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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Mean and fluctuating flow measurements of a fully-developed, non-adiabatic, hypersonic boundary layer

Extensive boundary-layer measurements have been made on a cone-ogive-cylinder model at a free-stream Mach number of 7.0 and momentum-thickness Reynolds number of 8500. Mean flow transformations and calculated turbulence correlations are presented which are in good agreement with previous incompressible results. New quantitative turbulence measurements including measurements of the first higher moment and probability density of fluctuations in mass flow and total temperature in hypersonic flow are also presented. The higher moment and probability density data show that the characters of the fluctuation modes of the mass flow and total temperature are significantly different in the wall region and in the outer part of the boundary layer. These differences together with data on the turbulence scale and lifetime obtained from autocorrelation and space-time correlation measurements are discussed.

Owen, F. K.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Active Flow Control on a Boundary-Layer-Ingesting Inlet

Boundary layer ingestion (BLI) is explored as means to improve overall system performance for Blended Wing Body configuration. The benefits of BLI for vehicle system performance benefit are assessed with a process derived from first principles suitable for highly-integrated propulsion systems. This performance evaluation process provides framework within which to assess the benefits of an integrated BLI inlet and lays the groundwork for higher-fidelity systems studies. The results of the system study show that BLI provides a significant improvement in vehicle performance if the inlet distortion can be controlled, thus encouraging the pursuit of active flow control (AFC) as a BLI enabling technology. The effectiveness of active flow control in reducing engine inlet distortion was assessed using a 6% scale model of a 30% BLI offset, diffusing inlet. The experiment was conducted in the NASA Langley Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel with a model inlet designed specifically for this type of testing. High mass flow pulsing actuators provided the active flow control. Measurements were made of the onset boundary layer, the duct surface static pressures, and the mass flow through the duct and the actuators. The distortion was determined by 120 total pressure measurements located at the aerodynamic interface plane. The test matrix was limited to a maximum freestream Mach number of 0.15 with scaled mass flows through the inlet for that condition. The data show that the pulsed actuation can reduce distortion from 29% to 4.6% as measured by the circumferential distortion descriptor DC60 using less than 1% of inlet mass flow. Closed loop control of the actuation was also demonstrated using a sidewall surface static pressure as the response sensor.

Gorton, Susan Althoff↗
NASA NTRS1988

Analysis of wind-tunnel boundary-layer transition experiments on axisymmetric bodies at transonic speeds using compressible boundary-layer stability theory

The design of laminar flow fuselages and advanced swept wings at high-subsonic compressible speeds can benefit from a correlation of compressible transition experiments with the e exp n transition-prediction method. A computational analysis has been conducted to investigate the detailed transition measurements obtained by Boltz et al. (1956, 1960) for two bodies-of-revolution. Nonadiabatic wall conditions were included in the analysis when wall-temperature measurements were available.

Vijgen, P. M. H. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Turbulent spectra, fluxes, stability and growth of the mixed layer in the boundary layer of Mars

Spectra of wind and temperature from high frequency measurements in the atmospheric surface layer of Mars are presented for the first time. Heat and momentum fluxes, and stability are calculated for early spring from estimates of the surface temperature and mean Viking Lander 2 temperature and wind at 44 degrees N, using similarity theory. This study provides the first estimates of (1) the height of the mixed layer, (2) spectra of wind and temperature, (3) the validity of similarity theories on Mars, and (4) bounds of effective measuring height and surface roughness. It confirms and extends the universiality of model wind spectra. Finally and more important, we provide the ability to estimate and determine the self-consistency of Martian atmospheric mixed layer fluxes, stability and heights on a diurnal and annual basis. This can be used to initialize and validate the various models, which previously could only be compared with each other or the efforts of Sutton, Leovy and Tillman: these were restricted in season and limited by the results from the surface temperature model available at that time. Analysis of additional data can better estimate z(sub 0) values directly from the measurements and provide the parameters necessary to calculate the vertical profiles of wind and temperature on a daily, seasonal and annual basis.

Tillman, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Flow unsteadiness effects on boundary layers

The development of boundary layers at high subsonic speeds in the presence of either mass flux fluctuations or acoustic disturbances (the two most important parameters in the unsteadiness environment affecting the aerodynamics of a flight vehicle) was investigated. A high quality database for generating detailed information concerning free-stream flow unsteadiness effects on boundary layer growth and transition in high subsonic and transonic speeds is described. The database will be generated with a two-pronged approach: (1) from a detailed review of existing literature on research and wind tunnel calibration database, and (2) from detailed tests in the Boundary Layer Apparatus for Subsonic and Transonic flow Affected by Noise Environment (BLASTANE). Special instrumentation, including hot wire anemometry, the buried wire gage technique, and laser velocimetry were used to obtain skin friction and turbulent shear stress data along the entire boundary layer for various free stream noise levels, turbulence content, and pressure gradients. This database will be useful for improving the correction methodology of applying wind tunnel test data to flight predictions and will be helpful for making improvements in turbulence modeling laws.

Murthy, Sreedhara V.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Receptivity of Supersonic Boundary Layers to Acoustic Disturbances

Boundary layer receptivity to two-dimensional slow and fast acoustic waves is investigated by solving Navier-Stokes equations for Mach 4.5 flow over a flat plate with a finite-thickness leading edge. Higher order spatial and temporal schemes are employed to obtain the solution whereby the flat-plate leading edge region is resolved by providing a sufficiently refined grid. The results show that the instability waves are generated in the leading edge region and that the boundary-layer is much more receptive to slow acoustic waves (by almost a factor of 20) as compared to the fast waves. Hence, this leading-edge receptivity mechanism is expected to be more relevant in the transition process for high Mach number flows. The effect of acoustic wave incidence angle is also studied and it is found that the receptivity of the boundary layer on the windward side (with respect to the acoustic forcing) decreases by more than a factor of 4 when the incidence angle is increased from 0 to 45 deg. However, the receptivity coefficient for the leeward side is found to vary relatively weakly with the incidence angle. The effect of leading-edge thickness is also studied and bluntness is found to stabilize the boundary layer. The relative significance of fast acoustic waves is enhanced in the presence of bluntness.

Malik, Mujeeb R.↗
NASA NTRS1958

Evaporation, Heat Transfer, and Velocity Distribution in Two-Dimensional and Rotationally Symmetrical Laminar Boundary-Layer Flow

The fundamental boundary layer equations for the flow, temperature and concentration fields are presented. Two dimensional symmetrical and unsymmetrical and rotationally symmetrical steady boundary layer flows are treated as well as the transfer boundary layer. Approximation methods for the calculation of the transfer layer are discussed and a brief survey of an investigation into the validity of the law that the Nusselt number is proportional to the cube root of the Prandtl number is presented.

Froessling, Nils↗
NASA NTRS2018

Hypersonic Chemically Reacting Boundary-Layer Stability using LASTRAC

Hypersonic boundary layer transition is critical to the design of all hypersonic vehicles due to its effect on the heat transfer into the vehicle surface and potential drag enhancement or reduction during reentry. Boundary layer transition and boundary layer stability analysis under hypersonic conditions has been studied for decades, yet there is ample room for improved accuracy and further investigations into the relevant phenomena. In this work, we present a recent implementation of chemical equilibrium, finite-rate chemistry, and thermochemical nonequilibrium capabilities into LASTRAC, an existing well-established boundary-layer stability analysis code. Verification against existing numerical results in the literature are presented. LASTRAC was previously able to address calorically perfect flows. By using solutions of the Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE) with chemical and thermal nonequilibrium, we are able to investigate the effects of chemical and thermal nonequilibrium on a variety of phenomena including stationary crossflow instability on a swept wing and 2nd mode instabilities over a wedge.

Kline, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Influence of wall permeability on turbulent boundary-layer properties

Experimental boundary-layer studies of a series of low pressure drop, permeable surfaces have been conducted to characterize their surface interaction with a turbulent boundary layer. The models were flat and tested at nominally zero pressure gradient in low speed air. The surfaces were thin metal sheets with discrete perforations. Direct drag balance measurements of skin friction indicate that the general effect of surface permeability is to increase drag above that of a smooth plate reference level. Heuristic arguments are presented to show that this type of behavior is to be expected. Other boundary-layer data are also presented including mean velocity profiles and conditionally sampled streamwise velocity fluctuations (hot wire) for selected models.

Wilkinson, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Linear and nonlinear PSE for compressible boundary layers

Compressible stability of growing boundary layers is studied by numerically solving the partial differential equations under a parabolizing approximation. The resulting parabolized stability equations (PSE) account for nonparallel as well as nonlinear effects. Evolution of disturbances in compressible flat-plate boundary layers are studied for freestream Mach numbers ranging from 0 to 4.5. Results indicate that the effect of boundary-layer growth is important for linear disturbances. Nonlinear calculations are performed for various Mach numbers. Two-dimensional nonlinear results using the PSE approach agree well with those from direct numerical simulations using the full Navier-Stokes equations while the required computational time is less by an order of magnitude. Spatial simulation using PSE were carried out for both the fundamental and subharmonic type breakdown for a Mach 1.6 boundary layer. The promising results obtained show that the PSE method is a powerful tool for studying boundary-layer instabilities and for predicting transition over a wide range of Mach numbers.

Chang, Chau-Lyan↗
NASA NTRS1988

Wave interactions in a three-dimensional attachment line boundary layer

The 3-D boundary layer on a swept wing can support different types of hydrodynamic instability. Attention is focused on the so-called spanwise contamination problem, which occurs when the attachment line boundary layer on the leading edge becomes unstable to Tollmien-Schlichting waves. In order to gain insight into the interactions important in that problem, a simplified basic state is considered. This simplified flow corresponds to the swept attachment line boundary layer on an infinite flat plate. The basic flow here is an exact solution of the Navier-Stokes equations and its stability to 2-D waves propagating along the attachment can be considered exactly at finite Reynolds number. This has been done in the linear and weakly nonlinear regimes. The corresponding problem is studied for oblique waves and their interaction with 2-D waves is investigated. In fact, oblique modes cannot be described exactly at finite Reynolds number so it is necessary to make a high Reynolds number approximation and use triple deck theory. It is shown that there are two types of oblique wave which, if excited, cause the destabilization of the 2-D mode and the breakdown of the disturbed flow at a finite distance from the leading edge. First, a low frequency mode related to the viscous stationary crossflow mode is a possible cause of breakdown. Second, a class of oblique wave with frequency comparable with that of the 2-D mode is another cause of breakdown. It is shown that the relative importance of the modes depends on the distance from the attachment line.

Hall, Philip↗
NASA NTRS2018

Aeropropulsive Design Optimization of a Turboelectric Boundary Layer Ingestion Propulsion System

Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI) for aircraft applications was first proposed by Apollo Smith and Howard Roberts in a 1947 paper that studied the use of jet intakes embedded in the boundary layer as a means to maintain laminar flow and reduce aircraft drag. While the use of BLI in aviation didn't catch on it was heavily studied and utilized for marine applications. In 1993 interest in BLI applications to aircraft design was renewed when Leyroy Smith published novel work using a boundary layer analysis combined with basic propulsion modeling to show the potential for significant fuel burn reduction. Smith identified the tightly coupled aero-propulsive nature of BLI as a key challenge in the analysis and design of the concept.

Gray, Justin S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of a two-stream mixing layer from tripped and untripped boundary layers

The effects of the state of the initial boundary layers on the development of a two-stream, plane mixing layer, with a velocity ratio of 0.6 are experimentally investigated. Spanwise-average profiles are compared for the first time. The results indicate that both the near and far-field growth rates for the untripped case are significantly higher than the tripped case. The maximum Reynolds stresses and higher-order products for the two cases behave very differently in the near-field, but asymptote to approximately the same constant levels far downstream. The mean velocity and turbulence profiles in this region also collapse adequately for the two cases when plotted in similarity coordinates. The distance required to achieve self-similarity is distinctly shorter for the tripped case, in contrast to previous observations. The higher growth rate for the untripped case is attributed to the presence of streamwise vortices which result in additional entrainment by the mixing layer.

Bell, James H.↗