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At least 523 records · Page 29

Space shuttle orbiter digital data processing system timing sensitivity analysis OFT ascent phase

Dynamic loads were investigated to provide simulation and analysis of the space shuttle orbiter digital data processing system (DDPS). Segments of the ascent test (OFT) configuration were modeled utilizing the information management system interpretive model (IMSIM) in a computerized simulation modeling of the OFT hardware and software workload. System requirements for simulation of the OFT configuration were defined, and sensitivity analyses determined areas of potential data flow problems in DDPS operation. Based on the defined system requirements and these sensitivity analyses, a test design was developed for adapting, parameterizing, and executing IMSIM, using varying load and stress conditions for model execution. Analyses of the computer simulation runs are documented, including results, conclusions, and recommendations for DDPS improvements.

Lagas, J. J.↗

M2, S2, K1 models of the global ocean tide

Ocean tidal signals appear in many geophysical measurements. Geophysicists need realistic tidal models to aid in interpretation of their data. Because of the closeness to resonance of dissipationless ocean tides, it is difficult for numerical models to correctly represent the actual open ocean tide. As an approximate solution to this problem, test functions derived by solving Laplace's Tidal Equations with ocean loading and self gravitation are used as a basis for least squares dynamic interpolation of coastal and island tidal data for the constituents M2, S2, and Kl. The resulting representations of the global tide are stable over at least a ?5% variation in the mean depth of the model basin, and they conserve mass. Maps of the geocentric tide, the induced free space potential, the induced vertical component of the solid earth tide, and the induced vertical component of the gravitational field for each contituent are presented.

Parke, M. E.↗

Space shuttle wheels and brakes

The Space Shuttle Orbiter wheels were subjected to a combination of tests which are different than any previously conducted in the aerospace industry. The major testing difference is the computer generated dynamic landing profiles used during the certification process which subjected the wheels and tires to simulated landing loading conditions. The orbiter brakes use a unique combination of carbon composite linings and beryllium heat sink to minimize weight. The development of a new lining retention method was necessary in order to withstand the high temperature generated during the braking roll. As with many programs, the volume into which this hardware had to fit was established early in the program, with no provisions made for growth to offset the continuously increasing predicted orbiter landing weight.

Carsley, R. B.↗

Spin-tunnel investigation of a 1/25-scale model of the General Dynamics F-16XL airplane

A spin-tunnel investigation of the spin and recovery characteristics of a 1/25-scale model to the General Dynamics F-16XL aircraft was conducted in the Langley Spin Tunnel. Tests included erect and inverted spins at various symmetric and asymmetric loading conditions. The required size of an emergency spin-recovery parachute was determined.

Whipple, R. D.↗

The Development of a Conical Composite Energy Absorber for Use in the Attenuation of Crash/Impact Loads

A design for a novel light-weight conical shaped energy absorbing (EA) composite subfloor structure is proposed. This composite EA is fabricated using repeated alternating patterns of a conical geometry to form long beam structures which can be implemented as aircraft subfloor keel beams or frame sections. The geometrical features of this conical design, along with the hybrid composite materials used in the manufacturing process give a strength tailored to achieve a constant 25-40 g sustained crush load, small peak crush loads and long stroke limits. This report will discuss the geometrical design and fabrication methods, along with results from static and dynamic crush testing of 12-in. long subcomponents.

Littell, Justin D.↗

Sensitivity of Space Launch System Buffet Forcing Functions to Buffet Mitigation Options

Time-varying buffet forcing functions arise from unsteady aerodynamic pressures and are one of many load environments, which contribute to the overall loading condition of a launch vehicle during ascent through the atmosphere. The buffet environment is typically highest at transonic conditions and can excite the vehicle dynamic modes of vibration. The vehicle response to these buffet forcing functions may cause high structural bending moments and vibratory environments, which can exceed the capabilities of the structure, or of vehicle components such as payloads and avionics. Vehicle configurations, protuberances, payload fairings, and large changes in stage diameter can trigger undesirable buffet environments. The Space Launch System (SLS) multi-body configuration and its structural dynamic characteristics presented challenges to the load cycle design process with respect to buffet-induced loads and responses. An initial wind-tunnel test of a 3-percent scale SLS rigid buffet model was conducted in 2012 and revealed high buffet environments behind the booster forward attachment protuberance, which contributed to reduced vehicle structural margins. Six buffet mitigation options were explored to alleviate the high buffet environments including modified booster nose cones and fences/strakes on the booster and core. These studies led to a second buffet test program that was conducted in 2014 to assess the ability of the buffet mitigation options to reduce buffet environments on the vehicle. This paper will present comparisons of buffet forcing functions from each of the buffet mitigation options tested, with a focus on sectional forcing function rms levels within regions of the vehicle prone to high buffet environments.

Piatak, David J.↗

Investigating Additively Manufactured 17-4 PH for Structural Applications

17-4 is used regularly to manufacture force transducers particularly for wind tunnel testing. Such applications place demanding structural requirements on the transducers with static safety factors of 1.5 common and the potential for additional dynamic loads. Additive manufacturing (AM) of transducers is very appealing because of significant potential cost and time savings as well as increased design flexibility. This study looks at the processing of 17-4 powder using selective laser melting by two different facilities using their own best practices. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is used by both facilities as part of the thermomechanical processing following printing to explore whether it can improve the consistency of mechanical properties. Results revealed that HIP reduced average porosity of 17-4 parts and that the yield strength of parts following solutionization and aging met wrought material property targets. Strain to failure of one of the facilities parts was less than 5% compared to greater than 9% for the other facility. Inspection of failure surfaces revealed this discrepancy could be attributed to pores (2-4% area fraction) on the failure surface of the low ductility parts. Phase content varied between the facilities with one facility producing fully martensitic parts and the other containing some retained austenite. The phase content of the starting powder and a slower than air cooling rate following the final heat treatment above the austenite eutectoid temperature are likely sources of the retained austenite. Taken together these results suggest that the current state of the art in AM 17-4 processing is sufficient for many NASA force measurement applications, but that attention is required at each stage of processing to assure desired mechanical properties.

Burns, Devin E.↗

ACTE Wing Loads Analysis

The Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) project modified a Gulfstream III (GIII) aircraft with a new flexible flap that creates a seamless transition between the flap and the wing. As with any new modification, it is crucial to ensure that the aircraft will not become overstressed in flight. To test this, Star CCM a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software program was used to calculate aerodynamic data for the aircraft at given flight conditions.

CFD↗

Aeroservoelastic Testing of Free Flying Wind Tunnel Models Part 2: A Centerline Supported Fullspan Model Tested for Gust Load Alleviation

This is part 2 of a two part document. Part 1 is titled: "Aeroservoelastic Testing of Free Flying Wind Tunnel Models Part 1: A Sidewall Supported Semispan Model Tested for Gust Load Alleviation and Flutter Suppression." A team comprised of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing, and the NASA Langley Research Center conducted three aeroservoelastic wind tunnel tests in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel to demonstrate active control technologies relevant to large, flexible vehicles. In the first of these three tests, a full-span, aeroelastically scaled, wind tunnel model of a joined wing SensorCraft vehicle was mounted to a force balance to acquire a basic aerodynamic data set. In the second and third tests, the same wind tunnel model was mated to a new, two degree of freedom, beam mount. This mount allowed the full-span model to translate vertically and pitch. Trimmed flight at10 percent static margin and gust load alleviation were successfully demonstrated. The rigid body degrees of freedom required that the model be flown in the wind tunnel using an active control system. This risky mode of testing necessitated that a model arrestment system be integrated into the new mount. The safe and successful completion of these free-flying tests required the development and integration of custom hardware and software. This paper describes the many systems, software, and procedures that were developed as part of this effort. The balance and free flying wind tunnel tests will be summarized. The design of the trim and gust load alleviation control laws along with the associated results will also be discussed.

Scott, Robert C.↗

Preliminary Computational Analysis of the (HIRENASD) Configuration in Preparation for the Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

This paper presents preliminary computational aeroelastic analysis results generated in preparation for the first Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop (AePW). These results were produced using FUN3D software developed at NASA Langley and are compared against the experimental data generated during the HIgh REynolds Number Aero- Structural Dynamics (HIRENASD) Project. The HIRENASD wind-tunnel model was tested in the European Transonic Windtunnel in 2006 by Aachen University0s Department of Mechanics with funding from the German Research Foundation. The computational effort discussed here was performed (1) to obtain a preliminary assessment of the ability of the FUN3D code to accurately compute physical quantities experimentally measured on the HIRENASD model and (2) to translate the lessons learned from the FUN3D analysis of HIRENASD into a set of initial guidelines for the first AePW, which includes test cases for the HIRENASD model and its experimental data set. This paper compares the computational and experimental results obtained at Mach 0.8 for a Reynolds number of 7 million based on chord, corresponding to the HIRENASD test conditions No. 132 and No. 159. Aerodynamic loads and static aeroelastic displacements are compared at two levels of the grid resolution. Harmonic perturbation numerical results are compared with the experimental data using the magnitude and phase relationship between pressure coefficients and displacement. A dynamic aeroelastic numerical calculation is presented at one wind-tunnel condition in the form of the time history of the generalized displacements. Additional FUN3D validation results are also presented for the AGARD 445.6 wing data set. This wing was tested in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel and is commonly used in the preliminary benchmarking of computational aeroelastic software.

Chwalowski, Pawel↗

Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Composite Energy-Absorbing Keel Beams for General Aviation Type Aircraft

A lightweight energy-absorbing keel-beam concept was developed and retrofitted in a general aviation type aircraft to improve crashworthiness performance. The energy-absorbing beam consisted of a foam-filled cellular structure with glass fiber and hybrid glass/kevlar cell walls. Design, analysis, fabrication and testing of the keel beams prior to installation and subsequent full-scale crash testing of the aircraft are described. Factors such as material and fabrication constraints, damage tolerance, crush stress/strain response, seat-rail loading, and post crush integrity, which influenced the course of the design process are also presented. A theory similar to the one often used for ductile metal box structures was employed with appropriate modifications to estimate the sustained crush loads for the beams. This, analytical tool, coupled with dynamic finite element simulation using MSC.Dytran were the prime design and analysis tools. The validity of the theory as a reliable design tool was examined against test data from static crush tests of beam sections while the overall performance of the energy-absorbing subfloor was assessed through dynamic testing of 24 in long subfloor assemblies.

Kellas, Sotiris↗

Scalability of a Low-Cost Multi-Teraflop Linux Cluster for High-End Classical Atomistic and Quantum Mechanical Simulations

Scalability of a low-cost, Intel Xeon-based, multi-Teraflop Linux cluster is tested for two high-end scientific applications: Classical atomistic simulation based on the molecular dynamics method and quantum mechanical calculation based on the density functional theory. These scalable parallel applications use space-time multiresolution algorithms and feature computational-space decomposition, wavelet-based adaptive load balancing, and spacefilling-curve-based data compression for scalable I/O. Comparative performance tests are performed on a 1,024-processor Linux cluster and a conventional higher-end parallel supercomputer, 1,184-processor IBM SP4. The results show that the performance of the Linux cluster is comparable to that of the SP4. We also study various effects, such as the sharing of memory and L2 cache among processors, on the performance.

Kikuchi, Hideaki↗

Externally blown flap dynamic loads

Some of the principal results obtained in three series of measurements of fluctuating surface pressures induced on externally blown flaps by jet impingment are presented. Large- and small-scale models and hot- and cold-flow tests are considered. The discussion sets forth scaling parameters and consistent features of the root-mean-square values and spectra of the loading. Implications of these results with regard to sonic fatigue are indicated.

Lansing, D. L.↗

Dynamic and static modeling of the shuttle orbiter's thermal protection system

The dynamic and static analysis methods used to model the nonlinear structural behavior of the Shuttle Orbiter's tile/pad thermal protection system are discussed. The structural evaluation of the tile/pad system is complicated by the nonlinear stiffening, hysteresis and viscosity exhibited by the pad material. Application of the analysis to square tiles subject to sinusoidal and random excitation is presented along with appropriate test data. Correlation is considered good. In order to treat the stress analysis of thousands of individual tiles, a nonlinear static analysis was developed which utilizes equivalent static loads derived from the dynamic environment. Tensile stress at the bondline is examined in thousands of unique tiles.

Housner, J. M.↗

Development of a drive system for a sequential space camera

An electronically commutated dc motor is reported for driving the camera claw and magazine, and a stepper motor is described for driving the shutter with the two motors synchronized electrically. Subsequent tests on the breadboard positively proved the concept, but further development beyond this study should be done. The breadboard testing also established that the electronically commutated motor can control speed over a wide dynamic range, and has a high torque capability for accelerating loads. This performance suggested the possibility of eliminating the clutch from the system while retaining all of the other mechanical features of the DAC, if the requirement for independent shutter speeds and frame rates can be removed. Therefore, as a final step in the study, the breadboard shutter and shutter drive were returned to the original DAC configuration, while retaining the brushless dc motor drive.

Sharpsteen, J. T.↗

Parameter identification applied to analytic hingeless rotor modeling

It is known that dynamic rotor inflow has a substantial effect on rotor dynamic loads. Despite the complexity of the unsteady flow problem, simple analytical models can be made useful by identifying their parameters from transient response tests without performing flow measurements. Two analytical inflow models are studied: the first is based on an equivalent blade Lock number, the second is based on a time delayed unsteady momentum inflow. In preparation for the experimental data analysis, identifications from simulated test data and an eigenvalue analysis are performed. The experimental results show that the first analytical inflow model is accurate for rotor advance ratios of 0.4 and above. For lower advance ratios, the second inflow model provides better accuracy. Prediction studies with experimental data not used for the identification are performed to determine the accuracy of the mathematical models.

Banerjee, D.↗

Analysis and testing of large space structures

Considerations and approaches to the ground testing of large space structures are discussed. The large size combined with the loading due to gravity makes testing of the complete structure difficult. Gravitational stiffening, suspension effects, virtual air mass, preloads, and air damping alter the dynamic characteristics. Low resonant frequencies and high modal densities within the frequency range of interest combine with small motions and accelerations to make testing difficult. Mechanism complexities and nonlinearities associated with space-erected/assembled structures cause structural complexity regardless of other considerations. Ground test approaches include scale models, element and substructure tests, and structural linearization. Analytical approaches are also discussed.

Stahle, C. V.↗