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At least 595 records · Page 33

The Development of Point Doppler Velocimeter Data Acquisition and Processing Software

In order to develop efficient and quiet aircraft and validate Computational Fluid Dynamic predications, aerodynamic researchers require flow parameter measurements to characterize flow fields about wind tunnel models and jet flows. A one-component Point Doppler Velocimeter (pDv), a non-intrusive, laser-based instrument, was constructed using a design/develop/test/validate/deploy approach. A primary component of the instrument is software required for system control/management and data collection/reduction. This software along with evaluation algorithms, advanced pDv from a laboratory curiosity to a production level instrument. Simultaneous pDv and pitot probe velocity measurements obtained at the centerline of a flow exiting a two-inch jet, matched within 0.4%. Flow turbulence spectra obtained with pDv and a hot-wire detected the primary and secondary harmonics with equal dynamic range produced by the fan driving the flow. Novel,hardware and software methods were developed, tested and incorporated into the system to eliminate and/or minimize error sources and improve system reliability.

Cavone, Angelo A.↗

The Dragonfly Entry and Descent System

Dragonfly is a proposed New Frontiers class mission that will send a nuclear powered octocopter to the surface of Titan for an extended science mission. This presentation will provide an overview of the Entry and Descent system that is under development to ensure the save delivery of this unique "relocatable lander" to Titan. Titan's dense atmosphere, large atmospheric scale height, and low gravity allows for a slow-paced entry and descent sequence that lasts more than 100 minutes, as opposed to the "7 minutes of terror" that is charac-teristic of landed Mars missions. This slow pace al-lows for sufficient temporal separation between critical events of the EDL sequence to minimize overall risk.The Dragonfly entry and descent system is composed of high-heritage components, minimizing overall risk. The aeroshell will be a scaled Genesis Sample Return capsule with a diameter of 3.75 meters, built by Lock-heed Martin. The thermal protection system (TPS) is made up of Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator-Domestic (PICA-D) on the heatshield, SLA-561V on the backshell, and SLA-220M on the aft cover and low gain antenna. Each material has extensive heritage for the chosen application. The spacecraft will enter Titan at a velocity of 7.3 km/s, resulting in a predicted fully margined stagnation point heating environment of 254 W/cm2 heat rate and 13 kJ/cm2 heat load, well within the tested limits of the chosen materials. The aeroheat-ing environments, including the significant contribu-tion of shock layer radiation from CN on both the heatshield and backshell, are evaluated using state of the art models and codes that have been validated with appropriate ground testing.Once the deceleration pulse is complete, a disk-gap-band (DGB) drogue parachute will be deployed at ap-proximately Mach 1.5 to stabilize and further deceler-ate the spacecraft. Due to the dense atmosphere, the spacecraft will spend more than 80 minutes on this parachute, until reaching an appropriate altitude to de-ploy the subsonic main parachute. The lander is re-leased after approximately 17 minutes on the main chute before releasing and transitioning to powered flight in order to navigate to its first landing site. The release of the lander from the backshell effectively ends the entry and descent portion of the mission.The full presentation will provide additional details about the design of the EDL system hardware, engi-neering design, and overall con-ops. Preliminary aero-thermal and TPS sizing analyses will be presented, and the parachute system will be described in greater detail. In addition, the Dragonfly spacecraft will carry an En-gineering Science Investigation (ESI) package designed to obtain engineering data during EDL that will be used to validate the design methodology for future missions. An overview of the proposed ESI package will also be presented.

EDL↗

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↗

On the measurement of S diff splitting caused by lowermost mantle anisotropy

Seismic anisotropy has been detected at many depths of the Earth, including its upper layers, the lowermost mantle and the inner core. While upper mantle seismic anisotropy is relatively straightforward to resolve, lowermost mantle anisotropy has proven to be more complicated to measure. Due to their long, horizontal ray paths along the core–mantle boundary (CMB), S waves diffracted along the CMB (S diff ) are potentially strongly influenced by lowermost mantle anisotropy. S diff waves can be recorded over a large epicentral distance range and thus sample the lowermost mantle everywhere around the globe. S diff therefore represents a promising phase for studying lowermost mantle anisotropy; however, previous studies have pointed out some difficulties with the interpretation of differential SH diff –SV diff traveltimes in terms of seismic anisotropy. Here, we provide a new, comprehensive assessment of the usability of S diff waves to infer lowermost mantle anisotropy. Using both axisymmetric and fully 3-D global wavefield simulations, we show that there are cases in which S diff can reliably detect and characterize deep mantle anisotropy when measuring traditional splitting parameters (as opposed to differential traveltimes). First, we analyze isotropic effects on S diff polarizations, including the influence of realistic velocity structure (such as 3-D velocity heterogeneity and ultra-low velocity zones), the character of the lowermost mantle velocity gradient, mantle attenuation structure, and Earth’s Coriolis force. Secondly, we evaluate effects of seismic anisotropy in both the upper and the lowermost mantle on SH diff waves. In particular, we investigate how SH diff waves are split by seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle near the source and how this anisotropic signature propagates to the receiver for a variety of lowermost mantle models. We demonstrate that, in particular and predictable cases, anisotropy leads to S diff splitting that can be clearly distinguished from other waveform effects. Here, these results enable us to lay out a strategy for the analysis of S diff splitting due to anisotropy at the base of the mantle, which includes steps to help avoid potential pitfalls, with attention paid to the initial polarization of S diff and the influence of source-side anisotropy. We demonstrate our S diff splitting method using three earthquakes that occurred beneath the Celebes Sea, measured at many transportable array stations at a suitable epicentral distance. We resolve consistent and well-constrained S diff splitting parameters due to lowermost mantle anisotropy beneath the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Atomic Iron and Nickel in the Coma of C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake): Production Rates, Emission Mechanisms, and Possible Parents

Abstract Two papers recently reported the detection of gaseous nickel and iron in the comae of over 20 comets from observations collected over two decades, including interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. To evaluate the state of the laboratory data in support of these identifications, we reanalyzed archived spectra of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), one of the nearest and brightest comets of the past century, using a combined experimental and computational approach. We developed a new, many-level fluorescence model that indicates that the fluorescence emissions of Fe I and Ni I vary greatly with heliocentric velocity. Combining this model with laboratory spectra of an Fe-Ni plasma, we identified 22 lines of Fe I and 14 lines of Ni I in the spectrum of Hyakutake. Using Haser models, we estimate the nickel and iron production rates as Q Ni = (2.6–4.1) × 10 22 s −1 and Q Fe = (0.4–2.8) × 10 23 s −1 . From derived column densities, the Ni/Fe abundance ratio log 10 [Ni/Fe] = −0.15 ± 0.07 deviates significantly from solar abundance ratios, and it is consistent with the ratios observed in solar system comets. Possible production and emission mechanisms are analyzed in the context of existing laboratory measurements. Based on the observed spatial distributions, excellent fluorescence model agreement, and Ni/Fe ratio, our findings support an origin consisting of a short-lived unknown parent followed by fluorescence emission. Our models suggest that the strong heliocentric velocity dependence of the fluorescence efficiencies can provide a meaningful test of the physical process responsible for the Fe I and Ni I emission.

Bromley, S. J. (ORCID:0000000321108152)↗

Landing performance of an air cushion landing system installed on a 1/10-scale dynamic model on the C-8 Buffalo airplane

An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the landing behavior of a 1/10-scale dynamic model of the C-8 Buffalo airplane equipped with an air-cushion landing system (ACLS) on a variety of surfaces including both calm and rough water and a smooth hard surface. Taxi runs were made on the hard surface over several obstacles. Landings were made with the model at various pitch and roll attitudes and vertical velocities and at one nominal horizontal velocity. Data from the landings include time histories of the trunk and air-cushion pressures and accelerations at selected locations on the model.

Thompson, W. C.↗

Simulation and flight evaluation of a head-up landing aid for general aviation

A head-up general aviation landing aid called a landing site indicator (LASI) was tested in a fixed-base, visual simulator and in an airplane to determine the effectiveness of the LASI. The display, which had a simplified format and method of implementation, presented to the pilot in his line of sight through the windshield a graphic representation of the airplane's velocity vector. In each testing model (simulation of flight), each of 4 pilots made 20 landing approaches with the LASI and 20 approaches without it. The standard deviations of approach and touchdown parameters were considered an indication of pilot consistency. Use of the LASI improved consistency and also reduced elevator, aileron, and rudder control activity. Pilots' comments indicated that the LASI reduced work load. An appendix is included with a discussion of the simulator effectiveness for visual flight tasks.

Harris, R. L., Sr.↗

Experimental investigation of the effect of pore size distribution on nano-particle capture efficiency within ceramic particulate filters

The effect of the pore size distribution on size-resolved filtration efficiency was investigated for two ceramic particulate filters using particulate matter (PM) generated by a spark-ignition direct-injection engine fueled with gasoline. The cordierite filter tested had a porosity of 43%, a median pore diameter (d_50) of 12 µm, and a wide pore size distribution with a lognormal standard deviation (s’) of 0.3. The aluminum titanate filter had very similar porosity, d_50, and thickness, but significantly narrower pore size distribution (s’ = 0.1). The testing of two filters under identical experimental conditions enabled the impact of the pore size distribution on filtration performance to be evaluated. Filtration experiments were performed focusing on just the filter wall, starting from a clean filter until the transition to cake filtration (filtration efficiency > 99%). Time-resolved particle size distribution measurements were used to evaluate the progression of filtration performance and estimate trapped mass within the filter. The aluminum titanate filter, with a narrow pore size distribution, exhibited significantly better diffusion capture efficiency. The negative impact of higher flow velocity on diffusion capture efficiency was more pronounced for a narrower pore size distribution. Flow distributions measured using capillary-flow porometry were used to develop a cylindrical pore flow model to understand the impact of the differences in pore size distribution on observed trends in diffusion capture efficiency within a clean filter. The model helps demonstrate how large pores on the high end of a wider pore size distribution can carry a large fraction of the flow, with less efficient capture of small particles by diffusion. The experimental results and data demonstrate that the bubble point diameter and width of the pore size distribution significantly influence diffusion capture efficiencies for filters with very similar median pore diameter, porosity, and thickness.

aerosol filtration, Aftertreatment, ceramic exhaus↗

Observed volatilization behavior of silicon carbide in flowing hydrogen above 2000 K

In this work, the intrinsic compatibility of silicon carbide (SiC) and hydrogen (H 2 ) at high temperatures (2000-2473 K) and pressure near one atmosphere was evaluated through a combination of thermodynamic calculations and hot hydrogen exposure testing. Thermodynamic calculations predict the decomposition of SiC in a hydrogen environment to form free silicon (Si) and free carbon (C). Free Si is predicted to vaporize from the surface as a volatile species, while free C may interact with H 2 to form the hydrocarbons CH 4 (T < 2100 K) or C 2 H 2 (T > 2100 K). Coupons of high purity chemical vapor deposition (CVD) β-SiC were exposed to slowly flowing hydrogen at temperatures ranging between 2000 and 2473 K. SiC experienced active attack as the result of H 2 exposure, exhibiting linear weight loss kinetics and an Arrhenius dependence of weight loss on exposure temperature. The linear volatilization constant was experimentally evaluated to correspond with an activation energy of 370 ± 18 kJ/mol. Due to the dependence of observed corrosion rates on gas velocity, corrosion of SiC in flowing H 2 was determined to be governed by external mass transfer of volatile Si species through the boundary layer. Experimentally derived mass losses were in good agreement with mass losses predicted by a boundary layer limited gas diffusion model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Collaborative investigation of the internal flow and near-nozzle flow of an eight-hole gasoline injector (Engine Combustion Network Spray G)

The internal details of fuel injectors have a profound impact on the emissions from gasoline direct injection engines. However, the impact of injector design features is not currently understood, due to the difficulty in observing and modeling internal injector flows. Gasoline direct injection flows involve moving geometry, flash boiling, and high levels of turbulent two-phase mixing. In order to better simulate these injectors, five different modeling approaches have been employed to study the engine combustion network Spray G injector. Here these simulation results have been compared to experimental measurements obtained, among other techniques, with X-ray diagnostics, allowing the predictions to be evaluated and critiqued. The ability of the models to predict mass flow rate through the injector is confirmed, but other features of the predictions vary in their accuracy. The prediction of plume width and fuel mass distribution varies widely, with volume-of-fluid tending to overly concentrate the fuel. All the simulations, however, seem to struggle with predicting fuel dispersion and by inference, jet velocity. This shortcoming of the predictions suggests a need to improve Eulerian modeling of dense fuel jets.

ECN↗

Investigating the physical mechanisms that modify wind plant blockage in stable boundary layers

Abstract. Wind plants slow down the approaching wind, a phenomenon known as blockage. Wind plant blockage undermines turbine performance for front-row turbines and potentially for turbines deeper into the array. We use large-eddy simulations to characterize blockage upstream of a finite-size wind plant in flat terrain for different atmospheric stability conditions and investigate the physical mechanisms modifying the flow upstream of the turbines. To examine the influence of atmospheric stability, we compare simulations of two stably stratified boundary layers using the Weather Research and Forecasting model in large-eddy simulation mode, representing wind turbines using the generalized actuator disk approach. For a wind plant, a faster cooling rate at the surface, which produces stronger stably stratified flow in the boundary layer, amplifies blockage. As a novelty, we investigate the physical mechanisms amplifying blockage by evaluating the different terms in the momentum conservation equation within the turbine rotor layer. The velocity deceleration upstream of a wind plant is caused by an adverse pressure gradient and momentum advection out of the turbine rotor layer. The cumulative deceleration of the flow upstream of the front-row turbines instigates vertical motions. The horizontal flow is diverted vertically, reducing momentum availability in the turbine rotor layer. Although the adverse pressure gradient upstream of the wind plant remains unchanged with atmospheric stability, vertical advection of horizontal momentum is amplified in the more strongly stable boundary layer, mainly by larger shear of the horizontal velocity, thus increasing the blockage effect.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Spacecraft orientation and exposure to environment, Appendix A

Material removed from the spacecraft and returned to earth remained on the lunar surface for 31.9 lunations. None of the returned parts received the maximum 10,686 hours of exposure because of shadowing by the planar array antenna, solar panel, thermal control compartments, or other parts of the spacecraft. To determine the actual exposure of specific parts to sunlight, six series of photographs were taken. A one-fifth-scale model spacecraft was oriented to a collimated light source simulating the orientation of Surveyor with the sun. Three cameras were set up to view different parts of the spacecraft. The data obtained from these photographs permitted an evaluation of the effects of exposure to solar radiation on the camera and its parts, the surface sampling scoop, and the strut from the radar altimeter and Doppler velocity sensor.

Nickle, N. L.↗

Comparison of LDV measurements and Navier-Stokes solutions in a two-dimensional 180-degree turn-around duct

Results from an experimental and numerical investigation of turbulent subsonic flow inside a two-dimensional, strongly curved, 180 deg turn-around duct are presented. Data measured with a two-component, two-color laser Doppler velocimeter include profiles of mean axial velocity and local flow angle. Static pressure distributions are also measured. Results are obtained at a Mach number of 0.1, and at Reynolds numbers of 100,000 and a million based on channel height. Numerical calculations are performed using the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with a Prandtl mixing length zero-equation turbulence model modified for internal flows. Theory and experiment are compared to evaluate the ability of the turbulence model to predict this class of internal flows with strong curvature.

Monson, Daryl J.↗

A real-time algorithm for integrating differential satellite and inertial navigation information during helicopter approach

A real-time, high-rate precision navigation Kalman filter algorithm is developed and analyzed. This Navigation algorithm blends various navigation data collected during terminal area approach of an instrumented helicopter. Navigation data collected include helicopter position and velocity from a global position system in differential mode (DGPS) as well as helicopter velocity and attitude from an inertial navigation system (INS). The goal of the Navigation algorithm is to increase the DGPS accuracy while producing navigational data at the 64 Hertz INS update rate. It is important to note that while the data was post flight processed, the Navigation algorithm was designed for real-time analysis. The design of the Navigation algorithm resulted in a nine-state Kalman filter. The Kalman filter's state matrix contains position, velocity, and velocity bias components. The filter updates positional readings with DGPS position, INS velocity, and velocity bias information. In addition, the filter incorporates a sporadic data rejection scheme. This relatively simple model met and exceeded the ten meter absolute positional requirement. The Navigation algorithm results were compared with truth data derived from a laser tracker. The helicopter flight profile included terminal glideslope angles of 3, 6, and 9 degrees. Two flight segments extracted during each terminal approach were used to evaluate the Navigation algorithm. The first segment recorded small dynamic maneuver in the lateral plane while motion in the vertical plane was recorded by the second segment. The longitudinal, lateral, and vertical averaged positional accuracies for all three glideslope approaches are as follows (mean plus or minus two standard deviations in meters): longitudinal (-0.03 plus or minus 1.41), lateral (-1.29 plus or minus 2.36), and vertical (-0.76 plus or minus 2.05).

Hoang, TY↗

A Real-Time Algorithm for Integrating Differential Satellite and Inertial Navigation Information During Helicopter Approach

A real-time, high-rate precision navigation Kalman filter algorithm is developed and analyzed. This navigation algorithm blends various navigation data collected during terminal area approach of an instrumented helicopter. Navigation data collected include helicopter position and velocity from a global position system in differential mode (DGPS) as well as helicopter velocity and attitude from an inertial navigation system (INS). The goal of the navigation algorithm is to increase the DGPS accuracy while producing navigational data at the 64 Hertz INS update rate. It is important to note that while the data was post flight processed, the navigation algorithm was designed for real-time analysis. The design of the navigation algorithm resulted in a nine-state Kalman filter. The Kalman filter's state matrix contains position, velocity, and velocity bias components. The filter updates positional readings with DGPS position, INS velocity, and velocity bias information. In addition, the filter incorporates a sporadic data rejection scheme. This relatively simple model met and exceeded the ten meter absolute positional requirement. The navigation algorithm results were compared with truth data derived from a laser tracker. The helicopter flight profile included terminal glideslope angles of 3, 6, and 9 degrees. Two flight segments extracted during each terminal approach were used to evaluate the navigation algorithm. The first segment recorded small dynamic maneuver in the lateral plane while motion in file vertical plane was recorded by the second segment. The longitudinal, lateral, and vertical averaged positional accuracies for all three glideslope approaches are as follows (mean +/- two standard deviations in meters): longitudinal (-0.03 +/- 1.41), lateral (-1.29 +/- 2.36), and vertical (-0.76 +/- 2.05).

Hoang, Ty↗

Comparative Study of Advanced Turbulence Models for Turbomachinery

A computational study has been undertaken to study the performance of advanced phenomenological turbulence models coded in a modular form to describe incompressible turbulent flow behavior in two dimensional/axisymmetric and three dimensional complex geometry. The models include a variety of two equation models (single and multi-scale k-epsilon models with different near wall treatments) and second moment algebraic and full Reynolds stress closure models. These models were systematically assessed to evaluate their performance in complex flows with rotation, curvature and separation. The models are coded as self contained modules that can be interfaced with a number of flow solvers. These modules are stand alone satellite programs that come with their own formulation, finite-volume discretization scheme, solver and boundary condition implementation. They will take as input (from any generic Navier-Stokes solver) the velocity field, grid (structured H-type grid) and computational domain specification (boundary conditions), and will deliver, depending on the model used, turbulent viscosity, or the components of the Reynolds stress tensor. There are separate 2D/axisymmetric and/or 3D decks for each module considered. The modules are tested using Rocketdyn's proprietary code REACT. The code utilizes an efficient solution procedure to solve Navier-Stokes equations in a non-orthogonal body-fitted coordinate system. The differential equations are discretized over a finite-volume grid using a non-staggered variable arrangement and an efficient solution procedure based on the SIMPLE algorithm for the velocity-pressure coupling is used. The modules developed have been interfaced and tested using finite-volume, pressure-correction CFD solvers which are widely used in the CFD community. Other solvers can also be used to test these modules since they are independently structured with their own discretization scheme and solver methodology. Many of these modules have been independently tested by Professor C.P. Chen and his group at the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) by interfacing them with own flow solver (MAST).

Hadid, Ali H.↗

Advanced Nacelle Acoustic Lining Concepts Development

The work reported in this document consisted of six distinct liner technology development subtasks: 1) Analysis of Model Scale ADP Fan Duct Lining Data (Boeing): An evaluation of an AST Milestone experiment to demonstrate 1995 liner technology superiority relative to that of 1992 was performed on 1:5.9 scale model fan rig (Advanced Ducted Propeller) test data acquired in the NASA Glenn 9 x 15 foot wind tunnel. The goal of 50% improvement was deemed satisfied. 2) Bias Flow Liner Investigation (Boeing, VCES): The ability to control liner impedance by low velocity bias flow through liner was demonstrated. An impedance prediction model to include bias flow was developed. 3) Grazing Flow Impedance Testing (Boeing): Grazing flow impedance tests were conducted for comparison with results achieved at four different laboratories. 4) Micro-Perforate Acoustic Liner Technology (BFG, HAE, NG): Proof of concept testing of a "linear liner." 5) Extended Reaction Liners (Boeing, NG): Bandwidth improvements for non-locally reacting liner were investigated with porous honeycomb core test liners. 6) Development of a Hybrid Active/Passive Lining Concept (HAE): Synergism between active and passive attenuation of noise radiated by a model inlet was demonstrated.

Bielak, G.↗

An Evaluation of Parameters Influencing Jet Mixing Using the WIND Navier-stokes Code

The WIND code, a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solver used for a variety of aerospace flow simulations, was investigated for a Mach 2 nozzle at a series of nozzle stagnation temperatures. Comparisons of WIND calculations are made to experimental measurements of axial velocity, Mach number, and stagnation temperature along the jet centerline. The primary objective was to investigate the capabilities of the two-equation turbulence models available in WIND, version 4.0, for the analysis of heated supersonic nozzle flows. The models examined were the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST) model and the Chien k-epsilon model, with and without the compressibility correction due to Sarkar. It was observed that all of the turbulence models investigated produced solutions that did not agree well with the experimental measurements. The effects of freestream Mach number and turbulent Prandtl number specifications were also investigated.

Dembowski, Mary Ann↗