Results for “Propulsion Simulation” — Page 48

NASA NTRS1976

Investigations of the 0.020-scale 88-OTS Integrated Space Shuttle Vehicle Jet-Plume Model in the NASA/Ames Research Center 11 by11-Foot Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (IA80)

The results are documented of jet plume effects wind tunnel test of the 0.020-scale 88-OTS launch configuration space shuttle vehicle model in the 11 x 11 foot leg of the NASA/Ames Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. This test involved cold gas main propulsion system (MPS) and solid rocket motor (SRB) plume simulations at Mach numbers from 0.6 to 1.4. Integrated vehicle surface pressure distributions, elevon and rudder hinge moments, and wing and vertical tail root bending and torsional moments due to MPS and SRB plume interactions were determined. Nozzle power conditions were controlled per pretest nozzle calibrations. Model angle of attack was varied from -4 deg to +4 deg; model angle of sideslip was varied from -4 deg to +4 deg. Reynolds number was varied for certain test conditions and configurations, with the nominal freestream total pressure being 14.69 psia. Plotted force and pressure data are presented.

Nichols, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Energy efficient engine ICLS Nacelle detail design report

The results of the detail design of the Nacelle for the General Electric Energy Efficient Engine (E3) Integrated Core Low Spool (ICLS) test vehicles are presented. A slave nacelle is designed for the ICLS test. Cost and reliability are the important factors considered. The slave nacelle simulates the internal flow lines of the actual Flight Propulsion System (FPS) but has no external fairing. The aerodynamic differences between the ICLS and FPS nacelles are presented, followed by the structural description and analysis of the various nacelle components.

Eskridge, R. R.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Telescope simulators for Hubble - An overview of optical designs

This paper briefly describes optical design of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and overviews three optical design simulators for HST which have been proposed for use as verification tools to characterize the performance of second-generation instruments during ground testing. These simulators are: the Refractive Aberrated Simulator developed at Ball Aerospace, the Optical Simulator developed at Laboratoire Astronomie Spatiale, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Stimulus. Relative advantages and disadvantages of each optical configuration are discussed.

Davilla, Pam↗

NASA NTRS2015

Marshall Space Flight Center Faculty Fellowship Program

The Faculty Fellowship program was revived in the summer of 2015 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, following a period of diminished faculty research activity here since 2006 when budget cuts in the Headquarters' Education Office required realignment. Several senior Marshall managers recognized the need to involve the Nation's academic research talent in NASA's missions and projects to the benefit of both entities. These managers invested their funds required to establish the renewed Faculty Fellowship program in 2015, a 10-week residential research involvement of 16 faculty in the laboratories and offices at Marshall. These faculty engineers and scientists worked with NASA collaborators on NASA projects, bringing new perspectives and solutions to bear. This Technical Memorandum is a compilation of the research reports of the 2015 Marshall Faculty Fellowship program, along with the Program Announcement (appendix A) and the Program Description (appendix B). The research touched on seven areas-propulsion, materials, instrumentation, fluid dynamics, human factors, control systems, and astrophysics. The propulsion studies included green propellants, gas bubble dynamics, and simulations of fluid and thermal transients. The materials investigations involved sandwich structures in composites, plug and friction stir welding, and additive manufacturing, including both strength characterization and thermosets curing in space. The instrumentation projects involved spectral interfero- metry, emissivity, and strain sensing in structures. The fluid dynamics project studied the water hammer effect. The human factors project investigated the requirements for close proximity operations in confined spaces. Another team proposed a controls system for small launch vehicles, while in astrophysics, one faculty researcher estimated the practicality of weather modification by blocking the Sun's insolation, and another found evidence in satellite data of the detection of a warm-hot intergalactic medium filament. Our goal is to continue the Faculty Fellowship effort with Center funds in succeeding summers.

Six, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Computational Evaluation of Inlet Distortion on an Ejector Powered Hybrid Wing Body at Takeoff and Landing Conditions

Due to the aft, upper surface engine location on the Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) planform, there is potential to shed vorticity and separated wakes into the engine when the vehicle is operated at off-design conditions and corners of the envelope required for engine and airplane certification. CFD simulations were performed of the full-scale reference propulsion system, operating at a range of inlet flow rates, flight speeds, altitudes, angles of attack, and angles of sideslip to identify the conditions which produce the largest distortion and lowest pressure recovery. Pretest CFD was performed by NASA and Boeing, using multiple CFD codes, with various turbulence models. These data were used to make decisions regarding model integration, characterize inlet flow distortion patterns, and help define the wind tunnel test matrix. CFD was also performed post-test; when compared with test data, it was possible to make comparisons between measured model-scale and predicted full-scale distortion levels. This paper summarizes these CFD analyses.

Wind Tunnel Testing↗

NASA NTRS2016

Testing Installed Propulsion for Shielded Exhaust Configurations

Jet-surface interaction (JSI) can be a significant factor in the exhaust noise of installed propulsion systems. Tests to further the understanding and prediction of the acoustic impacts of JSI have been described. While there were many objectives for the test, the overall objective was to prepare for a future test validating the design of a low-noise, lowboom supersonic commercial airliner. In this paper we explore design requirements for a partial aircraft model to be used in subscale acoustic testing, especially focusing on the amount of aircraft body that must be included to produce the acoustic environment between propulsion exhaust system and observer. We document the dual-stream jets, both nozzle and flow conditions, which were tested to extend JSI acoustic modeling from simple singlestream jets to realistic dual-stream exhaust nozzles. Sample observations are provided of changes to far-field sound as surface geometry and flow conditions were varied. Initial measurements are presented for integrating the propulsion on the airframe for a supersonic airliner with simulated airframe geometries and nozzles. Acoustic impacts of installation were modest, resulting in variations of less than 3 EPNdB in most configurations.

engine airframe integration↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Managing Spacecraft Risk With Space Environments Testing Via Process Safety Management At The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility

The NASA Glenn Research Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (GRC-ATF) is home to several unique, world class aerospace test facilities, including the In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Facility. The ISP Facility is NASA’s largest chamber designed to store and transfer large quantities of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen; and is designed to support developmental testing of upper stage chemical propulsion systems as well as fully integrated stages. The facility is also capable of providing thermal-vacuum simulation services to support testing of aerospace hardware, Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) systems and other In-Space propulsion programs. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard (29 CFR 1910.119) is an analytical tool focused on preventing the release of chemicals and other energy sources. In a short timeframe, GRC-ATF was required to restore a PSM Program at the Facility. Although the summarized work is specific to the ground testing of rockets and space vehicles, the ISP Facility is used to verify system level requirements, some of these are safety requirements, and thus key to managing risks in space.

Safety↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Managing Spacecraft Risk with Space Environments Testing via Process Safety Management at the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (GRC-ATF)

The NASA Glenn Research Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (GRC-ATF) is home to several unique, world class aerospace test facilities, including the In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Facility. The ISP Facility is NASA’s largest chamber designed to store and transfer large quantities of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen; and is designed to support developmental testing of upper stage chemical propulsion systems as well as fully integrated stages. The facility is also capable of providing thermal-vacuum simulation services to support testing of aerospace hardware, Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) systems and other In-Space propulsion programs. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard (29 CFR 1910.119) is an analytical tool focused on preventing the release of chemicals and other energy sources. In a short timeframe, GRC-ATF was required to restore a PSM Program at the Facility. Although the summarized work is specific to the ground testing of rockets and space vehicles, the ISP Facility is used to verify system level requirements, some of these are safety requirements, and thus key to managing risks in space.

Safety↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Parahydrogen Properties Version 05 Database Release for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Applications

Consistent modeling assumptions across any large project are crucial to minimize errors between different approaches. Use of consistent material and fluid properties across a large project supports consistent interpretation and application within modeling and simulation results as well as their relevancy to operational systems. NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion program dedicates extensive resources towards establishing consistent and, to the extent possible, accurate property databases for its internal staff and all external partners. This work highlights the extensive research performed to modernize the fluid property database of hydrogen which is the leading propellant option for in-space nuclear propelled spacecraft. Specifically, the parahydrogen spin state is of interest since the propellant is stored in a near normal boiling point liquid state which results in it consisting almost entirely of the parahydrogen spin isomer. This database tool has taken recent NASA work and modernized it into a python-based package for easy usage across all modeling entities. The package allows users to provide temperature and pressure pairs along with their desired output properties to yield results accounting for both real-gas and equilibrium dissociation effects while also sharing the default thermodynamic reference state provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Database 23. The suite also includes advanced capabilities to increase usability, such as on-the-fly interpolation and multidimensional plotting.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Results of the NASA Prediction Uncertainty Reduction Tech Challenge

In January 2021 the Advanced Air Vehicles Program approved a new Tech Challenge (TC) to be run out of the Commercial Supersonic Technology (CST) Project. The objective of the TC was to bring uncertainties in the empirical noise modeling for civilian supersonic aircraft into the same range as that of conventional aircraft. The TC goal statement was to “Produce data and demonstrate tools that reduce the uncertainty in predicting Landing & Takeoff Noise levels of supersonic-relevant designs by 5 EPNdB and are ready for use in studies to inform FAA rule-making.” To make the required improvements in noise prediction methods for supersonic aircraft, NASA decided to validate and use high-fidelity numerical simulations to acquire the needed noise data on supersonic propulsion configurations. High-fidelity component designs were developed, such as a two-stage propulsor behind a supersonic inlet designed by General Electric Aviation and variable area exhaust systems using input from recent contracts with GE and Rolls Royce. A noise database was generated as a function of geometric and flow parameters, providing corrections to the empirical noise models and added new input variables to describe the complexities created by the supersonic-specific design features. Statistically, the new models were able to predict the acoustic impact of supersonic-specific features, the reduction in uncertainty being reduced from the baseline 7.8 EPNdB at the beginning of the TC to 2.0 EPNdB at the end.

noise prediction↗

DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines

The advanced power electronics and electric machines (APEEM) research group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed world-class experimental and modeling capabilities for designing and evaluating efficient and reliable power electronics and electric machines thermal management systems. They also design, fabricate and characterize advanced power electronics packaging, and are developing state-of-health monitoring techniques. These researchers deliver safe, reliable, high performing, power-dense components that allow seamless integration between renewable energy sources, electric transportation, and the grid, helping to make widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption and greenhouse gas emissions reduction more feasible. This document outlines the group's major capabilities in the areas of power electronics; module development and characterization; thermal modeling and management; thermomechanical reliability analysis of devices, modules, inverters/converters, and electric machines; physics-of-failure-based reliability analysis; and microelectronics. It also overviews the group's state-of-the-art equipment for fluid-based thermal management; thermal measurement & characterization; thermomechanical reliability analysis; micro- and power electronics measurement & characterization; and prototype fabrication, as well as the group's world-class modeling and simulation capabilities.

advanced gate drivers↗

NASA NTRS1975

Magnetic compatibility of solar electric propulsion module with spacecraft and science

An investigation has been conducted in order to assess the impact of magnetic fields generated by the propulsion module upon the scientific instrumentation of the spacecraft as proposed for the mission to comet Encke. It was found that dc magnetic fields could potentially be a threat to the magnetometer experiment, whereas ac fields could affect the plasma wave experiment instrumentation. Studies included a set of measurements, computer simulation, and mathematical analyses. Ways for achieving the compatibility of the propulsion module with science are studied and recommendations advanced.

Cowgill, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Development and Validation of a Supersonic Helium-Air Coannular Jet Facility

Data are acquired in a simple coannular He/air supersonic jet suitable for validation of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) codes for high speed propulsion. Helium is employed as a non-reacting hydrogen fuel simulant, constituting the core of the coannular flow while the coflow is composed of air. The mixing layer interface between the two flows in the near field and the plume region which develops further downstream constitute the primary regions of interest, similar to those present in all hypersonic air breathing propulsion systems. A computational code has been implemented from the experiment's inception, serving as a tool for model design during the development phase.

Carty, Atherton A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Preliminary MIPCC Enhanced F-4 and F-15 Preformance Characteristics for a First Stage Reusable Launch Vehicle

Performance increases in turbojet engines can theoretically be achieved through Mass Injection Pre-Compressor Cooling (MIPCC), a process involving injecting water or oxidizer or both into an afterburning turbojet engine. The injection of water results in pre-compressor cooling, allowing the propulsion system to operate at high altitudes and Mach numbers. In this way, a MIPCC-enhanced turbojet engine could be used to power the first stage of a reusable launch vehicle or be integrated into an existing aircraft that could launch a 100-lbm payload to a reference 100-nm altitude orbit at 28 deg inclination. The two possible candidates for MIPCC flight demonstration that are evaluated in this study are the F-4 Phantom II airplane and the F-15 Eagle airplane (both of McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois), powered by two General Electric Company (Fairfield, Connecticut) J79 engines and two Pratt & Whitney (East Hartford, Connecticut) F100-PW-100 engines, respectively. This paper presents a conceptual discussion of the theoretical performance of each of these aircraft using MIPCC propulsion techniques. Trajectory studies were completed with the Optimal Trajectories by Implicit Simulation (OTIS) software (NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio) for a standard F-4 airplane and a standard F-15 airplane. Standard aircraft simulation models were constructed, and the thrust in each was altered in accordance with estimated MIPCC performance characteristics. The MIPCC and production aircraft model results were then reviewed to assess the feasibility of a MIPCC-enhanced propulsion system for use as a first-stage reusable launch vehicle; it was determined that the MIPCC-enhanced F-15 model showed a significant performance advantage over the MIPCC-enhanced F-4 model.

Air Breathing Launch Systems↗

NASA NTRS2013

Preliminary MIPCC Enhanced F-4 and F-15 Performance Characteristics for a First Stage Reusable Launch Vehicle

Performance increases in turbojet engines can theoretically be achieved through Mass Injection Pre-Compressor Cooling (MIPCC), a process involving injecting water or oxidizer or both into an afterburning turbojet engine. The injection of water results in pre-compressor cooling, allowing the propulsion system to operate at high altitudes and Mach numbers. In this way, a MIPCC-enhanced turbojet engine could be used to power the first stage of a reusable launch vehicle or be integrated into an existing aircraft that could launch a 100-lbm payload to a reference 100-nm altitude orbit at 28 deg inclination. The two possible candidates for MIPCC flight demonstration that are evaluated in this study are the F-4 Phantom II airplane and the F-15 Eagle airplane (both of McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois), powered by two General Electric Company (Fairfield, Connecticut) J79 engines and two Pratt & Whitney (East Hartford, Connecticut) F100-PW-100 engines, respectively. This paper presents a conceptual discussion of the theoretical performance of each of these aircraft using MIPCC propulsion techniques. Trajectory studies were completed with the Optimal Trajectories by Implicit Simulation (OTIS) software (NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio) for a standard F-4 airplane and a standard F-15 airplane. Standard aircraft simulation models were constructed, and the thrust in each was altered in accordance with estimated MIPCC performance characteristics. The MIPCC and production aircraft model results were then reviewed to assess the feasibility of a MIPCC-enhanced propulsion system for use as a first-stage reusable launch vehicle; it was determined that the MIPCC-enhanced F-15 model showed a significant performance advantage over the MIPCC-enhanced F-4 model.

MIPCC Reusable Launch Vehicle↗

NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Methods for Aircraft Engine Thrust and Noise Benefits: Nozzle-Inlet Flow Analysis

In this project on the first stage (2000-Ol), we continued to develop the previous joint research between the Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (FM&AL) at Hampton University (HU) and the Jet Noise Team (JNT) at the NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC). At the second stage (2001-03), FM&AL team concentrated its efforts on solving of problems of interest to Glenn Research Center (NASA GRC), especially in the field of propulsion system enhancement. The NASA GRC R&D Directorate and LaRC Hyper-X Program specialists in a hypersonic technology jointly with the FM&AL staff conducted research on a wide region of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines. The last year the Hampton University School of Engineering & Technology was awarded the NASA grant, for creation of the Aeropropulsion Center, and the FM&AL is a key team of the project fulfillment responsible for research in Aeropropulsion and Acoustics (Pillar I). This work is supported by joint research between the NASA GRC/ FM&AL and the Institute of Mechanics at Moscow State University (IMMSU) in Russia under a CRDF grant. The main areas of current scientific interest of the FM&AL include an investigation of the proposed and patented advanced methods for aircraft engine thrust and noise benefits. This is the main subject of our other projects, of which one is presented. The last year we concentrated our efforts to analyze three main problems: (a) new effective methods fuel injection into the flow stream in air-breathing engines; (b) new re-circulation method for mixing, heat transfer and combustion enhancement in propulsion systems and domestic industry application; (c) covexity flow The research is focused on a wide regime of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines (see, for example, Figures 4). The FM&AL Team uses analytical methods, numerical simulations and experimental tests at the Hampton University campus, NASA and IM/MSU.

Morgan, Morris H., III↗

NASA NTRS2012

Multi-Mission Simulation and Visualization for Real-Time Telemetry Display, Playback and EDL Event Reconstruction

he Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Reconstruction Task has developed a software system that provides mission operations personnel and analysts with a real time telemetry-based live display, playback and post-EDL reconstruction capability that leverages the existing high-fidelity, physics-based simulation framework and modern game engine-derived 3D visualization system developed in the JPL Dynamics and Real Time Simulation (DARTS) Lab. Developed as a multi-mission solution, the EDL Telemetry Visualization (ETV) system has been used for a variety of projects including NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), NASA'S Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) and JPL's MoonRise Lunar sample return proposal.

Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Reconstruction↗

NASA NTRS2011

Numerical Simulations of a 20-kW Class Hall Thruster Using the Magnetic-Field-Aligned-Mesh Code Hall2De

This paper reports on numerical simulations of the NASA-300M, a 20-kW class Hall thruster developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). The numerical simulations have been performed with a 2-D axisymmetric, magnetic field-aligned-mesh (MFAM) plasma solver developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The main objective of the collaborative effort is to combine physics-based simulation, plasma diagnostics and recent findings on erosion physics to design and demonstrate a high-power, high-performance Hall thruster that exceeds the life of state-of-the-art Hall thrusters by more than one order of magnitude. The thruster simulations have been carried out at a discharge voltage of 500 V and discharge current of 40 A. The results indicate that although the impact energy of ions may attain values that are comparable to the discharge voltage along the downstream portions of the channel, a withdrawn ionization region and significant ion focusing combine to sustain erosion rates below 1 mm/kh. A more extensive evaluation of the baseline NASA-300M configuration and re-design of this thruster with magnetically shielded walls constitute the main focus of our work in the coming months.

plasma simulations↗