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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.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

On the Performance of Small-Sized Venturi Flowmeters in Cavitating and Non-Cavitating Flow Regimes

The performance of venturi in the cavitating and non-cavitating flow regimes has been discussed theoretically and experimentally. Pressure drop test data with water was obtained with a 0.0355 inch throat venturi with pressure drop measured between the inlet and the outlet of the venturi, typical of practical venturi measurements on spacecraft. The pressure drop data acquired in the non-cavitating regime at relatively low flow rates display low Reynolds number effects on the discharge coefficient. A theoretical discussion of the corresponding discharge coefficients in the two flow regimes along with comparisons with test data are presented. For non-cavitating flow regime of unique venturi geometries of relatively small throat size, test data required low Reynolds number correction factor for the discharge coefficient in terms of throat Reynolds number. The application of existing theory is not straightforward for the unique geometries under consideration.

Max Kandula↗
NASA NTRS2010

Cavitation, Flow Structure and Turbulence in the Tip Region of a Rotor Blade

Objectives: Measure the flow structure and turbulence within a Naval, axial waterjet pump. Create a database for benchmarking and validation of parallel computational efforts. Address flow and turbulence modeling issues that are unique to this complex environment. Measure and model flow phenomena affecting cavitation within the pump and its effect on pump performance. This presentation focuses on cavitation phenomena and associated flow structure in the tip region of a rotor blade.

Wu, H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Physical effects in cavitating flows

The microscopic and macroscopic aspects of the physical effects of cavitating flows are discussed. The microscopic features are related to the properties of nuclei in liquids and to the moderate tensile strengths which are usually encountered in flows. The macroscopic features are concerned with the growth of vapor or gaseous cavities from a small initial size and with their eventual collapse. Mathematical models are developed to analyze the characteristics of: (1) tensile strength in liquids, (2) growth of vapor bubbles, and (3) collapse of vapor bubbles.

Plesset, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Adaptation of the Advanced Spray Combustion Code to Cavitating Flow Problems

A very important consideration in turbopump design is the prediction and prevention of cavitation. Thus far conventional CFD codes have not been generally applicable to the treatment of cavitating flows. Taking advantage of its two-phase capability, the Advanced Spray Combustion Code is being modified to handle flows with transient as well as steady-state cavitation bubbles. The volume-of-fluid approach incorporated into the code is extended and augmented with a liquid phase energy equation and a simple evaporation model. The strategy adopted also successfully deals with the cavity closure issue. Simple test cases will be presented and remaining technical challenges will be discussed.

Liang, Pak-Yan↗
NASA NTRS1966

Studies reveal effects of pipe bends on fluid flow cavitation

Incipient cavitation in liquids flowing in pipes curved in one plane are affected by the pipe bend radii and pipe diameters, but little by pipe bend angles ranging from 60 to 120 degrees. Critical cavitation indices decrease with higher Reynolds number and pressure ratio. Bulk liquid temperature increase lowers the mean critical velocity at which cavitation occurs.

Stonemetz, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Density and Cavitating Flow Results from a Full-Scale Optical Multiphase Cryogenic Flowmeter

Liquid propulsion systems are hampered by poor flow measurements. The measurement of flow directly impacts safe motor operations, performance parameters as well as providing feedback from ground testing and developmental work. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, in an effort to improve propulsion sensor technology, has developed an all optical flow meter that directly measures the density of the fluid. The full-scale sensor was tested in a transient, multiphase liquid nitrogen fluid environment. Comparison with traditional density models shows excellent agreement with fluid density with an error of approximately 0.8%. Further evaluation shows the sensor is able to detect cavitation or bubbles in the flow stream and separate out their resulting effects in fluid density.

Korman, Valentin↗
NASA NTRS1975

Unsteady flow in cavitating turbopumps

Unsteady flow in a cavitating axial inducer pump is analyzed with the help of a simple two-dimensional cascade model. This problem was motivated by a desire to study the effect of unsteady cavitation on the so-called POGO instability in the operation of liquid rocket engines. Here, an important feature is a closed loop coupling between several different modes of oscillation, one of which is due to the basic unsteady characteristics of the cavitation itself. The approaching and leaving flow velocities up- and downstream of the inducer oscillate, and the cavity-blade system participates dynamically with the basic pulsating flow. In the present work, attention is focused on finding a transfer matrix that relates the set of upstream variables to those downstream. This quantity, which is essentially equivalent to cavitation compliance in the quasi-static analyses, is found to be complex and frequency dependent.

Kim, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Cavitation in flowing superfluid helium

Flowing superfluid helium cavitates much more readily than normal liquid helium, and there is a marked difference in the cavitation behavior of the two fluids as the lambda point is traversed. Examples of cavitation in a turbine meter and centrifugal pump are given, together with measurements of the cavitation strength of flowing superfluid helium. The unusual cavitation behavior of superfluid helium is attributed to its immense thermal conductivity .

Daney, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1962

Observations on Cavitation Damage in a Flowing System

Cavitation damage to specimens of stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, and plexiglas, placed in a cavitating venturi using water and mercury as test fluids is mostly in the form of irregularly shaped pits which do not change with additional exposure to the cavitating field within the limited durations utilized. The rate of damage is very high initially, decreases for a relatively short period of time, then increases again up to the maximum test durations of 150 hours with water and 270 hours with mercury. Observation of damage effects by several independent techniques, using a variety of specimen materials, with two different fluids under various fluid dynamic conditions, leads to a suggested correlating model in terms of the cavitation bubble density and energy and specimen material strength.

VENTURI TUBE↗
NASA NTRS1974

Non-Newtonian effects on flow-generated cavitation and on cavitation in a pressure field

Observations are presented which show that the stresses in a flow field of very dilute polymer are not well enough described by the Navier-Stokes equations to accurately predict cavitation. The contitutive equation for the particular polymer and concentration used is needed. The second-order fluid form in which accelerations are relatively important appears capable of explaining observed cavitation suppression by changing the pressure field due to flow. Bubble dynamics in stationary dilute polymer solutions are also examined and found to be little different from those in water.

Ellis, A. T.↗