Browsing by Author "Dowell, Earl H"

A new method of stabilizing low-order, proper orthogonal decomposition based reduced-order models of the Navier Stokes equations is proposed. Unlike traditional approaches, this method does not rely on empirical turbulence modeling or modification of the Navier-Stokes equations. It provides spatial basis functions different from the usual proper orthogonal decomposition basis function in that, in addition to optimally representing the solution, the new proposed basis functions also provide stable reduced-order models. The proposed approach is illustrated with two test cases: two-dimensional flow inside a square lid-driven cavity and a two-dimensional mixing layer.

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration computational fluid dynamics code, OVERFLOW 2, was modified to utilize a harmonic balance solution method. This modification allows for the direct calculation of the nonlinear frequency-domain solution of a periodic, unsteady flow while avoiding the time consuming calculation of long physical transients that arise in aeroelastic applications.

With the usual implementation of this harmonic balance method, converting an implicit flow solver from a time marching solution method to a harmonic balance solution method results in an unstable numerical scheme. However, a relatively simple and computationally inexpensive stabilization technique has been developed and is utilized. With this stabilization technique, it is possible to convert an existing implicit time-domain solver to a nonlinear frequency-domain method with minimal modifications to the existing code.

This new frequency-domain version of OVERFLOW 2 utilizes the many features of the original code, such as various discretization methods and several turbulence models. The use of Chimera overset grids in OVERFLOW 2 requires care when implemented in the frequency-domain. This research presents a harmonic balance version of OVERFLOW 2 that is capable of solving on overset grids for sufficiently small unsteady amplitudes.

High performance fighter aircraft such as the F-16 experience aeroelastic Limit Cycle Oscillations (LCO) when they carry certain combinations of under-wing stores. This `store-induced LCO' causes serious problems including airframe fatigue, pilot discomfort and loss of operational effectiveness. The usual response has been to restrict the stores carriage envelope based on flight test experience, and accept the accompanying reduction in mission performance.

Although several nonlinear mechanisms - structural as well as aerodynamic, have been proposed to explain the LCO phenomenon, their roles are not well understood. Consequently, existing models are unable to predict accurately AND reliably the most critical LCO properties, namely onset speed and response level. On the other hand, the more accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based time marching methodology yields results at much greater expense and time. Clearly, there is a critical need to establish methods that are more rapid while providing accurate predictions more in line with flight test results than at present. Such a capability will also aid in future aircraft design and usage.

This work was undertaken to develop a better understanding of nonlinear aeroelastic phenomena, and their relation to classical flutter and divergence, with a particular focus on store-induced LCO in high performance fighter aircraft. The following systems were studied: (1) a `simple' wing with a flexible and nonlinear root attachment, (2) a `generic' wing with a flexible and nonlinear wing-store attachment and (3) the F-16 aircraft, again with nonlinear wing-store attachments.

While structural nonlinearity was present in all cases, steady flow aerodynamic nonlinearity was also included in the F-16 case by the use of a Computational Fluid Dynamics model based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations. However, dynamic linearization of the CFD model was done for the present computations. The computationally efficient Harmonic Balance (HB) nonlinear solution technique was a key component of this work, with time marching simulations and closed form solutions being used selectively to confirm the findings of the HB solutions. The simple wing and the generic wing were both modeled as linear beam-rods whose displacements were represented using the primitive modes method. The wing aerodynamic model was linear (quasi-steady for the simple wing and based on the Vortex Lattice Method for the generic wing), and the store aerodynamics were omitted.

The presence of a cubic restoring force (of hardening or softening type, in stiffness or in damping) at the root of the simple wing led to several interesting results and insights. Next, various nonlinear mechanisms including cubic restoring force, freeplay and friction were introduced at the wing-store attachment of the generic wing and these led to a still greater variety in behavior. General relationships were established between the type of nonlinearity and the nature of the resulting response, and they proved very useful for tailoring the F-16 study and interpreting its results.

The Air Force Seek Eagle Office/Air Force Research Laboratory provided a modal structural model of an LCO-prone store configuration of the F-16 aircraft with stores included. In order to investigate a range of stores attachment configurations, the analysis required modification of the stiffness and damping of the wing-store attachment. Since the Finite Element model of the wing and store structure was not available, the modification was achieved by subtracting the store and adding it back with the necessary changes to the store or attachment using a dynamic decoupling/coupling technique. The modified models were subjected to flutter/LCO analysis using the Duke Harmonic Balance CFD RANS solver, and the resulting flutter boundaries were used in combination with the HB method to derive LCO responses due to the wing-store attachment nonlinearity.

Comparisons were made between the simulation results and the F-16 flight test LCO data. While multiple sources of nonlinearity are probably responsible for the wide range of observed LCO behavior, it was concluded that cubic softening stiffness and positive cubic damping were the more likely structural mechanisms causing LCO, in addition to nonlinear aerodynamics.

This dissertation explores the aeroelastic stability of a folding wing using both theoretical and experimental methods. The theoretical model is based on the existing clamped-wing aeroelastic model that uses beam theory structural dynamics and strip theory aerodynamics. A higher-fidelity theoretical model was created by adding several improvements to the existing model, namely a structural model that uses ANSYS for individual wing segment modes and an unsteady vortex lattice aerodynamic model. The comparison with the lower-fidelity model shows that the higher-fidelity model typical provides better agreement between theory and experiment, but the predicted system behavior in general does not change, reinforcing the effectiveness of the low-fidelity model for preliminary design of folding wings. The present work also conducted more detailed aeroelastic analyses of three-segment folding wings, and in particular considers the Lockheed-type configurations to understand the existence of sudden changes in predicted aeroelastic behavior with varying fold angle for certain configurations. These phenomena were observed in carefully conducted experiments, and nonlinearities - structural and geometry - were shown to suppress the phenomena. Next, new experimental models with better manufacturing tolerances are designed to be tested in the Duke University Wind Tunnel. The testing focused on various configurations of three-segment folding wings in order to obtain higher quality data. Next, the theoretical model was further improved by adding aircraft longitudinal degrees of freedom such that the aeroelastic model may predict the instabilities for the entire aircraft and not just a clamped wing. The theoretical results show that the flutter instabilities typically occur at a higher air speed due to greater frequency separation between modes for the aircraft system than a clamped wing system, but the divergence instabilities occur at a lower air speed. Lastly, additional experimental models were designed such that the wing segments may be rotated while the system is in the wind tunnel. The fold angles were changed during wind tunnel testing, and new test data on wing response during those transients were collected during these experiments.

The purpose of this dissertation is to study the aeroelastic stability of a proposed flexible thermal protection system (FTPS) for the NASA Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD). A flat, square FTPS coupon exhibits violent oscillations during experimental aerothermal testing in NASA's 8 Foot High Temperature Tunnel, leading to catastrophic failure. The behavior of the structural response suggested that aeroelastic flutter may be the primary instability mechanism, prompting further experimental investigation and theoretical model development. Using Von Karman's plate theory for the panel-like structure and piston theory aerodynamics, a set of aeroelastic models were developed and limit cycle oscillations (LCOs) were calculated at the tunnel flow conditions. Similarities in frequency content of the theoretical and experimental responses indicated that the observed FTPS oscillations were likely aeroelastic in nature, specifically LCO/flutter.

While the coupon models can be used for comparison with tunnel tests, they cannot predict accurately the aeroelastic behavior of the FTPS in atmospheric flight. This is because the geometry of the flight vehicle is no longer a flat plate, but rather (approximately) a conical shell. In the second phase of this work, linearized Donnell conical shell theory and piston theory aerodynamics are used to calculate natural modes of vibration and flutter dynamic pressures for various structural models composed of one or more conical shells resting on several circumferential elastic supports. When the flight vehicle is approximated as a single conical shell without elastic supports, asymmetric flutter in many circumferential waves is observed. When the elastic supports are included, the shell flutters symmetrically in zero circumferential waves. Structural damping is found to be important in this case, as "hump-mode" flutter is possible. Aeroelastic models that consider the individual FTPS layers as separate shells exhibit asymmetric flutter at high dynamic pressures relative to the single shell models. Parameter studies also examine the effects of tension, shear modulus reduction, and elastic support stiffness.

Limitations of a linear structural model and piston theory aerodynamics prompted a more elaborate evaluation of the flight configuration. Using nonlinear Donnell conical shell theory for the FTPS structure, the pressure buckling and aeroelastic limit cycle oscillations were studied for a single elastically-supported conical shell. While piston theory was used initially, a time-dependent correction factor was derived using transform methods and potential flow theory to calculate more accurately the low Mach number supersonic flow. Three conical shell geometries were considered: a 3-meter diameter 70 degree shell, a 3.7-meter 70 degree shell, and a 6-meter diameter 70 degree shell. The 6-meter configuration was loaded statically and the results were compared with an experimental load test of a 6-meter HIAD vehicle. Though agreement between theoretical and experimental strains was poor, circumferential wrinkling phenomena observed during the experiments was captured by the theory and axial deformations were qualitatively similar in shape. With piston theory aerodynamics, the nonlinear flutter dynamic pressures of the 3-meter configuration were in agreement with the values calculated using linear theory, and the limit cycle amplitudes were generally on the order of the shell thickness. Pre-buckling pressure loads and the aerodynamic pressure correction factor were studied for all geometries, and these effects resulted in significantly lower flutter boundaries compared with piston theory alone.

In the final phase of this work, the existing linear and nonlinear FTPS shell models were coupled with NASA's FUN3D Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes CFD code, allowing for the most physically realistic flight predictions. For the linear shell structural model, the elastically-supported shell natural modes were mapped to a CFD grid of a 6-meter HIAD vehicle, and a linear structural dynamics solver internal to the CFD code was used to compute the aeroelastic response. Aerodynamic parameters for a proposed HIAD re-entry trajectory were obtained, and aeroelastic solutions were calculated at three points in the trajectory: Mach 1, Mach 2, and Mach 11 (peak dynamic pressure). No flutter was found at any of these conditions using the linear method, though oscillations (of uncertain origin) on the order of the shell thickness may be possible in the transonic regime. For the nonlinear shell structural model, a set of assumed sinusoidal modes were mapped to the CFD grid, and the linear structural dynamics equations were replaced by a nonlinear ODE solver for the conical shell equations. Successful calculation and restart of the nonlinear dynamic aeroelastic solutions was demonstrated. Preliminary results indicated that dynamic instabilities may be possible at Mach 1 and 2, with a completely stable solution at Mach 11, though further study is needed. A major benefit of this implementation is that the coefficients and mode shapes for the nonlinear conical shell may be replaced with those of other types of structures, greatly expanding the aeroelastic capabilities of FUN3D.

This thesis explores the aeroelastic stability of a folding wing with an arbitrary number of wing segments. Simplifying assumptions are made such that it is possible to derive the equations of motion analytically. First, a general structural dynamics model based on beam theory is derived from a modal analysis using Lagrange's equations, and is used to predict the natural frequencies of different folding wing configurations. Next, the structural model is extended to an aeroelastic model by incorporating the effects of unsteady aerodynamic forces. The aeroelastic model is used to predict the flutter speed and flutter frequencies of folding wings. Experiments were conducted for three folding wing configurations - a two-segment wing, a three-segment wing, and a four-segment wing - and the outboard fold angle was varied over a wide range for each configuration. Very good agreement in both magnitude and overall trend was obtained between the theoretical and experimental structural natural frequencies, as well as the flutter frequency. For the flutter speed, very good agreement was obtained for the two-segment model, but the agreement worsens as the number of wing segments increases. Possible sources of error and attempts to improve correlation are described. Overall, the aeroelastic model predicts the general trends to good accuracy, offers some additional physical insight, and can be used to efficiently compute flutter boundaries and frequency characteristics for preliminary design or sensitivity studies.

This dissertation explores a fluid instability known as buffet, which occurs in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic regimes. Buffet has been observed in experiments and various computational studies, and its underlying physics are not well-established. The goal of this document is to provide insight into various configurations which produce buffet and attempt to understand the flow physics at play.

A combined approach of linear convolution and higher order Volterra series to reduced order modelling of unsteady transonic aerodynamic loads is presented. The new approach offers a simple method to determine the memory depth of the system, significantly reduces the effort required to generate a model for a wide range of reduced frequencies, and clearly separates the linear and the non-linear contributions. The generated models are completely separated from any specific input signal or a particular reduced frequency. The models were verified in an aeroelastic simulation of a 2D NACA 0012 airfoil. The results correlate well with wind tunnel tests and previously calculated LCO levels.

Our experimental study sought to answer the question: how to maximize the piezoelectric power extraction of an aeroelastic system? A simple rectangular cantilever plate, which experiences LCO, was used as a basic vibrating system. The plate was covered entirely with piezoelectric elements on both sides. By adding small discrete masses along the plate, we were able to increase the power generation efficiency by 260% while reducing the airspeed required to produce this power by 150%, and the level of vibrations by 320%.

Swarm robotics and distributed control offer the promise of enhanced performance and robustness relative to that of individual and centrally-controlled robots, with decreased cost or time-to-completion for certain tasks. Having many degrees of freedom, swarm-related control and estimation problems are challenging specifically when the solutions depend on a great amount of communication among the robots. Swarm controllers minimizing communication requirements are quite desirable.

Swarms are inherently more robust to uncertainties and failures, including complete loss of individual agents, due to the averaging inherent in convergence and agreement problems. Exploitation of this robustness to minimize processing and communication complexity is desirable.

This research focuses on simple but robust controllers for swarming problems, maximizing the likelihood of objective success while minimizing controller complexity and specialized communication or sensing requirements.

In addition, it develops distributed solutions for swarm control by examining and exploiting graph theoretic constructs. Details of specific implementations, such as nonholonomic motion and and numerosity constraints, were explored with some unexpectedly positive results.

In summary, this research focused on the development of control strategies for the distributed control of a swarm of robots, and graph-theoretic analysis of these controllers. These control strategies specifically consider probabilistic connectivity functions, based on requirements for sensing or communication. The developed control strategies are validated in both simulation and experiment.

There is a growing interest among aeroelasticity researchers for insight into large deflection oscillations of aerospace structures. Here, a new beam and plate model is derived using Hamilton's Principle to lay the structural framework for a nonlinear, large deflection aeroelastic model. Two boundary conditions of the beam are explored: cantilevered and free-free. For a plate, the cantilevered boundary condition is considered. In these conditions, the nonlinearity stems from the structure's large curvature rather than from stretching. Therefore, this model makes use of the simplifying assumption that the the structure has no strain along the midplane; thus the model is ``inextensible." Insight into the nonlinearity of this system is gained by applying harmonic loads to the structure, and stability conditions are also investigated by applying nonconservative follower loads.

Upon validating the structural model, the model is then coupled with aerodynamic models to form new, nonlinear aeroelastic models. Using classical aeroelasticity tools such as Piston Theory to model aerodynamic forces on the largely deflected cantilever, new insights are gained into the stability behavior of the system, the post-flutter behavior of the system, and the utility of these classic techniques with these novel configurations. With the large deflection cases, several novel nonlinearities are introduced, and it is shown that the systems are highly sensitive to the inclusion of these nonlinearities. Of course these classical aerodynamic theories are derived assuming small deflections, so attention is given to ensure that the Classical Piston Thoery is applicable in the current configurations. Also a new aerodynamic theory is proposed for pressures on structures undergoing large deflections. In total, this document proposes and explores new methodologies for modeling aeroelastic structures which tend to undergo large elastic deformations.

The aeroelastic stability of beams and plates in three-dimensional flows is explored as the elastic and aerodynamic parameters are varied. First principal energy methods are used to derive the structural equations of motion. The structural models are coupled with a three-dimensional linear vortex lattice model of the aerodynamics. An aeroelastic model with the beam structural model is used to explore the transition between different fixed boundary conditions and the effect of varying two non-dimensional parameters, the mass ratio $\mu$ and aspect ratio $H^*$, for a beam with a fixed edge normal to the flow. The trends matched previously published theoretical and experimental data, validating the current aeroelastic model. The transition in flutter velocity between the clamped free and pinned free configuration is a non-monotomic transition, with the lowest flutter velocity coming with a finite size spring stiffness. Next a plate-membrane model is used to explore the instability dynamics for different combinations of boundary conditions. For the specific configuration of the trailing edge free and all other edges clamped, the sensitivity to the physical parameters shows that decreasing the streamwise length and increasing the tension in the direction normal to the flow can increase the onset instability velocity. Finally the transition in aeroelastic instabilities for non-axially aligned flows is explored for the cantilevered beam and three sides clamped plate. The cantilevered beam configuration transitions from an entirely bending motion when the clamped edge is normal to the flow to a typical bending/torsional wing flutter when the clamped edge is aligned with the flow. As the flow is rotated the transition to the wing flutter occurs when the flow angle is only 10 deg from the perfectly normal configuration. With three edges clamped, the motion goes from a divergence instability when the free edge is aligned with the flow to a flutter instability when the free edge is normal to the flow. The transition occurs at an intermediate angle. Experiments are carried out to validate the beam and plate elastic models. The beam aeroelastic results are also confirmed experimentally. Experimental values consistently match well with the theoretical predictions for both the aeroelastic and structural models.

Non-synchronous vibration (NSV) in turbomachinery is a complex phenomenon of interest that has been studied but not yet fully understood. The interaction between fluid dynamic instabilities and natural vibration of the blades are the main reason NSV occurs. When the natural instability frequency/shedding frequency is close to the natural frequency of the body, the system is locked in, namely the shedding frequency “locks in” to the natural frequency of the body, catastrophic turbine or wing failure can potentially occur. The research done in this thesis report consists of both experimental studies performed on a symmetric NACA0012 airfoil in Duke University Subsonic Wind Tunnel and computational studies using Computational Fluid Dynamics software ANSYS Fluent, under various flow and airfoil motion conditions. Utilizing data acquisition system and LabVIEW control software, pressure data along the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil were collected in time domain and transformed into frequency domain data with Fast Fourier Transform and analyzed in MATLAB. To understand the underlying flow physics and relationships between unsteady pressure contributed by shedding and natural vibration, the region where the two frequencies are locked in is more accurately identified. A preliminary model to predict the unsteady pressure distribution under lock-in condition from unlocked pressure data is defined. The solitary experiments and computational simulations done on NACA0012 airfoil, and the results found in this thesis provide a better understanding of lock-in condition and its relationship to flow conditions and serve as footstone for future studies on other geometries of interest under various flow conditions. The goal of steady/unsteady pressure analysis as part of the research is to visualize the pressure distribution on the surface of the airfoil in both locked-in and unlocked conditions. From the pressure distribution, the lock-in phenomenon can be better understood, as of when and why it occurs, and ultimately, how to avoid it in real-world operations.

A series of aeroelastic analyses is performed for a flexible high-aspect-ratio wing representative of a high altitude long endurance (HALE) aircraft. Such aircraft are susceptible to dynamic instabilities such as flutter, which can lead to large amplitude limit cycle oscillations. These structural motions are modeled by a representative linear typical section model and by Hodges-Dowell beam theory, which includes leading-order nonlinear elastic coupling. Aerodynamic forces are represented by the ONERA dynamic stall model with its coefficients calibrated to CFD data versus wind tunnel test data. Time marching computations of the coupled nonlinear beam and ONERA system highlight a number of features relevant to the aeroelastic response of HALE aircraft, including the influence of a tip store, the sensitivity of the flutter boundary and limit cycle oscillations to aerodynamic CFD or test data, and the roles of structural nonlinearity and nonlinear aerodynamic stall in the dynamic stability of high-aspect-ratio wings.

The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is a classic method to construct empirical, linear modal bases which are optimal in a mean L2 sense. A subset of these modes can form the basis of a dynamical reduced-order model (ROM) of a physical system, including nonlinear, chaotic systems like fluid flows. While these POD-based ROMs can accurately simulate complex fluid dynamics, a priori model accuracy and stability estimates are unreliable. The work presented in this dissertation focuses on improving the predictability and accuracy of POD-based fluid ROMs. This is accomplished by ensuring several kinematically significant flow characteristics -- both at large scales and small -- are satisfied within the truncated bases. Several new methods of constructing and employing modal bases within this context are developed and tested. Reduced-order models of periodic flows are shown to be predictably accurate with high confidence; the predictable accuracy of quasi-periodic and chaotic fluid flow ROMs is increased significantly relative to existing approaches.

Asymptotic Modal Analysis (AMA) is a computationally efficient and accurate method for studying the response of dynamical systems experiencing banded, random harmonic excitation at high frequencies when the number of responding modes is large. In this work, AMA has been extended to systems of coupled continuous components as well as nonlinear systems. Several prototypical cases are considered to advance the technique from the current state-of-the-art. The nonlinear problem is considered in two steps. First, a method for solving problems involving nonlinear continuous multi-mode components, called Iterative Modal Analysis (IMA), is outlined. Secondly, the behavior of a plate carrying a nonlinear spring-mass system is studied, showing how nonlinear effects on system natural frequencies may be accounted for in AMA. The final chapters of this work consider the coupling of continuous systems. For example, two parallel plates coupled at a point are studied. The principal novel element of the two-plate investigation reduces transfer function sums of the coupled system to an analytic form in the AMA approximation. Secondly, a stack of three parallel plates where adjacent plates are coupled at a point are examined. The three-plate investigation refines the reduction of transfer function sums, studies spatial intensification in greater detail, and offers insight into the diminishing response amplitudes in networks of continuous components excited at one location. These chapters open the door for future work in networks of vibrating components responding to banded, high-frequency, random harmonic excitation in the linear and nonlinear regimes.

This dissertation explores the stability of beams, plates and membranes due to subsonic aerodynamic flows or solar radiation forces. Beams, plates and membranes are simple structures that may act as building blocks for more complex systems. In this dissertation we explore the stability of these simple structures so that one can predict instabilities in more complex structures. The theoretical models include both linear and nonlinear energy based models for the structural dynamics of the featureless rectangular structures. The structural models are coupled to a vortex lattice model for subsonic fluid flows or an optical reflection model for solar radiation forces. Combinations of these theoretical models are used to analyze the dynamics and stability of aeroelastic and solarelastic systems. The dissertation contains aeroelastic analysis of a cantilevered beam and a plate / membrane system with multiple boundary conditions. The dissertation includes analysis of the transition from flag-like to wing-like flutter for a cantilevered beam and experiments to quantify the post flutter fluid and structure response of the flapping flag. For the plate / membrane analysis, we show that the boundary conditions in the flow direction determine the type of instability for the system while the complete set of boundary conditions is required to accurately predict the flutter velocity and frequency. The dissertation also contains analysis of solarelastic stability of membranes for solar sail applications. For a fully restrained membrane we show that a flutter instability is possible, however the post flutter response amplitude is small. The dissertation also includes analysis of a membrane hanging in gravity. This systems is an analog to a spinning solar sail and is used to validate the structural dynamics of thin membranes on earth. A linear beam structural model is able to accurately capture the natural frequencies and mode shapes. Finally, the dissertation explores the stability of a spinning membrane. The analysis shows that a nonlinear model is needed to produce a conservative estimate of the stability boundary.

Theoretical and experimental studies are conducted in the field of aeroelasticity. Specifically, two rectangular and one cropped delta wings with a hole are analyzed in this dissertation for their aeroelastic behavior.

The plate-like wings are modeled using the finite element method for the structural theory. Each wing is assumed to behave as a linearly elastic and isotropic, thin plate. These assumptions are those of small-deflection theory of bending which states that the plane sections initially normal to the midsurface remain plane and normal to that surface after bending. The wings are modeled in low speed flows according to potential flow theory. The potential flow is governed by the aerodynamic potential equation, a linear partial differential equation. The aerodynamic potential equation is solved using a distribution of doublets that relates pressure to downwash in the doublet lattice method. A hole in a wing-like structure is independently investigated theoretically and experimentally for its structural and aerodynamic behavior.

The aeroelastic model couples the structural and aerodynamic models using Lagrange's equations. The flutter boundary is predicted using the V-g method. Linear theoretical models are capable of predicting the critical flutter velocity and frequency as verified by wind tunnel tests. Along with flutter prediction, a brief survey on gust response and the addition of stores(missile or fuel tanks) are examined.

Computational simulations of a two-dimensional incompressible regularized lid-driven cavity were performed and analyzed to identify the dynamic behavior of the flow through multiple bifurcations which ultimately result in chaotic flow. Pseudo-spectral numerical simulations were performed at Reynolds numbers from 1,000 to 25,000. Traditional as well as novel methods were implemented to characterize the system's behavior. The first critical Reynolds number, near 10,250, is found in agreement with existing literature. An additional bifurcation is observed near a Reynolds number of 15,500. The largest Lyapunov exponent was studied as a potential perspective on chaos characterization but its accurate computation was found to be prohibitive. Phase space and power spectrum analyses yielded comparable conclusions about the flow's progression to chaos. The flow's transition from quasi-periodicity to chaos between Reynolds numbers of 18,000 and 23,000 was observed to be gradual and of the form of a toroidal bifurcation. The concepts of frequency shredding and power capacity are introduced which, paired with an existing understanding of frequency entrainment, can help explain the system's progression through quasi-periodicity to chaos.