Computational Modeling of Multi-Phase/Multi-Species Flows with Applications to Liquid Rocket Engines

Accurate prediction of all physical phenomena in a combustion chamber is essential for better understanding of the system performance. Atomization, evaporation, combustion, chemical kinetics, and turbulence are those processes of great importance that need to be well understood. Processes involving the liquid phase in a combustion chamber will be further complicated under supercritical conditions. More advanced and accurate numerical techniques are required to extend our understanding of the above phenomena. A computer program for multi-species/multi-phase flow was developed for NASA/MSFC in 1992. This code, called Liquid Thrust Chamber Performance (LTCP) program takes an Eulerian- Eulerian approach and is based on the Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) technique with Lax-Friedrichs upwind method. Under the NASA/ASEE SFFP the LTCP code was used to predict the performance characteristics of several engines that were of particular interest to NASA. This code was also successful in a combustion detonation study. Converting the program to the PC platform was accomplished which extends usability and makes it available to a wider range of users. The Eulerian formulation of the liquid phase provides a suitable model that can be extended to include combustion modeling under supercritical conditions. The results have been compared against the ones of other codes and available measured data. The algorithm proved to be robust and efficient for problems with stiff source terms

LTCP 2D Graphical User Interface. Application Description and User's Guide

A graphical user interface (GUI) written for NASA's LTCP (Liquid Thrust Chamber Performance) 2 dimensional computational fluid dynamic code is described. The GUI is written in C++ for a desktop personal computer running under a Microsoft Windows operating environment. Through the use of common and familiar dialog boxes, features, and tools, the user can easily and quickly create and modify input files for the LTCP code. In addition, old input files used with the LTCP code can be opened and modified using the GUI. The application is written in C++ for a desktop personal computer running under a Microsoft Windows operating environment. The program and its capabilities are presented, followed by a detailed description of each menu selection and the method of creating an input file for LTCP. A cross reference is included to help experienced users quickly find the variables which commonly need changes. Finally, the system requirements and installation instructions are provided

A Novel Approach to Visualize and Quantify the Transient Air Infiltration/Exfiltration in Walk-in Coolers

Walk-in coolers are room-sized, insulated, and refrigerated compartments for food product storage. Walk-ins have areas equal or below 280 m2 (3,000 ft2), and are classified either as coolers operating above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) (medium-temperature) to store fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy products, or freezers that operate below 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) (low-temperature) to meet health and safety standards of frozen food products. Walk-ins are typically found in restaurants as well as small- and medium-to-large grocery stores or supermarkets

Capillary Climb Dynamics in the Limits of Prevailing Capillary and Gravity Force

The dynamics of capillary climb of a wetting liquid into a porous medium that is opposed by gravity force is studied numerically. We use the capillary network model, in which an actual porous medium is represented as a network of pores and throats, each following a predefined size distribution function. The liquid potential in the pores along the liquid interface within the network is calculated as a result of capillary and gravity forces. The solution is general, and accounts for changes in the climbing height and climbing velocity. The numerical results for the capillary climb reveal that there are at least two distinct flow mechanisms. Initially, the flow is characterized by high climbing velocity, in which the capillary force is higher than the gravity force, and the flow is the viscous force dominated. For this single-phase flow, the Washburn equation can be used to predict the changes of climbing height over time. Later, for longer times and larger climbing height, the capillary and gravity forces become comparable, and one observes a slower increase in the climbing height as a function of time. Due to the two forces being comparable, the gas-liquid sharp interface transforms into flow front, where the multiphase flow develops. The numerical results from this study, expressed as the climbing height as a power law function of time, indicate that the two powers, which correspond to the two distinct mechanisms, differ significantly. The comparison of the powers with experimental data indicates good agreement. Furthermore, the power value from the Washburn solution is also analyzed, where it should be equal to 12 for purely viscous force driven flow. This is in contrast to the power value of ∼0.43 that is found experimentally. We show from the numerical solution that this discrepancy is due to the momentum dissipation on the liquid interface

Current and Future Critical Issues in Rocket Propulsion Systems

The objective of this research was to tackle several problems that are currently of great importance to NASA. In a liquid rocket engine several complex processes take place that are not thoroughly understood. Droplet evaporation, turbulence, finite rate chemistry, instability, and injection/atomization phenomena are some of the critical issues being encountered in a liquid rocket engine environment. Pulse Detonation Engines (PDE) performance, combustion chamber instability analysis, 60K motor flowfield pattern from hydrocarbon fuel combustion, and 3D flowfield analysis for the Combined Cycle engine were of special interest to NASA. During the summer of 1997, we made an attempt to generate computational results for all of the above problems and shed some light on understanding some of the complex physical phenomena. For this purpose, the Liquid Thrust Chamber Performance (LTCP) code, mainly designed for liquid rocket engine applications, was utilized. The following test cases were considered: (1) Characterization of a detonation wave in a Pulse Detonation Tube; (2) 60K Motor wall temperature studies; (3) Propagation of a pressure pulse in a combustion chamber (under single and two-phase flow conditions); (4) Transonic region flowfield analysis affected by viscous effects; (5) Exploring the viscous differences between a smooth and a corrugated wall; and (6) 3D thrust chamber flowfield analysis of the Combined Cycle engine. It was shown that the LTCP-2D and LTCP-3D codes are capable of solving complex and stiff conservation equations for gaseous and droplet phases in a very robust and efficient manner. These codes can be run on a workstation and personal computers (PC's)

Dynamics and Stability of Two-potential Flows in the Porous Media

The experimental and numerical results of the capillary-force-driven climb of wetting liquid in porous media, which is opposed by the gravity force, are analyzed with respect to the emergence of a multiphase flow front and flow stability of the climbing liquid. Two dynamic characteristics are used: (i) the multiphase flow front thickness as a function of time, and (ii) the capillary number as a function of Bond number, where both numbers are calculated from the harmonic average of pores radii. Throughout the climb, the influence of capillary, gravity, and viscous force variations on the flow behavior is investigated for different porous media. For a specific porous medium, a unique flow front power law function of time is observed for the capillary flow climbs with or without gravity force. Distinct dynamic flow front power law functions are found for different porous media. However, for capillary climb in different porous media, one is able to predict a unique behavior for the wetting height (the interface between wetted and dry regions of porous medium) using the capillary and Bond number. It is found that these two numbers correlate as a unique exponential function, even for porous media whose permeabilities vary for two orders of magnitude. For climbs without the gravity force (capillary spreads), the initial climb dynamics follows this exponential law, but for later flow times and when a significant flow front is developed, one observes a constant value of the capillary number. Using this approach to describe the capillary climb, only the capillary versus Bond number correlation is needed, which is completely measureable from the experiments

A Neural Network Structure for Prediction of Chemical Agent Fate

This work presents the development of a multi-input, multi-output neural network structure to predict the time dependent concentration of chemical agents as they participate in chemical reaction with environmental substrates or moisture content within these substrates. The neural network prediction is based on a computationally or experimentally produced database that includes the concentration of all chemicals presents (reactants and products) as a function of the chemical agent droplet size, wind speed, temperature, and turbulence. The utilization of this prediction structure is made userfriendly via an easy-to-use graphical user interface. Furthermore, upon the knowledge of the time-varying environmental parameters (wind speed and temperature that are usually recorded and available), the time varying concentration of all chemicals can be predicted almost instantaneously by recalling the previously trained network. The network prediction was compared with actual open air test data and the results were found to match

Air Curtains of Open Refrigerated Display Cases Revisited: A New Technique for Infiltration Rate Measurements

Air curtains are created in open refrigerated vertical display cases for creating an invisible barrier between the cold air inside and the warm air outside the case. A systematic approach is developed to minimize the entrainment and infiltration of warm air into the case by optimizing the performance of an air curtain through adjusting pertinent flow parameters and case geometry. A modular display case was manufactured for the parametric studies. In this modular display case the geometry and flow parameters were changed and the infiltration rate was measured using a new technique, tracer gas method, which could be performed noticeably faster than the conventional methods. This apparatus is referred to as the proof-of-concept air curtain (POCAC). A matrix of all possible permutations was constructed with the infiltration rate being the outcome of this matrix. This matrix was populated by actual experimental measurements as well as using validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computer programs as a tool to acquire better resolution of the input and output datasets. All the problem variables are referred to as the input vector of all parameters that can be altered, and the output is the infiltration rate. An artificial neural network (ANN) program was used to provide the linkage between the input vector (problem variables) and the problem outcome (infiltration). This program can also be used by industry as a tool to estimate the infiltration rate for all existing open vertical display cases

A General-Purpose Multiphase/Multispecies Model to Predict the Spread, Percutaneous Hazard, and Contact Dynamics for Nonporous and Porous Substrates and Membranes

A computational model to solve the coupled transport equations with chemical reaction and phase change for a liquid sessile droplet or the contact and spread of a sessile droplet between two approaching porous or non-porous surfaces, is developed. The model is general therefore it can be applied to toxic chemicals (contact hazard), drug delivery through porous organs and membranes, combustion processes within porous material, and liquid movements in the ground. The equation of motion and the spread of the incompressible liquid available on the primary surface for transfer into the contacting surface while reacting with other chemicals (or water) and/or the solid substrate are solved in a finite difference domain with adaptive meshing. The comparison with experimental data demonstrated the model is robust and accurate. The impact of the initial velocity on the spread topology and mass transfer into the pores is also addressed

A Simple Laboratory Experiment for the Measurement of Single Phase Permeability

A simple experiment for measuring single-phase permeability of fully saturated porous medium is introduced. The experiment utilizes radial flow of a non-volatile wetting fluid through a porous medium such as ceramic tile, concrete or sand. The radial position of flow front is measured as a function of time and the collected data are analyzed using Darcy\u27s Law to determine the permeability. In addition, the phenomenon of the multiphase flow through the medium with a broad pore size distribution is demonstrated