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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Microgravity Turbulent Gas-Jet Diffusion Flames

A gas-jet diffusion flame is similar to the flame on a Bunsen burner, where a gaseous fuel (e.g., propane) flows from a nozzle into an oxygen-containing atmosphere (e.g., air). The difference is that a Bunsen burner allows for (partial) premixing of the fuel and the air, whereas a diffusion flame is not premixed and gets its oxygen (principally) by diffusion from the atmosphere around the flame. Simple gas-jet diffusion flames are often used for combustion studies because they embody the mechanisms operating in accidental fires and in practical combustion systems. However, most practical combustion is turbulent (i.e., with random flow vortices), which enhances the fuel/air mixing. These turbulent flames are not well understood because their random and transient nature complicates analysis. Normal gravity studies of turbulence in gas-jet diffusion flames can be impeded by buoyancy-induced instabilities. These gravitycaused instabilities, which are evident in the flickering of a candle flame in normal gravity, interfere with the study of turbulent gas-jet diffusion flames. By conducting experiments in microgravity, where buoyant instabilities are avoided, we at the NASA Lewis Research Center hope to improve our understanding of turbulent combustion. Ultimately, this could lead to improvements in combustor design, yielding higher efficiency and lower pollutant emissions. Gas-jet diffusion flames are often researched as model flames, because they embody mechanisms operating in both accidental fires and practical combustion systems (see the first figure). In normal gravity laboratory research, buoyant air flows, which are often negligible in practical situations, dominate the heat and mass transfer processes. Microgravity research studies, however, are not constrained by buoyant air flows, and new, unique information on the behavior of gas-jet diffusion flames has been obtained.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2021

Machine learning assisted modeling of mixing timescale for LES/PDF of high-Karlovitz turbulent premixed combustion

Accurate modeling of mixing in the transported probability density function (PDF) method remains a great challenge, especially for turbulent premixed combustion under extreme conditions such as high Karlovitz number Ka. Recently, a power-law based mixing timescale model was developed for the large-eddy simulations (LES)/PDF modeling of high-Ka number turbulent premixed flames. It is found in this work that the power-law mixing timescale model is highly sensitive to the model parameters. It is thus critically needed to develop accurate calibration of these model parameters. The empirical specification of the model parameters developed in Zhang et. al. is found to be inadequate for accurate modeling of the mixing timescale. Here, machine learning is introduced as an attractive alternative in this work for the specification of the model parameters. A high-Ka number DNS jet flame is used as the training and validation of the machine learning models. The choices of the input parameters are discussed and compared for the machine learning models. The effect of differential molecular diffusion on mixing is examined by including the effect of the Lewis number in the training of the machine learning models. The performance of different machine learning algorithms is compared for the specification of the mixing model parameters. Overall, excellent performance of the machine learning models is observed for assisting the mixing modeling. The feasibility, interpretability, applicability, generality, and portability of using machine learning are discussed in general to provide a perspective on applying data-driven machine learning for turbulent combustion modeling studies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1978

Transitional Boundary-Layer Solutions Using a Mixing-Length and a Two-Equation Turbulence Model

Boundary-layer solutions were obtained using the conventional two-layer mixing-length turbulence model and the Wilcox-Traci two-equation model of turbulence. Both flatplate and blunt-body geometries were considered. The most significant result of the study is development of approximations for the two-equation model which permit streamwise stepsize comparable to that used in mixing-length computations. Additionally, a set of model-equation boundary conditions derived which apply equally well to both flat-plate and blunt-body geometries. Solutions obtained with the two-equations turbulence model are compared with experimental data and/or corresponding solutions obtained using the mixing-length model. Agreement is satisfactory for flat-plate boundary layers but not for blunt body boundary layers.

Anderson, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Sounding Rocket Investigation of the Fine Structure in the Mesopause Region in Conjunction with High Spatial Resolution Lidar Measurements

The grant funds were provided to carry out chemical tracer wind and turbulence measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere as part of the Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (TOMEX) for which Dr. James Hecht of the Aerospace Corp. was the Principal Investigator. Clemson University designed, built, and tested two chemical tracer release payload sections for the 21.126 and 21.127 payloads which, in addition, had photometer and ionization gauge instrumentation. The tracer chemical was trimethyl aluminum (TMA). The experiment was carried out at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on October 26,2000. The location was chosen because of the proximity to the Starfire Optical Range (SOR) which hosted the powerful University of Illinois sodium lidar for an extended period prior to and also during the launch window. Since the SOR telescope is fully steerable, lidar measurements in the same volume sampled by the rocket were possible. The primary objective of the experiment was to measure the turbulent diffusion and mixing in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, especially in layers characterized by convective and/or dynamical instabilities. The lidar, which is capable of measuring the sodium density, temperatures, and winds with good range and time resolution, provided the launch criteria, as well as context measurements for the in situ rocket observations.

Larsen, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Fuel Spray Diagnostics

Fundamental experimental data base for turbulent flow mixing models is provided and better prediction of the more complex turbulent chemical reacting flows. Analytical application to combustor design is provided and a better fundamental understanding of the combustion process.

Humenik, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Turbulence in Supercritical O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 Mixing Layers

This report presents a study of numerical simulations of mixing layers developing between opposing flows of paired fluids under supercritical conditions, the purpose of the study being to elucidate chemical-species-specific aspects of turbulence. The simulations were performed for two different fluid pairs O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 at similar reduced initial pressures (reduced pressure is defined as pressure divided by critical pressure). Thermodynamically, O2/H2 behaves more nearly like an ideal mixture and has greater solubility, relative to C7H16/N2, which departs strongly from ideality. Because of a specified smaller initial density stratification, the C7H16/N2 layers exhibited greater levels of growth, global molecular mixing, and turbulence. However, smaller density gradients at the transitional state for the O2/H2 system were interpreted as indicating that locally, this system exhibits enhanced mixing as a consequence of its greater solubility and closer approach to ideality. These thermodynamic features were shown to affect entropy dissipation, which was found to be larger for O2/H2 and concentrated in high-density-gradient-magnitude regions that are distortions of the initial density-stratification boundary. In C7H16/N2, the regions of largest dissipation were found to lie in high-density-gradient-magnitude regions that result from mixing of the two fluids.

Bellan, Josette↗
NASA NTRS2008

Supersonic Combusting Jet Experiments for Code Development and Validation

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are extensively employed in the design of hypersonic airbreathing engines. A fundamental weakness in these methods is the accurate mathematical modeling of turbulence and turbulence-combustion interactions. This paper is one of a companion pair of papers which describe the use of the combined dual pump CARS and newly developed interferometric Rayleigh scattering optical system to acquire time-accurate turbulence and mixing data with which to aid calibration and verification of the current turbulence models. This test program consisted of a pilot laboratory-scale experiment used to develop the optical system and data acquisition techniques, and a significantly larger experiment to acquire the necessary turbulence data. The flow is an axially-symmetric, supersonic, combusting, free jet that provides good optical access, consisting of a central jet of hot "vitiated air" and a coflow jet of hydrogen or ethylene fuel. In this paper the development of both experiments is described. Facility and flow visualization data are presented for various types of flames, including the flames selected for detailed study with the CARS/Rayleigh optical techniques.

Cutler, Andrew D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Ocean Turbulence, III: New GISS Vertical Mixing Scheme

We have found a new way to express the solutions of the RSM (Reynolds Stress Model) equations that allows us to present the turbulent diffusivities for heat, salt and momentum in a way that is considerably simpler and thus easier to implement than in previous work. The RSM provides the dimensionless mixing efficiencies Gamma-alpha (alpha stands for heat, salt and momentum). However, to compute the diffusivities, one needs additional information, specifically, the dissipation Epsilon. Since a dynamic equation for the latter that includes the physical processes relevant to the ocean is still not available, one must resort to different sources of information outside the RSM to obtain a complete Mixing Scheme usable in OGCMs. As for the RSM results, we show that the Gamma-alpha s are functions of both Ri and Rq (Richardson number and density ratio representing double diffusion, DD); the Gamma-alpha are different for heat, salt and momentum; in the case of heat, the traditional value Gamma-h = 0.2 is valid only in the presence of strong shear (when DD is inoperative) while when shear subsides, NATRE data show that Gamma-h can be three times as large, a result that we reproduce. The salt Gamma-s is given in terms of Gamma-h. The momentum Gamma-m has thus far been guessed with different prescriptions while the RSM provides a well defined expression for Gamma-m(Ri,R-rho). Having tested Gamma-h, we then test the momentum Gamma-m by showing that the turbulent Prandtl number Gamma-m/Gamma-h vs. Ri reproduces the available data quite well. As for the dissipation epsilon, we use different representations, one for the mixed layer (ML), one for the thermocline and one for the ocean;s bottom. For the ML, we adopt a procedure analogous to the one successfully used in PB (planetary boundary layer) studies; for the thermocline, we employ an expression for the variable epsilon/N(exp 2) from studies of the internal gravity waves spectra which includes a latitude dependence; for the ocean bottom, we adopt the enhanced bottom diffusivity expression used by previous authors but with a state of the art internal tidal energy formulation and replace the fixed Gamma-alpha = 0.2 with the RSM result that brings into the problem the Ri, R-rho dependence of the Gamma-alpha; the unresolved bottom drag, which has thus far been either ignored or modeled with heuristic relations, is modeled using a formalism we previously developed and tested in PBL studies. We carried out several tests without an OGCM. Prandtl and flux Richardson numbers vs. Ri. The RSM model reproduces both types of data satisfactorily. DD and Mixing efficiency Gamma-h(Ri,Rq). The RSM model reproduces well the NATRE data. Bimodal epsilon-distribution. NATRE data show that epsilon (Ri < 1) approximately equals 10epsilon(Ri > 1), which our model reproduces. Heat to salt flux ratio. In the Ri much greater than 1 regime, the RSM predictions reproduce the data satisfactorily. NATRE mass diffusivity. The z-profile of the mass diffusivity reproduces well the measurements at NATRE. The local form of the mixing scheme is algebraic with one cubic equation to solve.

Canuto, V. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Spectra of turbulent static pressure fluctuations in jet mixing layers

Spectral similarity laws are derived for the power spectra of turbulent static pressure fluctuations by application of dimensional analysis in the limit of large turbulent Reynolds number. The theory predicts that pressure spectra are generated by three distinct types of interaction in the velocity fields: a fourth order interaction between fluctuating velocities, an interaction between the first order mean shear and the third order velocity fluctuations, and an interaction between the second order mean shear rate and the second order fluctuating velocity. Measurements of one-dimensional power spectra of the turbulent static pressure fluctuations in the driven mixing layer of a subsonic, circular jet are presented, and the spectra are examined for evidence of spectral similarity. Spectral similarity is found for the low wavenumber range when the large scale flow on the centerline of the mixing layer is self-preserving. The data are also consistent with the existence of universal inertial subranges for the spectra of each interaction mode.

Jones, B. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Simple turbulence models and their application to boundary layer separation

Measurements in the boundary layer and wake of a stalled airfoil are presented in two coordinate systems, one aligned with the airfoil chord, the other being conventional boundary layer coordinates. The NACA 4412 airfoil is studied at a single angle of attack corresponding to maximum lift, the Reynolds number based on chord being 1.5 x 10 to the 6th power. Turbulent boundary layer separation occurred at the 85 percent chord position. The two-dimensionality of the flow was documented and the momentum integral equation studied to illustrate the importance of turbulence contributions as separation is approached. The assumptions of simple eddy-viscosity and mixing-length turbulence models are checked directly against experiment. Curvature effects are found to be important as separation is approached.

Wadcock, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

A priori analysis of a power-law sub-filter scale mixing model for transported PDF modeling of high Karlovitz turbulent premixed flames

Accurate modeling of mixing in large-eddy simulation (LES) / transported probability density function (PDF) modeling of turbulent combustion remains an outstanding issue. The issue is particularly salient in turbulent premixed combustion under extreme conditions such as high-Karlovitz number Ka. Here, the present study addresses this issue by conducting an a priori analysis of a power-law scaling based mixing timescale model for the transported PDF model. A recently produced DNS dataset of a high-Ka turbulent jet flame is used for the analysis. A power-law scaling is observed for a scaling factor used to model the sub-filter scale mixing timescale in this high-Ka turbulent premixed DNS flame when the LES filter size is much greater than the characteristic thermal thickness of a laminar premixed flame. The sensitivity of the observed power-law scaling to the different viewpoints (local or global) and to the different scalars for the data analysis is examined and the dependence of the model parameters on the dimensionless numbers Ka and Re (the Reynolds number) is investigated. Different model formulations for the mixing timescale are then constructed and assessed in the DNS flame. The proposed model is found to be able to reproduce the mixing timescale informed by the high-Ka DNS flame significantly better than a previous model.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1993

The three-dimensional evolution of a plane mixing layer - Pairing and transition to turbulence

The evolution of three-dimensional temporally evolving plane mixing layers through as many as three pairings has been simulated numerically. All simulations were begun from a few low-wavenumber disturbances, usually derived from linear stability theory, in addition to the mean velocity. Three-dimensional perturbations were used with amplitudes ranging from infinitesimal to large enough to trigger a rapid transition to turbulence. Pairing is found to inhibit the growth of infinitesimal three-dimensional disturbances, and to trigger the transition to turbulence in highly three-dimensional flows. The mechanisms responsible for the growth of three-dimensionality and onset of transition to turbulence are described. The transition to turbulence is accompanied by the formation of thin sheets of spanwise vorticity, which undergo secondary rollups. The post-transitional simulated flow fields exhibit many properties characteristic of turbulent flows.

Moser, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Effect of Liquid Surface Turbulent Motion on the Vapor Condensation in a Mixing Tank

The effect of liquid surface motion on the vapor condensation in a tank mixed by an axial turbulent jet is numerically investigated. The average value (over the interface area) of the root-mean-squared (rms) turbulent velocity at the interface is shown to be linearly increasing with decreasing liquid height and increasing jet diameter for a given tank size. The average rms turbulent velocity is incorporated in Brown et al. (1990) condensation correlation to predict the condensation of vapor on a liquid surface. The results are in good agreement with available condensation data.

Lin, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Aspects of Turbulent / Non-Turbulent Interfaces

A distinct boundary between turbulent and non-turbulent regions in a fluid of otherwise constant properties is found in many laboratory and engineering turbulent flows, including jets, mixing layers, boundary layers and wakes. Generally, the flow has mean shear in at least one direction within t he turbulent zone, but the non-turbulent zones have no shear (adjacent laminar shear is a different case, e.g. transition in a boundary layer). There may be purely passive differences between the turbulent and non-turbulent zones, e.g. small variations in temperature or scalar concentration, for which turbulent mixing is an important issue. The boundary has several major characteristics of interest for the present study. Firstly, the boundary advances into the non-turbulent fluid, or in other words, nonturbulent fluid is entrained. Secondly, the change in turbulence properties across the boundary is remarkably abrupt; strong turbulent motions come close to the nonturbulent fluid, promoting entrainment. Thirdly, the boundary is irregular with a continually changing convoluted shape, which produces statistical intermittency. Its shape is contorted at all scales of the turbulent motion.

Bisset, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Numerical solutions of Navier-Stokes equations for compressible turbulent two/three dimensional flows in terminal shock region of an inlet/diffuser

The multidimensional ensemble averaged compressible time dependent Navier Stokes equations in conjunction with mixing length turbulence model and shock capturing technique were used to study the terminal shock type of flows in various flight regimes occurring in a diffuser/inlet model. The numerical scheme for solving the governing equations is based on a linearized block implicit approach and the following high Reynolds number calculations were carried out: (1) 2 D, steady, subsonic; (2) 2 D, steady, transonic with normal shock; (3) 2 D, steady, supersonic with terminal shock; (4) 2 D, transient process of shock development and (5) 3 D, steady, transonic with normal shock. The numerical results obtained for the 2 D and 3 D transonic shocked flows were compared with corresponding experimental data; the calculated wall static pressure distributions agree well with the measured data.

Liu, N. S.↗
NASA NTRS1973

The generation and dissipation of solar and galactic magnetic fields.

Turbulent diffusion of magnetic field plays an essential role in the generation of magnetic field in most astrophysical bodies. Review of what can be proved and what can be believed about the turbulent diffusion of magnetic field. Observations indicate the dissipation of magnetic field at rates that can be understood only in terms of turbulent diffusion. Theory shows that a large-scale weak magnetic field diffuses in a turbulent flow in the same way that smoke is mixed throughout the fluid by the turbulence. The small-scale fields (produced from the large-scale field by the turbulence) are limited in their growth by reconnection of field lines at neutral points, so that the turbulent mixing of field and fluid is not halted by them. Altogether, it appears that the mixing of field and fluid in the observed turbulent motions in the sun and in the Galaxy is unavoidable. Turbulent diffusion causes decay of the general solar fields in a decade or so, and of the galactic field in 100 m.y. to 1 b.y. It is concluded that continual dynamo action is implied by the observed existence of the fields.

Parker, E. N.↗