Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Stability boundary”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 487 records · Page 27

Experiments on the stability of the flat-plate boundary layer with suction

Experiments have been conducted in the VPI and SU Stability Wind Tunnel on a flat-plate wind-tunnel model equipped with porous suction panels. Detailed hot-wire measurements were conducted in the laminar boundary layer to investigate the stabilizing effects of suction on growing Tollmien-Schlichting waves, which were introduced into the boundary layer using a vibrating ribbon. Special care was taken to minimize external disturbances and to avoid extraneous experimental bias. The measurements, which included mean-flow and disturbance-amplitude profiles across the boundary layer, showed that suction applied through discrete porous strips can be as effective as suction applied continuously over a much longer streamwise length. The measurements also showed that suction is more effective when placed forward, nearer to the region of neutral stability, than when placed in the region of maximum growth rate. These results also provided meaningful comparison with recent theory.

Reynolds, G. A.↗

Supersonic Laminar Flow Control Research

The objective of this research is to understand supersonic laminar flow stability, transition and active control. Some prediction techniques will be developed or modified to analyze laminar flow stability. The effects of distributed heating and cooling as an active boundary layer control technique will be studied. The primary tasks of the research apply to the NASA/Ames PoC and LFSWT's nozzle design with laminar flow control and are listed as follows: Predictions of supersonic laminar boundary layer stability and transition; Effects of wall heating and cooling on supersonic laminar flow control on a flat plate; Performance evaluation of the PoC and LFSWT nozzle designs with wall heating and cooling applied at different locations and various lengths; Effects of a conducted-vs-pulse wall temperature distribution for the LFSWT; and Application of wall heating and/or cooling to laminar boundary layer and flow separation control of airfoils and investigation of related active control techniques.

Lo, Ching F.↗

Supersonic Laminar Flow Control Research

The objective of this research is to understand supersonic laminar flow stability, transition and active control. Some prediction techniques are developed or modified to analyze laminar flow stability. The effects of distributed heating and cooling as an active boundary layer control technique are studied. The primary tasks of the research apply to the NASA/Ames Proof-of-Concept (PoC) and the Laminar Flow Supersonic Wind Tunnel's (LFSWT's) nozzle design with laminar flow control and are listed as follows: (1) Predictions of supersonic laminar boundary layer stability and transition; (2) Effects of wall heating and cooling on supersonic laminar flow control on a flat plate; (3) Performance evaluation of the PoC and LFSWT nozzle designs with wall heating and cooling applied at different locations and various lengths; (4) Effects of a conducted -vs- pulse wall temperature distribution for the LFSWT; and (5) Application of wall heating and/or cooling to laminar boundary layer and flow separation control of airfoils and investigation of related active control techniques.

Lo, C. F.↗

Convenient stability criteria for difference approximations of hyperbolic initial-boundary value problems

New convenient stability criteria are provided in this paper for a large class of finite difference approximations to initial-boundary value problems associated with the hyperbolic system u sub t = au sub x + Bu + f in the quarter plane x or = 0, t or = 0. Using the new criteria, stability is easily established for numerous combinations of well known basic schemes and boundary conditions, thus generalizing many special cases studied in recent literature.

Goldberg, M.↗

Convenient stability criteria for difference approximations of hyperbolic initial-boundary value problems

New convenient stability criteria are provided in this paper for a large class of finite difference approximations to initial-boundary value problems associated with the hyperbolic system u sub t = au sub x + Bu + f in the quarter plane x or = 0, t or = 0. Using the new criteria, stability is easily established for numerous combinations of well known basic schemes and boundary conditins, thus generalizing many special cases studied in recent literature.

Goldberg, M.↗

HADY-I, a FORTRAN program for the compressible stability analysis of three-dimensional boundary layers

A computer program HADY-I for calculating the linear incompressible or compressible stability characteristics of the laminar boundary layer on swept and tapered wings is described. The eigenvalue problem and its adjoint arising from the linearized disturbance equations with the appropriate boundary conditions are solved numerically using a combination of Newton-Raphson interative scheme and a variable step size integrator based on the Runge-Kutta-Fehlburh fifth-order formulas. The integrator is used in conjunction with a modified Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization procedure. The computer program HADY-I calculates the growth rates of crossflow or streamwise Tollmien-Schlichting instabilities. It also calculates the group velocities of these disturbances. It is restricted to parallel stability calculations, where the boundary layer (meanflow) is assumed to be parallel. The meanflow solution is an input to the program.

El-Hady, N. M.↗

Floquet stability analyses of stratified oscillating boundary layers on adiabatic slopes

The presence of a no-slip, impermeable, adiabatic, sloped boundary in an otherwise quiescent, stably stratified, Boussinesq flow generates baroclinic vorticity within a diffusive boundary layer. Such conditions are typical of the oscillating boundary layers on adiabatic abyssal slopes, sloped lake bathymetry and sloped coastal bathymetry in the absence of high-wavenumber internal waves, mean flows, far-field turbulence on larger scales, and resonant tidal–bathymetric interaction. We investigate the linear stability of the oscillating flow within non-dimensional parameter space typical of the $M_2$ tide and hydraulically smooth, middle-latitude abyssal slopes through Floquet linear stability analysis. The flow dynamics depends on three non-dimensional variables: the Reynolds number for Stokes’ second problem, the Prandtl number, and a frequency ratio that accounts for the resonance conditions ($C$, criticality) of the buoyant restoring force and the tidal forcing. The Floquet analysis results suggest that oscillating laminar boundary layers on adiabatic abyssal slopes are increasingly unstable as Reynolds number, criticality parameter and/or spanwise disturbance wavenumber are increased. We also show that the two-dimensional Floquet linear instability necessarily generates three-dimensional baroclinic vorticity, which suggests that the evolution of the gravitational instabilities may be nonlinear as $t→∞$.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The stability of a three-dimensional laminar boundary layer on a swept flat plate

The linear stability of the laminar boundary layer on a swept flat plate with an imposed favorable pressure gradient was studied utilizing a linear stability model which accounts for streamline curvature for three-dimensional incompressible flows. Calculations were performed for an effective leading-edge sweep angle of 42.5 degrees and freestream velocity of 19 m/s. Computed disturbance amplification rates for the spectrum of amplified frequencies and wavelengths for stationary crossflow vortices were compared with experimental results.

Collier, F. S., Jr.↗

Charts and Tables for Estimating the Stability of the Compressible Laminar Boundary Layer with Heat Transfer and Arbitrary Pressure Gradient

The minimum critical Reynolds numbers for the similar solutions of the compressible laminar boundary layer computed by Cohen and Reshotko and also for the Falkner and Skan solutions as recomputed by Smith have been calculated by Lin's rapid approximate method for two-dimensional disturbances. These results enable the stability of the compressible laminar boundary layer with heat transfer and pressure gradient to be easily estimated after the behavior of the boundary layer has been computed by the approximate method of Cohen and Reshotko. The previously reported unusual result (NACA Technical Note 4037) that a highly cooled stagnation point flow is more unstable than a highly cooled flat-plate flow is again encountered. Moreover, this result is found to be part of the more general result that a favorable pressure gradient is destabilizing for very cool walls when the Mach number is less than that for complete stability. The minimum critical Reynolds numbers for these wall temperature ratios are, however, all larger than any value of the laminar-boundary-layer Reynolds number likely to be encountered. For Mach numbers greater than those for which complete stability occurs a favorable pressure gradient is stabilizing, even for very cool walls.

Tetervin, Neal↗

Receptivity of Supersonic Boundary Layers Due To Acoustic Disturbances Over Blunt Cones

Receptivity and stability of supersonic boundary layers over a 5-degree straight cone with a blunt tip are numerically investigated at a free stream Mach number of 3.5 and at a high Reynolds number of 106/inch. Both the steady and unsteady solutions are obtained by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations using the 5th-order accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for space discretization and using third-order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) Runge-Kutta scheme for time integration. The linear stability results showed that bluntness has less stabilizing effects on the stability of boundary layers over cones than on flat plates and wedges. The unsteady simulations of the interaction of plane threedimensional acoustic waves with the cone showed that the modulation of wavelength and the generation of instability waves first occurred near the leading edge in the plane where the constant acoustic phase lines are perpendicular to the cone axis. Further downstream, this instability region spreads in the azimuthal direction from this plane.

Balakumar, P.↗

Supersonic laminar flow control research

The objective of this research is to understand supersonic laminar flow stability, transition and active control. Some prediction techniques will be developed or modified to analyze laminar flow stability. The effects of distributed heating and cooling as an active boundary layer control technique will be studied. The primary tasks of the research apply to the NASA/Ames PoC and LFSWT's nozzle design with laminar flow control and are listed as follows: (1) predictions of supersonic laminar boundary layer stability and transition; (2) effects of wall heating and cooling on supersonic laminar flow control; (3) performance evaluation of the PoC and LFSWT nozzle designs with wall heating and cooling applied at different locations and various lengths; and (4) effects of a conducted -vs- pulse wall temperature distribution for the LFSWT.

Lo, Ching F.↗

Supersonic laminar flow control research

The objective is to understand supersonic laminar flow stability, transition, and active control. Some prediction techniques will be developed or modified to analyze laminar flow stability. The effects of distributed heating and cooling as an active boundary layer control technique will be studied. The primary tasks of the research apply to the NASA/Ames Proof of Concept (PoC) and Laminar Flow Supersonic Wind Tunnel's (LFSWT's) nozzle design with laminar flow control and are listed as follows: (1) predictions of supersonic laminar boundary layer stability and transition, (2) effects of wall heating and cooling on supersonic laminar flow control, (3) performance evaluation of the PoC and LFSWT nozzle designs with wall heating and cooling applied at different locations and various lengths, and (4) effects of a conducted versus pulse wall temperature distribution for the LFSWT.

Lo, Ching F.↗

Validation of three-dimensional incompressible spatial direct numerical simulation code: A comparison with linear stability and parabolic stability equation theories for boundary-layer transition on a flat plate

Spatially evolving instabilities in a boundary layer on a flat plate are computed by direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In a truncated physical domain, a nonstaggered mesh is used for the grid. A Chebyshev-collocation method is used normal to the wall; finite difference and compact difference methods are used in the streamwise direction; and a Fourier series is used in the spanwise direction. For time stepping, implicit Crank-Nicolson and explicit Runge-Kutta schemes are used to the time-splitting method. The influence-matrix technique is used to solve the pressure equation. At the outflow boundary, the buffer-domain technique is used to prevent convective wave reflection or upstream propagation of information from the boundary. Results of the DNS are compared with those from both linear stability theory (LST) and parabolized stability equation (PSE) theory. Computed disturbance amplitudes and phases are in very good agreement with those of LST (for small inflow disturbance amplitudes). A measure of the sensitivity of the inflow condition is demonstrated with both LST and PSE theory used to approximate inflows. Although the DNS numerics are very different than those of PSE theory, the results are in good agreement. A small discrepancy in the results that does occur is likely a result of the variation in PSE boundary condition treatment in the far field. Finally, a small-amplitude wave triad is forced at the inflow, and simulation results are compared with those of LST. Again, very good agreement is found between DNS and LST results for the 3-D simulations, the implication being that the disturbance amplitudes are sufficiently small that nonlinear interactions are negligible.

Joslin, Ronald D.↗

Hydration-driven stabilization and volume collapse of grain boundaries in Mg2SiO4 forsterite predicted by first-principles simulations

Grain boundaries in mantle minerals are of critical importance to geophysical and geochemical processes of the Earth’s interior. One of the fundamental issues is to understand how the water (H 2 O) component influences the properties of grain boundaries in silicate materials. Here, we report the results of the structure and stability of several tilt grain boundaries in Mg 2 SiO 4 forsterite over the pressure range 0 to 15 GPa using density functional theory-based first-principles simulations. Here, the results suggest greater energetic stability and hydration-driven volume collapse (negative excess volume) at zero pressure for the majority of hydrous grain boundaries relative to the anhydrous (dry) ones. All the hydrous grain boundaries become increasingly favorable at elevated pressures as the calculated hydration enthalpy systematically decreases with increasing pressure. The hydrous components at the interfacial regions are predominantly in the hydroxyl form and, to a lesser extent, in the molecular H 2 O form. Their calculated ratio ranges from 1.6 to 8.7 among the different grain boundary configurations. Our structural analysis also reveals that the hydroxyls are bound to either both Mg and Si or to Mg only. In comparison, the molecular species are bound only to Mg sites. Besides direct oxygen-hydrogen bonding, intermolecular hydrogen bonding becomes important with compression. On the basis of our results, we suggest that local atomic rearrangements caused by dissociative adsorption of water facilitate efficient compaction of the boundary interfaces, which, in turn, results in greater relative stability of hydrous grain boundaries. This means that water prefers to be incorporated within the grain boundaries over the bulk of silicate materials.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Dry Deposition Methods Based on Turbulence Kinetic Energy: 1. Evaluation of Various Resistances and Sensitivity Studies Using a Single‐Point Model

Different functions are used to account for turbulence strength in the atmospheric boundary layer for different stability regimes. These functions are one of the sources for differences among different atmospheric models' predictions and associated biases. Also, turbulence strength is underrepresented in some of the resistance formulations. Here, to address these issues with dry deposition, firstly we take advantage of three‐dimensional (3‐D) turbulence information in estimating resistances by proposing and validating a 3‐D turbulence velocity scale that is relevant for different stability regimes of boundary layer. Secondly, we hypothesize and validate that friction velocity measured by 3‐D sonic anemometer can be effectively replaced by the new turbulence velocity scale multiplied by the von Karman constant. Finally, we (a) present a set of resistance formulations for ozone (O 3 ) based on the 3‐D turbulence velocity scale; (b) intercompare estimations of such resistances with those obtained using existing formulations; and, (c) evaluate simulated O 3 fluxes using a single‐point dry deposition model against long‐term observations of O 3 fluxes at the Harvard Forest (MA) site. Results indicate that the new resistance formulations work very well in simulating surface latent heat and O 3 fluxes when compared to respective existing formulations and measurements at a decadal time scale. Findings from this research may help to improve the capability of dry deposition schemes for better estimation of dry deposition fluxes and create opportunities for the development of a community dry deposition model for use in regional/global air quality models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

On the coupling between a supersonic boundary layer and a flexible surface

The coupling between a two-dimensional, supersonic, laminar boundary layer and a flexible surface is studied using direct numerical computations of the Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the plate equation. The flexible surface is forced to vibrate by plane acoustic waves at normal incidence emanated by a sound source located on the side of the flexible surface opposite to the boundary layer. The effect of the source excitation frequency on the surface vibration and boundary layer stability is analyzed. We find that, for frequencies near the fifth natural frequency of the surface or lower, large disturbances are introduced in the boundary layer which may alter its stability characteristics. The interaction between a stable two-dimensional disturbance of Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) type with the vibrating surface is also studied. We find that the disturbance level is higher over the vibrating flexible surface than that obtained when the surface is rigid, which indicates a strong coupling between flow and structure. However, in the absence of the sound source the disturbance level over the rigid and flexible surfaces are identical. This result is due to the high frequency of the TS disturbance which does not couple with the flexible surface.

Frendi, Abdelkader↗