SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Optical comparator method determines the quality and registration of surface features of double-sided printed circuit boards. Color-coded superimposed images of both sides of a printed circuit board are presented to view, clearly showing details and registration of the circuitry.
Captive bred rhesus monkeys show much less pathology than wild born animals. The monkeys may be bred in cages or in an outdoor compound. Cage bred animals are not psychologically normal which makes then unsuited for some types of space related research. Compound breeding provides contact between mother and infant and an opportunity for the infants to play with their peers which are important requirements to help maintain their behavioral integrity. Offspring harvested after a year in the compound appear behaviorally normal and show little histopathology. Compound breeding is also an economical method for the rapid production of young animals. The colony can double its size about every two and a half years.
A simple, inexpensive method for studying slow crack growth is described. The method entails measurements of load relaxation at constant displacement using a double torsion specimen. It is demonstrated that the data generated using this technique are in excellent agreement with data obtained using the more complex conventional techniques, for a range of materials - steel, titanium, glass, aluminum oxide, PMMA. These encouraging initial results suggest that additional and more detailed studies using this test procedure are merited.
The numerical method of obtaining three field components from total field measurements, using double Fourier series expansion, is presented. The expressions for moments of the anomalous field components over a finite area are given. The magnitude and direction of the magnetization vector indicate that the vertical component of the magnetic field calculated from total field observations is more accurate at higher geomagnetic latitudes than at lower latitudes. The opposite is true for the horizontal components. The error in determining the magnetization vector directions are significantly large over most of the range of variation of declination and inclination of the vector, demonstrating the practical limitations of computing field components from total field data even under the best of conditions.
The paper summarizes petrographic and electron microprobe data from 22 polished thin sections that represent the total length of double drive tube 60009/60010 and discusses a new application of the method of modal recombination to estimate bulk chemistry. The modal recombination approach can be used to reliably calculate the chemistry of the greater than 0.02-mm size fraction and, more significantly, to derive the total major element partitioning among the regolith components.
Crossflow instabilities dominate disturbance growth in the leading-edge region of swept wings. Streamwise vortices in a boundary layer strongly influence the behavior of other disturbances. Amplification of crossflow vortices near the leading edge produces a residual spanwise nonuniformity in the mid-chord regions where Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves are strongly amplified. Should the T-S wave undergo double-exponential growth because of this effect, the usual transition prediction methods would fail. The crossflow/Tollmien-Schlichting wave interaction was modeled as a secondary instability. The effects of suction are included, and different stability criteria are examined. The results are applied to laminar flow control wings characteristic of energy-efficient aircraft designs.
Crossflow instabilities dominate disturbance growth in the leading-edge region of swept wings. It is well known that streamwise vortices in a boundary layer strongly influence the behavior of other disturbances. Amplification of crossflow vortices near the leading edge produces a residual spanwise nonuniformity in the mid-chord regions where Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves are strongly amplified. Should the T-S wave undergo double-exponential growth because of this effect, the usual transition prediction methods would fail. Thus, it is important to study interactions of this sort and to develop more realistic criteria for transition prediction.
A numerical investigation is undertaken of an 80/65-deg double-delta flat wing by means of the free vortex sheet method that views the vortex system on the leading edge in three different ways, in order to assess the effect of the model's type on the aerodynamic performance of the wing. The model employing two separate vortex systems, one each on inward and outward leading edges, yields predictions that are in close agreement with experimental data, although the model with single-vortex representation is adequate and requires less computational time.
Efforts to improve the thermoelectric efficiency of silicon-germanium alloys are discussed. These efforts are essentially focused on substantially enhancing carrier concentration levels and thus increasing the power factor values of n-type materials. With the help of thermodynamic phase diagram calculations, a combination of various crystal growth and dopant saturation techniques is used for this purpose. Bulk polycrystal growth of double-doped materials is achieved by zone leveling while a new method (the traveling heater method) for high-quality single-crystal growth of SiGe is being developed. Thin films of homogeneous single-crystalline multidoped Si80Ge20 have also been successfully grown from low-temperature melts to investigate combined dopant solid solubility variations. Very high carrier concentration levels were obtained by (P+As)-combined diffusion in zone-leveled and hot-pressed materials. The good overall understanding of doping mechanisms which has been achieved should enable optimization of the thermoelectric properties over this extended carrier concentration range. Reductions in thermal conductivity are being sought by introduction of very small phonon scattering centers (inert material) in the initial powders-precursors of Si-Ge alloys. This approach should benefit both n- and p-type materials.
Recently a new type of electrolytic capacitor was developed. This capacitor, the Evans Hybrid, combines an electrolytic capacitor anode with an electrochemical capacitors cathode. The resulting capacitor has four times the energy density of other electrolytic capacitors, with comparable electrical performance. The prototype, a 480 micro F, 200 V device, had an energy density exceeding 4 J/cc. Now, a 680 micro F, 50 V, MIL-style all tantalum device has been constructed and is undergoing qualification testing. Pending a favorable outcome, work will begin on other ratings. Potential for commercially significant development exists in applying this technology to aluminum-based electrolytic capacitors. It is possible to at least double the energy density of aluminum electrolytics, while using existing manufacturing methods, and without adding material expense. Data presented include electrical characteristics and performance measurements of the 200 V and 50 V Hybrid capacitors and results of ongolng qualification status of the MJL-style tantalum.
A new type of electrolytic capacitor which combines an electrolytic capacitor anode with an electrochemical capacitor cathode was developed. The resulting capacitor has a four time higher energy density than standard electrolytic capacitors, with comparable electric performance. The prototype, a 480 microFarad, 200 V device, has an energy density exceeding 4 J/cc. Now a 680 microFarad 50 V, MIL-style all tantalum device has been constructed and is undergoing qualification testing. Pending a favorable outcome, work will begin on other ratings. The potential for commercially significant development exists in applying this technology to aluminum-based electrolytic capacitors. It is possible to at least double the energy density of aluminum electrolytics, while using existing manufacturing methods, and without adding material expense. Data presented include electrical characteristics and performance measurements of the 200 V and 50 V hybrid capacitors and results from ongoing qualification testing of the MIL-style tantalum capacitors.
This thesis develops a method to model the acoustic field generated by a monopole source placed in a moving rectangular duct. The walls of the duct are assumed to be infinitesimally thin and the source is placed at the center of the duct. The total acoustic pressure is written in terms of the free-space pressure, or incident pressure, and the scattered pressure. The scattered pressure is the augmentation to the incident pressure due to the presence of the duct. It satisfies a homogeneous wave equation and is discontinuous across the duct walls. Utilizing an integral representation of the scattered pressure, a set of singular boundary integral equations governing the unknown jump in scattered pressure is derived. This equation is solved by the method of collocation after representing the jump in pressure as a double series of shape functions. The solution obtained is then substituted back into the integral representation to determine the scattered pressure, and the total acoustic pressure at any point in the field. A few examples are included to illustrate the influence of various geometric and kinematic parameters on the radiated sound field.
Photon transport in a multiple scattering medium is critically dependent on scattering statistics, in particular the average number of scatterings. A superposition technique is derived to accurately determine the average number of scatterings encountered by reflected and transmitted photons within arbitrary layers in plane-parallel, vertically inhomogeneous clouds. As expected, the resulting scattering number profiles are highly dependent on cloud particle absorption and solar/viewing geometry. The technique uses efficient adding and doubling radiative transfer procedures, avoiding traditional time-intensive Monte Carlo methods. Derived superposition formulae are applied to a variety of geometries and cloud models, and selected results are compared with Monte Carlo calculations. Cloud remote sensing techniques that use solar reflectance or transmittance measurements generally assume a homogeneous plane-parallel cloud structure. The scales over which this assumption is relevant, in both the vertical and horizontal, can be obtained from the superposition calculations. Though the emphasis is on photon transport in clouds, the derived technique is applicable to any scattering plane-parallel radiative transfer problem, including arbitrary combinations of cloud, aerosol, and gas layers in the atmosphere.
This study examines two test methods to evaluate the peel toughness of the skin to core debond of sandwich panels. The methods tested were the climbing drum (CD) peel test and the double cantilever beam (DCB) test. While the CD peel test is only intended for qualitative measurements, it is shown in this study that qualitative measurements can be performed and compare well with DCB test data. It is also shown that artificially stiffening the facesheets of a DCB specimen can cause the test to behave more like a flatwise tensile test than a peel test.
A method for predicting aerodynamic characteristics of slender wings with edge vortex separation was developed. Semiempirical but simple methods were used to determine the initial positions of the free sheet and vortex core. Comparison with available data indicates that: the present method is generally accurate in predicting the lift and induced drag coefficients but the predicted pitching moment is too positive; the spanwise lifting pressure distributions estimated by the one vortex core solution of the present method are significantly better than the results of Mehrotra's method relative to the pressure peak values for the flat delta; the two vortex core system applied to the double delta and strake wing produce overall aerodynamic characteristics which have good agreement with data except for the pitching moment; and the computer time for the present method is about two thirds of that of Mehrotra's method.
A mixed-mode bending (MMB) test procedure is presented which combines double cantilever beam mode-I loading and end-notch flexure mode II loading on a split, unidirectional laminate. The MMB test has been analyzed by FEM and by beam theory in order to ascertain the mode I and mode II components' respective strain energy release rates, G(I) and G(II); these analyses indicate that a wide range of G(I)/G(II) ratios can be generated by varying the applied load's position on the loading lever. The MMB specimen analysis and test procedures are demonstrated for the case of AS4/PEEK unidirectional laminates.
A vortex filament-vortex core method for predicting aerodynamic characteristics of slender wings with edge vortex separation was developed. Semi-empirical but simple methods were used to determine the initial positions of the free sheet and vortex core. Comparison with available data indicates that: (1) the present method is generally accurate in predicting the lift and induced drag coefficients but the predicted pitching moment is too positive; (2) the spanwise lifting pressure distributions estimated by the one vortex core solution of the present method are significantly better than the results of Mehrotra's method relative to the pressure peak values for the flat delta; (3) the two vortex core system applied to the double delta and strake wings produce overall aerodynamic characteristics which have good agreement with data except for the pitching moment; and (4) the computer time for the present method is about two thirds of that of Mehrotra's method.
Mode behavior of nonplanar double-heterojunction (DH) and large-optical-cavity (LOC) lasers is investigated using the effective index method to model the lateral field distribution. The thickness variations of various layers for the devices discussed are correlated with the growth characteristics of liquid-phase epitaxy over topographical features (channels, mesas) etched into the substrate. The effective dielectric profiles of constricted double-heterojunction (CDH)-LOC lasers show a strong influence on transverse mode operation: the fundamental transverse mode (i.e., in the plane perpendicular to the junction) may be laterally index-guided, while the first (high)-order mode is laterally index-antiguided. The analytical model developed uses a smoothly varying hyperbolic cosine distribution to characterize lateral index variations. The waveguide model is applied to several lasers to illustrate conditions necessary to convert leaky modes to trapped ones via the active-region gain distribution. Theoretical radiation patterns are calculated using model parameters, and matched to an experimental far-field pattern.