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At least 181 records · Page 10

Calibration of Axisymmetric and Quasi-1D Solvers for High Enthalpy Nozzles

The proposed paper will present a numerical investigation of the flow characteristics and boundary layer development in the nozzles of high enthalpy shock tunnel facilities used for hypersonic propulsion testing. The computed flow will be validated against existing experimental data. Pitot pressure data obtained at the entrance of the test cabin will be used to validate the numerical simulations. It is necessary to accurately model the facility nozzles in order to characterize the test article flow conditions. Initially the axisymmetric nozzle flow will be computed using a Navier Stokes solver for a range of reservoir conditions. The calculated solutions will be compared and calibrated against available experimental data from the DLR HEG piston-driven shock tunnel and the 16-inch shock tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. The Reynolds number is assumed to be high enough at the throat that the boundary layer flow is assumed turbulent at this point downstream. The real gas affects will be examined. In high Mach number facilities the boundary layer is thick. Attempts will be made to correlate the boundary layer displacement thickness. The displacement thickness correlation will be used to calibrate the quasi-1D codes NENZF and LSENS in order to provide fast and efficient tools of characterizing the facility nozzles. The calibrated quasi-1D codes will be implemented to study the effects of chemistry and the flow condition variations at the test section due to small variations in the driver gas conditions.

Papadopoulos, P. E.↗

Validation Experiments for Turbulent Separation over an Axisymmetric Body of Revolution

Historically, the flow physics involved with most turbulent separated flows have presented fundamental challenges to validating numerical approaches. As recognized by the CFD Vision 2030 study commissioned by NASA, validation of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models and other scale-resolving methods for turbulent separated flow requires data from advanced, high-fidelity experiments designed specifically for CFD implementation. In accordance with this effort, a new test platform, referred to as the NASA Axisymmetric Afterbody, was designed to obtain detailed measurements of the flow field undergoing a smooth, adverse pressure gradient induced separation for a fixed Reynolds number, Re = 180,000. The parametric body offers a range of flow states progressing from fully attached, to incipient separation, and finally to small-scale separated flow based on variable afterbody geometries. In an initial effort to evaluate RANS turbulence model capabilities, the present configurations of the axisymmetric model host a mild adverse pressure gradient over the contoured boattail section, inducing incipient turbulent separation, as well as a slightly larger adverse pressure gradient, inducing a small-scale region of turbulent separation. Experiments include steady pressure measurements and 2-D PIV to provide the preliminary dataset for simulation studies, which examine the effect of variable grid domains and RANS turbulence models. This is done in an effort to understand and evaluate the critical variability between solutions for the present model configurations. Results indicate potential discrepancies may be due to the effect of the square tunnel test section walls, relatively large blockage ratio, and slight variability in reference parameters. Ongoing work will focus on higher fidelity experimental campaigns to obtain surface flow visualizations and Stereo-Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) to deliver higher spatial resolution of the three-dimensional flow field to aid turbulence modelers.

Validation↗

Experimental Investigation of Transition to Turbulence as Affected by Passing Wakes

Experimental results from a study of the effects of passing wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in a low-pressure turbine passage are presented. The test section geometry is designed to simulate the effects of unsteady wakes resulting from rotor-stator interaction upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in turbine blade boundary layers and separated flow regions over suction surfaces. Single-wire, thermal anemometry techniques were used to measure time- resolved and phase-averaged, wall-normal profiles of velocity, turbulence intensity, and intermittency at multiple streamwise locations over the turbine airfoil suction surface. These data are compared to steady state, wake-free data collected in the same geometry to identify the effects of wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition. Results are presented for flows with a Reynolds number based on suction surface length and exit velocity of 50,000 and an approach flow turbulence intensity of 2.5 percent. From these data, the effects of passing wakes and associated increased turbulence levels and varying pressure gradients on transition and separation in the near-wall flow are presented. The results show that the wakes affect transition both by virtue of their difference in turbulence level from that of the free-stream but also by virtue of their velocity deficit relative to the freestream velocity, and the concomitant change in angle of attack and temporal pressure gradients. The results of this study seem to support the theory that bypass transition is a response of the near-wall viscous layer to pressure fluctuations imposed upon it from the free-stream flow. The data also show a significant lag between when the wake is present over the surface and when transition begins. The accompanying CD-ROM includes tabulated data, animations, higher resolution plots, and an electronic copy of this report.

Kaszeta, Richard W.↗

Experimental Investigation of Transition to Turbulence as Affected by Passing Wakes

Experimental results from a study of the effects of passing wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in a low-pressure turbine passage are presented. The test section geometry is designed to simulate the effects of unsteady wakes resulting from rotor-stator interaction upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in turbine blade boundary layers and separated flow regions over suction surfaces. Single-wire, thermal anemometry techniques were used to measure time-resolved and phase-averaged, wall-normal profiles of velocity, turbulence intensity, and intermittency at multiple streamwise locations over the turbine airfoil suction surface. These data are compared to steady state, wake-free data collected in the same geometry to identify the effects of wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition. Results are presented for flows with a Reynolds number based on suction surface length and exit velocity of 50,000 and an approach flow turbulence intensity of 2.5 percent. From these data, the effects of passing wakes and associated increased turbulence levels and varying pressure gradients on transition and separation in the near-wall flow are presented. The results show that the wakes affect transition both by virtue of their difference in turbulence level from that of the free-stream but also by virtue of their velocity deficit relative to the freestream velocity, and the concomitant change in angle of attack and temporal pressure gradients. The results of this study seem to support the theory that bypass transition is a response of the near-wall viscous layer to pressure fluctuations imposed upon it from the free-stream flow. The data also show a significant lag between when the wake is present over the surface and when transition begins. The accompanying CD-ROM includes tabulated data, animations, higher resolution plots, and an electronic copy of this report.

Kaszeta, Richard W.↗

Numerical Investigation of Roughness Effects on Transition on Spherical Capsules

To address the hitherto unknown mechanism of boundary-layer transition on blunt reentry capsules, the role of roughness-induced disturbance growth on a spherical-section forebody is assessed via optimal transient growth theory and direct numerical simulations (DNS). Optimal transient-growth studies have been performed for the blunt capsule experiments at Mach 5.9 in the Hypersonic Ludwieg tube at the Technische Universität Braunschweig (HLB), which included measurements behind a patch of controlled, distributed micron-sized surface roughness. Transient-growth results for the HLB capsule indicate similar trends as the corresponding numerical data for a Mach 6 experiment in the Actively Controlled Expansion (ACE) facility of the Texas A&M University (TAMU) at a lower Reynolds number. Both configurations indicate a similar dependence on surface temperature ratio and, more important, rather low values of maximum energy gain. DNS are performed for the conditions of the HLB experiment to understand the generation of stationary disturbances by the roughness patch and the accompanying evolution of unsteady perturbations. However, no evidence of either modal or nonmodal disturbance growth in the wake of the roughness patch is found in the DNS data; thus, the physical mechanism underlying the observed onset of transition still remains unknown.

Stefan Hein↗

Preliminary Investigation of Certain Laminar-Flow Airfoils for Application at High Speeds and Reynolds Numbers

In order to extend the useful range of Reynolds numbers of airfoils designed to take advantage of the extensive laminar boundary layers possible in an air stream of low turbulence, tests were made of the NACA 2412-34 and 1412-34 sections in the NACA low-turbulence tunnel. Although the possible extent of the laminar boundary layer on these airfoils is not so great as for specially designed laminar-flow airfoils, it is greater than that for conventional airfoils, and is sufficiently extensive so that at Reynolds numbers above 11,000,000 the laminar region is expected to be limited by the permissible 'Reynolds number run' and not by laminar separation as is the case with conventional airfoils. Drag measurements by the wake-survey method and pressure-distribution measurements were made at several lift coefficients through a range of Reynolds numbers up to 11,400,000. The drag scale-effect curve for the NACA 1412-34 is extrapolated to a Reynolds number of 30,000,000 on the basis of theoretical calculations of the skin friction. Comparable skin-friction calculations were made for the NACA 23012. The results indicate that, for certain applications at moderate values of the Reynolds number, the NACA 1412-34 and 2412-34 airfoils offer some advantages over such conventional airfoils as the NACA 23012. The possibility of maintaining a more extensive laminar boundary layer on these airfoils should result in a small drag reduction, and the absence of pressure peaks allows higher speeds to be reached before the compressibility burble is encountered. At lower Reynold numbers, below about 10,000,000, these airfoils have higher drags than airfoils designed to operate with very extensive laminar boundary layers.

Jacobs, E.N.↗

Pressure distributions from high Reynolds number transonic tests of an NACA 0012 airfoil in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

Tests were conducted in the 2-D test section of the Langley 0.3-meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel on a NACA 0012 airfoil to obtain aerodynamic data as a part of the Advanced Technology Airfoil Test (ATAT) program. The test program covered a Mach number range of 0.30 to 0.82 and a Reynolds number range of 3.0 to 45.0 x 10 to the 6th power. The stagnation pressure was varied between 1.2 and 6.0 atmospheres and the stagnation temperature was varied between 300 K and 90 K to obtain these test conditions. Tabulated pressure distributions and integrated force and moment coefficients are presented as well as plots of the surface pressure distributions. The data are presented uncorrected for wall interference effects and without analysis.

Ladson, Charles L.↗

Curved ducts with strong secondary motion - Velocity measurements of developing laminar and turbulent flow

Two orthogonal components of velocity and associated Reynolds stresses are determined in a square-sectioned, 90 degree bend of 2.3 radius ratio by utilizing laser-Doppler velocimetry for Reynolds numbers of 790 and 40,000. Results show that boundary layers at the bend inlet of 0.25 and 0.15 of the hydraulic diameter create secondary velocity maxima of 0.6 and 0.4 of the bulk flow velocity, respectively. It is concluded that the boundary layer thickness is important to the flow development, mainly in the first half of the bend, especially when it is reduced to 0.15 of the hydraulic diameter. Smaller secondary velocities are found for turbulent flow in an identical duct with a radius ratio of 7.0 than in the strongly curved bend, although their effect is more important to the streamwise flow development because of the smaller pressure gradients. In addition, the detail and accuracy of the measurements make them suitable for evaluation of numerical techniques and turbulence models.

Taylor, A. M. K. P.↗

An improved viscid/inviscid interaction procedure for transonic flow over airfoils

A new interacting boundary layer approach for computing the viscous transonic flow over airfoils is described. The theory includes a complete treatment of viscous interaction effects induced by the wake and accounts for normal pressure gradient effects across the boundary layer near trailing edges. The method is based on systematic expansions of the full Reynolds equation of turbulent flow in the limit of Reynolds numbers, Reynolds infinity. Procedures are developed for incorporating the local trailing edge solution into the numerical solution of the coupled full potential and integral boundary layer equations. Although the theory is strictly applicable to airfoils with cusped or nearly cusped trailing edges and to turbulent boundary layers that remain fully attached to the airfoil surface, the method was successfully applied to more general airfoils and to flows with small separation zones. Comparisons of theoretical solutions with wind tunnel data indicate the present method can accurately predict the section characteristics of airfoils including the absolute levels of drag.

Melnik, R. E.↗

Design of an Axisymmetric Afterbody Test Case for CFD Validation

As identified in the CFD Vision 2030 Study commissioned by NASA, validation of advanced RANS models and scale-resolving methods for computing turbulent flow fields must be supported by continuous improvements in fundamental, high-fidelity experiments designed specifically for CFD implementation. In accordance with this effort, the underpinnings of a new test platform referred to herein as the NASA Axisymmetric Afterbody are presented. The devised body-of-revolution is a modular platform consisting of a forebody section and afterbody section, allowing for a range of flow behaviors to be studied on interchangeable afterbody geometries. A body-of-revolution offers advantages in shape definition and fabrication, in avoiding direct contact with wind tunnel sidewalls, and in tail-sting integration to facilitate access to higher Reynolds number tunnels. The current work is focused on validation of smooth-body turbulent flow separation, for which a six-parameter body has been developed. A priori RANS computations are reported for a risk-reduction test configuration in order to demonstrate critical variation among turbulence model results for a given afterbody, ranging from barely-attached to mild separated flow. RANS studies of the effects of forebody nose (with/without) and wind tunnel boundary (slip/no-slip) on the selected afterbody are presented. Representative modeling issues that can be explored with this configuration are the effect of higher Reynolds number on separation behavior, flow physics of the progression from attached to increasingly-separated afterbody flows, and the effect of embedded longitudinal vortices on turbulence structure.

Disotell, Kevin J.↗

Preliminary Assessment of Additively Manufactured Cooling Channel Performance for Helium-Cooled Blanket Concepts

Sufficient cooling of the blanket first wall remains a critical challenge for the design and deployment of fusion power plants. Helium has been targeted as a potential blanket coolant due to its inertness and low neutron interactivity, among other advantages. However, the low thermal mass of helium creates a need for heat transfer enhancements in coolant channels to provide adequate cooling to the blanket’s first wall. Toward this end, a series of ribbed flow channels of various rib cross sections and configurations has been produced via additive manufacturing (AM) to study the efficacy of AM for first wall heat transfer enhancement and the optimization of heat transfer geometries. Helium cooling performance is studied in AM test articles at 4 MPa operating pressure, Reynolds numbers up to 197 000, and outer surface heat fluxes up to 42 kW/m 2 in the recently commissioned helium flow loop experiment (HFLE). Preliminary results of this study are presented herein. Heat transfer performance of nominally smooth (i.e., featureless) AM channels is quantified via measured Nusselt numbers and friction factors and compared to off-the-shelf smooth pipe experiments. Results are compared to existing correlations and used to discuss the effects of the AM processes on thermal-hydraulic performance. It is seen that the inherent roughness of the AM channels leads to an increase in both heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop when compared to the conventional pipe. In conclusion, recommendations are made for future studies based on these findings and additional considerations for the deployment of AM blanket cooling components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

General heating distributions on the tumbling infinite cylinder

The Shuttle program plans to recover all flight hardware except the External Tank (ET). The ET reentry task requires the quaranteed safe disposal in a remote section and specific footprint of the Indian Ocean or the Antarctic Pacific. The ET is separated from the Orbiter at near orbital speeds and must reenter tumbling, to neutralize lift in an essentially ballistic trajectory. The aerothermodynamic heating becomes an intriguing, complex, and sophisticated series of flow field, boundary layer, and gas dynamic problems that is an important new technology in the reentering disposal task. The singular aspect given in this paper is the general heating distributions for all tumbling attitudes. The objective is to maintain simplicity in form but with variable coefficients to be analytically scaled to account for free molecule, convective laminar and turbulent flow, real gas dissociation or any Reynolds number or Mach number effects.

Carroll, H. R.↗

Experimental Investigation of Transition to Turbulence as Affected By Passing Wakes

This paper presents experimental results from a study of the effects of periodically passing wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition and separation in a low-pressure turbine passage. The test section geometry is designed to simulate unsteady wakes in turbine engines for studying their effects on boundary layers and separated flow regions over the suction surface by using a single suction surface and a single pressure surface to simulate a single turbine blade passage. Single-wire, thermal anemometry techniques are used to measure time-resolved and phase averaged, wall-normal profiles of velocity, turbulence intensity and intermittency at multiple streamwise locations over the turbine airfoil suction surface. These data are compared to steady-state wake-free data collected in the same geometry to identify the effects of wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition. Results are presented for flows with a Reynolds number based on suction surface length and stage exit velocity of 50,000 and an approach flow turbulence intensity of 2.5%. While both existing design and experimental data are primarily concerned with higher Reynolds number flows (Re greater than 100,000), recent advances in gas turbine engines, and the accompanying increase in laminar and transitional flow effects, have made low-Re research increasingly important. From the presented data, the effects of passing wakes on transition and separation in the boundary layer, due to both increased turbulence levels and varying streamwise pressure gradients are presented. The results show how the wakes affect transition. The wakes affect the flow by virtue of their difference in turbulence levels and scales from those of the free-stream and by virtue of their ensemble- averaged velocity deficits, relative to the free-stream velocity, and the concomitant changes in angle of attack and temporal pressure gradients. The relationships between the velocity oscillations in the freestream and the unsteady velocity profile shapes in the near-wall flow are described. In this discussion is support for the theory that bypass transition is a response of the near-wall viscous layer to pressure fluctuations imposed upon it from the free-stream flow. Recent transition models are based on that premise. The data also show a significant lag between when the wake is present over the surface and when transition begins.cous layer to pressure fluctuations imposed upon it from the free-stream flow. Recent transition models are based on that premise. The data also show a significant lag between when the wake is present over the surface and when transition begins.cous layer to pressure fluctuations imposed upon it from the free-stream flow. Recent transition models are based on that premise. The data also show a significant lag between when the wake is present over the surface and when transition begins.

Kaszeta, Richard W.↗

Experimental aerodynamics characteristics for bodies of elliptic cross section at angles of attack from 0 deg to 58 deg and Mach numbers from 0.6 to 2.0

An experimental investigation was conducted to measure the static aerodynamic characteristics for two bodies of elliptic cross section and for their equivalent body of revolution. The equivalent body of revolution had the same length and axial distribution of cross-sectional area as the elliptic bodies. It consisted of a tangent ogive nose of fineness ratio 3 followed by a cylinder with a fineness ratio of 7. All bodies were tested at Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.0 at angles of attack from 0 deg to 58 deg. The data demonstrate that the aerodynamic characteristics can be significantly altered by changing the body cross section from circular to elliptic and by rolling the body from 0 deg to 90 deg. For example, the first elliptic body (with a constant cross-sectional axis ratio of 2) developed at zero roll about twice the normal force developed by the equivalent body of revolution. At some angles of attack greater than about 25 deg, side forces and yawing moments were measured in spite of the fact that the bodies were tested at zero angle of sideslip. The side-force and yawing-moment coefficients decreased with an increase in Mach number and essentially disappeared for all the bodies at Mach numbers greater than 1.2. From the standpoint of reducing undesirable side forces at high angles of attack, it is best to have the flattest side of the nose of the elliptic bodies pitching against the stream crossflow. The effect of Reynolds number was also the least significant for both elliptic bodies when the flattest side of the nose was pitched against the stream crossflow.

Jorgensen, L. H.↗

In-situ thermal transport measurement of flowing fluid using modulated photothermal radiometry

In situ thermal transport measurement of flowing fluid could be useful for the characterization and diagnosis of practical thermal systems such as fluid heat exchangers and thermal energy storage systems. Despite abundant reports on the ex-situ thermal conductivity measurement of stagnant fluids, a suitable technique for the thermal conductivity measurement of flowing fluid has been rarely reported. Here, this paper presents the thermal conductivity measurement of flowing fluid within a pipe using a non-contact modulated photothermal radiometry (MPR) technique, where the surface of the pipe is heated by an intensity-modulated laser and the heat diffuses into the fluid with suitable modulation frequency. We design a tube section with small wall thickness suitable for the MPR measurements to maximize the sensitivity of the thermal response to the fluid properties while minimizing the lateral heat spreading effect. Intrinsic thermal conductivity of different fluids was obtained within a proper range of frequency and flow velocity where the forced convection effect is negligible. The forced convection effect became prominent at high flowing velocity and at low modulation frequency, leading to higher effective thermal conductivity of the fluid. It is found that the intrinsic thermal conductivity could be obtained when the flow velocity is less than 100 mm/sec and Re D 1/2 Pr 1/3 < 100 for DI water and Xceltherm oil under the specified experimental conditions, where Re D is the Reynolds number and Pr is the Prandtl number.

42 ENGINEERING↗

High Reynolds number transonic tests on a NACA 0012 airfoil in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

Tests were conducted in the two-dimensional test section of the Langley 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel on a NACA 0012 airfoil to obtain aerodynamic data as a part of the Advanced Technology Airfoil Test (ATAT) program. The test program covered a Mach number range of 0.30 to 0.82 and a Reynolds number range of 3.0 to 45.0 x 10 to the 6th. The stagnation pressure was varied between 1.2 and 6.0 atmospheres and the stagnation temperature was varied between 300 K and 90 K to obtain these test conditions. Plots of the spanwise variation of drag coefficient as a function of normal force coefficient and the variation of the basic aerodynamic characteristics with angle of attack are shown. The data are presented uncorrected for wall interference effects and without analysis.

Ladson, Charles L.↗

Exploratory Investigation of the Effects of Boundary-Layer Control on the Pressure-Recovery Characteristics of a Circular Internal-Contraction Inlet with Translating Centerbody at Mach Numbers of 2.00 and 2.35

Exploratory tests of a circular internal-contraction inlet were made at Mach numbers of 2.00 and 2.35 to determine the effect of a cowl-type boundary-layer control located downstream of the inlet throat. The inlet was designed for a Mach number of 2.5. Tests were also made of the inlet modified to correspond to design Mach numbers of 2.35 and 2.25. Surveys near the minimum area section of the inlet without boundary-layer control indicated maximum averaged pressure recoveries between 0.90 and 0.92 at a free-stream Mach number, M(sub infinity), of 2.35 for the inlets. Farther downstream, after partial subsonic diffusion, a maximum pressure recovery of 0.842 was obtained with the inlet at M(sub infinity) = 2.35. The pressure recovery of the inlet was increased by 0.03 at a Mach number of 2.35 and decreased by 0.02 at a Mach number of 2.00 by the application of cowl-type boundary-layer control. Further investigation with the inlet without bleed demonstrated that an increase of angle of attack from 0 deg to 3 deg reduced the pressure recovery 0.04. The effect of Reynolds number was to increase pressure recovery 0.07 (from 0.785 to 0.855) with an increase in Reynolds number (based on inlet diameter) from 0.79 x 10(exp 6) to 3.19 x 10(exp 6).

Martin, Norman J.↗

Maximum Mean Lift Coefficient Characteristics at Low Tip Mach Numbers of a Hovering Helicopter Rotor Having an NACA 64(1)A012 Airfoil Section

An investigation has been conducted on the Langley helicopter test tower to determine experimentally the maximum mean lift-coefficient characteristics at low tip Mach number and a limited amount of drag- divergence data at high tip Mach number of a helicopter rotor having an NACA 64(1)AO12 airfoil section and 8 deg of linear washout. Data are presented for blade tip Mach numbers M(t) of 0.29 to 0.74 with corresponding values 6 6 of tip Reynolds number of 2.59 x 10(exp 6) and 6.58 x 10(exp 6). Comparisons are made between the data from the present rotor with results previously obtained from two other rotors: one having NACA 0012 airfoil sections and the other having an NACA 0009 airfoil tip section. At low tip Mach numbers, the maximum mean lift coefficient for the blade having the NACA 64(1)AO12 section was about 0.08 less than that obtained with the blade having the NACA 0009 tip section and 0.21 less than the value obtained with the blade having the NACA 0012 tip section. Blade maximum mean lift coefficient values were not obtained for Mach number values greater than 0.47 because of a blade failure encountered during the tests. The effective mean lift-curve slope required for predicting rotor thrust varied from 5.8 for the tip Mach nuniber range of 0.29 to 0.55 to a value of 6.65 for a tip Mach number of 0.71. The blade pitching-moment coefficients were small and relatively unaffected by changes in thrust coefficient and Mach number. In the instances in which stall was reached, the break in the blade pitching-moment curve was in a stable direction. The efficiency of the rotor decreased with an increase in tip speed. Expressed as figure of merit, at a tip Mach number of 0.29 the maximum value was about 0.74. Similar measurements made on another rotor having an NACA 0012 airfoil and with a rotor having an NACA 0009 tip section, showed a value of 0.75. Synthesized section lift and profile-drag characteristics for the rotor-blade airfoil section are presented as an aid in predicting the high-tip-speed performance of rotors having similar airfoils.

Powell, Robert D., Jr.↗