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At least 163 records · Page 9

Numerical study of Reynolds stress in compressible flows

A second order closure has been implemented in an implicit Navier-Stokes solver to study the behavior of the Reynolds stresses under the influence of severe pressure gradients. In the boundary layer zone, the strongly sheared character of the mean flow dominates the turbulence generation mechanisms. However, the pressure gradients also play a very important role for these processes, but at different locations within the boundary layer.

Vandromme, D.↗

The behaviour of turbulence anisotropy through shock waves and expansions

A second order closure has been implemented in an implicit Navier-Stokes solver to study the behavior of the Reynolds stresses under the influence of severe pressure gradients. In the boundary layer zone, the strongly sheared character of the mean flow dominates the turbulence generation mechanisms. However, the pressure gradients play also a very important role for these processes, but at different locations within the boundary layer. This aspect may be emphasized by the analysis of turbulence anisotropy through shock waves and expansions.

Minh, H. H.↗

Real gas effects on the numerical simulation of a hypersonic inlet

The present use of a parabolized Navier-Stokes solver to accurately simulate the flowfield in a supersonic inlet yields good agreement between numerical analysis and experiment for a Mach 7.4 inlet under cruise conditions, with an internal compression ratio of 8. The significance of real gas effects on the performance calculation of a hypersonic inlet is demonstrated, with small changes in the ratio of specific heats resulting in a substantial change in the calculated pitot pressure ratio.

Ng, W.-F.↗

The calculation of supersonic viscous flows using the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations

Solution of the parabolic Navier-Stokes (PNS) equations for supersonic flows is discussed, and compatibility of the PNS method with the triple-deck theory of Stewartson (1974) is demonstrated. Characteristic and stability analyses show that use of an appropriate filter on the pressure term in the x-momentum equation can suppress the departure solutions, giving the usual desired weak interaction solution. An Alternating Direction Explicit procedure, with minimal computer storage requirements compared to the full Navier-Stokes solvers, is proposed to calculate strongly interacting flows using a global iteration procedure for the PNS equations. The PNS equations are used to solve the hypersonic viscous interaction problem, and good agreement is found with experimental results.

Davis, R. T.↗

Aerodynamic design modification of a hypersonic wind tunnel nozzle by CSCM with high order accuracy

An improved version of the CSCM implicit Navier-Stokes solver with a flexible data structure has been applied, in conjunction with a sophisticated patched grid system, to the aerodynamic analysis of hypersonic axisymmetric contoured nozzles of the NASA-Ames 3.5-foot hypersonic wind tunnel. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with experiment. Based on the analysis, a newly designed throat contour for the Mach 14 nozzle has been recommended.

Yang, J. Y.↗

A theoretical evaluation of laser-sustained plasma thruster performance

An extensive numerical experiment has been conducted to evaluate rocket thruster performance using a laser-sustained hydrogen plasma as the propellant. The plasma was sustained using a 30 kW CO2 laser beam operated at 10.6 microns focused inside the thruster. The steady-state Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the laser power absorption process have been solved numerically. A pressure based Navier-Stokes solver using body-fitted coordinate was used to calculate the laser-supported rocket flow which included both recirculating and transonic flow regions. The local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) assumption was used for the plasma thermophysical and optical properties. Geometric ray tracing was adopted to describe the laser beam. Several different throat size thrusters operated at 150 and 300 kPa chamber stagnation pressure were studied. It was found that the thruster performance (vacuum specific impulse) was highly dependent on the operating conditions, and a properly designed laser supported thruster can attain a specific impulse around 1500 secs. The heat loading on the thruster wall was also estimated and was in the range of that for a conventional chemical rocket.

Jeng, San-Mou↗

Development and application of computational aerothermodynamics flowfield computer codes

Multiple nozzle plume flow field is computed with a 3-D, Navier-Stokes solver. Numerical simulation is performed with a flux-split, two-factor, time asymptotic viscous flow solver of Ying and Steger. The two factor splitting provides a stable 3-D solution procedure under ideal-gas assumptions. An ad-hoc acceleration procedure that shows promise in improving the convergence rate by a factor of three for steady state problems is utilized. Computed solutions to generic problems at various altitude and flight conditions show flow field complexity and three-dimensional effects due to multiple nozzle jet interactions. Viscous, ideal gas solutions for the symmetric nozzle are compared with other numerical solutions.

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj↗

High performance Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) submerged nozzle/combustion cavity flowfield assessment

Two and three dimensional internal flowfield solutions for critical points in the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster burn time were developed using the Lockheed Huntsville GIM/PAID Navier-Stokes solvers. These perfect gas, viscous solutions for the high performance motor characterize the flow in the aft segment and nozzle of the booster. Two dimensional axisymmetric solutions were developed at t = 20 and t = 85 sec motor burn times. The t = 85 sec solution indicates that the aft segment forward inhibitor stub produces vortices with are shed and convected downwards. A three dimensional 3.5 deg gimbaled nozzle flowfield solution was developed for the aft segment and nozzle at t = 9 sec motor burn time. This perfect gas, viscous analysis, provided a steady state solution for the core region and the flow through the nozzle, but indicated that unsteady flow exists in the region under the nozzle nose and near the flexible boot and nozzle/case joint. The flow in the nozzle/case joint region is characterized by low magnitude pressure waves which travel in the circumferential direction. From the two and three dimensional flowfield calculations presented it can be concluded that there is no evidence from these results that steady state gas dynamics is the primary mechanism resulting in the nozzle pocketing erosion experienced on SRM nozzles 8A or 17B. The steady state flowfield results indicate pocketing erosion is not directly initiated by a steady state gas dynamics phenomenon.

Freeman, J. A.↗

High speed inlet calculations with real gas effects

A 2-D steady-state Navier-Stokes solver has been upgraded to include the effects of frozen and equilibrium air chemistry for applications to high speed flight vehicles. To provide a computationally economical first order approximation to the high temperature physics, variable thermodynamic data is used for the chemically frozen mode to allow for a variation with temperature of the air specific heats and enthalpy. For calculations involving air in chemical equilibrium, a specially modified version of the NASA Lewis Chemical Equilibrium Code, CEC, is used to compute the chemical composition and resultant thermochemical properties. The upgraded solver is demonstrated by comparing results from calorically perfect (C sub p=constant), thermally perfect (frozen) and equilibrium air calculations for a variety of geometries, and flight Mach numbers.

Coirier, William J.↗

A computational analysis of under-expanded jets in the hypersonic regime

Underexpanded axisymmetric jets are studied numerically using a full Navier-Stokes solver. Emphasis has been given to supersonic and hypersonic jets in supersonic and hypersonic ambient flows, a phenomenon previously overlooked. It is demonstrated that the shear layers and shock patterns in a jet plume can be captured without complicated viscous/inviscid and subsonic/supersonic coupling schemes. In addition, a supersonic pressure relief effect has been identified for underexpanded jets in supersonic ambient flows. While it is well known that an underexpanded jet in a quiescent ambience (or subsonic ambience) contains multiple shock cells, the present study shows that because of the supersonic pressure relief effect, an underexpanded jet in a supersonic or hypersonic ambience contains only one major shock cell.

Hsu, Andrew T.↗

Grid generation on and about a cranked-wing fighter aircraft configuration

Experiences at the NASA Langley Research Center generating grids about a cranked wing fighter aircraft configuration is described. A single block planar grid about the fuselage and canard used with a finite difference Navier-Stokes solver is also described. A dual block nonplanar grid about the complete configuration and used with a finite volume Euler solver is presented. The very important aspect of computing the aircraft surface grid, starting with a standardized model description, is also presented.

Smith, Robert E.↗

Adaptive mesh generation for viscous flows using Delaunay triangulation

A method for generating an unstructured triangular mesh in two dimensions, suitable for computing high Reynolds number flows over arbitrary configurations is presented. The method is based on a Delaunay triangulation, which is performed in a locally stretched space, in order to obtain very high aspect ratio triangles in the boundary layer and the wake regions. It is shown how the method can be coupled with an unstructured Navier-Stokes solver to produce a solution adaptive mesh generation procedure for viscous flows.

Mavriplis, Dimitri J.↗

Solutions for hypersonic viscous flow over delta wings

A conical Navier-Stokes solver is developed to study hypersonic flow over delta wings. The differencing scheme used is van Leer flux vector splitting with MUSCL differencing. A flux limiter which involves a second difference in pressure was found to provide sharp, nonoscillatory shocks in windward and leeward flow regions. The governing equations are cast in finite-volume form and are solved using an explicit multistage method. A von Neumann stability analysis of a one-dimensional flux split model is used to predict the stability characteristics of the conical solver. The stability behavior of the scheme is found to strongly depend on the stage coefficients of the multistage scheme and on the order of accuracy of the upwind discretization.

Ruffin, Stephen M.↗

Flow visualization and pressure distributions for an all-body hypersonic aircraft

A CFD code-validation effort has been conducted at the NASA-Ames 3.5-ft hypersonic wind tunnel, using a generic, 'all-body' hypersonic aircraft configuration model. The CFD methods to be validated encompass approximate inviscid ones and the upwind parabolized Navier-Stokes solver code. Flow visualizations and pressure distributions are obtained for the cases of zero and 15 deg angles of attack. A complex leeward flow is observed at angle-of-attack with crossflow separation and vortices, and significant changes are noted in the transition from the forebody's conical to the afterbody's nonconical flows.

Lockman, William K.↗

CSCM Navier-Stokes thermal/aerodynamic analysis of hypersonic nozzle flows with slot injection and wall cooling

The Conservative Supra-Characteristic Method (CSCM) Navier-Stokes solver is applied to ascertain the problems inherent in the design of a nominal Mach 14 nozzle for NASA-Ames' 3.5-ft Hypersonic Wind Tunnel; attention is given to the effects of boundary layer cooling systems on the aerodynamic redesign of the nozzle throat region. Complete nozzle flowfields are calculated with and without slot injection of either hot or cold fluid into the boundary layer just upstream of the throat, as well as with alternatively adiabatic and cold walls. The CSCM method is capable of resolving subtle differences in the flows.

Codding, William H.↗

Calculation of the recirculating compressible flow downstream a sudden axisymmetric expansion

Significant progress has been made during the last five years to adapt conventional Navier-Stokes solver for handling nonconservative equations. A primary type of application is to use transport equation turbulence models, but the extension is also possible for describing the transport of nonpassive scalars, such as in reactive media. Among others, combustion and gas dissociation phenomena are topics needing a considerable research effort. An implicit two step scheme based on the well-known MacCormack scheme has been modified to treat compressible turbulent flows on complex geometries. Implicit treatment of nonconservative equations (in the present case a two-equation turbulence model) opens the way to the coupled solution of thermochemical transport equations.

Vandromme, D.↗

Interaction and merging of vortex filaments

The asymptotic solutions of Navier-Stokes equations for vortex filaments of finite strength with small effective vortical cores are summarized with special emphasis placed on the physical meaning and the practical limit to the applicability of the asymptotic solution. Finite-difference solutions of Navier-Stokes equations for the marging of the filament(s) are described with a focus on the development of the approximate boundary conditions for the computational domain. An efficiency study employing a model problem is used to assess the advantages of the present approximate boundary condition method over previously used techniques. Applications of the present method are presented for the motion and decay of a 3:1 elliptic vortex ring, and for the merging process of a pair of coaxial vortex rings. A numerical procedure for the problem of local merging of vortex filaments, which requires the asymptotic analysis as well as the numerical Navier-Stokes solver, is also presented.

Liu, C. H.↗

A computational analysis of under-expanded jets in the hypersonic regime

Underexpanded axisymmetric jets are studied numerically using a full Navier-Stokes solver. Emphasis has been given to supersonic and hypersonic jets in supersonic and hypersonic ambient flows, a phehomenon previously being overlooked for the most part. The present work demonstrates that the shear layers and shock patterns in a jet plume can be captured without complicated viscous/inviscid and subsonic/supersonic coupling schemes. In addition, a supersonic pressure relief effect has been identified for underexpanded jets in supersonic ambient flows. While it is well known that an underexpanded jet in a quiescent ambience (or subsonic ambience) contains multiple shock cells, the present study shows that because of the supersonic pressure relief effect, an underexpanded jet in a supersonic or hypersonic ambience contains only one major shock cell.

Hsu, Andrew T.↗