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On the Experimental Simulation of Atmospheric-Like Disturbances Near the Surface
Get PDFAny and every 'decision-maker'’ gravity-bound to the planetary surface (or very nearly so) must contend with the frictional complexities confined to its relatively small surface layer. From the perspective of the near-surface bound small autonomous flyer, it is the microclimatic local set of atmospheric conditions (i.e. the weather), characterized by moisture, temperature, and the parameters describing wind, that determines the baseline flowfields within which these flyers must navigate and negotiate. Unlike their human-on-board counterparts, mission parameters relegate small (nearly) massless autonomous flyers to the lower regions of the atmospheric boundary layer, where they may not be fortuned enough to soar above the effects of friction or wait for clearer skies. Relatively little focus has been placed on the experimental strategies of how these machines might learn to function in challenging scenarios well-before encountering them in the real-world. To address such shortcomings, this work focuses on the experimental simulation of flight-relevant environments through the development of multi-source wind generating apparatuses (i.e. fan arrays) that can initialize velocity distributions discretely-individually or in-concert to produce appropriate mean and fluctuating velocities through an ample open-air test envelope that enables full-scale conventional statically-mounted aerodynamic-characterizations up through free-flight autonomous vehicle testing. Though outside the scope of current experimental work, as full of an environmental description (i.e. moisture, temperature, and wind) is given as possible, prior to ultimately reducing the scope to a neutrally stable atmosphere devoid of any major weather events other than a reasonably strong prevailing wind. Nearly always set amongst the backdrop of a high Reynolds number turbulent flowfield, two primary prototypical flowfields (continuous-gust and discrete-gust) are identified as meriting consideration for mainstay experimental simulation. The core features within the spectral overlap of these windy disturbance environments with the response characteristics of flyers of interest ensure that the turbulence of consideration is nearly always of the mechanical-type. Unlike air motions far above local effects in the inertial sublayer (ISL), the dominant flow mechanism within regions of interest near canopied surfaces is augmented by the presence of coherent structures due to the prevalence of locally initiated mixing layers and wakes such that the task becomes one of simulation of suitable forcing spectra in the physical domain for the regions of interest during anticipated times-of-flight.
Likely to prove challenging to the small autonomous flyer are encounters of a change in wind state that occur upon piercing the dividing streamline of air masses of two different velocities. From the view of the flyer navigating the built-up environment, intermittent free shear layers due to wind-interactions with surface roughness elements are unavoidable and are experienced discretely when the flyer and shear layer dynamics are decoupled. Fan array techniques for the generation of mixing layers, the basic building block of any such free shear layer, is explored as a candidate flowfield for the experimental simulation of a discrete gust forcing input for the flyer near the surface. Both initialized dual-stream and triple-stream mixing layers at flight-relevant freestream velocity differences are explored and found to principally behave like the mixing layers developed in a more conventional splitterplate experiment. The Reynolds number Reδω based on the velocity difference ΔU and vorticity thickness δω (both outer scale parameters) is shown to linearly increase with downstream development as the vorticity thickness increases commensurately. The spectral analysis along the centerline confirms local isotropy for every tested case.
The continuous-gust flowfield (simply referred to as 'turbulence) is prevalent throughout the atmospheric boundary layer as are quasi-coherent flowfields of superimposed wakes within canopied environments. Because velocity fluctuations manifest as (predominantly) random deviations at any given instant, these flowfields are good candidates for statistical analysis. Generation techniques to produce such turbulent flowfields are introduced and compared against the uniform flow modality (i.e. all fan units set to produce nominally the same initial velocity condition to develop a well-mixed turbulent flowfield beyond x/L ∼ 0.5 with ReλT = 135). The random-phase (R-P) perturbation technique proves useful in increasing ReλT upwards of nearly sevenfold with only a slight further-loss-of-uniformity (to within 3.7% of the mean). The uniform flow modality with the (R-P) perturbation activated is shown, through the presence of a -5/3 slope power law region, to be locally isotropic at relevant freestream velocities. Significant increases in ReλT are made through a static-reconfiguring of the discrete source fan units into a so called quasi-grid (Q-G) configuration. The highest recorded Taylor microscale Reynolds number was found to be ReλT = 2700, likely accompanied by a non-negligible loss of uniformity at the fixed measurement location, though traverses were not undertaken during this campaign so no direct statement of homogeneity is put forth.
For all the flow modalities presented (i.e uniform, pseudo-random, quasi-coherent, and mixing layer), the high-Re number criteria (Reδω ≈ 104 , ReλT ≈ 102) has been met. This serves, then, as a necessary minimum benchmark in the development of multi-source wind tunnels with intended use as environmental simulators for flyers near the surface and also provides the basis for a spectral framework of comparison to enable systematic development of flowfields in future work. Characteristics of the evolving flowfields can further be tuned through the introduction of perturbation techniques applied as initial conditions to both increase the standard deviation of the fluctuating velocities about a desired mean as well as to initiate, evolve, and combine flowfields in representative ways. A preliminary example of one such combination of flow modalities (pseudo-random and mixing layer) indicates significant alteration of flow development compared to a nominal mixing layer case.</p
Nonlinear Dynamics and Stability of Viscous Free-Surface Microcapillary Flows in V-Shaped Channels and on Curved Surfaces
Get PDFThe last two decades have brought a revolution in miniaturization of space technology. Thanks to improved microelectronic sensors and MEMS devices, nanosatellites can perform communication and scientific studies previously limited to large satellites, significantly reducing the financial barriers to space access. But development of a reliable, long-running, small-scale propulsion system for orbital maneuvers remains a key challenge. One solution is the microfluidic electrospray propulsion (MEP) thruster under development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
This thesis analytically addresses aspects of the MEP system's propellant management, specifically, capillary flow in the groove network delivering fluid propellant from the reservoir to the emitters. Building upon the reduced-order model of viscous capillary flow in straight V-shaped channels ("V-grooves") of Weislogel (1996) and Romero and Yost (1996), we prove stability of steady-state and self-similar flows. Because the MEP design requires an electric field above the grooves, and further calls for grooves which curve and bend in three dimensions, we extend earlier V-groove models to include these effects, and also perform stability analyses of the new models. The results not only validate the use of V-grooves as a robust propellant delivery system, but also provide a theoretical basis for the design of future microfluidic devices with compact, three-dimensional designs and electric fields.
In order to lay the groundwork for future studies of early-time behavior of propellant on emitter tips before the Taylor cone necessary for ion emission is formed, we develop the technique of generalized linear stability analysis (Farrell and Ioannou, 1996) of capillary flow of thin viscous films coating curved surfaces (governed by the equation first developed by Roy and Schwartz, 1997). This methodology was first applied to films coating cylinders and spheres by Balestra et al. (2016, 2018); we instead apply the technique and analyze for the first time a viscous-capillary instability arising on a torus coated with a uniform thin film.
Besides the capillary fluid dynamics results, two additional pieces of work are included in the thesis. First, in an unorthodox application of Noether's Theorem to non-Lagrangian gradient flow equations, we show that each variational symmetry of the governing functional induces a constraint on the evolution of the system. Second, to support JPL's efforts to directly detect a "fifth force," we introduce and implement numerical methods for computation of the scalar Cubic Galileon Gravity (CGG) field at solar system scales.</p
Happiness is Hedonic: In Defense of a Subjective Account of Well-Being
No full text[Introduction] Everyone wants to live a good life. But how exactly should we define "well-being," the concept of living a good life? Traditionally, philosophy offers us three competing accounts (e.g. Kagan, 1998; Daly, 2017). First, there’s hedonism, which defines well-being in terms of an individual’s experienced happiness. Second, there’s desire satisfaction theory, which maintains that well-being is related to the extent to which your desires, actual or ideal, end up being fulfilled. And, finally, there is objective list theory, which contends that well-being depends on the extent to which your life possesses objectively good qualities, which might, for example, include things like friendship, achievement, autonomy, knowledge, and happiness.</p
Oxidative and Internal Stress Effects of Dopants in Multilayer Yb₂Si₂O₇ Environmental Barrier Coatings
Get PDFOne of the best approaches to improving the efficiency of turbine engines is to increase their operating temperatures. A revolutionary improvement toward this goal will be the replacement of structural metallic components with silicon-based ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs). However, corrosive chemistries in combustion engines necessitate chemical protection of the structural material. Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) are designed for this purpose through thermomechanical and chemical compatibility with the system. High-temperature, humid oxidation of the EBC bondcoat, a silicon layer which adheres the topcoat to the substrate, remains a critical failure mode EBC systems.
This work studies the effects of chemical modifications on bondcoat oxidation during steam cycling in a current state-of-the-art EBC (Yb₂Si₂O₇/Si), and the implications for the durability of the system. Chemically modified EBCs have been shown to decrease oxide growth by more than 85 percent after 1000 hours of steam cycling. Post-exposure analyses are used to investigate the effects of chemistry on thermal oxide thickness and microstructure. Synchrotron X-ray scattering at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, is used to observe internal strains, connected to oxidation and chemistry through microstructure. Compared internal stresses, oxidation, and microstructure between baseline and modified EBCs promote the effectiveness of topcoat chemical modifications as they may apply to EBC durability. Microindentation, nanoindentation, and ongoing beam-bending experiments are also used to assess EBC interface toughness in a baseline EBC system. Additionally, a custom induction furnace has been designed and tested for in-situ steam cycling at the synchrotron. Traits facilitating the use of the custom furnace at the synchrotron make for convenient steam-cycling and other exposures in conventional laboratory settings, as well, with enhanced customizability and flexibility.</p
Rheological Measurements in Moderate Reynolds Number Liquid-Solid Flows
Get PDFLiquid-solid flows with inertial and viscous effects are critical for many engineering and geophysical applications, such as the processing of biomass slurry and the control of debris flows. However, modeling the rheological behaviors of these complex flows remains a challenge. Prior investigations on the liquid-solid flows typically cover suspensions in which the particle Reynolds numbers (Re) based on the particle diameter and shear rate are less than 1. Limited prior study at Caltech focuses on particle Reynolds numbers above 10. This thesis focuses on rheological experiments for the moderate Reynolds number regime where both inertial and viscous effects are important, with particle Reynolds numbers from 0.5 to 800. The rheological experiments include torque measurements of mm scale-sized polystyrene and SAN particles with a range of solid fractions from 10% to 50%, considering both neutrally-buoyant and settling suspensions with density ratios of 1 and 1.05. This thesis discusses rheological measurements of three different fields: pure fluids, neutrally-buoyant suspensions, and non-neutrally-buoyant suspensions.
The pure fluids measurements determine the flow starts to transition to turbulent flow for gap Reynolds numbers above 6500 in the Caltech Couette flow device. For suspensions with matched particle and fluid densities and solid fractions less than 40%, we find that the effective viscosity only depends on the particle solid fraction until we observe the shear-thickening behaviors for Re of approximately 10. For the intermediate Re from 10 to 100 and lower solid fractions, the effective viscosity not only depends on the particle solid fraction, but also shows increased dependence on Re. For Re greater than 100, the liquid-solid flows transition to the turbulent regime, similar to what we see for the pure fluids. At the maximum solid fraction of 50%, the magnitude of the effective viscosity has increased by a factor of 20 as compared to the results of the 10% solid fraction, but the effective viscosity is nearly independent of Re. A particle Reynolds number (Re') based on the maximum shear flow velocity and the particle diameter is introduced to examine the effective viscosity of the suspensions. Since the present studies use particles with different sizes, Re' is found to be a better way to correlate the effective viscosity than the traditional Re. For the analysis of liquid-solid flows with a density ratio of 1.05, the effective viscosity of the particulate flow increases with the Stokes number for loading fractions of 10% and 20%, while the dependence is reversed for higher solid fractions.</p
Surveying Notions of Queer Asian American Community Through Literature: 1972–1998
Get PDFThe history of queer Asian America has, to date, largely been studied as a history of organizations. This has lent a particular tilt to both the preservation and the study of queer Asian America: the activism of the late 20th century has been archivally and academically preserved, while records of everyday queer Asian American experiences -- of the ways individuals discovered their identities, formed communities, found loves, and filled their days -- have been more rarely preserved and written of. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by analyzing the history of queer Asian American literature. Specifically, the thesis offers a broad survey of queer Asian American writing from the 1970s through the 90s. It then uses methods of literary and historical analysis to shed light on how individuals have grappled with the question of what it means to be queer and Asian American. Ultimately, the thesis turns to the queer Asian American community and asks, "Who are 'we'?"</p
Shape-Changing Phased Arrays
Get PDFHistorically, increasing the degrees of freedom in electromagnetic structures has revolutionized the capabilities of wireless systems and introduced new applications. While research on phased arrays has explored everything from antenna drive settings to the element placement, the array geometry is assumed to be a fixed parameter. This thesis summarizes the author's work developing shape-changing phased arrays. It demonstrates the fundamental trade-off between gain and steering range for a given geometry. Measurements of the first shape-changing phased array both verify this theory and demonstrate the ability to break this trade-off using geometric reconfiguration. In addition, the mathematical consequences of shape-change and their impact on the arrays electromagnetic properties are discussed. Programmable passive switching networks on flexible sheets embedded in the array are proposed to address these challenges. The ability of these structures to enhance array performance is demonstrated by in-situ optimization experiments on a demonstration array. The associated optimization problem is characterized with a statistical analysis on a simulated array. Finally, avenues for further research are proposed.</p
Emerging Evidence of a Second Glass Phase in Strong to Ultra-Fragile Bulk Metallic Glass-Forming Liquids
Get PDFThis thesis compiles three experimental works that provide evidence for distinct bulk metallic glass (BMG) phases across a range of kinetic fragilities. Motivated by An et al.’s computational discovery of a secondary heterogeneous glass phase in pure Ag and binary AgCu and CuZr, the thesis reports the distinct glass phases in the high and ultra-high fragile regime with a tunable Pt80-XCuXP20 system, and the
kinetically strong Ni71.4Cr5.64Nb3.46P16.5B3 (Ni208) BMG.
The high-fragility work utilizes direct measurement techniques for liquid configurational enthalpy as a function of temperature on anneal-equilibrated samples (Chapter 2). An apparent first-order glass-melting transition is revealed across kinetic fragilities ranging from m = 60 to over 90. The glass-melting temperature, Tgm, traverses up the ∆T region with increasing Cu content, X. A further experimental study of PtCuP explored the traditional and second glass phases to determine if they are in fact equivalent to the two glasses of An et al. (Chapter 3). Hardness data reveal that while the high-fragility samples grow the second glass during anneal, it forms in the ultra-fragile samples on quenching. Further, this apparent glass-melting transition is visible via traditional thermodynamic methods in ultra-fragile samples. For X = 20, where Tgm is in the inaccessible ∆T region, rapid capacitive discharge heating visualizes Tgm as well.
Investigation of a kinetically stronger Ni-based BMG connects the presence of the secondary glass to the embrittlement transition in Ni208 (Chapter 4). Inclusions are only present in embrittled samples, and are suppressed to lower temperatures when the initial melt is overheated above a critical toughening temperature. The inclusions show a heterogeneous structure and 30% increased hardness, similar to the computational Ag secondary glass phase.
These works provide compelling evidence for the existence of a secondary glass phase across the spectrum from strong to ultra-fragile glasses, and validates the initial computational discovery. This proves to be a significant work, as it presents direct experimental evidence of a novel phenomenon in metallic liquids, and presents a new solid-like glass phase.</p
