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Results for “LIQUID-VAPOR INTERFACE”

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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

Numerical studies of surface tensions

Liquid-vapor (bubble) interface disturbances caused by various types of accelerations, including centrifugal, lateral and axial impulses, gravity gradient and g-jitter accelerations associated with spinning and slew motion in microgravity, are reviewed. Understanding of bubble deformations and fluctuations is important in the development of spacecraft orbital and attitude control techniques to secure its normal operation. This review discusses bubble deformations and oscillations driven by various forces in the microgravity environment. The corresponding bubble mass center fluctuations and slosh reaction forces and torques due to bubble deformations are also reviewed.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS2022

A Transient Hydrodynamic Model of Screen Channel Liquid Acquisition Devices for In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Management

Screen channel liquid acquisition devices (LADs) will play a crucial role in future deep space travel. It is essential that vapor-free delivery of propellants during tank-to-tank transfer is ensured to maximize yield from storage tanks and prevent potential combustion instabilities. The screen channel LAD utilizes a fine screen wire mesh that can separate phases in a low Bond number (i.e. microgravity) environment using surface tension forces. This study presents the development and verification of a new model for transient screen compliance, one of the influential factors for screen channel LAD design. Screen compliance is crucial during LAD channel outflow transients because the slight deflection of the screen can provide needed mass to satisfy rapid outflow demands and reduce the pressure difference across the screen. The model is successfully verified against CFD simulations. In addition, the characteristic speed for the governing screen compliance equations is derived which allows for numerical stability criteria to be established. As shown in this study, the transient maximum pressure difference across the screen can greatly exceed the steady state maximum pressure difference across the screen in many cases.

Hydrodynamics Simulations↗
NASA NTRS2005

Hydrophobic effect at aqueous interfaces

Conceptual basis for hydrophobic effects in bulk water and at aqueous interfaces have similar conceptual basis but often manifests itself differently. Using a wide range of computer simulations as the basis, I will review different forms of hydrophobic effects at a variety of interfaces starting from simple liquid-vapor and water-oil interfaces and progressing to water-membrane interfaces. I will start with discussing how water is organized at different interfaces, stressing both similarities and differences. The main thread is that, as in the bulk liquid, hydrophobic effects have profound influence on conformational equilibria and organization of both small molecules and macromolecules, but the result of this influence is quite different. Specifically, it will be shown that many small, but not necessarily amphiphilic molecules tend to accumulate at the interface and, and this tendency will be explained. Furthermore, I will show that many short peptides that are disordered in water spontaneously fold into well-defined structures in the interfacial environment. Biological implications of this self-organizing effect will be discussed.

Pohorille, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1991

Combustion of liquid fuel droplets in supercritical conditions

A comprehensive analysis of liquid-fuel droplet combustion in both sub- and super-critical environments has been conducted. The formulation is based on the complete conservation equations for both gas and liquid phases, and accommodates finite-rate chemical kinetics and a full treatment of liquid-vapor phase equilibrium at the droplet surface. The governing equations and the associated interface boundary conditions are solved numerically using a fully coupled, implicit scheme with the dual time-stepping integration technique. The model is capable of treating the entire droplet history, including the transition from the subcritical to the supercritical state. As a specific example, the combustion of n-pentane fuel droplets in air is studied for pressures of 5-140 atm. Results indicate that the ambient gas pressure exerts significant control of droplet gasification and burning processes through its influences on the fluid transport, gas/liquid interface thermodynamics, and chemical reactions. The droplet gasification rate increases progressively with pressure. However, the data for the overall burnout time exhibits a significant variation near the critical burning pressure, mainly as a result of reduced mass-diffusion rate and latent heat of vaporization with increased pressure. The influence of droplet size on the burning characteristics is also noted.

Shuen, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Vaporization and combustion of fuel droplets at supercritical conditions

Vaporization and combustion liquid-fuel droplets in both sub- and super-critical environments have been examined. The formulation is based on the complete conservation equations for both gas and liquid phases, and accommodates finite-rate chemical kinetics and a full treatment of liquid-vapor phase equilibrium at the droplet surface. The governing equations and the associated interface boundary conditions are solved numerically using a fully coupled, implicit scheme with the dual time-stepping integration technique. The model is capable of treating the entire droplet history, including the transition from the subcritical to the supercritical state. As a specific example, the combustion of n-pentane fuel droplets in air is studied for pressures of 5-140 atm. In addition, the dynamic responses of droplet vaporization and combustion to ambient-pressure oscillations are investigated. Results indicate that the droplet gasification and burning mechanisms depend greatly on the ambient pressure. In particular, a rapid enlargement of the vaporization and combustion responses occurs when the droplet surface reaches its critical point, mainly due to the strong variations of latent heat of vaporization and thermophysical properties at the critical state.

Yang, Vigor↗
NASA NTRS2004

Progress on Acoustic Measurements of the Bulk Viscosity of Near-Critical Xenon (BVX)

We plan to determine the bulk viscosity of xenon 10 times closer [in reduced temperature tau = (T-Tc)/Tc] to its liquid-vapor critical point than ever before. (Tc is the critical temperature.) To do so, we must measure the dispersion and attenuation of sound at frequencies 1/100 of those used previously. In general, sound attenuation has contributions from the bulk viscosity acting throughout the volume of the xenon as well as contributions from the thermal conductivity and the shear viscosity acting within thin thermoacoustic boundary layers at the interface between the xenon and the solid walls of the resonator. Thus, we can determine the bulk viscosity only when the boundary layer attenuation is small and well understood. We present a comparison of calculations and measurements of sound attenuation in the acoustic boundary layer of xenon near its liquid-vapor critical point.

Gillis, Keith A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Modeling of Bulk Evaporation and Condensation

This report describes the modeling and mathematical formulation of the bulk evaporation and condensation involved in liquid-vapor phase change processes. An internal energy formulation, for these phase change processes that occur under the constraint of constant volume, was studied. Compared to the enthalpy formulation, the internal energy formulation has a more concise and compact form. The velocity and time scales of the interface movement were obtained through scaling analysis and verified by performing detailed numerical experiments. The convection effect induced by the density change was analyzed and found to be negligible compared to the conduction effect. Two iterative methods for updating the value of the vapor phase fraction, the energy based (E-based) and temperature based (T-based) methods, were investigated. Numerical experiments revealed that for the evaporation and condensation problems the E-based method is superior to the T-based method in terms of computational efficiency. The internal energy formulation and the E-based method were used to compute the bulk evaporation and condensation processes under different conditions. The evolution of the phase change processes was investigated. This work provided a basis for the modeling of thermal performance of multi-phase nuclear fuel elements under variable gravity conditions, in which the buoyancy convection due to gravity effects and internal heating are involved.

Anghaie, S.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Experimental Investigation of Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement in Microgravity in the Presence of Electric Fields

Boiling is an effective mode of heat transfer since high heat flux levels are possible driven by relatively small temperature differences. The high heat transfer coefficients associated with boiling have made the use of these processes increasingly attractive to aerospace engineering. Applications of this type include compact evaporators in the thermal control of aircraft avionics and spacecraft environments, heat pipes, and use of boiling to cool electronic equipment. In spite of its efficiency, cooling based on liquid-vapor phase change processes has not yet found wide application in aerospace engineering due to specific problems associated with the low gravity environment. After a heated surface has reached the superheat required for the initiation of nucleate boiling, bubbles will start forming at nucleation sites along the solid interface by evaporation of the liquid. Bubbles in contact with the wall will continue growing by this mechanism until they detach. In terrestrial conditions, bubble detachment is determined by the competition between body forces (e.g. buoyancy) and surface tension forces that act to anchor the bubble along the three phase contact line. For a given body force potential and a balance of tensions along the three phase contact line, bubbles must reach a critical size before the body force can cause them to detach from the wall. In a low gravity environment the critical bubble size for detachment is much larger than under terrestrial conditions, since buoyancy is a less effective means of bubble removal. Active techniques of heat transfer enhancement in single phase and phase change processes by utilizing electric fields have been the subject of intensive research during recent years. The field of electrohydrodynamics (EHD) deals with the interactions between electric fields, flow fields and temperature fields. Previous studies indicate that in terrestrial applications nucleate boiling heat transfer can be increased by a factor of 50 as compared to values obtained for the same system without electric fields. Imposing an external electric field holds the promise to improve pool boiling heat transfer in low gravity, since a phase separation force other than gravity is introduced. The goal of our research is to experimentally investigate the potential of EHD and the mechanisms responsible for EHD heat transfer enhancement in boiling in low gravity conditions.

Herman, Cila↗
NASA NTRS2001

Numerical Modeling of Liquid-Vapor Phase Change

We implemented a two- and three-dimensional finite difference/front tracking technique to solve liquid-vapor phase change problems. The mathematical and the numerical features of the method were explained in great detail in our previous reports, Briefly, we used a single formula representation which incorporated jump conditions into the governing equations. The interfacial terms were distributed as singular terms using delta functions so that the governing equations would be the same as conventional conservation equations away from the interface and in the vicinity of the interface they would provide correct jump conditions. We used a fixed staggered grid to discretize these equations and an unstructured grid to explicitly track the front. While in two dimensions the front was simply a connection of small line segments, in three dimensions it was represented by a connection of small triangular elements. The equations were written in conservative forms and during the course of computations we used regriding to control the size of the elements of the unstructured grid. Moreover, we implemented a coalescence in two dimensions which allowed the merging of different fronts or two segments of the same front when they were sufficiently close. We used our code to study thermocapillary migration of bubbles, burst of bubbles at a free surface, buoyancy-driven interactions of bubbles, evaporation of drops, rapid evaporation of an interface, planar solidification of an undercooled melt, dendritic solidification, and a host of other problems cited in the reference.

Esmaeeli, Asghar↗
DOE OSTI2025

Platinum liquid-vapor phase boundary mapped by fluid flyer experiments

We report a direct measurement of the temperature and density of a metal along its liquid-vapor coexistence (L-V) curve. By shocking platinum to a high-pressure liquid, we imparted sufficient heat for subsequent isentropic release to place it in a state on the boundary between the liquid and vapor phases. Released material in the liquid phase acted as a high velocity flyer pinned to the L-V curve. We measured velocity and radiant emission of the flyer as well as the interface motion and transiting shock states induced in a downstream window material by its impact. We used these measurements to calculate temperature and density of the L-V curve state which we compare to density functional theory predictions.

Equations of state↗
NASA NTRS1986

Modeling of zero gravity venting: Studies of two-phase heat transfer under reduced gravity

The objective is to predict the pressure response of a saturated liquid-vapor system when undergoing a venting or depressurization process in zero gravity at low vent rates. An experimental investigation of the venting of cylindrical containers partially filled with initially saturated liquids was previously conducted under zero-gravity conditions and compared with an analytical model which incorporated the effect of interfacial mass transfer on the ullage pressure response during venting. A new model is presented to improve the estimation of the interfacial mass transfer. Duhammel's superposition integral is incorporated to approximate the transient temperature response of the interface, treating the liquid as a semi-infinite solid with conduction heat transfer. Account is also taken of the condensation taking place within the bulk of a saturated vapor as isentropic expansion takes place. Computational results are presented for the venting of R-11 from a given vessel and initial state for five different venting rates over a period of three seconds, and compared to prior NASA experiments. An improvement in the prediction of the final pressure takes place, but is still considerably below the measurements.

Merte, H., Jr.↗