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At least 199 records · Page 11

X-ray fluorescence analysis for prediction of Space Shuttle solid rocket motor performance

Analysis of uncured solid propellant by X-ray fluorescence has been conducted on mixes prepared for four development motors produced for the Space Shuttle SRM Project. X-ray readings for chlorine (ammonium perchlorate) and iron (ferric oxide) were recorded for each mix during processing of the propellant. These values were used to predict burning rates for uncured acceptance, uncured acoustic emission and cured acoustic emission strands. Predicted burning rates all fell within control limits and when compared to actual burning rates, most were within experimental error. The X-ray analysis required one-third the time of current methods and met casting schedules.

Pulsipher, H. G.↗

Method and apparatus for using magneto-acoustic remanence to determine embrittlement

A method and apparatus for testing steel components for temperature embrittlement uses magneto-acoustic emission to nondestructively evaluate the component are presented. Acoustic emission signals occur more frequently at higher levels in embrittled components. A pair of electromagnets are used to create magnetic induction in the test component. Magneto-acoustic emission signals may be generated by applying an AC current to the electromagnets. The acoustic emission signals are analyzed to provide a comparison between a component known to be unembrittled and a test component. Magnetic remanence is determined by applying a DC current to the electromagnets and then by turning the magnets off and observing the residual magnetic induction.

Allison, Sidney G.↗

Large Area Nondestructive Evaluation of a Fatigue Loaded Composite Structure

Large area nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspections are required for fatigue testing of composite structures to track damage initiation and growth. Of particular interest is the progression of damage leading to ultimate failure to validate damage progression models. In this work, passive thermography and acoustic emission NDE were used to track damage growth up to failure of a composite three-stringer panel. Fourteen acoustic emission sensors were placed on the composite panel. The signals from the array were acquired simultaneously and allowed for acoustic emission location. In addition, real time thermal data of the composite structure were acquired during loading. Details are presented on the mapping of the acoustic emission locations directly onto the thermal imagery to confirm areas of damage growth leading to ultimate failure. This required synchronizing the acoustic emission and thermal data with the applied loading. In addition, processing of the thermal imagery which included contrast enhancement, removal of optical barrel distortion and correction of angular rotation before mapping the acoustic event locations are discussed.

Joseph N Zalameda↗

Acoustic Energy Release During the Laboratory Seismic Cycle: Insights on Laboratory Earthquake Precursors and Prediction

Abstract Machine learning can predict the timing and magnitude of laboratory earthquakes using statistics of acoustic emissions. The evolution of acoustic energy is critical for lab earthquake prediction; however, the connections between acoustic energy and fault zone processes leading to failure are poorly understood. Here, we document in detail the temporal evolution of acoustic energy during the laboratory seismic cycle. We report on friction experiments for a range of shearing velocities, normal stresses, and granular particle sizes. Acoustic emission data are recorded continuously throughout shear using broadband piezo‐ceramic sensors. The coseismic acoustic energy release scales directly with stress drop and is consistent with concepts of frictional contact mechanics and time‐dependent fault healing. Experiments conducted with larger grains (10.5 μm) show that the temporal evolution of acoustic energy scales directly with fault slip rate. In particular, the acoustic energy is low when the fault is locked and increases to a maximum during coseismic failure. Data from traditional slide‐hold‐slide friction tests confirm that acoustic energy release is closely linked to fault slip rate. Furthermore, variations in the true contact area of fault zone particles play a key role in the generation of acoustic energy. Our data show that acoustic radiation is related primarily to breaking/sliding of frictional contact junctions, which suggests that machine learning‐based laboratory earthquake prediction derives from frictional weakening processes that begin very early in the seismic cycle and well before macroscopic failure.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Mean stress and the exhaustion of fatigue-damage resistance

Mean-stress effects on fatigue life are critical in isothermal and thermomechanically loaded materials and composites. Unfortunately, existing mean-stress life-prediction methods do not incorporate physical fatigue damage mechanisms. An objective is to examine the relation between mean-stress induced damage (as measured by acoustic emission) and existing life-prediction methods. Acoustic emission instrumentation has indicated that, as with static yielding, fatigue damage results from dislocation buildup and motion until dislocation saturation is reached, after which void formation and coalescence predominate. Correlation of damage processes with similar mechanisms under monotonic loading led to a reinterpretation of Goodman diagrams for 40 alloys and a modification of Morrow's formulation for life prediction under mean stresses. Further testing, using acoustic emission to monitor dislocation dynamics, can generate data for developing a more general model for fatigue under mean stress.

Berkovits, Avraham↗

Searching for the Second Harmonic

To mathematically model the oscillations of a spherical bubble, either the time-dependent volume V(t) or the radius R(t) can be used as the dependent variable. A recent exchange between the advocates of the volume approach and the radius approach concerns in apparent discrepancy in the predicted nonlinear acoustic emissions from a bubble subject to a time-periodic external pressure field. This letter attempts to resolve the discrepancy via an examination of the arguments offered by both sides. In addition, some general comments on nonlinear harmonic and subharmonic emissions from acoustically forced bubble oscillations are presented.

Holt, R. Glynn↗

Directional Cooling-Induced Fracturing: Directional Cooling Data Under True-Triaxial Stress State

Data includes Directional Cooling-Induced Fracturing (DCIF) testing data using westerly granite blocks. This submission includes data from two samples of westerly granite, lab sample 7 and 8. Files contain stress, temperature and acoustic emission data acquired during polyaxial, laboratory testing of westerly granite blocks for each sample. FILES: .tradb -- files containing acoustic emission waveforms; sqlite3 database .pridb -- files containing basic acoustic emission information (no waveforms); sqlite3 database .geom -- geometry of the AE sensor network (ASCII)

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Acousto-ultrasonic characterization of fiber reinforced composites

The acousto-ultrasonic technique combines advantageous aspects of acoustic emission and ultrasonic methodologies. Acousto-ultrasonics operates by introducing a repeating series of ultrasonic pulses into a material. The waves introduced simulate the spontaneous stress waves that would arise if the material were put under stress as in the case of acoustic emission measurements. These benign stress waves are detected by an acoustic emission sensor. The physical arrangement of the ultrasonic (input) transducer and acoustic emission (output) sensor is such that the resultant waveform carries an imprint of morphological factors that govern or contribute to material performance. The output waveform is complex, but it can be quantitized in terms of a 'stress wave factor.' The stress wave factor, which can be defined in a number of ways, is a relative measure of the efficiency of energy dissipation in a material. If flaws or other material anomalies exist in the volume being examined, their combined effect appears in the stress wave factor.

Vary, A.↗

Acousto-ultrasonic characterization of fiber reinforced composites

The acousto-ultrasonic technique combines advantageous aspects of acoustic emission and ultrasonic methodologies. Acousto-ultrasonics operates by introducing a repeating series of ultrasonic pulses into a material. The waves introduced simulate the spontaneous stress waves that would arise if the material were put under stress as in the case of acoustic emission measurements. These benign stress waves are detected by an acoustic emission sensor. The physical arrangement of the ultrasonic (input) transducer and acoustic emission (output) sensor is such that the resultant waveform carries an imprint of morphological factors that govern or contribute to material performance. The output waveform is quite complex, but it can be quantitized in terms of a 'stress wave factor'. The stress wave factor, which can be defined in a number of ways, is essentially a relative measure of the efficiency of energy dissipation in a material. If flaws or other material anomalies exist in the volume being examined, their combined effect will appear in the stress wave factor.

Vary, A.↗

Acousto-ultrasonic characterization of fiber reinforced composites

The advantageous aspects of acoustic emission and ultrasonic methodologies are combined in a technique which operates by introducing a repeating series of ultrasonic pulses into a material. The waves introduced simulate the spontaneous stress waves that would arise if the material were put under stress as in the case of acoustic emission measurements. These benign stress waves are detected by an acoustic emission sensor. The physical arrangement of the ultrasonic (input) transducer and acoustic emission (output) sensor is such that the resultant waveform carries an imprint of morphological factors that govern or contribute to material performance. The output waveform is quite complex, but it can be quantitized in terms of a "stress wave factor". The stress wave factor, which can be defined in a number of ways, is essentially a relative measure of the efficiency of energy dissipation in a material. If flaws or other material anomalies exist in the volume being examined, their combined effect will appear in the stress wave factor.

Vary, A.↗

IC Project: w19_hossfault “Modelling of stick-slip behavior in sheared granular fault gouge & nonlinear elasticity behavior in cracked solid”

Low frequency earthquakes, non-volcanic tremor, and acoustic emissions are examples of weak seismic signals that may help detect major seismic events, i.e., earthquakes. In a laboratory setting, in which stick-slip events are simulated, acoustic emissions are detected far from the stick-slip events. In both, field and laboratory scale cases, the acoustic emission signals are sourced or detected in a volume remote from the volume that spawns the earthquake. Therefore, it is relevant to establish the causal relationship between signals detected on passive, remote monitors and the dynamics of the elastic structures that launch important seismic events. The work conducted under this IC allocation allowed us to utilize a numerical model that let us follow this causality, i.e., examine and connect the dynamics in a granular system (fault gouge), to signals detected on passive remote monitors. It was demonstrated that stress chains are key in the dynamics of granular systems and that their evolution is the source of the acoustic emission.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

NASA Glenn's Acoustical Testing Laboratory Awarded Accreditation by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program

NASA Glenn Research Center's Acoustical Testing Laboratory (ATL) provides a comprehensive array of acoustical testing services, including sound pressure level, sound intensity level, and sound-power-level testing per International Standards Organization (ISO)1 3744. Since its establishment in September 2000, the ATL has provided acoustic emission testing and noise control services for a variety of customers, particularly microgravity space flight hardware that must meet International Space Station acoustic emission requirements. The ATL consists of a 23- by 27- by 20-ft (height) convertible hemi/anechoic test chamber and a separate sound-attenuating test support enclosure. The ATL employs a personal-computer-based data acquisition system that provides up to 26 channels of simultaneous data acquisition with real-time analysis (ref. 4). Specialized diagnostic tools, including a scanning sound-intensity system, allow the ATL's technical staff to support its clients' aggressive low-noise design efforts to meet the space station's acoustic emission requirement. From its inception, the ATL has pursued the goal of developing a comprehensive ISO 17025-compliant quality program that would incorporate Glenn's existing ISO 9000 quality system policies as well as ATL-specific technical policies and procedures. In March 2003, the ATL quality program was awarded accreditation by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) for sound-power-level testing in accordance with ISO 3744. The NVLAP program is administered by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce and provides third-party accreditation for testing and calibration laboratories. There are currently 24 NVLAP-accredited acoustical testing laboratories in the United States. NVLAP accreditation covering one or more specific testing procedures conducted in accordance with established test standards is awarded upon successful completion of an intensive onsite assessment that includes proficiency testing and documentation review. The ATL NVLAP accreditation currently applies specifically to its ISO 3744 soundpower- level determination procedure (see the photograph) and supporting ISO 17025 quality system, although all ATL operations are conducted in accordance with its quality system. The ATL staff is currently developing additional procedures to adapt this quality system to the testing of space flight hardware in accordance with International Space Station acoustic emission requirements.<

Akers, James C.↗

Impact of ultrafast laser pulse repetition rate on filament acoustic and emission signatures

Femtosecond filaments formed at standoff distances can be used for interrogating various types of matter, making them of potential interest for remote sensing. However, the physical aspects of the filaments generated at standoff distances are influenced by various environmental and laser properties, including the repetition rate of the laser. In this study, we evaluate the role of the predecessor pulse on the properties of filaments by varying the repetition rate of the laser in the range of 10–1000 Hz and using acoustic and emission signatures to diagnose filament properties. Our results show that filaments are brighter at high repetition rates while they are elongated at low repetition rates. The repetition rate has minimal influence on the downstream edge of the filament generation, while the upstream edge becomes elongated. The shadowgram images showed that the turbulence generated by the predecessor pulse may influence the next pulse when the laser is operating at high repetition rates.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Acoustic Insights into Flow Condensation Mechanisms

Two-phase thermal management systems, with both boiling and condensation processes, offer great potential and heat transfer coefficients that are orders of magnitude higher than traditional single-phase systems. However, two-phase flows can suffer from a wide range of interfacial instabilities leading to significant thermal performance degradation. In this study, we aim to detect regime transitions and characterize dominating physical mechanisms of flow condensation, such as turbulent diffusion in annular liquid film and interfacial waves, using an integrated system of acoustic, modal, and optical sensing techniques and thermofluidic characterizations. A wideband acoustic emissions sensor and high-sensitivity accelerometer are utilized to capture acoustic and vibrational signatures that signal the onset of liquid film formation and interfacial waves during flow pattern transitions. Compared to optical imaging, wideband acoustic emission sensing allows for higher sampling rates to capture high-frequency interface oscillations critical to the flow regime transitions and works well even for condensation in opaque tubes. Acoustic features (e.g., amplitude, frequency, energy, duration) are correlated with thermofluidic processes (e.g., capillary flows, turbulent flows, boiling, condensation). By relating thermal performance metrics with these dynamic signatures in acoustic and modal regimes, we explore the ability to probe and monitor critical flow regime transitions and transport efficiency in flow condensation.

Acoustic Modal Regimes↗

The scratch test - Different critical load determination techniques

Different critical load determination techniques such as microscopy, acoustic emission, normal, tangential, and lateral forces used for scratch test evaluation of complex or multilayer coatings are investigated. The applicability of the scratch test to newly developed coating techniques, systems, and applications is discussed. Among the methods based on the use of a physical measurement, acoustic emission detection is the most effective. The dynamics ratio between the signals below and above the critical load for the acoustic emission (much greater than 100) is well above that obtained with the normal, tangential, and lateral forces. The present commercial instruments are limited in load application performance. A scratch tester able to apply accurate loads as low as 0.01 N would probably overcome most of the actual limitations and would be expected to extend the scratch testing technique to different application fields such as optics and microelectronics.

Sekler, J.↗

Underwater Noise Measurements around a Tidal Turbine in a Busy Port Setting

Acoustic emissions from current energy converters remain an environmental concern for regulators because of their potential effects on marine life and uncertainties about their effects stemming from a lack of sufficient observational data. Several recent opportunities to characterize tidal turbine sound emissions have begun to fill knowledge gaps and provide a context for future device deployments. In July 2021, a commercial-off-the-shelf hydrophone was deployed in a free-drifting configuration to measure underwater acoustic emissions and characterize a 25 kW-rated tidal turbine at the University of New Hampshire’s Living Bridge Project in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Sampling methods and analysis were performed in alignment with the recently published IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification for acoustic characterization of marine energy converters. Results from this study indicate acoustic emissions from the turbine were below ambient sound levels and therefore did not have a significant impact on the underwater noise levels of the project site. As a component of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Triton Field Trials (TFiT) described in this Special Issue, this effort provides a valuable use case for the IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification framework and further recommendations for cost-effective technologies and methods for measuring underwater noise at future current energy converter project sites.

tidal turbine↗

Utah FORGE: Slide-Hold-Slide Experiments on Gneiss at Increased Temperature

Included are data from triaxial, single-inclined-fracture friction experiments. The experiments were performed with slide-hold-slide protocol on Utah FORGE gneiss at increased temperature. With a ~10 MPa normal stress, temperatures vary between experiments from room temperature up to 163 Celsius. Hold times vary during experiment from ~10^1 to ~10^5 seconds. Measured are the frictional response upon reactivation after a hold period, active acoustic data (P-wave velocity and amplitude) and passive acoustic data (acoustic emission occurrence and amplitude). There are two types of datafiles: (1) Datafiles containing the friction data, including the temperature and the active acoustic data measured during the experiment (AEXX_Gneiss_Vp_mixref4). The underscore _Vp means that it includes the Vp or P-wave velocity data, with _mixref meaning that we use a mixed reference point for calculating the P-wave velocity. And (2) the datafiles containing the passive acoustics data, a catalog of the acoustic emissions (AE's) measured during the experiment (AEcatalog_AEXX_runX), where AEXX matches the experiment number and runX denotes which part of the experiment the data was collected, matching the times where active acoustic data was collected. AE catalogs are split in two parts when the file size exceeds 1 GB to aid download/opening times.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DCIF Westerly Granite AE Stress Effect Test (Task 3-1)

Directional Cooling-Induced Fracturing (DCIF) experiments were conducted on rectangular Westerly granite blocks (width=depth=4.0", height=2.0"). Liquid nitrogen was poured in a small, 1"-diameter copper cup attached to the top of the sample, and the resulting acoustic emissions (AEs) and temperature changes on the surface of the sample were monitored. Several confining stresses were applied bi-axially to the sides of the samples so that the onset of AE activity and the stress applied to the sample were correlated. The obtained AEs were used to determine the microcracking source locations and amplitude, and the associated moment tensors. Included in this submission are the animations of the AE locations and graphics displaying the measured temperature-AE activity changes for different stresses.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗