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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 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

A discharge flow-photoionization mass spectrometric study of the FO(X 2 Pi i) radical. Photoionization efficiency spectrum and ionization energy

Photoionization efficiency spectra of FO were measured over the wavelength range 80.0-100.0 nm and in the ionization threshold region, 94.0-100.0 nm, using a discharge flow-photoionization mass spectrometer apparatus coupled to a synchrotron radiation source. FO was generated by the reaction of F2P atoms with NO3 and via a F2O2 discharge. A value of 12.78 +/- 0.03 eV was obtained for the adiabatic ionization energy of FO from photoion thresholds which corresponds to FO(+)(X 3 Sigma -) from FO(X 2 Pi i). These results, which are the first to be obtained by direct Photo-ionization mass spectrometry (PIMS) measurements, corroborate those of a photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) study; however, the ionization energy determined here is free from interferences due to other species which complicated the PES measurement. A value of 109.5 +/- 8.0 kJ/mol for Delta f H 0 298(FO) is computed from the present value of IE(FO) and a previous appearance energy measurement, and a value for the proton affinity of FO is calculated to be 511.5 +/- 10.0 kJ/mol.

Zhang, Zhengyu↗
NASA NTRS1995

Unsteady Aerodynamic Models for Turbomachinery Aeroelastic and Aeroacoustic Applications

Theoretical analyses and computer codes are being developed for predicting compressible unsteady inviscid and viscous flows through blade rows of axial-flow turbomachines. Such analyses are needed to determine the impact of unsteady flow phenomena on the structural durability and noise generation characteristics of the blading. The emphasis has been placed on developing analyses based on asymptotic representations of unsteady flow phenomena. Thus, high Reynolds number flows driven by small amplitude unsteady excitations have been considered. The resulting analyses should apply in many practical situations and lead to a better understanding of the relevant flow physics. In addition, they will be efficient computationally, and therefore, appropriate for use in aeroelastic and aeroacoustic design studies. Under the present effort, inviscid interaction and linearized inviscid unsteady flow models have been formulated, and inviscid and viscid prediction capabilities for subsonic steady and unsteady cascade flows have been developed. In this report, we describe the linearized inviscid unsteady analysis, LINFLO, the steady inviscid/viscid interaction analysis, SFLOW-IVI, and the unsteady viscous layer analysis, UNSVIS. These analyses are demonstrated via application to unsteady flows through compressor and turbine cascades that are excited by prescribed vortical and acoustic excitations and by prescribed blade vibrations. Recommendations are also given for the future research needed for extending and improving the foregoing asymptotic analyses, and to meet the goal of providing efficient inviscid/viscid interaction capabilities for subsonic and transonic unsteady cascade flows.

Verdon, Joseph M.↗
NASA NTRS1955

Component Performance Investigation of J71 Type II Turbines: III - Overall Performance of J71 Type IIA Turbine

The over-all component performance characteristics of the J71 Type IIA three-stage turbine were experimentally determined over a range of speed and over-all turbine total-pressure ratio at inlet-air conditions af 35 inches of mercury absolute and 700 deg. R. The results are compared with those obtained for the J71 Type IIF turbine, which was previously investigated, the two turbines being designed for the same engine application. Geometrically the two turbines were much alike, having the same variation of annular flow area and the same number of blades for corresponding stator and rotor rows. However, the blade throat areas downstream of the first stator of the IIA turbine were smaller than those of the IIF; and the IIA blade profiles were curve-backed, whereas those of the IIF were straight-backed. The IIA turbine passed the equivalent design weight flow and had a brake internal efficiency of 0.880 at design equivalent speed and work output. A maximum efficiency of 0.896 occurred at 130 percent of design equivalent speed and a pressure ratio of 4.0. The turbine had a wide range of efficient operation. The IIA turbine had slightly higher efficiencies than the IIF turbine at comparable operating conditions. The fact that the IIA turbine obtained the design equivalent weight flow at the design equivalent operating point was probably a result of the decrease in the blading throat areas downstream of the first stator from those of the IIF turbine, which passed 105 percent of design weight flow at the corresponding operating point. The third stator row of blades of the IIA turbine choked at the design equivalent speed and at an over-all pressure ratio of 4.2; the third rotor choked at a pressure ratio of approximately 4.9

Schum, Harold J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

High-tip-speed, low-loading transonic fan stage. Part 3: Final report

Tests were conducted on a high-tip-speed, low-loading transonic fan stage to determine the performance and inlet flow distortion tolerance of the design. The fan was designed for high efficiency at a moderate pressure ratio by designing the hub section to operate at minimum loss when the tip operates with an oblique shock. The design objective was an efficiency of 86 percent at a pressure ratio of 1.5, a specific flow (flow per unit annulus area) of 42 lb/sec-sq. ft (205.1 kgm/sec-m sq), and a tip speed of 1600 ft/sec (488.6 m/sec). During testing, a peak efficiency of 84 percent was achieved at design speed and design specific flow. At the design speed and pressure ratio, the flow was 4 percent greater than design, efficiency was 81 percent, and a stall margin of 24 percent was obtained. The stall line was improved with hub radial distortion but was reduced when the stage was tested with tip radial and circumferential flow distortions. Blade-to-blade values of static pressures were measured over the rotor blade tips.

Ware, T. C.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integration and validation of some modules for modelling of high-speed chemically reactive flows in two-phase gas-droplet mixtures

Three modules are integrated into the built-in OpenFOAM rhoCentralFoam solver towards accurate and efficient modelling of high-speed chemically reactive flows in two-phase gas-droplet mixtures within the OpenFOAM 10.0 framework. The first module is the mixture-averaged diffusion model. The second module is the built-in OpenFOAM Lagrangian solver coupled with optimised droplet drag coefficient and convective heat transfer coefficient sub-models. The last module is a sparse stiff chemistry solver based on dynamic adaptive hybrid integration (AHI-S). The optimised droplet sub-models are first verified in correct implementation for subsequent simulations in this work. Further, they show good accuracy against experimental and analytical data in the modelling of ammonia droplet acceleration and cooling in the flowing and/or low-temperature air. The accuracy and efficiency gains related to the mixture-averaged diffusion model and the AHI-S chemistry solver are examined by simulating 1-D detonation propagation in ammonia droplet-free/laden ammoniaoxygen mixtures. Numerical results of detonation propagation speed, gaseous temperature, density, and species distributions around the induction zone show good agreement with experimental data and analytical solutions. Compared to the built-in OpenFOAM diffusion model, the mixture-averaged diffusion model provides different numerical predictions of pulsating instabilities in detonation propagation. It shows better accuracy in depicting the detonation structure within the droplet-free section attributed to improved multi-component diffusion modelling. Compared to the built-in OpenFOAM solver EulerImplicit (backward Euler), the AHI-S chemistry solver reduces the computational cost by around 50%. It achieves satisfactory accuracy in calculating detonation propagation speed within the droplet-free section with the optimal efficiency when the safety factor, β, equals 0.5.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1983

Implicit, nonswitching, vector-oriented algorithm for steady transonic flow

A rapid computation of a sequence of transonic flow solutions has to be performed in many areas of aerodynamic technology. The employment of low-cost vector array processors makes the conduction of such calculations economically feasible. However, for a full utilization of the new hardware, the developed algorithms must take advantage of the special characteristics of the vector array processor. The present investigation has the objective to develop an efficient algorithm for solving transonic flow problems governed by mixed partial differential equations on an array processor.

Lottati, I.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Supersonic nonlinear potential analysis

The NCOREL computer code was established to compute supersonic flow fields of wings and bodies. The method encompasses an implicit finite difference transonic relaxation method to solve the full potential equation in a spherical coordinate system. Two basic topic to broaden the applicability and usefulness of the present method which is encompassed within the computer code NCOREL for the treatment of supersonic flow problems were studied. The first topic is that of computing efficiency. Accelerated schemes are in use for transonic flow problems. One such scheme is the approximate factorization (AF) method and an AF scheme to the supersonic flow problem is developed. The second topic is the computation of wake flows. The proper modeling of wake flows is important for multicomponent configurations such as wing-body and multiple lifting surfaces where the wake of one lifting surface has a pronounced effect on a downstream body or other lifting surfaces.

Siclari, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Laboratory and theoretical models of planetary-scale instabilities and waves

Research work is proceeding in theoretical, numerical, and experimental geophysical fluid dynamics leading up to a reflight of the GFFC (Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell Experiment) on USML-2. The work is intended not only to generate ideas for future space experiments, but to provide fundamental results concerned with nonlinear and chaotic properties of thermal convection and baroclinic waves in terrestrial and planetary atmospheres. The major efforts are focussed on thermal convection in a rapidly rotating annulus relevant to Jovian atmospheric dynamics, and on the chaotic behavior of baroclinic waves relevant to the Earth's atmosphere. The approach, in preparation for USML-2, is primarily theoretical and numerical. Mechanistic process models are solved numerically in order to identify physical mechanisms that may be observed in the GFFC, and which are important in real geophysical applications. The results from numerical simulations of geophysical fluid flow (subject to rotation and stratification) are compared with previous GFFC experiments on Spacelab-3 and with existing and proposed terrestrial laboratory experiments of various types. Pattern recognition algorithms have been employed to generate low-dimensional descriptions of the highly nonlinear and turbulent numerical simulations. Such empirically truncated descriptions provide for simplified but robust physical interpretations of the dynamics, as well as yielding highly efficient computations of these chaotic flows.

Hart, John E.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Development of a High-Order Space-Time Matrix-Free Adjoint Solver

The growth in computational power and algorithm development in the past few decades has granted the science and engineering community the ability to simulate flows over complex geometries, thus making Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools indispensable in analysis and design. Currently, one of the pacing items limiting the utility of CFD for general problems is the prediction of unsteady turbulent ows.1{3 Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods, which predict a time-invariant mean flowfield, struggle to provide consistent predictions when encountering even mild separation, such as the side-of-body separation at a wing-body junction. NASA's Transformative Tools and Technologies project is developing both numerical methods and physical modeling approaches to improve the prediction of separated flows. A major focus of this e ort is efficient methods for resolving the unsteady fluctuations occurring in these flows to provide valuable engineering data of the time-accurate flow field for buffet analysis, vortex shedding, etc. This approach encompasses unsteady RANS (URANS), large-eddy simulations (LES), and hybrid LES-RANS approaches such as Detached Eddy Simulations (DES). These unsteady approaches are inherently more expensive than traditional engineering RANS approaches, hence every e ort to mitigate this cost must be leveraged. Arguably, the most cost-effective approach to improve the efficiency of unsteady methods is the optimal placement of the spatial and temporal degrees of freedom (DOF) using solution-adaptive methods.

Adjoint↗
NASA NTRS1949

Performance of Axial-Flow Supersonic Compressor on XJ-55-FF-1 Turbojet Engine. I - Preliminary Performance of Compressor: Preliminary Performance of Compressor - 1

An investigation was conducted to determine the performance characteristics of the axial-flow supersonic compressor of the XJ-55-FF-1 turbo Jet engine. The test unit consisted of a row of inlet guide vanes and a supersonic rotor; the stator vanes after the rotor were omitted. The maximum pressure ratio produced in the single stage was 2.28 at an equivalent tip speed or 1814 feet per second with an adiabatic efficiency of approximately 0.61, equivalent weight flow of 13.4 pounds per second. The maximum efficiency of 0.79 was obtained at an equivalent tip speed of 801 feet per second.

Hartmann, Melvin J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Coaxial Rotor CFD Validation and ML Surrogate Model Generation

A fixed-pitch speed-controlled coaxial rotor system was tested in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel in September 2022. The rotors have a diameter of 1.35 meters and an inter-rotor spacing of 25% of the diameter. Though this test was focused on the NASA New Frontiers Dragonfly mission, the resulting dataset is relevant to a wide array of applications of multirotor vehicles, especially those using fixed-pitch variable-speed rotors. Most notably beyond Dragonfly, perhaps, is the application of coaxial rotor pair configurations for eVTOL and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft. This work provides a thorough CFD validation study quantifying coaxial rotor performance estimation with accuracy on order 5-10% using an efficient hybrid BEMT-URANS flow solver over a wide range of operating conditions. This accuracy was achieved using novel approaches for the construction of both the C81 airfoil performance lookup tables and the BEMT rotor model. These novel approaches are combined with advanced scripting to further accelerate the commercial off-the-shelf CFD solver on GPU accelerated machines. Finally, the development of machine learning surrogate models is presented to produce highly efficient and accurate rotor performance predictions for fixed-pitch variable-speed multirotor aircraft over the complete flight regime including scout, cruise, climb, descent, as well as limiting cases of vortex-ring and windmill-brake states.

Coaxial↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electrolytes for iron flow battery

A method of operating an iron redox flow battery system may comprise fluidly coupling a plating electrode of an iron redox flow battery cell to a plating electrolyte; fluidly coupling a redox electrode of the iron redox flow battery cell to a redox electrolyte; fluidly coupling a ductile plating additive to one or both of the plating electrolyte and the redox electrolyte; and increasing an amount of the ductile plating additive to the plating electrolyte in response to an increase in the plating stress at the plating electrode. In this way, ductile Fe can be plated on the negative electrode, and the performance, reliability and efficiency of the iron redox flow battery can be maintained. In addition, iron can be more rapidly produced and plated at the plating electrode, thereby achieving a higher charging rate for all iron flow batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Light- and Medium-Duty Diesel Combustion (Sandia)

Diesel engines remain a cost-effective, efficient, powerful propulsion source for many light- and medium-duty vehicle applications. Modest efficiency improvements in these engines can eliminate millions of tons of CO 2 emissions per year, but these improvements will require improved understanding of how diesel combustion chamber geometry influences mixture preparation, combustion, and pollutant formation processes. The research focus for this performance period is to provide insight into spray-wall interactions in stepped-lip combustion chambers. These interactions are believed to promote the formation of recirculating flow structures that improve thermal efficiency and reduce soot emissions, but these benefits are only fully realized for late main injection timings. A detailed mechanistic understanding of these processes can lead to cleaner, more efficient combustion chamber designs. This project will provide scientific understanding needed to design, optimize, and calibrate the next generations of light- and medium-duty diesel engines that comply with increasingly stringent pollutant emission regulations while achieving thermal efficiencies approaching 50%.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Progress In Incompressible Pump Flow Calculations

Steady and unsteady flows for propulsion systems are efficiently simulated by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The solution method is based on the pseudo compressibility approach and uses an implicit-upwind differencing scheme together with the Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. Current computations use one equation Baldwin-Barth turbulence model which is derived from a simplified form of the standard kappa - epsilon model equations. The resulting computer code is applied to the flow analysis inside an advanced rocket pump impeller in steadily rotating reference frames. Numerical results are compared with experimental measurements. The effects of exit and shroud cavities with the leak-age flow are investigated. Time-accurate incompressible Navier-Stokes formulation with the overlapped grid scheme capability was evaluated by using MIT flapping foil experiment. The grid dependency, turbulence model effects, and the effect of order of differencing were investigated. Numerical results were compared against experimental data. The resulting procedure were applied to unsteady flapping foil calculations. Two upstream NACA 0025 foils perform high frequency synchronized motion and generate unsteady flow conditions to the downstream larger stationary foil. Comparison between unsteady experimental data and numerical results from two different moving boundary procedures will be presented.

Kiris, Cetin↗
NASA NTRS1977

Implicit finite-difference computations of unsteady transonic flows about airfoils, including the treatment of irregular shock-wave motions

A computer code, LTRAN2, has been constructed that efficiently computes low-frequency unsteady transonic flows about airfoils in motion. The code solves the two-dimensional, nonlinear, low-frequency, small-disturbance equation by an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) algorithm. First, as a check on the code, LTRAN2 is used to solve the linear, low-frequency, small-disturbance equation. The results are compared with known answers from linear theory. Then nonlinear results are presented. Tijdeman's experimental observations of shock wave motions resulting from airfoil flap oscillations are qualitatively reproduced by LTRAN2. These computations compare favorably with those of Magnus and Yoshihara and are obtained in substantially less computer time. Also the underlying theory of the governing equation and the construction of the algorithm are discussed.

Ballhaus, W. F.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Study of blade aspect ratio on a compressor front stage

A single stage, low aspect ratio, compressor with a 442.0 m/sec (1450 ft/sec) tip speed and a 0.597 hub/tip ratio typical of an advanced core compressor front stage was tested. The test stage incorporated an inlet duct which was representative of an engine transition duct between fan and high pressure compressors. At design speed, the rotor stator stage achieved a peak adiabatic efficiency of 86.6 percent at a flow of 44.35 kg/sec (97.8 lbm/sec) and a pressure ratio of 1.8. Surge margin was 12.5 percent from the peak stage efficiency point.

Behlke, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The computation of rotational conical flows

A method based on the Clebsch velocity decomposition is presented to solve the steady, inviscid, supersonic flow field about arbitrary conical geometries. The system of equations developed, although formally equivalent to the Euler equations, retains the computational efficiency of type-dependent potential flow solutions. Accurate rotational-flow solutions are developed using shock-fitting procedures at the bow and imbedded waves along with special treatment of the vortical layer. Solutions are presented for several high Mach number conical flows and compared with existing Euler solutions and experimental data.

Grossman, B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Separated flow in a driven trapezoidal cavity

Numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations governing shear flow in a trapezoidal enclosure have been obtained at fine grid resolutions using an efficient multigrid calculation procedure. The effects of flow Reynolds number and wall boundary conditions are studied in detail. Interesting flow patterns are observed to develop, especially at high Reynolds numbers.

Darr, Joseph H.↗