SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “acoustical waves”

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 1,189 records · Page 66

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2003

Advanced Computational Aeroacoustics Methods for Fan Noise Prediction

Direct computation of fan noise is presently not possible. One of the major difficulties is the geometrical complexity of the problem. In the case of fan noise, the blade geometry is critical to the loading on the blade and hence the intensity of the radiated noise. The precise geometry must be incorporated into the computation. In computational fluid dynamics (CFD), there are two general ways to handle problems with complex geometry. One way is to use unstructured grids. The other is to use body fitted overset grids. In the overset grid method, accurate data transfer is of utmost importance. For acoustic computation, it is not clear that the currently used data transfer methods are sufficiently accurate as not to contaminate the very small amplitude acoustic disturbances. In CFD, low order schemes are, invariably, used in conjunction with unstructured grids. However, low order schemes are known to be numerically dispersive and dissipative. dissipative errors are extremely undesirable for acoustic wave problems. The objective of this project is to develop a high order unstructured grid Dispersion-Relation-Preserving (DRP) scheme. would minimize numerical dispersion and dissipation errors. contains the results of the funded portion of the project. scheme on an unstructured grid has been developed. constructed in the wave number space. The characteristics of the scheme can be improved by the inclusion of additional constraints. Stability of the scheme has been investigated. Stability can be improved by adopting the upwinding strategy.

Envia, Edmane↗

NASA NTRS2003

Computational Methods for Jet Noise Simulation

The purpose of our project is to develop, analyze, and test novel numerical technologies central to the long term goal of direct simulations of subsonic jet noise. Our current focus is on two issues: accurate, near-field domain truncations and high-order, single-step discretizations of the governing equations. The Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of jet noise poses a number of extreme challenges to computational technique. In particular, the problem involves multiple temporal and spatial scales as well as flow instabilities and is posed on an unbounded spatial domain. Moreover, the basic phenomenon of interest, the radiation of acoustic waves to the far field, involves only a minuscule fraction of the total energy. The best current simulations of jet noise are at low Reynolds number. It is likely that an increase of one to two orders of magnitude will be necessary to reach a regime where the separation between the energy-containing and dissipation scales is sufficient to make the radiated noise essentially independent of the Reynolds number. Such an increase in resolution cannot be obtained in the near future solely through increases in computing power. Therefore, new numerical methodologies of maximal efficiency and accuracy are required.

Goodrich, John W.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Nonlinear Aeroacoustics Computations by the Space-Time CE/SE Method

The Space-Time Conservation Element and Solution Element Method, or CE/SE Method for short, is a recently developed numerical method for conservation laws. Despite its second order accuracy in space and time, it possesses low dispersion errors and low dissipation. The method is robust enough to cover a wide range of compressible flows: from weak linear acoustic waves to strong discontinuous waves (shocks). An outstanding feature of the CE/SE scheme is its truly multi-dimensional, simple but effective non-reflecting boundary condition (NRBC), which is particularly valuable for computational aeroacoustics (CAA). In nature, the method may be categorized as a finite volume method, where the conservation element (CE) is equivalent to a finite control volume (or cell) and the solution element (SE) can be understood as the cell interface. However, due to its careful treatment of the surface fluxes and geometry, it is different from the existing schemes. Currently, the CE/SE scheme has been developed to a matured stage that a 3-D unstructured CE/SE Navier-Stokes solver is already available. However, in the present review paper, as a general introduction to the CE/SE method, only the 2-D unstructured Euler CE/SE solver is chosen and sketched in section 2. Then applications of the 2-D and 3-D CE/SE schemes to linear, and in particular, nonlinear aeroacoustics are depicted in sections 3, 4, and 5 to demonstrate its robustness and capability.

Loh, Ching Y.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Transition in a Supersonic Boundary-Layer Due to Roughness and Acoustic Disturbances

The transition process induced by the interaction of an isolated roughness with acoustic disturbances in the free stream is numerically investigated for a boundary layer over a flat plate with a blunted leading edge at a free stream Mach number of 3.5. The roughness is assumed to be of Gaussian shape and the acoustic disturbances are introduced as boundary condition at the outer field. The governing equations are solved using the 5'h-~rder accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for space discretization and using third- order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) Runge- Kutta scheme for time integration. The steady field induced by the two and three-dimensional roughness is also computed. The flow field induced by two-dimensional roughness exhibits different characteristics depending on the roughness heights. At small roughness heights the flow passes smoothly over the roughness, at moderate heights the flow separates downstream of the roughness and at larger roughness heights the flow separates upstream and downstream of the roughness. Computations also show that disturbances inside the boundary layer is due to the direct interaction of the acoustic waves and isolated roughness plays a minor role in generating instability waves.

Balakumar, P.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Computation of Jet Screech Noise

The space-time conservation-element and solution-element method is employed to numerically study the near-field screech-tone noise of a typical underexpanded circular jet issuing from a sonic nozzle. Both axisymmetric and fully three-dimensional computations are carried out. The self-sustained feedback loop is properly simulated. The computed shock-cell structure, acoustic wave length, screech-tone frequency, and sound-pressure levels are in good agreement with existing experimental results.

Hultgren, Lennart S.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Flexwall Hydraulic Hose Replacement in the NASA Glenn 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Propulsion Wind Tunnel

Smith, Larry E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Gap-Opening, Disk Clearing, and the Survival of the Regular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn

It is only recently that the theory of disk-companion interactions yields migration rates due to the gas tidal torque that are in agreement with numerical simulations and up to an order of magnitude slower than previous estimates. Also, for a weakly turbulent disk, the gap size is controlled primarily by the damping length of acoustic waves launched by the secondary at Lindblad resonances, which in turn depends on whether the waves are 2D or 3D. At least for small azimuthal wavenumbers this damping length is of the order of the radial location of the Lindblad resonance. This may have important consequences for disk dispersal in satellite systems. In the case of Jupiter, it means that the inner Galilean satellites may have jointly opened a gap. On the other hand, in Saturn's system the satellites inside of Titan are probably too small to have opened gaps in the gas disk at the time of their formation; but the possibility exists that, by effectively clearing the gas disk inside its own orbit, Titan may have allowed smaller satellites to survive, depending on whether Titan can clear the disk in a timescale comparable to the migration rates due to gas drag and gas tidal torque for these objects.

Estrada, P. R.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Double Layers in Expanding Plasmas and Their Relevance to the Auroral Plasma Processes

When a dense plasma consisting of a cold and a sufficiently warm electron population expands, a rarefaction shock forms [Bezzerides et al., 1978]. In the expansion of the polar wind in the magnetosphere, it has been previously shown that when a sufficiently warm electron population also exists, in addition to the usual cold ionospheric one, a discontinuity forms in the electrostatic potential distribution along the magnetic field lines [Barakat and Schunk, 1984]. Despite the lack of spatial resolution and the assumption of quasi-neutrality in the polar wind models, such discontinuities have been called double layers (DLs). Recently similar discontinuities have been invoked to partly explain the auroral acceleration of electrons and ions in the upward current region [Ergun et al., 2000]. By means of one-dimensional Vlasov simulations of expanding plasmas, for the first time we make here the connection between (1) the rarefaction shocks, (2) the discontinuities in the potential distributions, and (3) DLs. We show that when plasmas expand from opposite directions into a deep density cavity with a potential drop across it and when the plasma on the high-potential side contains hot and cold electron populations, the temporal evolution of the potential and the plasma distribution generates evolving multiple double layers with an ,extended density cavity between them. One of the DLs is the rarefaction-shock (RFS) and it forms by the reflections of the cold electrons coming from the high-potential side; it supports a part of the potential drop approximately determined by the hot electron temperature. The other DLs evolve from charge separations arising either from reflection of ions coming from the low-potential side or stemming from plasma instabilities; they support the rest of the potential drop. The instabilities forming these additional double layers involve electron-ion (e-i) Buneman or ion-ion (i-i) two-stream interactions. The electron-electron two-stream interactions on the high-potential side of the RFS generate electron-acoustic waves, which evolve into electron phase-space holes. The ion population originating from the low-potential side and trapped by the RFS is energized by the e-i and i-i instabilities and it eventually precipitates into the high-potential plasma along with an electron beam. Applications of these findings to the auroral plasma physics are discussed.

Singh, Nagendra↗

NASA NTRS2003

Jet Screech Noise Computation

The near-field screech-tone noise of a typical underexpanded circular jet issuing from a sonic nozzle is simulated numerically. The self-sustained feedback loop is automatically established in the simulation. The computed shock-cell structure, acoustic wave length, screech tone frequencies, and sound pressure levels in the near field are in good agreement with existing experimental results.

Loh, Ching Y.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Solar Oscillations

Oscillations were first detected in the solar photosphere in 1962 by Leighton and students. In 1970 it was calculated that these oscillations, with a period near five minutes, were the manifestations of acoustic waves trapped in the interior. The subsequent measurements of the frequencies of global oscillation modes from the spatio-temporal power spectrum of the waves made possible the refinement of solar interior models. Over the years, increased understanding of the nuclear reaction rates, the opacity, the equation of state, convection, and gravitational settling have resulted. Mass flows shift the frequencies of modes leading to very accurate measurements of the interior rotation as a function of radius and latitude. In recent years, analogues of terrestrial seismology have led to a tomography of the interior, including measurements of global north-south flows and flow and wave speed measurements below features such as sunspots. The future of helioseismology seems bright with the approval of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, to be launched in 2008.

Duvall, Thomas↗

NASA NTRS2004

Membrane Vibration Analysis Above the Nyquist Limit with Fluorescence Videogrammetry

A new method for generating photogrammetric targets by projecting an array of laser beams onto a membrane doped with fluorescent laser dye has recently been developed. In this paper we review this new fluorescence based technique, then proceed to show how it can be used for dynamic measurements, and how a short pulsed (10 ns) laser allows the measurement of vibration modes at frequencies several times the sampling frequency. In addition, we present experimental results showing the determination of fundamental and harmonic vibration modes of a drum style dye-doped polymer membrane tautly mounted on a 12-inch circular hoop and excited with 30 Hz and 62 Hz sinusoidal acoustic waves. The projected laser dot pattern was generated by passing the beam from a pulsed Nd:YAG laser though a diffractive optical element, and the resulting fluorescence was imaged with three digital video cameras, all of which were synchronized with a pulse and delay generator. Although the video cameras are capable of 240 Hz frame rates, the laser s output was limited to 30 Hz and below. Consequently, aliasing techniques were used to allow the measurement of vibration modes up to 186 Hz with a Nyquist limit of less than 15 Hz.

Dorrington, Adrian A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Control of Shock Loading from a Jet in the Presence of a Flexible Structure

The control of shock noise or screech from a jet near a flexible structure is discussed. The pressure from the supersonic jet consists of a shock with spiral and flapping nonaxisymmetric modes superimposed on broadband response. This shock induces a nonlinear-nonstationary loading problem associated with acoustic wave generation and propagation coupled with structural vibration. Control of the shock is achieved by placing a ring at the nozzle lip oscillating at the shock fundamental frequency. The ring prevents the shock characteristics originating in the column of the shear layer from sustaining connection with the out-of-phase surface vibration. Shock-free flow is maintained over a large pressure ratio. The peak power pressure level is reduced by 40 dB.

Maestrello, Lucio↗

NASA NTRS2004

Validation of an Impedance Education Method in Flow

This paper reports results of a research effort to validate a method for educing the normal incidence impedance of a locally reacting liner, located in a grazing incidence, nonprogressive acoustic wave environment with flow. The results presented in this paper test the ability of the method to reproduce the measured normal incidence impedance of a solid steel plate and two soft test liners in a uniform flow. The test liners are known to be locally react- ing and exhibit no measurable amplitude-dependent impedance nonlinearities or flow effects. Baseline impedance spectra for these liners were therefore established from measurements in a conventional normal incidence impedance tube. A key feature of the method is the expansion of the unknown impedance function as a piecewise continuous polynomial with undetermined coefficients. Stewart's adaptation of the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell optimization algorithm is used to educe the normal incidence impedance at each Mach number by optimizing an objective function. The method is shown to reproduce the measured normal incidence impedance spectrum for each of the test liners, thus validating its usefulness for determining the normal incidence impedance of test liners for a broad range of source frequencies and flow Mach numbers. Nomenclature

Watson, Willie R.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Bubble Combustion

A method of energy production that is capable of low pollutant emissions is fundamental to one of the four pillars of NASA s Aeronautics Blueprint: Revolutionary Vehicles. Bubble combustion, a new engine technology currently being developed at Glenn Research Center promises to provide low emissions combustion in support of NASA s vision under the Emissions Element because it generates power, while minimizing the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxides (NOx), both known to be Greenhouse gases. and allows the use of alternative fuels such as corn oil, low-grade fuels, and even used motor oil. Bubble combustion is analogous to the inverse of spray combustion: the difference between bubble and spray combustion is that spray combustion is spraying a liquid in to a gas to form droplets, whereas bubble combustion involves injecting a gas into a liquid to form gaseous bubbles. In bubble combustion, the process for the ignition of the bubbles takes place on a time scale of less than a nanosecond and begins with acoustic waves perturbing each bubble. This perturbation causes the local pressure to drop below the vapor pressure of the liquid thus producing cavitation in which the bubble diameter grows, and upon reversal of the oscillating pressure field, the bubble then collapses rapidly with the aid of the high surface tension forces acting on the wall of the bubble. The rapid and violent collapse causes the temperatures inside the bubbles to soar as a result of adiabatic heating. As the temperatures rise, the gaseous contents of the bubble ignite with the bubble itself serving as its own combustion chamber. After ignition, this is the time in the bubble s life cycle where power is generated, and CO2, and NOx among other species, are produced. However, the pollutants CO2 and NOx are absorbed into the surrounding liquid. The importance of bubble combustion is that it generates power using a simple and compact device. We conducted a parametric study using CAVCHEM, a computational model developed at Glenn, that simulates the cavitational collapse of a single bubble in a liquid (water) and the subsequent combustion of the gaseous contents inside the bubble. The model solves the time-dependent, compressible Navier-Stokes equations in one-dimension with finite-rate chemical kinetics using the CHEMKIN package. Specifically, parameters such as frequency, pressure, bubble radius, and the equivalence ratio were varied while examining their effect on the maximum temperature, radius, and chemical species. These studies indicate that the radius of the bubble is perhaps the most critical parameter governing bubble combustion dynamics and its efficiency. Based on the results of the parametric studies, we plan on conducting experiments to study the effect of ultrasonic perturbations on the bubble generation process with respect to the bubble radius and size distribution.

Corrigan, Jackie↗

NASA NTRS2004

Computation of Gust-Cascade Interaction Using the CE/SE Method

The problem 2 in Category 3 of the 4th Computational Aeroacoustic(CAA) Workshop is solved using the space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method. This problem models rotor-stator interaction in a 2D cascade. It involves complex geometries and flow physics including vortex shedding and acoustic radiation. The parallel version of the 2D nonlinear Euler solver is used with an unstructured triangular mesh to solve this problem. The Giles approach is incorporated with the CE/SE method to handle non-equal pitches of the rotor and stator. Validation on the Giles approach is performed using Problem 3.1 in the 2nd CAA Workshop. The space-time CE/SE method is a finite volume method with second-order accuracy in both space and time. The flux conservation is enforced in both space and time instead of space only. It has low numerical dissipation and dispersion errors. It uses simple non-reflecting boundary conditions and is compatible with unstructured meshes. It is simple, flexible, and generate reasonably accurate solutions. The CE/SE method has been successfully applied to solve numerous practical problems, especially aeroacoustic problems. Some preliminary numerical results of the benchmark problem 3.2 of the 4th CAA Workshop are shown. The steady-state pressure contour is plotted. The mean pressure distribution on the blade surface is compared with Turbo solution showing a good agreement. The sound pressure level versus the rotor harmonic n at the six designated positions on the blade surface, three locations at inlet plane, and three locations at the outlet plane are plotted. It can be seen that the acoustic response exists only at the excitation frequencies (n = 1,2,3). On the blade surface, the acoustic wave at n = 1 is dominant, while at the inlet and outlet planes, the sound pressure level at n = 2 becomes the largest, which is similar to the results presented. The distribution of sound pressure level at different spatial modes along the z- direction is plotted for n = 1,2,3, respectively. It shows that the spatial modes m = -32 and 22 at n = 1 exponentially decay, and the spatial modes m = 10 at n = 2, m = -42 and 12 at n = 3 propagate both upstream and downstream, which agrees with the prediction based on the linearized theory. Some oscillations are observed, which needs to be investigated further. In the final paper, the numerical results will be compared with a frequency-domain solver LINFLUX solution if it is available.

Wang, X.-Y.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Liquid Propellant Manipulated Acoustically

Fluids are difficult to manage in the space environment. Without gravity, the liquid and gas do not always remain separated as they do in the 1g environment of Earth. Instead the liquid and gas volumes mix and migrate under the influence of surface tension, thermodynamic forces, and external disturbances. As a result, liquid propellants may not be in a useable location or may even form a chaotic mix of liquid and gas bubbles. In the past, mechanical pumps, baffles, and a variety of specialized passive devices have been used to control the liquid and gas volumes. These methods need to be carefully tuned to a specific configuration to be effective. With increasing emphasis on long-term human activity in space there is a trend toward liquid systems that are more flexible and provide greater control. We are exploring new methods of manipulating liquids by using the nonlinear acoustic effects achieved by using beams of highly directed high-intensity acoustic waves.

Oeftering, Richard C.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Parameterizable Library Components for SAW Devices

To facilitate quick fabrication of Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors we have found it necessary to develop a library of parameterizable components. This library is the first module in our strategy towards a design tool that is integrated into existing Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. This library is similar to the standard cell libraries found in digital design packages. The library cells allow the user to input the design parameters which automatically generate a detailed layout of the SAW component. This paper presents the results of our development of parameterizable cells for an InterDigitated Transducer (IDT), reflector, SAW delay line, and both one and two port resonators.

Wilson, William C.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Structural Health Monitoring and Impact Detection Using Neural Networks for Damage Characterization

Detection of damage due to foreign object impact is an important factor in the development of new aerospace vehicles. Acoustic waves generated on impact can be detected using a set of piezoelectric transducers, and the location of impact can be determined by triangulation based on the differences in the arrival time of the waves at each of the sensors. These sensors generate electrical signals in response to mechanical motion resulting from the impact as well as from natural vibrations. Due to electrical noise and mechanical vibration, accurately determining these time differentials can be challenging, and even small measurement inaccuracies can lead to significant errors in the computed damage location. Wavelet transforms are used to analyze the signals at multiple levels of detail, allowing the signals resulting from the impact to be isolated from ambient electromechanical noise. Data extracted from these transformed signals are input to an artificial neural network to aid in identifying the moment of impact from the transformed signals. By distinguishing which of the signal components are resultant from the impact and which are characteristic of noise and normal aerodynamic loads, the time differentials as well as the location of damage can be accurately assessed. The combination of wavelet transformations and neural network processing results in an efficient and accurate approach for passive in-flight detection of foreign object damage.

Ross, Richard W.↗