOX) posts, the fuel turbine bellows shield, and the internal inlet tee splitter vane. Researchers considered the dynamic behavior of each of these components with varying degrees of effort: (1) a theoretical and experimental study of LOX post vibration excited by a fluid flow; (2) an assessment of the internal inlet tee splitter vane vibration (referred to as the 4000-Hz vibration problem); and (3) a preliminary consideration of the bellows shield problem. Efforts to resolve flow-induced vibration problems associated with the SSMEs are summarized.

Chen, S. S.↗

Analytical study of twin-jet shielding

An analytical model a three-dimensional model, of twin-jet shielding, consisting of a point noise source impinging on a cylinder of heated flow in which the temperature and flow velocity are uniform across the cross-section is discussed. Wave equations are given for the regions outside the flow and within the flow cylinder and solutions are matched at the jet boundary under the conditions of continuity of pressure and continuity of the vortex sheet. The model was analyzed to identify mechanisms of transmission and diffraction which control sheilding in the shadow of the shielding jet. It was found that in the zone of the shadow region dominates, shielding is relatively insensitive to variations of such parameters as Mach Number and spacing ratio, but in the zone in which diffraction dominates; shielding is more sensitive to variations in Mach Number, jet temperature and spacing ratio.

Gerhold, C. H.↗

Light ion flow in the nightside ionosphere of Venus

The flow characteristics of the light ions H(+) and He(+) have been studied in the midnight region of the ionosphere of Venus. Measurements of ion composition, electron and ion temperatures and magnetic fields by instruments onboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter have been used in rite electron and ion equations of conservation of mass and momentum to derive the vertical flow velocities of H(+) and He(+). When average height profiles of the measured quantities were used, H(+) was found to flow upward, accelerating to speeds of almost 1 km/s at the ion-exobase. In a similar fashion, He(+) was found to flow downward into the neutral atmosphere where it is readily quenched by charge transfer reactions. The polarization electric field played an important role in forcing H(+) upward, but did not contribute enough to the He(+) force balance to produce upward flow. At the ion-exobase, the outward electric polarization force on H(+) was shown to be five times the gravitational force. Using an analogy with the terrestrial ion-exosphere, H(+) was inferred to flow upward into the ionotail of Venus and accelerate to escape speeds. A planet averaged escape flux of 1.4 x 10 exp 7/sq cm/s was calculated, which is comparable to hydrogen loss rates estimated by other investigators.

Hartle, R. E.↗

Origin of Stability in Sedimentation

Velocity fluctuations and particle concentrations are studied in a liquid fluidized bed to investigate the origin of steady state sedimentation. Both the velocity fluctuations and the particle concentrations are found to strongly depend on height. A flux balance model shows why the bed is stable: velocity fluctuations drive a downward particle flux that is compensated by an upward particle flux stemming from an excess flow velocity due to the stratification in concentration. Our results show that in steady state the magnitudes of the fluctuations are related to the degree of stratification.

Segre, P. N.↗

Doppler Global Velocimetry Measurements of the Vortical Flow Above an F/A-18

A Doppler global velocimeter was used to investigate the vortical flow above an F/A-18 model at 25-degrees angle of attack. The measurements indicate that the flow had the same characteristics as the vortical flow above a standard delta wing. The flow pattern indicating transition from stable to burst conditions found above the delta wing was also found at the 440 station above the F/A-18. Measurements downstream at the 524 station found that the flow velocity varied considerably, with standard deviations reaching 30 percent of free stream. However, individual data images indicated that the flow was spatially coherent, and not chaotic as expected.

Lee, Joseph W.↗

Time-resolved velocity and ion sound speed measurements from simultaneous bow shock imaging and inductive probe measurements

We present a technique to measure the time-resolved velocity and ion sound speed in magnetized, supersonic high-energy-density plasmas. We place an inductive (“b-dot”) probe in a supersonic pulsed-power-driven plasma flow and measure the magnetic field advected by the plasma. As the magnetic Reynolds number is large (R M > 10), the plasma flow advects a magnetic field proportional to the current at the load. This enables us to estimate the flow velocity as a function of time from the delay between the current at the load and the signal at the probe. The supersonic flow also generates a hydrodynamic bow shock around the probe, the structure of which depends on the upstream sonic Mach number. By imaging the shock around the probe with a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, we determine the upstream Mach number from the shock Mach angle, which we then use to determine the ion sound speed from the known upstream velocity. We use the sound speed to infer the value of Z̄T e , where Z̄ is the average ionization and T e is the electron temperature. We use this diagnostic to measure the time-resolved velocity and sound speed of a supersonic (M S ~ 8), super-Alfvénic (M A ~ 2) aluminum plasma generated during the ablation stage of an exploding wire array on the Magpie generator (1.4 MA, 250 ns). The velocity and Z̄T e measurements agree well with the optical Thompson scattering measurements reported in the literature and with 3D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations in GORGON.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Design and Analysis of the Open-Surface Slow Li Flow Divertor and Comparison to the Fast Li Flow Divertor

In the ongoing U.S. project, “Liquid Metal Plasma Facing Components,” sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, efforts have been taken to develop two open-surface divertor designs for the Fusion Nuclear Science Facility using liquid lithium (Li) as a heat and particle flux removal media. The main focus of this study is the design and analysis of a slow (~1 mm/s) and thin (<1 mm) open-surface Li flow divertor with a Li-cooled substrate, which is then compared with an earlier design of a fast (up to 10 m/s) and thick (~0.5 cm) Li flow divertor with the substrate cooled with helium. The slow Li flow divertor design is based on the original LiWall concept developed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Such a thin and slow Li layer can remove the particle flux by reducing the recycling flux, while the heat flux is removed mainly through the heat sink located beneath. In the present study, the heat sink is provided through a Li cooling flow inside the substrate of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel. By performing a multiphysics analysis with COMSOL that included liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), heat transfer, and structural mechanics, the impact of various factors on the divertor heat removal capability, such as Li flow velocity, MHD effects, and inlet velocity boundary condition, were examined. Based on comparisons of the two divertor designs, it was shown that the fast-flow divertor significantly outperformed the slow-flow design, whose heat removal capability was limited to ~1 to 2 MW/m2.

Jiang, Yuchen [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000283280284)↗

Thermally induced oscillations in fluid flow

Theoretical investigation distinguishes the various mechanisms responsible for oscillations of pressure, temperature, and flow velocity, derives a quantitative description of the most troublesome mechanisms, and develops a capability to predict the occurrence of unstable flow.

Zuber, N.↗

Unsteady flow in cavitating turbopumps

Unsteady flow in a cavitating axial inducer pump is analyzed with the help of a simple two-dimensional cascade model. This problem was motivated by a desire to study the effect of unsteady cavitation on the so-called POGO instability in the operation of liquid rocket engines. Here, an important feature is a closed loop coupling between several different modes of oscillation, one of which is due to the basic unsteady characteristics of the cavitation itself. The approaching and leaving flow velocities up- and downstream of the inducer oscillate, and the cavity-blade system participates dynamically with the basic pulsating flow. In the present work, attention is focused on finding a transfer matrix that relates the set of upstream variables to those downstream. This quantity, which is essentially equivalent to cavitation compliance in the quasi-static analyses, is found to be complex and frequency dependent.

Kim, J. H.↗

Limited flight test experience with a laser transit velocimeter

Limited flight testing of a laser transit velocimeter provided insight into the problems associated with the use of such instruments for flight research. Although the device tested was not designed for flight application, it had certain features such as fiber optics and low laser power which are attractive in the airborne environment. During these tests, operation of the velocimeter was limited by insufficient concentrations of light-scattering particles and background light interference. Normal operation was observed when these conditions were corrected by utilizing cloud particles and flying at night. A comparison between the laser flow velocity measurements and corresponding pressure measurements is presented and shows a coarse correlation. Statistical bias due to turbulence in the flow is suspected to have affected the laser measurements.

Curry, R. E.↗

The NCOREL computer program for 3D nonlinear supersonic potential flow computations

An innovative computational technique (NCOREL) was established for the treatment of three dimensional supersonic flows. The method is nonlinear in that it solves the nonconservative finite difference analog of the full potential equation and can predict the formation of supercritical cross flow regions, embedded and bow shocks. The method implicitly computes a conical flow at the apex (R = 0) of a spherical coordinate system and uses a fully implicit marching technique to obtain three dimensional cross flow solutions. This implies that the radial Mach number must remain supersonic. The cross flow solutions are obtained by using type dependent transonic relaxation techniques with the type dependency linked to the character of the cross flow velocity (i.e., subsonic/supersonic). The spherical coordinate system and marching on spherical surfaces is ideally suited to the computation of wing flows at low supersonic Mach numbers due to the elimination of the subsonic axial Mach number problems that exist in other marching codes that utilize Cartesian transverse marching planes.

Siclari, M. J.↗

Circulation control lift generation experiment: Hardware development

A circulation control airfoil and its accompanying hardware were developed to allow the investigation of lift generation that is independent of airfoil angle of attack and relative flow velocity. The test equipment, designed for use in a water tunnel, includes the blown airfoil, the support systems for both flow visualization and airfoil load measurement, and the fluid control system, which utilizes hydraulic technology. The primary design tasks, the selected solutions, and the unforseen problems involved in the development of these individual components of hardware are described.

Panontin, T. L.↗

Measured and predicted effects of gravity level on directional dendritic solidification of NH4Cl-H2O

Dendritic growth front rates during vertical directional solidification are predicted for gravity levels of 10 exp 0 g sub e (where e is earth gravity), 10 exp -1 g sub e, 10 exp -2 g sub e, 10 exp -3 g sub e, 10 exp -4 g sub e, and 10 exp -5 g sub e (microgravity) for the physical conditions used for a recent ammonium chloride-water solidification experiment on the International Microgravity Laboratory I (IMLI). The growth front rates at 10 exp 0 g sub e and 10 exp -5 g sub e are validated using ground based laboratory and IMLI experimental data. As the gravity decreases, the growth rates increase until they approach a maximum at approximately 10 exp -4 g sub e. The 10 exp -4 and 10 exp -5 levels are equivalent. Liquid concentration and volume fraction, temperature profiles and fluid flow velocities are also calculated. Kinetic energy calculations for each of the six gravity levels indicate that the threshold for fluid flow to affect the growth front rate is in the range of 10 exp -8 ergs.

Mccay, T. D.↗

Electro-osmo-dialysis through nanoporous layers physically conjugated to micro-perforated ion-exchange membranes: Highly selective accumulation of trace coions

This study explores theoretically and numerically the phenomenon of counter-flow accumulation of trace coions during electro-osmo-dialysis through composite membranes containing nanoporous and perforated ion-exchange layers. The combination of charged nanopores and perforations allows electroosmosis, and ion concentration polarization appears near the ion-exchange layer. Accumulation of trace coions occurs because their advective and electromigration flow velocity components have opposite signs and are locally compensating in depletion regions where electric fields are high. This local compensation of flow components can give rise to high accumulation factors (>1000 in some cases) for trace coions at some distance from the interface between the nanoporous and ion-exchange layers. Moreover, the extent of this accumulation depends on the trace-coion diffusion coefficient. The resulting selectivity between different coions might serve as a basis for environmentally friendly separation of ionic species such as synthetic peptides or rare-earth elements. For example, a periodic process might include accumulation followed by species release into smaller volumes of solution. For both rare-earth ions and peptide-like species, the accumulation selectivity between ions with small differences in mobilities depends on system parameters such as nanoporous-layer thickness, distance between the perforations, and the zeta potential of the nanopore surface. Here, the use of optimal values of these membrane parameters may enable tuning of the electro-osmo-dialysis system for separation of specific ions. Modelling reveals that despite inhomogeneous patterns of fluid and ion flows close to the nanoporous/perforated ion-exchange interface, at relatively short distances from this interface (less than half the distance between the perforations) all the flows become practically one-dimensional (1D). Similarly, the concentration profiles of trace coions also become 1D. The flow one-dimensionality at short distances from the current-polarized interface enables a simple 1D approximation that is useful for an approximate analysis of trends in this multi-parameter system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A theoretical study of the acoustic impedance of orifices in the presence of a steady grazing flow

An analysis of the oscillatory fluid flow in the vicinity of a circular orifice with a steady grazing flow is presented. The study is similar to that of Hersh and Rogers but with the addition of the grazing flow. Starting from the momentum and continuity equations, a considerably simplified system of partial differential equations is developed with the assumption that the flow can be described by an oscillatory motion superimposed upon the known steady flow. The equations are seen to be linear in the region where the grazing flow effects are dominant, and a solution and the resulting orifice impedance are presented for this region. The nonlinearity appears to be unimportant for the usual conditions found in aircraft noise suppressors. Some preliminary conclusions of the study are that orifice resistance is directly proportional to grazing flow velocity (known previously from experimental data) and that the orifice inductive (mass reactance) end correction is not a function of grazing flow. This latter conclusion is contrary to the widely held notion that grazing flow removes the effect of the orifice inductive end correction. This conclusion also implies that the experimentally observed total inductance reduction with grazing flow might be in the flow within the orifice rather than in the end correction.

Rice, E. J.↗

Flow in nonrotating passages of radial inflow turbines

The analysis of irrotational incompressible flow field in the stator unit of a radial inflow turbine is presented. The solution in the combined scroll-nozzle assembly is complicated by the domain geometry and by its multiconnectivity. This model is necessary, however, in order to provide a better understanding of the mutual interaction effects of these two components on the flow field. The finite element method is used in the solution which is limited to the two dimensional case. A substructuring technique is adopted in the computational procedure and results in considerable savings in both computer time and core storage requirements. The results are presented for the flow velocity magnitude and direction in the scroll and through the various nozzles, for two nozzle blade geometries. In addition, the mass flow rates in the different nozzles are computed and their deviations from the mean value determined.

Baskharone, E.↗

Fuel and oxidizer turbine loss analysis

The turbine losses for the fuel and oxidizer turbines at the FPL condition were assessed by a quasi-3D loss analysis method. This loss analysis method uses two flow codes - MERIDL and TSONIC - to calculate the flow velocities along the blade surfaces and endwalls. The velocities are then used as input to the boundary layer code - BLAYER - to calculate the friction losses due to incidence, secondary flow, and tip clearance. The loss analysis for the fuel turbine indicated an overall two-stage efficiency of about 90%. The largest loss was due to rotor tip clearance. The loss analysis for the oxidizer turbine is nearly completed. Results for the first stage of the two-stage design indicates an efficiency of about 80%, with high losses due to rotor incidence and blade and endwall friction.

Haas, J. E.↗

Methods for assessing wall interference in the 2- by 2-foot adaptive-wall wind tunnel

Discussed are two methods for assessing two-dimensional wall interference in the adaptive-wall test section of the NASA Ames 2 x 2-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel: (1) a method for predicting free-air conditions near the walls of the test section (adaptive-wall methods); and (2) a method for estimating wall-induced velocities near the model (correction methods), both of which methods are based on measurements of either one or two components of flow velocity near the walls of the test section. Each method is demonstrated using simulated wind tunnel data and is compared with other methods of the same type. The two-component adaptive-wall and correction methods were found to be preferable to the corresponding one-component methods because: (1) they are more sensitive to, and give a more complete description of, wall interference; (2) they require measurements at fewer locations; (3) they can be used to establish free-stream conditions; and (4) they are independent of a description of the model and constants of integration.

Schairer, E. T.↗