CFD in the context of IHPTET: The Integrated High Performance Turbine Technology Program

The Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) Program is an integrated DOD/NASA technology program designed to double the performance capability of today's most advanced military turbine engines as we enter the twenty-first century. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is expected to play an important role in the design/analysis of specific configurations within this complex machine. In order to do this, a plan is being developed to ensure the timely impact of CFD on IHPTET. The developing philosphy of CFD in the context of IHPTET is discussed. The key elements in the developing plan and specific examples of state-of-the-art CFD efforts which are IHPTET turbine engine relevant are discussed

Effect of a rotor wake on heat transfer from a circular cylinder

The effect of a rotor wake on heat transfer to a downstream stator was investigated. The rotor was modeled with a spoked wheel of 24 circular pins 1.59 mm in diameter. One of the stator pins was electrically heated in the midspan region and circumferentially averaged heat transfer coefficients were obtained. The experiment was run in an annular flow wind tunnel using air at ambient temperature and pressure. Reynolds numbers based on stator cylinder diameter ranged from .001 to .00001. Rotor blade passing frequencies ranged from zero to 2500 Hz. Stationary grids were used to vary the rotor inlet turbulence from one to four percent. The rotor-stator spacings were one and two stator pin diameters. In addition to the heat transfer coefficients, turbulence spectra and ensemble averaged wake profiles were measured. At the higher Reynolds numbers, which is the primary range of interest for turbulent heat transfer, the rotor wakes increased Nusselt number from 10 to 45 percent depending on conditions. At lower Reynolds numbers the effect was as much as a factor of two

Heat transfer distributions around nominal ice accretion shapes formed on a cylinder in the NASA Lewis icing research tunnel

Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained on irregular cylindrical shapes which typify the accretion of ice on circular cylinders in cross flow. The ice shapes were grown on a 5.1 cm (2.0 in.) diameter cylinder in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. The shapes were 2, 5, and 15 min accumulations of glaze ice and 15 min accumulation of rime ice. Heat transfer coefficients were also measured around the cylinder with no ice accretion. These icing shapes were averaged axially to obtain a nominal shape of constant cross section for the heat transfer tests. Heat transfer coefficients around the perimeter of each shape were measured with electrically heated copper strips embedded in the surface of the model which was cast from polyurethane foam. Each strip contained a thermocouple to measure the local surface temperature. The models were run in a 15.2 x 68.6 cm (6 x 27 in.) wind tunnel at several velocities. Background turbulence in the wind tunnel was less than 0.5 percent. The models were also run with a turbulence producing grid which gave about 3.5 percent turbulence at the model location with the model removed. The effect of roughness was also simulated with sand grains glued to the surface. Results are presented as Nusselt number versus angle from the stagnation line for the smooth and rough models for both high and low levels of free stream turblence. Roughness of the surface in the region prior to flow separation plays a major role in determining the heat transfer distribution

Unsteady heat transfer and direct comparison to steady-state measurements in a rotor-wake experiment

Circumferentially local and time-resolved heat transfer measurements were obtained for a circular cylinder in crossflow located downstream of a rotating spoked wheel wake generator in a steady flow tunnel. The unsteady heat transfer effects were obtained by developing an extension of a thin film gauge technique employed to date exclusively in short-duration facilities. The time-average thin film results and conventional steady-state heat transfer measurements were compared. Time-averaged wake-induced stagnation heat transfer enhancement levels above the nowake case were about 10% for the four cylinder Reynolds numbers. This enhancement level was nearly independent of bar passing frequency and was related directly to the time integral of the heat transfer spikes observed at the bar passing frequency. It is observed that the wake-induced heat transfer spikes have peak magnitudes averaging 30 to 40% above the interwake heat transfer level

A flavoprotein supports cell wall properties in the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola

Background Flavin-dependent monooxygenases are involved in key biological processes as they catalyze a wide variety of chemo-, regio- and enantioselective oxygenation reactions. Flavoprotein monooxygenases are frequently encountered in micro-organisms, most of which require further functional and biocatalytic assessment. Here we investigated the function of the AbMak1 gene, which encodes a group A flavin monooxygenase in the plant pathogenic fungus Alternaria brassicicola, by generating a deficient mutant and examining its phenotype. Results Functional analysis indicates that the AbMak1 protein is involved in cell wall biogenesis and influences the melanization process. We documented a significant decrease in melanin content in the Δabmak1 strain compared to the wild-type and complemented strains. We investigated the cell wall morphology and physical properties in the wild-type and transformants using electron and atomic force microscopy. These approaches confirmed the aberrant morphology of the conidial wall structure in the Δabmak1 strain which had an impact on hydrophilic adhesion and conidial surface stiffness. However, there was no significant impairment in growth, conidia formation, pathogenicity or susceptibility to various environmental stresses in the Δabmak1 strain. Conclusion This study sheds new light on the function of a fungal flavin-dependent monooxygenase, which plays an important role in melanization

Assembly of seed-associated microbial communities within and across successive plant generations

Background and aims Seeds are involved in the transmission of microorganisms from one plant generation to another and consequently may act as the initial inoculum source for the plant microbiota. In this work, we assessed the structure and composition of the seed microbiota of radish (Raphanus sativus) across three successive plant generations. Methods Structure of seed microbial communities were estimated on individual plants through amplification and sequencing of genes that are markers of taxonomic diversity for bacteria (gyrB) and fungi (ITS1). The relative contribution of dispersal and ecological drift in inter-individual fluctuations were estimated with a neutral community model. Results Seed microbial communities of radish display a low heritability across plant generations. Fluctuations in microbial community profiles were related to changes in community membership and composition across plant generations, but also to variation between individual plants. Ecological drift was an important driver of the structure of seed bacterial communities, while dispersal was involved in the assembly of the fungal fraction of the seed microbiota. Conclusions These results provide a first glimpse of the governing processes driving the assembly of the seed microbiota