SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “sweep testing”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1992

Scramjet combustor and nozzle computations

The SHIP3D PNS code is used to conduct a 3D parametric study of a scramjet combustor and nozzle configuration at flight Mach numbers of 8, 10, 12, 16, and 20. The study demonstrated the powerful computational strategy of using a highly efficient, modified PNS code and a nonkinetic chemistry model to analyze test data and conduct parametric studies of scramjet combustors and nozzles. The mixing efficiency was found to decrease by 0.2 when the flight Mach number increased from 8 to 12 and showed little change at higher Mach numbers. The protruding ramp injector generated an oblique shock that impinged on the cowl. Ramp-slot injection produced better mixing, both because of the interaction of this shock with the slot fuel, and because of better fuel distribution in the duct. The former effect was enhanced when the ramp angle was increased. Mixing was also enhanced when the ramp fuel injection angle and sweep angle were increased.

Kamath, Pradeep S.↗

DOE OSTI2022

AGR-5/6/7 Final Release-to-Birth Ratio Data Analysis

AGR-5/6/7 is the last of a series of Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) experiments conducted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in support of development and qualification of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) low-enriched fuel for use in the high-temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). AGR configuration and irradiation conditions are based on prismatic HTGR technology that is distinguished primarily through the use of helium coolant, a low-power-density ceramic core capable of withstanding very high temperatures, and TRISO-coated particle fuel. The AGR tests provide valuable irradiation-performance data to support fuel process development, qualify fuel for normal operation and accident conditions, and support development and validation of fuel performance and fission-product (FP) transport models and codes. Each AGR test consists of multiple independently controlled and monitored capsules containing fuel compacts placed in a graphite cylinder shrouded by a steel shell. Release-to-birth ratios (R/B) for fission-gas isotopes released from each capsule are calculated from release rates, measured by germanium detectors in the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) installed downstream from each capsule, and birth rates calculated using numerical models of FG generation. The R/Bs are a critical measure of the ability of the fuel kernel, the particle coating layers, and the compact matrix to retain fission-gas atoms, preventing their release into the sweep-gas flow, and the impact of initially defective particles and/or particle-coating failures that occur during irradiation. For fission-gas isotopes, particle failure is defined as failure of all coating layers, allowing gaseous fission atoms to escape from a particle. During the first five cycles (162B ? 165A), R/Bs were stable in the 10-8?10-6 range, and no in-pile particle failures were observed, based on the gross gamma counts. The maximum R/B value of around 2 ? 10-6 for Kr-85m resulted from the presence of as-fabricated exposed kernels (based on the high exposed kernel fraction), the dispersed uranium, and high fuel particle temperatures in Capsule 1. Comparison of capsule-measured R/Bs from these early cycles to predictions using the previously developed AGR R/B model demonstrated FG release from the AGR-5/6/7 TRISO fuel was comparable to that of previous experiments. In addition, the Kr-85m R/B per-exposed-kernel values are comparable to R/B values obtained in AGR-3/4 irradiation experiment and four irradiation experiments performed during 1980s: (1) HRB-17/18, (2) COMEDIE-BD1, (3) HFR B1, and (4) HRB-21. In contrast, all measured R/B values are lower than predictions by the commonly used Richards and German models, which are intentionally conservative. A large number of in-pile particle failures occurred in Capsule 1 by the end of Cycle 166A. During the final four cycles (166A ? 168A), apparent damage to the Capsule 1 gas line appeared to cause FG leakage from that capsule into the other four capsules, resulting in an increase in fission gas (FG) detected in the effluent for all capsules. Isolation of the Capsule 1 gas line during the last three cycles also prevented measurement of its FG release. Thus, R/Bs in all capsules after Cycle 166A are highly uncertain because of undefined amount of leakage from Capsule 1, especially for long-lived isotopes. A few hundred in-pile particle failures were estimated for Capsule 1 before the end of Cycle 166A, but the total number of failures is unknown due to the lack of FG release data in the later cycles. Based primarily on evidence from the gross gamma counts during Cycle 168A, approximately 15 particles failed in Capsule 3 and four particles failed in Capsule 2. In-pile failures in Capsule 3 were anticipated because this capsule was designed to operate beyond the HTGR normal operating temperature range. In contrast, no in-pile failures were identified in the top two capsules (4 and 5) based on the absence of the typical spikes in gross gamma counts and low failure estimates using the AGR model, developed in INL/EXT-14-32970, for R/B of the short-lived isotopes (Kr-89 and Xe-137) with minimal leakage from Capsule 1.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Bench scale development of a hybrid membrane-absorption CO 2 capture process (Final Report)

This final technical report describes work conducted for the Department of Energy (DOE) on the development of a bench-scale hybrid membrane-absorption carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture system for coal-fired power plant applications (Cooperative Agreement number DE-FE0013118). The work was conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) with major support from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) from April 1, 2013 through September 30, 2018. The overall goal of this project was to evaluate two variations of a hybrid membrane-absorption capture system combining the MTR air-swept PolarisTM membrane technology, which enriches flue gas to ~20% CO 2 , with UT Austin’s absorption-based advanced flash stripper (AFS) using piperazine (PZ), to determine the superior hybrid variant and to assess the potential of hybrid capture systems to achieve a lower cost-of-capture, compared to NETL’s reference amine-based capture plant. This project included the evaluation, development and testing of a hybrid membrane-absorption CO 2 capture system for coal-fired power plant applications using the MTR high-gas-flow, low-pressure-drop membrane contactor. The ability of the membrane contactor to enrich coal-fired flue gas from its normal content of ~13% CO 2 into a smaller volume of gas containing 20-25% CO 2 – with minimal energy input – could reduce the cost of the final concentration process, regardless of whether it is absorption, adsorption, cryogenic, or membrane-based. In this project, we are evaluating the feasibility of a hybrid system combining the MTR sweep membrane technology with the UT Austin piperazine-based advanced flash stripper (PZAS) capture system.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Metal additively manufactured wavy fin cold-plate architecture for improved thermal-hydraulic performance

Rapid growth in artificial intelligence and data center workloads demands high-performance liquid cooling to manage increasing chip power. This study presents two metal-additive-manufactured cold plates with sinusoidal fins, constant-amplitude wavy fins and linearly variable-amplitude wavy fins and compares them against metal-additive-manufactured straight fins using experiments conducted at 1 kW heat dissipation as well as high-fidelity 3D conjugate computational fluid dynamic simulations. The cold plates were printed in AlSi10Mg material and underwent design using a Python-automated workflow prior to manufacture and testing. The experiments show that wavy fins reduce the normalized thermal resistance by 35 to 45 % at water flow rates from 1 to 4 LPM. At a fixed 20 kPa pressure drop, the variable-waviness design lowered peak surface temperature by 9 °C and thermal resistance by 51 %, while edge-channel maldistribution in the constant wavy fin design limited gains. A thermal resistance breakdown revealed that 55–63 % of the total thermal resistance in wavy designs comes from base heat conduction, 27–33 % from fin heat conduction, and 9–13 % from fin heat convection, indicating the need to address conduction bottlenecks. Parametric sweeps identify a 3 mm fin pitch as optimal, and that horizontal inlet/outlet manifolds further reduce pressure drop by 30–60 % and thermal resistance by 9–16 % relative to vertical inlet-outlet manifolds. The results yield comprehensive guidelines for fin geometry, manifold alignment, material selection and additive-manufacturing constraints to realize high-performance liquid-cooled cold plates for power-dense electronics.

3d printing↗

DOE OSTI2026

Formulation and Performance Evaluation of Epoxy Sealant Systems for Double-Shell Tank Bottom Refurbishment

The performance of epoxy sealants used in the refurbishment of double-shell tank (DST) systems requires balancing processability, thermomechanical stability, and adhesion to cementitious substrates. This study incorporates Heloxy 8 as a reactive diluent into Westlake 862 epoxy to tailor workability and cured-state properties. Rheological time-sweep analysis demonstrates that increasing the diluent content significantly reduces complex viscosity and extends workability, thereby improving pumpability and flow for large-area applications. However, the targeted 2-hour processing window is not fully achieved. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirms that all formulations cure at room temperature to glass transition temperatures ( T g ) at least 20 °C above the maximum DST operating temperature (27 °C), thereby ensuring service in the glassy regime. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) reveals formulation-dependent reductions in tan delta and increases in storage modulus, indicating increasingly elastic and mechanically stable networks with diluent incorporation. Pull-off adhesion testing shows that modified formulations (70–90% Westlake epoxy) exhibit significantly higher adhesion strengths than the unmodified system. Grout cohesive failure indicates that interfacial bonding exceeds substrate strength. Collectively, these results demonstrate that controlled reactive diluent incorporation enables optimization of processing behavior, interfacial adhesion, and thermomechanical performance, supporting the suitability of the modified epoxy systems as durable sealant layers for cementitious barrier applications in hazardous waste containment infrastructure.

Differential scanning calorimetry↗

DOE OSTI2013

An advanced algorithm for construction of Integral Transport Matrix Method operators using accumulation of single cell coupling factors

The Integral Transport Matrix Method (ITMM) has been shown to be an effective method for solving the neutron transport equation in large domains on massively parallel architectures. In the limit of very large number of processors, the speed of the algorithm, and its suitability for unstructured meshes, i.e. other than an ordered Cartesian grid, is limited by the construction of four matrix operators required for obtaining the solution in each sub-domain. The existing algorithm used for construction of these matrix operators, termed the differential mesh sweep, is computationally expensive and was developed for a structured grid. This work proposes the use of a new algorithm for construction of these operators based on the construction of a single, fundamental matrix representing the transport of a particle along every possible path throughout the sub-domain mesh. Each of the operators is constructed by multiplying an element of this fundamental matrix by two factors dependent only upon the operator being constructed and on properties of the emitting and incident cells. The ITMM matrix operator construction time for the new algorithm is demonstrated to be shorter than the existing algorithm in all tested cases with both isotropic and anisotropic scattering considered. While also being a more efficient algorithm on a structured Cartesian grid, the new algorithm is promising in its geometric robustness and potential for being applied to an unstructured mesh, with the ultimate goal of application to an unstructured tetrahedral mesh on a massively parallel architecture. (authors)

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1985

Experimental and theoretical study of the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of delta and double-delta wings at Mach numbers of 1.60, 1.90, and 2.16

An experimental and theoretical study was conducted to investigate the supersonic aerodynamic characteristics of delta and double-delta wings. Testing was conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at Mach numbers of 1.60, 1.90, and 2.16. The double-delta wings exhibited lower zero-lift drag values than the delta wings having the same aspect ratio, whereas delta wings provided the lower drag due to lift. Deflections of the trailing-edge flaps for pitch control revealed that the induced aerodynamic forces were only a function of the flap planform and were independent of wing planform. The supporting theoretical analysis showed that the supersonic design and analysis system (SDAS) did not consistently predict all the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of the low-sweep, low-fineness-ratio wing-body configurations under investigation.

Wood, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Cruise Speed Sensitivity Study for Transonic Truss Braced Wing

NASA's investment and research in aviation has led to new technologies and concepts that make aircraft more efficient and environmentally friendly. One aircraft design operational concept is the reduction of cruise speed to reduce fuel burned during a mission. Although this is not a new idea, it was used by all of the contractors involved in a 2008 NASA sponsored study that solicited concept and technology ideas to reduce environmental impacts for future subsonic passenger transports. NASA is currently improving and building new analysis capabilities to analyze advanced concepts. To test some of these new capabilities, a transonic truss braced wing configuration was used as a test case. This paper examines the effects due to changes in the design cruise speed and other tradeoffs in the design space. The analysis was baselined to the Boeing SUGAR High truss braced wing concept. An optimization was run at five different design cruise Mach numbers. These designs are compared to provide an initial assessment space and the parameters that should be considered when selecting a design cruise speed. A discussion of the design drivers is also included. The results show that the wing weight in the current analysis has more influence on the takeoff gross weight than expected. This effect caused lower than expected wing sweep angle values for higher cruise speed designs.

Wells, Douglas P.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Simulator investigation of arrow-wing low-speed handling qualities

Low speed handling qualities of arrow wings were investigated with a piloted simulator. Existing aerodynamic data were used from NASA SCAT 15F tunnel tests augmented with Lockheed low speed wind tunnel test data. Two arrow wing planforms were chosen for the simulation effort a Mach 2.0 design and a Mach 2.7 design. These designs are in the SCAT 15F Mach 2.7 design family, having the same beta AR and beta cot lambda. Piloted simulation results indicate that both the Mach 2.0 and Mach 2.7 planforms have satisfactory longitudinal flying qualities. However, in the control of bank angle the Mach 2.0 planform demonstrates satisfactory handling qualities while the Mach 2.7 planform is unacceptable. This situation applies for crosswind landings at FAA limits and for lineup in heavy turbulence. The low speed superiority of the Mach 2 planform with its lower sweep and higher aspect ratio is also shown by its ability to approach at least 8 m/s slower than the Mach 2.7 planform without degradation in handling qualities.

Averett, B. T.↗

NASA NTRS1957

Static Longitudinal and Lateral Stability Characteristics at Low Speed of 45 Degree Sweptback-midwing Models Having Wings with an Aspect Ratio of 2, 4, or 6

Results are presented of tests conducted in the Langley stability tunnel to determine the effects of various components and combinations of components on the static longitudinal and lateral stability characteristics at low speed of a series of 45 degree sweptback-midwing-airplane configurations having wings with an aspect ratio of 2, 4, or 6. The tests were made at a dynamic pressure of 24.9 pounds per square foot which corresponds to a Mach number of 0.13 and Reynolds numbers of 1.00 x 10(exp 6), 0.71 x 10 (exp 6), and 0.58 x 10 (exp 6) based on the respective wing mean aerodynamic chords. The angle-of-attack range covered was from -4 degrees to 32 degrees and the sideslip angles used for the lateral-derivative tests were 5 degrees and -5 degrees. An increasing loss in tail contribution to directional stability both with increasing wing aspect ratio and increasing angle of attack was found to be a principal cause of all the complete models becoming directionally unstable in the high angle-of-attack range.

STABILITY, LONGITUDINAL - STATIC↗

NASA NTRS1960

Supersonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Low-Drag Aircraft Configuration having an Arrow Wing of Aspect Ratio 1.86 and a Body of Fineness Ratio 20

A free-flight rocket-propelled-model investigation was conducted at Mach numbers of 1.2 to 1.9 to determine the longitudinal and lateral aero-dynamic characteristics of a low-drag aircraft configuration. The model consisted of an aspect-ratio -1.86 arrow wing with 67.5 deg. leading-edge sweep and NACA 65A004 airfoil section and a triangular vertical tail with 60 deg. sweep and NACA 65A003 section in combination with a body of fineness ratio 20. Aerodynamic data in pitch, yaw, and roll were obtained from transient motions induced by small pulse rockets firing at intervals in the pitch and yaw directions. From the results of this brief aerodynamic investigation, it is observed that very slender body shapes can provide increased volumetric capacity with little or no increase in zero-lift drag and that body fineness ratios of the order of 20 should be considered in the design of long-range supersonic aircraft. The zero-lift drag and the drag-due-to-lift parameter of the test configuration varied linearly with Mach number. The maximum lift-drag ratio was 7.0 at a Mach number of 1.25 and decreased slightly to a value of 6.6 at a Mach number of 1.81. The optimum lift coefficient, normal-force-curve slope, lateral-force-curve slope, static stability in pitch and yaw, time to damp to one-half amplitude in pitch and yaw, the sum of the rotary damping derivatives in pitch and also in yaw, and the static rolling derivatives all decreased with an increase in Mach number. Values of certain rolling derivatives were obtained by application of the least-squares method to the differential equation of rolling motion. A comparison of the experimental and calculated total rolling-moment-coefficient variation during transient oscillations of the model indicated good agreement when the damping-in-roll contribution was included with the static rolling-moment terms.

Gillespie, Warren, Jr.↗

DOE OSTI2013

Assessment and improvement of the 2D/1D method stability in DeCART

As part of ongoing work with Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), the 2D/1D code, DeCART, has demonstrated some of the advantages of the 2D/1D method with respect to realistic, full-core analysis, particularly over explicit 3D transport methods, which generally have higher memory and computation requirements. The 2D/1D method performs 2D-radial transport sweeps coupled with ID-axial diffusion calculations to provide a full 3D simulation. DeCART employs the 2D method of characteristics for the radial sweeps and ID one-node nodal diffusion for the axial sweeps, coupling the two methods with transverse leakages to ensure a more consistent representation of the transport equation. It has been observed that refinement of the axial plane thickness leads to instabilities in the calculation scheme. This work assesses the sources of these instabilities and the approaches to improve them, especially with respect to negative scattering cross sections and the tightness of the 2D-radial/ID-axial coupling schemes. Fourier analyses show that the existing iteration scheme is not unconditionally stable, suggesting a tighter coupling scheme is required. For this reason 3D-CMFD has been implemented, among other developments, to ensure more stable calculation. A matrix of test cases has been used to assess the convergence, with the primary parameter being the axial plane thickness, which has been refined down to 1 cm. These cases demonstrate the issues observed and how the modification improve the stability. However, it is apparent that more work is necessary to ensure unconditional stability. (authors)

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2017

Achieving algorithmic resilience for temporal integration through spectral deferred corrections

Spectral deferred corrections (SDC) is an iterative approach for constructing higher-order-accurate numerical approximations of ordinary differential equations. SDC starts with an initial approximation of the solution defined at a set of Gaussian or spectral collocation nodes over a time interval and uses an iterative application of lower-order time discretizations applied to a correction equation to improve the solution at these nodes. Each deferred correction sweep increases the formal order of accuracy of the method up to the limit inherent in the accuracy defined by the collocation points. In this paper, we demonstrate that SDC is well suited to recovering from soft (transient) hardware faults in the data. A strategy where extra correction iterations are used to recover from soft errors and provide algorithmic resilience is proposed. Specifically, in this approach the iteration is continued until the residual (a measure of the error in the approximation) is small relative to the residual of the first correction iteration and changes slowly between successive iterations. Here, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy for both canonical test problems and a comprehensive situation involving a mature scientific application code that solves the reacting Navier-Stokes equations for combustion research.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1980

Acoustic pressures on a prop-fan aircraft fuselage surface

Acoustic pressure amplitude and phase distributions on the surface of a simulated fuselage (a rigid semi-cylinder) installed in an acoustically treated wind tunnel near a Prop-Fan model were measured. The test conditions simulated the relative tip Mach number and blade loading of a full scale Prop-Fan at high altitude 0.8 Mach number cruise. Measurements were also made at equivalent microphone locations without the semi-cylinder to establish the effects of the presence of a fuselage on the sound pressure amplitudes. These effects were found to be 6 dB at 90 degrees incidence, decreasing to no effect at grazing incidence. Comparison of measurements and calculations using a Hamilton Standard Prop-Fan noise calculation computer program showed good agreement in peak level and in phase distribution. Continuous recordings were also made of a Prop-Fan RPM sweep at constant simulated flight speed and a simulated flight speed sweep at constant Prop-Fan RPM. These showed smooth variations in noise level over the tip Mach number range 0.878 to 1.143.

Magliozzi, B.↗

NASA NTRS1984

F-111 natural laminar flow glove flight test data analysis and boundary layer stability analysis

An analysis of 34 selected flight test data cases from a NASA flight program incorporating a natural laminar flow airfoil into partial wing gloves on the F-111 TACT airplane is given. This analysis determined the measured location of transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The report also contains the results of a boundary layer stability analysis of 25 of the selected cases in which the crossflow (C-F) and Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) disturbance amplification factors are correlated with the measured transition location. The chord Reynolds numbers for these cases ranges from about 23 million to 29 million, the Mach numbers ranged from 0.80 to 0.85, and the glove leading-edge sweep angles ranged from 9 deg to 25 deg. Results indicate that the maximum extent of laminar flow varies from 56% chord to 9-deg sweep on the upper surface, and from 51% chord at 16-deg sweep to 6% chord at 25-deg sweep on the lower. The results of the boundary layer stability analysis indicate that when both C-F and T-S disturbances are amplified, an interaction takes place which reduces the maximum amplification factor of either type of disturbance that can be tolerated without causing transition.

Runyan, L. J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Design of the low-speed NLF(1)-0414F and the high-speed HSNLF(1)-0213 airfoils with high-lift systems

The design and testing of Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) airfoils is examined. The NLF airfoil was designed for low speed, having a low profile drag at high chord Reynolds numbers. The success of the low speed NLF airfoil sparked interest in a high speed NLF airfoil applied to a single engine business jet with an unswept wing. Work was also conducted on the two dimensional flap design. The airfoil was decambered by removing the aft loading, however, high design Mach numbers are possible by increasing the aft loading and reducing the camber overall on the airfoil. This approach would also allow for flatter acceleration regions which are more stabilizing for cross flow disturbances. Sweep could then be used to increase the design Mach number to a higher value also. There would be some degradation of high lift by decambering the airfoil overall, and this aspect would have to be considered in a final design.

Viken, Jeffrey K.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Internal Shock Interactions in Propulsion/Airframe Integrated Three-Dimensional Sidewall Compression Scramjet Inlets

The advantages and design requirements of propulsion/airframe integration for high Mach number flight have led to extensive study of the three-dimensional sidewall compression scramjet inlet in recent years. Recent research publications have indicated testing over a broad range of Mach number (2 to 18) in a variety of test gases, such as air, helium, and tetrafluoromethane. Multiple experimental techniques have been employed to obtain detailed internal shock interaction data, performance data, and inlet starting limits. Computational fluid dynamics has been effectively used for preliminary parametric studies as well as in parallel with experiments to aid in the explanation of unusual or unexpected flow phenomena. Inlets of this genre afford a relatively simple, generic geometry while producing a highly complex, three-dimensional flow field dominated by shock/shock and shock/boundary layer interactions. While the importance of the viscous effects in high speed inlet interactions is recognized, the present work addresses in a parametric fashion the inviscid effects of leading edge sweep, sidewall compression, and inflow Mach number on the internal shock structure in terms of inlet compression and mass capture. In the process, the source of the of the Mach number invariance with leading edge sweep for a constant sidewall compression class of inlet is identified, and a previously undocumented spillage phenomenon in a constant effective wedge angle class of inlets is discussed.

Holland, Scott D.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Aerodynamic Parameter Estimation for the X-43A (Hyper-X) from Flight Data

Aerodynamic parameters were estimated based on flight data from the third flight of the X-43A hypersonic research vehicle, also called Hyper-X. Maneuvers were flown using multiple orthogonal phase-optimized sweep inputs applied as simultaneous control surface perturbations at Mach 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 during the vehicle descent. Aerodynamic parameters, consisting of non-dimensional longitudinal and lateral stability and control derivatives, were estimated from flight data at each Mach number. Multi-step inputs at nearly the same flight conditions were also flown to assess the prediction capability of the identified models. Prediction errors were found to be comparable in magnitude to the modeling errors, which indicates accurate modeling. Aerodynamic parameter estimates were plotted as a function of Mach number, and compared with estimates from the pre-flight aerodynamic database, which was based on wind-tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics. Agreement between flight estimates and values computed from the aerodynamic database was excellent overall.

Morelli, Eugene A.↗