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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.

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At least 1,189 records · Page 66
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

Instrumentation and data acquisition systems

A comprehensive and integrated measurement system was identified and a design and development effort initiated to meet the criteria imposed by the National Transonic Facility operating environment. Specific measurement areas receiving concentrated attention include: data acquisition, force measurement, pressure instrumentation, flow visualization techniques, model attitude and model deformation measurement, and temperature measurement. The NTF instrument complex will be centered around four 32-bit, 1-microsecond-cycle-time central processing units connected in a multipoint-distributed network configuration. The principal activities to be supported by these computers are: (1) data base management and processing; (2) research measurement data acquisition and display; (3) tunnel and model control; and (4) process monitoring and communication control. The distributed network approach was chosen to modularize the functional software into definable and implementable parts by the various groups involved in the design and to permit use of similar hardware configurations to improve reliability and maintainability.

Guarino, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Space shuttle orbital maneuvering engine platelet injector program

A platelet face injector for the Orbit Maneuvering Engine (OME) on the space shuttle was evaluated as a means of obtaining additional design margin and lower cost. The program was conducted in three phases. The first phase evaluated single injection elements, or unielements; it involved visual flow studies, mixing experiments using propellant simulants, and hot firings to assess combustion efficiency, chamber wall compatibility, and injector face temperatures. In the second phase, subscale units producing 600 lbf thrust were used to further evaluate the orifice patterns chosen on the basis of unielement testing. In addition to combustion efficiency, chamber and injector heat transfer, the subscale testing provided a preliminary indication of injector stability. Full scale testing of the selected patterns at 6,000 lbf thrust was performed in the third phase. Performance, heat transfer, and combustion stability were evaluated over the anticipated range of OMS operating conditions. The effects on combustion stability of acoustic cavity configuration, including cavity depth, open area, inlet contour, and other parameters, were investigated.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

Merging of aircraft trailing vortices

A merging-distance criterion for equal-strength corotational vortices is derived from low-turbulence wind-tunnel flow-visualization data. The vortex separation distance is normalized by defining a vortex core diameter based on circulation defect and angular-momentum defect. Merging may take place for larger separation distances than predicted from earlier two-dimensional inviscid calculations, which indicates that viscosity and possibly three-dimensional effects are important factors in the merging phenomenon. Hot-wire velocity distributions and rolling-moment measurements show that attenuation of the vortex hazard is associated with vortex merging.

Brandt, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Ground-based measurements of the wake vortex characteristics of a B747 aircraft in various configurations

A Boeing 747 aircraft flew 54 passes at low level over ground-based sensors. Vortex velocities were measured by a laser-Doppler velocimeter, an array of monostatic acoustic sounders, and an array of propeller anemometers. Flow visualization of the wake was achieved using smoke and balloon tracers. Preliminary results were obtained on the initial downwash field, the time for merging of the multiple vortices, the velocity fields, vortex decay, and the effects of spoilers and differential flap settings on the dissipation and structure of vortices.

Hallock, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Experimental results of large-scale structures in jet flows and their relation to jet noise production

Experiments have been performed to determine the role of large-scale turbulent structures in the production of jet noise. Axisymmetric turbulent jet flows at ambient stagnation temperature have been observed with the aid of flow visualization techniques. Jet Mach numbers at the nozzle exit ranged between 0.1 and 0.9, and the Reynolds number, based on nozzle exit diameter, was approximately 10 to the 6th. Large organized turbulent structures existed as far downstream of the nozzle exit as 7 diameters. High-speed schlieren motion pictures synchronized with near-field pressure measurements of an excited jet indicated that strong instantaneous peaks in the pressure signal occurred whenever a merging process between two large-scale organized structures occurred. This pressure pulse propagated at a speed which was somewhat larger than the velocity of the jet at the nozzle exit.

Sarohia, V.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Flight test techniques for wake-vortex minimization studies

Flight test techniques developed for use in a study of wake turbulence and used recently in flight studies of wake minimization methods are discussed. Flow visualization was developed as a technique for qualitatively assessing minimization methods and is required in flight test procedures for making quantitative measurements. The quantitative techniques are the measurement of the upset dynamics of an aircraft encountering the wake and the measurement of the wake velocity profiles. Descriptions of the instrumentation and the data reduction and correlation methods are given.

Jacobsen, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Aircraft wake-vortex minimization by use of flaps

A survey was made of research on the alleviation of the trailing vortex hazard by altering span loading with flaps on the generator airplane. Flap configurations of the generator that shed multiple vortices were found to have wakes that dispersed by vortex merging and sinusoidal instability. Reductions of approximately 50 percent in both the wake rolling moment imposed on a following aircraft and the aircraft separation requirement were achieved in the ground based and flight test experiments by deflecting the trailing edge flaps more inboard than outboard. Significantly, this configuration did not increase the drag or vibration on the generating aircraft compared to the conventional landing configuration. Ground based results of rolling moment measurement and flow visualization are shown, using a water tow facility, an air tow facility, and a wind tunnel. Flight test results are also shown, using a full scale B-747 airplane. General agreement was found among the results of the various ground based facilities and the flight tests.

Corsiglia, V. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Effects of film injection angle on turbine vane cooling

Film ejection from discrete holes in the suction surface of a turbine vane was studied for hole axes (1) slanted 30 deg to the surface in the streamwise direction and (2) slanted 30 deg to the surface and 45 deg from the streamwise direction toward the hub. The holes were near the throat area in a five-row staggered array with 8-diameter spacing. Mass flux ratios were as high as 1.2. The data were obtained in an annular sector cascade at conditions where both the ratio of the boundary layer momentum thickness-to-hole diameter and the momentum thickness Reynolds number were typical of an advanced turbofan engine at both takeoff and cruise. Wall temperatures were measured downstream of each of the rows of holes. Results of this study are expressed as a comparison of cooling effectiveness between the in-line angle injection and the compound-angle injection as a function of mass flux ratio. These heat transfer results are also compared with the results of a referenced flow visualization study. Also included is a closed-form analytical solution for temperature within the film cooled wall.

Gauntner, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The 0.1m subsonic cryogenic tunnel at the University of Southampton

The design and performance of a low speed one atmosphere cryogenic wind tunnel is described. The tunnel is fan driven and operates over the temperature range 305K to 77K at Mach numbers up to 0.28. It is cooled by the injection and evaporation of liquid nitrogen in the circuit, and the usual test gas is nitrogen. The tunnel has a square test section 0.1m across and was built to allow, at low costs, the development of testing techniques and the development of instrumentation for use in cryogenic tunnels, and to exploit in general instrumentation work the unusuallly wide range of unit Reynolds number available in such tunnels. The tunnel was first used in the development of surface flow visualization techniques for use at cryogenic temperatures.

Goodyer, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

High angle canard missile test in the Ames 11-foot transonic wind tunnel

Four blunted ogive-cylinder missile models with a length-to-diameter ratio of 10.4 were tested at transonic speeds and large angles of attack. The configurations are: body, body with tail panels, body with canards, and body with canards and tails. Forces and moments from the entire model and each of the eight fins were measured over the pitch range of 20 deg to 50 deg and 0 deg to 45 deg roll. Canard deflection angles between 0 deg and 15 deg were tested. Exploratory vapor screen flow visualization testing was also performed. Sample force and moment data are reported along with observations from the vapor screen tests.

Schwind, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effects of wing leading-edge deflection on the low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of a low-aspect-ratio highly swept arrow-wing configuration

Wing leading-edge deflection effects on the low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of a low-aspect-ratio highly swept arrow-wing configuration were determined. Static force tests were conducted in a V/STOL tunnel at a Reynolds number of about 2.5 x 1 million for an angle-of-attack range from -10 deg to 17 deg and an angle-of-sideslip range from -5 deg to 5 deg. Limited flow visualization studies were also conducted in order to provide a qualitative assessment of leading-edge upwash characteristics.

Coe, P. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Flow in a transonic compressor rotor

Some results of a comprehensive study of the flow through a transonic compressor rotor are presented. The rotor produces a pressure ratio of 1.6 at a tip Mach number of 1.2, has a cylindrical casing, sloped hub, and MCA blade sections. The gas density has been measured in the rotor by gas fluorescence, which reveals details of the shock and boundary layer structure as well as density in the passages. Time resolved measurements of the flow just downstream of the rotor give the blade wake structure, which is related to the features shown by the fluorescence. Of particular interest is a complex three-dimensional separation near the sonic radius. The flow through the rotor has also been computed in three dimensions by a time-marching technique, and the results of this computation are compared to those found by flow visualization.

Kerrebrock, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Side-force alleviation on slender, pointed forebodies at high angles of attack

A new approach of alleviating high angle-of-attack side force on slender, pointed forebodies comprising a symmetrical pair of helical separation trips to disrupt the lee-side vortices, has been demonstrated. Subsonic wind tunnel measurements on two axi-symmetric pointed bodies, a fuselage of non-circular cross-section and a wing-fuselage combination, at angles of attack up to 56 degrees are presented. Also included are water-tunnel flow visualization results portraying the action of helical trips in rapidly diffusing the leeward vortices and preventing vortex-wake asymmetry.

Rao, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Experimental investigation of the subwing tip and its vortex structure

A better understanding of the subwing's vortex structure relative to a square tip for several angles of attack and yaw angles is provided. This comparison included subwings of various chord size and airfoil thickness. Flow visualization, together with performance and wake measurements, provided a comparison between the square tip and subwing tips during both a semi-span wind-tunnel test and a small-scale rotor hover-stand test.

Tangler, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Holography through optically active windows

By using two orthogonally polarized reference beams, holograms can be recorded through stressed windows and the reconstructed virtual image will show no stress pattern. As shown analytically, the stress-pattern-free hologram is recordable for any polarization state of the object illumination. Hence, the more efficient nondepolarizing diffuser can be used in performing holography through stressed windows if two reference beams are used. Results are presented for a pair of machined polysulfone windows intended for use in a holographic flow-visualization setup in a single-stage-compressor test rig.

Decker, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Application of the laser velocimeter to airfoil research

A laser velocimeter (LV) was installed in the Langley V/STOL tunnel to measure the velocity field about a wing with a NACA 0012 airfoil section. These measurements were compared at low angle of attack with a two dimensional, viscous flow prediction program. The velocity field over the wing in a fully stalled condition was also measured by the LV. The unique ability of the LV to measure absolute flow magnitude and direction without prior knowledge of general flow direction was demonstrated in the complex separated reverse flows near the wing upper surface at the high angle of attack. The general characteristics of the flow field over the stalled wing were substantiated by a vapor screen flow visualization technique.

Hoad, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Effects of wing leading-edge deflection on low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of a low-aspect-ratio highly swept arrow-wing configuration

Static force tests were conducted in the Langley V/STOL tunnel at a Reynolds number (based on the mean aerodynamic chord) of about 2.0 x 10 to the 6th power for an angle-of-attack range from about - 10 deg to 17 deg and angles of sideslip of 0 and + or - 5 deg. Limited flow visualization studies were also conducted in order to provide a qualitative assessment of leading-edge upwash characteristics.

Coe, P. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Influence of wave dispersion on vortex pairing in a jet

The geometry of large-scale structures in the turbulent mixing layer of a moderate Reynolds number jet is deduced from measurements of the fluctuating pressure in the hydrodynamic near field. The structures are rings of concentrated vorticity that distort with downstream distance until statistical axisymmetry disappears. The rings are spaced quasi-periodically and coalesce with each other, producing larger spacings. Statistical and flow-visualization techniques are applied to free and forced jets over a range of Reynolds numbers from 5000 to 50,000 to demonstrate that rings of a given spacing do not coalesce with each other until they are far enough downstream that the local mixing layer has attained some critical thickness which scales with the wavelength of the vortex pair. Wave dispersion is evaluated as a plausible mechanism for localizing the coalescences. The central feature of the model is the observation that a shear layer is dispersive to wavelengths much longer than its thickness and nondispersive to shorter waves.

Petersen, R. A.↗