Journal of Fluids Engineering

Experimental studies employing advanced measurement techniques have played an important role in the advancement of two-phase microfluidic systems. In particular, flow visualization is very helpful in understanding the physics of two-phase phenomenon in microdevices. The objective of this article is to provide a brief but inclusive review of the available methods for studying bubble dynamics in microchannels and to introduce prior studies, which developed these techniques or utilized them for a particular microchannel application. The majority of experimental techniques used for characterizing two-phase flow in microchannels employs high-speed imaging and requires direct optical access to the flow. Such methods include conventional brightfield microscopy, fluorescent microscopy, confocal scanning laser microscopy, and micro particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV). The application of these methods, as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and some novel techniques employing nonintrusive sensors, to multiphase microfluidic systems is presented in this review.

Double-layered microcapsules, which usually consist of a core (polymeric) matrix surrounded by a (polymeric) shell, have been used in many industrial and scientific applications, such as microencapsulation of drugs and living cells. Concentric compound nozzle-based jetting has been favored due to its efficiency and precise control of the core-shell compound structure. Thus far, little is known about the underlying formation mechanism of double-layered microcapsules in compound nozzle jetting. This study aims to understand the formability of double-layered microcapsules in compound nozzle jetting by combining a theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. A linear temporal instability analysis is used to define the perturbation growth rates of stretching and squeezing modes and a growth ratio as a function of the wave number, and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is implemented to model the microcapsule formation process in order to determine the good microcapsule forming range based on the growth ratio curve. Using a pseudobisection method, the lower and upper bounds of the good formability range have been determined for a given materials-nozzle system. The proposed formability prediction methodology has been implemented to model a water-poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)-air compound jetting system.

An approximate-analytical solution method is presented for the problem of mass transfer in a rigid tube with pulsatile flow. For the case of constant wall concentration, it is shown that the generalized integral transform (GIT) method can be used to obtain a solution in terms of a perturbation expansion, where the coefficients of each term are given by a system of coupled ordinary differential equations. Truncating the system at some large value of the parameter N, an approximate solution for the system is obtained for the first term in the perturbation expansion, and the GIT-based solution is verified by comparison to a numerical solution. The GIT approximate-analytical solution indicates that for small to moderate nondimensional frequencies for any distance from the inlet of the tube, there is a positive peak in the bulk concentration C(1b) due to pulsation, thereby, producing a higher mass transfer mixing efficiency in the tube. As we further increase the frequency, the positive peak is followed by a negative peak in the time-averaged bulk concentration and then the bulk concentration C(1b) oscillates and dampens to zero. Initially, for small frequencies the relative Sherwood number is negative indicating that the effect of pulsation tends to reduce mass transfer. There is a band of frequencies, where the relative Sherwood number is positive indicating that the effect of pulsation tends to increase mass transfer. The positive peak in bulk concentration corresponds to a matching of the phase of the pulsatile velocity and the concentration, respectively, where the unique maximum of both occur for certain time in the cycle. The oscillatory component of concentration is also determined radially in the tube where the concentration develops first near the wall of the tube, and the lobes of the concentration curves increase with increasing distance downstream until the concentration becomes fully developed. The GIT method proves to be a working approach to solve the first two perturbation terms in the governing equations involved.

Growing environmental concerns and the need for better power balancing and frequency control have increased attention in renewable energy sources such as the reversible pump-turbine which can provide both power generation and energy storage. Pump-turbine operation along the S-shaped curve can lead to difficulties in loading the rejection process with unusual increases in water pressure, which lead to machine vibrations. Pressure fluctuations are the primary reason for unstable operation of pump-turbines. Misaligned guide vanes (MGVs) are widely used to control the stability in the S region. There have been experimental investigations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of scale models with aligned guide vanes and MGVs with spectral analyses of the S curve characteristics and the pressure pulsations in the frequency and time-frequency domains at runaway conditions. The course of the S characteristic is related to the centrifugal force and the large incident angle at low flow conditions with large vortices forming between the guide vanes and the blade inlets and strong flow recirculation inside the vaneless space as the main factors that lead to the S-shaped characteristics. Preopening some of the guide vanes enables the pump-turbine to avoid the influence of the S characteristic. However, the increase of the flow during runaway destroys the flow symmetry in the runner leading to all asymmetry forces on the runner that leads to hydraulic system oscillations. The MGV technique also increases the pressure fluctuations in the draft tube and has a negative impact on stable operation of the unit.

The application of an upwind-biased implicit approximate factorization Navier-Stokes algorithm to the unsteady impulsive start-up flow over a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 1200 is described. The complete form of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations is used, and the algorithm is second-order accurate in both space and time. The development with time of the shape and size of the separated vortical flow region is computed, as well as the time-variation of several boundary layer parameters and profile shapes. Computations, in general, show excellent agreement with experiment, although the present method predicts a more rapid onset of reversed flow on the cylinder than evidenced in experiment. The changes that the vortical region behind the cylinder undergoes as the symmetric flow transitions to periodic vortex shedding are discussed. The flow becomes periodic with a Strouhal frequency of 0.222, which compares well with the experimental value of approximately 0.21. The effect of grid density on the development of the unsteady flow is also shown.

Actuating torque data from field testing of a 122-centimeter (48 in.) butterfly valve with a hydro/pneumatic actuator is presented. The hydraulic cylinder functions as either a forward or a reverse brake. Its resistance torque increases when the valve speeds up and decreases when the valve slows down. A reduction of flow resistance in the hydraulic flow path from one end of the hydraulic cylinder to the other will effectively reduce the hydraulic resistance torque and hence increase the actuating torque. The sum of hydrodynamic and friction torques (combined resistance torque) of a butterfly valve is a function of valve opening time. An increase in the pneumatic actuating pressure will result in a decrease in both the combined resistance torque and the actuator opening torque; however, it does shorten the valve opening time. As the pneumatic pressure increases, the valve opening time for a given configuration approaches an asymptotical value.

An attempt is made to unify the current state of knowledge in crystal growth techniques and fluid mechanics. After identifying important fluid dynamic problems for such representative crystal growth processes as closed tube vapor transport, open reactor vapor deposition, and the Czochralski and floating zone melt growth techniques, research results obtained to date are presented. It is noted that the major effort to date has been directed to the description of the nature and extent of bulk transport under realistic conditions, where bulk flow determines the heat and solute transport which strongly influence the temperature and concentration fields in the vicinity of the growth interface. Proper treatment of near field, or interface, problems cannot be given until the far field, or global flow, involved in a given crystal growth technique has been adequately described.

Various computational fluid dynamic techniques are reviewed focusing on the Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers with a brief assessment of boundary layer solutions, and quasi-3D and quasi-viscous techniques. Particular attention is given to a pressure-based method, explicit and implicit time marching techniques, a pseudocompressibility technique for incompressible flow, and zonal techniques. Recommendations are presented with regard to the most appropriate technique for various flow regimes and types of turbomachinery, incompressible and compressible flows, cascades, rotors, stators, liquid-handling, and gas-handling turbomachinery.

The aerodynamic performance of a two-element airfoil with a 90-deg trailing edge flap was experimentally investigated. The 5 percent-chord long flap, significantly increased the lift of the baseline airfoil, throughout a wide range of angles of attack. The maximum lift coefficient of the flapped wing increased too, whereas the lift/drag ratio decreased.

acoustic oscillations exhibited by confined supersonic flow past a rectangular cavity of varying length-to depth

Computational feasibility of turbulent reacting flows hinges on the reduction of large chemical kinetics systems to smaller more manageable reaction sets. Recently, several sophisticated reduction techniques have been developed but they continue to be computationally prohibitive for practical three-dimensional unsteady computations. For such applications, the classical quasi-steady state assumption (QSSA), despite serious shortcomings, continues to be popular due to its conceptual clarity and computational simplicity. Starting from invariant manifold description, we develop an advanced quasi-steady state assumption which (i) is independent of the choice of the retained (slow) species; (ii) possesses much improved physical and mathematical characteristics; and (iii) can be specialized for any objective function.

This study presents a mathematical formulation developed for aerodynamic sensitivity coefficients based on a discretized form of the compressible 2D Euler equations. A brief motivating introduction to the aerodynamic sensitivity analysis and the reasons behind an integrated flow/sensitivity analysis for design algorithms are presented. The finite difference approach and the quasi-analytical approach are used to determine the aerodynamic sensitivity coefficients. A new flow prediction concept, which is an outcome of the direct method in the quasi-analytical approach, is developed and illustrated with an example. Surface pressure coefficient distributions of a nozzle-afterbody configuration obtained from the predicted flowfield solution are compared successfully with their corresponding values obtained from a flowfield analysis code and the experimental data.

This paper describes a computer code for calculating the flow dynamics of constant density flow in the second stage trumpet shaped nozzle section of a two stage MHD swirl combustor for application to a disk generator. The primitive pressure-velocity variable, finite difference computer code has been developed to allow the computation of inert nonreacting turbulent swirling flows in an axisymmetric MHD model swirl combustor. The method and program involve a staggered grid system for axial and radial velocities, and a line relaxation technique for efficient solution of the equations. Turbulence simulation is by way of a two-equation Kappa-epsilon model. The code produces as output the flowfield map of the nondimensional stream function, axial, and swirl velocity. Good agreement was obtained between the theoretical predictions and the qualitative experimental results. The best seed injector location for uniform seed distribution at combustor exit is with injector located centrally on the combustor axis at entrance to the second stage combustor.

The length scales appearing in the relations for the eddy viscosity and dissipation rate in one-equation models were evaluated from direct numerical (DNS) simulation data for developed channel and boundary-layer flow at two Reynolds numbers each. To prepare the ground for the evaluation, the distribution of the most relevant mean-flow and turbulence quantities is presented and discussed, also with respect to Reynolds-number influence and to differences between channel and boundary-layer flow. An alternative model is tested as near wall component of a two-layer model by application to developed-channel, boundary-layer and backward-facing-step flows.

Detailed measurements of mean drop size (SMD) and size distribution parameters have been made using a Fraunhofer diffraction particle sizing instrument in a series of sprays generated by an air assist swirl atomizer. Thirty-six different combinations of fuel and air mass flow rates were examined with liquid flow rates up to 14 lbm/hr and atomizing air flow rates up to 10 lbm/hr. Linear relationships were found between SMD and liquid to air mass flow rate ratios. SMD increased with distance downstream along the center line and also with radial distance from the axis. Increase in obscuration with distance downstream was due to an increase in number density of particles as the result of deceleration of drops and an increase in the exposed path length of the laser beam. Velocity components of the atomizing air flow field measured by a laser anemometer show swirling jet air flow fields with solid body rotation in the core and free vortex flow in the outer regions.

This study investigates air flow in metallic foams, which are produced by the SlipReactionFoamSintering (SRFS)-process. It was conducted as part of the collaborative research center (SFB) 561 “Thermally Highly Loaded, Porous and Cooled Multi-Layer Systems for Combined Cycle Power Plants”. The flow through a porous medium is analysed by Darcy’s equation with the Dupuit/Forchheimer extension. All measurements can be described very well by this equation and permeability and inertial coefficients are obtained for a large quantity of samples with different base materials and different porosities. A threshold porosity of 70 % is observed, above which the pressure loss starts sinking significantly with porosity. Additionally, it was found, that the permeability was anisotropic. Permeability is lower in the direction of gravity during foaming. Scattering in the data of the permeability and inertial coefficients versus the porosity is observed and discussed.

Phase Doppler measurements were used to determine initial drop size and velocity distributions after a complete disintegration of coaxial liquid jets. The Sauter mean diameter (SMD) distribution was found to be strongly affected by the structure and behavior of the preceding liquid intact jet. The axial measurement stations were determined from the photographs of the coaxial liquid jet at very short distances (1-2 mm) downstream of the observed break-up locations. Minimum droplet mean velocities were found at the center, and maximum velocities were near the spray boundary. Size-velocity correlations show that the velocity of larger drops did not change with drop size. Drop rms velocity distributions have double peaks whose radial positions coincide with the maximum mean velocity gradients.

An aerodynamic shape optimization method has previously been developed by the authors using the Euler equations and has been applied to supersonic-hypersonic nozzle designs. This method has also included a flowfield extrapolation (or flow prediction) method based on the Taylor series expansion of an existing CFD solution. The present paper reports on the extension of this method to the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations in order to account for the viscous effects. Also, to test the method under highly nonlinear conditions, it has been applied to the transonic flows. Initially, the success of the flow prediction method is tested. Then, the overall method is demonstrated by optimizing the shapes of two supercritical transonic airfoils at zero angle of attack. The first one is shape optimized to achieve a minimum drag while obtaining a lift above a specified value. Whereas, the second one is shape optimized for a maximum lift while attaining a drag below a specified value. The results of these two cases indicate that the present method can produce successfully optimized aerodynamic shapes.

Trailing edge flows are visualized for a pitching airfoil. The validity of the quasi-steady and an extension to an unsteady Kutta condition are examined. A new dynamic similarity parameter is proposed.

The computational efficiency of four vectorizable implicit algorithms is assessed when applied to calculate steady-state solutions to the three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in general coordinates. Two of these algorithms are characterized as hybrid schemes; that is, they combine some approximate factorization in two coordinate directions with relaxation in the remaining spatial direction. The other two algorithms utilize an approximate factorization approach which yields two-factor algorithms for three-dimensional systems. All four algorithms are implemented in identical high-resolution upwind schemes for the flux-difference split Navier-Stokes equations. These highly nonlinear schemes are obtained by extending an implicit Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) scheme recently developed for linear one-dimensional systems of hyperbolic conservation laws to the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. The computation of vortical flow over a sharp-edged, thin delta wing has been chosen as a common numerical test case. The convergence of the algorithms is discussed and the accuracy of the computed flow-field results is assessed. The validity of the present results are demonstrated by a comparison with experimental data.

A comparative evaluation is made of recent developments in methods for the reduction of boundary layer drag, encompassing longitudinal surface riblets, 'outer layer' devices, (OLDs) and longitudinal convex surface curvature. The boundary layer of a surface with a longitudinal concave curvature is also studied, to complement the convex case results. The net drag reductions achievable by both riblets and OLDs are noted to be a rather modest 10 percent. Boundary layers exhibit asymmetric response to streamwise surface curvatures, with the response being slower for the case of a concave than a convex curvature.

A finite element model and its equivalent electronic analogue circuit of hydraulic transmission lines have been developed. Basic equations are approximated to be a set of ordinary differential equations that can be represented in state space form. The accuracy of the model is demonstrated by comparison with the method of characteristics.

An account is given of the findings contained in a concensus document compiled by a group of experts on laser anemometry concerning statistical particle bias and its possible remedies. Emphasis is placed on the systematic character of this bias, rather than its magnitude. Since bias errors are a function of flow velocity and turbulence intensity, the measured results may contain apparent trends due solely to the measurement process. Attention is given to the panel's attempt to clear up terminological confusions in the matter of rates, scales, and magnitudes, as well as to its suggested processing methods for the elimination of velocity bias and the remedy of angle bias.

It is shown that the hypothesis of local isotropy is implausible in the presence of significant mean rates of strain. In fact, it appears that in uniform shear flow near equilibrium, local isotropy can never constitute a systematic approximation, even in the limit of infinite Reynolds number. An estimate of the level of mean strain rate for which local isotropy is formally a good approximation is provided.

A modified version of the Petrov-Galerkin weighted residual method coupled with a biquadratic finite element of the Lagrangian type was used to develop a finite-element model of the turbulent flow field in the annular exhaust diffuser of a gas turbine engine. The swirling flow field was analyzed with emphasis on the diffuser off-design operation. A comparison of the numerical results with experimental data shows that the model is applicable to moderately separating flows of the kind that are typically associated with the off-design performance of diffusing passages in gas turbines.

Mean velocity and the corresponding Reynolds shear stresses of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids have been measured in a fully developed concentric flow with a diameter ratio of 0.5 and at a inner cylinder rotational speed of 300 rpm. With the Newtonian fluid in laminar flow the effects of the inner shaft rotation were a uniform increase in the drag coefficient by about 28 percent, a flatter and less skewed axial mean velocity and a swirl profile with a narrow boundary close to the inner wall with a thickness of about 22 percent of the gap between the pipes. These effects reduced gradually with bulk flow Reynolds number so that, in the turbulent flow region with a Rossby number of 10, the drag coefficient and profiles of axial mean velocity with and without rotation were similar. The intensity of the turbulence quantities was enhanced by rotation particularly close to the inner wall at a Reynolds number of 9,000 and was similar to that of the nonrotating flow at the higher Reynolds number. The effects of the rotation with the 0.2 percent CMC solution were similar to those of the Newtonian fluids but smaller in magnitude since the Rossby number with the CMC solution is considerably higher for a similar Reynolds number. Comparison between the results of the Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids with rotation at a Reynolds number of 9000 showed similar features to those of nonrotating flows with an extension of non-turbulent flow, a drag reduction of up to 67 percent, and suppression of all fluctuation velocities compared with Newtonian values particularly the cross-flow components. The results also showed that the swirl velocity profiles of both fluids were the same at a similar Rossby number.

The perturbed flow in the leakage path between a shrouded-pump impeller and its housing is analyzed using experiences with the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) wearing-ring seals. Analysis is based on a bulk-flow model which consists of the path-momentum, circumferential momentum, and continuity equations. The pressure oscillations in the leakage annulus are driven by a circumferential variation of the impeller discharge pressure. It is shown that the occurrence and nature of the pressure oscillations depend on the tangential-velocity ratio of the fluid entering the seal, the order of the Fourier coefficient, the closeness of the precessional frequency of the rotating pressure field to the first natural frequency of the fluid annulus, and the clearance of the wearing-ring seal. The results obtained may explain the internal melting observed on SSME HPFTP seal parts.

The linear stability of the low-speed three-dimensional flow over a flat plate with an attached cylinder is studied. The region of interest is upstream of the initial separation point and includes the effects of both adverse and favorable pressure gradients, as well as crossflow. The resulting boundary-layer is subject to both the Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) and crossflow instabilities. Linear stability calculations, using N-factor correlations, indicate that the transition process would be dominated by TS instabilities, although for low frequencies crossflow-type disturbances are important.

Experimental data are analyzed to support theoretical predictions for discharge coefficients in circular-arc venturi flow meters operating in the critical sonic flow regime at throat Reynolds numbers above 150 thousand. The data tend to verify the predicted 0.25% decrease in the discharge coefficient during transition from a laminar to turbulent boundary layer. Four different test gases and three flow measurement facilities were used in the experiments with 17 venturis with throat sizes from 0.15 to 1.37 in. and Beta ratios ranging from 0.014 to 0.25. Recommendations are given as to how the effectiveness of future studies in the field could be improved.

The mean flow structure upstream, around, and in a turbulent junction or horseshoe vortex are reported for an incompressible, subsonic flow. This fully documented, unified, comprehensive, and self-consistent data base is offered as a benchmark or standard test case for assessing the predictive capabilities of computational codes developed to predict this kind of complex flow. The three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer-like flow upstream and around the separated junction vortex flow is described in a companion paper, Part I. Part II of these papers covers the flow through the separation region and in the vortex system. This portion of the flow has been documented with mean velocity, static pressure, and total pressure measurements using a very carefully calibrated five-hole probe. The streamwise vor-ticity field is calculated from the measured velocity field. Extensive floor static pressure measurements emphasizing the region of the vortex system, and static pressure measurements on the cylinder surface are also reported. Flow visualizations on the floor and cylinder surface show unusual detail and agree well both qualitatively and quantitatively with the various flow field measurements.

An experimental study of the mean flow structure upstream, around, and in a turbulent junction or horseshoe vortex is presented for the case of an incompressible subsonic flow. Mean velocity field and turbulent kinetic energy field measurements (obtained with hot film anemometry) and local wall shear stress measurements are used to monitor the upstream and surrounding three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer-like flow away from separation. Freestream or edge velocity and floor static pressure results are reported.

A spatial system of two articulated pipes conveying fluid is examined analytically and experimentally. As the flow rate is increased, stable equilibrium may be lost by either divergence (static buckling) or by flutter (oscillations with increasing amplitude), depending upon the value of an angle beta which measures the 'out-of-planeness' of the system. It is found that in the range O less than beta less than 90 deg there exists a transition value below which stability is lost by flutter and above which stability is lost by divergence.

Uncertainties are inherent in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). These uncertainties need to be systematically addressed and managed. Sources of these uncertainty analysis are discussed. Some recommendations are made for quantification of CFD uncertainties. A practical method of uncertainty analysis is based on sensitivity analysis. When CFD is used to design fluid dynamic systems, sensitivity-uncertainty analysis is essential.

The present analysis describes the flow behavior in the combined scroll-nozzle assembly of a radial inflow turbine. This model was chosen to provide a better understanding of the mutual interaction effects of these two components on the flow. The finite element method is used in the solution of the flow field in this multiply connected domain. The mass flow rates in the different nozzle channels is not presumed constant, but is determined from the solution.

Three turbulent shear stress models for use in prediction schemes for three-dimensional turbulent boundary layers were studied. These three models were evaluated primarily by comparison of numerical calculations to experimental data. A significant fraction of the existing three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer data was examined, reorganized, partially recomputed, and tabulated in a consistent format. A numerical procedure, suitable for all three shear stress closure models was prepared. This procedure is an explicit forward difference method that permits solution of the partial differential equations of the boundary layer. All three turbulent shear stress closure models are extensions of current two-dimensional models: (1) the eddy viscosity model; (2) the Nash model; and (3) the Bradshaw model.

This paper reports on the experimental description of the three-dimensional horseshoe vortex system occurring at the base of two cylinder mounted side by side on an endwall. The spacing between the two cylinders is adjusted to generate a family of viscous flows. Flow visualization performed in a water tunnel provides a qualitative understanding of the flow over a range of flow variables. A detailed wind tunnel experiment provides a quantitative description of the flow at a single test condition. At Re(D) = 2.5 x 10 to the 5th the measurements show an asymmetrical primary vortex with a wide flat cross section. A small counterrotating vortex is found between the primary vortex and the cylinder leading edge.

Stall in compressors can be associated with the initiation of several types of fluid dynamic instabilities. These instabilities and the different phenomena, surge and rotating stall, which result from them, are discussed in this paper. Assessment is made of the various methods of predicting the onset of compressor and/or compression system instability, such as empirical correlations, linearized stability analyses, and numerical unsteady flow calculation procedures. Factors which affect the compressor stall point, in particular inlet flow distortion, are reviewed, and the techniques which are used to predict the loss in stall margin due to these factors are described. The influence of rotor casing treatment (grooves) on increasing compressor flow range is examined. Compressor and compression system behavior subsequent to the onset of stall is surveyed, with particular reference to the problem of engine recovery from a stalled condition. The distinction between surge and rotating stall is emphasized because of the very different consequences on recoverability. The structure of the compressor flow field during rotating stall is examined, and the prediction of compressor performance in rotating stall, including stall/unstall hysteresis, is described.

An experimental study on the design of counter-rotating axial-flow fans was carried out. The fans were designed using an inverse method. In particular, the system is designed to have a pure axial discharge flow. The counter-rotating fans operate in a ducted-flow configuration and the overall performances are measured in a normalized test bench. The rotation rate of each fan is independently controlled. The relative axial spacing between fans can vary from 17% to 310%. The results show that the efficiency is strongly increased compared to a conventional rotor or to a rotor-stator stage. The effects of varying the rotation rates ratio on the overall performances are studied and show that the system has a very flexible use, with a large patch of high efficient operating points in the parameter space. The increase of axial spacing causes only a small decrease of the efficiency

An axial flow research compressor facility, which is designed for relative flow measurement, is described in this paper. The facility has a rotating probe traverse mechanism which is capable of traversing hot wire, pitot and other probes at 0.09 deg intervals across the rotor blade passage. The data transmission system includes rotating transducers, pressure transfer device, ten-channel mercury slip ring unit, scanivalve, etc. The instrumentation includes on-line data processing capability. A brief description of probes used as well as some typical data on the rotor blade static pressure, rotor endwall flow and rotor wake characteristics are given in the paper.

The paper reports research restricted to steady turbulence flow in axisymmetric geometries under low speed and nonreacting conditions. Numerical computations are performed for a basic two-dimensional axisymmetrical flow field similar to that found in a conventional gas turbine combustor. Calculations include a stairstep boundary representation of the expansion flow, a conventional k-epsilon turbulence model and realistic accomodation of swirl effects. A preliminary evaluation of the accuracy of computed flowfields is accomplished by comparisons with flow visualizations using neutrally-buoyant helium-filled soap bubbles as tracer particles. Comparisons of calculated results show good agreement, and it is found that a problem in swirling flows is the accuracy with which the sizes and shapes of the recirculation zones may be predicted, which may be attributed to the quality of the turbulence model.

Separation control experiments were conducted in a 51-71-cm shear-flow control tunnel using a backward-facing ramp to investigate the performance of transverse and swept grooves for controlling a two-dimensional turbulent separated flow at low speeds and moderate Reynolds numbers. In the experiments, transverse grooves, located in the maximum +dP/dx region, with a height-to-width ratio greater than 2.5, reduced the reattachment distance by 20 percent over the baseline configuration. Unlike transverse and longitudinal grooves of equivalent size, the 45-degree swept-groove configurations tested enhanced separation.

To predict the diffusion process of the Reynolds stresses in reattaching shear flows, the transport model for the triple-velocity products has been developed and tested for the computation of the flow in a channel with a backward-facing step. Upon comparison of the results of uuv, uvv, and vvv with those obtained by using existing algebraic correlations, it was shown that the present model improved the prediction of the triple-velocity products.

The paper studies incompressible flow over a backward-facing step in order to investigate the flow characteristics in the separated shear layer, the reattachment zone, and the redeveloping boundary layer after reattachment. It is shown that turbulent intensities and shear stress reach maxima in the reattachment zone, followed by rapid decay near the surface after reattachment. In addition, it is found that downstream of reattachment, the flow returns very slowly to the structure of an ordinary turbulent boundary layer.

An experimental study has been performed to determine potential error sources in skin-friction balance measurements. A floating-element balance, large enough to contain the instrumentation needed to systematically investigate these error sources has been constructed and tested in the thick turbulent boundary layer on the sidewall of a large supersonic wind tunnel. Test variables include element-to-case misalignment, gap size, and Reynolds number. The effects of these variables on the friction, lip, and normal forces have been analyzed. It was found that larger gap sizes were preferable to smaller ones; that small element recession below the surrounding test surface produced errors comparable to the same amount of protrusion above the test surface; and that normal forces on the element were, in some cases, large compared to the friction force.

A method of measuring the mean velocities and turbulence intensities in a rotating wake behind a turbomachinery rotor is developed. The method utilizes three stationary hot wires located in three coordinate directions. The signal is processed through analog-digital converter unit and the digital computer to derive three-dimensional velocity and turbulence intensity profiles across the wake.

The existence of 'sampling bias' in individual-realization laser velocimeter measurements is experimentally verified and shown to be independent of sample rate. The experiments were performed in a simple two-stream mixing shear flow with the standard for comparison being laser-velocimeter results obtained under continuous-wave conditions. It is also demonstrated that the errors resulting from sampling bias can be removed by a proper interpretation of the sampling statistics. In addition, data obtained in a shock-induced separated flow and in the near-wake of airfoils are presented, both bias-corrected and uncorrected, to illustrate the effects of sampling bias in the extreme.

A system identification methodology was used to examine the dynamics of liquid sloshing in the upright and inverted bladdered hydrazine tanks of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, (TDRS) and to evaluate the effects of bladder stiffness on the sloshing parameters. Mechanical models of the two systems were developed using the numerical values derived from static stability tests and from slosh frequency response tests of a full-size model tank fitted with a prototype bladder. For the upright tank (liquid below the bladder) a modified conventional pendulum was used. In the inverted tank (liquid above the bladder) where sloshing is unconventional due to the highly nonsymmetrical orientation of the liquid held by the bladder, a mechanical model using an inverted pendulum which is able to undergo small oscillations as well as large reorientations was necessary. Both thrusting and low-gravity conditions are considered.

The behavior of the separation zone on the sunction surface of a highly loaded LPT-blade under periodic unsteady wake flow was investigated. One steady and two different unsteady inlet wake flow conditions with the corresponding passing frequencies, wake velocity, and turbulence intensities were also investigated. The results of the unsteady boundary layer measurements were presented in ensemble-averaged and contour plot forms. It was formed that in conjunction with the pressure gradient and periodic wakes the temporal gradients of the turbulence fluctuation δv rms/δt provides higher momentum and energy transfer into the boundary layer energizing the separation zone and causing it to partially or entirely disappear.

The particle trajectory calculations provide the essential information which is required for predicting the pattern and intensity of turbomachinery erosion. Consequently, the evaluation of the machine performance deterioration due to erosion is extremely sensitive to the accuracy of the flow field and blade geometry representation in the trajectory computational model. A model is presented that is simple and efficient yet versatile and general to be applicable to axial, radial and mixed flow machines, and to inlets, nozzles, return passages and separators. The results of the computations are presented for the particle trajectories through a row of twisted vanes in the inlet flow field. The effect of the particle size on their trajectories, blade impacts, and on their redistribution and separation are discussed.

The measurement of the flow field within the rotating passages as well as three-dimensional characteristics of the exit flow of an inducer model is reported in this paper. The flow within the inducer is probed by means of rotating pitot probe and pressure transfer device and at the exit by means of three hot wires located in three coordinate directions. In a high solidity inducer (4 bladed), considerable boundary layer growth is observed from hub to mid radius, while the flow from mid radius to tip is found to be highly complex, due to interaction of pressure and suction surface boundary layers and the resulting radial inward flow. The flow losses and wall shear stress derived from these measurements are found to be considerably higher than the corresponding stationary channel. The radial velocities are found to be of the same order of magnitude as axial velocities. Considerable improvement in the flow field is observed when the number of blades is decreased from four to three.