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NASA NTRS2005

A CFD Analysis of Easterly Wind Flow Impacting the Vehicle Assembly Building

In an attempt to explain the high loss of panels from the south face of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during Hurricane Frances, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3-D CFD) model was developed to simulate local velocity and pressure distributions resulting from such a storm. A preconditioned compressible Navier-Stokes flow solver 1 was used to compute the flow field around the VAB complex, including the Launch Control Center, the Low and High Bays of the VAB, and several outbuildings in the immediate LC-39 area. The mapping of the forces and velocities on and along the affected faces of the VAB correlated surprisingly well with the extensive damage areas realized on both on the south face and on the southeast section of the roof. The model results were also consistent with the minimal damage seen on the east, north, and west faces of the structure.

Vu, B. T.↗

NASA NTRS2015

OpenFOAM Simulations of Atmospheric-Entry Capsules in the Subsonic Regime

The open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics software OpenFOAM is gaining wider acceptance in industry and academia for incompressible flow simulations. To date, there has been relatively little utilization of OpenFOAM for compressible external aerodynamic applications. The numerous turbulence models available in OpenFOAM makes it an attractive option for evaluating alternate Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulent models to assess separated flow on atmospheric entry vehicles in the subsonic regime, where traditional turbulent models show reduced accuracy. This paper presents simulations of an axisymmetric capsule geometry at subsonic conditions using an OpenFOAM compressible flow solver. These results are compared with results from the NASA CFD code OVERFLOW and experimental data. These OpenFOAM simulations serve as a basis to explore OpenFOAMs extended turbulence models on compressible separated flows such as found on entry capsules.

Nikaido, Ben E.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Transient Three-Dimensional Side Load Analysis of a Film Cooled Nozzle

Transient three-dimensional numerical investigations on the side load physics for an engine encompassing a film cooled nozzle extension and a regeneratively cooled thrust chamber, were performed. The objectives of this study are to identify the three-dimensional side load physics and to compute the associated aerodynamic side load using an anchored computational methodology. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation, and a transient inlet history based on an engine system simulation. Ultimately, the computational results will be provided to the nozzle designers for estimating of effect of the peak side load on the nozzle structure. Computations simulating engine startup at ambient pressures corresponding to sea level and three high altitudes were performed. In addition, computations for both engine startup and shutdown transients were also performed for a stub nozzle, operating at sea level. For engine with the full nozzle extension, computational result shows starting up at sea level, the peak side load occurs when the lambda shock steps into the turbine exhaust flow, while the side load caused by the transition from free-shock separation to restricted-shock separation comes at second; and the side loads decreasing rapidly and progressively as the ambient pressure decreases. For the stub nozzle operating at sea level, the computed side loads during both startup and shutdown becomes very small due to the much reduced flow area.

Wang, Ten-See↗

NASA NTRS2010

Transient Three-Dimensional Side Load Analysis of Out-of-Round Film Cooled Nozzles

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of nozzle out-of-roundness on the transient startup side loads. The out-of-roundness could be the result of asymmetric loads induced by hardware attached to the nozzle, asymmetric internal stresses induced by previous tests and/or deformation, such as creep, from previous tests. The rocket engine studied encompasses a regeneratively cooled thrust chamber and a film cooled nozzle extension with film coolant distributed from a turbine exhaust manifold. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation, and a transient inlet history based on an engine system simulation. Transient startup computations were performed with the out-of-roundness achieved by four degrees of ovalization of the nozzle: one perfectly round, one slightly out-of-round, one more out-of-round, and one significantly out-of-round. The computed side load physics caused by the nozzle out-of-roundness and its effect on nozzle side load are reported and discussed.

Wang, Ten-See↗

NASA NTRS2010

Transient Three-Dimensional Side Load Analysis of Out-of-Round Film Cooled Nozzles

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of nozzle out-of-roundness on the transient startup side loads at a high altitude, with an anchored computational methodology. The out-of-roundness could be the result of asymmetric loads induced by hardware attached to the nozzle, asymmetric internal stresses induced by previous tests, and deformation, such as creep, from previous tests. The rocket engine studied encompasses a regeneratively cooled thrust chamber and a film cooled nozzle extension with film coolant distributed from a turbine exhaust manifold. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation, and a transient inlet history based on an engine system simulation. Transient startup computations were performed with the out-of-roundness achieved by four different degrees of ovalization: one perfectly round, one slightly out-of-round, one more out-of-round, and one significantly out-of-round. The results show that the separation-line-jump is the peak side load physics for the round, slightly our-of-round, and more out-of-round cases, and the peak side load increases as the degree of out-of-roundness increases. For the significantly out-of-round nozzle, however, the peak side load reduces to comparable to that of the round nozzle and the separation line jump is not the peak side load physics. The counter-intuitive result of the significantly out-of-round case is found to be related to a side force reduction mechanism that splits the effect of the separation-line-jump into two parts, not only in the circumferential direction and most importantly in time.

Wang, Ten-See↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Qualitative Comparison of Pathfinder Three-Dimensional Transient Gas Granular Simulation Results to Imagery from a Subscale, Reduced Pressure Plume Surface Interaction Ground Test

NASA’s Game Changing Development Program, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, the development of simulation capability for the prediction of extra-terrestrial Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) environments has been undertaken by the Fluid Dynamics Branch at NASA/MSFC. The PSI Project, planned to be completed over a four year period, contains a Predictive Simulation Capability (PSC) Element focused on creating simulation capability for the reliable and accurate prediction of PSI in Martian (~600 Pa) and Lunar (vacuum) ambient environments. In addition to the PSC Element, the PSI Project also contains a companion Ground Testing Element for development of focused datasets for validation of predictive capability as well as a Flight-focused Instrumentation Element. This paper describes the first Pathfinder three-dimensional, transient simulation of the test configuration used to acquire erosion and cratering test data as part of the Physics Focused Ground Test conducted by the PSI Project in FY2021. This first pathfinder simulation was conducted using the Loci/GGFS (Gas Granular Flow Solver), a computational fluid dynamics tool developed in part with funding provided by the PSI Project. Crater growth and ejecta flow paths from the pathfinder simulation is compared to raw high-speed imagery PFGT results of the crater growth. There is significant similarity of test and simulation to warrant expending resources on a more rigorous quantitative Validation Assessment.

J S West↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Qualitative Comparison of Pathfinder Three-Dimensional Transient Gas Granular Simulation Results to Imagery from a Subscale, Reduced Pressure Plume Surface Interaction Ground Test

Jeff West↗

NASA NTRS2001

Recent CFD Simulations of Shuttle Orbiter Contingency Abort Aerodynamics

Modern Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques were used to compute aerodynamic forces and moments of the Space Shuttle Orbiter in specific portions of contingency abort trajectory space. The trajectory space covers a Mach number range of 3.5-15, an angle-of-attack range of 20-60 degrees, an altitude range of 100-190 kft, and several different settings of the control surfaces (elevons, body flap, and speed brake). While approximately 40 cases have been computed, only a sampling of the results is presented here. The computed results, in general, are in good agreement with the Orbiter Operational Aerodynamic Data Book (OADB) data (i.e., within the uncertainty bands) for almost all the cases. However, in a limited number of high angle-of-attack cases (at Mach 15), there are significant differences between the computed results, especially the vehicle pitching moment, and the OADB data. A preliminary analysis of the data from the CFD simulations at Mach 15 shows that these differences can be attributed to real-gas/Mach number effects.

Papadopoulos, Periklis↗

NASA NTRS2016

Validation of High-Fidelity CFD/CAA Framework for Launch Vehicle Acoustic Environment Simulation against Scale Model Test Data

A hybrid Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Aero-Acoustics (CFD/CAA) modeling framework has been developed for launch vehicle liftoff acoustic environment predictions. The framework couples the existing highly-scalable NASA production CFD code, Loci/CHEM, with a high-order accurate discontinuous Galerkin solver developed in the same production framework, Loci/THRUST, to accurately resolve and propagate acoustic physics across the entire launch environment. Time-accurate, Hybrid RANS/LES CFD modeling is applied for predicting the acoustic generation physics at the plume source, and a high-order accurate unstructured discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is employed to propagate acoustic waves away from the source across large distances using high-order accurate schemes. The DG solver is capable of solving 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order Euler solutions for non-linear, conservative acoustic field propagation. Initial application testing and validation has been carried out against high resolution acoustic data from the Ares Scale Model Acoustic Test (ASMAT) series to evaluate the capabilities and production readiness of the CFD/CAA system to resolve the observed spectrum of acoustic frequency content. This paper presents results from this validation and outlines efforts to mature and improve the computational simulation framework.

Liever, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Validation of High-Fidelity CFD/CAA Framework for Launch Vehicle Acoustic Environment Simulation against Scale Model Test Data

A hybrid Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Aero-Acoustics (CFD/CAA) modeling framework has been developed for launch vehicle liftoff acoustic environment predictions. The framework couples the existing highly-scalable NASA production CFD code, Loci/CHEM, with a high-order accurate Discontinuous Galerkin solver developed in the same production framework, Loci/THRUST, to accurately resolve and propagate acoustic physics across the entire launch environment. Time-accurate, Hybrid RANS/LES CFD modeling is applied for predicting the acoustic generation physics at the plume source, and a high-order accurate unstructured mesh Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is employed to propagate acoustic waves away from the source across large distances using high-order accurate schemes. The DG solver is capable of solving 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order Euler solutions for non-linear, conservative acoustic field propagation. Initial application testing and validation has been carried out against high resolution acoustic data from the Ares Scale Model Acoustic Test (ASMAT) series to evaluate the capabilities and production readiness of the CFD/CAA system to resolve the observed spectrum of acoustic frequency content. This paper presents results from this validation and outlines efforts to mature and improve the computational simulation framework.

Liever, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Sensitivity Analysis of Multidisciplinary Rotorcraft Simulations

A multidisciplinary sensitivity analysis of rotorcraft simulations involving tightly coupled high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics and comprehensive analysis solvers is presented and evaluated. An unstructured sensitivity-enabled Navier-Stokes solver, FUN3D, and a nonlinear flexible multibody dynamics solver, DYMORE, are coupled to predict the aerodynamic loads and structural responses of helicopter rotor blades. A discretely-consistent adjoint-based sensitivity analysis available in FUN3D provides sensitivities arising from unsteady turbulent flows and unstructured dynamic overset meshes, while a complex-variable approach is used to compute DYMORE structural sensitivities with respect to aerodynamic loads. The multidisciplinary sensitivity analysis is conducted through integrating the sensitivity components from each discipline of the coupled system. Numerical results verify accuracy of the FUN3D/DYMORE system by conducting simulations for a benchmark rotorcraft test model and comparing solutions with established analyses and experimental data. Complex-variable implementation of sensitivity analysis of DYMORE and the coupled FUN3D/DYMORE system is verified by comparing with real-valued analysis and sensitivities. Correctness of adjoint formulations for FUN3D/DYMORE interfaces is verified by comparing adjoint-based and complex-variable sensitivities. Finally, sensitivities of the lift and drag functions obtained by complex-variable FUN3D/DYMORE simulations are compared with sensitivities computed by the multidisciplinary sensitivity analysis, which couples adjoint-based flow and grid sensitivities of FUN3D and FUN3D/DYMORE interfaces with complex-variable sensitivities of DYMORE structural responses.

Wang, Li↗

NASA NTRS1989

Convection and chemistry effects in CVD: A 3-D analysis for silicon deposition

The computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT has been adopted to simulate the entire rectangular-channel-like (3-D) geometry of an experimental CVD reactor designed for Si deposition. The code incorporated the effects of both homogeneous (gas phase) and heterogeneous (surface) chemistry with finite reaction rates of important species existing in silane dissociation. The experiments were designed to elucidate the effects of gravitationally-induced buoyancy-driven convection flows on the quality of the grown Si films. This goal is accomplished by contrasting the results obtained from a carrier gas mixture of H2/Ar with the ones obtained from the same molar mixture ratio of H2/He, without any accompanying change in the chemistry. Computationally, these cases are simulated in the terrestrial gravitational field and in the absence of gravity. The numerical results compare favorably with experiments. Powerful computational tools provide invaluable insights into the complex physicochemical phenomena taking place in CVD reactors. Such information is essential for the improved design and optimization of future CVD reactors.

Gokoglu, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Development of a High-Order Space-Time Matrix-Free Adjoint Solver

The growth in computational power and algorithm development in the past few decades has granted the science and engineering community the ability to simulate flows over complex geometries, thus making Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools indispensable in analysis and design. Currently, one of the pacing items limiting the utility of CFD for general problems is the prediction of unsteady turbulent ows.1{3 Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods, which predict a time-invariant mean flowfield, struggle to provide consistent predictions when encountering even mild separation, such as the side-of-body separation at a wing-body junction. NASA's Transformative Tools and Technologies project is developing both numerical methods and physical modeling approaches to improve the prediction of separated flows. A major focus of this e ort is efficient methods for resolving the unsteady fluctuations occurring in these flows to provide valuable engineering data of the time-accurate flow field for buffet analysis, vortex shedding, etc. This approach encompasses unsteady RANS (URANS), large-eddy simulations (LES), and hybrid LES-RANS approaches such as Detached Eddy Simulations (DES). These unsteady approaches are inherently more expensive than traditional engineering RANS approaches, hence every e ort to mitigate this cost must be leveraged. Arguably, the most cost-effective approach to improve the efficiency of unsteady methods is the optimal placement of the spatial and temporal degrees of freedom (DOF) using solution-adaptive methods.

Adjoint↗

NASA NTRS1995

Visualization of Computational Fluid Dynamics

Scientific visualization serves the dual purpose of exploration and exposition of the results of numerical simulations of fluid flow. Along with the basic visualization process which transforms source data into images, there are four additional components to a complete visualization system: Source Data Processing, User Interface and Control, Presentation, and Information Management. The requirements imposed by the desired mode of operation (i.e. real-time, interactive, or batch) and the source data have their effect on each of these visualization system components. The special requirements imposed by the wide variety and size of the source data provided by the numerical simulation of fluid flow presents an enormous challenge to the visualization system designer. We describe the visualization system components including specific visualization techniques and how the mode of operation and source data requirements effect the construction of computational fluid dynamics visualization systems.

Gerald-Yamasaki, Michael↗

NASA NTRS1996

Numerical Simulation of Flow in a Whirling Annular Seal and Comparison With Experiments

The turbulent flow field inside a whirling annular seal was simulated by using SCISEAL, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics code. The rotor center described a circular synchronous whirl. A rotating frame transformation was used to make the problem quasi-steady. The flow field at an axial Reynolds number of 24,000 and a Taylor number of 6600 was simulated. The standard kappa-epsilon model with wall functions and the low-Reynolds-number model were used to treat turbulence. An experimentally measured velocity field was used at the inlet boundary. Numerical predictions of the velocities and the stator wall pressures compared well with experimental data. Both turbulence models yielded nearly the same results. The capability of the SCISEAL code to analyze this complex flow field was demonstrated; the isotropic turbulence models performed adequately on this nonisotropic turbulence flow.

Athavale, M. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

NTR plume modeling

Viewgraphs on nuclear thermal propulsion are presented. Topics covered include computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for plume analysis; molecular fluid dynamics; molecular CFD characteristics; direct-simulation Monte-Carlo (DSMC) method; integration of DSMC and Navier-Stokes computations; and density profiles.

Byers, D.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Comparison of Various Supersonic Turbine Tip Designs to Minimize Aerodynamic Loss and Tip Heating

The rotor tips of axial turbines experience high heat flux and are the cause of aerodynamic losses due to tip clearance flows, and in the case of supersonic tips, shocks. As stage loadings increase, the flow in the tip gap approaches and exceeds sonic conditions. This introduces effects such as shock-boundary layer interactions and choked flow that are not observed for subsonic tip flows that have been studied extensively in literature. This work simulates the tip clearance flow for a flat tip, a diverging tip gap and several contoured tips to assess the possibility of minimizing tip heat flux while maintaining a constant massflow from the pressure side to the suction side of the rotor, through the tip clearance. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code GlennHT was used for the simulations. Due to the strong favorable pressure gradients the simulations assumed laminar conditions in the tip gap. The nominal tip gap width to height ratio for this study is 6.0. The Reynolds number of the flow is 2.4 x 10(exp 5) based on nominal tip width and exit velocity. A wavy wall design was found to reduce heat flux by 5 percent but suffered from an additional 6 percent in aerodynamic loss coefficient. Conventional tip recesses are found to perform far worse than a flat tip due to severe shock heating. Overall, the baseline flat tip was the second best performer. A diverging converging tip gap with a hole was found to be the best choice. Average tip heat flux was reduced by 37 percent and aerodynamic losses were cut by over 6 percent.

Shyam, Vikram↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Large-Eddy Simulation Of Turbulent Flow Over A Backward Facing Step

Large-eddy simulation (LES) was used to study the turbulent flow over a backward facing step. The simulations examine the details of the turbulent flow's separated and reattaching regions created by the step geometry. An explicit high-order of accuracy/high resolution finite-difference computational fluid dynamics solver was used for both LES and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. The experimental data from the backward facing step experiment of Driver and Seegmiller was used for comparison. Data presented are derived from a RANS simulation using the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model and LES simulations using the implict LES assumption on three different grids of varying resolution. The RANS solution agrees with past work. It does an adequate job of predicting the flowfield and reattachment point, but misses details such as the strength of the recirculating region and magnitudes of the Reynolds stresses. The synthetic eddy method was used to provide a turbulent inflow to the quasi-2D LES domains. For the LES, the coarse grid was of insufficient resolution and under-predicted the skin friction coefficient and over-predicted the normal stresses. The finer grid LES results accurately predict the skin friction coefficient and provide more accurate Reynolds stresses. Triple product velocity correlations are also computed from the LES and the finer grid results did a good job predicting the magnitudes of the curves and the shapes were reasonably represented. It is recommended that future work include investigating the turbulent inflow domain length, width of the quasi-2D domain, and additional grid refinement.

turbulence↗