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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.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Near-wake dynamics of a vertical-axis turbine

Cross-flow, or vertical-axis, turbines are a promising technology for capturing kinetic energy in wind or flowing water and their inherently unsteady fluid mechanics present unique opportunities for control optimization of individual rotors or arrays. To explore the potential for beneficial interactions between turbines in an array, as well as to characterize important cycle-to-cycle variations, coherent structures in the wake of a single two-bladed cross-flow turbine are examined using planar stereo particle image velocimetry in a water channel experiment. There are three main objectives in the present work. First, the mean wake structure of this high chord-to-radius ratio rotor is described, compared with previous studies, and a simple explanation for observed wake deflection is presented. Second, the unsteady flow is then analysed via the triple decomposition, with the periodic component extracted using a combination of traditional techniques and a novel implementation of the optimized dynamic mode decomposition. The latter method is shown to outperform conditional averaging and Fourier methods, as well as uncover frequencies suggesting a transition to bluff-body shedding in the far wake. Third, vorticity and finite-time Lyapunov exponents are then employed to further analyse the oscillatory wake component. Vortex streets on both sides of the wake are identified, and their formation mechanisms and effects on the mean flow are discussed. Strong axial (vertical) flow is observed in vortical structures shed on the retreating side of the rotor where the blades travel downstream. Time-resolved tracking of these vortices is performed, which demonstrates that vortex trajectories have significant rotation-to-rotation variation within one diameter downstream. This variability suggests it would be challenging to harness or avoid such structures at greater downstream distances.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ultrasonic oscillatory two-phase flow in microchannels

Experimental and numerical investigations are performed to provide an assessment of the transport behavior of an ultrasonic oscillatory two-phase flow in a microchannel. The work is inspired by the flow observed in an innovative ultrasonic fabric drying device using a piezoelectric bimorph transducer with microchannels, where a water-air two-phase flow is transported by harmonically oscillating microchannels. The flow exhibits highly unsteady behavior as the water and air interact with each other during the vibration cycles, making it significantly different from the well-studied steady flow in microchannels. Here, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is realized by combing the turbulence Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) k – ω model with the phase-field method to resolve the dynamics of the two-phase flow. The numerical results are qualitatively validated by the experiment. Through parametric studies, we specifically examined the effects of vibration conditions (i.e., frequency and amplitude), microchannel taper angle, and wall surface contact angle (i.e., wettability) on the flow rate through the microchannel. The results will advance the potential applications where oscillatory or general unsteady microchannel two-phase flows may be present.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Influence of Vane Trailing Edge Flow on the Formation of Cavity Cells and Rim Sealing

Abstract Hot gas ingestion into the turbine rim seal cavity is an important concern for engine designers. To prevent ingestion, rim seals use high-pressure purge flow; however, the penalty is that excessive use of the purge flow decreases engine thermal efficiency. In this paper, a one-stage turbine operating at engine-representative conditions was used to study the effect of steady and time-resolved under-platform cavity temperatures and pressures across a range of coolant flowrates in the presence of vane trailing edge (VTE) flow. This study correlates time-resolved pressure with time-resolved temperature to identify primary frequencies driving ingestion. At certain flowrates, the time-resolved pressures are out of phase with the temperatures, indicating ingestion. Measurements from high-frequency response pressure sensors in the rim seal and vane platform were also used to determine rotational speed and quantity of large-scale structures (cells). In a parallel effort, a computational model using Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) was applied to determine swirl ratio in the rim seal cavity and time-resolved rim sealing effectiveness. The experimental results confirm that at low purge flowrates, the VTE flow influences the unsteady flow field by decreasing pressure unsteadiness in the rim seal cavity. Results show an increase in purge flow increases the number of unsteady large-scale structures in the rim seal and decreases their rotational speed. However, VTE flow was shown to not significantly change the cell speed and count in the rim seal. Simulations point to the importance of the large-scale cell structures in influencing rim sealing unsteadiness, which is not captured in current rim sealing predictive models.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Pebble-Bed Reactors Running In And Transient Modeling Capabilities Demonstration

This study presents a comprehensive benchmarking and verification effort of several thermal-hydraulic and multiphysics capabilities for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) applications. The first part of this effort focuses on the running-in verification of Griffin's multiphysics capabilities, specifically for simulating the evolution of Pebble Bed reactor cores from startup to equilibrium. In the absence of validation data, code-to-code comparisons are conducted with Kugelpy, showing good agreement for key quantities like maximum power density and fresh core k-eigenvalue predictions. However, discrepancies in equilibrium core predictions suggest potential issues with cross sections, underscoring the need for further refinement and evaluation. The HTTF system analysis code benchmark involves RELAP5-3D, SAM, and GAMMA+ to assess their predictive capabilities for HTTF behavior under both normal operation and pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC) transient conditions. While there is good agreement in predicting major parameters such as coolant temperature, solid temperature, and flow distribution, discrepancies in transient behavior highlight differences in modeling approaches, nodalizations, and heat transfer models. The HTTF lower plenum CFD benchmark employs nekRS to simulate flow mixing phenomena, successfully capturing relevant flow physics and demonstrating mesh independence in complex geometries. Preliminary results suggest a relatively uniform temperature field but significant unsteadiness in the flow, requiring time-averaging analyses. The GPBR200 system analysis code benchmark uses SAM's core channel and porous media models, incorporating an RCCS loop for decay heat removal. During steady-state and transient conditions, including protected de-pressurized and pressurized loss of forced cooling (DLOFC and PLOFC), both models show good agreement in predicting temperature profiles and key parameters. Notably, while the core channel model underpredicts convective heat transfer effects, both models maintain temperatures well below the TRISO fuel safety limit. These benchmarking efforts collectively enhance the predictive capabilities of the tools used in HTGR design and safety analysis, guiding developments to improve their accuracy and applicability.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

One Dimensional Penstock Flow Models for Hydropower Digital Twin

This report details the inelastic, unsteady, one-dimensional flow equations that are used to model flow through a penstock in a hydropower facility. The flow model is coupled to a mechanistic turbine model to compute the rotation rate of the turbine, which is dependent on the flow rate, gravitational head, and various parameters of the machine, such as inlet vane angle. Results are given for an example hydropower facility in which the turbine is subjected to a specified time-varying load, and the results on the flow rate are shown. Future applications for the flow model are also briefly reviewed.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Elastic Flow Modeling for Hydropower Digital Twins

This report details the elastic, unsteady, one-dimensional flow equations that are used to model flow through a penstock in a hydropower facility. The elastic flow model is accurate even in cases of fast transients, long penstock length, and high gravitation head. The compressibility of the water and elasticity of the pipe walls are explicitly accounted for in the developed models so that the water hammer phenomena can be accurately captured. The elastic flow model is coupled to a mechanistic turbine model to resolve the dynamic feedbacks between the elastic water column and the turbine rotation rate. A finite volume method is employed to solve the governing equations, and the method is shown to have low numerical diffusion in sharp gradient phenomena, such as those encountered when simulating water hammer. The method is applied to single dimensional linear advection benchmark problem and numerical results are compared with analytic results. This is followed on by an application to a full hydropower system with a coupled turbine. The elastic flow model results are compared against an inelastic model.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A numerical method for simulating variable density flows in membrane desalination systems

Here, we present a novel method for simulating unsteady, variable density, fluid flows in membrane desalination systems. By assuming the density varies only with concentration and temperature, the scheme decouples the solution of the governing equations into two sequential blocks. The first solves the governing equations for the temperature and concentration fields, which are used to compute all thermophysical properties. The second block solves the conservation of mass and momentum equations for the velocity and pressure. We show that this is computationally more efficient than schemes that iterate over the full coupled equations in one block. We verify that the method achieves second-order spatial-temporal accuracy, and we use the method to investigate buoyancy-driven convection in a desalination process called vacuum membrane distillation. Specifically, we show that with gravity properly oriented, variations in temperature and concentration can trigger a double-diffusive instability that enhances mixing and improves water recovery. We also show that the instability can be strengthened by providing external heating.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Calculation of the Heat Transfer Coefficient in the Outer Body for a Rotational Detonation

Unsteady heat transfer characterization on the combustion surfaces of Rotational Detonation Engines (RDE) is not well understood. It is generally thought that the complex nature of the unsteady, reacting, compressible fluid flow inside the combustion anulus of the RDE causes the convective heat transfer coefficient to be significantly higher than it is in other applications. Empirical models that have been used to analyze this strictly apply to steady flows where dimensionless groups can be employed. The reacting flow fields that are characteristic of RDEs are inherently compressible, three dimensional, unsteady, and turbulent, having properties that change by orders of magnitude throughout the flow field. They will therefore contain multiple length scales and time scales operating everywhere in the flow during all times. Because of this it is not likely that the RDE flow fields will lend themselves to explanation using simple dimensionless parameters. The dimensionless groups have meaning only in situations where length scales and time scales are singular and well defined. In spite of this it may be possible to get a relatively good idea of what the convection heat transfer coefficient is. In this work a numerical study is performed where the inside wall surface temperature distribution in the RDE outer body is systematically changed over a given range that would be characteristic of the start-up flows inside an RDE. For each case, temperature distributions inside the outer containment wall of the RDE was calculated and compared with experimental data. The closet match can then be used to directly calculate the convection heat transfer coefficient on the inside surface of the RDE.

VanOsdol, John↗
DOE OSTI2020

New vortex‐lift and tangential‐force models for HAWT aerodynamic load prediction

Abstract Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) experience three‐dimensional rotational and unsteady aerodynamic phenomena at the rotor blades sections. These highly unsteady three‐dimensional effects have a dramatic impact on the aerodynamic load distributions on the blades, in particular, when they occur at high angles of attack due to stall delay and dynamic stall. Unfortunately, there is no complete understanding of the flow physics yet at these unsteady 3D flow conditions, and hence, the existing published theoretical models are often incapable of modelling the impact on the turbine response realistically. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight on the combined influence of the stall delay and dynamic stall on the blade load history of wind turbines in controlled and uncontrolled conditions. New dynamic stall vortex and nonlinear tangential force coefficient modules, which integrally take into account the three dimensional rotational effect, are also proposed in this paper. This module along with the unsteady influence of turbulent wind speed and tower shadow is implemented in a blade element momentum (BEM) model to estimate the aerodynamic loads on a rotating blade more accurately. This work presents an important step to help modelling the combined influence of the stall delay and dynamic stall on the load history of the rotating wind turbine blades which is vital to have lighter turbine blades and improved wind turbine design systems.

Elgammi, Moutaz↗
DOE OSTI2021

Investigation of grid-based vorticity-velocity large eddy simulation off-body solvers for application to overset CFD

Accurately predicting unsteady wakes and vortex-dominated flows is essential to a wide range of engineering applications, including aircraft, rotorcraft, shipboard operations, bio-inspired unsteady flight and propulsion, wind turbines, and urban flows. While current CFD software can model the complete flow field and wake system, the computational costs incurred in high Reynolds number unsteady turbulent flow simulations often remain prohibitive for routine engineering use, particularly for applications involving moving components. Prior work has demonstrated that by adopting a vorticity-velocity formulation in a grid-based off-body flow solver (VorTran-M and VorTran-M2) one can lower these costs by several orders of magnitude when compared to conventional approaches. This paper describes the extensions made to VorTran-M2 to support turbulent flows, and associated benchmarking activity to assess its performance for problems involving strong stretching and diffusion processes, whose competing contributions to the vorticity field are core drivers of turbulent flow evolution. Predictions are presented for: (i) the Kida-Pelz problem whose inviscid form is of mathematical interest due to its apparent formation of singular flow in finite time; and (ii) the Taylor Green vortex arrangement, which has been extensively studied as a fundamental simulation challenge in the turbulent modeling community. Here, the results are used to evaluate the overall predictive ability and performance of two sub-grid scale models incorporated into VorTran-M2. Results indicate that the computational cost savings seen previously for inviscid and convection dominated problems extend to turbulent flow simulations supporting the viability of VorTran-M2 as a low cost means for accurately modeling the far-field and background flow, particularly when long duration vorticity evolution is of interest.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling of shock-induced force on an isolated particle in water and air

The prediction of force on an isolated particle, while a shock is passing over it, is an important problem in many natural and industrial applications. Although the flow monotonically changes from the pre-shock to the post-shock state, the particle's force has been observed to behave nonmonotonically with a sharp peak when the shock is located halfway across the particle. This nonmonotonic behavior is due to the unsteady nature of the compression and rarefaction waves that radiate as the shock diffracts around the particle and, therefore, cannot be predicted by a quasi-steady model. An accurate force model must account for the unsteady nature of the flow and the sharp discontinues in the flow properties across the shock. In this work, we test four different inviscid models and observe that the compressible Maxey–Riley–Gatignol (C-MRG) model is the most accurate based on comparison with results from particle-resolved inviscid simulations at two different Mach numbers for both water and air as the medium. The C-MRG model is first demonstrated to predict the force on a stationary particle accurately and then extended to capture the force on a moving particle. Numerical complexities regarding the implementation of the C-MRG model are also discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Flow and Performance Characterization of Rotating Detonation Combustor Integrated with Various Convergent Nozzles

In this study, convergent nozzles of various area ratios (ARs) are used downstream of an annular rotating detonation combustor (RDC) to increase the operating pressure and approach sonic conditions at the nozzle throat. Reactant methane and oxygen-enriched air (67% [Formula: see text] and 33% [Formula: see text] by volume) are supplied in counterflow arrangement from two separate plenums located at the base of the RDC annulus. Based on experimentation, a total mass flow rate of [Formula: see text] was chosen to achieve stable, single-wave mode RDC operation for all test cases, allowing for one-to-one comparisons. The internal performance of the RDC was characterized by ion probes and pressure measurements (wall static and oscillating) in supply plenums and across different axial locations of the combustor. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) at 100 kHz was utilized to measure axial and circumferential velocity components within a two-dimensional region of interest located downstream of the converging nozzle exit. Results show higher internal performance of the RDC with increasing AR of the convergent nozzle. PIV measurement illustrated that the flow oscillation amplitudes decrease with an increasing AR of the converging nozzle. The exit flow contained significant nonuniformity and unsteadiness even with a converging nozzle of AR 2.0, indicating incomplete choking of the flow at the nozzle throat.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2024

In-Situ Blade Strain Measurements and Fatigue Analysis of a Cross-Flow Turbine Operating in a Tidal Flow

Cross-flow turbines (CFTs) are inherently unsteady devices with regards to operating principle and loading. By improving our understanding of the dynamic loading on these turbines, we hope to better inform CFT design, improve survivability, and reduce overall costs. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) collaborated on a project to instrument and test a four-bladed New Energy Corp. vertical axis cross-flow turbine in a real tidal flow. One blade from the 3.2 m diameter x 1.7 m height turbine was instrumented with eight full-bridge strain gauges along the span of the blade. The turbine was then deployed at the UNH-Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) Tidal Energy Test Site in Portsmouth, NH. Time-synchronized measurements of blade strain, inflow, thrust, rotational speed, and electrical output were obtained to characterize blade loading under various conditions. The blade strain was examined to assess the dynamic loading and conduct a fatigue analysis on the device.

blade strain↗
DOE OSTI2020

A GPU-based 2D shallow water quality model

In this paper, a 2D shallow water flow solver integrated with a water quality model is presented. The interaction between the main water quality constituents included is based on the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program. Efficiency is achieved by computing with a combination of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) device. This technique is intended to provide robust and accurate simulations with high computation speedups with respect to a single-core CPU in real events. The proposed numerical model is evaluated in cases that include the transport and reaction of water quality components over irregular bed topography and dry–wet fronts, verifying that the numerical solution in these situations conserves the required properties (C-property and positivity). The model can operate in any steady or unsteady form allowing an efficient assessment of the environmental impact of water flows. The field data from an unsteady river reach test case are used to show that the model is capable of predicting the measured temporal distribution of dissolved oxygen and water temperature, proving the robustness and computational efficiency of the model, even in the presence of noisy signals such as wind speed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Influence of turbulence intensity on vortex pattern for a rigid cylinder with turbulence stimulation in flow induced oscillations

The effect of ambient turbulence intensity on the flow induced oscillations of rigid circular cylinders with symmetric and asymmetric local turbulence stimulation is studied. Cylinders oscillate in one degree of freedom transversely to a steady uniform flow. Two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes equations with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model are used to solve the problem numerically. Three freestream turbulence intensity values (0.2%, 1%, 5%) are used to study the influence of turbulence intensity on vortex pattern. Simulation results are compared with experimental data measured in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan in the range of 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 110,000. The amplitude ratio, lift coefficient, vortex modes, and the interactions between vortices and cylinders are observed and discussed. In conclusion, major conclusions are: (a) Vortex patterns strongly depend on the freestream ambient turbulence intensity. (b) Low turbulence intensity can generate multi-vortex patterns at high Re. (c) High turbulence intensity results in fewer separations of a shed vortex into multiple vortices inducing emergence of elongated vortex patterns.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Posterior comparison of model dynamics in several hybrid turbulence model forms

Hybrid turbulence models that can accurately reproduce unsteady three-dimensional flow physics across the entire range of grid scales and turbulence dynamics from Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS), through large-eddy simulation (LES), down to direct numerical simulations (DNS) are of increasing interest to the turbulence modeling community. However, despite decades of research and development, the basic tasks of eliminating poor-performing hybrid RANS-LES models and accelerating adoption of superior models through well-designed validation and verification have yet to occur. As a step in this direction, in this work we evaluate thirteen different hybrid RANS-LES models via systematic grid refinement of decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence. We further derive a novel mathematical framework for assessing the energy partitioning dynamics of each Hybrid RANS-LES model, wherein model-to-model variations in energy partitioning can be interpreted as different feedback mechanisms operating on a low-dimensional nonlinear dynamical system. We found that model forms similar to the flow simulation methodology—also often termed very-large eddy simulation—are dynamically inconsistent with DNS at all resolutions. Additionally, we found a strong dynamical similarity in the feedback mechanisms of all models related to detached eddy simulation and partially averaged Navier–Stokes that is inherent to their general model forms.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-Fidelity, Low-Dissipation/Symmetry-Preserving Numerical Scheme for Solving the Euler Equations with Unstructured, Metric-Based Mesh Adaptation

This work presents an overview of a high-fidelity compressible Euler solver that utilizes the continuous Galerkin (CG) method with added artificial numerical diffusion for stabilization to solve a variety of unsteady and steady benchmark inviscid flow problems. This work shows that discretizing the Euler equations with this CG approach and first order basis functions produces a cost-effective stencil as well as simple well-posed boundary conditions. We show through convergence testing with manufactured solutions that the reduced stencil of CG, combined with the low amount of artificial diffusion required when using the stabilization method outlined in this work, leads to stable and highly accurate results for a variety of unsteady and steady applications. When combined with the adaptive mesh refinement approach used for many of the cases in this work, our results show that the flow solver achieves even more accurate results. A variety of inviscid flow cases are presented in this work, including transient 2D cases with complex shock structures and several steady 3D airfoils sections with a constant span.

Doetsch, Kevin [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000267051705)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluating the Effect of Vane Trailing Edge Flow on Turbine Rim Sealing

Abstract Modern gas turbine development continues to move toward increased overall efficiency, driven in part by higher firing temperatures that point to a need for more cooling air to prevent catastrophic component failure. However, using additional cooling flow bled from the upstream compressor causes a corresponding detriment to overall efficiency. A primary candidate for cooling flow optimization is purge flow, which contributes to sealing the stator–rotor cavity and prevents ingestion of hot main gas path (MGP) flow into the wheelspace. Previous research has identified that the external main gas path flow physics play a significant role in driving rim seal ingestion. However, the potential impact of other cooling flow features on ingestion behavior, such as vane trailing edge (VTE) flow, is absent in the open literature. This paper presents experimental measurements of rim cavity cooling effectiveness collected from a one-stage turbine operating at engine-representative Reynolds and Mach numbers. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was used as a tracer gas in both the purge flow and vane trailing edge flow to investigate flow migration into and out of the wheelspace. Results show that the vane trailing edge flow does in fact migrate into the rim seal and that there is a superposition relationship between individual cooling flow contributions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) were used to confirm VTE flow ingestion into the rim seal cavity. Radial and circumferential traverse surveys were performed to quantify cooling flow radial migration through the main gas path with and without vane trailing edge flow. The surveys confirmed that vane trailing edge flow is entrained into the wheelspace as purge flow is reduced. Local CO2 measurements also confirmed the presence of VTE flow deep in the wheelspace cavity.

Engineering↗