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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 1,333 records · Page 74

The use of optimization techniques to design controlled diffusion compressor blading

A method for automating compressor blade design using numerical optimization, and applied to the design of a controlled diffusion stator blade row is presented. A general purpose optimization procedure is employed, based on conjugate directions for locally unconstrained problems and on feasible directions for locally constrained problems. Coupled to the optimizer is an analysis package consisting of three analysis programs which calculate blade geometry, inviscid flow, and blade surface boundary layers. The optimizing concepts and selection of design objective and constraints are described. The procedure for automating the design of a two dimensional blade section is discussed, and design results are presented.

Sanger, N. L.↗

Circumferential pressure distributions in a model labyrinth seal

A research program to isolate and study leakage flow through labyrinth glands was initiated. Circumferential pressure distributions were measured in the labyrinth glands with geometry appropriate to the high pressure labyrinths in large steam turbines. Knowledge of this pressure distribution is essential as it is this unequal pressure field that results in the destabilizing force. Parameters that are likely to affect the pressure distributions are incorporated into the test rig. Some preliminary pressure profiles are presented.

Leong, Y. M. M. S.↗

ADAM - An axisymmetric duct aeroacoustic modeling system

ADAM is an acronym for Axisymmetric Duct Aeroacoustic Modeling and is the name of an interconnected system of computer programs for integrated aerodynamic and acoustic analysis of aeroengine nacelles. The system consists of a streamtube curvature program for determination of the mean flow and a set of finite element codes for solution of the acoustic propagation problem. Use of the system is facilitated by interactive graphics for viewing aerodynamic and acoustic fields throughout their solution domains. This paper describes the capabilities and structure of the present system and discusses experience gained in the sample problems. Possible future enhancements to the system are also outlined.

Abrahamson, A. L.↗

Airframe technology for aircraft energy efficiency

The economic factors that resulted in the implementation of the aircraft energy efficiency program (ACEE) are reviewed and airframe technology elements including content, progress, applications, and future direction are discussed. The program includes the development of laminar flow systems, advanced aerodynamics, active controls, and composite structures.

James, R. L., Jr.↗

Ignition and combustion characteristics of metallized propellants

Shakedown and calibration of the experimental apparatus designed to study secondary atomization and ignition characteristics of aluminum slurry propellants was begun and nears completion. The burner was tested over an array of equivalence ratios and oxygen mass fractions to determine the permissible range of operating conditions. A burner flow control system was designed and fabricated which permits independent control of flame stoichiometry and oxidant O2 concentrations. The Sun slurry formulation was selected as the base for initial testing. Laser beam waists at the focal volume of the single particle sizing system were determined to be 396 microns for the Ar-ion and 81 microns for the He-Ne laser. Size calibrations using pinholes were completed and compared to Mie theory for light scattering from particles. A vibrating office droplet generator was used to test the single particle sizing system dynamically by producing a water droplet laden gas flow. The data acquisition and analysis programming was completed and testing is in progress. From initial results, the particle sizing, atomization and ignition detection systems appear to be performing as expected.

Turns, S. R.↗

A numerical analysis of the British Experimental Rotor Program blade

Two Computational Fluid Dynamic codes which solve the compressible full-potential and the Reynolds-Averaged Thin-Layer Navier-Stokes equations were used to analyze the nonrotating aerodynamic characteristics of the British Experimental Rotor Program (BERP) helicopter blade at three flow regimes: low angle of attack, high angle of attack and transonic. Excellent agreement was found between the numerical results and experiment. In the low angle of attack regime, the BERP had less induced drag than a comparable aspect ratio rectangular planform wing. At high angle of attack, the blade attained high-lift by maintaining attached flow at the outermost spanwise locations. In the transonic regime, the BERP design reduces the shock strength at the outer spanwise locations which affects wave drag and shock-induced separation. Overall, the BERP blade exhibited many favorable aerodynamic characteristics in comparison to conventional helicopter rotor blades.

Duque, Earl P. N.↗

Advanced air revitalization system modeling and testing

To support manned lunar and Martian exploration, an extensive evaluation of air revitalization subsystems (ARS) is being conducted. The major operations under study include carbon dioxide removal and reduction; oxygen and nitrogen production, storage, and distribution; humidity and temperature control; and trace contaminant control. A comprehensive analysis program based on a generalized block flow model was developed to facilitate the evaluation of various processes and their interaction. ASPEN PLUS was used in modelling carbon dioxide removal and reduction. Several life support test stands were developed to test new and existing technologies for their potential applicability in space. The goal was to identify processes which use compact, lightweight equipment and maximize the recovery of oxygen and water. The carbon dioxide removal test stands include solid amine/vacuum desorption (SAVD), regenerative silver oxide chemisorption, and electrochemical carbon dioxide concentration (EDC). Membrane-based carbon dioxide removal and humidity control, catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, and catalytic oxidation of trace contaminants were also investigated.

Dall-Baumann, Liese↗

Recent update of the RPLUS2D/3D codes

The development of the RPLUS2D/3D codes is summarized. These codes utilize LU algorithms to solve chemical non-equilibrium flows in a body-fitted coordinate system. The motivation behind the development of these codes is the need to numerically predict chemical non-equilibrium flows for the National AeroSpace Plane Program. Recent improvements include vectorization method, blocking algorithms for geometric flexibility, out-of-core storage for large-size problems, and an LU-SW/UP combination for CPU-time efficiency and solution quality.

Tsai, Y.-L. Peter↗

The 1991 version of the plume impingement computer program. Volume 2: User's input guide

The Plume Impingement Program (PLIMP) is a computer code used to predict impact pressures, forces, moments, heating rates, and contamination on surfaces due to direct impingement flowfields. Typically, it has been used to analyze the effects of rocket exhaust plumes on nearby structures from ground level to the vacuum of space. The program normally uses flowfields generated by the MOC, RAMP2, SPF/2, or SFPGEN computer programs. It is capable of analyzing gaseous and gas/particle flows. A number of simple subshapes are available to model the surfaces of any structure. The original PLIMP program has been modified many times of the last 20 years. The theoretical bases for the referenced major changes, and additional undocumented changes and enhancements since 1988 are summarized in volume 1 of this report. This volume is the User's Input Guide and should be substituted for all previous guides when running the latest version of the program. This version can operate on VAX and UNIX machines with NCAR graphics ability.

Bender, Robert L.↗

An experimental investigation of a Mach 3.0 high-speed civil transport at supersonic speeds

An experimental study was conducted to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed high speed civil transport. This configuration was designed to cruise at Mach 3.0 and sized to carry 250 passengers for 6500 n.mi. The configuration consists of a highly blended wing body and features a blunt parabolic nose planform, a highly swept inboard wing panel, a moderately swept outboard wing panel, and a curved wingtip. Wind tunnel tests were conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel on a 0.0098-scale model. Force, moment, and pressure data were obtained for Mach numbers ranging from 1.6 to 3.6 and at angles of attack ranging from -4 to 10 deg. Extensive flow visualization studies (vapor screen and oil flow) were obtained in the experimental program. Both linear and advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) theoretical comparisons are shown to assess the ability to predict forces, moments, and pressures on configurations of this type. In addition, an extrapolation of the wind tunnel data, based on empirical principles, to full-scale conditions is compared with the theoretical aerodynamic predictions.

Hernandez, Gloria↗

Numerical Investigation of Hot Gas Ingestion by STOVL Aircraft

This report compiles the various research activities conducted under the auspices of the NASA Grant NAG3-1026, "Numerical Investigation of Hot Gas Ingestion by STOVL Aircraft" during the period of April 1989 to April 1994. The effort involved the development of multigrid based algorithms and computer programs for the calculation of the flow and temperature fields generated by Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft, while hovering in ground proximity. Of particular importance has been the interaction of the exhaust jets with the head wind which gives rise to the hot gas ingestion process. The objective of new STOVL designs to reduce the temperature of the gases ingested into the engine. The present work describes a solution algorithm for the multi-dimensional elliptic partial-differential equations governing fluid flow and heat transfer in general curvilinear coordinates. The solution algorithm is based on the multigrid technique which obtains rapid convergence of the iterative numerical procedure for the discrete equations. Initial efforts were concerned with the solution of the Cartesian form of the equations. This algorithm was applied to a simulated STOVL configuration in rectangular coordinates. In the next phase of the work, a computer code for general curvilinear coordinates was constructed. This was applied to model STOVL geometries on curvilinear grids. The code was also validated in model problems. In all these efforts, the standard k-Epsilon model was used.

Vanka, S. P.↗

On the Implementation of a Land Cover Classification System for SAR Images Using Khoros

The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor is widely used to record data about the ground under all atmospheric conditions. The SAR acquired images have very good resolution which necessitates the development of a classification system that process the SAR images to extract useful information for different applications. In this work, a complete system for the land cover classification was designed and programmed using the Khoros, a data flow visual language environment, taking full advantages of the polymorphic data services that it provides. Image analysis was applied to SAR images to improve and automate the processes of recognition and classification of the different regions like mountains and lakes. Both unsupervised and supervised classification utilities were used. The unsupervised classification routines included the use of several Classification/Clustering algorithms like the K-means, ISO2, Weighted Minimum Distance, and the Localized Receptive Field (LRF) training/classifier. Different texture analysis approaches such as Invariant Moments, Fractal Dimension and Second Order statistics were implemented for supervised classification of the images. The results and conclusions for SAR image classification using the various unsupervised and supervised procedures are presented based on their accuracy and performance.

Medina Revera, Edwin J.↗

Overview of Fluid Dynamic Activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center

Contents include following: (1) Organizational Changes at MSFC. (2) Recent Program Support & Technology Development: analysis & cold flow testing: Fastrac, X-34, X-33, RLV, LFBB. (3) Ongoing Activities: RLV focused technology, RBCC concepts development, methodology & code development. (4) Future Activities and Direction: hardware design and development; tools development. (5) Concluding remarks: constraints, cooperation, opportunities.

Garcia, Roberto↗

Summary of Geotail Funding Activities

This final report summarizes results of Geotail project monitoring Earth's magnetotail during funding period. Compares project's transport statistics to those of International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) and Ion Release Module (IRM). Program established relations between disruption and flow events, and made observations on the nature of electric field fluctuations and plasma sheet flows.

Source record↗

Snapshot of Active Flow Control Research at NASA Langley

NASA Langley is aggressively investigating the potential advantages of active flow control as opposed to more traditional aerodynamic techniques. Many of these techniques will be blended with advanced materials and structures to further enhance payoff. Therefore a multi-disciplinary approach to technology development is being attempted that includes researchers from the more historical disciplines of fluid mechanics. acoustics, material science, structural mechanics, and control theory. The overall goals of the topics presented are focused on advancing the state of knowledge and understanding of controllable fundamental mechanisms in fluids rather than on specific engineering problems. An organizational view of current research activities at NASA Langley in active flow control as supported by several programs such as the Morphing Project under Breakthrough Vehicle Technologies Program (BVT). the Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology Program (UEET), and the 21st Century Aircraft Technology Program (TCAT) is presented. On-center research as well as NASA Langley funded contracts and grants are discussed at a relatively high level. The products of this research, as part of the fundamental NASA R and D (research and development) program. will be demonstrated as either bench-top experiments, wind-tunnel investigations, or in flight tests. Later they will be transferred to more applied research programs within NASA, DOD (Department of Defense), and U.S. industry.

Washburn, A. E.↗

Easier Analysis With Rocket Science

Analyzing rocket engines is one of Marshall Space Flight Center's specialties. When Marshall engineers lacked a software program flexible enough to meet their needs for analyzing rocket engine fluid flow, they overcame the challenge by inventing the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), which was named the co-winner of the NASA Software of the Year award in 2001. This paper describes the GFSSP in a wide variety of applications

Source record↗

Software for Refining or Coarsening Computational Grids

A computer program performs calculations for refinement or coarsening of computational grids of the type called 'structured' (signifying that they are geometrically regular and/or are specified by relatively simple algebraic expressions). This program is designed to facilitate analysis of the numerical effects of changing structured grids utilized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Unlike prior grid-refinement and -coarsening programs, this program is not limited to doubling or halving: the user can specify any refinement or coarsening ratio, which can have a noninteger value. In addition to this ratio, the program accepts, as input, a grid file and the associated restart file, which is basically a file containing the most recent iteration of flow-field variables computed on the grid. The program then refines or coarsens the grid as specified, while maintaining the geometry and the stretching characteristics of the original grid. The program can interpolate from the input restart file to create a restart file for the refined or coarsened grid. The program provides a graphical user interface that facilitates the entry of input data for the grid-generation and restart-interpolation routines.

Daines, Russell↗

Software for Refining or Coarsening Computational Grids

A computer program performs calculations for refinement or coarsening of computational grids of the type called "structured" (signifying that they are geometrically regular and/or are specified by relatively simple algebraic expressions). This program is designed to facilitate analysis of the numerical effects of changing structured grids utilized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Unlike prior grid-refinement and -coarsening programs, this program is not limited to doubling or halving: the user can specify any refinement or coarsening ratio, which can have a noninteger value. In addition to this ratio, the program accepts, as input, a grid file and the associated restart file, which is basically a file containing the most recent iteration of flow-field variables computed on the grid. The program then refines or coarsens the grid as specified, while maintaining the geometry and the stretching characteristics of the original grid. The program can interpolate from the input restart file to create a restart file for the refined or coarsened grid. The program provides a graphical user interface that facilitates the entry of input data for the grid-generation and restart-interpolation routines.

Daines, Russell↗