ALBERT

Description: The importance of understanding and modeling the unsteady flow phenomena in turbomachinery is discussed. Historical events in the application and development of gas turbines for aircraft propulsion are traced. Technology advancements over the years are highlighted with focus on the compression system components. Trends in compressor research within the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are noted. The impact of technology advancements on the increased occurrences of unsteady flow related problems in advanced engine development programs is discussed. The impact of the new and more demanding requirements being imposed on the propulsion system to meet advanced aircraft mission needs are also noted. Brief discussions on the present day understanding and modeling capability of the unsteady flow phenomena are presented to include discussions on rotating stall, surge, flutter, forced response and noise generation.

Description: The objective is to verify the capability of a cascade variable conductance heat pipe (CVCHP) system to provide precise temperature control of long life spacecraft without the need for a feedback heater or other power sources for temperature adjustment under conditions of widely varying power input and ambient environment. Solar energy is the heat source and space the heat sink for thermally loading two series connected variable conductance heat pipes. Electronics and power supply equipment requirements are minimal. A 7.5 V lithium battery supplies the power for thermistor type temperature sensors for monitoring system performance, and a 28 V lithium battery supplies power for valve actuation.

Description: The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the zero-g performance of a number of transverse flat plate heat pipe modules. Performance will include the transport capability of the pipes, the temperature drop, and the ability to maintain temperature over varying duty cycles and environments. Additionally, performance degradation, if any, will be monitored over the length of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) mission. This information is necessary if heat pipes are to be considered for system designs where they offer benefits not available with other thermal control techniques.

Description: The principal objectives of the experiment are to determine zero-g start-up performance for conventional and diode low temperature heat pipes, to evaluate heat pipe performance in zero-g for an extended period of time, to determine zero-g transport capability of each heat pipe, and to determine diode operation, including forward conductance, turndown ratio, and transient behavior. Two heat pipes, a fixed conductance transporter heat pipe and a thermal diode heat pipe, are coupled with a radiant cooler system. Both pipes are charged with ethane. Also integrated with the radiator is a phase change material (PCM) canister which provides temperature stability during transport tests. N-heptane, which has a melting/freezing point of 182 K, is used as the PCM. The high heat capacity (28 W-hr of latent heat) provided by the canister permits high power heat pipe testing at constant temperature.

Description: Numerical experiments are used to study thermally driven flows which occur during vertical Bridgman crystal growth of a single component fluid. The solid-liquid interface was specified as parabolic and flow patterns were calculated for various insulation thicknesses, Grashof, Prandtl, and Biot numbers. When the melt is on top and the gravity vector is axially downward it is shown that flow persists as long as a radial temperature gradient is present. If the interface is convex, as viewed from the liquid, a single cell is observed. A concave interface exhibits multiple counterrotating cells. The insulation thickness and Grashof, Prandtl, and Biot numbers influence the flow in a quantitative manner.

Description: The stability of the parallel flow between a vertical crystal-melt interface and a vertical wall held at a temperature above the melting point of the crystal is analyzed for Prandtl numbers, P, ranging from 0.01 to 100. Three modes of instability occur: (1) a buoyant mode, (2) a shear mode, and (3) a coupled crystal-melt mode. The buoyant and shear modes are similar to those that occur for flow between two vertical rigid walls held at different temperatures. For Prandtl numbers greater than approximately two, the coupled crystal-melt mode occurs at a lower Grashof number than the other two modes. Specific results are given for succinonitrile (P = 22.8) and lead (P = 0.0225). These calculations and similar calculations for a cylindrical geometry were motivated by and are in general agreement with recent experiments on succinonitrile.

Description: The solid-liquid interface position and the temperature gradients in both the solid and liquid at the interface have been studied in a modified Bridgman-Stockbarger crystal growth furnace. These crystal growth factors have been studied as a function of ampoule translation rate, materials properties, and the size and temperature of a small auxiliary heater placed at the edge of the furnace hot zone. It has been found that the interface position with respect to a furnace reference point is essentially constant during a run for a low thermal conductivity material whereas the interface position changes continuously during a run with high thermal conductivity material. However, the ampoule translation rate and auxiliary heater conditions produce interface position changes in both high and low thermal conductivity materials.

Description: The motion of two and four rectilinear vortices inside a cylindrical pipe is studied under the restriction that the total circulation be zero. In the two-vortex case, it is shown that the motion is always periodic and an expression for the period is derived. In the four-vortex case, the motion is determined not to be periodic in general. However, a class of solutions where the motion is periodic is found. Several sample calculations of the vortex motion are included.

Description: Some turbulent solutions of the unaveraged Navier-Stokes equations (equations of fluid motion) are reviewed. Those equations are solved numerically in order to study the nonlinear physics of incompressible turbulent flow. Initial three-dimensional cosine velocity fluctuations and periodic boundary conditions are used in most of the work considered. The three components of the mean-square velocity fluctuations are initially equal for the conditions chosen. The resulting solutions show characteristics of turbulence such as the linear and nonlinear excitation of small-scale fluctuations. For the stronger fluctuations, the initially nonrandom flow develops into an apparently random turbulence. Thus randomness or turbulence can arise as a consequence of the structure of the Navier-Stokes equations. The cases considered include turbulence which is statistically homogeneous or inhomogeneous and isotropic or anisotropic. A mean shear is present in some cases. A statistically steady-state turbulence is obtained by using a spatially periodic body force. Various turbulence processes, including the transfer of energy between eddy sizes and between directional components, and the production, dissipation, and spatial diffusion of turbulence, are considered. It is concluded that the physical processes occurring in turbulence can be profitably studied numerically.

Description: An experiment was conducted to measure the heat transfer from a heated cylinder in crossflow in an array of circular cylinders. All cylinders had a length-to-diameter ratio of 3.0. Both in-line and staggered array patterns were studied. The cylinders were spaced 2.67 diameters apart center-to-center in both the axial and transverse directions to the flow. The row containing the heated cylinder remained in a fixed position in the channel and the relative location of this row within the array was changed by adding up to five upstream rows. The working fluid was nitrogen gas at pressures from 100 to 600 kPa. The Reynolds number range based on cylinder diameter and average unobstructed channel velocity was from 5,000 to 125,000. Turbulence intensity profiles were measured for each case at a point one half space upstream of the row containing the heated cylinder. The basis of comparison for all the heat transfer data was the single row with the heated cylinder. For the in-line cases the addition of a single row of cylinders upstream of the row containing the heated cylinder increased the heat transfer by an average of 50 percent above the base case. Adding up to five more rows caused no increase or decrease in heat transfer. Adding rows in the staggered array cases resulted in average increases in heat transfer of 21, 64, 58, 46, and 46 percent for one to five upstream rows, respectively. Previously announced in STAR as N82-19493

Description: The effects of mass injection and pressure gradients on the drag of surfaces were studied theoretically with the aid of boundary-layer and Navier-Stokes codes. The present investigation is concerned with the effects of spatially varying the injection in the case of flat-plate drag. Effects of suction and injection on wavy wall surfaces are also explored. Calculations were performed for 1.2 m long surfaces, one flat and the other sinusoidal with a wavelength of 30.5 cm. Attention is given to the study of the effect of various spatial blowing variations on flat-plate skin friction reduction, local skin friction coefficient calculated by finite difference boundary-layer code and Navier-Stokes code, and the effect of phase-shifting sinusoidal mass transfer on the drag of a sinusoidal surface.

Description: The numerical aspects of simulation unsteady flows which arise in turbomachinery are addressed. In particular the simulation of rotating stall and surge is discussed.

Description: A numerical algorithm that is second-order accurate in time has been developed for the conjugated problem of a separated, compressible flow field and a conductive solid body. The full two-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations are coupled with the time-dependent energy equation for the solid body and are solved simultaneously. using implicit algorithms. The energy equation for the solid body may include arbitrarily distributed heat sources. The algorithm has been exmined for the case of two-dimensional supersonic compression-corner interaction, with a heat source embedded in the wall in the vicinity of the separation bubble and the attached boundary layer. The effect of the heat source on the flow field is studied for steady and transient cases.

Description: A power-law relationship between the average erosion rate and cumulative erosion is presented. Data analyses from Venturi, magnetostriction, and liquid-impingement devices conform to this unified relation. A normalization technique is also suggested for prediction purposes.

Description: The coil planet centrifuge designed by Ito employs flow of a single liquid phase, through a rotating coiled tube in a centrifugal force field, to provide a separation of particles based on sedimentation rates. Mathematical solutions are derived for the linear differential equations governing particle behavior in the coil planet centrifuge device. These solutions are then applied as the basis of a model for optimizing particle separations.

Description: For the past 25 years, there has existed in the Thermosciences Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department of Stanford University a research program, primarily experimental, concerned with heat transfer through turbulent boundary layers. In the early phases of the program, the topics considered were the simple zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer with constant and with varying surface temperature, and the accelerated boundary layer. Later equilibrium boundary layers were considered along with factors affecting the boundary layer, taking into account transpired flows, flows with axial pressure gradients, transpiration, acceleration, deceleration, roughness, full-coverage film cooling, surface curvature, free convection, and mixed convection. A description is provided of the apparatus and techniques used, giving attention to the smooth plate rig, the rough plate rig, the full-coverage film cooling rig, the curvature rig, the concave wall rig, the mixed convection tunnel, and aspects of data reduction and uncertainty analysis.

Description: The current investigation has the objective to provide data which will make it possible to obtain a better estimate regarding the roughness drag for surface waviness. The data employed for this investigation were acquired in connection with a wavy wall study which was conducted as part of an overall program to reduce the skin friction of turbulent boundary layers in external flows. The results of the present investigation show that the low-speed roughness drag of small-amplitude sinusoidal wave trains having wavelengths of the order of the boundary-layer thickness is not only a function of h/lambda (h = total wave height, lambda = wavelength), but, in addition, is also a function of the roughness Reynolds number.

Description: In the present paper, a simple numerical model is used to study the warming of the mixed layer during the early summer. It is shown that the springtime temperature increase in the layer below the mixed layer (for example, in the cold pool on a continental shelf) has a maximum value which occurs for a limiting value of the surface heat flux. This is a result of the positive feedback at large Richardson numbers between stability and vertical diffusion of heat. The springtime temperature increase in the mixed layer increases nonlinearly with surface heat flux, because of the same positive feedback. The effects of interseasonal fluctuations of the surface heat flux on the spring and summer mixed layer and deeper temperature increases can be as great as the effect of interseasonal fluctuations of the average heat flux.

Description: Shapes and stability of surface-tension-endowed drops rotating rigidly at fixed angular momentum are calculated by finite-element analysis. A new family of asymmetric two-lobed drop shapes is discovered that branches from, and rejoins, the Pik-Pichak family of symmetric two-lobed shapes. The computations are verified for axisymmetric and symmetric two-lobed drop shape by comparison with previous approximations.

Description: The influences of memory effects, coupling between velocity and temperature fluctuations and tensorial transport properties on momentum and heat transfers in turbulent flow which do not follow the Boussinesq relation are examined. It is shown that the memory effect, represented by the Lagrangian of the velocity gradients, can account for the decoupling between the flux and the gradient, while the tensorial properties of the transport coefficients allow a normal Boussinesq-type transfer with memory and anomalous counter-gradient or gradient-less transport.

Description: An experimental work is discussed whose objective was to obtain data that show the effect of temperature and temperature fluctuations on surface noise. This was accomplished experimentally by immersing a small chord airfoil in the turbulent airstream of a hot jet. The theory and experiment reported by Olsen (1976) provided a guide for designing and validating the hot jet experiment and for interpreting the data. It is shown that increased temperature causes a small decrease in the sound levels; at the same time it causes a shift in the spectra that is smaller but similar to the shift observed with subsonic hot jet noise.

Description: A model is proposed for the study of the growth and shrinkage of gas bubbles in systems containing many gas bubbles. The key feature of this model is the replacement of the bubbles by point sources of gas concentration. Calculations are performed in the simple case of an initial uniform array of bubbles of equal radii.

Description: Recent progress in the development of vortex methods and their applications to the numerical simulation of incompressible fluid flows are reviewed. Emphasis is on recent results concerning the accuracy of these methods, improvements in computational efficiency, and the development of three-dimensional methods. Simulations of several example flows which display some of the strengths and weaknesses of vortex methods are presented.

Description: Galerkin finite-element approximations are combined with computer-implemented perturbation methods for tracking families of solutions to calculate the steady axisymmetric flows in a differentially rotated cylindrical drop as a function of Reynolds number Re, drop aspect ratio and the rotation ratio between the two end disks. The flows for Reynolds numbers below 100 are primarily viscous and reasonably described by an asymptotic analysis. When the disks are exactly counter-rotated, multiple steady flows are calculated that bifurcate to higher values of Re from the expected solution with two identical secondary cells stacked symmetrically about the axial midplane. The new flows have two cells of different size and are stable beyond the critical value Re sub c. The slope of the locus of Re sub c for drops with aspect ratio up to 3 disagrees with the result for two disks of infinite radius computed assuming the similarity form of the velocity field. Changing the rotation ratio for exact counter-rotation ruptures the junction of the multiple flow fields into two separated flow families.

Description: A new system of approximation equations is derived for three-dimensional steady viscous compressible flows in which a primary-flow direction is present, but in which both transverse velocity components can be large. Previous approaches which address simplification of the steady Navier-Stokes equations are discussed, and a new approach is proposed. The transverse velocity vector which corrects a given potential flow has been decomposed into potential and rotational components. It is found that the potential-velocity vector may be assumed small, whereas the rotational-velocity vector may be assumed small, whereas the rotational velocity vector and hence the composite secondary flow can be of order unity. This assumption leads to a system of governing equations whose characteristic polynomial has a non-elliptic form for arbitrary Mach numbers. The resulting non-elliptic approximation equations can be solved as an initial/boundary-value problem. Computed results confirm the small scalar-potential approximation.

Description: A cooled porous insert in a curved wall has a specified spatially varying heat flux applied to one side. It is desired to control the distribution of coolant flow out through this curved surface so that the surface will be kept at a desired uniform temperature. The flow regulation is accomplished by shaping the surface through which the coolant enters the region to obtain the required variation of flow resistance within the region. The proper surface shape is found by solving a Cauchy boundary value problem. Analytical solutions are given in two dimensions for various shapes of the heated boundary subjected to different heating distributions.

Description: Galerkin finite-element approximations and Newton's method for solving free boundary problems are combined with computer-implemented techniques from nonlinear perturbation analysis to study solidification problems with natural convection in the melt. The Newton method gives rapid convergence to steady state velocity, temperature and pressure fields and melt-solid interface shapes, and forms the basis for algebraic methods for detecting multiple steady flows and assessing their stability. The power of this combination is demonstrated for a two-phase Rayleigh-Benard problem composed of melt and solid in a veritical cylinder with the thermal boundary conditions arranged so that a static melt with a flat melt-solid interface is always a solution. Multiple cellular flows bifurcating from the static state are detected and followed as Rayleigh number is varied. Changing the boundary conditions to approach those appropriate for the vertical Bridgman solidification system causes imperfections that eliminate the static state. The flow structure in the Bridgman system is related to those for the Rayleigh-Benard system by a continuous evolution of the boundary conditions.

Description: Computational models of turbulence in incompressible Newtonian fluids governed by the Navier-Stokes equations are reviewed. The governing equations are presented, and both direct and large-eddy-simulations are examined. Resolution requirements and numerical techniques of spatial representation, definition of initial and boundary conditions, and time advancement are considered. Results of simulations of homogeneous turbulence in uniform shear, the evolution of a turbulent mixing layer, and turbulent channel flow are presented graphically and discussed.

Description: The point vortex and vortex blob methods for two dimensional flows are presented. Several results are discussed concerning the numerical analysis of the latter scheme, e.g., the preservation of globally conserved quantities and the analysis of the spatial discretization error resulting from the convection of fixed blobs of vorticity. An application to the two dimensional mixing layer is briefly described. The contour dynamics method is also discussed. The simulation of three dimensional flows with vortex methods is discussed. A natural way to represent the vorticity is in the form of closed tubes of filaments of vorticity, although other schemes are examined. Applications to aircraft trailing vortices and to a turbulent spot in a laminar boundary layer are presented. Hybrid schemes that use an Eulerian mesh to solve the Poisson equation for the velocity field are discussed. The goal of these schemes is to avoid the high cost of the Biot-Savart integration if many vortex elements are used while enjoying most of the advantages of pure Lagrangian schemes.

Description: The exchange of stabilities is demonstrated for a system with harmonic boundary conditions. The motion of fluid in the presence of temperatures gradients is described. It is shown that this principle holds under free, but not rigid or semirigid, boundary conditions.

Description: A microcomputer-video system was used to measure both spatial and temporal variations of two dimensional fluid flow velocity fields. The system utilizes two methods: the first method is the traditional one in which tracers are introduced into the fluid and their position compared at two closely spaced times; and the second method involves scattering coherent light in the fluid and obtaining motion by analyzing the multiple exposed speckle pattern recorded on photographic film.

Description: The linear stability analysis for the stratified flow between two rotating circular cylinders is formulated. Two approaches for the stability analysis are presented. The first approach results in an algebraic eigenvalue problem, while the second results in an initial value problem for the perturbation function. The advantages and disadvantages of both approaches are discussed and a preferable numerical solution technique is outlined.

Description: The spherical modeling of geophysical fluid flow is examined. In particular the extension of some previous work done in spherical geometry to the specific case of interest in the Spacelab atmospheric circulation experiment is discussed. This involves changing the boundary conditions under which the basic equations are to be solved. For simplicity the linear, axially symmetric steady state solution is sought.

Description: The results of measuring profiles of temporally determined velocities and Reynolds tension, wall shear stresses and pressure distribution in a three dimensional, turbulent boundary layer with pressure gradients in both tangential directions are reported. For determining the velocities X wire probes were used whose cooling was gauged according to magnitude and direction of the flow and was described with an effective cooling speed. In the evaluation consideration is given to the directional sensitivity of the hot wire. The ratio of the turbulence viscosities is calculated for both tangential directions and is found to be approximately N equals 1.2. Further, the profiles of the mixing path lengths for the flow direction are found to vary only slightly with increasing X-coordinates, while the boundary layer thickness increases substantially. The relationships of turbulent shear stress to turbulent, kinetic fluctuation energy is approximately constant over a large part of the boundary layer.

Description: Equilibrium shapes and stability of rotating drops held together by surface tension are found by computer-aided analysis that uses expansions in finite-element basis functions. Shapes are calculated as extrema of appropriate energies. Stability and relative stability are determined from curvatures of the energy surface in the neighborhood of the extremum. Families of axisymmetric, two-, three-, and four-lobed drop shapes are traced systematically. Bifurcation and turning points are located and the principle of exchange of stabilities is tested. The axisymmetric shapes are stable at low rotation rates but lose stability at the bifurcation to two-lobed shapes. Two-lobed drops isolated with constant angular momentum are stable. The results bear on experiments designed to further those of Plateau (1863).

Description: A group-velocity criterion for vortex breakdown implied by wave trapping theory is applied to vortex flows in a slightly divergent duct that exhibits breakdown. The group velocities for both symmetric (n = 0) and nonsymmetric (n = plus or - 1) modes of wave propagation are calculated for the experimental data. It is found that the flow ahead of the breakdown region is always supercritical and stable to these modes of disturbances. However, the flow field behind the breakdown region may be either supercritical or subcritical to the modes n = 0 and n = 1, and always supercritical to mode n = -1. The flow field behind this breakdown region is unstable to the asymmetric mode disturbance (n = 1) for a finite range of wavenumbers. The calculated frequencies of the unstable disturbances are in good agreement with the frequencies obtained from the experimental measurements.

Description: An inherent numerical problem associated with the fully explicit pseudospectral numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for viscous flows with no-slip walls is described. A semi-implicit scheme which circumvents this numerical difficulty is presented. In this algorithm the equation of continuity rather than the Poisson equation for pressure is solved directly. Pseudospectral formulation of the channel flow problem using Fourier series and Chebyshev polynomials expansions is given for this scheme. An example demonstrating the applicability of the method is given.

Description: The magnitudes of real-gas effects on flat-plate turbulent boundary layer simulations in a cryogenic nitrogen wind tunnel are investigated in order to determine the validity of the method used by Inger (1979) to estimate real-gas effects. Boundary layer solutions for real gases, ideal gases with a specific heat ratio of 1.6 and ideal diatomic gases (specific heat ratio 1.4) were obtained for the worst case conditions of maximum stagnation pressure (9 atm), minimum stagnation temperature (120 K) and Mach number of 1.2. Calculated boundary layer parameters such as friction coefficient and displacement thickness are shown to agree closely for the real gas and the ideal diatomic gas (specific heat ratio 1.4), while the ideal gas solution used by Inger is shown to differ from the real-gas values considerably. Results indicate that real-gas effects on a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer simulation in a cryogenic nitrogen tunnel are insignificant, and suggest the unlikelihood of the large real-gas effects reported by Inger for turbulent boundary layer shock interactions.

Description: Some physical, analytical, and computational aspects of viscous flow are examined with reference to examples of computed flows. The discussion of the physical aspects covers the development of important scales used to reference flow phenomena in laminar and turbulent shear layers; the usefulness of the concepts of circulation and vorticity; and some relatively large-scale organized structures that have recently been identified in transitional and fully developed turbulent flows. Among the analytical aspects discussed are a compact presentation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations, the Reynolds-averaged form of these equations, and a simplified description of some forms of turbulent models. Finally, results of a simulation of the onset of transition, direct turbulence simulations, and large-eddy simulations are given.

Description: It is pointed out that most practical power generation and propulsion systems involve the burning of different types of fuel sprays, taking into account aircraft propulsion, industrial furnaces, boilers, gas turbines, and diesel engines. There has been a lack of data which can serve as a basis for spray model development and validation. A major aim of the present investigation is to fill this gap. Experimental apparatus and techniques for studying the characteristics of fuel sprays are discussed, taking into account two-dimensional still photography, cinematography, holography, a laser diffraction particle sizer, and a laser anemometer. The considered instruments were used in a number of experiments, taking into account three different types of fuel spray. Attention is given to liquid fuel sprays, high pressure pulsed diesel sprays, and coal-water slurry sprays.

Description: The solution by multigrid techniques of the steady inviscid compressible equations of gas dynamics, the Euler equations is investigated. Steady two dimensional transonic flow over an airfoil section is studied intensively. Most of the material is applicable to three dimensional flow problems of aerodynamic interest.

Description: Rotating baroclinic flow for Richardson number lower than about 1 is studied by means of a finite difference Navier-Stokes model assuming no variations except in the vertical plane that completely contains the density gradient vector. The horizontally infinite channel to which attention is given further assumes periodic boundary conditions at the vertical computational boundaries and no-slip conducting horizontal boundaries. Two configurations are considered. Symmetric baroclinic waves developed in the flows in a manner consistent with linear theory, and it is noted that the structures and energetics of the fully developed waves were dependent on the Prandtl number Pr. For Pr greater than 1, the conversion from potential energy to wave kinetic energy was direct, via temperature and vertical motion correlation, while for Pr of less than 1, conversion proceeded from potential energy to average kinetic energy by means of an induced meridional flow, and then to wave kinetic energy.

Description: Linear stability of the one-dimensional flow between infinite vertical coaxial cylinders induced by heating the inner cylinder is considered for various ratios (kappa) of the inner radius to the outer radius, and for Prandtl numbers (P) appropriate to air and water. For air with P = 0.71 the least stable disturbance is nonaxisymmetric for kappa less than 0.44 and is axisymmetric for kappa greater than 0.44, and in either case the instability is due to the action of the shear forces. For P = 3.5, the situation is similar, except that the asymmetric shear mode is superseded by an axisymmetric instability driven by buoyancy forces for kappa = 0.03-0.16. Wave speeds, wavenumbers, and critical Grashof numbers for these cases and for the case of zero Prandtl number are given.

Description: The extent of convective and radiative heating for a Saturn entry probe is investigated in the absence and presence of ablation mass injection. The flow in the shock layer is assumed to be axisymmetric, viscous and in local thermodynamic equilibrium. The importance of chemical nonequilibrium effects for both the radiative and convective nonblowing surface heating rates is demonstrated for prescribed entry conditions. Results indicate that the nonequilibrium chemistry can significantly influence the rate of radiative heating to the entry probes. With coupled carbon-phenolic ablation injection, the convective heating rates are reduced substantially. Turbulence has little effect on radiative heating but it increases the convective heating considerably.

Description: Ames Research Center has the lead role among NASA centers to conduct research in computational fluid dynamics. The past, the present, and the future prospects in this field are reviewed. Past accomplishments include pioneering computer simulations of fluid dynamics problems that have made computers valuable in complementing wind tunnels for aerodynamic research. The present facilities include the most powerful computers built in the United States. Three examples of viscous flow simulations are presented: an afterbody with an exhaust plume, a blunt fin mounted on a flat plate, and the space shuttle. The future prospects include implementation of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Processing System that will provide the capability for solving the viscous flow field around an aircraft in a matter of minutes.

Description: The influence of high frequency excitations (HFE) on a fluid is investigated. The response to these excitations is decomposed in two parts: 'slow' motion, which practically remains unchanged during the vanishingly small period tau, and 'fast' motion whose value during this period is negligible in terms of displacements, but is essential in terms of the kinetic energy. After such a decomposition the 'slow' and 'fast' motions become nonlinearly coupled by the corresponding governing equations. This coupling leads to an 'effective' potential energy which imparts some 'elastic' properties to the fluid and stabilizes laminar flows.

Description: A solution method for finding the unknown solidification interface in manufacturing slab ingots as a continuous casting is presented, which involves a product solution in the potential plane and the use of conjugate harmonic functions. It is argued that the method may be more direct for some geometries than the Cauchy boundary value method. Moreover, the usefulness of the Cauchy boundary value method is demonstrated through the example of a nonsymmetric horizontal mold where the walls are offset to support the lower ingot boundary.

Description: A method for approximately analyzing the feedback between downstream and upstream edges in incompressible shear flow is described. The shear flow is modeled by a vortex sheet. Equations for resonance eigenvalues are derived. After the reduction of growth rate by finite shear layer thickness is allowed for, agreement is found between calculated resonances and those that have been observed experimentally.

Description: An implicit finite-difference method is presented for obtaining steady-state solutions to the time-dependent, conservative Euler equations for flows containing shocks. The method uses a two-point central-difference scheme for the flux derivatives with dissipation added at supersonic points via the retarded density concept. Application of the method to 1-dimensional nozzle flow equations for various combinations of subsonic and supersonic boundary conditions show the method to be very efficient. Residuals are typically reduced to machine zero in approximately 35 time steps for 50 mesh points. For 1-dimensional Euler calculations, it is shown that the scheme offers two advantages over the more widely-used three-point schemes. The first is in regard to application of boundary conditions, and the second relates to the fact that the two-point algorithm is well-conditioned for large time steps.

Description: This paper is concerned with small-amplitude, unsteady, vortical and entropic motion imposed on steady potential flows. It is restricted to the case where the spatial scale of the unsteady motion is small compared to that of the mean flow. Under such conditions, the unsteady motion may be influenced by viscosity even if the mean flow is not. An exact high-frequency (small-wavelength) solution is obtained for the small-amplitude viscous motion imposed on a steady potential flow. It generalizes the one obtained by Pearson (1959) for the homogeneous-strain case to the case of quasi-homogeneous strain. This result is used to study the effect of viscosity on rapidly distorted turbulent flows. Specific numerical results are given for a turbulent flow near a two-dimensional stagnation point.

Description: Past work on the influence of Mach number on the viscous and inviscid instability of flat-plate boundary layers is reviewed, and new spatial calculations are presented. These calculations support the previous view that viscosity is only stabilizing for both two- and three-dimensional first-mode waves above M1 = 3.0, and for second-mode waves at all Mach numbers. It is concluded that the calculations of Wazzan, Taghavi, and Keltner that show viscous instability at M1 = 6.0 for first-mode 50 deg waves, and at M1 = 3.0 for two-dimensional second-mode waves, are not correct.

Description: Previously cited in issue 05, p. 635, Accession no. A83-16649

Description: A theory is developed for the stagnation point boundary layer with injection under the hypothesis that turbulence is produced at the wall by injection. From the existing experimental heat transfer rate data obtained in wind tunnels, the wall mixing length is deduced to be a product of a time constant and an injection velocity. The theory reproduces the observed increase in heat transfer rates at high injection rates. For graphite and carbon-carbon composite, the time constant is determined to be 0.0002 sec from the existing ablation data taken in an arc-jet tunnel and a balistic range.

Description: Many of the gas turbine combustors in operation use multiple rows of dilution jets, and some have geometries that are different from circular holes. The data base available in literature is generally applicable to a single row of circular holes. Tests were performed with uniform mainstream conditions for several orifice plate configurations. Temperature and pressure measurements were made in the test section at 4 axial and 11 transverse stations. These measurements were made with a 60-element rake probe. Test results for some of these cases are discussed.

Description: Improved methods of predicting airfoil local metal temperatures require advances in the understanding of the physics and methods of analytically predicting the following four aerothermal loads: hot gas flow over airfoils, heat transfer rates on the gas-side of airfoils, cooling air flow inside airfoils, and heat transfer rates on the coolant-side of airfoils. A systematic building block research approach is being pursued to investigate these four areas of concern from both the experimental and analytical sides. Experimental approaches being pursued start with fundamental experiments using simple shapes and flat plates in wind tunnels, progress to more realistic cold and hot cascade tests using airfoils, continue to progress in large low-speed rigs and turbines and warm turbines, and finally, combine all the interactive effects in tests using real engines or real engine type turbine rigs. Analytical approaches being pursued also build from relatively simple steady two dimensional inviscid flow and boundary layer heat transfer codes to more advanced steady two and three dimensional viscous flow and heat transfer codes. These advanced codes provide more physics to model better the interactive effects and the true real-engine environment.

Description: The objective of this 36-month experimental and analytical program is to develop a heat transfer and pressure drop database, computational fluid dynamic techniques, and correlations for multipass rotating coolant passages with and without flow turbulators. The experimental effort will be focused on the simulation of configurations and conditions expected in the blades of advanced aircraft high pressure turbines so that the effects of Coriolis and buoyancy forces on the coolant side flow can be rationally included in the design of turbine blades.

Description: The effects of high-intensity, large-scale turbulence on turbulent boundary-layer heat transfer are studied. Flow fields were produced with turbulence intensities up to 40% and length scales up to several times the boundary layer thickness. In addition, three different types of turbulence will be compared to see whether they have the same effect on the boundary layer. The three are: the far field of a free jet, flow downstream of a grid, and flow downstream of a simulated gas turbine combustor. Each turbulence field will be characterized by several measures: intensity (by component), scale, and spectrum. Heat transfer will be measured on a 2.5 m long, 0.5 m wide flat plate using the energy-balance technique. The same plate will be used in each of the four flow fields; a low-turbulence tunnel for baseline data, and the three flow situations mentioned.

Description: The primary basis for heat transfer analysis of turbine airfoils is experimental data obtained in linear cascades. A detailed set of heat transfer coefficients was obtained along the midspan of a stator and a rotor in a rotating turbine stage. The data are to be compared to standard analyses of blade boundary layer heat transfer. A detailed set of heat transfer coefficients was obtained along the midspan of a stator located in the wake of a full upstream turbine stage. Two levels of inlet turbulence (1 and 10 percent) were used. The analytical capability will be examined to improve prediction of the experimental data.

Description: Advanced 3-D inelastic structural/stress analysis methods and solution strategies for more accurate and yet more cost-effective analysis of combustors, turbine blades, and vanes are being developed. The approach is to develop four different theories, one linear and three higher order with increasing complexities including embedded singularities. Progress in each area is reported.

Description: The objectives of this work are: (1) to extend the technique of direct numerical simulations to turbulent, chemically reacting flows, (2) to test the validity of the method by comparing computational results with laboratory data, and (3) to use the simulations to gain a better understanding of the effects of turbulence on chemical reactions. The effects of both the large scale structure and the smaller scale turbulence on the overall reaction rates are addressed. The relationship between infinite reaction rate and finite reaction rate chemistry is compared with some of the results of calculations with existing theories and laboratory data. The direct numerical simulation method involves the numerical solution of the detailed evolution of the complex turbulent velocity and concentration fields. Using very efficient numerical methods (e.g., pseudospectral methods), the fully nonlinear (possibly low pass filtered) equations of motion are solved and no closure assumptions or turbulence models are used. Statistical data are obtained by performing spatial, temporal, and/or ensemble averages over the computed flow fields.

Description: The present paper will compare temperature field measurements from selected cases in these investigations with distributions calculated with an empirical model based on assumed vertical profile similarity and superposition and with a 3-D elliptic code using a standard K-E turbulence model. The results will show the capability (or lack thereof) of the models to predict the effects of the principle flow and geometric variables.

Description: Fuel spray analyses which are a necessary input to the analytical modeling of the complex mixing and combustion processes which occur in advanced combustor systems are discussed. It is anticipated that by controlling fuel air reaction conditions, combustor temperatures can be better controlled, leading to improved combustion system durability. The capability to measure liquid droplet size, velocity, and number density throughout a fuel spray and to utilize this measurement technique in laboratory benchmark experiments was demonstrated. The experiment to characterize fuel sprays is described. The experiments and data are useful for application to and validation of turbulent flow modeling to improve the design systems of future advanced technology engines.

Description: Most fluid flows are turbulent rather than laminar and the reason for this was studied. One of the earliest explanations was that laminar flow is unstable, and the linear instability theory was first developed to explore this possibility. A series of early papers by Rayleigh produced many notable results concerning the instability of inviscid flows, such as the discovery of inflectional instability. Viscosity was commonly thought to act only to stabilize the flow, and flows with convex velocity profiles appeared to be stable. The investigations that led to a viscous theory of boundary layer instability was reported. The earliest application of linear stability theory to transition prediction calculated the amplitude ratio of the most amplified frequency as a function of Reynolds number for a Blasius boundary layer, and found that this quantity had values between five and nine at the observed Ret. The experiment of Schubauer and Skramstad (1947) completely reversed the prevailing option and fully vindicated the Gottingen proponents of the theory. This experiment demonstrated the existence of instability waves in a boundary layer, their connection with transition, and the quantitative description of their behavior by the theory of Tollmien and Schlichting. It is generally accepted that flow parameters such as pressure gradient, suction and heat transfer qualitatively affect transition in the manner predicted by the linear theory, and in particular that a flow predicted to be stable by the theory should remain laminar. The linear theory, in the form of the e9, or N-factor is today in routine use in engineering studies of laminar flow. The stability theory to boundary layers with pressure gradients and suction was applied. The only large body of numerical results for exact boundary layer solutions before the advent of the computer age by calculating the stability characteristics of the Falkner-Skan family of velocity profiles are given. When the digital computer reached a stage of development which permit the direct solution of the primary differential equations, numerical results were obtained from the linear theory during the next 10 years for many different boundary layer flows: three dimensional boundary layers; free convention boundary layers; compressible boundary layers; boundary layers on compliant walls; a recomputation of Falkner-Skan flows; unsteady boundary layers; and heated wall boundary layers.

Description: The capabilities of large eddy simulation in the prediction and analyses of wall-bounded turbulent shear flows are demonstrated. The dynamical equations for large scale field motions are derived. The computational grid network is described and its relation to the observed physical length scales in the flow are discussed. Some aspects of the mechanics and structure of the flow are examined both in the vicinity of the wall and in regions away from the wall. An attempt is made to correlate numerical results with laboratory observations. Other significant observations and conclusions are presented.

Description: Two methods of turbulence computation are discussed in terms of their basic simularities. It is shown that the two methods are interrelated and that each can gain from advances in the other. The degree of success of a pair of increasingly complex Reynolds stress models to broaden their range of applicability is examined through comparison with experimental data for a variety of flow conditions. An example of a large eddy simulation is presented, compared with experimental results, and used to evaluate the models for pressure rate of strain correlation and dissipation in the Reynolds averaged equations.

Description: A computer code for the evaluation and/or optimization of the predicative potential of second order turbulent closure models in simple two dimensional flow configurations is discussed. A procedure for the numerical solution of the steady constant property Navier-Stokes equations are described together with algebraic, one dimensional and two dimensional equations of turbulence closure models. Four turbulence models are compared with several sets of experimental data. The effects of initial conditions and boundary conditions are also described. The effects of purely numerical parameters, such as mesh size, boundary locations, and convergence criteria are presented.

Description: An iterative collocation technique is described for modeling implicit viscosity in three-dimensional incompressible wall bounded shear flow. The viscosity can vary temporally and in the vertical direction. Channel flow is modeled with a Fourier-Legendre approximation and the mean streamwise advection is treated implicitly. Explicit terms are handled with an Adams-Bashforth method to increase the allowable time-step for calculation of the implicit terms. The algorithm is applied to low amplitude unstable waves in a plane Poiseuille flow at an Re of 7500. Comparisons are made between results using the Legendre method and with Chebyshev polynomials. Comparable accuracy is obtained for the perturbation kinetic energy predicted using both discretizations.

Description: Analytical modeling efforts and clear-air ground test results of a transportation-cooled nosetips (TCNT) design are presented. The discrete water injection platelet TCNT described was conceived and created to achieve the performance requirements for severe reentry vehicle trajectories. Thermal performance computer modeling techniques, combing both local heat blockage and boundary layer recovery enthalpy reduction are outlined.

Description: The effect of shoulder radiusing and grooving (longitudinally or circumferentially) the afterbodies of bluff bodies of reduce the base drag at low speeds is discussed. Shoulder radii as large as 2.75 body diameters are examined. Reynolds number based on body diameter varied from 20,000 to 200,000. Results indicate that increasing the shoulder radius to 2.75 body diameters can reduce the drag levels to those of a streamline body having 67 percent greater fineness ratio. For the relatively sharp shoulder case, body drag reductions as large as 50% are obtained using circumferential or longitudinal grooves.

Description: A detailed computerized sensitivity analysis of the triple hot-wire equations has been performed in order to delineate the uncertainties associated with measurements of the velocity components. Absolute and relative uncertainties for the instantaneous hot-wire outputs are calculated as functions of roll and pitch angles, based on a constant probability combination of the uncertainties in the inputs. From the results, it is concluded that the small inherent difficulties associated with the triple hot-wire data do not reflect artifacts introduced by the data processing. Fixed errors present in the V and W channels of the output are due to the nonzero measuring volume of the triple wire probe, and are entirely predictable.

Description: A computationally efficient method is proposed for obtaining fine-mesh solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for high-Re flow, including separation. The method involves implementing a multi-grid solution procedure with suitably chosen elements, such that the resulting overall solution technique is efficient as well as robust. The robustness and efficiency of the solution technique are demonstrated by applying it to three model problems: flow in a driven cavity, downstream asymptotic flow in curved ducts of square and polar sections, and Newmann boundary-value problem in clustered curvilinear orthogonal coordinates.

Description: The differential formulations and computational techniques currently used for the incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) and parabolic Navier-Stokes (PNS) equations are reviewed. In particular, attention is given to problems associated with the choice of difference equations, the method of solution and the choice of algorithm, the coupling of dependent variables and discretized equations, the application of boundary conditions, and grid generation. A new composite velocity NS and PNS formulation in (u,v,p) variables is presented, and the applicability of a 'forward' difference global pressure iteration for the (u,v,p) PNS system is demonstrated.

Description: An attempt was made to model the so called leading edge vortex which forms over the leading edge of delta wings at high angles of attack. A simplified model was considered, namely that of a two-dimensional, inviscid, incompressible steady flow around a flat plate at an angle of attack with a stationary vortex detached on top, as well as a sink to simulate the strong spanwise flow. The results appear to agree qualitatively with experiments. A comparison was also made between the lift and the drag of this model and the corresponding results for two classical solutions: (1) that of totally attached flow over the plate with the Kutta condition satisfied at the trailing edge only: and (2) the Helmholtz solution of totally separated flow over the plate.

Description: Zonal concepts are utilized to delineate regions of application of three-dimensional boundary layer (DBL) theory. The zonal approach requires three distinct analyses. A modified version of the 3-DBL code named TABLET is used to analyze the boundary layer flow. This modified code solves the finite difference form of the compressible 3-DBL equations in a nonorthogonal surface coordinate system which includes coriolis forces produced by coordinate rotation. These equations are solved using an efficient, implicit, fully coupled finite difference procedure. The nonorthogonal surface coordinate system is calculated using a general analysis based on the transfinite mapping of Gordon which is valid for any arbitrary surface. Experimental data is used to determine the boundary layer edge conditions. The boundary layer edge conditions are determined by integrating the boundary layer edge equations, which are the Euler equations at the edge of the boundary layer, using the known experimental wall pressure distribution. Starting solutions along the inflow boundaries are estimated by solving the appropriate limiting form of the 3-DBL equations.

Description: The experimental contract objective is to provide a complete set of benchmark quality data for the flow within a large rectangular turning duct. The data are to be used to evaluate and verify three-dimensional internal viscous flow models and computational codes. The analytical contract objective is to select such a computational code and define the capabilities of this code to predict the experimental results. Details of the proper code operation will be defined and improvements to the code modeling capabilities will be formulated.

Description: Work is currently underway to develop and characterize an analytical approach, based on boundary layer theory, for predicting the effects of leading edge (showerhead) film cooling on downstream gas side heat transfer rates. Parallel to this work, experiments are being conducted to build a relevant data base for present and future methods verification.

Description: A Navier-Stokes analysis employing the time-dependent Linearized Block Implicit scheme (LBI) was applied to two-dimensional and three-dimensional transonic turbulent cascade flows. In general, the geometrical configuration of the turbine blade impacts both the grid construction procedure and the implementation of the numerical algorithm. Since modern turbine blades of interest are characterized by very blunt leading edges, rounded trailing edges and high stacking angles, a robust grid construction procedure is required that can accommodate the severe body shape while resolving regions of large flow gradients. A constructive O-type grid generation technique, suitable for cascades with rounded trailing edges, was developed and used to construct the C3X turbine cascade coordinate grid. Two-dimensional calculations were performed employing the Navier-Stokes procedure for the C3X turbine cascade, and the predicted pressure coefficients and heat transfer rates were compared with the experimental data. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes calculations were also performed.

Description: An experimental study of mixing downstream of axial and swirling coaxial jets is being conducted to obtain data for the evaluation and improvement of turbulent transport models currently employed in a variety of computational procedures used throughout the propulsion community. Effort was directed toward the acquisition of length scale and dissipation rate data that will provide more accurate inlet boundary conditions for the computational procedures and a data base to evaluate the turbulent transport models in the near jet region where recirculation does not occur. Mass and momentum turbulent transport data with a blunt inner-jet inlet configuration will also be acquired.

Description: Combustor models for the aircraft gas turbine industry have been obtained because of the need to reduce the costs of developing improved performance and more durable engines. A few years ago, it became apparent that the mass concentration and velocity predictions provided by the computer codes were not representing the data measured in some confined recirculating flows. It is pointed out that errors in the mass concentration distribution are an especially serious problem because of their influence on the heat release, temperature, and reactant distributions. Combined mass and momentum turbulent transport experiments with swirling and nonswirling flow have been conducted with the objective to obtain an experimental data base which can be used to evaluate and improve the turbulent transport submodes employed in the aerothermal models. The present paper is mainly concerned with the overall characteristics of the mass turbulent transport processes in complex flows with recirculation and the deficiencies of the conventional models.

Description: Experimental studies have been conducted with the aim to obtain a better understanding of the fluid dynamics of mixing in gas turbine combustors, and solid fuel ramjet combustors subject to spin. The present investigation represents a continuation of studies conducted by So et al. (1984). It is also concerned with the verification of some conclusions reported by Ahmed et al. (1984). Attention is given to the experimental facility and instrumentation, centerline concentration measurements, mean concentration profiles, and a comparison of concentration and axial velocity results in the case of swirling flow.

Description: The acoustical excitation of shear layers is investigated. Acoustical excitation causes the so-called orderly structures in shear layers and jets. Also, the deviations in the spreading rate between different shear layer experiments are due to the same excitation mechanism. Measurements in the linear interaction region close to the edge from which the shear layer is shed are examined. Two sets of experiments (Houston 1981 and Berlin 1983/84) are discussed. The measurements were carried out with shear layers in air using hot wire anemometers and microphones. The agreement between these measurements and the theory is good. Even details of the fluctuating flow field correspond to theoretical predictions, such as the local occurrence of negative phase speeds.

Description: The thermal control requirements of a large space station are considered. Motivations for advanced thermal technology are discussed. Two test programs, designed to evaluate the analytical and theoretical basis from which thermal technology directions are determined, are described.

Description: A system capable of making measurements of fluctuating atmospheric density is described. Spatial scales required in assessing the quality of coherent radiation propagation are discussed. The special sensors, aircraft installation, data reduction procedures, and other special requirements necessary to obtain meaningful atmospheric turbulence data are also described. The spectral distribution of density fluctuation are presented.

Description: Optical degradations of aircraft turbulent boundary layers with shear layers generated by aerodynamic fences are analyzed. A collimated 2.5 cm diameter helium-neon laser (0.63 microns) traversed the approximate 5 cm thick natural aircraft boundary layer in double pass via a reflective airfoil. In addition, several flights examined shear layer-induced optical degradation. Flight altitudes ranged from 1.5 to 12 km, while Mach numbers were varied from 0.3 to 0.8. Average line spread function (LSF) and Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) data were obtained by averaging a large number of tilt-removed curves. Fourier transforming the resulting average MTF yields an LSF, thus affording a direct comparison of the two optical measurements. Agreement was good for the aerodynamic fence arrangement, but only fair in the case of a turbulent boundary layer. Values of phase variance inferred from the LSF instrument for a single pass through the random flow and corrected for a large aperture ranged from 0.08 to 0.11 waves (lambda = .63 microns) for the boundary layer. Corresponding values for the fence vary from 0.08 to 0.16 waves. Extrapolation of these values to 10.6 microns suggests negligible degradation for a CO2 laser transmitted through a 5 cm thick, subsonic turbulent boundary layer.

Description: A chronological overview of aero-optics test flights is presented highlighting the objectives and conclusions from the tests. Flight tests performed in coordination with the PRESS reentry observation missions and the ALL Cycle 2 laser propagation and tracking demonstrations are described addressing the identification and quantification of distortion phenomena. Finally, current aero-optics flight investigations of an atmospheric turbulence probe are briefly discussed.

Description: Analytical models for optical phase distortion due to compressible flow over a laser turret are developed. Phase distortion is calculated for both blunt and small perturbation turrets. For the blunt turret, the Janzen-Rayleigh technique is used to determine the flow field. Phase distortions of 2.2 wavelengths at 3.8 microns are calculated for the blunt turret. For small perturbation turrets, a versatile analytical model is developed for a turret on a fuselage with circular cross section. With a two dimensional Fourier series representation of the turret, any shape can be considered. Both subsonic and supersonic flows can be calculated. Phase distortions of 1.2 wavelengths at 3.8 microns are calculated for one turret at high subsonic Mach number. In addition to being of value for laser turrets, the methods are applicable to reconnaissance aircraft using photographic equipment and cruise missiles using celestial navigation.

Description: The aero-optical distortions due to invisid flow effects over airborne laser turrets is investigated. Optical path differences across laser turret apertures are estimated from two data sources. The first is a theoretical study of main flow effects for a spherical turret assembly for a Mach number (M) of 0.6. The second source is an actual wind tunnel density field measurement on a 0.3 scale laser turret/fairing assembly, with M = 0.75. A range of azimuthal angles from 0 to 90 deg was considered, while the elevation angle was always 0 deg (i.e., in the plane of the flow). The calculated optical path differences for these two markedly different geometries are of the same order. Scaling of results to sea level conditions and an aperture diameter of 50 cm indicated up to 0.0007 cm of phase variation across the aperture for certain forward look angles and a focal length of F = -11.1 km. These values are second order for a 10.6 micron system.

Description: A simplified mathematical model was developed which predicts the optical propagation losses which occur when an optical beam of given wave length passes through a turbulent boundary layer or shear layer. The optical losses are predicted in terms of line spread function (or Strehl ratio) and modulation transfer function by using experimentally determined values of layer thickness, streamwise, lateral and beamwise density fluctuation length scales, and distribution of the standard deviation of the density fluctuations through the turbulent layer. The prediction model was applied to the analysis of a number of selected cases of interest from the aerodynamic-optical interaction wind-tunnel investigation conducted in the NASA-Ames 1.83 x 1.83 meter (6 x 6 ft) wind tunnel. Direct optical measurements are compared with the results predicted by the aerodynamic analysis.

Description: A turret/fairing assembly for laser applications was designed and tested. Wind tunnel testing was conducted using flow visualization techniques. The techniques used have included the methods of tufting, encapsulated liquid crystals, oil flow, sublimation and schlieren and shadowgraph photography. The results were directly applied to the design of fairing shapes for minimum drag and reduced turret buffet. In addition, the results are of primary importance to the study of light propagation paths in the near flow field of the turret cavity. Results indicate that the flow in the vicinity of the turret is an important factor for consideration in the design of suitable turret/fairing or aero-optic assemblies.

Description: The aero-optical effects associated with propagating a laser beam through aircraft turbulent boundary layers and shear layers were examined. Observed laser optical performance levels were compared with those inferred from aerodynamic measurements of unsteady densities and correlation lengths within these random flows. Optical instrumentation included a fast shearing interferometer (FSI). A 9 cm diameter collimated helium neon laser beam made a double pass through the aircraft random flow via an airfoil mirror located one meter from the fuselage. Typical aircraft turbulent boundary layer thickness measured 0.3 meters. Averaging many FSI generated modulation transfer functions (MTFs) and Fourier transforming, this average yields the expected far field intensity degradation associated with an aircraft mounted laser system. Aerodynamic instrumentation included fine wire probes to measure unsteady temperature and mass flux. A laser doppler velocimeter measured unsteady velocity within the flows. An analysis of these data yielded point measurements of unsteady density and correlation length.

Description: Various aero-optical phenomena are discussed with reference to their effect on airborne high energy lasers. Major emphasis is placed on: compressibility effects induced in the surrounding flow field; viscous effects which manifests themselves as aircraft boundary layers or shear layers; inviscid flow fields surrounding the aircraft due to airflow around protuberance such as laser turret assemblies; and shocks, established whenever local flow exceeds Mach one. The significant physical parameters affecting the interaction of a laser beam with a turbulent boundary layer are also described.

Description: The two measurement systems were used to measure mean velocity and velocity, mass flux, and total temperature fluctuations in the turbulent boundary on the fuselage of a KC-135 aircraft. The boundary layer thickness ranged between about 20 and 30 cm for the range of flight Mach numbers from about 0.25 to 0.85 and Reynolds numbers between 3 and 6 x 10 to the 6th power/m. The adaptation of each system for use in airborne applications is discussed. The data obtained from each system are given and compared with each other and they indicate that the two systems represent viable ones for use in future airborne turbulence experiments.

Description: The methods used and the results obtained in four aero-optic tests are summarized. It is concluded that the rather large values of density fluctuation appear to be the result of much higher Mach number than freestream and the violent turbulence in the flow as it separates from the turret. A representative comparison of fairing on-fairing off rms density fluctuation indicates essentially no effect at M = 0.62 and a small effect at M = 0.95. These data indicate that some slight improvement in optical quality can be expected with the addition of a fairing, although at M = 0.62 its effect would be nil. Fairings are very useful in controlling pressure loads on turrets, but will not have first order effects on optical quality. Scale sizes increase dramatically with increasing azimuth angle for a reprensentative condition. Since both scale sizes and fluctuation levels increase (total turbulence path length also increases) with azimuth angle, substantial optical degradation might be expected. For shorter wave lengths, large degradations occur.

Description: Techniques for reducing the unsteady torques acting on the inner gimbal of a turret were developed. The reductions in the unsteady torques were obtained by using fixes that alter undesirable flow characteristics or change the acoustic properties of the turret cavity. These fixes were designed to be used in the subsonic and transonic flow regimes. The flow field about the turret generally three dimensional and turbulent, and shock waves formed because of the rapid acceleration of the compressible gas about the blunt turret. The situation was further complicated by the presence of the cavity flow, and the fact that the mouth of the cavity must sweep through a wide angular variation relative to the direction of the freestream. Results indicate that significant reductions of the unsteady pressures measured in the turret cavity could be obtained by the use of porous wind screens around the aperature of the cavity mouth.