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At least 127 records · Page 7

Spray formation mechanism of diverging-tapered-hole GDI injector and its potentials for GDI engine applications

The gasoline-direct-injection market recently, which has shown the improved spray atomization and lower engine particulate emissions compared to conventional straight-hole nozzles. However, the near-nozzle spray formation mechanism associated with this atomization potential of the diverging-he potentials of the diverging-tapered-hole nozzle for GDI engine applications. The analyses focus on the in- and near-nozzle flow structure, and flow dynamics and stability outside the nozzle. We find that the results showed that the diverging-tapered-hole nozzle coupled with proper hole length generated the radially expanding crescent-moon-like flow structure in the hole that promoted the spray atomization and dispersion outside the nozzle. The expansion of the hole cross-sectional area in the diverging-tapered-hole nozzle was appeared to attenuate the mutual interactions of fuel flows in the hole from various origins that formed rather stable sprays. These flow characteristics are discussed to be promising for the compact and robust spray generation for GDI engine applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Feasibility of Nitrogen as a Carrier Gas for Inconel Cold Spray in Hydropower Application

Cold spray deposition of Inconel nickel alloys has emerged as a promising strategy for mitigating cavitation erosion in hydropower facilities. Most prior developments employ helium (He) as the carrier gas because it enables high particle velocities and the formation of dense coatings. However, He is nearly two orders of magnitude more expensive than nitrogen (N2), which limits its widespread adoption in the hydropower sector. Although He-based cold spray can be justified for high value repairs, the lower cost and broad availability of N2 make it an attractive alternative. This study assesses the feasibility of N2-based cold spray of Inconel 625 powders for hydropower applications. Cavitation erosion testing shows that He-based coating exhibits cavitation resistance of ~398% relative to the 304L stainless steel (SS304L) substrate. In contrast, N2-based coating shows substantially lower cavitation resistance, reaching only ~69% of the SS304L substrate, even when higher carrier gas temperature and pressure are applied. When the Inconel 625 powder size is reduced from 44 to 22 µm under N2-based cold spray conditions, cavitation resistance increases significantly to ~148% of the SS304L substrate. Additional improvement can be obtained by incorporating fine chromium carbide powders into the feedstock, resulting in cavitation resistance of ~172% of the SS304L substrate. Overall, with optimized feedstock design, N2-based cold spray offers a practical and cost-effective approach for producing cavitation resistant coatings on hydropower components, although He-based cold spray continues to deliver higher cavitation resistance.

Wang, Tianhao↗

Modeling of the spray-induced wall stress acting on the ignition assistance device

This research introduces a novel wall-stress model called the Spray-Induced Wall Stress (SIWS) model, which considers the effects of spray-wall impingement and the resulting formation of wall stress within the Lagrangian spray modeling framework. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a mathematical description of the fundamental physics underlying the model. Subsequently, the proposed model is validated using existing experimental data. Here, the remainder of the study focuses on the practical application of the model to an ignition assistance device. Specifically, this device is installed in a compression ignition engine and designed to enhance ignition in aviation-fueled high-altitude aircraft propulsion systems. The research sheds light on the mechanical impulse caused by the high-speed impact of the spray jet, leading to the accumulation of mechanical stress on the rigid body of the ignition assistance device. Previous studies on fluid-structure interaction have only considered the interaction between the gas phase and the solid wall. However, the SIWS model incorporates the additional impact of the impinging liquid spray jet. Consequently, the simulated stress distribution on the ignition assistance device can be estimated by considering both the gas-phase-induced term and the spray-induced term simultaneously.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Evaporation Sub-model Development for Volume of Fluid (eVOF) Method Applicable to Spray-Wall Interaction Including Film Characteristics with Validation at High Pressure and Temperature Conditions (Final Report)

Internal combustion engines have seen a great evolution over the last several decades through application of high pressure direct injection, multiple injections, and other technologies to reduced fuel consumption, NOx, and PM. Although combustion systems with advanced injection strategies have been studied extensively, there exists a significant fundamental knowledge gap on the fuel-spray interactions with the piston surface and chamber walls. Advanced computational codes validated with experimental techniques have to be developed for accurate representation of the drop impingement, fuel film formation, and vaporization. Current engine CFD spray models utilize a Lagrangian framework for modeling which lacks critical considerations of the physics pertaining to these interactions and thus requiring extensive parameterization, tuning and validation. The team from Michigan Technological University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Argonne National Laboratory is composed of experts in sprays, combustion, engines and CFD with a wide spectrum of knowledge including specific expertise in the area under consideration. In the proposed work, a VOF modeling approach has been adopted for the spray-wall interaction, film formation and spreading, and vaporization. With the inclusion of a vaporization submodel, a more predictive and accurate simulation of the spray-film was performed without extensive need of parameterization and tuning. Extensive experimentation of the spray-wall interaction under the range of conditions matching the thermodynamic and surface temperatures that occur in diesel and gasoline engines were conducted to validate the SWI submodels and for development of the evaporation sub-model, which has been implemented in the Converge software.

42 ENGINEERING↗

FY2022 Status Report: Cold Spray for Canister SCC Mitigation and Repair

This progress report describes work performed during FY22 at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to assess the corrosion performance of cold spray coatings to enable optimization of cold spray for the purposes of mitigation and/or repair of potentially susceptible regions, corrosion, or stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in austenitic stainless steel for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage. Of particular concern is SCC, by which a through-wall crack could potentially form in a canister outer wall over time intervals that may be shorter than possible dry storage times. In FY21, initial corrosion explorations of cold spray coating were evaluated and in FY22, an expanded set of cold spray coatings with in-depth analysis of post-exposure accelerated testing was explored. Additionally, relevant atmospheric exposure testing was carried out and initial results are presented herein. The corrosion attack from the accelerated testing and more realistic atmospheric exposures environments were compared to identify potentially deleterious factors for corrosion as well as help to understand the applicability of accelerated testing for cold spray optimization. This initial analysis will help to enable optimization of the corrosion resistance cold spray, one of the more promising coating and repair techniques, for potential application in an SNF environment. Learnings from both are summarized, and implications and future work are presented in this report.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The effect of chine tires on nose gear water-spray characteristics of a twin engine airplane

An experimental investigation was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of nose gear chine tires in eliminating or minimizing the engine spray ingestion problem encountered on several occasions by the Merlin 4, a twin-engine propjet airplane. A study of the photographic and television coverage indicated that under similar test conditions the spray from the chine tires presented less of a potential engine spray ingestion problem than the conventional tires. Neither tire configuration appeared to pose any ingestion problem at aircraft speeds in excess of the hydroplaning speed for each tire, however, significant differences were noted in the spray patterns of the two sets of tires at sub-hydroplaning speeds. At sub-hydroplaning speeds, the conventional tires produced substantial spray above the wing which approached the general area of the engine air inlet at lower test speeds. The chine tires produced two distinct spray plumes at sub-hydroplaning speeds: one low-level plume which presented no apparent threat of ingestion, and one which at most test speeds was observed to be below the wing leading edge and thus displaced from the intakes on the engine nacelle.

Yager, T. J.↗

Development of a plasma sprayed ceramic gas path seal for high pressure turbine application

Development of the plasma sprayed graded, layered ZRO2/CoCrAlY seal system for gas turbine engine blade tip seal applications up to 1589 K (2400 F) surface temperature was continued. The effect of changing ZRO2/CoCrAlY ratios in the intermediate layers on thermal stresses was evaluated analytically with the goal of identifying the materials combinations which would minimize thermal stresses in the seal system. Three methods of inducing compressive residual stresses in the sprayed seal materials to offset tensile thermal stresses were analyzed. The most promising method, thermal prestraining, was selected based upon potential, feasibility and complexity considerations. The plasma spray equipment was modified to heat, control and monitor the substrate temperature during spraying. Specimens were fabricated and experimentally evaluated to: (1) substantiate the capability of the thermal prestrain method to develop compressive residual stresses in the sprayed structure and (2) define the effect of spraying on a heated substate on abradability, erosion and thermal shock characteristics of the seal system. Thermal stress analysis, including residual stresses and material properties variations, was performed and correlated with thermal shock test results. Seal system performance was assessed and recommendations for further development were made.

Shiembob, L. T.↗

A laser tomographic investigation of liquid fuel sprays

A light scattering technique is combined with a tomographic transformation to convert line of sight integrated data, measured in sprays, to measurements of droplet size and concentration in volume elements within the spray. The technique is developed and assessed by systematic experiments in axisymmetric sprays generated by twin-fluid atomisers. The good agreement found shows that, provided certain conditions are satisfied by the local spray structure, the technique provides information on spray structure, similar in detail and extent to that derived by photography, but with reduced experimental time. The technique is applied to an investigation of a kerosene spray vaporizing in a hot gas stream.

Yule, A. J.↗

Measurements in liquid fuel sprays

Techniques for studying the events directly preceding combustion in the liquid fuel sprays are being used to provide information as a function of space and time on droplet size, shape, number density, position, angle of flight and velocity. Spray chambers were designed and constructed for: (1) air-assist liquid fuel research sprays; (2) high pressure and temperature chamber for pulsed diesel fuel sprays; and (3) coal-water slurry sprays. Recent results utilizing photography, cinematography, and calibration of the Malvern particle sizer are reported. Systems for simultaneous measurement of velocity and particle size distributions using laser Doppler anemometry interferometry and the application of holography in liquid fuel sprays are being calibrated.

Chigier, N.↗

Development testing of large volume water sprays for warm fog dispersal

A new brute-force method of warm fog dispersal is described. The method uses large volume recycled water sprays to create curtains of falling drops through which the fog is processed by the ambient wind and spray induced air flow. Fog droplets are removed by coalescence/rainout. The efficiency of the technique depends upon the drop size spectra in the spray, the height to which the spray can be projected, the efficiency with which fog laden air is processed through the curtain of spray, and the rate at which new fog may be formed due to temperature differences between the air and spray water. Results of a field test program, implemented to develop the data base necessary to assess the proposed method, are presented. Analytical calculations based upon the field test results indicate that this proposed method of warm fog dispersal is feasible. Even more convincingly, the technique was successfully demonstrated in the one natural fog event which occurred during the test program. Energy requirements for this technique are an order of magnitude less than those to operate a thermokinetic system. An important side benefit is the considerable emergency fire extinguishing capability it provides along the runway.

Keller, V. W.↗

Measurements of Flow Rate and Trajectory of Aircraft Tire-Generated Water Spray

An experimental investigation was conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center to measure the flow rate and trajectory of water spray generated by an aircraft tire operating on a flooded runway. Tests were conducted in the Hydrodynamics Research Facility and made use of a partial airframe and a nose tire from a general aviation aircraft. Nose tires from a commercial transport aircraft were also used. The effects of forward speed, tire load, and water depth on water spray patterns were evaluated by measuring the amount and location of water captured by an array of tubes mounted behind the test tire. Water ejected from the side of the tire footprint had the most significant potential for ingestion into engine inlets. A lateral wake created on the water surface by the rolling tire can dominate the shape of the spray pattern as the distance aft of the tire is increased. Forward speed increased flow rates and moved the spray pattern inboard. Increased tire load caused the spray to become less dense. Near the tire, increased water depths caused flow rates to increase. Tests using a fuselage and partial wing along with the nose gear showed that for certain configurations, wing aerodynamics can cause a concentration of spray above the wing.

Daugherty, Robert H.↗

Large volume water sprays for dispersing warm fogs

A new method for dispersing of warm fogs which impede visibility and alter schedules is described. The method uses large volume recycled water sprays to create curtains of falling drops through which the fog is processed by the ambient wind and spray-induced air flow; the fog droplets are removed by coalescence/rainout. The efficiency of this fog droplet removal process depends on the size spectra of the spray drops and optimum spray drop size is calculated as between 0.3-1.0 mm in diameter. Water spray tests were conducted in order to determine the drop size spectra and temperature response of sprays produced by commercially available fire-fighting nozzles, and nozzle array tests were utilized to study air flow patterns and the thermal properties of the overall system. The initial test data reveal that the fog-dispersal procedure is effective.

Keller, V. W.↗

T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housing refurbishment-plasma spray project

A study was conducted to assess the feasibility of reclaiming T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housings with an 88 wt percent aluminum to 12 wt percent silicon alloy applied by a plasma spray process. Tensile strength testing was conducted on as-sprayed and thermally cycled test specimens which were plasma sprayed with 0.020 to 0.100 in. coating thicknesses. Satisfactory tensile strength values were observed in the as-sprayed tensile specimens. There was essentially no decrease in tensile strength after thermally cycling the tensile specimens. Furthermore, compressor housings were plasma sprayed and thermally cycled in a 150-hr engine test and a 200-hr actual flight test during which the turbine engine was operated at a variety of loads, speeds and torques. The plasma sprayed coating system showed no evidence of degradation or delamination from the compressor housings. As a result of these tests, a procedure was designed and developed for the application of an aluminum-silicon alloy in order to reclaim T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housings.

Leissler, George W.↗

Coaxial injector spray characterization using water/air as simulants

Quantitative information about the atomization of injector sprays is required to improve the accuracy of computational models that predict the performance and stability of liquid propellant rocket engines. An experimental program is being conducted at NASA-Lewis to measure the drop size and velocity distributions in shear coaxial injector sprays. A phase/Doppler interferometer is used to obtain drop size data in water air shear coaxial injector sprays. Droplet sizes and axial component of droplet velocities are measured at different radii for various combinations of water flow rate, air flow rate, injector liquid jet diameter, injector annular gap, and liquid post recess. Sauter mean diameters measured in the spray center 51 mm downstream of the liquid post tip range from 28 to 68 microns, and mean axial drop velocities at the same location range from 37 to 120 m/s. The shear coaxial injector sprays show a high degree of symmetry; the mean drop size and velocity profiles vary with liquid flow rate, post recess, and distance from the injector face. The drop size data can be used to estimate liquid oxygen/hydrogen spray drop sizes by correcting property differences between water-air and liquid oxygen/hydrogen.

Zaller, Michelle M.↗

Numerical modeling for dilute and dense sprays

We have successfully implemented a numerical model for spray-combustion calculations. In this model, the governing gas-phase equations in Eulerian coordinate are solved by a time-marching multiple pressure correction procedure based on the operator-splitting technique. The droplet-phase equations in Lagrangian coordinate are solved by a stochastic discrete particle technique. In order to simplify the calculation procedure for the circulating droplets, the effective conductivity model is utilized. The k-epsilon models are utilized to characterize the time and length scales of the gas phase in conjunction with turbulent modulation by droplets and droplet dispersion by turbulence. This method entails random sampling of instantaneous gas flow properties and the stochastic process requires a large number of computational parcels to produce the satisfactory dispersion distributions even for rather dilute sprays. Two major improvements in spray combustion modelings were made. Firstly, we have developed a probability density function approach in multidimensional space to represent a specific computational particle. Secondly, we incorporate the Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model for handling the dense spray effects. This breakup model is based on the reasonable assumption that atomization and drop breakup are indistinguishable processes within a dense spray near the nozzle exit. Accordingly, atomization is prescribed by injecting drops which have a characteristic size equal to the nozzle exit diameter. Example problems include the nearly homogeneous and inhomogeneous turbulent particle dispersion, and the non-evaporating, evaporating, and burning dense sprays. Comparison with experimental data will be discussed in detail.

Chen, C. P.↗

Factors influencing the effective spray cone angle of pressure-swirl atomizers

The spray cone angles produced by several simplex pressure-swirl nozzles are examined using three liquids whose viscosities range from 0.001 to 0.012 kg/ms (1 to 12 cp). Measurements of both the visible spray cone angle and the effective spray cone angle are carried out over wide ranges of injection pressure and for five different values of the discharge orifice length/diameter ratio. The influence of the number of swirl chamber feed slots on spray cone angle is also examined. The results show that the spray cone angle widens with increase in injection pressure but is reduced by increases in liquid viscosity and/or discharge orifice length/diameter ratio. Variation in the number of swirl chamber feed slots between one and three has little effect on the effective spray cone angle.

Chen, S. K.↗

Studies on fuel spray characteristics in high-pressure environment

The present study deals with several issues involving the improvement of physical submodels and the computational efficiency in modeling dense fuel sprays. To improve the computational efficiency, a parcel PDF approach is implemented which can account for turbulent dispersion within each computational parcel. The advantage of a parcel PDF tracking method is to reduce the number of computational parcels representing the spray dynamics as well as to obtain grid-independent solutions for two-phase flows. To account for the dense spray effects, an existing drop collision and coalescence model, two breakup models, and a Reitz's wave instability model were used. These models were incorporated into a state-of-the-art multiphase all-speed transient flow solution procedure. Comparative performance for two breakup models as well as the turbulence modulation effects are also studied. Validation cases include the nonevaporating and evaporating solid-cone dense sprays. The predictions show a reasonably good agreement with available experimental results in terms of spray penetration, drop sizes, gas and drop mean velocities, and gas and drop rms velocities. The numerical results indicate that the present parcel PDF model has the capability of accurately representing drop dispersion in dense sprays with manageable number of computational parcels.

Shang, H. M.↗

Multiple-Nozzle Spray Head Applies Foam Insulation

Spray head equipped with four-nozzle turret mixes two reactive components of polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foam insulating material and sprays reacting mixture onto surface to be insulated. If nozzle in use becomes clogged, fresh one automatically rotated into position, with minimal interruption of spraying process. Incorporates features recirculating and controlling pressures of reactive components to maintain quality of foam by ensuring proper blend at outset. Also used to spray protective coats on or in ships, aircraft, and pipelines. Sprays such reactive adhesives as epoxy/polyurethane mixtures. Components of spray contain solid-particle fillers for strength, fire retardance, toughness, resistance to abrasion, or radar absorption.

Walls, Joe T.↗