ALBERT

Description: Effective Total Fatigue Life and Crack Growth Scatter Models are proposed. The first of them is based on the power form of the Wohler curve, fatigue scatter dependence on mean life value, cycle stress ratio influence on fatigue scatter, and validated description of the mean stress influence on the mean fatigue life. The second uses in addition are fracture mechanics approach, assumption of initial damage existence, and Paris equation. Simple formulas are derived for configurations of models. A preliminary identification of the parameters of the models is fulfilled on the basis of experimental data. Some new and important results for fatigue and crack growth scatter characteristics are obtained.

Description: Terminating action is a remedial repair which entails the replacement of shear head countersunk rivets with universal head rivets which have a larger shank diameter. The procedure was developed to eliminate the risk of widespread fatigue damage (WFD) in the upper rivet row of a fuselage lap joint. A test and evaluation program has been conducted by Foster-Miller, Inc. (FMI) to evaluate the terminating action repair of the upper rivet row of a commercial aircraft fuselage lap splice. Two full scale fatigue tests were conducted on fuselage panels using the growth of fatigue cracks in the lap joint. The second test was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the terminating action repair. In both tests, cyclic pressurization loading was applied to the panels while crack propagation was recorded at all rivet locations at regular intervals to generate detailed data on conditions of fatigue crack initiation, ligament link-up, and fuselage fracture. This program demonstrated that the terminating action repair substantially increases the fatigue life of a fuselage panel structure and effectively eliminates the occurrence of cracking in the upper rivet row of the lap joint. While high cycle crack growth was recorded in the middle rivet row during the second test, failure was not imminent when the test was terminated after cycling to well beyond the service life. The program also demonstrated that the initiation, propagation, and linkup of WFD in full-scale fuselage structures can be simulated and quantitatively studied in the laboratory. This paper presents an overview of the testing program and provides a detailed discussion of the data analysis and results. Crack distribution and propagation rates and directions as well as frequency of cracking are presented for both tests. The progression of damage to linkup of adjacent cracks and to eventual overall panel failure is discussed. In addition, an assessment of the effectiveness of the terminating action repair and the occurrence of cracking in the middle rivet row is provided, and conclusions of practical interest are drawn.

Description: The characteristics of widespread fatigue damage (WSFD) in fuselage riveted structure were established by detailed nondestructive and destructive examinations of fatigue damage contained in a full size fuselage test article. The objectives of this work were to establish an experimental data base for validating emerging WSFD analytical prediction methodology and to identify first order effects that contribute to fatigue crack initiation and growth. Detailed examinations were performed on a test panel containing four bays of a riveted lap splice joint. The panel was removed from a full scale fuselage test article after receiving 60,000 full pressurization cycles. The results of in situ examinations document the progression of fuselage skin fatigue crack growth through crack linkup. Detailed tear down examinations and fractography of the lap splice joint region revealed fatigue crack initiation sites, crack morphology and crack linkup geometry. From this large data base, distributions of crack size and locations are presented and discussions of operative damage mechanisms are offered.

Description: The CORPUS (Computation Of Retarded Propagation Under Spectrum loading) crack growth prediction model for variable-amplitude loading, as introduced by De Koning, was based on crack closure. It includes a multiple-overload effect and a transition from plane strain to plane stress. In the modified CORPUS model an underload affected zone (ULZ) is introduced, which is significant for flight-simulation loading in view of the once per flight compressive ground load. The ULZ is associated with reversed plastic deformation induced by the underloads after crack closure has already occurred. Predictions of the crack growth fatigue life are presented for a large variety of flight-simulation test series on 2024-T3 sheet specimens in order to reveal the effects of a number of variables: the design stress level, the gust spectrum severity, the truncation level (clipping), omission of small cycles, and the ground stress level. Tests with different load sequences are also included. The trends of the effects induced by the variables are correctly predicted. The quantitative agreement between the predictions and the test results is also satisfactory.

Description: The elliptic relaxation model of Durbin (1993) for modeling near-wall turbulence using second moment closures (SMC) is compared to DNS data for a channel flow at Re(sub t) = 395. The agreement for second order statistics and even the terms in their balance equation is quite satisfactory, confirming that very little viscous effects (via Kolmogoroff scales) need to be added to the high Reynolds versions of SMC for near-wall-turbulence. The essential near-wall feature is thus the kinematic blocking effect that a solid wall exerts on the turbulence through the fluctuating pressure, which is best modeled by an elliptic operator. Above the transition layer, the effect of the original elliptic operator decays rapidly, and it is suggested that the log-layer is better reproduced by adding a non-homogeneous reduction of the return to isotropy, the gradient of the turbulent length scale being used as a measure of the inhomogeneity of the log-layer. The elliptic operator was quite easily applied to the non-linear Craft & Launder pressure-strain model yielding an improved distinction between the spanwise and wall normal stresses, although at higher Reynolds number (Re) and away from the wall, the streamwise component is severely underpredicted, as well as the transition in the mean velocity from the log to the wake profiles. In this area a significant change of behavior was observed in the DNS pressure-strain term, entirely ignored in the models.

Description: This work carries earlier finite-difference calculations of the Widnall instability of vortex rings into the late non-linear stage. Plots of energy in azimuthal Fourier modes indicate that low-order modes dominate at large times; their structure and dynamics remain unexplored, however. An attempt was made to calculate the acoustic signal using the theory of Mohring (1978), valid for unbounded flow. This theory shows that only low-order azimuthal modes contribute to the sound. As a check on the effects of axial periodicity and a slip wall at large radius imposed by the numerical scheme, the acoustic integrals were also computed in a truncated region. Half of the terms contributing to the sound have large differences between the two regions, and the results are therefore unreliable. The error is less severe for a contribution involving only the m = 2 mode, and its low frequency is consistent with a free elliptic bending wave on a thin ring.

Description: The spectra of the pressure, and other higher-order quantities including the dissipation, the enstrophy, and the square of the longitudinal velocity derivative are computed using data obtained from direct numerical simulation of homogeneous isotropic turbulence at Taylor-Reynolds numbers R(sub lambda) in the range 38 - 170. For the pressure spectra we find reasonable collapse in the dissipation range (of the velocity spectrum) when scaled in Kolmogorov variables and some evidence, which is not conclusive, for the existence of a k(exp -7/3) inertial range where k = absolute value of K, is the modulus of the wavenumber. The power spectra of the dissipation, the enstrophy, and the square of the longitudinal velocity derivative separate in the dissipation range, but appear to converge together in the short inertial range of the simulations. A least-squares curve-fit in the dissipation range for one value of R(sub lambda) = 96 gives a form for the spectrum of the dissipation as k(exp 0)exp(-Ck eta), for k(eta) greater than 0.2, where eta is the Kolmogorov length and C is approximately equal to 2.5.

Description: Panel methods are commonly used in computational fluid dynamics for the solution of potential flow problems. The methods are a numerical technique based on the surface distribution of singularity elements. The solution is the process of finding the strength of the singularity elements distributed over the body's surface. This process involves the solution of the matrix problem Pq = p' for a set of unknowns q. The Fast Multipole Method is used to directly compute q without using matrix solvers. The algorithm works in O(N) time for N points, a great improvement over standard matrix solvers. In panel methods, the surface of a body is divided into a series of quadrilateral panels. The methods involve the computation of the influence of all other panels on each individual panel. The influence is based on the surface distribution, though this can be approximated by the area for distant panels. An alternative approximation, though with arbitrary accuracy, is to develop a multipole expansion about the center of the panel to describe the effect of a given panel on distant points in space. The expansion is based on the moments of the panel, thus allow the use of various surface distributions without changing the basic algorithm, just the computation of the various moments. The expansions are then manipulated in a tree walk to develop Taylor series expansions about a point in space which describe the effect of all distant panels on any point within a volume of convergence. The effect of near panels then needs to be computed directly, but the effect of all distant panels can be computed by simply evaluating the resulting expansion. The Fast Multipole Method has been applied to panel methods for the solution of source and doublet distributions. A major feature of the algorithm is that the algorithm does not change to derive the potential and velocity for sources and doublets. The same expansions can be used for both sources and doublets. Since the velocity is related to the potential, and the doublet potential is related to the z-component of the source velocity, all values can be derived from the same expansion by taking a series of partial derivatives. This requires more expansion terms to be kept since terms are lost in the process of taking partial derivatives. Thus to maintain accuracy for the doublet computation, more terms are required than if just evaluating for sources. The resulting Fast Multipole code should then parallelize better than classical panel methods due to the locality of data dependencies found in the Fast Multipole Method. Theoretically the parallelized code should execute in O(log N) time with O(N) processors, though this is not practical. Ongoing work includes implementing the parallel accelerated panel method, including methods to improve the load balancing of the problem by taking advantage of the known geometry of panels, and to encorporate sensitivity analysis into the algorithm.

Description: Asymptotic similarity states at large Reynolds numbers and small Rossby numbers in rotating homogeneous turbulence are investigated using the database obtained from large-eddy simulations of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Previous work has shown that the turbulence kinetic energy and integral length scales are accurately described by simple scaling laws based on the low wavenumbers part of the three-dimensional energy spectrum. The primary interest of the present study is to search for spectrum similarity in the asymptotic state. Four independent energy spectra are defined. It is shown that rescaling of these energy spectra in the asymptotic regime will collapse three out of the four spectra. The spectrum which does not collapse is a function only of the vertical wavenumber and corresponds to two-component motions in the plane normal to the rotation axis. Detailed investigation of the cause of this anomalous behavior reveals the existence of a strong reverse cascade of energy from small-to-large scales of the two-dimensional, two-component motions. This feature of the rotating flow is presumably linked to the lack of a complete similarity state, though further study of this issue is required.

Description: The minimum weight optimization of structural systems, subject to strength and displacement constraints as well as size side constraints, was investigated by the Simultaneous ANalysis and Design (SAND) approach. As an optimizer, the code NPSOL was used which is based on a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm. The structures were modeled by the finite element method. The finite element related input to NPSOL was automatically generated from the input decks of such standard FEM/optimization codes as NASTRAN or ASTROS, with the stiffness matrices, at present, extracted from the FEM code ANALYZE. In order to avoid ill-conditioned matrices that can be encountered when the global stiffness equations are used as additional nonlinear equality constraints in the SAND approach (with the displacements as additional variables), the matrix displacement method was applied. In this approach, the element stiffness equations are used as constraints instead of the global stiffness equations, in conjunction with the nodal force equilibrium equations. This approach adds the element forces as variables to the system. Since, for complex structures and the associated large and very sparce matrices, the execution times of the optimization code became excessive due to the large number of required constraint gradient evaluations, the Kreisselmeier-Steinhauser function approach was used to decrease the computational effort by reducing the nonlinear equality constraint system to essentially a single combined constraint equation. As the linear equality and inequality constraints require much less computational effort to evaluate, they were kept in their previous form to limit the complexity of the KS function evaluation. To date, the standard three-bar, ten-bar, and 72-bar trusses have been tested. For the standard SAND approach, correct results were obtained for all three trusses although convergence became slower for the 72-bar truss. When the matrix displacement method was used, correct results were still obtained, but the execution times became excessive due to the large number of constraint gradient evaluations required. Using the KS function, the computational effort dropped, but the optimization seemed to become less robust. The investigation of this phenomenon is continuing. As an alternate approach, the code MINOS for the optimization of sparse matrices can be applied to the problem in lieu of the Kreisselmeier-Steinhauser function. This investigation is underway.

Description: Computational Fluid Dynamics (or CFD) methods are very familiar to the research community. Even the general public has had some exposure to CFD images, primarily through the news media. However, very little attention has been paid to CST--Computational Structures Technology. Yet, no important design can be completed without it. During the first half of this century, researchers only dreamed of designing and building structures on a computer. Today their dreams have become practical realities as computational methods are used in all phases of design, fabrication and testing of engineering systems. Increasingly complex structures can now be built in even shorter periods of time. Over the past four decades, computer technology has been developing, and early finite element methods have grown from small in-house programs to numerous commercial software programs. When coupled with advanced computing systems, they help engineers make dramatic leaps in designing and testing concepts. The goals of CST include: predicting how a structure will behave under actual operating conditions; designing and complementing other experiments conducted on a structure; investigating microstructural damage or chaotic, unpredictable behavior; helping material developers in improving material systems; and being a useful tool in design systems optimization and sensitivity techniques. Applying CST to a structure problem requires five steps: (1) observe the specific problem; (2) develop a computational model for numerical simulation; (3) develop and assemble software and hardware for running the codes; (4) post-process and interpret the results; and (5) use the model to analyze and design the actual structure. Researchers in both industry and academia continue to make significant contributions to advance this technology with improvements in software, collaborative computing environments and supercomputing systems. As these environments and systems evolve, computational structures technology will evolve. By using CST in the design and operation of future structures systems, engineers will have a better understanding of how a system responds and lasts, more cost-effective methods of designing and testing models, and improved productivity. For informational and educational purposes, a videotape is being produced using both static and dynamic images from research institutions, software and hardware companies, private individuals, and historical photographs and drawings. The extensive number of CST resources indicates its widespread use. Applications run the gamut from simpler university-simulated problems to those requiring solutions on supercomputers. In some cases, an image or an animation will be mapped onto the actual structure to show the relevance of the computer model to the structure. Transferring the digital files to videotape presents a number of problems related to maintaining the quality of the original image, while still producing a broadcast quality videotape. Since researchers normally do not create a computer image using traditional composition theories or video production requirements, often the image loses some of its original digital quality and impact when transferred to videotape. Although many CST images are currently available, those that are edited into the final project must meet two important criteria: they must complement the narration, and they must be broadcast quality when recorded on videotape.

Description: The long-term goal of the current research is the study of Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) as a tool for aeroacoustics. New algorithms and developments in computer hardware are making possible a new generation of tools for aeroacoustic predictions, which rely on the physics of the flow rather than empirical knowledge. LES, in conjunction with an acoustic analogy, holds the promise of predicting the statistics of noise radiated to the far-field of a turbulent flow. LES's predictive ability will be tested through extensive comparison of acoustic predictions based on a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and LES of the same flow, as well as a priori testing of DNS results. The method presented here is aimed at allowing simulation of a turbulent flow field that is both simple and amenable to acoustic predictions. A free shear flow is homogeneous in both the streamwise and spanwise directions and which is statistically stationary will be simulated using equations based on the Navier-Stokes equations with a small number of added terms. Studying a free shear flow eliminates the need to consider flow-surface interactions as an acoustic source. The homogeneous directions and the flow's statistically stationary nature greatly simplify the application of an acoustic analogy.

Description: Detailed three-dimensional three-component phase averaged measurements of the spanwise and streamwise vorticity formation and evolution in acoustically forced plane free-shear flows have been obtained. For the first time, phase-averaged measurements of all three velocity components have been obtained in both a mixing layer and a wake on three-dimensional grids, yielding the spanwise and streamwise vorticity distributions without invoking Taylor's hypothesis. Initially, two-frequency forcing was used to phase-lock the roll-up and first pairing of the spanwise vortical structures in a plane mixing layer. The objective of this study was to measure the near-field vortical structure morphology in a mixing layer with 'natural' laminar initial boundary layers. For the second experiment the second and third subharmonics of the fundamental roll-up frequency were added to the previous two-frequency forcing in order to phase-lock the roll-up and first three pairings of the spanwise rollers in the mixing layer. The objective of this study was to determine the details of spanwise scale changes observed in previous time-averaged measurements and flow visualization of unforced mixing layers. For the final experiment, single-frequency forcing was used to phase-lock the Karman vortex street in a plane wake developing from nominally two-dimensional laminar initial boundary layers. The objective of this study was to compare measurements of the three-dimensional structure in a wake developing from 'natural' initial boundary layers to existing models of wake vortical structure.

Description: It was previously shown that the strong vorticity in isotropic turbulence is organized into tubular vortices ('worms') whose properties were characterized through the use of full numerical simulations at several Reynolds numbers. At the time most of the observations were kinematic, and several scaling laws were discovered for which there was no theoretical explanation. In the meantime, further analysis of the same fields yielded new information on the generation of the vortices, and it was realized that even if they had to be formed by stretching, they were at any given moment actually compressed at many points of their axes. This apparent contradiction was partially explained by postulating axial inertial waves induced by the nonuniformity of the vortex cores, which helped to 'spread' the axial strain and allowed the vortices to remain compact even if not uniformly stretched. The existence of such solutions was recently proved numerically. The present report discusses a set of new numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence, and a reanalysis of the old ones, in an effort to prove or disprove the presence of these waves in actual turbulent flows and to understand the dynamics, as opposed to the kinematics, of the vortices.

Description: A method for active fluid flow control based on control theory is discussed. Dynamic programming and fixed point successive approximations are used to accommodate the nonlinear control problem. The long-term goal of this project is to establish an effective method applicable to complex flows such as turbulence and jets. However, in this report, the method is applied to stochastic Burgers equation as an intermediate step towards this goal. Numerical results are compared with those obtained by gradient search methods.

Description: The objective of the present research is the development and application of efficient adaptive numerical algorithms for the study, via direct numerical simulations, of active vortex generators. We are using innovative computational schemes to investigate flows past complex configurations undergoing arbitrary motions. Some of the questions we try to answer are: Can and how may we control the dynamics of the wake? What is the importance of body shape and motion in the active control of the flow? What is the effect of three-dimensionality in laboratory experiments? We are interested not only in coupling our results to ongoing, related experimental work, but furthermore to develop an extensive database relating the above mechanisms to the vortical wake structures with the long-range objective of developing feedback control mechanisms. This technology is very important to aircraft, ship, automotive, and other industries that require predictive capability for fluid mechanical problems. The results would have an impact in high angle of attack aerodynamics and help design ways to improve the efficiency of ships and submarines (maneuverability, vortex induced vibration, and noise).

Description: A challenge for traditional turbulence modeling, based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations, remains the accurate prediction of 'mild', adverse pressure-gradient driven separation from a smooth surface. With this study we want to explore the capability of large-eddy simulation to predict the separation which occurs on the deflected wall of an asymmetric, plane diffuser with opening angle of 10 deg. The flow through the plane diffuser exhibits some additional interesting physical phenomena which make it a challenging test case. In addition to 'mild' separation about halfway down the deflected ramp, the flow is characterized by a small backflow zone with stalled fluid in the rear part of the expanding section. The turbulent flow entering the diffuser is subject to combined adverse and radial pressure gradients stemming from the convex curvature. Finally the flow recovers into a developed, turbulent channel flow in the outlet section. Obi et al. provide measurements of mean flow, Reynolds stresses, and pressure recovery, which were obtained by means of LDV in a wind tunnel. The objective of this study is to investigate whether LES with the standard dynamic model is able to accurately predict the flow in the one-sided diffuser and to explore the resolution requirements and associated costs.

Description: The dynamic subgrid-scale (SGS) model has given good results in the large-eddy simulation (LES) of homogeneous isotropic or shear flow, and in the LES of channel flow, using averaging in two or three homogeneous directions (the DA model). In order to simulate flows in general, complex geometries (with few or no homogeneous directions), the dynamic SGS model needs to be applied at a local level in a numerically stable way. Channel flow, which is inhomogeneous and wall-bounded flow in only one direction, provides a good initial test for local SGS models. Tests of the dynamic localization model were performed previously in channel flow using a pseudospectral code and good results were obtained. Numerical instability due to persistently negative eddy viscosity was avoided by either constraining the eddy viscosity to be positive or by limiting the time that eddy viscosities could remain negative by co-evolving the SGS kinetic energy (the DLk model). The DLk model, however, was too expensive to run in the pseudospectral code due to a large near-wall term in the auxiliary SGS kinetic energy (k) equation. One objective was then to implement the DLk model in a second-order central finite difference channel code, in which the auxiliary k equation could be integrated implicitly in time at great reduction in cost, and to assess its performance in comparison with the plane-averaged dynamic model or with no model at all, and with direct numerical simulation (DNS) and/or experimental data. Other local dynamic SGS models have been proposed recently, e.g., constrained dynamic models with random backscatter, and with eddy viscosity terms that are averaged in time over material path lines rather than in space. Another objective was to incorporate and test these models in channel flow.

Description: Two projects are described in this report. The first involves assessing turbulence models in separated flow. The second addresses the anomalous behavior of certain turbulence models in stagnation point flow. The primary motivation for developing turbulent transport models is to provide tools for computing non-equilibrium, or complex, turbulent flows. Simple flows can be analyzed using data correlations or algebraic eddy viscosities, but in more complicated flows such as a massively separated boundary layer, a more elaborate level of modeling is required. It is widely believed that at least a two-equation transport model is required in such cases. The transport equations determine the evolution of suitable velocity and time-scales of the turbulence. The present study included assessment of second-moment closures in several separated flows, including sharp edge separation; smooth wall, pressure driven separation; and unsteady vortex shedding. Flows with mean swirl are of interest for their role in enhancing mixing both by turbulent and mean motion. The swirl can have a stabilizing effect on the turbulence. An axi-symmetric extension to the INS-2D computer program was written adding the capability of computing swirling flow. High swirl can produce vortex breakdown on the centerline of the jet and it occurs in various combustors.

Description: A model for the effects of rotation on turbulence is proposed and tested. These effects which influence mainly the rate of turbulence decay are modeled in a modified turbulent energy dissipation rate equation that has explicit dependence on the mean rotation rate. An appropriate definition of the rotation rate derived from critical point theory and based on the invariants of the deformation tensor is proposed. The modeled dissipation rate equation is numerically well behaved and can be used in conjunction with any level of turbulence closure. The model is applied to the two-equation kappa-epsilon turbulence model and is used to compute separated flows in a backward-facing step and an axisymmetric swirling coaxial jets into a sudden expansion. In general, the rotation modified dissipation rate model shows some improvements over the standard kappa-epsilon model.

Description: The long-time, asymptotic state of rotating homogeneous shallow-water equations is investigated. Our analysis is based on long-time averaged rotating shallow-water equations describing interactions of large-scale, horizontal, two-dimensional motions with surface inertial-gravity waves field for a shallow, uniformly rotating fluid layer. These equations are obtained in two steps: first by introducing a Poincare/Kelvin linear propagator directly into classical shallow-water equations, then by averaging. The averaged equations describe interaction of wave fields with large-scale motions on time scales long compared to the time scale 1/f(sub o) introduced by rotation (f(sub o)/2-angular velocity of background rotation). The present analysis is similar to the one presented by Waleffe (1991) for 3D Euler equations in a rotating frame. However, since three-wave interactions in rotating shallow-water equations are forbidden, the final equations describing the asymptotic state are simplified considerably. Special emphasis is given to a new conservation law found in the asymptotic state and decoupling of the dynamics of the divergence free part of the velocity field. The possible rising of a decoupled dynamics in the asymptotic state is also investigated for homogeneous turbulence subjected to a background rotation. In our analysis we use long-time expansion, where the velocity field is decomposed into the 'slow manifold' part (the manifold which is unaffected by the linear 'rapid' effects of rotation or the inertial waves) and a formal 3D disturbance. We derive the physical space version of the long-time averaged equations and consider an invariant, basis-free derivation. This formulation can be used to generalize Waleffe's (1991) helical decomposition to viscous inhomogeneous flows (e.g. problems in cylindrical geometry with no-slip boundary conditions on the cylinder surface and homogeneous in the vertical direction).

Description: Thermal stress analyses are an important aspect in the development of aerospace vehicles at NASA-LaRC. These analyses require knowledge of the temperature distributions within the vehicle structures which consequently necessitates the need for accurate thermal property data. The overall goal of this ongoing research effort is to develop methodologies for the estimation of the thermal property data needed to describe the temperature responses of these complex structures. The research strategy undertaken utilizes a building block approach. The idea here is to first focus on the development of property estimation methodologies for relatively simple conditions, such as isotropic materials at constant temperatures, and then systematically modify the technique for the analysis of more and more complex systems, such as anisotropic multi-component systems. The estimation methodology utilized is a statistically based method which incorporates experimental data and a mathematical model of the system. Several aspects of this overall research effort were investigated during the time of the ASEE summer program. One important aspect involved the calibration of the estimation procedure for the estimation of the thermal properties through the thickness of a standard material. Transient experiments were conducted using a Pyrex standard at various temperatures, and then the thermal properties (thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity) were estimated at each temperature. Confidence regions for the estimated values were also determined. These results were then compared to documented values. Another set of experimental tests were conducted on carbon composite samples at different temperatures. Again, the thermal properties were estimated for each temperature, and the results were compared with values obtained using another technique. In both sets of experiments, a 10-15 percent off-set between the estimated values and the previously determined values was found. Another effort was related to the development of the experimental techniques. Initial experiments required a resistance heater placed between two samples. The design was modified such that the heater was placed on the surface of only one sample, as would be necessary in the analysis of built up structures. Experiments using the modified technique were conducted on the composite sample used previously at different temperatures. The results were within 5 percent of those found using two samples. Finally, an initial heat transfer analysis, including conduction, convection and radiation components, was completed on a titanium sandwich structural sample. Experiments utilizing this sample are currently being designed and will be used to first estimate the material's effective thermal conductivity and later to determine the properties associated with each individual heat transfer component.

Description: The previous design philosophies involving safe life, fail-safe and damage tolerance concepts become inadequate for assuring the safety of aging aircraft structures. For example, the failure mechanism for the Aloha Airline accident involved the coalescence of undetected small cracks at the rivet holes causing a section of the fuselage to peel open during flight. Therefore, the fuselage structure should be designed to have sufficient residual strength under worst case crack configurations and in-flight load conditions. Residual strength is interpreted as the maximum load carrying capacity prior to unstable crack growth. Internal pressure and bending moment constitute the two major components of the external loads on the fuselage section during flight. Although the stiffeners in the form of stringers, frames and tear straps sustain part of the external loads, the significant portion of the load is taken up by the skin. In the presence of a large crack in the skin, the crack lips bulge out with considerable yielding; thus, the geometric and material nonlinearities must be included in the analysis for predicting residual strength. Also, these nonlinearities do not permit the decoupling of in-plane and out-of-plane bending deformations. The failure criterion combining the concepts of absorbed specific energy and strain energy density addresses the aforementioned concerns. The critical absorbed specific energy (local toughness) for the material is determined from the global specimen response and deformation geometry based on the uniaxial tensile test data and detailed finite element modeling of the specimen response. The use of the local toughness and stress-strain response at the continuum level eliminates the size effect. With this critical parameter and stress-strain response, the finite element analysis of the component by using STAGS along with the application of this failure criterion provides the stable crack growth calculations for residual strength predictions.

Description: A sandwich construction consists of a low-density core material with high strength face sheets bounded to the top and bottom surfaces. The construction has been widely used in the aerospace and marine industries due to its outstanding characteristics such as noise absorption, weight minimization, heat insulation, and better bending stiffness. In sandwich structures used in high-performance aircraft, the face sheets are often made of fiber-reinforced composite materials and the core is made of honeycomb. The structures may also have variable thickness so as to satisfy aerodynamic requirements. In the stress analysis, the constant-thickness face sheets are usually considered as membrane and the core is assumed to be inextensible but deformable in the thickness direction. The static behavior of variable-thickness, isotropic and homogeneous sandwich beams was successfully studied by employing a constant-thickness theory but allowing stiffnesses to vary in accordance with local thickness variations. It has been recently found in a refined theory that the analyses based on the constant thickness theory locally can lead to significant errors in structural responses if the sandwich beam is thickness-tapered and the cores are deformable in transverse shear. The errors arise mainly from two factors: (1) the transverse shear components of the membrane forces in the face sheets alter the transverse shears carried by the core; and (2) the face-sheet membrane strains arise from transverse shear deformation of the core. In practice the variable thickness may not only exist in core but also in face sheets. The thickness-variations may even be a type of step function. In this case the transverse shear stress in the face sheets and bending stress in the core should be taken into account in the refined theory mentioned. In the present study, energy principles are employed in deriving governing equations for general bending of anisotropic sandwich beams with variable thickness in both face sheets and cores. Solutions to these equations are based on a finite difference scheme. As an example in application, a simply supported thickness-tapered sandwich beam subject to a concentrated load at its center is considered. Let W' be the maximum deflection of the beam in which face sheets are considered as membrane, while W'' is that based on using the modified refined theory. It is found that W' is always larger than W'', however, the magnitude of (W'- W'') appears to be insensitive to the change of the taper of the beam.

Description: Understanding of turbulent free shear flows (wakes, jets, and mixing layers) is important, not only for scientific interest, but also because of their appearance in numerous practical applications. Turbulent wakes, in particular, have recently received increased attention by researchers at NASA Langley. The turbulent wake generated by a two-dimensional airfoil has been selected as the test-case for detailed high-resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments. This same wake has also been chosen to enhance NASA's turbulence modeling efforts. Over the past year, the author has completed several wake computations, while visiting NASA through the 1993 and 1994 ASEE summer programs, and also while on sabbatical leave during the 1993-94 academic year. These calculations have included two-equation (K-omega and K-epsilon) models, algebraic stress models (ASM), full Reynolds stress closure models, and direct numerical simulations (DNS). Recently, there has been mutually beneficial collaboration of the experimental and computational efforts. In fact, these projects have been chosen for joint presentation at the NASA Turbulence Peer Review, scheduled for September 1994. DNS calculations are presently underway for a turbulent wake at Re(sub theta) = 1000 and at a Mach number of 0.20. (Theta is the momentum thickness, which remains constant in the wake of a two dimensional body.) These calculations utilize a compressible DNS code written by M. M. Rai of NASA Ames, and modified for the wake by J. Cimbala. The code employs fifth-order accurate upwind-biased finite differencing for the convective terms, fourth-order accurate central differencing for the viscous terms, and an iterative-implicit time-integration scheme. The computational domain for these calculations starts at x/theta = 10, and extends to x/theta = 610. Fully developed turbulent wake profiles, obtained from experimental data from several wake generators, are supplied at the computational inlet, along with appropriate noise. After some adjustment period, the flow downstream of the inlet develops into a fully three-dimensional turbulent wake. Of particular interest in the present study is the far wake spreading rate and the self-similar mean and turbulence profiles. At the time of this writing, grid resolution studies are underway, and a code is being written to calculate turbulence statistics from these wake calculations; the statistics will be compared to those from the ongoing PIV wake measurements, those of previous experiments, and those predicted by the various turbulence models. These calculations will lead to significant long-term benefits for the turbulence modeling effort. In particular, quantities such as the pressure-strain correlation and the dissipation rate tensor can be easily calculated from the DNS results, whereas these quantities are nearly impossible to measure experimentally. Improvements to existing turbulence models (and development of new models) require knowledge about flow quantities such as these. Present turbulence models do a very good job at prediction of the shape of the mean velocity and Reynolds stress profiles in a turbulent wake, but significantly underpredict the magnitude of the stresses and the spreading rate of the wake. Thus, the turbulent wake is an ideal flow for turbulence modeling research. By careful comparison and analysis of each term in the modeled Reynolds stress equations, the DNS data can show where deficiencies in the models exist; improvements to the models can then be attempted.

Description: A new formulation of the dynamic subgrid-scale model is tested in which the error associated with the Germano identity is minimized over flow pathlines rather than over directions of statistical homogeneity. This procedure allows the application of the dynamic model with averaging to flows in complex geometries that do not possess homogeneous directions. The characteristic Lagrangian time scale over which the averaging is performed is chosen such that the model is purely dissipative, guaranteeing numerical stability when coupled with the Smagorinsky model. The formulation is tested successfully in forced and decaying isotropic turbulence and in fully developed and transitional channel flow. In homogeneous flows, the results are similar to those of the volume-averaged dynamic model, while in channel flow, the predictions are superior to those of the plane-averaged dynamic model. The relationship between the averaged terms in the model and vortical structures (worms) that appear in the LES is investigated. Computational overhead is kept small (about 10 percent above the CPU requirements of the volume or plane-averaged dynamic model) by using an approximate scheme to advance the Lagrangian tracking through first-order Euler time integration and linear interpolation in space.

Description: We present analysis and numerical experiments on the instability of streamwise vortices in 'minimal channel' flows and argue that this instability is a key feature in the observed intermittent cycle of formation, break-up, and re-formation of these structures. The base flow is a three-component, two-dimensional pair of counter-rotating rolls with axes aligned along the direction of the mean shear. While it is not a steady solution to the Navier-Stokes equations, we show numerically that this flow is unstable on a fast time scale to a secondary, three-dimensional Floquet mode. The growth of the secondary instability does not saturate in a new equilibrium, but continues until highly unstable local shear layers form and the entire flow breaks down into turbulence. Our analysis is motivated in part by the strong similarities between the intermittent turbulent cycle in minimal channel flows and one studied, both experimentally and in computations, in Couette-Taylor flow.

Description: The decay of a homogeneous turbulence generated by an axisymmetric distribution of random impulsive forces acting at the initial instant is considered. The impulsive forces may be either parallel or perpendicular to the symmetry axis. For impulsive forces which result in a kappa(exp 4) low wavenumber energy spectrum of the turbulence, it is determined that the flow approaches isotropy on all scales of motion at long-times provided the Reynolds number is large. However, for the type of impulsive forces originally proposed by Saffman in which a sq kappa low wavenumber energy spectrum is produced, the turbulence approaches isotropy only at the smallest scales and remains significantly anisotropic at the largest and energy-containing scales. Nevertheless, a similarity state of the flow field establishes itself asymptotically, in which the kinetic energy per unit mass of the turbulence decays as t(exp -6/5).

Description: The statistics of pressure and pressure gradient in stationary isotropic turbulence are measured within direct numerical simulations at low to moderate Reynolds numbers. It is found that the one-point pdf of the pressure is highly skewed and that the pdf of the pressure gradient is of stretched exponential form. The power spectrum of the pressure P(k) is found to be larger than the corresponding spectrum P(sub G)(k) computed from a Gaussian velocity field having the same energy spectrum as that of the DNS field. The ratio P(k)/P(sub G)(k), a measure of the pressure-field intermittence, grows with wavenumber and Reynolds number as -R(sub lambda)(exp 1/2)log(k/k(sub d)) for k less than k(sub d)/2 where k(sub d) is the Kolmogorov wavenumber. The Lagrangian correlations of pressure gradient and velocity are compared and the Lagrangian time scale of the pressure gradient is observed to be much shorter than that of the velocity.

Description: The summer assignment to study sheared turbulent flow was divided into three phases which were: (1) literature survey, (2) computational familiarization, and (3) pilot computational studies. The governing equations of fluid dynamics or Navier-Stokes equations describe the velocity, pressure, and density as functions of position and time. In principle, when combined with conservation equations for mass, energy, and thermodynamic state of the fluid a determinate system could be obtained. In practice the Navier-Stokes equations have not been solved due to the nonlinear nature and complexity of these equations. Consequently, the importance of experiments in gaining insight for understanding the physics of the problem has been an ongoing process. Reasonable computer simulations of the problem have occured as the computational speed and storage of computers has evolved. The importance of the microstructure of the turbulence dictates the need for high resolution grids in extracting solutions which contain the physical mechanisms which are essential to a successful simulation. The recognized breakthrough occurred as a result of the pioneering work of Orzag and Patterson in which the Navier-Stokes equations were solved numerically utilizing a time saving toggling technique between physical and wave space, known as a spectral method. An equally analytically unsolvable problem, containing the same quasi-chaotic nature as turbulence, is known as the three body problem which was studied computationally as a first step this summer. This study was followed by computations of a two dimensional (2D) free shear layer.

Description: This work concerns fracture mechanics modeling of composite delamination problems. In order to predict delamination resistance, an applied stress intensity factor, K, or energy release rate, G, must be compared to a mode-dependent critical value of K or G from experiment. In the interfacial fracture analysis of most applications and some tests, the mode of crack extension is not uniquely defined. It is instead a function of distance from the crack tip due to the oscillating singularity existing at the tip. In this work, a consistent method is presented of extracting crack extension modes in such cases. In particular, use of the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) to extract modes of crack extension is studied for cases of a crack along the interface between two in-plane orthotropic materials. Modes of crack extension extracted from oscillatory analyses using VCCT are a function of the virtual crack extension length, delta. Most existing efforts to obtain delta-independent modes of crack extension involve changing the analysis in order to eliminate its oscillatory nature. One such method involves changing one or more properties of the layers to make the oscillatory exponent parameter, epsilon, equal zero. Standardized application of this method would require consistent criteria for identifying which properties can be altered without changing the physical aspects of the problem. Another method involves inserting a thin homogeneous layer (typically referred to as a resin interlayer) along the interface and placing the crack within it. The drawbacks of this method are that it requires increased modeling effort and introduces the thickness of the interlayer as an additional length parameter. The approach presented here does not attempt to alter the interfacial fracture analysis to eliminate its oscillatory behavior. Instead, the argument is made that the oscillatory behavior is non-physical and that if its effects were separated from VCCT quantities, then consistent, delta-independent modes of crack extension could be defined. Knowledge of the near-tip fields in a planar orthotropic material interfacial fracture analysis is used to determine the explicit delta dependence of VCCT parameters. Once this delta dependence is determined, energy release rates are defined with this delta dependence factored out. This modified VCCT method is applied to results from two finite element test cases. It is shown that, as predicted, delta-independent modes of crack extension result. The modified VCCT approach shows potential as a consistent method of extracting crack extension modes. It uses the same information from a finite element analysis (i.e., nodal forces and displacements) as the traditional VCCT method does. The A-independent modes extracted using the modified VCCT approach can also be used as guides to test the convergence of finite element solutions.

Description: The optical method of caustics has been successfully extended to enable stress intensity factors as low as 1MPa square root of m to be determined accurately for central fatigue cracks in 2024-T3 aluminium alloy test panels. The feasibility of using this technique to study crack closure, and to determine the effective stress intensity factor range, Delta K(sub eff), has been investigated. Comparisons have been made between the measured values of stress intensity factor, K(sub caus), and corresponding theoretical values, K(sub theo), for a range of fatigue cracks grown under different loading conditions. The values of K(sub caus) and K(sub theo) were in good agreement at maximum stress, where the cracks are fully open, while K(sub caus) exceeded K(sub theo) at minimum stress, due to crack closure. However, the levels of crack closure and values of Delta K(sub eff) obtained could not account for the variations of crack growth rate with loading conditions. It is concluded that the values of Delta K(sub eff), based on caustic measurements in a 1/square root of r stress field well outside the plastic zone, do not fully reflect local conditions which control crack tip behavior.

Description: Fatigue crack growth tests were conducted on an Fe 510 E C-Mn steel and a submerged arc welded joint from the same material under constant, variable, and random loading amplitudes. Paris-Erdogan's crack growth rate law was tested for the evaluation of m and C using the stress intensity factor K, the J-integral, the effective stress intensity factor K(sub eff), and the root mean square stress intensity factor K(sub rms) fracture mechanics concepts. The effect of retardation and residual stresses resulting from welding was also considered. It was found that all concepts gave good life predictions in all cases.

Description: Newman crack-closure model and the relevant crack growth program were applied to the analysis of crack growth under constant amplitude and aircraft spectrum loading on a number of aluminum alloy materials. The analysis was performed for available test data of 2219-T851, 2024-T3, 2024-T351, 7075-T651, 2324-T39, and 7150-T651 aluminum materials. The results showed that the constraint factor is a significant factor in the method. The determination of the constraint factor is discussed. For constant amplitude loading, satisfactory crack growth lives could be predicted. For the above aluminum specimens, the ratio of predicted to experimental lives, Np/Nt, ranged from 0.74 to 1.36. The mean value of Np/Nt was 0.97. For a specified complex spectrum loading, predicted crack growth lives are not in very good agreement with the test data. Further effort is needed to correctly simulate the transition between plane strain and plane stress conditions, existing near the crack tip.

Description: Load separation is the representation of the load in the test records of geometries containing cracks as a multiplication of two separate functions: a crack geometry function and a material deformation function. Load separation is demonstrated in the test records of several two-dimensional geometries such as compact tension geometry, single edge notched bend geometry, and center cracked tension geometry and three-dimensional geometries such as semi-elliptical surface crack. The role of load separation in the evaluation of the fracture parameter J-integral and the associated factor eta for two-dimensional geometries is discussed. The paper also discusses the theoretical basis and the procedure for using load separation as a simplified yet accurate approach for plastic J evaluation in semi-elliptical surface crack which is a three-dimensional geometry. The experimental evaluation of J, and particularly J(sub pl), for three-dimensional geometries is very challenging. A few approaches have been developed in this regard and they are either complex or very approximate. The paper also presents the load separation as a mean to identify the blunting and crack growth regions in the experimental test records of precracked specimens. Finally, load separation as a methodology in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics is presented.

Description: This paper develops improved stochastic models for the description of a large variety of fatigue crack growth phenomena that occur in components of considerable importance to the functionality and reliability of complex engineering structures. In essence, the models are based on the McGill-Markov and Closure-Lognormal stochastic processes. Not only do these models have the capability of predicting the statistical dispersion of crack growth rates, they also, by incorporating the concept of crack closure, have the capability of transferring stochastic crack growth properties measured under ideal laboratory conditions to situations of industrial significance, such as those occurring under adverse loading and/or environmental conditions. The primary data required in order to be in a position to estimate the pertinent parameters of these stochastic models are obtained from a statistically significant number of replicate tests. In this paper, both the theory and the experimental technique are illustrated using a Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Finally, important structural integrity, reliability, availability and maintainability concepts are developed and illustrated.

Description: Some of the environments and loads experienced by the Space Shuttle or future reusable space vehicles are unique, while others are similar to those encountered by commercial and/or military aircraft. Prior to the Space Transportation System (STS) flights, fatigue loads spectra were generated for the Space Shuttle based on anticipated environments and assumptions that were shown not to be applicable to the actual flight environments the vehicle experienced. This resulted in the need to generate a new cycle of fatigue loads spectra, which was based on measured flight data as well as mission profiles, reflecting the various types of service and operations the vehicle and payloads experienced.

Description: The Center for Turbulent Research (CTR) post-processing effort aims to make turbulence simulations and data more readily and usefully available to the research and industrial communities. The Tensoral language, introduced in this document and currently existing in prototype form, is the foundation of this effort. Tensoral provides a convenient and powerful protocol to connect users who wish to analyze fluids databases with the authors who generate them. In this document we introduce Tensoral and its prototype implementation in the form of a user's guide. This guide focuses on use of Tensoral for post-processing turbulence databases. The corresponding document - the Tensoral 'author's guide' - which focuses on how authors can make databases available to users via the Tensoral system - is currently unwritten. Section 1 of this user's guide defines Tensoral's basic notions: we explain the class of problems at hand and how Tensoral abstracts them. Section 2 defines Tensoral syntax for mathematical expressions. Section 3 shows how these expressions make up Tensoral statements. Section 4 shows how Tensoral statements and expressions are embedded into other computer languages (such as C or Vectoral) to make Tensoral programs. We conclude with a complete example program.

Description: In the present work, we propose to conduct direct numerical simulations (DNS) of incompressible turbulent axisymmetric jets and wakes. The objectives of the study are to understand the fundamental behavior of axisymmetric jets and wakes, which are perhaps the most technologically relevant free shear flows (e.g. combuster injectors, propulsion jet). Among the data to be generated are various statistical quantities of importance in turbulence modeling, like the mean velocity, turbulent stresses, and all the terms in the Reynolds-stress balance equations. In addition, we will be interested in the evolution of large-scale structures that are common in free shear flow. The axisymmetric jet or wake is also a good problem in which to try the newly developed b-spline numerical method. Using b-splines as interpolating functions in the non-periodic direction offers many advantages. B-splines have local support, which leads to sparse matrices that can be efficiently stored and solved. Also, they offer spectral-like accuracy that are C(exp O-1) continuous, where O is the order of the spline used; this means that derivatives of the velocity such as the vorticity are smoothly and accurately represented. For purposes of validation against existing results, the present code will also be able to simulate internal flows (ones that require a no-slip boundary condition). Implementation of no-slip boundary condition is trivial in the context of the b-splines.

Description: During the last three years we have conducted high- and low-Reynolds-number experiments, including hot-wire measurements of the velocity fluctuations, in the test-section-ceiling boundary layer of the 80- by 120-foot Full-Scale Aerodynamics Facility at NASA Ames Research Center, to test the local-isotropy predictions of Kolmogorov's universal equilibrium theory. This hypothesis, which states that at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers the small-scale structures of turbulent motions are independent of large-scale structures and mean deformations, has been used in theoretical studies of turbulence and computational methods such as large-eddy simulation; however, its range of validity in shear flows has been a subject of controversy. The present experiments were planned to enhance our understanding of the local-isotropy hypothesis. Our experiments were divided into two sets. First, measurements were taken at different Reynolds numbers in a plane boundary layer, which is a 'simple' shear flow. Second, experiments were designed to address this question: will our criteria for the existence of local isotropy hold for 'complex' nonequilibrium flows in which extra rates of mean strain are added to the basic mean shear?

Description: previously a description was given of an active control scheme using wall transpiration that leads to a 15% reduction in surface skin friction beneath a turbulent boundary layer, according to direct numerical simulation. In this research brief further details of that scheme and its variants are given together with some suggestions as to how sensor/actuator arrays could be configured to reduce surface drag. The research which is summarized here was performed during the first half of 1994. This research is motivated by the need to understand better how the dynamics of near-wall turbulent flow can be modified so that skin friction is reduced. The reduction of turbulent skin friction is highly desirable in many engineering applications. Experiments and direct numerical simulations have led to an increased understanding of the cycle of turbulence production and transport in the boundary layer and raised awareness of the possibility of disrupting the process with a subsequent reduction in turbulent skin friction. The implementation of active feedback control in a computational setting is a viable approach for the investigation of the modifications to the flow physics that can be achieved. Bewley et al. and Hill describe how ideas from optimal control theory are employed to give 'sub-optimal' drag reduction schemes. The objectives of the work reported here is to investigate in greater detail the assumptions implicit within such schemes and their limitations. It is also our objective to describe how an array of sensors and actuators could be arranged and interconnected to form a 'smart' surface which has low skin friction.

Description: Conventional vortex generators as found on many civil aircrafts are mainly for off-design conditions - e.g. suppression of separation or loss of aileron power when the Mach number accidentally rises above the design (cruise) value. In normal conditions they perform no useful function and exert a significant drag penalty. Recently there have been advances in new designs for passive vortex generators and boundary layer control. While traditionally the generators heights were of the order of the boundary layer thickness (delta), recent advances have been made where generators of the order of delta/4 have been shown to be effective. The advancement of MIcro-Electro-Mechanical (MEM) devices has prompted several efforts in exploring the possibility of using such devices in turbulence control. These new devices offer the possibility of boundary layer manipulation through the production of vortices, momentum jets, or other features in the flow. However, the energy output of each device is low in general, but they can be used in large numbers. Therefore, the possibility of moving from passive vortex generators to active (on-demand) devices becomes of interest. Replacement of fixed rectangular or delta-wing generators by devices that could be activated when needed would produce substantial economies. Our proposed application is not strictly 'active' control: the vortex generators would simply be switched on, all together, when needed (e.g. when the aircraft Mach number exceeded a certain limit). To this extent our scheme is simpler; however, to promote mixing and suppress separation we desire to deposit longitudinal vortices into the outer layer of the boundary layer as in conventional vortex generators. This requires a larger device although an alternative might be an array of smaller devices, for example, a longitudinal row with phase differences in the modulation signals so that the periodic vortices join up. The vortex pair with common flow up has the advantage that it will naturally drift away from the surface, but the disadvantage is that the net vorticity is zero so that the pair is eventually obliterated by turbulent mixing, rather than simply being diffused as in the case of a single vortex. It should be possible to devise alternative shapes of cavity wall so that the jet emerges obliquely and produces net longitudinal vorticity.

Description: This work investigates the turbulent constitutive relation when turbulence is subjected to solid body rotation. Laws regarding spectra and asymptotic decay of rotating homogeneous turbulence were confirmed through large-eddy simulation (LES) computations. Rotating turbulent flows exist in many industrial, geophysical, and astrophysical applications. From Lagrangian analysis a relation between turbulent stress and strain in rotating homogeneous turbulence was inferred. This relation was used to derive the spectral energy flux and, ultimately, the energy spectrum form. If the rotation wavenumber k(sub Omega) lies in the inertial subrange, then for wavenumbers less than k(sub Omega) the turbulence motions are affected by rotation and the energy spectrum slope is modified. Energy decay laws inferred in other reports and the present results suggest a modification of the epsilon model equation and eddy viscosity in k-epsilon models.

Description: Large-eddy simulation results are used to investigate the development of anisotropies and the possible transition towards a quasi two-dimensional state in rotating turbulence at high Reynolds number. The present study demonstrates the existence of two transitions that are identified by two Rossby numbers. The first transition marks the onset of anisotropic effects and corresponds to a macro Rossby number Ro(sup L) (based on a longitudinal integral length scale) near unity. A second transition can be defined in terms of a lower bound of micro-Rossby number Ro(sup w) also near unity (defined in this work as the ratio of the rms fluctuating vorticity to background vorticity) and corresponds to a continued development of anisotropy but with an increasing emergence of those indicators based on the pure two-dimensional component of the flow, e.g., integral length scales measured along the rotation axis. Investigation of the vorticity structure shows that the second transition is also characterized by an increasing tendency for alignment between the fluctuating vorticity vector and the basic angular velocity vector with a preference for corotative vorticity.

Description: Direct numerical simulations are performed for homogeneous turbulence with a mean flow having elliptic streamlines. This flow combines the effects of rotation and strain on the turbulence. Qualitative comparisons are made with linear theory for cases with high Rossby number. The nonlinear transfer process is monitored using a generalized skewness. In general, rotation turns off the nonlinear cascade; however, for moderate ellipticities and rotation rates the nonlinear cascade is turned off and then reestablished. Turbulence statistics of interest in turbulence modeling are calculated, including full Reynolds stress budgets.

Description: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has an ongoing effort to transfer to industry the technologies developed at MSFC for rocket propulsion systems. The Technology Utilization (TU) Office at MSFC promotes these efforts and accepts requests for assistance from industry. One such solicitation involves a request from North American Marine Jet, Inc. (NAMJ) for assistance in the design of a water-jet-drive system to fill a gap in NAMJ's product line. NAMJ provided MSFC with a baseline axial flow impeller design as well as the relevant working parameters (rpm, flow rate, etc.). This baseline design was analyzed using CFD, and significant deficiencies identified. Four additional analyses were performed involving MSFC changes to the geometric and operational parameters of the baseline case. Subsequently, the impeller was redesigned by NAMJ and analyzed by MSFC. This new configuration performs significantly better than the baseline design. Similar cooperative activities are planned for the design of the jet-drive inlet.

Description: The purpose of this view-graph presentation is a computational investigation of the closed-loop output feedback control of a Euler-Bernoulli beam based on finite element approximation. The observer is part of the classical observer plus state feedback control, but it is finite-dimensional. In the theoretical work on the subject it is assumed (and sometimes proved) that increasing the number of finite elements will improve accuracy of the control. In applications, this may be difficult to achieve because of numerical problems. The main difficulty in computing the observer and simulating its work is the presence of high frequency eigenvalues in the finite-element model and poor numerical conditioning of some of the system matrices (e.g. poor observability properties) when the dimension of the approximating system increases. This work dealt with some of these difficulties.

Description: We report on impact experiments using soda-lime glass spheres of 3.2 mm diameter and aluminum targets (1100 series). The purpose is to assist in the interpretation of LDEF instruments and in the development of future cosmic-dust collectors in low-Earth orbit. Because such instruments demand understanding of both the cratering and penetration process, we typically employ targets with thicknesses that range from massive, infinite half-space targets, to ultrathin films. This report addresses a subset of cratering experiments that were conducted to fine-tune our understanding of crater morphology as a function of impact velocity. Also, little empirical insight exists about the physical distribution and shock-metamorphism of the impactor residues as a function of encounter speed, despite their recognized significance in the analysis of space-exposed surfaces. Soda-lime glass spheres were chosen as a reasonable analog to extraterrestrial silicates, and aluminum 1100 was chosen for targets, which among the common Al-alloys, best represents the physical properties of high-purity aluminum. These materials complement existing impact studies that typically employed metallic impactors and less ductile Al-alloys. We have completed dimensional analyses of the resulting craters and are in the process of investigating the detailed distribution of the unmelted and melted impactor residues via SEM methods, as well as potential compositional modifications of the projectile melts via electron microprobe.

Description: Fluid whirl and fluid whip are rotor self-excited, lateral vibrations which occur due to rotor interactions with the surrounding fluid. There exist various modes of fluid whirl and fluid whip. These modes are close to rotor modes corresponding to free vibrations (based on the linear model). Small differences are due to nonlinearities in the system. This paper presents experimental and analytical results on the lowest modes of fluid whirls and fluid whip. Examples of rotors supported in fluid lubricated bearings show the variations of rotor deflection amplitudes and phases in the whirl and whip modes with changes of rotative speeds and/or changes in lumped mass locations along the shaft.

Description: The beneficial effects claimed for whirl control devices demonstrate that the dynamic behavior of rotors is influenced by the fluid whirl in shaft and balance drum seals. The present paper reports results from two series of experiments, the first on the factors affecting the whirl at the seal inlet, and the second on the variation of whirl velocity along the seal. In both cases the LDA measurement technique required the clearance between the fixed and rotating parts of the models to be substantially greater than occurs in real machines, but the results are indicative nevertheless. Experimental and theoretical results are given for the radial distribution of whirl velocity in the gap between impeller shroud and pump casing. Results of tests with modified stator surfaces are also shown. This work leads naturally into the second series of experiments where some preliminary measurements of velocity distribution in the clearance between a fixed stator and a rotating shaft are reported for a range of inlet whirl conditions.

Description: The long-time, asymptotic state of rotating homogeneous turbulence at high Reynolds numbers has been examined using large-eddy simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The simulations were carried out using 128 x 128 x 512 collocation points in a computational domain that is four times longer along the rotation axis than in the other directions. Subgrid-scale motions in the simulations were parameterized using a spectral eddy viscosity modified for system rotation. Simulation results show that in the asymptotic state the turbulence kinetic energy undergoes a power-law decay with an exponent which is independent of rotation rate, depending only on the low-wavenumber form of the initial energy spectrum. Integral lengthscale growth in the simulations is also characterized by power-law growth; the correlation length of transverse velocities exhibiting much more rapid growth than observed in non-rotating turbulence.

Description: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAR PART 25) requires that a structure carry ultimate load with nonvisible impact damage and carry 70 percent of limit flight loads with discrete damage. The Air Force has similar criteria (MIL-STD-1530A). Both civilian and military structures are designed by a building block approach. First, critical areas of the structure are determined, and potential failure modes are identified. Then, a series of representative specimens are tested that will fail in those modes. The series begins with tests of simple coupons, progresses through larger and more complex subcomponents, and ends with a test on a full-scale component, hence the term 'building block.' In order to minimize testing, analytical models are needed to scale impact damage and residual strength from the simple coupons to the full-scale component. Using experiments and analysis, the present paper illustrates that impact damage can be better understood and scaled using impact force than just kinetic energy. The plate parameters considered are size and thickness, boundary conditions, and material, and the impact parameters are mass, shape, and velocity.

Description: The objective of this paper is to review our efforts in spatial direct numerical simulations for modeling leading-edge receptivity to freestream sound and vorticity. These results begin to provide the link between the freestream and the initial boundary-layer response and can provide the upstream conditions for further simulations marching through the transition process toward turbulence.

Description: The spatial evolution of disturbances in plane Poiseuille flow and zero pressure gradient boundary layer flow is considered. For disturbances governed by the linearized equations, potential for significant transient growth of the amplitude is demonstrated. The maximum amplification occurs for disturbances with zero or near zero frequencies. Spatial numerical simulations of the transition scenario involving a pair of oblique waves has been conducted for both flows. A fully spectral solver using a simple but efficient fringe region technique allowed the flows to be computed with high resolution into the fully turbulent domain. A modal decomposition of the simulation results indicates that non-linear excitation of the transient growth is responsible for the rapid emergence of low-frequency structures. Physically, this corresponds to streaky flow structures, as seen from the results of a numerical amplitude expansion. Thus, this spatial transition scenario has been found to be similar to the corresponding temporal one. In the boundary layer simulations the streaks are seen to break down from what appears to be a secondary instability.

Description: Composite materials display strength characteristics that are similar to those of brittle ceramics, whose strengths are known to decrease with increasing volume for a uniform state of stress (size effect) and also are dependent on stress distribution. These similarities raise the question of whether there is also a size effect in composite materials and structures. There is significant, but inconclusive experimental evidence for the existence of a size effect in composites. Macroscopic and micromechanical statistical models have been developed which predict a size effect and are in general agreement with experimental data. The existence of a significant size effect in composites would be of great importance. For example, it would mean that use of standard test coupons to establish design allowables for large structures could be very nonconservative. Further, it would be necessary to analyze the strength of large composite structures using statistical methods, as is done for ceramics.

Description: Material defects may be introduced willingly or unwillingly during material manufacturing and structural component fabrication stages. Their presence in the material plays a dominant role in determining the material's strength and the associate failure mechanisms. In the sense that the size and the number of defects may increase with the volume of the material, the effect of dimensional scaling may manifest itself in the dependence of material strength on volume. Or, alternatively, there may exist a scaling effect of material defects. In fiber-reinforced composites, manufacturing or fabrication defects may come in several forms: matrix voids, matrix microcracks, fiber misalignment, broken fibers, or interface disbonds, just to mention a few. These are interacting and competing defects in the sense that one type of defect may become dominant under one stress condition and another type of defect may become dominant under a different stress condition. This happens because the fiber reinforcement network, together with the distribution of defects, constitutes the prime microstructure of the composite, and there exist continued interactions between the evolving microstructure and the distribution of defects. In the process, the scaling effects of defects are complicated by this interaction. In this presentation, the scaling effects of defects in fiber-reinforced composites will be briefly discussed with the introduction of the concept of effective defects. It is then shown with the aid of some actual experimental and analysis results that the scaling effects are very much present, but they are regulated by the characteristic dimension of the composite microstructure due to the aforementioned microstructure-defect interaction effect.

Description: This presentation afforded the opportunity to look back in the literature to discover scaling effects in nature that might be relevant to composites. Numerous examples were found in nature's approaches to wood, teeth, horns, leaves, eggs, feathers, etc. Nature transmits tensile forces rigidly with cohesive bonds, while dealing with compression forces usually through noncompressible hydraulics. The optimum design scaling approaches for aircraft were also reviewed for comparison with similitude laws. Finally, some historical evidence for the use of Weibull scaling in composites was reviewed.

Description: This paper presents a number of observations on the effect of specimen scale on the compression response of composite materials. Work on this topic was motivated by observations that thick-walled, unstiffened carbon reinforced cylinders subjected to hydrostatic pressure were not reaching inplane laminate stress levels at failure expected from coupon level properties, while similar cylinders reinforced with fiberglass were. Results from a study on coupon strength of (0/0/90) laminates, reinforced with AS4 carbon fiber and S2 glass fiber, are presented and show that compression strength is not a function of material or specimen thickness for materials that have the same laminate quality (autoclave cured quality). Actual laminate compression strength was observed to decrease with increasing thickness, but this is attributed to fixture restraint effects on coupon response. The hypothesis drawn from the coupon level results is further supported by results from a compression test on a thick carbon reinforced coupon in a fixture with reduced influence on specimen response and from a hydrostatic test on an unstiffened carbon reinforced cylinder subjected to hydrostatic pressure with end closures designed to minimize their effect on cylinder response.

Description: After publication of the Kolmogorov refined similarity hypotheses, the small-scale intermittency of the energy dissipation field became a central problem in fully developed turbulence (FDT). This phenomenon has been studied in many different ways, e.g. by searching for corrections to scaling exponents in the inertial range velocity structure functions. A direct measure of this intermittency is, however, available by studying the local rate of energy dissipation, and it may be quantitatively characterized by the intermittency exponent mu. As far as we know, nobody has posed an obvious question: Is the intermittency exponent mu a unique constant, i.e., are the values mu(sub kappa), mu(sub epsilon), mu(sub r), mu(sub b), and mu(sub e) the same at high Reynolds numbers, or do they create a set of different (and perhaps independent) exponents? This paper addresses the above question using the high Reynolds number experiments.

Description: Direct simulations of two time-developing turbulent wakes have been performed. Initial conditions for the simulations were obtained from two realizations of a direct simulation of a turbulent boundary layer at momentum thickness Reynolds number 670. In addition, extra two-dimensional disturbances were added in one of the cases to mimic two-dimensional forcing. The unforced wake is allowed to evolve long enough to attain self-similarity. The mass-flux Reynolds number (equivalent to the momentum thickness Reynolds number in spatially developing wakes) is 2000, which is high enough for a short kappa(exp -5/3) range to be evident in the streamwise one-dimensional velocity spectrum. Several turbulence statistics have been computed by averaging in space and over the self-similar period in time. The growth rate in the unforced flow is low compared to experiments, but when this growth-rate difference is accounted for, the statistics of the unforced case are in reasonable agreement with experiments. However, the forced case is significantly different. The growth rate, turbulence Reynolds number, and turbulence intensities are as much as ten times larger in the forced case. In addition, the forced flow exhibits large-scale structures similar to those observed in transitional wakes, while the unforced flow does not.

Description: Impact damage in fiber composite structures remains of much concern, and is often the limiting factor in establishing allowable strain levels. The complexity of impact damage formation usually dictates that experiments are required, but scaling of results from small laboratory scale specimens to large structures introduces additional uncertainty into the analysis. This presentation gives the results of an analytical and experimental investigation intended to develop procedures for prediction of damage formation and subsequent strength loss, with particular emphasis on scaling of results with respect to structure size. The experimental investigation involved both drop-weight and airgun impact on carbon/epoxy plates and cylinders. Five sizes of plates ranging from 50 by 50 by 1.072 mm to 250 by 250 by 5.36 mm, and two sizes of cylinders with diameters of 96.5 and 319 mm, were employed in the experimental program. Impact tests were carried out over a range of impact conditions, and specimens were inspected for damage by C-scan and deplying. Analysis procedures were developed for both quasistatic and dynamic impacts for both the plates and cylinders. As has been reported previously, comparison of predicted structural response and measured surface strains was quite good over the entire range of sizes employed in the program. The damage formation and strength loss after impact showed a number of interesting features that are significant with respect to scaling of size. The extent of delamination was observed to increase with specimen size more than would be expected if stresses controlled the delamination extent. This was explained on the basis that delamination is controlled by energy release rates, and thus incorporates the usual dependence on the absolute size characteristic of fracture mechanics. Additionally, the experiments indicated that delamination initiated at matrix cracks and is dependent on the absolute size of the ply group thicknesses. Both the initiation and propagation of delamination are seen to be controlled by fracture mechanics parameters, and thus show specific dependence on size that must be accounted for in extrapolating results from laboratory scale tests to full size structures.

Description: In this presentation we discuss a new theoretical model and supporting experimental results for the strength and lifetime in creep rupture of unidirectional, carbon fiber/epoxy matrix composites at ambient conditions. First we review the 'standard' Weibull/power-law methodology that has been standard practice. Then we discuss features of a recent model which build on the statistical aspects of fiber strength, micromechanical aspects of stress transfer around fiber breaks, and time-dependent creep of the matrix. The model is applied to 'microcomposites' consisting of seven fibers in a matrix for which strength and creep-rupture data are available. The model yields Weibull distributions in an envelope format for both strength and lifetime. The respective shape, scale and power-law parameters depend on such parameters as the Weibull shape parameter for fiber strength, the exponent for matrix creep, the effective load transfer length (which grows in time due to matrix creep) and the critical cluster size for failed fibers. The experimental results are consistent with the theory, though time-dependent debonding appears to be part of the failure process.

Description: Research on damage mechanisms and ultimate strength of composite materials relevant to scaling issues will be addressed in this viewgraph presentation. The use of fracture mechanics and Weibull statistics to predict scaling effects for the onset of isolated damage mechanisms will be highlighted. The ability of simple fracture mechanics models to predict trends that are useful in parametric or preliminary designs studies will be reviewed. The limitations of these simple models for complex loading conditions will also be noted. The difficulty in developing generic criteria for the growth of these mechanisms needed in progressive damage models to predict strength will be addressed. A specific example for a problem where failure is a direct consequence of progressive delamination will be explored. A damage threshold/fail-safety concept for addressing composite damage tolerance will be discussed.

Description: The objective is to observe size (scale) effects in (1) fiber dominated laminates and bolted joints, (2) adhesive (matrix) dominated bonded joints with fiber dominated laminate adherends, and (3) matrix dominated laminates. Selected literature on scale effects is reviewed with comments and test data from one source that is analyzed for predicted and actual scale effects utilizing uniaxial loaded static strength, spectrum fatigue residual strength, and spectrum fatigue lifetime test results. Causes of scale effects are discussed, the results are summarized, and conclusions are made.

Description: The present contribution reviews some of the recent progress obtained at our group in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of compressible boundary layer transition. Elements of the different simulation approaches and numerical techniques employed are surveyed. Temporal and spatial simulations, as well as comparisons with results obtained from Parabolized Stability Equations, are discussed. DNS results are given for flat plate boundary layers in the Mach number range 1.6 to 4.5. A temporal DNS at Mach 4.5 has been continued through breakdown all the way to the turbulent stage. In addition results obtained with a recently developed extended temporal DNS approach are presented, which takes into account some nonparallel effects of a growing boundary layer. Results from this approach are quite close to those of spatial DNS, while preserving the efficiency of the temporal DNS.

Description: The dynamic modeling procedure for large eddy simulation of turbulent flows is reviewed and recent developments in the theoretical aspects and applications are described. Methods for inclusion of backscatter of energy from small to large scale motions are presented. New formulations of the dynamic procedure are proposed which are optimized based on the subgrid scale flux vector or the energy dissipation rate instead of the subgrid scale stress tensor. Recent results from application of the model to forced isotropic turbulence with an inertial subrange, flow over a backward facing step at Reynolds number of 28000, and flow over a concave curved surface are presented.

Description: An experimental study was conducted to determine the effects of ply thickness in composite laminates on thermally induced cracking and changes in the coefficient of thermal expansion, CTE. A graphite-epoxy composite material, P75/ERL 1962, in thin (1 mil) and thick (5 mils) prepregs was used to make cross-ply laminates, ((0/90)(sub n))s, with equal total thickness (n=2, n=10) and cross-ply laminates with the same total number of plies (n=2). Specimens of each laminate configuration were cycled up to 1500 times between -250 and 250 F. Thermally induced microdamage was assessed as a function of the number of cycles as was the change in CTE. The results showed that laminates fabricated with thin-plies microcracked at significantly different rates and reached significantly different equilibrium crack densities than the laminate fabricated with thick-ply and n=2. The CTE of thin-ply laminates was less affected by thermal cycling and damage than the CTE of thick-ply laminates. These differences are attributed primarily to differences in interply constraints. Observed effects of ply thickness on crack density was qualitatively predicted by a combined shear-lag stress/energy method.

Description: The first few viewgraphs describe the general solution properties of linear elasticity theory which are given by the following two statements: (1) for stress B.C. on S(sub sigma) and zero displacement B.C. on S(sub u) the altered displacements u(sub i)(*) and the actual stresses tau(sub ij) are elastically dependent on Poisson's ratio nu alone: thus the actual displacements are given by u(sub i) = mu(exp -1)u(sub i)(*); and (2) for zero stress B.C. on S(sub sigma) and displacement B.C. on S(sub u) the actual displacements u(sub i) and the altered stresses tau(sub ij)(*) are elastically dependent on Poisson's ratio nu alone: thus the actual stresses are given by tau(sub ij) = E tau(sub ij)(*). The remaining viewgraphs describe the minimum parameter formulation of the general classical laminate theory plate problem as follows: The general CLT plate problem is expressed as a 3 x 3 system of differential equations in the displacements u, v, and w. The eighteen (six each) A(sub ij), B(sub ij), and D(sub ij) system coefficients are ply-weighted sums of the transformed reduced stiffnesses (bar-Q(sub ij))(sub k); the (bar-Q(sub ij))(sub k) in turn depend on six reduced stiffnesses (Q(sub ij))(sub k) and the material and geometry properties of the k(sup th) layer. This paper develops a method for redefining the system coefficients, the displacement components (u,v,w), and the position components (x,y) such that a minimum parameter formulation is possible. The pivotal steps in this method are (1) the reduction of (bar-Q(sub ij))(sub k) dependencies to just two constants Q(*) = (Q(12) + 2Q(66))/(Q(11)Q(22))(exp 1/2) and F(*) - (Q(22)/Q(11))(exp 1/2) in terms of ply-independent reference values Q(sub ij); (2) the reduction of the remaining portions of the A, B, and D coefficients to nondimensional ply-weighted sums (with 0 to 1 ranges) that are independent of Q(*) and F(*); and (3) the introduction of simple coordinate stretchings for u, v, w and x,y such that the process is neatly completed.

Description: Scale model graphite-epoxy composite specimens were fabricated using the 'sub-ply level' approach and tested as beam-columns under an eccentric axial load to determine the effect of specimen size on flexural response and failure. In the current research project, although the fiber diameters are not scaled, the thickness of the pre-preg material itself has been scaled by adjusting the number of fibers through the thickness of a single ply. Three different grades of graphite-epoxy composite material (AS4/3502) were obtained from Hercules, Inc., in which the number of fibers through the thickness of a single ply was reduced (Grade 190 with 12 to 16 fibers, Grade 95 with 6 to 8 fibers, and Grade 48 with 3 to 4 fibers). Thus, using the sub-ply level approach, a baseline eight ply quasi-isotropic laminate could be fabricated using either the Grade 48 or Grade 95 material and the corresponding full-scale laminate would be constructed from Grade 95 or standard Grade 190 material, respectively. Note that in the sub-ply level approach, the number of ply interfaces is constant for the baseline and full-scale laminates. This is not true for the ply level and sublaminate level scaled specimens. The three grades of graphite-epoxy composite material were used to fabricate scale model beam-column specimens with in-plane dimensions of 0.5*n x 5.75*n, where n=1,2,4 corresponsing to 1/4, 1/2, and full-scale factors. Angle ply, cross ply, and quasi-isotropic laminate stacking sequences were chosen for the investigation and the test matrices for each laminate type are given. Specimens in each laminate family with the same in-plane dimensions but different thicknesses were tested to isolate the influence of the thickness dimension on the flexural response and failure. Also, specific lay-ups were chosen with blocked plies and dispersed plies for each laminate type. Specimens were subjected to an eccentric axial load until failure. The load offset was introduced through a set of hinges which were attached to the platens of a standard load test machine. Three sets of geometrically scaled hinges were used to ensure that scaled loading conditions were applied. This loading condition was chosen because it promotes large flexural deformations and specimens fail at the center of the beam, away from the grip supports. Five channels of data including applied vertical load, end shortening displacement, strain from gages applied back-to-back at the midspan of the beam, and rotation of the hinge from a bubble inclinometer were recorded for each specimen. The beam-column test configuration was used previously to study size effects in ply level scaled composite specimens of the same material system, sizes, and stacking sequences. Thus, a direct comparison between the two scaling approaches is possible. Ply level scaled beam-columns with angle ply, cross ply, and quasi-isotropic lay-ups exhibited no size dependencies in the flexural response, but significant size effects in strength. The reduction in strength with increasing specimen size was not predicted successfully by analysis techniques. It is anticipated that results from this investigation will lead to a better understanding of the strength scale effect in composite structures.

Description: The energy balance of a lamp varies with the thermal and optical characteristics of the reflector. The photosynthetic radiation efficiency of lamps, defined as input power divided by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm) emitted from the lamp ranges between 0.17 and 0.26. The rest of the energy input is wasted as longwave (3000 nm and over) and non-PAR shortwave radiation (from 700 nm to 3000 nm), convective, and conductive heat from the lamp, reflector, and ballast, and simply for increasing the cooling load. Furthermore, some portion of the PAR is uselessly absorbed by the inner walls, shelves, vessels, etc. and some portion of the PAR received by the plantlets is converted into sensible and latent heat. More than 98% of the energy input is probably converted into heat, with only less than 2% of the energy input being converted into chemical energy as carbohydrates by photosynthesis. Therefore, it is essential to reduce the generation of heat in the culture room in order to reduce the cooling load. Through use of a water-cooled reflector, the generation of convective and conductive heat and longwave radiation from the reflector can be reduced, without reduction of PAR.

Description: The use of plate glass-water thermal barriers in controlled environment facilities effectively reduces the thermal load within the plant growth chamber. This allows high PPFs to be provided for plant growth and development studies, adequate simulation of daily light integrals, and simulation of peak PPF's. Further, substantial amounts of incandescent lamp supplementation can be used to achieve simulation of daylight R:FR ratios which are needed to ensure adequate stem development in some species. While the focus in this paper is on the use of entire thermal barriers which separate the lighting enclosure from the plant growth chamber, the same principles apply to the use of water jackets for cooling individual lamps (such as can occur with xenon-arc lamps). In this instance, the barrier separating the lamps from the plant chamber can be much simpler (e.g., plexiglass) as the main function of the barrier is to separate the air ventilation of the lamp enclosure from the air system within the plant growth chamber. The main advantage of water as a thermal barrier is the negligible absorption of radiation in the photosynthetically-active and near infrared wavebands. Consequently, plate glass-water barriers typically allow transmission of approximately 90% of radiation in these regions. While ventilated double and triple glazing systems appear to be attractive alternative to water barriers from an operating standpoint, their significant absorption in the biologically-important wavebands (7 - 12%) with each glass layer and longer-wave cut-offs (typically 2500 - 4000 nm) makes them a much less attractive alternative. The data presented here demonstrate clearly that measurement of PPF alone is not an adequate representation of the radiation environment being used in a controlled environment study. The amounts and proportions of long-wave and short-wave radiation in a plant growth chamber are dependent on lamp type, lamp combination, presence of a thermal barrier, the type of thermal barrier between the lamps and the plant growing area and the overall construction and design of the chamber. It is important, therefore, in reporting results of controlled environment studies, to adequately describe both the details of the lighting system used and the characteristics of the radiation produced by that system, so results of different studies can be adequately evaluated and compared.

Description: Automatic differentiation (AD) is a powerful computational method that provides for computing exact sensitivity derivatives (SD) from existing computer programs for multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) or in sensitivity analysis. A pre-compiler AD tool for FORTRAN programs called ADIFOR has been developed. The ADIFOR tool has been easily and quickly applied by NASA Langley researchers to assess the feasibility and computational impact of AD in MDO with several different FORTRAN programs. These include a state-of-the-art three dimensional multigrid Navier-Stokes flow solver for wings or aircraft configurations in transonic turbulent flow. With ADIFOR the user specifies sets of independent and dependent variables with an existing computer code. ADIFOR then traces the dependency path throughout the code, applies the chain rule to formulate derivative expressions, and generates new code to compute the required SD matrix. The resulting codes have been verified to compute exact non-geometric and geometric SD for a variety of cases. in less time than is required to compute the SD matrix using centered divided differences.

Description: The following are discussed in this viewgraph presentation: Glovebox-2 investigations, study of oscillatory thermocapillary flows and validate physical models on the second U.S. Microgravity Laboratory Mission (USML-2), pool boiling experiment, critical fluid viscosity measurement experiment, Hitchhiker-G typical structural configuration, ZENO-critical fluid light scattering experiment, isothermal dendritic growth experiment, microgravity acceleration environment support, and the space acceleration measurement system (SAMS).

Description: The response of a pair of emulsion drops to the imposition of a uniform electric field is examined. The case studied is that of equal-sized drops whose line of centers is parallel to the axis of the applied field. A new boundary integral solution to the governing equations of the leaky dielectric model is developed; the formulation accounts for the electrostatic and hydrodynamic interactions between the drops, as well as their deformations. Numerical calculations show that, after an initial transient during which the drops primarily deform, the pair drift slowly together due to their electrostatic interactions.

Description: A noninvasive fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique is under development to measure interfacial transport in two phase systems without disturbing the interface. The concentration profiles of a probe solute are measured in both sides of the interface by argon-ion laser, and the system relaxation is then monitored by a microscope-mounted CCD camera.

Description: The effects of hydrodynamic convection on nucleation and broken chiral symmetry have been investigated for a simple inorganic molecule, sodium chlorate (NaClO3). Our experiment suggests that the symmetry breaking is a result of hydrodynamic amplification of rare nucleation events. The effect is more pronounced when the primary nucleation occurs on the solute-vapor interface, where mixing in the surface sublayer becomes important. The transition from the achiral to the chiral states appears to be smooth as the hydrodynamic parameters, such as flow rate, are varied.

Description: It has been proposed to measure the extensional viscosity function of a non-Newtonian polymer solution in a reduced gravity environment as part of the Advanced Fluid Module. In ground-based extensional measurements, the no-sip boundary condition at solid-fluid interfaces always result in appreciable shear gradients in the test fluid; however the removal of gravitational body forces permits controlled extensional deformation of containerless test samples and the first unambiguous measurements of this kind. Imperative to successful implementation of this experiment is the generation and subsequent deformation of a stable cylindrical column of test fluid. A study of the generation and deformation of liquid bridges demonstrates that Newtonian liquid bridges undergo capillary breakup as anticipated when stretched beyond a critical aspect ratio; non-Newtonian liquid bridges, however, are stabilized by the strain-hardening phenomenon exhibited by these materials. Numerical simulations of Newtonian breakup are compared with experimental results, and show that previous ground-based attempts at measuring the extensional viscosity of Newtonian fluids are of limited accuracy.

Description: The physical scales of velocity, length, time, thermal gradient magnitude likely to be involved in gas-solid multiphase flight experiments are assessed for 1-100 micron particles.

Description: An experiment is being conducted to study the effects of buoyancy on planar stratified flows. A wind tunnel has been designed and constructed to generate planar flows with separate heating for the top and bottom planar air jets emerging from slot nozzles separated by an insulating splitter plate. The objective is to generate planar jet flows with well defined and well controlled velocity and temperature profiles. Magnitudes of velocity and temperature will be varied separately in each flow for both laminar and turbulent flow conditions. Both stably and unstably stratified flows will be studied by changing the temperature distributions in each air stream. This paper reports on the design of the apparatus and initial measurements of velocity and turbulence made by laser Doppler velocimetry.

Description: The two-phase bubbly flow and boiling heat transfer in microgravity represents a substantial challenge to scientists and engineers and yet there is an urgent need to seek fundamental understanding in this area for future spacecraft design and space missions. At Washington State University, we have successfully designed, built and tested a 2.1 second drop tower with an innovation airbag deceleration system. Microgravity boiling experiments performed in our 0.6 second Drop Tower produced data flow visualizations that agree with published results and also provide some new understanding concerning flow boiling and microgravity bubble behavior. On the analytical and numerical work, the edge effects of finite divergent electrode plates on the forces experienced by bubbles were investigated. Boiling in a concentric cylinder microgravity and an electric field was numerically predicted. We also completed a feasibility study for microgravity boiling in an acoustic field.

Description: Design of the two-phase systems which are anticipated to be utilized in future spacecraft thermal management systems requires a knowledge of two-phase flow and heat transfer parameters in reduced gravities. A program has been initiated by NASA to design a two-phase test loop and perform a series of experiments to generate the data for the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) and onset of instability under reduced gravities. In addition to low gravity airplane trajectory testing, the experimental program consists of a set of laboratory tests with vertical upflow and downflow configurations. Modularity is considered in the design of this experiment and the test loop in instrumented to provide data for two-phase pressure drop and flow regime behavior. Since the program is in the final stages of the design and construction task, this article is intended to discuss the phenomena, design approach, and the description of the test loop.

Description: A ground based (1-g) experiment is in progress that will measure the turbidity of a density-matched, binary fluid mixture extremely close to the critical point. By covering the range of reduced temperatures t is equivalent to (T-T(sub c))/T(sub c) from 10(exp -8) to 10(exp -2), the turbidity measurements will allow the critical exponent eta to be determined. No experiment has determined a value of the critical exponent eta, yet its value is significant to theorists in critical phenomena. Interpreting the turbidity correctly is important if future NASA flight experiments use turbidity as an indirect measurement of relative temperature in shuttle experiments on critical phenomena in fluids.

Description: Analytical studies along with ground-based experiments are presently being carried out in connection with thermocapillary phenomena associated with drops and bubbles in a containerless environment. The effort here focuses on the thermal and the fluid phenomena associated with the local heating of acoustically levitated drops, both at 1-g and at low-g. In particular, the Marangoni effect on drops under conditions of local spot-heating and other types of heating are being studied. With the experiments conducted to date, fairly stable acoustic levitation of drops has been achieved and successful flow visualization by light scattering from smoke particles has been carried out. The results include situations with and without heating. As a preliminary qualitative interpretation of these experimental results, we consider the external flow pattern as a superposition of three discrete circulation cells operating on different spatial scales. The observations of the flow fields also indicate the existence of a steady state torque induced by the streaming flows. The theoretical studies have been concentrated on the analysis of streaming flows in a gaseous medium with the presence of a spherical particle undergoing periodic heating. A matched asymptotic analysis was carried out for small parameters derived from approximations in the high frequency range. The heating frequency being 'in tune' with the acoustic frequency results in a nonzero time-averaged thermal field. This leads to a steady heat flow across the equatorial plane of the sphere.

Description: An intuitive delineation along with dimensional considerations and experimental evidences are presented to show that in a general case, the evaporation of a liquid droplet undergoes three regimes through the process. Initially, the heat transfer inside the evaporating droplets is conduction controlled; then, in the second stage, convective heat transfer may take over; finally, the convections subside, and the process returns to conduction controlled mode.

Description: We have studied the microscopic aspects of the spreading of liquid drops on a solid surface by molecular dynamics simulations of coexisting three-phase Lennard-Jones systems of liquid, vapor and solid. We consider both spherically symmetric atoms and chain-like molecules, and a range of interaction strengths. As the attraction between liquid and solid increases we observed a smooth transition in spreading regimes, from partial to complete to terraced wetting. In the terraced case, where distinct monomolecular layers spread with different velocities, the layers are ordered but not solid, with qualitative behavior resembling recent experimental findings, but with interesting differences in the spreading rate.

Description: Nonlinear phenomena associated with the dynamics of free drops and bubbles are investigated analytically, numerically and experimentally. Although newly developed levitation and measurement techniques have been implemented, the full experimental validation of theoretical predictions has been hindered by interfering artifacts associated with levitation in the Earth gravitational field. The low gravity environment of orbital space flight has been shown to provide a more quiescent environment which can be utilized to better match the idealized theoretical conditions. The research effort described in this paper is a closely coupled collaboration between predictive and guiding theoretical activities and a unique experimental program involving the ultrasonic and electrostatic levitation of single droplets and bubbles. The goal is to develop and to validate methods based on nonlinear dynamics for the understanding of the large amplitude oscillatory response of single drops and bubbles to both isotropic and asymmetric pressure stimuli. The first specific area on interest has been the resonant coupling between volume and shape oscillatory modes isolated gas or vapor bubbles in a liquid host. The result of multiple time-scale asymptotic treatment, combined with domain perturbation and bifurcation methods, has been the prediction of resonant and near-resonant coupling between volume and shape modes leading to stable as well as chaotic oscillations. Experimental investigations of the large amplitude shape oscillation modes of centimeter-size single bubbles trapped in water at 1 G and under reduced hydrostatic pressure, have suggested the possibility of a low gravity experiment to study the direct coupling between these low frequency shape modes and the volume pulsation, sound-radiating mode. The second subject of interest has involved numerical modeling, using the boundary integral method, of the large amplitude shape oscillations of charged and uncharged drops in the presence of a static or time-varying electric field. Theoretically predicted non linearity in the resonant frequency of the fundamental quadrupole mode has been verified by the accompanying experimental studies. Additional phenomena such as hysteresis in the frequency response of ultrasoncially levitated droplets in the presence of a time varying electric field, and mode coupling in the oscillations of ultrasonically modulated droplets, have also been uncovered. One of the results of this ground-based research has been the identification and characterization of phenomena strictly associated with the influence of the gravitational field. This has also allowed us to identify the specific requirements for potential microgravity investigations yielding new information not obtainable on Earth.

Description: The objectives are to: (1) Understand the influence in low gravity of flow on interface shape. For example, document and control the influence of axial flow on the Plateau-Rayleigh instability of a liquid bridge; and (2) Extend the ground-based density-matching technique of low gravity simulation to situations with flow; that is, develop Plateau chamber experiments for which flow can be controlled. Containerless containment of liquid by surface tension has broad importance in low gravity. For space vehicles, the behavior of liquid/gas interfaces is crucial to successful liquid management systems. In microgravity science, free interfaces are exploited in various applications. Examples include float-zone crystal growth, phase separation near the critical point of liquid mixtures (spinoidal decomposition) and quenching of miscibility gap molten metal alloys. In some cases, it is desired to stabilize the capillary instability while in others it is desired to induce capillary breakup. In all cases, understanding the stability of interface shape in the presence of liquid motion is central.

Description: The hydrodynamics governing the fluid motions on a microscopic scale near moving contact lines are different from those governing motion far from the contact line. We explore these unique hydrodynamics by detailed measurement of the shape of a fluid meniscus very close to a moving contact line. The validity of present models of the hydrodynamics near moving contact lines as well as the dynamic wetting characteristics of a family of polymer liquids are discussed.

Description: The objective of this paper is to conduct ground-based experiments to measure the onset conditions of oscillatory Marangoni flow in laser-heated silicone oil in a cylindrical container. For a single fluid, experimental data are presented using the aspect ratio and the dynamic Bond number. It is found that for a fixed aspect ratio, there seems to be an asymptotic limit of the dynamic Bond number beyond which no onset of flow oscillation could occur. Experimental results also suggested that there could be a lower limit of the aspect ratio below which there is no onset of oscillatory flow.

Description: The present study demonstrated that calculated thermocapillary convection in a non-cylindrical floating zone can now be compared with measured one, by considering the lens effect of the floating zone. Flow visualization and computer simulation of thermocapillary convection in a silicone oil zone and a molten zone in an NaNO3 rod were conducted. The calculated results agree very well with the measured ones, including the free surface shapes, the solid/melt interface shapes and the velocity fields.

Description: Laboratory and numerical experiments are underway to generate, and subsequently suppress, oscillatory thermocapillary convection in thin layer of silicone oil. The laboratory experiments have succeeded in characterizing the flow state in a limited range of Bond number-Marangoni number space of interest, identifying states of: (1) steady, unicellular, thermocapillary convection; (2) steady, multicellular, thermocapillary convection; and (3) oscillatory thermocapillary convection. Comparisons between experimental results and stability computations for a related basic state will be made.

Description: Nonplanar flow oscillations have been shown to be effective in stabilizing buoyancy-induced Rayleigh-Benard convection. The present study was initiated to see if thermocapillary convection of the Marangoni type might also be stabilized by the same means. When surface deflection can be ignored, significant stabilization occurs. However, when the operating parameters are such that surface deflection is nonnegligible, destabilization can occur, in contrast to Rayleigh-Benard convection. Mechanisms for both stabilization and destabilization are discussed.

Description: Some areas of opportunity for future research in microgravity two-phase flow and heat transfer are pointed out. These satisfy the dual requirements of relevance to current and future needs, and scientific/engineering interest.

Description: This paper presents recent results from a program in the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to study the behavior of cracks in fuselage structures. The goal of this program is to improve methods for analyzing crack growth and residual strength in pressurized fuselages, thus improving new airplane designs and optimizing the required structural inspections for current models. The program consists of full-scale experimental testing of pressurized fuselage panels in both wide-body and narrow-body fixtures and finite element analyses to predict the results. The finite element analyses are geometrically nonlinear with material and fastener nonlinearity included on a case-by-case basis. The analysis results are compared with the strain gage, crack growth, and residual strength data from the experimental program. Most of the studies reported in this paper concern the behavior of single or multiple cracks in the lap joints of narrow-body airplanes (such as 727 and 737 commercial jets). The phenomenon where the crack trajectory is curved creating a 'flap' and resulting in a controlled decompression is discussed.

Description: The small fatigue crack problem is critically reviewed from the perspective of airframe applications. Different types of small cracks-microstructural, mechanical, and chemical-are carefully defined and relevant mechanisms identified. Appropriate analysis techniques, including both rigorous scientific and practical engineering treatments, are briefly described. Important materials data issues are addressed, including increased scatter in small crack data and recommended small crack test methods. Key problems requiring further study are highlighted.

Description: In this paper, a nonlinear bulging factor is derived using a strain energy approach combined with dimensional analysis. The functional form of the bulging factor contains an empirical constant that is determined using R-curve data from unstiffened flat and curved panel tests. The determination of this empirical constant is based on the assumption that the R-curve is the same for both flat and curved panels.

Description: Fracture behavior is characteristics of a dramatic loss of strength compared to elastic deformation behavior. Fracture parameters have been developed and exhibit a range within which each is valid for predicting growth. Each is limited by the assumptions made in its development: all are defined within a specific context. For example, the stress intensity parameters, K, and the crack driving force, G, are derived using an assumption of linear elasticity. To use K or G, the zone of plasticity must be small as compared to the physical dimensions of the object being loaded. This insures an elastic response, and in this context, K and G will work well. Rice's J-integral has been used beyond the limits imposed on K and G. J requires an assumption of nonlinear elasticity, which is not characteristic of real material behavior, but is thought to be a reasonable approximation if unloading is kept to a minimum. As well, the constraint cannot change dramatically (typically, the crack extension is limited to ten-percent of the initial remaining ligament length). Rice, et al investigated the properties required of J-type parameters, J(sub x), and showed that the time rate, dJ(sub x)/dt, must not be a function of the crack extension rate, da/dt. Ernst devised the modified-J parameter, J(sub M), that meets this criterion. J(sub M) correlates fracture data to much higher crack growth than does J. Ultimately, a limit of the validity of J(sub M) is anticipated, and this has been estimated to be at a crack extension of about 40-percent of the initial remaining ligament length. None of the various parameters can be expected to describe fracture in an environment of gross plasticity, in which case the process is better described by deformation parameters, e.g., stress and strain. In the current study, various schemes to identify the onset of the plasticity-dominated behavior, i.e., the end of fracture mechanics validity, are presented. Each validity limit parameter is developed in detail, and then data is presented and the various schemes for establishing a limit of the validity are compared. The selected limiting parameter is applied to a set of fracture data showing the improvement of correlation gained.

Description: In panel specimens with rivet holes cracks initiate in the blunted knife edge of the chamfered rivet hole and propagate inward as well as along the hole. The fatigue lifetime to dominant crack information was defined as the number of cycles, N500 micrometer, to formation of a 500 micrometer long crack. Statistical data on N500 micrometer and on crack propagation after N500 micrometer were obtained for a large number of uncorroded specimens and specimens corroded in an ASTM B 117 salt spray. Considerable variation in N500 micrometer and crack propagation behavior was observed from specimen to specimen of the same nominal geometry with chamfered rivet holes increased the probability for both early formation and later formation of a propagating 500 micrometer fatigue crack. The growth of fatigue cracks after 500 micrometer size was little affected by prior salt spray.

Description: The NASA/FLAGRO (NASGRO) computer program was developed for fracture control analysis of space hardware and is currently the standard computer code in NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the European Agency (ESA) for this purpose. The significant attributes of the NASGRO program are the numerous crack case solutions, the large materials file, the improved growth rate equation based on crack closure theory, and the user-friendly promptive input features. In support of the National Aging Aircraft Research Program (NAARP); NASGRO is being further developed to provide advanced state-of-the-art capability for damage tolerance and crack growth analysis of aircraft structural problems, including mechanical systems and engines. The project currently involves a cooperative development effort by NASA, FAA, and ESA. The primary tasks underway are the incorporation of advanced methodology for crack growth rate retardation resulting from spectrum loading and improved analysis for determining crack instability. Also, the current weight function solutions in NASGRO or nonlinear stress gradient problems are being extended to more crack cases, and the 2-d boundary integral routine for stress analysis and stress-intensity factor solutions is being extended to 3-d problems. Lastly, effort is underway to enhance the program to operate on personal computers and work stations in a Windows environment. Because of the increasing and already wide usage of NASGRO, the code offers an excellent mechanism for technology transfer for new fatigue and fracture mechanics capabilities developed within NAARP.

Description: The behaviour of small corner cracks, inclined or perpendicular to loading direction, is presented. There are two aspects to this investigation: initiation of small cracks and monitoring their subsequent growth. An initial pre-cracking procedure under cyclic compression is adopted to minimize the residual damage at the tip of the growing and self-arresting crack under cyclic compression. A final fatigue specimen, cut from the larger pre-cracked specimen, has two corner flaws. The opening load of corner flaw is monitored using a novel strain gauge approach. The behaviour of small corner cracks is described in terms of growth rate relative to the size of the crack and its shape.