Noncircular Orifice Holes and Advanced Fabrication Techniques for Liquid Rocket Injectors (Phases 1, 2, 3, and 4)

A comprehensive summary of the results of a cold-flow and hot-fire experimental study of the mixing and atomization characteristics of injector elements incorporating noncircular orifices is presented. Both liquid/liquid and gas/liquid element types are discussed. Unlike doublet and triplet elements (circular orifices only) were investigated for the liquid/liquid case while concentric tube elements were investigated for the gas/liquid case. It is concluded that noncircular shape can be employed to significant advantage in injector design for liquid rocket engines

Influence of viscoelasticity and interfacial slip on acoustic wave sensors

Acoustic wave devices with shear horizontal displacements, such as quartz crystal microbalances (QCM) and shear horizontally polarised surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) devices provide sensitive probes of changes at solid-solid and solid- liquid interfaces. Increasingly the surfaces of acoustic wave devices are being chemically or physically modified to alter surface adhesion or coated with one or more layers to amplify their response to any change of mass or material properties. In this work, we describe a model that provides a unified view of the modification in the shear motion in acoustic wave systems by multiple finite thickness loadings of viscoelastic fluids. This model encompasses QCM and other classes of acoustic wave devices based on a shear motion of the substrate surface and is also valid whether the coating film has a liquid or solid character. As a specific example, the transition of a coating from liquid to solid is modelled using a single relaxation time Maxwell model. The correspondence between parameters from this physical model and parameters from alternative acoustic impedance models is given explicitly. The characteristic changes in QCM frequency and attenuation as a function of thickness are illustrated for a single layer device as the coating is varied from liquid-like to that of an amorphous solid. Results for a double layer structure are given explicitly and the extension of the physical model to multiple layers is described

The Effects of Rare Earth Doping on Gallium Nitride Thin Films

The thermal neutron capture cross section of the rare earth (RE) metal isotope Gd-157 is the largest of all known natural elements, which distinguishes the material as a logical candidate for neutron detection. To address an incomplete understanding of rare earth doped Gallium Nitride (GaN) materials, investigations of the surface electronic structure and interface properties of GaN thin films doped with rare earths (Yb, Er, Gd) were undertaken. Lattice ion occupation, bonding, rare earth 4f occupation, and gold Schottky barrier formation were examined using synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy. Measured Debye temperatures indicate substitutional occupation of Ga sites by RE ions. The occupied RE 4f levels, deep within the valence band, suggest that intra-atomic f-f transitions may be more \u27blue\u27 than predicted by theoretical models. Thin layers of gold did not wet and uniformly cover the GaN surface, even with rare earth doping of the GaN. The resultant Schottky barrier heights for GaN:Yb, GaN:Er, and GaN:Gd, are 25-55% larger than those reported at the gold to undoped GaN interface. The utility of gadolinium as a neutron detection material was examined via fundamental nuclear and semiconductor physics. Low charge production and the large range of internal conversion electrons limits charge collection efficiency

Development of a Three-Dimensional Air Blast Propagation Model Based Upon the Weighted Average Flux Method

Accurate numerical modeling of complex, multi-dimensional shock propagation is needed for many Department of Defense applications. A three-dimensional code, based upon E.F. Toro\u27s weighted average flux (WAF) method has been developed, tested, and validated. Code development begins with the introduction and application of all techniques in a single dimension. First-order accuracy is achieved via Godunov\u27s scheme using an exact Riemann solver. Adaptive techniques, which employ approximate solutions, are implemented to improve computational efficiency. The WAF method produces second-order accurate solutions, but introduces spurious oscillations near shocks and contact discontinuities. Total variation diminishing (TVD) flux and weight limiting schemes are added to reduce fluctuation severity. Finally, the fully developed one dimensional code is validated against experimental data, and extended into two and three dimensions via dimension-splitting technique

Flexible conformable hydrophobized surfaces for turbulent flow drag reduction

In recent years extensive work has been focused onto using superhydrophobic surfaces for drag reduction applications. Superhydrophobic surfaces retain a gas layer, called a plastron, when submerged underwater in the Cassie-Baxter state with water in contact with the tops of surface roughness features. In this state the plastron allows slip to occur across the surface which results in a drag reduction. In this work we report flexible and relatively large area superhydrophobic surfaces produced using two different methods: Large roughness features were created by electrodeposition on copper meshes; Small roughness features were created by embedding carbon nanoparticles (soot) into Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both samples were made into cylinders with a diameter under 12 mm. To characterize the samples, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and confocal microscope images were taken. The confocal microscope images were taken with each sample submerged in water to show the extent of the plastron. The hydrophobized electrodeposited copper mesh cylinders showed drag reductions of up to 32% when comparing the superhydrophobic state with a wetted out state. The soot covered cylinders achieved a 30% drag reduction when comparing the superhydrophobic state to a plain cylinder. These results were obtained for turbulent flows with Reynolds numbers 10,000 to 32,500

Electrowetting on superhydrophobic SU-8 patterned surfaces

Electrowetting on micro-patterned layers of SU-8 photoresist with an amorphous Teflon (R) coating has been observed. The cosine of the contact angle is shown to be proportional to the square of the applied voltage for increasing bias. However, this does not apply below 40 V and we suggest that this may be explained in terms of penetration of fluid into the pattern of the surface. Assuming that the initial application of a bias voltage converts the drop from Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel regime, we have used this as a technique to estimate the roughness factor of the surface

Noncircular orifice holes and advanced fabrication techniques for liquid rocket injectors. Phase 3: Analytical and cold-flow experimental evaluation of rectangular concentric tube injector elements for gas/liquid application. Phase 4: Analytical and experimental evaluation of noncircular injector elements for gas/liquid and liquid/liquid application

Results are presented of a cold-flow and hot-fire experimental study of the mixing and atomization characteristics of injector elements incorporating noncircular orifices. Both liquid/liquid and gas/liquid element types are discussed. Unlike doublet and triplet elements (circular orifices only) were investigated for the liquid/liquid case while concentric tube elements were investigated for the gas/liquid case. It is concluded that noncircular shape can be employed to significant advantage in injector design for liquid rocket engines

Topography driven spreading

Roughening a hydrophobic surface enhances its nonwetting properties into superhydrophobicity. For liquids other than water, roughness can induce a complete rollup of a droplet. However, topographic effects can also enhance partial wetting by a given liquid into complete wetting to create superwetting. In this work, a model system of spreading droplets of a nonvolatile liquid on surfaces having lithographically produced pillars is used to show that superwetting also modifies the dynamics of spreading. The edge speed-dynamic contact angle relation is shown to obey a simple power law, and such power laws are shown to apply to naturally occurring surfaces

Surface roughness and interfacial slip boundary condition for quartz crystal microbalances

The response of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is considered using a wave equation for the substrate and the Navier-Stokes equations for a finite liquid layer under a slip boundary condition. It is shown that when the slip length to shear wave penetration depth is small, the first order effect of slip is only present in the frequency response. Importantly, in this approximation the frequency response satisfies an additivity relation with a net response equal to a Kanazawa liquid term plus an additional Sauerbrey "rigid" liquid mass. For the slip length to result in an enhanced frequency decrease compared to a no-slip boundary condition, it is shown that the slip length must be negative so that the slip plane is located on the liquid side of the interface. It is argued that the physical application of such a negative slip length could be to the liquid phase response of a QCM with a completely wetted rough surface. Effectively, the model recovers the starting assumption of additivity used in the trapped mass model for the liquid phase response of a QCM having a rough surface. When applying the slip boundary condition to the rough surface problem, slip is not at a molecular level, but is a formal hydrodynamic boundary condition which relates the response of the QCM to that expected from a QCM with a smooth surface. Finally, possible interpretations of the results in terms of acoustic reflectivity are developed and the potential limitations of the additivity result should vapour trapping occur are discussed

Terminal velocity and drag reduction measurements on superhydrophobic spheres

Super water-repellent surfaces occur naturally on plants and aquatic insects and are created in the laboratory by combining micro- or nanoscale surface topographic features with hydrophobic surface chemistry. When such types of water-repellent surfaces are submerged they can retain a film of air (a plastron). In this work, we report measurements of the terminal velocity of solid acrylic spheres with various surface treatments settling under the action of gravity in water. We observed increases in terminal velocity corresponding to drag reduction of between 5% and 15% for superhydrophobic surfaces that carry plastrons