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At least 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

Asymptotic Spreading Rate of Initially Compressible Jets: Experiment and Analysis

Experimental results for the spreading and centerline velocity decay rates for round, compressible jets, from a convergent and a convergent-divergent nozzle, are presented. The spreading rate is determined from the variation of streamwise mass flux obtained from Pitot probe surveys. Results for the far asymptotic region show that both spreading and centerline velocity decay rates, when nondimensionalized by parameters at the nozzle exit, decrease with increasing "jet Mach number" M(sub J). Dimensional analysis with the assumption of momentum conservation, together with compressible flow calculations for the conditions at the nozzle exit, predict this Mach number dependence well. The analysis also demonstrates that an increase in the "potential core length" of the jet occurring with increasing M(sub J), a commonly observed trend, is largely accounted for simply by the variations in the density and static pressure at the nozzle exit. The effect of decreasing mixing efficiency with increasing compressibility is inferred to contribute only partially to the latter trend.

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Asymptotic Spreading Rate of Initially Compressible Jets-Experiment and Analysis

Experimental results for the spreading and centerline velocity decay rates for round, compressible jets, from a convergent and a convergent-divergent nozzle, are presented. The spreading rate is determined from the variation of streamwise mass flux obtained from Pitot probe surveys. Results for the far asymptotic region show that both spreading and centerline velocity decay rates, when nondimensionalized by parameters at the nozzle exit, decrease with increasing "jet Mach number" M(sub j). Dimensional analysis with the assumption of momentum conservation, together with compressible flow calculations for the conditions at the nozzle exit, predict this Mach number dependence well. The analysis also demonstrates that an increase in the "potential core length" of the jet occurring with increasing M(sub j), a commonly observed trend, is largely accounted for simply by the variations in the density and static pressure at the nozzle exit. The effect of decreasing mixing efficiency with increasing compressibility is inferred to contribute only partially to the latter trend.

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Experimental Observations of Localization Phenomena in Sands: Plane Strain Versus Triaxial Compression Conditions

A comprehensive experimental investigation was conducted to investigate the effects of loading condition and confining pressure on strength properties and instability phenomena in sands. A uniform sub-rounded to rounded natural silica sand known as F-75 Ottawa sand was used in the investigation. The results of a series on Conventional Triaxial Compression (CTC) experiments tested under very low confining pressures (0.05 - 1.30) kPa tested in a Microgravity environment abroad the NASA Space Shuttle are presented in addition to the results similar specimens tested in terrestrial laboratory to investigate the effect of confining pressure on the constitutive behavior of sands. The behavior of the CTC experiments is compared with the results of Plane Strain (PS) experiments. Computed tomography and other digital imaging techniques were used to study the development and evolution of shear bands.

Alshibli, Khalid A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Atmospheric effects on inlets for supersonic cruise aircraft

Mixed-compression inlet dynamic behavior in the vicinity of unstart, was simulated and analyzed to investigate time response of an inlet's normal shock to independent disturbances in ambient temperature and pressure and relative velocity (longitudinal gust), with and without inlet controls active. The results indicate that atmospheric disturbances may be more important than internal disturbances in setting inlet controls requirements because they are usually not anticipated and because normal shock response to rapid atmospheric disturbances is not attenuated by the inlet, as it is for engine induced disturbances. However, before inlet control requirements can be fully assessed, more statistics on extreme atmospheric disturbances are needed.

Cole, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Tensile and compressive stress-strain behavior of heat treated boron-aluminum

An experimental study was conducted to assess the effects of heat treatment and cyclic mechanical loading on the tensile and compressive stress-strain behavior of six boron-aluminum composites having different laminate orientations and being subjected to different heat treatments. The heat treatments were as-fabricated, T6, and T6N consisting of T6 treatment followed by cryogenic quench in liquid nitrogen prior to testing. All laminates were tested in monotonic and cyclic compression, while the tensile-test data are taken from the literature for comparison purposes. It is shown that the linear elastic range of the T6- and T6N-condition specimens is larger than that of the as-fabricated specimens, and that cyclic loading in tension or compression strain hardens the specimens and extends the linear elastic range. For laminates containing 0-deg plies, the stress-strain behavior upon unloading is found to be nonlinear, whereas the other laminates exhibit a linear behavior upon unloading. Specimens in the T6 and T6N conditions show higher strain hardening than the as-fabricated specimens.

Kennedy, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Lightweight Deployable Mirrors with Tensegrity Supports

The upper part of Figure 1 shows a small-scale prototype of a developmental class of lightweight, deployable structures that would support panels in precise alignments. In this case, the panel is hexagonal and supports disks that represent segments of a primary mirror of a large telescope. The lower part of Figure 1 shows a complete conceptual structure containing multiple hexagonal panels that hold mirror segments. The structures of this class are of the tensegrity type, which was invented five decades ago by artist Kenneth Snelson. A tensegrity structure consists of momentfree compression members (struts) and tension members (cables). The structures of this particular developmental class are intended primarily as means to erect large segmented primary mirrors of astronomical telescopes or large radio antennas in outer space. Other classes of tensegrity structures could also be designed for terrestrial use as towers, masts, and supports for general structural panels. An important product of the present development effort is the engineering practice of building a lightweight, deployable structure as an assembly of tensegrity modules like the one shown in Figure 2. This module comprises two octahedral tensegrity subunits that are mirror images of each other joined at their plane of mirror symmetry. In this case, the plane of mirror symmetry is both the upper plane of the lower subunit and the lower plane of the upper subunit, and is delineated by the midheight triangle in Figure 2. In the configuration assumed by the module to balance static forces under mild loading, the upper and lower planes of each sub-unit are rotated about 30 , relative to each other, about the long (vertical) axis of the structure. Larger structures can be assembled by joining multiple modules like this one at their sides or ends. When the module is compressed axially (vertically), the first-order effect is an increase in the rotation angle, but by virtue of the mirror arrangement, the net first-order rotation between the uppermost and lowermost planes is zero. The need to have zero net rotation between these planes under all loading conditions in a typical practical structure is what prompts the use of the mirror configuration. Force and moment loadings other than simple axial compression produce only second-order deformations through strains in the struts and cables.

Zeiders, Glenn W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Granular Media-Based Tunable Passive Vibration Suppressor

and vibration suppression device is composed of statically compressed chains of spherical particles. The device superimposes a combination of dissipative damping and dispersive effects. The dissipative damping resulting from the elastic wave attenuation properties of the bulk material selected for the granular media is independent of particle geometry and periodicity, and can be accordingly designed based on the dissipative (or viscoelastic) properties of the material. For instance, a viscoelastic polymer might be selected where broadband damping is desired. In contrast, the dispersive effects result from the periodic arrangement and geometry of particles composing a linear granular chain. A uniform (monatomic) chain of statically compressed spherical particles will have a low-pass filter effect, with a cutoff frequency tunable as a function of particle mass, elastic modulus, Poisson fs ratio, radius, and static compression. Elastic waves with frequency content above this cutoff frequency will exhibit an exponential decay in amplitude as a function of propagation distance. System design targeting a specific application is conducted using a combination of theoretical, computational, and experimental techniques to appropriately select the particle radii, material (and thus elastic modulus and Poisson fs ratio), and static compression to satisfy estimated requirements derived for shock and/or vibration protection needs under particular operational conditions. The selection of a chain of polymer spheres with an elastic modulus .3 provided the appropriate dispersive filtering effect for that exercise; however, different operational scenarios may require the use of other polymers, metals, ceramics, or a combination thereof, configured as an array of spherical particles. The device is a linear array of spherical particles compressed in a container with a mechanism for attachment to the shock and/or vibration source, and a mechanism for attachment to the article requiring isolation (Figure 1). This configuration is referred to as a single-axis vibration suppressor. This invention also includes further designs for the integration of the single-axis vibration suppressor into a six-degree-of-freedom hexapod "Stewart"mounting configuration (Figure 2). By integrating each singleaxis vibration suppressor into a hexapod formation, a payload will be protected in all six degrees of freedom from shock and/or vibration. Additionally, to further enable the application of this device to multiple operational scenarios, particularly in the case of high loads, the vibration suppressor devices can be used in parallel in any array configuration.

Dillon, Robert P.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Effect of thickness on airfoil surface noise

Noise emission from very small chord and very large chord airfoils was measured with eleven 0.63 cm microphones placed along a horizontal semicircle (4.57 m radius) that was centered at the leading edge of the test airfoil. The noise signals were analyzed by an automated spectrum analyzer which yielded 1/3-octave band sound pressure level spectra for each microphone, and the data were corrected to remove the effects of atmospheric attenuation and jet noise. It is found that the effect of thickness is large and must be accounted for in any fundamental airfoil noise theory that attempts to describe the noise emitted from real airfoils. Incident mean velocity gradients and compressibility must also be taken into account. The effect of thickness increases with frequency, with thick airfoils being quieter than thin ones.

Olsen, W.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Physicochemical and Performance Characterization of Six Commercial Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Membranes

This work introduces a novel, gradient-free metamaterial design method based on Gaussian process regression to represent the density field of a unit cell. The dimension of the design space is determined by the covariance matrix dimension in the Gaussian process regression. We propose compressing this matrix using an autoencoder, enabling the decoder to generate the density field and effectively reduce the originally large design space to a lower-dimensional subspace. In this compressed space, we employ an active learning method, Bayesian Adaptive Direct Search (BADS), for efficient exploration of the design space. We demonstrate that for simple 2D designs aimed at maximizing unit cell stiffness, our method yields results comparable to those of standard topology optimization. Furthermore, we extend our approach to various mechanical problems, from linear elasticity to hyperelastic large deformation and elasto-plasticity under finite deformation, to 3D metamaterial design. This illustrates the method’s versatility and effectiveness across a range of applications.

Wu, Haoran↗
NASA NTRS1987

The effect of internal stresses on solar cell efficiency

Diffusion induced stresses in silicon are shown to result in large localized changes in the minority carrier mobility which in turn have a significant effect on cell output. Evidence is given that both compressive and tensile stresses can be generated in either the emitter or the base region. Tensile stresses appear to be much more effective in altering cell performance. While most stress related effects appear to degrade cell efficiency, this is not always the case. Evidence is presented showing that arsenic induced stresses can result in emitter characteristics comparable to those found in the MINP cell without requiring a high degree of surface passivation.

Weizer, Victor G.↗
NASA NTRS1937

Effect of Nozzle Design on Fuel Spray and Flame Formation in a High-Speed Compression-Ignition Engine

Fuel was injected from different type of injection nozzles into the combustion chamber of the NACA combustion apparatus, operated as a compression-ignition engine. High speed motion pictures were taken of the fuel sprays and combustion. Single-orifice nozzles of 0.008, 0.020, and 0.040 inch diameter, and multiorifice nozzles having 2, 6, and 16 orifices were tested. Nozzles having impinging jets and slit orifices were also included. The photographs indicate that the rate of vapor diffusion from the spray is comparatively slow and that this slow rate of diffusion for combustion chambers with little or no air flow prevents the compression-ignition engine from giving the high performance inherent in the high compression ratios. The sprays from the multiorifice nozzles destroyed the air movement to a greater extent than did those from single orifice nozzles. It is concluded that high performance cannot be realized until the methods of distributing the fuel are improved by means of the injection-nozzle design, air flow, or both.

Rothrock, A M↗
DOE OSTI2021

Examining deformation localization of irradiated tungsten under uniaxial compression with crystal plasticity

In this work, the deformation behavior of irradiated tungsten at elevated service temperatures is examined using mechanism-based crystal plasticity finite element framework by considering multiple mechanisms, including thermal softening and irradiation hardening. The previously developed mechanism-based crystal plasticity model is first utilized to assess the yield stress of unirradiated and irradiated tungsten upon low-temperature irradiation. Additionally, the engineering stress-strain response under uniaxial compression is then predicted by considering the effect of irradiation-induced defect clusters on the motion of deformation-induced dislocations, and the predicted results agree well with the experimental measurements. More importantly, the formation and evolution of plastic strain localization zones in the form of shear bands are qualitatively captured, and the maximal principal strain distribution is quantitatively linked to the dose of irradiation damage. Finally, the deformation-induced shear band as a result of plastic instability in the compressed tungsten specimen is discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1989

Goertler vortices in supersonic and hypersonic boundary layers

The problem of Goertler vortices in compressible boundary layers over concave walls is considered. At O(1) wavelengths, the instability is governed by parabolic partial differential equations that are solved numerically to determine the effect of various initial conditions on the development of Goertler vortex instability in compressible boundary layers. The results show that both the velocity and temperature fluctuations may lead to a Goertler vortex. The vortex growth rates determined from the present method are found to differ somewhat from those given by a normal mode solution. At both the supersonic and hypersonic Mach numbers, cooling has a small destabilizing effect. In addition, the most unstable disturbances shift toward lower wavelengths because of thinning of the boundary layer. The results also show that compressibility has a stabilizing effect on the Goertler instability, while the effect of an adverse pressure gradient is found to be destabilizing. The behavior of the Goertler vortex structure with Mach number is also examined. At hypersonic Mach numbers, vortices are located near the edge of the boundary layer for adiabatic wall conditions. However, the entire boundary layer is affected when the wall is cooled.

Spall, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Geomagnetically Induced Currents Caused by Interplanetary Shocks with Different Impact Angles and Speeds

The occurrence of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) poses serious threats to modern technological infrastructure. Large GICs result from sharp variations of the geomagnetic field (dB∕dt) caused by changes of large-scale magnetospheric and ionospheric currents. Intense dB∕dt perturbations are known to occur often in high-latitude regions as a result of storm time substorms. Magnetospheric compressions usually caused by interplanetary shocks increase the magnetopause current leading to dB∕dt perturbations more evident in midlatitude to low-latitude regions, while they increase the equatorial electrojet current leading to dB∕dt perturbations in dayside equatorial regions. We investigate the effects of shock impact angles and speeds on the subsequent dB∕dt perturbations with a database of 547 shocks observed at the L1 point. By adopting the threshold of dB∕dt = 100 nT/min, identified as a risk factor to power systems, we find that dB∕dt generally surpasses this threshold when following impacts of high-speed and nearly frontal shocks in dayside high-latitude locations. The same trend occurs at lower latitudes and for all nightside events but with fewer high-risk events. Particularly, we found nine events in equatorial locations with dB∕dt > 100 nT/min. All events were caused by high-speed and nearly frontal shock impacts and were observed by stations located around noon local time. These high-risk perturbations were caused by sudden strong and symmetric magnetospheric compressions, more effectively intensifying the equatorial electrojet current, leading to sharp dB∕dt perturbations. We suggest that these results may provide insights for GIC forecasting aiming at preventing degradation of power systems due to GICs.

Oliveira, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Prospects for Nonlinear Laser Diagnostics in the Jet Noise Laboratory

Two experiments were conducted to test whether optical methods, which rely on laser beam coherence, would be viable for off-body flow measurement in high-density, compressible-flow wind tunnels. These tests measured the effects of large, unsteady density gradients on laser diagnostics like laser-induced thermal acoustics (LITA). The first test was performed in the Low Speed Aeroacoustics Wind Tunnel (LSAWT) of NASA Langley Research Center's Jet Noise Laboratory (JNL). This flow facility consists of a dual-stream jet engine simulator (with electric heat and propane burners) exhausting into a simulated flight stream, reaching Mach numbers up to 0.32. A laser beam transited the LSAWT flow field and was imaged with a high-speed gated camera to measure beam steering and transverse mode distortion. A second, independent test was performed on a smaller laboratory jet (Mach number < 1.2 and mass flow rate < 0.1 kg/sec). In this test, time-averaged LITA velocimetry and thermometry were performed at the jet exit plane, where the effect of unsteady density gradients is observed on the LITA signal. Both experiments show that LITA (and other diagnostics relying on beam overlap or coherence) faces significant hurdles in the high-density, compressible, and turbulent flow environments similar to those of the JNL.

Herring, Gregory C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Turbulent compressible convection in a deep atmosphere. III - Tests on the validity and limitation of the numerical approach

The effects of various approximations on the results of three-dimensional computation of turbulent compressible convection are examined and related to the phenomenon of bubble breaking in stellar convection. The problem of viscosity and the numerical issue of efficiency versus accuracy in such computations are discussed, and a model is formulated and tested with regard to turbulent viscosity and accuracy. Results on the convergence to a statistically stationary state, the effects of time accuracy on the statistics, the effects of the adjustable constant parameter c(mu), and the effects of aspect ratio, horizontal grid size, and vertical grid distribution are discussed. A preliminary look at the three-dimensional flow structure is given.

Chan, K. L.↗