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At least 37 records · Page 2

Imaging performance of annular apertures. II - Line spread functions

Line images formed by aberration-free optical systems with annular apertures are investigated in the whole range of central obstruction ratios. Annular apertures form lines images with central and side line groups. The number of lines in each line group is given by the ratio of the outer diameter of the annular aperture divided by the width of the annulus. The theoretical energy fraction of 0.889 in the central line of the image formed by an unobstructed aperture increases for centrally obstructed apertures to 0.932 for the central line group. Energy fractions for the central and side line groups are practically constant for all obstruction ratios and for each line group. The illumination of rectangular secondary apertures of various length/width ratios by apertures of various obstruction ratios is discussed.

Tschunko, H. F. A.↗

Effect of a semi-annular thermal acoustic shield on jet exhaust noise

Reductions in jet exhaust noise obtained by the use of an annular thermal acoustic shield consisting of a high temperature, low velocity gas stream surrounding a high velocity central jet exhaust appear to be limited by multiple reflections. The effect of a semi-annular shield on jet exhaust noise was investigted with the rationale that such a configuration would eliminate or reduce the multiple reflection mechanism. Noise measurements for a 10 cm conical nozzle with a semi-annular acoustic shield are presented in terms of lossless free field data at various angular locations with respect to the nozzle. Measurements were made on both the shielded and unshielded sides of the nozzle. The results are presented parametrically, showing the effects of various shield and central system velocities and temperatures. Selected results are scaled up to a typical full scale engine size to determine the perceived noise level reductions.

Goodykoontz, J.↗

Effect of a semi-annular thermal acoustic shield on jet exhaust noise

The effect of a semi-annular acoustic shield on jet exhaust noise is investigated with the rationale that such a configuration would reduce or eliminate the multiple reflection mechanism. A limited range of flow conditions for one nozzle/shield configuration were studied at model scale. Noise measurements for a 10 cm conical nozzle with a semi-annular acoustical shield are presented in terms of lossless free field data at various angular locations with respect to the nozzle. Measurements were made on both the shielded and unshielded sides of the nozzle. Model scale overall sound pressure level directivity patterns and comparisons of model scale spectral data are provided. The results show that a semi-annular thermal acoustic shield consisting of a low velocity, high temperature gas stream partially surrounding a central jet exhibits lower noise levels than when the central jet is operated alone. The results are presented parametrically, showing the effects of various shield and central system velocities and temperatures.

Goodykoontz, J.↗

Annular Electrode Improves Solar-Cell Welds

Improved method of electrical-resistance welding of solar-cell inter-connections developed by using an annular welding-electrode shape. Improved weld electrode consists of two coaxial cylinders, outer one with annular cross section and inner one with circular cross section. Possible annular weld-electrode configurations result in better quality welds for interconnecting solar-array elements.

Baraona, C. R.↗

Annular wing

An annular wing particularly suited for use in supporting in flight an aircraft characterized by the absence of directional stabilizing surfaces is described. The wing comprises a rigid annular body of a substantially uniformly symmetrical configuration characterized by an annular positive lifting surface and cord line coincident with the segment of a line radiating along the surface of an inverted truncated cone. A decalage is established for the leading and trailing semicircular portions of the body, relative to instantaneous line of flight, and a dihedral for the laterally opposed semicircular portions of the body, relative to the line of flight. The direction of flight and climb angle or glide slope angle are established by selectively positioning the center of gravity of the wing ahead of the aerodynamic center along the radius coincident with an axis for a selected line of flight.

Walker, H. J.↗

Sound radiation from annular ducts/nozzles using modal decomposition of in-duct acoustic power

Using a refined acoustic impulse technique, an experimental program was carried out to determine the proper procedure for measuring the acoustic power for both incident and reflected sound fields for annular ducts with and without nozzles at various flow conditions. Several radial and azimuthal pressure measurements were made, and using these complex pressure data, the modal content of the pressure field was determined. A mathematical approach for the modal decomposition of annular duct acoustic power was developed. The acoustic power due to each individual mode and also their total sum were derived. The acoustic characteristics of annular duct-nozzle systems were studied at various flow conditions. The results derived from the experiments include the termination reflection coefficient, the normalized transmission coefficients, the power transfer functions and the power imbalance.

Salikuddin, M.↗

The annular flow electrothermal ramjet

The annular flow, electrothermal, plug ramjet is examined as a possible means of achieving rapid projectile acceleration to velocities for such applications as direct launch of spacebound payloads. The performance of this ramjet operating with hydrogen propellant is examined for cases where this working fluid is treated: (1) as a perfect gas, and (2) as a gas that is allowed to dissociate and ionize and then recombine with finite reaction rates in the nozzle. Performance results for these cases are compared to the performance of a conventional ramjet operating with perfect gas hydrogen propellant. The performance of the conventional ramjet is superior to that of the annular flow, electrothermal ramjet. However, it is argued that the mechanical complexities associated with conventional ramjet operation are difficult to attain, and for this reason the annular flow, electrothermal ramjet is more desirable as a launch system. Models are presented which describe both electrothermal plug ramjet and conventional ramjet operation, and it is shown that for a given flight velocity there is a rate of heat addition per unit propellant mass for which ramjet operation is optimized.

Shaw, B. D.↗

Overview of magnetic bearing control and linearization approaches for annular magnetically suspended devices

An overview of magnetic bearing control and linearization approaches which have been considered for annular magnetically suspended devices is presented. These devices include the Annular Momentum Control Device and the Annular Suspension and Pointing System. Two approaches were investigated for controlling the magnetic actuator. One approach involves controlling the upper and lower electromagnets differentially about a bias flux. The bias flux can either be supplied by permanent magnets in the magnetic circuit or by bias currents. In the other approach, either the upper electromagnet or the lower electromagnet is controlled depending on the direction of force required. One advantage of the bias flux is that for small gap perturbations about a fixed operating point, the force-current characteristic is linear. Linearization approaches investigated for individual element control include an analog solution of the nonlinear electromagnet force equation and a microprocessor-based table lookup method.

Groom, N. J.↗

Sound radiation from single and annular stream nozzles, with modal decomposition of in-duct acoustic power

An experimental program was carried out to study the acoustic characteristics of single and annular stream duct-nozzle systems at various flow conditions by using a refined acoustic impulse technique. In this technique, signal synthesis and signal averaging processes are incorporated to generate a desired impulsive signal from acoustic driver(s) and to eliminate background noise (flow noise) from in-duct and far field signals, respectively. The contribution of higher order modes to incident reflected and transmitted acoustic powers is accounted for by using a modal decomposition process. The annular stream terminations were tested statically at various annular stream flow velocities with no inner stream flow. The results derived from the experiments include in-duct acoustic powers, termination reflection coefficients, transmission coefficients, far field power, and acoustic dissipation.

Salikuddin, M.↗

Dynamics of face and annular seals with two-phase flow

A detailed study was made of face and annular seals under conditions where boiling, i.e., phase change of the leaking fluid, occurs within the seal. Many seals operate in this mode because of flashing due to pressure drop and/or heat input from frictional heating. High pressure, water pumps, industrial chemical pumps, and cryogenic pumps are mentioned as a few of many applications. The initial motivation was the LOX-GOX seals for the space shuttle main engine, but the study was expanded to include any face or annular seal where boiling occurs. Some of the distinctive behavior characteristics of two-phase seals were discussed, particularly their axial stability. While two-phase seals probably exhibit instability to disturbances of other degrees of freedom such as wobble, etc., under certain conditions, such analyses are too complex to be treated at present. Since an all liquid seal (with parallel faces) has a neutral axial stiffness curve, and is stabilized axially by convergent coning, other degrees of freedom stability analyses are necessary. However, the axial stability behavior of the two-phase seal is always a consideration no matter how well the seal is aligned and regardless of the speed. Hence, axial stability is thought of as the primary design consideration for two-phase seals and indeed the stability behavior under sub-cooling variations probably overshadows other concerns. The main thrust was the dynamic analysis of axial motion of two-phase face seals, principally the determination of axial stiffness, and the steady behavior of two-phase annular seals. The main conclusions are that seals with two-phase flow may be unstable if improperly balanced. Detailed theoretical analyses of low (laminar) and high (turbulent) leakage seals are presented along with computer codes, parametric studies, and in particular a simplified PC based code that allows for rapid performance prediction. A simplified combined computer code for the performance prediction over the laminar and turbulent ranges of a two-phase seal is described and documented. The analyses, results, and computer codes are summarized.

Hughes, William F.↗

Pressure drop in fully developed, turbulent, liquid-vapor annular flows in zero gravity

The prediction of frictional pressure drop in fully developed, turbulent, annular liquid-vapor flows in zero gravity using simulation experiments conducted on earth is described. The scheme extends the authors' earlier work on dispersed flows. The simulation experiments used two immiscible liquids of identical density, namely, water and n-butyl benzoate. Because of the lack of rigorous analytical models for turbulent, annular flows, the proposed scheme resorts to existing semiempirical correlations. Results based on two different correlations are presented and compared. Others may be used. It was shown that, for both dispersed and annular flow regimes, the predicted frictional pressure gradients in 0-g are lower than those in 1-g under otherwise identical conditions. The physical basis for this finding is given.

Sridhar, K. R.↗

An experimental technique for performing 3-D LDA measurements inside whirling annular seals

During the last several years, the Fluid Mechanics Division of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M University has developed a rather unique facility with the experimental capability for measuring the flow field inside journal bearings, labyrinth seals, and annular seals. The facility consists of a specially designed 3-D LDA system which is capable of measuring the instantaneous velocity vector within 0.2 mm of a wall while the laser beams are aligned almost perpendicular to the wall. This capability was required to measure the flow field inside journal bearings, labyrinth seals, and annular seals. A detailed description of this facility along with some representative results obtained for a whirling annular seal are presented.

Morrison, Gerald L.↗

Annular Solar Eclipse of 10 May 1994

An annular eclipse of the Sun will be widely visible from the Western Hemisphere on 10 May 1994. The path of the Moon's shadow passes through Mexico, the United States of America, maritime Canada, the North Atlantic, the Azores and Morocco. Detailed predictions for this event are presented and include tables of geographic coordinates of the annular path, local circumstances for hundreds of cities, maps of the path of annular and partial eclipse, weather prospects, and the lunar limb profile.

Espenak, Fred↗

Enhanced simulation software for rocket turbopump, turbulent, annular liquid seals

One of the main objectives of this work is to develop a new dynamic analysis for liquid annular seals with arbitrary profile and to analyze a general distorted interstage seal of the space shuttle main engine high pressure oxygen turbopump (SSME-ATD-HPOTP). The dynamic analysis developed is based on a method originally proposed by Nelson and Nguyen. A simpler scheme based on cubic splines is found to be computationally more efficient and has better convergence properties at higher eccentricities. The first order solution of the original analysis is modified by including a more exact solution that takes into account the variation of perturbed variables along the circumference. A new set of equations for dynamic analysis are derived based on this more general model. A unified solution procedure that is valid for both Moody's and Hirs' friction models is presented. Dynamic analysis is developed for three different models: constant properties, variable properties, and thermal effects with variable properties. Arbitrarily varying seal profiles in both axial and circumferential directions are considered. An example case of an elliptical seal with varying degrees of axial curvature is analyzed in detail. A case study based on predicted clearances of an interstage seal of the SSME-ATD-HPOTP is presented. Dynamic coefficients based on external specified load are introduced to analyze seals that support a preload. The other objective of this work is to study the effect of large rotor displacements of SSME-ATD-HPOTP on the dynamics of the annular seal and the resulting transient motion. One task is to identify the magnitude of motion of the rotor about the centered position and establish limits of effectiveness of using current linear models. This task is accomplished by solving the bulk flow model seal governing equations directly for transient seal forces for any given type of motion, including motion with large eccentricities. Based on the above study, an equivalence is established between linearized coefficients based transient motion and the same motion as predicted by the original governing equations. An innovative method is developed to model nonlinearities in an annular seal based on dynamic coefficients computed at various static eccentricities. This method is thoroughly tested for various types of transient motion using bulk flow model results as a benchmark.

Padavala, Satya↗

Characterization of annular two-phase gas-liquid flows in microgravity

A series of two-phase gas-liquid flow experiments were developed to study annular flows in microgravity using the NASA Lewis Learjet. A test section was built to measure the liquid film thickness around the perimeter of the tube permitting the three dimensional nature of the gas-liquid interface to be observed. A second test section was used to measure the film thickness, pressure drop and wall shear stress in annular microgravity two-phase flows. Three liquids were studied to determine the effects of liquid viscosity and surface tension. The result of this study provide insight into the wave characteristics, pressure drop and droplet entrainment in microgravity annular flows.

Bousman, W. Scott↗

Design and operation of a supersonic annular flow facility

Supersonic annular flow passages exist in propulsion applications that include dual combustion ramjet engines where a supersonic annular flow (the outer flow) mixes with a sonic (or supersonic) gas generator flow (the inner flow) in the shock expansion zone downstream of the gas generator nozzle exit. Other engine designs include components in the form of annular ducts whose cross-sectional area varies in the streamwise flow direction. In some of these configurations, it is necessary to support the outer shroud (cowl) by means of struts positioned between the cowl and centerbody. To investigate the distorting influence of these struts on the local flow structure, it is first necessary to ensure that the intrinsic flow without struts is free of wave reflections and the effects of upstream disturbances. It is also necessary to demonstrate that the intrinsic flow exhibits the characteristics of a well-defined turbulent boundary layer flow, so that changes in the local flow structure induced by the presence of struts can be interpreted properly. The purpose of this Note is to demonstrate that a supersonic flow facility that meets these objectives has been developed.

Williams, K. E.↗

Linearization of an annular image by using a diffractive optic

The goal for this project is to develop the algorithms for fracturing the zones defined by the mapping transformation, and to actually produce the binary optic in an appropriate setup. In 1984 a side-viewing panoramic viewing system was patented, consisting of a single piece of glass with spherical surfaces which produces a 360 degree view of the region surrounding the lens which extends about 25 degrees in front of and 20 degrees behind the lens. The system not only produces images of good quality, it is also afocal, i.e., images stay in focus for objects located right next to the lens as well as those located far from the lens. The lens produced a panoramic view in an annular shaped image, and so the lens was called a PAL (panoramic annular lens). When applying traditional measurements to PAL images, it is found advantageous to linearize the annular image. This can easily be done with a computer and such a linearized image can be produced within about 40 seconds on current microcomputers. However, this process requires a frame-grabber and a computer, and is not real-time. Therefore, it was decided to try to perform this linearization optically by using a diffractive optic.

Matthys, Donald R.↗

Concentration Measurements in a Cold Flow Model Annular Combustor Using Laser Induced Fluorescence

A nonintrusive concentration measurement method is developed for determining the concentration distribution in a complex flow field. The measurement method consists of marking a liquid flow with a water soluble fluorescent dye. The dye is excited by a two dimensional sheet of laser light. The fluorescent intensity is shown to be proportional to the relative concentration level. The fluorescent field is recorded on a video cassette recorder through a video camera. The recorded images are analyzed with image processing hardware and software to obtain intensity levels. Mean and root mean square (rms) values are calculated from these intensity levels. The method is tested on a single round turbulent jet because previous concentration measurements have been made on this configuration by other investigators. The previous results were used to comparison to qualify the current method. These comparisons showed that this method provides satisfactory results. 'Me concentration measurement system was used to measure the concentrations in the complex flow field of a model gas turbine annular combustor. The model annular combustor consists of opposing primary jets and an annular jet which discharges perpendicular to the primary jets. The mixing between the different jet flows can be visualized from the calculated mean and rms profiles. Concentration field visualization images obtained from the processing provide further qualitative information about the flow field.

Morgan, Douglas C.↗