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At least 1,603 records · Page 89

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NASA NTRS1990

Gravitational couplings of the inflaton in extended inflation

A new extended inflationary scenario evading the difficulties of the original model is discussed. The model can thermalize the energy in the bubble walls by the necessary epoch, and establish a Robertson-Walker frame in the bubble clusters. The essential new ingredient in the model is the observation that the coupling of the inflaton to the Jordan-Brans-Dicke field is expected to be different from that of visible matter.

Holman, Richard↗

NASA NTRS1990

Numerical simulation of the effects of variation of angle of attack and sweep angle on vortex breakdown over delta wings

In the present investigation of the vortical flowfield structure over delta wings at high angles of attack, three-dimensional Navier-Stokes numerical simulations were conducted to predict the complex leeward flowfield characteristics; these encompass leading-edge separation, secondary separation, and vortex breakdown. Attention is given to the effect on solution accuracy of circumferential grid-resolution variations in the vicinity of the wing leading edge, and well as to the effect of turbulence modeling on the solutions. When a critical angle-of-attack was reached, bubble-type vortex breakdown was found. With further angle-of-attack increase, a change from bubble-type to spiral-type vortex breakdown was predicted by the numerical solution.

Ekaterinaris, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Correlation of theory to wind-tunnel data at Reynolds numbers below 500,000

This paper presents results obtained from two airfoil analysis methods compared with previously published wind tunnel test data at chord Reynolds numbers below 500,000. The analysis methods are from the Eppler-Somers airfoil design/analysis code and from ISES, the Drela-Giles Airfoil design/analysis code. The experimental data are from recent tests of the Eppler 387 airfoil in the NASA Langley Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel. For R not less than 200,000, lift and pitching moment predictions from both theories compare well with experiment. Drag predictions from both theories also agree with experiment, although to different degrees. However, most of the drag predictions from the Eppler-Somers code are accompanied with separation bubble warnings which indicate that the drag predictions are too low. With the Drela-Giles code, there is a large discrepancy between the computed and experimental pressure distributions in cases with laminar separation bubbles, although the drag polar predictions are similar in trend to experiment.

Evangelista, Raquel↗

NASA NTRS1991

Vapor-Resistant Heat-Pipe Artery

Vapor lock in heat pipe delayed or prevented. Modifications of wick prevent flow of vapor into, or formation of vapor in, liquid-return artery. Small pores of fine-grained sintered wick help to prevent formation of large bubbles. Slotted tube offers few nucleation sites for bubbles. Improves return of liquid in heat pipe.

Dussinger, Peter M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Magnetic collimation of protostellar winds into bipolar outflows

Researchers describe self-consistent 2-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the collimation of an isotropic protostellar wind into bipolar outflows by magnetic stresses in the ambient medium. A variety of ambient field strengths, wind luminosities, and density profiles were studied. Collimation occurs when the energy of the magnetic field swept up by the expanding bubble approaches the bubble thermal energy. Measured axial and radial expansion rates are in good agreement with the analytical predictions of Konigl (1982).

Norman, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

An investigation of voids formation mechanisms and their effects on freeze and thaw processes of lithium and lithium fluoride

The mechanisms of void formation during the cooldown and freezing of lithium coolant within the primary loop of SP-100 type systems are investigated. These mechanisms are: (1) homogeneous nucleation; (2) heterogeneous nucleation; (3) normal segregation of helium gas dissolved in liquid lithium; and (4) shrinkage of lithium during freezing. To evaluate the void formation potential due to segregation, a numerical scheme that couples the freezing and mass diffusion processes in both the solid and liquid regions is developed. The results indicated that the formation of He bubbles is unlikely by either homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation during the cooldown process. However, homogeneous nucleation of He bubbles following the segregation of dissolved He in liquid lithium ahead of the solid-liquid interface is likely to occur. Results also show that total volume of He void is insignificant when compared to that of shrinkage voids. In viewing this, the subsequent research focuses on the effects of shrinkage void forming during freezing of lithium on subsequent thaw processes are investigated using a numerical scheme that is based on a single (solid/liquid) cell approach. The cases of lithium-fluoride are also investigated to show the effect of larger volume shrinkage upon freezing on the freeze and thaw processes. Results show that a void forming at the wall appreciably reduces the solid-liquid interface velocity, during both freeze and thaw, and causes a substantial rise in the wall temperature during thaw. However, in the case of Li, the maximum wall temperature was much lower than the melting temperature of PWC-11, which is used as the structure material in the SP-100 system. Hence, it is included that a formation of hot spots is unlikely during the startup or restart of the SP-100 system.

El-Genk, Mohamed S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The migration of a compound drop due to thermocapillarity

The quasistatic thermocapillary motion of a compound drop in an unbounded fluid possessing a uniform temperature gradient is analyzed. For completeness, gravitational effects are included in the treatment. The general model is formulated, and the equations for the concentric case are solved using spherical polar coordinates, while the eccentric case is handled using bispherical coordinates. Results are given for the velocity of the drop as well as that of the droplet with respect to the drop, along with useful approximations. Illustrative results are presented graphically for the thermocapillary migration of a compound drop in the special case when the droplet is a gas bubble. In addition to the velocities of the drop and the bubble, representative isotherms and streamlines also are presented which display interesting qualitative features.

Morton, David S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Effect of a simulated ice accretion on the aerodynamics of a swept wing

The effect of a simulated glaze ice accretion on the aerodynamic performance of a three-dimensional swept wing is studied experimentally. A semispan wing of effective aspect ratio four was mounted from the sidewall of the UIUC subsonic wind tunnel. The model uses a NACA 0012 airfoil section on a rectangular planform with interchangeable tip and root sections to allow for 0- and 30-degree sweep. A sidewall suction system is used to minmize the tunnel boundary-layer interaction with the model. Surface pressure data from five spanwise stations are compared to earlier data from a similar tunnel. A three-component sidewall balance has been designed, built and used to measure lift, drag and pitching moment on the clean and iced model. The data compare well to the integrated pressure data and to theory on the clean model. In addition, helium-bubble flow visualization has been performed on the iced model and reveals extensive spanwise flow in the separation bubble aft of the upper surface horn. This compares well to the computational results of other researchers. Sidewall suction was found to have no effect on the aerodynamics of the swept wing.

Bragg, M. B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Self-organization of cosmic radiation pressure instability

Under some circumstances the absorption of radiation momentum by an absorbing medium opens the possibility of a dynamical instability, sometimes called 'mock gravity'. Here, a simplified abstract model is studied in which the radiation source is assumed to remain spatially uniform, there is no reabsorption or reradiated light, and no forces other than radiative pressure act on the absorbing medium. It is shown that this model displays the unique feature of being not only unstable, but also self-organizing. The structure approaches a statistical dynamical steady state which is almost independent of initial conditions. In this saturated state the absorbers are concentrated in thin walls around empty bubbles; as the instability develops the big bubbles get bigger and the small ones get crushed and disappear. A linear analysis shows that to first order the thin walls are indeed stable structures. It is speculated that this instability may play a role in forming cosmic large-scale structure.

Hogan, Craig J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The detection of X-ray emission from the OB associations of the Large Magellanic Cloud

A systematic study of the X-ray properties of OB associations in the Large Magellanic Cloud has been carried out using data from the Einstein Observatory. An excess of young, X-ray-bright supernova remnants is found in the vicinity of the associations. In addition, diffuse X-ray emission is detected from over two dozen other associations; luminosities in the 0.16-3.5 keV band range from 2 x 10 to the 34th (the detection threshold) to 10 to the 36th ergs/s. For several of the more luminous examples, it is shown that emission from interstellar bubbles created by the OB stellar winds alone is insufficient to explain the emission. It is concluded that transient heating of the bubble cavities by recent supernovae may be required to explain the observed X-rays and that such a scenario is consistent with the number of X-ray-bright associations and the expected supernova rate from the young stars they contain.

Wang, Q.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Dynamics of surface tension in microgravity environment

Time-dependent evolutions of the profile of free surface (bubble shapes) for a cylindrical container partially filled with a Newtonian fluid of constant density, rotating about its axis of symmetry, in low and microgravity environments, have been studied. Numerical computations of the dynamics of bubble shapes have been carried out (1) linear time-dependent functions of spin-up and spin-down in low and microgravity environments, (2) linear time-dependent functions of increasing and decreasing gravity environment at high and low rotating cylinder speeds, (3) time-dependent step functions of spin-up and spin-down in a low-gravity environment, and (4) sinusoidal function oscillation of the gravity environment at high and low rotating cylinder speeds.

Hung, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulations of thermal instabilities in stratified gases. II - Exploration of the parameter space

The temporal evolution of density perturbations in an initially hydrostatic isothermal atmosphere consisting of an optically thin radiating compressible plasma is studied. Numerical techniques are used to describe the nonlinear evolution of the perturbations, and the relative equilibrium between dynamic and thermal instabilities as governed by three independent control parameters are examined, namely, the initial density contrast of the perturbation, the ratio of the local buoyancy oscillation period to the local radiative cooling time, and the ratio of the perturbation radius to the local scaleheight. Four orders of magnitude of initial density contrasts and ratios of buoyancy and cooling times, and one order of magnitude of the bubble dimensions are explored. Well-defined oscillations were found to occur in a limited parameter range, and thermal instability to occur even within secondary condensations deriving from the bubble fragmentation.

Reale, F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The circumstellar shell of SN 1987A

An hourglass-shaped circumstellar shell, with radius about 0.65 lt-yr at the equator and about 2.4 lt-yr at the poles, surrounds SN 1987A. The shell is a bubble blown by the wind of the blue giant progenitor of SN 1987A into an equatorially concentrated wind of a prior red giant stage. The bubble was ionized by the initial UV flash of the supernova, and the emission-line region is concentrated in a ring at the waist of the hourglass. In about 2002 AD the supernova envelope will strike the shell. The resulting young supernova remnant will become a luminous source of soft X-rays and broad optical and ultraviolet emission lines.

Luo, Ding↗

NASA NTRS1992

Magnetic Location Indicator

Ferrofluidic device indicates point of highest magnetic-flux density in workspace. Consists of bubble of ferrofluid in immiscible liquid carrier in clear plastic case. Used in flat block or tube. Axes of centering circle on flat-block version used to mark location of maximum flux density when bubble in circle. Device used to find point on wall corresponding to known point on opposite side of wall.

Stegman, Thomas W.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Can a man-made universe be achieved by quantum tunneling without an initial singularity?

Essentially all modern particle theories suggest the possible existence of a false vacuum state; a metastable state with an energy density that cannot be lowered except by means of a very slow phase transition. Inflationary cosmology makes use of such a state to drive the expansion of the big bang, allowing the entire observed universe to evolve from a very small initial mass. A sphere of false vacuum in the present universe, if larger than a certain critical mass, could inflate to form a new universe which would rapidly detach from its parent. A false vacuum bubble of this size, however, cannot be produced classically unless an initial singularity is present from the outset. The possibility is explored that a bubble of subcritical size, which classically would evolve to a maximum size and collapse, might instead tunnel through a barrier to produce a new universe. The tunneling rate using semiclassical quantum gravity is estimated, and some interesting ambiguities in the formulas are discovered.

Guth, Alan H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Self-pressurization of a spherical liquid hydrogen storage tank in a microgravity environment

Thermal stratification and self-pressurization of partially filled liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage tanks under microgravity condition is studied theoretically. A spherical tank is subjected to a uniform and constant wall heat flux. It is assumed that a vapor bubble is located in the tank center such that the liquid-vapor interface and tank wall form two concentric spheres. This vapor bubble represents an idealized configuration of a wetting fluid in microgravity conditions. Dimensionless mass and energy conservation equations for both vapor and liquid regions are numerically solved. Coordinate transformation is used to capture the interface location which changes due to liquid thermal expansion, vapor compression, and mass transfer at liquid-vapor interface. The effects of tank size, liquid fill level, and wall heat flux on the pressure rise and thermal stratification are studied. Liquid thermal expansion tends to cause vapor condensation and wall heat flux tends to cause liquid evaporation at the interface. The combined effects determine the direction of mass transfer at the interface. Liquid superheat increases with increasing wall heat flux and liquid fill level and approaches an asymptotic value.

Lin, C. S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Self-pressurization of a spherical liquid hydrogen storage tank in a microgravity environment

Lin, C. S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Water masers in W49N - The youngest stellar jet?

Observations by Gwinn et al. (1992) of the proper motions of water masers in W49N show that they have an elongated distribution expanding from a common center. Features with high space velocity only occur far from the center, while low-velocity features occur at all distances. It is proposed that water masers in star-forming regions occur in expanding shells swept up by high-velocity winds from young, massive stars during the early phases of the expansion. In W49N, confinement of the bubble by a density distribution with an axial cavity can explain both the velocity field and the shape of the maser distribution. A fully dynamical calculation of the expanding bubble is presented which provides a satisfactory fit for the observations and suggests that this system is only about 250 yr old. Thus these observations may show the very first stages of the formation of a jet from a young stellar object.

Mac Low, MORDECAI-M.↗