Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Plume development”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Estuarine and coastal water dynamics controlling sediment movement and plume development in Long Island Sound

The author has identified the following significant results. As the Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound, large plumes develop during the mixing of ocean and estuarine waters. Plumes were delineated for July 28, October 8, October 27, and December 2, 1972, by analyzing ERTS-1 imagery with the SRI Electronic Satellite Image Analysis Console (ESIAC). Because the chemical and physical composition of the plume and ocean water were not too different, the ESIAC was utilized to expand the scenes and subject the transparencies to varying combinations of viewing techniques to identify and delineate the plumes. Best results were obtained when band 5 transparencies were used. Indications are, when the scene being analyzed is predominantly in the first two steps of the gray scale, it is best to use the negative transparencies. When the analysis is being done above the first two steps of the gray scale, it is best to use the positive transparencies.

Ruggles, F. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Plume development in Long Island Sound observed by remote sensing (ERTS-1)

As the Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound, large plumes are developed during the mixing of ocean and estuarine waters. Plumes were delineated for July 28, October 8, October 27, and December 2, 1972, by analyzing ERTS-1 imagery with the SRI electronic satellite image analysis console (ESIAC). Insertion of MSS band 5 into the ESIAC produced the best result in this analysis. The four plumes that have been delineated provide the first input to a time-lapse analysis of circulation patterns at the eastern end of Long Island Sound.

Ruggles, F. H., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Time-Lapse Electromagnetic Methods for Monitoring Plume Development in a Carbon Storage Reservoir

Conference presentation at International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy (IMAGE), Houston, Texas, August 25–28, 2025. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is leading applied research on electromagnetic (EM) monitoring methods at an active carbon storage site in North Dakota. Injection operations at the site began in February 2024, with a permitted injection rate of up to 2.7 million tonnes of CO 2 annually using six injection wells. CO 2 is captured on-site and injected into the Broom Creek Formation, a predominantly sandstone reservoir and saline aquifer located at a depth of approximately 1800 meters. The EERC led acquisition of multiple active- and passive-source EM techniques between August and October of 2024 to provide a thorough understanding of the resistivity profile at the site.

02 PETROLEUM↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Gas-Particle Interaction Model Development in Plume Surface Interaction Erosion and Cratering

The development of a predictive simulation capability for extra-terrestrial Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) environments is undertaken by the Fluid Dynamics Branch at NASA/MSFC under the Game Changing Development (GCD) Program funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Predictive simulation capability for propulsive Martian and Lunar landing PSI requires accurate modeling of the complex high-speed plume impingement and resulting gas/particle-cloud and ejecta stream formation. Physics modeling gap analysis during formulation of the PSI project scope identified two particular phenomena of first order importance in gas-particle interactions that lacked existing modeling formulations. The first arises from the lack of models capturing the unsteady drag forces imparted on particles by the rapidly expanding supersonic compressible flow. The second addresses the fluctuating forces and dispersions imparted on both the particle and the fluid resulting from the interference and wake turbulence generated by close proximity particle clouds, dubbed the Particle Turbulent Kinetic Energy(PTKE). Their first order significance has been identified in experiments, but simulation models currently do not exist for either effect. The development of models and the eventual implementation into the Eulerian Gas-Granular Flow Solver (GGFS) simulation tools was constructed as one of four major tasks of the PSI project. In this process, data on particle kinetics and gas-particle interactions are collected from carefully designed experiments of particles embedded in jets. The effects observed in the experiments are then replicated in high-fidelity particle-resolved CFD simulations to inform the formulation of improvements to particle phase drag models for implementations in the more efficient Eulerian-Lagrangian CFD simulations. The resulting models are ultimately ported to the Eulerian-Eulerian models applied for most efficient simulations in PSI production application tools. This paper describes the activities and accomplishments of the past year in the gas-particle interaction modeling task of the PSI project.

Jeff West↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Gas-Particle Interaction Model Development in Plume Surface Interaction Erosion and Cratering

As part of the Game Changing Development (GCD) Program, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), the development of simulation capability for the prediction of extra-terrestrial Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) environments has been undertaken by the Fluid Dynamics Branch at NASA/MSFC. The GCD PSI Project, planned to be completed over a four year period, contains a Predictive Simulation Capability (PSC) Element focused on creating simulation capability for the reliable and accurate prediction of PSI in Martian (~650 Pa) and Lunar (vacuum) ambient environments. In addition to the PSC Element, the GCD Program also contains a companion Ground Testing Element for development of focused datasets for validation of predictive capability as well as a Flight-focused Instrumentation Element. This paper describes the activities and accomplishments of the past year in the gas-particle interaction modeling portion of the GCD PSI project. The objectives of this task are to investigate and construct models of particle drag and gas-particle cloud interactions leading to what is known as particle turbulent kinetic energy (PTKE). While drag on a lone particle suspended in a flow gas of gas is well-known, the drag and drag-induced dynamics of a cloud of particles in a gas flow are not. The PSC element of the PSI project requires models of gas-particle cloud interactions to implement in the Gas Granular Flow Solver (GGFS) in order to arrive at a predictive simulation capability for PSI-induced soil erosion, cratering and ejecta transport. Experiments of dilute mixtures of soil particles in supersonic gas flow are being conducted at Johns Hopkins University in order to provide a dataset describing gas-particle cloud interactions. Augmented by a separate funding source are efforts to perform small-scale particle-resolved direct numerical simulations (PR-DNS) and larger scale Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations. Together, these experiments and simulations are being used to devise models of particle cloud drag and particle cloud drag-induced dynamics. The final product of these efforts will be particle drag models suitable for implementation into the GGFS application and a PTKE model suitable for the same purpose.

Jeff West↗
NASA NTRS2006

Hydrocarbon-Fueled Rocket Engine Plume Diagnostics: Analytical Developments and Experimental Results

A viewgraph presentation describing experimental results and analytical developments about plume diagnostics for hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines is shown. The topics include: 1) SSC Plume Diagnostics Background; 2) Engine Health Monitoring Approach; 3) Rocket Plume Spectroscopy Simulation Code; 4) Spectral Simulation for 10 Atomic Species and for 11 Diatomic Molecular Electronic Bands; 5) "Best" Lines for Plume Diagnostics for Hydrocarbon-Fueled Rocket Engines; 6) Experimental Set Up for the Methane Thruster Test Program and Experimental Results; and 7) Summary and Recommendations.

Tejwani, Gopal D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Wind tunnel test IA300 analysis and results, volume 1

The analysis and interpretation of wind tunnel pressure data from the Space Shuttle wind tunnel test IA300 are presented. The primary objective of the test was to determine the effects of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) and the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) plumes on the integrated vehicle forebody pressure distributions, the elevon hinge moments, and wing loads. The results of this test will be combined with flight test results to form a new data base to be employed in the IVBC-3 airloads analysis. A secondary objective was to obtain solid plume data for correlation with the results of gaseous plume tests. Data from the power level portion was used in conjunction with flight base pressures to evaluate nominal power levels to be used during the investigation of changes in model attitude, eleveon deflection, and nozzle gimbal angle. The plume induced aerodynamic loads were developed for the Space Shuttle bases and forebody areas. A computer code was developed to integrate the pressure data. Using simplified geometrical models of the Space Shuttle elements and components, the pressure data were integrated to develop plume induced force and moments coefficients that can be combined with a power-off data base to develop a power-on data base.

Kelley, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

CFD code calibration and inlet-fairing effects on a 3D hypersonic powered-simulation model

A three-dimensional (3D) computational study has been performed addressing issues related to the wind tunnel testing of a hypersonic powered-simulation model. The study consisted of three objectives. The first objective was to calibrate a state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code in its ability to predict hypersonic powered-simulation flows by comparing CFD solutions with experimental surface pressure dam. Aftbody lower surface pressures were well predicted, but lower surface wing pressures were less accurately predicted. The second objective was to determine the 3D effects on the aftbody created by fairing over the inlet; this was accomplished by comparing the CFD solutions of two closed-inlet powered configurations with a flowing-inlet powered configuration. Although results at four freestream Mach numbers indicate that the exhaust plume tends to isolate the aftbody surface from most forebody flowfield differences, a smooth inlet fairing provides the least aftbody force and moment variation compared to a flowing inlet. The final objective was to predict and understand the 3D characteristics of exhaust plume development at selected points on a representative flight path. Results showed a dramatic effect of plume expansion onto the wings as the freestream Mach number and corresponding nozzle pressure ratio are increased.

Huebner, Lawrence D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

CFD Code Calibration and Inlet-Fairing Effects On a 3D Hypersonic Powered-Simulation Model

A three-dimensional (3D) computational study has been performed addressing issues related to the wind tunnel testing of a hypersonic powered-simulation model. The study consisted of three objectives. The first objective was to calibrate a state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code in its ability to predict hypersonic powered-simulation flows by comparing CFD solutions with experimental surface pressure data. Aftbody lower surface pressures were well predicted, but lower surface wing pressures were less accurately predicted. The second objective was to determine the 3D effects on the aftbody created by fairing over the inlet; this was accomplished by comparing the CFD solutions of two closed-inlet powered configurations with a flowing- inlet powered configuration. Although results at four freestream Mach numbers indicate that the exhaust plume tends to isolate the aftbody surface from most forebody flow- field differences, a smooth inlet fairing provides the least aftbody force and moment variation compared to a flowing inlet. The final objective was to predict and understand the 3D characteristics of exhaust plume development at selected points on a representative flight path. Results showed a dramatic effect of plume expansion onto the wings as the freestream Mach number and corresponding nozzle pressure ratio are increased.

Huebner, Lawrence D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of Plume-Surface Interaction Data from Subscale Inert Gas Testing at NASA MSFC Test Stand 300 Vacuum Facilities

Maturation and validation of predictive modeling capabilities for plume-surface interactions and their effects requires relevant, highly characterized ground test data. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed a test bed for these behaviors under its Game Changing Developments Plume Surface Interactions project, and has undertaken testing at the Marshall Space Flight Center to address critical data needs. This manuscript provides a high-level overview of the testing and its associated data.

Chad J Eberhart↗
NASA NTRS1985

High-altitude plume computer code development

The flowfield codes that have been developed to predict rocket motor plumes at high altitude were used to predict plume properties for the RCS motor which show reasonable agreement with experimental data. A systematic technique was established for the calculation of high altitude plumes. The communication of data between the computer codes was standardized. It is recommended that these outlined procedures be more completed, documented and updated as the plume methodology is applied to the varied problems of plume flow and plume impingement encountered by space station design and operation.

Audeh, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Dispersion and Aging of Volcanic Aerosols after the La Soufriere Eruption in April 2021

Volcanic aerosols change the atmospheric composition and thereby affect weather and climate. Aerosol dynamic processes such as nucleation, condensation, and coagulation modify the shape, size, and mass of aerosol particles, which influence their atmospheric lifetime and radiative properties. Nevertheless, most models omit these processes for ash particles. In this work, we explore the ash aerosol aging and sulfate production during the first 4 days following the 2021 La Soufrière (St. Vincent) eruption with the ICON-ART model (ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic model with Aerosol and Reactive Trace gases). Online coupling of ICON-ART with a one-dimensional volcanic plume model calculates volcanic emission, which makes it possible to resolve the different eruption phases of the noncontinuous La Soufrière eruption. We compared our simulated aerosol distribution and composition with observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument, the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Research Aerosol (RA) Algorithm, and the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO). We show that online coupling is essential to adequately model the emissions and plume development close to the volcano. The modeled aerosol aging is in very good agreement with observations from MISR near the emission source and with CALIOP at larger distances. Furthermore, particle aging occurs faster in the troposphere than in the stratosphere due to the availability of water vapor and OH, but a layer of coated ash appears at the plume top due to faster oxidation of SO2 and lofting by aerosol-radiation interaction. This paper gives the first direct comparison of aerosol aging in volcanic eruption plumes between simulations and observations

volcanic aerosols↗
NASA NTRS1994

Segmented Ion Engine Plume Characteristics

Preliminary evaluation of the segmented ion thruster (SIT) ion beam characteristics was performed by measuring the two dimensional ion current density distribution at four axial locations downstream from the thruster. Current density profiles were measured with the concurrent operation of multiple ion sources. Preliminary assessments regarding symmetry of the plume, characterization of plume development as a function of axial position, and the interactions of multiple simultaneously operating ion sources were conducted. A numerical integration scheme was applied to the acquired data to determine the total beam current. A qualitative analysis of the downstream development of the ion beam was conducted. Most of the data acquired so far has been on somewhat of a trial basis and extensive testing is scheduled to resume in August 1994.

ion↗