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At least 1,405 records · Page 78

Experimental evaluation of an advanced Space Shuttle Main Engine hot-gas manifold design concept

The Space Shuttle Main Engine's hot gas manifold (HGM) has been the subject of an experimental study aimed at the establishment of an aerodynamic data base to support the development of an advanced, three-dimensional, fluid dynamic analysis computer model. The advanced HGM design used in the study demonstrated improved flow uniformity in the fuel-side turbine exit and transfer duct exit regions. Major modifications were incorporated in the HGM flow test article model, using two large transfer ducts on the fuel turbine side in place of the three small transfer ducts of the present design. The HGM flow field data were found to be essentially independent of Reynolds number over the range examined.

Pelaccio, D. G.↗

The SILEX experiment system operations

The European Space Agency is going to conduct an inter orbit link experiment which will connect a low Earth orbiting satellite and a Geostationary satellite via optical terminals. This experiment has been called SILEX (Semiconductor Inter satellite Link EXperiment). Two payloads will be built. One called PASTEL (PASsager de TELecommunication) will be embarked on the French Earth observation satellite SPOT4. The future European experimental data relay satellite ARTEMIS (Advanced Relay and TEchnology MISsion) will carry the OPALE terminal (Optical PAyload Experiment). The principal characteristic of the mission is a 50 Megabits flow of data transmitted via the optical satellite link. The relay satellite will route the data via its feeder link thus permitting a real time reception in the European region of images taken by the observation satellite. The PASTEL terminal has been designed to cover up to 9 communication sessions per day with an average of 5. The number of daily contact opportunities with the low earth orbiting satellite will be increased and the duration will be much longer than the traditional passes over a ground station. The terminals have an autonomy of 24 hours with respect to ground control. Each terminal will contain its own orbit model and that of its counter terminal for orbit prediction and for precise computation of pointing direction. Due to the very narrow field of view of the communication laser beam, the orbit propagation calculation needs to be done with a very high accuracy. The European Space Agency is responsible for the operation of both terminals. A PASTEL Mission Control System (PMCS) is being developed to control the PASTEL terminal on board SPOT4. The PMCS will interface with the SPOT4 Control Centre for the execution of the PASTEL operations. The PMCS will also interface with the ARTEMIS Mission Control System for the planning and the coordination of the operation. It is the first time that laser technology will be used to support inter-satellite links in Europe. Due to the complexity and experimental character of this new optical technology, the SILEX experiment control facilities will be designed to allow as much operational flexibility as possible.

Demelenne, B.↗

Particle Image Velocimetry Applications Using Fluorescent Dye-Doped Particles

Polystyrene latex sphere particles are widely used to seed flows for velocimetry techniques such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV). These particles may be doped with fluorescent dyes such that signals spectrally shifted from the incident laser wavelength may be detected via Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF). An attractive application of the LIF signal is achieving velocimetry in the presence of strong interference from laser scatter, opening up new research possibilities very near solid surfaces or at liquid/gas interfaces. Additionally, LIF signals can be used to tag different fluid streams to study mixing. While fluorescence-based PIV has been performed by many researchers for particles dispersed in water flows, the current work is among the first in applying the technique to micron-scale particles dispersed in a gas. A key requirement for such an application is addressing potential health hazards from fluorescent dyes; successful doping of Kiton Red 620 (KR620) has enabled the use of this relatively safe dye for fluorescence PIV for the first time. In this paper, basic applications proving the concept of PIV using the LIF signal from KR620-doped particles are exhibited for a free jet and a twophase flow apparatus. Results indicate that while the fluorescence PIV techniques are roughly 2 orders of magnitude weaker than Mie scattering, they provide a viable method for obtaining data in flow regions previously inaccessible via standard PIV. These techniques have the potential to also complement Mie scattering signals, for example in multi-stream and/or multi-phase experiments.

Petrosky, Brian J.↗

Active Aerodynamic Load Reduction on a Rotorcraft Fuselage With Rotor Effects: A CFD Validation Effort

A rotorcraft fuselage is typically designed with an emphasis on operational functionality with aerodynamic efficiency being of secondary importance. This results in a significant amount of drag during high-speed forward flight that can be a limiting factor for future high-speed rotorcraft designs. To enable higher speed flight, while maintaining a functional fuselage design (i.e., a large rear cargo ramp door), the NASA Rotary Wing Project has conducted both experimental and computational investigations to assess active flow control as an enabling technology for fuselage drag reduction. This paper will evaluate numerical simulations of a flow control system on a generic rotorcraft fuselage with a rotor in forward flight using OVERFLOW, a structured mesh Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver developed at NASA. The results are compared to fuselage forces, surface pressures, and PN flow field data obtained in a wind tunnel experiment conducted at the NASA Langley 14-by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel where significant drag and download reductions were demonstrated using flow control. This comparison showed that the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver was unable to predict the fuselage forces and pressure measurements on the ramp for the baseline and flow control cases. While the CFD was able to capture the flow features, it was unable to accurately predict the performance of the flow control.

Allan, Brian G.↗

Circulation system for flowing uranium hexafluoride cavity reactor experiments

Research related to determining the feasibility of producing continuous power from fissile fuel in the gaseous state is presented. The development of three laboratory-scale flow systems for handling gaseous UF6 at temperatures up to 500 K, pressure up to approximately 40 atm, and continuous flow rates up to approximately 50g/s is presented. A UF6 handling system fabricated for static critical tests currently being conducted is described. The system was designed to supply UF6 to a double-walled aluminum core canister assembly at temperatures between 300 K and 400 K and pressure up to 4 atm. A second UF6 handling system designed to provide a circulating flow of up to 50g/s of gaseous UF6 in a closed-loop through a double-walled aluminum core canister with controlled temperature and pressure is described. Data from flow tests using UF6 and UF6/He mixtures with this system at flow rates up to approximately 12g/s and pressure up to 4 atm are presented. A third UF6 handling system fabricated to provide a continuous flow of UF6 at flow rates up to 5g/s and at pressures up to 40 atm for use in rf-heated, uranium plasma confinement experiments is described.

Jaminet, J. F.↗

Comparing Spray Characteristics from Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) National Combustion Code (NCC) Calculations Against Experimental Data for a Turbulent Reacting Flow

Developing physics-based tools to aid in reducing harmful combustion emissions, like Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Unburnt Hydrocarbons (UHC s), and Sulfur Dioxides (SOx), is an important goal of aeronautics research at NASA. As part of that effort, NASA Glenn Research Center is performing a detailed assessment and validation of an in-house combustion CFD code known as the National Combustion Code (NCC) for turbulent reacting flows. To assess the current capabilities of NCC for simulating turbulent reacting flows with liquid jet fuel injection, a set of Single Swirler Lean Direct Injection (LDI) experiments performed at the University of Cincinnati was chosen as an initial validation data set. This Jet-A/air combustion experiment operates at a lean equivalence ratio of 0.75 at atmospheric pressure and has a 4 percent static pressure drop across the swirler. Detailed comparisons of NCC predictions for gas temperature and gaseous emissions (CO and NOx) against this experiment are considered in a previous work. The current paper is focused on detailed comparisons of the spray characteristics (radial profiles of drop size distribution and at several radial rakes) from NCC simulations against the experimental data. Comparisons against experimental data show that the use of the correlation for primary spray break-up implemented by Raju in the NCC produces most realistic results, but this result needs to be improved. Given the single or ten step chemical kinetics models, use of a spray size correlation gives similar, acceptable results

Iannetti, Anthony C.↗

Annular Flow Simulation Supported by Iterative In-Memory Mesh Adaptation

Various flow regimes exist in a boiling water reactor (BWR) as the steam quality increases in the uprising coolant flow, from bubbly flow, slug/churn flow, to annular flow. The annular flow is characterized by the presence of a fast-moving gas core and the surrounding liquid film flowing on the conduit wall. Additionally, entrained droplets can be observed in the gas core with ingested bubbles in the liquid film. The dynamics occurring on the wavy interface between the liquid film and gas core plays a crucial role in affecting the heat transfer rate and pressure drop within the BWR core. However, a fundamental understanding of annular flow is still lacking, partly due to the difficulty in obtaining detailed local data in annular flow experiments. In the current study, a novel simulation framework is developed for the annular flow by coupling a computational fluid dynamics flow solver with state-of-the-art meshing software. The gas-liquid interface is tracked with the level set method. Based on the computed flow solutions, the computational mesh is dynamically adapted in memory to meet the local mesh resolution requirement. This iterative simulation-adaptation framework can ensure the fine mesh resolution across the interface, which not only helps mitigate the mass conservation degradation known to level set methods but also improves the representation of dramatic interface topological changes such as wave breaking and droplet entrainment. The present investigation will shed light onto the complex interfacial processes involved in annular flow and generate much needed simulation data for annular flow modeling.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Boundary layer integral matrix procedure: Verification of models

The three turbulent models currently available in the JANNAF version of the Aerotherm Boundary Layer Integral Matrix Procedure (BLIMP-J) code were studied. The BLIMP-J program is the standard prediction method for boundary layer effects in liquid rocket engine thrust chambers. Experimental data from flow fields with large edge-to-wall temperature ratios are compared to the predictions of the three turbulence models contained in BLIMP-J. In addition, test conditions necessary to generate additional data on a flat plate or in a nozzle are given. It is concluded that the Cebeci-Smith turbulence model be the recommended model for the prediction of boundary layer effects in liquid rocket engines. In addition, the effects of homogeneous chemical reaction kinetics were examined for a hydrogen/oxygen system. Results show that for most flows, kinetics are probably only significant for stoichiometric mixture ratios.

Bonnett, W. S.↗

Performance measurements of an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers

Performance characteristics of an Eppler 387 airfoil using both direct (force) and indirect (pressure) measurement techniques have been obtained at Reynolds numbers from 60,000 to 460,000 in the Langley Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel. Lift, drag, and pitching-moment data were obtained from two internally-mounted strain-gage balances specifically designed for small aerodynamic loads. Comparisons of these results with data from a pressure model of an Eppler 387 airfoil are included. Drag data for both models using the wake traverse method are compared with the balance data. Oil flow visualization and surface mounted hot-film sensors were used to determine laminar-separation and turbulent-reattachment locations. Problems associated with obtaining accurate wind-tunnel data at low Reynolds numbers are discussed.

Mcghee, Robert J.↗

Experimental Investigation of the NASA Common Research Model

An experimental aerodynamic investigation of the NASA Common Research Model has been conducted in the NASA NTF (National Transonic Facility). Data have been obtained at chord Reynolds numbers of 5, 19.8 and 30 million for the WB and WBT0 configurations. Data have also been obtained at a chord Reynolds number of 5 million for the WBNP, WBT+2 and WBT-2 configurations. Force and moment, surface pressure and surface flow visualization data were obtained but only the force and moment data are presented herein. Model deformation measurements, aeroelastic, nacelle/pylon Reynolds number and tail effects have been assessed. The model deformation measurements showed more twist as you go out the wing span, with a break in the high q(sub infinity) data close to CL = 0.6 which is consistent with separation near the tip. Increases in dynamic pressure give an increase in pitching moment and drag and a decrease in lift for the WB and WBT0 configuration at Mach = 0.7, 0.85 and 0.87. The addition of a nacelle/pylon gave an increase in drag, decrease in lift and a less nose down pitching moment around the design lift condition of 0.5. Increases in chord Reynolds number have been found to follow the normal Reynolds number trends except at the 19.8 million low q(sub infinity) cases. The abnormality of the 19.8 million low q(sub infinity) cases is being investigated. The tail effects also follow the expected trends. All of the data shown fall within the 2-sigma limits for repeatability.

Rivers, Melissa B.↗

An experimental investigation of turbulent boundary layers along curved surfaces

A curved wall tunnel was designed, and an equilibrium turbulent boundary layer was set up on the straight section preceding the curved test section. Turbulent boundary layer flows with uniform and adverse pressure distributions along convex and concave walls were investigated. Hot-wire measurements along the convex surface indicated that turbulent mixing between fluid layers was very much reduced. However, the law of the wall held and the skin friction, thus determined, correlated well with other measurements. Hot-wire measurements along the concave test wall revealed a system of longitudinal vortices inside the boundary layer and confirmed that concave curvature enhances mixing. A self-consistent set of turbulent boundary layer equations for flows along curved surfaces was derived together with a modified eddy viscosity. Solution of these equations together with the modified eddy viscosity gave results that correlated well with the present data on flows along the convex surface with arbitrary pressure distribution. However, it could only be used to predict the mean characteristics of the flow along concave walls because of the existence of the system of longitudinal vortices inside the boundary layer.

So, R. M. C.↗

The measurement of boundary layers on a compressor blade in cascade. I - A unique experimental facility

A unique cascade facility is described which makes it possible to use LDV for measuring blade boundary layer profiles. Because of the need for a laser access window, the facility cannot rely on continuous blade pack suction to achieve stable flow. Instead, a combination of tailboards and strong suction upstream of the blade pack is used to create a two-dimensional periodic flow field at a chord Reynolds number of 500,000. The distribution of the upstream suction is controlled through a complex baffling system. Details of the inlet and outlet flow are documented using five-hole pressure probes, blade static-pressure measurements, and sublimation flow visualization. Experimental data are presented on the flow field on the suction surface of the blade, the pressure surface, and near-wake flow fields.

Deutsch, Steven↗

Collection Efficiency and Ice Accretion Calculations for a Sphere, a Swept MS(1)-317 Wing, a Swept NACA-0012 Wing Tip, an Axisymmetric Inlet, and a Boeing 737-300

Collection efficiency and ice accretion calculations have been made for a sphere, a swept MS(1)-317 wing, a swept NACA-0012 wing tip, an axisymmetric inlet, and a Boeing 737-300 inlet using the NPARC flow solver and the NASA Lewis LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion code. Euler flow solutions for the geometries were generated using the NPARC flow solver. The LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion program was used to calculate the impingement efficiencies and ice shapes. Ice shapes specifying rime and mixed icing conditions were generated for a 30 minute hold condition. All calculations were performed on an SGI Model Power Challenge Computer. The results have been compared to experimental flow and impingement data. In general, the calculated flow and collection efficiencies compared well with experiment, and the ice shapes looked reasonable and appeared representative of the rime and mixed icing conditions for which they were calculated.

Bidwell, Colin S.↗

Collection Efficiency and Ice Accretion Calculations for a Boeing 737-300 Inlet

Collection efficiency and ice accretion calculations have been made for a Boeing 737-300 inlet using a three-dimensional panel code, an adaptive grid code, the NASA Lewis LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion code. Flow solutions for the inlet were generated using the VSAERO panel code. Grids used in the ice accretion calculations were generated using the newly developed adaptive grid code ICEGRID3D. The LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion program was used to calculate impingement efficiency and ice shapes. Ice shapes typifying rime and mixed icing conditions were generated for a 30 minute hold condition. All calculations were performed on an SGI Power Challenge computer. The results have been compared to experimental flow and impingement data. In general, the calculated flow and collection efficiencies compared well with experiment, and the ice shapes looked reasonable and appeared representative of the rime and mixed icing conditions for which they were calculated.

Bidwell, Colin S.↗

Effects of Gravity on Cocurrent Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flows Through Packed Columns

This work presents the experimental results of research on the influence of gravity on flow pattern transitions, pressure drop and flow characteristics for cocurrent gas-liquid two-phase flow through packed columns. The flow pattern transition data indicates that the pulse flow regime exists over a wider range of gas and liquid flow rates under reduced gravity conditions compared to normal gravity cocurrent down-flow. This is illustrated by comparing the flow regime transitions found in reduced gravity with the transitions predicted by Talmor. Next, the effect of gravity on the total pressure drop in a packed column is shown to depend on the flow regime. The difference is roughly equivalent to the liquid static head for bubbly flow but begins to decrease at the onset of pulse flow. As the spray flow regime is approached by increasing the gas to liquid ratio, the effect of gravity on pressure drop becomes negligible. Finally, gravity tends to suppress the amplitude of each pressure pulse. An example of this phenomenon is presented.

Motil, Brian J.↗

Aero-thermal Calibration of the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel (2000 Tests)

Aerothermal calibration measurements and flow quality surveys were made in the test section of the Icing Research Tunnel at the NASA Glenn Research Center. These surveys were made following major facility modifications including widening of the heat exchanger tunnel section, replacement of the heat exchanger, installation of new turning vanes, and installation of new fan exit guide vanes. Standard practice at NASA Glenn requires that test section calibration and flow quality surveys be performed following such major facility modifications. A single horizontally oriented rake was used to survey the flow field at several vertical positions within a single cross-sectional plane of the test section. These surveys provided a detailed mapping of the total and static pressure, total temperature, Mach number, velocity, flow angle and turbulence intensity. Data were acquired over the entire velocity and total temperature range of the facility. No icing conditions were tested; however, the effects of air sprayed through the water injecting spray bars were assessed. All data indicate good flow quality. Mach number standard deviations were less than 0.0017, flow angle standard deviations were between 0.3 deg and 0.8 deg, total temperature standard deviations were between 0.5 and 1.8 F for subfreezing conditions, axial turbulence intensities varied between 0.3 and 1.0 percent, and transverse turbulence intensities varied between 0.3 and 1.5 percent. Measurement uncertainties were also quantified.

Gonsalez, Jose C.↗

UFLIC: A Line Integral Convolution Algorithm for Visualizing Unsteady Flows

This paper presents an algorithm, UFLIC (Unsteady Flow LIC), to visualize vector data in unsteady flow fields. Using the Line Integral Convolution (LIC) as the underlying method, a new convolution algorithm is proposed that can effectively trace the flow's global features over time. The new algorithm consists of a time-accurate value depositing scheme and a successive feed-forward method. The value depositing scheme accurately models the flow advection, and the successive feed-forward method maintains the coherence between animation frames. Our new algorithm can produce time-accurate, highly coherent flow animations to highlight global features in unsteady flow fields. CFD scientists, for the first time, are able to visualize unsteady surface flows using our algorithm.

Shen, Han-Wei↗

Collection Efficiency and Ice Accretion Characteristics of Two Full Scale and One 1/4 Scale Business Jet Horizontal Tails

Collection efficiency and ice accretion calculations have been made for a series of business jet horizontal tail configurations using a three-dimensional panel code, an adaptive grid code, and the NASA Glenn LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion code. The horizontal tail models included two full scale wing tips and a 25 percent scale model. Flow solutions for the horizontal tails were generated using the PMARC panel code. Grids used in the ice accretion calculations were generated using the adaptive grid code ICEGRID. The LEWICE3D grid based ice accretion program was used to calculate impingement efficiency and ice shapes. Ice shapes typifying rime and mixed icing conditions were generated for a 30 minute hold condition. All calculations were performed on an SGI Octane computer. The results have been compared to experimental flow and impingement data. In general, the calculated flow and collection efficiencies compared well with experiment, and the ice shapes appeared representative of the rime and mixed icing conditions for which they were calculated.

Bidwell, Colin S.↗