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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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NASA NTRS1979

Numerical solution for perpendicular sonic hydrogen injection into a ducted supersonic airstream

This note discusses a computer program being developed to study the flow field near opposing perpendicular fuel injectors in scramjets. The MacCormack time-split, finite difference relaxation technique was used to solve the full two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations along with energy and species equations. By using this technique, a program was developed to consider the turbulent nonreacting flow of hydrogen and air in a rectangular duct. A damping term, proportional to the second derivative of pressure and temperature, was used to produce a stable solution behind the hydrogen jet in the neighborhood of the recompression shock. A case using actual conditions encountered in current scramjet design was analyzed, with results agreeing qualitatively with experimental observations.

Drummond, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An engineering aerodynamic heating method for hypersonic flow

A capability to calculate surface heating rates has been incorporated in an approximate three-dimensional inviscid technique. Surface streamlines are calculated from the inviscid solution, and the axisymmetric analog is then used along with a set of approximate convective-heating equations to compute the surface heat transfer. The method is applied to blunted axisymmetric and three-dimensional ellipsoidal cones at angle of attack for the laminar flow of a perfect gas. The method is also applicable to turbulent and equilibrium-air conditions. The present technique predicts surface heating rates that compare favorably with experimental (ground-test and flight) data and numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes (NS) and viscous shock-layer (VSL) equations. The new technique represents a significant improvement over current engineering aerothermal methods with only a modest increase in computational effort.

Riley, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An Engineering Aerodynamic Heating Method for Hypersonic Flow

Riley, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Transmission line inversion and synthesis from the point of view of transient response

The transmission line inversion problem is applied to the speech communication process. The problem involves acquiring information necessary for synthesis of speech and for making models of the speech production mechanism. Formulation for the problem is derived from an analysis of the human vocal tract functions. It is known that speech sounds are produced by acoustic excitation of the tract by means of quasi-periodic pulses from the vocal cords during vowel sounds and turbulent air flow at various points along the tract during fricative sounds. By assuming plane wave propagation, differential equations are obtained relating the cross sectional area of the tract, the pressure, and the volume velocity. By replacing the pressure factor with a voltage factor and the volume velocity by current, the problem becomes a transmission line problem.

Sondhi, M. M.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Drift current in a thin surface layer of the ocean

A theoretical model is proposed for the drift current in the surface layer of the sea that considers molecular transfer exchange in the thermal conductivity coefficient for the thin layers of water and air near the ocean/atmosphere boundary as well as a layer of depth in the sea in which the coefficient rises from the molecular to turbulent values.

Shumilov, A. V.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) Icing Sensor Performance During the 2003 Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II)

The Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) sensor was deployed onboard the University of North Dakota Citation II aircraft in the Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II) from Nov 19 through December 14, 2003. TAMDAR is designed to measure and report winds, temperature, humidity, turbulence and icing from regional commercial aircraft (Daniels et. al., 2004). TAMDAR icing sensor performance is compared to a) in situ validation data from the Citation II sensor suite, b) Current Icing Potential products developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and available operationally on the NOAA Aviation Weather Center s Aviation Digital Data Server (ADDS) and c) NASA Advanced Satellite Aviation-weather Products (ASAP) cloud microphysical products.

Murray, John J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A new innovative instrument for space plasma instrumentation

The Faraday Ring Ammeter was the subject of this grant for a new innovative instrument for space plasma instrumentation. This report summarizes our progress in this work. Briefly, we have conducted an intensive series of experiments and trials over three years, testing some five configurations of the instrument to measure currents, resulting in two Ph.D. theses, supported by this grant, and two flight configurations of the instrument. The first flight would have been on a NASA-Air Force collaborative sounding rocket, but was not flown because of instrumental difficulties. The second has been successfully integrated on the NASA Auroral Turbulence payload which is to be launched in February, 1994.

Torbert, Roy B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Turbulence measurements in axisymmetric jets of air and helium. I - Air jet. II - Helium jet

Results are presented of measurements on turbulent round jets of air and of helium of the same nozzle momentum efflux, using, for the air jets, x-wire hot-wire probes mounted on a moving shuttle and, for He jets, a composite probe consisting of an interference probe of the Way-Libby type and an x-probe. Current models for scalar triple moments were evaluated. It was found that the performance of the model termed the Full model, which includes all terms except advection, was very good for both the air and the He jets.

Panchapakesan, N. R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Design considerations for application of laminar flow control systems to transport aircraft

The current status of the laminar-flow control LFC technology is summarized. Factors that have previously inhibited the application of LFC are first reviewed. Involved are the effects of atmospheric ice crystals, surface irregularities, acoustical environment, and off-design operating conditions. Aircraft design trends that are different from turbulent aircraft are discussed as are various design requirements unique to the LFC systems. Current design approaches for the principal LFC systems are reviewed. These include the system for protection of the leading-edge region from surface contamination and icing and the system for removal of a portion of the boundary-layer air. The latter includes consideration of both multiple spanwise suction slots and distributed perforations and required differences between the wing-box and leading-edge box regions.

Braslow, A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1999

High-Area-Ratio Rocket Nozzle at High Combustion Chamber Pressure: Experimental and Analytical Validation

Experimental data were obtained on an optimally contoured nozzle with an area ratio of 1025:1 and on a truncated version of this nozzle with an area ratio of 440:1. The nozzles were tested with gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants at combustion chamber pressures of 1800 to 2400 psia and mixture ratios of 3.89 to 6.15. This report compares the experimental performance, heat transfer, and boundary layer total pressure measurements with theoretical predictions of the current Joint Army, Navy, NASA, Air Force (JANNAF) developed methodology. This methodology makes use of the Two-Dimensional Kinetics (TDK) nozzle performance code. Comparisons of the TDK-predicted performance to experimentally attained thrust performance indicated that both the vacuum thrust coefficient and the vacuum specific impulse values were approximately 2.0-percent higher than the turbulent prediction for the 1025:1 configurations, and approximately 0.25-percent higher than the turbulent prediction for the 440:1 configuration. Nozzle wall temperatures were measured on the outside of a thin-walled heat sink nozzle during the test fittings. Nozzle heat fluxes were calculated front the time histories of these temperatures and compared with predictions made with the TDK code. The heat flux values were overpredicted for all cases. The results range from nearly 100 percent at an area ratio of 50 to only approximately 3 percent at an area ratio of 975. Values of the integral of the heat flux as a function of nozzle surface area were also calculated. Comparisons of the experiment with analyses of the heat flux and the heat rate per axial length also show that the experimental values were lower than the predicted value. Three boundary layer rakes mounted on the nozzle exit were used for boundary layer measurements. This arrangement allowed total pressure measurements to be obtained at 14 different distances from the nozzle wall. A comparison of boundary layer total pressure profiles and analytical predictions show good agreement for the first 0.5 in. from the nozzle wall; but the further into the core flow that measurements were taken, the more that TDK overpredicted the boundary layer thickness.

Jankovsky, Robert S.↗

NASA NTRS2002

ENVISAT Land Surface Processes

This is a progress report of the 2nd phase of the project ENVISAT- Land Surface Processes, which has a 3-year scope. In this project, preparative research is carried out aiming at the retrieval of land surface characteristics from the ENVISAT sensors MERIS and AATSR, for assimilation into a system for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). Where in the 1st phase a number of first shot experiments were carried out (aiming at gaining experience with the retrievals and data assimilation procedures), the current 2nd phase has put more emphasis on the assessment and improvement of the quality of the retrieved products. The forthcoming phase will be devoted mainly to the data assimilation experiments and the assessment of the added value of the future ENVISAT products for NWP forecast skill. Referring to the retrieval of albedo, leaf area index and atmospheric corrections, preliminary radiative transfer calculations have been carried out that should enable the retrieval of these parameters once AATSR and MERIS data become available. However, much of this work is still to be carried out. An essential part of work in this area is the design and implementation of software that enables an efficient use of MODTRAN(sub 4) radiative transfer code, and during the current project phase familiarization with these new components has been achieved. Significant progress has been made with the retrieval of component temperatures from directional ATSR-images, and the calculation of surface turbulent heat fluxes from these data. The impact of vegetation cover on the retrieved component temperatures appears manageable, and preliminary comparison of foliage temperature to air temperatures were encouraging. The calculation of surface fluxes using the SEBI concept,which includes a detailed model of the surface roughness ratio, appeared to give results that were in reasonable agreement with local measurements with scintillometer devices. The specification of the atmospheric boundary conditions appears a crucial component, and the use of first guess estimates from the RACMO models partially explains the success. Earlier data assimilation experiments with directional surface temperatures have been analysed a bit further and were also compared to results obtained from directly modeling the surface roughness ratio. Results between these calculations and the data assimilation results appeared well comparable, but a full test in which the surface roughness model is allowed to play a free role during the data assimilation process has yet to be carried out. A considerable number of tasks that have yet to be carried out during Phase 3 has been formulated.

vandenHurk, B. J. J. M.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Advanced Air Data Systems for Commercial Aircraft

It is possible to get a crude estimate of wind speed and direction while driving a car at night in the rain, with the motion of the raindrop reflections in the headlights providing clues about the wind. The clues are difficult to interpret, though, because of the relative motions of ground, car, air, and raindrops. More subtle interpretation is possible if the rain is replaced by fog, because the tiny droplets would follow the swirling currents of air around an illuminated object, like, for example, a walking pedestrian. Microscopic particles in the air (aerosols) are better for helping make assessments of the wind, and reflective air molecules are best of all, providing the most refined measurements. It takes a bright light to penetrate fog, so it is easy to understand how other factors, like replacing the headlights with the intensity of a searchlight, can be advantageous. This is the basic principle behind a lidar system. While a radar system transmits a pulse of radiofrequency energy and interprets the received reflections, a lidar system works in a similar fashion, substituting a near-optical laser pulse. The technique allows the measurement of relative positions and velocities between the transmitter and the air, which allows measurements of relative wind and of air temperature (because temperature is associated with high-frequency random motions on a molecular level). NASA, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have interests in this advanced lidar technology, as much of their explorative research requires the ability to measure winds and turbulent regions within the atmosphere. Lidar also shows promise for providing warning of turbulent regions within the National Airspace System to allow commercial aircraft to avoid encounters with turbulence and thereby increase the safety of the traveling public. Both agencies currently employ lidar and optical sensing for a variety of weather-related research projects, such as analyzing the water content of snow and forecasting lightning.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1993

Analysis and evaluation of an integrated laminar flow control propulsion system

Reduction of drag has been a major goal of the aircraft industry as no other single quantity influences the operating costs of transport aircraft more than aerodynamic drag. It has been estimated that even modest reduction of frictional drag could reduce fuel costs by anywhere from 2 to 5 percent. Current research on boundary layer drag reduction deals with various approaches to reduce turbulent skin friction drag as a means of improving aircraft performance. One of the techniques belonging to this category is laminar flow control in which extensive regions of laminar flow are maintained over aircraft surfaces by delaying transition to turbulence through the ingestion of boundary layer air. While problems of laminar flow control have been studied in some detail, the prospect of improving the propulsion system of an aircraft by the use of ingested boundary layer air has received very little attention. An initial study for the purpose of reducing propulsion system requirements by utilizing the kinetic energy of boundary layer air was performed in the mid-1970's at LeRC. This study which was based on ingesting the boundary layer air at a single location, did not yield any significant overall propulsion benefits; therefore, the concept was not pursued further. However, since then it has been proposed that if the boundary layer air were ingested at various locations on the aircraft surface instead of just at one site, an improvement in the propulsion system might be realized. The present report provides a review of laminar flow control by suction and focuses on the problems of reducing skin friction drag by maintaining extensive regions of laminar flow over the aircraft surfaces. In addition, it includes an evaluation of an aircraft propulsion system that is augmented by ingested boundary layer air.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Supersonic Combusting Jet Experiments for Code Development and Validation

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are extensively employed in the design of hypersonic airbreathing engines. A fundamental weakness in these methods is the accurate mathematical modeling of turbulence and turbulence-combustion interactions. This paper is one of a companion pair of papers which describe the use of the combined dual pump CARS and newly developed interferometric Rayleigh scattering optical system to acquire time-accurate turbulence and mixing data with which to aid calibration and verification of the current turbulence models. This test program consisted of a pilot laboratory-scale experiment used to develop the optical system and data acquisition techniques, and a significantly larger experiment to acquire the necessary turbulence data. The flow is an axially-symmetric, supersonic, combusting, free jet that provides good optical access, consisting of a central jet of hot "vitiated air" and a coflow jet of hydrogen or ethylene fuel. In this paper the development of both experiments is described. Facility and flow visualization data are presented for various types of flames, including the flames selected for detailed study with the CARS/Rayleigh optical techniques.

Cutler, Andrew D.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Overview of the preparation and use of an OV-10 aircraft for wake vortex hazards flight experiments

An overview is presented of the development, use, and current flight-test status of a highly instrumented North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco as a wake-vortex-hazards research aircraft. A description of the operational requirements and measurements criteria, the resulting instrumentation systems and aircraft modifications, system-calibration and research flights completed to date, and current flight status are included. These experiments are being conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of an effort to provide the technology to safely improve the capacity of the nation's air transportation system and specifically to provide key data in understanding and predicting wake vortex decay, transport characteristics, and the dynamics of encountering wake turbulence. The OV-10A performs several roles including meteorological measurements platform, wake-decay quantifier, and trajectory-quantifier for wake encounters. Extensive research instrumentation systems include multiple airdata sensors, video cameras with cockpit displays, aircraft state and control-position measurements, inertial aircraft-position measurements, meteorological measurements, and an on-board personal computer for real-time processing and cockpit display of research data. To date, several of the preliminary system check flights and two meteorological-measurements deployments have been completed. Several wake encounter and wake-decay-measurements flights are planned for the fall of 1995.

Stuever, Robert A.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Minnowbrook VI: 2009 Workshop on Flow Physics and Control for Internal and External Aerodynamics

Topics covered include: Flow Physics and control for Internal and External Aerodynamics (not in TOC...starts on pg13); Breaking CFD Bottlenecks in Gas-Turbine Flow-Path Design; Streamwise Vortices on the Convex Surfaces of Circular Cylinders and Turbomachinery Blading; DNS and Embedded DNS as Tools for Investigating Unsteady Heat Transfer Phenomena in Turbines; Cavitation, Flow Structure and Turbulence in the Tip Region of a Rotor Blade; Development and Application of Plasma Actuators for Active Control of High-Speed and High Reynolds Number Flows; Active Flow Control of Lifting Surface With Flap-Current Activities and Future Directions; Closed-Loop Control of Vortex Formation in Separated Flows; Global Instability on Laminar Separation Bubbles-Revisited; Very Large-Scale Motions in Smooth and Rough Wall Boundary Layers; Instability of a Supersonic Boundary-Layer With Localized Roughness; Active Control of Open Cavities; Amplitude Scaling of Active Separation Control; U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Need for Flow Physics and Control With Applications Involving Aero-Optics and Weapon Bay Cavities; Some Issues Related to Integrating Active Flow Control With Flight Control; Active Flow Control Strategies Using Surface Pressure Measurements; Reduction of Unsteady Forcing in a Vaned, Contra-Rotating Transonic Turbine Configuration; Active Flow Control Stator With Coanda Surface; Controlling Separation in Turbomachines; Flow Control on Low-Pressure Turbine Airfoils Using Vortex Generator Jets; Reduced Order Modeling Incompressible Flows; Study and Control of Flow Past Disk, and Circular and Rectangular Cylinders Aligned in the Flow; Periodic Forcing of a Turbulent Axisymmetric Wake; Control of Vortex Breakdown in Critical Swirl Regime Using Azimuthal Forcing; External and Turbomachinery Flow Control Working Group; Boundary Layers, Transitions and Separation; Efficiency Considerations in Low Pressure Turbines; Summary of Conference; and Final Plenary Session Transcript.

LaGraff, John E.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Optical Air Flow Measurements in Flight

This document has been written to assist the flight-test engineer and researcher in using optical flow measurements in flight applications. The emphasis is on describing tradeoffs in system design to provide desired measurement performance as currently understood. Optical system components are discussed with examples that illustrate the issues. The document concludes with descriptions of optical measurement systems designed for a variety of applications including aeronautics research, airspeed measurement, and turbulence hazard detection. Theoretical discussion is minimized, but numerous references are provided to supply ample opportunity for the reader to understand the theoretical underpinning of optical concepts.

Bogue, Rodney K.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Hybrid RANS/LES Simulation of Jet Surface Interaction Noise

NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology (CST) project has formulated a technical challenge to design a quiet propulsion system for a low boom supersonic aircraft that meets Federal Aviation Authority’s airport noise regulations with sufficient margin. Several proposed configurations take advantage of shielding from the wing or other air-frame components. Development of carefully validated computational tools are necessary for critically evaluating installation concepts that are currently being proposed to meet the technical challenge. Semi-empirical models that predict the noise reduction potential of arbitrary shielding surfaces are yet to mature. Another key challenge is the systematic assessment of additional noise from the interaction between high speed jet turbulence and a surface in it’s vicinity. As a first step towards predicting noise reduction due to radical installation concepts from first principles, we simulate the noise generated by a high speed turbulent round jet near a simple planar surface. Detailed comparisons are made with a dedicated experiment conducted at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Sensitivity of far-field noise predictions to grid resolution is systematically documented. A permeable Ffowcs Williams Hawkings (FWH) surface enclosing both the jet and the shielding surface is used to predict far-field noise from the simulated flowfield. Details of the structured overset grids, numerical discretization, and turbulence model are provided. Near-field comparisons to PIV data and far-field comparisons to microphone array measurements are discussed. Excellent agreement for an initial validation study on an isolated free round jet was obtained and the findings were utilized in the jet surface interaction study. The split between shielded and reflected side of the microphone array was captured with good agreement, as well as the peak in the noise spectra due to scattering of turbulent energy into sound by the trailing edge of the surface.

Stich, Gerrit-Daniel↗