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At least 145 records · Page 8

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NASA NTRS1987

Compressible flow in a diffusing S-duct with flow separation

Local flow velocity vectors, as well as static and total pressures along ten radial traverses, were obtained at six stations for secondary flows in a diffusing 30-30-deg S-duct with circular cross section. The strong secondary flow measured in the first bend continued into the second with new vorticity produced in the opposite direction. Contour plots representing the transverse velocity field, as well as total and static pressure contours, have been obtained. As a result of the secondary flow and subsequent separation, substantial total pressure distortion is noted to occur at the duct exit.

Vakili, A. D.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Flow in Rotating Serpentine Coolant Passages With Skewed Trip Strips

Laser velocimetry was utilized to map the velocity field in serpentine turbine blade cooling passages with skewed trip strips. The measurements were obtained at Reynolds and Rotation numbers of 25,000 and 0.24 to assess the influence of trips, passage curvature and Coriolis force on the flow field. The interaction of the secondary flows induced by skewed trips with the passage rotation produces a swirling vortex and a corner recirculation zone. With trips skewed at +45 deg, the secondary flows remain unaltered as the cross-flow proceeds from the passage to the turn. However, the flow characteristics at these locations differ when trips are skewed at -45 deg. Changes in the flow structure are expected to augment heat transfer, in agreement with the heat transfer measurements of Johnson, et al. The present results show that trips are skewed at -45 deg in the outward flow passage and trips are skewed at +45 deg in the inward flow passage maximize heat transfer. Details of the present measurements were related to the heat transfer measurements of Johnson, et al. to relate fluid flow and heat transfer measurements.

Tse, David G.N.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Supersonic laminar flow development in a square duct

Supersonic laminar flow development in a constant-area square duct exhibits as one of its distinguishing features the formation of two contrarotating secondary flow vortices centered about the corner bisector. This phenomenon does not occur in unbounded corner flow. The secondary flow causes an outward bulging of total pressure contours in the vicinity of the corner bisector for wholly attached flow conditions.

Davis, D. O.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Energy efficient engine high-pressure turbine component rig performance test report

A rig test of the cooled high-pressure turbine component for the Energy Efficient Engine was successfully completed. The principal objective of this test was to substantiate the turbine design point performance as well as determine off-design performance with the interaction of the secondary flow system. The measured efficiency of the cooled turbine component was 88.5 percent, which surpassed the rig design goal of 86.5 percent. The secondary flow system in the turbine performed according to the design intent. Characterization studies showed that secondary flow system performance is insensitive to flow and pressure variations. Overall, this test has demonstrated that a highly-loaded, transonic, single-stage turbine can achieve a high level of operating efficiency.

Leach, K. P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Computational study of duct and pipe flows using the method of pseudocompressibility

A viscous, three-dimensional, incompressible, Navier-Stokes Computational Fluid Dynamics code employing pseudocompressibility is used for the prediction of laminar primary and secondary flows in two 90-degree bends of constant cross section. Under study are a square cross section duct bend with 2.3 radius ratio and a round cross section pipe bend with 2.8 radius ratio. Sensitivity of predicted primary and secondary flow to inlet boundary conditions, grid resolution, and code convergence is investigated. Contour and velocity versus spanwise coordinate plots comparing prediction to experimental data flow components are shown at several streamwise stations before, within, and after the duct and pipe bends. Discussion includes secondary flow physics, computational method, computational requirements, grid dependence, and convergence rates.

Williams, Robert W.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Rocket-in-a-Duct Performance Analysis

An axisymmetric, 110 N class, rocket configured with a free expansion between the rocket nozzle and a surrounding duct was tested in an altitude simulation facility. The propellants were gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen and the hardware consisted of a heat sink type copper rocket firing through copper ducts of various diameters and lengths. A secondary flow of nitrogen was introduced at the blind end of the duct to mix with the primary rocket mass flow in the duct. This flow was in the range of 0 to 10% of the primary massflow and its effect on nozzle performance was measured. The random measurement errors on thrust and massflow were within +/-1%. One dimensional equilibrium calculations were used to establish the possible theoretical performance of these rocket-in-a-duct nozzles. Although the scale of these tests was small, they simulated the relevant flow expansion physics at a modest experimental cost. Test results indicated that lower performance was obtained at higher free expansion area ratios and longer ducts, while, higher performance was obtained with the addition of secondary flow. There was a discernable peak in specific impulse efficiency at 4% secondary flow. The small scale of these tests resulted in low performance efficiencies, but prior numerical modeling of larger rocket-in-a-duct engines predicted performance that was comparable to that of optimized rocket nozzles. This remains to be proven in large-scale, rocket-in-a-duct tests.

Schneider, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Developing flow in S-shaped ducts

The velocity characteristics of laminar and turbulent developing flow in an S-duct formed from two 22.5-deg bends of rectangular cross-section have been studied experimentally using laser Doppler velocimetry. It is shown that pressure-driven secondary flows arise in the first bend of the duct and reach maxima of 0.22 and 0.15 of the bulk velocity in the laminar and turbulent flows, respectively. The velocities are greater in the laminar flow, mainly because of the thicker inlet boundary layers. On passing through the second half of the S-duct, a secondary flow is established over most of the section in the direction opposite to that in the first half. Near the outer wall of the second bend, however, the secondary flow generated in the first bend is sustained because of the local sign of radial vorticity. This effect contributes to a redistribution of the streamwise isotachs, by the end of the duct, comparable with that in unidirectional bends.

Anderson, B. H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Investigation of mixing in a turbofan exhaust duct. II Computer code application and verification

A three-dimensional analysis of turbofan forced mixer nozzle aerodynamics demonstrates that the complex flow structure is dominated by geometrically induced secondary flow rather than by turbulence. The test apparatus consisted of a fixed upstream model section and a rotating shroud. The Mach number of the fan and core streams at the mixing plane (lobe exit) was 0.45, the bypass ratio was about 4, and the Reynolds number based on the shroud radius was 1,100,000. The three velocity components near the exit plane of the lobes were measured using flow angularity probes to provide information about the mixer inflow conditions for turbulent computations. The validity of a previous computer code was demonstrated in a comparison of the nozzle exit temperature data with the computed temperature distributions. The mechanism most responsible for the generation of secondary flow within the lobes is due to the turning of the fan and core streams in opposite radial directions.

Povinelli, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Laser velocimeter and total pressure measurements in circular-to-rectangular transition ducts

A comprehensive set of total pressure and three-component laser velocimetry (LV) data were obtained within two circular-to-rectangular transition ducts at low subsonic speeds. This set of reference data was acquired for use in identifying secondary flow mechanisms and for assessing the accuracy of computational procedures for calculating such flows. Data were obtained at the inlet and exit planes of an aspect ratio three duct having a length-to-diameter ratio of one (AR310) and an aspect ratio six duct having a length-to-diameter ratio of three (AR630). Each duct was unseparated throughout its transition section. It is therefore concluded that secondary flows can play an important part in the fluid dynamics of transition ducts and needs to be addressed in computational analysis. The strength of the secondary flows depends on both the aspect ratio and relative axial duct length.

Patrick, William P.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Analysis of Coupled Seals, Secondary and Powerstream Flow Fields in Aircraft and Aerospace Turbomachines

Higher power, high efficiency gas turbine engines require optimization of the seals and secondary flow systems as well as their impact on the powerstream. This work focuses on two aspects: 1. To apply the present day CFD tools (SCISEAL) to different real-life secondary flow applications from different original equipment manufacturers (OEM s) to provide feedback data and 2. Develop a computational methodology for coupled time-accurate simulation of the powerstream and secondary flow with emphasis on the interaction between the disk-cavity and rim seals flows with the powerstream (SCISEAL-MS-TURBO). One OEM simulation was of the Allison Engine Company T-56 turbine drum cavities including conjugate heat transfer with good agreement with data and provided design feedback information. Another was the GE aspirating seal where the 3-D CFD simulations played a major role in analysis and modification of that seal configuration. The second major objective, development of a coupled flow simulation capability was achieved by using two codes MS-TURBO for the powerstream and SCISEAL for the secondary flows with an interface coupling algorithm. The coupled code was tested against data from three differed configurations: 1. bladeless-rotor-stator-cavity turbine test rig, 2. UTRC high pressure turbine test rig, and, 3. the NASA Low-Speed-Air Compressor rig (LSAC) with results and limitations discussed herein.

Athavale, M. M.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A semi-direct solver for compressible 3-dimensional rotational flow

An iterative procedure is presented for solving steady inviscid 3-D subsonic rotational flow problems. The procedure combines concepts from classical secondary flow theory with an extension to 3-D of a novel semi-direct Cauchy-Riemann solver. It is developed for generalized coordinates and can be exercised using standard finite difference procedures. The stability criterion of the iterative procedure is discussed along with its ability to capture the evolution of inviscid secondary flow in a turning channel.

Chang, S. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A semi-direct solver for compressible three-dimensional rotational flow

Chang, S.-C.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Secondary vorticity in axial compressor blade rows

A theoretical investigation of secondary flow in compressor blade rows is presented. Formulas for calculating secondary flows in annular cascade blade passages are derived. The influence of the relative rotation vector on secondary velocity perturbations, using recent developments in shear-flow theory, is examined. A method of calculating the flow through successive blade rows is given and a comparison is made with experimental results.

Dixon, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Flow visualization study in high aspect ratio cooling channels for rocket engines

The structural integrity of high pressure liquid propellant rocket engine thrust chambers is typically maintained through regenerative cooling. The coolant flows through passages formed either by constructing the chamber liner from tubes or by milling channels in a solid liner. Recently, Carlile and Quentmeyer showed life extending advantages (by lowering hot gas wall temperatures) of milling channels with larger height to width aspect ratios (AR is greater than 4) than the traditional, approximately square cross section, passages. Further, the total coolant pressure drop in the thrust chamber could also be reduced, resulting in lower turbomachinery power requirements. High aspect ratio cooling channels could offer many benefits to designers developing new high performance engines, such as the European Vulcain engine (which uses an aspect ratio up to 9). With platelet manufacturing technology, channel aspect ratios up to 15 could be formed offering potentially greater benefits. Some issues still exist with the high aspect ratio coolant channels. In a coolant passage of circular or square cross section, strong secondary vortices develop as the fluid passes through the curved throat region. These vortices mix the fluid and bring lower temperature coolant to the hot wall. Typically, the circulation enhances the heat transfer at the hot gas wall by about 40 percent over a straight channel. The effect that increasing channel aspect ratio has on the curvature heat transfer enhancement has not been sufficiently studied. If the increase in aspect ratio degrades the secondary flow, the fluid mixing will be reduced. Analysis has shown that reduced coolant mixing will result in significantly higher wall temperatures, due to thermal stratification in the coolant, thus decreasing the benefits of the high aspect ratio geometry. A better understanding of the fundamental flow phenomena in high aspect ratio channels with curvature is needed to fully evaluate the benefits of this geometry. The fluid dynamic and conjugate heat transfer problem of high aspect ratio rocket engine coolant channels are being investigated numerically, but these efforts have been hampered by a lack of validating data. Wall temperature data is available for the conjugate problem for channels without curvature and aspect ratio = 5.0, and unheated fluid dynamic data are available for square and circular cross section channels with curvature at Reynold's numbers up to 40,000. But the effects of aspect ratio on secondary flow development have not been experimentally studied. To provide some insight into the effects of channel aspect ratio on secondary flow and to qualitatively provide anchoring for the numerical codes, a flow visualization experiment was initiated at the NASA Lewis Research Center.

Meyer, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS1998

The Role of Computational Fluid Dynamics at Marshall Space Flight Center

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is the Center of Excellence for Space Propulsion Technology within NASA. One of MSFC's goals is to lower the cost of access to space. MSFC's Fluid Dynamics Division, a part of the Structures and Dynamics Lab, assists in accomplishing this goal. This division is divided into two branches: experimental and analytical, whose work is complimentary and integrated. In the analysis branch, the emphasis is to apply, rather than develop computational fluid dynamics (CFD), to reduce the cost of design and development of: (1) pump and turbine feedlines and feed manifolds; (2) all primary and secondary flow paths in pumps; (3) all primary and secondary flow paths in turbines; (4) combustion chambers; (5) rocket engine nozzles and plumes; and (6) launch vehicles ascent. The broad range of applications imposes unique constraints on the software. The use of CFD in evaluating rocket engine hardware, specifically, is of value due to several reasons: (1) Rocket engine hardware is extremely expensive to build and test; (2) high engineering and development cost is due to limited production; (3) the cost of one engine test is greater than the average yearly hardware and software cost; (4) CFD represents a relatively small investment relative to the impact it has on the engine development; and (5) computing costs are continuously decreasing. In terms of accuracy the predictable error is more useful than the inconsistent accuracy. The achievable accuracy varies from application to application. The lack of accuracy is often caused by improper analyses: such as improperly applied or located boundary conditions, or attempting steady analysis of unsteady flows. This report is in viewgraph format.

Garcia, Roberto↗

NASA NTRS1984

Comparison of experimental and computational compressible flow in a S-duct

This paper describes experimental measurements of secondary flow in a constant area, circular cross-section 30-30 deg S-duct, and compares the results obtained with the computations performed using the PEPSIG code, a parabolized Navier-Stokes code. The flow entering the duct was turbulent, with entrance Mach number of 0.6, and the boundary layer thickness at the duct entrance was 10 percent of the duct diameter. The duct mean radius of curvature to the duct diameter was 5.077. Flow parameters were measured at six stations along the length of the duct. These measurements were made using a five-port cone probe. At least ten radial traverses were made at each station on both sides of the symmetry plane. Wall static pressures along three azimuth angles of zero, 90, and 180 deg along the duct were measured. Plots presenting the secondary velocity field as well as contour plots of the total and static-pressure fields have been obtained. Strong secondary flows were observed in the first bend, and these continued into the second bend with the formation of new vorticity in the opposite sense in the second bend. The flow exiting the duct contained two pairs of counter-rotating vortices. The computational results are in general agreement with the experiments. However, it appears that the computations underestimate the extent of the pressure distortion, due to simplifications made in the pressure field calculations.

Vakili, A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Flow in a model turbine stator

In view of the complex nature of the flowfield in the hot section of gas turbine engines, the need to predict heat transfer and flow losses, the possible appearance of separation and strong secondary flows, etc., the present effort is focusing upon a Navier-Stokes approach to the three dimensional turbine stator problem. The advantages of a full Navier-Stokes approach are clear since when combined with a suitable turbulence model these equations represent the flow and heat transfer physics. In particular, the Navier-Stokes equations accurately represent possible separated regions and regions of significant secondary flow. In addition, the Navier-Stokes approach allows representation of the entire flow field by a single set of equations, thus avoiding problems associated with representing different regions of the flow by different equations and then matching flow regions.

Buggeln, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A numerical investigation of supersonic strut/endwall interactions in annular flow with varying strut thickness

A full 3D Navier-Stokes numerical investigation has been conducted of the shock-wave/boundary-layer flow interactions caused by four diamond-shaped struts, of varying thickness, in an annular duct with Mach 3 core flow and turbulent boundary-layers on both walls. Secondary flows caused by weak-to-strong interactions are examined in the vicinity of a strut which is bounded by curved endwalls. The duct endwall boundary-layer separated for the strongest interaction. The struts studied had maximum thickness-to-chord ratios of 0.125, 0.188, 0.250, and 0.500. The duct gap height is 0.7 strut chords, the duct inner-to-outer wall radius ratio is 0.7, and the Reynolds number is 3 x 10 exp 5 based on the strut chord length which was held constant for all interactions considered. The effects of strut thickness on the secondary flows are discussed, including: trajectories for the leading and trailing edge horseshoe vortices, strut/endwall corner vortices, and boundary-layer separation. The line of coalescence discussed in the literature, previously ascribed to boundary-layer separation, is shown to be caused by the leading edge horseshoe vortex convecting along the shock front.

Williams, K. E.↗