Engineering topics

Holleman, Elizabeth

Publications and source records attributed to Holleman, Elizabeth.

4 records

NASA NTRS2008

Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis Liquid Oxygen Prevalve Detent Roller Cracking Investigation

During routine inspections of the Space Shuttle's Main Propulsion System (MPS) Liquid Oxygen (LO2) pre-valve, the mechanism provided to maintain the valve in the open position was found cracked. The mechanism is a Vespel roller held against the valve visor by a stack of Belleville springs. The roller has been found cracked 3 times. All three instances were in the same valve in the same location. There are 6 pre-valves on each orbiter, and only one has exhibited this problem. Every-flight inspections were instituted and the rollers were found to be cracked after only one flight. Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center worked together to determine a solution. There were several possible contributors to the failure: a mis-aligned visor, an out of specification edge with a sharp radius, an out of specification tolerance stack up of a Belleville spring stack that caused un-predicted loads on the Vespel SP-21 roller, and a dimple machined into the side of the roller to indicate LO2 compatibility that created a stress riser. The detent assembly was removed and replaced with parts that were on the low-side of the tolerance stack up to eliminate the potential for high loads on the detent roller. After one flight, the roller was inspected and showed fewer signs of wear and no cracks.

Holleman, Elizabeth↗

NASA NTRS2008

Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis Liquid Oxygen Pre-Valve Detent Roller Cracking Investigation

During routine inspections of the Space Shuttle s Main Propulsion System Liquid Oxygen (LO2) pre-valve, the mechanism provided to maintain the valve in the open position was found cracked. The mechanism is a Vespel roller held against the valve visor by a stack of Belleville springs. The roller has been found cracked 3 times. All three instances were in the same valve in the same location. There are 6 pre-valves on each orbiter, and only one has exhibited this problem. Every-flight inspections were instituted and the rollers were found to be cracked after only one flight. Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and Kennedy Space Center worked together to determine a solution. There were several possible contributors to the failure: a misaligned visor, an out-of-specification edge with a sharp radius, an out-of-specification tolerance stack up of a Belleville spring stack that caused un-predicted loads on the Vespel SP-21 roller, and a dimple machined into the side of the roller to indicate LO2 compatibility that created a stress riser. The detent assembly was removed and replaced with parts that were on the low side of the tolerance stack up to eliminate the potential for high loads on the detent roller. After one flight, the roller was inspected and showed fewer signs of wear and no cracks.

Holleman, Elizabeth↗

NASA NTRS2008

Large Scale Magnetostrictive Valve Actuator

Marshall Space Flight Center's Valves, Actuators and Ducts Design and Development Branch developed a large scale magnetostrictive valve actuator. The potential advantages of this technology are faster, more efficient valve actuators that consume less power and provide precise position control and deliver higher flow rates than conventional solenoid valves. Magnetostrictive materials change dimensions when a magnetic field is applied; this property is referred to as magnetostriction. Magnetostriction is caused by the alignment of the magnetic domains in the material s crystalline structure and the applied magnetic field lines. Typically, the material changes shape by elongating in the axial direction and constricting in the radial direction, resulting in no net change in volume. All hardware and testing is complete. This paper will discuss: the potential applications of the technology; overview of the as built actuator design; discuss problems that were uncovered during the development testing; review test data and evaluate weaknesses of the design; and discuss areas for improvement for future work. This actuator holds promises of a low power, high load, proportionally controlled actuator for valves requiring 440 to 1500 newtons load.

Richard, James A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Infrared Camera Characterization of Bi-Propellant Reaction Control Engines during Auxiliary Propulsion Systems Tests at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico

This paper describes the application of a FUR Systems A40M infrared (IR) digital camera for thermal monitoring of a Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Ethanol bi-propellant Reaction Control Engine (RCE) during Auxiliary Propulsion System (APS) testing at the National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Typically, NASA has relied mostly on the use of ThermoCouples (TC) for this type of thermal monitoring due to the variability of constraints required to accurately map rapidly changing temperatures from ambient to glowing hot chamber material. Obtaining accurate real-time temperatures in the JR spectrum is made even more elusive by the changing emissivity of the chamber material as it begins to glow. The parameters evaluated prior to APS testing included: (1) remote operation of the A40M camera using fiber optic Firewire signal sender and receiver units; (2) operation of the camera inside a Pelco explosion proof enclosure with a germanium window; (3) remote analog signal display for real-time monitoring; (4) remote digital data acquisition of the A40M's sensor information using FUR's ThermaCAM Researcher Pro 2.8 software; and (5) overall reliability of the system. An initial characterization report was prepared after the A40M characterization tests at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to document controlled heat source comparisons to calibrated TCs. Summary IR digital data recorded from WSTF's APS testing is included within this document along with findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for further usage as a monitoring tool for the development of rocket engines.

Holleman, Elizabeth↗