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At least 199 records · Page 11

An experimental investigation of vortex breakdown on a delta wing

An experimental investigation of vortex breakdown on delta wings at high angles is presented. Thin delta wings having sweep angles of 70, 75, 80 and 85 degrees are being studied. Smoke flow visualization and the laser light sheet technique are being used to obtain cross-sectional views of the leading edge vortices as they break down. At low tunnel speeds (as low as 3 m/s) details of the flow, which are usually imperceptible or blurred at higher speeds, can be clearly seen. A combination of lateral and longitudinal cross-sectional views provides information on the three dimensional nature of the vortex structure before, during and after breakdown. Whereas details of the flow are identified in still photographs, the dynamic characteristics of the breakdown process were recorded using high speed movies. Velocity measurements were obtained using a laser Doppler anemometer with the 70 degree delta wing at 30 degrees angle of attack. The measurements show that when breakdown occurs the core flow transforms from a jet-like flow to a wake-like flow.

Payne, F. M.↗

Vortex flow hysteresis

An experimental study was conducted to quantify the hysteresis associated with various vortex flow transition points and to determine the effect of planform geometry. The transition points observed consisted of the appearance (or disappearance) of trailing edge vortex burst and the transition to (or from) flat plate or totally separated flows. Flow visualization with smoke injected into the vortices was used to identify the transitions on a series of semi-span models tested in a low speed tunnel. The planforms tested included simple deltas (55 deg to 80 deg sweep), cranked wings with varying tip panel sweep and dihedral, and a straked wing. High speed movies at 1000 frames per second were made of the vortex flow visualization in order to better understand the dynamics of vortex flow, burst and transition.

Cunningham, A. M., Jr.↗

To catch a comet: Technical overview of CAN DO G-324

The primary photographing of aboard STS 61-E. INTRODUCTION objective of the C.E. Williams Middle School Get Away Special "CAN DO" is the Comet Halley. As it is currently scheduled, G-324 will fly in March of 1986 The project will involve middle school students, grades 6 through 8, in the study and interpretation of astronomical photographs and techniques. -The-objectives of these studies are detailed in another paper to be presented at this symposium. 6-324 is contained in a 5 cubic foot G.A.S. Canister with an opening door and pyrex window for photography. It will be pressurized with one atmosphere of dry nitrogen. Three 35mm still cameras with 250 exposure film backs and different focal length lenses will be fired by a combination of automatic timer and an active comet detector. A lightweight 35mm movie camera will shoot single exposures at about 4 minute intervals to give an overlapping "skymap" of the mission. The fifth camera is a solid state television camera specially constructed for detection of the comet by the microprocessor. In addition to the photographic goals of CAN DO, the canister also contains a separate package of middle school student designed passive experiments. These-projects will be described in detail in the accompanying paper on educational goals.

Thomas J. O'Brien↗

Radial growth of an extended spoke in Saturn's B ring

An analysis is reported of the pattern of radial growth of an extended spoke observed in the Voyager 2 low-resolution Saturn ring 'movie'. The feature is atypical in that it orbits Saturn at the corotational rate for 1-1/2 hours after the onset of its formation and then undergoes a 40-min acceleration to sustained Keplerian velocities. A correlation between the dynamical phases and the radial growth modes of the spoke is observed, one that seems consistent with the plasma cloud model of spoke formation and evolution proposed by Goertz and Morfill (1983), taken in the limit of high charge density.

Eplee, R. E., Jr.↗

Description of and results from camera systems for recording daytime lightning strikes to an airplane in flight

Photographic still and movie and video camera systems have been developed to reveal more about the characteristics of daytime lightning strikes to airplanes in flight. Equipment selection and design is particularly important with regard to time of event occurrence, time correlation between cameras, rapidity of actuation, ease of photogrammetric analysis, and selection of fields of view. The most recent such camera systems flown in an NASA F-106B research airplane are described and design considerations are discussed. Daytime depictions of lightning strikes are presented as illustrative of some of these considerations.

Brown, P. W.↗

Computer graphics and the graphic artist

A centralized computer graphics system is being developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. This system was required to satisfy multiuser needs, ranging from presentation quality graphics prepared by a graphic artist to 16-mm movie simulations generated by engineers and scientists. While the major thrust of the central graphics system was directed toward engineering and scientific applications, hardware and software capabilities to support the graphic artists were integrated into the design. This paper briefly discusses the importance of computer graphics in research; the central graphics system in terms of systems, software, and hardware requirements; the application of computer graphics to graphic arts, discussed in terms of the requirements for a graphic arts workstation; and the problems encountered in applying computer graphics to the graphic arts. The paper concludes by presenting the status of the central graphics system.

Taylor, N. L.↗

Effect of vibration amplitude on vapor cavitation in journal bearings

Computational movies were used to analyze the formation and collapse of vapor cavitation bubbles in a submerged journal bearing. The effect of vibration amplitude on vapor cavitation was studied for a journal undergoing circular whirl. The boundary conditions were implemented using Elrod's algorithm, which conserves mass flow through the cavitation bubble as well as through the oil-film region of the bearing. The vibration amplitudes for the different cases studied resulted in maximum eccentricity ratios ranging from 0.4 to 0.9. The minimum eccentricity ratio reached in each case was 0.1. For the least vibration amplitude studied in which the eccentricity ratio varied between 0.1 and 0.4, no vapor cavitation occurred. The largest vibration amplitude (i.e., eccentricity ratios of 0.1 to 0.9) resulted in vapor cavitation present 76 percent of one complete orbit.

Brewe, D. E.↗

Flowfield measurements in a separated and reattached flat plate turbulent boundary layer

The separation and reattachment of a large-scale, two-dimensional turbulent boundary layer at low subsonic speed on a flat plate has been studied experimentally. The separation bubble was 55 cm long and had a maximum bubble thickness, measured to the height of the mean dividing streamline, of 17 cm, which was twice the thickness of the inlet boundary layer. A combination of laser velocimetry, hot-wire anemometry, pneumatic probing techniques, and flow visualization were used as diagnostics. Principal findings were that an outer inviscid rotational flow was defined which essentially convected over the blockage associated with the inner, viscously dominated bubble recirculation region. A strong backflow region in which the flow moved upstream 100 percent of the time was measured near the test surface over the central 35 percent of the bubble. A laminar backflow boundary layer having pseudo-turbulent characteristics including a log-linear velocity profile was generated under the highly turbulent backflow. Velocity profile shapes in the reversed flow region matched a previously developed universal backflow profile at the upstream edge of the separation region but not in the steady backflow region downstream. A smoke flow visualization movie and hot-film measurements revealed low frequency nonperiodic flapping at reattachment. However, forward flow fraction data at reattachment and mean velocity profiles in the redeveloping boundary layer downstream of reattachment correlated with backward-facing step data when the axial dimension was scaled by the distance from the maximum bubble thickness to reattachment.

Patrick, William P.↗

Aspects of Voyager photogrammetry

In January 1986, Voyager 2 took a series of pictures of Uranus and its satellites with the Imaging Science System (ISS) on board the spacecraft. Based on six stereo images from the ISS narrow-angle camera, a topographic map was compiled of the Southern Hemisphere of Miranda, one of Uranus' moons. Assuming a spherical figure, a 20-km surface relief is shown on the map. With three additional images from the ISS wide-angle camera, a control network of Miranda's Southern Hemisphere was established by analytical photogrammetry, producing 88 ground points for the control of multiple-model compilation on the AS-11AM analytical stereoplotter. Digital terrain data from the topographic map of Miranda have also been produced. By combining these data and the image data from the Voyager 2 mission, perspective views or even a movie of the mapped area can be made. The application of these newly developed techniques to Voyager 1 imagery, which includes a few overlapping pictures of Io and Ganymede, permits the compilation of contour maps or topographic profiles of these bodies on the analytical stereoplotters.

Wu, Sherman S. C.↗

Grid adaption for bluff bodies

Methods of grid adaptation are reviewed and a method is developed with the capability of adaptation to several flow variables. This method is based on a variational approach and is an algebraic method which does not require the solution of partial differential equations. Also the method was formulated in such a way that there is no need for any matrix inversion. The method is used in conjunction with the calculation of hypersonic flow over a blunt nose. The equations of motion are the compressible Navier-Stokes equations where all viscous terms are retained. They are solved by the MacCormack time-splitting method and a movie was produced which shows simulataneously the transient behavior of the solution and the grid adaptation. The results are compared with the experimental and other numerical results.

Abolhassani, Jamshid S.↗

Welding arc and plasma studies using real time, multipass holographic interferometry

Flow visualization of the plasma process in a welding arc is being studied with a multipass Argon ion interferometer. High speed movies at 10,000 frames per/sec are taken. The multipass interferometer and several interferograms of the plasma near the electrode of the welding are given. Digitization of the fringes is currently done by hand.

Deason, Vance↗

Temperature and concentration measurements in combustion

A high speed two wavelength holographic interferometer is being used to simultaneously measure temperature and concentration distributions for ignition and flame spread. Lines from a cw CO2 laser were used and the holograms recorded on a movie at 500 frames per/sec, individual frames were digitized with a microdensitometer. The detection on the fringe center was a major problem.

Kashiwagi, Takashi↗

Influence of solar flares on the X-ray corona

Sequences of X-ray images of solar flares, obtained with the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer on the SMM spacecraft, reveal many dynamical phenomena. Movies of 20 flares recorded with 6-sec time resolution were examined. A preliminary analysis of the events as a group are presented, and some new aspects of the well-studied May 21, 1980 flare and a November 6, 1980 flare are discussed.

Rust, D. M.↗

Numerical simulation of compressible flow around complex two-dimensional cavities

Compressible viscous flow around two-dimensional cavities, that model the midplane flow in and around an airborne telescope cavity, are obtained through numerical simulation. Numerical solutions using the patched grid CSCM scheme for compressible, unsteady flow are presented for the cavities, with and without blowing. The time evolving solutions show interesting flow features. Relevant results for a limited number of problems presented here show the unsteady nature of the flow and its dependence on various parameters such as Reynolds number, the wall conditions, etc. The voluminous data of time evolving flow field solutions are analyzed through movies of the velocity vectors, and contours of other flow variables.

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj↗

Grid adaption for hypersonic flow

The methods of grid adaption are reviewed and a method is developed with the capability of adaption to several flow variables. This method is based on a variational approach and is an algebraic method which does not require the solution of partial differential equations. Also the method has been formulated in such a way that there is no need for any matrix inversion. The method is used in conjunction with the calculation of hypersonic flow over a blunt nose body. The equations of motion are the compressible Navier-Stokes equations where all viscous terms are retained. They are solved by the MacCormack time-splitting method. A movie has been produced which shows simultaneously the transient behavior of the solution and the grid adaption.

Abolhassani, Jamshid S.↗

Flow visualization of CFD using graphics workstations

High performance graphics workstations are used to visualize the fluid flow dynamics obtained from supercomputer solutions of computational fluid dynamic programs. The visualizations can be done independently on the workstation or while the workstation is connected to the supercomputer in a distributed computing mode. In the distributed mode, the supercomputer interactively performs the computationally intensive graphics rendering tasks while the workstation performs the viewing tasks. A major advantage of the workstations is that the viewers can interactively change their viewing position while watching the dynamics of the flow fields. An overview of the computer hardware and software required to create these displays is presented. For complex scenes the workstation cannot create the displays fast enough for good motion analysis. For these cases, the animation sequences are recorded on video tape or 16 mm film a frame at a time and played back at the desired speed. The additional software and hardware required to create these video tapes or 16 mm movies are also described. Photographs illustrating current visualization techniques are discussed. Examples of the use of the workstations for flow visualization through animation are available on video tape.

Lasinski, Thomas↗

Design and test of a prototype thermal bus evaporator reservoir aboard the KC-135 0-g aircraft

The Thermal Bus Zero-G Reservoir Demonstration Experiment (RDE) has currently undergone two flights on the NASA-JSC KC-135 Reduced Gravity Aircraft. The objective of the experiment, which uses a smaller version of the evaporator reservoirs being designed for the Prototype Thermal Bus for Space Station, is to demonstrate proper 0-g operation of the reservoir in terms of fluid positioning, draining, and filling. The KC-135 was chosen to provide a cost-effective and timely evaluation of 0-g design issues that would be difficult to predict analytically. A total of fifty 0-g parabolas have been flown, each providing approximately 25-30 seconds of 0-g time. While problems have been encountered, the experiment has provided valuable design data on the 0-g operation of the reservoir. This paper documents the design of the experiment; the results of both flights, based on the high-speed movies taken during the flight and the visual observations of the experimenters; and the design modifications made as a result of the first flight and planned as a result of the second flight.

Brown, Richard F.↗

Experimental evidence for modifying the current physical model for ice accretion on aircraft surfaces

Closeup movies, still photographs, and other experimental data suggest that the current physical model for ice accretion needs significant modification. At aircraft airspeeds there was no flow of liquid over the surface of the ice after a short initial flow, even at barely subfreezing temperatures. Instead, there were very large stationary drops on the ice surface that lose water from their bottoms by freezing and replenish their liquid by catching the microscopic cloud droplets. This observation disagrees with the existing physical model, which assumes there is a thin liquid film continuously flowing over the ice surface. With no such flow, the freezing-fraction concept of the model fails when a mass balance is performed on the surface water. Rime ice does, as the model predicts, form when the air temperature is low enough to cause the cloud droplets to freeze almost immediately on impact. However, the characteristic shapes of horn-glaze ice or rime ice are primarily caused by the ice shape affecting the airflow locally and consequently the droplet catch and the resulting ice shape. Ice roughness greatly increases the heat transfer coefficient, stops the movement of drops along the surface, and may also affect the airflow initially and thereby the droplet catch. At high subreezing temperatures the initial flow and shedding of surface drops have a large effect on the ice shape. At the incipient freezing limit, no ice forms.

Olsen, W.↗