DDDAS-SEP: Application of DDDAS to Assessment of Thermal Systems Using Combined Experiment and Simulation

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The project will apply the Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS) methodology for assessment of fluid-thermal systems using combined experiment and simulation. Engineering applications involving fluid-thermal systems are characterized by complex three-dimensional flows with incomplete knowledge of boundary conditions in critical subsystems and limited access for experimental diagnostics. An example is the combustor in a turbofan engine wherein the thermal boundary conditions on the combustor can surface are not known a priori (i.e., the surface temperature distribution is not known) and access for optical diagnostics is severely limited. The DDDAS-based methodology synergizes experiment and simulation to achieve an assessment of the fluid-thermal system; in particular, to determine the surface temperature distribution to a reasonable level of accuracy. The specific application is a turbulent jet injected normally into a subsonic or supersonic equilibrium turbulent boundary layer. By analogy to a combustor or furnace, the experimental diagnostics are assumed to be limited to optical measurements (specifically, diode laser absorbance at various wavelengths) within a restricted region (to simulate limited access in the actual configuration, e.g., combustor). Simulations will be performed using the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the k-e model of turbulence. Both non-reacting and reacting flows will be considered. The proposed DDDAS-based methodology for assessment of fluid-thermal systems using experiment and simulation has potentially broader applications in engineering systems (e.g., chemical and biochemical engineering, civil engineering, etc).