Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Mass transfer”

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.

At least 163 records · Page 9

Extensional flow convecting a reactant undergoing a first order homogeneous reaction and diffusional mass transfer from a sphere at low to intermediate Peclet and Damkohler numbers

Forced convective diffusion-reaction is considered for viscous axisymmetric extensional convecting velocity in the neighborhood of a sphere. For Peclet numbers in the range 0.1 less than or equal to Pe less than or equal to 500 and for Damkohler numbers increasing with increasing Pe but in the overall range 0.02 less than or equal to Da less than or equal to 10, average and local Sherwood numbers have been computed. By introducing the eigenfunction expansion c(r, Theta) = Sum of c(n)(r)P(n)(cos Theta) into the forced convective diffusion equation for the concentration of a chemical species undergoing a first order homogeneous reaction and by using properties of the Legendre functions Pn(cos Theta), the variable coefficient PDE can be reduced to a system of N + 1 second order ODEs for the radial functions c(sub n)(r), n = 0, 1, 2,..., N. The adaptive grid algorithm of Pereyra and Lentini can be used to solve the corresponding 2(N + 1) first order differential equations as a two-point boundary value problem on 1 less than or equal to r less than or equal to r(sub infinity). Convergence of the expansion for a specific value of N can thus be established and provides 'spectral' behavior as well as the full concentration field c(r, Theta).

Shah, N. Y.↗

Effect of Mass Transfer on Aeroheating in Hypersonic Chemically Reacting Boundary Layers

Heat flux characterization of high-enthalpy boundary layer flows is key to optimize the performance and design of Thermal Protection System of next generation aerospace vehicles [1]. At atmospheric entry hypersonic speeds, ablation as well as surface catalycity impact boundary layer aeroheating. Out-gassing occurring from an ablative surface in planetary entry environment introduces a rich set of problems in thermodynamic, fluid dynamic, and material pyrolysis. Ablation leads to out-gassing and surface roughness, both of which are known to affect surface heating in hypersonic chemically reacting boundary layers via three main routes: gas blowing into the boundary layer from the wall, changing the surface heat transfer due to wall-flow chemical reactions, and modifying surface roughness via ablative processes.

Karimi, Mona↗

Assessment of Governing Heat and Mass Transfer Coefficients for Cryogenic No-Vent Top-Off Modeling

No-vent fill / no-vent top-off (NVF/NVTO) is a method to enable the trans-fer of cryogenic propellants without the need to vent. Transferring propellants inmicrogravity environments is necessary to support the long-duration space missionsplanned for the coming decades. A key developmental milestone to developing thiscapability fully is the simulation and experimentation of NVF/NVTO in 1-g settings.This work seeks to advance the former by assessing the effectiveness of different heattransfer correlations used in a 1-g non-equilibrium model. Heat transfer correlationsfor natural convection and two-phase boiling heat transfer are compared against ex-perimental results for 34 different tests. Two distinct experiments, comprised of 21tests, are presented in detail here. These tests cover a variety of different injectionmethods, receiver tank geometries, receiver tank materials, cryogenic propellants, andinitial tank states. Overall for the cases tested in this work, the model was able topredict the pressure response within the receiver tank to a mean absolute percentageerror of 25.9%. The temperature response error rate was 29.5% and 24.9% for wall-gasand two-phase nodes, respectively. Compared to the worst case correlation set tested,the pressure prediction error rate represents a 31% improvement. For the cases pre-sented in this work, the mean pressure prediction error rate was 15.5%. Future workcould evaluate the effectiveness of this model against experiments conducted withdifferent propellants or different initial conditions. In its current form, however, themodel can still be used to help reduce design and testing time for 1-g experiments,enabling the quicker iteration that is necessary to meet the technological demands offuture space missions.

No-Vent Top Off↗

Research on the combustion mechanism of hybrid rockets

Investigations of the turbulent boundary layer with heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions are reviewed, with emphasis on recent studies motivated by the hybrid combustion problem. Relatively high mass injection rates and rapidly changing composition and enthalpy boundary conditions along the boundary layer edge are inherent to the hybrid problem, and earlier treatments are somewhat inconsistent with this situation. To account for these aspects, a more recent analysis reviewed here differs from earlier ones in the way the mass transfer number B, or thermochemical driving force, is related to the thermodynamic parameters of the propellants and flow and in the treatment of the heat transfer blocking effect caused by wall mass injection. It is shown that the present boundary layer analysis is applicable up to B 100, while the maximum thermochemical driving force available from any possible combination of propellants is less than 40. This analysis is used to predict the regression rate performance of several typical propellant combinations with good accuracy.

G A Marxman↗

Dynamic Simulation of a Periodic 10 K Sorption Cryocooler

A transient thermal simulation model has been developed to simulate the dynamic performance of a multiple-stage 10 K sorption cryocooler for spacecraft sensor cooling applications that require periodic quick-cooldown (under 2 minutes) , negligible vibration, low power consumption, and long life (5 to 10 years). The model was specifically designed to represent the Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE), but it can be adapted to represent other sorption cryocooler systems as well. The model simulates the heat transfer, mass transfer, and thermodynamic processes in the cryostat and the sorbent beds for the entire refrigeration cycle, and includes the transient effects of variable hydrogen supply pressures due to expansion and overflow of hydrogen during the cooldown operation. The paper describes model limitations and simplifying assumptions, with estimates of errors induced by them, and presents comparisons of performance predictions with ground experiments. An important benefit of the model is its ability to predict performance sensitivities to variations of key design and operational parameters. The insights thus obtained are expected to lead to higher efficiencies and lower weights for future designs.

cryocooler design performance sorption simulation ↗

Theoretical Basis for Estimated Test Times and Conditions for Drop Tower and Space-Based Droplet Burning Experiments With Methanol and N-Heptane

In order to develop an extensive envelope of test conditions for NASA's space-based Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) as well those droplet experiments which can be performed using a drop tower, the transient vaporization and combustion of methanol and n-heptane droplets were simulated using a recently developed fully time-dependent, spherically symmetric droplet combustion model. The transient vaporization of methanol and n-heptane was modeled to characterize the instantaneous gas phase composition surrounding the droplet prior to the introduction of an ignition source. The results for methanol/air showed that the entire gas phase surrounding a 2 mm methanol droplet deployed in zero-g .quickly falls outside the lean flammability limit. The gas phase surrounding an identically-sized n-heptane droplet, on the other hand, remains flammable. The combustion of methanol was then modeled considering a detailed gas phase chemical kinetic mechanism (168 steps, 26 species) and the effect of the dissolution of flame-generated water into the liquid droplet. These results were used to determine the critical ignition diameter required to achieve quasi-steady droplet combustion in a given oxidizing environment. For droplet diameters greater than the critical ignition diameter, the model predicted a finite diameter at which the flame would extinguish. These extinction diameters were found to vary significantly with initial droplet diameter. This phenomenon appears to be unique to the transient heat transfer, mass transfer and chemical kinetics of the system and thus has not been reported elsewhere to date. The extinction diameter was also shown to vary significantly with the liquid phase Lewis number since the amount of water present in the droplet at extinction is largely governed by the rate at which water is transported into the droplet via mass diffusion. Finally, the numerical results for n-heptane combustion were obtained using both 2 step and 96 step semi-emperical chemical kinetic mechanisms. Neither mechanism exhibited the variation of extinction diameter with initial diameter.

Marchese, Anthony J.↗

Semiconductor processing

The primary thrust of the semiconductor processing is outlined. The purpose is to (1) advance the theoretical basis for bulk growth of elemental and compound semiconductors in single crystal form, and (2) to develop a new experimental approaches by which semiconductor matrices with significantly improved crystalline and chemical perfection can be obtained. The most advanced approaches to silicon crystal growth is studied. The projected research expansion, directed toward the capability of growth of 4 inch diameter silicon crystals was implemented. Both intra and interdepartmental programs are established in the areas of process metallurgy, heat transfer, mass transfer, and systems control. Solutal convection in melt growth systems is also studied.

Source record↗

Simulation of triglycine sulfate crystal growth in space

Consideration is given to the numerical simulation of the solution growth of triglycine sulfate in space, with heat transfer, mass transfer, buoyancy-driven convection, the dependence of solubility on temperature, and finite interface kinetics taken into account. In the bulk solution, weak thermal convection was established quickly. The thermal convection then becomes dominated by solutionally driven motion. The convection due to the steady background g is predicted to influence both the growth rate and the crystal morphology. The time required for buoyancy-driven convection to influence the growth rate depends on the magnitude of g, i.e., more time for smaller g. Under the same cooling condition, the average growth rate increases as the magnitude of g increases. A steady average growth rate of 1.0 mm/d can be obtained when a properly designed cooling rate is applied to the sting. The most uniform growth is obtained when the g vector is aligned such that the solution flows normal towards the center of the crystal surface.

Sun, Jianhua↗

Length Scale and Gravity Effects on Microgravity Boiling Heat Transfer

Boiling is a complex phenomenon where hydrodynamics, heat transfer, mass transfer, and interfacial phenomena are tightly interwoven. An understanding of boiling and critical heat flux in microgravity environments is of importance to space based hardware and processes such as heat exchange, cryogenic fuel storage and transportation, electronic cooling, and material processing due to the large amounts of heat that can be removed with relatively little increase in temperature. Although research in this area has been performed in the past four decades, the mechanisms by which heat is removed from surfaces in microgravity are still unclear. In earth gravity, buoyancy is an important parameter that affects boiling heat transfer through the rate at which bubbles are removed from the surface. A simple model describing the bubble departure size based on a quasistatic force balance between buoyancy and surface tension is given by the Fritz [I] relation: Bo(exp 1/2) = 0.0208 theta where Bo is the ratio between buoyancy and surface tension forces. For small, rapidly growing bubbles, inertia associated with the induced liquid motion can also cause bubble departure. In microgravity, the magnitude of effects related to natural convection and buoyancy are small and physical mechanisms normally masked by natural convection in earth gravity such as Marangoni convection can substantially influence the boiling and vapor bubble dynamics. CHF (critical heat transfer) is also substantially affected by microgravity. In 1 g environments, Bo has been used as a correlating parameter for CHF. Zuber's CHF model for an infinite horizontal surface assumes that vapor columns formed by the merger of bubbles become unstable due to a Helmholtz instability blocking the supply of liquid to the surface. The jets are spaced lambda(sub D) apart, where lambda(sub D) = 2pi square root of 3[(sigma)/(g(rho(sub l) - rho(sub v)](exp 1/2) = 2pi square root of 3 L Bo(exp -1/2) = square root of 3 lambda(sub c) and is the wavelength that amplifies most rapidly. The critical wavelength, lambda(sub c), is the wavelength below which a vapor layer underneath a liquid layer is stable. For heaters with Bo smaller than about 3 (heaters smaller than lambda(sub D)), the above model is not applicable, and surface tension effects dominate. Bubble coalescence is thought to be the mechanism for CHF under these conditions. Small Bo can result by decreasing the size of a heater in earth gravity, or by operating a large heater in a lower gravity environment. In the microgravity of space, even large heaters can have low Bo, and models based on Helmholtz instability should not be applicable. The macrolayer model of Haramura and Katto is dimensionally equivalent to Zuber's model and has the same dependence on gravity, so it should not be applicable as well. The goal of this work is to determine how boiling heat transfer mechanisms in a low-g environment are altered from those at higher gravity levels. Boiling data using a microheater array was obtained under gravity environments ranging from 1.8 g to 0.02 g with heater sizes ranging from 2.7 mm to 1 mm. The boiling behavior for 2.7 mm at 0.02 g looked quite similar to boiling on the 1 mm heater at 1 g-the formation of a large primary bubble surrounded by smaller satellite bubbles was observed under both conditions. The similarity suggests that for heaters smaller than some fraction of I(sub c), coalescence and surface tension dominate boiling heat transfer. It also suggests that microgravity boiling can be studied by studying boiling on very small heaters.

Kim, Jungho↗

Magnetic Field Effects on Convection and Solidification in Normal and Microgravity

It has been well understood that convective flows induced by g-jitter forces associated with spacecraft are responsible for defects formation and irregularity in product quality during melt growth of single crystals in microgravity. This research is concerned about numerical simulations and experimental measurements for the purpose of developing a fundamental understanding of the g-jitter induced fluid flows and their effects on solidification in microgravity with and without the presence of additional damping forces that are derived from the applied DC magnetic fields. The numerical models include both 2-D and 3-D transient fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer and solidification under the combined action of g-jitter and magnetic fields. Numerical simulations using both the 2-D and 3-D models are conducted for both idealized, synthesized and real g-jitter forces, and 2-D simulations are tested against the experimental measurements taken on the thermal oscillator. 2-D solidification models have also been developed and simulations are conducted. Results show that the numerical model predictions compare well with the measurements. Analysis of these results illustrates that an applied magnetic field can have a drastic influence on the convective flows induced by g-jitter and can be particularly useful to suppress the effects resulting from the spiking of g-jitter signatures, which are considered the most detrimental effects on quality of crystals grown in space. Work in progress includes developing 3-D numerical models for solidification phenomena with the presence of both g-jitter and magnetic fields and measurements of flow fluid and its effect on solidification in both transparent fluid and low melting point melts to verify numerical predictions.

Li, Ben Q.↗

Boiling Heat Transfer Mechanisms in Earth and Low Gravity: Boundary Condition and Heater Aspect Ratio Effects

Boiling is a complex phenomenon where hydrodynamics, heat transfer, mass transfer, and interfacial phenomena are tightly interwoven. An understanding of boiling and critical heat flux in microgravity environments is of importance to space based hardware and processes such as heat exchange, cryogenic fuel storage and transportation, electronic cooling, and material processing due to the large amounts of heat that can be removed with relatively little increase in temperature. Although research in this area has been performed in the past four decades, the mechanisms by which heat is removed from surfaces in microgravity are still unclear. Recently, time and space resolved heat transfer data were obtained in both earth and low gravity environments using an array of microheaters varying in size between 100 microns to 700 microns. These heaters were operated in both constant temperature as well as constant heat flux mode. Heat transfer under nucleating bubbles in earth gravity were directly measured using a microheater array with 100 m resolution operated in constant temperature mode with low and high subcooled bulk liquid along with images from below and from the side. The individual bubble departure diameter and energy transfer were larger with low subcooling but the departure frequency increased at high subcooling, resulting in higher overall heat transfer. The bubble growth for both subcoolings was primarily due to energy transfer from the superheated liquid layer relatively little was due to wall heat transfer during the bubble growth process. Oscillating bubbles and sliding bubbles were also observed in highly subcooled boiling. Transient conduction and/or microconvection was the dominant heat transfer mechanism in the above cases. A transient conduction model was developed and compared with the experimental data with good agreement. Data was also obtained with the heater array operated in a constant heat flux mode and measuring the temperature distribution across the array during boiling. The instantaneous heat transfer into the substrate was numerically determined and subtracted from the supplied heat to obtain the wall to liquid heat flux.

Kim, Jungho↗

Simulation Apps Bring Us Closer to Mars

My work with mathematical modeling and computer simulations began in earnest in 1987 when I signed on with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA. At the time I was developing computer simulations to support the design of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal systems for the International Space Station (ISS) life support system. CO2 is a human metabolic waste, produced at a rate of a kilogram per day per crewmember. CO2 must be removed from the crew cabin, as it will quickly become detrimental to crew health. The systems used to remove CO2 are typically based on sorption processes, which include complex interactions of heat transfer, mass transfer, and gas flow through porous media. At this time, there were no commercial options for solving a set of coupled mathematical models such as partial differential equations (PDEs); you either force-fit the physics into a thermal analysis package or wrote your own code, complete with discretization, meshing, and solution algorithms. Unfortunately, coding CO2 removal processes from scratch did not allow an appropriate focus on the challenging yet crucial task of understanding and capturing the underlying physics via appropriate mathematical models. Configuration control was often simply ignored due to tight schedules, resulting in a code that would be quicker for a second party to rewrite than modify. In the early 2000s, I decided to move CO2 removal simulations to a platform with built-in meshing, solvers, and postprocessing capabilities, and that could solve user-defined multiphysics PDEs. The program chosen to meet these needs was COMSOL Multiphysics®. Along with freeing the engineer to focus on the underlying physics, a degree of configuration control was automatically achieved via a consistent user interface, thus allowing COMSOL users to share computer models. My team has developed simulations that are already providing a valuable debugging capability for the ISS CO2 removal system, and will provide guidance in upgrades to that system.

Knox, Jim↗

Hydrodynamics of binary coalescence. 1: Polytropes with stiff equations of state

We performed a series of three-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations of binary coalescence using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The initial conditions are exact polytropic equilibrium configurations on the verge of dynamical instability. We consider synchronized equilbria only and concentrate on stiff equations of state, with adiabatic Gamma greater than 5/3. We assume that the polytropic constants (K identically equal to P/(rho(exp Gamma)) are the same for both components. These conditions apply well to models of neutron star binaries. Accordingly, we discuss our results in the context of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project, and we calculate the emission of gravitational radiation in the quadruple approximation. The fully nonlinear development of the instability is followed using SPH until a new equilibrium configuration is reached by the system. We find that the properties of this final configuration depend sensitively on both the compressibility and mass ratio. An axisymmetric merged configuration is always produced when the adiabatic exponent Gamma approximately less than 2.3. As a consequence, the emission of gravitational radiation shuts off abruptly right after the onset of dynamical instability. In contrast, triaxial merged configurations are obtained when Gamma approximately greater than 2.3, and the system continues to emit gravitational waves after the final coalescence. Systems with mass ratios q not equal to 1 typically become dynamically unstable before the onset of mass transfer. Stable mass transfer from one neutron star to another in a close binary is therefore probably ruled out. For a mass ratio q approximately less than 0.5, however, dynamical mass transfer can temporarily retard the coalescence by causing a rapid reexpansion of the binary into a new, slightly eccentric but dynamically stable orbit. The maximum amplitude h(sub max) and peak luminosity L(sub max) of the gravitational waves emitted during the final coalescence are nearly independent of Gamma, but depend sensitively on the mass ratio q. The approximate scalings we find are h(sub max) varies as q(exp 2) and L(sub max) varies as q(exp 6) for q close to unity.

Rasio, Frederic A.↗

The impedance of a tubular electrode - A model for a porous electrode

A cylindrical tube is used as the basis for a two-dimensional mathematical model to calculate the impedance of a flooded porous electrode. The model incorporates charge-transfer, mass-transfer, and ohmic resistances to obtain the axial and radial dependencies of the concentration and potential profiles. A linearized Butler-Volmer kinetic expression for a simple redox reaction O + e yielding R is used, in conjuction with analytical expressions for the surface concentration and overpotential, to compute the open-circuit impedance. The results of the two-dimensional model, which omits double-layer charging, are compared with the results of a more standardly applied one-dimensional model in which radial variations are neglected, with and without double-layer charging. The simpler-to-apply one-dimensional model is found to be satisfactory when mass-transfer and ohmic resistances are small with respect to charge-transfer resistance. The omission of double-layer charging does not introduce error into the two-dimensional model in the frequency range in which capacitive-like effects are caused by mass-transfer limitations.

Viner, Andrew S.↗