Search Results

Nitric Oxide (NO) can significantly influence the autoignition reactivity and this can affect knock limits in conventional stoichiometric SI engines. Previous studies also revealed that the role of NO changes with fuel type. Fuels with high RON (Research Octane Number) and high Octane Sensitivity (S = RON - MON (Motor Octane Number)) exhibited monotonically retarding knock-limited combustion phasing (KL-CA50) with increasing NO. In contrast, for a high-RON, low-S fuel, the addition of NO initially resulted in a strongly retarded KL-CA50 but beyond the certain amount of NO, KL-CA50 advanced again. The current study focuses on same high-RON, low-S Alkylate fuel to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the reversal in the effect of NO on KL-CA50 beyond a certain amount of NO.

Hybrid-electric gas turbine generators are considered a promising technology for more efficient and sustainable air transportation. The Ohio State University is leading the NASA University Leadership Initiative (ULI) Electric Propulsion: Challenges and Opportunities, focused on the design and demonstration of advanced components and systems to enable high-efficiency hybrid turboelectric powertrains in regional aircraft to be deployed in 2030. Within this large effort, the team is optimizing the design of the battery energy storage system (ESS) and, concurrently, developing a supervisory energy management strategy for the hybrid system to reduce fuel burn while mitigating the impact on the ESS life. In this paper, an energy-based model was developed to predict the performance of a battery-hybrid turboelectric distributed-propulsion (BHTeDP) regional jet.

NASA and the FAA conducted two flight campaigns to quantify onboard weather radar measurements with in-situ measurements of high concentrations of ice crystals found in deep convective storms. The ultimate goal of this research was to improve the understanding of high ice water content (HIWC) and develop onboard weather radar processing techniques to detect regions of HIWC ahead of an aircraft to enable tactical avoidance of the potentially hazardous conditions. Both HIWC RADAR campaigns utilized the NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory equipped with a Honeywell RDR-4000 weather radar and in-situ microphysical instruments to characterize the ice crystal clouds. The purpose of this paper is to summarize how these campaigns were conducted and highlight key results. The first campaign was conducted in August 2015 with a base of operations in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Mixing controlled compression ignition, i.e., diesel engines are efficient and are likely to continue to be the primary means for movement of goods for many years. Low-net-carbon biofuels have the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of diesel combustion and could have advantageous properties for combustion, such as high cetane number and reduced engine-out particle and NOx emissions. We developed a list of over 400 potential biomass-derived diesel blendstocks and populated a database with the properties and characteristics of these materials. Fuel properties were determined by measurement, model prediction, or literature review. Screening criteria were developed to determine if a blendstock met the basic requirements for handling in the diesel distribution system and use as a blend with conventional diesel. Criteria included cetane number ≥40, flashpoint ≥52°C, and boiling point or T90 ≤338°C.

This paper introduces a data driven model for predicting airport arrival capacity with 2-8 hour look-ahead forecast data. The model is suitable for air traffic flow management by explicitly investigating the impact of convective weather on airport arrival meter fix throughput. Estimation of the arrival airport capacity under arrival meter fix flow constraints due to severe weather is an important part of Air Traffic Management (ATM). Airport arrival capacity can be reduced if one or more airport arrival meter fixes are partially or completely blocked by convective weather. When the predicted airport arrival demands exceed the predicted available airport’s arrival capacity for a sustained period, Ground Delay Program (GDP) operations will be triggered by ATM system.

In order to improve understanding of the primary atomization process for diesel-like sprays, a collaborative experimental and computational study was focused on the near-nozzle spray structure for the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) Spray D single-hole injector. These results were presented at the 5th Workshop of the ECN in Detroit, Michigan. Application of x-ray diagnostics to the Spray D standard cold condition enabled quantification of distributions of mass, phase interfacial area, and droplet size in the near-nozzle region from 0.1 to 14 mm from the nozzle exit. Using these data, several modeling frameworks, from Lagrangian-Eulerian to Eulerian-Eulerian and from Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) to Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), were assessed in their ability to capture and explain experimentally observed spray details. Due to its computational efficiency, the Lagrangian-Eulerian approach was able to provide spray predictions across a broad range of conditions.

This presentation is an assessment of the turbulence-stress scale-similarity in an IC engine, which is used for modeling subgrid dissipation in LES. Residual stresses and Leonard stresses were computed after applying progressively smaller spatial filters to measured and simulated velocity distributions. The velocity was measured in the TCC-II engine using planar and stereo PIV taken in three different planes and with three different spatial resolutions, thus yielding two and three velocity components, respectively. Comparisons are made between the stresses computed from the measured velocity and stress computed from the LES resolved-scale velocity from an LES simulation. The results present the degree of similarity between the residual stresses and the Leonard stresses at adjacent scales. The specified filters are systematically reduced in size to the resolution limits of the measurements and simulation.

This study presents estimates for measurement uncertainties for a Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI)/Low-Temperature Gasoline Combustion (LTGC) engine testing facility. A previously presented framework for quantifying those uncertainties developed uncertainty estimates based on the transducers manufacturers’ published tolerances. The present work utilizes the framework with improved uncertainty estimates in order to more accurately represent the actual uncertainties of the data acquired in the HCCI/LTGC laboratory, which ultimately results in a reduction in the uncertainty from 30 to less than 1 kPa during the intake and exhaust strokes. Details of laboratory calibration techniques and commissioning runs are used to constrain the sensitivities of the transducers relative to manufacturer supplied values.

Simulation of chemical kinetic processes in combustion engine environments has become ubiquitous towards the understanding of combustion phenomenology, the evaluation of controlling parameters, and the design of configurations and/or control strategies. Such calculations are not free from error however, and the interpretation of simulation results must be considered within the context of uncertainties in the chemical kinetic model. Uncertainties arise due to structural issues (e.g., included/missing reaction pathways), as well as inaccurate descriptions of kinetic rate parameters and thermochemistry. In fundamental apparatuses like rapid compression machines and shock tubes, computed constant-volume ignition delay times for simple, single-component fuels can have variations on the order of factors of 2-4.

The blade crossing event of a coaxial counter-rotating rotor is a potential source of noise and impulsive blade loads. Blade crossings occur many times during each rotor revolution. In previous research by the authors, this phenomenon was analyzed by simulating two airfoils passing each other at specified speeds and vertical separation distances, using the compressible Navier-Stokes solver OVERFLOW. The simulations explored mutual aerodynamic interactions associated with thickness, circulation, and compressibility effects. Results revealed the complex nature of the aerodynamic impulses generated by upper/lower airfoil interactions. In this paper, the coaxial rotor system is simulated using two trains of airfoils, vertically offset, and traveling in opposite directions. The simulation represents multiple blade crossings in a rotor revolution by specifying horizontal distances between each airfoil in the train based on the circumferential distance between blade tips.

Our concept studies indicate that a set of reflectors floated in the upper atmosphere can efficiently reduce radiant forcing into the atmosphere. The cost of reducing the radiant forcing sufficiently to reverse the current rate of Global Warming, is well within reach of global financial resources. This paper summarizes the overall concept and focuses on one of the reflector concepts, the Flying Carpet. The basic element of this reflector array is a rigidized reflector sheet towed behind and above a solar-powered, distributed electric-propelled flying wing. The vehicle rises above 30,480 m (100,000 ft) in the daytime by solar power. At night, the very low wing loading of the sheets enables the system to stay well above the controlled airspace ceiling of 18,288 m (60,000 ft). The concept study results are summarized before going into technical issues in implementation. Flag instability is studied in initial wind tunnel experiments.

In early phases of conceptual design stages for developing a new car in the modern automobile industry, the lack of systematic methodology to efficiently converge to an agreement between the aesthetics and aerodynamic performance tremendously increases budget and time. During these procedures, one of the most important tasks is to create geometric information which is versatilely morphable upon the demands of both of stylists and engineers. In this perspective, this paper proposes a Spline-based Modeling Algorithm (SMA) to implement into performing aerodynamic design optimization research based on CFD analysis. Once a 3-perspective schematic of a car is given, SMA regresses the backbone boundary lines by using optimum polynomial interpolation methods with the best goodness of fit, eventually reconstructing the 3D shape by linearly interpolating from the extracted boundaries minimizing loss of important geometric features.

Previous studies have shown that fuels with higher laminar flame speed also have increased tolerance to EGR dilution. In this work, the effects of fuel laminar flame speed on both lean and EGR dilute spark ignition combustion stability were examined. Fuels blends of pure components (iso-octane, n-heptane, toluene, ethanol, and methanol) were derived at two levels of laminar flame speed. Each fuel blend was tested in a single-cylinder spark-ignition engine under both lean-out and EGR dilution sweeps until the coefficient of variance of indicated mean effective pressure increased above thresholds of 3% and 5%. The relative importance of fuel laminar flame speed to changes to engine design parameters (spark ignition energy, tumble ratio, and port vs. direct injection) was also assessed.

This study investigates the role of turbulent-chemistry interaction in simulations of diesel spray combustion phenomena after end-of-injection (EOI), using the commercially-available CFD code CONVERGE. Recent experimental and computational studies have shown that the spray flame dynamics and mixture formation after EOI are governed by turbulent entrainment, coupled with rapid evolution of the thermo-chemical state of the mixture field. A few studies have shown that after EOI, mixtures between the injector nozzle and the lifted diffusion flame can ignite and appear to propagate back towards the injector nozzle via an auto-ignition reaction sequence; referred to as “combustion recession”.

In this paper, a framework for estimating experimental measurement uncertainties for a Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI)/Low-Temperature Gasoline Combustion (LTGC) engine testing facility is presented. Detailed uncertainty quantification is first carried out for the measurement of the in-cylinder pressure, whose variations during the cycle provide most of the information for performance evaluation. Standard uncertainties of other measured quantities, such as the engine geometry and speed, the air and fuel flow rate and the intake/exhaust dry molar fractions are also estimated. Propagating those uncertainties using a Monte Carlo simulation and Bayesian inference methods then allows for estimation of uncertainties of the mass-average temperature and composition at IVC and throughout the cycle; and also of the engine performances such as gross Integrated Mean Effective Pressure, Heat Release and Ringing Intensity.

End-of-injection transients have recently been shown to be important for combustion and emissions outcomes in diesel engines. The objective of this work is to develop an understanding of the coupling between end-of-injection transients and the propensity for second-stage ignition in mixtures upstream of the lifted diesel flame, or combustion recession. An injection system capable of varying the end-of-injection transient was developed to study single fuel sprays in a newly commissioned optically-accessible spray chamber under a range of ambient conditions. Simultaneous high-speed optical diagnostics, namely schlieren, OH* chemiluminescence, and broadband luminosity, were used to characterize the spatial and temporal development of combustion recession after the end of injection.

This work contributes to the understanding of physical mechanisms that control flashback, or more appropriately combustion recession, in diesel sprays. A large dataset, comprising many fuels, injection pressures, ambient temperatures, ambient oxygen concentrations, ambient densities, and nozzle diameters is used to explore experimental trends for the behavior of combustion recession. Then, a reduced-order model, capable of modeling non-reacting and reacting conditions, is used to help interpret the experimental trends. Finally, the reduced-order model is used to predict how a controlled ramp-down rate-of-injection can enhance the likelihood of combustion recession for conditions that would not normally exhibit combustion recession. In general, fuel, ambient conditions, and the end-of-injection transient determine the success or failure of combustion recession.

Spray processes, such as primary breakup, play an important role for subsequent combustion processes and emissions formation. Accurate modeling of these spray physics is therefore key to ensure faithful representation of both the global and local characteristics of the spray. However, the governing physical mechanisms underlying primary breakup in fuel sprays are still not known. Several theories have been proposed and incorporated into different engineering models for the primary breakup of fuel sprays, with the most widely employed models following an approach based on aerodynamically-induced breakup, or more recently, based on liquid turbulence-induced breakup. However, a complete validation of these breakup models and theories is lacking since no existing measurements have yielded the joint liquid mass and drop size distribution needed to fully define the spray, especially in the near-nozzle region.

Using measurable physical input variables, an implementable control algorithm for parallel architecture plug-in and non-plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV and HEV) powertrains is presented. The control of the electric drive is based on an algebraic mapping of the accelerator pedal position, the battery state-of-charge (SOC), and the vehicle velocity into a motor controller input torque command. This mapping is developed using a sequential linearization control (SLC) methodology. The internal combustion engine (ICE) control uses a modified accelerator pedal to throttle plate angle using an adjustable gain parameter that, in turn, determines the sustained battery SOC. Searches over an admissible control space or the use of pre-defined look-up tables are thus avoided. Actual on-road results for a Ford Explorer with a through-the-road (TTR) hybrid powertrain using this control methodology are presented.

Injection spray dynamics is known to be of great importance when modeling turbulent multi-phase flows in diesel engines. Two key aspects of spray dynamics are liquid breakup and penetration, both of which are affected by the initial sizes of the injected droplets. In the current study, injection of liquid n-heptane is characterized with initial droplet sizes with diameters on the order of 0.10 - 0.25 nozzle diameters. This is done for a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) RNG k-ε turbulence model with a minimum grid size of 125 μm and for a Large Eddy Simulations (LES) viscosity turbulence model with a minimum grid size of 62.5 μm. The results of both turbulence models are validated against non-reacting experimental data from the Engine Combustion Network (ECN). The results show that the injected droplet sizes have a significant impact on both liquid and vapor penetration lengths.