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Experimental and analytical studies of a true airspeed sensor
A true airspeed sensor based on the precession of a vortex whistle for sensing airspeeds up to 321.9 km/hr (200 mph). In an attempt to model the complicated fluid mechanics of the vortex precession, three dimensional, inviscid, unsteady, incompressible fluid flow was studied by using the hydrodynamical linearized stability theory. The temporal stability approach was used to derive the relationship between the true airspeed and frequency response. The results show that the frequency response is linearly proportional to the airspeed. A computer program was developed to obtain the numerical solution. Computational results for various parameters were obtained. The designed sensor basically consisted of a vortex tube, a swirler, and a transducer system. A microphone converted the audible tone to an electronic frequency signal. Measurements for both the closed conduit tests and wind tunnel tests were recorded. For a specific flow rate or airspeed, larger exit swirler angles produced higher frequencies. For a smaller cross sectional area in the precessional flow region, the frequency was higher. It was observed that as the airspeed was increased the Strouhal number remained constant.
Investigation of the Influence of Microgravity on Transport Mechanisms in a Virtual Spaceflight Chamber: A Ground Based Program
In January 1992, the IML-1 FES experiment produced a set of classic experimental data and a 40 hour holographic "movie" of an ensemble of spheres in a fluid in microgravity. Because the data are in the form of holograms, we can study the three-dimensional distribution of particles with unprecedented detail by a variety of methods and for a wide variety of interests. The possession of the holographic movie is tantamount to having a complex experiment in space while working in an easily accessible laboratory on earth. The movie contains a vast amount of useful data, including residual g, g-jitter, convection and transport data, and particle fluid interaction data. The information content in the movie is so great that we have scarcely begun to tap into the data that is actually available in the more than 1000 holograms, each containing as much as 1000 megabytes of information. This ground-based project is exploiting this data and the concept of holographic storage of spaceflight data to provide an understanding of the effects of microgravity in materials processing. This paper provides the foundation, objectives, and status of the ground based project. The primary objective of this project is to advance the understanding of microgravity effects on crystal growth, convection in materials processing in the space environment, and complex transport phenomena at low Reynolds numbers. This objective is being achieved both experimentally and theoretically. Experiments are making use of existing holographic data recorded during the IML- I spaceflight. A parallel theoretical effort is providing the models for understanding the particle fields and their physics in the microgravity environment.
A New Modeling Framework for Multi-Scale Simulation of Hydraulic Fracturing and Production from Unconventional Reservoirs
This paper describes a new modeling framework for microscopic to reservoir-scale simulations of hydraulic fracturing and production. The approach builds upon a fusion of two existing high-performance simulators for reservoir-scale behavior: the GEOS code for hydromechanical evolution during stimulation and the TOUGH+ code for multi-phase flow during production. The reservoir-scale simulations are informed by experimental and modeling studies at the laboratory scale to incorporate important micro-scale mechanical processes and chemical reactions occurring within the fractures, the shale matrix, and at the fracture-fluid interfaces. These processes include, among others, changes in stimulated fracture permeability as a result of proppant behavior rearrangement or embedment, or mineral scale precipitation within pores and microfractures, at µm to cm scales. In our new modeling framework, such micro-scale testing and modeling provides upscaled hydromechanical parameters for the reservoir scale models. We are currently testing the new modeling framework using field data and core samples from the Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS), a recent field-based joint research experiment with intense monitoring of hydraulic fracturing and shale production in the Wolfcamp Formation in the Permian Basin (USA). Below, we present our approach coupling the reservoir simulators GEOS and TOUGH+ informed by upscaled parameters from micro-scale experiments and modeling. We provide a brief overview of the HFTS and the available field data, and then discuss the ongoing application of our new workflow to the HFTS data set.
Nucleate pool boiling: High gravity to reduced gravity; liquid metals to cryogens
Requirements for the proper functioning of equipment and personnel in reduced gravity associated with space platforms and future space station modules introduce unique problems in temperature control; power generation; energy dissipation; the storage, transfer, control and conditioning of fluids; and liquid-vapor separation. The phase change of boiling is significant in all of these. Although both pool and flow boiling would be involved, research results to date include only pool boiling because buoyancy effects are maximized for this case. The effective application of forced convection boiling heat transfer in the microgravity of space will require a well grounded and cogent understanding of the mechanisms involved. Experimental results are presented for pool boiling from a single geometrical configuration, a flat surface, covering a wide range of body forces from a/g = 20 to 1 to a/g = 0 to -1 for a cryogenic liquid, and from a/g = 20 to 1 for water and a liquid metal. Similarities in behavior are noted for these three fluids at the higher gravity levels, and may reasonably be expected to continue at reduced gravity levels.
A Study of Cavitation-Ignition Bubble Combustion
We present the results of an experimental and computational study of the physics and chemistry of cavitation-ignition bubble combustion (CIBC), a process that occurs when combustible gaseous mixtures are ignited by the high temperatures found inside a rapidly collapsing bubble. The CIBC process was modeled using a time-dependent compressible fluid-dynamics code that includes finite-rate chemistry. The model predicts that gas-phase reactions within the bubble produce CO and other gaseous by-products of combustion. In addition, heat and mechanical energy release through a bubble volume-expansion phase are also predicted by the model. We experimentally demonstrate the CIBC process using an ultrasonically excited cavitation flow reactor with various hydrocarbon-air mixtures in liquid water. Low concentrations (< 160 ppm) of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from the ultrasonic reactor were measured, and found to be proportional to the acoustic excitation power. The results of the model were consistent with the measured experimental results. Based on the experimental findings, the computational model, and previous reports of the "micro-diesel effect" in industrial hydraulic systems, we conclude that CIBC is indeed possible and exists in ultrasonically- and hydrodynamically-induced cavitation. Finally, estimates of the utility of CIBC process as a means of powering an idealized heat engine are also presented.
Electrochemically actuated mercury pump for fluid flow and delivery
This paper describes the development of a prototype pumping system with the potential for incorporation into miniaturized, fluid-based analytical instruments. The approach exploits the well-established electrocapillarity phenomena at a mercury/electrolyte interface as the mechanism for pump actuation. That is, electrochemically induced changes in the surface tension of mercury result in the pistonlike movement of a mercury column confined within a capillary. We present herein theoretical and experimental assessments of pump performance. The design and construction of the pump are detailed, and the potential attributes of this design, including the generated pumping pressure, flow rate, and power consumption, are discussed. The possible miniaturization of the pump for use as a field-deployable, fluid-delivery device is also briefly examined.
Hybrid approach to steady transonic normal-shock compressible laminar boundary-layer interactions over airfoils
A simulation of steady transonic viscous-inviscid interactions through a combination of zonal solution methods (involving different equation sets and numerical regions for various flow regions) is used in an investigation of a fluid mechanics problem in which the pressure distribution is determined by the interaction between transonic inviscid flow and an inner laminar viscous layer. The results obtained are in good agreement with laminar experimental data. Both attached and separated boundary layer flows are considered for either weak or strong interactions.
A discrete vortex model for predicting wing rock of slender wings
The fluid mechanism responsible for generating wing rock of slender sharp-edged delta wings was investigated using an unsteady discrete vortex model developed for that purpose, which is based on results of experimental investigations. Combined experimental and computational results indicate that wing rock is sustained by a lag in the position of the leading edge vortices normal to the surface. Results of comutations also indicate that certain complex aerodynamic problems may be governed primarily by unsteady inviscid phenomena.
Investigation of turbulent inflow specification in Euler–Lagrange simulations of mid-field spray
The process of atomization of a liquid jet by a parallel high-speed gas stream results in a spray, whose downstream development is of considerable interest to several applications. The round jet spray can be spatially divided into (i) a near-field (near-nozzle) region of liquid atomization and (ii) a downstream mid-field region of fully-dispersed droplets. In order to accurately model mid-field droplet dispersion, this work aims at developing a rigorous and robust injection model for Euler–Lagrange spray simulations. Results from experiments are used to obtain the relevant droplet number density, size distribution, and mean and standard deviation velocity distributions of the injection model, systematically in a step-by-step process. Two-phase large eddy simulations are performed by stochastically generating the Lagrangian droplets at the inlet of the mid-field region. Number flux, diameter distribution, mean velocity, and other time-averaged statistics at several downstream locations are shown to agree well with the corresponding experimental data.
Microgravity Fluid Separation Physics: Experimental and Analytical Results
Effective, low power, two-phase separation systems are vital for the cost-effective study and utilization of two-phase flow systems and flow physics of two-phase flows. The study of microgravity flows have the potential to reveal significant insight into the controlling mechanisms for the behavior of flows in both normal and reduced gravity environments. The microgravity environment results in a reduction in gravity induced buoyancy forces acting on the discrete phases. Thus, surface tension, viscous, and inertial forces exert an increased influence on the behavior of the flow as demonstrated by the axisymmetric flow patterns. Several space technology and operations groups have studied the flow behavior in reduced gravity since gas-liquid flows are encountered in several systems such as cabin humidity control, wastewater treatment, thermal management, and Rankine power systems.
Debris-induced consequences on turbulence and vorticity in solar photovoltaic module-generated array wakes
Particle-laden flows in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are inevitable, where wind-swept debris in open environments are carried by high winds and turbulence, coating panel surfaces or damaging structures. Particle deposition, or soiling, is a well-known issue for large-scale plants which rely on uninhibited solar rays for optimal production. But understanding the mechanisms leading to soiling requires a physical and fluid dynamics-centered focus, since turbulence dominates PV panel wakes and is also known to alter particle concentration and trajectories. This study presents an experimental campaign toward consequences of particle-laden flow between two model PV panels using time-resolved particle image velocimetry. The model array was subjected to varied particle volume fractions, including a tracer particle case and a water droplet case. Characterization of mean velocity, turbulence statistics, and mean kinetic energy within the single phase and, separately, particle phase flows showed modified features due to particle inertia. Images captured at a frequency of 1 kHz in the near wake of the upstream panel allow for a first experimental look at vorticity and convective velocity of vortex structures for single-phase and particle-phase flows which are crucial to debris transport and soiling in PV environments.
SINFAC simulation of a high-power hybrid CPL
The systems improved numerical fluids analysis code (SINFAC) was used to model a high-power hybrid capillary-pumped loop. A comparison was made between the simulation results and actual experimental test data for the mechanical-pump-assist mode of operation. The hybrid capillary-pumped loop consisted of a capillary-pumped loop with a mechanical pump in the liquid return line with a bypass value so that the system could be operated either as a capillary-only loop or a series hybrid loop. Excellent agreement was obtained between numerical and experimental data.
Smoldering, Transition and Flaming in Microgravity
A research project is underway to study smolder and the transition to flaming in microgravity. The Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) flight project is an ongoing research project to provide a better understanding of the controlling mechanisms of smoldering combustion. The Smoldering Transition and Flaming (STAF) project is a recently established research program that will utilize the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) of the ISS to examine the transition from smolder to flaming in microgravity. In forced flow smolder experiments ambient pressure in the MSC chamber rises, thus motivating the need to understand the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. Further, the STAF experiment has constraints on experimental scale and testing at elevated pressure may be a mechanism to reduce the sample size by enhancing the smolder reaction. In the work we are reporting here, a series of ground-based tests determine the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. These tests are compared with data obtained from experiments conducted aboard the Space Shuttle in flights STS-69 and STS-77. Measurements of one-dimensional smolder propagation velocity are made by thermocouple probing and a non-intrusive Ultrasound Imaging System (UIS)]. Thermocouples are also used to obtain reaction temperatures and the UIS is used to determine permeabilities of the fuel in real-time.
Optical tweezer measurements of asymptotic nonlinearities in complex fluids
This article presents micro-medium-amplitude oscillatory shear (μMAOS), a method to measure the frequency-dependent micromechanical properties of soft materials in the asymptotically nonlinear regime using optical tweezers. For this work, we have developed a theoretical framework to extract these nonlinear mechanical properties of the material from experimental measurements and also proposed a physical interpretation of the third-order nonlinearities measured in single-tone oscillatory tests. We validate the method using a well-characterized surfactant solution of wormlike micelles, and subsequently employ this technique to demonstrate that the cytoplasm of a living cell undergoes strain softening and shear thinning when locally subjected to weakly nonlinear oscillatory deformations.
Computationally efficient evaluation of optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operating range with accelerated multizone engine cycle simulation
The very intensive calculations necessary to define a performance map requiring evaluation of over a hundred individual operating points can be efficiently conducted with accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation, leading to a definition of regions of acceptable and optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operation. Accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation has the virtue of enabling accurate evaluation of many operating conditions based on thermal stratification data from a single fluid mechanics run at motored conditions. This is possible because thermal stratification is more sensitive to engine geometry than to operating conditions. In this article, accuracy of accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation is demonstrated by comparison with experimental data for iso-octane homogeneous charge compression ignition operation over a broad range of lean equivalence ratios (0.14–0.28). The validated accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation model is then applied to generating a performance map for an engine controlled by appropriately adjusting equivalence ratio and internal exhaust gas recirculation. Regions of acceptable and optimum combustion are identified. It is finally demonstrated that while indicated mean effective pressure remains low for optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operation (1–4 bar), this is sufficient for a large fraction of typical driving in light-duty vehicles. Much driving including idle can therefore be done in homogeneous charge compression ignition mode at high efficiency and low (essentially zero) NOx and particulate matter emissions.
Transonic flow modes of an axisymmetric blunt body
An experimental investigation of transonic flow past a plane-nosed circular cylinder with a plane-nosed circular probe extended coaxially ahead is reported. The possibilities of significant transonic drag reduction and the fluid mechanic phenomena which occur are examined. The probe length and diameter and the approaching flow Mach number are the independent variables. The relations which exist among the probe/cylinder geometry, Mach number, and flow field as revealed by measurements of the drag forces acting on the body are explored.
Design of a rotary stepped auger for a lunar environment
A lunar outpost will have need for deep drilling operations for both explorative and practical purposes. As in any drilling operation, the cuttings must be cleared from the hole. The hard vacuum of the lunar environment renders conventional flushing methods of cutting removal unfeasible, and requires a new system of removal. A rotary stepped auger (RSA) is a simple mechanical method of removing dry cuttings from a deep hole, and is ideally suited to the lunar environment. The RSA consists of a helical auger with stepped ramps which allow cuttings to slide up the helix, but will prevent them from sliding back down. The auger is driven in a pulsed manner by applying a periodic function of acceleration to the auger shaft. These pulses will compel the cuttings to slide up the auger's helix while the stepped ramps prevent the cuttings from backsliding while the auger accelerates. A mathematical model of the RSA was developed and experimentally evaluated. The math model produced a good baseline design, but the experimental model required some tuning to account for the approximations made in the math model. This design is suited for lunar drilling because it is mechanically simple, integral to the drill string, requires no fluids, is suited to the dry soil, and has relatively low weight and power requirements.