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At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2018

Simulations of the NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel for the Juncture Flow Experiment

NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies Program’s Juncture Flow experiment aims to provide data to improve Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling in the juncture flow region. The experiment is planned to provide validation-quality data for CFD that focuses on the separation bubble near the wing-body juncture trailing edge region. Because wind tunnel tests associated with the Juncture Flow project have been designed for the purpose of CFD validation, considerable effort is going into modeling and simulating the wind tunnel. This is not only important because wind tunnel wall effects can play a role in integrated testing uncertainties, but also because the better the boundary conditions are known, the better CFD can accurately represent the experiment. This paper builds on the recent CFD efforts to model the NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel. Current best practices in simulating wind tunnels are evaluated. The features of each method, as well as some of their pros and cons, are highlighted. Boundary conditions and modeling techniques currently used by CFD for empty-tunnel simulations are also described. Preliminary CFD studies associated with modeling the Juncture Flow model are summarized, with the intention to determine sensitivities of the flow near the wing-body juncture region of the model to a variety of modeling decisions.

Subsonic↗
NASA NTRS1984

Finite-difference fluid dynamics computer mathematical models for the design and interpretation of experiments for space flight

Numerical methods are used to design a spherical baroclinic flow model experiment of the large scale atmosphere flow for Spacelab. The dielectric simulation of radial gravity is only dominant in a low gravity environment. Computer codes are developed to study the processes at work in crystal growing systems which are also candidates for space flight. Crystalline materials rarely achieve their potential properties because of imperfections and component concentration variations. Thermosolutal convection in the liquid melt can be the cause of these imperfections. Such convection is suppressed in a low gravity environment. Two and three dimensional finite difference codes are being used for this work. Nonuniform meshes and implicit iterative methods are used. The iterative method for steady solutions is based on time stepping but has the options of different time steps for velocity and temperature and of a time step varying smoothly with position according to specified powers of the mesh spacings. This allows for more rapid convergence. The code being developed for the crystal growth studies allows for growth of the crystal as the solid-liquid interface. The moving interface is followed using finite differences; shape variations are permitted. For convenience in applying finite differences in the solid and liquid, a time dependent coordinate transformation is used to make this interface a coordinate surface.

Roberts, G. O.↗
NASA NTRS1990

New developments in adaptive methods for computational fluid dynamics

New developments in a posteriori error estimates, smart algorithms, and h- and h-p adaptive finite element methods are discussed in the context of two- and three-dimensional compressible and incompressible flow simulations. Applications to rotor-stator interaction, rotorcraft aerodynamics, shock and viscous boundary layer interaction and fluid-structure interaction problems are discussed.

Oden, J. T.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Numerical Investigation of Flow Over Periodic Hill

Hybrid turbulence modeling strategies that blend between large-eddy simulation and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes promise to make optimal use of the available grid resolution. A delayed detached eddy simulation hybrid turbulence modeling strategy, based on the shear-stress transport turbulence model, was implemented into a finite-volume compressible Navier-Stokes code. Then the flow through a two-dimensional periodic hill channel was simulated. This geometry is a widely accepted benchmark test case for validating hybrid turbulence modeling strategies. The computational grid for the simulation was downloaded from a hybrid turbulence model validation website. The present hybrid turbulence model simulation predicts the size of the separated flow region as well as velocity and Reynolds stress profiles in good agreement with large-eddy simulation reference data.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2002

Analysis and Design of Crew Sleep Station for ISS

This paper details the analysis and design of the Temporary Sleep Station (TeSS) environmental control system for International Space Station (ISS). The TeSS will provide crewmembers with a private and personal space, to accommodate sleeping, donning and doffing of clothing, personal communication and performance of recreational activities. The need for privacy to accommodate these activities requires adequate ventilation inside the TeSS. This study considers whether temperature, carbon dioxide, and humidity within the TeSS remain within crew comfort and safety levels for various expected operating scenarios. Evaluation of these scenarios required the use and integration of various simulation codes. An approach was adapted for this study, whereby results from a particular code were integrated with other codes when necessary. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods were used to evaluate the flow field inside the TeSS, from which local gradients for temperature, velocity, and species concentration such as CO (sub 2) could be determined. A model of the TeSS, containing a human, as well as equipment such as a laptop computer, was developed in FLUENT, a finite-volume code. Other factors, such as detailed analysis of the heat transfer through the structure, radiation, and air circulation from the TeSS to the US Laboratory Aisle, where the TeSS is housed, were considered in the model. A complementary model was developed in G189A, a code which has been used by NASA/JSC for environmental control systems analyses since the Apollo program. Boundary conditions were exchanged between the FLUENT and G189A TeSS models. G189A provides human respiration rates to the FLUENT model, while the FLUENT model provides local convective heat transfer coefficients to G189A model. An additional benefit from using an approach with both a systems simulation and CFD model, is the capability to verify the results of each model by comparison to the results of the other model. The G189A and FLUENT models were used to evaluate various ventilation designs for the TeSS over a range of operating conditions with varying crew metabolic load, equipment operating modes, ventilation flow rates, and with the TeSS doors open and closed. Results from the study were instrumental in the optimization of a design for the TeSS ventilation hardware. A special case was considered where failure of the TeSS ventilation system occurred. In this case, a study was conducted in order to determine the time required for the CO (sub 2) concentration inside the TeSS to increase to ISS limit values under transient conditions. A lumped-capacitance code, SINDA-FLUINT was used in this case to provide accurate predictions of the human reaction to the TeSS cabin conditions including core and skin temperatures and body heat storage. A simple two-dimensional CFD model of a crewmember inside the TeSS was developed in FLUENT in order to determine the volume envelope of the respired air from the human, which maintained a minimum velocity profile. This volume was then used in the SINDA-FLUINT model to facilitate the calculations of CO (sub 2) concentrations, dry bulb temperatures and humidity levels inside the TeSS.

Keener, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Time-dependent simulation of oblique MHD cosmic-ray shocks using the two-fluid model

Using a new, second-order accurate numerical method we present dynamical simulations of oblique MHD cosmic-ray (CR)-modified plane shock evolution. Most of the calculations are done with a two-fluid model for diffusive shock acceleration, but we provide also comparisons between a typical shock computed that way against calculations carried out using the more complete, momentum-dependent, diffusion-advection equation. We also illustrate a test showing that these simulations evolve to dynamical equilibria consistent with previously published steady state analytic calculations for such shocks. In order to improve understanding of the dynamical role of magnetic fields in shocks modified by CR pressure we have explored for time asymptotic states the parameter space of upstream fast mode Mach number, M(sub f), and plasma beta. We compile the results into maps of dynamical steady state CR acceleration efficiency, epsilon(sub c). We have run simulations using constant, and nonisotropic, obliquity (and hence spatially) dependent forms of the diffusion coefficient kappa. Comparison of the results shows that while the final steady states achieved are the same in each case, the history of CR-MHD shocks can be strongly modified by variations in kappa and, therefore, in the acceleration timescale. Also, the coupling of CR and MHD in low beta, oblique shocks substantially influences the transient density spike that forms in strongly CR-modified shocks. We find that inside the density spike a MHD slow mode wave can be generated that eventually steepens into a shock. A strong layer develops within the density spike, driven by MHD stresses. We conjecture that currents in the shear layer could, in nonplanar flows, results in enhanced particle accretion through drift acceleration.

Frank, Adam↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Computational Investigation of the Effect of Chemistry on Mars Supersonic Retropropulsion Environments

Retropropulsion ground tests require significant compromises on physical scale, instrumentation, configuration, and environments. Matching the full Martian environment is simply not possible on Earth. Ground tests of retropropulsion configurations thus far have neglected effects of chemistry due to physical constraints of wind tunnel models and facilities; most experiments use inert simulant gases at relatively low temperatures. As such, a strong reliance on high-fidelity computational analyses is required to expand the knowledge of retropropulsion aerodynamics. In this work, we investigate the effects of chemistry using scale-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with finite-rate chemistry and a graphics processing unit (GPU)-enabled implementation of the NASA FUN3D flow solver on a human-scale Mars lander concept at supersonic freestream conditions. Results are compared to previous perfect gas simulations.

retropropulsion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Computational Investigation of the Effect of Chemistry on Mars Supersonic Retropropulsion Environments

Retropropulsion ground tests require significant compromises on physical scale, instrumentation, configuration, and environments. Matching the full Martian environment is simply not possible on Earth. Ground tests of retropropulsion configurations thus far have neglected effects of chemistry due to physical constraints of wind tunnel models and facilities; most experiments use inert simulant gases at relatively low temperatures. As such, a strong reliance on high-fidelity computational analyses is required to expand the knowledge of retropropulsion aerodynamics. In this work, we investigate the effects of chemistry using scale-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with finite-rate chemistry and a graphics processing unit (GPU)-enabled implementation of the NASA FUN3D flow solver on a human-scale Mars lander concept at supersonic freestream conditions. Results are compared to previous perfect gas simulations.

retropropulsion↗
NASA NTRS1994

Computational fluid dynamics uses in fluid dynamics/aerodynamics education

The field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has advanced to the point where it can now be used for the purpose of fluid dynamics physics education. Because of the tremendous wealth of information available from numerical simulation, certain fundamental concepts can be efficiently communicated using an interactive graphical interrogation of the appropriate numerical simulation data base. In other situations, a large amount of aerodynamic information can be communicated to the student by interactive use of simple CFD tools on a workstation or even in a personal computer environment. The emphasis in this presentation is to discuss ideas for how this process might be implemented. Specific examples, taken from previous publications, will be used to highlight the presentation.

Holst, Terry L.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Boundary Layer Protuberance Simulations in Channel Nozzle Arc Jet

Various protuberance heights and shapes were modeled in the channel nozzle of the NASA Johnson Space Center Atmospheric Reentry Materials and Strictures Facility with the Data- Parallel Line Relaxation computational fluid dynamics code. The heating on the protuberance was compared to baseline (no protuberance) heating at a single fixed arc jet condition in order to obtain heating augmentation factors that will be used for flight traceability in the Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment on Space Shuttle Orbiter flights STS-119 (completed) and STS-128 (future flight). The arc jet simulations were performed in conjunction with the actual ground tests performed on the flight version (selected height and shape) of the protuberance. Thearc jet simulations for the final (flight version) protuberance included non-uniform inflow conditions beginning at the channel nozzle throat. The 2D inflow condition was modeled based on the current best practices methodology and used variable enthalpy and mass flow rate across the throat. Channel walls were modeled as fully catalytic isothermal surfaces, while the test section (consisting of Reaction Cured Glass tiles) was modeled as a partially catalytic radiative equilibrium wall. The results of the protuberance and baseline simulations were compared to the applicable ground test results. In addition, the obtained heating augmentation factors were compared to the factors derived from the STS-119 flight data. The effects of the protuberance shock on the opposite channel wall were also investigated.

Larin, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Validation of a High-Fidelity Supersonic Parachute Inflation Dynamics Model and Best Practice

The parachute inflation dynamics (PID) of a Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachute system travelling at supersonic velocities in the high-altitude Earth atmosphere is simulated using a high-fidelity, multiphysics, massively-parallel computational framework. The sensitivity of the simulation results with respect to critical modelling and simulation parameters, including the fluid mechanical governing equations (Euler vs Navier-Stokes with RANS turbulence closure vs Navier-Stokes with LES turbulence closer), the interaction between the flow and the suspension lines (accounted for vs not accounted for), the dynamics of the payload (restrained vs free), and the material model of the heterogeneous fabric canopy (Saint-Venant Kirchoff vs mechanics-informed multiscale neural network), is extensively investigated. The parameter investigation is enabled by advancements to the state-of-the-art in the modelling and simulation of the supersonic parachute inflation process, which are presented as part of the computational framework. The predictive quality of the computational framework in the context of supersonic PID is validated by comparison of the simulation results with the experimental results from NASA’s Advanced Supersonic Parachute Research (ASPIRE) project. Through the validation, best practices for the modelling and simulation of supersonic PID are developed and proposed.

Rabinovitch, Jason↗
NASA NTRS1998

Arcjet Semi-Elliptic Nozzle Simulations and Validation in Support of TPS Testing

Much of the ground based testing of advanced thermal protection system (TPS) components for the X33 program is done in arc-heated wind tunnels such as those located in the Arc-Jet Complex at NASA Ames Research Center. These facilities are capable of simulating the high temperature, chemically reacting flow environment experienced by the vehicle during flight. This allows one to test critical design issues such as maximum reuse temperatures, seals, gaps, and increases in heating due to interfaces between different materials. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has evolved to the point where it now can be used in the vehicle design process for accurate and timely prediction of trajectory based aerothermal heating environments for re-entry vehicles. It can also be used for simulation of the flow environments in ground based facilities such as arcjets. By utilization of the same CFD code and solution methodology, the important differences between ground test and flight may be quantified. The goal of this paper is to utilize CFD to provide validated simulations of the flow environment in the NASA-Ames semi elliptic nozzle arcjet facilities. The validation of the ground simulations will come From comparison to existing calibration data. Specific tests in support of the X33 TPS test program will ilso be simulated. In this manner, the differences between the ground test simulation and the flight environment can be identified for a measure of ground test to flight traceability.

Loomis, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1990

FNAS computational fluid dynamics

This work involves the coordination of necessary resources, facilities, and special personnel to provide a workshop to promote the exchange of CFD technology between industry, universities, and government. Critical flow problems have been isolated and simulation of these is being done.

Ziebarth, John P.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Overview of the NASA Glenn Flux Reconstruction Based High-Order Unstructured Grid Code

A computational fluid dynamics code based on the flux reconstruction (FR) method is currently being developed at NASA Glenn Research Center to ultimately provide a large- eddy simulation capability that is both accurate and efficient for complex aeropropulsion flows. The FR approach offers a simple and efficient method that is easy to implement and accurate to an arbitrary order on common grid cell geometries. The governing compressible Navier-Stokes equations are discretized in time using various explicit Runge-Kutta schemes, with the default being the 3-stage/3rd-order strong stability preserving scheme. The code is written in modern Fortran (i.e., Fortran 2008) and parallelization is attained through MPI for execution on distributed-memory high-performance computing systems. An h- refinement study of the isentropic Euler vortex problem is able to empirically demonstrate the capability of the FR method to achieve super-accuracy for inviscid flows. Additionally, the code is applied to the Taylor-Green vortex problem, performing numerous implicit large-eddy simulations across a range of grid resolutions and solution orders. The solution found by a pseudo-spectral code is commonly used as a reference solution to this problem, and the FR code is able to reproduce this solution using approximately the same grid resolution. Finally, an examination of the code's performance demonstrates good parallel scaling, as well as an implementation of the FR method with a computational cost/degree- of-freedom/time-step that is essentially independent of the solution order of accuracy for structured geometries.

High-Order Methods↗
NASA NTRS1993

Vortex generation and mixing in three-dimensional supersonic combustors

The generation and evolution of the flow vorticity established by instream injector ramps in a high Mach number/high enthalpy scramjet combustor flow-field are described in detail for a number of computational cases. Classical fluid dynamic circulation is presented for these cases in order to clarify the spatial distribution and convection of the vorticity. The ability of the simulations to accurately represent Stokes Law of circulation is discussed and shown. In addition, the conservation of swirl (effectively the moment-of-momentum theorem) is presented for these flows. The impact of both turbulent diffusion and the vortex/ramp non-uniformity on the downstream mixing rate is clearly illustrated. A correlation over the length of the combustor between fuel-air mixing and a parameter called the vortex stirring length is demonstrated. Finally, computational results for a representative ramp injector are compared with experimental data. Influence of the stream vorticity on the effective turbulent Prandtl number used in the simulation is discussed.

Riggins, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS2025

CFD Validation and Scaling of a Condenser Used in an ISRU Propellant Production System

This work develops a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) condenser used for ground-based testing of an In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) propellant production system. STAR-CCM+ was used to simulate water condensing through the condenser downstream of a methanation reactor. The computational data of the digital model is validated with test cases using nitrogen and water in ambient conditions. After validation with the test data, the digital model can be used to predict scale at higher production targets. The StarCCM+ simulation of the digital model shows good agreement with the test data provided. From the simulation, the condensation rate calculated was 18.3 g/hr and the process gas mass flow rate was 709.2 g/hr. The test data measured an average 16.9 g/hr condensation rate and 693.6 g/hr process gas mass flow rate. The simulation shows a 7.3% error in the water condensation and 2.2% error in the process gas at the outlet.

Condenser↗
NASA NTRS2012

Wind-US Results for the AIAA 1st Propulsion Aerodynamics Workshop

This presentation contains Wind-US results presented at the 1st Propulsion Aerodynamics Workshop. The The workshop was organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Air Breathing Propulsion Propulsion Systems Integration Technical Committee with the purpose of assessing the accuracy of computational computational fluid dynamics for air breathing propulsion applications. Attendees included representatives from representatives from government, industry, academia, and commercial software companies. Participants were were encouraged to explore and discuss all aspects of the simulation process including the effects of mesh type and mesh type and refinement, solver numerical schemes, and turbulence modeling. The first set of challenge cases involved computing the thrust and discharge coefficients for a series of convergent convergent nozzles for a range of nozzle pressure ratios between 1.4 and 7.0. These configurations included a included a reference axisymmetric nozzle as well as 15deg , 25deg , and 40deg conical nozzles. Participants were also asked also asked to examine the plume shock structure for two cases where the 25deg conical nozzle was bifurcated by a bifurcated by a solid plate. The final test case was a serpentine inlet diffuser with an outlet to inlet area ratio of 1.52 ratio of 1.52 and an offset of 1.34 times the inlet diameter. Boundary layer profiles, wall static pressure, and total and total pressure at downstream rake locations were examined.

Yoder, Dennis↗
NASA NTRS1981

Comparisons of some large scientific computers

In 1975, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began studies to assess the technical and economic feasibility of developing a computer having sustained computational speed of one billion floating point operations per second and a working memory of at least 240 million words. Such a powerful computer would allow computational aerodynamics to play a major role in aeronautical design and advanced fluid dynamics research. Based on favorable results from these studies, NASA proceeded with developmental plans. The computer was named the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulator (NAS). To help insure that the estimated cost, schedule, and technical scope were realistic, a brief study was made of past large scientific computers. Large discrepancies between inception and operation in scope, cost, or schedule were studied so that they could be minimized with NASA's proposed new compter. The main computers studied were the ILLIAC IV, STAR 100, Parallel Element Processor Ensemble (PEPE), and Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) computer. Comparison data on memory and speed were also obtained on the IBM 650, 704, 7090, 360-50, 360-67, 360-91, and 370-195; the CDC 6400, 6600, 7600, CYBER 203, and CYBER 205; CRAY 1; and the Advanced Scientific Computer (ASC). A few lessons learned conclude the report.

Credeur, K. R.↗