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NASA NTRS1986

Shear stress cleaning for surface departiculation

A cleaning technique widely used by the nuclear utility industry for removal of radioactive surface contamination has proven effective at removing non-hazardous contaminant particles as small as 0.1 micrometer. The process employs a controlled high velocity liquid spray inside a vapor containment enclosure to remove particles from a surface. The viscous drag force generated by the cleaning fluid applies a shear stress greater than the adhesion force that holds small particles to a substrate. Fluid mechanics and field tests indicate general cleaning parameters.

Musselman, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Langley Symposium on Aerodynamics, volume 1

The purpose of this work was to present current work and results of the Langley Aeronautics Directorate covering the areas of computational fluid dynamics, viscous flows, airfoil aerodynamics, propulsion integration, test techniques, and low-speed, high-speed, and transonic aerodynamics. The following sessions are included in this volume: theoretical aerodynamics, test techniques, fluid physics, and viscous drag reduction.

Stack, Sharon H.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Arc-driven rail accelerator research

Arc-driven rail accelerator research is analyzed by considering wall ablation and viscous drag in the plasma. Plasma characteristics are evaluated through a simple fluid-mechanical analysis considering only wall ablation. By equating the energy dissipated in the plasma with the radiation heat loss, the average properties of the plasma are determined as a function of time and rate of ablation. Locations of two simultaneously accelerating arcs were determined by optical and magnetic probes and fron streak camera photographs. All three measurements provide consistent results.

Ray, Pradosh K.↗

NASA NTRS1988

An analysis for high speed propeller-nacelle aerodynamic performance prediction. Volume 1: Theory and application

A computer program, the Propeller Nacelle Aerodynamic Performance Prediction Analysis (PANPER), was developed for the prediction and analysis of the performance and airflow of propeller-nacelle configurations operating over a forward speed range inclusive of high speed flight typical of recent propfan designs. A propeller lifting line, wake program was combined with a compressible, viscous center body interaction program, originally developed for diffusers, to compute the propeller-nacelle flow field, blade loading distribution, propeller performance, and the nacelle forebody pressure and viscous drag distributions. The computer analysis is applicable to single and coaxial counterrotating propellers. The blade geometries can include spanwise variations in sweep, droop, taper, thickness, and airfoil section type. In the coaxial mode of operation the analysis can treat both equal and unequal blade number and rotational speeds on the propeller disks. The nacelle portion of the analysis can treat both free air and tunnel wall configurations including wall bleed. The analysis was applied to many different sets of flight conditions using selected aerodynamic modeling options. The influence of different propeller nacelle-tunnel wall configurations was studied. Comparisons with available test data for both single and coaxial propeller configurations are presented along with a discussion of the results.

Egolf, T. Alan↗

NASA NTRS1989

Euler solvers for transonic applications

The 1980s may well be called the Euler era of applied aerodynamics. Computer codes based on discrete approximations of the Euler equations are now routinely used to obtain solutions of transonic flow problems in which the effects of entropy and vorticity production are significant. Such codes can even predict separation from a sharp edge, owing to the inclusion of artificial dissipation, intended to lend numerical stability to the calculation but at the same time enforcing the Kutta condition. One effect not correctly predictable by Euler codes is the separation from a smooth surface, and neither is viscous drag; for these some form of the Navier-Stokes equation is needed. It, therefore, comes as no surprise to observe that the Navier-Stokes has already begun before Euler solutions were fully exploited. Moreover, most numerical developments for the Euler equations are now constrained by the requirement that the techniques introduced, notably artificial dissipation, must not interfere with the new physics added when going from an Euler to a full Navier-Stokes approximation. In order to appreciate the contributions of Euler solvers to the understanding of transonic aerodynamics, it is useful to review the components of these computational tools. Space discretization, time- or pseudo-time marching and boundary procedures, the essential constituents are discussed. The subject of grid generation and grid adaptation to the solution are touched upon only where relevant. A list of unanswered questions and an outlook for the future are covered.

Vanleer, Bram↗

NASA NTRS1987

Experimental and numerical analyses of laminar boundary-layer flow stability over an aircraft fuselage forebody

Fuelled by a need to reduce viscous drag of airframes, significant advances have been made in the last decade to design lifting surface geometries with considerable amounts of laminar flow. In contrast to the present understanding of practical limits for natural laminar flow over lifting surfaces, limited experimental results are available examining applicability of natural laminar flow over axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric fuselage shapes at relevantly high length Reynolds numbers. The drag benefits attainable by realizing laminar flow over nonlifting aircraft components such as fuselages and nacelles are shown. A flight experiment to investigate transition location and transition mode over the forward fuselage of a light twin engine propeller driven airplane is examined.

Vijgen, Paul M. H. W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Transition delay and relaminarization of turbulent flow

Several techniques used for delaying transition both in air and water are overviewed, among them uniform surface heating, localized surface heating, and the application of broad-band disturbance-wave cancellation using the wave superposition principle. It is pointed out that localized heating, in air, can effectively delay transition along a flat plate and reduce viscous drag. Attention is focused on an experiment where the feasibility of relaminarizing turbulent flow over a flat plate with an upstream concave-convex curvature, in air, has been demonstrated using localized heating on the concave part of the curved surface. The flow over the curved surface investigated by thermal mapping using an infrared technique is also covered.

Maestrello, Lucio↗

NASA NTRS1991

On the effect of riblets in fully developed laminar channel flows

The effect of longitudinal riblet surfaces on viscous drag in fully developed laminar channel flows was investigated. Unlike turbulent flows, drag reduction was not obtained in the laminar flows. Results were independent of Reynolds number. Wall-shear rates on most regions of the cross-sectional perimeter of riblets were smaller than that of corresponding plane channel flow even though the net drag was increased.

Choi, Haecheon↗

NASA NTRS1993

Computational analysis of off-design waveriders

Comprehensive inviscid and viscous numerical simulations of hypersonic flow past nonconical rounded-nose waveriders are presented. The flow fields and aerodynamic forces at off-design conditions are determined inviscidly by a space-marching CFD code with the initial-data plane provided by a time-marching Navier-Stokes CFD code. Off-design conditions include off-design Mach numbers, angles of attack, and rounded leading edges. A wide range of waverider configurations is investigated and compared. These calculations show the effects of viscous interactions, which are influential near the leading edges, and determine the viscous drag. The inviscid calculations show that L/D decreases as freestream M increases (with alpha = 0). At the on-design Mach numbers, the maximum L/D may occur at slight positive or negative alpha, depending on the shape of the waverider, and zero lift occurs at a negative alpha approximately equal to half of the body thickness. The effects of slight leading-edge blunting produce only local effects in the flow field and small losses in L/D.

He, X.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Parametric study on laminar flow for finite wings at supersonic speeds

Laminar flow control has been identified as a key element in the development of the next generation of High Speed Transports. Extending the amount of laminar flow over an aircraft will increase range, payload, and altitude capabilities as well as lower fuel requirements, skin temperature, and therefore the overall cost. A parametric study to predict the extent of laminar flow for finite wings at supersonic speeds was conducted using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code coupled with a boundary layer stability code. The parameters investigated in this study were Reynolds number, angle of attack, and sweep. The results showed that an increase in angle of attack for specific Reynolds numbers can actually delay transition. Therefore, higher lift capability, caused by the increased angle of attack, as well as a reduction in viscous drag, due to the delay in transition, can be expected simultaneously. This results in larger payload and range.

Garcia, Joseph Avila↗

NASA NTRS1995

A parametric study of supersonic laminar flow for swept wings using linear stability analysis

A parametric study to predict the extent of laminar flow on the upper surface of a generic swept-back wing (NACA 64A010 airfoil section) at supersonic speeds was conducted. The results were obtained by using surface pressure predictions from an Euler/Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics code coupled with a boundary layer code, which predicts detailed boundary layer profiles, and finally with a linear stability code to determine the extent of laminar flow. The parameters addressed are Reynolds number, angle of attack, and leading-edge wing sweep. The results of this study show that an increase in angle of attack, for specific Reynolds numbers, can actually delay transition. Therefore, higher lift capability, caused by the increased angle of attack, as well as a reduction in viscous drag due to the delay in transition is possible for certain flight conditions.

Cummings, Russell M.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Report of the Panel on Aerodynamics

Progress in aerodynamics over the past 50 years has been evidenced by the development of increasingly sophisticated and efficient flight vehicles throughout the flight spectrum. Advances have generally arisen in an evolutionary manner from experience gained in wind tunnel testing, flight testing, and improvements in analytical and computational capabilities. As a result of this evolutionary development, both military and commercial vehicles operate at a relatively high efficiency level. This observation plus the fact that airplanes have not changed appreciably in outward appearance over recent years has led some skeptics to conclude incorrectly that aerodynamics is a mature technology, with little to be gained from further developments in the field. It is of interest to note that progress in aerodynamics has occurred without a thorough understanding of the fundamental physics of flow, turbulence, vortex dynamics, and separated flow, for example. The present understanding of transition, turbulence, and boundary layer separation is actually very limited. However, these fundamental flow phenomena provide the key to reducing the viscous drag of aircraft. Drag reduction provides the greatest potential for increased flight efficiency from the standpoint of both saving energy and maximizing performance. Recent advances have led to innovative concepts for reducing turbulent friction drag by modifying the turbulent structure within the boundary layer. Further advances in this basic area should lead to methods for reducing skin friction drag significantly. The current challenges for military aircraft open entirely new fields of investigation for the aerodynamicist. The ability through very high speed information processing technology to totally integrate the flight and propulsion controls can permit an aircraft to fly with "complete abandon," avoiding departure, buffet, and other undesirable characteristics. To utilize these new control concepts, complex aerodynamic phenomena will have to be understood, predicted, and controlled. Current requirements for military aircraft include configuration optimization through a widened envelope from subsonic to supersonic and from low to high angles of attack. This task is further complicated by requirements for control of observables. These challenging new designs do not have the luxury of a large experimental data base from which to optimize for various parameter combinations. Consequently, there exists a strong need for better techniques, both experimental and computational, to permit design optimization in a complete sense.

Bradley, Richard G.↗

NASA NTRS1961

Experimental Investigation of a Hypersonic Glider Configuration at a Mach Number of 6 and at Full-Scale Reynolds Numbers

The aerodynamic characteristics of a hypersonic glider configuration, consisting of a slender ogive cylinder with three highly swept wings, spaced 120 apart, with the wing chord equal to the body length, were investigated experimentally at a Mach number of 6 and at Reynolds numbers from 6 to 16 million. The objectives were to evaluate the theoretical procedures which had been used to estimate the performance of the glider, and also to evaluate the characteristics of the glider itself. A principal question concerned the viscous drag at full-scale Reynolds number, there being a large difference between the total drags for laminar and turbulent boundary layers. It was found that the procedures which had been applied for estimating minimum drag, drag due to lift, lift curve slope, and center of pressure were generally accurate within 10 percent. An important exception was the non-linear contribution to the lift coefficient which had been represented by a Newtonian term. Experimentally, the lift curve was nearly linear within the angle-of-attack range up to 10 deg. This error affected the estimated lift-drag ratio. The minimum drag measurements indicated that substantial amounts of turbulent boundary layer were present on all models tested, over a range of surface roughness from 5 microinches maximum to 200 microinches maximum. In fact, the minimum drag coefficients were nearly independent of the surface smoothness and fell between the estimated values for turbulent and laminar boundary layers, but closer to the turbulent value. At the highest test Reynolds numbers and at large angles of attack, there was some indication that the skin friction of the rough models was being increased by the surface roughness. At full-scale Reynolds number, the maximum lift-drag ratio with a leading edge of practical diameter (from the standpoint of leading-edge heating) was 4.0. The configuration was statically and dynamically stable in pitch and yaw, and the center of pressure was less than 2-percent length ahead of the centroid of plan-form area.

Seiff, Alvin↗

NASA NTRS1998

Charging of Single Micron Sized Dust Grains by Secondary Electron Emission: A Laboratory Study

We present the details of a new laboratory study whose objective is to experimentally study the interaction of micron sized particles with plasmas and electromagnetic radiation. Specifically, to investigate under what conditions and to what extent do particles of various compositions and sizes become charged, or discharged, while exposed to an electron beam and ultraviolet radiation environment The emphasis is the study of the two charging mechanisms, secondary emission of electrons and photoelectric effect. The experiment uses a technique known as electrodynamic suspension of particles. With this technique, a single charged particle is electrodynamically levitated and then exposed to a controlled environment. Its charge to mass ratio is directly measured. Viscous drag measurements and the light scattering measurements characterize its size and optical characteristics. The environment to which the particle is expose may consist of room temperature and pressure or a rarefied atmosphere where only one major gaseous constituent is present, or, as in this case, a vacuum environment under electron bombardment or UV radiation . In addition, the environment can be cycled as part of the experiment. Therefore, using this technique, a single particle can be repeatedly exposed to a controlled environment and its response measured, or a single particle can be exposed to similar environments with minor differences and its response measured as a function of only the changed environmental conditions.

Spann, James F., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Influence of Solutocapillary Convection on Macrovoid Defect Formation in Polymeric Membranes

Macrovoids (MVs) are large (10-50 micrometers) pores often found in polymeric membranes prepared via phase-inversion techniques. They are generally considered undesirable, as they adversely affect the permeability properties and performance of polymeric membranes for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis. However, MVs can be useful in certain thin-film applications in which vapor transmission is necessary, or for use as reservoirs for enzymes or liquid membrane material. If more could be learned about the nature and causes of MV formation, it might be possible to devise techniques to control and/or prevent MV formation that are more effective than those currently employed. Two hypotheses for the MV growth mechanism have been advanced. Reuvers proposed that once initiated, MV growth can be attributed to diffusion of (primarily) solvent to the MV nuclei. Because this mechanism does not involve gross movement of the MV, the presence or absence of body forces such as buoyancy should not significantly affect MV growth. On the other hand, Shojaie et al. proposed that solutocapillary convection induced by a steep surface-tension gradient along the MV/bulk solution interface enhances mass transfer to the growing MV. This interfacial convection exerts a force that pulls the growing MV downward into the casting solution. Both buoyancy and viscous drag hinder MV growth by inhibiting this motion. Thus, removing the buoyancy force by casting in microgravity should augment MV growth according to this hypothesis. Whereas neither surface tension nor gravity has a significant effect on MV growth according to the first hypothesis, buoyancy forces should be important if the second hypothesis is correct. The overall goal of this research is to test these two hypotheses in order to improve our understanding of the MV growth processing solvent-cast polymeric membranes. Studying MV growth in low-gravity conditions is pivotal to our ability to discriminate between these two hypotheses.

Pekny, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Development of a New Membrane Casting Apparatus for Studying Macrovoid Defects in Low-G

A new membrane-casting apparatus is developed for studying macrovoid defects in polymeric membranes made by the wet- and dry-casting process in low-gravity. Macrovoids are large (10-50 micron), open cavities interspersed among the smaller pores in the substructure under the gelled skin surface layer of the cast membrane. Although their occurrence is considered endemic to the wet- and dry-casting process since they can lead to compaction or skin rupture in the membrane process, recent studies suggest several useful applications such as transdermal and osmotic drug delivery systems, miniature bioreactors, etc. However, lack of knowledge about the macrovoid formation mechanism is an obstacle to further development of applications using them. An on-going debate is the role of the surface-tension-driven solutocapillary convection during macrovoid formation. The rapid growth of macrovoids within 1-5 seconds and the high polymer concentration in and near macrovoids make it difficult to explain the mechanism of macrovoid growth by diffusion alone, which is the widely accepted hypothesis proposed by Reuvers et al. The hypothesis advanced by our research group can explain this rapid growth via a mechanism that involves diffusion from the casting solution in the meta-stable region to the macrovoid enhanced by solutocapillary convection induced by the steep nonsolvent concentration gradient in the vicinity of the macrovoid. Since macrovoid growth is hypothesized to be the interplay of a solutocapillary-induced driving force counteracted by viscous drag and buoyancy, eliminate the latter provides a means for testing this hypothesis. Moreover, free convection mass transfer in the nonsolvent immersion bath used to cause phase-separation in membrane casting complicates developing a model for both the wet-casting process and macrovoid growth. The low-g environment minimizes gravitationally induced free convection thereby permitting a tractable solution to the ternary diffusion equations that characterize membrane formation. NASA's Parabolic Flight Research Aircraft provides a small window of low-g (approximately 25 s) that can be used to study macrovoid development in both wet- and dry-cast membranes if an appropriate casting apparatus is used. This casting apparatus should be able to cast the membrane in both low- and high-g in a manner so that essential one-dimensional mass transfer conditions are achieved to insure lateral uniformity in the membrane. The apparatus used in previous research on membrane casting in low-gravity was operated with the plunger driven mechanism. The spring-loaded plunger pushes the bottom block containing the polymer casting solution well directly under the absorbent chamber located in the upper stationary block. However, membranes made via this casting apparatus often displayed lateral nonuniformities that precluded obtaining quantitative information on the macrovoid growth process. Thus, it was necessary to determine the reason for these structural irregularities observed in the low-g casting apparatus. Both experimental as well as computer simulation studies of the low-g casting apparatus established that the impulsive action of the plunger caused the undesired structural nonuniformities. The simulation results showed that the width-to-depth aspect ratio of the shallow well that contains the casting solution in this apparatus was not an important factor in minimizing this problem. Even for a 40:1 (width : depth) aspect ratio, any convection induced by the horizontal motion of the interface of the casting solution will be damped out within 6.25x10(exp 4) seconds. However, the experimental studies revealed that the impulsive motion of the plunger caused a 'sloshing' of the casting solution that had to be eliminated. Therefore, the plungerdriven mechanism was changed to a cam-driven mechanism that did not cause any impulsive motion of the casting solution. Other refinements to this new membrane-casting apparatus include provision for removing the membranes from the casting wells in a less destructive manner. This was accomplished by using a slit geometry for the casting well that permitted disassembly for removal of the cast membrane. The materials used in the construction of this casting apparatus were chosen to insure wetting at the side walls and to maintain precise control of the thickness of the polymer solution in the casting well. An additional provision in this new casting apparatus is the ability to carry out both wet- as well as dry-casting. As such, this apparatus permitted the first studies of the wet-casting of polymeric membranes in low-g. Both wet- and dry-casting experiments on NASA's KC-135 research aircraft employing this new membrane-casting apparatus are scheduled in July 2002. The morphology of the resulting membranes will be characterized using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The results of these low-g studies will be reported later.

Lee, Hanyong↗

NASA NTRS2003

Macrovoid Defect Growth during Evaporative Casting of Polymeric Membranes

Macrovoid (MV) formation is a significant problem in evaporatively cast polymeric membranes. MVs are large, elongated or teardrop-shaped pores (~10-50 micron) that can impair membrane structural integrity. Although MVs have been extensively studied, there is no general agreement on the mechanisms governing MV growth. Recently, our research group has formulated the solutocapillary convection (SC) hypothesis, which contends that MV growth involves three principal forces: a Marangoni force generated by surface tension gradients within the MV interface, a viscous drag force, and a gravitationally induced body force. Two sets of complementary experiments were conducted to test the SC hypothesis. Ground-based videomicroscopy flow-visualization (VMFV) was utilized to measure the flow velocities at the MV-casting solution interface and deep within the casting solution. The measurements were performed with casting solutions containing 10 wt% cellulose acetate (CA), 30 wt% H2O, 60 wt% acetone, and 200- ppm TiO2 particles for flow visualization, and the surface tension was controlled by surfactant addition. Qualitatively, the experiments indicated that MV growth occurs in three distinct phases: (1) a very rapid initial growth period, (2) a much slower growth phase, and (3) absorption of selected MVs into the expanding demixed region. The presence of tracer particles inside the MVs suggests the presence of a convective flow, which transfers the particles from the bulk solution to the MV interior. Although the VMFV experiments did not establish any surfactant effect on the interfacial velocities, a statistically significant effect on the MV number density was observed. In the second set of experiments, membranes were cast aboard a KC-135 aircraft under 0-g and 2-g conditions. Despite careful attention to the design and fabrication of the membrane casting apparatus (MCA), several problems were encountered, the most significant of which was the contamination of the casting solution by the activated carbon particles used for solvent absorption.

Greenberg, A. R.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Design and Preparation of a Particle Dynamics Space Flight Experiment, SHIVA

ABSTRACT This paper describes the flight experiment, supporting ground science, and the design rationale for project SHIVA (Spaceflight Holography Investigation in a Virtual Apparatus). SHIVA is a fundamental study of particle dynamics in fluids in microgravity. Gravity often dominates the equations of motion of a particle in a fluid, so microgravity provides an ideal environment to study the other forces, such as the pressure and viscous drag and especially the Basset history force. We have developed diagnostic recording methods using holography to save all of the particle field optical characteristics, essentially allowing the experiment to be transferred from space back to earth in what we call the "virtual apparatus" for on-earth microgravity experimentation. We can quantify precisely the three-dimensional motion of sets of particles, allowing us to test and apply new analytical solutions developed by members of the team as reported in the 2001 Conference (Banff, Canada). In addition to employing microgravity to augment the fundamental study of these forces, the resulting data will allow us to quantify and understand the ISS environment with great accuracy. This paper shows how we used both experiment and theory to identify and resolve critical issues and produce an optimal the study. We examined the response of particles of specific gravity from 0.1 to 20, with radii from 0.2 to 2mm. to fluid oscillation at frequencies up to 80 Hz with amplitudes up to 200 microns. To observe some of the interesting effects predicted by the new solutions requires the precise location of the position of a particle in three dimensions. To this end we have developed digital holography algorithms that enable particle position location to a small fraction of a pixel in a CCD array. The spaceflight system will record holograms both on film and electronically. The electronic holograms can be downlinked providing real time data, essentially acting like a remote window into the ISS experimental chamber. Ground experiments have provided input to a flight system design that can meet the requirements for a successful experiment on ISS. Moreover the ground experiments have provided a definitive, quantitative observation of the Basset History force over a wide range of conditions. Results of the ground experiments, the flight experiment design, preliminary flight hardware design, and data analysis procedures are reported.

Trolinger, James↗