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At least 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Boundary-layer transition on a plate subjected to simultaneous spanwise and chordwise pressure gradients

The boundary-layer transition on a short plate was studied by means of the china-clay visual technique. The plate model was mounted in a wind tunnel so that it was subjected to small simultaneous spanwise and chordwise pressure gradients. Results of the experimental study, which was performed at three subsonic velocities, indicated that the transition pattern was appreciably curved in the spanwise direction but quite smooth and well behaved. Reasonable comparisons between predictions of transition and experiment were obtained from two finite-difference two-dimensional boundary-layer calculation methods which incorporated transition models based on the concept of a transition intermittency factor.

Boldman, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Advanced Shock Position Control for Mode Transition in a Turbine Based Combined Cycle Engine Inlet Model

A dual flow-path inlet system is being tested to evaluate methodologies for a Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) propulsion system to perform a controlled inlet mode transition. Prior to experimental testing, simulation models are used to test, debug, and validate potential control algorithms. One simulation package being used for testing is the High Mach Transient Engine Cycle Code simulation, known as HiTECC. This paper discusses the closed loop control system, which utilizes a shock location sensor to improve inlet performance and operability. Even though the shock location feedback has a coarse resolution, the feedback allows for a reduction in steady state error and, in some cases, better performance than with previous proposed pressure ratio based methods. This paper demonstrates the design and benefit with the implementation of a proportional-integral controller, an H-Infinity based controller, and a disturbance observer based controller.

Csank, Jeffrey T.↗
NASA NTRS1989

On the large-eddy simulation of transitional wall-bounded flows

The structure of the subgrid scale fields in plane channel flow has been studied at various stages of the transition process to turbulence. The residual stress and subgrid scale dissipation calculated using velocity fields generated by direct numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations are significantly different from their counterparts in turbulent flows. The subgrid scale dissipation changes sign over extended areas of the channel, indicating energy flow from the small scales to the large scales. This reversed energy cascade becomes less pronounced at the later stages of transition. Standard residual stress models of the Smagorinsky type are excessively dissipative. Rescaling the model constant improves the prediction of the total (integrated) subgrid scale dissipation, but not that of the local one. Despite the somewhat excessive dissipation of the rescaled Smagorinsky model, the results of a large eddy simulation of transition on a flat-plate boundary layer compare quite well with those of a direct simulation, and require only a small fraction of the computational effort. The inclusion of non-dissipative models, which could lead to further improvements, is proposed.

Piomelli, Ugo↗
NASA NTRS1990

On the large-eddy simulation of transitional wall-bounded flows

The structure of the subgrid scale fields in plane channel flow has been studied at various stages of the transition process to turbulence. The residual stress and subgrid scale dissipation calculated using velocity fields generated by direct numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations are significantly different from their counterparts in turbulent flows. The subgrid scale dissipation changes sign over extended areas of the channel, indicating energy flow from the small scales to the large scales. This reversed energy cascade becomes less pronounced at the later stages of transition. Standard residual stress models of the Smagorinsky type are excessively dissipative. Rescaling the model constant improves the prediction of the total (integrated) subgrid scale dissipation, but not that of the local one. Despite the somewhat excessive dissipation of the rescaled Smagorinsky model, the results of a large eddy simulation of transition on a flat-plate boundary layer compare quite well with those of a direct simulation, and require only a small fraction of the computational effort. The inclusion of non-dissipative models, which could lead to further improvements, is proposed.

Piomelli, Ugo↗
NASA NTRS1990

A model for the spectral dependence of optically induced absorption in amorphous silicon

A model based on transitions from localized band tail states to states above the mobility edge is used to explain the broad band induced absorptions observed in recent pump-probe experiments. The model gives the observed decrease of absorption with frequency at subband gap photo energies and high carrier densities (of about 10 to the 20th/cu cm). At lower carrier densities, the absorption has a maximun which is sensitive to the spatial extent of the band tail states.

Lawandy, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Continuous system modeling

A comprehensive and systematic introduction is presented for the concepts associated with 'modeling', involving the transition from a physical system down to an abstract description of that system in the form of a set of differential and/or difference equations, and basing its treatment of modeling on the mathematics of dynamical systems. Attention is given to the principles of passive electrical circuit modeling, planar mechanical systems modeling, hierarchical modular modeling of continuous systems, and bond-graph modeling. Also discussed are modeling in equilibrium thermodynamics, population dynamics, and system dynamics, inductive reasoning, artificial neural networks, and automated model synthesis.

Cellier, Francois E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Computational fluid dynamics for hypersonic airbreathing aircraft

A development status evaluation is presented for CFD methods applicable to fuselage-integrated scramjet powerplant incorporating hypersonic vehicles; these methods are critically important due to the unavailability of experimental facilities for such elevated Mach number/high-enthalphy conditions. Advancements are required in algorithm robustness and speed, geometric flexibility, and the inclusion of more complete flow physics. The most serious deficiencies lie in turbulence modeling, the lack of complete transition-prediction methods, and combustion modeling.

Thomas, James L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Effect of Inflow Boundary Conditions on Hovering Tilt-Rotor Flows

A study on the effect of inflow turbulence boundary conditions on the local flow on and around a body in flight has been carried out. The study has been carried out using OVERFLOW2 flow solver using the default Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model in OVERFLOW. Many OVERFLOW turbulent flow simulations have been reported using the SA-fv3 model1 over the years. The present study demonstrates that the turbulence levels imposed as a boundary condition (b.c.) in the far-field as implemented in OVERFLOW are not correct. In fact, very low level of turbulence at the far-field boundary as implemented in OVERFLOW results in the SA-fv3 model predicting transition-like profiles on a given body. By choosing sufficiently high levels of the Reynolds number of turbulence, Rt, as a boundary condition, this anomalous behavior of SA-fv3 model is eliminated. Since numerous papers using OVERFLOW have been presented in the literature including that by the author2 using low level of inflow turbulence, it will be beneficial to the CFD community at large and in particular to the OVERFLOW community to understand this effect of the inflow b.c. in the SA-fv3 model. Various results reported over the years in domains such as high-lift applications, drag prediction applications and rotorcraft flow applications can be revisited using the new turbulence inflow boundary condition prescription as suggested in this study. It has been demonstrated in the literature that the effect of inflow turbulence level on the downstream development of flow is too important to be ignored. Demonstrative results are shown and compared with experiment for the case of hovering XV-15 rotor flow at a tip Reynolds number of 4.9 x 10(exp 6) and Mach number of 0.69 in Figs. 1 and 2 below. Fig. 1(a,b) shows skin friction predictions at radial station of r/R = 0.28 corresponding to 5 different inflow boundary conditions obtained with the SA-fv3 model. As the inflow turbulence is increased monotonically, from a value of Rt = 0.1 to 100.0 as shown in Fig. 1, a fully developed turbulent skin friction profile is realized progressively as shown in Fig. 1(b). Similarly skin friction results shown in Fig. 2(a,b) corresponding to radial stations of r/R = 0.72 reinforce the postulate made here that as the inflow turbulence level is increased gradually, fully turbulent on-the-blade simulation is realized uniformly. In the full paper extensive results on skin friction, pressure and velocity profiles as well as the Figure of Merit will be presented and compared with experiment that will illustrate the substantial effect of the inflow boundary conditions on the development of hovering rotor flow downstream.

Kaul, Upender K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design of an Adsorption Bed for Exploration Trace Contaminant Control

The state-of-the-art in long mission duration spacecraft trace contaminant control processes relies on physical and chemical adsorption for contaminant removal. Target species for adsorption include low and semivolatile organic compounds while chemisorption is utilized for metabolic ammonia control. When adsorption is employed in conjunction with a high temperature oxidation process, a complementary impact on cabin air quality may be realized. The adsorption bed also serves to guard the downstream oxidation catalyst from foulants and potential poisons which may decrease its lifetime and activity. To this end, a packed adsorption guard-bed was sized to control a statistical contaminant load model over a simulated Mars transit mission duration. The updated load model incorporates flight air-quality data and contemporary metabolic source emission literature. The guard-bed was operated in tandem with an exploration prototype thermal catalytic oxidizer. The exploration guard-bed prototype included design considerations from recent flight technology demonstrations and changes intended to improve compatibility with enriched oxygen exploration cabin environments as compared to the prior-art of contaminant control system design.

Trace Contaminant Control↗
NASA NTRS1961

Effects of Mach Number, Leading-Edge Bluntness, and Sweep on Boundary-Layer Transition on a Flat Plate

The effects of leading-edge bluntness and sweep on boundary-layer transition on flat plate models were investigated at Mach numbers of 2.00, 2.50, 3.00, and 4.00. The effect of sweep on transition was also determined on a flat plate model equipped with an elliptical nose at a Mach number of 0.27. Models used for the supersonic investigation had leading-edge radii varying from 0.0005 to 0.040 inch. The free-stream unit Reynolds number was held constant at 15 million per foot for the supersonic tests and the angle of attack was 0 deg. Surface flow conditions were determined by visual observation and recorded photographically. The sublimation technique was used to indicate transition, and the fluorescent-oil technique was used to indicate flow separation. Measured Mach number and sweep effects on transition are compared with those predicted from shock-loss considerations as described in NACA Rep. 1312. For the models with the blunter leading edges, the transition Reynolds number (based on free-stream flow conditions) was approximately doubled by an increase in Mach number from 2.50 to 4.00; and nearly the same result was predicted from shock-loss considerations. At all super- sonic Mach numbers, increases in sweep reduced the transition Reynolds number and the amount of reduction increased with increases in bluntness. The shock-loss method considerably underestimated- the sweep effects, possibly because of the existence of crossflow instability associated with swept wings. At a Mach number of 0.27, no reduction in the transition Reynolds number with sweep was measured (as would be expected with no shock loss) until the sweep angle was attained where crossflow instability appeared.

Jillie, Don W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Thermomechanical modeling of the Colorado Plateau-Basin and range transition zone

The Colorado Plateau (CP) basin and range (B & R) boundary is marked by a transition zone on the order of 75 to 150 km in width. As one moves westward across this transition from the CP interior to the B & R there is a variation in the surface topography, surface heat flow, Bouguer gravity, seismicity, and crustal structure. This transition extends eastward into the western CP from the Wastach-Hurricane fault line and is largely coincident with the high plateaus of Utah and the Wasatch Mountains. It has been suggested that this transition zone marks a thermal and tectonic encroachment of the CP by the B & R. A simple two dimensional numerical model of the thermal regime for the transition zone was constructed to test the hypothesis that the observed geophysical signatures across the transition are due to lateral heat conduction from steady state uniform extension within the B & R lithosphere. Surface heat flow, uplift due to flexure from thermal buoyant loading, and regional Bouguer gravity are computed for various extension rates, crustal structures, and compensation depths.

Londe, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effects of mass addition on blunt-body boundary-layer transition and heat transfer

The model bodies tested at Mach number 7.32 were hemispheres, blunt cones, and spherical segments. The mass addition consisted of air ejected through porous forward surfaces of the models. The experimental data consisted of heat transfer measurements from which boundary layer transitions were deduced. The data verified various applicable boundary layer codes in the laminar and transitional flow regimes. Empirical heating rate data correlations were developed for the laminar and turbulent flow regimes.

Kaattari, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A New Objective Technique for Verifying Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction Models

This report presents a new objective technique to verify predictions of the sea-breeze phenomenon over east-central Florida by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The Contour Error Map (CEM) technique identifies sea-breeze transition times in objectively-analyzed grids of observed and forecast wind, verifies the forecast sea-breeze transition times against the observed times, and computes the mean post-sea breeze wind direction and speed to compare the observed and forecast winds behind the sea-breeze front. The CEM technique is superior to traditional objective verification techniques and previously-used subjective verification methodologies because: It is automated, requiring little manual intervention, It accounts for both spatial and temporal scales and variations, It accurately identifies and verifies the sea-breeze transition times, and It provides verification contour maps and simple statistical parameters for easy interpretation. The CEM uses a parallel lowpass boxcar filter and a high-order bandpass filter to identify the sea-breeze transition times in the observed and model grid points. Once the transition times are identified, CEM fits a Gaussian histogram function to the actual histogram of transition time differences between the model and observations. The fitted parameters of the Gaussian function subsequently explain the timing bias and variance of the timing differences across the valid comparison domain. Once the transition times are all identified at each grid point, the CEM computes the mean wind direction and speed during the remainder of the day for all times and grid points after the sea-breeze transition time. The CEM technique performed quite well when compared to independent meteorological assessments of the sea-breeze transition times and results from a previously published subjective evaluation. The algorithm correctly identified a forecast or observed sea-breeze occurrence or absence 93% of the time during the two- month evaluation period from July and August 2000. Nearly all failures in CEM were the result of complex precipitation features (observed or forecast) that contaminated the wind field, resulting in a false identification of a sea-breeze transition. A qualitative comparison between the CEM timing errors and the subjectively determined observed and forecast transition times indicate that the algorithm performed very well overall. Most discrepancies between the CEM results and the subjective analysis were again caused by observed or forecast areas of precipitation that led to complex wind patterns. The CEM also failed on a day when the observed sea- breeze transition affected only a very small portion of the verification domain. Based on the results of CEM, the RAMS tended to predict the onset and movement of the sea-breeze transition too early and/or quickly. The domain-wide timing biases provided by CEM indicated an early bias on 30 out of 37 days when both an observed and forecast sea breeze occurred over the same portions of the analysis domain. These results are consistent with previous subjective verifications of the RAMS sea breeze predictions. A comparison of the mean post-sea breeze winds indicate that RAMS has a positive wind-speed bias for .all days, which is also consistent with the early bias in the sea-breeze transition time since the higher wind speeds resulted in a faster inland penetration of the sea breeze compared to reality.

Case, Jonathan L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Lessons learned in transitioning to an open systems environment

Software development organizations, both commercial and governmental, are undergoing rapid change spurred by developments in the computing industry. To stay competitive, these organizations must adopt new technologies, skills, and practices quickly. Yet even for an organization with a well-developed set of software engineering models and processes, transitioning to a new technology can be expensive and risky. Current industry trends are leading away from traditional mainframe environments and toward the workstation-based, open systems world. This paper presents the experiences of software engineers on three recent projects that pioneered open systems development for NASA's Flight Dynamics Division of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Boland, Dillard E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The structure and heating of the chromosphere-corona transition region

The structure and heating (or energy balance) of the transition region and the role of the transition region in the structure and heating of the solar atmosphere as a whole are investigated. The features of the structure of the atmosphere and radiative energy losses of the atmosphere are summarized. A static, planar model of the solar temperature which has a temperature profile representative of the actual solar atmosphere is considered. Then a static, planar model of the transition region which is heated by thermal conduction from the corona and cooled by radiative losses is developed. A general conclusion is that the temperature profile of the transition region and lower corona results primarily from the energy balance of the corona, while the number density is determined by the energy balance of the transition region.

Moore, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

An Experimental Investigation of Transition as Applied to Low Pressure Turbine Suction Surface Flows

Results of an experimental study of flow separation and transition in either attached boundary layers or separated shear layers over the suction surface of a simulation of a low-pressure turbine airfoil flow are presented. Detailed velocity profiles were measured with the hot-wire technique. Static pressure distributions are also presented. Flow transition is documented using measured intermittency distributions in the boundary layer and the separated shear layer. Cases for Reynolds numbers of 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 300,000 are reported. These Reynolds numbers are based on suction surface length and exit velocity. Three Free Stream Turbulence Intensity values, 0.5%, 2.5% and 10%, are represented. Flow separation is observed for all the low-FSTI cases. Of these, the lowest Reynolds number case was not able to complete transition of the shear layer and the separation bubble persisted over the entire blade surface. For the other low-FSTI cases, transition is observed in the shear layer over the separation bubble. This transition proceeded quickly, spreading rapidly toward the wall. Elevated FSTI drives an earlier transition than in the low-FSTI cases and the separation bubbles are smaller. For the highest Reynolds number cases with 2.5% and 10% FSTI, transition is of the attached boundary layer and no separation exists. Flow separation with shear flow transition is observed for the lower-Re cases. Models for intermittency and transition length and location from the modern literature are assessed.

Qiu, Songgang↗
NASA NTRS1994

Coupling of the coronal helium abundance to the solar wind

Models of the transition region-corona-solar wind system are investigated in order to find the coronal helium abundance and to study the role played by coronal helium in controlling the solar wind proton flux. The thermal force on alpha-particles in the transition region sets the flow of helium into the corona. The frictional coupling between alpha-particles and protons and/or the electric polarization field determines the proton flux in the solar wind as well as the fate of the coronal helium content. The models are constructed by solving the time-dependent population and momentum equations for all species of hydrogen and helium in an atmosphere with a given temperature profile. Several temperature profiles are considered in order to very the roles of frictional coupling and electric polarization field in the solar wind, and the thermal force in the transition region. Steady-state solutions are found for coronae with a hydrogen flux at 1 AU of 1.0 x 10(exp 9)/cm(exp 2)/sec or larger. For coronae with lower hydrogen fluxes, the helium flux into the corona is larger than the flux 'pulled out' by the solar wind protons, and solutions with increasing coronal helium content are found. The timescale for forming a helium-filled corona, that may allow for a steady outflow, is long compared to the mixing time for the corona.

Hansteen, Viggo H.↗