SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Direct numerical simulation”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 613 records · Page 34

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1993

Large eddy simulations of time-dependent and buoyancy-driven channel flows

The primary goal of this work has been to assess the performance of the dynamic SGS model in the large eddy simulation (LES) of channel flows in a variety of situations, viz., in temporal development of channel flow turned by a transverse pressure gradient and especially in buoyancy-driven turbulent flows such as Rayleigh-Benard and internally heated channel convection. For buoyancy-driven flows, there are additional buoyant terms that are possible in the base models, and one objective has been to determine if the dynamic SGS model results are sensitive to such terms. The ultimate goal is to determine the minimal base model needed in the dynamic SGS model to provide accurate results in flows with more complicated physical features. In addition, a program of direct numerical simulation (DNS) of fully compressible channel convection has been undertaken to determine stratification and compressibility effects. These simulations are intended to provide a comparative base for performing the LES of compressible (or highly stratified, pseudo-compressible) convection at high Reynolds number in the future.

Cabot, William H.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Fire Suppression in Low Gravity Using a Cup Burner

Longer duration missions to the moon, to Mars, and on the International Space Station increase the likelihood of accidental fires. The goal of the present investigation is to: (1) understand the physical and chemical processes of fire suppression in various gravity and O2 levels simulating spacecraft, Mars, and moon missions; (2) provide rigorous testing of numerical models, which include detailed combustion-suppression chemistry and radiation sub-models; and (3) provide basic research results useful for advances in space fire safety technology, including new fire-extinguishing agents and approaches.The structure and extinguishment of enclosed, laminar, methane-air co-flow diffusion flames formed on a cup burner have been studied experimentally and numerically using various fire-extinguishing agents (CO2, N2, He, Ar, CF3H, and Fe(CO)5). The experiments involve both 1g laboratory testing and low-g testing (in drop towers and the KC-135 aircraft). The computation uses a direct numerical simulation with detailed chemistry and radiative heat-loss models. An agent was introduced into a low-speed coflowing oxidizing stream until extinguishment occurred under a fixed minimal fuel velocity, and thus, the extinguishing agent concentrations were determined. The extinguishment of cup-burner flames, which resemble real fires, occurred via a blowoff process (in which the flame base drifted downstream) rather than the global extinction phenomenon typical of counterflow diffusion flames. The computation revealed that the peak reactivity spot (the reaction kernel) formed in the flame base was responsible for attachment and blowoff of the trailing diffusion flame. Furthermore, the buoyancy-induced flame flickering in 1g and thermal and transport properties of the agents affected the flame extinguishment limits.

Takahashi, Fumiaki↗

NASA NTRS2004

Fire Suppression in Low Gravity Using a Cup Burner

Longer duration missions to the moon, to Mars, and on the International Space Station increase the likelihood of accidental fires. The goal of the present investigation is to: (1) understand the physical and chemical processes of fire suppression in various gravity and O2 levels simulating spacecraft, Mars, and moon missions; (2) provide rigorous testing of numerical models, which include detailed combustion suppression chemistry and radiation sub-models; and (3) provide basic research results useful for advances in space fire safety technology, including new fire-extinguishing agents and approaches. The structure and extinguishment of enclosed, laminar, methane-air co-flow diffusion flames formed on a cup burner have been studied experimentally and numerically using various fire-extinguishing agents (CO2, N2, He, Ar, CF3H, and Fe(CO)5). The experiments involve both 1g laboratory testing and low-g testing (in drop towers and the KC-135 aircraft). The computation uses a direct numerical simulation with detailed chemistry and radiative heat-loss models. An agent was introduced into a low-speed coflowing oxidizing stream until extinguishment occurred under a fixed minimal fuel velocity, and thus, the extinguishing agent concentrations were determined. The extinguishment of cup-burner flames, which resemble real fires, occurred via a blowoff process (in which the flame base drifted downstream) rather than the global extinction phenomenon typical of counterflow diffusion flames. The computation revealed that the peak reactivity spot (the reaction kernel) formed in the flame base was responsible for attachment and blowoff of the trailing diffusion flame. Furthermore, the buoyancy-induced flame flickering in 1g and thermal and transport properties of the agents affected the flame extinguishment limits.

Takahashi, Fumiaki↗

NASA NTRS1996

Simulation of Three-Dimensional Symmetric and Asymmetric Instabilities in Attachment-Line Boundary Layers

On a swept wing, contamination along the leading edge, Tollmien-Schlichting waves, stationary or traveling crossflow vortices, and/or Taylor-Gortler vortices can cause the catastrophic breakdown of laminar to turbulent flow, which leads to increased skin-friction drag for the aircraft. The discussion in this Note will be limited to disturbances which evolve along the attachment line (leading edge of swept wing). If the Reynolds number of the attachment-line boundary layer is greater than some critical value, then the complete wing is inevitably engulfed in turbulent flow. Essentially, there are two critical Reynolds number points that must be considered. The first is for small-amplitude disturbances, and the second is for bypass transition. The present study will use direct numerical simulations to validate a linear 2D-eigenvalue prediction method based on parabolized stability equations by Lin and Malik. This method is considered because it suggests that a number of symmetric and asymmetric modes exist and are stable or unstable on the attachment line depending on the Reynolds number. If validated, the approach would predict a number of modes which are linearly damped in the Reynolds number regime 100 to 245; however, these modes may grow nonlinearly and provide an explanation to this region.

Joslin, Ronald D.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Effects of Gravity on Sheared and Nonsheared Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames

The present numerical study is concerned with the fundamental physics of the multi-way interaction between turbulence, chemical reaction and buoyancy in a nonpremixed flame. The method of direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to solve the instantaneous three-dimensional governing equations (continuity, Navier-Stokes, species mass fractions and energy) under the zero-Mach number assumption. Because of the present supercomputer limitations, we consider two simple flow geometries, namely an initially uniform flow without shear (equivalent to grid-generated turbulence) and an initially uniform shear flow. In each flow, the fuel and oxidant initially exist as two separate streams. As the reactants mix, chemical reaction takes place and exothermic energy is released causing variations in density. In the presence of a gravity field, the spatial and temporal distributions of the induced buoyancy forces depend on the local density gradients and the direction of the gravitational acceleration.

Elghobashi, Said↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Model Development for Large Eddy Simulation of Oxy-Combustion and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycles

A joint experimental and numerical study is performed to observe the characteristics of a supercritical carbon dioxide turbulent mixing layer in the presence of strong nonlinearities in the thermodynamic and transport properties. A bespoke experimental setup is designed and employed for this purpose and provides insight into macroscopic mixing behavior. The mixing is experimentally observed using two techniques: shadowgraphy and spontaneous Raman scattering. Qualitative and quantitative intensity fields obtained via these techniques yield instantaneous and mean density data. Spanwise temperature data is also collected using analogue resistance temperature detectors. These measurements are used to quantify the level of mixed material within the field. The experimental data are supplemented by a companion high-fidelity numerical study. The numerical results are obtained through fully resolved, three-dimensional direct numerical simulation. The numerical dataset permits observation of the near-field mixing characteristics, which are difficult to measure experimentally due to the rapid dynamics and sharp thermophysical gradients in this area. Qualitative field visualizations are presented, followed by quantitative mixed material results and observations regarding thermodynamic property trends at select locations within the field. One-dimensional spectra of the turbulent kinetic energy and solenoidal dissipation are provided to observe the spectral characteristics of the flow. Reynolds stress anisotropy is analyzed graphically through anisotropy invariance maps (Lumley triangles). The mixing quantification, spectral data and anisotropy analysis of a flow at these thermodynamic conditions represent the main outcomes of the work.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS1996

LES on unstructured deforming meshes: Towards reciprocating IC engines

A variable explicit/implicit characteristics-based advection scheme that is second-order accurate in space and time has been developed recently for unstructured deforming meshes (O'Rourke & Sahota 1996a). To explore the suitability of this methodology for Large-Eddy Simulation (LES), three subgrid-scale turbulence models have been implemented in the CHAD CFD code (O'Rourke & Sahota 1996b): a constant-coefficient Smagorinsky model, a dynamic Smagorinsky model for flows having one or more directions of statistical homogeneity, and a Lagrangian dynamic Smagorinsky model for flows having no spatial or temporal homogeneity (Meneveau et al. 1996). Computations have been made for three canonical flows, progressing towards the intended application of in-cylinder flow in a reciprocating engine. Grid sizes were selected to be comparable to the coarsest meshes used in earlier spectral LES studies. Quantitative results are reported for decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence, and for a planar channel flow. Computations are compared to experimental measurements, to Direct-Numerical Simulation (DNS) data, and to Rapid-Distortion Theory (RDT) where appropriate. Generally satisfactory evolution of first and second moments is found on these coarse meshes; deviations are attributed to insufficient mesh resolution. Issues include mesh resolution and computational requirements for a specified level of accuracy, analytic characterization of the filtering implied by the numerical method, wall treatment, and inflow boundary conditions. To resolve these issues, finer-mesh simulations and computations of a simplified axisymmetric reciprocating piston-cylinder assembly are in progress.

Haworth, D. C.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Numerical Study of Rotating Turbulence with External Forcing

Direct numerical simulation at 256(exp 3) resolution have been carried out to study the response of isotropic turbulence to the concurrent effects of solid-body rotation and numerical forcing at the large scales. Because energy transfer to the smaller scales is weakened by rotation, energy input from forcing gradually builds up at the large scales, causing the overall kinetic energy to increase. At intermediate wavenumbers the energy spectrum undergoes a transition from a limited k(exp -5/3) inertial range to k(exp -2) scaling recently predicted in the literature. Although the Reynolds stress tensor remains approximately isotropic and three-components, evidence for anisotropy and quasi- two-dimensionality in length scales and spectra in different velocity components and directions is strong. The small scales are found to deviate from local isotropy, primarily as a result of anisotropic transfer to the high wavenumbers. To understand the spectral dynamics of this flow we study the detailed behavior of nonlinear triadic interactions in wavenumber space. Spectral transfer in the velocity component parallel to the axis of rotation is qualitatively similar to that in non-rotating turbulence; however the perpendicular component is characterized by a greatly suppressed energy cascade at high wavenumber and a local reverse transfer at the largest scales. The broader implications of this work are briefly addressed.

Yeung, P. K.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The analysis and simulation of compressible turbulence

Compressible turbulent flows at low turbulent Mach numbers are considered. Contrary to the general belief that such flows are almost incompressible (i.e., the divergence of the velocity field remains small for all times), it is shown that even if the divergence of the initial velocity field is negligibly small, it can grow rapidly on a nondimensional time scale which is the inverse of the fluctuating Mach number. An asymptotic theory which enables one to obtain a description of the flow in terms of its divergence-free and vorticity-free components has been developed to solve the initial-value problem. As a result, the various types of low Mach number turbulent regimes have been classified with respect to the initial conditions. Formulae are derived that accurately predict the level of compressibility after the initial transients have disappeared. These results are verified by extensive direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence.

Erlebacher, Gordon↗

DOE OSTI2021

Life cycle of streaks in the buffer layer of wall-bounded turbulence

In this work, streaks in the buffer layer of wall-bounded turbulence are tracked in time to study their life cycle. Spatially and temporally resolved direct numerical simulation data are used to analyze the strong wall-parallel movements conditioned to low-speed streamwise flow. The analysis of the streaks shows that there is a clear distinction between wall-attached and detached streaks, and that the wall-attached streaks can be further categorized into streaks that are contained in the buffer layer and the ones that reach the outer region. The results reveal that streaks are born in the buffer layer, coalescing with each other to create larger streaks that are still attached to the wall. Once the streak becomes large enough, it starts to meander due to the large streamwise-to-wall-normal aspect ratio, and consequently the elongation in the streamwise direction, which makes it more difficult for the streak to be oriented strictly in the streamwise direction. While the continuous interaction of the streaks allows the superstructure to span extremely long temporal and length scales, individual streak components are relatively small and short-lived. Tall-attached streaks eventually split into wall-attached and wall-detached components. These wall-detached streaks have a strong wall-normal velocity away from the wall, similar to ejections or bursts observed in the literature. Conditionally averaging the flow fields to these split events show that the detached streak has not only a larger wall-normal velocity compared to the wall-attached counterpart, it also has a larger (less negative) streamwise velocity, similar to the velocity field at the tip of a vortex cluster.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1991

Proper orthogonal decomposition based turbulence modeling

The proper orthogonal decomposition is utilized to provide one mode estimates of various turbulence quantities in the near-wall region of the turbulent boundary layer. The experimental data of Herzog (1986) and the direct numerical simulation (DNS) results of Zang (1991) proved the two-point correlation tensor. The correlation tensor is then used as the kernel in the integral eigenvalue problem from which the proper orthogonal modes are obtained. The one mode estimates of the turbulent kinetic energy, dissipation, and triple moments all exhibit the proper asymtotic behavior near the wall. As a validation test, a model for the triple moments is developed and its near-wall behavior is studied. This information can then be used to obtain an estimate of the damping function near the wall, which is then compared to known existing behavior. Since this is an initial investigation, the streamwise and spanwise dependence is surpressed and only the wall normal direction (y+) behavior of various turbulence statistics near the wall is studied. Before examining one mode estimates of the triple moments and the dissipation (on which the model is based), various second order moments are examined. If these do not exhibit the proper behavior near the wall (as discussed by Speziale et al 1990) it does not seem reasonable to expect the one mode estimate of the triple moment and dissipation to have the right behavior. Only the results obtained using the experimental data of Herzog are discussed since the results from the simulations of Zang exhibit similar behavior as discussed above.

Glauser, Mark N.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Direct simulation of compressible wall-bounded turbulence

When analyzing many turbulent flows, the effects of compressibility can be neglected. Even some relatively high-speed flows, such as boundary layers generated by a supersonic aircraft, produce turbulent statistics that are similar to those found for the incompressible case. There are other situations, however, in which the non-zero divergence of the turbulence leads to behavior that is fundamentally different from that found at constant density. Examples include flows created by internal combustion engines, hypersonic flight, and supersonic combustion. It is with instances such as these that this project is concerned. In particular, we are interested in the effects of compressibility on turbulence near a smooth solid constant temperature surface; our primary objective is an increased physical understanding that can be used to improve turbulence models of wall-bounded compressible flows. With this in mind, we have begun a direct numerical simulation (DNS) study of turbulence in a plane channel. Because all of the relevant spatial and temporal scales are to be resolved, the simulations require no subgrid scale parameterization. The DNS code developed by Buell to study compressible plane Couette flow was modified to solve the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in the plane channel. The channel was chosen over the Couette flow for two reasons: (1) to avoid using the very large streamwise domains needed to adequately capture the large Couette vortical structures; and (2) to make use of previous experience by considering the compressible version of a well established case and isolate finite Mach number effects by comparing to the incompressible channel.

Coleman, Gary N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The analysis and simulation of compressible turbulence

Compressible turbulent flows at low turbulent Mach numbers are considered. Contrary to the general belief that such flows are almost incompressible, (i.e., the divergence of the velocity field remains small for all times), it is shown that even if the divergence of the initial velocity field is negligibly small, it can grow rapidly on a non-dimensional time scale which is the inverse of the fluctuating Mach number. An asymptotic theory which enables one to obtain a description of the flow in terms of its divergence-free and vorticity-free components has been developed to solve the initial-value problem. As a result, the various types of low Mach number turbulent regimes have been classified with respect to the initial conditions. Formulae are derived that accurately predict the level of compressibility after the initial transients have disappeared. These results are verified by extensive direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence.

Erlebacher, Gordon↗

DOE OSTI2020

Some observations concerning "laminarization" in heated vertical tubes

For low "turbulent" Reynolds numbers in strongly-heated vertical gas flow, fundamental results of existing direct numerical simulation (DNS) databases have been examined to deduce differences between cases which "revert" to turbulent and those that yield integral parameters which correspond to laminar flow (henceforth laminarizing or laminarized). The objectives of this paper are (1) to examine the streamwise evolution of near-wall flow structures and (2) to determine which, if any, proposed laminarization parameters could be used to discriminate between turbulent and laminarizing flows resulting. Views of streamlines in r-θ cross sections showed evidence of a ring of irregular-shaped streamwise vortices near the wall at all locations. The transverse advection of these vortices is hypothesized to provide a path of least resistance to the transport of streamwise momentum in the wall-normal direction. It is demonstrated that a steady streamwise laminar vortex can provide apparent turbulent momentum transport (as a consequence of the Reynolds decomposition) such that a reasonable mean velocity profile is predicted near the wall. For the present cases, the values of the non-dimensional radius (y c,w + = Re τ,w ) and of the modified wall Reynolds number did discriminate whether turbulent or laminarizing flow resulted.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Strongly Heated Turbulent Flow in a Channel with Pin Fins

Large-eddy simulations (LES) were performed to study the turbulent flow in a channel of height H with a staggered array of pin fins with diameter D = H/2 as a function of heating loads that are relevant to the cooling of turbine blades and vanes. The following three heating loads were investigated—wall-to-coolant temperatures of Tw/Tc = 1.01, 2.0, and 4.0 - where the Reynolds number at the channel inlet was 10,000 and the back pressure at the channel outlet was 1 bar. For the LES, two different subgrid-scale models—the dynamic kinetic energy model (DKEM) and the wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity model (WALE)—were examined and compared. This study was validated by comparing with data from direct numerical simulation and experimental measurements. The results obtained show high heating loads to create wall jets next to all heated surfaces that significantly alter the structure of the turbulent flow. Results generated on effects of heat loads on the mean and fluctuating components of velocity and temperature, turbulent kinetic energy, the anisotropy of the Reynolds stresses, and velocity-temperature correlations can be used to improve existing RANS models.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2001

Noise Sources in a Low-Reynolds-Number Turbulent Jet at Mach 0.9

The mechanisms of sound generation in a Mach 0.9, Reynolds number 3600 turbulent jet are investigated by direct numerical simulation. Details of the numerical method are briefly outlined and results are validated against an experiment at the same flow conditions. Lighthill's theory is used to define a nominal acoustic source in the jet, and a numerical solution of Lighthill's equation is compared to the simulation to verify the computational procedures. The acoustic source is Fourier transformed in the axial coordinate and time and then filtered in order to identify and separate components capable of radiating to the far field. This procedure indicates that the peak radiating component of the source is coincident with neither the peak of the full unfiltered source nor that of the turbulent kinetic energy. The phase velocities of significant components range from approximately 5% to 50% of the ambient sound speed which calls into question the commonly made assumption that the noise sources convect at a single velocity. Space-time correlations demonstrate that the sources are not acoustically compact in the streamwise direction and that the portion of the source that radiates at angles greater than 45 deg. is stationary. Filtering non-radiating wavenumber components of the source at single frequencies reveals that a simple modulated wave forms for the source, as might be predicted by linear stability analysis. At small angles from the jet axis the noise from these modes is highly directional, better described by an exponential than a standard Doppler factor.

Freund, Jonathan B.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Grid-Independent Large-Eddy Simulation in Turbulent Channel Flow using Three-Dimensional Explicit Filtering

In this paper, turbulence-closure models are evaluated using the 'true' LES approach in turbulent channel flow. The study is an extension of the work presented by Gullbrand (2001), where fourth-order commutative filter functions are applied in three dimensions in a fourth-order finite-difference code. The true LES solution is the grid-independent solution to the filtered governing equations. The solution is obtained by keeping the filter width constant while the computational grid is refined. As the grid is refined, the solution converges towards the true LES solution. The true LES solution will depend on the filter width used, but will be independent of the grid resolution. In traditional LES, because the filter is implicit and directly connected to the grid spacing, the solution converges towards a direct numerical simulation (DNS) as the grid is refined, and not towards the solution of the filtered Navier-Stokes equations. The effect of turbulence-closure models is therefore difficult to determine in traditional LES because, as the grid is refined, more turbulence length scales are resolved and less influence from the models is expected. In contrast, in the true LES formulation, the explicit filter eliminates all scales that are smaller than the filter cutoff, regardless of the grid resolution. This ensures that the resolved length-scales do not vary as the grid resolution is changed. In true LES, the cell size must be smaller than or equal to the cutoff length scale of the filter function. The turbulence-closure models investigated are the dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM), the dynamic mixed model (DMM), and the dynamic reconstruction model (DRM). These turbulence models were previously studied using two-dimensional explicit filtering in turbulent channel flow by Gullbrand & Chow (2002). The DSM by Germano et al. (1991) is used as the USFS model in all the simulations. This enables evaluation of different reconstruction models for the RSFS stresses. The DMM consists of the scale-similarity model (SSM) by Bardina et al. (1983), which is an RSFS model, in linear combination with the DSM. In the DRM, the RSFS stresses are modeled by using an estimate of the unfiltered velocity in the unclosed term, while the USFS stresses are modeled by the DSM. The DSM and the DMM are two commonly used turbulence-closure models, while the DRM is a more recent model.

Gullbrand, Jessica↗

DOE OSTI2022

Automated and efficient local adaptive regression for principal component-based reduced-order modeling of turbulent reacting flows

Principal Component Analysis can be used to reduce the cost of Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations of turbulent reacting flows by reducing the dimensionality of the transported variables through projection of the thermochemical state onto a lower-dimensional manifold. However, because of the nonlinearity of the principal component source terms, nonlinear regression techniques must be utilized for the source terms in terms of the principal components. Unfortunately, widely available and utilized nonlinear regression techniques can have prohibitive computational requirements and/or accuracy that is highly dependent on user experience in ad hoc tuning of model architecture and hyperparameters. Here, in this work, a new nonlinear regression approach is proposed that is both computationally efficient and automated so does not require any user input. The approach is evaluated through a priori prediction of principal component source terms using data from a Direct Numerical Simulation of a turbulent nonpremixed n-heptane/air jet flame. In particular, the proposed framework consists of local regressions whose complexity is adapted according to the local nonlinearity of the data: local linear regression when accurate enough and local Artificial Neural Networks when nonlinear regression is required. The number of local clusters for local regression is determined automatically using the Davies-Bouldin index. In addition, Bayesian optimization is utilized for model training (i.e., to select the best architectures and hyperparameters of the nonlinear regressions in an unsupervised fashion), eliminating ad hoc hand-tuning and/or expensive grid searches. Overall, compared to a single, global neural network, the new local adaptive regression approach is shown to have comparable accuracy but 69% less training time due to the utilization of local linear regression and faster training of local neural networks.

42 ENGINEERING↗