Engineering topics

Moss, J. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Moss, J. N..

At least 37 records · Page 2

NASA NTRS1986

Thermophysical aspects of re-entry flows

The present conference discusses low density aerothermodynamics, the drag of bodies in rarefied hypersonic flow, transitional hypervelocity aerodynamic simulation and scaling, high temperature kinetics and transport properties, electron-nitrogen molecule collisions in high temperature nonequilibrium air, theoretical studies of dissociative recombination, the transport properties of some atom/ion interactions in air, and the interaction energies, dipole transition moments, and transport cross sections of N(+)-N and O(+)-O. Also discussed are the results of studies of potential fluid mechanisms for enhanced stagnation heating, vortex-induced leeward heating on a biconic at Mach 6 and 10, the effects of surface discontinuities on convective heat transfer in hypersonic flow, computational convergence in chemical reacting flows, and three-dimensional viscous shock layer applications for the Space Shuttle Orbiter.

Moss, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Direct simulation of hypersonic transitional flow

A review of recent calculations obtained with Bird's direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method are presented for the transitional flowfield encountered at reentry conditions. Consequently, the emphasis is to simulate the real-gas effects resulting from a highly energetic nonequilibrium flow. The DSMC calculations for both wide-angle and slender bodies are compared with experimental and continuum calculations. The wide angle body calculations simulate the widward nose of the Shuttle Orbiter and projected aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles. For the slender, blunted configurations, both two-dimensional and axisymmetric results are presented. Comparisons between the DSMC and continuum calculations show the altitude range where differences in flowfield structure and surface quantities become significant.

Moss, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Slip-boundary equations for multicomponent nonequilibrium airflow

Equations are presented for the surface-slip (or jump) values of species concentration, pressure, velocity, and temperature in the low Reynolds number, high-altitude flight regime of a space vehicle. These are obtained from closed-form solutions of the mass, momentum, and energy flux equations by using the Chapman-Enskog velocity distribution function. This function represents a solution of the Boltzmann equation in the Navier-Stokes approximation. The analysis, obtained for nonequilibrium multicomponent airflow, includes the finite-rare surface catalytic recombination and changes in the internal energy during reflection from the surface. Expressions for the various slip quantities have been obtained in a form which can readily be employed in flow-field computations. A consistent set of equations is provided for multicomponent and binary mixtures and single-species gas. An expression is also provided for the finite-rate species-concentration boundary condition for a multicomponent mixture in the absence of slip.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Monte Carlo simulations in support of the Shuttle upper atmospheric mass spectrometer experiment

This paper presents the results of calculations obtained with a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method that describes both the external flow about the nose region of the Shuttle Orbiter and the internal flow in an inlet tube that provides the initial path between the shock-processed gases and a mass spectrometer mounted inside the Orbiter. A dedicated, three-dimensional version of the DSMC was developed during this study for the internal flow simulation along with the procedure for interfacing the external and internal flows. The calculations span the 140 to 95 km altitude range, which includes most of the hypersonic transitional flow encountered during reentry. All calculations were for a multicomponent gas mixture consisting of five chemical species while simulating the effects of transitional, rotational, vibrational, and chemical nonequilibrium. The results of the calculations show that within the entry region of the inlet tube where the gas has equilibrated with the sidewall tube temperature, the pressure is substantially less than the pressure at the external surface. This pressure correction for the entry region is significant for all conditions investigated and increases with altitude. The results highlight the structure of both the external and internal flow. Results of parametric studies show the sensitivity of the equilibrated inlet sidewall pressure to mass flow rates, gas-surface reflection model, tube side-wall temperature variations, and surface recombinations.

Moss, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Surface-slip equations for multicomponent nonequilibrium air flow

Equations are presented for the surface-slip (or jump) values of species concentration, pressure, velocity, and temperature in the low-Reynolds number, high-altitude flight regime of a space vehicle. The equations are obtained from closed form solutions of the mass, momentum, and energy flux equations using the Chapman-Enskog velocity distribution function. This function represents a solution of the Boltzmann equation in the Navier-Stokes approximation. The analysis, obtained for nonequilibrium multicomponent air flow, includes the finite-rate surface catalytic recombination and changes in the internal energy during reflection from the surface. Expressions for the various slip quantities were obtained in a form which can be employed in flowfield computations. A consistent set of equations is provided for multicomponent, binary, and single species mixtures. Expression is also provided for the finite-rate, species-concentration boundary condition for a multicomponent mixture in absence of slip.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Surface-slip equations for low-Reynolds-number multicomponent gas flows

Equations have been obtained for jump (or slip) in the wall values of species concentration, pressure, velocity, and temperature for the low-Reynolds-number high-altitude flight regime of a space vehicle. The analysis, based on the Chapman-Enskog method as applied by Shidlovskiy for a single-species gas, includes multicomponent diffusion with finite-rate surface catalytic recombination. A consistent set of equations is provided for multicomponent, binary, and single species mixtures.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Surface-slip equations for low-Reynolds-number multicomponent gas flows

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Aerothermodynamic environment and thermal protection for a Titan aerocapture vehicle

This paper presents thermal protection system (TPS) requirements for a potential Titan aerocapture vehicle. Shock-layer solutions are obtained for a nominal trajectory through the current Titan model atmosphere. Fully laminar and fully turbulent solutions are presented along the blunted fore-cone in the windward symmetry plane of a bent-biconic vehicle. Using these solutions to define the aerothermodynamic environment, transient material-response solutions are obtained for a Galileo-type TPS with a carbon-phenolic ablator heat shield. Shock-layer results indicate that turbulent flow is the more realistic flow condition. They also show that the lengthy aerocapture heating pulse is dominated by convective heating. The TPS results show that the required insulation thickness is uniformly about 4 cm along the fore-cone because of the long heat-soak period. The total heat-shield thickness is 6.4 cm at the stagnation point, and 4.7 cm near the end of the fore-cone. These TPS requirements are greater than those presented in a previous Titan aerocapture study.

Green, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Space Shuttle heating analysis with variation in angle of attack and catalycity

Previously cited in issue 5, p. 586, Accession no. A83-16747

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Convective and radiative heating of a Saturn entry probe

The extent of convective and radiative heating for a Saturn entry probe is investigated in the absence and presence of ablation mass injection. The flow in the shock layer is assumed to be axisymmetric, viscous and in local thermodynamic equilibrium. The importance of chemical nonequilibrium effects for both the radiative and convective nonblowing surface heating rates is demonstrated for prescribed entry conditions. Results indicate that the nonequilibrium chemistry can significantly influence the rate of radiative heating to the entry probes. With coupled carbon-phenolic ablation injection, the convective heating rates are reduced substantially. Turbulence has little effect on radiative heating but it increases the convective heating considerably.

Tiwari, S. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Direct simulation of transitional flow for hypersonic reentry conditions

This paper presents results of flowfield calculations for typical hypersonic reentry conditions encountered by the nose region of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. Most of the transitional flow regime is covered by the altitude range of 150 to 92 km. Calculations were made with the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method that accounts for translational, rotational, vibrational, and chemical nonequilibrium effects. Comparison of the DSMC heating results with both Shuttle flight data and continuum predictions showed good agreement at the lowest altitude considered. However, as the altitude increased, the continuum predictions, which did not include slip effects, departed rapidly from the DSMC results by overpredicting both heating and drag. The results demonstrate the effects of rarefaction on the shock and the shock layer, along with the extent of the slip and temperature jump at the surface. Also, the sensitivity of the flow structure to the gas-surface interaction model, thermal accommodation, and surface catalysis are studied.

Moss, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Effect of low Reynolds number turbulence amplification on the Galileo probe flowfield

The amplification of turbulence at low Reynolds numbers is analyzed as it affects the Jupiter-entry flowfield, surface-heating rate, and mass-loss rate of the 335-kg Galileo probe now being designed. The constant k(2) in the Clauser-Klebanoff outer law of the two-layer algebraic eddy-viscosity model of Cebeci (1970), as used in earlier models of the Galileo flowfield (Moss and Simmonds, 1982), is modified to increase at low Reynolds numbers, as found experimentally by Varner and Adams (1980). Calculations were performed for peak heating conditions (at 49.13 sec of entry), using a turbulent Prandtl number of 0.9 and turbulent Lewis numbers (LeT) of 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2. The low-Reynolds-number effect is found to produce mass-loss-ratio increases of from 4 to 50 percent, while an LeT of 1.2 produced an increase of from 4 to 10 percent as compared to an LeT of 1.0. While these findings are based on experimental data obtained under conditions somewhat different from those probably present on Jupiter, their importance for a conservative probe design is stressed.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A comparative study of time-marching and space-marching numerical methods

Menees (1981) has conducted an evaluation of three different flowfield codes for the Jupiter entry conditions. However, a comparison of the codes has been made difficult by the fact that the three codes use different solution procedures, different computational mesh sizes, and a different convergence criterion. There are also other differences. For an objective evaluation of the different numerical solution methods employed by the codes, it would be desirable to select a simple no-blowing perfect-gas flowfield case for which the turbulent models are well established. The present investigation is concerned with the results of such a study. It is found that the choice of the numerical method is rather problem dependent. The time-marching and the space-marching method provide both comparable results if care is taken in selecting the appropriate mesh size near the body surface.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Space Shuttle heating analysis with variation in angle of attack and surface condition

The effects of variations in the angle of attack and surface catalycity condition on the Space Shuttle surface heating along the windward centerline are evaluated. Further, the time history of the nonequilibrium-to-equilibrium surface heating ratio and the boundary edge quantities are analyzed. Results show that a + or - 5% change in the angle of attack does not appreciably influence either the nonequilibrium heating or the nonequilibrium-to-equilibrium heat transfer ratio at higher (75 km) or lower (48 km) altitudes. The variation in the recombination rate parameter is found to affect the surface heating most at an altitude of about 75 km for the STS-2 flight. A maximum reduction of 49% in heating due to nonequilibrium chemistry is obtained at about a 75 km altitude in the nose region of the Orbiter for the STS-2 flight data. In addition, the nonequilibrium effects at the boundary layer edge are found to become less significant for altitudes less than 65 km even though the boundary layer flow may still be in nonquilibrium.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1982

An evaluation of turbulence models for massively blown surfaces

In this study, an evaluation of the various turbulence models for massively blown as well as unblown viscous shock layers has been made. The direct impact of the variations introduced through the different turbulent models has been evaluated by employing a single numerical code for the flow-field computations. The cases analyzed include flows with low and high Reynolds numbers and peaked and uniform surface injection rates. It is observed that with appropriate mixing-length formulation, and the use of an intermittency factor, most of the turbulence models considered predict comparable results for both blown and unblown surfaces.

Gupta, R. N.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Viscous-shock-layer heating analysis for the shuttle windward-symmetry plane with surface finite catalytic recombination rates

The paper demonstrates the capability of a reacting, two-dimensional viscous-shock-layer solution using the equivalent axisymmetric body concept to predict heating rates on the shuttle windward centerline for a wide range of altitudes. Results indicate that the nonequilibrium effects persist through most of the STS-2 entry heating pulse down to an altitude of about 50 km. When results are compared to those of the inviscid flowfield plus boundary layer solution of Scott (1980), agreement is fair to poor for nonequilibrium calculations, although very good for equilibrium calculations. A parametric study to demonstrate the effect of uncertainties in oxygen surface recombination rate for RCG coated HRSI on heating, indicates favorable results when a wall recombination rate of 100 cm/sec is used in the temperature range 1400-900 K.

Shinn, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Galileo probe forebody flowfield predictions during Jupiter entry

This paper presents forebody flowfield solutions for Jupiter entry conditions where the ablation injection rate is coupled with the surface heating rate. The calculations are made with a time-dependent viscous-shock-layer analysis where the flow is assumed to be in chemical equilibrium. The results obtained demonstrate how variations in various properties influence the calculations and how recent modifications in probe forebody heatshield design influence the heating and mass-loss conditions for Jupiter entry. The heatshield mass-loss rates are shown to decrease when the new radiative and thermodynamic property values are used as well as when the nose bluntness is reduced. Also, the inclusion of a finite surface reflectivity reduces the mass loss whereas spallation increases the mass loss by about 6 percent. Finally, the heating, mass-loss, and flowfield structure characteristics are described for a 335-kg probe as it enters the atmosphere of Jupiter.

Moss, J. N.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Advancements in aerothermodynamics in support of the Galileo probe

The Galileo probe, scheduled for launch in 1985, will experience the most severe heating environment ever encountered for a planetary mission, and the probe design should be based on a reliable definition of the aerothermal environment during entry. Significant advances in numerical computations make possible the prediction of such complicated flowfields, which include the effects of massive ablation injection, radiative transfer, turbulence, shape change and small angle of attack. Also included is a discussion of modeling and data inputs for numerical computations as deduced from both experimental and analytical studies concerning: radiation, transport and thermodynamic properties; probe afterbody flowfield and heating conditions; and the role of ablator spallation.

Moss, J. N.↗