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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Numerical Modeling Studies of Wake Vortices: Real Case Simulations

A three-dimensional large-eddy simulation model, TASS, is used to simulate the behavior of aircraft wake vortices in a real atmosphere. The purpose for this study is to validate the use of TASS for simulating the decay and transport of wake vortices. Three simulations are performed and the results are compared with the observed data from the 1994-1995 Memphis field experiments. The selected cases have an atmospheric environment of weak turbulence and stable stratification. The model simulations are initialized with appropriate meteorological conditions and a post roll-up vortex system. The behavior of wake vortices as they descend within the atmospheric boundary layer and interact with the ground is discussed.

Shen, Shao-Hua↗
NASA NTRS2005

Regional Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor Exchange Over Heterogeneous Terrain

In spite of setbacks due to forest fires, eviction after a change of landowners and unanticipated need to upgrade and replace much of the instrumentation, substantial progress has been made during the past three years, resulting in major new findings. Although most of the results are in manuscript form, three papers have been published and a fourth was recently submitted. The data has been subjected to extensive quality control. Extra attention has been devoted to the influence of tilt rotation and flux-calculation method, particularly with respect to nocturnal fluxes. Previous/standard methods for calculating nocturnal fluxes with moderate and strong stability are inadequate and lead to large random fluxes errors for individual records, due partly to inadvertent inclusion of mesoscale motions that strongly contaminant the estimation of fluxes by weak turbulence. Such large errors are serious for process studies requiring carbon dioxide fluxes for individual records, but are substantially reduced when averaging fluxes over longer periods as in calculation of annual NEE budgets. We have employed a superior method for estimating fluxes in stable conditions with a variable averaging width . Mesoscale fluxes are generally unimportant except for events and are generally not systematic or predictable. Mesoscale or regional models of our region are not able to reproduce important aspects of the diurnally varying wind field

Mahrt, Larry J.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Critical Fluctuations in Beam-Plasma Systems and Solar Type III Radio Bursts

The type III radio bursts are the most intense radio emissions from the sun. In Figure 1, we present a typical type III burst observed by the STEREO spacecraft. Ginzburg and Zheleznyakov (1958) were the first to suggest that Langmuir waves excited by the solar flare accelerated electrons are the source of these bursts. The in situ detection of electron beams and Langmuir waves in association with type III bursts together with tracking of type III burst sources in the interplanetary medium confirmed this plasma hypothesis. However, the dynamics of type III electron beams and their interaction with the ambient plasma through the excited Langmuir waves is an unsolved problem. In order that the electron beams don't lose their energy by resonantly interacting with Langmuir waves, various nonlinear processes, such as the induced scattering of Langmuir waves off the background ions in weak turbulence regime and oscillating two-stream instability in strong turbulence regime were invoked. However, the observed electron density fluctuations do not allow Langmuir waves to grow to very high intensities as pointed out by several authors. As far as the conversion of Langmuir wave energy into electromagnetic energy is concerned, there is no consensus either for the fundamental or for the second harmonic emission. In this paper, we address these issues in terms of critical fluctuations near the boundary of the beam-plasma instability which is analogous to the anomalously growing fluctuations near the phase transition points called critical points. We show that this phenomenon can account for the survival of electron beams over large distances as well as the intensities of Langmuir waves excited during this phase transition regime are sufficient to explain the peak intensities of the fundamental as well as harmonic emissions

Fluctuations↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Evolution of a Circumplanetary Disc with a Dead Zone

We investigate whether the regular Galilean satellites could have formed in the dead zone of a circumplanetary disc. A deadzone is a region of weak turbulence in which the magnetorotational instability is suppressed, potentially an ideal environmentfor satellite formation. With the grid-based hydrodynamic codeFAR GO3D, we examine the evolution of a circumplanetary discmodel with a dead zone. Material accumulates in the dead zone of the disc leading to a higher total mass and but a similartemperature profile compared to a fully turbulent disc model. The tidal torque increases the rate of mass transport through thedead zone leading to a steady-state disc with a dead zone that does not undergo accretion outbursts. We explore a range of disc,dead zone, and mass inflow parameters and find that the maximum mass of the disc is around 0.001MJ. Since the total solidmass of such a disc is much lower, we find that there is not sufficient material in the disc forin situformation of the Galileansatellites and that external supplement is required.

Cheng Chen↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Linear Interaction Approximation for the Prediction of Noise Generated by Turbulence/Shock Interaction

In this paper we review the basic development of Linear Interaction Approximation (LIA), a linear inviscid approach to study the interaction of weak turbulence with flow discontinuities, and implement a formulation to calculate the acoustic field due to the incidence of vortical and entropic disturbances on a planar shock. The work is motivated by the observance in nozzles with internal mixers and external plugs of a shock formed by local flow accelerations, even at sub-critical pressure ratios. Exhaust systems with internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles are currently under consideration for use in commercial supersonic aircraft and it is important to have an assessment of the impact of this shock on the noise radiated by these nozzles. Numerical results are presented for the fluctuating pressure emitted by (separate) incident single-wave vorticity and entropy modes and for incident isotropic fields of turbulence and entropy. Further applications of the formulation to the flow fields in internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles, and to the modification of mixing noise sources and the scattering of internally generated noise by the shock, are discussed as future work.

: Jet noise, shock waves, aircraft noise↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Linear Interaction Approximation for the Prediction of Noise Generated by Turbulence/Shock Interactions

In this paper we review the basic development of Linear Interaction Approximation (LIA), a linear inviscid approach to study the interaction of weak turbulence with flow discontinuities, and implement a formulation to calculate the acoustic field due to the incidence of vortical and entropic disturbances on a planar shock. The work is motivated by the observance in nozzles with internal mixers and external plugs of a shock formed by local flow accelerations, even at sub-critical pressure ratios. Exhaust systems with internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles are currently under consideration for use in commercial supersonic aircraft and it is important to have an assessment of the impact of this shock on the noise radiated by these nozzles. Numerical results are presented for the fluctuating pressure emitted by (separate) incident single-wave vorticity and entropy modes and for incident isotropic fields of turbulence and entropy. Further applications of the formulation to the flow fields in internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles, and to the modification of mixing noise sources and the scattering of internally generated noise by the shock, are discussed as future work.

Jet noise, shock waves, aircraft noise↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Linear Interaction Approximation for the Prediction of Noise Generated by Turbulence/Shock Interaction

In this paper we review the basic development of Linear Interaction Approximation (LIA), a linear inviscid approach to study the interaction of weak turbulence with flow discontinuities, and implement a formulation to calculate the acoustic field due to the incidence of vortical and entropic disturbances on a planar shock. The work is motivated by the observance in nozzles with internal mixers and external plugs of a shock formed by local flow accelerations, even at sub-critical pressure ratios. Exhaust systems with internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles are currently under consideration for use in commercial supersonic aircraft and it is important to have an assessment of the impact of this shock on the noise radiated by these nozzles. Numerical results are presented for the fluctuating pressure emitted by (separate) incident single-wave vorticity and entropy modes and for incident isotropic fields of turbulence and entropy. Further applications of the formulation to the flow fields in internally mixed/externally plugged nozzles, and to the modification of mixing noise sources and the scattering of internally generated noise by the shock, are discussed as future work.

Jet noise↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of long-wavelength dissipation on beam-driven Langmuir turbulence

The effects of long-wavelength dissipation on beam-driven Langmuir turbulence are investigated using numerical simulations that include both weak and strong turbulence effects. Strong-turbulence wave collapses occur concurrently with weak-turbulence energy cascades if the long-wavelength damping is sufficiently small relative to the growth rate of the beam-unstable waves. Above a threshold damping level, only the weak-turbulence backscatter cascade is observed, and it becomes increasingly truncated as the damping increases, eventually consisting of only a single backscatter. A simple Lotka-Volterra model gives an excellent description of the periodic evolution observed in the weak-turbulence regime. Suppression of the usual backscatter cascade by long-wavelength damping enables intense beam-aligned density troughs to form, which trap and duct Langmuir waves.

Robinson, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

On the effects of a weak magnetic field on turbulent transport

We discuss the effects of a weak large-scale magnetic field on turbulent transport. We show by means of a series of two-dimensional numerical experiments that turbulent diffusion can be effectively suppressed by a (large scale) magnetic field whose energy is small compared to equipartition. The suppression mechanism is associated with a subtle modification of the Lagrangian energy spectrum, and it does not require any substantial reduction of the turbulent amplitude. We exploit the relation between diffusion and random walking to emphasize that the effect of a large-scale magnetic field is to induce a long-term memory in the field of turbulence. The implications of the general case of three-dimensional transport are briefly discussed.

Cattaneo, F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Propagation of weak shock waves through turbulence.

The effect of turbulence on the structure of weak shock waves is investigated. The equilibrium structure is shown to be governed by a balance between nonlinear steepening and the turbulent scattering of acoustic energy out of the main wave direction. The scattered energy appears as perturbations behind the shock front. For conditions typical of sonic booms in atmospheric turbulence the wave structure is governed by a Burgers equation similar to that describing viscous shocks, except that parameters related to the turbulence appear instead of the viscosity coefficient. The magnitude of the perturbations following a shock is estimated from first-order scattering applied to a thickened shock. Predictions of shock thicknesses and perturbations compare favourably with available experimental data.

Plotkin, K. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Nonlinear dynamics; Proceedings of the International Conference, New York, NY, December 17-21, 1979

Papers were presented on turbulence, ergodic and integrable behavior, chaotic maps and flows, chemical and fully developed turbulence, and strange attractors. Specific attention was given to measures describing a turbulent flow, stochastization and collapse of vortex systems, a subharmonic route to turbulent convection, and weakly nonlinear turbulence in a rotating convection layer. The Korteweg-de Vries and Hill equations, plasma transport in three dimensions, a horseshoe in the dynamics of a forced beam, and the explosion of strange attractors exhibited by Duffing's equation were also considered.

Helleman, R. H. G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The generation of MHD waves by forced turbulence in a weakly magnetized fluid

The effect of the fluctuating buoyancy force on wave generation in a weakly magnetized plasma is considered. As expected, the efficiency of MHD wave generation is enhanced by including this force. However, it remains true that the observed variation of coronal emission at fixed spectral type cannot be accounted for by a wave generation process of the type discussed here.

Rosner, R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Weakly inhomogeneous MHD turbulence and transport of solar wind fluctuations

An evaluation is conducted of recent theories of small-scale MHD turbulence transport in an inhomogeneous background that are pertinent to the evolution of solar wind turbulence. Attention is given to the WKB formalism that has been used in many solar wind-related physics applications, with a view to its shortcomings. Also discussed are the structure of two-scale transport theories, and their relationship to WKB theory in light of multiple-scales analysis.

Matthaeus, W. H.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamic Phase Alignment in Inertial Alfvén Turbulence

In weakly collisional plasma environments with sufficiently low electron beta, Alfvénic turbulence transforms into inertial Alfvénic turbulence at scales below the electron skin depth, k ⊥ d e ≳ 1. We argue that, in inertial Alfvénic turbulence, both energy and generalized kinetic helicity exhibit direct cascades. We demonstrate that the two cascades are compatible due to the existence of a strong scale dependence of the phase alignment angle between velocity and magnetic field fluctuations, with the phase alignment angle scaling as cos α k ∝ $k$$^{–1}_{⊥}$. The kinetic and magnetic energy spectra scale as ∝ $k$$^{–5/3}_{⊥}$ and ∝ $k$$^{–11/3}_{⊥}$, respectively. As a result of the dual direct cascade, the generalized helicity spectrum scales as ∝ $k$$^{–5/3}_{⊥}$, implying progressive balancing of the turbulence as the cascade proceeds to smaller scales in the k ⊥ d e >> 1 range. Turbulent eddies exhibit a phase-space anisotropy k ∥ ∝ $k$$^{5/3}_{⊥}$, consistent with critically balanced inertial Alfvén fluctuations. Furthermore, our results may be applicable to a variety of geophysical, space, and astrophysical environments, including the Earth’s magnetosheath and ionosphere, solar corona, and nonrelativistic pair plasmas, as well as to strongly rotating nonionized fluids.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1993

Direct numerical simulation of isotropic turbulence interacting with a weak shock wave

Direct numerical simulations are used to investigate the interaction of isotropic quasi-incompressible turbulence with a weak shock wave. A linear analysis of the interaction is conducted for comparison with the simulations. Both the simulations and the analysis show that turbulence is enhanced during the interaction. Turbulent kinetic energy and transverse vorticity components are amplified, and turbulent lengthscales are decreased. It is suggested that the amplification mechanism is primarily linear. Simulations also showed a rapid evolution of turbulent kinetic energy just downstream of the shock, a behavior not reproduced by the linear analysis. Analysis of the budget of the turbulent kinetic energy transport equation shows that this behavior can be attributed to the pressure transport term. Multiple compression peaks were found along the mean streamlines at locations where the local shock thickness had increased significantly.

Lee, Sangsan↗
NASA NTRS1972

Cyclotron drift instability in the bow shock.

It is argued that the cyclotron drift instability (coupled ion waves and electron Bernstein modes) can explain many structural features of the weak electrostatic turbulence observed in bow shock magnetic-field gradients and thus that it provides a more attractive speculation than the ion acoustic or Buneman instabilities previously suggested as weak turbulence sources.

Wu, C. S.↗