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At least 631 records · Page 35

A Source-Term Based Boundary Layer Bleed/Effusion Model for Passive Shock Control

A modeling framework for boundary layer effusion has been developed based on the use of source (or sink) terms instead of the usual practice of specifying bleed directly as a boundary condition. This framework allows the surface boundary condition (i.e. isothermal wall, adiabatic wall, slip wall, etc.) to remain unaltered in the presence of bleed. This approach also lends itself to easily permit the addition of empirical models for second order effects that are not easily accounted for by simply defining effective transpiration values. Two effusion models formulated for supersonic flows have been implemented into this framework; the Doerffer/Bohning law and the Slater formulation. These models were applied to unit problems that contain key aspects of the flow physics applicable to bleed systems designed for hypersonic air-breathing propulsion systems. The ability of each model to predict bulk bleed properties was assessed, as well as the response of the boundary layer as it passes through and downstream of a porous bleed system. The model assessment was performed with and without the presence of shock waves. Three-dimensional CFD simulations that included the geometric details of the porous plate bleed systems were also carried out to supplement the experimental data, and provide additional insights into the bleed flow physics. Overall, both bleed formulations fared well for the tests performed in this study. However, the sample of test problems considered in this effort was not large enough to permit a comprehensive validation of the models.

Baurle, Robert A.↗

A direct approach to finding unknown boundary conditions in steady heat conduction

The capability of the boundary element method (BEM) in determining thermal boundary conditions on surfaces of a conducting solid where such quantities are unknown was demonstrated. The method uses a non-iterative direct approach in solving what is usually called the inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). Given any over-specified thermal boundary conditions such as a combination of temperature and heat flux on a surface where such data is readily available, the algorithm computes the temperature field within the object and any unknown thermal boundary conditions on surfaces where thermal boundary values are unavailable. A two-dimensional, steady-state BEM program was developed and was tested on several simple geometries where the analytic solution was known. Results obtained with the BEM were in excellent agreement with the analytic values. The algorithm is highly flexible in treating complex geometries, mixed thermal boundary conditions, and temperature-dependent material properties and is presently being extended to three-dimensional and unsteady heat conduction problems. The accuracy and reliability of this technique was very good but tended to deteriorate when the known surface conditions were only slightly over-specified and far from the inaccessible surface.

Martin, Thomas J.↗

Comparison of Forced ENSO-Like Hydrological Expressions in Simulations of the Preindustrial and Mid-Holocene

Using the water isotope- and vapor source distribution (VSD) tracer-enabled Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE-R, we examine changing El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like expressions in the hydrological cycle in a suite of model experiments. We apply strong surface temperature anomalies associated with composite observed El Nino and La Nina events as surface boundary conditions to preindustrial and mid-Holocene model experiments in order to investigate ENSO-like expressions in the hydrological cycle under varying boundary conditions. We find distinct simulated hydrological anomalies associated with El Nino-like ("ENSOWARM") and La Nina-like ("ENSOCOOL") conditions, and the region-specific VSD tracers show hydrological differences across the Pacific basin between El Nino-like and La Nina-like events. The application of ENSOCOOL forcings does not produce climatological anomalies that represent the equal but opposite impacts of the ENSOWARM experiment, as the isotopic anomalies associated with ENSOWARM conditions are generally stronger than with ENSOCOOL and the spatial patterns of change distinct. Also, when the same ENSO-like surface temperature anomalies are imposed on the mid-Holocene, the hydrological response is muted, relative to the preindustrial. Mid-Holocene changes in moisture sources to the analyzed regions across the Pacific reveal potentially complex relationships between ENSO-like conditions and boundary conditions. Given the complex impacts of ENSO-like conditions on various aspects of the hydrological cycle, we suggest that proxy record insights into paleo-ENSO variability are most likely to be robust when synthesized from a network of many spatially diverse archives, which can account for the potential nonstationarity of ENSO teleconnections under different boundary conditions.

boundary conditions↗

The effect of zonal gradients of sea surface temperature on the Indian Ocean winter monsoon

Several global climate simulations by the 7-layer, 8 x 10 GISS climate model were designed to test the contributions of various surface boundary conditions to the global climate. The model was run with the sun fixed at a perpetual January. In a comparison of run #5, in which realistic January surface boundary conditions were used, with run #4, which was the same except that a zonally symmetric climatological January sea surface temperature (SST) field was used, one of the results was that run #5 provided a better simulation of the Indian Ocean monsoon. A further comparison of the wind fields over the Indian Ocean that were generated by these two model runs is presented.

Cohen, C.↗

Boundary condition program for aerodynamic lifting surface theory

Users manual for a U.S.A. FORTRAN 4 computer program which determines boundary conditions for a thin wing lifting surface program is described. This program, the geometry program, and several other programs are used together in the analysis of lifting, thin wings in steady, subsonic flow according to a kernel function lifting surface theory. The program calculates specific types of boundary conditions automatically such as those necessary to determine pitch and roll damping derivatives. The program also accepts descriptions of the camber or downwash and twist in the form of tables and/or coefficients of equations. The program performs interpolations so that tables and/or coefficients can apply at stations selected by the user and not at stations dictated by the control point locations.

Medan, R. T.↗

Analysis and testing for rotordynamic coefficients of turbulent annular seals with different, directionally-homogeneous surface-roughness treatment for rotor and stator elements

A combined analytical-computational method has been developed to calculate the transient pressure field and rotordynamic coefficients for high-pressure annular seals. The solution procedure applies to constant-clearance or the convergent tapered geometries of multistage centrifugal pumps which may have different surface roughness conditions on the stator and rotor seal elements. In experimental calculations with the method, the turbulent equations of Hirs (1973) are modified slightly to account for different surface roughness conditions, and a perturbation analysis is employed to develop zeroth and first order perturbation equations. Zeroth equations are also used to define both the leakage and circumferential flow due to shear stresses around the stator and rotor surfaces. The solution to analytical equations for four different surface roughnesses confirm the predicted net damping for the seals. A round-holed stator pattern yielded the highest net damping and lowest leakage of all the seals tested.

Childs, D. W.↗

Lithological and textural controls on radar and diurnal thermal signatures of weathered volcanic deposits, Lunar Crater region, Nevada

Radar backscatter intensity as measured by calibrated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems is primarily controlled by three factors: local incidence angle, wavelength-scale roughness, and dielectric permittivity of surface materials. Radar observations may be of limited use for geological investigations of surface composition, unless the relationships between lithology and the above characteristics can be adequately understood. In arid terrains, such as the Southwest U.S., weathering signatures (e.g. soil development, fracturing, debris grain size and shape, and hill slope characteristics) are controlled to some extent by lithologic characteristics of the parent bedrock. These textural features of outcrops and their associated debris will affect radar backscatter to varying degrees, and the multiple-wavelength capability of the JPL Airborne SAR (AIRSAR) system allows sampling of textures at three distinct scales. Diurnal temperature excursions of geologic surfaces are controlled primarily by the thermal inertia of surface materials, which is a measure of the resistance of a material to a change in temperature. Other influences include albedo, surface slopes affecting insolation, local meteorological conditions and surface emissivity at the relevant thermal wavelengths. To first order, thermal inertia variations on arid terrain surfaces result from grain size distribution and porosity differences, at scales ranging from micrometers to tens of meters. Diurnal thermal emission observations, such as those made by the JPL Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) airborne instrument, are thus influenced by geometric surface characteristics at scales comparable to those controlling radar backscatter. A preliminary report on a project involving a combination of field, laboratory and remote sensing observations of weathered felsic-to basaltic volcanic rock units exposed in the southern part of the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field, in the Pancake Range of central Nevada is presented. Focus is on the relationship of radar backscatter cross sections at multiple wavelengths, apparent diurnal temperature excursions identified in multi-temporal TIMS images, surface geometries related to weathering style, and parent bedrock lithology.

Plaut, Jeffrey J.↗

Investigation of the Model ME 210 in the Spin Wind Tunnel of the DVL: Model with Long Fuselage and with a VEE Tail - Report 4

After conclusion of the spin investigation of the model Me 210 with elongated fuselage and central vertical tail surfaces (model condition III; reference 3), tests were performed on the same model with a vee tail (model condition IV). Here the entire tail surfaces consist of only one surface with pronounced dihedral. Since the blanketing of the vertical tail surfaces by the horizontal tail surfaces, which may occur in case of standard tail surfaces, does not occur here, one could expect for this type of tail surface favorable spin characteristics, particularly with respect to rudder effectiveness for spin recovery. However, the test results did not confirm these expectations. The steady spin was shown to be very irregular; regarding rudder effectiveness the vee tail surfaces proved to be inferior even to standard tail surfaces, thus they represent the most unfavorable of the four fuselage and tail-surface combinations investigated so far.

Huffschmid, A↗

GPS Signal Scattering from Sea Surface: Wind Speed Retrieval Using Experimental Data and Theoretical Model

Global Positioning System (GPS) signals reflected from the ocean surface have potential use for various remote sensing purposes. Some possibilities arc measurements of surface roughness characteristics from which ware height, wind speed, and direction could be determined. For this paper, GPS-reflected signal measurements collected at aircraft altitudes of 2 km to 5 km with a delay-Doppler mapping GPS receiver arc used to explore the possibility of determining wind speed. To interpret the GPS data, a theoretical model has been developed that describes the power of the reflected GPS signals for different time delays and Doppler frequencies as a function of geometrical and environmental parameters. The results indicate a good agreement between the measured and the modeled normalized signal power waveforms during changing surface wind conditions. The estimated wind speed using surface- reflected GPS data, obtained by comparing actual and modeled waveforms, shows good agreement (within 2 m/s) with data obtained from a nearby buoy and independent wind speed measurements derived from the TOPEX/Poseidon altimetric satellite.

Komjathy, Attila↗

Axisymmetric spherical shell models of mantle convection with variable properties and free and rigid lids

Axisymmetric spherical shell numerical simulations of mantle convection were carried out to investigate the influence of two end-member surface stress conditions: stress-free and rigid. These correspond approximately to a subducting or a rigid lithosphere and can be seen as end-member models of the surface of Venus. Our model assumed an effective Rayleigh number of 3 x 10 exp 6, similar to that for earth, and included uniform internal heating and depth-dependent thermal expansivity and thermal conductivity. The simulations utilized a Newtonian viscosity which was constant or varied with depth and/or temperature. We show how the temperature, speed, and vorticity fields change qualitatively and quantitatively with surface temperature, surface stress condition, internal heating and viscosity distribution. We find that a rigid lid and viscosity which increases with depth both promote steady large-scale circulation with smaller-scale circulation in the upper mantle.

Leitch, A. M.↗

Flow Components in a NaK Test Loop Designed to Simulate Conditions in a Nuclear Surface Power Reactor

A test loop using NaK as the working fluid is presently in use to study material compatibility effects on various components that comprise a possible nuclear reactor design for use on the lunar surface. A DC electromagnetic (EM) pump has been designed and implemented as a means of actively controlling the NaK flow rate through the system and an EM flow sensor is employed to monitor the developed flow rate. These components allow for the matching of the flow rate conditions in test loops with those that would be found in a full-scale surface-power reactor. The design and operating characteristics of the EM pump and flow sensor are presented. In the EM pump, current is applied to a set of electrodes to produce a Lorentz body force in the fluid. A measurement of the induced voltage (back-EMF) in the flow sensor provides the means of monitoring flow rate. Both components are compact, employing high magnetic field strength neodymium magnets thermally coupled to a water-cooled housing. A vacuum gap limits the heat transferred from the high temperature NaK tube to the magnets and a magnetically-permeable material completes the magnetic circuit. The pump is designed to produce a pressure rise of 5 psi, and the flow sensor's predicted output is roughly 20 mV at the loop's nominal flow rate of 0.5 GPM.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗

Numerical Investigation of Roughness Effects on Transition on Spherical Capsules

The state of the boundary layer on space re-entry vehicles significantly affects the design of the thermal protection system. However, the physical mechanism that leads to the laminar-turbulent boundary-layer transition on blunt spherical capsules remains an open question in literature. This work numerically assesses the potential of roughness-induced non-modal disturbance growth on re-entry capsules with a spherical-section forebody by optimal transient-growth theory and direct numerical simulation. Two different sets of wind-tunnel experiments are considered. Optimal transient-growth studies have been performed for the blunt capsule experiments at Mach 5.9 in the Hypersonic Ludwieg tube Braunschweig (HLB) of the Technische Universitat Braunschweig. In some of these measurements, the capsule model was equipped with a specifically designed patch of distributed micron-sized surface roughness. The transient-growth results for the HLB capsule are compared to corresponding numerical data for a Mach 6 blunt capsule experiment in the Adjustable Contour Expansion (ACE) facility of the Texas A&M University (TAMU) at lower Reynolds number. Similar trends are observed for both configurations. In particular, a rather low maximum energy gain is noted for the surface temperature conditions of the experiments. It is shown that the surface temperature dependence of the optimal transient-growth results is very similar for both capsule configurations. Moreover, the generation of stationary disturbances by well-defined roughness patches on the capsule surface is studied for the conditions of the HLB experiment using direct numerical simulations (DNS). To help explain the observed laminar-turbulent transition downstream of the roughness patch in some of the HLB capsule experiments, additional simulations were carried out to study the evolution of unsteady perturbations within the steady disturbance flow field due to the roughness patch. However, the DNS did not provide any indication of modal or non-modal disturbance growth in the wake of the roughness patch, and hence, the physical mechanism underlying the observed onset of transition remains unknown.

Hein, Stefan↗

Tire and runway surface research

The condition of aircraft tires and runway surfaces can be crucial in meeting the stringent demands of aircraft ground operations, particularly under adverse weather conditions. Gaining a better understanding of the factors influencing the tire/pavement interface is the aim of several ongoing NASA Langley research programs which are described in this paper. Results from several studies conducted at the Langley Aircraft Landing Dynamics Facility, tests with instrumented ground vehicles and aircraft, and some recent aircraft accident investigations are summarized to indicate effects of different tire and runway properties. The Joint FAA/NASA Runway Friction Program is described together with some preliminary test findings. The scope of future NASA Langley research directed towards solving aircraft ground operational problems related to the tire/pavement interface is given.

Yager, Thomas J.↗

Investigation of models for large-scale meteorological prediction experiments

An attempt is made to compute the contributions of various surface boundary conditions to the monthly mean states generated by the 7 layer, 8 x 10 GISS climate model (Hansen et al., 1980), and also to examine the influence of initial conditions on the model climate simulations. Obvious climatic controls as the shape and rotation of the Earth, the solar radiation, and the dry composition of the atmosphere are fixed, and only the surface boundary conditions are altered in the various climate simulations.

Spar, J.↗

Finite-amplitude thermal convection within a self-gravitating fluid sphere.

Finite-difference calculations have been carried out to determine the structure of finite-amplitude thermal convection within a self-gravitating fluid sphere with uniform heat release. For a fixed-surface boundary condition, single-cell convection breaks up into double-cell convection at a Rayleigh number of 30,000, at a Rayleigh number of 500,000 four-cell convection is observed. With a free-surface boundary condition only single cell convection is obtained up to a Rayleigh number of 5,000,000.

Hsui, A. T.↗

Utility of ERTS for monitoring the breeding habitat of migratory waterfowl

Since 1968 the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife (BSF&W) and the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan have cooperated on developing applications of remote sensing to the management of migratory waterfowl. Basically, this work has been concerned with (1) the assimilation of data on surface water conditions so that the data can be used as an index of annual waterfowl production, and (2) the collection of data on land use and wetland quality so that a measure of habitat carrying capacity is obtained. To date, efforts have been directed toward utilizing ERTS to monitor surface water conditions. An example of a model used for predicting the annual production of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) is presented. The data inputs to this model and the potential for acquiring these data using ERTS are described.

Work, E. A., Jr.↗

Advanced Small Perturbation Potential Flow Theory for Unsteady Aerodynamic and Aeroelastic Analyses

An advanced small perturbation (ASP) potential flow theory has been developed to improve upon the classical transonic small perturbation (TSP) theories that have been used in various computer codes. These computer codes are typically used for unsteady aerodynamic and aeroelastic analyses in the nonlinear transonic flight regime. The codes exploit the simplicity of stationary Cartesian meshes with the movement or deformation of the configuration under consideration incorporated into the solution algorithm through a planar surface boundary condition. The new ASP theory was developed methodically by first determining the essential elements required to produce full-potential-like solutions with a small perturbation approach on the requisite Cartesian grid. This level of accuracy required a higher-order streamwise mass flux and a mass conserving surface boundary condition. The ASP theory was further developed by determining the essential elements required to produce results that agreed well with Euler solutions. This level of accuracy required mass conserving entropy and vorticity effects, and second-order terms in the trailing wake boundary condition. Finally, an integral boundary layer procedure, applicable to both attached and shock-induced separated flows, was incorporated for viscous effects. The resulting ASP potential flow theory, including entropy, vorticity, and viscous effects, is shown to be mathematically more appropriate and computationally more accurate than the classical TSP theories. The formulaic details of the ASP theory are described fully and the improvements are demonstrated through careful comparisons with accepted alternative results and experimental data. The new theory has been used as the basis for a new computer code called ASP3D (Advanced Small Perturbation - 3D), which also is briefly described with representative results.

Batina, John T.↗