The unsteady behavior of a tip leakage flow downstream of a simulated axial compressor rotor has been studied. The Virginia Tech low speed linear cascade wind tunnel was adapted to model the unsteady tip leakage flow produced by a rotor operating in the vortical wakes of a set of stator vanes. The cascade, consisting of 8 GE rotor B blades, has adjustable tip gap, inlet angle of 65.1 degrees, turning angle of 11.8 degrees and solidity of 1.076. The cascade Reynolds number, based on blade chord, was 393,000. A moving end wall was used to simulate the relative motion between rotor and casing, and vortex generators attached to the moving end wall were used to produce an idealized periodic unsteady vortical inflow similar to that shed by the junction of a row of inlet guide vanes. Measurements of the vortical inflow to the cascade produced by the generators and of the mean blade loading at the mid span are presented. The periodic and aperiodic behavior of the tip leakage flow downstream of the cascade, produced by this vortical disturbance, is also presented using phase and time averaged 3-component turbulence and pressure fluctuation measurements. These measurements are made for tip gap from 0.83% to 3.3% chord and streamwise locations from 0.772% to 1.117% blade spacing axially downstream of the cascade. The phase averaged inflow measurements reveal that the inflow produced by the vortex generators consists of a pair asymmetric counter-rotating vortices embedded in a thin (4.6% chord) endwall boundary layer. The vortices extend some 7.4% chord from the end wall. Their strength is about two orders smaller than the typical circulation of the tip leakage vortices produced by the cascade. Phase averaged single point three component hot-wire measurements downstream of the cascade reveal that the vortical inflow is, however, capable of producing significant large scale fluctuations in the size, strength, structure and position of the tip leakage vortex. These effects increase in magnitude with increase of tip gap. For small tip gaps these effects appear to be due to simple superposition between the inflow vortices and the tip leakage vortex. However for larger tip gaps these effects appear primarily a consequence of the inflow vortices interfering with the shedding of circulation from the blade tip. The fact that the circulation fluctuation is consistent with the inviscid unsteady loading prediction suggests that the inviscid response may be a major mechanism for generating the tip leakage unsteadiness. Although there is large periodic fluctuation in the tip leakage flow disturbed by the inflow, there is a larger aperiodic component. Two point correlation measurements and linear stochastic estimation are used to reveal the structure of this aperiodic part for a tip gap of 3.3% chord. The aperiodic fluctuation, containing most of the turbulence energy, is found appearing to be organized structures in large scale, and making the estimated instantaneous velocity field significantly different from the phase averaged periodic velocity field. Phase averaged pressure fluctuation measurements made using a microphone in the tip leakage vortex downstream of the cascade reveal that there are significant periodic fluctuating pressure waves and intense mean square fluctuation of the aperiodic fluctuating pressure. They are consistent with the measured periodic flow and aperiodic flow field respectively. These microphone measurements are validated using fluctuating pressure gradient estimates determined from the hot-wire measurements. / Ph. D.

The present investigation is a two-part study of the mean flow and turbulence structure of isolated vortices and counter-rotating vortex pairs. In the first part, the turbulence structure of an isolated vortex was studied using three-component velocity measurements. Vortices were generated using two symmetrical airfoils. Measurements were made in cross-sectional grids and profiles over a range of Reynolds numbers and downstream distances. Contours of axial normal stress were high-pass filtered to remove the contributions of wandering to the velocity fluctuations. This process reveals a vortex core which is laminar and is surrounded by a region of high turbulence. Core velocity profiles reveal that maximum tangential velocity increases with Reynolds number and decreases with distance downstream. Core radius increases with distance downstream and decreases with Reynolds number. In the second part, flow visualizations of the wake behind a delta wing model were made for a range of Reynolds numbers and lift coefficients. These visualizations reveal the near-instantaneous turbulence structure of the wing wake which is dominated by a vortex pair and a connecting "braid" wake. The braid spacing decreases with increasing Reynolds number and is independent of lift coefficient. The extent of the braid downstream of the wing increases with lift coefficient and decreases with increasing Reynolds number. The large turbulence scales in the wing wake were found to increase in discrete jumps indicating some sort of reorganization of turbulence such as pairing. This reorganization of turbulence was found to occur more quickly as Reynolds number is increased. / Master of Science

On-blade hot wire anemometry measurements as well as far field sound measurements at several receiving angles have been previously made for a rotor partially embedded in a boundary layer. The inflow distortion effect on the rotor angle of attack distribution was determined directly from the on-blade measurements, and was found to minimally affect the angle of attack at the blade tips and lower the angle attack in the rotor disk plane as the radial location moves towards the hub. A narrow, sharp increase in angle of attack as the rotor blades approached the wall was also observed, indicating blade interaction with flow reversal. The haystacking pattern, or spectral humps that appear at multiples of the blade passage frequency, was studied for a wide range of advance ratios. At high advance ratios, evidence of vortex shedding from the blade trailing edges was observed. For low advance ratios, the haystacks narrowed, became more symmetric and increased in number. A method of determining the average acoustic signature of an eddy passage through a rotor was developed from time delay aligning multiple microphone signals and eddy passages detected using the continuous wavelet transform. It was found that the eddy passage signatures were similar to a cosine wave with a Gaussian window. It was also found that normalized timescales obtained directly from the eddy passage signatures remained somewhat constant with advance ratio, but increases slightly for fixed free stream velocities with increasing rotor RPM. For advance ratios less than 0.6, the eddy passage signatures were dominated by a tonal component due to rotor ingestion of misaligned flow caused by a boundary layer separation at the wall. This indicates that flow reversal known as the Pirouette Effect is interacting with the rotor blades. / Master of Science

Sodium alanate, or the Na-Al-H system, has been the focus of intense research over the past decade due to its ability to hold almost 5 wt% of hydrogen. In this research, the effective thermal conductivity, k, of a sample of titanium-doped sodium alanate is studied over a range of operating conditions pertinent to practical on-board hydrogen storage. A transient technique employing a platinum hot-wire is used to make the measurements. A cylindrical experimental apparatus was designed with the aide of a finite element model that was used to quantify the cylinder boundary effects. The apparatus dimensions were optimized based on the finite element results with the goal of minimizing measurement uncertainty and temperature rise during testing. Finite element results were also used to predict test times and current requirements. A sample of sodium alanate was obtained and loaded into the experimental apparatus which was enclosed in a pressure vessel with a controlled atmosphere. Effective thermal conductivity was measured as a function of pressure at the fully-hydrided and fully-dehydrided states. The results from the pressure-dependence investigation were compared to an existing study that utilized an alternate measurement technique. The results matched well qualitatively — the effective thermal conductivity was highly dependent on pressure, and was found to be significantly higher in the fully-dehydrided state. However, the results of this study were 20 to 30% lower than the existing available data. Additionally, an exploratory investigation used the PCI technique to study the effect of varying composition between the fully-hydrided state and the intermediate decomposition step at a relatively constant pressure. Effective thermal conductivity did not vary significantly over this range of compositions. / Master of Science

No description available.

<p>The compressible turbulent boundary layer developing over atwo-dimensional bump which leads to a supersonic pocket with aterminating shock wave has been studied. The measurements havebeen made with hot-wire anemometry and Particle ImageVelocimetry (PIV).</p><p>A method to calibrate hot-wire probes in compressible ow hasbeen developed which take into account not only the ow velocitybut also the inuence of the Mach number, stagnation temperatureand uid density. The calibration unit consists of a small jetow facility, where the temperature can be varied. The hot wiresare calibrated in the potential core of the free jet. The jetemanates in a container where the static pressure can becontrolled, and thereby the gas density. The calibration methodwas verfied in the at plate zero pressure gradient turbulentboundary layer in front of the bump at three different Machnumbers, namely 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. The profiles were alsomeasured at different static pressures in order to see theinuence of varying density. Good agreement between the profilesmeasured at different pressures, as well as with the standardlogarithmic profile was obtained.</p><p>The PIV measurements of the boundary layer ow in front ofthe 2D bump showed good agreement with the velocity profilesmeasured with hotwire anemometry. The shock wave boundary layerinteraction was investigated for an inlet Mach number of 0.69.A lambda shock wave was seen on the downstream side of thebump. The velocity on both sides of the shock wave as measuredwith the PIV was in good agreement with theory. The shock wavewas found to cause boundary layer separation, which was seen asa rapid growth of the boundary layer thickness downstream theshock. However, no back ow was seen in the PIV-data, probablybecause the seeding did not give enough particles in theseparated region. The PIV data also showed that the shock wavewas oscillating, i.e. it was moving approximately 5 mm back andforth. This distance corresponds to about five boundary layerthicknesses in terms of the boundary layer upstream theshock.</p><p><b>Descriptors:</b>Fluid mechanics, compressible ow,turbulence, boundary layer, hot-wire anemometry, PIV, shockwave boundary layer interaction, shape factor.</p>

This document addresses problems encountered when establishing the very low air-flow speeds required for experimental investigations of the mechanisms of low-Reynolds-number boundary-layer turbulence. Small-scale motions in the near-wall region are important features of turbulent boundary-layer dynamics, and, if these features are to be resolved by measurements in air with conventionally-sized hot-wire probes, a well-behaved canonical turbulent boundary layer must be developed at free stream flow speeds no higher than 4 m/s. However, at such low speeds, the turbulent boundary layers developed on the walls of a wind tunnel are very susceptible to perturbation by non-turbulent time-dependent flow structures which originate upstream from the test section in the laminar flow at the inlet and in the contraction. Four different non-turbulent flow structures have been identified. The first is a result of quasi-two-dimensional separation of the laminar boundary-layer from the surfaces of the wind-tunnel contraction. Potential flow simulations show that susceptibility to this form of separation is reduced by increasing the degree of axisymmetry in the cross-section geometry and by decreasing the streamwise curvature of the concave surfaces. The second source of time-dependence in the laminar boundary-layer flow is an array of weak streamwise vortices produced by Goertler instability. The Goertler vortices can be removed by boundary-layer suction at the contraction exit. The third form of flow perturbation, revealed by visualisation experiments with streamers, is a weak large-scale forced-vortex swirl produced by random spatial fluctuations of temperature at the wind-tunnel inlet. This can be prevented by thorough mixing of the inlet flow; for example, a centrifugal blower installed at the inlet reduces the amplitude of temperature nonuniformity by a factor of about forty and so prevents buoyancy-driven swirl. When subjected to weak pressure gradients near the start of a wind-tunnel contraction, Goertler vortices in laminar wall layers can develop into three-dimensional separations with strong counter-rotating trailing vortices. These trailing vortices are the fourth source of unsteady flow in the test-section. They can be suppressed by a series of appropriately located screens which remove the low-speed-streak precursors of the three-dimensional separations. Elimination of the above four contaminating secondary flows permits the development of a steady uniform downstream flow and well-behaved turbulent wall layers. Measurements of velocity in the turbulent boundary layer of the test-section have been obtained by hot-wire anemometry. When a hot-wire probe is located within the viscous sublayer, heat transfer from the hot-wire filament to the wall produces significant errors in the measurements of both the mean and the fluctuating velocity components. This error is known as wall-proximity effect and two successful methods are developed for removing it from the hot-wire signal. The first method is based on the observation that, if all experimental parameters except flow speed and distance from the wall are fixed, the velocity error may be expressed nondimensionally as a function of only one parameter, in the form DeltaU^+=f(y^+). The second method, which also accommodates the effect of changing the hot-wire overheat ratio, is based on a dimensional analyis of heat transfer to the wall. Velocity measurements in the turbulent boundary layer at the mid-plane of a nearly square test-section duct have established that, when the boundary-layer thickness is less than one quarter of the duct height, mean-velocity characteristics are indistinguishable from those of a two-dimensional flat-plate boundary layer. In thicker mid-plane boundary layers, the mean-velocity characteristics are affected by stress-induced secondary flow and by lateral constriction of the boundary-layer wake region. A significant difference between flat-plate and duct boundary layers is also observed in momentum-balance calculations. The momentum-integral equation for a duct requires definitions of momentumd and displacement thickness which are different from those given for flat-plate boundary layers. Momentum-thickness growth rates predicted by the momentum-integral equation for a duct agree closely with measurements of the newly defined duct momentum thickness. Such agreement cannot be obtained in terms of standard flat-plate momentum thickness. In duct boundary layers with Reynolds numbers Re_theta between 400 and 2600, similarity in the wake-region distributions of streamwise turbulence statistics has been obtained by normalising distance from the wall with the flat-plate momentum thickness, theta_2. This result indicates that, in contrast with the mean velocity characteristics, the structure of mid-plane turbulence does not depend on the proportion of duct cross-section occupied by boundary layers and is essentially the same as in a flat-plate boundary layer. For Reynolds numbers less than 400, both wall-region and wake-region similarity fail because near-wall turbulence events interact strongly with the free stream flow and because large scale turbulence motions are directly influenced by the wall. In these conditions, which exist in both duct and flat-plate turbulent boundary layers, there is no distinct near-wall or wake region, and the behaviour of turbulence throughout the boundary layer depends on both wall variables and on outer region variables simultaneously. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Mechanical Engineering, 1998.

This thesis deals with flow measuring techniques applied to steady and pulsating gas flows relevant to gas exchange systems for internal combustion engines. Gas flows in such environments are complex, i.e. they are inhomogeneous, three-dimensional, unsteady, non-isothermal and exhibit significant density changes. While a variety of flow metering devices are available and have been devised for such flow conditions, the performance of these flow metersis to a large extent undocumented when a strongly pulsatile motion is superposed on the already complex flow field. Nonetheless, gas flow meters are commonly applied in such environments, e.g. in the measurement of the air flow to the engine or the amount of exhaust gas recirculation. The aim of the present thesis is therefore to understand and assess, and if possible to improve the performance of various flow meters under highly pulsatile conditions as well as demonstrating the use of a new type of flow meter for measurements of the pulsating mass flow upstream and downstream the turbine of a turbocharger. The thesis can be subdivided into three parts. The first one assesses the flow quality of a newly developed flow rig, designed for measurements of steady and pulsating air flow at flow rates and pulse frequencies typically found in the gas exchange system of cars and smaller trucks. Flow rates and pulsation frequencies achieved and measured range up to about 200 g/s and 80 Hz, respectively. The time-resolved mass flux and stagnation temperature under both steady and pulsating conditions were characterized by means of a combined hot/cold-wire probe which is part of a newly developed automated measurement module. This rig and measurement module were used to create a unique data base with well-defined boundary conditions to be used for the validation of numerical simulations, but in particular, to assess the performance of various flow meters. In the second part a novel vortex flow meter that can measure the timedependent flow rate using wavelet analysis has been invented, verified and extensively tested under various industrially relevant conditions. The newly developed technique was used to provide unique turbine maps under pulsatile conditions through time-resolved and simultaneous measurements of mass flow, temperature and pressure upstream and downstream the turbine. Results confirm that the quasi-steady assumption is invalid for the turbine considered as a whole. In the third and last part of the thesis, two basic fundamental questions that arose during the course of hot/cold-wire measurements in the aforementioned high speed flows have been addressed, namely to assess which temperature a cold-wire measures or to which a hot-wire is exposed to in high speed flows as well as whether the hot-wire measures the product of velocity and density or total density. Hot/cold-wire measurements in a nozzle have been performed to test various hypothesis and results show that the recovery temperature as well as the product of velocity and stagnation density are measured. / QC 20120510

<p>This study reports on the changes in the structural properties of a tungsten-filament when exposed to a methane / hydrogen ambient for different durations at various filament-temperatures.</p>

<p>The overall aim of this project is to study the heat transfer inside the reaction chamber of the Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) system with a commercial software package FLUENT6.3 / it is one of the most popular Computational Fluid Dynamics solvers for complex flows ranging from incompressible to mildly compressible to even highly compressible flows. The wealth of physical models in FLUENT allows us to accurately predict laminar and turbulent flows, various modes of heat transfer, chemical reactions, multiphase flows and other phenomena with complete mesh flexibility and solution-based mesh adaptation. In this study the 3-D HWCVD geometry was measured and created in GAMBIT which then generates a mesh model of the reaction chamber for the calculation in FLUENT. The gas flow in this study was characterized as the steady and incompressible fluid flow due to the small Mach number and assumptions made to simplify the complexity of the physical geometry. This thesis illustrates the setups and solutions of the 3-D geometry and the chemically reacting laminar and turbulent gas flow, wall surface reaction and heat transfer in the HWCVD deposition chamber.</p>