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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 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Effect of delta tabs on mixing and axis switching in jets from asymmetric nozzles

The effect of delta tabs on mixing and the phenomenon of axis switching in free air jets from various asymmetric nozzles was studied experimentally. Flow visualization and Pitot probe surveys were carried out with a set of small nozzles (D = 1.47 cm) at a jet Mach number, Mj = 1.63. Hot wire measurements for streamwise vorticity were carried out with larger nozzles (D = 6.35 cm) at Mj = 0.31. Jet mixing with the asymmetric nozzles, as indicated by the mass fluxes downstream, was found to be higher than that produced by a circular nozzle. The circular nozzle with four delta tabs, however, produced fluxes much higher than that produced by a asymmetric nozzles themselves or by most of the tab configurations tried with them. Even higher fluxes could be obtained with only a few cases, e.g., with 3:1 rectangular nozzle with two large delta tabs placed on the narrow edges. In this case, the jet 'fanned out' at a large angle after going through one axis switch. The axis switching could be either stopped or augmented with suitable choice of the tab configurations. Two mechanisms are identified governing the phenomenon. One, as described in Ref. 12 and referred to here as the omega(sub Theta)-induced dynamics, is due to differential induced velocities of different segments of a rolled up azimuthal vortical structure. The other is the omega(sub x)-induced dynamics due to the induced velocities of streamwise vortex pairs in the flow. While the former dynamics are responsible for rapid axis switching in periodically forced jets, the effect of the tabs is governed mainly by the latter. It is inferred that both dynamics are active in a natural asymmetric jet issuing from a nozzle having an upstream contraction. The tendency for axis switching caused by the omega(sub Theta)-induced dynamics is resisted by the omega(sub x)-induced dynamics, leading to a delayed or no switch over in that case. In jets from orifices and in screeching jets, the omega(sub Theta)-induced dynamics dominate causing a faster switch over.

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ionic diffusioosmotic transport in nanochannels grafted with pH-responsive polyelectrolyte brushes modeled using augmented strong stretching theory

In this paper, we study the diffusioosmotic (DOS) transport in a nanochannel grafted with pH-responsive polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes and establish brush-functionalization-driven enhancement in induced nanofluidic electric field and electrokinetic transport. The PE brushes are modelled using our recently developed augmented strong stretching theory (SST). We consider the generation of the DOS transport due to the imposition of a salt concentration gradient along the length of the nanochannel. The presence of the salt concentration gradient induces an electric field that has an osmotic (associated with the flow-driven migration of the ions in the induced electric double layer) and an ionic (associated with the conduction current) component. These two components evolve in a manner such that the electric field in the brush-grafted nanochannel is larger (smaller) in magnitude than that in the brush-less nanochannels for the case where the electric field is positive (negative). Furthermore, we quantify the DOS flow velocity and establish that for most of the parameter choices, the DOS velocity, which is a combination of the induced pressure-gradient-driven chemiosmotic component and the induced electric field driven electroosmotic transport, is significantly larger for the nanochannels grafted with backbone-charged PE brushes (i.e., brushes where the charge is distributed along the entire length of the brushes) as compared to brush-free nanochannels or nanochannels grafted with PE brushes containing charges on their non-grafted ends.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1992

Heat transfer with very high free-stream turbulence. I - Experimental data. II - Analysis of results

Boundary layer heat transfer with very high freestream turbulence is investigated. The problem is studied experimentally by placing a constant-temperature heat transfer surface at various locations in the margin of a turbulent free jet and measuring both the surface heat transfer rate and the turbulence in the freestream. Freestream turbulent fluctuations 20 to 60 percent relative to the mean velocity augment heat transfer 1.8 to 4 times that which would be predicted locally using accepted correlations for turbulent boundary layers at the same Reynolds number. The correlations of Simonich and Bradshaw (1989), Pedisius et al. (1983), and Blair (1983) each fail to describe the present data. For flows over flat surfaces in air with very high freestream turbulence, greater than 0.2, u-prime determines h. A new heat transfer parameter, St-prime, characterizes turbulent boundary layer heat transfer with freestream turbulence on the domain 0-0.65 to within +/- 15 percent for high Reynolds number flows with uniform thermal boundary conditions.

Maciejewski, P. K.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improving High Resolution Offshore Wind Resource Assessments and Forecasts using Observations in the MA/RI Lease Areas

The third Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP3) sought to improve understanding of the physical phenomena in the atmosphere and ocean that dictate the structure and variability of wind and thermodynamic fields within the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL). WFIP3 conducted a comprehensive 18-month observational study over the Northeast U.S. outer continental shelf, a high use coastal zone, using a 3-D multiscale sensor array to highly resolve the temporal, vertical, and horizontal structure of the coupled atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers. Multiple land-based study sites adjacent to the coastal ocean observed surface meteorology and vertical profiles of atmospheric properties via passive infrared and microwave radiometers, active lidars and radars, and radiosondes. At sea, an array of surface flux buoys and two vertical profiling lidar buoys observed both atmospheric and oceanic properties, augmented by land-based oceanographic radar systems and routine ship-based surveys. Intensive observations of the MABL over the ocean was done from an air-sea interaction flux tower and extended deployments of a large barge platform. WFIP3 focused on mesoscale and sub-mesoscale flows -- including sea breezes, low-level jets, low-level clouds, and coastal storms -- and the ability of advanced numerical model parameterizations to represent them within fully coupled oceanic and atmospheric modeling systems and foundational weather forecast models. Numerous critical forecasting phenomena were observed, however the project was terminated prior to the completion of the field observational period and the analysis period.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Effect of swirling flow on augmentor performance, phase 2

A test program has been conducted with an augmentor that employed swirling flow as a means of promoting rapid flame propagation. The program measured the trajectory and dispersion of JP-5-type kerosene sprayed into a strongly swirling flowfield. Using the data obtained, a set of sprayrings was designed and evaluated in the augmentor at conditions simulating those typical of augmented turbojet engines. At the inlet test temperature of 649 C the swirling flowfield had no effect on the radial position of the fuel spray. The augmentor demonstrated combustion efficiencies greater than 95% over most of the operating range, which extended from an equivalence ratio of 0.2 to over 1.0.

Clements, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Numerical optimization of circulation control airfoil at high subsonic speed

A numerical procedure for optimizing the design of the circulation control airfoil for use at high subsonic speeds is presented. The procedure consists of an optimization scheme coupled with a viscous potential flow analysis for the blowing jet. The desired airfoil is defined by a combination of three baseline shapes (cambered ellipse and cambered ellipse with drooped and spiraled trailing edges). The coefficients of these shapes are used as design variables in the optimization process. Under the constraints of lift augmentation and lift-to-drag ratios, the airfoil, optimized at free-stream Mach 0.54 and alpha = -2 degrees can be characterized as a cambered ellipse with a drooped trailing edge. Experimental tests support the performance improvement predicted by numerical optimization.

Tai, T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

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

Preliminary results of a study to investigate the relationship between free stream turbulence and heat transfer augmentation in the stagnation region is presented. The effects of free stream turbulence and surface roughness on spanwise averaged heat transfer were investigated. Turbulence was measured upstream of a cylinder placed in the wake of an array of parallel wires that were perpendicular to the cylinder axis. Finally, flow visualization and thermal visualization techniques were combined to show the relationship between vortices in the stagnation region and spanwise variations in heat transfer.

Vanfossen, G. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Upgrades of Two Computer Codes for Analysis of Turbomachinery

Major upgrades have been made in two of the programs reported in "ive Computer Codes for Analysis of Turbomachinery". The affected programs are: Swift -- a code for three-dimensional (3D) multiblock analysis; and TCGRID, which generates a 3D grid used with Swift. Originally utilizing only a central-differencing scheme for numerical solution, Swift was augmented by addition of two upwind schemes that give greater accuracy but take more computing time. Other improvements in Swift include addition of a shear-stress-transport turbulence model for better prediction of adverse pressure gradients, addition of an H-grid capability for flexibility in modeling flows in pumps and ducts, and modification to enable simultaneous modeling of hub and tip clearances. Improvements in TCGRID include modifications to enable generation of grids for more complicated flow paths and addition of an option to generate grids compatible with the ADPAC code used at NASA and in industry. For both codes, new test cases were developed and documentation was updated. Both codes were converted to Fortran 90, with dynamic memory allocation. Both codes were also modified for ease of use in both UNIX and Windows operating systems.

Chima, Rodrick V.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Characterization of a Regenerable Impactor Filter for Spacecraft Cabin Applications

Regenerable filters will play an important role in human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Life Support Systems aboard crewed spacecrafts will have to operate reliably and with little maintenance over periods of more than a year, even multiple years. Air filters are a key component of spacecraft life support systems, but they often require frequent routine maintenance. Bacterial filters aboard the International Space Station require almost weekly cleaning of the pre-filter screen to remove large lint debris captured in the microgravity environment. The source of the airborne matter which is collected on the filter screen is typically from clothing fibers, biological matter (hair, skin, nails, etc.) and material wear. Clearly a need for low maintenance filters requiring little to no crew intervention will be vital to the success of the mission. An impactor filter is being developed and tested to address this need. This filter captures large particle matter through inertial separation and impaction methods on collection surfaces, which can be automatically cleaned after they become heavily loaded. The impactor filter can serve as a pre-filter to augment the life of higher efficiency filters that capture fine and ultrafine particles. A prototype of the filter is being tested at the Particulate Filtration Laboratory at NASA Glenn Research Center to determine performance characteristics, including particle cut size and overall efficiency. Model results are presented for the flow characteristics near the orifice plate through which the particle-laden flow is accelerated as well as around the collection bands.

air filters↗
NASA NTRS2003

Numerical Simulation of High Drag Reduction in a Turbulent Channel Flow with Polymer Additives

The addition of small amounts of long chain polymer molecules to wall-bounded flows can lead to dramatic drag reduction. Although this phenomenon has been known for about fifty years, the action of the polymers and its effect on turbulent structures are still unclear. Detailed experiments have characterized two distinct regimes (Warholic et al. 1999), which are referred to as low drag reduction (LDR) and high drag reduction (HDR). The first regime exhibits similar statistical trends as Newtonian flow: the log-law region of the mean velocity profile remains parallel to that of the Newtonian ow but its lower bound moves away from the wall and the upward shift of the log-region is a function of drag reduction, DR. Although streamwise fluctuations are increased and transverse ones are reduced, the shape of the rms velocity profiles is not qualitatively modified. At higher drag reductions, of the order of 40-50%, the ow enters the HDR regime for which the slope of the log-law is dramatically augmented and the Reynolds shear stress is small (Warholic et al. 1999; Ptasinski et al. 2001). The drag reduction is eventually bounded by a maximum drag reduction (MDR) (Virk & Mickley 1970) which is a function of the Reynolds number. While several experiments report mean velocity profiles very close to the empirical profile of Virk & Mickley (1970) for MDR conditions, the observations regarding the structure of turbulence can differ significantly. For instance, Warholic et al. (1999) measured a near-zero Reynolds shear stress, whereas a recent experiment (Ptasinski et al. 2001) shows evidence of non-negligible Reynolds stress in their MDR flow. To the knowledge of the authors, only the LDR regime has been documented in numerical simulations (Sureshkumar et al. 1997; Dimitropoulos et al. 1998; Min et al. 2001; Dubief & Lele 2001; Sibilla & Baron 2002). This paper discusses the simulation of polymer drag reduced channel ow at HDR using the FENE-P (Finite Elastic non-linear extensibility-Peterlin) model which was used for the first LDR simulation by Sureshkumar et al. (1997). Flow and polymer parameters are close to realistic polymer drag reducing conditions. High drag reductions are achieved by using finite differences and a robust time stepping technique. A minimal channel flow is also used as a numerical experiment to investigate the effect of the outer region turbulent structures on the overall drag at HDR. The drag reducing action of the model is finally studied through the structure of energy transfers from the polymers to the velocity components. This investigation sheds some light on the details of polymer drag reduction.

Dubief, Yves↗
NASA NTRS1978

Arrhenius' law in turbulent media and an equivalent tunnel effect

The indeterminacy inherent to the formal extension of Arrhenius' law to reactions in turbulent flows is shown to be surmountable in the case of a binary exchange reaction with a sufficiently high activation energy. A preliminary calculation predicts that the turbulent reaction rate is invariant in the Arrhenius form except for an equivalently lowered activation energy. This is a reflection of turbulence-augmented molecular vigor, and causes an appreciable increase in the reaction rate. A similarity to the tunnel effect in quantum mechanics is indicated. The anomaly associated with the mild ignition of oxy-hydrogen mixtures is discussed in this light.

Tsuge, S.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Numerical optimization of circulation control airfoils

A numerical procedure for optimizing circulation control airfoils, which consists of the coupling of an optimization scheme with a viscous potential flow analysis for blowing jet, is presented. The desired airfoil is defined by a combination of three baseline shapes (cambered ellipse, and cambered ellipse with drooped and spiralled trailing edges). The coefficients of these shapes are used as design variables in the optimization process. Under the constraints of lift augmentation and lift-to-drag ratios, the optimal airfoils are found to lie between those of cambered ellipse and the drooped trailing edge, towards the latter as the angle of attack increases. Results agree qualitatively with available experimental data.

Tai, T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The mixing mechanism by organised turbulence structures in a plane jet excited by a novel method

The effect on a plane subsonic turbulent jet of controlled high-amplitude periodic oscillations applied to the nozzle is investigated experimentally. A variable-speed motor and a gear-cam mechanism are used to make the lips of the nozzle reciprocate in opposite directions at the desired frequency. Velocity profiles, flow visualizations, and pressure-signal traces are presented and analyzed in detail. The complex vortex processes involved in the oscillation-induced spreading and entrainment of the jet are explored, and a critical Strouhal number for vortex formation and amplification is determined. The oscillation technique is found to augment the thrust of a jet/duct-diffuser configuration by a factor of 1.20; the thrust increases with oscillation frequency up to 20 Hz and remains constant if the frequency is further increased.

Badri Narayanan, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Large Eddy/Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Simulations of CUBRC Base Heating Experiments

ven with great advances in computational techniques and computing power during recent decades, the modeling of unsteady separated flows, such as those encountered in the wake of a re-entry vehicle, continues to be one of the most challenging problems in CFD. Of most interest to the aerothermodynamics community is accurately predicting transient heating loads on the base of a blunt body, which would result in reduced uncertainties and safety margins when designing a re-entry vehicle. However, the prediction of heat transfer can vary widely depending on the turbulence model employed. Therefore, selecting a turbulence model which realistically captures as much of the flow physics as possible will result in improved results. Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models have become increasingly popular due to their good performance with attached flows, and the relatively quick turnaround time to obtain results. However, RANS methods cannot accurately simulate unsteady separated wake flows, and running direct numerical simulation (DNS) on such complex flows is currently too computationally expensive. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) techniques allow for the computation of the large eddies, which contain most of the Reynolds stress, while modeling the smaller (subgrid) eddies. This results in models which are more computationally expensive than RANS methods, but not as prohibitive as DNS. By complimenting an LES approach with a RANS model, a hybrid LES/RANS method resolves the larger turbulent scales away from surfaces with LES, and switches to a RANS model inside boundary layers. As pointed out by Bertin et al., this type of hybrid approach has shown a lot of promise for predicting turbulent flows, but work is needed to verify that these models work well in hypersonic flows. The very limited amounts of flight and experimental data available presents an additional challenge for researchers. Recently, a joint study by NASA and CUBRC has focused on collecting heat transfer data on the backshell of a scaled model of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Heat augmentation effects due to the presence of cavities and RCS jet firings were also investigated. The high quality data produced by this effort presents a new set of data which can be used to assess the performance of CFD methods. In this work, a hybrid LES/RANS model developed at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is used to simulate several runs from these experiments, and evaluate the performance of high fidelity methods as compared to more typical RANS models. .

Salazar, Giovanni↗
NASA NTRS1994

Crossflow instability control on a swept-wing: Preliminary studies

The pressure distribution on a swept wing causes the streamlines at the edge of the boundary layer to be curved. This pressure gradient normal to the external streamline creates a velocity component normal to the external streamline within the boundary layer which is referred to as the crossflow velocity. Because the crossflow velocity profile perpendicular to the wing surface has an inflection point, the profile is unstable. The stationary instability mode takes the form of crossflow vortices. Under these conditions, the boundary layer on the wing is extremely unstable and transition to turbulent flow takes place much closer to the leading edge of the wing than it would on an unswept wing. Higher skin friction drag is associated with turbulent flow, and so better aircraft performance could be obtained if the crossflow could be eliminated One method of controlling crossflow that is being investigated is boundary-layer suction. An extensive airfoil suction experiment in the 8 feet Transonic Pressure Tunnel (TPT) at NASA Langley Research Center will begin late in 1994. Because of the size, complexity, and expense associated with this test, a number of 'risk-reduction' tests are currently being conducted. The 20 x 28 in. Shear Flow Control Tunnel at NASA Langley is being used for some of these tests. Prior to the summer of 1994, a flat plate with a swept leading edge was installed in the 20 x 28 in. tunnel, with a displacement body mounted on the tunnel ceiling that created a pressure distribution on the plate similar to the pressure distribution on a swept wing. The flow over the plate was investigated during the summer of 1994 using a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) system. The LDV measurements indicated the possible presence of multiple disturbance modes, a rarely-seen phenomena since, in most tests, one disturbance mode dominates. The possible existence of multiple disturbance modes in the flat plate boundary layer, however, means that the flow in the 20 x 28 in. tunnel is of interest itself, and will be investigated more thoroughly in the future. With a view to these investigations, the boundary layer traverse mechanism in the 20 x 28 in. tunnel was modified to improve its performance, and strain gauges were mounted on the traverse in order to monitor its deflection during a test. Other preliminary work conducted in the 20 x 28 in. tunnel included the use of an infrared camera system. Previous work with this system showed that transition indeed could be detected, but the signal produced by the crossflow vortices was too weak to be detected. It was hoped that spraying the flat plate with naphthalene would augment the heat transfer associated with the crossflow vortices so that they would show up in a IR image; however, experiments showed that this would not work. Another set of tests was conducted in the 20 x 28 in. tunnel to determine the tripping requirements for a set of airfoil-shaped struts that will be used in the 8 feet TPT experiment. Since the Reynolds number associated with these struts is small, a laminar boundary layer would separate early, causing large fluctuations in the flow field. A turbulent boundary layer would remain attached further back, but tripping from laminar to turbulent flow at low Reynolds number is very difficult. However, trip strip configurations were found that should effectively trip the boundary layer at the required conditions. Currently underway is an investigation of the data acquisition requirements for the 8 feet TPT experiment, with the purpose of the finding the minimum amount of data needed to characterize sufficiently the swept-wing boundary layer. This study is being conducted using a numerically generated data set.

Bridges, David H.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Physics guided machine learning using simplified theories

Recent applications of machine learning, in particular deep learning, motivate the need to address the generalizability of the statistical inference approaches in physical sciences. In this Letter, we introduce a modular physics guided machine learning framework to improve the accuracy of such data-driven predictive engines. The chief idea in our approach is to augment the knowledge of the simplified theories with the underlying learning process. To emphasize their physical importance, our architecture consists of adding certain features at intermediate layers rather than in the input layer. To demonstrate our approach, we select a canonical airfoil aerodynamic problem with the enhancement of the potential flow theory. We include the features obtained by a panel method that can be computed efficiently for an unseen configuration in our training procedure. By addressing the generalizability concerns, our results suggest that the proposed feature enhancement approach can be effectively used in many scientific machine learning applications, especially for the systems where we can use a theoretical, empirical, or simplified model to guide the learning module.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1978

Aerodynamic characteristics of a jet sheet vortex generator

A configuration concept for augmenting the lift capability of low aspect ratio, thin wings, typically used on fighter aircraft was investigated. The fluid strake concept uses a jet sheet formed by blowing from a series of small orifices located in the side of the fuselage ahead of the wing to generate a stable vortex flow over the wing at high angle of attack. The effect of the location of the fluid strake relative to the wing was investigated for three different designs of the in-line orifices using a half-span model tested in a 7 by 10 foot low speed tunnel. Based on the results of the low speed test, a jet sheet producing module was incorporated into a NASA general research fighter model and tested in the Langley 7 by 10 foot high speed tunnel to determine the effectiveness of the fluid strake as a lift-enhancement device in the high-speed maneuver regime. Tests were conducted over a Mach number range from 0.3 to 0.8, with a jet momentum coefficient range from 0 to 0.24. Significant lift increments resulted at the higher angles of attack and drag polars were improved.

Ziegler, H.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Small particle transport across turbulent nonisothermal boundary layers

The interaction between turbulent diffusion, Brownian diffusion, and particle thermophoresis in the limit of vanishing particle inertial effects is quantitatively modeled for applications in gas turbines. The model is initiated with consideration of the particle phase mass conservation equation for a two-dimensional boundary layer, including the thermophoretic flux term directed toward the cold wall. A formalism of a turbulent flow near a flat plate in a heat transfer problem is adopted, and variable property effects are neglected. Attention is given to the limit of very large Schmidt numbers and the particle concentration depletion outside of the Brownian sublayer. It is concluded that, in the parameter range of interest, thermophoresis augments the high Schmidt number mass-transfer coefficient by a factor equal to the product of the outer sink and the thermophoretic suction.

Rosner, D. E.↗