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At least 559 records · Page 31

Numerical simulation of baroclinic Jovian vortices

We examine the evolution of baroclinic vortices in a time-dependent, nonlinear numerical model of a Jovian atmosphere. The model uses a normal-mode expansion in the vertical, using the barotropic and first two baroclinic modes. Results for the stability of baroclinic vortices on an f plane in the absence of a mean zonal flow are similar to results of Earth vortex models, although the presence of a fluid interior on the Jovian planets shifts the stability boundaries to smaller length scales. The presence of a barotropic mean zonal flow in the interior stabilizes vortices against instability and significantly modifies the finite amplitude form of baroclinic instabilities. The effect of a zonal flow on a form of barotropic instability produces periodic oscillations in the latitude and longitude of the vortex as observed at the level of the cloud tops. This instability may explain some, but not all, observations of longitudinal oscillations of vortices on the outer planets. Oscillations in aspect ratio and orientation of stable vortices in a zonal shear flow are observed in this baroclinic model, as in simpler two-dimensional models. Such oscillations are also observed in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Neptune. The meridional propagation and decay of vortices on a beta plane is inhibited by the presence of a mean zonal flow. The direction of propagation of a vortex relative to the mean zonal flow depends upon the sign of the meridional potential vorticity gradient; combined with observations of vortex drift rates, this may provide a constraint on model assumption for the flow in the deep interior of the Jovian planets.

Achterberg, Richard K.↗

Analytical Assessment of a Gross Leakage Event Within the International Space Station (ISS) Node 2 Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS)

Results of the International Space Station (ISS) Node 2 Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) gross leakage analysis are presented for evaluating total leakage flowrates and volume discharge caused by a gross leakage event (i.e. open boundary condition). A Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer and Fluid Integrator (SINDA/FLUINT) thermal hydraulic mathematical model (THMM) representing the Node 2 IATCS was developed to simulate system performance under steady-state nominal conditions as well as the transient flow effects resulting from an open line exposed to ambient. The objective of the analysis was to determine the adequacy of the leak detection software in limiting the quantity of fluid lost during a gross leakage event to within an acceptable level.

Holt, James M.↗

Smagglce: Surface Modeling and Grid Generation for Iced Airfoils: Phase 1 Results

SmaggIce (Surface Modeling and Grid Generation for Iced Airfoils) is a software toolkit used in the process of aerodynamic performance prediction of iced airfoils with grid-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It includes tools for data probing, boundary smoothing, domain decomposition, and structured grid generation and refinement. SmaggIce provides the underlying computations to perform these functions, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to control and interact with those functions, and graphical displays of results, it is being developed at NASA Glenn Research Center. This paper discusses the overall design of SmaggIce as well as what has been implemented in Phase 1. Phase 1 results provide two types of software tools: interactive ice shape probing and interactive ice shape control. The ice shape probing tools will provide aircraft icing engineers and scientists with an interactive means to measure the physical characteristics of ice shapes. On the other hand, the ice shape control features of SmaggIce will allow engineers to examine input geometry data, correct or modify any deficiencies in the geometry, and perform controlled systematic smoothing to a level that will make the CFD process manageable.

Vickerman, Mary B.↗

Progress in the Development of a Class of Efficient Low Dissipative High Order Shock-capturing Methods

In a series of papers, Olsson (1994, 1995), Olsson & Oliger (1994), Strand (1994), Gerritsen Olsson (1996), Yee et al. (1999a,b, 2000) and Sandham & Yee (2000), the issue of nonlinear stability of the compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes Equations, including physical boundaries, and the corresponding development of the discrete analogue of nonlinear stable high order schemes, including boundary schemes, were developed, extended and evaluated for various fluid flows. High order here refers to spatial schemes that are essentially fourth-order or higher away from shock and shear regions. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the progress of the low dissipative high order shock-capturing schemes proposed by Yee et al. (1999a,b, 2000). This class of schemes consists of simple non-dissipative high order compact or non-compact central spatial differencings and adaptive nonlinear numerical dissipation operators to minimize the use of numerical dissipation. The amount of numerical dissipation is further minimized by applying the scheme to the entropy splitting form of the inviscid flux derivatives, and by rewriting the viscous terms to minimize odd-even decoupling before the application of the central scheme (Sandham & Yee). The efficiency and accuracy of these scheme are compared with spectral, TVD and fifth- order WENO schemes. A new approach of Sjogreen & Yee (2000) utilizing non-orthogonal multi-resolution wavelet basis functions as sensors to dynamically determine the appropriate amount of numerical dissipation to be added to the non-dissipative high order spatial scheme at each grid point will be discussed. Numerical experiments of long time integration of smooth flows, shock-turbulence interactions, direct numerical simulations of a 3-D compressible turbulent plane channel flow, and various mixing layer problems indicate that these schemes are especially suitable for practical complex problems in nonlinear aeroacoustics, rotorcraft dynamics, direct numerical simulation or large eddy simulation of compressible turbulent flows at various speeds including high-speed shock-turbulence interactions, and general long time wave propagation problems. These schemes, including entropy splitting, have also been extended to freestream preserving schemes on curvilinear moving grids for a thermally perfect gas (Vinokur & Yee 2000).

Yee, H. C.↗

Analytical Assessment of a Gross Leakage Event Within the International Space Station (ISS) Node 2 Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS)

Results of the International Space Station (ISS) Node 2 Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) gross leakage analysis are presented for evaluating total leakage flow rates and volume discharge caused by a gross leakage event (i.e. open boundary condition). A Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer and Fluid Integrator (SINDA85/FLUINT) thermal hydraulic mathematical model (THMM) representing the Node 2 IATCS was developed to simulate system performance under steady-state nominal conditions as well as the transient flow effect resulting from an open line exposed to ambient. The objective of the analysis was to determine the adequacy of the leak detection software in limiting the quantity of fluid lost during a gross leakage event to within an acceptable level.

Holt, James M.↗

MapX: An In Situ, Full-Frame X-Ray Spectroscopic Imager for the Biogenic Elements

Microbial life exploits microscale disequilibria at boundaries where valence, chemical potential, pH, Eh, etc. vary on a length scale commensurate with the organisms themselves - tens to hundreds of micrometers. These disequilibria can exist within cracks or veins in rocks and ice, at inter- or intra-crystalline boundaries, at sediment/water or sediment/atmosphere interfaces, or even within fluid inclusions trapped inside minerals. The detection of accumulations of the biogenic elements C,N,O,P,S at appropriate concentrations on or in a mineral/ice substrate would constitute permissive evidence of extant life, but context is also required. Does the putative biosignature exist in a habitable environment? Under what conditions of P, T, and chemical potential was the host mineralogy formed? MapX is an arm-deployed contact instrument that directly images the biogenic elements C, N, O, P, S, as well as the cations of the rock-forming minerals (Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe) and important anions such as Cl, Fl. The instrument provides element images having ≤100 micron lateral spatial resolution over a 2.5 cm X 2.5 cm area, as well as quantitative XRF spectra from ground-selected or instrument-selected Regions of Interest (ROI) on the sample. Quantitative XRF spectra from ROI can be translated into mineralogies using ground- or instrument-based algorithms. Either an X-ray tube source (X-ray fluorescence) or a radioisotope source such as 244-Cm (alpha-particle and gamma-ray fluorescence) can be used, and characteristic X-rays emitted from the sample are imaged onto an X-ray sensitive CCD through an X-ray MicroPore Optic (MPO). As a fluorescent source, 244-Cm is highly desirable in a MapX instrument intended for life detection since high-energy alpha-particles are unrivaled in fluorescence yield for the low-Z elements. The MapX design as well as baseline performance requirements for a MapX instrument intended for life detection/identification of habitable environments will be presented.

micro-XRF spectrometer↗

Recent Progress in OVERFLOW Convergence Improvements

Improvements have been made to the implicit symmetric successive overrelaxation algorithm in the OVERFLOW 2.3 structured, overset grid, computational fluid dynamics flow solver. These improvements, consisting of implicit boundary conditions, improved flux Jacobian linearizations, and CFL number ramping, are a series of evolutionary changes to the linear solver that have resulted in increased nonlinear convergence rates and faster time to solution. A series of test cases are presented that demonstrate the effect of the changes through comparison with the original SSOR path and other linear solver implementations within OVERFLOW.

Joseph M Derlaga↗

Detection and Characterization of Boundary-Layer Transition in Flight at Supersonic Conditions Using Infrared Thermography

Infrared thermography is a powerful tool for investigating fluid mechanics on flight vehicles. (Can be used to visualize and characterize transition, shock impingement, separation etc.). Updated onboard F-15 based system was used to visualize supersonic boundary layer transition test article. (Tollmien-Schlichting and cross-flow dominant flow fields). Digital Recording improves image quality and analysis capability. (Allows accurate quantitative (temperature) measurements, Greater enhancement through image processing allows analysis of smaller scale phenomena).

Banks, Daniel W.↗

A new approach to the study of the turbulence layer

Turbulent thermal convection is of considerable importance in fluid dynamical transport phenomena occurring, for example, in the planetary boundary layer of the Earth, the interiors of stars, and accretion disks. In particular, during a significant portion of the evolutionary phase of many stars having convectively unstable cores or outer envelopes, a substantial fraction of energy is transported from the central layers to the outer layers by thermal convection. Moreover, as much of the interior of a star is in highly turbulent motion, a complete theory of stellar structure and evolution requires the explicit consideration of turbulence in order to have expressions for the turbulent quantities arising in the stellar structure equations, and particularly, the turbulent fluxes that appear in the total flux conservation equation, such as the convective flux, kinetic energy flux, etc. A reliable quantification of these fluxes continues to present a challenge in astrophysical fluid dynamics, primarily because astrophysical turbulence is almost always fully-developed and nearly inviscid, and therefore governed by strong nonlinear interactions that distribute the energy among a very wide spectrum of eddies with scales ranging from the characteristic dimension of the flow to those sufficiently small to be affected by viscous dissipation. Furthermore, astrophysical flows are invariably compressible, anisotropic, and inhomogeneous, which requires the consideration of the dynamics of longitudinal modes and their interaction with the transverse modes, as well as complicated boundary conditions. In order to reach a compromise between analytical and numerical tractability and the basic physics of turbulent convection, we have constructed a model of stationary turbulent convection that yields various turbulence statistics, including the convective flux, that are required in stellar evolution models.

Levenson, Ruth A.↗

Distribution of Time-Averaged Pressure Fluctuations Along the Boundary of a Round Subsonic Jet

A semiempirical analysis of the equation for incompressible fluctuations in a turbulent fluid, using similarity relations for round subsonic jets with uniform exit velocity, is used to predict the shape of the time-averaged fluctuation-pressure distribution along the mean-velocity boundary of jets. The predicted distribution is independent of distance downstream of the nozzle exit along the mixing region, inversely proportional to the distance downstream along the region of mean-velocity self-preservation, and proportional to the inverse square of the distance downstream along the fully developed region. Experimental results were in fair agreement with the theory. However, the measured fluctuation-pressure distributions were found to be very sensitive to changes in jet temperature and jet-nozzle profile, especially near the nozzle. These factors are not included in the theory. Increased jet temperatures produce increased pressure fluctuations and violation of similarity conditions. Nozzle-profile modifications may lead to violation of the uniform-exit-velocity requirement imposed in the theory.

Howes, Walton L.↗

Numerical study of large-eddy breakup and its effect on the drag characteristics of boundary layers

The break-up of a field of eddies by a flat-plate obstacle embedded in a boundary layer is studied using numerical solutions to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. The flow is taken to be incompressible and unsteady. The flow field is initiated from rest. A train of eddies of predetermined size and strength are swept into the computational domain upstream of the plate. The undisturbed velocity profile is given by the Blasius solution. The disturbance vorticity generated at the plate and wall, plus that introduced with the eddies, mix with the background vorticity and is transported throughout the entire flow. All quantities are scaled by the plate length, the unidsturbed free-stream velocity, and the fluid kinematic viscosity. The Reynolds number is 1000, the Blasius boundary layer thickness is 2.0, and the plate is positioned a distance of 1.0 above the wall. The computational domain is four units high and sixteen units long.

Kinney, R. B.↗

Some aspects of a free jet phenomena to 105 L/D in a constant area duct

The paper examines major constraints involved in the Borda tube free jet phenomena. Under certain conditions, inlets with a Borda type geometry show sufficiently strong separation effects to permit the working fluid to flow through the duct as if it were a 'free jet'. Mass limiting flow data and associated pressure profiles for tubes with L/D's ranging from 14 to 105 with a Borda type inlet were considered to determine bounds of the 'free jet' phenomena using fluid nitrogen. For a given tube roughness, the limits appear to be one dimensional and dependent only on inlet stagnation conditions. For smooth tubes, the upper L/D boundary is defined by an equation relating reduced pressure to reduced temperature, and the lower boundary represents saturation conditions at the inlet. Similar 'free jet' effects were found for fluid hydrogen indicating that fluid jetting may be common to all fluids.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Solar wind for a magnetized plasma with tensor plasma pressure.

A solar wind model for a magnetized solar wind is presented using one-fluid hydromagnetic equations with generalized polytrope equations of state for the two tensor components of the plasma pressure. Fluid and magnetic field variables are calculated at the Earth using certain boundary conditions at the Sun. The azimuthal velocity agrees with observed values and explains the considerable loss of angular momentum from the Sun by the solar wind. The results are good for most variables but suggest that a two-fluid model with electrons at higher temperatures and smaller temperature anisotropy ratios than the ions would give improved agreement for some quantities.

Tan, M.↗

Unsteady viscous effects in the flow over an oscillating surface

A theoretical model for the interaction of a turbulent boundary layer with an oscillating wavy surface over which a fluid is flowing is developed, with an application to wind-driven water waves and to panel flutter in low supersonic flow. A systematic methodology is developed to obtain the surface pressure distribution by considering separately the effects on the perturbed flow of a mean shear velocity profile, viscous stresses, the turbulent Reynolds stresses, compressibility, and three-dimensionality. The inviscid theory is applied to the wind-water wave problem by specializing to traveling-wave disturbances, and the pressure magnitude and phase shift as a function of the wave phase speed are computed for a logarithmic mean velocity profile and compared with inviscid theory and experiment. The results agree with experimental evidence for the stabilization of the panel motion due to the influence of the unsteady boundary layer.

Lerner, J. I.↗

Linear theory of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the low-latitude boundary layer

The feasibility is examined of establishing characteristic profiles across the magnetospheric low-latitude boundary layer for the Kelvin-Helmholtz mode so that these profiles can be compared with satellite observations or a latitudinal chain of ground stations. An anisotropic collisionless fluid model is used instead of conventional MHD, and the finite thickness of the boundary layer and the thickness and position of the current layer are taken into account. The instability is found to be enhanced by a decrease in the thickness of the shear layer and of the current layer and by the proximity of the 'current layer' to the outer edge of the shear layer. The velocity threshold for the onset of instability is insensitive to the thickness. Characteristic profiles of the variation of plasma and field parameters across the boundary are obtained, and the importance of parameters specifying the current layer position and thickness is demonstrated.

Rajaram, R.↗

Experimental Investigation of Subsonic Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow Over a Wall-Mounted Axisymmetric Hill

An important goal for modern fluid mechanics experiments is to provide datasets which present a challenge for Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations to reproduce. Such "CFD validation experiments" should be well-characterized and well-documented, and should investigate flows which are difficult for CFD to calculate. It is also often convenient for the experiment to be challenging for CFD in some aspects while simple in others. This report is part of the continuing documentation of a series of experiments conducted to characterize the flow around an axisymmetric, modified-cosine-shaped, wall-mounted hill named "FAITH" (Fundamental Aero Investigates The Hill). Computation of this flow is easy in some ways - subsonic flow over a simple shape - while being complex in others - separated flow and boundary layer interactions. The primary set of experiments were performed on a 15.2 cm high, 45.7 cm base diameter machined aluminum model that was tested at mean speeds of 50 m/s (Reynolds Number based on height = 500,000). The ratio of model height to boundary later height was approximately 3. The flow was characterized using surface oil flow visualization, Cobra probe to determine point-wise steady and unsteady 3D velocities, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to determine 3D velocities and turbulence statistics along specified planes, Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) to determine mean surface pressures, and Fringe Imaging Skin Friction (FISF) to determine surface skin friction magnitude and direction. A set of pathfinder experiments were also performed in a water channel on a smaller scale (5.1 cm high, 15.2 cm base diameter) sintered nylon model. The water channel test was conducted at a mean test section speed of 3 cm/s (Reynolds Number of 1500), but at the same ratio of model height to boundary layer thickness. Dye injection from both the model and an upstream rake was used to visualize the flow. This report summarizes the experimental set-up, techniques used, and data acquired. It also describes some details of the dataset that is being constructed for use by other researchers, especially the CFD community.

fluid machanics cfd validation wind tunnel↗

The effect of a row of Helmholtz resonators on the turbulence of a boundary layer

Laser velocimetry and hot-film data are presented from an experimental investigation in which a tightly-packed row of Helmholtz resonators was used to introduce a momentum oscillation into a turbulent boundary layer. This device has been proposed as a basis for flow-turbulence control. The resonators are found to suck in high-momentum fluid and expel low or zero-momentum fluid into the flow. The interaction of the resonators produces a local increase in the boundary layer momentum thickness which corresponds to a drag coefficient of the order of 0.01.

Flynn, Kevin P.↗

Coordinated Parameterization Development and Large-Eddy Simulation for Marine and Arctic Cloud-Topped Boundary Layers

The goal of this project was to compare observations of marine and arctic boundary layers with (i) parameterization systems used in climate and weather forecast models, and (ii) two and three dimensional eddy resolving (LES) models for turbulent fluid flow. Based on this comparison, we hoped to better understand, predict, and parameterize the boundary layer structure and cloud amount, type and thickness as functions of large scale conditions that are predicted by global climate models.

Bretherton, Christopher S.↗