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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

Numerical experiments on stability and transition in plane channel flow

Various secondary and tertiary instabilities in plane channael flow are explored via time-dependent numerical simulations using the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Comparisons are made between transitional flows at Reynolds numbers 1500, 5000, and 8000. The lambda vortex, detached shear layer, and inverted vortex regions are identified, and the origin of the latter is explained. The laminar breakdown of the Re = 1500 flow is computed with high resolution, and the nature of its ensuing hairpin eddies is clarified by numerical particle paths. The potential of center-mode, rather than wall-mode transitions is proposed, and the resulting flow structure is described.

Zang, Thomas A.↗

Numerical Solutions of Supersonic and Hypersonic Laminar Compression Corner Flows

An efficient time-splitting, second-order accurate, numerical scheme is used to solve the complete Navier-Stokes equations for supersonic and hypersonic laminar flow over a two-dimensional compression corner. A fine, exponentially stretched mesh spacing is used in the region near the wall for resolving the viscous layer. Good agreement is obtained between the present computed results and experimental measurement for a Mach number of 14.1 and a Reynolds number of 1.04 x 10(exp 5) with wedge angles of 15 deg, 18 deg, and 24 deg. The details of the pressure variation across the boundary layer are given, and a correlation between the leading edge shock and the peaks in surface pressure and heat transfer is observed.

Hung, C. M.↗

A Flow Solver for Three-Dimensional DRAGON Grids

DRAGONFLOW code has been developed to solve three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations over a complex geometry whose flow domain is discretized with the DRAGON grid-a combination of Chimera grid and a collection of unstructured grids. In the DRAGONFLOW suite, both OVERFLOW and USM3D are presented in form of module libraries, and a master module controls the invoking of these individual modules. This report includes essential aspects, programming structures, benchmark tests and numerical simulations.

Liou, Meng-Sing↗

Implicit Coupling Approach for Simulation of Charring Carbon Ablators

This study demonstrates that coupling of a material thermal response code and a flow solver with nonequilibrium gas/surface interaction for simulation of charring carbon ablators can be performed using an implicit approach. The material thermal response code used in this study is the three-dimensional version of Fully Implicit Ablation and Thermal response program, which predicts charring material thermal response and shape change on hypersonic space vehicles. The flow code solves the reacting Navier-Stokes equations using Data Parallel Line Relaxation method. Coupling between the material response and flow codes is performed by solving the surface mass balance in flow solver and the surface energy balance in material response code. Thus, the material surface recession is predicted in flow code, and the surface temperature and pyrolysis gas injection rate are computed in material response code. It is demonstrated that the time-lagged explicit approach is sufficient for simulations at low surface heating conditions, in which the surface ablation rate is not a strong function of the surface temperature. At elevated surface heating conditions, the implicit approach has to be taken, because the carbon ablation rate becomes a stiff function of the surface temperature, and thus the explicit approach appears to be inappropriate resulting in severe numerical oscillations of predicted surface temperature. Implicit coupling for simulation of arc-jet models is performed, and the predictions are compared with measured data. Implicit coupling for trajectory based simulation of Stardust fore-body heat shield is also conducted. The predicted stagnation point total recession is compared with that predicted using the chemical equilibrium surface assumption

Ablation↗

Burnett solutions along the stagnation line of a cooled cylinder in low-density hypersonic flows

The Burnett equations in the cylindrical coordinate system have been applied to the hypersonic flow over a cylinder in low density environments. Through a local similarity transformation, the Burnett equations are degenerated into nonlinear third-order ordinary differential equations which are only valid along the stagnation line. These equations are solved by the multi-staged Runge-Kutta integration technique. Steady state solutions are asymptotically reached by the time-marching procedure. A newly-developed computer code is used to solve both the Navier-Stokes and the Burnett equations within the shock layer. The computed heat transfer coefficients are consistent with wind-tunnel and STS flight data. Comparisons with the DSMC solutions and the Boltzmann solutions show that the Burnett equations are more appropriate as the governing equations than the Navier-Stokes equations in the transitional flow regime.

Liaw, G. S.↗

Analysis of three-dimensional unsteady flow around oscillating wings

A method based on the Navier-Stokes equations was developed for determining analytically the three-dimensional unsteady flow patterns around oscillating wings. The Helmholz vorticity transport equations were discretized in three-dimensional finite element form from a variational formulation and integrated numerically. At each time step of the numerical integration the velocity field was calculated from the representation of the three-dimensional wing by a system of optimized distribution of vortices in space. During the numerical integration of the vorticity transport equations the time-dependent boundary conditions on the wing were specified as external constraint conditions. Examples of obtained results describing the three-dimensional unsteady flow around a wing were presented.

Bratanow, T.↗

Numerical simulation of steady supersonic flow over an ogive-cylinder-boattail body

A recently reported parabolized Navier-Stokes code has been employed to compute the supersonic flow field surrounding an ogive-cylinder-boattail body at incidence. The computations were performed for flow conditions where an extensive series of experimental surface pressure and turbulent boundary-layer profile measurements had been obtained. Comparison between the computational results and experimental measurements for angles of attack up to 6 deg show excellent agreement. At angles greater than 6 deg discrepancies are observed which are tentatively attributed to three-dimensional turbulence modeling errors.

Schiff, L. B.↗

Three-dimensional analysis of the Pratt and Whitney alternate design SSME fuel turbine

The three dimensional viscous time-mean flow in the Pratt and Whitney alternate design space shuttle main engine fuel turbine is simulated using the average passage Navier-Stokes equations. The migration of secondary flows generated by upstream blade rows and their effect on the performance of downstream blade rows is studied. The present simulation confirms that the flow in this two stage turbine is highly three dimensional and dominated by the tip leakage flow. The tip leakage vortex generated by the first blade persists through the second blade and adversely affects its performance. The greatest mixing of the inlet total temperature distortion occurs in the second vane and is due to the large leakage vortex generated by the upstream rotor. It is assumed that the predominant spanwise mixing mechanism in this low aspect ratio turbine is the radial transport due to the deterministically unsteady vortical flow generated by upstream blade rows. A by-product of the analysis is accurate pressure and heat loads for all blade rows under the influence of neighboring blade rows. These aero loads are useful for advanced structural analysis of the vanes and blades.

Kirtley, K. R.↗

A New Modular Approach for Tightly Coupled Fluid/Structure Analysis

Static aeroelastic computations are made using a C++ executive suitable for closely coupled fluid/structure interaction studies. The fluid flow is modeled using the Euler/Navier Stokes equations and the structure is modeled using finite elements. FORTRAN based fluids and structures codes are integrated under C++ environment. The flow and structural solvers are treated as separate object files. The data flow between fluids and structures is accomplished using I/O. Results are demonstrated for transonic flow over partially flexible surface that is important for aerospace vehicles. Use of this development to accurately predict flow induced structural failure will be demonstrated.

Guruswamy, Guru↗

Tip vortices of wings in subsonic and transonic flow: A numerical simulation

Thin layer Navier-Stokes and Euler equations are numerically solved using a multi-block zonal approach to simulate the formation and roll up of tip vortices of wings in subsonic and transonic flows. Several wing planforms were considered to examine the influence of tip-cap shape, planform geometry and free stream Mach number on the formation process. A good definition of the formation and qualitative roll up of tip vortices was achieved.

Srinivasan, G. R.↗

Application of CFD to sonic boom near and mid flow-field prediction

A 3-D parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) code was used to calculate the supersonic overpressures from three different geometries at near- and mid-flow fields. Wind tunnel data is used for code validation. Comparison of the computed results with different grid refinements is shown. It is observed that a large number of grid points is needed to resolve the tail shock/expansion fan interaction. Therefore, an adaptive grid approach is employed to calculate the flow field. The agreement between the numerical results and the wind tunnel data confirms that computational fluid dynamics can be applied to the problem of sonic boom prediction.

Cheung, Samson H.↗

A three-dimensional pressure flux-split RNS application to sub/supersonic flow in inlets and ducts

The reduced Navier-Stokes (RNS) formulation is combined with a pressure based flux split procedure for the computational analysis of three dimensional flow. Only lowest order diffusion, that is required to satisfy the no-slip boundary condition is retained in this approximation. The governing equations are appropriately differenced such that the physical boundary conditions are closely coupled and combined to form a closed discrete system. No numerical or characteristic type boundary conditions are required. A global pressure relaxation procedure, i.e. multi-sweep PNS, is considered. A sparse matrix direct solver is applied to the crossplane solution. At the outflow boundary only the pressure or pressure gradient is prescribed. The resulting formulation has been applied to the solution of three-dimensional subsonic/supersonic internal flows in inlets and ducts.

Khosla, P. K.↗

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of the Stall Characteristics of a Wing Designed Based on Prandtl's Mininum Induced Drag

Stall characteristics of a wing designed based on Prandtls minimum induced drag solution using the bending moment as the design constraint is presented. Flow field is resolved using the Reynold-Averaged Navier Stokes solver OVERFLOW, version 2.2l, with fully turbulent flow approximation. The turbulence was resolved using the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model with rotational and curvature correction. Grid independence study show acceptable grid resolution is achieved. The stall angle-of-attack was predicted at 17.25. CFD analysis show that large separations begins inboard, near the symmetry plane, and exists at stall. However, the separated region remain localized and the flow at the wing tip remain attached.

drag↗

Stability of mean flows over an infinite flat plate

The present investigation is mainly concerned with a stability analysis for the linearized Navier-Stokes equations for parallel and nonparallel mean flows over an infinite flat plate. The system of equations for parallel flows is presented. The system is viewed as a generalized Orr-Sommerfeld equation. Attention is given to an explicit criterion characterizing the case when the stability of all physically reasonable solutions is determined by the eigenvalues. The proof given in the investigation is applicable to both the generalized Orr-Somerfeld equations and the modified equations for nonparallel flow. The fact that the criterion is independent of the completeness or incompleteness of eigenfunctions is contrary to some expectations.

Miklavcic, M.↗

Supersonic flow computations by two-equation turbulence modeling

In the present work a solver for the Reynolds averaged compressible Navier-Stokes equations, to compute high speed turbulent flows characterized by interacting shock waves and viscous layers, is presented. A k-epsilon turbulence model that accounts for compressibility effects is developed. The numerical algorithm is based on a finite volume multistage Runge Kutta technique that is explicit for the solution of the mean flow variables, and implicit for the solution of the k-epsilon equations. The model is validated by extensive comparison with experimental results of flows over compression ramps characterized by interacting shock waves/boundary layers.

Grasso, Francesco↗

Studies on nonequilibrium phenomena in supersonic chemically reacting flows

This study deals with a systematic investigation of nonequilibrium processes in supersonic combustion. The two-dimensional, elliptic Navier-Stokes equations are used to investigate supersonic flows with nonequilibrium chemistry and thermodynamics, coupled with radiation, for hydrogen-air systems. The explicit, unsplit MacCormack finite-difference scheme is used to advance the governing equations in time, until convergence is achieved. For a basic understanding of the flow physics, premixed flows undergoing finite rate chemical reactions are investigated. Results obtained for specific conditions indicate that the radiative interactions vary substantially, depending on reactions involving HO2 and NO species, and that this can have a noticeable influence on the flowfield. The second part of this study deals with premixed reacting flows under thermal nonequilibrium conditions. Here, the critical problem is coupling of the vibrational relaxation process with the radiative heat transfer. The specific problem considered is a premixed expanding flow in a supersonic nozzle. Results indicate the presence of nonequilibrium conditions in the expansion region of the nozzle. This results in reduction of the radiative interactions in the flowfield. Next, the present study focuses on investigation of non-premixed flows under chemical nonequilibrium conditions. In this case, the main problem is the coupled turbulence-chemistry interaction. The resulting formulation is validated by comparison with experimental data on reacting supersonic coflowing jets. Results indicate that the effect of heat release is to lower the turbulent shear stress and the mean density. The last part of this study proposes a new theoretical formulation for the coupled turbulence-radiation interactions. Results obtained for the coflowing jets experiment indicate that the effect of turbulence is to enhance the radiative interactions.

Tiwari, S. N.↗

Incompressible Navier-Stokes, GMRES, and Multi-Element Airfoils

The talk will discuss current work in developing and applying the INS2D and INS3D flow solvers to problems in high-lift aerodynamics, primarily multi-element airfoils. These flow solvers solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using the method of artificial compressibility. High-lift system flowfields are perhaps the most challenging aeronautical configurations for CFD. Difficulties with convergence for multi-element configurations using fine-grid overset meshes has led to research in using Krylov-space iterative matrix solvers. In particular, a Generalized Minimum Residual (GMRES) solver has found to be a dramatic improvement over a previously used Gauss-Seidal line-relaxation solver.

Rogers, Stuart↗

Numerical investigations in three-dimensional internal flows

The flow in the transonic test facility was investigated using the three dimensional computational fluid dynamics techniques. The application of the full Navier-Stokes three dimensional code to the flow qualities in the contraction section of transonic wind tunnel is discussed. Initially, two dimensional solutions indicated the possibility for large secondary flow to exist as a result of the asymmetries involved in the contraction section as it is constructed. The results of a full three dimensional solution indicate that only minor pressure variations actually occur in the contraction section within any given cross flow plane. Further analysis of the three dimensional solution indicated that these slight lateral pressure gradients lead to negligible secondary flows, except within a small region in the corners within the boundary layer. On the basis of present solution, it would not be expected that any flow asymmetries and/or secondary flow present within contraction section are associated with the methods by which the contraction is implemented in its present configuration.

Rose, William C.↗