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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Comparison of Computational Approaches for Rapid Aerodynamic Assessment of Small UAVs

Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) methods were used to determine the basic aerodynamic, performance, and stability and control characteristics of the unmanned air vehicle (UAV), Kahu. Accurate and timely prediction of the aerodynamic characteristics of small UAVs is an essential part of military system acquisition and air-worthiness evaluations. The forces and moments of the UAV were predicted using a variety of analytical methods for a range of configurations and conditions. The methods included Navier Stokes (N-S) flow solvers (USM3D, Kestrel and Cobalt) that take days to set up and hours to converge on a single solution; potential flow methods (PMARC, LSAERO, and XFLR5) that take hours to set up and minutes to compute; empirical methods (Datcom) that involve table lookups and produce a solution quickly; and handbook calculations. A preliminary aerodynamic database can be developed very efficiently by using a combination of computational tools. The database can be generated with low-order and empirical methods in linear regions, then replacing or adjusting the data as predictions from higher order methods are obtained. A comparison of results from all the data sources as well as experimental data obtained from a wind-tunnel test will be shown and the methods will be evaluated on their utility during each portion of the flight envelope.

Shafer, Theresa C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A study of prediction methods for the high angle-of-attack aerodynamics of straight wings and fighter aircraft

Work is described dealing with two areas which are dominated by the nonlinear effects of vortex flows. The first area concerns the stall/spin characteristics of a general aviation wing with a modified leading edge. The second area concerns the high-angle-of-attack characteristics of high performance military aircraft. For each area, the governing phenomena are described as identified with the aid of existing experimental data. Existing analytical methods are reviewed, and the most promising method for each area used to perform some preliminary calculations. Based on these results, the strengths and weaknesses of the methods are defined, and research programs recommended to improve the methods as a result of better understanding of the flow mechanisms involved.

Mcmillan, O. J.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Stress concentration in a cylindrical shell containing a circular hole.

The state of stress in a cylindrical shell containing a circular cutout was determined for axial tension, torsion, and internal pressure loading. The solution was obtained for the shallow shell equations by a variational method. The results were expressed in terms of a nondimensional curvature parameter which was a function of shell radius, shell thickness, and hole radius. The function chosen for the solution was such that when the radius of the cylindrical shell approaches infinity, the flat-plate solution was obtained. The results are compared with solutions obtained by more rigorous analytical methods, and with some experimental results. For small values of the curvature parameter, the agreement is good. For higher values of the curvature parameter, the present solutions indicate a limiting value of stress concentration, which is in contrast to previous results.

Adams, N. J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Space Shuttle Orbiter nose cap thermal analysis

The results of a Space Shuttle Orbiter nose cap entry aeroheating assessment, thermal analysis, and correlation of flight data using multidimensional thermal math models (TMM's) and a chemically reacting boundary-layer program are described in this paper. The object of this study was to verify and revise, if required, the nose cap design heating methods and the TMM's used for flight certification. Flight temperature measurements from two Orbiter vehicles, Columbia and Challenger, have been used in this analysis and provide the basis for verification and correlation of the aerothermodynamic environment. Nose cap thermal response predictions, using TMM's verified from certification tests, show that the aerothermodynamic environment can be satisfactorily predicted using accepted analytical methods.

Curry, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Joint nonlinearity effects in the design of a flexible truss structure control system

Nonlinear effects are introduced in the dynamics of large space truss structures by the connecting joints which are designed with rather important tolerances to facilitate the assembly of the structures in space. The purpose was to develop means to investigate the nonlinear dynamics of the structures, particularly the limit cycles that might occur when active control is applied to the structures. An analytical method was sought and derived to predict the occurrence of limit cycles and to determine their stability. This method is mainly based on the quasi-linearization of every joint using describing functions. This approach was proven successful when simple dynamical systems were tested. Its applicability to larger systems depends on the amount of computations it requires, and estimates of the computational task tend to indicate that the number of individual sources of nonlinearity should be limited. Alternate analytical approaches, which do not account for every single nonlinearity, or the simulation of a simplified model of the dynamical system should, therefore, be investigated to determine a more effective way to predict limit cycles in large dynamical systems with an important number of distributed nonlinearities.

Mercadal, Mathieu↗
NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Methods for Aircraft Engine Thrust and Noise Benefits: Nozzle-Inlet Flow Analysis

In this project on the first stage (2000-Ol), we continued to develop the previous joint research between the Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (FM&AL) at Hampton University (HU) and the Jet Noise Team (JNT) at the NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC). At the second stage (2001-03), FM&AL team concentrated its efforts on solving of problems of interest to Glenn Research Center (NASA GRC), especially in the field of propulsion system enhancement. The NASA GRC R&D Directorate and LaRC Hyper-X Program specialists in a hypersonic technology jointly with the FM&AL staff conducted research on a wide region of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines. The last year the Hampton University School of Engineering & Technology was awarded the NASA grant, for creation of the Aeropropulsion Center, and the FM&AL is a key team of the project fulfillment responsible for research in Aeropropulsion and Acoustics (Pillar I). This work is supported by joint research between the NASA GRC/ FM&AL and the Institute of Mechanics at Moscow State University (IMMSU) in Russia under a CRDF grant. The main areas of current scientific interest of the FM&AL include an investigation of the proposed and patented advanced methods for aircraft engine thrust and noise benefits. This is the main subject of our other projects, of which one is presented. The last year we concentrated our efforts to analyze three main problems: (a) new effective methods fuel injection into the flow stream in air-breathing engines; (b) new re-circulation method for mixing, heat transfer and combustion enhancement in propulsion systems and domestic industry application; (c) covexity flow The research is focused on a wide regime of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines (see, for example, Figures 4). The FM&AL Team uses analytical methods, numerical simulations and experimental tests at the Hampton University campus, NASA and IM/MSU.

Morgan, Morris H., III↗
NASA NTRS2007

Liquid Metering Centrifuge Sticks (LMCS): A Centrifugal Approach to Metering Known Sample Volumes for Colorimetric Solid Phase Extraction (C-SPE)

Phase separation is one of the most significant obstacles encountered during the development of analytical methods for water quality monitoring in spacecraft environments. Removing air bubbles from water samples prior to analysis is a routine task on earth; however, in the absence of gravity, this routine task becomes extremely difficult. This paper details the development and initial ground testing of liquid metering centrifuge sticks (LMCS), devices designed to collect and meter a known volume of bubble-free water in microgravity. The LMCS uses centrifugal force to eliminate entrapped air and reproducibly meter liquid sample volumes for analysis with Colorimetric Solid Phase Extraction (C-SPE). C-SPE is a sorption-spectrophotometric platform that is being developed as a potential spacecraft water quality monitoring system. C-SPE utilizes solid phase extraction membranes impregnated with analyte-specific colorimetric reagents to concentrate and complex target analytes in spacecraft water samples. The mass of analyte extracted from the water sample is determined using diffuse reflectance (DR) data collected from the membrane surface and an analyte-specific calibration curve. The analyte concentration can then be calculated from the mass of extracted analyte and the volume of the sample analyzed. Previous flight experiments conducted in microgravity conditions aboard the NASA KC-135 aircraft demonstrated that the inability to collect and meter a known volume of water using a syringe was a limiting factor in the accuracy of C-SPE measurements. Herein, results obtained from ground based C-SPE experiments using ionic silver as a test analyte and either the LMCS or syringes for sample metering are compared to evaluate the performance of the LMCS. These results indicate very good agreement between the two sample metering methods and clearly illustrate the potential of utilizing centrifugal forces to achieve phase separation and metering of water samples in microgravity.

Gazda, Daniel B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Thermal desorption of metals from tungsten single crystal surfaces

After a short review of experimental methods used to determine desorption energies and frequencies the assumptions underlying the theoretical analysis of experimental data are discussed. Recent experimental results on the flash desorption of Cu, Ag, and Au from clean, well characterized W (110) and (100) surfaces are presented and analyzed in detail with respect to the coverage dependence. The results obtained clearly reveal the limitations of previous analytical methods and of the experimental technique per se (such as structure and phase changes below and in the temperature region in which desorption occurs).

Bauer, E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Acoustic Analogy: A Powerful Tool in Aeroacoustics with Emphasis on Jet Noise Prediction

The acoustic analogy introduced by Lighthill to study jet noise is now over 50 years old. In the present paper, Lighthill s Acoustic Analogy is revisited together with a brief evaluation of the state-of-the-art of the subject and an exploration of the possibility of further improvements in jet noise prediction from analytical methods, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions, and measurement techniques. Experimental Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) data is used both to evaluate turbulent statistics from Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) CFD and to propose correlation models for the Lighthill stress tensor. The NASA Langley Jet3D code is used to study the effect of these models on jet noise prediction. From the analytical investigation, a retarded time correction is shown that improves, by approximately 8 dB, the over-prediction of aft-arc jet noise by Jet3D. In experimental investigation, the PIV data agree well with the CFD mean flow predictions, with room for improvement in Reynolds stress predictions. Initial modifications, suggested by the PIV data, to the form of the Jet3D correlation model showed no noticeable improvements in jet noise prediction.

Farassat, F.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Nasa Multiscale Analysis Tool: an Enabling Platform for Achieving Vision 2040

Vision 2040 is a community-driven consensus document, written in 2018, aimed at defining the potential 25-year future state required for performing integrated multiscale modeling of materials and systems for future aerospace and aeronautical applications. Nine Vision Key Elements (KEs) were defined along with associated technical gaps. This paper will address current NASA GRC research efforts utilizing the NASA Multiscale Analysis Tool (NASMAT). This paper will specifically focus on NASMAT’s ability to address gaps in three of the nine Vision 2040 KEs: 1) Models and Methods, 2) Multiscale Measurements and Characterization Tools and Methods, and 6) Data, Informatics, and Visualization. NASMAT is a versatile platform for performing computationally efficient multiscale analyses of heterogeneous materials. NASMAT offers the user flexibility to define an arbitrary number of length scales (levels) where a variety of micromechanics theories can be implemented at each level. Micromechanics theories can be selected to balance accuracy and computational efficiency and range from analytical (Mori-Tanaka) to several semi-analytical (method of cells) formulations. NASMAT can also be coupled with external software and used to perform multiscale analyses of more complex structures. The paper will include a recent application of NASMAT to model a complex, three-dimensional woven composite, with a particular emphasis placed on multiscale measurements utilized to enhance the quality of the multiscale analysis. Since typical NASMAT analyses can be completed in on the order of seconds to minutes, a second example will demonstrate NASMAT’s ability to generate large quantities of data useful for sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, or machine learning applications. Current progress on developing multiscale data visualization tools will also be addressed along with the challenges associated with and proposed solutions for sifting through large amounts of data. These examples will demonstrate that NASMAT is an enabling platform for achieving the goals in Vision 2040.

Vision 2040↗
NASA NTRS1982

Survey of engineering computational methods and experimental programs for estimating supersonic missile aerodynamic characteristics

This paper presents a survey of engineering computational methods and experimental programs used for estimating the aerodynamic characteristics of missile configurations. Emphasis is placed on those methods which are suitable for preliminary design of conventional and advanced concepts. An analysis of the technical approaches of the various methods is made in order to assess their suitability to estimate longitudinal and/or lateral-directional characteristics for different classes of missile configurations. Some comparisons between the predicted characteristics and experimental data are presented. These comparisons are made for a large variation in flow conditions and model attitude parameters. The paper also presents known experimental research programs developed for the specific purpose of validating analytical methods and extending the capability of data-base programs.

Sawyer, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Investigation of the collision line broadening problem as applicable to the NASA Optical Plume Anomaly Detection (OPAD) system, phase 1

As a final report for phase 1 of the project, the researchers are submitting to the Tennessee Tech Office of Research the following two papers (reprinted in this report): 'Collision Line Broadening Effects on Spectrometric Data from the Optical Plume Anomaly System (OPAD),' presented at the 30th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, 27-29 June 1994, and 'Calculation of Collision Cross Sections for Atomic Line Broadening in the Plume of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME),' presented at the IEEE Southeastcon '95, 26-29 March 1995. These papers fully state the problem and the progress made up to the end of NASA Fiscal Year 1994. The NASA OPAD system was devised to predict concentrations of anomalous species in the plume of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) through analysis of spectrometric data. The self absorption of the radiation of these plume anomalies is highly dependent on the line shape of the atomic transition of interest. The Collision Line Broadening paper discusses the methods used to predict line shapes of atomic transitions in the environment of a rocket plume. The Voigt profile is used as the line shape factor since both Doppler and collisional line broadening are significant. Methods used to determine the collisional cross sections are discussed and the results are given and compared with experimental data. These collisional cross sections are then incorporated into the current self absorbing radiative model and the predicted spectrum is compared to actual spectral data collected from the Stennis Space Center Diagnostic Test Facility rocket engine. The second paper included in this report investigates an analytical method for determining the cross sections for collision line broadening by molecular perturbers, using effective central force interaction potentials. These cross sections are determined for several atomic species with H2, one of the principal constituents of the SSME plume environment, and compared with experimental data.

Dean, Timothy C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Integrated damping mechanics for thick composite laminates and plates

A method for predicting the damped dynamic characteristics of thick composite laminates and plates is presented. Unified damping mechanics relate the damping of composite plates to constituent properties, fiber volume ratio, fiber orientation, laminate configuration, plate geometry, temperature, and moisture. Discrete layer damping mechanics for thick laminates, entailing piecewise continuous displacement fields and including the effects of interlaminar shear damping, are described. A semi-analytical method for predicting the modal damping and natural frequencies of thick simply-supported specialty composite plates is included. Applications demonstrate the validity, merit, and ranges of applicability of the new theory. The applications further illustrate the significance of interlaminar shear damping, and investigate the effects of lamination, thickness aspect ratio, fiber content, and temperature.

Saravanos, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Analytical prediction of labyrinth-seal-flow-induced arotor excitation forces

An analytical method to calculate the rotor excitation forces arising from labyrinth seals is presented. The objective is to model the gas flow through the seal clearance passages and cavities when the rotor is positioned eccentricly relative to the stator center. The seal flow model used in the analysis yields solutions which validate the experimentally observed influence of seal parameters on seal forces reported in the literature. The analytically predicted seal pressure distributions and forces were compared with published experimental results.

Rajakumar, C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Verification of spatial and temporal pressure distributions in segmented solid rocket motors

A wide variety of analytical tools are in use today to predict the history and spatial distributions of pressure in the combustion chambers of solid rocket motors (SRMs). Experimental and analytical methods are presented here that allow the verification of many of these predictions. These methods are applied to the redesigned space shuttle booster (RSRM). Girth strain-gage data is compared to the predictions of various one-dimensional quasisteady analyses in order to verify the axial drop in motor static pressure during ignition transients as well as quasisteady motor operation. The results of previous modeling of radial flows in the bore, slots, and around grain overhangs are supported by approximate analytical and empirical techniques presented here. The predictions of circumferential flows induced by inhibitor asymmetries, nozzle vectoring, and propellant slump are compared to each other and to subscale cold air and water tunnel measurements to ascertain their validity.

Salita, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1995

The FEM-R-Matrix Approach: Use of Mixed Finite Element and Gaussian Basis Sets for Electron Molecule Collisions

For the calculation of electron molecule collision cross sections R-matrix methods automatically take advantage of the division of configuration space into an inner region (I) bounded by radius tau b, where the scattered electron is within the molecular charge cloud and the system is described by an correlated Configuration Interaction (CI) treatment in close analogy to bound state calculations, and an outer region (II) where the scattered electron moves in the long-range multipole potential of the target and efficient analytic methods can be used for solving the asymptotic Schroedinger equation plus boundary conditions.

Thuemmel, Helmar T.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Controls/CFD Interdisciplinary Research Software Generates Low-Order Linear Models for Control Design From Steady-State CFD Results

The NASA Lewis Research Center is developing analytical methods and software tools to create a bridge between the controls and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) disciplines. Traditionally, control design engineers have used coarse nonlinear simulations to generate information for the design of new propulsion system controls. However, such traditional methods are not adequate for modeling the propulsion systems of complex, high-speed vehicles like the High Speed Civil Transport. To properly model the relevant flow physics of high-speed propulsion systems, one must use simulations based on CFD methods. Such CFD simulations have become useful tools for engineers that are designing propulsion system components. The analysis techniques and software being developed as part of this effort are an attempt to evolve CFD into a useful tool for control design as well. One major aspect of this research is the generation of linear models from steady-state CFD results. CFD simulations, often used during the design of high-speed inlets, yield high resolution operating point data. Under a NASA grant, the University of Akron has developed analytical techniques and software tools that use these data to generate linear models for control design. The resulting linear models have the same number of states as the original CFD simulation, so they are still very large and computationally cumbersome. Model reduction techniques have been successfully applied to reduce these large linear models by several orders of magnitude without significantly changing the dynamic response. The result is an accurate, easy to use, low-order linear model that takes less time to generate than those generated by traditional means. The development of methods for generating low-order linear models from steady-state CFD is most complete at the one-dimensional level, where software is available to generate models with different kinds of input and output variables. One-dimensional methods have been extended somewhat so that linear models can also be generated from two- and three-dimensional steady-state results. Standard techniques are adequate for reducing the order of one-dimensional CFD-based linear models. However, reduction of linear models based on two- and three-dimensional CFD results is complicated by very sparse, ill-conditioned matrices. Some novel approaches are being investigated to solve this problem.

Melcher, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development and demonstration of a flutter-suppression system using active controls

The application of active control technology to suppress flutter was demonstrated successfully in the transonic dynamics tunnel with a delta-wing model. The model was a simplified version of a proposed supersonic transport wing design. An active flutter suppression method based on an aerodynamic energy criterion was verified by using three different control laws. The first two control laws utilized both leading-edge and trailing-edge active control surfaces, whereas the third control law required only a single trailing-edge active control surface. At a Mach number of 0.9 the experimental results demonstrated increases in the flutter dynamic pressure from 12.5 percent to 30 percent with active controls. Analytical methods were developed to predict both open-loop and closed-loop stability, and the results agreed reasonably well with the experimental results.

Sandford, M. C.↗