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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 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Real-Time Simulation of the X-33 Aerospace Engine

This paper discusses the development and performance of the X-33 Aerospike Engine RealTime Model. This model was developed for the purposes of control law development, six degree-of-freedom trajectory analysis, vehicle system integration testing, and hardware-in-the loop controller verification. The Real-Time Model uses time-step marching solution of non-linear differential equations representing the physical processes involved in the operation of a liquid propellant rocket engine, albeit in a simplified form. These processes include heat transfer, fluid dynamics, combustion, and turbomachine performance. Two engine models are typically employed in order to accurately model maneuvering and the powerpack-out condition where the power section of one engine is used to supply propellants to both engines if one engine malfunctions. The X-33 Real-Time Model is compared to actual hot fire test data and is been found to be in good agreement.

Aguilar, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1999

Experiments on Diffusion Flame Structure of a Laminar Vortex Ring

The study of flame-vortex interactions provides one of the means to better understand turbulent combustion, and allows for canonical configurations that contain the fundamental elements found in turbulent flames, These include concentrated vorticity, entrainment and mixing, strain and nonequilibrium phenomena, diffusion and differential diffusion, partial premixing and diluent effects, and heat release effects. In flame- vortex configurations, these fundamental elements can be studied under more controlled conditions than is possible in direct investigations of turbulent flames. Since the paper of Marble, the problem of the flame-vortex interaction has received considerable attention theoretically, numerically and experimentally. Several configurations exist for study of the premixed flame/vortex ring interaction but more limited results have been obtained to date for the diffusion flame/vortex ring case. The setup of Chen and Dahm, which is conceptually similar to that of Karagozian and Manda and Karagozian, Suganuma and Strom where the ring is composed of fuel and air and combustion begins during the ring formation process, is used in the current study. However, it is essential to conduct the experiments in microgravity to remove the asymmetries caused by buoyancy and thus obtain highly symmetric and repeatable interactions. In previous studies it was found that the flame structure of the vortex ring was similar to that obtained analytically by Karagozian and Manda. Dilution of propane with nitrogen led mainly to a reduction in flame luminosities, flame burnout times were affected by both fuel volumes and amount of dilution, and a simple model of the burnout times was developed. In this paper, a discussion on reacting ring displacement and flame burnout time will be given, and the flame structures of vortex rings containing ethane and air will be compared to those of propane reacting in air.

Chen, Shin-Juh↗
NASA NTRS1999

Fluid Physical and Transport Phenomena Studies aboard the International Space Station: Planned Experiments

This paper provides an overview of the microgravity fluid physics and transport phenomena experiments planned for the International Spare Station. NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Science and Applications has established a world-class research program in fluid physics and transport phenomena. This program combines the vast expertise of the world research community with NASA's unique microgravity facilities with the objectives of gaining new insight into fluid phenomena by removing the confounding effect of gravity. Due to its criticality to many terrestrial and space-based processes and phenomena, fluid physics and transport phenomena play a central role in the NASA's Microgravity Program. Through widely publicized research announcement and well established peer-reviews, the program has been able to attract a number of world-class researchers and acquired a critical mass of investigations that is now adding rapidly to this field. Currently there arc a total of 106 ground-based and 20 candidate flight principal investigators conducting research in four major thrust areas in the program: complex flows, multiphase flow and phase change, interfacial phenomena, and dynamics and instabilities. The International Space Station (ISS) to be launched in 1998, provides the microgravity research community with a unprecedented opportunity to conduct long-duration microgravity experiments which can be controlled and operated from the Principal Investigators' own laboratory. Frequent planned shuttle flights to the Station will provide opportunities to conduct many more experiments than were previously possible. NASA Lewis Research Center is in the process of designing a Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) to be located in the Laboratory Module of the ISS that will not only accommodate multiple users but, allow a broad range of fluid physics and transport phenomena experiments to be conducted in a cost effective manner.

Singh, Bhim S.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Design Methodology for Rapid Implementation of Active Control Systems Across Lean Direct Injection Combustor Platforms

The VACCG team is comprised of engineers at Virginia Tech who specialize in the subject areas of combustion physics, chemical kinetics, dynamics and controls, and signal processing. Currently, the team's work on this NRA research grant is designed to determine key factors that influence combustion control performance through a blend of theoretical and experimental investigations targeting design and demonstration of active control for three different combustors. To validiate the accuracy of conclusions about control effectiveness, a sequence of experimental verifications on increasingly complex lean, direct injection combustors is underway. During the work period January 1, 2002 through October 15, 2002, work has focused on two different laboratory-scale combustors that allow access for a wide variety of measurements. As the grant work proceeds, one key goal will be to obtain certain knowledge about a particular combustor process using a minimum of sophisticated measurements, due to the practical limitations of measurements on full-scale combustors. In the second year, results obtained in the first year will be validated on test combustors to be identified in the first quarter of that year. In the third year, it is proposed to validate the results at more realistic pressure and power levels by utilizing the facilities at the Glenn Research Center.

Baumann, William T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The structure of dilute combusting sprays

An experimental and theoretical study of drop processes in a turbulent flame is described. The experiments involved a monodisperse (105 and 180 micro m initial diameter) stream of methanol drops injected at the base of a turbulent methane-fueled diffusion flame burning in still air. The following measurements were made: mean and fluctuating phase velocities, mean drop number flux, drop-size distributions and mean gas-phase temperatures. Measurements were compared with predictions of two separated flow models: (1) deterministic separated flow, where drop-turbulence interactions are ignored; and (2) stochastic separated flow, where drop-turbulence interactions are considered using random-walk computations. The stochastic separated flow analysis yielded best agreement with measurements, since it provides for turbulent dispersion of drops which was important for present test conditions (and probably for most combusting sprays as well). Distinguishing the presence or absence of envelope flames around the drops, however, was relatively unimportant for present test conditions, since the drops spent most of their lifetime in fuel-rich regions of the flow where this distinction is irrelevant.

Shuen, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Manufacturing and producibility technology

Activities of the manufacturing/producibility working group within the Advanced High-Pressure O2/H2 Technology Program are summarized. The objectives of the M/P working group are: to develop and evaluate process and manufacturing techniques for advanced propulsion hardware design and selected materials; and to optimize the producibility of (SSME) components and assemblies by improved performance, increased life, greater reliability, and/or reduced cost. The technologies being developed include: plasma arc, laser, and inertia welding; combustion chamber and turbine blade coatings; coating processes; high performance alloy electroforming; and process control technology.

Hankins, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Nitramine smokeless propellant research

A transient ballistics and combustion model is derived to represent the closed vessel experiment that is widely used to characterize propellants. A computer program is developed to solve the time-dependent equations, and is applied to explain aspects of closed vessel behavior. In the case of nitramine propellants the cratering of the burning surface associated with combustion above break-point pressures augments the effective burning rate as deduced from the closed vessel experiment. Low pressure combustion is significantly affected by the ignition process and, in the case of nitramine propellants, by the developing and changing surface structure. Thus, burning rates deduced from the closed vessel experiment may or may not agree with those measured in the equilibrium strand burner. Series of T burner experiments are performed to compare the combustion instability characteristics of nitramine (HMX) containing propellants and ammonium perchlorate (AP)propellants. Although ash produced by more fuel rich propellants could have provided mechanical suppression, results from clean-burning propellants permit the conclusion that HMX reduces the acoustic driving.

Cohen, N. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Soot agglomeration in isolated, free droplet combustion

Under the conditions of an isolated, free droplet experiment, hollow, carbonaceous structures, called soot spheres, were observed to form during the atmospheric pressure, low Reynolds number combustion of 1-methylnaphthalene. These structures which are agglomerates composed of smaller spheroidal units result from both thermophoretic effects induced by the envelope flame surrounding each drop and aerodynamic effects caused by changes in the relative gas/drop velocities. A chemically reacting flow model was used to analyze the process of sootshell formation during microgravity droplet combustion. The time-dependent temperature and gas property field surrounding the droplet was determined, and the soot cloud location for microgravity combustion of n-heptane droplets was predicted. Experiments showed that the sooting propensity of n-alkane fuel droplets can be varied through diluent substitution, oxygen-index variations, and ambient pressure reductions.

Choi, M. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Particle sizing in rocket motor studies utilizing hologram image processing

A technique of obtaining particle size information from holograms of combustion products is described. The holograms are obtained with a pulsed ruby laser through windows in a combustion chamber. The reconstruction is done with a krypton laser with the real image being viewed through a microscope. The particle size information is measured with a Quantimet 720 image processing system which can discriminate various features and perform measurements of the portions of interest in the image. Various problems that arise in the technique are discussed, especially those that are a consequence of the speckle due to the diffuse illumination used in the recording process.

Netzer, David↗
NASA NTRS1980

Combustion and operating characteristics of spark-ignition engines

The spark-ignition engine turbulent flame propagation process was investigated. Then, using a spark-ignition engine cycle simulation and combustion model, the impact of turbocharging and heat transfer variations or engine power, efficiency, and NO sub x emissions was examined.

Heywood, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Accuracy Quantification of the Loci-CHEM Code for Chamber Wall Heat Transfer in a GO2/GH2 Single Element Injector Model Problem

A robust rocket engine combustor design and development process must include tools which can accurately predict the multi-dimensional thermal environments imposed on solid surfaces by the hot combustion products. Currently, empirical methods used in the design process are typically one dimensional and do not adequately account for the heat flux rise rate in the near-injector region of the chamber. Computational Fluid Dynamics holds promise to meet the design tool requirement, but requires accuracy quantification, or validation, before it can be confidently applied in the design process. This effort presents the beginning of such a validation process for the Loci-CHEM CFD code. The model problem examined here is a gaseous oxygen (GO2)/gaseous hydrogen (GH2) shear coaxial single element injector operating at a chamber pressure of 5.42 MPa. The GO2/GH2 propellant combination in this geometry represents one the simplest rocket model problems and is thus foundational to subsequent validation efforts for more complex injectors. Multiple steady state solutions have been produced with Loci-CHEM employing different hybrid grids and two-equation turbulence models. Iterative convergence for each solution is demonstrated via mass conservation, flow variable monitoring at discrete flow field locations as a function of solution iteration and overall residual performance. A baseline hybrid was used and then locally refined to demonstrate grid convergence. Solutions were obtained with three variations of the k-omega turbulence model.

West, Jeff↗
NASA NTRS2006

Accuracy Quantification of the Loci-CHEM Code for Chamber Wall Heat Fluxes in a G02/GH2 Single Element Injector Model Problem

A robust rocket engine combustor design and development process must include tools which can accurately predict the multi-dimensional thermal environments imposed on solid surfaces by the hot combustion products. Currently, empirical methods used in the design process are typically one dimensional and do not adequately account for the heat flux rise rate in the near-injector region of the chamber. Computational Fluid Dynamics holds promise to meet the design tool requirement, but requires accuracy quantification, or validation, before it can be confidently applied in the design process. This effort presents the beginning of such a validation process for the Loci- CHEM CPD code. The model problem examined here is a gaseous oxygen (GO2)/gaseous hydrogen (GH2) shear coaxial single element injector operating at a chamber pressure of 5.42 MPa. The GO2/GH2 propellant combination in this geometry represents one the simplest rocket model problems and is thus foundational to subsequent validation efforts for more complex injectors. Multiple steady state solutions have been produced with Loci-CHEM employing different hybrid grids and two-equation turbulence models. Iterative convergence for each solution is demonstrated via mass conservation, flow variable monitoring at discrete flow field locations as a function of solution iteration and overall residual performance. A baseline hybrid grid was used and then locally refined to demonstrate grid convergence. Solutions were also obtained with three variations of the k-omega turbulence model.

West, Jeff↗
NASA NTRS2012

Chemochromic detector for sensing gas leakage and process for producing the same

A chemochromic sensor for detecting a combustible gas, such as hydrogen, includes a chemochromic pigment mechanically mixed with a polymer and formed into a rigid or pliable material. In a preferred embodiment, the chemochromic detector includes aerogel material. The detector is robust and easily modifiable for a variety of applications and environmental conditions, such as atmospheres of inert gas, hydrogen gas, or mixtures of gases, or in environments that have variable temperature, including high temperatures such as above 100.degree. C. and low temperatures such as below -196.degree. C.

Roberson, Luke B.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Chemochromic Detector for Sensing Gas Leakage and Process for Producing the Same

A chemochromic sensor for detecting a combustible gas, such as hydrogen, includes a chemochromic pigment mechanically mixed with a polymer and molded into a rigid or pliable shape. In a preferred embodiment, the chemochromic detector is within the material which is molded into a manufactured part, said part becoming the detector itself. The detector is robust and easily modifiable for a variety of applications and environmental conditions, such as atmospheres of inert gas, hydrogen gas, or mixtures of gases, or in environments that have variable temperature, including high temperatures such as above 100 C. and low temperatures such as below -196 C.

Roberson, Luke B.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Chemochromic Detector for Sensing Gas Leakage and Process for Producing the Same

A chemochromic sensor for detecting a combustible gas, such as hydrogen, includes a chemochromic pigment and a textile polymer. The textile material includes a chemochromic pigment operably responsive to a combustible gas. The combustible gas sensing textile material can be made by melt spinning, solution spinning, or other similar techniques. In a preferred embodiment carbon nanotubes are used with the textile material which will increase the material strength and alter the thermal and/or electrical properties. These textiles woven into fabrics can provide garments not only with hydrogen sensing capabilities but the carbon nanotubes will allow for a range of sensing capabilities to be embedded (i.e. gas, health, and electronic monitors) within the garments.

Roberson, Luke B.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The effects of sooting in droplet combustion

The study of the burning of a single droplet is an ideal problem from which to gain fundamental understanding of diffusion flame characteristics. Droplet combustion is a complex physico-chemical process that involves a chemically-reacting two-phase flow with phase changes and yet simple experiments and analysis can be used to attain important insights into the burning rate, flame dynamics, kinetic extinction and disruption processes. It is a subject that has been actively studied for the past 40 years with most of the fundamental experiments being performed under reduced-gravity conditions for direct comparisons with theoretical/computational analyses that invoke spherical symmetry assumptions. In the earlier studies, the effects of sooting on the overall burning characteristics were not considered. However, recent microgravity investigations performed at the NASA-LeRC droptowers (Droplet Combustion Experiment) and others indicate that effects of soot and sootcloud formation may be significant during the lifetime of the droplet and therefore must be included in the analysis.

Lee, Kyeong-Ook↗
NASA NTRS1989

Feasibility of reduced gravity experiments involving quiescent, uniform particle cloud combustion

The study of combustible particle clouds is of fundamental scientific interest as well as a practical concern. The principal scientific interests are the characteristic combustion properties, especially flame structure, propagation rates, stability limits, and the effects of stoichiometry, particle type, transport phenomena, and nonadiabatic processes on these properties. The feasibility tests for the particle cloud combustion experiment (PCCE) were performed in reduced gravity in the following stages: (1) fuel particles were mixed into cloud form inside a flammability tube; (2) when the concentration of particles in the cloud was sufficiently uniform, the particle motion was allowed to decay toward quiescence; (3) an igniter was energized which both opened one end of the tube and ignited the suspended particle cloud; and (4) the flame proceeded down the tube length, with its position and characteristic features being photographed by high-speed cameras. Gravitational settling and buoyancy effects were minimized because of the reduced gravity enviroment in the NASA Lewis drop towers and aircraft. Feasibility was shown as quasi-steady flame propagation which was observed for fuel-rich mixtures. Of greatest scientific interest is the finding that for near-stoichiometric mixtures, a new mode of flame propagation was observed, now called a chattering flame. These flames did not propagate steadily through the tube. Chattering modes of flame propagation are not expected to display extinction limits that are the same as those for acoustically undisturbed, uniform, quiescent clouds. A low concentration of fuel particles, uniformly distributed in a volume, may not be flammable but may be made flammable, as was observed, through induced segregation processes. A theory was developed which showed that chattering flame propagation was controlled by radiation from combustion products which heated the successive discrete laminae sufficiently to cause autoignition.

Ross, Howard D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Structure of Evaporating and Combusting Sprays: Measurements and Predictions

Complete measurements of the structure of nonevaporating, evaporating and combusting sprays for sufficiently well defined boundary conditions to allow evaluation of models of these processes were obtained. The development of rational design methods for aircraft combustion chambers and other devices involving spray combustion were investigated. Three methods for treating the discrete phase are being considered: a locally homogeneous flow (LHF) model, a deterministic separated flow (DSF) model, and a stochastic separated flow (SSF) model. The main properties of these models are summarized.

Shuen, J. S.↗