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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 1,711 records · Page 95
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Investigation of the Flow-Induced Vibration in the E2 Test Facility

An investigation of flow induced vibration due to coupling between the fluid flow and the propellants lines (LOX and RP-1) was performed. Various flow rate conditions were studied to check whether flow induced vibration was possible due to vortex shedding in both valves and pipe lines. Resonance test was conducted for all segments of the LOX-feedline for the preburner under test. In addition, critical values of frequency and velocity are calculated using a mass damping model. A simple chart characterizing the relation between frequency and velocity is developed for each component; i.e. propellant lines, valves and flow meters. It was found that flow induced vibration occurs for various segments with flow rates of 113 lb/s, 275 lb/s and 40 lb/s. Even more interesting using critical conditions for buckling, it was found that the valve or pipe may collapse for a flow rate of 275 lb/s and valve height of 10% of pipe diameter. Furthermore, two models for the acoustic pressure acting on the segments particularly for the valve are proposed.

Castillo, Luciano↗
NASA NTRS2001

Investigation of the Flow-Induced Vibration in the E2 Test Facility

An investigation of flow induced vibration due to coupling between the fluid flow and the propellants lines (LOX and RP-1) was performed. Various flow rate conditions were studied to check whether flow induced vibration was possible due to vortex shedding in both valves and pipe lines. Resonances test was conducted for all segments of the LOX-feedline for the preburner under test. In addition, critical values of frequency and velocity are calculated using a mass damping model. A simple chart characterizing the relation between frequency and velocity is developed for each component; i.e. propellant lines, valves and flow meters. It was found that flow induced vibration occurs for various segments with flow rates of 113 1b/s, 275 lb/s and 40 lb/s. Even more interesting using critical conditions for buckling, it was found that the valve or pipe may collapse for a flow rate of 275 lb/s and valve height of 10% of pipe diameter. Furthermore, two models for the acoustic pressure acting on the segments particularly for the valve are proposed.

Castillo, Luciano↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dependence of Enstrophy Transport and Mixed Mass on Dimensionality and Initial Conditions in the Richtmyer–Meshkov Instability Induced Flows

Here we present a comparative study of the enstrophy budget and mixed mass between two- and three-dimensional flows induced by Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI). Specifically, the individual contributions to the enstrophy budget due to the production from baroclinicity and from vortex stretching (which vanishes in two-dimensional (2D) flow) are delineated. This is enabled by a set of two- and three-dimensional computations at Atwood 0.5 having both narrow- and broad-band perturbations. A further three-dimensional (3D) computation is conducted at Atwood 0.9 using an identical narrowband perturbation to the Atwood 0.5 case to examine the sensitivity to density ratio. The mixed mass is also considered with the goal to obtain insight on how faithfully a simplified calculation performed in two dimensions can capture the mixed mass for an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) or other practical application. It is shown that the late time power law decay of variable density enstrophy is substantially different in two and three dimensions for the narrowband initial perturbation. The baroclinic production term is negligible in three dimensions (aside from the initial shock interaction), as vortex stretching is larger by two orders of magnitude. The lack of vortex stretching considerably reduces the decay rate in both narrowband and broadband perturbations in two dimensions. In terms of mixed mass, the lack of vortex stretching reduces the mixed mass in two dimensions compared to three in all cases. In the broadband cases, the spectral bandwidth in the 2D case is wider; hence, there is a longer time period of sustained linear growth which reduces the normalized mixed mass further.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1993

Effect of rotation rate on the forces of a rotating cylinder: Simulation and control

In this paper we present numerical solutions to several optimal control problems for an unsteady viscous flow. The main thrust of this work is devoted to simulation and control of an unsteady flow generated by a circular cylinder undergoing rotary motion. By treating the rotation rate as a control variable, we can formulate two optimal control problems and use a central difference/pseudospectral transform method to numerically compute the optimal control rates. Several types of rotations are considered as potential controls, and we show that a proper synchronization of forcing frequency with the natural vortex shedding frequency can greatly influence the flow. The results here indicate that using moving boundary controls for such systems may provide a feasible mechanism for flow control.

Burns, John A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Vortex flap flight test operations, a safe approach

A flight test experiment was conducted at the Langley Research Center to evaluate a wing leading-edge vortex flap concept designed for use on an aircraft with highly swept wings. The flap concept was designed as a modification to the wing leading edge of an F-106B airplane. The flight testing required operations at conditions that would exceed the structural load envelope of the basic airplane in order to acquire desired research data for the modified configuration. Accordingly, the operational envelope of the modified aircraft was incrementally expanded and real-time monitoring of airframe strains at critical wing locations was mandated to insure safety of flight. The flight tests were conducted in two phases: Phase I to establish baseline data with the unmodified wing, and Phase II to determine the effects of the vortex flap on performance, handling qualities, and flow field characteristics. This paper focuses on a description of the approach and procedures used to provide the strain-gage monitoring to insure structural integrity. Highlights of the wing modification and the overall operation are also included. Within a -year period, 110 research flights were successfully completed, providing researchers with sufficient data to assess the potential benefits ascribed to the vortex flap concept without encountering severe structural problems or mishaps.

Dicarlo, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Visualization of turbulence in flow about a bluff body

A visual diagnostic investigation of turbulence in flow about a circular cylinder was conducted in order to gain a physical insight into the model for the structure of turbulence in flow around a bluff body advanced by the vorticity-amplification theory. A frame-by-frame qualitative and quantitative examination of selected movie strips over time intervals up to more than 800 ms was performed. The selective stretching of cross-vortex tubes, their streamwise tilting, the emergence of an organized turbulent flow pattern near the stagnation zone and the growth of a turbulent boundary layer were clearly revealed by the visualization. In particular, the visualization indicated that the cross-vortex tubes conveyed by the diverging stagnation flow constitute a coherent substructure within the overall turbulent flow that is triggered to its fullest manifestation by the stretching mechanism.

Sadeh, W. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Influence of rotor blade tip shape on tip vortex shedding - An unsteady, inviscid analysis

An unsteady potential flow panel method is described based on a time-stepping procedure and using planar quadrilateral panels to represent the surface of thick blades. Each panel has a constant source and doublet distribution and a central control point where an internal Dirichlet boundary condition is applied. The method includes detail paneling around the tip edge and offers the facility of prescribing a tip-edge separation. Preliminary results are shown for four blade tip shapes which are treated as semi-span wings oscillating in pitch about a mean angle of attack of 6 deg. Further work is planned for the wake model before proceeding to higher angles of attack.

Maskew, B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Method of cold smoke generation for vortex core tagging

Attention is given to the flow-visualization problem posed by the 'dark-core' region of the vortices formed on the upper side of a delta wing; the low particle density in the core region minimizes the density of tracing particles whose presence is essential in LDV measurements. An effort is presently undertaken using TiCl4 smoke in subsonic wind tunnel tests of a 70-deg sweep delta wing model.

Nelson, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lift enhancement by trapped vortex

The viewgraphs and discussion of lift enhancement by trapped vortex are provided. Efforts are continuously being made to find simple ways to convert wings of aircraft from an efficient cruise configuration to one that develops the high lift needed during landing and takeoff. The high-lift configurations studied here consist of conventional airfoils with a trapped vortex over the upper surface. The vortex is trapped by one or two vertical fences that serve as barriers to the oncoming stream and as reflection planes for the vortex and the sink that form a separation bubble on top of the airfoil. Since the full three-dimensional unsteady flow problem over the wing of an aircraft is so complicated that it is hard to get an understanding of the principles that govern the vortex trapping process, the analysis is restricted here to the flow field illustrated in the first slide. It is assumed that the flow field between the two end plates approximates a streamwise strip of the flow over a wing. The flow between the endplates and about the airfoil consists of a spanwise vortex located between the suction orifices in the endplates. The spanwise fence or spoiler located near the nose of the airfoil serves to form a separated flow region and a shear layer. The vorticity in the shear layer is concentrated into the vortex by withdrawal of fluid at the suction orifices. As the strength of the vortex increases with time, it eventually dominates the flow in the separated region so that a shear or vertical layer is no longer shed from the tip of the fence. At that point, the vortex strength is fixed and its location is such that all of the velocity contributions at its center sum to zero thereby making it an equilibrium point for the vortex. The results of a theoretical analysis of such an idealized flow field are described.

Rossow, Vernon J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fluid structure interaction of a subaqueous pendulum: Analyzing the effect of wake correction via large eddy simulations

The dynamic behavior of a subaqueous cylindrical pendulum and corresponding flow dynamics are investigated. The objectives were twofold: (i) to examine whether the two-dimensional model equations sufficiently capture the three-dimensional dynamics and (ii) to investigate the emerging three-dimensional vortical flow structures. Large eddy simulations with two-way coupling fluid structure interaction were carried out using the immersed boundary method to simulate the motion of the pendulum and its interactions with the initially stagnant water. The resulting pendulum motion is compared against measured data obtained in a series of experimental tests to validate the simulation results and the model equations with and without wake corrections. An analysis of the flow vorticity revealed the development of a vortex ring during the first swing and the formation of tip vortices. The evolution of the vortex rings emerging from the motion of the subaqueous cylindrical pendulum was visualized using Q-criteria showing a reasonable agreement with vortical structures observed in the experiment using particle imaging velocimetry. The hydrodynamic moments acting on the simulated pendulum and the moments calculated from the model equations are analyzed. Using the insights from these numerical simulations, a modification of the wake correction is proposed to enhance the accuracy of the rate of decay and period. The transient effect of coherent flow on pendulum dynamics, especially the added mass effect, is discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vortex modeling for rotor aerodynamics - The 1991 Alexander A. Nikolsky Lecture

The efforts toward realistic vortex modeling for rotary wings which began under the guidance of professor A. A. Nikolsky of Princeton University in 1955-1956 are discussed. Attention is given to Nikolsky's flow-visualization studies and major theoretical considerations for vortex modeling. More recent efforts by other researchers have led to models of increasing complexity. The neglect of compressibility and viscous effects in the classical approach is noted to be a major limiting factor in full-scale rotor applications of the classical vortex theory; it has nevertheless been valuable for the delineation of problem areas and the guiding of both experimental and theoretical investigations.

Gray, Robin B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Design Tool for Liquid Rocket Engine Injectors

A practical design tool which emphasizes the analysis of flowfields near the injector face of liquid rocket engines has been developed and used to simulate preliminary configurations of NASA's Fastrac and vortex engines. This computational design tool is sufficiently detailed to predict the interactive effects of injector element impingement angles and points and the momenta of the individual orifice flows and the combusting flow which results. In order to simulate a significant number of individual orifices, a homogeneous computational fluid dynamics model was developed. To describe sub- and supercritical liquid and vapor flows, the model utilized thermal and caloric equations of state which were valid over a wide range of pressures and temperatures. The model was constructed such that the local quality of the flow was determined directly. Since both the Fastrac and vortex engines utilize RP-1/LOX propellants, a simplified hydrocarbon combustion model was devised in order to accomplish three-dimensional, multiphase flow simulations. Such a model does not identify drops or their distribution, but it does allow the recirculating flow along the injector face and into the acoustic cavity and the film coolant flow to be accurately predicted.

Farmer, R.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Temperature and Fluid Flow on Dendrite Growth During Solidification of Al-3 Wt Pct Cu Alloy by the Two-Dimensional Cellular Automaton Method

A two-dimensional cellular automaton–finite volume model was developed to simulate dendrite growth of Al-3 wt pct Cu alloy during solidification to investigate the effect of temperature and fluid flow on dendrite morphology, solute concentration distribution, and dendrite growth velocity. Different calculation conditions that may influence the results of the simulation, including temperature and flow, were considered. The model was also employed to study the effect of different undercoolings, applied temperature fields, and forced flow velocities on solute segregation and dendrite growth. The initial temperature and fluid flow have a significant impact on the dendrite morphologies and solute profiles during solidification. The release of energy is operated with solidification and results in the increase of temperature. A larger undercooling leads to larger solute concentration near the solid/liquid interface and solute concentration gradient at the same time-step. Solute concentration in the solid region tends to increase with the increase of undercooling. Four vortexes appear under the condition when natural flow exists: the two on the right of the dendrite rotate clockwise, and those on the left of the dendrite rotate counterclockwise. With the increase of forced flow velocity, the rejected solute in the upstream region becomes easier to be washed away and enriched in the downstream region, resulting in acceleration of the growth of the dendrite in the upstream and inhibiting the downstream dendrite growth. The dendrite perpendicular to fluid flow shows a coarser morphology in the upstream region than that of the downstream. Almost no secondary dendrite appears during the calculation process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1953

Smoke Studies of Secondary Flows in Bends, Tandem Cascades, and High-turning Configurations

Flow-visualization studies, using smoke, were made of the secondary flows in rectangular bends, tandem cascades, and high-turning configurations. The roll-up of the wall boundary layer of a rectangular bend forms a passage vortex near the suction surface similar to that previously observed for cascades. The vortex so formed then shifts out into the main stream. Because of leading-edge effects, the boundary-layer flows in bends were found to be sufficiently different from the flows in blade rows to make direct application of bend results to blade rows inadvisable. Passage vortices are shown, in the tandem-cascade study, to resist turning with the main stream through which they pass and to disturb the flow in subsequent blade rows. This disturbance may explain in part the appreciable size of the losses sometimes attributed to secondary flows in turbomachines despite the fact that the energy involvement in vortex formation is slight. Tip-flow studies of high-turning blades with relative motion between blades and end wall indicated that if the relative sizes of the passage vortex forces, the tip clearance forces, and the blade-scraping effects are properly controlled, it may be possible to improve the blade-tip loading characteristics in turbomachine.

CASCADES↗
NASA NTRS1991

Variational formulation of hybrid problems for fully 3-D transonic flow with shocks in rotor

Based on previous research, the unified variable domain variational theory of hybrid problems for rotor flow is extended to fully 3-D transonic rotor flow with shocks, unifying and generalizing the direct and inverse problems. Three variational principles (VP) families were established. All unknown boundaries and flow discontinuities (such as shocks, free trailing vortex sheets) are successfully handled via functional variations with variable domain, converting almost all boundary and interface conditions, including the Rankine Hugoniot shock relations, into natural ones. This theory provides a series of novel ways for blade design or modification and a rigorous theoretical basis for finite element applications and also constitutes an important part of the optimal design theory of rotor bladings. Numerical solutions to subsonic flow by finite elements with self-adapting nodes given in Refs., show good agreement with experimental results.

Liu, Gao-Lian↗
NASA NTRS1997

Measurement of Vortex Strength and Core Diameter in the Wake of a Hovering Rotor

Detailed hot wire measurements have been acquired in the tip vortex of a three-bladed model tilt rotor in hover. Testing was conducted at a rotor tip speed of 752 ft/sec, a Reynolds number (based on blade tip chord) of 1.77 x 10(exp 6), for thrust coefficients up to 0.0160. A figure shows the hot wire mounted above the inverted rotor at the Outside Aerodynamic Rotor Facility (OARF) at NASA Ames Research Center. Strobed shadowgraph flow visualization was used to define the vortex trajectory as an aid in hot wire positioning. Considerable variations in tip vortex structure with time were observed, even from the same blade, under essentially uniform test conditions. The only velocity signatures analyzed were those corresponding to passage of the probe directly through the center of the vortex. These time histories were ensemble averaged after compensating for jitter in the vortex arrival time at the probe, thereby retaining the core structure with minimal smearing. An example of a mean velocity signature, after ensemble averaging, is shown. The mean velocity signature was analyzed under the assumption of constant (unknown) translation speed of the vortex filament past the fixed probe. The translation speed of the vortex is deduced and the vortex strength and core diameter inferred. The results were highly unexpected. The indicated vortex strength is seen to decrease rapidly after first blade passage. In addition, the core radius is seen to decrease with increasing wake age, not increase as might be expected from simple diffusion.

Wadcock, Alan J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Experimental study of the velocity field on a delta wing

An experimental study of the leading edge vortices on delta wings at large angles of incidence is presented. A combination of flow visualization, seven-hole pressure probe surveys and laser velocimeter measurements were used to study the leading edge vortex formation and breakdown for a set of delta wings. The delta wing models were thin flat plates with sharp leading edges having sweep angles of 70, 75, 80, and 85 degrees. The flow structure was examined for angles of incidence from 10 to 40 degrees and chord Reynolds numbers from 85,000 to 640,000. Vortex breakdown was observed on all the wings tested. Both bubble and spiral modes of breakdown were observed. The visualization and wake survey data shows that when vortex breakdown occurs the core flow transforms abruptly from a jet-like flow to a wake-like flow. The result also revealed that probe induced vortex breakdown was more steady than the natural breakdown.

Payne, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS1953

On the Development of Turbulent Wakes from Vortex Streets

Wake development behind circular cylinders at Reynolds numbers from 40 to 10,000 was investigated in a low-speed wind tunnel. Standard hotwire techniques were used to study the velocity fluctuations. The Reynolds number range of periodic vortex shedding is divided into two distinct subranges. At R = 40 to 150, called the stable range, regular vortex streets are formed and no turbulent motion is developed. The range R = 150 to 300 is a transition range to a regime called the irregular range, in which turbulent velocity fluctuations accompany the periodic formation of vortices. The turbulence is initiated by laminar-turbulent transition in the free layers which spring from the separation points on the cylinder. This transition first occurs in the range R = 150 to 300. Spectrum and statistical measurements were made to study the velocity fluctuations. In the stable range the vortices decay by viscous diffusion. In the irregular range the diffusion is turbulent and the wake becomes fully turbulent in 40 to 50 diameters downstream. It was found that in the stable range the vortex street has a periodic spanwise structure. The dependence of shedding frequency on velocity was successfully used to measure flow velocity. Measurements in the wake of a ring showed that an annular vortex street is developed.

FLOW, SUBSONIC↗