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At least 145 records · Page 8

Calculation of 3-dimensional choking mass flow in turbomachinery with 2-dimensional flow models

An approach is considered for obtaining an approximate flow solution in the case of a cross-sectional flow surface within a guided channel, taking into account a pair of typical turbine blades with three-dimensional orthogonal surfaces across the flow passage, the calculation of the mass flow across the throat in the case of a 2-D passage with curved walls, and the determination of the choking mass flow. It is pointed out that the choking solution for a three-dimensional guided passage in a blade row can be obtained in a very similar manner by satisfying momentum equations for the blade-to-blade and the hub-to-tip direction. A considered example involves the calculation of the choking mass flow for a centrifugal compressor impeller in an automotive application.

Katsanis, T.↗

Development and Validation of Dense Discrete Phase Flow Models for Concentrating Solar Power Particle Receivers

This report summarizes a recent project aimed at developing and validating the necessary tools to enable more accurate modeling of denser and more complex particle flows in next-generation particle receivers used in concentrating solar power towers. A newly developed CFD/DEM simulation capability was created by coupling existing the modeling and simulation tools Sierra and LAMMPS. This new capability permitted the inclusion of additional physics for particle drag and particle collisions to model

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Evaluation of a locally homogeneous flow model of spray combustion

A model of spray combustion which employs a second-order turbulence model was developed. The assumption of locally homogeneous flow is made, implying infinitely fast transport rates between the phase. Measurements to test the model were completed for a gaseous n-propane flame and an air atomized n-pentane spray flame, burning in stagnant air at atmospheric pressure. Profiles of mean velocity and temperature, as well as velocity fluctuations and Reynolds stress, were measured in the flames. The predictions for the gas flame were in excellent agreement with the measurements. The predictions for the spray were qualitatively correct, but effects of finite rate interphase transport were evident, resulting in a overstimation of the rate development of the flow. Predictions of spray penetration length at high pressures, including supercritical combustion conditions, were also completed for comparison with earlier measurements. Test conditions involved a pressure atomized n-pentane spray, burning in stagnant air at pressures of 3, 5, and 9 MPa. The comparison between predictions and measurements was fair. This is not a very sensitive test of the model, however, and further high pressure experimental and theoretical results are needed before a satisfactory assessment of the locally homogeneous flow approximation can be made.

Mao, C. P.↗

Drop Breakup in Fixed Bed Flows as Model Stochastic Flow Fields

We examine drop breakup in a class of stochastic flow fields as a model for the flow through fixed fiber beds and to elucidate the general mechanisms whereby drops breakup in disordered, Lagrangian unsteady flows. Our study consists of two parallel streams of investigation. First, large scale numerical simulations of drop breakup in a class of anisotropic Gaussian fields will be presented. These fields are generated spectrally and have been shown in a previous publication to be exact representations of the flow in a dilute disordered bed of fibers if close interactions between the fibers and the drops are dynamically unimportant. In these simulations the drop shape is represented by second and third order small deformation theories which have been shown to be excellent for the prediction of drop breakup in steady strong flows. We show via these simulations that the mechanisms of drop breakup in these flows are quite different than in steady flows. The predominant mechanism of breakup appears to be very short lived twist breakups. Moreover, the occurrence of breakup events is poorly predicted by either the strength of the local flow in which the drop finds itself at breakup, or the degree of deformation that the drop achieves prior to breakup. It is suggested that a correlation function of both is necessary to be predictive of breakup events. In the second part of our research experiments are presented where the drop deformation and breakup in PDMS/polyisobutylene emulsions is considered. We consider very dilute emulsions such that coalescence is unimportant. The flows considered are simple shear and the flow through fixed fiber beds. Turbidity, small angle light scattering, dichroism and microscopy are used to interrogate the drop deformation process in both flows. It is demonstrated that breakup at very low capillary numbers occurs in both flows but larger drop deformation occurs in the fixed bed flow. Moreover, it is witnessed that breakup in the bed occurs continuously during flow and apparently with uniform probability through the bed length. The drop deformations witnessed in our experiments are larger than those predicted by the numerical simulations, and future plans to investigate these differences are discussed.

Shaqfeh, Eric S. G.↗

Shaded computer graphic techniques for visualizing and interpreting analytic fluid flow models

Mathematical models which predict the behavior of fluid flow in different experiments are simulated using digital computers. The simulations predict values of parameters of the fluid flow (pressure, temperature and velocity vector) at many points in the fluid. Visualization of the spatial variation in the value of these parameters is important to comprehend and check the data generated, to identify the regions of interest in the flow, and for effectively communicating information about the flow to others. The state of the art imaging techniques developed in the field of three dimensional shaded computer graphics is applied to visualization of fluid flow. Use of an imaging technique known as 'SCAN' for visualizing fluid flow, is studied and the results are presented.

Parke, F. I.↗

Concentration Measurements in a Cold Flow Model Annular Combustor Using Laser Induced Fluorescence

A nonintrusive concentration measurement method is developed for determining the concentration distribution in a complex flow field. The measurement method consists of marking a liquid flow with a water soluble fluorescent dye. The dye is excited by a two dimensional sheet of laser light. The fluorescent intensity is shown to be proportional to the relative concentration level. The fluorescent field is recorded on a video cassette recorder through a video camera. The recorded images are analyzed with image processing hardware and software to obtain intensity levels. Mean and root mean square (rms) values are calculated from these intensity levels. The method is tested on a single round turbulent jet because previous concentration measurements have been made on this configuration by other investigators. The previous results were used to comparison to qualify the current method. These comparisons showed that this method provides satisfactory results. 'Me concentration measurement system was used to measure the concentrations in the complex flow field of a model gas turbine annular combustor. The model annular combustor consists of opposing primary jets and an annular jet which discharges perpendicular to the primary jets. The mixing between the different jet flows can be visualized from the calculated mean and rms profiles. Concentration field visualization images obtained from the processing provide further qualitative information about the flow field.

Morgan, Douglas C.↗

Chemical Reaction and Flow Modeling in Fullerene and Nanotube Production

The development of processes to produce fullerenes and carbon nanotubes has largely been empirical. Fullerenes were first discovered in the soot produced by laser ablation of graphite [1]and then in the soot of electric arc evaporated carbon. Techniques and conditions for producing larger and larger quantities of fullerenes depended mainly on trial and error empirical variations of these processes, with attempts to scale them up by using larger electrodes and targets and higher power. Various concepts of how fullerenes and carbon nanotubes were formed were put forth, but very little was done based on chemical kinetics of the reactions. This was mainly due to the complex mixture of species and complex nature of conditions in the reactors. Temperatures in the reactors varied from several thousand degrees Kelvin down to near room temperature. There are hundreds of species possible, ranging from atomic carbon to large clusters of carbonaceous soot, and metallic catalyst atoms to metal clusters, to complexes of metals and carbon. Most of the chemical kinetics of the reactions and the thermodynamic properties of clusters and complexes have only been approximated. In addition, flow conditions in the reactors are transient or unsteady, and three dimensional, with steep spatial gradients of temperature and species concentrations. All these factors make computational simulations of reactors very complex and challenging. This article addresses the development of the chemical reaction involved in fullerene production and extends this to production of carbon nanotubes by the laser ablation/oven process and by the electric arc evaporation process. In addition, the high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco) process is discussed. The article is in several parts. The first one addresses the thermochemical aspects of modeling; and considers the development of chemical rate equations, estimates of reaction rates, and thermodynamic properties where they are available. The second part addresses modeling of the arc process for fullerene and carbon nanotube production using O-D, 1-D and 2-D fluid flow models. The third part addresses simulations of the pulsed laser ablation process using time-dependent techniques in 2-D, and a steady state 2-D simulation of a continuous laser ablation process. The fourth part addresses steady state modeling in O-D and 2-D of the HiPco process. In each of the simulations, there is a variety of simplifications that are made that enable one to concentrate on one aspect or another of the process. There are simplifications that can be made to the chemical reaction models , e.g. reduction in number of species by lumping some of them together in a representative species. Other simulations are carried out by eliminating the chemistry altogether in order to concentrate on the fluid dynamics. When solving problems with a large number of species in more than one spatial dimension, it is almost imperative that the problem be decoupled by solving for the fluid dynamics to find the fluid motion and temperature history of "particles" of fluid moving through a reactor. Then one can solve the chemical rate equations with complex chemistry following the temperature and pressure history. One difficulty is that often mixing with an ambient gas is involved. Therefore, one needs to take dilution and mixing into account. This changes the ratio of carbon species to background gas. Commercially available codes may have no provision for including dilution as part of the input. One must the write special solvers for including dilution in decoupled problems. The article addresses both ful1erene production and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) production. There are at least two schemes or concepts of SWNT growth. This article will only address growth in the gas phase by carbon and catalyst cluster growth and SW T formation by the addition of carbon. There are other models that conceive of SWNT growth as a phase separation process from clusters me up carbon and metal catalyst, with the carbon precipitating from the cluster as it cools. We will not deal with that concept in this article. Further research is needed to determine the rates at which these composite clusters form, evaporate, and segregate.

Scott, Carl D.↗

Evaluation of a locally homogeneous flow model of spray combustion

A simplified model of spray combustion was evaluated. The model was compared with measurements in both a gaseous propane flame and an air atomized n-pentane spray flame (35 micron Sauter mean diameter). Profiles of mean velocity, temperature, and species concentrations, as well as velocity fluctuations and Reynolds stress, were measured. The predictions for the gas flame were in excellent agreement with measurements, except for product species concentrations where errors due to finite reaction rates were detected. Predictions within the spray were qualitatively correct, but the model overestimated the rate of development of the flow; e.g., predicted flame lengths were 30% shorter than measured. Calibrated drop-life-history calculations showed that finite interphase transport rates caused the discrepancy and that initial drop diameters less than 20 microns would be required for quantitative accuracy of the model.

Mao, C.-P.↗

In-Tunnel Simulations of the NASA Juncture Flow Model

The effect of wind tunnel walls on the development of flow separation in the wing-fuselage juncture area is assessed using FUN3D’s overset and wind tunnel controller capabilities. The simulation data obtained from the in-tunnel runs are compared with the free-air simulations. The simulation results are also evaluated using measurements from the Juncture Flow Experiment.

Nash'at N. Ahmad↗

In-Tunnel Simulations of the NASA Juncture Flow Model

The effect of wind tunnel walls on the development of flow separation in the wing-fuselage juncture area is assessed using FUN3D’s overset and wind tunnel controller capabilities. The simulation data obtained from the in-tunnel runs are compared with the free-air simulations. The simulation results are also evaluated using measurements from the recently completed Phase 2 of the Juncture Flow Experiment. In general, the simulation data compared well with the measurements, however there were no significant differences in the prediction of the separation location, size, and shape, between the free-air and the in-tunnel runs. The results of this study suggest that the effects of tunnel walls on the flow separation in the juncture region are relatively small.

Juncture Flow↗

In-Tunnel Simulations of the NASA Juncture Flow Model

The effect of wind tunnel walls on the development of flow separation in the wing-fuselage juncture area is assessed using FUN3D’s overset and wind tunnel controller capabilities. The simulation data obtained from the in-tunnel runs are compared with the free-air simulations. The simulation results are also evaluated using measurements from the recently completed Phase 2 of the Juncture Flow Experiment. In general, the simulation data compared well with the measurements, however there were no significant differences in the prediction of the separation location, size, and shape, between the free-air and the in-tunnel runs. The results of this study suggest that the effects of tunnel walls on the flow separation in the juncture region are relatively small.

Juncture Flow↗

Modeling a divertor with mid-leg pumping for high-power H-mode scenarios in DIII-D considering E x B drift flows

Edge-plasma simulations of a baffled, long-legged divertor in DIII-D, performed using the multi-fluid code UEDGE, indicate that the position of the detachment front is constrained to the location of the pump duct along the low-field side (LFS) baffle. Simulations including magnetic and E x B drifts were performed for 12.5 MW deuterium plasmas including intrinsic carbon and seeded neon to assess the optimal location of the LFS divertor pump to create a stable detachment front between the target and the X-point. The radiation front position in the simulations, taken to be indicative of the detachment front, can be controlled between the pump and X-point in the favorable magnetic field direction for H-mode access by moving the pump duct location upstream of the target along the LFS baffle. In the unfavorable magnetic field direction, the radial E θ x B drift flows are directed towards the pumping surface, efficiently removing the injected deuterium gas and limiting the sensitivity of the radiation front location to the gas injection rate. The role of pumping rate and drift direction on the pumping efficiency are also found to affect the divertor plasma conditions and detachment front location in UEDGE simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Alternative cooling flow models

Models where the cooling or cooled cluster gas is reheated by conduction, by galaxy motions, and by supernovae are examined. In each case, it is difficult or impossible to reproduce the observed temperature gradient while also reducing the net rate at which cooled gas is produced. None of the models examined lead to a viable alternative cooling flow scenario.

Bregman, Joel N.↗

A Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program to Model Flow Distribution in Fluid Networks

This paper describes a general purpose computer program for analyzing steady state and transient flow in a complex network. The program is capable of modeling phase changes, compressibility, mixture thermodynamics and external body forces such as gravity and centrifugal. The program's preprocessor allows the user to interactively develop a fluid network simulation consisting of nodes and branches. Mass, energy and specie conservation equations are solved at the nodes; the momentum conservation equations are solved in the branches. The program contains subroutines for computing "real fluid" thermodynamic and thermophysical properties for 33 fluids. The fluids are: helium, methane, neon, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, fluorine, hydrogen, parahydrogen, water, kerosene (RP-1), isobutane, butane, deuterium, ethane, ethylene, hydrogen sulfide, krypton, propane, xenon, R-11, R-12, R-22, R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134A, R-152A, nitrogen trifluoride and ammonia. The program also provides the options of using any incompressible fluid with constant density and viscosity or ideal gas. Seventeen different resistance/source options are provided for modeling momentum sources or sinks in the branches. These options include: pipe flow, flow through a restriction, non-circular duct, pipe flow with entrance and/or exit losses, thin sharp orifice, thick orifice, square edge reduction, square edge expansion, rotating annular duct, rotating radial duct, labyrinth seal, parallel plates, common fittings and valves, pump characteristics, pump power, valve with a given loss coefficient, and a Joule-Thompson device. The system of equations describing the fluid network is solved by a hybrid numerical method that is a combination of the Newton-Raphson and successive substitution methods. This paper also illustrates the application and verification of the code by comparison with Hardy Cross method for steady state flow and analytical solution for unsteady flow.

Majumdar, Alok↗

Hypergolic bipropellant spray combustion and flow modelling in rocket engines

A predictive tool for hypergolic bipropellant spray combustion and flow evolution in small rocket combustion chambers is described. It encompasses a computational technique for the gas-phase governing equations, a discrete particle method for liquid bipropellant sprays, and constitutive models for combustion chemistry, interphase exchanges, and unlike impinging hypergolic spray interactions. Emphasis is placed on the phenomenological modeling of the hypergolic liquid bipropellant gasification processes. Sample computations with the N2H4-N2O4 propellant system are given in order to show some of the capabilities and inadequacies of this tool.

Larosiliere, Louis M.↗

Pre-metered coating flow models with Goma 7: Workflow Tutorial

Tutorials for modeling of slot-die and slide-die coating flows with Goma 7, an open source finite element code, are presented. The tutorials cover the workflow to attaining steady state solutions for these flows, and continuation strategies for navigating the operating windows. Advanced topics of coating window prediction, automated multiparameter continuation, non-Newtonian rheology, dynamic contact line modeling, and some more solution strategies are also covered.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Applications of flow models to the generation of correlated lattice QCD ensembles

Machine-learned normalizing flows can be used in the context of lattice quantum field theory to generate statistically correlated ensembles of lattice gauge fields at different action parameters. This work demonstrates how these correlations can be exploited for variance reduction in the computation of observables. Three different proof-of-concept applications are demonstrated using a novel residual flow architecture: continuum limits of gauge theories, the mass dependence of QCD observables, and hadronic matrix elements based on the Feynman–Hellmann approach. In all three cases, it is shown that statistical uncertainties are significantly reduced when machine-learned flows are incorporated as compared with the same calculations performed with uncorrelated ensembles or direct reweighting. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

A hybrid flow model for charged and neutral particles around spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit

A flow simulation for charged and neutral particles around spacecraft is given that combines the fully coupled effects of neutral particle flow, plasma flow, electromagnetic field effects, and spacecraft charging. The simulation allows for chemically reacting flows (associative ionization, dissociation, and chain exchange) and for thermal accommodation at a spacecraft surface. The solution procedure was applied to several types of flows with orbital altitudes ranging from 250 km to 500 km. Excellent agreement with previously verified computational algorithms was obtained for both the neutral and charged particle cases. Results for the full flow simulation are presented for altitudes of 250 km and 500 km.

Justiz, Charles R.↗