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NASA NTRS1980

Higher order mode propagation in nonuniform circular ducts

This paper presents an analytical investigation of higher order mode propagation in a nonuniform circular duct without mean flow. An approximate wave equation is derived on the assumptions that the duct cross section varies slowly and that mode conversion is negligible. Exact closed form solutions are obtained for a particular class of converging-diverging circular duct which is here referred to as 'circular cosh duct'. Numerical results are presentd in terms of the transmission loss for the various duct shapes and frequencies. The results are applicable to studies of multimodal propagation as well as single mode propagation. The results are also applicable to studies of sound radiation from certain types of contoured inlet ducts, or of sound propagation in a converging-diverging duct of somewhat different shape from a cosh duct.

Cho, Y. C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Long duct nacelle aerodynamic development for DC-10 derivatives

The results are presented of a wind tunnel test utilizing a 4.7-percent-scale semispan model of the DC-10 in the Calspan 8-foot transonic wind tunnel. The effect of a revised long-duct nacelle shape on the channel velocities, the incremental drag relative to the baseline long-duct nacelle, and channel velocities for the baseline long-duct nacelle were determined and compared with data obtained at Ames. The baseline and the revised long-duct nacelles are representative of a CF6-50 mixed-flow configuration and were evaluated on a model of a proposed DC-10 stretched-fuselage configuration. The results showed that the revised long-duct nacelle has an appreciable effect on the inboard channel velocities, resulting in an increased channel Mach number. However, the pressure recovery on the nacelle afterbody was about the same for both nacelles. The lift curves for both long-duct nacelle configurations were the same. The channel pressures measured at Calspan were in good agreement with those measured at Ames for the baseline long-duct nacelle. The incremental drag for the revised nacelle was measured as two to four counts (three counts is approximately equal to one percent of the airplane drag) higher than that of the baseline long-duct nacelle.

Patel, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Investigation of the interference effects of mixed flow long duct nacelles on a DC-10 wing

Wind tunnel test results utilizing a 4.7 percent scale semispan model in the 11 foot transonic wind tunnel are presented. A low drag long duct nacelle installation for the DC-10 jet transport was developed. A long duct nacelle representative of a CF6-50 mixed flow configuration was investigated on the DC-10-30. The results showed that the long duct nacelle installation located in the same position as the current short duct nacelle and with the current production symmetrical pylon is a relatively low risk installation for the DC-10 aircraft. Tuft observations and analytical boundary layer analysis confirmed that the flow on the nacelle afterbody was attached. A small pylon fairing was evaluated and found to reduce channel peak suction pressures, which resulted in a small drag improvement. The test also confirmed that the optimum nacelle incidence angle is the same as for the short duct nacelle, thus the same engine mount as for the production short duct nacelle can be used for the long duct nacelle installation. Comparison of the inboard wing pylon nacelle channel pressure distributions, with flow through and powered long duct nacelles showed that the power effects did not change the flow mechanism; hence, power effects can be considered negligible.

Patel, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Ducted auroral kilometric radiation

Certain discrete, intense wave signals attributed to auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) were observed with ISEE-l while it was within the plasmaspheric shadow zone for direct propagation. It is believed that wave ducting by thin depletions of the plasma density aligned with the magnetic field accounts for such signals, and that their discrete nature is caused by the satellite intercepting individual ducts. These ducts, which were also observed as coincident decreases of the upper hybrid resonance frequency, appeared to be twenty-percent depletions roughly one hundred kilometers across. The AKR, which is emitted approximately perpendicular to the magnetic field, apparently entered these ducts equatorward of the source after the waves had been refracted parallel to the duct axis. A diffuse background was also observed which is consistent with the leakage from similar ducts at lower L-values. These observations establish the existence of ducted AKR, its signature on the satellite wave spectrograms, and new evidence for depletion ducts within the plasmasphere.

Calvert, W.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Viscous flow computations for elliptical two-duct version of the SSME hot gas manifold

The objective of the effort was to numerically simulate viscous subsonic flow in a proposed elliptical two-duct version of the fuel side Hot Gas Manifold (HGM) for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). The numerical results were to complement both water flow and air flow experiments in the two-duct geometry performed at NASA-MSFC and Rocketdyne. The three-dimensional character of the HGM consists of two essentially different geometries. The first part of the construction is a concentric shell duct structure which channels the gases from a turbine exit into the second part comprised of two cylindrically shaped transfer ducts. The initial concentric shell portion can be further subdivided into a turnaround section and a bowl section. The turnaround duct (TAD) changes the direction of the mean flow by 180 degress from a smaller radius to a larger radius duct which discharges into the bowl. The cylindrical transfer ducts are attached to the bowl on one side thus providing a plane of symmetry midway between the two. Centerline flow distance from the TAD inlet to the transfer duct exit is approximately two feet. Details of the approach used to numerically simulate laminar or turbulent flow in the HGM geometry are presented. Computational results are presented and discussed.

Roger, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Electromagnetic propagation in PEC and absorbing curved S-ducts

A finite-element Galerkin formulation has been developed to study transverse magnetic (TM) wave propagation in 2-D S-curved ducts with both perfectly conducting and absorbing walls. The reflection and transmission at the entrances and the exits of the curved ducts are determined by coupling the finite-element solutions in the curved ducts to the eigenfunctions of an infinite, uniform, perfectly conducting duct. Example solutions are presented for a double mitred and S-ducts of various lengths. The length of the S-duct is found to significantly effect the reflective characteristics of the duct. Also, the effect of curvature on an absorbing duct is illustrated.

Baumeister, Kenneth J.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Computational analysis of flow in 3D propulsive transition ducts

A numerical analysis of fully three dimensional, statistically steady flows in propulsive transition ducts being considered for use in future aircraft of higher maneuverability is investigated. The purpose of the transition duct is to convert axisymmetric flow from conventional propulsion systems to that of a rectangular geometry of high aspect ratio. In an optimal design, the transition duct would be of minimal length in order to reduce the weight penalty, while the geometrical change would be gradual enough to avoid detrimental flow perturbations. Recent experiments conducted at the Propulsion Aerodynamics Branch have indicated that thrust losses in ducts of superelliptic cross-section can be surprisingly low, even if flow separation occurs near the divergent walls. In order to address the objective of developing a rational design procedure for optimal transition ducts, it is necessary to have available a reliable computational tool for the analysis of flows achieved in a sequence of configurations. Current CFD efforts involving complicated geometries usually must contend with two separate but interactive aspects: namely, grid generation and flow solution. The first two avenues of the present investigation were comprised of suitable grid generation for a class of transition ducts of superelliptic cross-section, and the subsequent application of the flow solver PAB3D to this geometry. The code, PAB3D, was developed as a comprehensive tool for the solution of both internal and external high speed flows. The third avenue of investigation has involved analytical formulations to aid in the understanding of the nature of duct flows, and also to provide a basis of comparison for subsequent numerical solutions. Numerical results to date include the generation of two preliminary grid systems for duct flows, and the initial application of PAB3D to the corresponding geometries, which are of the class tested experimentally.

Sepri, Paavo↗

NASA NTRS1999

Rocket-in-a-Duct Performance Analysis

An axisymmetric, 110 N class, rocket configured with a free expansion between the rocket nozzle and a surrounding duct was tested in an altitude simulation facility. The propellants were gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen and the hardware consisted of a heat sink type copper rocket firing through copper ducts of various diameters and lengths. A secondary flow of nitrogen was introduced at the blind end of the duct to mix with the primary rocket mass flow in the duct. This flow was in the range of 0 to 10% of the primary massflow and its effect on nozzle performance was measured. The random measurement errors on thrust and massflow were within +/-1%. One dimensional equilibrium calculations were used to establish the possible theoretical performance of these rocket-in-a-duct nozzles. Although the scale of these tests was small, they simulated the relevant flow expansion physics at a modest experimental cost. Test results indicated that lower performance was obtained at higher free expansion area ratios and longer ducts, while, higher performance was obtained with the addition of secondary flow. There was a discernable peak in specific impulse efficiency at 4% secondary flow. The small scale of these tests resulted in low performance efficiencies, but prior numerical modeling of larger rocket-in-a-duct engines predicted performance that was comparable to that of optimized rocket nozzles. This remains to be proven in large-scale, rocket-in-a-duct tests.

Schneider, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Performance Study of a Ducted Fan System

An experimental investigation was completed in the NASA Ames 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel with the objective of determining the performance characteristics of a ducted fan. The model was an annular duct with a 38-in diameter, 10-in chord, and a 5-bladed fixed-pitch fan. Model variations included duct angle of attack, exit vane flap length, flap deflection angle, and duct chord length. Duct performance data were obtained for axial and forward flight test conditions. Axial flow test data showed figure of merit decreases with increasing advance ratio. Forward flight data showed an increasing propulsive force with decreasing duct angle of attack. Exit vane flap deflection angle and flap chord length were shown to be an effective way of providing side force. Extending the duct chord did not effect the duct performance.

Abrego, Anita I.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Performance and Flowfield Measurements on a 10-inch Ducted Rotor VTOL UAV

A ducted fan VTOL UAV with a 10-inch diameter rotor was tested in the US Army 7-by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel. The test conditions covered a range of angle of attack from 0 to 110 degrees to the freestream. The tunnel velocity was varied from 0 (simulating a hover condition) to 128 ft/sec in propeller mode. A six-component internal balance measured the aerodynamic loads for a range of model configurations. including the isolated rotor, the isolated duct, and the full configuration of the duct and rotor. For some conditions, hotwire velocity surveys were conducted along the inner and outer surface of the duct and across the downstream wake. In addition, fluorescent oil flow visualization allowed the flow separation patterns inside and outside of the duct to be mapped for a few test conditions. Two different duct shapes were tested to determine the performance effects of leading edge radius. For each duct, a range of rotor tip gap from 1%R to 4.5%R was tested to determine the performance penalty in hover and axial flight. Measured results are presented in terms of hover performance, hover performance in a crosswind, and high angle of attack performance in propeller mode. In each case, the effects of both tip gap and duct leading edge radius are illustrated using measurements. Some of the hover performance issues were also studied using a simple analytical method, and the results agreed with the measurements.

Martin, Preston↗

NASA NTRS2012

Noise from a Jet Discharging Into a Duct and Its Suppression

The present study addresses unwanted high intensity noise sometimes encountered in engine test facilities. A simplified model-scale experiment is conducted for a circular jet discharging into a cylindrical duct. For the given configuration the unwanted noise is found to be primarily due to the duct resonance modes excited by the jet. When the "preferred mode". frequency of the jet matches a duct resonant frequency there can be a locked-in "super resonance". accompanied by a high intensity tone. However, even in the absence of a locked-in resonance, high levels of unwanted noise may occur due to the duct modes excited simply by broadband disturbances of the jet. Various methods for suppression of the noise are explored. Tabs placed on the ends of the duct are found ineffective; so are longitudinal fins placed inside the duct. A rod inserted perpendicular to the flow at different axial locations is also found ineffective; however, when there is a super resonance it is effective in suppressing the tone. By far the best suppression is achieved by a wire-mesh screen placed at the downstream end of the duct; placing it on the upstream end also works, however, there is some penalty at high frequencies due to impingement noise. The screen not only eliminates any super resonance but also the duct mode spectral peaks in the absence of such resonance. Apparently it works by dampening the velocity fluctuations at the pressure node and thereby weakening the resonance condition, for the simplified configuration under consideration.

Zaman, Khairul B. M. Q.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Single Mode Theory for Impedance Eduction in Large-Scale Ducts with Grazing Flow

An impedance eduction theory for a rigid wall duct containing an acoustic liner with an unknown impedance and uniform grazing flow is presented. The unique features of the theory are: 1) non-planar waves propagate in the hard wall sections of the duct, 2) input data consist solely of complex acoustic pressures acquired on a wall adjacent to the liner, and 3) multiple higher-order modes may exist in the direction perpendicular to the liner and the opposite rigid wall. The approach is to first measure the axial propagation constant of a dominant higher-order mode in the liner sample section. This axial propagation constant is then used in conjunction with a closed-form solution to a reduced form of the convected Helmholtz equation and the wall impedance boundary condition to educe the liner impedance. The theory is validated on a conventional liner whose impedance spectrum is educed in two flow ducts with different cross sections. For the frequencies and Mach numbers of interest, no higher-order modes propagate in the hard wall sections of the smaller duct. A benchmark method is used to educe the impedance spectrum in this duct. A dominant higher-order vertical mode propagates in the larger duct for similar test conditions, and the current theory is applied to educe the impedance spectrum. Results show that when the theory is applied to data acquired in the larger duct with a dominant higher-order vertical mode, the same impedance spectra is educed as that obtained in the small duct where only the plane wave mode is present and the benchmark method is used. This result holds for each higher-order vertical mode that is considered.

Watson, Willie R.↗

NASA NTRS1996

The Prediction of Ducted Fan Engine Noise Via a Boundary Integral Equation Method

A computationally efficient Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIEM) for the prediction of ducted fan engine noise is presented. The key features of the BIEM are its versatility and the ability to compute rapidly any portion of the sound field without the need to compute the entire field. Governing equations for the BIEM are based on the assumptions that all acoustic processes are linear, generate spinning modes, and occur in a uniform flow field. An exterior boundary value problem (BVP) is defined that describes the scattering of incident sound by an engine duct with arbitrary profile. Boundary conditions on the duct walls are derived that allow for passive noise control treatment. The BVP is recast as a system of hypersingular boundary integral equations for the unknown duct surface quantities. BIEM solution methodology is demonstrated for the scattering of incident sound by a thin cylindrical duct with hard walls. Numerical studies are conducted for various engine parameters and continuous portions of the total pressure field are computed. Radiation and duct propagation results obtained are in agreement with the classical results of spinning mode theory for infinite ducts.

Boundary integral equation↗

NASA NTRS1972

Drive turbine systems for 20-inch turbofan simulators. 1: Duct turbine design

A study was made to evolve the turbine drive systems for 20-inch turbofan engine simulators. The fan designs used in the simulators included single-stage and two-stage configurations that covered a wide range of rotative speed and power requirement. The objective assumed for the study was to evolve one core turbine design that could drive all of the single-stage fans and, when operated in combination with one duct turbine design, drive all of the two-stage fans. The duct turbine power output is then needed to determine the make-up power required of the core turbine over the range of two-stage fan operating conditions. The duct turbine design analysis is reported and includes the selection of the duct turbine velocity diagram, a description of the blade design, and a determination of its off-design performance. Adjustable stators were found to be quite advantageous to the duct turbine off-design operation. The use of adjustable stators enabled the duct turbine to accommodate fan mass flow at all operating points and caused the duct turbine power output to increase as the total power requirement increased. This in turn resulted in a core turbine make-up power requirement that was not significantly greater than that required for driving the single-stage fans.

Whitney, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Design integration and noise studies for jet STOL aircraft. Task 7C: Augmentor wing cruise blowing valveless system. Volume 2: Small-scale development testing of augmentor wing critical ducting components

Augmentor wing ducting system studies conducted on a valveless system configuration that provides cruise thrust from the augmentor nozzles have shown that most of the duct system pressure loss would occur in the strut-wing duct y-junction and the wing duct-augmentor lobe nozzles. These components were selected for development testing over a range of duct Mach numbers and pressure ratios to provide a technical basis for predicting installed wing thrust loading and for evaluating design wing loading of a particular wing aspect ratios. The flow characteristics of ducting components with relatively high pressure loss coefficients were investigated. The turbulent pressure fluctuations associated with flows at high Mach numbers were analyzed to evaluate potential duct fatigue problems.

Runnels, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Analysis of sound propagation in ducts using the wave envelope concept

A finite difference formulation is presented for sound propagation in a rectangular two-dimensional duct without steady flow for plane wave input. Before the difference equations are formulated, the governing Helmholtz equation is first transformed to a form whose solution does not oscillate along the length of the duct. This transformation reduces the required number of grid points by an order of magnitude, and the number of grid points becomes independent of the sound frequency. Physically, the transformed pressure represents the amplitude of the conventional sound wave. Example solutions are presented for sound propagation in a one-dimensional straight hard-wall duct and in a two-dimensional straight soft-wall duct without steady flow. The numerical solutions show evidence of the existence along the duct wall of a developing acoustic pressure diffusion boundary layer which is similar in nature to the conventional viscous flow boundary layer. In order to better illustrate this concept, the wave equation and boundary conditions are written such that the frequency no longer appears explicitly in them. The frequency effects in duct propagation can be visualized solely as an expansion and stretching of the suppressor duct.

Baumeister, K. J.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Propagation of plane waves in a variable area duct carrying a compressible subsonic flow

A complete numerical solution is obtained for plane wave propagation in a variable-area duct which carries a mean compressible flow. The equation solved is a matrix formulation of the equations first derived by Tsien in 1952. Sample calculations are presented for four particular flow configurations: (1) a duct-nozzle-duct combination with the acoustic wave traveling with the flow, (2) a duct-nozzle-duct combination with the acoustic wave traveling against the flow, (3) an inlet-nozzle-duct configuration with the acoustic wave traveling against the flow, and (4) a duct-nozzle-exit configuration with the acoustic wave traveling with the flow. For each of these cases, the variation of energy flux with frequency is shown for particular geometry and flow condition.

Davis, S. S.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Sound propagation in curved ducts

An analysis of the sound field in a circularly curved duct of rectangular cross-section is carried out for both rigid and locally-reacting absorbing walls. The field is excited by a piston source at one end of the duct section, and comparisons of the acoustic field and the net power flow along the duct axis are made with corresponding results for a straight duct section for various frequencies. It is found that in general the curved duct yields a significant increase in sound attenuation along the duct axis as compared to the straight duct.

Myers, M. K.↗