SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Criteria for the selection and methods of analysis for designing a hypersonic scramjet nozzle are discussed. The criteria are based on external and internal flow requirements, related to drag, lift, and pitching moments of the vehicle and thrust of the engine. The steps involved in establishing the criteria are analyzed. Mathematical models of the design procedure are provided.
The purpose of the tests was to obtain overall performance and influencing factors as well as detailed measurements of the internal flow characteristics. The first experiment consisted of crossflow tests of a 15-inch diameter fan installed in a two-dimensional wing. Tests were run with and without exit louvers over a range of tunnel speeds, fan speeds, and wing angle of attack. The wing was used for a study of installation effects on lift fan performance. The model tested consisted of three 5.5-inch diameter tip-turbine driven model VTOL lift fans mounted chord-wise in the two-dimensional wing to simulate a pod-type array. Several inlet and exit cover door configurations and an adjacent fuselage panel were tested. For the third program, a pod was attached to the wing, and an investigation was conducted of the effect of design tip speed on the aerodynamic performance and noise of a 15-inch diameter lift fan-in-pod under static and crossflow conditions. Three single VTOL lift fan stages were designed for the same overall total pressure ratio but at three different rotor tip speeds.
A computation procedure is described for predicting the flowfields which develop when successive interactions between oblique shock waves and a turbulent boundary layer occur. Such interactions may occur, for example, in engine inlets for supersonic aircraft. Computations are carried out for axisymmetric internal flows at M 3.82 and 2.82. The effect of boundary layer bleed is considered for the M 2.82 flow. A control volume analysis is used to predict changes in the flow field across the interactions. Two bleed flow models have been considered. A turbulent boundary layer program is used to compute changes in the boundary layer between the interactions. The results given are for flows with two shock wave interactions and for bleed at the second interaction site. In principle the method described may be extended to account for additional interactions. The predicted results are compared with measured results and are shown to be in good agreement when the bleed flow rate is low (on the order of 3% of the boundary layer mass flow), or when there is no bleed. As the bleed flow rate is increased, differences between the predicted and measured results become larger. Shortcomings of the bleed flow models at higher bleed flow rates are discussed.
Some acceleration effects on rocket performance have been well publicized. The dynamic process, characterized by marked increases in 'localized' burning rate, produces excessive case heating, slag retention, pressure buildup, and/or internal flow alterations. Data are presented illustrating drastic effects at low accelerations for sustainer type propellants and its relevance to several recent failures. Normalized orientation dependence of rate augmentation appears coupled to acceleration level and base burning rate. Effects appear influenced by propellant composition. Predictions using subscale motor data show good agreement with observed performance for ground spin and flight tests. Subscale test methods and results are also discussed.
Wind-tunnel tests were conducted on a baseline scramjet inlet model having fixed geometry and swept leading edges at M = 2.30, 2.96, 3.95, and 4.60 in the Langley unitary plan wind tunnel. The unit Reynolds number of the tests was held constant at 6.56 million per meter (2 million per foot). The objectives of the tests were to establish inlet performance and starting characteristics in the lower Mach number range of operation (less than M = 5). Surface pressures obtained on the inlet components are presented, along with the results of the internal flow surveys made at the throat and capture stations of the inlet. Contour plots of the inlet-flow-field parameters such as Mach numbers, pressure recovery, flow capture, local static and total pressure ratios at the survey stations are shown for the test Mach numbers.
A low speed wind tunnel test demonstrated the aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a scoop inlet. Engine noise is directed upward by the extended lower lip of the scoop inlet. In addition, more of the scoop airflow comes in from above the inlet than below, leading to relatively higher surface velocities on the upper lip and lower surface velocities on the lower lip. These lower velocities on the lower lip result in a higher attainable angle of attack before internal flow separation occurs.
Results of a low speed wind tunnel test program are presented which demonstrate the aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a scoop inlet. Engine noise that would normally propagate toward the ground is directed upward by the extended lower lip of the scoop inlet. In addition, more of the scoop airflow comes in from above the inlet than below, leading to relatively higher surface velocities on the upper lip and lower surface velocities on the lower lip. These lower velocities on the lower lip result in a higher attainable angle of attack before internal flow separation occurs.
A survey of gas path seals is presented with particular attention given to sealing clearance effects on engine component efficiency. The effects on compressor pressure ratio and stall margin are pointed out. Various case-rotor relative displacements, which affect gas path seal clearances, are identified. Forces produced by nonuniform sealing clearances and their effect on rotor stability are discussed qualitatively, and recent work on turbine-blade-tip sealing for high temperature is described. The need for active clearance control and for engine structural analysis is discussed. The functions of the internal-flow system and its seals are reviewed.
Survey of gas path seals is presented with particular attention given to sealing clearance effects on engine component efficiency. The effects on compressor pressure ratio and stall margin are pointed out. Various case-rotor relative displacements, which affect gas path seal clearances, are identified. Forces produced by nonuniform sealing clearances and their effect on rotor stability are discussed qualitatively, and recent work on turbine-blade-tip sealing for high temperatures is described. The need for active clearance control and for engine structural analysis is discussed. The functions of the internal-flow system and its seals are reviewed.
Computational procedures are described for analyzing three-dimensional supersonic internal flows and multinozzle exhaust plume flowfields. The computer codes (BIGMAC and CHAR3D) embodying these procedures cater to a broad spectrum of geometric situations via the use of multiple reference plane grid networks in several coordinate systems. Shock capturing techniques are employed to trace the propagation and interaction of multiple shock surfaces. Gas properties consist of combustion products in chemical equilibrium. The computational accuracy of the codes is assessed via comparisons with the results of other codes and experimental data. Results are presented for the flows in two-dimensional ducts, corner flows, flow in a rectangular nozzle, and the plume flowfields for exhausts issuing out of single and multiple rectangular nozzles.
Gas path seals are discussed with emphasis on sealing clearance effects on engine component efficiency, compressor pressure ratio, and stall margin. Various case-rotor relative displacements, which affect gas path seal clearances, are identified. Forces produced by nonuniform sealing clearances and their effect on rotor stability are examined qualitatively, and recent work on turbine-blade-tip sealing for high temperatures is described. The need for active clearance control and for engine structural analysis is discussed. The functions of the internal-flow system and its seals are reviewed.
An approach to the reduction of discretization errors in aerodynamic panel methods is presented. The approach is based on preventing the occurence of induced velocity singularities at panel slope discontinuities by maintaining continuity of the velocity jump vector across the panels. The approach was implemented in a two-dimensional incompressible panel method formulation and evaluated by application to several external and internal flow problems. The method is shown to exhibit a second order accuracy trend and to produce smaller errors with velocity component boundary conditions imposed on the real flow than with equipotential boundary conditions imposed on the imaginary flow behind the panels. For flows around airfoil sections with either sharp or blunt trailing edges, the method gives excellent agreement with results from a well developed finite difference method. The method is well behaved and is insensitive to irregularities in panel size distribution.
The paper reports a numerical procedure developed for a two-dimensional azimuthal (or planar) invariant form of the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations. Generalization of the governing equations is described, and the equations are solved with an implicit approximate factorization finite-difference scheme. Inviscid and viscous results are presented for both external and internal flows and for spinning and nonspinning bodies.
Propulsion needs of high performance military aircraft are discussed. Inlet performance, nozzle performance and cooling, and afterburner performance are covered. It is concluded that nonaxisymmetric nozzles provide cleaner external lines and enhanced maneuverability, but the internal flows are more complex. Swirl afterburners show promise for enhanced performance in the high altitude, low Mach number region.
A hub-to-shroud and a blade-to-blade internal-flow analysis code, both inviscid and basically subsonic, were used to calculate the flow parameters within four stator-blade rows. The produced ratios of maximum suction-surface velocity to trailing-edge velocity correlated well in the midspan region, with the measured total-parameters over the minimum-loss to near stall operating range for all stators and speeds studied. The potential benefits of a blade designed with the aid of these flow analysis codes are illustrated by a proposed redesign of one of the four stators studied. An overall efficiency improvement of 1.6 points above the peak measured for that stator is predicted for the redesign.
The paper reviews theoretical models of magnetospheres formed around neutron stars and other strongly magnetized compact objects in the presence of mass accretion from a companion star. Emphasis is placed on the interaction of the accretion process with the magnetic field of the compact object and the formation of a magnetosphere. The following models are discussed: magnetospheres with polar funnels; closed magnetospheres and their instabilities; models of internal flow; and disk accretion magnetospheres.
A study of the Martian rampart and pedestal craters in the Coprates quadrangle is presented. Relationships between crater size and ejecta-blanket areal extents imply a maximum ejecta-blanket thickness or maximum rim height for Martian rampart craters; the limiting thickness is encountered only for craters exceeding 6 km diameter. The larger craters have an additional component of internal flow of the ejecta caused by the greater weight of their thicker ejecta deposits, although smaller rampart craters have ejecta which appears to have undergone flow during emplacement; pedestal craters most likely result from impacts into less volatile-rich substrates which produce a less fluidized ejecta and no flow lobes.
Hollow spheres with precisely concentric inner and outer spherical surfaces are formed by applying vibrations to a nonconcentric hollow sphere while it is at an elevated temperature at which it is fluid or plastic, the vibrations producing internal flows which cause the inner and outer surfaces to become precisely concentric. Concentric spheres can be mass produced by extruding a material such as glass or metal while injecting a stream of gas into the center of the extrusion to form a gas-filled tube. Vibrations are applied to the extruded tube to help break it up into individual bodies of a desired uniform size, the bodies tending to form spherical inner and outer surfaces by reason of surface tension, and the continuing application of vibrations causing these surfaces to become concentric.