Investigation of kerosene combustion characteristics with pilot hydrogen in model supersonic combustors

Experimental investigations on the ignition and combustion stabilization of kerosene with pilot hydrogen in Mach 2.5 airflows were conducted using two test combustors, with cross sections of 30.5 x 30 and 51 x 70 mm, respectively. Various integrated modules, including the combinations of different pilot injection schemes and recessed cavity flameholders with different geometries, were designed and tested. The stagnation pressure of vitiated air varied within the range of 1.1-1.8 NiPa, while the stagnation temperature varied from 1500 to 1900 K. Specifically, effects of the pilot hydrogen injection scheme, cavity geometry, and combustor scaling on the minimally required pilot hydrogen equivalence ratio were systematically examined. Results indicated that the cavity depth and length had significant effects on the ignition and flameholding, whereas the slanted angle of the aft wall was relatively less important. Two cavities in tandem were shown to be a more effective flameholding mechanism than that with a single cavity. The minimally required pilot hydrogen equivalence ratio for kerosene ignition and stable combustion was found to be as low as 0.02. Furthermore, combustion efficiency of 80% was demonstrated to be achievable for kerosene with the simultaneous use of pilot hydrogen and a recessed cavity to promote the ignition and global burning.

Rossby Vortex Simulation on a Paraboloidal Coordinate System Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method

In this paper, we apply our compressible lattice Boltzmann model to a rotating parabolic coordinate system to simulate Rossby vortices emerging in a layer of shallow water flowing zonally in a rotating paraboloidal vessel. By introducing a scaling factor, nonuniform curvilinear mesh can be mapped to a flat uniform mesh and then normal lattice Boltzmann method works. Since the mass per unit area on the two-dimensional (2D) surface varies with the thickness of the water layer, the 2D flow seems to be "compressible" and our compressible model is applied. Simulation solutions meet with the experimental observations qualitatively. Based on this research, quantitative solutions and many natural phenomena simulations in planetary atmospheres, oceans, and magnetized plasma, such as the famous Jovian Giant Red Spot, the Galactic Spiral-vortex, the Gulf Stream, and the Kuroshio Current, etc,, can be expected.

Can stress-strain relationships be obtained from indentation curves using conical and pyramidal indenters?

Applying the scaling relationships developed recently for conical indentation in elastic-plastic solids with work-hardening, we examine the question of whether stress-strain relationships of such solids can be uniquely determined by matching the calculated loading and unloading curves with that measured experimentally. We show that there can be multiple stress-strain curves for a given set of loading and unloading curves. Consequently, stress-strain relationships may not be uniquely determined from loading and unloading curves alone using a conical or pyramidal indenter.

Direct Numerical Simulation of Passive Scalar in Decaying Compressible Turbulence

The passive scalars in the decaying compressible turbulence with the initial Reynolds number (defined by Taylor scale and RMS velocity) Re=72, the initial turbulent Mach numbers (defined by RMS velocity and mean sound speed) Mt=0.2-0.9, and the Schmidt numbers of passive scalar Sc=2-10 are numerically simulated by using a 7th order upwind difference scheme and 8th order group velocity control scheme. The computed results are validated with different numerical methods and different mesh sizes. The Batchelor scaling with k(-1) range is found in scalar spectra. The passive scalar spectra decay faster with the increasing turbulent Mach number. The extended self-similarity (ESS) is found in the passive scalar of compressible turbulence.

Sensitivity Analysis of Dimensionless Parameters for Physical Simulation of Water-Flooding Reservoir

A numerical approach to optimize dimensionless parameters of water-flooding porous media flows is proposed based on the analysis of the sensitivity factor defined as the variation ration of a target function with respect to the variation of dimensionless parameters. A complete set of scaling criteria for water-flooding reservoir of five-spot well pattern case is derived from the 3-D governing equations, involving the gravitational force, the capillary force and the compressibility of water, oil and rock. By using this approach, we have estimated the influences of each dimensionless parameter on experimental results and thus sorted out the dominant ones with larger sensitivity factors ranging from10-4to10-0 .

Evolution induced catastrophe in a nonlinear dynamical model of material failure

In order to study the failure of disordered materials, the ensemble evolution of a nonlinear chain model was examined by using a stochastic slice sampling method. The following results were obtained. (1) Sample-specific behavior, i.e. evolutions are different from sample to sample in some cases under the same macroscopic conditions, is observed for various load-sharing rules except in the globally mean field theory. The evolution according to the cluster load-sharing rule, which reflects the interaction between broken clusters, cannot be predicted by a simple criterion from the initial damage pattern and even then is most complicated. (2) A binary failure probability, its transitional region, where globally stable (GS) modes and evolution-induced catastrophic (EIC) modes coexist, and the corresponding scaling laws are fundamental to the failure. There is a sensitive zone in the vicinity of the boundary between the GS and EIC regions in phase space, where a slight stochastic increment in damage can trigger a radical transition from GS to EIC. (3) The distribution of strength is obtained from the binary failure probability. This, like sample-specificity, originates from a trans-scale sensitivity linking meso-scopic and macroscopic phenomena. (4) Strong fluctuations in stress distribution different from that of GS modes may be assumed as a precursor of evolution-induced catastrophe (EIC).

Similarity consideration of structural bifurcation buckling

Many structural bifurcation buckling problems exhibit a scaling or power law property. Dimensional analysis is used to analyze the general scaling property. The concept of a new dimensionless number, the response number-Rn, suggested by the present author for the dynamic plastic response and failure of beams, plates and so on, subjected to large dynamic loading, is generalized in this paper to study the elastic, plastic, dynamic elastic as well as dynamic plastic buckling problems of columns, plates as well as shells. Structural bifurcation buckling can be considered when Rn(n) reaches a critical value.

Optimized Group Velocity Control Scheme and DNS of Decaying Compressible Turbulence of Relative High Turbulent Mach Number

To overcome the difficulty in the DNS of compressible turbulence at high turbulent Mach number, a new difference scheme called GVC8 is developed. We have succeeded in the direct numerical simulation of decaying compressible turbulence up to turbulent Mach number 0.95. The statistical quantities thus obtained at lower turbulent Mach number agree well with those from previous authors with the same initial conditions, but they are limited to simulate at lower turbulent Mach numbers due to the so-called start-up problem. The energy spectrum and coherent structure of compressible turbulent flow are analysed. The scaling law of compressible turbulence is studied. The computed results indicate that the extended self-similarity holds in decaying compressible turbulence despite the occurrence of shocklets, and compressibility has little effects on relative scaling exponents when turbulent Mach number is not very high.

Calculations of longitudinal and transverse velocity structure functions using a vortex model of isotropic turbulence

The longitudinal structure function (LSF) and the transverse structure function (TSF) in isotropic turbulence are calculated using a vortex model. The vortex model is composed of the Rankine and Burgers vortices which have the exponential distributions in the vortex Reynolds number and vortex radii. This model exhibits a power law in the inertial range and satisfies the minimal condition of isotropy that the second-order exponent of the LSF in the inertial range is equal to that of the TSF. Also observed are differences between longitudinal and transverse structure functions caused by intermittency. These differences are related to their scaling differences which have been previously observed in experiments and numerical simulations.

Assessment of the contribution of surface roughness to airframe noise

The generation of sound by turbulent boundary-layer flow at low Mach number over a rough wall is investigated by applying a theoretical model that describes the scattering of the turbulence near field into sound by roughness elements. Attention is focused on the numerical method to approximately quantify the absolute level of far-field radiated roughness noise. Models for the source statistics are obtained by scaling smooth-wall data by the increased skin friction velocity and boundary-layer thickness for a rough surface. Numerical integration is performed to determine the roughness noise, and it reproduces the spectral characteristics of the available empirical formula and experimental data. Experiments are conducted to measure the radiated sound from two rough plates in an open jet The measured noise spectra of the rough plates are above that of a smooth plate in 1-2.5 kHz frequency and exhibit reasonable agreement with the predicted level. Estimates of the roughness noise for a Boeing 757 sized aircraft wing with idealized levels of surface roughness show that hi the high-frequency region the sound radiated from surface roughness may exceed that from the trailing edge, and higher overall sound pressure levels are observed for the roughness noise. The trailing edge noise is also enhanced by surface roughness somewhat A parametric study indicates that roughness height and roughness density significantly affect the roughness noise with roughness height having the dominant effect The roughness noise directivity varies with different levels of surface roughness. Copyright © 2007 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of surface roughness on airframe noise

The generation of sound by turbulent boundary layer flow at low Mach number over a rough wall is investigated by applying the theoretical model which describes the scattering of the turbulence near field into sound by roughness elements. Attention is focused on the numerical method to approximately quantify the absolute level of the roughness noise radiated to far field. Empirical models for the source statistics are obtained by scaling smooth-wall data through increased skin friction velocity and boundary layer thickness for the rough surface. Numerical integration is performed to determine the roughness noise, and it reproduces the spectral characteristics of the available empirical formula and experimental data. Experiments are conducted to measure the radiated sound from two rough plates in an open jet by four 1/2'' free-field condenser microphones. The measured noise spectra of the rough plates are above that of a smooth plate in 1-2.5 kHz frequency and exhibits encouraging agreement with the predicted spectra. Also, a phased microphone array is utilized to localize the sound source, and it confirms that the rough plates generate higher source strengthes in this frequency range. A parametric study illustrates that the roughness height and roughness density significantly affect the far-field radiated roughness noise with the roughness height having the dominant effect. The estimates of the roughness noise for a Boeing 757 sized aircraft wing show that in high frequency region the sound radiated from surface roughness may exceed that from the trailing edge, and higher overall sound pressure levels for the roughness noise are also observed.

What is indentation hardness?

Using dimensional analysis and finite element calculations, we derive simple scaling relationships for loading and unloading curve, contact depth, and hardness. The relationship between hardness and the basic mechanical properties of solids, such as Young's modulus, initial yield strength, and work-hardening exponent, is then obtained. The conditions for 'piling-up' and 'sinking-in' of surface profiles during indentation are determined. A method for estimating contact depth from initial unloading slope is examined. The work done during indentation is also studied. A relationship between the ratio of hardness to elastic modulus and the ratio of irreversible work to total work is discovered. This relationship offers a new method for obtaining hardness and elastic modulus. Finally, a scaling theory for indentation in power-law creep solids using self-similar indenters is developed. A connection between creep and 'indentation size effect' is established.

Thermodynamical versus log-Poisson distribution in turbulence

The thermodynamical model of intermittency in fully developed turbulence due to Castaing (B. Castaing, J. Phys. II France 6 (1996) 105) is investigated and compared with the log-Poisson model (Z-S, She, E. Leveque, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72 (1994) 336). It is shown that the thermodynamical model obeys general scaling laws and corresponds to the degenerate class of scale-invariant statistics. We also find that its structure function shapes have physical behaviors similar to the log-Poisson's one. The only difference between them lies in the convergence of the log-Poisson's structure functions and divergence of the thermodynamical one. As far as the comparison with experiments on intermittency is concerned, they are indifferent.

A Nonlinear Threshold Model Applied to Spallation Analysis

Spallation in heterogeneous media is a complex, dynamic process. Generally speaking, the spallation process is relevant to multiple scales and the diversity and coupling of physics at different scales present two fundamental difficulties for spallation modeling and simulation. More importantly, these difficulties can be greatly enhanced by the disordered heterogeneity on multi-scales. In this paper, a driven nonlinear threshold model for damage evolution in heterogeneous materials is presented and a trans-scale formulation of damage evolution is obtained. The damage evolution in spallation is analyzed with the formulation. Scaling of the formulation reveals that some dimensionless numbers govern the whole process of deformation and damage evolution. The effects of heterogeneity in terms of Weibull modulus on damage evolution in spallation process are also investigated.

Investigation of critical state in melt processed YBa2Cu3O7-δ thick films

The magnetic moment of square planar melt processed YBa2Cu3O7-δ thick films is observed to scale with the cube of the sample width at 4.2 K, suggesting that current flow on the length scale of the film determines its magnetization at this temperature. A well-defined discontinuity in slope in the scaling data at a sample width corresponding to the average grain size (≈2 mm) implies the coexistence of distinct intra- and inter-grain critical current densities of 1.1 × 105Acm-2 and 0.4 × 105Acm-2 at 1 T and 4.2 K. The presence of a critical state in the films at 4.2T is confirmed by removing the central section from a specimen. The observed change in magnetic moment is in excellent agreement with theory for fields greater than ≈2 T. A critical state is not observed at 77 K which suggests that the grains are only weakly coupled at the higher temperature. © 1994.