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At least 127 records · Page 7

Analysis of Numerical Simulation Database for Pressure Fluctuations Induced by High-Speed Turbulent Boundary Layers

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of Mach 6 turbulent boundary layer with nominal freestream Mach number of 6 and Reynolds number of Re(sub T) approximately 460 are conducted at two wall temperatures (Tw/Tr = 0.25, 0.76) to investigate the generated pressure fluctuations and their dependence on wall temperature. Simulations indicate that the influence of wall temperature on pressure fluctuations is largely limited to the near-wall region, with the characteristics of wall-pressure fluctuations showing a strong temperature dependence. Wall temperature has little influence on the propagation speed of the freestream pressure signal. The freestream radiation intensity compares well between wall-temperature cases when normalized by the local wall shear; the propagation speed of the freestream pressure signal and the orientation of the radiation wave front show little dependence on the wall temperature.

Duan, Lian↗

Statistics of internal stress fluctuations in dislocated crystals and relevance to density-based dislocation dynamics models

A statistical analysis of internal stress fluctuations, defined as the difference between the local mean stress and stress on dislocations, is presented for deforming crystals with 3D discrete dislocation systems. Dislocation realizations are generated using dislocation dynamics simulations and the associated stress field is computed as a superposition of a regularized stress field of dislocation lines within the domain of the solution and a complementary stress field computed via a finite-element boundary value problem. The internal stress fluctuations of interest are defined by an ensemble of the difference between the stress on dislocation lines and the local mean field stress in the crystal. The latter is established in a piecewise fashion over small voxels in the crystal thus allowing the difference between the local average stress and stress on segments to be easily estimated. The results show that the Schmid stress (resolved shear stress) and Escaig stress fluctuations on various slip systems sampled over a random set of points follow a Cauchy (Lorentz) distribution at all strain levels, with the amplitude and width of the distribution being dependent on the strain. Finally, the implications of the Schmid and Escaig internal stress fluctuations are discussed from the points of view of dislocation cross-slip and the dislocation motion in continuum dislocation dynamics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Combustion Instability in an Acid-Heptane Rocket with a Pressurized-Gas Propellant Pumping System

Results of experimental measurements of low-frequency combustion instability of a 300-pound thrust acid-heptane rocket engine were compared to the trends predicted by an analysis of combustion instability in a rocket engine with a pressurized-gas propellant pumping system. The simplified analysis, which assumes a monopropellant model, was based on the concept of a combustion the delay occurring from the moment of propellant injection to the moment of propellant combustion. This combustion time delay was experimentally measured; the experimental values were of approximately half the magnitude predicted by the analysis. The pressure-fluctuation frequency for a rocket engine with a characteristic length of 100 inches and operated at a combustion-chamber pressure of 280 pounds per square inch absolute was 38 cycles per second; the analysis indicated. a frequency of 37 cycles per second. Increasing combustion-chamber characteristic length decreased the pressure-fluctuation frequency, in conformity to the analysis. Increasing the chamber operating pressure or increasing the injector pressure drop increased the frequency. These latter two effects are contrary to the analysis; the discrepancies are attributed to the conflict between the assumptions made to simplify the analysis and the experimental conditions. Oxidant-fuel ratio had no apparent effect on the experimentally measured pressure-fluctuation frequency for acid-heptane ratios from 3.0 to 7.0. The frequencies decreased with increased amplitude of the combustion-chamber pressure variations. The analysis indicated that if the combustion time delay were sufficiently short, low-frequency combustion instability would be eliminated.

Tischler, Adelbert O.↗

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: opposite effects on systolic and mean arterial pressure in supine humans

1. Are arterial blood pressure fluctuations buffered or reinforced by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)? There is still considerable debate about this simple question. Different results have been obtained, triggering a discussion as to whether or not the baroreflexes are responsible for RSA. We suspected that the measurements of different aspects of arterial pressure (mean arterial pressure (MAP) and systolic pressure (SP)) can explain the conflicting results. 2. Simultaneous recordings of beat-to-beat MAP, SP, left cardiac stroke volume (SV, pulsed ultrasound Doppler), heart rate (HR) and respiration (RE) were obtained in 10 healthy young adults during spontaneous respiration. In order to eliminate HR variations at respiratory frequency we used propranolol and atropine administration in the supine and tilted positions. Respiration-synchronous variation in the recorded variables was quantified by spectral analysis of the recordings of each of these variables, and the phase relations between them were determined by cross-spectral analysis. 3. MAP fluctuations increased after removing heart rate variations in both supine and tilted position, whereas SP fluctuations decreased in the supine position and increased in the head-up tilted position. 4. RSA buffers respiration-synchronous fluctuations in MAP in both positions. However, fluctuations in SP were reinforced by RSA in the supine and buffered in the tilted position.

Clinical Trial↗

Validation of Methods to Predict Vibration of a Panel in the Near Field of a Hot Supersonic Rocket Plume

This paper describes the measurement and analysis of surface fluctuating pressure level (FPL) data and vibration data from a plume impingement aero-acoustic and vibration (PIAAV) test to validate NASA s physics-based modeling methods for prediction of panel vibration in the near field of a hot supersonic rocket plume. For this test - reported more fully in a companion paper by Osterholt & Knox at 26th Aerospace Testing Seminar, 2011 - the flexible panel was located 2.4 nozzle diameters from the plume centerline and 4.3 nozzle diameters downstream from the nozzle exit. The FPL loading is analyzed in terms of its auto spectrum, its cross spectrum, its spatial correlation parameters and its statistical properties. The panel vibration data is used to estimate the in-situ damping under plume FPL loading conditions and to validate both finite element analysis (FEA) and statistical energy analysis (SEA) methods for prediction of panel response. An assessment is also made of the effects of non-linearity in the panel elasticity.

Bremner, P. G.↗

Characterization of the Polarization Beam Response of SPT-3G Using Point Sources

Precise measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization require rigorous control of instrumental systematics. For the South Pole Telescope's third-generation camera (SPT-3G), which observes in three bands centered near 95, 150, and 220 GHz, accurate beam characterization is critical for interpreting the polarized mm-wave sky. We present direct measurements of SPT-3G's polarized beam response from observations of 100 bright extragalactic point sources. Previous SPT-3G power spectrum analyses introduced a phenomenological parameter, $β_{\rm pol}$, to describe the polarization preserved in beam sidelobes, and found evidence for significant depolarization from the requirement of inter-frequency polarization power spectrum consistency. Our direct measurements yield $β_{\rm pol}=0.89\pm0.10$ at 95 GHz, $1.08\pm0.10$ at 150 GHz, and $0.90\pm0.22$ at 220 GHz, indicating minimal sidelobe depolarization. We validate these results with systematic tests of posterior sampling versus bootstrap resampling, real-space versus Fourier-space analysis, temperature-to-polarization leakage handling, covariance determination, and source selection. Compared to values inferred from previous cosmological analyses, our results differ by an effective $1.3σ$. This apparent discrepancy is model dependent, because the point source analysis derives much of its $β_{\rm pol}$ constraining power from higher multipoles than the power spectrum analysis. These measurements therefore admit three explanations for the frequency-dependent residuals observed in the power spectrum analysis: a statistical fluctuation, the need for more sophisticated polarized beam models, or systematics other than beam depolarization.

de Haan, T. [KEK, Tsukuba]↗

On the Existence of Fast Modes in Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

Abstract We study the existence and properties of fast magnetosonic modes in 3D compressible MHD turbulence by carrying out a number of simulations with compressible and incompressible driving conditions. We use two approaches to determine the presence of fast modes: mode decomposition based on spatial variations only and spatio-temporal 4D fast Fourier transform (4D FFT) analysis of all fluctuations. The latter method enables us to quantify fluctuations that satisfy the dispersion relation of fast modes with finite frequency. Overall, we find that the fraction of fast modes identified via the spatio-temporal 4D FFT approach in total fluctuation power is either tiny with nearly incompressible driving or ∼2% with highly compressible driving. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding the compressible fluctuations in space and astrophysical plasmas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Comments on Crocco's solution and the independence principle for compressible turbulent boundary layers

The purpose of the present note is to show that on a flat plate where both the wall temperature and mean wall pressure are constant, neither of the limitations of parallel flow or of unity for the turbulent Prandtl number are required in order for the Crocco solution to apply to the turbulent boundary-layer flow. It is shown herein that this result is subject to restrictions on the magnitude of pressure fluctuations. The same analysis is generalized to show that the compressible turbulent boundary layer on an isothermal swept flat plate is independent of the spanwise flow if the molecular Prandtl number is unity.

Beckwith, I. E.↗

Study of the development of natural instabilities in a laminar boundary layer in incompressible flow

Natural instabilities which are created in a laminar boundary layer and which consist of intermittent wave trains were studied. The spectral analysis of these fluctuations makes it possible to localize them in terms of frequency and to isolate their spectrum of amplitude modulation. The variation in terms of abscissa value and ordinate value of these instabilities is compared with the results derived from the solution of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation.

Burnel, S.↗

Structure of correlation tensors in homogeneous anisotropic turbulence

The theory of isotropic tensors, developed by Robertson (1940), Batchelor (1946), and Chandrasekhar (1951), is extended to cover the general case of turbulence with a pseudo-vector-preferred direction, without assuming mirror-reflection invariance. Attention is focused on two-point-correlation functions, and it is shown that the form of the decomposition into proper and pseudo-tensor contributions is restricted by the homogeneity requirement. The somewhat unexpected result that the vector- and pseudo-vector-preferred-direction cases yield different results is presented: A pseudo-vector-preferred direction allows the correlation matrix one more functional degree of freedom than does the proper vector case. An explicit form of the two-point-correlation tensor in the presence of a uniform mean magnetic field is presented which may be appropriate for use in analysis of magnetic fluctuations in plasma containment devices or the interplanetary medium. A procedure for determining the magnetic helicity from experimental data is presented.

Matthaeus, W. H.↗

Measurement of surface velocity fields

A new technique for measuring surface velocity fields is briefly described. It determines the surface velocity vector as a function of location and time by the analysis of thermal fluctuations of the surface profile in a small domain around the point of interest. The apparatus now being constructed will be used in a series of experiments involving flow fields established by temperature gradients imposed along a surface.

Mann, J. A., Jr.↗

Interannual variability and predictability of 500 mb geopotential heights over the Northern Hemisphere

The interannual variability of monthly mean 500 mb heights in a 15-year sample of observed data is compared to the variance expected from sampling errors associated with high-frequency fluctuations using the analysis of variance approach. The monthly mean 'signal' stands out significantly from the 'noise' over a substantial fraction of the Northern Hemisphere during the winter. The expected spectrum of variance at very low frequencies is assumed to be white at frequencies lower than per (30 days) rather than the per (96 days) cutoff used by Madden. This difference is justified by observing that the effective time between independent samples T(0) is relatively insensitive to changes in the maximum lag over which the local autocorrelation is integrated to calculate T(0). Further non-randomness in the variance of 500 mb heights is evidenced by the correlation between monthly mean height and contemporaneous daily variability.

Shukla, J.↗

Algorithm Reveals Sinusoidal Component Of Noisy Signal

Algorithm performs simple statistical analysis of noisy signal to yield preliminary indication of whether or not signal contains sinusoidal component. Suitable for preprocessing or preliminary analysis of vibrations, fluctuations in pressure, and other signals that include large random components. Implemented on personal computer by easy-to-use program.

Kwok, Lloyd C.↗

Stability and Interaction of Coherent Structure in Supersonic Reactive Wakes

A theoretical formulation and analysis is presented for a study of the stability and interaction of coherent structure in reacting free shear layers. The physical problem under investigation is a premixed hydrogen-oxygen reacting shear layer in the wake of a thin flat plate. The coherent structure is modeled as a periodic disturbance and its stability is determined by the application of linearized hydrodynamic stability theory which results in a generalized eigenvalue problem for reactive flows. Detailed stability analysis of the reactive wake for neutral, symmetrical and antisymmetrical disturbance is presented. Reactive stability criteria is shown to be quite different from classical non-reactive stability. The interaction between the mean flow, coherent structure and fine-scale turbulence is theoretically formulated using the von-Kaman integral technique. Both time-averaging and conditional phase averaging are necessary to separate the three types of motion. The resulting integro-differential equations can then be solved subject to initial conditions with appropriate shape functions. In the laminar flow transition region of interest, the spatial interaction between the mean motion and coherent structure is calculated for both non-reactive and reactive conditions and compared with experimental data wherever available. The fine-scale turbulent motion determined by the application of integral analysis to the fluctuation equations. Since at present this turbulence model is still untested, turbulence is modeled in the interaction problem by a simple algebraic eddy viscosity model. The applicability of the integral turbulence model formulated here is studied parametrically by integrating these equations for the simple case of self-similar mean motion with assumed shape functions. The effect of the motion of the coherent structure is studied and very good agreement is obtained with previous experimental and theoretical works for non-reactive flow. For the reactive case, lack of experimental data made direct comparison difficult. It was determined that the growth rate of the disturbance amplitude is lower for reactive case. The results indicate that the reactive flow stability is in qualitative agreement with experimental observation.

Menon, Suresh↗

Optical Array Versus Monolithic Telescope Ground Station Cost Assessment

The purpose of this study is to outline the design of an optimal array of optical telescopes to emulate performance of a monolithic 12 m telescope in support of deep-space communications. In this case, optimal means minimizing the initial capital investment and operational cost while maintaining performance requirements of the deep-space link. The design is approached from a practical, engineering perspective. Pulse position modulation (PPM) signal formatting and photon counting detectors are assumed at each telescope in the array. That is, the telescopes function as so-called light buckets, so direct detection (as opposed to coherent reception) of the received signals is assumed, and there is no intention to consider active compensation for atmospheric turbulence-induced phase fluctuations. A parametric analysis among aperture size, detector size, and primary mirror surface quality, in the context of field-of-view expansion, is presented to minimize the cost function.

Romanofsky, Robert R.↗

On the Existence of Fast Modes in Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

We study the existence and properties of fast magnetosonic modes in 3D compressible MHD turbulence by carrying out a number of simulations with compressible and incompressible driving conditions. We use two approaches to determine the presence of fast modes: mode decomposition based on spatial variations only and spatio-temporal 4D fast Fourier transform (4D FFT) analysis of all fluctuations. The latter method enables us to quantify fluctuations that satisfy the dispersion relation of fast modes with finite frequency. Overall, we find that the fraction of fast modes identified via the spatio-temporal 4D FFT approach in total fluctuation power is either tiny with nearly incompressible driving or ∼2% with highly compressible driving. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding the compressible fluctuations in space and astrophysical plasmas.

Zhaoming Gan↗