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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

All-optical switching in optically induced nonlinear waveguide couplers

We experimentally demonstrate all-optical vortex switching in nonlinear coupled waveguide arrays optically induced in photorefractive media. Our technique is based on multiplexing of nondiffracting Bessel beams to induce various types of waveguide configurations. Using double- and quadruple-well potentials, we demonstrate precise control over the coupling strength between waveguides, the linear and nonlinear dynamics and symmetry-breaking bifurcations of guided light, and a power-controlled optical vortex switch.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1981

Fluid mechanics mechanisms in the stall process of helicopters

Recent experimental results from airfoils in the Mach number, Reynolds number, or reduced frequency ranges typical of helicopter rotor blades have identified the most influential flow mechanisms in the dynamic stall process. The importance of secondary shed vortices, downstream wake action, and the flow in the separated region is generally acknowledged but poorly understood. By means of surface pressure cross-correlations and flow field measurements in static stall, several new hypotheses have been generated. It is proposed that vortex shedding may be caused by acoustic disturbances propagating forward in the lower (pressure) surface boundary layer, that wake closure is a misnomer, and that the shed vortex leaves a trail of vorticity that forms a turbulent free shear layer. The known dynamic stall flow mechanisms are reviewed and the potential importance of recently proposed and hypothetical flow phenomena with respect to helicopter blade aeroelastic response are assessed.

Young, W. H., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Response analysis of a laminar premixed M-flame to flow perturbations using a linearized compressible Navier-Stokes solver

The response of a laminar premixed methane-air flame subjected to flow perturbations around a steady state is examined experimentally and using a linearized compressible Navier-Stokes solver with a one-step chemistry mechanism to describe combustion. The unperturbed flame takes an M-shape stabilized both by a central bluff body and by the external rim of a cylindrical nozzle. This base flow is computed by a nonlinear direct simulation of the steady reacting flow, and the flame topology is shown to qualitatively correspond to experiments conducted under comparable conditions. The flame is then subjected to acoustic disturbances produced at different locations in the numerical domain, and its response is examined using the linearized solver. This linear numerical model then allows the componentwise investigation of the effects of flow disturbances on unsteady combustion and the feedback from the flame on the unsteady flow field. It is shown that a wrinkled reaction layer produces hydrodynamic disturbances in the fresh reactant flow field that superimpose on the acoustic field. This phenomenon, observed in several experiments, is fully interpreted here. The additional perturbations convected by the mean flow stem from the feedback of the perturbed flame sheet dynamics onto the flow field by a mechanism similar to that of a perturbed vortex sheet. The different regimes where this mechanism prevails are investigated by examining the phase and group velocities of flow disturbances along an axis oriented along the main direction of the flow in the fresh reactant flow field. It is shown that this mechanism dominates the low-frequency response of the wrinkled shape taken by the flame and, in particular, that it fully determines the dynamics of the flame tip from where the bulk of noise is radiated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2003

Evaluation of Impinging Stream Vortex Chamber Concepts for Liquid Rocket Engine Applications

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the U. S. Army are jointly investigating vortex chamber concepts for cryogenic oxygen/hydrocarbon fuel rocket engine applications. One concept, the Impinging Stream Vortex Chamber Concept (ISVC), has been tested with gel propellants at AMCOM at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. A version of this concept for the liquid oxygen (LOX)/hydrocarbon fuel (RP-1) propellant system is derived from the one for the gel propellant. An unlike impinging injector is employed to deliver the propellants to the chamber. MSFC has also designed two alternative injection schemes, called the chasing injectors, associated with this vortex chamber concept. In these injection techniques, both propellant jets and their impingement point are in the same chamber cross-sectional plane. One injector has a similar orifice size with the original unlike impinging injector. The second chasing injector has small injection orifices. The team has achieved their objectives of demonstrating the self-cooled chamber wall benefits of ISVC and of providing the test data for validating computational fluids dynamics (CFD) models. These models, in turn, will be used to design the optimum vortex chambers in the future.

Trinh, Huu↗
DOE OSTI2021

Shaping Dynamical Casimir Photons

Temporal modulation of the quantum vacuum through fast motion of a neutral body or fast changes of its optical properties is known to promote virtual into real photons, the so-called dynamical Casimir effect. Empowering modulation protocols with spatial control could enable the shaping of spectral, spatial, spin, and entanglement properties of the emitted photon pairs. Space–time quantum metasurfaces have been proposed as a platform to realize this physics via modulation of their optical properties. Here, we report the mechanical analog of this phenomenon by considering systems in which the lattice structure undergoes modulation in space and in time. We develop a microscopic theory that applies both to moving mirrors with a modulated surface profile and atomic array meta-mirrors with perturbed lattice configuration. Spatiotemporal modulation enables motion-induced generation of co- and cross-polarized photon pairs that feature frequency-linear momentum entanglement as well as vortex photon pairs featuring frequency-angular momentum entanglement. The proposed space–time dynamical Casimir effect can be interpreted as induced dynamical asymmetry in the quantum vacuum.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Robust vortex lines, vortex rings, and hopfions in three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates

Performing a systematic Bogoliubov–de Gennes spectral analysis, we illustrate that stationary vortex lines, vortex rings, and more exotic states, such as hopfions, are robust in three-dimensional atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, for large parameter intervals. Importantly, we find that the hopfion can be stabilized in a simple parabolic trap, without the need for trap rotation or inhomogeneous interactions. We supplement our spectral analysis by studying the dynamics of such stationary states; we find them to be robust against significant perturbations of the initial state. In the unstable regimes, we not only identify the unstable mode, such as a quadrupolar or hexapolar mode, but we also observe the corresponding instability dynamics. Moreover, deep in the Thomas-Fermi regime, we investigate the particlelike behavior of vortex rings and hopfions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1992

The quest for stall-free dynamic lift

During the past decade, numerous major effects have addressed the question of how to control or alleviate dynamic stall effects on helicopter rotors, but little concrete evidence of any significant reduction of the adverse characteristics of the dynamic stall phenomenon has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the control of dynamic stall is an achievable goal. Experiments performed at the US Army Aeroflight-dynamics Directorate more than a decade ago demonstrated that dynamic stall is not an unavoidable penalty of high amplitude motion, and that airfoils can indeed operate dynamically at angles far above the static-stall angle without necessarily forming a stall vortex. These experiments, one of them featuring a slat that was designed from static airfoil considerations, showed that unsteadiness can be a very beneficial factor in the development of high-lift devices for helicopter rotors. The experience drawn from these early experiments is now being focused on a program for the alleviation of dynamic-stall effects on helicopter rotors. The purpose of this effort is to demonstrate that rotor stall can be controlled through an improved understanding of the unsteady effects on airfoil stall and to document the role of specific means that lead to stall alleviation in the three dimensional unsteady environment of helicopter rotors in forward flight. The first concept to be addressed in this program will be a slatted airfoil. A two dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes code has been modified to compute the flow around a two-element airfoil.

Tung, C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Advances in numerical and applied mathematics

This collection of papers covers some recent developments in numerical analysis and computational fluid dynamics. Some of these studies are of a fundamental nature. They address basic issues such as intermediate boundary conditions for approximate factorization schemes, existence and uniqueness of steady states for time dependent problems, and pitfalls of implicit time stepping. The other studies deal with modern numerical methods such as total variation diminishing schemes, higher order variants of vortex and particle methods, spectral multidomain techniques, and front tracking techniques. There is also a paper on adaptive grids. The fluid dynamics papers treat the classical problems of imcompressible flows in helically coiled pipes, vortex breakdown, and transonic flows.

South, J. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Turbulent Flame Processes Via Diffusion Flame-Vortex Ring Interactions

Flame-vortex interactions are canonical configurations that can be used to study the underlying processes occurring in turbulent reacting flows. This configuration contains many of the fundamental aspects of the coupling between fluid dynamics and combustion that could be investigated with more controllable conditions than are possible under direct investigations of turbulent flames. Diffusion flame-vortex ring interaction contains many of the fundamental elements of flow, transport, combustion, and soot processes found in turbulent diffusion flames. Some of these elements include concentrated vorticity, entrainment and mixing, strain and nonequilibrium phenomena, diffusion and differential diffusion, partial premixing and diluent effects, soot formation and oxidation, and heat release effects. Such simplified flowfield allows the complex processes to be examined more closely and yet preserving the physical processes present in turbulent reacting flows. Furthermore, experimental results from the study of flame-vortex interactions are useful for the validation of numerical simulations and more importantly to deepen our understanding of the fundamental processes present in reacting flows. Experimental and numerical results obtained under microgravity conditions of the diffusion flame-vortex ring interaction are summarized in this paper. Results are obtained using techniques that include Flame Luminosity Imaging (FLI), Laser Soot-Mie Scattering (LSMS), Computational Fluid Dynamics and Combustion (CFDC), and Diode Laser Spectroscopy/Iterative Temperature with Assumed Chemistry (DLS/ITAC).

Dahm, Werner J. A.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Toward superconducting critical current by design

The interaction of vortex matter with defects in applied superconductors directly determines their current carrying capacity. Defects range from chemically grown nanostructures and crystalline imperfections to the layered structure of the material itself. The vortex-defect interactions are non-additive in general, leading to complex dynamic behavior that has proven difficult to capture in analytical models. With recent rapid progress in computational powers, a new paradigm has emerged that aims at simulation assisted design of defect structures with predictable ‘critical-current-by-design’: analogous to the materials genome concept of predicting stable materials structures of interest. We demonstrate the feasibility of this paradigm by combining large-scale time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau numerical simulations with experiments on commercial high temperature superconductor (HTS) containing well-controlled correlated defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Domain patterns and super-elasticity of freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes via phase-field simulations

Super-elasticity of functional ferroelectric oxides offers promises for integrating ferroelectric films into flexible electronics. However, super-elastic deformation is a complex phenomenon related to possibly multiple concurrent mechanisms. Fundamentally understanding how multiple mechanisms contribute to the super-elasticity of ferroelectric oxides is crucial to realizing their potential flexible electronic applications. In this study, we employ phase-field simulations to model the dynamics of ferroelectric domain patterns of freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes to understand the origin of their super-elasticity under substantial bending deformation (5% strain). It is demonstrated that both a reversible Rhombohedral-Tetragonal (R-T) phase transition and a nearly reversible domain evolution of BiFeO 3 membranes contribute to accommodating the large deformation and thus their super-elasticity. The dynamics of domain evolution also reveal the formation of an exotic ferroelectric vortex and polarization rotation before the phase transition. We constructed a diagram of phases and domain patterns as a function of the membrane thickness and bending angle, which allows one to readily predict the emergence of T phase and ferroelectric vortex in bent BFO membranes. These results not only provide fundamental understanding of mesoscale super-elastic mechanisms but also reveal exotic domain states of ferroelectric membranes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Manufactured solutions for the three-dimensional Euler equations with relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion

We present a set of manufactured solutions for the three-dimensional (3D) Euler equations. The purpose of these solutions is to allow for code verification against true 3D flows with physical relevance, as opposed to 3D simulations of lower-dimensional problems or manufactured solutions that lack physical relevance. Of particular interest are solutions with relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) capsules. While ICF capsules are designed for spherical symmetry, they are hypothesized to become highly 3D at late time due to phenomena such as Rayleigh–Taylor instability, drive asymmetry, and vortex decay. ICF capsules also involve highly nonlinear coupling between the fluid dynamics and other physics, such as radiation transport and thermonuclear fusion. The manufactured solutions we present are specifically designed to test the terms and couplings in the Euler equations that are relevant to these phenomena. Example numerical results generated with a 3D Finite Element hydrodynamics code are presented, including mesh convergence studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reduced-order modeling on a near-term quantum computer

Quantum computing is an advancing area of research in which computer hardware and algorithms are developed to take advantage of quantum mechanical phenomena. In recent studies, quantum algorithms have shown promise in solving linear systems of equations as well as systems of linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations (PDEs). Reducedorder modeling (ROM) algorithms for studying fluid dynamics have shown success in identifying linear operators that can describe flowfields, where dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is a particularly useful method in which a linear operator is identified from data. In this work, DMD is reformulated as an optimization problem to propagate the state of the linearized dynamical system on a quantum computer. This reformulation was chosen as a means of facilitating implementation on a near-term quantum computer. Quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO), a technique for optimizing quadratic polynomials in binary variables, allows for quantum annealing algorithms to be applied. A quantum circuit model (quantum approximation optimization algorithm, QAOA) is utilized to obtain predictions of the state trajectories. Results are shown for the quantum-ROM predictions for flow over a 2D cylinder at Re = 220 and flow over a NACA0009 airfoil at Re = 500 and α = 15°. The quantum-ROM predictions are found to depend on the number of bits utilized for a fixed point representation and the truncation level of the DMD model. Comparisons with DMD predictions from a classical computer algorithm are made, as well as an analysis of the computational complexity and prospects for future, more fault-tolerant quantum computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Microwave absorption properties of permalloy nanodots in the vortex and quasi-uniform magnetization states

When the in-plane bias magnetic field acting on a flat circular magnetic dot is smaller than the saturation field, there are two stable competing magnetization configurations of the dot: the vortex and the quasi-uniform (C-state). We measured microwave absorption properties in an array of non-interacting permalloy dots in the frequency range 1-8 GHz when the in-plane bias magnetic field was varied in the region of the dot magnetization state bi-stability. We found that the microwave absorption properties in the vortex and quasi-uniform stable states are substantially different, so that switching between these states in a fixed bias field can be used for the development of reconfigurable microwave magnetic materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Bosonic Superfluid on the Lowest Landau Level

We develop a low-energy effective field theory of a two-dimensional bosonic superfluid on the lowest Landau level at zero temperature and identify a Berry term that governs the dynamics of coarse-grained superfluid degrees of freedom. For an infinite vortex crystal we compute how the Berry term affects the low-energy spectrum of soft collective Tkachenko oscillations and nondissipative Hall responses of the particle number current and stress tensor. This term gives rise to a quadratic in momentum term in the Hall conductivity, but does not generate a nondissipative Hall viscosity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Theoretical Expressions for the Ascent Rate of Moist Deep Convective Thermals

An approximate analytic expression is derived for the ratio λ of the ascent rate of moist deep convective thermals and the maximum vertical velocity within them; λ is characterized as a function of two nondimensional buoyancy-dependent parameters y and h and is used to express the thermal ascent rate as a function of the buoyancy field. The parameter y characterizes the vertical distribution of buoyancy within the thermal, and h is the ratio of the vertically integrated buoyancy from the surface to the thermal top and the vertical integral of buoyancy within the thermal. Theoretical λ values are calculated using values of y and h obtained from idealized numerical simulations of ascending moist updrafts and compared to λ computed directly from the simulations. The theoretical values of [Formula: see text] 0.4–0.8 are in reasonable agreement with the simulated λ (correlation coefficient of 0.86). These values are notably larger than the [Formula: see text] from Hill’s (nonbuoyant) analytic spherical vortex, which has been used previously as a framework for understanding the dynamics of moist convective thermals. The relatively large values of λ are a result of net positive buoyancy within the upper part of thermals that opposes the downward-directed dynamic pressure gradient force below the thermal top. These results suggest that nonzero buoyancy within moist convective thermals, relative to their environment, fundamentally alters the relationship between the maximum vertical velocity and the thermal-top ascent rate compared to nonbuoyant vortices. Implications for convection parameterizations and interpretation of the forces contributing to thermal drag are discussed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1984

Physical aspects of computing the flow of a viscous fluid

One of the main themes in fluid dynamics at present and in the future is going to be computational fluid dynamics with the primary focus on the determination of drag, flow separation, vortex flows, and unsteady flows. A computation of the flow of a viscous fluid requires an understanding and consideration of the physical aspects of the flow. This is done by identifying the flow regimes and the scales of fluid motion, and the sources of vorticity. Discussions of flow regimes deal with conditions of incompressibility, transitional and turbulent flows, Navier-Stokes and non-Navier-Stokes regimes, shock waves, and strain fields. Discussions of the scales of fluid motion consider transitional and turbulent flows, thin- and slender-shear layers, triple- and four-deck regions, viscous-inviscid interactions, shock waves, strain rates, and temporal scales. In addition, the significance and generation of vorticity are discussed. These physical aspects mainly guide computations of the flow of a viscous fluid.

Mehta, U. B.↗