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At least 397 records · Page 22

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NASA NTRS1986

Shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction in the flow field of a tri-dimension wind tunnel

The first results of a thorough experimental analysis of a strong three-dimensional shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction occurring in a three dimensional transonic channel are presented. The aim of this experiment is to help in the physical understanding of a complex field, including several separations, and to provide a well documented case to test computational methods. The flowfield has been probed in many points by means of a three-component laser Doppler velocimeter. The results presented relate only to the mean velocity field. They clearly show the formation in the flow of a strong vortical motion resulting from the shock wave interaction.

Benay, R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Unsteady three-dimensional simulation of VTOL upwash fountain turbulence

Numerical simulations of a planar turbulent wall jet and a planar VTOL upwash fountain were performed. These are three dimensional simulations which resolve large scale unsteady motions in the flows. The wall jet simulation shows good agreement with experimental data and is presented to verify the simulation methodology. Simulation of the upwash fountain predicts elevated shear stress and a half velocity width spreading rate of 33% which agrees well with experiment. Turbulence mechanisms which contribute to the enhanced spreading rate are examined.

Childs, Robert E.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A three-dimensional model of the nucleus of Comet Halley

The nucleus of comet Halley was observed by the Halley Multicolor Camera (HMC) during the last minutes of the flyby sequence before reaching the point of closest approach. The phase angle change during the observational period was less than 17 deg, so HMC data can only define a two-dimensional contour of the nucleus at a certain time. The overall geometry during the HMC observations is outlined and the findings are related to information available from other sources at different times. The nucleus of the comet is described as a triaxial ellipsoid with major axes of 16, 10, and 9 km. The rotation axis is directed towards delta 1950 = -(40 + or - 5) deg and alpha 1950 = (50 + or - 10) deg. The rotation with a period of P = (54 + or - 1) is in a prograde sense with respect to the orbital motion.

Wilhelm, K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Simultaneous measurements of the thermospheric wind profile at three separate positions in the dusk auroral oval

In the present three-dimensional wind field observations in the dusk auroral oval, the F region winds appear to be at the transition from a clockwise vortex centered at dusk to an antisunward flow at the nightside of the polar cap, while the E region winds seem to be part of a gravity wave with a wind amplitude of 125 m/sec. The wave period is found to be close to three hours, on the basis of the ratio of the magnitude of the wind component normal to the direction of wave propagation to the magnitude parallel to the direction of propagation. The observations show that significant energy resides in the divergent motions that are part of the transient response in the E region, at least in this case.

Mikkelsen, I. S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Towards building a team of intelligent robots

Topics addressed include: collision-free motion planning of multiple robot arms; two-dimensional object recognition; and pictorial databases (storage and sharing of the representations of three-dimensional objects).

Varanasi, Murali R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Third-order resonance effects and the nonlinear stability of drop oscillations

The three-dimensional nonlinear oscillations of an isolated, inviscid drop with surface tension are studied by a multiple timescale analysis and pre-averaging applied to the variational principle for the appropriate Lagrangian. Amplitude equations are derived which describe the generic cubic resonance caused by the spatial degeneracy of the eigenfrequencies of the linear normal modes. This resonant coupling leads to the instability of the finite amplitude axisymmetric oscillations to small nonaxisymmetric perturbations, as is demonstrated here for the three- and four-lobed normal modes. Solutions to the interaction equations that describe finite amplitude, nonaxisymmetric traveling-wave solutions are also obtained and their stability is investigated. A nongeneric cubic resonance between the two-lobed and four-lobed oscillatory modes leads to quasi-periodic motions.

Natarajan, Ramesh↗

NASA NTRS1988

Application of unsteady aerodynamic methods for transonic aeroelastic analysis

Aerodynamic methods for aeroelastic analysis are applied to various flow problems. These methods include those that solve the three-dimensional transonic small disturbance (TSD) potential equation, the two-dimensional full potential (FP) equation, and the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations. Flutter analysis performed using TSD aerodynamics shows that such methods can be used to analyze some aeroelastic phenomena. For thicker bodies and larger amplitude motions a nonisentropic full potential method is presented.

Whitlow, Woodrow, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Coherent structures in transitional and turbulent free shear flows

The development of a quantitative understanding of large-scale coherent structures in shear flows has led to the recognition of their evolutionary features and 'rules' of nonlinear interaction among each other. These determinations, in conjunction with the study of fine-grained turbulence and mean motion, constitute a general view of hydrodynamical instabilities that has resulted in useful concepts for the achievement of shear-flow control. The dynamical role of longitudinal structures in free shear flows is presently exemplified by the axisymmetric and helical modes in a round jet, which resemble the two-dimensional and spanwise-periodic three-dimensional modes in a two-dimensional mean flow.

Liu, J. T. C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The secondary flow and its stability for natural convection in a tall vertical enclosure

The multicellular flow between two vertical parallel plates is numerically simulated using a time-splitting pseudospectral method. The steady flow of air and the time-periodic flow of oil are investigated, and descriptions of these flows using both physical and spectral approaches are presented. The time dependence of the flow and temperature fields of oil are shown, and the dynamics of the process is discussed. The spectral transfer of energy among the axial modes comprising the flow is explored. The three-dimensional linear stabiltiy of the multicellular air flow is parametrically studied. The domain of stable two-dimensional cellular motion is found to be constrained by the Eckhaus instability and by two types of monotone instability. The two-dimensional multicellular flow is unstable above a Grashof number of about 8550.

Chait, Arnon↗

NASA NTRS1990

Equations of motion of slung load systems with results for dual lift

General simulation equations are derived for the rigid body motion of slung load systems. These systems are viewed as consisting of several rigid bodies connected by straight-line cables or links. The suspension can be assumed to be elastic or inelastic, both cases being of interest in simulation and control studies. Equations for the general system are obtained via D'Alembert's principle and the introduction of generalized velocity coordinates. Three forms are obtained. Two of these generalize previous case-specific results for single helicopter systems with elastic or inelastic suspensions. The third is a new formulation for inelastic suspensions. It is derived from the elastic suspension equations by choosing the generalized coordinates so as to separate motion due to cable stretching from motion with invariant cable lengths. The result is computationally more efficient than the conventional formulation, and is readily integrated with the elastic suspension formulation and readily applied to the complex dual lift and multilift systems. Equations are derived for dual lift systems. Three proposed suspension arrangements can be integrated in a single equation set. The equations are given in terms of the natural vectors and matrices of three-dimensional rigid body mechanics and are tractable for both analysis and programming.

Cicolani, Luigi S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Vertically reciprocating auger

The mathematical model and test results developed for the Vertically Reciprocating Auger (VRA) are summarized. The VRA is a device capable of transporting cuttings that result from below surface drilling. It was developed chiefly for the lunar surface, where conventional fluid flushing while drilling would not be practical. The VRA uses only reciprocating motion and transports material through reflections with the surface above. Particles are reflected forward and land ahead of radially placed fences, which prevent the particles from rolling back down the auger. Three input wave forms are considered to drive the auger. A modified sawtooth wave form was chosen for testing, over a modified square wave or sine wave, due to its simplicity and effectiveness. The three-dimensional mathematical model predicted a sand throughput rate of 0.2667 pounds/stroke, while the actual test setup transported 0.075 pounds/stroke. Based on this result, a correction factor of 0.281 is suggested for a modified sawtooth input.

Etheridge, Mark↗

NASA NTRS1989

Three-dimensional viscous drag prediction for rotor blades

The state-of-the-art in rotor blade drag prediction involves the use of two-dimensional airfoil tables to calculate the drag force on the blade. One of the most serious problems with the current methods is that they cannot be used for airfoils that have yet to be tested. Most of the drag prediction methods also do not take the Reynolds number or the rotational effects of the blade into account, raising doubts about the accuracy of the results. These problems are addressed with the development of an analytical method which includes the shape of airfoil, the effects of Reynolds number, and the rotational motion of the blade.

Chen, Ching S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Studies of magnetopause structure

From the International Sun-Earth Explorers (ISEE) 1 magnetopause crossings on November 10, 1977, three-dimensional distribution functions for energetic ions were studied in the magnetosphere, through the magnetopause, and in the magnetosheath (Speiser and Williams, 1982). The particle distributions were particularly examined at and near the times that Russell and Elphic (1978) identified as flux transfer events (FTE). Using a simple, one-dimensional, quasi-static model, particle orbits were followed numerically, from the magnetosphere into the sheath. The inner, trapped, distribution initializes the distribution function. Liouville's theorem allows the inner distribution to be mapped into the sheath following the orbits. This mapping is shown for four mangetosheath ion flows (MIF's) corresponding to four flux transfer events. Results from the studies are discussed. A brief discussion of current sheet particle motion is presented.

Speiser, Theodore W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Numerical simulation of particle-wave interaction in boundary layers

The effects of wall injection and particle motion on the spatial stability of two-dimensional plane channel flow are investigated. For this purpose, an accurate Navier-Stokes solver to simulate the space-time evolution of disturbances in three-dimensional flows has been developed. The code is operational on the NASA Langley CRAY2 and can be ported to any other supercomputer. The code has been tested extensively in tracking the spatial evolution of two-dimensional disturbances in plane channel flow and provided excellent agreement with the linear theory including at the inflow/outflow boundaries. Preliminary calculations have been performed to investigate the effects of stationary and moving sources of vortical disturbances simulating a particle traveling in the flow field. Results suggest that even at very low amplitudes, vortical disturbances act as amplifiers on the Tollmien-Schlichting waves promoting rapid instability. It is also found that slow moving particles are more dangerous than both stationary and fast moving particles for the same disturbance levels.

Biringen, S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Stretched three-dimensional plasma equilibria with field-aligned flow

A three-dimensional equilibrium theory for stretched plasma configurations, such as the earth's magnetotail, is extended to include the effects of field-aligned flow. The MHD equations for this case can be solved in a general way by reduction to a set of ordinary differential equations and an ordinary integral. The solutions represent lowest-order solutions of an asymptotic expansion of the MHD equations for small electric field and weak time dependence. Simplified equations are presented for two-dimensional equilibria and for incompressible flow. Possible magnetospheric applications include the configuration of the geotail near and beyond the termination of the closed field line region, the steady motion of a plasmoid (a plasma bubble severed from the earth) through the distant geotail, and configurations at the magnetopause, the interface between the magnetosphere and the shocked solar wind plasma. For illustration, solutions for the steady motion of a two-dimensional plasmoid through the distant magnetotail are presented.

Birn, J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Conical Euler simulation of wing rock for a delta wing planform

Unsteady, vortex-dominated flowfields are presently studied by using the conical Euler equations as an efficient first step toward investigation of the full three-dimensional problem, under the assumption that the supersonic flow about a delta wing is conical and therefore allows the three-dimensional problem to be reduced to a two-dimensional one. Attention is given to the case of a delta wing undergoing wing-rock motion. The code developed has also been modified to allow treatment of the 'free-to-roll' case.

Lee, Elizabeth M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The dynamics and control of fluctuating pressure loads in the reattachment region of a supersonic free shear layer

An experimental program to investigate the control of a turbulent, reattaching shear layer at Mach 2.9 is described. In preliminary experiments, schlieren photography and Rayleigh scattering were used to visualize the effects of air injection normal to the plane of the shear layer. Localized blowing was qualitatively found to increase the growth rate of the shear layer, the intensity of the turbulence, and the unsteadiness of the reattachment shock. However, uniformly distributed air injection did not appear to affect the flow strongly. These results suggest that three-dimensional disturbances are more effective for flow control than two-dimensional disturbances, and that there is a strong connection between the incoming turbulence and the shock motion in this flow.

Poggie, J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Numerical analysis of turbine blade tip treatments

Three-dimensional solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for a turbine blade with a turning angle of 180 degrees have been computed, including blade tip treatments involving cavities. The geometry approximates a preliminary design for the GGOT (Generic Gas Oxidizer Turbine). The data presented here will be compared with experimental data to be obtained from a linear cascade using original GGOT blades. Results have been computed for a blade with 1 percent clearance, based on chord, and three different cavity sizes. All tests were conducted at a Reynolds number of 4 x 10 exp 7. The grid contains 39,440 points with 10 spanwise planes in the tip clearance region of 5.008E-04 m. Streamline plots and velocity vectors together with velocity divergence plots reveal the general flow behavior in the clearance region. Blade tip temperature calculations suggest placement of a cavity close to the upstream side of the blade tip for reduction of overall blade tip temperature. The solutions do not account for the relative motion between the endwall and the turbine blade. The solutions obtained are generally consistent with previous work done in this area,

Gopalaswamy, Nath S.↗