Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “stiffness”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2021

The Chain-link Actuator: Exploiting the Bending Stiffness of McKibben Artificial Muscles to Achieve Larger Contraction Ratios

McKibben artificial muscles, comprised of an ex-pandable bladder wrapped in a double-helix-braided sheath,have the ability to generate forces without restricting motion tooccur exclusively along the direction of actuation. This makesthem attractive for a variety of applications including soft,wearable, and biomimetic robots. Despite their advantages, thetheoretical maximum contraction ratio of McKibben muscles isonly 36.3%, which restricts the range of motion of the systemsthey actuate. This work introduces a novel ‘chain-link actuator’that exploits the bending stiffness of McKibben muscles toachieve contraction ratios of more than 50%. A static modelthat captures the relationship between pressure, displacement,and force is presented and validated on several real chain-linkactuator systems.

Daniel Bruder↗
NASA NTRS2022

Flow Testing of Corrugated Metal Flexhoses to Evaluate Flow-Induced Vibration and Stiffness

Corrugated metal flexhoses are used to supply fluid routing where straight rigid pipes cannot meet the design requirements due to vibrations, thermal expansion, or motion. These types of hoses are found in a wide range of applications at KSC (Exploration Ground Systems Program in particular) with various fluid commodities such as fuel, oxidizers, coolant, and cryogenics. However, flexibility of design comes at a price: due to increased levels of turbulence generated by the hose geometry, the necessary supply pressure must increase to achieve the same flow rate. Furthermore, the convolutes of the flexhoses interact with the flow field to generate areas of flow separation which leads to a phenomenon known as vortex shedding. When the frequency of vortex shedding couples with the natural frequency of the hose, this can be detrimental and cause premature failure. There are a limited amount of software that can correctly model the coupled fluid structure interactions(FSI) between the solid and fluid physics. This project aims to develop a computer model that can predict Flow-Induced Vibration (FIV) on flexhoses in one of the atypical configurations found in the State-of-the-Art (SOTA) standard for hoses in an angulated state. Our research seeks to extend the literature and expand NASA’s FIV standard. The computational rigor and resources available in the Apollo Era did not allow for flow coupling between fluids and structure interfaces to evaluate FIV of the flexhose. Our team believes that modern techniques and methods of evaluation should be used to reevaluate and extend the database of FIV and stiffness properties of flexhoses to assess the risk of failure. The core performance criteria is a computer model that is able to predict the FIV frequency within 10%.

Jared F. Congiardo↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tailoring the Stiffness of Large Mirrors to Reduce Specific Optical Aberrations

Presented is a method that tailors the geometry of a mirror’s core structure as well as the mounting interface such that a desired set of aberrations is reduced. It will be shown that targeting specific aberrations as opposed to reducing overall surface figure error (SFE) is a valid method to reduce weight or improve performance. Analyzed first is the self-weight deflection of a thin circular plate of uniform thickness continuously supported along its outer edge. The Kirchhoff-Love plate bending equations are related to the radially symmetric Zernike polynomials of piston, defocus, and primary spherical aberration. Next, the mirror’s radial thickness is optimized to eliminate primary and secondary spherical aberrations when the outer edge is simply supported. As an example, the method is demonstrated using a 2-meter diameter aluminum mirror where surface deflections can have an appreciable effect at mid-to-near infrared wavelengths

mirror stiffness optimization↗
NASA NTRS1972

Evaluation of solution procedures for material and/or geometrically nonlinear structural analysis by the direct stiffness method.

This paper presents an assessment of the solution procedures available for the analysis of inelastic and/or large deflection structural behavior. A literature survey is given which summarized the contribution of other researchers in the analysis of structural problems exhibiting material nonlinearities and combined geometric-material nonlinearities. Attention is focused at evaluating the available computation and solution techniques. Each of the solution techniques is developed from a common equation of equilibrium in terms of pseudo forces. The solution procedures are applied to circular plates and shells of revolution in an attempt to compare and evaluate each with respect to computational accuracy, economy, and efficiency. Based on the numerical studies, observations and comments are made with regard to the accuracy and economy of each solution technique.

Stricklin, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Digital simulation of stiff linear dynamic systems.

A method is derived for digital computer simulation of linear time-invariant systems when the insignificant eigenvalues involved in such systems are eliminated by an ALSAP root removal technique. The method is applied to a thirteenth-order dynamic system representing a passive RLC network.

Holland, L. D.↗