Fluorescence imaging study of free and impinging supersonic jets: Jet structure and turbulent transition

A series of experiments into the behavior of underexpanded jet flows has been conducted at NASA Langley Research Center. This work was conducted in support of the Return to Flight effort following the loss of the Columbia. The tests involved simulating flow through a hypothetical breach in the leading edge of the Space Shuttle Orbiter along its reentry trajectory, with the goal of generating a data set with which other researchers can test and validate computational modeling tools. Two nozzles supplied with high-pressure gas were used to generate axisymmetric underexpanded jets exhausting into a low-pressure chamber. These nozzles had exit Mach numbers of 1 and 2.6. Reynolds numbers based on nozzle exit conditions ranged from about 200 to 35,000, and nozzle exit-to-ambient jet pressure ratios ranged from about 1 to 37. Both free and impinging jets were studied, with impingement distances ranging from 10 to 40 nozzle diameters, and impingement angles of 45??, 60??, and 90??. For the majority of cases, the jet fluid was a mixture of 99.5% nitrogen seeded with 0.5% nitric oxide (NO).;Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of NO was used to non-intrusively visualize the flow with a temporal resolution on the order of lets. PLIF images were used to identify and measure the location and size of flow structures. PLIF images were further used to identify unsteady jet behavior in order to quantify the conditions governing the transition to turbulent flow. This dissertation will explain the motivation behind the work, provide details of the laser system and test hardware components, discuss the theoretical aspects of laser-induced fluorescence, give an overview of the spectroscopy of nitric oxide, and summarize the governing fluid mechanical concepts. It will present measurements of the size and location of flow structures, describe the basic mechanisms and origins of unsteady behavior in these flows, and discuss the dependence of such behavior on particular flow structures. Finally, correlations describing the relationship between flow conditions and the degree of flow unsteadiness at a given location along the jet axis will be presented

Experimental Investigation of Transverse Supersonic Gaseous Injection Enhancement into Supersonic Flow

In pursuit of more efficient and effective fuel-air mixing for a SCRAMJET combustor, this study was conducted to investigate relative near field enhancements of penetration and mixing of a discrete low-angled (25°) injected air jet into a supersonic (M=2.9) cross flow. The enhancements were achieved by injecting the transverse air jet parallel to the compression face of eight different ramp geometries. The jet-ramp interactions created collinear shock structures, baroclinic torque vorticity enhancement, ramp spillage enhanced vorticity, magnus effect penetration enhancement, and increased total pressure loss. Shadowgraph photography was used to identify the shock structures and interactions in the flow field. Measurements of mean flow properties were used to establish the jet plume size, jet plume penetration and to quantify the total pressure loss created by the ramps. Rayleigh-Mie scattering images were used for both qualitative flow field assessments and quantitative analysis of the plume trajectory and mixing rate. Results indicate that up to a 20% increase in penetration height and plume expansion can be achieved by injection over a ramp compared to simple transverse injection. This increase in penetration and mixing incurs up to a 15% loss in total pressure. The most critical geometric aspects that affect the flow are the ramp compression face shape and frontal aspect, and the location and strength of ramp generated expansion

Investigation of ramp injectors for supersonic mixing enhancement

A comparative study of wall mounted swept ramp injectors fitted with injector nozzles of different shape has been conducted in a constant area duct to explore mixing enhancement techniques for scramjet combustors. Six different injector nozzle inserts, all having equal exit and throat areas, were tested to explore the interaction between the preconditioned fuel jet and the vortical flowfield produced by the ramp: circular nozzle (baseline), nozzle with three downstream facing steps, nozzle with four vortex generators, elliptical nozzle, tapered-slot nozzle, and trapezoidal nozzle. The main flow was air at Mach 2, and the fuel was simulated by air injected at Mach 1.63 or by helium injected at Mach 1.7. Pressure and temperature surveys, combined with Mie and Rayleigh scattering visualization, were used to investigate the flow field. The experiments were compared with three dimensional Navier-Stokes computations. The results indicate that the mixing process is dominated by the streamwise vorticity generated by the ramp, the injectors' inner geometry having a minor effect. It was also found that the injectant/air mixing in the far-field is nearly independent of the injector geometry, molecular weight of the injectant, and the initial convective Mach number

Utilizing Near-IR Tunable Laser Absorption Spectroscopy to Study Detonation and Combustion Systems

A Hencken burner, RDE, and a detonation tube were studied using a TDM-TDLAS system to measure water absorption features over two spectral regions (7,435 to 7,442 cm-1 and 7,465 to 7,471 cm-1) near 1.3 micrometers. These absorption features were t with simulated spectra using data from the HITEMP database to obtain temperatures and water concentrations for the three systems. Velocity was calculated for the RDE system using the Doppler shift of the spectral lines. To perform the calculations necessary to obtain these results (temperature, concentration, and velocity) a GUI was developed with supporting code. A Hencken burner flame was studied at three different heights above the burner surface, for two different fuels; ethylene (C2H4) and methane (CH4), both at various equivalence ratios. The C2H4 Hencken burner temperatures matched fairly well with the adiabatic temperatures once edge effects were taken into account, however, the CH4 flame did not match as well. The exhaust of the RDE was studied at various equivalence ratios using a hydrogen-air mixture (H2-air). The exhaust temperatures were found to linearly increase with equivalence ratio, from 1,300 K ( 1) to 1,500 K (1.4) and fluctuated with a standard deviation of approximately 50 K. The exhaust velocities of the RDE were found to be independent of equivalence ratio with an average value of 360 m/s and a standard deviation of 50 m/s. A detonation tube was studied at various equivalence ratios and initial pressures, also using an H2- air mixture. Preliminary results are presented for the detonation tube, however, further work in that area is require

Development and application of computational aerothermodynamics flowfield computer codes

Presented is a collection of papers on research activities carried out during the funding period of October 1991 to March 1992. Topics covered include: blunt body flows in thermochemical equilibrium; thermochemical relaxation in high enthalpy nozzle flow; single expansion ramp nozzle simulations; lunar return aerobraking; line boundary problem for three dimensional grids; and unsteady shock induced combustion

Research and Technology

Langley Research Center is engaged in the basic an applied research necessary for the advancement of aeronautics and space flight, generating advanced concepts for the accomplishment of related national goals, and provding research advice, technological support, and assistance to other NASA installations, other government agencies, and industry. Highlights of major accomplishments and applications are presented

Development of fluorescence lifetime measurement techniques for use in microfluidic channels

Fluorescence lifetime measurements are a powerful tool in biomedical research and advances in detection technology make them ideally suited for the study of biomolecular interactions. Time-resolved techniques, compared to more conventional methods, provide improved precision and contrast in the monitoring of complex biological processes. Fluorescence lifetimes are extracted by using time-correlated single-photon counting, which offers single photon sensitivity, high temporal resolution and excellent signal to noise ratio. Furthermore, combining this technique with microfluidics offers unprecedented advantages. For example, in analytical applications, apart from the high sensitivity required, the study of analytes often demands low sample consumption and short mixing times to allow for the monitoring of quick reactions. These parameters can nicely be achieved with the use of microfluidics. Hydrodynamic focusing within 3-inlet 1-outlet continuous flow microfluidic devices can be used as a molecular confinement mechanism to improve the detection efficiency as well as a means to enhance mixing within microchannels for the study of fast reaction kinetics. In this work, a powerful combination of confocal microscopy and microfluidics was used to perform fluorescence lifetime measurements on freely diffusing and freely flowing molecules. For this purpose, a home-built scanning confocal system was developed to ensure sufficient reduction in background levels, enabling the detection of fluorescence signal that arises from single molecules. Fluorescence lifetime imaging along with a maximum likelihood estimator adapted from single molecule studies was performed to visualise hydrodynamic focusing and characterise mixing within microfluidic devices. Time-resolved methods were also employed to detect single molecules freely flowing within microchannels. A novel fluorescence lifetime approach was developed to perform Förster resonance energy transfer measurements on freely diffusing molecules and subsequently applied for the study of streptavidin-biotin binding and protein conformational changes upon unfolding

Development of scalar and velocity imaging diagnostics for supersonic hypermixing strut injector flowfields

textA new diagnostic technique for studying the turbulent mixing characteristics of supersonic mixing flowfields is developed and implemented in two Mach 3 mixing flowfields. The diagnostic utilizes simultaneous particle image velocimetry and quantitative planar laser-induced fluorescence of krypton gas to study the interaction between turbulent scalar and velocity fields. The fluorescence properties of krypton gas are determined; measurements of the pressure and temperature dependence of the collisional quenching rates and cross-sections are made for various mixtures with krypton. The gases tested in this fashion include helium, nitrogen, air, oxygen, and ethylene. Additional measurements are performed to measure the relative two-photon absorption cross-section for krypton gas. The non-dimensional quenching rates are found to follow a power-law dependence for temperature, while the pressure dependence of the total quenching rate is found to be linear. Two injection flowfields are studied for their general topology and kinematic characteristcs. The first injector model is a basic injector meant to serve as a baseline case; there are no hypermixing elements present in this model. The second model is an asymmetric, unswept hypermixing injector featuring 15 degree expansive ramps flanking a central block. These studies utilize particle image velocimetry in planar and stereoscopic configurations in various planes. Results for the mean flowfield show distinct differences between the two flowfields; the planar injector flowfield is shown to be highly two-dimensional and exhibits minimal coherent unsteady behavior. The hypermixing injector flowfield exhibits a highly three-dimensional wake, with a pair of stream-wise vortices driving both mean deviations in the flowfield and considerable vortical coupling in the span-wise direction. Simultaneous krypton PLIF and PIV are employed in the two mixing flowfields. An assay of the dependence of the krypton mole fraction calculations on the fluorescence signal is performed. The overall sensitivity and the resulting dynamic range of the calibration is dictated largely by the reference mole fraction. Additionally, several different theoretical models of the temperature dependence of the fluorescence signal are studied to assess their validity and influence over the PLIF calibration procedure. Finally, the technique is employed in the two mixing flowfields, and a brief analysis of the mean and unsteady behavior of the two is conducted.Aerospace Engineerin