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At least 163 records · Page 9

Assessment of Bulk Absorber Properties for Multi-Layer Perforates in Porous Honeycomb Liners

CONTINUING progress in materials technology provides potential for improved acoustic liners for attenuating broadband fan noise emissions from aircraft engine nacelles. Conventional liners (local-reacting perforate-over-honeycomb structures) provide significant narrow-band attenuation, but limited attenuation over wide bandwidths. Two approaches for increasing attenuation bandwidth are to (1) replace the honeycomb structure with bulk material, or (2) cascade multiple layers of perforate/honeycomb structures. Usage of the first approach is limited because of mechanical and maintenance reasons, while multi-layer liners are limited to about three layers because of their additional mechanical complexity, depth and weight. The current research concerns a novel approach reported by the University of Cincinnati, in which a single-layer conventional liner is converted into an extended-reaction, broadband absorber by making the honeycomb core structure porous. This modified single-layer liner requires no increase in depth and weight, and minimal increase in mechanical complexity. Langley has initiated research to identify potential benefits of liner structures with porous cell walls. This research has two complementary goals: (1) develop and validate experimental techniques for treating multi-layer perforates (representative of the internal cells of a liner with porous cell walls) as 1-D bulk materials, and (2) develop analytical approaches to validate this bulk material assumption. If successful, the resultant model can then be used to design optimized porous honeycomb liners. The feasibility of treating an N-layer perforate system (N porous plates separated by uniform air gaps) as a one-dimensional bulk absorber is assessed using the Two-Thickness Method (TTM), which is commonly used to educe bulk material intrinsic acoustic parameters. Tests are conducted with discrete tone and random noise sources, over an SPL range sufficient to determine the nonlinearity of the test specimens, for test specimens consisting of 5, 10 and 15% porous plates. Measured impedances for two liner thicknesses (e.g., 12 and 24 layers) are used as input to the TTM to determine the characteristic impedance and propagation constant that characterize these liners as bulk absorbers. These parameters are then used to calculate the predicted impedance of liners with different thicknesses (e.g., 36 layers), and a comparison of predicted and measured impedances for these other thicknesses is used to determine the efficacy of this approach. Finally, an independent method is used to educe the propagation constant for a single representative sample, and excellent comparison between the results for this method and those for the TTM provides increased confidence in the results achieved with the TTM. In general, the results demonstrate these multi-layer perforates can be acceptably treated as bulk absorbers.

Jones, Michael G.↗

Widespread Layers in Arabia Terra: Implications for Martian Geologic History

Layered rocks in Arabia Terra have been the focus of several recent papers. Studies have focused on the layers found in crater basins located in the southwest portion of the region. However, Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images have identified layered deposits across the region. Terrestrial layered rocks are usually sedimentary, and often deposited in water. Thus extensive layered sequences in Arabia Terra may indicate locations of past, major depositional basins on Mars. Other mechanisms can also create layered rocks, or the appearance of layered rocks, including volcanism (both lava flows and ash falls), wind-blown deposits, and wave-cut terraces at shorelines. By identifying where in the region layers occur, and classifying the layers according to morphology and albedo, past depositional environments may be identified. Arabia Terra is characterized by heavily cratered Noachian plains, as well as a rise from -4000 m in the northwest to 4000 m in the southeast (Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter [MOLA] datum). This slope may have provided a constraint on sediment deposition and thus layer formation. While most of the region is Noachian in age, a significant percentage of the area is identified as Hesperian. Although the history of the Arabia Terra initially seems to be straightforward cratered plains with several younger units atop them analysis of high-resolution imagery may reveal a more complex history.

Venechuk, Elizabeth M.↗

nBn Infrared Detector Containing Graded Absorption Layer

It has been proposed to modify the basic structure of an nBn infrared photodetector so that a plain electron-donor- type (n-type) semiconductor contact layer would be replaced by a graded n-type III V alloy semiconductor layer (i.e., ternary or quarternary) with appropriate doping gradient. The abbreviation nBn refers to one aspect of the unmodified basic device structure: There is an electron-barrier ("B" ) layer between two n-type ("n" ) layers, as shown in the upper part of the figure. One of the n-type layers is the aforementioned photon-absorption layer; the other n-type layer, denoted the contact layer, collects the photocurrent. The basic unmodified device structure utilizes minority-charge-carrier conduction, such that, for reasons too complex to explain within the space available for this article, the dark current at a given temperature can be orders of magnitude lower (and, consequently, signal-to-noise ratios can be greater) than in infrared detectors of other types. Thus, to obtain a given level of performance, less cooling (and, consequently, less cooling equipment and less cooling power) is needed. [In principle, one could obtain the same advantages by means of a structure that would be called pBp because it would include a barrier layer between two electron-acceptor- type (p-type) layers.] The proposed modifications could make it practical to utilize nBn photodetectors in conjunction with readily available, compact thermoelectric coolers in diverse infrared- imaging applications that could include planetary exploration, industrial quality control, monitoring pollution, firefighting, law enforcement, and medical diagnosis.

Gunapala, Sarath D.↗

CLARAty Functional-Layer Software

Functional-layer software for the Coupled Layer Architecture for Robotics Autonomy (CLARAty) is being developed. [CLARAty was described in Coupled-Layer Architecture for Advanced Software for Robots (NPO-21218), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 12 (December 2002), page 48. To recapitulate: CLARAty was proposed to improve the modularity of robotic software while tightening the coupling between planning/execution and control subsystems. Whereas prior robotic software architectures have typically contained three levels, the CLARAty architecture contains two layers: a decision layer and a functional layer.] Just as an operating system provides abstraction from computational hardware, the CLARAty functional-layer software provides for abstraction for the different robotic systems. The functional-layer software establishes interrelated, object-oriented hierarchies that contain active and passive objects that represent the different levels of system abstrations and components. The functional-layer software is decomposed into a set of reusable core components and a set of extended components that adapt the reusable set to specific hardware implementations. The reusable components (a) provide behavior and interface definitions and implementations of basic functionality, (b) provide local executive capabilities, (c) manage local resources, and (d) support state and resource queries by the decision layer. Software for robotic systems can be built by use of these components.

Nesnas, Issa↗

Density response of the mesospheric sodium layer to gravity wave perturbations

Lidar observations of the mesospheric sodium layer often reveal wavelike features moving through the layer. It is often assumed that these features are a layer density response to gravity waves. Chiu and Ching (1978) described the approximate form of the linear response of atmospheric layers to gravity waves. In this paper, their results are used to predict the response of the sodium layer to gravity waves. These simulations are compared with experimental observations and a good correlation is found between the two. Because of the thickness of the sodium layer and the density gradients found in it, a linear model of the layer response is not always adequate to describe gravity wave-sodium layer interactions. Inclusion of nonlinearities in the layer response is briefly discussed. Experimental data is seen to contain features consistent with the predicted nonlinearities.

Shelton, J. D.↗

Near-field turbulence properties of single- and two-stream plane mixing layers

Detailed mean-flow and turbulence measurements have been made in the near-field of two plane mixing layers in air with a maximum velocity of 21 m/s. The experimental rig enabled mixing layers of velocity ratios 0 and 0.46 to be generated simultaneously. Cases with both tripped and untripped initial boundary layers were studied. In all cases, it was found that the two-stream layer developed to the self-preserving state in a distance much shorter than the single-stream layer which followed accepted criteria for the development distance. The asymptotic levels of the turbulence quantities in the two-stream layer, and the development of the single-stream layer showed agreement with existing data. The results suggest that the two-stream mixing layer should provide a better test case for the development of turbulence models and calculation methods than the single-stream mixing layer.

Mehta, R. D.↗

An experimental study of plane mixing layer development

Mean flow and turbulence was measured in the near field of two plane mixing layers in air with a maximum velocity of 21 m/sec. The experimental rig enabled mixing layers of velocity ratios 0 and 0.46 to be generated simultaneously. Gases with both tripped and untripped initial boundary layers were studied. It was found that the two stream layer developed to the self preserving state in a distance much shorter than did the single stream layer which followed accepted criteria for the development distance. The asymptotic levels of the turbulence quantities in the two stream layer and the development of the single stream layer showed agreement with existing data. It is suggested that the two stream mixing layer should provide a better test case for the development of turbulence models and calculation methods than the single stream mixing layer.

Mehta, R. D.↗

An experimental investigation of nozzle-exit boundary layers of highly heated free jets

An experimental investigation of the effects of nozzle operating conditions on the development of nozzle-exit boundary layers of highly heated air free jets is reported in this paper. The total pressure measurements in the nozzle-exit boundary layer were obtained at a range of jet Mach numbers from 0.1 to 0.97 and jet total temperatures up to 900 K. The analysis of results shows that the nozzle-exit laminar boundary-layer development depends only on the nozzle-exit Reynolds number. For the nozzle-exit turbulent boundary layer, however, it appears that the effects of the jet total temperature on the boundary-layer integral characteristics are independent from the effects of the nozzle-exit Reynolds number. This surprizing finding has not yet been reported. Further, laminar boundary-layer profiles were compared with the Pohlhausen solution for a flat-wall converging channel and an acceptable agreement was found only for low Reynolds numbers. For turbulent boundary layers, the dependence of the shape factor on relative Mach numbers at a distance of one momentum thickness from the nozzle wall resembles Spence's prediction. Finally, the calculated total pressure loss coefficient was found to depend on the nozzle-exit Reynolds number for the laminar nozzle-exit boundary layer, while for the turbulent exit boundary layer this coefficient appears to be constant.

Lepicovsky, J.↗

The structure of a three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer

The three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer is shown to have a self-consistent two-layer asymptotic structure in the limit of large Reynolds number. In a streamline coordinate system, the streamwise velocity distribution is similar to that in two-dimensional flows, having a defect-function form in the outer layer which is adjusted to zero at the wall through an inner wall layer. An asymptotic expansion accurate to two orders is required for the cross-stream velocity which is shown to exhibit a logarithmic form in the overlap region. The inner wall-layer flow is collateral to leading order but the influence of the pressure gradient, at large but finite Reynolds numbers, is not negligible and can cause substantial skewing of the velocity profile near the wall. Conditions under which the boundary layer achieves self-similarity and the governing set of ordinary differential equations for the outer layer are derived. The calculated solution of these equations is matched asymptotically to an inner wall-layer solution and the composite profiles so formed describe the flow throughout the entire boundary layer. The effects of Reynolds number and cross-stream pressure gradient on the crossstream velocity profile are discussed and it is shown that the location of the maximum cross-stream velocity is within the overlap region.

Degani, A. T.↗

Determination of general relations for the behavior of turbulent boundary layers

An analysis has been made of a considerable amount of data for turbulent boundary layers along wings and bodies of various shapes in order to determine the fundamental variables that control the development of turbulent boundary layers. It was found that the type of velocity distribution in the boundary layer could be expressed in terms of a single parameter. This parameter was chosen as the ratio of the displacement thickness to the momentum thickness of the boundary layer. The variables that control the development of the turbulent boundary layer apparently are: (1) the ratio of the nondimensional pressure gradient, expressed in terms of the local dynamic pressure outside the boundary layer and boundary-layer thickness, to the local skin-friction coefficient and (2) the shape of the boundary layer. An empirical equation has been developed in terms of these variables that, when used with the momentum equation and the skin-friction relation, makes it possible to trace the development of the turbulent boundary layer to the separation point.

Von Doenhoff, Albert E↗

The Effect of the Inlet Mach Number and Inlet-boundary-layer Thickness on the Performance of a 23 Degree Conical-diffuser-tail-pipe Combination

An investigation was conducted to determine the effect of the inlet Mach number and entrance-boundary-layer thickness on the performance of a 23 degree 21-inch conical-diffuser - tail-pipe combination with a 2:1 area ratio. The air flows used in this investigation covered an inlet Mach number range from 0.17 to 0.89 and corresponding Reynolds numbers of 1,700,000 to 7,070,000. Results are reported for two inlet-boundary-layer thicknesses. Over the entire range of flows, the mean value of the inlet displacement thickness is about 0.034 inch for the thinner inlet boundary layer and about 0.170 inch for the case of the thicker inlet boundary layer. The performance of the diffuser - tail-pipe combination is presented together with examples of longitudinal static-pressure distribution and the results of boundary-layer pressure surveys made at six points along the diffuser wall. The results indicated a progressive diminution of the static-pressure recovery and a steady increase in the total-pressure losses as the inlet Mach number was increased for both inlet-boundary-layer thicknesses. The ratio of actual static-pressure rise to that theoretically possible was much less and the total-pressure losses were greater for the case of the thicker inlet boundary layer throughout the speed range investigated. With the thinner inlet boundary layer, flow separation occurred at the diffuser exit at all inlet Mach numbers.Unseparated flow alternating with separated flow was observed near the inlet at the higher velocities. For the case of the thicker inlet boundary layer, the origin of the separated region occurred in the vicinity of the inlet-duct-diffuser junction section at all Mach numbers.

Persh, Jerome↗

Discrete-Layer Piezoelectric Plate and Shell Models for Active Tip-Clearance Control

The objectives of this work were to develop computational tools for the analysis of active-sensory composite structures with added or embedded piezoelectric layers. The targeted application for this class of smart composite laminates and the analytical development is the accomplishment of active tip-clearance control in turbomachinery components. Two distinct theories and analytical models were developed and explored under this contract: (1) a discrete-layer plate theory and corresponding computational models, and (2) a three dimensional general discrete-layer element generated in curvilinear coordinates for modeling laminated composite piezoelectric shells. Both models were developed from the complete electromechanical constitutive relations of piezoelectric materials, and incorporate both displacements and potentials as state variables. This report describes the development and results of these models. The discrete-layer theories imply that the displacement field and electrostatic potential through-the-thickness of the laminate are described over an individual layer rather than as a smeared function over the thickness of the entire plate or shell thickness. This is especially crucial for composites with embedded piezoelectric layers, as the actuating and sensing elements within these layers are poorly represented by effective or smeared properties. Linear Lagrange interpolation polynomials were used to describe the through-thickness laminate behavior. Both analytic and finite element approximations were used in the plane or surface of the structure. In this context, theoretical developments are presented for the discrete-layer plate theory, the discrete-layer shell theory, and the formulation of an exact solution for simply-supported piezoelectric plates. Finally, evaluations and results from a number of separate examples are presented for the static and dynamic analysis of the plate geometry. Comparisons between the different approaches are provided when possible, and initial conclusions regarding the accuracy and limitations of these models are given.

Heyliger, P. R.↗

Boundary layer transition studies

A small-scale wind tunnel previously used for turbulent boundary layer experiments was modified for two sets of boundary layer transition studies. The first study concerns a laminar separation/turbulent reattachment. The pressure gradient and unit Reynolds number are the same as the fully turbulent flow of Spalart and Watmuff. Without the trip wire, a laminar layer asymptotes to a Falkner & Skan similarity solution in the FPG. Application of the APG causes the layer to separate and a highly turbulent and approximately 2D mean flow reattachment occurs downstream. In an effort to gain some physical insight into the flow processes a small impulsive disturbance was introduced at the C(sub p) minimum. The facility is totally automated and phase-averaged data are measured on a point-by-point basis using unprecedently large grids. The evolution of the disturbance has been tracked all the way into the reattachment region and beyond into the fully turbulent boundary layer. At first, the amplitude decays exponentially with streamwise distance in the APG region, where the layer remains attached, i.e. the layer is viscously stable. After separation, the rate of decay slows, and a point of minimum amplitude is reached where the contours of the wave packet exhibit dispersive characteristics. From this point, exponential growth of the amplitude of the disturbance is observed in the detached shear layer, i.e. the dominant instability mechanism is inviscid. A group of large-scale 3D vortex loops emerges in the vicinity of the reattachment. Remarkably, the second loop retains its identify far downstream in the turbulent boundary layer. The results provide a level of detail usually associated with CFD. Substantial modifications were made to the facility for the second study concerning disturbances generated by Suction Holes for laminar flow Control (LFC). The test section incorporates suction through interchangeable porous test surfaces. Detailed studies have been made using isolated holes in the impervious test plate that used to establish the Blasius base flow. The suction is perturbed harmonically and data are averaged on the basis of the phase of the disturbance, for conditions corresponding to strong suction and without suction. The technique was enhanced by using up to nine multiple probes to reduce the experimental run-time. In both cases, 3D contour surfaces in the vicinity of the hole show highly 3D TS waves which fan out in the spanwise direction forming bow-shaped waves downstream. The case without suction has proved useful for evaluating calculation methods. With suction, the perturbations on the centerline are much stronger and decay less rapidly, while the TS waves in the far field are similar to the case without suction. Downstream, the contour surfaces of the TS waves develop spanwise irregularities which eventually form into clumps. The spanwise clumping is evidence of a secondary instability that could be associated with suction vortices. Designers of porous surfaces use Goldsmith's Criterion to minimize cross-stream interactions. It is shown that partial TS wave cancellation is possible, depending on the hole spacing, disturbance frequency and free-stream velocity. New high-performance Constant Temperature Hot-Wire Anemometers were designed and built, based on a linear system theory analysis that can be extended to arbitrary order. The motivation was to achieve the highest possible frequency reponse while ensuring overall system stability. The performance is equal to or superior to commercially available instruments at about 10% of the cost. Details, such as fabrication drawings and a parts list, have been published to enable the instrument to be construced by others.

Watmuff, Jonathan H.↗

Mars Secular Obliquity Decrease and the Layered Terrain

Mars may have substantially decreased its average axial tilt over geologic time due to the waxing and waning of water ice caps through the phenomenon of climate friction (also called obliquity-oblateness feedback). Depending upon Mars' climate and internal structure, water caps of the order of 10(exp 17) - 10(exp 18) kg cycling with the obliquity oscillations could have either increased or decreased the average obliquity by possibly tens of degrees over the age of the solar system. Gravity and topography observations by the Mars Global Surveyor indicate that the south polar cap is mostly uncompensated, so that Mars may be largely rigid on the obliquity timescale. Further, Mars may be a water-rich planet, so that there is a large phase angle between insolation forcing and the size of the obliquity-driven water caps. A stiff, water-rich planet implies an obliquity decrease over the eons. Such a decrease might account for the apparent youthfulness of the polar layered terrain. The idea is that fewer volatiles were available to be cycled into and out of the terrain at high mean obliquity, because of the eveness of insolation between equator and pole, and because of small insolation variations as the obliquity oscillated; so that the movement of volatiles and dust produced thin layers or perhaps no layers at all. As the average obliquity decreased, the insolation contrast between high and low latitudes increased, plus the insolation variations over the obliquity cycle grew somewhat bigger, so that more volatiles and dust might have shuttled into and out of the polar regions, forming the observed thick layers late in Mars' history. It may also be that the average tilt has decreased to the point where the climate friction mechanism is starving itself: more and more water has gotten locked up in the polar regions, making less available for cycling with the oscillations. And the layer-forming mechanism may be starving too: not only less water, but also at low average obliquity the atmospheric pressure is lower, so that dust storms become rarer, making less dust available to be deposited in the layers. The rate of water ice sublimation and the atmospheric pressure are both expected to drop sharply for obliquities only slightly lower than the present one. Hence there are qualitative reasons for believing that (a) the mean obliquity may be about as low as it can get, and (b) the mechanism for making the layers may turn off at low average obliquity, so that the layered terrain is a transient phenomenon. Thus the formation of the layered terrain may be intimately connected to a change in the mean axial tilt.

Rubincam, D. P.↗

Turbulent Heat Transfer Characteristics in the Shear Layer of a Separated Flow

Experiments were performed to study the evolution of the heat transfer structure in a separated free shear layer region of an incompressible separated turbulent boundary layer flow behind a backward-facing step. While there is an abundance of velocity field measurements of separated flows, heat transfer measurements are rather scarce, thus limiting assessment of the heat transfer physics and its accurate modeling. The purpose of the paper is twofold: to improve an understanding of effects of flow separation on heat transfer characteristics, and to provide data for turbulence modeling and computation. The boundary layer upstream of the step was turbulent and fully developed. A constant temperature surface boundary condition was imposed upstream and downstream of the step for the heat transfer study. An internal mixing-layer like flow forms and grows from the step lip within the original boundary layer. The turbulent structure of the flow evolving downstream, however, does not switch immediately to that of a mixing layer over the entire shear layer thickness. Measurements of mean and fluctuating velocity and temperature fields indicate that the internal layer spreads gradually in the transverse direction while the outer part of the original boundary layer is effectively unperturbed. The results in this paper have not been previously reported.

Jovic, S.↗

Boundary Layer

The fundamental, practically the most important branch of the modern mechanics of a viscous fluid or a gas, is that branch which concerns itself with the study of the boundary layer. The presence of a boundary layer accounts for the origin of the resistance and lift force, the breakdown of the smooth flow about bodies, and other phenomena that are associated with the motion of a body in a real fluid. The concept of boundary layer was clearly formulated by the founder of aerodynamics, N. E. Joukowsky, in his well-known work "On the Form of Ships" published as early as 1890. In his book "Theoretical Foundations of Air Navigation," Joukowsky gave an account of the most important properties of the boundary layer and pointed out the part played by it in the production of the resistance of bodies to motion. The fundamental differential equations of the motion of a fluid in a laminar boundary layer were given by Prandtl in 1904; the first solutions of these equations date from 1907 to 1910. As regards the turbulent boundary layer, there does not exist even to this day any rigorous formulation of this problem because there is no closed system of equations for the turbulent motion of a fluid. Soviet scientists have done much toward developing a general theory of the boundary layer, and in that branch of the theory which is of greatest practical importance at the present time, namely the study of the boundary layer at large velocities of the body in a compressed gas, the efforts of the scientists of our country have borne fruit in the creation of a new theory which leaves far behind all that has been done previously in this direction. We shall herein enumerate the most important results by Soviet scientists in the development of the theory of the boundary layer.

Loitsianskii. L. G.↗

An Approximate Method for Calculation of the Laminar Boundary Layer with Suction for Bodies of Arbitrary Shape

Various ways were tried recently to decrease the friction drag of a body in a flow; they all employ influencing the boundary layer. One of them consists in keeping the boundary layer Laminar by suction; promising tests have been carried out. Since for large Reynolds numbers the friction drag of the laminar boundary layer is much lower than that of the turbulent boundary layer, a considerable saving in drag results from keeping the boundary layer laminar, even with the blower power required for suction taken into account. The boundary layer is kept laminar by suction in two ways: first, by reduction of the thickness of the boundary layer and second, by the fact that the suction changes the form of the velocity distribution so that it becomes more stable, in a manner similar to the change by a pressure drop. There by the critical Reynolds number of the boundary layer (USigma*/V) (sub crit) becomes considerably higher than for the case without suction. This latter circumstance takes full effect only if continuous suction is applied which one might visualize realized through a porous wall. Thus the suction quantities required for keeping the boundary layer laminar become so small that the suction must be regarded as a very promising auxiliary means for drag reduction.

Schlichting, H.↗

Investigation of High-Subsonic Performance Characteristics of a 12 Degree 21-Inch Conical Diffuser, Including the Effects of Change in Inlet-Boundary-Layer Thickness

Investigations were conducted of a 12 degree 21-inch conical diffuser of 2:l area ratio to determine the interrelation of boundary layer growth and performance characteristics. surveys were made of inlet and exit from, longitudinal static pressures were recorded, and velocity profiles were obtained through an inlet Reynolds number range, determined From mass flows and based on inlet diameter of 1.45 x 10(exp 6) to 7.45 x 10(exp 6) and a Mach number range of 0.11 to approximately choking. These investigations were made to two thicknesses of inlet boundary layer. The mean value, over the entire range of inlet velocities, of the displacement thickness of the thinner inlet boundary layer was approximately 0.035 inch and that of the thicker inlet boundary layer was approximately six times this value. The loss coefficient in the case of the thinner inlet boundary layer had a value between 2 to 3 percent of the inlet impact pressure over most of the air-flow range. The loss coefficient with the thicker inlet boundary layer was of the order of twice that of the thinner inlet boundary layer at low speeds and approximately three times at high speeds. In both cases the values were substantially less than those given in the literature for fully developed pipe flow. The static-pressure rise for the thinner inlet boundary layer was of the order of 95 percent of that theoretically possible over the entire speed range. For the thicker inlet boundary layer the static pressure rise, as a percentage of that theoretically possible, ranged from 82 percent at low speeds to 68 percent at high speeds.

Copp, Martin R.↗