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At least 289 records · Page 16

Does metallic ammonium exist

A description is given of calculations which demonstrate that metallic ammonium, at least in the form envisaged by Ramsey (1951), is unstable at all pressures. On the basis of the computational results it is concluded that monovalent metallic ammonium is never the thermodynamically favored phase for an NH3-1/2H2 mixture.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

Computing Equilibrium Chemical Compositions

Chemical Equilibrium With Transport Properties, 1993 (CET93) computer program provides data on chemical-equilibrium compositions. Aids calculation of thermodynamic properties of chemical systems. Information essential in design and analysis of such equipment as compressors, turbines, nozzles, engines, shock tubes, heat exchangers, and chemical-processing equipment. CET93/PC is version of CET93 specifically designed to run within 640K memory limit of MS-DOS operating system. CET93/PC written in FORTRAN.

Mcbride, Bonnie J.↗

Modeling the Deterioration of Engine and Low Pressure Compressor Performance During a Roll Back Event Due to Ice Accretion

The main focus of this study is to apply a computational tool for the flow analysis of the engine that has been tested with ice crystal ingestion in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) of NASA Glenn Research Center. A data point was selected for analysis during which the engine experienced a full roll back event due to the ice accretion on the blades and flow path of the low pressure compressor. The computational tool consists of the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) engine system thermodynamic cycle code, and an Euler-based compressor flow analysis code, that has an ice particle melt estimation code with the capability of determining the rate of sublimation, melting, and evaporation through the compressor blade rows. Decreasing the performance characteristics of the low pressure compressor (LPC) within the NPSS cycle analysis resulted in matching the overall engine performance parameters measured during testing at data points in short time intervals through the progression of the roll back event. Detailed analysis of the fan-core and LPC with the compressor flow analysis code simulated the effects of ice accretion by increasing the aerodynamic blockage and pressure losses through the low pressure compressor until achieving a match with the NPSS cycle analysis results, at each scan. With the additional blockages and losses in the LPC, the compressor flow analysis code results were able to numerically reproduce the performance that was determined by the NPSS cycle analysis, which was in agreement with the PSL engine test data. The compressor flow analysis indicated that the blockage due to ice accretion in the LPC exit guide vane stators caused the exit guide vane (EGV) to be nearly choked, significantly reducing the air flow rate into the core. This caused the LPC to eventually be in stall due to increasing levels of diffusion in the rotors and high incidence angles in the inlet guide vane (IGV) and EGV stators. The flow analysis indicating compressor stall is substantiated by the video images of the IGV taken during the PSL test, which showed water on the surface of the IGV flowing upstream out of the engine, indicating flow reversal, which is characteristic of a stalled compressor.

Veres, Joseph P.↗

Modeling the Deterioration of Engine and Low Pressure Compressor Performance During a Roll Back Event Due to Ice Accretion

The main focus of this study is to apply a computational tool for the flow analysis of the engine that has been tested with ice crystal ingestion in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) of NASA Glenn Research Center. A data point was selected for analysis during which the engine experienced a full roll back event due to the ice accretion on the blades and flow path of the low pressure compressor. The computational tool consists of the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) engine system thermodynamic cycle code, and an Euler-based compressor flow analysis code, that has an ice particle melt estimation code with the capability of determining the rate of sublimation, melting, and evaporation through the compressor blade rows. Decreasing the performance characteristics of the low pressure compressor (LPC) within the NPSS cycle analysis resulted in matching the overall engine performance parameters measured during testing at data points in short time intervals through the progression of the roll back event. Detailed analysis of the fan-core and LPC with the compressor flow analysis code simulated the effects of ice accretion by increasing the aerodynamic blockage and pressure losses through the low pressure compressor until achieving a match with the NPSS cycle analysis results, at each scan. With the additional blockages and losses in the LPC, the compressor flow analysis code results were able to numerically reproduce the performance that was determined by the NPSS cycle analysis, which was in agreement with the PSL engine test data. The compressor flow analysis indicated that the blockage due to ice accretion in the LPC exit guide vane stators caused the exit guide vane (EGV) to be nearly choked, significantly reducing the air flow rate into the core. This caused the LPC to eventually be in stall due to increasing levels of diffusion in the rotors and high incidence angles in the inlet guide vane (IGV) and EGV stators. The flow analysis indicating compressor stall is substantiated by the video images of the IGV taken during the PSL test, which showed water on the surface of the IGV flowing upstream out of the engine, indicating flow reversal, which is characteristic of a stalled compressor.

Jorgenson, Philip C. E.↗

Modeling of Non-Isothermal Cryogenic Fluid Sloshing

A computational fluid dynamic model was used to simulate the thermal destratification in an upright self-pressurized cryostat approximately half-filled with liquid nitrogen and subjected to forced sinusoidal lateral shaking. A full three-dimensional computational grid was used to model the tank dynamics, fluid flow and thermodynamics using the ANSYS Fluent code. A non-inertial grid was used which required the addition of momentum and energy source terms to account for the inertial forces, energy transfer and wall reaction forces produced by the shaken tank. The kinetics-based Schrage mass transfer model provided the interfacial mass transfer due to evaporation and condensation at the sloshing interface. The dynamic behavior of the sloshing interface, its amplitude and transition to different wave modes, provided insight into the fluid process at the interface. The tank pressure evolution and temperature profiles compared relatively well with the shaken cryostat experimental test data provided by the Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales.

Cryogenics↗

WASP: A flexible FORTRAN 4 computer code for calculating water and steam properties

A FORTRAN 4 subprogram, WASP, was developed to calculate the thermodynamic and transport properties of water and steam. The temperature range is from the triple point to 1750 K, and the pressure range is from 0.1 to 100 MN/m2 (1 to 1000 bars) for the thermodynamic properties and to 50 MN/m2 (500 bars) for thermal conductivity and to 80 MN/m2 (800 bars) for viscosity. WASP accepts any two of pressure, temperature, and density as input conditions. In addition, pressure and either entropy or enthalpy are also allowable input variables. This flexibility is especially useful in cycle analysis. The properties available in any combination as output include temperature, density, pressure, entropy, enthalpy, specific heats, sonic velocity, viscosity, thermal conductivity, surface tension, and the Laplace constant. The subroutine structure is modular so that the user can choose only those subroutines necessary to his calculations. Metastable calculations can also be made by using WASP.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

The computation of non-equilibrium chemically-reacting flows

Numerical techniques for the analysis of flows with nonequilibrium thermodynamics and chemistry are developed and demonstrated. Particular attention is given to the formulation of the thermodynamic and chemical gas models, the derivation of the governing equations, and the solution procedures. Results for typical problems involving shock tubes and supersonic diffusers are presented in extensive graphs and briefly characterized.

Grossman, B.↗

Computer Program for the Design and Off-Design Performance of Turbojet and Turbofan Engine Cycles

The rapid computer program is designed to be run in a stand-alone mode or operated within a larger program. The computation is based on a simplified one-dimensional gas turbine cycle. Each component in the engine is modeled thermo-dynamically. The component efficiencies used in the thermodynamic modeling are scaled for the off-design conditions from input design point values using empirical trends which are included in the computer code. The engine cycle program is capable of producing reasonable engine performance prediction with a minimum of computer execute time. The current computer execute time on the IBM 360/67 for one Mach number, one altitude, and one power setting is about 0.1 seconds. about 0.1 seconds. The principal assumption used in the calculation is that the compressor is operated along a line of maximum adiabatic efficiency on the compressor map. The fluid properties are computed for the combustion mixture, but dissociation is not included. The procedure included in the program is only for the combustion of JP-4, methane, or hydrogen.

Morris, S. J.↗

Solar flare model atmospheres

Solar flare model atmospheres computed under the assumption of energetic equilibrium in the chromosphere are presented. The models use a static, one-dimensional plane-parallel geometry and are designed within a physically self-consistent coronal loop. Assumed flare heating mechanisms include collisions from a flux of nonthermal electrons and X-ray heating of the chromosphere by the corona. The heating by energetic electrons accounts explicitly for variations of the ionized fraction with depth in the atmosphere. X-ray heating of the chromosphere by the corona incorporates a flare loop geometry by approximating distant portions of the loop with a series of point sources, while treating the loop leg closest to the chromospheric footpoint in the plane-parallel approximation. Coronal flare heating leads to increased heat conduction, chromospheric evaporation and subsequent changes in coronal pressure; these effects are included self-consistently in the models. Cooling in the chromosphere is computed in detail for the important optically thick H I, Ca II and Mg II transitions using the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) prescription in the program MULTI. Hydrogen ionization rates from X-ray photoionization and collisional ionization by nonthermal electrons are included explicitly in the rate equations. The models are computed in the 'impulsive' and 'equilibrium' limits, and in a set of intermediate 'evolving' states. The impulsive atmospheres have the density distribution frozen in the pre-flare configuration, while the equilibrium models assume the entire atmosphere is in hydrostatic and energetic equilibrium. The evolving atmospheres represent intermediate stages where hydrostatic equilibrium has been established in the chromosphere and corona, but the corona is not yet in energetic equilibrium with the flare heating source. Thus, for example, chromospheric evaporation is still in the process of occurring. We have computed the chromospheric radiation that results from a range of coronal heating rates, with particular emphasis on the widely observed diagnostic H(alpha). Our conclusion is that the H(alpha) fluxes and profiles actually observed in flares can only be produced under conditions of a low-pressure corona with strong beam heating. Therefore we suggest that H(alpha) in flares is produced primarily at the footprints of newly heated loops where significant evaporation has not yet occurred. As a single loop evolves in time, no matter how strong the heating rate may become, the H(alpha) flux will diminish as the corona becomes denser and hence more effective at stopping the beam. This prediction leads to several observable consequences regarding the spatial and temporal signatures of the X-ray and H(alpha) radiation during flares.

Hawley, Suzanne L.↗

Method of calculating gas dynamics and heat transfer in single stage refrigeration units

A generalized mathematical model of gas-dynamic and heat transfer processes in single-stage regenerative installations operating in Stirling, MacMahon, Gifford-MacMahon, and pulsating tube cycles is proposed. A numerical method os solving initial equations on a digital computer is given. This makes it possible to calculate the change in the thermodynamic parameters in the working cycle in different machine components, as well as the dependence of cold productivity on the temperature level in the steady regime.

Zhitomirskiy, I. S.↗

Statistical mechanics of light elements at high pressure. IV - A model free energy for the metallic phase

A large quantity of data on the thermodynamic properties of hydrogen-helium metallic liquids have been obtained in extended computer calculations in which a Monte Carlo code essentially identical to that described by Hubbard (1972) was used. A model free energy for metallic hydrogen with a relatively small mass fraction of helium is discussed, taking into account the definition of variables, a procedure for choosing the free energy, values for the fitting parameters, and the evaluation of the entropy constants. Possibilities concerning a use of the obtained data in studies of the interiors of the outer planets are briefly considered.

Dewitt, H. E.↗

Temperature distributions of a cesium-seeded hydrogen-oxygen supersonic free jet

The hydrogen-oxygen plasma was generated at combustion chamber pressures ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 megapascals and for various seed ratios (1 to 10 percent). The plasma was observed as the atmospheric exhaust from a Mach 2 rocket test facility. Transverse profiles of the absolute integrated intensity were measured with the optically thin CsI lines (0.5664 and 0.5636 microns) at a range of axial positions downstream of the 5-cm-diameter combustor nozzle exit. Radial profiles of the emission coefficient were obtained from the measured transverse profiles of intensity by Abel inversion. Temperatures were then determined from the emission coefficients for conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium using particle densities generated by a two-dimensional free jet computer program. Temperature results show the inherent effects of compression and expansion pressure waves characteristic of a free jet exiting from a supersonic nozzle.

Wang, S. Y.↗

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.↗

Propeller performance and weight predictions appended to the Navy/NASA engine program

The Navy/NASA Engine Performance (NNEP) is a general purpose computer program currently employed by government, industry and university personnel to simulate the thermodynamic cycles of turbine engines. NNEP is a modular program which has the ability to evaluate the performance of an arbitrary engine configuration defined by the user. In 1979, a program to calculate engine weight (WATE-2) was developed by Boeing's Military Division under NASA contract. This program uses a preliminary design approach to determine engine weights and dimensions. Because the thermodynamic and configuration information required by the weight code was available in NNEP, the weight code was appended to NNEP. Due to increased emphasis on fuel economy, a renewed interest has developed in propellers. This report describes the modifications developed by NASA to both NNEP and WATE-2 to determine the performance, weight and dimensions of propellers and the corresponding gearbox. The propeller performance model has three options, two of which are based on propeller map interpolation. Propeller and gearbox weights are obtained from empirical equations which may easily be modified by the user.

Plencner, R. M.↗

Navier-Stokes analysis of cold scramjet-afterbody flows

The progress of two efforts in coding solutions of Navier-Stokes equations is summarized. The first effort concerns a 3-D space marching parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) code being modified to compute the supersonic mixing flow through an internal/external expansion nozzle with multicomponent gases. The 3-D PNS equations, coupled with a set of species continuity equations, are solved using an implicit finite difference scheme. The completed work is summarized and includes code modifications for four chemical species, computing the flow upstream of the upper cowl for a theoretical air mixture, developing an initial plane solution for the inner nozzle region, and computing the flow inside the nozzle for both a N2/O2 mixture and a Freon-12/Ar mixture, and plotting density-pressure contours for the inner nozzle region. The second effort concerns a full Navier-Stokes code. The species continuity equations account for the diffusion of multiple gases. This 3-D explicit afterbody code has the ability to use high order numerical integration schemes such as the 4th order MacCormack, and the Gottlieb-MacCormack schemes. Changes to the work are listed and include, but are not limited to: (1) internal/external flow capability; (2) new treatments of the cowl wall boundary conditions and relaxed computations around the cowl region and cowl tip; (3) the entering of the thermodynamic and transport properties of Freon-12, Ar, O, and N; (4) modification to the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model to account for turbulent eddies generated by cowl walls inside and external to the nozzle; and (5) adopting a relaxation formula to account for the turbulence in the mixing shear layer.

Baysal, Oktay↗

Development of nontoxic heat transport fluids for habitat two-phase thermal control systems

A computational chemistry approach based on pattern recognition techniques is used to correlate molecules thermodynamic and chemical properties with its molecular structure. The potential to develop a suitable two-phase nontoxic heat transport working fluid for the spacecraft habitat environment is discussed. It is concluded that the perfluorocarbons represent a potentially useful class to consider as a source of the working fluids because of their low toxicity, thermal stability, and chemical inertness. The ADAPT software program is considered to be adequate to make structural and property predictions.

Parrish, Clyde F.↗

Modeling Studies of the Effects of Winds and Heat Flux on the Tropical Oceans

Over a decade ago, funding from this NASA grant supported the development of the Cane-Zebiak ENSO prediction model which remains in use to this day. It also supported our work developing schemes for modeling the air-sea heat flux in ocean models used for studying climate variability. We introduced a succession of simple boundary layer models that allow the fluxes to be computed internally in the model and avoid the need to specify the atmospheric thermodynamic state. These models have now reached a level of generality that allows modeling of the global, rather than just tropical, ocean, including sea ice cover. The most recent versions of these boundary layer models have been widely distributed around the world and are in use by many ocean modeling groups.

Seager, R.↗

Laser Induced Aluminum Surface Breakdown Model

Laser powered propulsion systems involve complex fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and radiative transfer processes. Based on an unstructured grid., pressure-based computational aerothermodynamics, platform, several sub-nio"'dels describing such underlying physics as laser ray tracing and focusing, thermal non-equilibrium, plasma radiation and air spark ignition have been developed. This proposed work shall extend the numerical platform and existing sub-models to include the aluminum wall surface Inverse Bremsstrahlung (113) effect from which surface ablation and free-electron generation can be initiated without relying on the air spark ignition sub-model. The following tasks will be performed to accomplish the research objectives.

Chen, Yen-Sen↗