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At least 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Analysis of Buzz in a Supersonic Inlet

A dual-stream, low-boom supersonic inlet designed for use on a small, Mach 1.6 aircraft was tested experimentally in the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel (SWT) at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). The tests showed that the inlet had good recovery and stable operation over large mass flow range. The inlet went into buzz at mass flows well below that needed for engine operation, and the experiments generated a wealth of data during buzz. High frequency response pressure measurements and high-speed schlieren videos were recorded for many buzz events. The objective of the present work was to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict some of the experimental data taken during buzz, compare those predictions to the experimental data, and to use both datasets to explain the physics of the buzz cycle. The calculations were done with the Wind-US CFD code using a second-order time-accurate differencing scheme and the SST turbulence model. Computed Mach number contours were compared with schlieren images, and ensemble-averaged unsteady pressures were compared to data. The results showed that the buzz cycle consisted partly of spike buzz, an unsteady oscillation of the main shock at the spike tip while the inlet pressure dropped, and partly of choked flow while the inlet repressurized. Most of the results could be explained by theory proposed by Dailey in 1954, but did not support commonly used acoustic resonance explanations.

Chima, Rodrick V.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Ultrasonic/Sonic Jackhammer

The invention provides a novel jackhammer that utilizes ultrasonic and/or sonic vibrations as source of power. It is easy to operate and does not require extensive training, requiring substantially less physical capabilities from the user and thereby increasing the pool of potential operators. An important safety benefit is that it does not fracture resilient or compliant materials such as cable channels and conduits, tubing, plumbing, cabling and other embedded fixtures that may be encountered along the impact path. While the ultrasonic/sonic jackhammer of the invention is able to cut concrete and asphalt, it generates little back-propagated shocks or vibrations onto the mounting fixture, and can be operated from an automatic platform or robotic system. PNEUMATICS; ULTRASONICS; IMPACTORS; DRILLING; HAMMERS BRITTLE MATERIALS; DRILL BITS; PROTOTYPES; VIBRATION

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph↗
NASA NTRS2019

WRLES: Wave Resolving Large-Eddy Simulation Code, Theory and Usage

A computational fluid dynamics code has been developed for large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent flow. The code uses high-order of accuracy and high-resolution numerical methods to minimize solution error and maximize the resolution of the turbulent structures. Spatial discretization is performed using explicit central differencing. The central differencing schemes in the code include 2nd- to 12th-order standard central difference methods as well as 7-, 9-, 11- and 13-point dispersion relation preserving schemes. Solution filtering and high-order shock capturing are included for stability. Time discretization is performed using multistage Runge-Kutta methods that are up to 4th order accurate. Several options are available to model turbulence including: Baldwin-Lomax and Spalart-Allmaras Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes turbulence models, and Smagorinsky, Dynamic Smagorinsky and Vreman sub-grid scale models for LES. This report presents the theory behind the numerical and physical models used in the code and provides a user's manual to the operation of the code.

High-Order↗
NASA NTRS1986

An inadvertent capture cell for orbital debris and micrometeorites - The main electronics box thermal blanket of the solar maximum satellite

The physical properties of impact features in the Solar Max main electronics box thermal blanket are consistent with hypervelocity impacts of particles in the near-earth space environment. The majority of particles are orbital debris and include spacecraft paints and bismuth-rich particles. At least 30 percent of all impact features are caused by micrometeorites, which include silicates and sulfides. Some micrometeorites survive impact with only minor shock-metamorphic effects or chemical fractionation. Currently calibration experiments are under way to relate flux to particle diameter (or mass).

Rietmeijer, F. J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Plasma contactors for use with electodynamic tethers for power generation

Plasma contactors are proposed as a means of making good electrical contact between biased surfaces such as found at the ends of an electrodynamic tether and the space environment. The plasma contactor emits a plasma cloud which facilitates the electrical connection. The physics of this plasma cloud is investigated for contactors used as electron collectors. The central question addressed is whether the electrons collected by a plasma contactor come from the far field or by ionization of local neutral gas. This question is important because the system implications are different for the two mechanisms. It is shown that contactor clouds in space will consist of a spherical core possibly containing a shock wave. Outside of the core the cloud will expand anisotropically across the magnetic field leading to a turbulent cigar shape structure along the field. This outer region is itself divided into two regions by the ion response to the electric field. A two-dimensional theory for the outer regions of the cloud is developed. The current voltage characteristic of an Argon plasma contactor cloud is estimated for several ion currents in the range of 1 to 100 Amperes. It is suggested that the major source of collected electrons comes by ionization of neutral gas while collection of electrons from the far field is relatively small.

Hastings, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Prediction of Drag Reduction in Supersonic and Hypersonic Flows with Counterflow Jets

Computational fluid dynamics solutions of the flowfield of a truncated cone-cylinder with and without counterflow jets have been obtained for the short penetration mode (SPM) and long penetration mode (LPM) of the freestream-counterflow jet interaction flowfield. For the case without the counterflow jet, the comparison of the normalized surface pressures showed very good agreement with experimental data. For the case with the SPM jet, the predicted surface pressures did not compare as well with the experimental data upstream of the expansion corner, while aft of the expansion corner, the comparison of the solution and the data is seen to give much better agreement. The difference in the prediction and the data could be due to the transient character of the jet penetration modes, possible effects of the plasma physics that are not accounted for here, or even the less likely effect of flow turbulence, etc. For the LPM jet computations, one-dimensional isentropic relations were used to derived the jet exit conditions in order to obtain the LPM solutions. The solution for the jet exit Mach number of 3 shows a jet penetration several times longer than that of the SPM, and therefore much weaker bow shock, with an attendant reduction in wave drag. The LPM jet is, in essence, seen to be a "pencil" of fluid, with much higher dynamic pressure, embedded in the oncoming supersonic or hypersonic freestream. The methodology for determining the conditions for the LPM jet could enable a practical approach for the design and application of counterflow LPM jets for the reduction of wave drag and heat flux, thus significantly enhancing the aerodynamic characteristics and aerothermal performance of supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. The solutions show that the qualitative flow structure is very well captured. The obtained results, therefore, suggest that counterflowing jets are viable candidate technology concepts that can be employed to give significant reductions in wave drag, heat flux, and other attendant aerodynamic benefits.

Daso, Endwell O.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Thermodynamic evaluation of transonic compressor rotors using the finite volume approach

A method was developed which calculates two-dimensional, transonic, viscous flow in ducts. The finite volume, time marching formulation is used to obtain steady flow solutions of the Reynolds-averaged form of the Navier Stokes equations. The entire calculation is performed in the physical domain. The method is currently limited to the calculation of attached flows. The features of the current method can be summarized as follows. Control volumes are chosen so that smoothing of flow properties, typically required for stability, is now needed. Different time steps are used in the different governing equations to improve the convergence speed of the viscous calculations. A new pressure interpolation scheme is introduced which improves the shock capturing ability of the method. A multi-volume method for pressure changes in the boundary layer allows calculations which use very long and thin control volumes. A special discretization technique is also used to stabilize these calculations. A special formulation of the energy equation is used to provide improved transient behavior of solutions which use the full energy equation. The method is then compared with a wide variety of test cases. The freestream Mach numbers range from 0.075 to 2.8 in the calculations. Transonic viscous flow in a converging diverging nozzle is calculated with the method; the Mach number upstream of the shock is approximately 1.25. The agreement between the calculated and measured shock strength and total pressure losses is good. Essentially incompressible turbulent boundary layer flow in a adverse pressure gradient is calculated and the computed distribution of mean velocity and shear stress are in good agreement with the measurements. At the other end of the Mach number range, a flat plate turbulent boundary layer with a freestream Mach number of 2.8 is calculated using the full energy equation; the computed total temperature distribution and recovery factor agree well with the measurements when a variable Prandtl number is used through the boundary layer.

Nicholson, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A plasma generator utilizing the high intensity ASTROMAG magnets

The magnet configuration for the proposed particle astrophysics magnet facility (ASTROMAG) on the space station includes a cusp magnetic field with an intensity of a few tesla. With these large magnets (or others) located in the outer ionosphere, many quite interesting and unique plasma physics experiments become possible. First there are studies utilizing the magnet alone to examine the supersonic, sub-Alfvenic interaction with the ambient medium; the scale length for the magnet perturbation is approx. 20 m. The magnetic field geometry when combined with the Earth's and their relative motion will give rise to a host of plasma phenomena: ring nulls, x-points, ion-acoustic and lower-hybrid shocks, electron heating (possible shuttle glow without a surface) launching of Alfvenwaves, etc. Second, active experiments are possible for a controlled study of fundamental plasma phenomena. A controlled variable species plasma can be made by using an RF ion source; use of two soft iron rings placed about the line cusp would give an adequate resonance zone (ECH or ICH) and a confining volume suitable for gas efficiency. The emanating plasma can be used to study free expansion of plasma along and across field lines (polar wind), plasma flows around the space platform, turbulent mixing in the wake region, long wavelength spectrum of convecting modes, plasma-dust interactions, etc.

Sullivan, James D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Physical processes and infrared emission from the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

IRAS 12-100 micron data on the Cas A remnant are presented, and various physical mechanisms and astrophysical sites that may contribute to the observed infrared emission are analyzed. The contributions of various sources of infrared emission to the IRAS fluxes are found to be small. The residual infrared emission is attributed to thermal emission from dust which is swept up by the expanding supernova blast wave and collisionally heated by the postshock X-ray emitting gas. The calculations are consistent with a shock velocity of 1800 km/s and a preshock gas density of about 2/cu cm. The mass of the swept-up gas is about 0.6 solar mass. An excess of 12 micron thermal emission in the spectrum of Cas A suggests the presence of very small particles in the preshocked gas.

Dwek, E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Single Bubble Sonoluminescence in Low Gravity and Optical Radiation Pressure Positioning of the Bubble

Several groups of researchers have demonstrated that high frequency sound in water may be used to cause the regular repeated compression and luminescence of a small bubble of gas in a flask. The phenomenon is known as single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). It is potentially important because light emitted by the bubble appears to be associated with a significant concentration of energy within the volume of the bubble. Unfortunately, the detailed physical mechanisms causing the radiation of light by oscillating bubbles are poorly understood and there is some evidence that carrying out experiments in a weightless environment may provide helpful clues. In addition, the radiation pressure of laser beams on the bubble may provide a way of simulating weightless experiments in the laboratory. The standard model of SBSL attributes the light emission to heating within the bubble by a spherically imploding shock wave to achieve temperatures of 50,000 K or greater. In an alternative model, the emission is attributed to the impact of a jet of water which is required to span the bubble and the formation of the jet is linked to the buoyancy of the bubble. The coupling between buoyancy and jet formation is a consequence of the displacement of the bubble from a velocity node (pressure antinode) of the standing acoustic wave that drives the radial bubble oscillations. One objective of this grant is to understand SBSL emission in reduced buoyancy on KC-135 parabolic flights. To optimize the design of those experiments and for other reasons which will help resolve the role of buoyancy, laboratory experiments are planned in simulated low gravity in which the radiation pressure of laser light will be used to position the bubble at the acoustic velocity node of the ultrasonic standing wave. Laser light will also be used to push the bubble away from the velocity node, increasing the effective buoyancy. The original experiments on the optical levitation and radiation pressure on bubbles in water by Unger and Marston noted above were carried out using a continuous wave (CW) beam of an Argon laser. For lateral stability the beam had a intensity minimum along its axis. Calculations of the optical radiation force on an SBSL bubble indicate that ion laser technology is a poor choice for providing the magnitude of the average optical radiation force required. Consequently it is necessary to examine various diode-pumped solid state laser technologies. The approach for this part of the research will be to achieve optical levitation of a quiescent bubble based on contemporary laser technology and then to strobe the laser synchronously with the SBSL bubble oscillations.

Thiessen, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Supersonic Testing of 0.8 m Disk Gap Band Parachutes in the Wake of a 70 Deg Sphere Cone Entry Vehicle

Supersonic wind tunnel testing of Viking-type 0.8 m Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachutes was conducted in the NASA Glenn Research Center 10'x10' wind-tunnel. The tests were conducted in support of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator System development and qualification program. The aerodynamic coupling of the entry-vehicle wake to parachute flow-field is under investigation to determine the cause and functional dependence of a supersonic canopy breathing phenomenon referred to as area oscillations, characteristic of DGB's above Mach 1.5 operation. Four percent of full-scale parachutes (0.8 m) were constructed similar to the flight-article in material and construction techniques. The parachutes were attached to a 70-deg sphere-cone entry-vehicle to simulate the Mars flight configuration. The parachutes were tested in the wind-tunnel from Mach 2 to 2.5 in a Reynolds number range of 2x105 to 1x106, representative of a Mars deployment. Three different test configurations were investigated. In the first two configurations, the parachutes were constrained horizontally through the vent region to measure canopy breathing and wake interaction for fixed trim angles of 0 and 10 degrees from the free-stream. In the third configuration the parachute was unconstrained, permitted to trim and cone, similar to free-flight (but capsule motion is constrained), varying its alignment relative to the entry-vehicle wake. Non-intrusive test diagnostics were chosen to quantify parachute performance and provide insight into the flow field structure. An in-line loadcell provided measurement of unsteady and mean drag. Shadowgraph of the upstream parachute flow field was used to capture bow-shock motion and wake coupling. Particle image velocimetry provided first and second order flow field statistics over a planar region of the flow field, just upstream of the parachute. A photogrammetric technique was used to quantify fabric motion using multiple high speed video cameras to record the location in time and space of reflective targets placed on the canopy interior. The experimental findings including an updated drag model and the physical basis of the area oscillation phenomenon will be discussed.

EDL↗
NASA NTRS2015

Development of a Premixed Combustion Capability for Scramjet Combustion Experiments

Hypersonic air-breathing engines rely on scramjet combustion processes, which involve high speed, compressible, and highly turbulent flows. The combustion environment and the turbulent flames at the heart of these engines are difficult to simulate and study in the laboratory under well controlled conditions. Typically, wind-tunnel testing is performed that more closely approximates engine testing rather than a careful investigation of the underlying physics that drives the combustion process. The experiments described in this paper, along with companion data sets being developed separately, aim to isolate the chemical kinetic effects from the fuel-air mixing process in a dual-mode scramjet combustion environment. A unique fuel injection approach is taken that produces a nearly uniform fuel-air mixture at the entrance to the combustor. This approach relies on the precombustion shock train upstream of the dual-mode scramjet combustor. A stable ethylene flame anchored on a cavity flameholder with a uniformly mixed combustor inflow has been achieved in these experiments allowing numerous companion studies involving coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), particle image velocimetry (PIV), and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) to be performed.

Rockwell, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Afterglow and Kilonova of the Short GRB 160821B

GRB 160821B is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected and localized by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy at z = 0.1613, at a projected physical offset of 16 kpc from the galaxy’s center. We present X-ray, optical/nIR, and radio observations of its counterpart and model them with two distinct components of emission: a standard afterglow, arising from the interaction of the relativistic jet with the surrounding medium, and a kilonova, powered by the radioactive decay of the sub-relativistic ejecta. Broadband modelling of the afterglow data reveals a weak reverse shock propagating backward into the jet, and a likely jet-break at 3.5 d. This is consistent with a structured jet seen slightly off-axis (θview ∼ θcore) while expanding into a low-density medium (n ≈ 10−3 cm−3). Analysis of the kilonova properties suggests a rapid evolution towards red colours, similar toAT2017gfo, and a low-nIR luminosity, possibly due to the presence of a long-lived neutron star. The global properties of the environment, the inferred low mass (Mej <~ 0.006 Msun) and velocities (vej >~ 0.05c) of lanthanide-rich ejecta are consistent with a binary neutron star merger progenitor.

Gravitational waves↗
NASA NTRS1985

Lower-hybrid instabilities driven by an ion velocity ring

The lower-hybrid instabilities in high-beta (ratio of plasma to magnetic pressure) plasmas driven by ring-ion distributions in velocity space are investigated. A dispersion equation including electromagnetic effects is derived. In the low-beta limit, analytic expressions are obtained which illuminate the physical nature of the instabilities. The complete dispersion equation is solved numerically as a function of ring speed and plasma beta for several types of ring distribution. Electromagnetic effects are important for relatively energetic rings even in the low-beta regime, suppressing growth rates and shifting the angle of propagation to more oblique angles. Stabilization by thermal effects is also discussed. Application of these results to the earth's bow shock, AMPTE, comets and solar flares is suggested.

Akimoto, K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A hierarchy for modeling high speed propulsion systems

General research efforts on reduced order propulsion models for control systems design are overviewed. Methods for modeling high speed propulsion systems are discussed including internal flow propulsion systems that do not contain rotating machinery, such as inlets, ramjets, and scramjets. The discussion is separated into four areas: (1) computational fluid dynamics models for the entire nonlinear system or high order nonlinear models; (2) high order linearized models derived from fundamental physics; (3) low order linear models obtained from the other high order models; and (4) low order nonlinear models (order here refers to the number of dynamic states). Included in the discussion are any special considerations based on the relevant control system designs. The methods discussed are for the quasi-one-dimensional Euler equations of gasdynamic flow. The essential nonlinear features represented are large amplitude nonlinear waves, including moving normal shocks, hammershocks, simple subsonic combustion via heat addition, temperature dependent gases, detonations, and thermal choking. The report also contains a comprehensive list of papers and theses generated by this grant.

Hartley, Tom T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ultraviolet emission in the dark cloud toward HD 62542

We have obtained low resolution IUE short wavelength spectra at several positions within a ridge of molecular gas within the Gunn Nebula. Optical absorption line measurements toward HD 62542 indicate moderately high densities within the ridge. The physical appearance of the ridge, along with H-alpha and IRAS images of the nebula, suggest that winds and radiation from Gamma Vel and Zeta Pup are heating and compressing the ridge. The IUE spectra revealed faint C II and C III emission at one position, while C IV was weakly detected at another. The former are interpreted as arising in photoionized gas while the latter probably arises in a shocked wind striking the ridge. No detections were made at other positions in the ridge.

O'Donnell, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Real-time measurement of materials properties at high temperatures by laser produced plasmas

Determination of elemental composition and thermophysical properties of materials at high temperatures, as visualized in the context of containerless materials processing in a microgravity environment, presents a variety of unusual requirements owing to the thermal hazards and interferences from electromagnetic control fields. In addition, such information is intended for process control applications and thus the measurements must be real time in nature. A new technique is described which was developed for real time, in-situ determination of the elemental composition of molten metallic alloys such as specialty steel. The technique is based on time-resolved spectroscopy of a laser produced plasma (LPP) plume resulting from the interaction of a giant laser pulse with a material target. The sensitivity and precision were demonstrated to be comparable to, or better than, the conventional methods of analysis which are applicable only to post-mortem specimens sampled from a molten metal pool. The LPP technique can be applied widely to other materials composition analysis applications. The LPP technique is extremely information rich and therefore provides opportunities for extracting other physical properties in addition to the materials composition. The case in point is that it is possible to determine thermophysical properties of the target materials at high temperatures by monitoring generation and transport of acoustic pulses as well as a number of other fluid-dynamic processes triggered by the LPP event. By manipulation of the scaling properties of the laser-matter interaction, many different kinds of flow events, ranging from shock waves to surface waves to flow induced instabilities, can be generated in a controllable manner. Time-resolved detection of these events can lead to such thermophysical quantities as volume and shear viscosities, thermal conductivity, specific heat, mass density, and others.

Kim, Yong W.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Fun Times with Cosmic Rays

Who would have thought cosmic rays could be so hip? Although discovered 90 years ago on death-defying manned balloon flights hip even by twenty-first-century extremesport standards cosmic rays quickly lost popularity as way-cool telescopes were finding way-too-cool phenomena across the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet cosmic rays are back in vogue, boasting their own set of superlatives. Scientists are tracking them down with new resolve from the Arctic to Antarctica and even on the high western plains of Argentina. Theorists, too, now see cosmic rays as harbingers of funky physics. Cosmic rays are atomic and subatomic particles - the fastest moving bits of matter in the universe and the only sample of matter we have from outside the solar system (with the exception of interstellar dust grains). Lower-energy cosmic rays come from the Sun. Mid-energy particles come from stellar explosions - either spewed directly from the star like shrapnel, or perhaps accelerated to nearly the speed of light by shock waves. The highest-energy cosmic rays, whose unequivocal existence remains one of astronomy's greatest mysteries, clock in at a staggering 10(exp 19) to 10(exp 22) electron volts. This is the energy carried in a baseball pitch; seeing as how there are as many atomic particles in a baseball as there are baseballs in the Moon, that s one powerful toss. No simple stellar explosion could produce them. At a recent conference in Albuquerque, scientists presented the first observational evidence of a possible origin for the highest-energy variety. A team led by Elihu Boldt at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center found that five of these very rare cosmic rays (there are only a few dozen confirmed events) come from the direction of four 'retired' quasar host galaxies just above the arm of the Big Dipper, all visible with backyard telescopes: NGC 3610, NGC 3613, NGC 4589, and NGC 5322. These galaxies are billions of years past their glory days as the brightest beacons in the universe. Yet they still harbor central, supermassive black holes, which could generate energetic particles if they are spinning.

Wanjek, Christopher↗