SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Fluidic controls for automotive engine examined by Rankine cycle performance with water, CP-34, and freon TF and investigation for boiler and feed pump control criteria
Design, development, fabrication, and acceptance test results for two fluidic proportional thrusters for use in SPARCS 4
Plasma-fluidic hybrid display system combining high brightness and memory characteristics
Pneumatic and hydraulic fluidic power control systems, discussing moving part position servos and cold gas reaction systems
Electro-pneumatic transducer for conversion of electrical into fluidic signals, using temperature dependence of laminar gas jet deflection angle in flow along heated curved wall
Power supply utilizes small quantities of two-phase fluid of suitable thermodynamic properties for circulation in a capillary-pumped heat transfer loop. Fluid is vaporized in evaporator, passed through fluidic system load, condensed, pumped by multistage capillary pump, and returned to the evaporator.
Circuit elements are grouped on functional basis in rectangular two-dimensional planar arrays or modules. Another interconnection method brings all connections out to module edge. For smaller fluidic circuits, manifold and interconnections are fabricated as single blocks. Advantages of methods are given.
Device consists of fluidic humidity sensor and specially designed flow calorimeter. Calorimeter provides readings of gas stream temperature rise produced by measured amount of heat that is dissipated into gas stream, and humidity sensor is used to obtain continuous calculation of specific heat capacity of gas mixture.
A continuous reading mass flow device was developed to measure the component flow of a binary gas mixture. The basic components of the device are a fluidic humidity sensor and a specially designed flow calorimeter. These components provide readings of gas mixture ratio, mixture heat capacity, heat dissipated by the calorimeter and the gas temperature rise across the calorimeter. These parameter values, applied in the general definitions of specific heat capacity and the heat capacity of a gas mixture, produce calculated component flow rates of the mixture being metered. A test program was conducted to evaluate both the steady state and dynamic performance of the device.
A fluidic oscillator was investigated for use in measuring fuel-air ratios in hydrocarbon combustion processes. The oscillator was operated with dry exhaust gas from an experimental combustor burning ASTM A-1 fuel. Tests were conducted with fuel-air ratios between 0.015 and 0.031. Fuel-air ratios determined by oscillator frequency were within 0.001 of the values computed from separate flow measurements of the air and fuel.
Research and development being conducted at the Systems and Controls Laboratory is reviewed. Static characteristics (supply, input, transfer, output, and noise characteristics) of laminar proportional amplifiers were investigated. Other topics discussed include velocity profiles for laminar fluidic jets, speed control systems employing a jet pipe valve, and power amplification with a vortex valve.
The effects of certain parameter variations on the performance characteristics of laminar, proportional, jet-deflection fluidic amplifiers were studied. The matching and staging of amplifiers to obtain high pressure gain was included, but dynamic effects were not. The parameter variations considered were aspect ratio, setback, control length, splitter distance, receiver-duct width, width of center-vent duct, and bias pressure. Usable pressure gains of 19 per stage were achieved, and 5 amplifier stages were integrated to yield an overall pressure gain of 2,000,000.
Fluidic oscillator identifies hazardous single, and multicomponent gases. Since oscillator has no moving parts, it is highly reliable.
Volume and velocity of control flow independently adjustable. In proposed device rotatable D-shaped control sector throttles down control port or open it completely and set to any intermediate control-port crosssectional area. Although adjustment affects volume and control-port head loss, volume and velocity controlled independently by also adjusting fluidsupply pressure. Allows adjustment to wider range of control conditions and ability to maximize control efficiency. Fluidic control theory suggests possibility of improvement in control ratio of at least 2:1 over conventional devices.
A fluidic sensor providing a differential pressure signal proportional to the angular velocity of a rotary input is described. In one embodiment the sensor includes a fluid pump having an impeller coupled to a rotary input. A housing forming a constricting fluid flow chamber is connected to the fluid input of the pump. The housing is provided with a fluid flow restrictive input to the flow chamber and a port communicating with the interior of the flow chamber. The differential pressure signal measured across the flow restrictive input is relatively noise free and proportional to the square of the angular velocity of the impeller. In an alternative embodiment, the flow chamber has a generally cylindrical configuration and plates having flow restrictive apertures are disposed within the chamber downstream from the housing port. In this embodiment, the differential pressure signal is found to be approximately linear with the angular velocity of the impeller.
An experimental investigation has been conducted at the NASA Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel Static Test Facility to determine the concept feasibility of using fluidics to achieve multiplane thrust vector control in a 2D convergent-divergent (2D-CD) fixed aperture nozzle. Pitch thrust vector control is achieved by injection of flow through a slot in the divergent flap into the primary nozzle flow stream. Yaw vector control results from secondary air delivered tangentially to vertical Coanda flaps. These flaps are offset laterally and aligned parallel to the primary nozzle side walls. All tests were conducted at static (no external flow) conditions. Flow visualization was conducted using a paint flow technique and Focus Schlieren. Significant levels of pitch deflection angles (19 deg) were achieved at low pressure ratios and practical levels (14 deg) resulted at typical intermediate power settings. The ability of the Coanda surface blowing concept to produce yaw deflection was limited to NPR not greater than 4.
A static investigation was conducted in the static test facility of the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel of two thrust-vectoring concepts which utilize fluidic mechanisms for deflecting the jet of a two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzle. One concept involved using the Coanda effect to turn a sheet of injected secondary air along a curved sidewall flap and, through entrainment, draw the primary jet in the same direction to produce yaw thrust vectoring. The other concept involved deflecting the primary jet to produce pitch thrust vectoring by injecting secondary air through a transverse slot in the divergent flap, creating an oblique shock in the divergent channel. Utilizing the Coanda effect to produce yaw thrust vectoring was largely unsuccessful. Small vector angles were produced at low primary nozzle pressure ratios, probably because the momentum of the primary jet was low. Significant pitch thrust vector angles were produced by injecting secondary flow through a slot in the divergent flap. Thrust vector angle decreased with increasing nozzle pressure ratio but moderate levels were maintained at the highest nozzle pressure ratio tested. Thrust performance generally increased at low nozzle pressure ratios and decreased near the design pressure ratio with the addition of secondary flow.
A computational and experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of multiple injection ports in a two-dimensional, convergent-divergent nozzle, for fluidic thrust vectoring. The concept of multiple injection ports was conceived to enhance the thrust vectoring capability of a convergent-divergent nozzle over that of a single injection port without increasing the secondary mass flow rate requirements. The experimental study was conducted at static conditions in the Jet Exit Test Facility of the 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel Complex at NASA Langley Research Center. Internal nozzle performance was obtained at nozzle pressure ratios up to 10 with secondary nozzle pressure ratios up to 1 for five configurations. The computational study was conducted using the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics code PAB3D with two-equation turbulence closure and linear Reynolds stress modeling. Internal nozzle performance was predicted for nozzle pressure ratios up to 10 with a secondary nozzle pressure ratio of 0.7 for two configurations. Results from the experimental study indicate a benefit to multiple injection ports in a convergent-divergent nozzle. In general, increasing the number of injection ports from one to two increased the pitch thrust vectoring capability without any thrust performance penalties at nozzle pressure ratios less than 4 with high secondary pressure ratios. Results from the computational study are in excellent agreement with experimental results and validates PAB3D as a tool for predicting internal nozzle performance of a two dimensional, convergent-divergent nozzle with multiple injection ports.