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At least 343 records · Page 19

Small, high-pressure liquid oxygen turbopump

A small, high-pressure, liquid oxygen turbopump was designed, fabricated, and tested. The pump was of a single-stage, centrifugal type; power to the pump was supplied by a single-stage, partial emission, axial-impulse turbine. Design conditions included an operating speed of 70,000 rpm, pump discharge pressure of 2977 N/sq cm (4318 psia), and a pump flowrate of 16.4 kg/s (36.21 lb/sec). The turbine was propelled by LO2/LH2 combustion products at 1041 K (1874 R) inlet temperature, and at a design pressure ratio of 1.424. The approaches used in the detail analysis and design of the turbopump are described, and fabrication methods are discussed. Data obtained from gas generator tests, turbine performance calibration, and turbopump testing are presented.

Csomor, A.↗

Design and performance of a 427-meter-per-second-tip-speed two-stage fan having a 2.40 pressure ratio

The aerodynamic design and the overall and blade-element performances are presented of a 427-meter-per-second-tip-speed two-stage fan designed with axially spaced blade rows to reduce noise transmitted upstream of the fan. At design speed the highest recorded adiabatic efficiency was 0.796 at a pressure of 2.30. Peak efficiency was not established at design speed because of a damper failure which terminated testing prematurely. The overall efficiencies, at 60 and 80 percent of design speed, peaked at approximately 0.83.

Cunnan, W. S.↗

A theory of rotating stall of multistage axial compressors

A theoretical analysis was made of rotating stall in axial compressors of many stages, finding conditions for a permanent, straight-through traveling disturbance, with the steady compressor characteristic assumed known, and with simple lag processes ascribed to the flows in the inlet, blade passages, and exit regions. For weak disturbances, predicted stall propagation speeds agree well with experimental results. For a locally-parabolic compressor characteristic, an exact nonlinear solution is found and discussed. For deep stall, the stall-zone boundary is most abrupt at the trailing edge, as expected. When a complete characteristic having unstalling and reverse-flow features is adopted, limit cycles governed by a Lienard's equation are found. Analysis of these cycles yields predictions of recovery from rotating stall; a relaxation oscillation is found at some limiting flow coefficient, above which no solution exists. Recovery is apparently independent of lag processes in the blade passages, but instead depends on the lags originating in the inlet and exit flows, and also on the shape of the given characteristic diagram. Small external lags and tall diagrams favor early recovery. Implications for future research are discussed.

Moore, F. K.↗

Experimental investigation of unsteady fan flow interaction with downstream struts

In the present study of the unsteady pressure field produced on fan rotor blades by interaction with downstream struts, a single stage, low speed axial-flow fan was instrumented with blade-mounted high frequency pressure transducers. In addition, stationary pressure problems were used to map out the flowfield. Fluctuating pressure measurements are presented for blade midspan and 85-percent span on both the suction and pressure surfaces of the rotor blades at several positions of the downstream struts, and for two different flow coefficients. The strut is found to produce an effect on the unsteady pressure field on the rotor blades; this effect exceeds that due to the stator at design rotor-stator-strut spacing, but it rapidly declines as the struts are moved downstream.

Ng, W. F.↗

Performance of a High-solidity High-pressure-ratio Transonic Rotor

A high-solidity low-aspect-ratio transonic rotor with an inlet hub-tip ratio of 0.52 was investigated experimentally. The rotor developed a total-pressure tatio of 1.93 and an efficiency of 92 percent at an equivalent wheel tip speed of 1036 feet per second. The feasibility of using this rotor as a component of an inlet stage of an axial-flow compressor was investigated.

Neumann, Harvey E↗

Unsteady Velocity Measurements in the NASA Research Low Speed Axial Compressor: Smooth Wall Configuration

The report is a collection of experimental unsteady data acquired in the first stage of the NASA Low Speed Axial Compressor in configuration with smooth (solid) wall treatment over the first rotor. The aim of the report is to present a reliable experimental data base that can be used for analysis of the compressor flow behavior, and hopefully help with further improvements of compressor CFD codes. All data analysis is strictly restricted to verification of reliability of the experimental data reported. The report is divided into six main sections. First two sections cover the low speed axial compressor, the basic instrumentation, and the in-house developed methodology of unsteady velocity measurements using a thermo-anemometric split-fiber probe. The next two sections contain experimental data presented as averaged radial distributions for three compressor operation conditions, including the distribution of the total temperature rise over the first rotor, and ensemble averages of unsteady flow data based on a rotor blade passage period. Ensemble averages based on the rotor revolution period, and spectral analysis of unsteady flow parameters are presented in the last two sections. The report is completed with two appendices where performance and dynamic response of thermo-anemometric probes is discussed.

Lepicovsky, Jan↗

Low-frequency instabilities and plasma turbulence

A theoretical and experimental study is reported of steady-state and time-dependent characteristics of the positive column and the hollow cathode discharge (HCD). The steady state of a non-isothermal, cylindrical positive column in an axial magnetic field is described by three moment equations in the plasma approximation. Volume generation of electron-ion pairs by single-stage ionization, the presence of axial current, and collisions with neutrals are considered. The theory covers the range from the low pressure, collisionless regime to the intermediate pressure, collisional regime. It yields radial profiles of the charged particle velocities, density, potential, electron and ion temperatures, and demonstrates similarity laws for the positive column. The results are compared with two moment theories and with experimental data on He, Ar and Hg found in the literature for a wide range of pressures. A simple generalization of the isothermal theory for an infinitely long cylinder in an axial magnetic field to the case of a finite column with axial current flow is also demonstrated.

Ilic, D. B.↗

Effect of tip clearance on performance of small axial hydraulic turbine

The first two stages of a six stage liquid oxygen turbine were tested in water. One and two stage performance was determined for one shrouded and two unshrouded blade end configurations over ranges of clearance and blade-jet speed ratio. First stage, two stage, and second stage efficiencies are included as well as the effect of clearance on mass flow for two stage operation.

Boynton, J. L.↗

Advanced two-stage compressor program design of inlet stage

The aerodynamic design of an inlet stage for a two-stage, 10/1 pressure ratio, 2 lb/sec flow rate compressor is discussed. Initially a performance comparison was conducted for an axial, mixed flow and centrifugal second stage. A modified mixed flow configuration with tandem rotors and tandem stators was selected for the inlet stage. The term conical flow compressor was coined to describe a particular type of mixed flow compressor configuration which utilizes axial flow type blading and an increase in radius to increase the work input potential. Design details of the conical flow compressor are described.

Bryce, C. A.↗

Centaur Standard Shroud (CSS) static limit load structural tests

The structural capabilities of the jettisonable metal shroud were tested and the interaction of the shroud with the Centaur stage was evaluated. A flight-configured shroud and the assemblies of the associated Centaur stage were tested for applied axial and shear loads to flight limit values. The tests included various thermal, pressure, and load conditions to verify localized strength capabilities, to evaluate subsystem performance, and to determine the aging effect on insulation system properties. The tests series verified the strength capabilities of the shroud and of all associated flight assembles. Shroud deflections were shown to remain within allowable limits so long as load sharing members were connected between the shroud and the Centaur stage.

Eastwood, C.↗

The numerical simulation of a high-speed axial flow compressor

The advancement of high-speed axial-flow multistage compressors is impeded by a lack of detailed flow-field information. Recent development in compressor flow modeling and numerical simulation have the potential to provide needed information in a timely manner. The development of a computer program is described to solve the viscous form of the average-passage equation system for multistage turbomachinery. Programming issues such as in-core versus out-of-core data storage and CPU utilization (parallelization, vectorization, and chaining) are addressed. Code performance is evaluated through the simulation of the first four stages of a five-stage, high-speed, axial-flow compressor. The second part addresses the flow physics which can be obtained from the numerical simulation. In particular, an examination of the endwall flow structure is made, and its impact on blockage distribution assessed.

Mulac, Richard A.↗

Theory of a steady-state nonisothermal positive column in a magnetic field.

The steady state of a nonisothermal cylindrical discharge in a longitudinal magnetic field is described by three moment equations in the plasma approximation for electrons and ions. Volume generation of electron-ion pairs by single-stage ionization, the presence of axial current, and collisions with neutrals are considered. The theory yields radial profiles of the charged particle velocities, density, potential, electron and ion temperatures, and demonstrates similarity laws for the positive column. The results are compared with two-moment theories and with experimental data on helium, argon, and mercury vapor found in the literature for a wide range of pressures.

Ilic, D. B.↗

Small, high-pressure, liquid oxygen turbopump

A small, high-pressure, LOX turbopump was designed, fabricated, and tested. The pump was of a single-stage, centrifugal type; power to the pump was supplied by a single-stage, partial-admission, axial-impulse turbine. Design conditions included an operating speed of 7330 rad/sec (70,000 rpm) pump discharge pressure of 2977 N/sq cm (4318 psia), and a pump flowrate of 16.4 kg/s (36.21 lb/sec). The turbine was propelled by LOX/LH2 combustion products at 1041 K (1874 R) inlet temperature, and at a design pressure ratio of 1.424. Test data obtained with the turbopump are presented and mechanical performance is discussed.

Csomor, A.↗

Liquid oxygen turbopump technology

A small, high-pressure, LOX turbopump was designed, fabricated and tested. The pump is a single-stage centrifugal type with power to the pump supplied by a single-stage partial-admission axial-impulse turbine. Design conditions included an operating speed of 7330 rad/s (70,000 rpm), pump discharge pressure of 2977 N/sqcm (4318 psia), and a pump flowrate of 16.4 Kg/s (36.21 lb/s). The turbopump contains a self-compensating axial thrust balance piston to eliminate axial thrust loads on the bearings during steady-state operation. Testing of the turbopump was achieved usng a gaseous hydrogen high-pressure flow to drive the turbine, which generally is propelled by LOX/LH2 combustion products, at 1041K (1874 R) inlet temperature and at a design pressure ratio of 1.424. Test data obtained with the turbopump are presented which include head-flow-efficiency performance, suction performance, balance piston performance and LOX seal performance. Mechanical performance of the turbopump is also discussed.

Nielson, C. E.↗