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At least 577 records · Page 32

Plasma diffusion into the wake of Venus

A model of the diffusion of ionosheath plasma into the wake region of Venus is presented. It is shown that particle diffusion, which is assumed to be a consequence of the fluctuating magnetic field observed in the wake of Venus by Pioneer Venus and Veneras 9 and 10, can explain the plasma observations made in the wake by Veneras 9 and 10. The pressure due to these diffusing particles when balanced against the ionospheric pressure yield ionopause heights less than 1000 km for zenith angles less than about 135 deg. The model also predicts significant fluxes of low energy electrons and ions for zenith angles less than 135 deg, which are capable of producing the observed nightside ionosphere.

Gombosi, T.↗

Numerical analysis of turbulent wakes of axial flow turbomachinery rotor blades

The wakes of rotor blades are turbulent, three-dimensional, and are subjected to curvature and rotation effects. The objective of this study is to predict the development of such wakes and compare the predictions with the existing data. A finite difference procedure is employed in the numerical analysis of the wake utilizing the continuity, momentum, and turbulence closure equations in the rotating curvilinear and non-orthogonal coordinate system. The turbulence closure is affected by the two equations model and the simplified Reynolds stress model. The predictions from both the models agree well with the mean velocity and the turbulence data.

Hah, C.↗

Wake characteristics of buildings in disturbed boundary layers

Measurements relevant to the effect of buildings on the low level atmospheric boundary layer are presented. Field measurements of velocity and turbulence in the wake of a block building 3.2 m high and 26.8 m long are presented which show an apparent increase in momentum flow above the upwind value. Velocity-deficit and turbulence-excess decay characteristics of the disturbed or nonequilibrium layer are correlated with power law exponents and apparent roughness length at various distances downstream of the disturbance. Model wake profiles from the simulated building are compared at various stations for equilibrium and nonequilibrium upstream profiles. Empirical correlations relating building wake profiles to upstream nonequilibrium parameters are presented. The relationship of the data to the smooth-rough transition is discussed, and a flow model is presented.

Logan, E., Jr.↗

An extension of the local momentum theory to a distorted wake model of a hovering rotor

The local momentum theory is based on the instantaneous balance between the fluid momentum and the blade elemental lift at a local station in the rotor rotational plane. Therefore, the theory has the capability of evaluating time wise variations of air loading and induced velocity distributions along a helicopter blade span. Unlike a complex vortex theory, this theory was developed to analyze the instantaneous induced velocity distribution effectively. The boundaries of this theory and a computer program using this theory are discussed. A concept introduced into the theory is the effect of the rotor wake contraction in hovering flight. A comparison of this extended local momentum theory with a prescribed wake vortex theory is also presented. The results indicate that the extended local momentum theory has the capability of achieving a level of accuracy similar to that of the prescribed wake vortex theory over wide range variations of rotor geometrical parameters. It is also shown that the analytical results obtained using either theory are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.

Kawachi, K.↗

Freestream turbulence effects on the development of a rotor wake

The effect of freestream turbulence on the development of a three-dimensional wake of a compressor rotor blade was studied experimentally. The turbulence level at the inlet of a rotor was varied systematically using grids upstream of the rotor. The rotor wake was measured with inlet turbulence intensities of 0.5, 3, and 5%. The experimental results indicate that the maxium change in the mean velocity defect is 4% over the range of inlet turbulence levels employed, while the turbulence structure in the wake is altered more substantially. The freestream turbulence effect was also analyzed, numerically, using the modified Reynolds stress closure model. The comparison between numerical prediction and experimental data shows that the freestream turbulence effect can be represented successfully with the turbulence closure model employed in this paper.

Hah, C.↗

A vortex wake capturing method for potential flow calculations

A method is presented for modifying finite difference solutions of the potential equation to include the calculation of non-planar vortex wake features. The approach is an adaptation of Baker's 'cloud in cell' algorithm developed for the stream function-vorticity equations. The vortex wake is tracked in a Lagrangian frame of reference as a group of discrete vortex filaments. These are distributed to the Eulerian mesh system on which the velocity is calculated by a finite difference solution of the potential equation. An artificial viscosity introduced by the finite difference equations removes the singular nature of the vortex filaments. Computed examples are given for the two-dimensional time dependent roll-up of vortex wakes generated by wings with different spanwise loading distributions.

Murman, E. M.↗

Wind shear and vortex wake research in UK, 1982

A wind shear and vortex wake and their impact on aircraft were investigated. The systems and advice to help pilots, and rational scientific methods to assist in advising certification authorities and those interested in improving flight safety were developed. Wind Shear and Vortex Wakes are related, they are both invisible enemies of aircraft in the form of large disturbances in the atmosphere, both cause major accidents. Problems of building wakes at airports are is considered. Research on wind shear was initiated by the American FAA following the Boston, New York and Denver accidents to civil airliners. This resulted in: useful advice to pilots about wind shear; better attempts by the meteorologists at forecasting wind shear conditions; and useful ideas for wind shear measurement and warning systems. Three major research tasks are outstanding: (1) Worldwide measurements to give reliable estimates of probability and details of the forms of large wind shears; (2) Developments of real time wind shear measuring systems for ground or airborne use; and (3) Establishing relationships between measured wind shear and the potential hazard to an aircraft, or class of aircraft.

Alan A. Woodfield↗

Wake interference for a heated oscillating cylinder

Penney and Jefferson (1966) have studied heat transfer from an oscillating, horizontal wire. The present investigation has the objective to determine the governing parameters which indicate when interaction between an oscillating circular cylinder and its wake will reduce the apparent heat transfer coefficient in quasi-steady conditions, taking into account, if possible, also the determination of the approximate magnitude of the reduction. A definition is provided of a nondimensional vertical mass flux, representing the induced flow due to heating of the stagnant fluid. It is hypothesized that the flux is related to a natural convection parameter which describes the heating of the wake. For oscillation of a circular cylinder in air under the conditions studied, it is found that the application of a cross-flow correlation in a quasi-steady, transient analysis predicts heat transfer parameters in close agreement with experiment over a certain range, provided interaction with the heated wake is avoided.

Mceligot, D. M.↗

Effect of a rotor wake on heat transfer from a circular cylinder

The effect of a rotor wake on heat transfer to a downstream stator was investigated. The rotor was modeled with a spoked wheel of 24 circular pins 1.59 mm in diameter. One of the stator pins was electrically heated in the midspan region and circumferentially averaged heat transfer coefficients were obtained. The experiment was run in an annular flow wind tunnel using air at ambient temperature and pressure. Reynolds numbers based on stator cylinder diameter ranged from .001 to .00001. Rotor blade passing frequencies ranged from zero to 2500 Hz. Stationary grids were used to vary the rotor inlet turbulence from one to four percent. The rotor-stator spacings were one and two stator pin diameters. In addition to the heat transfer coefficients, turbulence spectra and ensemble averaged wake profiles were measured. At the higher Reynolds numbers, which is the primary range of interest for turbulent heat transfer, the rotor wakes increased Nusselt number from 10 to 45 percent depending on conditions. At lower Reynolds numbers the effect was as much as a factor of two.

Simoneau, R. J.↗

Noise generated by a propeller in a wake

Propeller performance and noise were measured on two model scale propellers operating in an anechoic flow environment with and without a wake. Wake thickness of one and three propeller chords were generated by an airfoil which spanned the full diameter of the propeller. Noise measurements were made in the relative near field of the propeller at three streamwise and three azimuthal positions. The data show that as much as 10 dB increase in the OASPL results when a wake is introduced into an operating propeller. Performance data are also presented for completeness.

Block, P. J. W.↗

Unsteady wake measurements of an oscillating flap at transonic speeds

The steady and unsteady wake profiles of an airfoil with an oscillating flap were measured at nominal free stream Mach number of 0.8 in the NASA Ames 11 x 11-foot wind tunnel. The instantaneous wake velocity and pressure profiles at four axial locations are presented up to one chord length from the trailing edge. Both fundamental harmonic frequency and typical time history data are presented to observe the effects of airfoil incidence and flap angle. The drag coefficient obtained from the wake pressure measurements is compared with that obtained from the airfoil pressure distribution.

Bodapati, S.↗

Electron and ion density depletions measured in the STS-3 orbiter wake

The third Space Shuttle flight on Columbia carried instrumentation to measure thermal plasma density and temperature. Two separate investigations, the Plasma Diagnostics Package (PDP) and the Vehicle Charging and Potential Experiment (VCAP), carried a Langmuir Probe, and the VCAP also included a Spherical Retarding Potential Analyzer (SRPA). Only those measurements made while the PDP is in the payload bay are discussed here since the VCAP instrumentation remains in the payload bay at all times and the two measurements are compared. The wake behind a large structure (in this case the Space Shuttle Orbiter) flying through the ionospheric plasma is discussed. Much theoretical work was done regarding plasma wakes. The instrumentation on this mission gives the first data taken with a large vehicle in the ionospheric laboratory. First, the PDP Langmuir Probe and its data set will be presented, then the VCAP Langmuir Probe and SRPA with associated data. The agreement between the two data sets is discussed and then followed by some other PDP data which infers an even lower wake density.

Murphy, G. B.↗

Vortex research facility improvements and preliminary density stratification effects on vortex wakes

Recent modernization of NASA's Vortex Research Facility is described. The facility has a 300-ft test section, scheduled for a 300-ft extension, with constant test speeds of the model up to 100 ft/sec. The data acquisition hardware and software improvements included the installation of a 24-channel PCM system onboard the research vehicle, and a large dedicated 16-bit minicomputer. Flow visualization of the vortex wake in the test section is by particle seeding, and a thin sheet of argon laser light perpendicular to the line of flight; detailed flow field measurements are made with a laser velocimeter optics system. The improved experimental capabilities of the facility were used in a study of atmospheric stratification effects on wake vortex decay, showing that the effects of temperature gradient must be taken into account to avoid misleading conclusions in wake vortex research.

Satran, D. R.↗

Unsteady heat transfer and direct comparison to steady-state measurements in a rotor-wake experiment

Circumferentially local and time-resolved heat transfer measurements were obtained for a circular cylinder in crossflow located downstream of a rotating spoked wheel wake generator in a steady flow tunnel. The unsteady heat transfer effects were obtained by developing an extension of a thin film gauge technique employed to date exclusively in short-duration facilities. The time-average thin film results and conventional steady-state heat transfer measurements were compared. Time-averaged wake-induced stagnation heat transfer enhancement levels above the nowake case were about 10% for the four cylinder Reynolds numbers. This enhancement level was nearly independent of bar passing frequency and was related directly to the time integral of the heat transfer spikes observed at the bar passing frequency. It is observed that the wake-induced heat transfer spikes have peak magnitudes averaging 30 to 40% above the interwake heat transfer level.

Obrien, J. E.↗

Crew factors in flight operations. Part 4: Sleep and wakefulness in international aircrews

Physiological recordings of sleep and wakefulness in operating international (B-747) flight crews were obtained. Crews spent their first layover (48 h) of a trip in a sleep laboratory where standardized EEG, electro-oculograph (EOC), and electromyograph (EMG) sleep recordings were carried out whenever volunteers chose to sleep. During periods of wakefulness they underwent multiple sleep latency tests every 2 h in order to assess daytime drowsiness. The same standardized recordings were carried out at a home-based laboratory before departure. Approximately four crews each participated in flights over 7 to 9 time zones on five routes. All participants were encouraged to use whatever sleep-wake strategies they thought would provide them with the most satisfactory crew rest. Overall, layover sleep quality was not seriously disturbed, but eastward flights produced greater sleep disruption. The contributors of individual factors and the usefulness of various sleep strategies are discussed in the individual laboratory reports and in an operational summary.

Graeber, R. C.↗

Formal optimization of hovering performance using free wake lifting surface theory

Free wake techniques for performance prediction and optimization of hovering rotor are discussed. The influence functions due to vortex ring, vortex cylinder, and source or vortex sheets are presented. The vortex core sizes of rotor wake vortices are calculated and their importance is discussed. Lifting body theory for finite thickness body is developed for pressure calculation, and hence performance prediction of hovering rotors. Numerical optimization technique based on free wake lifting line theory is presented and discussed. It is demonstrated that formal optimization can be used with the implicit and nonlinear objective or cost function such as the performance of hovering rotors as used in this report.

Chung, S. Y.↗

Hovering rotor airload prediction using a full potential flow analysis with realistic wake geometry

A three-dimensional, full potential flow analysis with realistic hover wake geometry is presented for the prediction of hovering rotor airloads. The method of analysis is based on the concept of matching inner and outer domain solutions in three dimensions. The inner domain nonlinear solution is obtained using a finite difference analysis and the outer domain solution is based on prescribed wake methodology. This formulation which includes three-dimensional wake influence, was initially validated using a fixed-wing analysis, and has been extended to hovering rotor flight. Detailed chordwise and spanwise loading results are compared with subsonic and transonic test results from two rotor configurations to illustrate the predictive capabilities of the analysis. The extension of the method to steady-level forward flight is also discussed.

Egolf, T. A.↗

Experimental and theoretical Doppler-lidar signatures of aircraft wake vortices

The DFVLR laser Doppler anemometer is a CO2 continuous wave homodyne system designed for boundary layer wind measurements. During the last three years, it was mainly used in the wake-vortex program at Frankfurt airport for determination of vortex strength, transport, and lifetime. The strategy for that special type of measurement was previously reported in detail along with single experimental results. Therefore, herein is given a short summary of the data concerning questions of air traffic control. In addition to the experimental activities a computer model describing wake-vortex behavior was installed. It allows the comparison of the measured data with the hydrodynamically predicted quantities. On the other hand, it leads to an improved procedure for future wake-vortex measurements.

Koepp, F.↗