Publications

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A turbulence model for buoyant flows has been developed in the context of a k-{var_epsilon} turbulence modeling approach. A production term is added to the turbulent kinetic energy equation based on dimensional reasoning using an appropriate time scale for buoyancy-induced turbulence taken from the vorticity conservation equation. The resulting turbulence model is calibrated against far field helium-air spread rate data, and validated with near source, strongly buoyant helium plume data sets. This model is more numerically stable and gives better predictions over a much broader range of mesh densities than the standard k-{var_epsilon} model for these strongly buoyant flows.

A validation study has been conducted for a turbulence model used to close the temporally filtered Navier Stokes (TFNS) equations. A turbulence model was purposely built to support fire simulations under the Accelerated Strategic Computing (ASC) program. The model was developed so that fire transients could be simulated and it has been implemented in SIERRA/Fuego. The model is validated using helium plume data acquired for the Weapon System Certification Campaign (C6) program in the Fire Laboratory for Model Accreditation and Experiments (FLAME). The helium plume experiments were chosen as the first validation problem for SIERRA/Fuego because they embody the first pair-wise coupling of scalar and momentum fields found in fire plumes. The validation study includes solution verification through grid and time step refinement studies. A formal statistical comparison is used to assess the model uncertainty. The metric uses the centerline vertical velocity of the plume. The results indicate that the simple model is within the 95% confidence interval of the data for elevations greater than 0.4 meters and is never more than twice the confidence interval from the data. The model clearly captures the dominant puffing mode in the fire but under resolves the vorticity field. Grid dependency of the model is noted.

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The formulation, implementation and usage of a numerical solution verification code is described. This code uses the Richardson extrapolation procedure to estimate the order of accuracy and error of a computational program solution. It evaluates multiple solutions performed in numerical grid convergence studies to verify a numerical algorithm implementation. Analyses are performed on both structured and unstructured grid codes. Finite volume and finite element discretization programs are examined. Two and three-dimensional solutions are evaluated. Steady state and transient solution analysis capabilities are present in the verification code. Multiple input data bases are accepted. Benchmark options are included to allow for minimal solution validation capability as well as verification.

The primary objective of the Safety and Survivability of Aircraft Initiative is to improve the safety and survivability of systems by using validated computational models to predict the hazard posed by a fire. To meet this need, computational model predictions and experimental data have been obtained to provide insight into the thermal environment inside an aircraft dry bay. The calculations were performed using the Vulcan fire code, and the experiments were completed using a specially designed full-scale fixture. The focus of this report is to present comparisons of the Vulcan results with experimental data for a selected test scenario and to assess the capability of the Vulcan fire field model to accurately predict dry bay fire scenarios. Also included is an assessment of the sensitivity of the fire model predictions to boundary condition distribution and grid resolution. To facilitate the comparison with experimental results, a brief description of the dry bay fire test fixture and a detailed specification of the geometry and boundary conditions are included. Overall, the Vulcan fire field model has shown the capability to predict the thermal hazard posed by a sustained pool fire within a dry bay compartment of an aircraft; although, more extensive experimental data and rigorous comparison are required for model validation.

Fires in aircraft engine nacelles must be rapidly suppressed to avoid loss of life and property. The design of new and retrofit suppression systems has become significantly more challenging due to the ban on production of Halon 1301 for environmental concerns. Since fire dynamics and the transport of suppressants within the nacelle are both largely determined by the available air flow, efforts to define systems using less effective suppressants greatly benefit from characterization of nacelle air flow fields. A combined experimental and computational study of nacelle air flow therefore has been initiated. Calculations have been performed using both CFD-ACE (a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model with a body-fitted coordinate grid) and WLCAN (a CFD-based fire field model with a Cartesian ''brick'' shaped grid). The flow conditions examined in this study correspond to the same Reynolds number as test data from the full-scale nacelle simulator at the 46 Test Wing. Pre-test simulations of a quarter-scale test fixture were performed using CFD-ACE and WLCAN prior to fabrication. Based on these pre-test simulations, a quarter-scale test fixture was designed and fabricated for the purpose of obtaining spatially-resolved measurements of velocity and turbulence intensity in a smooth nacelle. Post-test calculations have been performed for the conditions of the experiment and compared with experimental results obtained from the quarter-scale test fixture. In addition, several different simulations were performed to assess the sensitivity of the predictions to the grid size, to the turbulence models, and to the use of wall functions. In general, the velocity predictions show very good agreement with the data in the center of the channel but deviate near the walls. The turbulence intensity results tend to amplify the differences in velocity, although most of the trends are in agreement. In addition, there were some differences between WLCAN and CFD-ACE results in the angled wall regions due to the Cartesian grid structure used by the WLCAN code. Also, the experimental data tended t o show poorer resolution near the walls of the transition ducts. The increased uncertainty in the data highlights some of the challenges in getting data near the walls due to the low signal to noise ratio. Overall, this effort provided a benchmark case for both the WLCAN and CFD-ACE codes for the application of interest.

A subgrid model is presented for use in CFD fire simulations to account for thermal suppressants and strain. The extinguishment criteria is based on the ratio of a local fluid-mechanics time-scale to a local chemical time-scale compared to an empirically-determined critical Damkohler number. Local extinction occurs if this time scale is exceeded, global fire extinguishment occurs when local extinction has occurred for all combusting cells. The fluid mechanics time scale is based on the Kolmogorov time scale and the chemical time scale is based on blowout of a perfectly stirred reactor. The input to the reactor is based on cell averaged temperatures, assumed stoichiometric fuel/air composition, and cell averaged suppressant concentrations including combustion products. A detailed chemical mechanism is employed. The chemical time-scale is precalculated and mixing rules are used to reduce the composition space that must be parameterized. Comparisons with experimental data for fire extinguishment in a flame-stabilizing, backward-facing step geometry indicates that the model is conservative for this condition.