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NASA NTRS2000

Novel Optical Diagnostic Techniques for Studying Particle Deposition Upon Large Cylinders in a Sheared Suspension

On a twelve-month voyage to Mars, one astronaut will require at least two tons of potable water and two tons of pure oxygen. Efficient, reliable fluid reclamation is therefore necessary for manned space exploration. Space habitats require a compact, flexible, and robust apparatus capable of solid-fluid mechanical separation over a wide range of fluid and particle densities and particle sizes. In space, centrifugal filtration, where particles suspended in fluid are captured by rotating fixed-fiber mat filters, is a logical candidate for mechanical separation. Non-colloidal particles are deposited on the fibers due to inertial impaction or direct interception. Since rotation rates are easily adjustable, inertial effects are the most practical way to control separation rates for a wide variety of multiphase mixtures in variable gravity environments. Understanding how fluid inertia and differential fluid-particle inertia, characterized by the Reynolds and Stokes numbers, respectively, affect deposition is critical in optimizing filtration in a microgravity environment. This work will develop non-intrusive optical diagnostic techniques for directly visualizing where and when non-colloidal particles deposit upon, or contact, solid surfaces: 'particle proximity sensors'. To model particle deposition upon a single filter fiber, these sensors will be used in ground-based experiments to study particle dynamics as in the vicinity of a large (compared with the particles) cylinder in a simply sheared (i.e., linearly-varying, zero-mean velocity profile) neutrally-buoyant, refractive-index matched solid-liquid suspension.

Yoda, M.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Porosity and Variations in Microgravity Aerogel Nano-Structures: New Laser Speckle Characterization Methods - 2

The transition from sol to gel is a process that is critical to the properties of engineered nanomaterials, but one with few available techniques for observing the dynamic processes occurring during the evolution of the gel network. Specifically, the observation of various cluster aggregation models, such as diffusion-limited and reaction-limited cluster growth can be quite difficult. This can be rather important as the actual aggregation model can dramatically influence the mechanical properties of gels, and is significantly affected by the presence of convective flows, or their absence in microgravity. We have developed two new non-intrusive optical methods for observing the aggregation processes within gels in real time. These make use of the dynamic behavior of laser speckle patterns produced when an intense laser source is passed through a gelling sol. The first method is a simplified time-correlation measurement, where the speckle pattern is observed using a CCD camera and information on the movement of the scattering objects is readily apparent. This approach is extremely sensitive to minute variations in the flow field as the observed speckle pattern is a diffraction-based image, and is therefore sensitive to motions within the sol on the order of the wavelength of the probing light. Additionally, this method has proven useful in determining a precise time for the gel-point, an event often difficult to measure. Monitoring the evolution of contrast within the speckle field is another method that has proven useful for studying aeration. In this case, speckle contrast is dependent upon the size (correlation length) and number of scattering centers, increasing with increasing size, and decreasing with increasing numbers. The dynamic behavior of cluster growth in gels causes both of these to change simultaneously with time, the exact rate of which is determined by the specific aggregation model involved. Actual growth processes can now be observed, and the effects of varying gravity fields on the growth processes qualitatively described. Results on preliminary ground-based measurements have been obtained.

Hunt, A. J.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Smoldering, Transition and Flaming in Microgravity

A research project is underway to study smolder and the transition to flaming in microgravity. The Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) flight project is an ongoing research project to provide a better understanding of the controlling mechanisms of smoldering combustion. The Smoldering Transition and Flaming (STAF) project is a recently established research program that will utilize the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) of the ISS to examine the transition from smolder to flaming in microgravity. In forced flow smolder experiments ambient pressure in the MSC chamber rises, thus motivating the need to understand the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. Further, the STAF experiment has constraints on experimental scale and testing at elevated pressure may be a mechanism to reduce the sample size by enhancing the smolder reaction. In the work we are reporting here, a series of ground-based tests determine the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. These tests are compared with data obtained from experiments conducted aboard the Space Shuttle in flights STS-69 and STS-77. Measurements of one-dimensional smolder propagation velocity are made by thermocouple probing and a non-intrusive Ultrasound Imaging System (UIS)]. Thermocouples are also used to obtain reaction temperatures and the UIS is used to determine permeabilities of the fuel in real-time.

Fernandez-Pello, A. C.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Detection of Objects Hidden in Highly Scattering Media Using Time-Gated Imaging Methods

Non-intrusive and non-invasive optical imaging techniques has generated great interest among researchers for their potential applications to biological study, device characterization, surface defect detection, and jet fuel dynamics. Non-linear optical parametric amplification gate (NLOPG) has been used to detect back-scattered images of objects hidden in diluted Intralipid solutions. To directly detect objects hidden in highly scattering media, the diffusive component of light needs to be sorted out from early arrived ballistic and snake photons. In an optical imaging system, images are collected in transmission or back-scattered geometry. The early arrival photons in the transmission approach, always carry the direct information of the hidden object embedded in the turbid medium. In the back-scattered approach, the result is not so forth coming. In the presence of a scattering host, the first arrival photons in back-scattered approach will be directly photons from the host material. In the presentation, NLOPG was applied to acquire time resolved back-scattered images under the phase matching condition. A time-gated amplified signal was obtained through this NLOPG process. The system's gain was approximately 100 times. The time-gate was achieved through phase matching condition where only coherent photons retain their phase. As a result, the diffusive photons, which were the primary contributor to the background, were removed. With a large dynamic range and high resolution, time-gated early light imaging has the potential for improving rocket/aircraft design by determining jets shape and particle sizes. Refinements to these techniques may enable drop size measurements in the highly scattering, optically dense region of multi-element rocket injectors. These types of measurements should greatly enhance the design of stable, and higher performing rocket engines.

Galland, Pierre A.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Gravitational Effects on Near Field Flow Structure of Low Density Gas Jets

Experiments were conducted in Earth gravity and microgravity to acquire quantitative data on near field flow structure of helium jets injected into air. Microgravity conditions were simulated in the 2.2-second drop tower at NASA Glenn Research Center. The jet flow was observed by quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry, a non-intrusive line of site measurement technique for the whole field. The flow structure was characterized by distributions of angular deflection and helium mole percentage obtained from color schlieren images taken at 60 Hz. Results show that the jet flow was significantly influenced by the gravity. The jet in microgravity was up to 70 percent wider than that in Earth gravity. The jet flow oscillations observed in Earth gravity were absent in microgravity, providing direct experimental evidence that the flow instability in the low density jet was buoyancy induced. The paper provides quantitative details of temporal flow evolution as the experiment undergoes a change in gravity in the drop tower.

Yep, Tze-Wing↗

NASA NTRS1991

Oceanographic Research

The PNF-300 Natural Fluorometer is an optical instrument for oceanographic research developed under NASA contract by Biospherical Instruments, Inc. An important innovation for oceanographers, it measures photosynthetic productivity and estimates phytoplankton production less expensively, is non-intrusive and can be used on site - an improved way of estimating ocean productivity. Applications include environmental impact studies, monitoring plankton concentrations in a reservoir, and other research uses.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2002

Minimally Intrusive and Nonintrusive Supersonic Injectors for LANTR and RBCC/Scramjet Propulsion Systems

A family of supersonic injectors for use on spaceplanes, rockets and missiles and the like is disclosed and claimed. Each injector maintains a specific constant (uniform) Mach number along its length when used while being minimally intrusive at significantly higher injectant pressure than combuster freestream total pressure. Each injector is substantially non-intrusive when it is not being used. The injectors may be used individually or in a group. Different orientations of the injectors in a group promotes greater penetration and mixing of fuel or oxidizer into a supersonic combustor. The injectors can be made from single piece of Aluminum, investment cast metal, or ceramic or they can be made from starboard and port blocks strapped together to accurately control the throat area. Each injector includes an elongated body having an opening which in cross section is an hour glass (venturi shaped) and the opening diverges in width and depth from the bow section to the stem section of the opening.

Alvin E Buggele↗

NASA NTRS2002

Ultrasonic Measurement of Aircraft Strut Hydraulic Fluid Level

An ultrasonic method is presented for non-intrusively measuring hydraulic fluid level in aircraft struts in the field quickly and easily without modifying the strut or aircraft. The technique interrogates the strut with ultrasonic waves generated and received by a removable ultrasonic transducer hand-held on the outside of the strut in a fashion that is in the presence or absence of hydraulic fluid inside the strut. This technique was successfully demonstrated on an A-6 aircraft strut on the carriage at the Aircraft Landing Dynamics Research Facility at NASA Langley Research Center. Conventional practice upon detection of strut problem symptoms is to remove aircraft from service for extensive maintenance to determine fluid level. No practical technique like the method presented herein for locating strut hydraulic fluid level is currently known to be used.

Allison, Sidney G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Measurement of Correlation Between Flow Density, Velocity, and Density*velocity(sup 2) with Far Field Noise in High Speed Jets

To locate noise sources in high-speed jets, the sound pressure fluctuations p', measured at far field locations, were correlated with each of radial velocity v, density rho, and phov(exp 2) fluctuations measured from various points in jet plumes. The experiments follow the cause-and-effect method of sound source identification, where correlation is related to the first, and correlation to the second source terms of Lighthill's equation. Three fully expanded, unheated plumes of Mach number 0.95, 1.4 and 1.8 were studied for this purpose. The velocity and density fluctuations were measured simultaneously using a recently developed, non-intrusive, point measurement technique based on molecular Rayleigh scattering. It was observed that along the jet centerline the density fluctuation spectra S(sub rho) have different shapes than the radial velocity spectra S(sub v), while data obtained from the peripheral shear layer show similarity between the two spectra. Density fluctuations in the jet showed significantly higher correlation, than either rhov(sub 2) or v fluctuations. It is found that a single point correlation from the peak sound emitting region at the end of the potential core can account for nearly 10% of all noise at 30 to the jet axis. The correlation, representing the effectiveness of a longitudinal quadrupole in generating noise 90 to the jet axis, is found to be zero within experimental uncertainty. In contrast rhov(exp 2) fluctuations were better correlated with sound pressure fluctuation at the 30 location. The strongest source of sound is found to lie at the centerline and beyond the end of potential core.

Panda, Jayanta↗

NASA NTRS2002

Effect of Gravity on the Near Field Flow Structure of Helium Jet in Air

Experiments have shown that a low-density jet injected into a high-density surrounding medium undergoes periodic oscillations in the near field. Although the flow oscillations in these jets at Richardson numbers about unity are attributed to the buoyancy, the direct physical evidence has not been acquired in the experiments. If the instability were indeed caused by buoyancy, the near-field flow structure would undergo drastic changes upon removal of gravity in the microgravity environment. The present study was conducted to investigate this effect by simulating microgravity environment in the 2.2-second drop tower at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The non-intrusive, rainbow schlieren deflectometry technique was used for quantitative measurements of helium concentrations in buoyant and non-buoyant jets. Results in a steady jet show that the radial growth of the jet shear layer in Earth gravity is hindered by the buoyant acceleration. The jet in microgravity was 30 to 70 percent wider than that in Earth gravity. The microgravity jet showed typical growth of a constant density jet shear layer. In case of a self-excited helium jet in Earth gravity, the flow oscillations continued as the jet flow adjusted to microgravity conditions in the drop tower. The flow oscillations were however not present at the end of the drop when steady microgravity conditions were reached.

Agrawal, Ajay K.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Test Facilities Capability Handbook

The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is located in Southern Mississippi near the Mississippi-Louisiana state line. SSC is chartered as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Center of Excellence for large space transportation propulsion system testing. This charter has led to many unique test facilities, capabilities and advanced technologies provided through the supporting infrastructure. SSC has conducted projects in support of such diverse activities as liquid, and hybrid rocket testing and development; material development; non-intrusive plume diagnostics; plume tracking; commercial remote sensing; test technology and more. On May 30, 1996 NASA designated SSC the lead Center for rocket propulsion testing, giving the Center total responsibility for conducting and/or managing all NASA rocket engine testing. Test services are now available not only for NASA but also for the DoD, other government agencies, academia, and industry. This handbook was developed to provide a summary of the capabilities that exist within SSC. It is intended as a primary resource document, which will provide the reader with the top-level capabilities and characteristics of the numerous test facilities, test support facilities, laboratories, and services. Due to the nature of continually evolving programs and test technologies, descriptions of the Center's current capabilities are provided. Periodic updates and revisions of this document will be made to maintain is completeness and accuracy.

Taliancich, Paula↗

NASA NTRS1996

Velocity Measurements Near the Empennage of a SmallScale Helicopter Model

A test program was conducted in the NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel to measure the flow near the empennage of a small-scale powered helicopter model with an operating tail fan. Three-component velocity profiles were measured with Laser Velocimetry (LV) one chord forward of the horizontal tail for four advance ratios to evaluate the effect of the rotor wake impingement on the horizontal tail angle of attack. These velocity data indicate the horizontal tail can experience unsteady downwash angle variations of over 30 degrees due to the rotor wake influence. The horizontal tail is most affected by the rotor wake above advance ratios of 0.10. Velocity measurements of the flow on the inlet side of the fan were made for a low-speed flight condition using both conventional LV techniques and a promising, non-intrusive, global, three-component velocity measurement technique called Doppler Global Velocimetry (DGV). The velocity data show an accelerated flow near the fan duct, and vorticity calculations track the passage of main rotor wake vortices through the measurement plane. DGV shows promise as an evolving tool for rotor flowfield diagnostics.

Gorton, Susan Althoff↗

NASA NTRS2000

An Experimental Investigation of the Flow Over the Rear End of a Notchback Automobile Configuration

An experimental investigation of the flow over the rear end of a 0.16 scale notchback automobile configuration has been conducted in the NASA Langley Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (BART). The objective of this work was to investigate the flow separation that occurs behind the backlight and obtain experimental data that can be used to understand the physics and time-averaged structure of the flow field. A three-component laser velocimeter was used to make non-intrusive, velocity measurements in the center plane and in a single cross-flow plane over the decklid. In addition to off-body measurements, flow conditions on the car surface were documented via surface flow visualization, boundary layer measurements, and surface pressures. The experimental data show several features previously identified by other researchers, but also reveal differences between the flow field associated with this particular configuration and the generally accepted models for the flow over a notchback rear end.

Jenkins, Luther N.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Scalar Measurements and Analysis of Helium Jets in Earth Gravity and Microgravity using Rainbow Schlieren Deflectometry

Recent experiments have shown that low-density gas jets injected into a high-density gas undergo an instability mode leading to highly periodic oscillations in the flow field. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow in these jets is abrupt, without a gradual change in scales. Although this type of instability at high Richardson numbers has been attributed to buoyancy, direct physical evidence was not acquired through experiments. In this study, several experiments were conducted in Earth gravity and microgravity to acquire qualitative data on near field flow structure of helium jets injected into air. Microgravity conditions were simulated in the 2.2-second drop tower at NASA Glenn Research Center. The operating parameters of this study included the tube inside diameter, the jet Reynolds number, and the jet Richardson number. Tubes with inside diameters of 19.05 mm and 31.75 mm were used in the experiments conducted in the drop tower. The jet flow was analyzed using quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry, a non-intrusive line of sight measurement technique for the whole field. The flow structure was characterized by distributions of angular deflection and the resulting helium mole fraction obtained from color schlieren images taken at 60 Hz. Three sets of experimental data with respect to three schlieren fields of view were acquired for each tube. Results show that the jet in microgravity was up to 70 percent wider than that in Earth gravity. The global jet flow oscillations observed in Earth gravity were absent in microgravity, providing direct experimental evidence that the flow instability in the low-density jet was buoyancy-induced. This study provides quantitative details of temporal flow evolution as the experiments undergo change in gravity in the drop tower.

Yep, Tze Wing↗

NASA NTRS2002

Fundamental Mixing and Combustion Experiments for Propelled Hypersonic Flight

The first experiment is a study of a coaxial jet discharging into stagnant laboratory air, with center jet of a mixture of 5% oxygen and 95% helium by volume and coflow jet of air. The exit flow pressure of both center-jet and coflow nozzles is 1 atmosphere. The presence of oxygen in the center jet is to allow the use of an oxygen flow-tagging technique (RELIEF4) to obtain non-intrusive velocity measurements. Both jets are nominally Mach 1.8, but, because of the greater speed of sound, the center jet velocity is more than twice that of the coflow. The mixing layer which forms between the center jet and the coflow near the nozzle exit is compressible, with a calculated convective Mach number of approximately 0.7. This geometry has several advantages: The streamwise development of the flow is generally dominated by turbulent stresses (rather than pressure forces), and thus calculations are sensitive to turbulence modeling. It includes features present in supersonic combustors, including a compressible mixing layer near the nozzle exit and a light-gas/air plume downstream. Since it is a free jet, it provides easy access for both optical instrumentation and probes. Since it is axisymmetric, it requires fewer experimental measurements to fully characterize, and calculations can be performed with more modest computer resources. However, weak shock waves formed at the nozzle exit strengthen and turn normal as they approach the axis, complicating the flow. Care is thus taken in the design of the facility to provide as near as possible to 1-D flow at the exit of both center and coflow nozzles, and to minimize the strength of waves generated at the nozzle exit. Results from this experiment are compared to CFD solutions obtained by VULCAN, a previously developed code used in engine analysis. The second experiment is a study of a supersonic combustor consisting of a diverging duct with single downstream-angled wall injector. Thus, the geometry is relatively simple and large regions of subsonic recirculating flow are avoided. The nominal entrance Mach number is 2 and the enthalpy of the test gas (hot air "simulant") is nominally that of Mach 7 flight. It was believed, on the basis of calculations performed that this would produce mixing-limited flow, that is to say, one for which chemical reaction to equilibrium proceeds at a much greater rate than mixing. It later proved that this was not the case. The primary experimental technique employed is coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, known by its acronym CARS. The species probed is molecular nitrogen and the quantity measured is temperature. Intrusive probes, such as Pitot, total temperature, hot-wire, etc., are not used due to access difficulty and high heat flux in the combustor, and because they may alter the flow. CARS has several advantages over other optical methods. It is a relatively mature and well-understood technique. Signal levels are relatively high and the signal is in the form of a coherent (laser) beam that can be collected through small windows. Incoherent (non-CARS) interferences are rejected by spatial filtering.

Diskin, G. S.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Working with scientists in the A.A.S. division for planetary sciences

Planetary scientists represent an invaluable resource for information on and understanding of the solar system for all aspects of public communication.Yet most scientists have little time, funding, or connections to enable them to use that expertise. The OSS EPO Support Network, with its theme-based forums and regional brokers/facilitators, is already well equipped to assist scientists, non-intrusively, to establish partnerships with those who need their scientific expertise.

DPS↗

NASA NTRS1993

Spectroscopy-based thrust sensor for high-speed gaseous flows

A system and method for non-intrusively obtaining the thrust value of combustion by-products of a jet engine is disclosed herein. The system includes laser elements for inducing absorption for use in determining the axial velocity and density of the jet flow stream and elements for calculating the thrust value therefrom.

Hanson, Ronald K.↗

NASA NTRS1991

DC current monitor

A non-intrusive DC current monitor is presented which emulates the theoretical operation of an AC transformer. A conductor, carrying the current to be measured, acts as the primary of a DC current transformer. This current is passed through the center of a secondary coil, and core positioned thereabout, and produces a magnetic flux which induces a current in the secondary proportional to the current flowing in the primary. Means are provided to periodically reset the transformer core such that the measurement inaccuracies associated with core saturation are obviated. A reset current is caused to periodically flow through the secondary coil which produces a magnetic flux oppositely polarized to the flux created by the current in the primary, thus allowing ongoing measurements to be made.

Canter, Stanley↗