Results for “Test Fixture” — Page 28

NASA NTRS2007

Optical Alignment of the JWST ISIM to the OTE Simulator (OSIM): Current Concept and Design Studies

The James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) is the scientific payload of the observatory and contai ns four science instruments. During alignment and test of the integrated ISIM (i.e. ISIM + science instruments) at NASA's Goddard Space Fli ght Center (GSFC), the Optical telescope element SIMulator (OSIM) wil l be used to optically stimulate the science instruments to verify their operation and performance. In this paper we present the design of two cryogenic alignment fixtures that will be used to determine and verify the proper alignment of OSIM to ISIM during testing at GSFC. The se fixtures, the Master Alignment Target Fixture (MATF) and the ISIM Alignment Target Fixture (IATF), will provide continuous, 6 degree of freedom feedback to OSIM during initial ambient alignment as well as during cryogenic vacuum testing.

Frey, Bradley J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A low cost method of testing compression-after-impact strength of composite laminates

A method was devised to test the compression strength of composite laminate specimens that are much thinner and wider than other tests require. The specimen can be up to 7.62 cm (3 in) wide and as thin as 1.02 mm (.04 in). The best features of the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI) fixture are combined with an antibuckling jig developed and used at the University of Dayton Research Institute to obtain a method of compression testing thin, wide test coupons on any 20 kip (or larger) loading frame. Up to 83 pct. less composite material is needed for the test coupons compared to the most commonly used compression-after-impact (CAI) tests, which calls for 48 ply thick (approx. 6.12 mm) test coupons. Another advantage of the new method is that composite coupons of the exact lay-up and thickness of production parts can be tested for CAI strength, thus yielding more meaningful results. This new method was used to compression test 8 and 16 ply laminates of T300/934 carbon/epoxy. These results were compared to those obtained using ASTM standard D 3410-87 (Celanese compression test). CAI testing was performed on IM6/3501-6, IM7/SP500 and IM7/F3900. The new test method and associated fixture work well and is a valuable asset to MSFC's damage tolerance program.

Nettles, Alan T.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Creep Testing of Vectran Yarn

NASA and industry are developing inflatable space structures to provide deployable habitable volumes for future exploration missions in space and on the surface of the Moon and Mars. These structures must withstand the constant pressure loading of multi-year missions. These missions therefore require excellent creep resistance in the constituent cordage and webbings that provide the primary structure of the vessel, which is typically constructed using high-strength synthetic materials such as Vectran. Real-time and accelerated creep testing of Vectran webbings has been performed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), however, acceptable correlation between the results of the two approaches has not yet been achieved. Given the additional complexity of the webbing architecture, creep testing at the yarn level is being studied to reduce the number of interacting properties and focus on the core creep behavior to see if better correlation can be achieved between real-time and accelerated tests. To achieve this objective a creep test stand that is able to support simultaneous testing of five Vectran yarns had been previously designed and built. The test stand utilizes two clamp-wrap grips to mount the yarn and has a 10:1 load ratio, via a lever-arm, henceforth, known as the lever-arm test stand. Real-time creep testing (without measuring the strain of the yarn) in this fixture produces yarn ruptures in the gauge section. However, a large scatter in the times to failure was seen in the results across multiple loading conditions. For example, a test at 70% of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) was found to have specimens that failed within a matter of hours and others that took over 6 weeks to fail. Prior test data on Vectran webbings had indicated high variability in the material strength, leading to higher than average scatter in the creep testing of webbings, which could translate to the scatter in creep behavior at the yarn level as well. However, there was still the possibility that the lever-arm test stand was causing the high scatter in data; specifically, due to potential variability in the loading of each specimen. Therefore, an additional creep test setup was designed and built to attempt to determine if the large scatter in the results was due to inherent material properties, the lever-arm test stand, or both. The newly designed creep test stand, henceforth known as the conventional test stand, utilized the more typical method for creep testing which involved hanging a weight from the yarn with no additional load amplification. The conventional test stand was designed and fabricated in-house at LaRC. High speed cameras were used to validate that the specimens in the conventional test stand failed in the gauge section. Once it was determined that the conventional test stand would provide valid failures in the gauge section, creep tests on the Vectran yarns were run to compare to the lever-arm test stand results. Preliminary results for a 70% UTS creep test have some specimens failing within a number of hours and some failing in excess of 6 weeks. These results are similar to those seen on the lever-arm test stand, pointing towards a large variability inherent in the material. The poster/presentation will focus on the design, fabrication, and validation of the conventional test stand as well as present preliminary results comparing the creep data from the conventional and lever-arm test stands

creep testing↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High-Enthalpy Testing to Validate Simulation of an Aerosol Capture Probe

AERACEPT (Aerosol Rapid Analysis Combined Entry Probe/sonde Technology) is a developing technology enabling in-situ aerosol particle sampling and analysis in a small spacecraft mission envelope. It integrates a passive aerosol sample collection system into a probe’s thermal protection system (TPS) to remove the need for heat shield separation and active descent control (parachutes, gliders, etc.). AERACEPT is being validated against the requirements of the Nephele mission concept, which targets the middle and lower Venus cloud layers. The proposed technology employs 3D Carbon-Carbon (3D-CC) at the probe’s nose to withstand the extreme environments encountered in a Venus entry without producing pyrolysis gases that would contaminate the mission sample collection. Any shape change of this 3D-CC sample inlet will affect airflow through the sampling system, thereby impacting aerosol sample collection bias and efficiency. Accurate prediction of the nose’s material response during entry is there-fore of fundamental importance to the development and practical use of this technology. As a result, the AERACEPT project is planning a test campaign in the newly built PlasmatronX facility with a novel “Open Iso-Q” test article to validate state-of-the-art material response tools for a simulated Venus entry. The PlasmatronX is a 350 kW inductively-coupled plasma facility developed and run by the Center for Hypersonics and Entry Systems Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The facility can support ground testing for a variety of planetary destinations by simulating entry conditions in Nitrogen, Air, and Carbon Dioxide. To best simulate the Venus atmosphere and match flight-like recession, the planned AERACEPT test campaign will use Carbon Dioxide as its test gas. AERACEPT has designed two test articles for this campaign: 1) a standard test article whose curved surface approximates a constant applied heat flux (“Closed Iso-Q” model) and 2) a novel inlet test article with a through-hole at the stagnation point (“Open Iso-Q” model). Both article types consist of a 3D-CC sample bonded to a graphite fixture. All articles will be laser scanned before and after testing to estimate shape change and recession, and the “Closed Iso-Q” articles will be instrumented with thermocouples to provide temperature histories. The test article temperatures and inlet shape change will be compared against simulations run with the Porous material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) to validate the AERACEPT 3D-CC material response model. Due to the high thermal conductivity of 3D-CC, multidimensional effects have a large influence on the test article temperature and the standard 1-D material response tools are not sufficient for test planning. The test campaign features (e.g. article design, run duration, heat fluxes) are therefore informed by a series of 3-D simulations using state-of-the-art material response tools such as PATO. The test campaign is scheduled for spring of 2024. Expected results include 1) Key drivers of selected test conditions (e.g. matching mission flight atmosphere & recession), 2) Simulation results that informed test article design, 3) Acquired test data such as recession measurements, temperature histories, and photos, and 4) Comparisons between test results and simulation predictions.

AERACEPT↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High-Enthalpy Testing to Validate Simulation of an Aerosol Capture Probe

AERACEPT (Aerosol Rapid Analysis Combined Entry Probe/sonde Technology) is a developing technology enabling in-situ aerosol particle sampling and analysis in a small spacecraft mission envelope. It integrates a passive aerosol sample collection system into a probe’s thermal protection system (TPS) to remove the need for heat shield separation and active descent control (parachutes, gliders, etc.). AERACEPT is being validated against the requirements of the Nephele mission concept, which targets the middle and lower Venus cloud layers. The proposed technology employs 3D Carbon-Carbon (3D-CC) at the probe’s nose to withstand the extreme environments encountered in a Venus entry without producing pyrolysis gases that would contaminate the mission sample collection. Any shape change of this 3D-CC sample inlet will affect airflow through the sampling system, thereby impacting aerosol sample collection bias and efficiency. Accurate prediction of the nose’s material response during entry is there-fore of fundamental importance to the development and practical use of this technology. As a result, the AERACEPT project is planning a test campaign in the newly built PlasmatronX facility with a novel “Open Iso-Q” test article to validate state-of-the-art material response tools for a simulated Venus entry. The PlasmatronX is a 350 kW inductively-coupled plasma facility developed and run by the Center for Hypersonics and Entry Systems Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The facility can support ground testing for a variety of planetary destinations by simulating entry conditions in Nitrogen, Air, and Carbon Dioxide. To best simulate the Venus atmosphere and match flight-like recession, the planned AERACEPT test campaign will use Carbon Dioxide as its test gas. AERACEPT has designed two test articles for this campaign: 1) a standard test article whose curved surface approximates a constant applied heat flux (“Closed Iso-Q” model) and 2) a novel inlet test article with a through-hole at the stagnation point (“Open Iso-Q” model). Both article types consist of a 3D-CC sample bonded to a graphite fixture. All articles will be laser scanned before and after testing to estimate shape change and recession, and the “Closed Iso-Q” articles will be instrumented with thermocouples to provide temperature histories. The test article temperatures and inlet shape change will be compared against simulations run with the Porous material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) to validate the AERACEPT 3D-CC material response model. Due to the high thermal conductivity of 3D-CC, multidimensional effects have a large influence on the test article temperature and the standard 1-D material response tools are not sufficient for test planning. The test campaign features (e.g. article design, run duration, heat fluxes) are therefore informed by a series of 3-D simulations using state-of-the-art material response tools such as PATO. The test campaign is scheduled for spring of 2024. Expected results include 1) Key drivers of selected test conditions (e.g. matching mission flight atmosphere & recession), 2) Simulation results that informed test article design, 3) Acquired test data such as recession measurements, temperature histories, and photos, and 4) Comparisons between test results and simulation predictions.

AERACEPT↗

NASA NTRS2008

Application of High-Temperature Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer Strain Sensor

In this presentation to the NASA Aeronautics Sensor Working Group the application of a strain sensor is outlined. The high-temperature extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) strain sensor was developed due to a need for robust strain sensors that operate accurately and reliably beyond 1800 F. Specifically, the new strain sensor would provide data for validating finite element models and thermal-structural analyses. Sensor attachment techniques were also developed to improve methods of handling and protecting the fragile sensors during the harsh installation process. It was determined that thermal sprayed attachments are preferable even though cements are simpler to apply as cements are more prone to bond failure and are often corrosive. Previous thermal/mechanical cantilever beam testing of EFPI yielded very little change to 1200 F, with excellent correlation with SG to 550 F. Current combined thermal/mechanical loading for sensitivity testing is accomplished by a furnace/cantilever beam loading system. Dilatometer testing has can also be used in sensor characterization to evaluate bond integrity, evaluate sensitivity and accuracy and to evaluate sensor-to-sensor scatter, repeatability, hysteresis and drift. Future fiber optic testing will examine single-mode silica EFPIs in a combined thermal/mechanical load fixture on C-C and C-SiC substrates, develop a multi-mode Sapphire strain-sensor, test and evaluate high-temperature fiber Bragg Gratings for use as strain and temperature sensors and attach and evaluate a high-temperature heat flux gauge.

Piazza, Anthony↗

NASA NTRS2011

Vibration Considerations for Cryogenic Tanks Using Glass Bubbles Insulation

The use of glass bubbles as an efficient and practical thermal insulation system has been previously demonstrated in cryogenic storage tanks. One such example is a spherical, vacuum-jacketed liquid hydrogen vessel of 218,000 liter capacity where the boiloff rate has been reduced by approximately 50 percent. Further applications may include non-stationary tanks such as mobile tankers and tanks with extreme duty cycles or exposed to significant vibration environments. Space rocket launch events and mobile tanker life cycles represent two harsh cases of mechanical vibration exposure. A number of bulk fill insulation materials including glass bubbles, perlite powders, and aerogel granules were tested for vibration effects and mechanical behavior using a custom design holding fixture subjected to random vibration on an Electrodynamic Shaker. The settling effects for mixtures of insulation materials were also investigated. The vibration test results and granular particle analysis are presented with considerations and implications for future cryogenic tank applications. A thermal performance update on field demonstration testing of a 218,000 L liquid hydrogen storage tank, retrofitted with glass bubbles, is presented. KEYWORDS: Glass bubble, perlite, aerogel, insulation, liquid hydrogen, storage tank, mobile tanker, vibration.

Werlink, Rudolph J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Fluxless Brazing and Heat Treatment of a Plate-Fin Sandwich Actively Cooled Panel

The processes and techniques used to fabricate plate-fin sandwich actively cooled panels are presented. The materials were 6061 aluminum alloy and brazing sheet having clad brazing alloy. The panels consisted of small scale specimens, fatigue specimens, and a large 0.61 m by 1.22 m test panel. All panels were fluxless brazed in retorts in heated platen presses while exerting external pressure to assure intimate contact of details. Distortion and damage normally associated with that heat treatment were minimized by heat treating without fixtures and solution quenching in an organic polymer solution. The test panel is the largest fluxless brazed and heat treated panel of its configuration known to exist.

Beuyukian, C. S.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Pyroshock Simulation Systems: Are We Correctly Qualifying Flight Hardware for Pyroshock Environments?

There are several methods of shock testing that are commonly used by the aerospace industry to qualify flight hardware to pyroshock environments. In some cases the shock results and in particular the shock response spectra computed from these tests were interpreted in such a way as to satisfy the testing requirements and were often considered successful for flight hardware qualification. However, close scrutiny of these acquired shock data suggest gross violation of the pyroshock qualification requirements. There are several issues, both in terms of the shock generation mechanisms and the shock signature acquisition and analysis that have led to improper qualification of flight hardware. In this paper some factors contributing to the misinterpretation of the shock data are reviewed. First, issues with the hardware fixturing and instrumentation that may lead to incorrect shock testing are discussed. Second, issues facing the shock simulation systems and pyrotechnic testing are reviewed. Finally, issues pertaining to the data acquisition and analysis are briefly discussed.

instrumentation↗

NASA NTRS1974

Experimental determination of the principal moments of inertia of the Helios prototype spacecraft

The moment of inertia of the Helios Spacecraft about its spin axis was determined by use of a roll-fixture using two sets of crossed flexure pivots as elastic constraints. The test procedure entailed measurement of a system oscillation period with each of a set of added moment-of-inertia increments. The tare effect of the fixture was determined by a like process and was subtracted from the gross value to yield the spacecraft roll moment of inertia to an estimated accuracy of 0.2%. Lateral moments of inertia (i.e., about each of three axes normal to the spin axis) were determined by a gravity pendulum method that makes use of the fact that any physical pendulum has a minimum period of oscillation determined by a particular distance from the axis of rotation to the system center of gravity.

Gayman, W. H.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Titanium Aluminide Scramjet Inlet Flap Subelement Benchmark Tested

A subelement-level ultimate strength test was completed successfully at the NASA Glenn Research Center (http://www.nasa.gov/glenn/) on a large gamma titanium aluminide (TiAl) inlet flap demonstration piece. The test subjected the part to prototypical stress conditions by using unique fixtures that allowed both loading and support points to be located remote to the part itself (see the photograph). The resulting configuration produced shear, moment, and the consequent stress topology proportional to the design point. The test was conducted at room temperature, a harsh condition for the material because of reduced available ductility. Still, the peak experimental load-carrying capability exceeded original predictions.

Krause, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Root-sum-square structural strength verification approach

Utilizing a proposed fixture design or some variation thereof, this report presents a verification approach to strength test space flight payload components, electronics boxes, mechanisms, lines, fittings, etc., which traditionally do not lend themselves to classical static loading. The fixture, through use of ordered Euler rotation angles derived herein, can be mounted on existing vibration shakers and can provide an innovative method of applying single axis flight load vectors. The versatile fixture effectively loads protoflight or prototype components in all three axes simultaneously by use of a sinusoidal burst of desired magnitude at less than one-third the first resonant frequency. Cost savings along with improved hardware confidence are shown. The end product is an efficient way to verify experiment hardware for both random vibration and strength.

Lee, Henry M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Free-free and fixed base modal survey tests of the Space Station Common Module Prototype

This paper describes the testing aspects and the problems encountered during the free-free and fixed base modal surveys completed on the original Space Station Common Module Prototype (CMP). The CMP is a 40-ft long by 14.5-ft diameter 'waffle-grid' cylinder built by the Boeing Company and housed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) near Huntsville, AL. The CMP modal survey tests were conducted at MSFC by the Dynamics Test Branch. The free-free modal survey tests (June '90 to Sept. '90) included interface verification tests (IFVT), often referred to as impedance measurements, mass-additive testing and linearity studies. The fixed base modal survey tests (Feb. '91 to April '91), including linearity studies, were conducted in a fixture designed to constrain the CMP in 7 total degrees-of-freedom at five trunnion interfaces (two primary, two secondary, and the keel). The fixture also incorporated an airbag off-load system designed to alleviate the non-linear effects of friction in the primary and secondary trunnion interfaces. Numerous test configurations were performed with the objective of providing a modal data base for evaluating the various testing methodologies to verify dynamic finite element models used for input to coupled load analysis.

Driskill, T. C.↗

NASA NTRS1965

Study to investigate the effects of ionizing radiation on transistor surfaces First quarterly report, 1 Jul. - 30 Sep. 1965

Ionizing radiation effects on transistor surfaces - facilities, fixtures, and instrumentation checked out for X-ray tests of transistors

TEST FACILITY↗

NASA NTRS1981

Effect of load introduction on graphite epoxy compression specimens

Compression testing of modern composite materials is affected by the manner in which the compressive load is introduced. Two such effects are investigated: (1) the constrained edge effect which prevents transverse expansion and is common to all compression testing in which the specimen is gripped in the fixture; and (2) nonuniform gripping which induces bending into the specimen. An analytical model capable of quantifying these foregoing effects was developed which is based upon the principle of minimum complementary energy. For pure compression, the stresses are approximated by Fourier series. For pure bending, the stresses are approximated by Legendre polynomials.

Reiss, R.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Thermal Effects on the Compressive Behavior of IM7/PET15 Laminates

The effect of changing operating temperature on the compressive response of IM7/PETI5 composite laminates is investigated within this paper. The three temperatures evaluated for this study were 129 C, 21 C, and 177 C, a spectrum from cryogenic to an elevated operating temperature. Laminate compressive strength property testing was conducted using the Wyoming Combined Load Compression fixture to generate strength data at the three operating temperatures of interest for several lay-ups. A three-dimensional finite element analysis model of a [90/0]8s composite laminate subject to compressive loading is developed. The model is used to study the key attributes of the laminate that significantly influence the state of stress in the laminate. Both the resin rich layer located between lamina and the thermal residual stresses present in the laminate due to curing are included in the analysis model. For the laminate modeled, the effect of modeling temperature dependent material properties was determined to be insignificant for the operating temperatures studied. Simply using the material properties measured at the operating temperature of interest was sufficient for predicting stresses accurately in a linear analysis for the current problem. The three-dimensional analysis results revealed that the application of an applied compressive axial load in the 0-degree direction decreased the interlaminar stresses present in the laminate initially due to curing. Therefore, failure was concluded not be attributable to the interlaminar stresses in the composite laminate being studied when a compressive load is applied. The magnitude of the measured laminate compressive strength change with a change in temperature is concluded to be dominated by the change in the lamina compressive axial strength with a change in temperature.

Walker, Sandra Polesky↗

NASA NTRS2011

Reflective Occultation Mask for Evaluation of Occulter Designs for Planet Finding

Advanced formation flying occulter designs utilize a large occulter mask flying in formation with an imaging telescope to block and null starlight to allow imaging of faint planets in exosolar systems. A paper describes the utilization of subscale reflective occultation masks to evaluate formation flying occulter designs. The use of a reflective mask allows mounting of the occulter by conventional means and simplifies the test configuration. The innovation alters the test set-up to allow mounting of the mask using standard techniques to eliminate the problems associated with a standard configuration. The modified configuration uses a reflective set-up whereby the star simulator reflects off of a reflective occulting mask and into an evaluation telescope. Since the mask is sized to capture all rays required for the imaging test, it can be mounted directly to a supporting fixture without interfering with the beam. Functionally, the reflective occultation mask reflects light from the star simulator instead of transmitting it, with a highly absorptive carbon nanotube layer simulating the occulter blocking mask. A subscale telescope images the star source and companion dim source that represents a planet. The primary advantage of this is that the occulter can be mounted conventionally instead of using diffractive wires or magnetic levitation.

Hagopian, John↗

NASA NTRS2014

Test Methodology Development for Experimental Structural Assessment of ASC Planar Spring Material for Long-Term Durability

A vibration-based testing methodology has been developed that will assess fatigue behavior of the metallic material of construction for the Advanced Stirling Convertor displacer (planar) spring component. To minimize the testing duration, the test setup is designed for base-excitation of a multiplespecimen arrangement, driven in a high-frequency resonant mode; this allows completion of fatigue testing in an accelerated period. A high performance electro-dynamic exciter (shaker) is used to generate harmonic oscillation of cantilever beam specimens, which are clasped on the shaker armature with specially-designed clamp fixtures. The shaker operates in closed-loop control with dynamic specimen response feedback provided by a scanning laser vibrometer. A test coordinator function synchronizes the shaker controller and the laser vibrometer to complete the closed-loop scheme. The test coordinator also monitors structural health of the test specimens throughout the test period, recognizing any change in specimen dynamic behavior. As this may be due to fatigue crack initiation, the test coordinator terminates test progression and then acquires test data in an orderly manner. Design of the specimen and fixture geometry was completed by finite element analysis such that peak stress does not occur at the clamping fixture attachment points. Experimental stress evaluation was conducted to verify the specimen stress predictions. A successful application of the experimental methodology was demonstrated by validation tests with carbon steel specimens subjected to fully-reversed bending stress; high-cycle fatigue failures were induced in such specimens using higher-than-prototypical stresses

fatigue testing machines↗