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NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulation of icing, deicing, and shedding

An algorithm has been developed to numerically model the concurrent phenomena of two-dimensional transient heat transfer, ice accretion, ice shedding and ice trajectory which arise from the use of electrothermal pad. The Alternating Direction Implicit method is used to simultaneously solve the heat transfer and accretion equations occurring in the multilayered body covered with ice. In order to model the phase change between ice and water, a technique was used which assumes a phase for each node. This allows the equations to be linearized such that a direct solution is possible. This technique requires an iterative procedure to find the correct phase at each node. The computer program developed to find this solution has been integrated with the NASA-Lewis flow/trajectory code LEWICE.

Wright, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Charge collected by diffusion from an ion track under mixed boundary conditions

Charge-carrier diffusion from an ion track in a silicon substrate at least a few hundred microns thick is analyzed. The substrate upper surface is treated as reflective except for a small section, intended to represent a reverse-biased junction, which is treated as a sink. Total charge collected by the sink is calculated by assuming transport to be governed by an ambipolar diffusion equation with temporally constant and spatially uniform carrier lifetime and diffusion coefficient. Present results apply to a normally incident track but could easily be generalized to arbitrary track direction. The collected charge is found to depend on track length and on the electrostatic capacitance, rather than the area, of the sink. Theoretical predictions are compared to the results of a numerical simulation called the Poisson and Continuity Equation Solver (PISCES) for three cases and are found to agree within a factor of two in the worst case.

Edmonds, Larry D.↗

NASA NTRS2000

High Resolution Experiments of Compressible Turbulence Interacting With Shock Waves

Most of the second year of our research program focused on exploring the potentially favorable the effects of expansion waves on homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, which is formed downstream of a grid. Expansion waves are associated with compressible flows and may reduce the drag over airfoils by suppressing turbulence. In the very few previous investigations of interactions of turbulence with expansion waves the effects due to stabilizing streamline curvature substantially masked the effects of turbulence suppression due to flow expansion though the waves. In the present flow configuration planar expansion waves interact with grid generated turbulence in our high-resolution shock tube research facility. This approach will assess directly the effects of the interaction on turbulence. The first objective of our study was to identify the nature of expansion waves present in our shock tube facility. Our time-dependent numerical simulations of the flow in our facility indicated the existence of two regions of traveling expansion waves. The system of expansion waves utilized in this investigation is generated by the exiting shock wave and the induced flow behind it at the end of the driver. Several new measuring techniques are being developed which are capable of providing velocity-gradient-related quantities in compressible flows for the first time.

Agui, Juan↗

NASA NTRS2004

HiPEP Ion Optics System Evaluation Using Gridlets

Experimental measurements are presented for sub-scale ion optics systems comprised of 7 and 19 aperture pairs with geometrical features that are similar to the HiPEP ion optics system. Effects of hole diameter and grid-to-grid spacing are presented as functions of applied voltage and beamlet current. Recommendations are made for the beamlet current range where the ion optics system can be safely operated without experiencing direct impingement of high energy ions on the accelerator grid surface. Measurements are also presented of the accelerator grid voltage where beam plasma electrons backstream through the ion optics system. Results of numerical simulations obtained with the ffx code are compared to both the impingement limit and backstreaming measurements. An emphasis is placed on identifying differences between measurements and simulation predictions to highlight areas where more research is needed. Relatively large effects are observed in simulations when the discharge chamber plasma properties and ion optics geometry are varied. Parameters investigated using simulations include the applied voltages, grid spacing, hole-to-hole spacing, doubles-to-singles ratio, plasma potential, and electron temperature; and estimates are provided for the sensitivity of impingement limits on these parameters.

Willliams, John D.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Cascade Model for Planetesimal Formation by Turbulent Clustering

We use a newly developed cascade model of turbulent concentration of particles in protoplanetary nebulae to calculate several properties of interest to the formation of primitive planetesimals and to the meteorite record. The model follows, and corrects, calculations of the primary planetesimal Initial Mass Function (IMF) by Cuzzi et al. (2010), in which an incorrect cascade model was used. Here we use the model of Hartlep et al. (2017), which has been validated against several published numerical simulations of particle concentration in turbulence. We find that, for a range of nebula and particle properties, planetesimals may be “born big," formed as sandpiles with diameters in the 10 - 100km range, directly from freely floating particles. The IMFs have a modal nature, with a well-defined peak rather than a powerlaw size dependence. Predictions for the inner and outer nebula behave similarly in these regards, and observations of inner and outer nebula primitive bodies support such modal IMFs. Also, we present predictions of local particle concentrations on several lengthscales in which particles “commonly" find themselves, which have significance for meteoritical observations of the redox state and isotopic fractionation in regions of chondrule formation. An important difference between these results, and those of Cuzzi et al. (2010), is that particle growth-by-sticking must proceed to at least the 1-few cm radius range for the IMF and meteoritical properties to be most plausibly satisfied. That is, as far as the inner nebula goes, the predominant “particles" must be aggregates of chondrules (or chondrule-size precursors) rather than individual chondrules themselves.

Planetesimals↗

NASA NTRS2003

The Formation of Asteroid Satellites in Catastrophic Impacts: Results from Numerical Simulations

We have performed new simulations of the formation of asteroid satellites by collisions, using a combination of hydrodynamical and gravitational dynamical codes. This initial work shows that both small satellites and ejected, co-orbiting pairs are produced most favorably by moderate-energy collisions at more direct, rather than oblique, impact angles. Simulations so far seem to be able to produce systems qualitatively similar to known binaries. Asteroid satellites provide vital clues that can help us understand the physics of hypervelocity impacts, the dominant geologic process affecting large main belt asteroids. Moreover, models of satellite formation may provide constraints on the internal structures of asteroids beyond those possible from observations of satellite orbital properties alone. It is probable that most observed main-belt asteroid satellites are by-products of cratering and/or catastrophic disruption events. Several possible formation mechanisms related to collisions have been identified: (i) mutual capture following catastrophic disruption, (ii) rotational fission due to glancing impact and spin-up, and (iii) re-accretion in orbit of ejecta from large, non-catastrophic impacts. Here we present results from a systematic investigation directed toward mapping out the parameter space of the first and third of these three collisional mechanisms.

Durda, D. D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Numerical simulations of the bending of narrow-angle-tail radio jets by ram pressure or pressure gradients

Three-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic simulations are used to study the bending of radio jets. The simulations are compared with observations of jets in narrow-angle-tail radio sources. Two mechanisms for the observed bending are considered: direct bending of quasi-continuous jets by ram pressure from intergalactic gas and bending by pressure gradients in the interstellar gas of the host galaxy, the pressure gradients themselves being the result of ram pressure by intergalactic gas. It is shown that the pressure gradients are much less effective in bending jets, implying that the jets have roughly 30 times lower momentum fluxes if they are bent by this mechanism. Ram-pressure bending produces jets with 'kidney-shaped' cross sections; when observed from the side, these jets appear to have diffuse extensions on the downstream side. On the other hand, pressure-gradient bending causes the jets to be densest near their upstream side.

Soker, Noam↗

NASA NTRS1990

Observation simulation experiments with regional prediction models

Research efforts in FY 1990 included studies employing regional scale numerical models as aids in evaluating potential contributions of specific satellite observing systems (current and future) to numerical prediction. One study involves Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) which mimic operational initialization/forecast cycles but incorporate simulated Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) radiances as input data. The objective of this and related studies is to anticipate the potential value of data from these satellite systems, and develop applications of remotely sensed data for the benefit of short range forecasts. Techniques are also being used that rely on numerical model-based synthetic satellite radiances to interpret the information content of various types of remotely sensed image and sounding products. With this approach, evolution of simulated channel radiance image features can be directly interpreted in terms of the atmospheric dynamical processes depicted by a model. Progress is being made in a study using the internal consistency of a regional prediction model to simplify the assessment of forced diabatic heating and moisture initialization in reducing model spinup times. Techniques for model initialization are being examined, with focus on implications for potential applications of remote microwave observations, including AMSU and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), in shortening model spinup time for regional prediction.

Diak, George↗

NASA NTRS1990

Microgravity laboratory simulations of planetary and stellar circulations

This paper summarizes experiments on thermal convection in a rotating differentially heated spherical shell of liquid that were carried out in the microgravity laboratory of Spacelab III. In these experiments, dielectric polarization forces were used to generate a radially-directed buoyancy force. This enabled the simulation of a number of geophysically and astrophysically important situations in which sphericity and rotation both impose strong constraints on the global scale fluid dynamics. Recent theoretical and numerical interpretations of the original data are discussed. Further laboratory experiments in the areas of geophysical and g-jitter fluid dynamics are suggested.

Hart, John E.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The large-scale structures in turbulent plane Couette flow

Turbulent plane Couette flow has been numerically simulated at a Reynolds number, Re = U(sub w)(h)/nu = 6000. Preliminary examinations of the instantaneous velocity and vorticity fields revealed the existence of large scale eddies which grow in the flow direction with time and have the spanwise scale as large as the channel height. The persistence of the longitudinal eddies was not observed when the small scales in the spanwise direction were not well resolved, indicating that the growth of the large scale longitudinal eddies requires the contribution from the small scale motions in the spanwise direction. The statistical correlation in the flow agree well with the experimental results.

Lee, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Powder agglomeration in a microgravity environment

This is the final report for NASA Grant NAG3-755 entitled 'Powder Agglomeration in a Microgravity Environment.' The research program included both two types of numerical models and two types of experiments. The numerical modeling included the use of Monte Carlo type simulations of agglomerate growth including hydrodynamic screening and molecular dynamics type simulations of the rearrangement of particles within an agglomerate under a gravitational field. Experiments included direct observation of the agglomeration of submicron alumina and indirect observation, using small angle light scattering, of the agglomeration of colloidal silica and aluminum monohydroxide. In the former class of experiments, the powders were constrained to move on a two-dimensional surface oriented to minimize the effect of gravity. In the latter, some experiments involved mixture of suspensions containing particles of opposite charge which resulted in agglomeration on a very short time scale relative to settling under gravity.

Cawley, James D.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Temperature Dependence of Diffusivities in Liquid Elements (LMD)

This research was to advance the understanding of diffusion mechanisms in liquid metals and alloys through accurate diffusivity measurements over a wide range of temperatures, including the proximity of the materials melting points. Specifically, it was driven towards developing a methodology (and subsequent flight hardware) to enable several diffusion coefficient measurements (i.e., at several different temperatures) to be performed using a single sample. The Liquid Metal Diffusion (LMD) was funded as a Flight Definition Project in February 1993 in response to NRA 91-OSSA-20 (Microgravity Science and Applications Division). The Science Concept Review for LAID was held during April 1994. In January 1995 we were informed that we had failed this review and the project was change to ground-based activities only. A new proposal was submitted for the next NRA addressing the panels concerns. As part of NASA's Risk Mitigation program, a scaled-down version of the hardware was funded in July of 1995 for a flight opportunity utilizing experiment on the Microgravity Isolation Mount. This experiment was to determine the self-diffusivity of indium at 185 C. The LMD was transferred to the Mir Space Station in STS-81 and returned on STS-84 (January - May 1997). Three, out of five, self-diffusion data sets were returned. A description of this experiment/hardware is included below. This summary is only intended to give the reader an overview of the results obtained for the tasks outlined in the original proposal. Research that was not published is explained in more detail. At the end of this report is a list of refereed publications and invited talks that were given as a result of this work. The reader is directed to these for further details. Attachment: Real-time diffusivity measurements in liquids at several temperatures with one sample, On the insensitivity of liquid diffusivity measurements to deviations from 1D transport, and Numerical simulations of the convective contamination of diffusivity measurements in liquids.

Banish, R. Michael↗

NASA NTRS1998

Status of and Outlook for Largescale Modeling of Atmosphere-Ice-Ocean Interactions in the Arctic

Arctic air masses have direct impacts on the weather and climatic extremes of midlatitude areas such as central North America. Arctic physical processes pose special and very important problems for global atmospheric models used for climate simulation and numerical weather prediction. At present, the observational database is inadequate to support research aimed at overcoming these problems. Three interdependent Arctic field programs now being planned will help to remedy this situation: SHEBA, which will operate an ice camp in the Arctic for a year-, ARM, which will supply instruments for use at the SHEBA ice camp and which will also conduct longer-term measurements near Barrow, Alaska; and FIRE, which will conduct one or more aircraft campaigns, in conjunction with remote-sensing investigations focused on the SHEBA ice camp. This paper provides an introductory overview of the physics of the Arctic from the perspective of large-scale modelers, outlines some of the modeling problems that arise in attempting to simulate these processes, and explains how the data to be provided by the three field programs can be used to test and improve large-scale models.

Randall, David↗

NASA NTRS1996

Solid Surface Combustion Experiment Completes a Series of Eight Successful Flights

The Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) was the first combustion experiment to fly in the space shuttle and the first such experiment in the NASA spaceflight program since Skylab. SSCE was actually a series of experiments designed to begin to characterize flame spreading over solid fuels in microgravity and the differences of this flame spreading from normal gravity behavior. These experiments should lead to a better understanding of the physical processes involved--increasing our understanding of fire behavior, both in space and on Earth. SSCE results will help researchers evaluate spacecraft fire hazards. These experiments were conceived by the principal investigator, Professor Robert A. Altenkirch, Dean of Engineering at Washington State University. In the first five flights, the fuel sample--ashless filter paper instrumented with three thermocouples--was mounted in a sealed chamber filled with a 50-percent or 35-percent mixture of oxygen in nitrogen at pressures of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 atm. In the next three flights, a polymethyl methacrylate (plexiglass) fuel was instrumented with three thermocouples and tested in a 70-percent or 50-percent mixture of oxygen and nitrogen at pressures of 1.0 and 2.0 atm. SSCE is a self-contained, battery-operated experiment that can be flown either in the shuttle middeck or in the Spacelab module. More information about the hardware configuration have been published. This past year, the final two of eight flights were completed on STS-64 and STS-63. The NASA Lewis Research Center designed and built the SSCE payload and performed engineering, testing, scientific, and flight operations support. The SSCE project was supported in some way by nearly every major sector of Lewis' organization. Professor Altenkirch developed a numerical simulation of the flame-spreading process from first principles (of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and reaction kinetics). The spread rates, flame shape, and thermodynamic data from the SSCE flights are being compared directly with the results of the computational model. Results from the eight flights will be used to formulate an improved solid-phase pyrolysis model. In addition, some results of the flights have been published and presented at international combustion symposiums. Additional solid fuel combustion experiments are being investigated for future tests with the existing hardware.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2015

Turbulent Concentration of mm-Size Particles in the Protoplanetary Nebula: Scale-Dependent Cascades

The initial accretion of primitive bodies (here, asteroids in particular) from freely-floating nebula particles remains problematic. Traditional growth-by-sticking models encounter a formidable "meter-size barrier" (or even a mm-to-cm-size barrier) in turbulent nebulae, making the preconditions for so-called "streaming instabilities" difficult to achieve even for so-called "lucky" particles. Even if growth by sticking could somehow breach the meter size barrier, turbulent nebulae present further obstacles through the 1-10km size range. On the other hand, nonturbulent nebulae form large asteroids too quickly to explain long spreads in formation times, or the dearth of melted asteroids. Theoretical understanding of nebula turbulence is itself in flux; recent models of MRI (magnetically-driven) turbulence favor low-or- no-turbulence environments, but purely hydrodynamic turbulence is making a comeback, with two recently discovered mechanisms generating robust turbulence which do not rely on magnetic fields at all. An important clue regarding planetesimal formation is an apparent 100km diameter peak in the pre-depletion, pre-erosion mass distribution of asteroids; scenarios leading directly from independent nebula particulates to large objects of this size, which avoid the problematic m-km size range, could be called "leapfrog" scenarios. The leapfrog scenario we have studied in detail involves formation of dense clumps of aerodynamically selected, typically mm-size particles in turbulence, which can under certain conditions shrink inexorably on 100-1000 orbit timescales and form 10-100km diameter sandpile planetesimals. There is evidence that at least the ordinary chondrite parent bodies were initially composed entirely of a homogeneous mix of such particles. Thus, while they are arcane, turbulent concentration models acting directly on chondrule size particles are worthy of deeper study. The typical sizes of planetesimals and the rate of their formation can be estimated using a statistical model with properties inferred from large numerical simulations of turbulence. Nebula turbulence is described by its Reynolds number Re = (L/eta)(exp 4/3), where L = H alpha(exp 1/2) is the largest eddy scale, H is the nebula gas vertical scale height, alpha the turbulent viscosity parameter, and eta is the Kolmogorov or smallest scale in turbulence (typically about 1km), with eddy turnover time t(sub eta). In the nebula, Re is far larger than any numerical simulation can handle, so some physical arguments are needed to extend the results of numerical simulations to nebula conditions. In this paper, we report new physics to be incorporated into our statistical models.

mm-size particles↗

NASA NTRS2020

Cascade Model for Planetesimal Formation by Turbulent Clustering.

We use a newly developed cascade model of turbulent concentration of particles in protoplanetary nebulae to calculate several properties of interest to the formation of primitive planetesimals and to the meteorite record. The model follows, and corrects, calculations of the primary planetesimal Initial Mass Function (IMF) by Cuzzi et al. (2010), in which an incorrect cascade model was used. Here we use the model of Hartlep et al. (2017), which has been validated against several published numerical simulations of particle concentration in turbulence. We find that, for a range of nebula and particle properties, planetesimals may be “born big”, formed as sandpiles with diameters in the 10 − 100 km range, directly from freely floating particles. The IMFs have a modal nature, with a well-defined peak rather than a powerlaw size dependence. Predictions for the inner and outer nebula behave similarly in these regards, and observations of inner and outer nebula primitive bodies support such modal IMFs. Also, we present predictions of local particle concentrations on several lengthscales in which particles “commonly” find themselves, which have significance for meteoritical observations of the redox state and isotopic fractionation in regions of chondrule formation. An important difference between these results, and those of Cuzzi et al. (2010), is that particle growth-by-sticking must proceed to at least the 1−few cm radius range for the IMF and meteoritical properties to be most plausibly satisfied. That is, as far as the inner nebula goes, the predominant “particles” must be aggregates of chondrules (or chondrule-size precursors) rather than individual chondrules themselves.

Thomas Hartlep↗

NASA NTRS1993

Numerical simulation of steady and unsteady viscous flow in turbomachinery using pressure based algorithm

The objective of this research is to simulate steady and unsteady viscous flows, including rotor/stator interaction and tip clearance effects in turbomachinery. The numerical formulation for steady flow developed here includes an efficient grid generation scheme, particularly suited to computational grids for the analysis of turbulent turbomachinery flows and tip clearance flows, and a semi-implicit, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics scheme that directly includes artificial dissipation, and is applicable to both viscous and inviscid flows. The values of these artificial dissipation is optimized to achieve accuracy and convergency in the solution. The numerical model is used to investigate the structure of tip clearance flows in a turbine nozzle. The structure of leakage flow is captured accurately, including blade-to-blade variation of all three velocity components, pitch and yaw angles, losses and blade static pressures in the tip clearance region. The simulation also includes evaluation of such quantities of leakage mass flow, vortex strength, losses, dominant leakage flow regions and the spanwise extent affected by the leakage flow. It is demonstrated, through optimization of grid size and artificial dissipation, that the tip clearance flow field can be captured accurately. The above numerical formulation was modified to incorporate time accurate solutions. An inner loop iteration scheme is used at each time step to account for the non-linear effects. The computation of unsteady flow through a flat plate cascade subjected to a transverse gust reveals that the choice of grid spacing and the amount of artificial dissipation is critical for accurate prediction of unsteady phenomena. The rotor-stator interaction problem is simulated by starting the computation upstream of the stator, and the upstream rotor wake is specified from the experimental data. The results show that the stator potential effects have appreciable influence on the upstream rotor wake. The predicted unsteady wake profiles are compared with the available experimental data and the agreement is good. The numerical results are interpreted to draw conclusions on the unsteady wake transport mechanism in the blade passage.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Integrated Aeroservoelastic Optimization: Status and Direction

The interactions of lightweight flexible airframe structures, steady and unsteady aerodynamics, and wide-bandwidth active controls on modern airplanes lead to considerable multidisciplinary design challenges. More than 25 years of mathematical and numerical methods' development, numerous basic research studies, simulations and wind-tunnel tests of simple models, wind-tunnel tests of complex models of real airplanes, as well as flight tests of actively controlled airplanes, have all contributed to the accumulation of a substantial body of knowledge in the area of aeroservoelasticity. A number of analysis codes, with the capabilities to model real airplane systems under the assumptions of linearity, have been developed. Many tests have been conducted, and results were correlated with analytical predictions. A selective sample of references covering aeroservoelastic testing programs from the 1960s to the early 1980s, as well as more recent wind-tunnel test programs of real or realistic configurations, are included in the References section of this paper. An examination of references 20-29 will reveal that in the course of development (or later modification), of almost every modern airplane with a high authority active control system, there arose a need to face aeroservoelastic problems and aeroservoelastic design challenges.

Livne, Eli↗