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At least 361 records · Page 20

Joining of Nickel and Nickel-Base Alloys

Nickel and nickel- base alloys are amenable to joining with many of the familiar joining processes. Some new joining processes also have been used successfully. In general, conventional joining procedures are used with only slight required modifications, depend­ing on the particular alloy to be welded. However, some special precautions must be taken. Harmful materials must be removed from the joint or surrounding areas or they may damage the weld and the nearby heated parent metal. Some high-strength age­ hardenable alloys are prone to cracking in or near joint areas, unless the material is in the proper condition of heat treatment prior to joining operations. Foreign material and flux residues left from joining operations can cause trouble in subsequent service if not removed. Procedures for joining these alloys have been developed that eliminate or minimize the usual difficulties that have been experienced. When proper procedures are employed, joining of nickel and nickel- base alloys can be performed satisfactorily.

Vagi, J. J.↗

On the joint inversion of geophysical data for models of the coupled core-mantle system

Joint inversion of magnetic, earth rotation, geoid, and seismic data for a unified model of the coupled core-mantle system is proposed and shown to be possible. A sample objective function is offered and simplified by targeting results from independent inversions and summary travel time residuals instead of original observations. These data are parameterized in terms of a very simple, closed model of the topographically coupled core-mantle system. Minimization of the simplified objective function leads to a nonlinear inverse problem; an iterative method for solution is presented. Parameterization and method are emphasized; numerical results are not presented.

Voorhies, Coerte V.↗

Study of SRM Critical Surfaces Using Near Infrared Optical Fiber Spectrometry

The measurement and control of cleanliness for critical surfaces during manufacturing and in service operations provides a unique challenge in the current thrust for environmentally benign processes. Of particular interest has been work performed in maintaining quality in the production of bondline surfaces in propulsion systems and the identification of possible contaminants which are detrimental to the integrity of the bondline. This work requires an in-depth study of the possible sources of contamination, methodologies to identify contaminants, discrimination between contaminants and chemical species caused by environment, and the effect of particular contaminants on the bondline integrity of the critical surfaces. This paper will provide an introduction to the use of Near Infrared (NIR) optical fiber spectrometry in a nondestructive measurement system for process monitoring and how it can be used to help clarify issues concerning surface chemistry. In a previous conference, experimental results for quantitative measurement of silicone and Conoco HD2 greases, and tape residues on solid rocket motor surfaces were presented. This paper will present data for metal hydroxides and discuss the use of the integrating sphere to minimize the effects of physical properties of the surfaces (such as surface roughness) on the results obtained from the chemometric methods used for quantitative analysis.

Workman, G. L.↗

Further Developments in Modeling Creep Effects Within Structural SiC/SiC Components

Anticipating the implementation of advanced SiC/SiC composites into turbine section components of future aero-propulsion engines, the primary objective of this on-going study is to develop physics-based analytical and finite-element modeling tools to predict the effects of constituent creep on SiC/SiC component service life. A second objective is to understand how to possibly manipulate constituent materials and processes in order to minimize these effects. Focusing on SiC/SiC components experiencing through-thickness stress gradients (e.g., airfoil leading edge), prior NASA creep modeling studies showed that detrimental residual stress effects can develop globally within the component walls which can increase the risk of matrix cracking. These studies assumed that the SiC/SiC composites behaved as isotropic viscoelastic continuum materials with creep behavior that was linear and symmetric with stress and that the creep parameters could be obtained from creep data as experimentally measured in-plane in the fiber direction of advanced thin-walled 2D SiC/SiC panels. The present study expands on those prior efforts by including constituent behavior with non-linear stress dependencies in order to predict such key creep-related SiC/SiC properties as time-dependent matrix stress, constituent creep and content effects on composite creep rates and rupture times, and stresses on fiber and matrix during and after creep.

Lang, Jerry↗

Fatigue Life of Flow-Formed Aluminum 2195 and 6061 Alloys

The successful design and fabrication of metallic cryotanks for commercial aviation applications require lightweight, durable materials capable of withstanding high pressures and cryogenic temperatures through tens of thousands of thermomechanical refueling cycles. Flow forming is an advanced manufacturing technique that offers high-rate production and scalability for fabricating integrally stiffened cylinders suitable for cryotank applications. This work establishes the durability of flow-formed aluminum alloys by characterizing their fatigue life performance under conditions that mimic cryotank refueling cycles. Residual stresses in flow-formed aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) 2195-T6 cylinders were assessed using the contour method and found to be minimal. Fatigue life testing was conducted on flow-formed Al-Li 2195-T6 at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures (-321°F [-196°C]), with wrought Al-Li 2195-T6 serving as a baseline for comparison. Results showed that flow-formed materials exhibited fatigue performance comparable to or better than wrought materials, with no statistically significant differences observed between different specimen orientations relative to processing directions. Fractography revealed reduced delaminations in the flow-formed Al-Li 2195 samples as compared to wrought, indicating potential improvement to the microstructure that could result in improved service properties. Texture analysis using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) indicated recrystallization during heat treatment, potentially contributing to reduced delamination susceptibility. These findings demonstrating flow-formed material durability coupled with the high manufacturing efficiency of flow forming, makes flow forming an attractive process to produce aircraft cryotanks.

EBF3↗

Oxidation Penetration in Nuclear Graphite

Study results are presented for seven grades of graphite where 21 cylindrical samples were oxidized to a nominal level of mass loss. Low mass loss samples exhibited ~3% oxidative mass loss, intermediate ~8%, and high ~11%. Flat sample surfaces were covered during oxidation to minimize oxidation penetration at the top and bottom of each sample. Oxidized samples had their diameters reduced stepwise in 1 mm or 2 mm increments. Residual samples were weighed, geometric dimensions were recorded, and Archimedes measurements were taken at each step. Preliminary comparative graphical analysis is presented to illustrate the resultant density gradients observed. Raw tabular data are also provided.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Multi-disciplinary optimization of aeroservoelastic systems

Efficient analytical and computational tools for simultaneous optimal design of the structural and control components of aeroservoelastic systems are presented. The optimization objective is to achieve aircraft performance requirements and sufficient flutter and control stability margins with a minimal weight penalty and without violating the design constraints. Analytical sensitivity derivatives facilitate an efficient optimization process which allows a relatively large number of design variables. Standard finite element and unsteady aerodynamic routines are used to construct a modal data base. Minimum State aerodynamic approximations and dynamic residualization methods are used to construct a high accuracy, low order aeroservoelastic model. Sensitivity derivatives of flutter dynamic pressure, control stability margins and control effectiveness with respect to structural and control design variables are presented. The performance requirements are utilized by equality constraints which affect the sensitivity derivatives. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to minimize an overall cost function. A realistic numerical example of a composite wing with four controls is used to demonstrate the modeling technique, the optimization process, and their accuracy and efficiency.

Karpel, Mordechay↗

Multidisciplinary optimization of aeroservoelastic systems using reduced-size models

Efficient analytical and computational tools for simultaneous optimal design of the structural and control components of aeroservoelastic systems are presented. The optimization objective is to achieve aircraft performance requirements and sufficient flutter and control stability margins with a minimal weight penalty and without violating the design constraints. Analytical sensitivity derivatives facilitate an efficient optimization process which allows a relatively large number of design variables. Standard finite element and unsteady aerodynamic routines are used to construct a modal data base. Minimum State aerodynamic approximations and dynamic residualization methods are used to construct a high accuracy, low order aeroservoelastic model. Sensitivity derivatives of flutter dynamic pressure, control stability margins and control effectiveness with respect to structural and control design variables are presented. The performance requirements are utilized by equality constraints which affect the sensitivity derivatives. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to minimize an overall cost function. A realistic numerical example of a composite wing with four controls is used to demonstrate the modeling technique, the optimization process, and their accuracy and efficiency.

Karpel, Mordechay↗

Nonnegative canonical tensor decomposition with linear constraints: nnCANDELINC

Abstract There is an emerging interest for tensor factorization applications in big‐data analytics and machine learning. To speed up the factorization of extra‐large datasets, organized in multidimensional arrays (also known as tensors), easy to compute compression‐based tensor representations, such as, Tucker and tensor train formats, are used to approximate the initial large‐tensor. Further, tensor factorization is used to extract latent features that can facilitate discoveries of new mechanisms and signatures hidden in the data, where the explainability of the latent features is of principal importance. Nonnegative tensor factorization extracts latent features that are naturally sparse and parts of the data, which makes them easily interpretable. However, to take into account available domain knowledge and subject matter expertise, often additional constraints need to be imposed, which lead us to canonical decomposition with linear constraints (CANDELINC), a canonical polyadic decomposition with rank deficient factors. In CANDELINC, Tucker compression is used as a preprocessing step, which lead to a larger residual error but to more explainable latent features. Here, we propose a nonnegative CANDELINC (nnCANDELINC) accomplished via a specific nonnegative Tucker decomposition; we refer to as minimal or canonical nonnegative Tucker. We derive several results required to understand the specificity of nnCANDELINC, focusing on the difficulties of preserving the nonnegative rank of a tensor to its Tucker core and comparing the real valued to nonnegative case. Finally, we demonstrate nnCANDELINC performance on synthetic and real‐world examples.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Multigrid calculation of three-dimensional viscous cascade flows

A 3-D code for viscous cascade flow prediction was developed. The space discretization uses a cell-centered scheme with eigenvalue scaling to weigh the artificial dissipation terms. Computational efficiency of a four stage Runge-Kutta scheme is enhanced by using variable coefficients, implicit residual smoothing, and a full multigrid method. The Baldwin-Lomax eddy viscosity model is used for turbulence closure. A zonal, nonperiodic grid is used to minimize mesh distortion in and downstream of the throat region. Applications are presented for an annular vane with and without end wall contouring, and for a large scale linear cascade. The calculation is validated by comparing with experiments and by studying grid dependency.

Arnone, A.↗

Average-cost based robust structural control

A method is presented for the synthesis of robust controllers for linear time invariant structural systems with parameterized uncertainty. The method involves minimizing quantities related to the quadratic cost (H2-norm) averaged over a set of systems described by real parameters such as natural frequencies and modal residues. Bounded average cost is shown to imply stability over the set of systems. Approximations for the exact average are derived and proposed as cost functionals. The properties of these approximate average cost functionals are established. The exact average and approximate average cost functionals are used to derive dynamic controllers which can provide stability robustness. The robustness properties of these controllers are demonstrated in illustrative numerical examples and tested in a simple SISO experiment on the MIT multi-point alignment testbed.

Hagood, Nesbitt W.↗

Improving the Near-Earth Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Environment Definition with LADC

The Large Area Debris Collector (LADC) is a 10 m(sup 2) aerogel and acoustic sensor system designed to characterize and collect submillimeter micrometeoroids and orbital debris on the International Space Station (ISS). The project is led by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with major collaboration by the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office at Johnson Space Center. The U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) is responsible for the integration, deployment, and retrieval of the system. The deployment is scheduled for August 2007 with an orbital collection period of one to two years. The combined area time product of LADC will provide a much needed orbital debris population update in the size regime that is important to the safety community - 100 mm and larger. Another key element for LADC is the source identification of the collected samples. Impact features such as track length and track volume can be used to estimate the impact speed and direction of any selected residual embedded in aerogel. Acoustic sensors can provide impact timing and impact location information. The combined dynamical signatures make it possible to reconstruct the orbits of some of the collected samples and lead to their source identification. Compositional analysis on the residuals can also separate debris from meteoroids and provide additional population breakdown for orbital debris (e.g., Al, paint, steel, Al2O3). To maximize the science return and minimize potential contamination from other ISS modules, a careful selection of the location and orientation of LADC on the ISS is needed. Key issues and engineering constraints encountered during mission preparation, and the expected science return based on the mission configuration, are summarized in this paper.

Liou, J.-C.↗

Modeling Creep Effects within SiC/SiC Turbine Components

Anticipating the implementation of advanced SiC/SiC ceramic composites into the hot section components of future gas turbine engines, the primary objective of this on-going study is to develop physics-based analytical and finite-element modeling tools to predict the effects of constituent creep on SiC/SiC component service life. A second objective is to understand how to possibly select and manipulate constituent materials, processes, and geometries in order to minimize these effects. In initial studies aimed at SiC/SiC components experiencing through-thickness stress gradients, creep models were developed that allowed an understanding of detrimental residual stress effects that can develop globally within the component walls. It was assumed that the SiC/SiC composites behaved as isotropic visco-elastic materials with temperature-dependent creep behavior as experimentally measured in-plane in the fiber direction of advanced thin-walled 2D SiC/SiC panels. The creep models and their key results are discussed assuming state-of-the-art SiC/SiC materials within a simple cylindrical thin-walled tubular structure, which is currently being employed to model creep-related effects for turbine airfoil leading edges subjected to through-thickness thermal stress gradients. Improvements in the creep models are also presented which focus on constituent behavior with more realistic non-linear stress dependencies in order to predict such key creep-related SiC/SiC properties as time-dependent matrix stress, constituent creep and content effects on composite creep rates and rupture times, and stresses on fiber and matrix during and after creep.

DiCarlo, J. A.↗

Comparative life cycle assessment of woody biomass processing: air classification, drying, and size reduction powered by bioelectricity versus grid electricity

Sulfur accumulation during biofuel production is pollutive and toxic to conversion catalysts and causes the premature breakdown of processing equipment. Air classification is an effective preprocessing technology for ash and sulfur reduction from biomass feedstocks. Here, a life cycle assessment (LCA) sought to understand the environmental impact of implementing air classification as a sulfur-mitigation technique to improve feedstock quality for pine residues using a grid electricity scenario (GES) versus a bioelectricity scenario (BES). Global warming potential (GWP) for preprocessing was simulated using inventory databases embedded in SimaPro and the Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model, specifically focusing on comparing the GWP of a GES versus a BES. Overall, the GES had a GWP impact over seven times that of the BES (136 versus 18 kg CO 2 equivalent per tonne of usable feedstock), with steam generation during rotary drying accounting for 57% of the GES’s GWP. Air classification represents 0.4% and 1.6% of the total GWP impact for the GES and BES, respectively. Therefore, air classification can facilitate a 30% reduction in feedstock sulfur content to improve feedstock quality for biofuel conversion and lessen corrosion of equipment while contributing minimal GWP impact during preprocessing.

Air classification↗

Serrating Nozzle Surfaces for Complete Transfer of Droplets

A method of ensuring the complete transfer of liquid droplets from nozzles in microfluidic devices to nearby surfaces involves relatively simple geometric modification of the nozzle surfaces. The method is especially applicable to nozzles in print heads and similar devices required to dispense liquid droplets having precise volumes. Examples of such devices include heads for soft printing of ink on paper and heads for depositing droplets of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or protein solutions on glass plates to form microarrays of spots for analysis. The main purpose served by the present method is to ensure that droplets transferred from a nozzle have consistent volume, as needed to ensure accuracy in microarray analysis or consistent appearance of printed text and images. In soft printing, droplets having consistent volume are generated inside a print head, but in the absence of the present method, the consistency is lost in printing because after each printing action (in which a drop is ejected from a nozzle), a small residual volume of liquid remains attached to the nozzle. By providing for complete transfer of droplets (and thus eliminating residual liquid attached to the nozzle) the method ensures consistency of volume of transferred droplets. An additional benefit of elimination of residue is prevention of cross-contamination among different liquids printed through the same nozzle a major consideration in DNA microarray analysis. The method also accelerates the printing process by minimizing the need to clean a printing head to prevent cross-contamination. Soft printing involves a hydrophobic nozzle surface and a hydrophilic print surface. When the two surfaces are brought into proximity such that a droplet in the nozzle makes contact with the print surface, a substantial portion of the droplet becomes transferred to the print surface. Then as the nozzle and the print surface are pulled apart, the droplet is pulled apart and most of the droplet remains on the print surface. The basic principle of the present method is to reduce the liquid-solid surface energy of the nozzle to a level sufficiently below the intrinsic solid-liquid surface energy of the nozzle material so that the droplet is not pulled apart and, instead, the entire droplet volume becomes transferred to the print surface. In this method, the liquid-solid surface energy is reduced by introducing artificial surface roughness in the form of micromachined serrations on the inner nozzle surface (see figure). The method was tested in experiments on soft printing of DNA solutions and of deionized water through 0.5-mm-diameter nozzles, of which some were not serrated, some were partially serrated, and some were fully serrated. In the nozzles without serrations, transfer was incomplete; that is, residual liquids remained in the nozzles after printing. However, in every nozzle in which at least half the inner surface was serrated, complete transfer of droplets to the print surface was achieved.

Kim, Chang-Jin "CJ"↗

A Correlation Between Changes in Solar Luminosity and Differential Radius Measurements

Solar luminosity variations occurring during solar cycle 21 can be attributed in large part to the presence of sunspots and faculae. Nevertheless, there remains a residual portion of the luminosity variation distinctly unaccounted for by these phenomena of solar activity. At the Santa Catalina Laboratory for Experimental Relativity by Astrometry (SCLERA), observations of the solar limb are capable of detecting changes in the solar limb darkening function by monitoring a quantity known as the differential radius. These observations are utilized in such a way that the effects of solar activity are minimized in order to reveal the more fundamental structure of the photosphere. The results of observations made during solar cycle 21 at various solar latitudes indicate that a measurable change did occur in the global photospheric limb darkening function. It is proposed that the residual luminosity change is associated in part with this change in limb darkening.

Kroll, R. J.↗

Residual Insoluble Solids Expected from Saltcake Dissolution

A review of previous SRS saltcake dissolution and characterization studies was performed to inform the analysis of the amount of residual insoluble solids that may result from saltcake dissolution. A realistic value covering most cases for the maximum volume of a settled layer of residual insoluble solids that would result from dissolution of a volume of saltcake was calculated as 0.08 mL/mL (8 vol%). Applying factors to account for dissolution test uncertainty and differences between in-tank settling and laboratory testing, the recommended value for a settled layer of residual insoluble solids that would result from dissolution of a volume of saltcake is 0.16 mL/mL (16 vol%). This should apply to dissolution of saltcake with typical minimal amounts of entrained sludge but may not apply to saltcake with significant sludge. As it is composed of primarily non-radioactive isotopes, the precipitated aluminum hydroxide material does not contribute to the heat load.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Secondary structure in solution of two anti-HIV-1 hammerhead ribozymes as investigated by two-dimensional 1H 500 MHz NMR spectroscopy in water

Two hammerhead chimeric RNA/DNA ribozymes (HRz) were synthesized in pure form. Both were 30 nucleotides long, and the sequences were such that they could be targeted to cleave the HIV-1 gag RNA. Named HRz-W and HRz-M, the former had its invariable core region conserved, the latter had a uridine in the invariable region replaced by a guanine. Their secodary structures were determined by 2D NOESY 1H 500 MHz NMR spectroscopy in 90% water and 10% D2(0), following the imino protons. The data show that both HRz-M and HRz-W form identical secondary structures with stem regions consisting of continuous stacks of AT and GT pairs. An energy minimized computer model of this stem region is provided. The results suggest that the loss of catalytic activity that is known to result when an invariant core residue is replaced is not related to the secondary structure of the ribozymes in the absence of substrate.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗