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At least 145 records · Page 8

Achromatic Emission Velocity Measurements in Luminous Flows

A new velocity measurement instrument for luminous flows was developed by Science Research Laboratory for NASA. The SIEVE (Segmented Image Emission VElocimeter) instrument uses broadband light emitted by the flow for the velocity measurement. This differs from other velocimetry techniques in that it does not depend on laser illumination and/or light scattering from particles in the flow. The SIEVE is a passive, non-intrusive diagnostic. By moving and adjusting the imaging optics, the SIEVE can provide three-dimensional mapping of a flow field and determine turbulence scale size. A SIEVE instrument was demonstrated on an illuminated rotating disk to evaluate instrument response and noise and on an oxy-acetylene torch to measure flame velocities. The luminous flow in rocket combustors and plumes is an ideal subject for the SIEVE velocity measurement technique.

Schneider, S. J.↗

Combustion Dynamics Characteristics and Fuel Pressure Modulation Responses of a Three-Cup Third-Generation Swirl-Venturi Lean Direct Injection Combustion Concept

This paper presents the combustion dynamic data and fuel modulation response of a three-cup Lean Direct Injection combustor developed by Woodward, FST. The test was conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center CE-5 flame tube test facility. The facility provided inlet air up to 922 K and pressure up to 19.0 bar. At the low-power configuration, the combustion noise was quiet. Large combustion pressure oscillations were observed with the High-power configuration at an off design condition, with low inlet air temperature and pressure conditions and a high equivalence ratio (about T3=600 K, P3 = 800 kPa, and ER =0.46). The noise amplitude was as high as 1.5 psi at around 220 Hz. As inlet air pressure and temperature increased, this combustion instability decreased. Fuel modulated signals were produced with the WASK fuel modulator located in the fuel line upstream of the center cup pilot fuel-air mixer. The amplitudes of the modulated signals detected in the combustor were low. Only less than 0.13% (0.06 psi) of the input energy was detected, and the signal amplitudes decreased as the modulated frequencies increased. Interaction between the modulated signals and the combustion noise varied with operating conditions. At a condition with low combustion noise around 150 hz, modulating a signal at around the same frequency would increase the combustion noise from 0.2 psi to as high as 0.6 psi, whereas at a condition with a high combustion instability around 250 hz, the modulated signal did not seem to have much effect on the combustion noise.

Fuel flexible combustor↗

Unsteady loads measurements in a generic high speed engine model by means of recessed transducers

Results are presented from measurements of unsteady loads during performance tests of a generic high-speed engine model, which were made using high-frequency pressure gages installed in existing calorimeter ports of the engine model and recessed into the interior wall surface in order to reduce thermal flux to the gage diaphragm. In was found that the boundary layer pressure spectra at the model wall start to deviate from their flat plate counterpart at a short distance into the model inlet, which suggests the contributions to the spectra from the shock/boundary layer interaction. It was also found that significant levels of combustion noise propagate up through the subsonic portion of the boundary layer well into the inlet region. At the condition of an unstart, the combustion noise apparently couples with the acoustic modes of the model to cause acoustic 'hot spots' well upstream of the combustor.

Parrott, Tony L.↗

Overview of CMC Research at NASA Glenn Research Center

CMC technology development in the Ceramics Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center addresses Aeronautics propulsion goals across subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes. Combustor, turbine and exhaust nozzle applications of CMC materials will enable NASA to demonstrate reduced fuel consumption, emissions, and noise in advanced gas turbine engines. Applications ranging from basic Fundamental Aeronautics research activities to technology demonstrations in the new Integrated Systems Research Program will be discussed.

Grady, Joseph E.↗

Material requirements for the High Speed Civil Transport

Under NASA-sponsored High Speed Research (HSR) programs, the materials and processing requirements have been identified for overcoming the environmental and economic barriers of the next generation High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) propulsion system. The long (2 to 5 hours) supersonic cruise portion of the HSCT cycle will place additional durability requirements on all hot section engine components. Low emissions combustor designs will require high temperature ceramic matrix composite liners to meet an emission goal of less than 5g NO(x) per Kg fuel burned. Large axisymmetric and two-dimensional exhaust nozzle designs are now under development to meet or exceed FAR 36 Stage III noise requirements, and will require lightweight, high temperature metallic, intermetallic, and ceramic matrix composites to reduce nozzle weight and meet structural and acoustic component performance goals. This paper describes and discusses the turbomachinery, combustor, and exhaust nozzle requirements of the High Speed Civil Transport propulsion system.

Stephens, Joseph R.↗

Operability of an Ejector Enhanced Pulse Combustor in a Gas Turbine Environment

A pressure-gain combustor comprised of a mechanically valved, liquid fueled pulsejet, an ejector, and an enclosing shroud, was coupled to a small automotive turbocharger to form a self-aspirating, thrust producing gas turbine engine. The system was constructed in order to investigate issues associated with the interaction of pulsed combustion devices and turbomachinery. Installed instrumentation allowed for sensing of distributed low frequency pressure and temperature, high frequency pressure in the shroud, fuel flow rate, rotational speed, thrust, and laboratory noise. The engine ran successfully and reliably, achieving a sustained thrust of 5 to 6 lbf, and maintaining a rotor speed of approximately 90,000 rpm, with a combustor pressure gain of approximately 4 percent. Numerical simulations of the system without pressure-gain combustion indicated that the turbocharger would not operate. Thus, the new combustor represented a substantial improvement in system performance. Acoustic measurements in the shroud and laboratory indicated turbine stage sound pressure level attenuation of 20 dB. This is consistent with published results from detonative combustion experiments. As expected, the mechanical reed valves suffered considerable damage under the higher pressure and thermal loading characteristics of this system. This result underscores the need for development of more robust valve systems for this application. The efficiency of the turbomachinery components did not appear to be significantly affected by unsteadiness associated with pulsed combustion, though the steady component efficiencies were already low, and thus not expected to be particularly sensitive.

Paxson, Daniel E.↗

A concept for jet noise suppression for an afterburning turbojet engine

A conceptual design of an afterburner system for turbojet engines which may reduce the jet exhaust noise by approximately 10 decibels is presented in this report. The proposed system consists of an array of swirl-can combustors and jet dividing nozzle tubes. The nozzle tubes translate axially upstream of the swirl cans when not in use. Results of preliminary design calculations and photographs of a kinematic model as applied to a hypothetical turbojet engine are presented.

Chambellan, R. E.↗

Variable stream control engine for advanced supersonic aircraft design update

The updating of the engine concept for a second-generation supersonic transport, the variable stream control engine (VSCE), in terms of mechanical design definition and estimated performance is discussed. The design definition reflects technology advancements that improve system efficiency, durability and environments were established. The components unique to the VSCE concept, a high performance duct burner and a low noise coannular nozzle, and the high temperature components are identified as critical technologies. Technology advances for the high temperature components (main combustor and turbines) are also discussed. To address the requirements in this area, the technical approach for undertaking a high temperature validation program is defined. The multi-phased effort would include assorted rig and laboratory tests, then culminate with the demonstration of a flight-type main combustor and single-stage high pressure turbine at operating conditions envisioned for a VSCE.

Hunt, R. B.↗

The 1989 high-speed civil transport studies

The results of the Douglas Aircraft Company system studies related to high speed civil transports (HSCT) are discussed. The studies were conducted to assess the environmental compatibility of a high speed civil transport at a design Mach number of 3.2. Sonic boom minimization, external noise, and engine emissions were assessed together with the effect of the laminar flow control (LFC) technology on vehicle gross weight. The general results indicated that a sonic boom loudness level of 90-PLdB at Mach 3.2 may not be achievable for a practical design; the high flow engine cycle concept shows promise of achieving the sideline FAR Part 36 noise limit, but may not achieve the aircraft range design goal of 6,500 nautical miles; the rich burn/quick quench (RB/QQ) combustor concept shows promise for achieving low EINO sub x levels when combined with a premixed pilot stage/advanced technology, high power stage duct burner in the Pratt and Whitney variable steam control engine (VSCE); and full chord wing LFC has significant performance and economic advantages relative to the turbulent wing baseline.

Source record↗

The 1989 high-speed civil transport studies

The results are presented for the Douglas Aircraft Company system studies related to high speed civil transports (HSCTs). The system studies were conducted to assess the environmental compatibility of a HSCT at a design Mach number of 3.2. Sonic boom minimization, exterior noise, and engine emissions were assessed together with the effect of a laminar flow control (LFC) technology on vehicle gross weight. The general results indicated that (1) achievement of a 90 PLdB sonic boom loudness level goal at Mach 3.2 may not be practical; (2) the high flow engine cycle concept shows promise of achieving the side line FAR Part 36 noise limit but may not achieve the aircraft range design goal of 6,500 nautical miles; (3) the rich burn/quick quench (RB/QQ) combustor concept shows promise for achieving low EINO(sub x) levels when combined with a premixed pilot stage/advanced technology high power stage duct burner in the P and W variable stream control engine (VSCE); and (4) full chord wing LFC has significant performance and economic advantages relative to the turbulent wing baseline.

Source record↗

Active Control of High Frequency Combustion Instability in Aircraft Gas-Turbine Engines

Active control of high-frequency (greater than 500 Hz) combustion instability has been demonstrated in the NASA single-nozzle combustor rig at United Technologies Research Center. The combustor rig emulates an actual engine instability and has many of the complexities of a real engine combustor (i.e. actual fuel nozzle and swirler, dilution cooling, etc.) In order to demonstrate control, a high-frequency fuel valve capable of modulating the fuel flow at up to 1kHz was developed. Characterization of the fuel delivery system was accomplished in a custom dynamic flow rig developed for that purpose. Two instability control methods, one model-based and one based on adaptive phase-shifting, were developed and evaluated against reduced order models and a Sectored-1-dimensional model of the combustor rig. Open-loop fuel modulation testing in the rig demonstrated sufficient fuel modulation authority to proceed with closed-loop testing. During closed-loop testing, both control methods were able to identify the instability from the background noise and were shown to reduce the pressure oscillations at the instability frequency by 30%. This is the first known successful demonstration of high-frequency combustion instability suppression in a realistic aero-engine environment. Future plans are to carry these technologies forward to demonstration on an advanced low-emission combustor.

Corrigan, Bob↗

Time Delay Analysis of Turbofan Engine Direct and Indirect Combustion Noise Sources

The core noise components of a dual spool turbofan engine were separated by the use of a coherence function. A source location technique based on adjusting the time delay between the combustor pressure sensor signal and the far-field microphone signal to maximize the coherence and remove as much variation of the phase angle with frequency as possible was used. The discovery was made that for the 130o microphone a 90.027 ms time shift worked best for the frequency band from 0 to 200 Hz while a 86.975 ms time shift worked best for the frequency band from 200 to 400 Hz. Hence, the 0 to 200 Hz band signal took more time than the 200 to 400 Hz band signal to travel the same distance. This suggests the 0 to 200 Hz coherent cross spectral density band is partly due to indirect combustion noise attributed to entropy fluctuations, which travel at the flow velocity, interacting with the turbine. The signal in the 200 to 400 Hz frequency band is attributed mostly to direct combustion noise. Results are presented herein for engine power settings of 48, 54, and 60 percent of the maximum power setting

Miles, Jeffrey Hilton↗

Experimental clean combustor program, phase 2

Combustor pollution reduction technology for commercial CTOL engines was generated and this technology was demonstrated in a full-scale JT9D engine in 1976. Component rig refinement of the two best combustor concepts were tested. These concepts are the vorbix combustor, and a hybrid combustor which combines the pilot zone of the staged premix combustor and the main zone of the swirl-can combustor. Both concepts significantly reduced all pollutant emissions relative to the JT9D-7 engine combustor. However, neither concept met all program goals. The hybrid combustor met pollution goals for unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide but did not achieve the oxides of nitrogen goal. This combustor had significant performance deficiencies. The Vorbix combustor met goals for unburned hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen but did not achieve the carbon monoxide goal. Performance of the vorbix combustor approached the engine requirements. On the basis of these results, the vorbix combustor was selected for the engine demonstration program. A control study was conducted to establish fuel control requirements imposed by the low-emission combustor concepts and to identify conceptual control system designs. Concurrent efforts were also completed on two addendums: an alternate fuels addendum and a combustion noise addendum.

Roberts, R.↗

NASA Tech Briefs, February 2011

Topics covered include: Multi-Segment Radius Measurement Using an Absolute Distance Meter Through a Null Assembly; Fiber-Optic Magnetic-Field-Strength Measurement System for Lightning Detection; Photocatalytic Active Radiation Measurements and Use; Computer Generated Hologram System for Wavefront Measurement System Calibration; Non-Contact Thermal Properties Measurement with Low-Power Laser and IR Camera System; SpaceCube 2.0: An Advanced Hybrid Onboard Data Processor; CMOS Imager Has Better Cross-Talk and Full-Well Performance; High-Performance Wireless Telemetry; Telemetry-Based Ranging; JWST Wavefront Control Toolbox; Java Image I/O for VICAR, PDS, and ISIS; X-Band Acquisition Aid Software; Antimicrobial-Coated Granules for Disinfecting Water; Range 7 Scanner Integration with PaR Robot Scanning System; Methods of Antimicrobial Coating of Diverse Materials; High-Operating-Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector with Tailorable Cutoff Wavelength; A Model of Reduced Kinetics for Alkane Oxidation Using Constituents and Species for N-Heptane; Thermally Conductive Tape Based on Carbon Nanotube Arrays; Two Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Contaminant Gases; Nanoscale Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Gas Sensing; Lightweight, Ultra-High-Temperature, CMC-Lined Carbon/Carbon Structures; Sample Acquisition and Handling System from a Remote Platform; Improved Rare-Earth Emitter Hollow Cathode; High-Temperature Smart Structures for Engine Noise Reduction and Performance Enhancement; Cryogenic Scan Mechanism for Fourier Transform Spectrometer; Piezoelectric Rotary Tube Motor; Thermoelectric Energy Conversion Technology for High-Altitude Airships; Combustor Computations for CO2-Neutral Aviation; Use of Dynamic Distortion to Predict and Alleviate Loss of Control; Cycle Time Reduction in Trapped Mercury Ion Atomic Frequency Standards; and A (201)Hg+ Comagnetometer for (199)Hg+ Trapped Ion Space Atomic Clocks.

Source record↗

Spectral Separation of the Turbofan Engine Coherent Combustion Noise Component

The core noise components of a dual spool turbofan engine (Honeywell TECH977) were separated by the use of a coherence function. A source location technique based on adjusting the time delay between the combustor pressure sensor signal and the far-field microphone signal to maximize the coherence and remove as much variation of the phase angle with frequency as possible was used. While adjusting the time delay to maximize the coherence and minimize the cross spectrum phase angle variation with frequency, the discovery was made that for the 130 microphone a 90.027 ms time shift worked best for the frequency band from 0 to 200 Hz while a 86.975 ms time shift worked best for the frequency band from 200 to 400 Hz. Since the 0 to 200 Hz band signal took more time to travel the same distance, it is slower than the 200 to 400 Hz band signal. This suggests the 0 to 200 Hz coherent cross spectral density band is partly due to indirect combustion noise attributed to hot spots interacting with the turbine. The signal in the 200 to 400 Hz frequency band is attributed mostly to direct combustion noise.

Miles, Jeffrey Hilton↗

Quiet clean short-haul experimental engine /QCSEE/ design rationale

The principal design features of the NASA QCSEE Under-The-Wing and Over-The-Wing powered lift propulsion systems are given. In the UTW engine, these include noise reduction features, a variable pitch low pressure ratio fan, a fan drive reduction gear, an advanced core and low pressure turbine with a low pollution combustor, a digital control, and advanced composite construction for the inlet, fan frame, fan exhaust duct, and variable area fan exhaust nozzle. The OTW engine is similar but has higher fan pressure and a fixed pitch fan. Both engines are scheduled to be fabricated and tested starting in 1976.

Adamson, A. P.↗

Comparison of turbine bypass and mixed flow turbofan engines for a high-speed civil transport

A comparison of the turbine bypass engine and the mixed flow turbofan for a Mach 2.4 cruise application is presented. A parametric assessment is conducted for each cycle. Parameters that are investigated for the turbine bypass engine include design bypass, combustor exit temperature, and overall pressure ratio. Parameters that are investigated for the mixed flow turbofan include fan pressure ratio, mixer design pressure ratio, and combustor exit temperature. The engines are analyzed for a 5000-nautical-mile, all supersonic cruise mission to determine the aircraft takeoff gross weights. The effects of takeoff noise, cruise emissions, the addition of subsonic cruise legs, and constrained supersonic cruise altitudes are also evaluated.

Seidel, Jonathan A.↗

Environmentally Responsible Aviation: Propulsion Research to Enable Fuel Burn, Noise and Emissions Reduction

The NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) program is maturing technologies to enable simultaneous reduction of fuel burn, noise and emissions from an aircraft engine system. Three engine related Integrated Technology Demonstrations (ITDs) have been completed at Glenn Research Center in collaboration with Pratt Whitney, General Electric and the Federal Aviation Administration. The engine technologies being matured are a low NOx, fuel flexible combustor in partnership with Pratt Whitney, an ultra-high bypass, ducted propulsor system in partnership with Pratt Whitney FAA and high pressure ratio, front-stage core compressor technology in partnership with General Electric. The technical rationale, test configurations and overall results from the test series in each ITD are described. ERA is using system analysis to project the benefits of the ITD technologies on potential aircraft systems in the 2025 timeframe. Data from the ITD experiments were used to guide the system analysis assumptions. Results from the current assessments for fuel burn, noise and oxides of nitrogen emissions are presented.

Ultra-High Bypass↗