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At least 109 records · Page 6

Ice Protection of Turbojet Engines by Inertia Separation of Water III : Annular Submerged Inlets

Aerodynamic and icing studies were conducted on a one-half-scale model of an annular submerged inlet for use with axial-flow turbojet engines. Pressure recoveries, screen radial-velocity profiles, circumferential mass-flow variations, and icing characteristics were determined at the compressor inlet. In order to be effective in maintaining water-free induction air, the inlet gap must be extremely small and ram-pressure recoveries consequently are low, the highest achieved being 65 percent at inlet-velocity ratio of 0.86. All inlets exhibited considerable screen icing. Severe mass-flow shifts occurred at angles of attack.

ICE PREVENTION AND REMOVAL - PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

An Investigation of the Grain Size and Adhesion Strength of High-Speed Impact Ice

Ice accumulation on aircraft from supercooled water droplets (impact icing) can increase drag and decrease lift, leading to a decrease in fuel efficiency and a potential for unsafe situations. Anti-icing materials and coatings are of high interest to prevent aircraft icing. Because no anti-icing material suitable for in-flight situations has been realized, icing models aim to predict the accumulation and shape of the ice to understand its effects. In both cases, understanding the physical mechanism behind ice adhesion and shedding is necessary. A recent literature review has shown that the apparent ice adhesion strength to any specific material varies over several orders of magnitude across studies and test methods. One of the reasons for this high variance is likely to be the varying microstructure of the ice used for different studies. Although the microstructure of impact ice has been studied in the past, those conditions were not relevant to that of in-flight aircraft icing. The microstructure of the ice formed will determine both its bulk and surface properties, yet it has been overlooked in the ice adhesion community. Here, we use optical microscopy to study the non-uniform ice crystal grain size in impact ice accreted in NASA Glenn Research Center’s Icing Research Tunnel at various icing conditions. Similar to other environmental conditions studied in the literature, we show an increase in grain size at larger distances from the growth interface; however, the data shows substantially larger grains than what was expected from the prior literature. Ice accrued at lower temperatures has a smaller grain size at all distances from the growth interface. No change in grain size was noticed when varying only the wind speed. A correlational analysis shows that smaller grain sizes at the growth interface corresponded to an increase in the apparent ice adhesion strength when the adhesive failure was interfacial, but not when the failure was cohesive. These results may explain the overall trend in the literature of increasing apparent adhesion strength with decreasing temperature. Incorporating microstructure trends for various environmental conditions in icing models may increase the certainty in predicting ice adhesion strength and shedding, and will provide a better basis for comparison between adhesive tests on ice produced in different facilities and at different storage times.

• Ice Fabric↗

Impingement of water droplets on wedges and diamond airfoils at supersonic speeds

An analytical solution has been obtained for the equations of motion of water droplets impinging on a wedge in a two-dimensional supersonic flow field with a shock wave attached to the wedge. The closed-form solution yields analytical expressions for the equation of the droplet trajectory, the local rate of impingement and the impingement velocity at any point on the wedge surface, and the total rate of impingement. The analytical expressions are utilized to determine the impingement on the forward surfaces of diamond airfoils in supersonic flow fields with attached shock waves. The results presented include the following conditions: droplet diameters from 2 to 100 microns, pressure altitudes from sea level to 30,000 feet, free-stream static temperatures from 420 degrees to 460 degrees R. Also, free-stream Mach numbers from 1.1 to 2.0, semi-apex angles for the wedge from 1.14 degrees to 7.97 degrees, thickness-to-chord ratios for the diamond airfoil from 0.02 to 0.14, chord lengths from 1 to 20 feet, and angles of attack from zero to the inverse tangent of the airfoil thickness-to-chord ratio.

SURFACE CONDITIONS - WING SECTIONS↗

Development of Ice-Shelf Estuaries Promotes Fractures and Calving

As the global climate warms, increased surface meltwater production on ice shelves may trigger ice-shelf collapse and enhance global sea-level rise. The formation of surface rivers could help prevent ice-shelf collapse if they can efficiently evacuate meltwater. Here we present observations of the evolution of a surface river into an ice-shelf estuary atop the Petermann Ice Shelf in northwest Greenland and identify a second estuary at the nearby Ryder Ice Shelf. This surface-hydrology process can foster fracturing and enhance calving. At the Petermann estuary, sea ice was observed converging at the river mouth upstream, indicating a flow reversal. Seawater persists in the estuary after the surrounding icescape is frozen. Along the base of Petermann estuary, linear fractures were initiated at the calving front and propagated upstream along the channel. Similar fractures along estuary channels shaped past large rectilinear calving events at the Petermann and Ryder ice shelves. Increased surface melting in a warming world will enhance fluvial incision, promoting estuary development and longitudinal fracturing orthogonal to ice-shelf fronts, and increase rectilinear calving. Estuaries could develop in Antarctica within the next half-century, resulting in increased calving and accelerating both ice loss and global sea-level rise.

Cryospheric science↗

Effectiveness of Thermal-Pneumatic Airfoil-Ice-Protection System

Icing and drag investigations were conducted in the NACA Lewis icing research tunnel employing a combination thermal-pneumatic de-icer mounted on a 42-inch-chord NACA 0018 airfoil. The de-icer consisted of a 3-inch-wide electrically heated strip symmetrically located about the leading edge with inflatable tubes on the upper and lower airfoil surfaces aft of the heated area. The entire de-icer extended to approximately 25 percent of chord. A maximum power density of 9.25 watts per square inch was required for marginal ice protection on the airfoil leading edge at an air temperature of 00 F and an airspeed of 300 miles per hour. Drag measurements indicated, that without icing, the de-icer installation increased the section drag to approximately 140 percent of that of the bare airfoil; with the tubes inflated, this value increased to a maximum of approximately 620 percent. A 2-minute tube-inflation cycle prevented excessive ice formation on the inflatable area although small scattered residual Ice formations remained after inflation and were removed intermittently during later cycles. Effects of the time lag of heater temperatures after initial application of power and the insulating effect of ice formations on heater temperatures were also determined.

Gowan, William H., Jr.↗

Measured performance of the heat exchanger in the NASA icing research tunnel under severe icing and dry-air conditions

Measurements were made of the pressure drop and thermal perfomance of the unique refrigeration heat exchanger in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) under severe icing and frosting conditions and also with dry air. This data will be useful to those planning to use or extend the capability of the IRT and other icing facilities (e.g., the Altitude Wind Tunnel-AWT). The IRT heat exchanger and refrigeration system is able to cool air passing through the test section down to at least a total temperature of -30 C (well below icing requirements), and usually up to -2 C. The system maintains a uniform temperature across the test section at all airspeeds, which is more difficult and time consuming at low airspeeds, at high temperatures, and on hot, humid days when the cooling towers are less efficient. The very small surfaces of the heat exchanger prevent any icing cloud droplets from passing through it and going through the tests section again. The IRT heat exchanger was originally designed not to be adversely affected by severe icing. During a worst-case icing test the heat exchanger iced up enough so that the temperature uniformaity was no worse than about +/- 1 deg C. The conclusion is that the heat exchanger design performs well.

Olsen, W.↗

Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Can Reduce Risks to Antarctic Ice Loss Depending on Injection Location and Amount

Owing to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is vulnerable to rapid ice loss in the upcoming decades and centuries. Here this study examines the effectiveness of using stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) that minimizes global mean temperature (GMT) change to slow projected 21st century Antarctic ice loss. We simulate 11 different SAI cases which vary by the latitudinal location(s) and the amount(s) of the injection(s) to examine the climatic response near Antarctica in each case as compared to the reference climate at the turn of the last century. We demonstrate that injecting at a single latitude in the northern hemisphere or at the Equator increases Antarctic shelf ocean temperatures pertinent to ice shelf basal melt, while injecting only in the southern hemisphere minimizes this temperature change. We use these results to analyze the results of more complex multi-latitude injection strategies that maintain GMT at or below 1.5°C above the pre-industrial. All these multi-latitude cases will slow Antarctic ice loss relative to the mid-to-late 21st century SSP2-4.5 emissions pathway. Yet, to avoid a GMT threshold estimated by previous studies pertaining to rapid West Antarctic ice loss (1.5°C above the pre-industrial GMT, though large uncertainty), our study suggests SAI would need to cool about 1.0°C below this threshold and predominately inject at low southern hemisphere latitudes (~15°S - 30°S). These results highlight the complexity of factors impacting the Antarctic response to SAI and the critical role of the injection strategy in preventing future ice loss.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Properties of simulated comet mantle

The properties of freeze-dried dilute dispersions of dust in water ice are of considerable interest in studies of comet nucleus mantles. The formation of a rind residue produced by the sublimation of water ice containing various amounts of fine clay particles may be an important process. A simulation of the development of the dry dust rind on the surface of comets is presented. This rind is the result of preferential ice sublimation. The development and disruption of this rind and its subsequent levitation by water vapor flow is studied. The most interesting rind simulant is produced by dispersing 0.1 micron particles of montmorillonite in water in concentrations of 10%, 1%, and 0.1%. These dispersions are then sprayed into liquid nitrogen in the form of 100 micron droplets. The frozen droplets are then freeze-dried in a vacuum which prevents the ice temperature from rising above -30 C. Sublimation of the nitrogen and the water produced dry rinds. The most striking result was the development of large cohesive matrices of individual clay particles, and in some cases a continuous cohesive crust. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations reveal that the material formed by freeze-drying the 0.1% dispersion does not retain the original spherical shape of the sprayed 100 micron droplets; instead it consists of a continuous filamentary network, as shown in the SEM stereo micrographs.

Fanale, F. P.↗