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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 73 records · Page 4

Analytical modeling of operating characteristics of premixing-prevaporizing fuel-air mixing passages. Volume 1: Analysis and results

A model for predicting the distribution of liquid fuel droplets and fuel vapor in premixing-prevaporizing fuel-air mixing passages of the direct injection type is reported. This model consists of three computer programs; a calculation of the two dimensional or axisymmetric air flow field neglecting the effects of fuel; a calculation of the three dimensional fuel droplet trajectories and evaporation rates in a known, moving air flow; a calculation of fuel vapor diffusing into a moving three dimensional air flow with source terms dependent on the droplet evaporation rates. The fuel droplets are treated as individual particle classes each satisfying Newton's law, a heat transfer, and a mass transfer equation. This fuel droplet model treats multicomponent fuels and incorporates the physics required for the treatment of elastic droplet collisions, droplet shattering, droplet coalescence and droplet wall interactions. The vapor diffusion calculation treats three dimensional, gas phase, turbulent diffusion processes. The analysis includes a model for the autoignition of the fuel air mixture based upon the rate of formation of an important intermediate chemical species during the preignition period.

Anderson, O. L.↗

adwTools Developed: New Bulk Alloy and Surface Analysis Software for the Alloy Design Workbench

A suite of atomistic modeling software, called the Alloy Design Workbench, has been developed by the Computational Materials Group at the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI). The main goal of this software is to guide and augment experimental materials research and development efforts by creating powerful, yet intuitive, software that combines a graphical user interface with an operating code suitable for real-time atomistic simulations of multicomponent alloy systems. Targeted for experimentalists, the interface is straightforward and requires minimum knowledge of the underlying theory, allowing researchers to focus on the scientific aspects of the work. The centerpiece of the Alloy Design Workbench suite is the adwTools module, which concentrates on the atomistic analysis of surfaces and bulk alloys containing an arbitrary number of elements. An additional module, adwParams, handles ab initio input for the parameterization used in adwTools. Future modules planned for the suite include adwSeg, which will provide numerical predictions for segregation profiles to alloy surfaces and interfaces, and adwReport, which will serve as a window into the database, providing public access to the parameterization data and a repository where users can submit their own findings from the rest of the suite. The entire suite is designed to run on desktop-scale computers. The adwTools module incorporates a custom OAI/Glenn-developed Fortran code based on the BFS (Bozzolo- Ferrante-Smith) method for alloys, ref. 1). The heart of the suite, this code is used to calculate the energetics of different compositions and configurations of atoms.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

Crystal growth from the vapor phase. Experiment MA-085

The positive effects of microgravity on crystal quality and the fundamental properties of the vapor transport reaction were established by analyzing the results of three transport experiments on multicomponent systems performed during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. The systems employed were GeSe0.99Te0.01-GeI4(A), GeS0.98Se0.02-GeCl4(B), and GeS-GeCl4-Ar (C). The crystallographic analysis is based on a direct comparison of space and ground-based (prototype) crystals employing X-ray diffraction, microprobe, microscopic, and chemical etching techniques. The results demonstrate a considerable improvement of the space-grown crystals in terms of chemical and crystalline homogeneity, surface morphology, and bulk perfection relative to ground specimens.

Wiedemeier, H.↗

A continuum analysis of chemical nonequilibrium under hypersonic low-density flight conditions

Results of employing the continuum model of Navier-Stokes equations under the low-density flight conditions are presented. These results are obtained with chemical nonequilibrium and multicomponent surface slip boundary conditions. The conditions analyzed are those encountered by the nose region of the Space Shuttle Orbiter during reentry. A detailed comparison of the Navier-Stokes (NS) results is made with the viscous shock-layer (VSL) and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) predictions. With the inclusion of new surface-slip boundary conditions in NS calculations, the surface heat transfer and other flowfield quantities adjacent to the surface are predicted favorably with the DSMC calculations from 75 km to 115 km in altitude. This suggests a much wider practical range for the applicability of Navier-Stokes solutions than previously thought. This is appealing because the continuum (NS and VSL) methods are commonly used to solve the fluid flow problems and are less demanding in terms of computer resource requirements than the noncontinuum (DSMC) methods.

Gupta, R. N.↗

Seyfert galaxy ultraviolet emission-line intensities and variability - A self-consistent photoionization analysis applied to broad-line-emitting gas in NGC 3783

Well-constrained photoionization models for the Seyfert I galaxy NGC 3783 are developed. Both cross-correlation analyses and line variability trends with varying ionizing radiation flux require a multicomponent picture. All the data for He II 1640 A, C IV 1549 A, and semiforbidden C III 1909 A can be reasonably well reproduced by two cloud components. One has a source-cloud distance of 24 lt-days, gas density around 3 x 10 exp 10/cu cm, ionization parameter range of 0.04-0.2, and cloud thickness such that about half of the carbon is doubly ionized and about half is triply ionized. The other component is located approximately 96 lt-days from the source, is shielded from the source by the inner cloud, has a density about 3 x 10 to the 9th/cu cm, and is characterized by an ionization parameter range of 0.001-0.03, The cloud thickness is such that about 45 percent carbon is doubly ionized and about 55 percent is singly ionized.

Koratkar, Anuradha P.↗

A detailed numerical model of a supersonic reacting mixing layer

A current research effort is underway at the NASA Langley Research Center to achieve a detailed understanding of important phenomena present when a supersonic flow undergoes chemical reaction. A computer program has been developed to study the details of such flows. The program has been constructed to consider the multicomponent diffusion and convection of important species, the finite-rate reaction of these species, and the resulting interaction between the fluid mechanics and chemistry. Code results from the analysis of a spatially developing and reacting mixing layer are presented, and conclusions are drawn regarding the structure of the evolving layer and its associated flame.

Drummond, J. P.↗

A numerical model for supersonic reacting mixing layers

A current research effort is underway at the NASA Langley Research Center to achieve a detailed understanding of important phenomena present when a supersonic flow undergoes a chemical reaction. A computer program has been developed to study the details of such flows. The program has been constructed to consider the multicomponent diffusion and convection of important species, the finite-rate reaction of these species, and the resulting interaction between the fluid mechanics and chemistry. Code results from the analysis of a spatially developing and reacting mixing layer are presented, and conclusions are drawn regarding the structure of the evolving layer and its associated flame.

Drummond, J. Philip↗

Reacting viscous-shock-layer solutions with multicomponent diffusion and mass injection

Numerical solutions of the viscous-shock-layer equation where the chemistry is treated as being either frozen, equilibrium, or nonequilibrium are presented. Also the effects of the diffusion model, surface catalysis, and mass injection on surface transport and flow parameters are considered. The flow is treated as a mixture of five inert and thermally perfect species. The viscous-shock-layer equations are solved by using an implicit-difference scheme. All calculations are for hyperboloids with included angles of 20 and 45. The flight conditions are those for various altitudes and velocities in the earth's atmosphere. Data are presented to show the effects of the chemical models; diffusion models; surface catalysis; and mass injection of air on heat transfer; skin friction; shock standoff distance; wall pressure distribution; and tangential velocity, temperature, and species profiles. The results show that an equilibrium analysis can substantially overpredict the heat-transfer rates for flow conditions experienced by earth-orbital entry vehicles. Moreover, at such conditions surface catalysis significantly influences heat-transfer and flow-field properties. If a binary rather than a multicomponent diffusion model is assumed, negligible errors in most flow properties result. Quantitative results are presented that show the effect of mass injection on flow properties within and downstream of the injection region.

Moss, J. N.↗

Spectroscopic determination of the in-situ composition of epoxy matrices in glass fiber reinforced composites

Computerized infrared analysis is applied to the characterization of a glass-reinforced crosslinked polyester. The method of factor analysis determines the number of independent components which constitute the polymeric matrix. Subsequently, the spectra of those components are fitted by a least-squares criterion to spectra of the multicomponent matrix, or, if the glass spectrum is included as an additional component, to the spectra of composites. The least-squares coefficients yield the matrix composition in terms of the initial reactant composition and the extent of crosslinking.

Antoon, M. K.↗

Spectroscopic determination of the in-situ composition of epoxy matrices in glass-fiber-reinforced composites

Computerized infrared analysis is applied to the characterization of a glass-reinforced crosslinked polyester. The method of factor analysis determines the number of independent components which constitute the polymeric matrix. Subsequently, the spectra of those components are fitted by a least-squares criterion to spectra of the multicomponent matrix, or, if the glass spectrum is included as an additional component, to the spectra of composites. The least-squares coefficients yield the matrix composition in terms of the initial reactant composition and the extent of crosslinking.

Antoon, M. K.↗

Design of 3-D Nacelle near Flat-Plate Wing Using Multiblock Sensitivity Analysis (ADOS)

One of the major design tasks involved in reducing aircraft drag is the integration of the engine nacelles and airframe. With this impetus, nacelle shapes with and without the presence of a flat-plate wing nearby were optimized. This also served as a demonstration of the 3-D version of the recently developed aerodynamic design optimization methodology using sensitivity analysis, ADOS. The required flow analyses were obtained by solving the three-dimensional, compressible, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations using an implicit, upwind-biased, finite volume scheme. The sensitivity analyses were performed using the preconditioned version of the SADD scheme (sensitivity analysis on domain decomposition). In addition to demonstrating the present method's capability for automatic optimization, the results offered some insight into two important issues related to optimizing the shapes of multicomponent configurations in close proximity. First, inclusion of the mutual interference between the components resulted in a different shape as opposed to shaping an isolated component. Secondly, exclusion of the viscous effects compromised not only the flow physics but also the optimized shapes even for isolated components.

Eleshaky, Mohamed E.↗

Processing of extraterrestrial materials by high temperature vacuum vaporization

It is noted that problems associated with the extraction and concentration of elements and commpounds important for the construction and operation of space habitats have received little attention. High temperature vacuum vaporization is considered a promising approach; this is a technique for which the space environment offers advantages in the form of low ambient pressures and temperatures and the possibility of sustained high temperatures via solar thermal energy. To establish and refine this new technology, experimental determinations must be made of the material release profiles as a function of temperature, of the release kinetics and chemical forms of material being transported, and of the various means of altering release kinetics. Trace element data determined by neutron activation analysis of meteorites heated to 1400 C in vacuum is summarized. The principal tool, high temperature spectrometry, is used to examine the vaporization thermodynamics and kinetics of major and minor elements from complex multicomponent extraterrestrial materials.

Grimley, R. T.↗

The stability analysis of magnetohydrodynamic equilibria - Comparing the thermodynamic approach with the energy principle

This paper is a contribution to the stability analysis of current-carrying plasmas, i.e., plasma systems that are forced by external mchanisms to carry a nonrelaxing electrical current. Under restriction to translationally invariant configurations, the thermodynamic stability criterion for a multicomponent plasma is rederived within the framework of nonideal MHD. The chosen dynamics neglects scalar resistivity, but allows for other types of dissipation effects both in Ohm's law and in the equation of motion. In the second section of the paper, the thermodynamic stability criterion is compared with the ideal MHD based energy principle of Bernstein et al. With the help of Schwarz's inequality, it is shown that the former criterion is always more 'pessimistic' than the latter, i.e., that thermodynamic stability implies stability according to the MHD principle, but not vice versa. This reuslt confirms the physical plausible idea that dissipational effects tend to weaken the stability properties of current-carrying plasma equilibria by breaking the constraints of ideal MHD and allowing for possibly destabilizing effects such as magnetic field line reconfiguration.

Brinkmann, R. P.↗

Wind Tunnel Flow Field Visualizations of the Space Launch System Vehicle Ascent

A series of wind tunnel tests were conducted to characterize the force-and-moment, and aeroacoustic environment of several configurations of the Space Launch System during ascent. The tests were conducted in the 11-by-11 foot transonic and 9-by-7 foot supersonic test sections at NASA Ames research center. Throughout these experiments data was collected from several types of instrumentation including: multicomponent force-and-moment strain gage balances, dynamic and steady-state pressure sensors, unsteady and steady pressure-sensitive paint, time-resolved shadowgraph and infrared imaging. The following details results and analysis from the time-resolved shadowgraph and infrared imaging data systems. The time-resolved shadowgraph and infrared imaging provided a qualitative measurement of the near-field turbulent fluctuations. These results helped provide context to the relative magnitude and frequency content of the fluid-structure-interaction driving the surface pressure phenomena characterized by the discrete pressure transducers and unsteady pressure sensitive paint.

Garbeff, Theodore J., II↗

New eutectic alloys and their heats of transformation

Eutectic compositions and congruently melting intermetallic compounds in binary and multicomponent systems among common elements such as Al, Ca, Cu, Mg, P, Si, and Zn may be useful for high temperature heat storage. In this work, heats of fusion of new multicomponent eutectics and intermetallic phases are reported, some of which are competitive with molten salts in heat storage density at high temperatures. The method used to determine unknown eutectic compositions combined results of differential thermal analysis, metallography, and microprobe analysis. The method allows determination of eutectic compositions in no more than three steps. The heats of fusion of the alloys were measured using commercial calorimeters, a differential thermal analyzer, and a differential scanning calorimeter.

Farkas, D.↗

Extinction of a Free Methanol Droplet in Microgravity

The combustion of isolated, unsupported methanol droplets under microgravity conditions has been studied in the NASA-Lewis 2.2-sec drop tower. The substitution of O2/He mixtures for O2/N2 mixtures results in a substantial increase in the oxygen index required for ignition, the rate of gasification, and the diameter at extinction. As a result, droplets with initial size larger than 1 mm can be produced, deployed, ignited, and burned to extinction, all under microgravity conditions in this facility. A comprehensive time dependent numerical model incorporating detailed multicomponent molecular transport mechanisms and complex elementary chemical kinetics was developed and applied to simulate the entire transient droplet combustion processes (ignition/quasi-steady burning/extinction). Model outputs show good agreement with the experimental measurements, without parameter adjustment. Analysis of modeling results shows that the thermal conductivity of the gas phase under combustion environments increased by a factor of two when the 50-percent O2/50 percent He mixture is used instead of air. The increased thermal conductivity accelerates the heat transfer from the flame front to the droplet surface, resulting in a factor of two increase in the burning rate.

Cho, S. Y.↗

Navier-Stokes analysis of cold scramjet-afterbody flows

The progress of two efforts in coding solutions of Navier-Stokes equations is summarized. The first effort concerns a 3-D space marching parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) code being modified to compute the supersonic mixing flow through an internal/external expansion nozzle with multicomponent gases. The 3-D PNS equations, coupled with a set of species continuity equations, are solved using an implicit finite difference scheme. The completed work is summarized and includes code modifications for four chemical species, computing the flow upstream of the upper cowl for a theoretical air mixture, developing an initial plane solution for the inner nozzle region, and computing the flow inside the nozzle for both a N2/O2 mixture and a Freon-12/Ar mixture, and plotting density-pressure contours for the inner nozzle region. The second effort concerns a full Navier-Stokes code. The species continuity equations account for the diffusion of multiple gases. This 3-D explicit afterbody code has the ability to use high order numerical integration schemes such as the 4th order MacCormack, and the Gottlieb-MacCormack schemes. Changes to the work are listed and include, but are not limited to: (1) internal/external flow capability; (2) new treatments of the cowl wall boundary conditions and relaxed computations around the cowl region and cowl tip; (3) the entering of the thermodynamic and transport properties of Freon-12, Ar, O, and N; (4) modification to the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model to account for turbulent eddies generated by cowl walls inside and external to the nozzle; and (5) adopting a relaxation formula to account for the turbulence in the mixing shear layer.

Baysal, Oktay↗