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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 163 records · Page 9

An experimental study of the compressor rotor blade boundary layer

The three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer developing on a rotor blade of an axial flow compressor was measured using a miniature 'x' configuration hot-wire probe. The measurements were carried out at nine radial locations on both surfaces of the blade at various chordwise locations. The data derived includes streamwise and radial mean velocities and turbulence intensities. The validity of conventional velocity profiles such as the 'power law profile' for the streamwise profile, and Mager and Eichelbrenner's for the radial profile, is examined. A modification to Mager's crossflow profile is proposed. Away from the blade tip, the streamwise component of the blade boundary layer seems to be mainly influenced by the streamwise pressure gradient. Near the tip of the blade, the behavior of the blade boundary layer is affected by the tip leakage flow and the annulus wall boundary layer. The 'tangential blockage' due to the blade boundary layer is derived from the data. The profile losses are found to be less than that of an equivalent cascade, except in the tip region of the blade.

Pouagare, M.↗

Cloud‐Surface Coupling Alters the Morning Transition From Stable to Unstable Boundary Layer

Abstract Due to surface heating, the morning boundary layer transits from stable to neutral or convective conditions, exerting critical influences on low tropospheric thermodynamics. Low clouds closely interact with the boundary layer development, yet their interactions bear considerable uncertainties. Our study reveals that cloud‐surface coupling alters the morning transition from stable to unstable boundary layer and thus notably affects the diurnal variation of the boundary layer. Specifically, due to the reduction in surface fluxes, decoupled clouds can delay the process of eroding nocturnal inversion by 0.8‐hr and even prevent the transition of the boundary layer from happening for 12% of decoupled cases, keeping the boundary layer in a stable state during the noontime. On the other hand, when clouds are coupled with the surface, cloud‐top radiative cooling can directly cool the upper boundary layer to facilitate sub‐cloud convection, leading to an unstable boundary layer in the earlier morning.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Integration of satellite and surface data using a radiative-convective oceanic boundary-layer model

A mixing-line boundary-layer model is used to retrieve cloud-top height from satellite-derived cloud-top temperatures, using 700-hPa National Meteorological Center (NMC) analyses and the Comprehensive Ocean and Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) surface data as supporting datasets. Results are compared with the fixed-lapse-rate method of retrieving boundary-layer depth from sea surface temperatures (SST) and cloud-top temperatures. A radiative-convective equilibrium boundary-layer model is used to retrieve boundary-layer structure given SST and surface wind, satellite cloud-top temperatures and cloud fraction, and the 700-hPa NMC thermodynamic analyses. Good agreement is found between the COADS data and the model solutions for low-level temperature and moisture. This suggests that equilibrium boundary-layer models may be of use over remote oceans in the retrieval of boundary-layer structure.

Betts, Alan K.↗

Mechanics of chemical species transport in the marine atmospheric boundary layer

Marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) drafts are modeled as steady-state plumes using the approach proposed by Telford (1966), and the model response to varying forcing and boundary conditions is examined. Since most of the chemical species are passive tracers within the MABL, variations in the implied fluxes are determined as a combination of the boundary conditions for the chemical species and the thermodynamic forcing implied by the stability and thermal boundary conditions.

Hanson, Howard P.↗

Planetary Boundary Layer Simulation Using TASS

Boundary conditions to an existing large-eddy simulation model have been changed in order to simulate turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer. Several options are now available, including the use of a surface energy balance. In addition, we compare convective boundary layer simulations with the Wangara and Minnesota field experiments as well as with other model results. We find excellent agreement of modelled mean profiles of wind and temperature with observations and good agreement for velocity variances. Neutral boundary simulation results are compared with theory and with previously used models. Agreement with theory is reasonable, while agreement with previous models is excellent.

Schowalter, David G.↗

A finite-difference outer layer and integral inner layer method for the solution of the turbulent boundary layer equations

A new turbulent boundary-layer method is developed which models the inner region with the law of the wall while the outer region uses Clauser's eddy viscosity in Matsuno's finite-difference method. The match point between the inner and outer regions as well as the wall shear stress are determined at each marching step during the computation. Results obtained for incompressible, two-dimensional flow over flat plates and ellipses are compared with solutions from a baseline method which uses a finite-difference method for the entire boundary layer. Since the present method used the finite-difference method in the outer region only, the number of grid points required was about half that needed for the baseline method. Accurate displacement and momentum thicknesses were predicted for all cases. Skin friction was predicted well for the flat plate, but the accuracy decreased significantly for the ellipses. Adding a wake functions to the law of the wall allows some of the pressure gradient effect to be taken into account thereby increasing the accuracy of the method.

Barnwell, R. W.↗

Variations in boundary layer stability across Antarctica: a comparison between coastal and interior sites

The range of boundary layer stability profiles, from the surface to 500 m a.g.l. (above ground level), present in radiosonde observations from two continental-interior (South Pole Station and Dome Concordia Station) and three coastal (McMurdo Station, Georg von Neumayer Station III, and Syowa Station) Antarctic sites, is examined using the self-organizing maps (SOMs) neural network algorithm. A wide range of potential temperature profiles is revealed, from shallow boundary layers with strong near-surface stability to deeper boundary layers with weaker or near-neutral stability, as well as profiles with weaker near-surface stability and enhanced stability aloft, above the boundary layer. Boundary layer regimes were defined based on the range of profiles revealed by the SOM analysis; 20 boundary layer regimes were identified to account for differences in stability near the surface as well as above the boundary layer. Strong, very strong, or extremely strong stability, with vertical potential temperature gradients of 5 to in excess of 30 K per 100 m, occurred more than 80 % of the time at South Pole and Dome Concordia in the winter. Weaker stability was found in the winter at the coastal sites, with moderate and strong stability (vertical potential temperature gradients of 1.75 to 15 K per 100 m) occurring 70 % to 85 % of the time. Even in the summer, moderate and strong stability is found across all five sites, either immediately near the surface or aloft, just above the boundary layer. While the mean boundary layer height at the continental-interior sites was found to be approximately 50 m, the mean boundary layer height at the coastal sites was deeper, around 110 m. Further, a commonly described two-stability-regime system in the Arctic associated with clear or cloudy conditions was applied to the 20 boundary layer regimes identified in this study to understand if the two-regime behavior is also observed in the Antarctic. It was found that moderate and strong stability occur more often with clear- than cloudy-sky conditions, but weaker stability regimes occur almost equally for clear and cloudy conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Effects of velocity profile on boundary-layer shielding

A simple uniform flow boundary-layer model is used to study the effects on the acoustic field at the aircraft fuselage of placing Large Eddy Break Up devices in the boundary layer. The introduction of velocity defects into the boundary layer is shown to enhance boundary-layer shielding. Furthermore, shielding improvements are found to occur by moving the velocity defect further from the wall, by increasing its extent within the boundary layer, and by decreasing the minimum velocity in the defect.

Mcaninch, Gerry L.↗

The Effects of Rotation on Boundary Layers in Turbomachine Rotors

The boundary layers in turbomachine rotors are subject to Coriolis forces which can (1) contribute directly to the development of secondary flows and (2) indirectly influence the behavior of boundary layers by augmentation and/or suppression of turbulence production in the boundary layers on blades. Both these rotation-induced phenomena are particularly important in the development of understanding of flow and loss mechanisms in centrifugal and mixed flow machines. The primary objective of this paper is to review the information available on these effects.

Johnston, J. P.↗

Methods and results of boundary layer measurements on a glider

Boundary layer measurements were carried out on a glider under natural conditions. Two effects are investigated: the effect of inconstancy of the development of static pressure within the boundary layer and the effect of the negative pressure difference in a sublaminar boundary layer. The results obtained by means of an ion probe in parallel connection confirm those results obtained by means of a pressure probe. Additional effects which have occurred during these measurements are briefly dealt with.

Nes, W. V.↗

Modelling the low-latitude boundary layer with reconnection entry

We develop a one-dimensional Low Latitude Boundary Layer (LLBL) model for northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The boundary layer in this model is uniform in the direction normal to the magnetopause, a 'plateau-type' boundary layer. The boundary layer motion is decoupled from the magnetosheath motion and driven by the plasma pressure associated with the incoming solar wind plasma near local noon, which has become entrained on closed field lines as a result of reconnection in the cusp region. Dissipation in the ionosphere at the feet of the boundary layer field lines opposes this motion. There are two physical solutions for the model. In one, the boundary layer reaches a terminal velocity in the tail as the boundary layer plasma effectively joins the solar wind flow. In the other solution, the flow is nearly stopped in the far tail. In combination with other mechanisms, this latter solution may correspond to the case in which the boundary layer plasma participates in magnetospheric convection and returns sunward. The density, velocity, and thickness as functions of distance from local noon are studied, assuming that the magnetopause hasa elliptical shape and the magnetospheric field is dipolar.

Song, P.↗

Transport of contaminants in the planetary boundary layer

A planetary boundary layer model is described and used to simulate PBL phenomena including cloud formation and pollution transport in the San Francisco Bay Area. The effect of events in the PBL on air pollution is considered, and governing equations for the average momentum, potential temperature, water vapor mixing ratio, and air contaminants are presented. These equations are derived by integrating the basic equations vertically through the mixed layer. Characteristics of the day selected for simulation are reported, and the results suggest that the diurnally cyclic features of the mesoscale motion, including clouds and air pollution, can be simulated in a readily interpretable way with the model.

Lee, I. Y.↗