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At least 361 records · Page 20

Designing clutter rejection filters with complex coefficients for airborne pulsed Doppler weather radar

Ground clutter interference is a major problem for airborne pulse Doppler radar operating at low altitudes in a look-down mode. With Doppler zero set at the aircraft ground speed, ground clutter rejection filtering is typically accomplished using a high-pass filter with real valued coefficients and a stopband notch centered at zero Doppler. Clutter spectra from the NASA Wind Shear Flight Experiments of l991-1992 show that the dominant clutter mode can be located away from zero Doppler, particularly at short ranges dominated by sidelobe returns. Use of digital notch filters with complex valued coefficients so that the stopband notch can be located at any Doppler frequency is investigated. Several clutter mode tracking algorithms are considered to estimate the Doppler frequency location of the dominant clutter mode. From the examination of night data, when a dominant clutter mode away from zero Doppler is present, complex filtering is able to significantly increase clutter rejection over use of a notch filter centered at zero Doppler.

Jamora, Dennis A.↗

Response of automated tow placed laminates to stress concentrations

In this study, the response of laminates with stress concentrations is explored. Automated Tow Placed (ATP, also known as Fiber Placement) laminates are compared to conventional tape layup manufacturing. Previous tensile fracture tests on fiber placed laminates show an improvement in tensile fracture of large notches over 20 percent compared to tape layup laminates. A hierarchial modeling scheme is presented. In this scheme, a global model is developed for laminates with notches. A local model is developed to study the influence of inhomogeneities at the notch tip, which are a consequence of the fiber placement manufacturing technique. In addition, a stacked membrane model was developed to study delaminations and splitting on a ply-by-ply basis. The results indicate that some benefit with respect to tensile fracture (up to 11 percent) can be gained from inhomogeneity alone, but that the most improvement may be obtained with splitting and delaminations which are more severe in the case of fiber placement compared to tape layup. Improvements up to 36 percent were found from the model for fiber placed laminates with damage at the notch tip compared to conventional tape layup.

Cairns, Douglas S.↗

Axial-Load Fatigue Tests on 17-7 PH Stainless Steel Under Constant-Amplitude Loading

Axial-load fatigue tests were conducted at room temperature on notched and unnotched sheet specimens of 17-7 PH stainless steel in Condition TH 1050. The notched specimens had theoretical stress-concentration factors of 2.32, 4.00, and 5.00. All specimens were tested under completely reversed loading. S-N curves are presented for each specimen configuration and ratios of fatigue strengths of unnotched specimens to those of notched specimens are given. Predictions of the fatigue behavior of notched specimens near the fatigue limit were made.

Leybold, Herbert A.↗

Fatigue Characterization of Alloy 10: a 1300F Disk Alloy for Small Gas Turbine Engines

A detailed fatigue characterization of Alloy 10, a high strength nickel-based disk alloy, was conducted on test coupons machined from a 'pancake' forging. Smooth bar, strain controlled fatigue testing at various R-ratios was run at representative bore, 750 F, and rim, 1300 F, temperatures. This was followed by notch fatigue testing (Kt=2) run under load control. Analysis of the fatigue data using a Smith-Watson-Topper approach and finite element analysis of the notch root was employed to understand material behavior in these tests. Smooth bar fatigue data showed a significant R-ratio dependence at either test temperature which could be accounted for using a Smith-Watson-Topper parameter (SWT). In general, fatigue life was longer at 750 F than 1300 F for a given SWT. For notch fatigue tests, life was longer at 750 F than 1300 F but only at higher stresses. This was attributed to differences in alloy strength. At lower stresses, finite element analysis suggested that convergence of fatigue life at both temperatures resulted from relaxation of stresses at the notch root in the 1300 F tests.

Gayda, John↗

Vibration Based Crack Detection in a Rotating Disk: An Analytical Study - Part 1

This paper describes the analytical results concerning the detection of a crack in a rotating disk. The concept of the approach is based on the fact that the development of a disk crack results in a distorted strain field within the component. As a result, a minute deformation in the disk's geometry as well as a change in the system s center of mass occurs. Finite element analyses were conducted concerning a notched disk in order to define the sensitivity of the method. The notch was used to simulate an actual crack and will be the method utilized for upcoming experiments. Various notch sizes were studied. The geometric deformations and shifts of center of mass were documented as a function of rotational speed. In addition, a rotordynamic analysis of a 2-bearing, disk and shaft system was conducted. The overall response of the system was required in order to design the experimental system for operation beyond the first critical. The results of the FE analyses of the disk indicated that the overall changes in the disk s geometry and center of mass were rather small. The difference between the maximum centrifugal radial displacements between the undamaged and damaged disks at 8000 RPM was 0.00014 in. for a 0.963 in. notch length. The shift in center of mass was also of this magnitude. The next step involves running experiments to verify the analysis.

Gyekenyesi, Andrew L.↗

Comparison of the Proton-Induced Dark Current and Charge Transfer Efficiency Responses of N- and P-Channel CCDs

The proton-induced CTE behavior for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) p-CCD (being developed for the Supernovae Acceleration Project (SNAP) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) n-CCDs were compared using 55Fe, EPER and FPR techniques. CTE performance of the p-CCD is about an order of magnitude better after a 63 MeV fluence of 2.5 x 10(sup 9)/sq cm, which is equivalent to 2.5 years in the shielded HST orbit. Notched n- and p-CCDs yielded factor of two improvement in CTE performance as compared to their un-notched versions. The introduction rate of hot pixels was greater in p-CCD as compared to n-CCD, and also greater in notched than un-notched devices.

Marshall, Cheryl↗

Attitude control compensator for flexible spacecraft

An attitude control loop for a spacecraft uses a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for control about an axis. The spacecraft body has at least a primary mechanical resonance. The attitude sensors are collocated, or both on the rigid portion of the spacecraft. The flexure attributable to the resonance may result in instability of the system. A compensator for the control loop has an amplitude response which includes a component which rolls off beginning at frequencies below the resonance, and which also includes a component having a notch at a notch frequency somewhat below the resonant frequency. The phase response of the compensator tends toward zero at low frequencies, and tends toward -180.degree. as frequency increases toward the notch frequency. At frequencies above the notch frequency, the phase decreases from +180.degree., becoming more negative, and tending toward -90.degree. at frequencies far above the resonance frequency. Near the resonance frequency, the compensator phase is near zero.

Goodzeit, Neil E.↗

Approaches for Tensile Testing of Braided Composites

For angleply composites, lamina tension and compression strengths are commonly determined by applying classical lamination theory to test data obtained from testing of angleply composite specimens. For textile composites such as 2D triaxial braids, analysis is more complex and standard test methods do not always yield reliable strength measurements. This paper describes recent research focused on development of more reliable tensile test methods for braided composites and presents preliminary data for various approaches. The materials investigated in this work have 0deg+/-60 2D triaxial braid architecture with nearly equal fiber volume fraction in each of the three fiber directions. Flat composite panels are fabricated by resin transfer molding (RTM) using six layers of the braided preform aligned along the 0deg fiber direction. Various epoxy resins are used as matrix materials. Single layer panels are also fabricated in order to examine local variations in deformation related to the braid architecture. Specimens are cut from these panels in the shape of standard straight-sided coupons, an alternative bowtie geometry, and an alternative notched geometry. Axial tensile properties are measured using specimens loaded along the 0deg fiber direction. Transverse tensile properties are measured using specimens loaded perpendicular to the 0deg fibers. Composite tubes are also fabricated by RTM. These tubes are tested by internal pressurization using a soft rubbery material sealed between the inside diameter of the tube and the load fixtures. The ends of the tube are unconstrained, so the primary load is in the hoop direction. Tubes are fabricated with the 0deg fibers aligned along the tube axis by overbraiding the preform on a mandrel. Since the loading is in the hoop direction, testing of the overbraided tube provides a measure of transverse tensile strength. Previous work has indicated that straight-sided coupons yield a transverse tensile strength that is much lower than the expected material strength because of premature edge-initiated failure. Full-field strain measured during transverse tensile tests clearly showed accumulation of edge damage prior to failure. In the current work, high speed video and testing of single layer specimens are used to investigate potential failure mechanisms in more detail. High speed video clearly shows the edge initiation in six layer transverse tensile test coupons. Specimens with the bowtie geometry and the notched geometry minimize this edge effect and yield significantly higher transverse tensile strength values compared to the straight-sided coupons. However, bowtie and notched specimens geometries are not ideal because of the non-uniform stress and strain fields in the region of failure. Testing of tubes using internal pressurization eliminates edge-initiated failure and provides a more uniform state of stress and strain. Preliminary results indicate that bowtie, notched, and tube specimens yield comparable values for transverse tensile strength and that these values are much higher than the strength measured using a straight-sided coupon.

Roberts, Gary D.↗

Infrared-Bolometer Arrays with Reflective Backshorts

Integrated circuits that incorporate square arrays of superconducting-transition- edge bolometers with optically reflective backshorts are being developed for use in image sensors in the spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. To maximize the optical efficiency (and, thus, sensitivity) of such a sensor at a specific wavelength, resonant optical structures are created by placing the backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometer plane. The bolometer and backshort arrays are fabricated separately, then integrated to form a single unit denoted a backshort-under-grid (BUG) bolometer array. In a subsequent fabrication step, the BUG bolometer array is connected, by use of single-sided indium bump bonding, to a readout device that comprises mostly a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer circuit. The resulting sensor unit comprising the BUG bolometer array and the readout device is operated at a temperature below 1 K. The concept of increasing optical efficiency by use of backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometers is not new. Instead, the novelty of the present development lies mainly in several features of the design of the BUG bolometer array and the fabrication sequence used to implement the design. Prior to joining with the backshort array, the bolometer array comprises, more specifically, a square grid of free-standing molybdenum/gold superconducting-transition-edge bolometer elements on a 1.4- m-thick top layer of silicon that is part of a silicon support frame made from a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The backshort array is fabricated separately as a frame structure that includes support beams and contains a correspond - ing grid of optically reflective patches on a single-crystal silicon substrate. The process used to fabricate the bolometer array includes standard patterning and etching steps that result in the formation of deep notches in the silicon support frame. These notches are designed to interlock with the support beams on the backshort-array structure to provide structural support and precise relative positioning. The backshort-array structure is inserted in the silicon support frame behind the bolometer array, and the notches in the frame serve to receive the support beams of the backshort-array structure and thus determine the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes. The depth of the notches and, thus, the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes, can be tailored to a value between 25 to 300 m adjusting only a few process steps. The backshort array is designed so as not to interfere with the placement of indium bumps for subsequent indium bump-bonding to the multiplexing readout circuitry

Miller, Timothy M.↗

Cohesive Laws for Analyzing Through-Crack Propagation in Cross Ply Laminates

The laminate cohesive approach (LCA) is a methodology for the experimental characterization of cohesive through-the-thickness damage propagation in fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites. LCA has several advantages over other existing approaches for cohesive law characterization, including: visual measurements of crack length are not required, structural effects are accounted for, and LCA can be applied when the specimen is too small to achieve steady-state fracture. In this work, the applicability of this method is investigated for two material systems: IM7/8552, a conventional prepreg, and AS4/VRM34, a non-crimp fabric cured using an out-of-autoclave process. The compact tension specimen configuration is used to propagate stable Mode I damage. Trilinear cohesive laws are characterized using the fracture toughness and the notch tip opening displacement. Test results are compared for the IM7/8552 specimens with notches machined by waterjet and by wire slurry saw. It is shown that the test results are nearly identical for both notch tip preparations methods, indicating that significant specimen preparation time and cost savings can be realized by using the waterjet to notch the specimen instead of the wire slurry saw. The accuracy of the cohesive laws characterized herein are assessed by reproducing the structural response of the test specimens using computational methods. The applicability of the characterization procedure for inferring lamina fracture toughness is also discussed.

Bergan, Andrew C.↗

Potential Weight Benefits of IM7/8552 Hybrid Thin-Ply Composites for Aircraft Structures

Composite materials have increasingly been used for aerospace applications due to improved performance and reduced weight compared to their metallic counterparts. Inclusion of thin-ply material, plies with cured thickness half or less than standard-ply composites, have potential to improve performance and reduce structural weight further. The effect of thin-ply material on the weight of aircraft structure was investigated by examining wing cover weight reduction. To minimize the effects on manufacturing due to using thin plies, hybrid laminates were examined that used thin ±45-degree plies to replace their standard-ply counterparts in laminates. Compression after impact (CAI) tests were conducted to examine the possible weight savings that could be gained by increasing the design allowables that were used to size the wing upper cover of a semi-span test article. A large increase in CAI strength was observed for quasi-isotropic hybrid laminates, whereas less improvement was seen for hard hybrid laminates such as found in the wing cover. For laminates design by CAI strength, weight savings of about 13% were found using the hybrid hard laminates compared to the standard-ply laminates. Whether similar weight savings could be expected for structure sized using tension after impact allowables will have to be investigated further. Notched specimens were tested to examine possible weight savings using hybrid laminates in regions that are sized using discrete source damage requirements. As expected, the hybrid laminate had marginal improvements over the standard-ply laminate for compression with a notch present. The hybrid laminate, however, exhibited about 20% lower strength than the standard-ply laminate counterpart for tension with a notch. The failure mode of the hybrid specimens was a brittle, self-similar crack, which differs from the standard-ply specimens that failed by significant amounts of delamination and fiber splitting. In light of the apparent reduction in notched tensile strength, additional investigation is required to assess the use of hybrid laminates for areas containing discrete source damage, and their effect on weight of such regions.

Lovejoy, Andrew E.↗

Strain energy density and surface layer energy for a crack-like ellipse

Some of the fundamental concepts of sharp crack fracture criteria are applied to cracks and narrow ellipses. The strain energy density theory is extended to notch boundaries, where the energy in a surface layer is calculated and the location of failure initiation is determined. The concept of a core region near the notch tip, and its consequences, are examined in detail. The example treated is that of an elliptical cavity loaded uniformly at a large distance from the hole, and at an angle to the hole; the results are shown to approach that of the crack solution for narrow ellipses, and to display quite satisfactory agreement with recently published experimental data under both tensile and compressive loading conditions. Results also indicate that in globally unstable configurations in brittle materials, the original loading and notch geometry are sufficient to predict the subsequent crack trajectory with considerable accuracy.

Kipp, M. E.↗

Heavy-section fracture toughness screening specimen

The reported study has the objective to fix the proportions and limits of application of a double-edge-notch specimen with one of the notches tipped with a fatigue crack (DENC). Details regarding the DENC specimen are discussed, taking into account specimen length, notch length, specimen width and thickness, and the loading pins. The influence of specimen width and thickness on the crack strenght and apparent plane-strain fracture toughness of the specimen has been determined for eight alloys. It is concluded that the DENC specimen shows promise for screening alloys with reference to their plane-strain fracture toughness in sections up to 1 in.

Shannon, J. L., Jr.↗

Fracture and crack growth in orthotropic laminates

Solutions are developed for the two dimensional region containing unidirectional fibers with initial damage in the form of a notch, a rectangular cut out, and a circular hole. An ultimate stress failure criterion is used for both the fibers and the matrix, simple tension for the fibers, and shear failure for the matrix. Models which account for longitudinal matrix yielding and splitting as well as transverse matrix yielding and fiber breakage as a function of initial damage, material properties, and applied stress are presented. For ductile matrix composites the results indicate that longitudinal matrix yielding and transverse notch extension are the most significant forms of damage. The extent of the stable transverse damage is shown to be approximately constant, independent of initial notch length. In the case of brittle matrix composites (graphite/epoxy) longitudinal splitting is shown to be the dominant form of damage.

Goree, J. G.↗

Effect of ply constraint on fatigue damage development in composite material laminates

It is shown that the effects of constraint on the response of composite materials can be classified as (1) in-plane effects, and (2) through-the-thickness effects; with in-plane constraint being the principal contributor to notched strength and changes in notched strength under quasi-static loading. It is also determined that the constraint situations that produce the greatest static strength do not minimize the extent of damage that develops under either static or cyclic loading, and that through-the-thickness constraint controls the pattern and spacing of transverse cracks in the characteristic damage state that determines those of strength and stress in unnotched laminates. It is concluded that the mode and the extent of damage in notched and unnotched constrained plies is governed by the stress state in those plies, as determined by the constraining ones, and the relationship of stress and strength states.

Stinchcomb, W. W.↗

Fracture and crack growth in orthotropic laminates. Part 2: Experimental determination of internal damage growth in unidirectional boron/aluminum composite laminates

The fracture behavior of unidirectional boron/aluminum composite laminates is investigated in order to verify the results of mathematical models. These models predict the stresses and displacements of fibers and the amount of damage growth in a center-notched lamina as a function of the applied remote stress and the matrix and fiber material properties. The damage may take the form of longitudinal yielding and splitting in the matrix as well as stable transverse damage consisting of broken fibers and matrix yielding ahead of the notch. A brittle lacquer coating is used to detect the yielding in the matrix while X-ray techniques are used to detemine the number of broken fibers in the laminate. The notched strengths and the amounts of damage found in the experimental specimens agree well with those predicted by the mathematical model.

Goree, J. G.↗

Experimental verification of the Neuber relation at room and elevated temperatures

The accuracy of the Neuber equation at room temperature and 1,200 F as experimentally determined under cyclic load conditions with hold times. All strains were measured with an interferometric technique at both the local and remote regions of notched specimens. At room temperature, strains were obtained for the initial response at one load level and for cyclically stable conditions at four load levels. Stresses in notched members were simulated by subjecting smooth specimens to he same strains as were recorded on the notched specimen. Local stress-strain response was then predicted with excellent accuracy by subjecting a smooth specimen to limits established by the Neuber equation. Data at 1,200 F were obtained with the same experimental techniques but only in the cyclically stable conditions. The Neuber prediction at this temperature gave relatively accurate results in terms of predicting stress and strain points.

Lucas, L. J.↗

Experimental Verification of the Number Relation at Room and Elevated Temperatures

The accuracy of the Neuber equation for predicting notch root stress-strain behavior at room temperature and at 650 C was experimentally investigated. Strains on notched specimens were measured with a non-contacting, interferometric technique and stresses were simulated with smooth specimens. Predictions of notch root stress-strain response were made from the Neuber Equation and smooth specimen behavior. Neuber predictions gave very accurate results at room temperature. However, the predicted interaction of creep and stress relaxation differed from experimentally measured behavior at 650 C.

Lucas, L. J.↗