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NASA NTRS2002

NDE of Friction Stir Welds in Aerospace Applications

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state joining process, which utilizes a cylindrical, shouldered pin tool with a radiused tip that is rotated and plunged into the weld joint. Frictional heating beneath the shoulder, and surrounding the pin tip causes the material to plasticize, intermix and consolidate into a weldment without melting the parent material. FSW in aluminum alloys has many advantages such as low distortion and shrinkage, excellent mechanical properties, and no porosity. However, the propensity of the FSW process to create detrimental defects does exist, and is dependent on FSW parameter limits and controls. Inspection processes for FSW must also be selected and implemented concurrent with the new weld process. This paper describes the efforts by Lockheed Martin and NASA to find proper NDE techniques for detecting and characterizing the anomalies that may be caused by operating outside the envelope of optimized FSW parameters. Potential defects are identified and the results of the exploration of numerous NDE techniques including visual, liquid penetrant, multiple ultrasonic methods, eddy current and conductivity are discussed.

Kinchen, David G.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Development of Eddy Current Technique for the Detection of Stress Corrosion Cracking in Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control Thrusters

A recent identification of stress corrosion cracking in the Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) thrusters triggered an extensive nondestructive evaluation effort to develop techniques capable of identifying such damage on installed shuttle hardware. As a part of this effort, specially designed eddy current probes inserted into the acoustic cavity were explored for the detection of such flaws and for evaluation of the remaining material between the crack tip and acoustic cavity. The technique utilizes two orthogonal eddy current probes which are scanned under stepper motor control in the acoustic cavity to identify cracks hidden with as much as 0.060 remaining wall thickness to the cavity. As crack growth rates in this area have been determined to be very slow, such an inspection provides a large safety margin for continued operation of the critical shuttle hardware. Testing has been performed on thruster components with both actual and fabricated defects. This paper will review the design and performance of the developed eddy current inspection system. Detection of flaws as a function of remaining wall thickness will be presented along with the proposed system configuration for depot level or on-vehicle inspection capabilities.

Wincheski, Buzz↗

NASA NTRS2007

Development of Eddy Current Techniques for the Detection of Cracking in Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control Thrusters

A recent identification of cracking in the Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) thrusters triggered an extensive nondestructive evaluation effort to develop techniques capable of identifying such damage on installed shuttle hardware. As a part of this effort, specially designed eddy current probes inserted into the acoustic cavity were explored for the detection of such flaws and for evaluation of the remaining material between the crack tip and acoustic cavity. The technique utilizes two orthogonal eddy current probes which are scanned under stepper motor control in the acoustic cavity to identify cracks hidden with as much as 0.060 remaining wall thickness to the cavity. As crack growth rates in this area have been determined to be very slow, such an inspection provides a large safety margin for continued operation of the critical shuttle hardware. Testing has been performed on thruster components with both actual and fabricated defects. This paper will review the design and performance of the developed eddy current inspection system. Detection of flaws as a function of remaining wall thickness will be presented along with the proposed system configuration for depot level or on-vehicle inspection capabilities.

Wincheski, Buzz A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Thick section aluminum weldments for SRB structures

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) forward and aft skirts were designed with fracture control considerations used in the design data. Fracture control is based on reliance upon nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques to detect potentially critical flaws. In the aerospace industry, welds on aluminum in the thicknesses (0.500 to 1.375 in.) such as those encountered on the SRB skirts are normally welded from both sides to minimize distortion. This presents a problem with the potential presence of undefined areas of incomplete fusion and the inability to detect these potential flaws by NDE techniques. To eliminate the possibility of an undetectable defect, weld joint design was revised to eliminate blind root penetrations. Weld parameters and mechanical property data were developed to verify the adequacy of the new joint design.

Bayless, E.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Detecting surface faults on solar mirrors

Two quality control tests determine reflectivity and curvature faults of concave solar mirrors. Curvature defects in solar mirrors are easily revealed by photographing mirror surface. Calibrated aperture placed in front of camera lens admits rays reflecting only from acceptable areas of mirror, blocking out diverging rays reflected from defective areas. Defects can pinpoint problems that may exist in production. Same photograph can be obtained using calibrated disk instead of aperture, except that, this time, only defective areas would be exposed.

Argoud, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Inspection of Spray on Foam Insulation (SOFI) Using Microwave and Millimeter Wave Synthetic Aperture Focusing and Holography

The Space Shuttle Columbia s catastrophic failure is thought to have been caused by a dislodged piece of external tank spray on foam insulation (SOFI) striking and significantly damaging the left wing of the orbiter, which may have been due to a flawed section of SOFI. Microwave and millimeter wave nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods have shown great potential detecting anomalies in SOFI such as small air voids using a horn and lens in a (real) focused configuration. Synthetic focusing methods may also be used to detect air voids in SOFI and may additionally offer the ability to locate the defect in three dimensions. To this end, two different methods were investigated; namely, frequency domain synthetic aperture focusing technique (FD-SAFT) and wide-band microwave holography. To illustrate the performance of these methods they were applied to two different SOFI samples. The results of these investigations demonstrate the capabilities of these methods for SOFI inspection.

Case, J. T.↗

NASA NTRS2015

High-Contrast Coronagraph Performance in the Presence of DM Actuator Defects

Deformable Mirrors (DMs) are critical elements in high contrast coronagraphs, requiring precision and stability measured in picometers to enable detection of Earth-like exoplanets. Occasionally DM actuators or their associated cables or electronics fail, requiring a wavefront control algorithm to compensate for actuators that may be displaced from their neighbors by hundreds of nanometers. We have carried out experiments on our High-Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) to study the impact of failed actuators in partial fulfillment of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph optical model validation milestone. We show that the wavefront control algorithm adapts to several broken actuators and maintains dark-hole contrast in broadband light.

adaptive optics↗

NASA NTRS2012

Turbine Engine Disk Rotor Health Monitoring Assessment Using Spin Tests Data

Detecting rotating engine component malfunctions and structural anomalies is increasingly becoming a crucial key feature that will help boost safety and lower maintenance cost. However, achievement of such technology, which can be referred to as a health monitoring remains somewhat challenging to implement. This is mostly due to presence of scattered loading conditions, crack sizes, component geometry and material properties that hinders the simplicity of imposing such application. Different approaches are being considered to assist in developing other means of health monitoring or nondestructive techniques to detect hidden flaws and mini cracks before any catastrophic events occur. These methods extend further to assess material discontinuities and other defects that have matured to the level where a failure is very likely. This paper is focused on presenting data obtained from spin test experiments of a turbine engine like rotor disk and their correlation to the development of a structural health monitoring and fault detection system. The data collected includes blade tip clearance, blade tip timing measurements and shaft displacements. The experimental results are collected at rotational speeds up to 10,000 Rpm and tests are conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Rotordynamics Laboratory via a high precision spin system. Additionally, this study offers a closer glance at a selective online evaluation of a rotating disk using advanced capacitive, microwave and eddy current sensor technology.

Abdul-Aziz, Ali↗

NASA NTRS1968

Evaluation of methods for nondestructive testing of brazed joints

Evaluation of nondestructive methods of testing brazed joints reveals that ultrasonic testing is effective in the detection of nonbonds in diffusion bonded samples. Radiography provides excellent resolutions of void or inclusion defects, and the neutron radiographic technique shows particular advantage for brazing materials containing cadmium.

Kanno, A.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Development and Function of the Mouse Vestibular System in the Absence of Gravity Perception

The hypothesis that was tested in this research was that the absence of gravity perception, such as would occur in space, would affect the development and function of the vestibular and central nervous systems. Further, we postulated that these effects would be more significant at specific stages of post-natal development of the animal. We also proposed the use of molecular genetic approaches that would provide important information as to the hierarchy of gene function during the development and subsequent function of the vestibular system. The tilted (tlt) mutant mouse has been characterized as lacking the ability to provide sensory input to the gravity receptors. The tlt/tlt mutant mice were a particularly attractive model for the study of vestibular function since the primary defect was limited to the receptor part of the vestibular system, and there were no detectable abnormal phenotypes in other organ systems. The goal of the proposed studies was to assess immediate and delayed effects of the lack of gravity perception on the vestibular system. Particular attention was paid to characterizing primarily affected periods of vestibular morphogenesis, and to identifying downstream genetic pathways that are altered in the CNS of the tlt/tlt mutant mouse. The specific aims were: (1) to characterize the postnatal morphogenesis of the CNS in the tlt mutant mouse, using detailed morphometric analysis of isolated vestibular ganglia and brain tissue at different stages of postnatal development and assessment of apoptotic cell death; (2) to examine the expression of selected genes implicated by mutational analysis to be important in vestibular development or function by in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry in the mutant mice; and (3) to identify other genes involved in vestibular development and function, using differential cloning strategies to isolate genes whose expression is changed in the mutant versus normal vestibular system.

Wolgemuth, Debra J.↗

NASA NTRS2013

3D Guided Wave Motion Analysis on Laminated Composites

Ultrasonic guided waves have proved useful for structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) due to their ability to propagate long distances with less energy loss compared to bulk waves and due to their sensitivity to small defects in the structure. Analysis of actively transmitted ultrasonic signals has long been used to detect and assess damage. However, there remain many challenging tasks for guided wave based SHM due to the complexity involved with propagating guided waves, especially in the case of composite materials. The multimodal nature of the ultrasonic guided waves complicates the related damage analysis. This paper presents results from parallel 3D elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) simulations used to acquire 3D wave motion in the subject laminated carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. The acquired 3D wave motion is then analyzed by frequency-wavenumber analysis to study the wave propagation and interaction in the composite laminate. The frequency-wavenumber analysis enables the study of individual modes and visualization of mode conversion. Delamination damage has been incorporated into the EFIT model to generate "damaged" data. The potential for damage detection in laminated composites is discussed in the end.

Tian, Zhenhua↗

NASA NTRS2005

Cracks in Flow Liners and Their Resolution

Cracks were detected in flow liners at the gimbal joints in the LH2 feedlines of the space shuttle's main engines. The cracks initiated at defects in the drainage slots of the flow liners and grew due to high cycle fatigue. Fracture mechanics analyses were conducted to evaluate the life of the liners. These analyses yielded extremely short lives in the presence of small surface or corner cracks. A high fidelity detection method, edge replication, was used to detect the very small cracks. The detected cracks were removed by polishing and the surface quality of the slots was reestablished to improve life of the liners.

Harris, C. E.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Revolving Eddy-Current Probe Detects Cracks Near Rivets

Scanning eddy-current probe in circular pattern increases sensitivity with which probe indicates fatigue cracks and other defects in metal surfaces in vicinity of rivets. Technique devised to facilitate inspection of riveted joints in aircraft. Eddy-current probe in question described in "Electro-magnetic Flaw Detector Is Easier To Use" (LAR-15046).

Namkung, Min↗

NASA NTRS1995

New nondestructive techniques for the detection and quantification of corrosion in aircraft structures

An overview is presented of several techniques under development at NASA Langley Research Center for detection and quantification of corrosion in aircraft structures. The techniques have been developed as part of the NASA Airframe Structural Integrity Program. The techniques focus on the detection of subsurface corrosion in thin laminated structures. Results are presented on specimens with both manufactured defects, for calibration of the techniques, and on specimens removed from aircraft.

Winfree, W. P.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Hydrogen passivation of n+p and p+n heteroepitaxial InP solar cell structures

High-efficiency, heteroepitaxial (HE) InP solar cells, grown on GaAs, Si or Ge substrates, are desirable for their mechanically strong, light-weight and radiation-hard properties. However, dislocations, caused by lattice mismatch, currently limit the performance of the HE cells. This occurs through shunting paths across the active photovoltaic junction and by the formation of deep levels. In previous work we have demonstrated that plasma hydrogenation is an effective and stable means to passivate the electrical activity of dislocations in specially designed HE InP test structures. In this work, we present the first report of successful hydrogen passivation in actual InP cell structures grown on GaAs substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). We have found that a 2 hour exposure to a 13.56 MHz hydrogen plasma at 275 C reduces the deep level concentration in HE n+n InP cell structures from as-grown values of approximately 10(exp 15)/cm(exp -3), down to 1-2 x 10(exp 13)/cm(exp -3). The deep levels in the p-type base region of the cell structure match those of our earlier p-type test structures, which were attributed to dislocations or related point defect complexes. All dopants were successfully reactivated by a 400 C, 5 minute anneal with no detectable activation of deep levels. I-V analysis indicated a subsequent approximately 10 fold decrease in reverse leakage current at -1 volt reverse bias, and no change in the forward biased series resistance of the cell structure which indicates complete reactivation of the n+ emitter. Furthermore, electrochemical C-V profiling indicates greatly enhanced passivation depth, and hence hydrogen diffusion, for heteroepitaxial structures when compared with identically processed homoepitaxial n+p InP structures. An analysis of hydrogen diffusion in dislocated InP will be discussed, along with comparisons of passivation effectiveness for n+p versus p+n heteroepitaxial cell configurations. Preliminary hydrogen-passivated HE InP cell results will also be presented.

Chatterjee, B.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Source Lines Counter (SLiC) Version 4.0

Source Lines Counter (SLiC) is a software utility designed to measure software source code size using logical source statements and other common measures for 22 of the programming languages commonly used at NASA and the aerospace industry. Such metrics can be used in a wide variety of applications, from parametric cost estimation to software defect analysis. SLiC has a variety of unique features such as automatic code search, automatic file detection, hierarchical directory totals, and spreadsheet-compatible output. SLiC was written for extensibility; new programming language support can be added with minimal effort in a short amount of time. SLiC runs on a variety of platforms including UNIX, Windows, and Mac OSX. Its straightforward command-line interface allows for customization and incorporation into the software build process for tracking development metrics. T

Monson, Erik W.↗

NASA NTRS2006

pH Sensitive Microcapsules for Delivery of Corrosion Inhibitors

A considerable number of corrosion problems can be solved by coatings. However, even the best protective coatings can fail by allowing the slow diffusion of oxygen and moisture to the metal surface. Corrosion accelerates when a coating delaminates. Often, the problems start when microscopic nicks or pits on the surface develop during manufacturing or through wear and tear. This problem can be solved by the incorporation of a self-healing function into the coating. Several new concepts are currently under development to incorporate this function into a coating. Conductive polymers, nanoparticles, and microcapsules are used to release corrosion-inhibiting ions at a defect site. The objective of this investigation is to develop a smart coating for the early detection and inhibition of corrosion. The dual function of this new smart coating system is performed by pH-triggered release microcapsules. The microcapsules can be used to deliver healing agents to terminate the corrosion process at its early stage or as corrosion indicators by releasing dyes at the localized corrosion sites. The dyes can be color dyes or fluorescent dyes, with or without pH sensitivity. Microcapsules were formed through the interfacial polymerization process. The average size of the microcapsules can be adjusted from 1 to 100 micron by adjusting the emulsion formula and the microcapsule forming conditions. A typical microcapsule size is around 10 microns with a narrow size distribution. The pH sensitivity of the microcapsule can also be controlled by adjusting the emulsion formula and the polymerization reaction time. Both corrosion indicator (pH indicator) and corrosion inhibitor containing microcapsules were formed and incorporated into paint systems. Test panels of selected steels and aluminum alloys were painted using these paints. Testing of compatibility between the microcapsule system and different paint systems are in progress. Initial experiments with the microcapsule containing paint show visible color changes at induced corrosion sites and improvement of corrosion protection. Further investigation of the performance of the coating using electrochemical techniques and long term exposure are currently underway.

Li, Wenyan↗

NASA NTRS2000

Thermographic Imaging of Defects in Anisotropic Composites

Composite materials are of increasing interest to the aerospace industry as a result of their weight versus performance characteristics. One of the disadvantages of composites is the high cost of fabrication and post inspection with conventional ultrasonic scanning systems. The high cost of inspection is driven by the need for scanning systems which can follow large curve surfaces. Additionally, either large water tanks or water squirters are required to couple the ultrasonics into the part. Thermographic techniques offer significant advantages over conventional ultrasonics by not requiring physical coupling between the part and sensor. The thermographic system can easily inspect large curved surface without requiring a surface following scanner. However, implementation of Thermal Nondestructive Evaluations (TNDE) for flaw detection in composite materials and structures requires determining its limit. Advanced algorithms have been developed to enable locating and sizing defects in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). Thermal Tomography is a very promising method for visualizing the size and location of defects in materials such as CFRP. However, further investigations are required to determine its capabilities for inspection of thick composites. In present work we have studied influence of the anisotropy on the reconstructed image of a defect generated by an inversion technique. The composite material is considered as homogeneous with macro properties: thermal conductivity K, specific heat c, and density rho. The simulation process involves two sequential steps: solving the three dimensional transient heat diffusion equation for a sample with a defect, then estimating the defect location and size from the surface spatial and temporal thermal distributions (inverse problem), calculated from the simulations.

Plotnikov, Y. A.↗