Experimental Characterization of the Capacitively Coupled RF-Plasma Thruster

A novel design of a neutralizer-free plasma thruster is proposed. This setup features a capacitively coupled RF discharge for plasma generation combined with a magnetic nozzle configuration for acceleration. Characteristics of the plasma plume and ions flux are investigated with the help of emissive probes and retarding potential analyzers (RPA). Essential parameters of the thruster like ions energy, ions flux, utilization efficiencies, and thrust are estimated. The investigated system produces a beam of ions accelerated to an energy of 10 eV when operated at power levels of ~20 W and a mass flow of 1.2 mg/s. The ion energy coincides with the potential drop in the plasma plume indicating that the acceleration takes place due the formation of an ambipolar electric field in the expanding plasma. The design is compared to the data available of other similar thrusters.

Micro scale jet impingement cooling and its efficacy on turbine vanes : a numerical study

A numerical analysis of effectiveness of micro-jet impingement cooling on leading edge of a turbine vane is presented. An axisymmetric single round jet was assessed for its ability and consistency as a preliminary study including the investigation of parameters influencing the heat transfer distribution. The analysis revealed that an increase in Nusselt number was attributed to increase in Reynolds number, decrease in jet diameter and H/D < 3. Significant improvement in heat transfer was observed for tapering nozzle configuration. The study was then further expanded to 3D analysis of leading edge cooling of turbine vane. Effect of nozzle diameter to micro-scale was studied, which showed 65% enhancement in the heat transfer rates.

Micro scale jet impingement cooling and its efficacy on turbine vanes : a numerical study

A numerical analysis of effectiveness of micro-jet impingement cooling on leading edge of a turbine vane is presented. An axisymmetric single round jet was assessed for its ability and consistency as a preliminary study including the investigation of parameters influencing the heat transfer distribution. The analysis revealed that an increase in Nusselt number was attributed to increase in Reynolds number, decrease in jet diameter and H/D < 3. Significant improvement in heat transfer was observed for tapering nozzle configuration. The study was then further expanded to 3D analysis of leading edge cooling of turbine vane. Effect of nozzle diameter to micro-scale was studied, which showed 65% enhancement in the heat transfer rates.

Discharge Coefficients of a Heavy Suspension Nozzle

The suspensions used in heavy vehicles often consist of several oil and two gas chambers. In order to perform an analytical study of the mass flow transferred between two gas chambers separated by a nozzle, and when considering the gas as compressible and real, it is usually needed to determine the discharge coefficient of the nozzle. The nozzle configuration analyzed in the present study consists of a T shape, and it is used to separate two nitrogen chambers employed in heavy vehicle suspensions. In the present study, under compressible dynamic real flow conditions and at operating pressures, discharge coefficients were determined based on experimental data. A test rig was constructed for this purpose, and air was used as working fluid. The study clarifies that discharge coefficients for the T shape nozzle studied not only depend on the pressure gradient between chambers but also on the flow direction. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations, using air as working fluid and when flowing in both nozzle directions, were undertaken, as well, and the fluid was considered as compressible and ideal. The CFD results deeply helped in understanding why the dynamic discharge coefficients were dependent on both the pressure ratio and flow direction, clarifying at which nozzle location, and for how long, chocked flow was to be expected. Experimentally-based results were compared with the CFD ones, validating both the experimental procedure and numerical methodologies presented. The information gathered in the present study is aimed to be used to mathematically characterize the dynamic performance of a real suspension.

Computational Analysis of Base Drag Reduction for a Subsonic Missile Projectile at Different Flow Velocity Conditions

Base drag is arising from flow separation at blunt base of a body. It can be a sizeable fraction of total drag in context of projectiles, missiles and after bodies of fighter aircrafts. The base drag is the major contribution of total drag for low speed regimes, flight tests have shown that the base drag may account for up to 50% of total drag. In this paper an experimental investigation for simple semi-circular flight vehicle body of length 500mm and diameter 50mm was conducted for the purpose of investigating base drag. The base drags for three configurations are calculated and the results are compared with CFD data. The three configurations used for testing are flat base configuration, closed nozzle configuration and boat tail configuration. The evaluation of base drag for three different flow velocities such as (i) 20m/s, (ii) 35m/s and (iii) 50m/s at different angle of attack such as -2, 0 and 2 are experimented and compared.

Optimization of hot-water ice-coring drills

Hot-water ice-coring drills are often used to recover ice core samples from desirable depths in conjunction with full-scale hot-water drilling systems. However, the recovered cores exhibit varying qualities. The coring performance of a hot-water ice-coring drill depends significantly on the structure of the coring drill head (nozzle angle, diameter and number). To discover the most significant factor affecting ice-coring performance, nine types of drill heads were designed and tested in this study according to the orthogonal test design. Results indicated that the nozzle angle is the most significant factor that affects the coring quality and the optimal angle is ~15°. The number of nozzles is the second most important factor; a large number assists in obtaining ice cores of high quality. The optimal nozzle configuration to recover good quality cores are the following: the nozzle diameter, number of nozzles and nozzle angle are 1 mm, 60 nozzles and 15°, respectively, with the maximum diameter and 2 mm, 60 nozzles and 15°, respectively, with the maximum length.