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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

An experimental investigation of pure tone generation by vortex shedding in a duct

An experimental investigation has been carried out for acoustic oscillations sustained by flow through a duct containing two baffles. Pure acoustic tones corresponding to longitudinal resonant modes of the duct are produced when certain flow and geometrical conditions are satisfied. The conditions are such as to ensure close coincidence between the frequency of vortex shedding from the forward baffle, and a natural frequency of the duct. Flow visualization has shown that under these conditions a stable vortex structure exists between the baffles, containing at all times an integral number of vortices.

Nomoto, H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Vortex cloud model for body vortex shedding and tracking

The discrete vortex cloud approach models a missile airframe's vortex wake by means that are capable of treating a variety of configurations over a range of flow conditions. Attention is given to the sheets of vorticity formed on the lee side of a missile at moderate angles-of-attack. While three-dimensional attached flow models are used to represent the missile body, two-dimensional, incompressible, separated flow models are used to represent the separated vortex wake. The predicted pressure distribution of the body under the influence of the freestream and the separation vortex wake are used to calculate aerodynamic loads on the body. The separation vortex wake is represented by clouds of discrete vortices in cross flow planes normal to the body axis.

Mendenhall, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Geometric Perturbations and Asymmetric Vortex Shedding about Slender Pointed Bodies

The flow about slender, pointed bodies can be characterized by different states with angle of attack. At moderate-to-high angles of attack (alpha approx. = 40 deg.), a steady, asymmetric vortex pattern develops along the body, leading to a net lateral force. At higher angles of attack (alpha approx. = 60 deg.), the aft-end of the body develops an unsteady von Karman shedding. As the angle of attack approaches 90 deg., the entire body length exhibits a time-dependent vortex shedding pattern. The current work uses three-dimensional, thin-layer Navier-Stokes simulations to investigate the physical mechanisms of asymmetric vortex shedding at alpha = 40 deg. and alpha = 60 deg. The development of an asymmetric vortex pattern via a convective instability mechanism is investigated using tip bumps, surface roughness, and tip curvature. It's found that surface roughness simulations can incite an asymmetric vortex state at alpha = 60 deg. which is consistent with the application of a tip bump, and the experimentally observed flowfield. The unsteady von Karman vortex shedding on the aft. portion of the body is also well resolved. The use of surface roughness did not incite a flow asymmetry at alpha = 40 deg., and it was necessary to simulate tip curvature at this angle of attack in order to generate an asymmetric vortex state.

Murman, Scott M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Effect of symmetrical vortex shedding on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of wing-body-tail combinations

An engineering prediction method for determining the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of wing-body-tail combinations is developed. The method includes the effects of nonlinear aerodynamics of components and the interference between components. Nonlinearities associated with symmetrical vortex shedding from the nose of the body are considered as well as the nonlinearities associated with the separation vortices from the leading edges and side edges of the lifting surfaces. The wing and tail characteristics are calculated using lifting surface theories which include effects of incidence, camber, twist, and induced velocities from external sources of disturbance such as bodies and vortices. The lifting surface theories calculate the distribution of leading edge and side edge suction which is converted to vortex lift using the Polhamus suction analogy. Correlation curves are developed to determine the fraction of the theoretical suction force which is converted into vortex lift. The prediction method is compared with experimental data on a variety of aircraft configurations to assess the accuracy and limitations of the method.

Mendenhall, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A numerical study of two-dimensional vortex shedding from rectangular cylinders

An efficient time-marching, non-iterative calculation method is used to analyze time-dependent flows around rectangular cylinders. The turbulent flow in the wake region of a square section cylinder is analyzed using an anisotropic k-epsilon model. Initiation and subsequent development of the vortex shedding phenomenon is naturally captured once a perturbation is introduced in the flow. Transient calculations using standard eddy-viscosity and an anisotropic k-epsilon model averaged over an integral number of cycles to get the fluctuating energy (organized and turbulent) are compared with experimental data. It is shown that the anisotropic k-epsilon model resolves the anisotropy of the Reynolds stresses and gives mean energy distribution closer to the experiment than the standard k-epsilon model.

Hadid, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Intermittency and Cessation of Vortex Shedding in the Wake of a Thin Flat Plate with a Circular Trailing Edge

The near and very near wake of thin flat plates with both sharp and circular trailing edges (TEs) are investigated with direct numerical simulations (DNSs). The TE is circular in two of the cases (IN & NS) and sharp in one of them (ST). The separating boundary layers are turbulent in all cases. The objectives of this study are twofold. The first is to explore the effect of significantly reducing Re(sub D) (Reynolds number based on circular TE diameter, D) on the flow in the TE region, and the shedding process (Cases IN and NS). The second is to better understand the reasons underlying the findings of an earlier experimental wake investigation (sharp TE) where (1) the center-line values in normal intensity, and the peak in shear stress profiles in the cross-stream direction, were found to first increase in the streamwise direction (x), from that obtained at the TE, before diminishing further downstream, and (2) a broadband peak was observed in centerline cross-stream velocity (v) spectra (indicating quasi-periodicity, possibly due to vortices or wave-like motions). Case ST from the present study showed a near wake instability resulting in spanwise vortices (with a streamwise component). The instability is intermittent and contributes to both the broadband peak in the v spectrum and the initial increases in normal intensity and shear stress (as in the experiment). Case NS, with the lower value of ReD is an "essentially" non-shedding case where the flow in the TE region continually changes direction (upward/downward) because of turbulence. Case IN, with twice the value of ReD as Case NS, also exhibits a swaying motion in the TE region. In addition, vortex shedding is initiated during periods when the flow direction changes rapidly. Shedding in this case is intermittent. It results in a peak in the v spectrum obtained at the centerline (x/D = 1.0).

direct numerical simulations↗
NASA NTRS1977

Form drag, skin friction, and vortex shedding frequencies for subsonic and transonic crossflows on circular cylinder

A series of wind-tunnel tests covering a range of Mach numbers and Reynolds numbers in subsonic and transonic flows was conducted on a circular cylinder placed normal to the flow. Form drag coefficients were determined from surface-pressure measurements and displayed as a function of Mach number to show the drag rise phenomenon. Buried wire gages arranged on the model surface were used to measure skin-friction distributions and vortex-shedding frequencies at different flow conditions. It was found that detectable periodic shedding ceases above M = 0.9. The measured skin-friction distributions indicate the positions of mean separation points clearly; these values are documented for the different flow conditions.

Murthy, V. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Vortex shedding in compressor blade wakes

The wakes of highly loaded axial compressor blades were often considered to be turbulent, unstructured flows. Recent work has suggested that the blade wakes are in fact dominated by a vortex street-like structure. The work on the wake structure at MIT is reviewed, the results of a viscous numerical simulation are presented, the blade wake vortices are compared to those shed from a cylinder, and the implications of the wake structure on compressor performance are discussed. In particular, a two-dimensional, time accurate, viscous calculation shows both a periodic wake structure and time variations in the passage shock strength. The numerical calculations are compared to laser anemometer and high frequency response probe data. The effect of the wake structure on the entropy production and apparent adiabatic efficiency of the compressor rotor is discussed.

Epstein, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vortex cloud model for body vortex shedding and tracking

The present engineering prediction method addresses the aerodynamic characteristics and associated flowfields of circular and noncircular bodies at large incidence angles and arbitrary roll angles. 3D attached-flow models are used to represent the body, and 2D, incompressible, separated flow models are used to represent the separated vortex wake. The predicted pressure distribution of the body, under the influence of both the freestream and the separation vortex wake, is used to calculate aerodynamic loads. The separation vortex wake is represented by clouds of discrete vortices in crossflow planes normal to the body axis.

Mendenhall, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Vortex shedding from a blunt trailing edge with equal and unequal external mean velocities

A flow visualization study showed that strong Karman vortices are developed behind the blunt trailing edge of a plate when the free stream velocities over both surfaces are equal. These vortices tend to disappear when the surface velocities are unequal. This observation provided an explanation for the occurrence and disappearance of the lip noise often present in coaxial jets. Vortex formation and lip noise occurred at a Strouhal number of about 0.2 based on the lip thickness and the average of the external steady-state velocities. Results from theoretical calculations of the vortex formation, based on an inviscid, incompressible analysis of the motion of point vortices, were in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Brinich, P. F.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Vortex shedding from a blunt trailing edge with equal and unequal external mean velocities

A flow-visualization study has shown that strong Karman vortices develop behind the blunt trailing edge of a plate when the free-stream velocities over both surfaces are equal and that the vortices tend to disappear when the surface velocities are unequal. This observation provides an explanation for the occurence and disappearance of certain discrete tones often found to be present in the noise spectra of coaxial jets. Both the vortex formation and the tones occur at a Strouhal number based on the lip thickness and the average of the external steady-state velocities of about 0.2. Results from theoretical calculations of the vortex formation, based on an inviscid incompressible analysis of the motion of point vortices, were in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Boldman, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Influence of rotor blade tip shape on tip vortex shedding - An unsteady, inviscid analysis

An unsteady potential flow panel method is described based on a time-stepping procedure and using planar quadrilateral panels to represent the surface of thick blades. Each panel has a constant source and doublet distribution and a central control point where an internal Dirichlet boundary condition is applied. The method includes detail paneling around the tip edge and offers the facility of prescribing a tip-edge separation. Preliminary results are shown for four blade tip shapes which are treated as semi-span wings oscillating in pitch about a mean angle of attack of 6 deg. Further work is planned for the wake model before proceeding to higher angles of attack.

Maskew, B.↗
NASA NTRS1989

One-degree-of-freedom motion induced by modeled vortex shedding

The motion of an elastically supported cylinder forced by a nonlinear, quasi-static, aerodynamic model with the unusual feature of a motion-dependent forcing frequency was studied. Numerical solutions for the motion and the Lyapunov exponents are presented for three forcing amplitudes and two frequencies (1.0 and 1.1 times the Strouhal frequency). Initially, positive Lyapunov exponents occur and the motion can appear chaotic. After thousands of characteristic times, the motion changes to a motion (verified analytically) that is periodic and damped. This periodic, damped motion was not observed experimentally, thus raising questions concerning the modeling.

Yates, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Secondary frequencies in the wake of a circular cylinder with vortex shedding

A detailed numerical study of two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder at moderately low Reynolds numbers was conducted using three different numerical algorithms for solving the time-dependent compressible Navier-Stokes equations. It was found that if the algorithm and associated boundary conditions were consistent and stable, then the major features of the unsteady wake were well-predicted. However, it was also found that even stable and consistent boundary conditions could introduce additional periodic phenomena reminiscent of the type seen in previous wind-tunnel experiments. However, these additional frequencies were eliminated by formulating the boundary conditions in terms of the characteristic variables. An analysis based on a simplified model provides an explanation for this behavior.

Abarbanel, Saul S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Secondary frequencies in the wake of a circular cylinder with vortex shedding

A detailed numerical study of two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder at moderately low Reynolds numbers was conducted using three different numerical algorithms for solving the time-dependent compressible Navier-Stokes equations. It was found that if the algorithm and associated boundary conditions were consistent and stable, then the major features of the unsteady wake were well-predicted. However, it was also found that even stable and consistent boundary conditions could introduce additional periodic phenomena reminiscent of the type seen in previous wind-tunnel experiments. However, these additional frequencies were eliminated by formulating the boundary conditions in terms of the characteristic variables. An analysis based on a simplified model provides an explanation for this behavior.

Abarbanel, Saul S.↗