Results for “Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD)” — Page 26

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryogenic Fluid Management Using CFD - Development and Applications

The Fluid Dynamics Branch has positioned itself to support a wide range of customers in need of Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) analysis. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool used for all manner of internal and external propulsion applications has been extended and refined to better model cryogenic propellant storage and tanking operations. Through the CFM Portfolio project, several validation activities were initiated. Validation of propellant tank self-pressurization, autogenous pressurization, slosh-induced ullage collapse, and jet-induced mixing all aid in defining model accuracy. The on-going validation effort has enabled confident application of the tool to in-line design and evaluation of CFM hardware and operations. Recent project support included design of no-vent fill operations using various techniques for the Human Landing System (HLS). Propellant transfer dynamics were predicted to ensure complete propellant delivery. Many more activities in support of HLS and other projects and programs were supported. The branch has engaged the CFM community to share recent findings and capabilities through conferences. To reach the wider community, a consolidation of fundamental findings from work on in-space pulsed settling maneuvers was distilled in an AIAA paper. Development and demonstration of CFM modeling capabilities continues in order to meet the needs of the agency and its industry partners in the endeavor to sustainably reach the Moon and beyond.

Jacob Brodnick↗

NASA NTRS1990

CFD Code Survey for Thrust Chamber Application

In the quest fo find analytical reference codes, responses from a questionnaire are presented which portray the current computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program status and capability at various organizations, characterizing liquid rocket thrust chamber flow fields. Sample cases are identified to examine the ability, operational condition, and accuracy of the codes. To select the best suited programs for accelerated improvements, evaluation criteria are being proposed.

Gross, Klaus W.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Heated Supersonic Axisymmetric Jet Cases for the NASA Turbulence Modeling Resource

This paper will describe three new supersonic jet cases for the NASA Turbulence Modeling Resource (TMR). These cases were taken from the 6th AIAA Propulsion Aerodynamics Workshop (PAW) nozzle test problem, which utilized data taken at NASA GRC consisting of non-intrusive measurements of jet plume velocities and temperatures, including both mean values and turbulence statistics. The three jet cases all used a Mach 1.63 axisymmetric nozzle: A heated jet for each at on-design conditions, a temperature-matched on-design condition at Mach 1.63, and an off-design heated condition for the Mach 1.63 nozzle. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions are obtained using three established Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) codes: Wind-US, FUN3D, and Vulcan, all using the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. The NASA TMR requires at least two CFD codes yielding essentially identical results to certify that the approaches are verified, that is - providing solutions that may not necessarily provide close comparisons with experimental data, but solve the posed CFD equations as intended.

nozzle↗

NASA NTRS2017

Comparisons Between NO PLIF Imaging and CFD Simulations of Mixing Flowfields for High-Speed Fuel Injectors

The current work compares experimentally and computationally obtained nitric oxide (NO) planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of the mixing flowfields for three types of high-speed fuel injectors: a strut, a ramp, and a rectangular flushwall. These injection devices, which exhibited promising mixing performance at lower flight Mach numbers, are currently being studied as a part of the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project (EIMP) at the NASA Langley Research Center. The EIMP aims to investigate scramjet fuel injection and mixing physics, and improve the understanding of underlying physical processes relevant to flight Mach numbers greater than eight. In the experiments, conducted in the NASA Langley Arc-Heated Scramjet Test Facility (AHSTF), the injectors are placed downstream of a Mach 6 facility nozzle, which simulates the high Mach number air flow at the entrance of a scramjet combustor. Helium is used as an inert substitute for hydrogen fuel. Both schlieren and PLIF techniques are applied to obtain mixing flowfield flow visualizations. The experimental PLIF is obtained by using a UV laser sheet to interrogate a plane of the flow by exciting fluorescence from the NO molecules, which are present in the AHSTF air. Consequently, the absence of signal in the resulting PLIF images is an indication of pure helium (fuel). The computational PLIF is obtained by applying a fluorescence model for NO to the results of the Reynolds-averaged simulations (RAS) of the mixing flow field carried out using the VULCAN-CFD solver. This approach is required because the PLIF signal is a nonlinear function of not only NO concentration, but also pressure, temperature, and the flow velocity. This complexity allows additional flow features to be identified and compared with those obtained from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, however, such comparisons are only semiquantitative. Three-dimensional image reconstruction, similar to that used in magnetic resonance imaging, is also used to obtain images in the streamwise and spanwise planes from select cross-stream PLIF plane data. Synthetic schlieren is also computed from the RAS data. Good agreement between the experimental and computational results provides increased confidence in the CFD simulations for investigations of injector performance.

Drozda, Tomasz G.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparisons Between NO PLIF Imaging and CFD Simulations of Mixing Flowfields for High-Speed Fuel Injectors

The current work compares experimentally and computationally obtained nitric oxide (NO) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of the mixing flowfields for three types of high-speed fuel injectors: a strut, a ramp, and a rectangular flushwall. These injection devices, which exhibited promising mixing performance at lower flight Mach numbers, are currently being studied as a part of the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project (EIMP) at the NASA Langley Research Center. The EIMP aims to investigate scramjet fuel injection and mixing physics, and improve the understanding of underlying physical processes relevant to flight Mach numbers greater than eight. In the experiments conducted in the NASA Langley Arc-Heated Scramjet Test Facility (AHSTF), the injectors are placed downstream of a Mach 6 facility nozzle, which simulates the high Mach number air flow at the entrance of a scramjet combustor. Helium is used as an inert substitute for hydrogen fuel. Both schlieren and PLIF techniques are applied to obtain mixing flowfield flow visualizations. The experimental PLIF is obtained by using a UV laser sheet to interrogate a plane of the flow by exciting fluorescence from the NO molecules that are present in the AHSTF air. Consequently, the absence of signal in the resulting PLIF images is an indication of pure helium (fuel). The computational PLIF is obtained by applying a fluorescence model for NO to the results of the Reynolds-averaged simulations (RAS) of the mixing flowfield carried out using the VULCAN-CFD solver. This approach is required because the PLIF signal is a nonlinear function of not only NO concentration, but also pressure, temperature, and the flow velocity. This complexity allows additional flow features to be identified and compared with those obtained from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, however, such comparisons are only semiquantitative. Three-dimensional image reconstruction, similar to that used in magnetic resonance imaging, is also used to obtain images in the streamwise and spanwise planes from select cross-stream PLIF plane data. Synthetic schlieren is also computed from the RAS data. Good agreement between the experimental and computational results provides increased confidence in the CFD simulations for investigations of injector performance.

PLIF↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparisons Between NO PLIF Imaging and CFD Simulations of Mixing Flowfields for High-Speed Fuel Injectors

The current work compares experimentally and computationally obtained nitric oxide (NO) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of the mixing flowfields for three types of high-speed fuel injectors: a strut, a ramp, and a rectangular flushwall. These injection devices, which exhibited promising mixing performance at lower flight Mach numbers, are currently being studied as a part of the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project (EIMP) at the NASA Langley Research Center. The EIMP aims to investigate scramjet fuel injection and mixing physics, and improve the understanding of underlying physical processes relevant to flight Mach numbers greater than eight. In the experiments conducted in the NASA Langley Arc-Heated Scramjet Test Facility (AHSTF), the injectors are placed downstream of a Mach 6 facility nozzle, which simulates the high Mach number air flow at the entrance of a scramjet combustor. Helium is used as an inert substitute for hydrogen fuel. Both schlieren and PLIF techniques are applied to obtain mixing flowfield flow visualizations. The experimental PLIF is obtained by using a UV laser sheet to interrogate a plane of the flow by exciting fluorescence from the NO molecules that are present in the AHSTF air. Consequently, the absence of signal in the resulting PLIF images is an indication of pure helium (fuel). The computational PLIF is obtained by applying a fluorescence model for NO to the results of the Reynolds-averaged simulations (RAS) of the mixing flowfield carried out using the VULCAN-CFD solver. This approach is required because the PLIF signal is a nonlinear function of not only NO concentration, but also pressure, temperature, and the flow velocity. This complexity allows additional flow features to be identified and compared with those obtained from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, however, such comparisons are only semiquantitative. Three-dimensional image reconstruction, similar to that used in magnetic resonance imaging, is also used to obtain images in the streamwise and spanwise planes from select cross-stream PLIF plane data. Synthetic schlieren is also computed from the RAS data. Good agreement between the experimental and computational results provides increased confidence in the CFD simulations for investigations of injector performance.

PLIF↗

NASA NTRS1983

Influence of computational fluid dynamics on experimental aerospace facilities: A fifteen year projection

An assessment was made of the impact of developments in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) on the traditional role of aerospace ground test facilities over the next fifteen years. With improvements in CFD and more powerful scientific computers projected over this period it is expected to have the capability to compute the flow over a complete aircraft at a unit cost three orders of magnitude lower than presently possible. Over the same period improvements in ground test facilities will progress by application of computational techniques including CFD to data acquisition, facility operational efficiency, and simulation of the light envelope; however, no dramatic change in unit cost is expected as greater efficiency will be countered by higher energy and labor costs.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1993

The HSCT mission analysis of waverider designs

The grant provided partial support for an investigation of wave rider design and analysis with application to High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) vehicles. Proposed was the development of the necessary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for the direct simulation of the waverider vehicles, the development of two new wave rider design methods that would provide computational speeds and design flexibilities never before achieved in wave rider design studies, and finally the selection of a candidate waverider-based vehicle and the evaluation of the chosen vehicle for a canonical HSCT mission scenario. This, the final report, reiterates the proposed project objectives in moderate detail, and it outlines the state of completion of each portion of the study, providing references to current and forthcoming publications that resulted from this work.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1994

On the Use of Computers for Teaching Fluid Mechanics

Several approaches for improving the teaching of basic fluid mechanics using computers are presented. There are two objectives to these approaches: to increase the involvement of the student in the learning process and to present information to the student in a variety of forms. Items discussed include: the preparation of educational videos using the results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations, the analysis of CFD flow solutions using workstation based post-processing graphics packages, and the development of workstation or personal computer based simulators which behave like desk top wind tunnels. Examples of these approaches are presented along with observations from working with undergraduate co-ops. Possible problems in the implementation of these approaches as well as solutions to these problems are also discussed.

Benson, Thomas J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Displaying CFD Solution Parameters on Arbitrary Cut Planes

USMC6 is a Fortran 90 computer program for post-processing in support of visualization of flows simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The name "USMC6" is partly an abbreviation of "TetrUSS - USM3D Solution Cutter," reflecting its origin as a post-processor for use with USM3D - a CFD program that is a component of the Tetrahedral Unstructured Software System and that solves the Navier-Stokes equations on tetrahedral unstructured grids. "Cutter" here refers to a capability to acquire and process solution data on (1) arbitrary planes that cut through grid volumes, or (2) user-selected spheroidal, conical, cylindrical, and/or prismatic domains cut from within grids. Cutting saves time by enabling concentration of post-processing and visualization efforts on smaller solution domains of interest. The user can select from among more than 40 flow functions. The cut planes can be trimmed to circular or rectangular shape. The user specifies cuts and functions in a free-format input file using simple and easy-to-remember keywords. The USMC6 command line is simple enough that the slicing process can readily be embedded in a shell script for assembly-line post-processing. The output of USMC6 is a data file ready for plotting.

Pao, S. Paul↗

NASA NTRS2018

Generation of Mars Helicopter Rotor Model for Comprehensive Analyses

The present research is aimed at providing a performance model for the Mars Helicopter (MH), to understand the complexity of the flow, and identify future regions of improvement. The low density of the Martian atmosphere and the relatively small MH rotor, result in very low chord-based Reynolds number flows. The low density and Reynolds numbers reduce the lifting force and lifting efficiency, respectively. The high drag coefficients in subcritical flow, especially for thicker sections, are attributed to laminar separation from the rear of the airfoil. In the absence of test data, efforts have been made to explore these effects using prior very low Reynolds number research efforts. The rotor chord-based Reynolds number range is observed to be subcritical, which makes boundary layer transition unlikely to occur. The state of the two-dimensional rotor boundary layer in hover is approximated by calculating the instability point, laminar separation point, and the transition location to provide understanding of the flow state in the high Mach-low Reynolds number regime. The results are used to investigate the need for turbulence modeling in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations afterwards. The goal is to generate a performance model for the MH rotor for a free wake analysis, because the computational budget for a complete Navier-Stokes solution for a rotating body-fitted rotor is substantial. In this study, a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based approach is used to generate the airfoil deck using C81Gen with stitched experimental data for very high angles of attack. A full Grid Resolution Study is performed and over 4,500 cases are completed to create the full airfoil deck. The laminar separation locations are predicted within the accuracy of the approximate method when compared with the CFD calculations. The model is presented through airfoil data tables (c81 files) that are used by comprehensive rotor analysis codes such as CAMRADII, or the mid-fidelity CFD solver RotCFD. Finally, the rotor performance is compared with experimental data from the 25ft Space Simulator at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and shows good correlation for the rotor Figure of Merit over the available thrust range.

Model↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Closed-Loop Simulations of Human-Scale Mars Lander Descent Trajectories on Frontier

A computational campaign was performed to run high-fidelity, free-flight simulations of a human-scale Mars lander concept vehicle decelerating under retropropulsion through the Martian atmosphere with closed-loop flight control. A novel approach is used to couple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software with a mature flight mechanics package, where the two applications communicate in real-time across two geographically-dispersed computational facilities. The CFD is performed on the Frontier exascale system located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the flight mechanics are executed on a system located at NASA Langley Research Center. In the current campaign, CFD is performed using finite-rate chemistry to account for the interactions between the LOXCH 4 engines and the CO 2 Martian atmosphere. A simulation of a closed-loop main engine throttling and RCS actuation is presented, demonstrating that the vehicle and model are able to maintain stability in a long-duration CFD-in-the-loop flight simulation. Comparisons are made to a reduced order model ignoring aero-propulsive interactions.

CFD↗

NASA NTRS2005

Verification, Validation, and Solution Quality in Computational Physics: CFD Methods Applied to Ice Sheet Physics

Procedures and methods for veri.cation of coding algebra and for validations of models and calculations used in the aerospace computational fluid dynamics (CFD) community would be ef.cacious if used by the glacier dynamics modeling community. This paper presents some of those methods, and how they might be applied to uncertainty management supporting code veri.cation and model validation for glacier dynamics. The similarities and differences between their use in CFD analysis and the proposed application of these methods to glacier modeling are discussed. After establishing sources of uncertainty and methods for code veri.cation, the paper looks at a representative sampling of veri.cation and validation efforts that are underway in the glacier modeling community, and establishes a context for these within an overall solution quality assessment. Finally, a vision of a new information architecture and interactive scienti.c interface is introduced and advocated.

Thompson, David E.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Arbitrary Shape Deformation in CFD Design

Sculptor(R) is a commercially available software tool, based on an Arbitrary Shape Design (ASD), which allows the user to perform shape optimization for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) design. The developed software tool provides important advances in the state-of-the-art of automatic CFD shape deformations and optimization software. CFD is an analysis tool that is used by engineering designers to help gain a greater understanding of the fluid flow phenomena involved in the components being designed. The next step in the engineering design process is to then modify, the design to improve the components' performance. This step has traditionally been performed manually via trial and error. Two major problems that have, in the past, hindered the development of an automated CFD shape optimization are (1) inadequate shape parameterization algorithms, and (2) inadequate algorithms for CFD grid modification. The ASD that has been developed as part of the Sculptor(R) software tool is a major advancement in solving these two issues. First, the ASD allows the CFD designer to freely create his own shape parameters, thereby eliminating the restriction of only being able to use the CAD model parameters. Then, the software performs a smooth volumetric deformation, which eliminates the extremely costly process of having to remesh the grid for every shape change (which is how this process had previously been achieved). Sculptor(R) can be used to optimize shapes for aerodynamic and structural design of spacecraft, aircraft, watercraft, ducts, and other objects that affect and are affected by flows of fluids and heat. Sculptor(R) makes it possible to perform, in real time, a design change that would manually take hours or days if remeshing were needed.

Landon, Mark↗

NASA NTRS2016

Predictive Evaluations of Oxygen-Rich Hydrocarbon Combustion Gas-Centered Swirl Coaxial Injectors using a Flamelet-Based 3-D CFD Simulation Approach

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has embarked upon a joint project with the Air Force to improve the state-of-the-art of space application combustion device design and operational understanding. One goal of the project is to design, build and hot-fire test a 40,000 pound-thrust Oxygen/Rocket Propellant-2 (RP-2) Oxygen-Rich staged engine at MSFC. The overall project goals afford the opportunity to test multiple different injector designs and experimentally evaluate the any effect on the engine performance and combustion dynamics. To maximize the available test resources and benefits, pre-test, combusting flow, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed on the individual injectors to guide the design. The results of the CFD analysis were used to design the injectors for specific, targeted fluid dynamic features and the analysis results also provided some predictive input for acoustic and thermal analysis of the main Thrust Chamber Assembly (TCA). MSFC has developed and demonstrated the ability to utilize a computationally efficient, flamelet-based combustion model to guide the pre-test design of single-element Gas Centered Swirl Coaxial (GCSC) injectors. Previous, Oxygen/RP-2 simulation models utilizing the Loci-STREAM flow solver, were validated using single injector test data from the EC-1 Air Force test facility. The simulation effort herein is an extension of the validated, CFD driven, single-injector design approach applied to single injectors which will be part of a larger engine array. Time-accurate, Three-Dimensional, CFD simulations were performed for five different classes of injector geometries. Simulations were performed to guide the design of the injector to achieve a variety of intended performance goals. For example, two GCSC injectors were designed to achieve stable hydrodynamic behavior of the propellant circuits while providing the largest thermal margin possible within the design envelope. While another injector was designed to purposefully create a hydrodynamic instability in the fuel supply circuit as predicted by the CFD analysis. Future multi-injector analysis and testing will indicate what if any changes occur in the predicted behavior for the single-element injector when the same injector geometry is placed in a multi-element array.

Richardson, Brian R.↗

NASA NTRS2006

An Initial Non-Equilibrium Porous-Media Model for CFD Simulation of Stirling Regenerators

The objective of this paper is to define empirical parameters (or closwre models) for an initial thermai non-equilibrium porous-media model for use in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes for simulation of Stirling regenerators. The two CFD codes currently being used at Glenn Research Center (GRC) for Stirling engine modeling are Fluent and CFD-ACE. The porous-media models available in each of these codes are equilibrium models, which assmne that the solid matrix and the fluid are in thermal equilibrium at each spatial location within the porous medium. This is believed to be a poor assumption for the oscillating-flow environment within Stirling regenerators; Stirling 1-D regenerator models, used in Stirling design, we non-equilibrium regenerator models and suggest regenerator matrix and gas average temperatures can differ by several degrees at a given axial location end time during the cycle. A NASA regenerator research grant has been providing experimental and computational results to support definition of various empirical coefficients needed in defining a noa-equilibrium, macroscopic, porous-media model (i.e., to define "closure" relations). The grant effort is being led by Cleveland State University, with subcontractor assistance from the University of Minnesota, Gedeon Associates, and Sunpower, Inc. Friction-factor and heat-transfer correlations based on data taken with the NASAlSunpower oscillating-flow test rig also provide experimentally based correlations that are useful in defining parameters for the porous-media model; these correlations are documented in Gedeon Associates' Sage Stirling-Code Manuals. These sources of experimentally based information were used to define the following terms and parameters needed in the non-equilibrium porous-media model: hydrodynamic dispersion, permeability, inertial coefficient, fluid effective thermal conductivity (including themal dispersion and estimate of tortuosity effects}, and fluid-solid heat transfer coefficient. Solid effective thermal conductivity (including the effect of tortuosity) was also estimated. Determination of the porous-media model parameters was based on planned use in a CFD model of Infinia's Stirling Technology Demonstration Convertor (TDC), which uses a random-fiber regenerator matrix. The non-equilibrium porous-media model presented is considered to be an initial, or "draft," model for possible incorporation in commercial CFD codes, with the expectation that the empirical parameters will likely need to be updated once resulting Stirling CFD model regenerator and engine results have been analyzed. The emphasis of the paper is on use of available data to define empirical parameters (and closure models) needed in a thermal non-equilibrium porous-media model for Stirling regenerator simulation. Such a model has not yet been implemented by the authors or their associates. However, it is anticipated that a thermal non-equilibrium model such as that presented here, when iacorporated in the CFD codes, will improve our ability to accurately model Stirling regenerators with CFD relative to current thermal-equilibrium porous-media models.

Tew, Roy↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Construction of a Fluid Flowfield from Discrete Point Data using Machine Learning

Many verification and validation procedures in aerospace engineering involve the comparison of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data to experimental results from sources like wind tunnel tests. However, an incongruity exists between the data available from these sources: flow visualization is available by default in computational data, whereas in most experimental setups the available data is far more discrete and far more limited: integrated forces and moments, discrete pressure and temperature probes, etc. When differences exist between quantities of interest like lift and drag coefficients, the lack of full-field flow data from the experiments complicates most attempts to reconcile why the different data sources disagree. To this end, a shallow neural network, constrained by certain fluid flow properties, was trained to approximate flow field snapshots given only discrete data like that available in a wind tunnel test. The constructed snapshots, even for complex incompressible fluid flows, were found to agree at the large scales with the true flow fields. With this tool, researchers can more readily and easily understand why quantities of interest differ between their experimental and computational datasets. This in turn improves the resulting data's uncertainty measures.

Yury Lebedev↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Construction of a Fluid Flowfield from Discrete Point Data using Machine Learning

Many verification and validation procedures in aerospace engineering involve the comparison of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data to experimental results from sources like wind tunnel tests. However, an incongruity exists between the data available from these sources: flow visualization is available by default in computational data, whereas in most experimental setups the available data is far more discrete and far more limited: integrated forces and moments, discrete pressure and temperature probes, etc. When differences exist between quantities of interest like lift and drag coefficients, the lack of full-field flow data from the experiments complicates most attempts to reconcile why the different data sources disagree. To this end, a shallow neural network, constrained by certain fluid flow properties, was trained to approximate flow field snapshots given only discrete data like that available in a wind tunnel test. The constructed snapshots, even for complex incompressible fluid flows, were found to agree at the large scales with the true flow fields. With this tool, researchers can more readily and easily understand why quantities of interest differ between their experimental and computational datasets. This in turn improves the resulting data's uncertainty measures.

Yury Lebedev↗