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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12

Apparatus for and Method of Monitoring Condensed Water in Steam Pipes at High Temperature

A system and method for monitoring the properties of a fluid, such as water, in a steam pipe without mechanically penetrating the wall of the pipe. The system uses a piezoelectric transducer to launch an ultrasonic probe signal into the pipe. Reflected ultrasonic signals are captured in a transducer, which can be the same transducer that launched the probe signal. The reflected signals are subjected to data processing, which can include filtering, amplification, analog-to-digital conversion and autocorrelation analysis. A result is extracted which is indicative of a property of the fluid, such as a height of the condensed fluid, a cavitation of the condensed fluid, and a surface perturbation of the condensed fluid. The result can be recorded, displayed, and/or transmitted to another location. One embodiment of the system has been constructed and tested based on a general purpose programmable computer using instructions recorded in machine-readable non-volatile memory.

Lih, Shyh-Shiuh↗

High Temperature Ultrasonic Probe and Pulse-Echo Probe Mounting Fixture for Testing and Blind Alignment on Steam Pipes

A high temperature ultrasonic probe and a mounting fixture for attaching and aligning the probe to a steam pipe using blind alignment. The high temperature ultrasonic probe includes a piezoelectric transducer having a high temperature. The probe provides both transmitting and receiving functionality. The mounting fixture allows the high temperature ultrasonic probe to be accurately aligned to the bottom external surface of the steam pipe so that the presence of liquid water in the steam pipe can be monitored. The mounting fixture with a mounted high temperature ultrasonic probe are used to conduct health monitoring of steam pipes and to track the height of condensed water through the wall in real-time.

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph↗

Actuators Using Piezoelectric Stacks and Displacement Enhancers

Actuators are used to drive all active mechanisms including machines, robots, and manipulators to name a few. The actuators are responsible for moving, manipulating, displacing, pushing and executing any action that is needed by the mechanism. There are many types and principles of actuation that are responsible for these movements ranging from electromagnetic, electroactive, thermo-mechanic, piezoelectric, electrostrictive etc. Actuators are readily available from commercial producers but there is a great need for reducing their size, increasing their efficiency and reducing their weight. Studies at JPL’s Non Destructive Evaluation and Advanced Actuators (NDEAA) Laboratory have been focused on the use of piezoelectric stacks and novel designs taking advantage of piezoelectric’s potential to provide high torque/force density actuation and high electromechanical conversion efficiency. The actuators/motors that have been developed and reviewed in this paper are operated by various horn configurations as well as the use of pre-stress flexures that make them thermally stable and increases their coupling efficiency. The use of monolithic designs that pre-stress the piezoelectric stack eliminates the use of compression stress bolt. These designs enable the embedding of developed solid-state motors/actuators in any structure with the only macroscopically moving parts are the rotor or the linear translator. Finite element modeling and design tools were used to determine the requirements and operation parameters and the results were used to simulate, design and fabricate novel actuators/motors. The developed actuators and performance will be described and discussed in this paper.

rotary devices↗

Signal Processing for Determining Water Height in Steam Pipes with Dynamic Surface Conditions

An enhanced signal processing method based on the filtered Hilbert envelope of the auto-correlation function of the wave signal has been developed to monitor the height of condensed water through the steel wall of steam pipes with dynamic surface conditions. The developed signal processing algorithm can also be used to estimate the thickness of the pipe to determine the cut-off frequency for the low pass filter frequency of the Hilbert Envelope. Testing and analysis results by using the developed technique for dynamic surface conditions are presented. A multiple array of transducers setup and methodology are proposed for both the pulse-echo and pitch-catch signals to monitor the fluctuation of the water height due to disturbance, water flow, and other anomaly conditions.

health monitoring↗

In-Situ Measurement of the Height of Condensed Water in Steam Pipes with Dynamic Flow

A method based on the use of enhanced filtered Hilbert envelope of the wave signal was developed in order to monitor the height of condensed water through the wall of steam pipes having dynamic flow conditions. A prototype testbed was designed and fabricated in this study to simulate the dynamic flow conditions including the air stream flowing above the water and bubble induced disturbance. A dual-transducer was used to perform the test as a basis for the multiple transducers system to facilitate the detectability and reliability for long term monitoring of the condensed water height in dynamic conditions. The results demonstrated that the method of measuring the water height using multiple-transducer system employing the developed novel signal processing technique is an efficient and accurate tool for practical applications.

water level in pipe↗

Development and Testing of a Multi-Transducer System for Measuring Height of Condensed Water in Steam Pipes with Steady-State and Turbulent Flow Conditions

One of the critical requirements for ensuring the safety of a steam pipe is to monitor the condensed water level under operation. For this objective, the authors initially developed methods and obtained preliminary test results based on the use of ultrasonic pulse-echo transducers and enhanced signal-processing tool; however, the methodology needed further development in order to obtain measurements in turbulent dynamic flow conditions. To improve the reliability of measurements taken in turbulent flow conditions, an experimental system was developed using multiple transducers driven by a multiplexer, and a data acquisition module capable of operating in any flow conditions. The system consists of a simulation testbed, which allows testing the performance over a range of flow rates and water levels and to observe flow conditions and patterns, as well as measure actual water level, flow velocities, wave conditions, etc. In this paper, we present the development details that include description of the testbed for simulating the flow of condensed water, the multiple transducers arrangement, the signal processing method, and the test results of both steady state and turbulent flow.

Lih, Shyh-Shiuh↗

Nondestructive Characterization of the Elastic Constants of Fiber Reinforced Composites

Composite structural components may be subjected to a variety of defects resulting in a sharp reduction in their load carrying capacity or even catastrophic failure...A nondestructive method based on ultrasonics has recently been developed for the quantitative evaluation of composite structural components during service...In this paper the method is applied to determine the stiffness constants of unidirectional graphite/epoxy materials.

composites↗

Development of nanolaminate thin shell mirrors

This paper will discuss the development of thin-shell, nano-laminate mirror substrates that are capable of being electro-actively figured. This technology has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of space based optics by allowing replication of ultra-lightweight primary mirrors from a master precision tool.

nanolaminate↗

Characterization of the electromechanical properties of ionomeric polymer-metal composite (IPMC)

IPMC is an electroactive polymer (EAP) that has been the subject of research and development since 1992. Its required low activation voltage and the large bending strain led to its consideration for various potential applications. However, before the benefits of IPMC can be effectively exploited for practical use, the electromechanical behavior of this group of EAP materials must be properly understood and quantified.

EAP↗

Rotary Ultrasonic Motors Actuated by Traveling Flexural Waves

Ultrasonic rotary motors are being developed as acutators for miniature spacecraft insturments and subsystems. The technology that has emerged in commercial products requires rigorous analytical tools for effective design of such motors. An analytical model was developed to examine the excitation of flexural plate wave traveling in rotary piezoelectrically actuated motor.

Piezoelectric↗