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Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is conducted of a three-dimensional temporal mixing layer whose stream is initially laden with liquid drops which may evaporate during the simulation. The gas-phase equations are written in Eulerian frame for two perfect gas species (carrier gas and vapor emanating from the drops), while the liquid-phase equations are written in a Lagrangian frame.
In this work, the onset and evolution of downslope flows during the evening transition on a mountain slope is examined using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The case study is focused on Granite Mountain, Utah, which was the site of the Mountain Terrain Atmospheric Modeling and Observations (MATERHORN) project. Here, due to the steep topography of Granite Mountain, an immersed boundary method (IBM) is employed. IBM was implemented into the WRF model by Lundquist et al (2010, 2012) and removes the restrictions on terrain slope that are associated with WRF’s traditional terrain following vertical coordinate system.
One primary challenge for prediction of gas flow in the unconventional gas reservoir at the pore-scale such as shale and tight gas reservoirs is the geometric complexity of the micro-porous media. In this paper, a regularized multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is applied to analyze gas flow in 2-dimensional micro-porous medium reconstructed by quartet structure generation set (QSGS) on pore-scale. In this paper, the velocity distribution inside the porous structure is presented and analyzed, and the effects of the porosity and specific surface area on the rarefied gas flow and apparent permeability are examined and investigated. The simulation results indicate that the gas exhibits different flow behaviours at various pressure conditions and the gas permeability is strongly related to the pressure. Finally, the increased porosity or the decreased specific surface area leads to the increase of the gas apparent permeability, and the gas flow is more sensitive to the pore morphological properties at low-pressure conditions.
In this paper, we perform a large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flow in a channel containing a two-dimensional obstacle on one wall using a dynamic subgrid-scale model (DSGSM) at Re = 3210, based on bulk velocity above the obstacle and obstacle height; the wall layers are fully resolved. The low Re enables us to perform a DNS (Case 1) against which to validate the LES results. The LES with the DSGSM is designated Case 2. In addition, an LES with the conventional fixed model constant (Case 3) is conducted to allow identification of improvements due to the DSGSM. We also include LES at Re = 82,000 (Case 4) using conventional Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model and a wall-layer model. The results will be compared with the experiment of Dimaczek et al.
Coupled solid-fluid numerical simulations of proppant and liquid flowing in realistic rock fracture geometries. The plugging of the flow path due to solid particle interactions is shown to be dependent on fracture properties and solid particle sizes.
Flow transients during rocket start-up and shut-down can lead to significant side loads on rocket nozzles. The capability to estimate these side loads computationally can streamline the nozzle design process. Towards this goal, the flow in a truncated ideal contour (TIC) nozzle has been simulated for a range of nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs) aimed to match a series of cold flow experiments performed at the NASA MSFC Nozzle Test Facility. These simulations were performed with varying turbulence model choices and with four different versions of the TIC nozzle model geometry, each of which was created with a different simplification to the test article geometry.
The present paper describes a numerical mesh generation technique to be used with an implicit finite difference method for simulating visous supersonic flow about low-aspect-ratio wing body configurations using a single grid strategy. The computational domain is segmented into multiple regions, with borders located in supersonic areas to avoid the otherwise costly interfacing procedure between adjacent segments. The numerical procedure is applied to calculate the turbulent flow around the shuttle orbiter and a canard projectile at supersonic free stream Mach number.
Flow transients during rocket start-up and shut-down can lead to significant side loads on rocket nozzles. The capability to estimate these side loads computationally can streamline the nozzle design process. Towards this goal, the flow in a truncated ideal contour (TIC) nozzle has been simulated using RANS and URANS for a range of nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs) aimed to match a series of cold flow experiments performed at the NASA MSFC Nozzle Test Facility. These simulations were performed with varying turbulence model choices and for four approximations of the supersonic film injection geometry, each of which was created with a different simplification of the test article geometry. The results show that although a reasonable match to experiment can be obtained with varying levels of geometric fidelity, the modeling choices made do not fully represent the physics of flow separation in a TIC nozzle with film cooling.
We apply the dynamic subgrid-scale model (DSGSM) to large-eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent channel flow with a square rib mounted on one wall. The Reynolds number (Re) is 3210 based on the mean velocity above the obstacle and the obstacle height. Near-wall structures are resolved with the no-slip boundary condition. The results show better agreement with direct numerical simulation (DNS) than LES with a fixed model constant, verifying the value of the DSGSM for simulating complex turbulent flows.
The implicit factored method of Beam and Warming was employed to describe the flow and the fuel-air mixing in an axisymmetric piston-cylinder configuration during the intake and compression strokes. The governing equations were established on the basis of laminar flow. The increased mixing due to turbulence was simulated by appropriately chosen effective transport properties. Calculations were performed for single-component gases and for two-component gases and for two-component gas mixtures. The flow field was calculated as functions of time and position for different geometries, piston speeds, intake-charge-to-residual-gas-pressure ratios, and species mass fractions of the intake charge. Results are presented in graphical form which show the formation, growth, and break-up of those vortices which form during the intake stroke and the mixing of fuel and air throughout the intake and compression strokes. It is shown that at bore-to-stroke ratio of less than unity, the vortices may break-up during the intake stroke. It is also shown that vortices which do not break-up during the intake stroke coalesce during the compression stroke. The results generated were compared to existing numerical solutions and to available experimental data.
In the first section, improvements in the theoretical model and computational procedure for the prediction of film height and heat-transfer coefficient of the free surface flow of a radially-spreading thin liquid film adjacent to a flat horizontal surface of finite extent are presented. Flows in the presence and absence of gravity are considered. Theoretical results are compared to available experimental data with good agreement. In the presence of gravity, a hydraulic jump is present, isolating the flow into two regimes: supercritical upstream from the jump and subcritical downstream of it. In this situation, the effects of surface tension are important near the outer edge of the disk where the fluid experiences a free fall. A region of flow separation is present just downstream of the jump. In the absence of gravity, no hydraulic jump or separated flow region is present. The variation of the heat-transfer coefficient for flows in the presence and absence of gravity are also presented. In the second section, the results of a numerical simulation of the flow field and associated heat transfer coefficients are presented for the free surface flow of a thin liquid film adjacent to a horizontal rotating disk. The computation was performed for different flow rates and rotational velocities using a 3-D boundary-fitted coordinate system. Since the geometry of the free surface is unknown and dependent on flow rate, rate of rotation, and other parameters, an iterative procedure had to be used to ascertain its location. The computed film height agreed well with existing experimental measurements. The flow is found to be dominated by inertia near the entrance and close to the free surface and dominated by centrifugal force at larger radii and adjacent to the disk. The rotation enhances the heat transfer coefficient by a significant amount.
Tremendous growth in supercomputing power in recent years has resulted in the emergence of high-resolution flow analysis methods as an advanced research tool to evaluate single and two-phase flow behavior. In particular, unstructured mesh-based methods have been applied to analyze flows in complex reactor core geometries, including those of light water reactors (LWR). The finite-element based code, PHASTA, is utilized to perform large-scale simulations of two-phase bubbly flows in LWR geometries. Given the large computational cost of direct numerical simulation (DNS) coupled with interface tracking methods (ITM), typical domains encompass a portion of a single subchannel. In the presented research, the state-of-the-art analysis of turbulent two-phase flows in complex LWR subchannel geometries are demonstrated at both prototypical reactor parameters as well as scaled low pressure conditions. Three different cases are studied, a high-pressure simulation in prototypical reactor subchannel geometry, a low-pressure case in prototypical geometry and a final low-pressure case in a geometry scaled up to conserve the ratio between the bubble size and the domain pitch. Utilizing advanced statistical processing tools, these simulation conditions are compared to shed light on the relevancy of two-phase flow characteristics given the significant differences between LWR and low-pressure conditions. These findings can lead to the generation of useful guiding principles when researchers need to scale the two-phase flow behavior captured at low pressure and temperature conditions to those at reactor operating conditions.
With the proper combination of high-order, low-dissipation numerical methods, physics-based subgrid-scale models, and boundary conditions it is becoming possible to simulate many combustion flows at relevant conditions. However, non-premixed flows are a particular challenge because the thickness of the fuel/oxidizer interface scales inversely with Reynolds number. Sharp interfaces can also be present in the initial or boundary conditions. When higher-order numerical methods are used, there are often aphysical undershoots and overshoots in the scalar variables (e.g.passive scalars, species mass fractions or progress variable). These numerical issues are especially prominent when low-dissipation methods are used, since sharp jumps in flow variables are not always coincident with regions of strong variation in the scalar fields: consequently, special detection mechanisms and dissipative fluxes are needed. Most numerical methods diffuse the interface, resulting in artificial mixing and spurious reactions. In this paper, we propose a numerical method that mitigates this issue. As a result, we present methods for passive and active scalars, and demonstrate their effectiveness with several examples.
Numerical investigations of the ow field inside NASA Ames' Electric Arc Shock Tube have been performed. The focus is to simulate the experiments designed to reproduce shock layer radiation layer relevant to Earth re-entry conditions. This paper assess the current computational capability in simulating unsteady nonequilibrium flows in the presence of strong shock waves with state-of-the-art physical models. The technical approach is described with preliminary results presented for one specific ow condition. The numerical problems encountered during the computation of these flows are detailed, along with the methods used to resolve them. Post-shock conditions are discussed and compared to CEA equilibrium prediction.
The transonic Navier-Stokes code was used to simulate flow fields about isolated wings for workshop wind-tunnel and free-air cases using the thin-layer Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit finite-difference scheme based on a diagonal version of the Beam-Warming algorithm was used to integrate the governing equations. A zonal grid approach was used to allow efficient grid refinement near the wing surface. The flow field was sensitive to the turbulent transition model, and flow unsteadiness was observed for a wind-tunnel case but not for the corresponding free-air case. The specification of experimental pressure at the wind-tunnel exit plane is the primary reason for the difference of these two numerical solutions.
The transonic Navier-Stokes code was used to simulate flow fields about isolated wings for workshop wind-tunnel and free-air cases using the thin-layer Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit finite-difference scheme based on a diagonal version of the Beam-Warming algorithm was used to integrate the governing equations. A zonal grid approach was used to allow efficient grid refinement near the wing surface. The flow field was sensitive to the turbulent transition model, and flow unsteadiness was observed for a wind-tunnel case but not for the corresponding free-air case. The specification of experimental pressure at the wind-tunnel exit plane is the primary reason for the difference of these two numerical solutions.
NASA is performing research related to a Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine as a step toward future manned missions to Mars. BWX Technologies (BWXT), in conjunction with NASA, is developing the reactor subsystem for that NTP engine design. As a subset of the reactor subsystem, the fuel elements have continued to evolve in design, as well. A set of experiments within the Nuclear Thermal Reactor Element Environmental Simulator at NASA Marshall has been developed to compliment that design process, including a series of surrogate fuel elements. Before the experiments of each surrogate can be completed, they must be deemed safe using structural analysis, which itself requires thermal and conjugate heat transfer analyses of the articles. Therefore, conjugate heat transfer simulations of the hydrogen flow through the test article fuel element surrogates were developed to provide estimates of heating, as well as to provide assessments of the fluid flow through the elements. The set of simulations involved not only the separate test conditions, but also a sensitivity study to estimate the effect of physical parameter uncertainty on the selected quantities of interest. Additionally, the fluid flow through the fore section inner plenum dome to the entrances of the fuel elements, another section of the reactor subsystem still under active development, was simulated and analyzed. The simulations show the extent of non-uniformity in the mass flow distribution across the dome outlets. Furthermore, additional analyses estimate the effects of required flow blockages on the potential development of flow dynamics. These analyses were used in the design cycle to make improvements to the reactor subsystem design.
In steep wildfire-burned terrains, intense rainfall can produce large runoff that can trigger highly destructive debris flows. However, the ability to accurately characterize and forecast debris flow susceptibility in burned terrains using physics-based tools remains limited. Here, we augment the Weather Research and Forecasting Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) to simulate both overland and channelized flows and assess postfire debris flow susceptibility over a regional domain. We perform hindcast simulations using high-resolution weather-radar-derived precipitation and reanalysis data to drive non-burned baseline and burn scar sensitivity experiments. Our simulations focus on January 2021 when an atmospheric river triggered numerous debris flows within a wildfire burn scar in Big Sur – one of which destroyed California's famous Highway 1. Compared to the baseline, our burn scar simulation yields dramatic increases in total and peak discharge and shorter lags between rainfall onset and peak discharge, consistent with streamflow observations at nearby US Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gage sites. For the 404 catchments located in the simulated burn scar area, median catchment-area-normalized peak discharge increases by ~ 450 % compared to the baseline. Catchments with anomalously high catchment-area-normalized peak discharge correspond well with post-event field-based and remotely sensed debris flow observations. We suggest that our regional postfire debris flow susceptibility analysis demonstrates WRF-Hydro as a compelling new physics-based tool whose utility could be further extended via coupling to sediment erosion and transport models and/or ensemble-based operational weather forecasts. Given the high-fidelity performance of our augmented version of WRF-Hydro, as well as its potential usage in probabilistic hazard forecasts, we argue for its continued development and application in postfire hydrologic and natural hazard assessments.