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At least 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Theory of low transitions in CO discharge lasers

A self consistent theoretical model which couples the electron and heavy particle finite rate kinetics with the optical and fluid dynamic processes has been employed to identify the various parameters and explain the mechanism responsible for producing low lying transitions in slow flowing CO lasers. It is found that lasing on low lying transitions can be achieved at low temperatures for low pressures (or low flow rates) together with high partial pressures of the He and N2. The role of N2 has been identified as an additive responsible for reducing the electron temperature to a range where the transfer of electrical power to the lower vibrational modes of CO is optimum.

Sidney, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measuring Tollmien-Schlichting Instabilities In Laminar Flow

NASA flight experiment conducted to evaluate surface-mounted hot-film sensors designed to detect Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) instability in boundary layer in flight. New technique has considerable value in applied research aimed at extending regions of natural laminar flow on aircraft. Aids research into mechanisms leading to transition from laminar to turbulent boundary layers. Makes it practical to take measurements in many locations on wing surface for tests in flight. Useful in studying transitions in such flow as those in pipes, ducts, channels, compressors, and diffusers.

Lee, Cynthia C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

LDV measurements in dynamically separated flows

Two component, phase averaged mean velocity data have been obtained with an Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) system, on the upper surface, near the leading edge of an oscillating airfoil undergoing compressible dynamic stall. In particular, the effect of oscillation amplitude has been studied. The results show that at an oscillation amplitude of 10 degrees, a separation bubble forms, that eventually bursts on the upstroke, well beyond the static stall angle. At 2 degrees amplitude, the bubble forms on the upstroke, but dynamic stall occurs on the downstroke. The results reveal new flow physics and the data sets serve as valuable quantitative information for validation of unsteady flow codes at transitional Reynolds numbers. The maximum velocity seen in the flow is about 1.6 times the free stream value and it occurs slightly downstream of the suction peak location. Some of the measurement difficulties are also discussed.

Chandrasekhara, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Characteristics of Boundary Layer Transition in a Multi-Stage Low-Pressure Turbine

An experimental investigation of boundary layer transition in a multi-stage turbine has been completed using surface-mounted hot-film sensors. Tests were carried out using the two-stage Low Speed Research Turbine of the Aerodynamics Research Laboratory of GE Aircraft Engines. Blading in this facility models current, state-of-the-art low pressure turbine configurations. The instrumentation technique involved arrays of densely-packed hot-film sensors on the surfaces of second stage rotor and nozzle blades. The arrays were located at mid-span on both the suction and pressure surfaces. Boundary layer measurements were acquired over a complete range of relevant Reynolds numbers. Data acquisition capabilities provided means for detailed data interrogation in both time and frequency domains. Data indicate that significant regions of laminar and transitional boundary layer flow exist on the rotor and nozzle suction surfaces. Evidence of relaminarization both near the leading edge of the suction surface and along much of the pressure surface was observed. Measurements also reveal the nature of the turbulent bursts occuring within and between the wake segments convecting through the blade row. The complex character of boundary layer transition resulting from flow unsteadiness due to nozzle/nozzle, rotor/nozzle, and nozzle/rotor wake interactions are elucidated using these data. These measurements underscore the need to provide turbomachinery designers with models of boundary layer transition to facilitate accurate prediction of aerodynamic loss and heat transfer.

Wisler, Dave↗
NASA NTRS1957

Free-Flight Skin Temperature and Pressure Measurements on a Slightly Blunted 25 Deg Cone-Cylinder-Flare Configuration to a Mach Number of 9.89

Skin temperatures and surface pressures have been measured on a slightly blunted cone-cylinder-flare configuration to a maximum Mach number of 9.89 with a rocket-propelled model. The cone had a t o t a l angle of 25 deg and the flare had a 10 deg half-angle. Temperature data were obtained at eight cone locations, four cylinder locations, and seven flare locations; pressures were measured at one cone location, one cylinder location, and three flare locations. Four stages of propulsion were utilized and a reentry type of trajectory was employed in which the high-speed portion of flight was obtained by firing the last two stages during the descent of the model from a peak altitude of 99,400 feet. The Reynolds number at peak Mach number was 1.2 x 10(exp 6) per foot of model length. The model length was 6.68 feet. During the higher speed portions of flight, temperature measurements along one element of the nose cone indicated that the boundary layer was probably laminar, whereas on the opposite side of the nose the measurements indicated transitional or turbulent flow. Temperature distributions along one meridian of the model showed the flare to have the highest temperatures and the cylinder generally to have the lowest. A maximum temperature of 970 F was measured on the cone element showing the transitional or turbulent flow; along the opposite side of the model, the maximum temperatures of the cone, cylinder, and flare were 545 F, 340 F, and 680 F, respectively, at the corresponding time.

Bond, Aleck C.↗
DOE OSTI2020

A new flow pattern map for flow boiling of R410A in horizontal micro-fin tubes considering the effect of the helix angle

This paper presents an improved flow pattern map for flow boiling in horizontal micro-fin tubes considering the effect of helix angle. The proposed map is modified from the one developed for horizontal smooth tubes by Wojtan et al. (2005) and takes the early transition to annular flow due to micro-fin geometry into account. Visualization of R410A flow boiling is carried out through the transparent smooth and micro-fin tubes with 0°, 10° and 18° helix angle and plotted on the proposed map for comparison. The result shows that the flow pattern map for micro-fin tube with 0° helix angle is generally similar to that for the smooth tube. For the tube with 10° and 18° helix angle, the annular flow occurs at lower vapor quality and lower mass flux. The proposed map shows good agreements when compared with the visualization and reflects the downward shift (to lower mass flux and vapor quality conditions) of the SW-WA transition with the increase of the helix angle. In order to further validate the proposed model, the flow pattern transitions calculated from the equations are also compared with the experimental data of the micro-fin tube in literature. The results show that the modified map increase the prediction accuracy of the flow patterns in the micro-fin tube.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1985

The formation of a standing shock in a polytropic solar wind model within 1-10 Rs

It is shown how a one-fluid polytropic solar wind model exhibits properties similar to an isothermal wind when localized momentum and/or rapid area divergence produce multiple critical points in the flow. In particular, it is shown that when the sonic transition in the flow occurs closer to the coronal base, multiple steady solutions can exist. These multiple steady solutions consist of a contiuous solution passing through the innermost critical point and other steady solutions involving a steady shock transition. By following the temporal evolution of the solar wind from a steady state with one critical point to a steady state with three critical points, it is shown that a standing shock solution is more likely to develop than a continuous solution when momentum deposition occurs close to the coronal base and the equation of motion admits multiple steady solutions. This result is particularly relevant to the solar wind when momentum deposition occurs as a result of a rapidly diverging coronal hole geometry.

Habbal, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Computer program for calculating laminar, transitional, and turbulent boundary layers for a compressible axisymmetric flow

A finite-difference program is described for calculating the viscous compressible boundary layer flow over either planar or axisymmetric surfaces. The flow may be initially laminar and progress through a transitional zone to fully turbulent flow, or it may remain laminar, depending on the imposed boundary conditions, laws of viscosity, and numerical solution of the momentum and energy equations. The flow may also be forced into a turbulent flow at a chosen spot by the data input. The input may contain the factors of arbitrary Reynolds number, free-stream Mach number, free-stream turbulence, wall heating or cooling, longitudinal wall curvature, wall suction or blowing, and wall roughness. The solution may start from an initial Falkner-Skan similarity profile, an approximate equilibrium turbulent profile, or an initial arbitrary input profile.

Albers, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Transition-Sensitized Turbulence Models for Compressible and Incompressible Flows

During the grant period from January 1,2002 to December 31,2002 work was carried out on three projects to extend the range of applicability of advanced turbulence models. First, a new transition-sensitized turbulence model was tested and refined. Second, the influence of compressibility on the pressure-strain rate correlation was studied. Third, the relationship between time-filtered large eddy simulation (TLES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) modeling was investigated leading to submission of the article. The transition-sensitized turbulence model encompasses the early-stage transition and turbulent flow regimes describing the evolution of the ensemble mean disturbance energy and dissipation rate. It is founded on a consistent mathematical description of the laminar regime with its linear disturbances and the fully turbulent regime with its stochastic fluctuations. The unified description is provided by the ensemble viewpoint.

Thacker, William D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Short-time Lyapunov exponent analysis and the transition to chaos in Taylor-Couette flow

The physical mechanism driving the weakly chaotic Taylor-Couette flow is investigated using the short-time Liapunov exponent analysis. In this procedure, the transition from quasi-periodicity to chaos is studied using direct numerical 3D simulations of axially periodic Taylor-Couette flow, and a partial Liapunov exponent spectrum for the flow is computed by simultaneously advancing the full solution and a set of perturbations. It is shown that the short-time Liapunov exponent analysis yields more information on the exponents and dimension than that obtained from the common Liapunov exponent calculations. Results show that the chaotic state studied here is caused by a Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instability of the outflow boundary jet of Taylor vortices.

Vastano, John A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Effects of Periodic Unsteady Wake Flow and Pressure Gradient on Boundary Layer Transition Along the Concave Surface of a Curved Plate

Boundary layer transition and development on a turbomachinery blade is subjected to highly periodic unsteady turbulent flow, pressure gradient in longitudinal as well as lateral direction, and surface curvature. To study the effects of periodic unsteady wakes on the concave surface of a turbine blade, a curved plate was utilized. On the concave surface of this plate, detailed experimental investigations were carried out under zero and negative pressure gradient. The measurements were performed in an unsteady flow research facility using a rotating cascade of rods positioned upstream of the curved plate. Boundary layer measurements using a hot-wire probe were analyzed by the ensemble-averaging technique. The results presented in the temporal-spatial domain display the transition and further development of the boundary layer, specifically the ensemble-averaged velocity and turbulence intensity. As the results show, the turbulent patches generated by the wakes have different leading and trailing edge velocities and merge with the boundary layer resulting in a strong deformation and generation of a high turbulence intensity core. After the turbulent patch has totally penetrated into the boundary layer, pronounced becalmed regions were formed behind the turbulent patch and were extended far beyond the point they would occur in the corresponding undisturbed steady boundary layer.

Schobeiri, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Localized Ignition And Subsequent Flame Spread Over Solid Fuels In Microgravity

Localized ignition is initiated by an external radiant source at the middle of a thin solid sheet under external slow flow, simulating fire initiation in a spacecraft with a slow ventilation flow. Ignition behavior, subsequent transition simultaneously to upstream and downstream flame spread, and flame growth behavior are studied theoretically and experimentally. There are two transition stages in this study; one is the first transition from the onset of the ignition to form an initial anchored flame close to the sample surface, near the ignited area. The second transition is the flame growth stage from the anchored flame to a steady fire spread state (i.e. no change in flame size or in heat release rate) or a quasi-steady state, if either exists. Observations of experimental spot ignition characteristics and of the second transition over a thermally thin paper were made to determine the effects of external flow velocity. Both transitions have been studied theoretically to determine the effects of the confinement by a relatively small test chamber, of the ignition configuration (ignition across the sample width vs spot ignition), and of the external flow velocity on the two transitions over a thermally thin paper. This study is currently extending to two new areas; one is to include a thermoplastic sample such poly(methymethacrylate), PMMA, and the other is to determine the effects of sample thickness on the transitions. The recent results of these new studies on the first transition are briefly reported.

Kashiwagi, T.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Numerical Simulation of Complex Turbomachinery Flows

An unsteady, multiblock, Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes solver based on Runge-Kutta scheme and Pseudo-time step for turbo-machinery applications was developed. The code was validated and assessed against analytical and experimental data. It was used to study a variety of physical mechanisms of unsteady, three-dimensional, turbulent, transitional, and cooling flows in compressors and turbines. Flow over a cylinder has been used to study effects of numerical aspects on accuracy of prediction of wake decay and transition, and to modify K-epsilon models. The following simulations have been performed: (a) Unsteady flow in a compressor cascade: Three low Reynolds number turbulence models have been assessed and data compared with Euler/boundary layer predictions. Major flow features associated with wake induced transition were predicted and studied; (b) Nozzle wake-rotor interaction in a turbine: Results compared to LDV data in design and off-design conditions, and cause and effect of unsteady flow in turbine rotors were analyzed; (c) Flow in the low-pressure turbine: Assessed capability of the code to predict transitional, attached and separated flows at a wide range of low Reynolds numbers and inlet freestream turbulence intensity. Several turbulence and transition models have been employed and comparisons made to experiments; (d) leading edge film cooling at compound angle: Comparisons were made with experiments, and the flow physics of the associated vortical structures were studied; and (e) Tip leakage flow in a turbine. The physics of the secondary flow in a rotor was studied and sources of loss identified.

Chernobrovkin, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The possibility of supersonic plasma flow in a collapsing post-sunset ionosphere.

As a result of the rapidly decreasing pressure in the topside ionosphere during twilight hours, a rapid downward flow of hydrogen plasma from the protonosphere takes place. In the case of steady state, isothermal, frictionless flow, the criterion for the existence of a critical point (transition to supersonic flow) above 1000 km is that the plasma temperature be lower than a certain limiting temperature which is a function of the field line considered. In the latitude region between 40 and 70 deg, this upper temperature limit varies from 963 to 1066 K. Since these temperatures are considerably lower than the observed temperatures, it follows that in the case of steady state, isothermal flow the velocities will always remain subsonic. When the effect of the neglected terms is examined, the temperature gradient is shown to exert the strongest influence on the nature of the flow. It is concluded that there is a definite possibility that supersonic downward flows in a post-sunset topside ionosphere may occur.

Fontheim, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Boundary Layer Transition on Slender Cones in Conventional and Low Disturbance Mach 6 Wind Tunnels

An experimental investigation was conducted on a 5-degree half-angle cone and a 5-degree half-angle flared cone in a conventional Mach 6 wind tunnel to examine the effects of facility noise on boundary layer transition. The influence of tunnel noise was inferred by comparing transition onset locations determined from the present test to that previously obtained in a Mach 6 low disturbance quiet tunnel. Together, the two sets of experiments are believed to represent the first direct comparison of transition onset between a conventional and a low disturbance wind tunnel using a common test model and transition detection technique. In the present conventional hypersonic tunnel experiment, separate measurements of heat transfer and adiabatic wall temperatures were obtained on the conical models at small angles of attack over a range of Reynolds numbers, which resulted in laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow. Smooth model turbulent heating distributions are compared to that obtained with transition forced via discrete surface roughness. The model nosetip radius was varied to examine the effects of bluntness on transition onset. Despite wall to total temperature differences between the transient heating measurements and the adiabatic wall temperature measurement, the two methods for determining sharp cone transition onset generally yielded equivalent locations. In the 'noisy' mode of the hypersonic low disturbance tunnel, transition onset occurred earlier than that measured in the conventional hypersonic tunnel, suggesting higher levels of freestream acoustic radiation relative to the conventional tunnel. At comparable freestream conditions, the transition onset Reynolds number under low disturbance conditions was a factor of 1.3 greater than that measured on flared cone in the LaRC conventional hypersonic tunnel and a factor of 1.6 greater that the flared cone run in the low disturbance tunnel run 'noisy'. Navier-Stokes mean flow computations and linear stability analysis were conducted to assess the experimental results and have indicated N factors associated with sharp flared cone transition onset to be approximately a factor of 2 lower than that inferred from the corresponding low disturbance tunnel measurements.

Horvath, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Studies of Two-Phase Flow Dynamics and Heat Transfer at Reduced Gravity Conditions

The ability to predict gas-liquid flow patterns is crucial to the design and operation of two-phase flow systems in the microgravity environment. Flow pattern maps have been developed in this study which show the occurrence of flow patterns as a function of gas and liquid superficial velocities as well as tube diameter, liquid viscosity and surface tension. The results have demonstrated that the location of the bubble-slug transition is affected by the tube diameter for air-water systems and by surface tension, suggesting that turbulence-induced bubble fluctuations and coalescence mechanisms play a role in this transition. The location of the slug-annular transition on the flow pattern maps is largely unaffected by tube diameter, liquid viscosity or surface tension in the ranges tested. Void fraction-based transition criteria were developed which separate the flow patterns on the flow pattern maps with reasonable accuracy. Weber number transition criteria also show promise but further work is needed to improve these models. For annular gas-liquid flows of air-water and air- 50 percent glycerine under reduced gravity conditions, the pressure gradient agrees fairly well with a version of the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation but the measured film thickness deviates from published correlations at lower Reynolds numbers. Nusselt numbers, based on a film thickness obtained from standard normal-gravity correlations, follow the relation, Nu = A Re(sup n) Pr(exp l/3), but more experimental data in a reduced gravity environment are needed to increase the confidence in the estimated constants, A and n. In the slug flow regime, experimental pressure gradient does not correlate well with either the Lockhart-Martinelli or a homogeneous formulation, but does correlate nicely with a formulation based on a two-phase Reynolds number. Comparison with ground-based correlations implies that the heat transfer coefficients are lower at reduced gravity than at normal gravity under the same flow conditions. Nusselt numbers can be correlated in a fashion similar to Chu and Jones.

Witte, Larry C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A model for the noise radiated by turbulent boundary layers and its interaction with laminar layers in supersonic flow

Motivated by the noise-boundary layer transition problem in supersonic flow, the interaction between incoming aerodynamic noise and the laminar boundary layer was studied. The noise field was modeled as a Mach wave radiation field consisting of discrete waves emanating from coherent turbulent entities moving downstream within the supersonic turbulent boundary layer. The individual disturbances are likened to miniature sonic booms and the laminar boundary layer is strafed by the waves as the sources move downstream. The mean, autocorrelation, and power spectral density of the field are expressed in terms of the wave shapes and their average arrival rates. The emphasis in the interaction analysis is on the behavior of the shocklets in the noise field. The shocklets are shown to be focused by the laminar boundary layer in its outer region. Borrowing wave-propagation terminology, this region is termed the caustic region. Using scaling laws from sonic boom work, focus factors at the caustic are estimated to vary from 2 to 6 for incoming shocklet strengths of 1 to .01 percent of the free stream pressure level. The situation regarding experimental evidence of the caustic region is reviewed. It is not clear whether the focusing effectively promotes early transition. Additional observations concerning the interaction problem are presented.

Schopper, M. R.↗