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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

A Dynamic Analysis of Hydrodynamic Wave Journal Bearings

The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic behavior of a three-wave journal bearing using a transient approach. The transient analysis permits the determination of the rotor behavior after the fractional frequency whirl appears. The journal trajectory is determined by solving a set of nonlinear equations of motion using the Runge-Katta method. The fluid film forces are computed by integrating the transient Reynolds equation at each time step location of the shaft with respect to the bearing. Because of the large values of the rotational speeds, turbulent effects were included in the computations. The influence of the temperature on the viscosity was also considered. Numerical results were compared to experimenta1 results obtained at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Comparisons of the theoretical results with experimental data were found to be in good agreement. The numerical and experimental results showed that the fluid film of a three-wave journal bearing having a diameter of 30 mm, a length of 27 mm, and a wave amplitude ratio greater than 0.15 is stable even at rotational speeds of 60,000 RPM. For lower wave amplitude ratios, the threshold speed at which the fluid film becomes unstable depends on the wave amplitude and on the supply pocket pressure. Even if the fluid film is unstable, the wave bearing maintains the whirl orbit inside the bearing clearance.

Ene, Nicoleta M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Anti-backlash gear bearings

A gear bearing having a first gear and a second gear, each having a plurality of teeth. Each gear operates on two non-parallel surfaces of the opposing gear teeth to perform both gear and bearing functions simultaneously. The gears are moving at substantially the same speed at their contact points. The gears may be roller gear bearings or phase-shifted gear bearings, and may be arranged in a planet/sun system or used as a transmission. One preferred embodiment discloses and describes an anti-backlash feature to counter ''dead zones'' in the gear bearing movement.

Vranish, John M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Designing Rolling-Element Bearings

Bearing Analysis Tool (BAT) is a computer program for designing rolling-element bearings for cryogenic turbomachines. BAT provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that guides the entry of data to develop mathematical models of bearings. The GUI breaks model data into logical subsets that are entered through logic-driven input screens. The software generates a threedimensional graphical model of a bearing as the data are entered. Most dataentry errors become immediately obvious in the graphical model. BAT provides for storage of all the data on a shaft/bearing system, enabling the creation of a library of proven designs. Data from the library can be transferred to subsequent projects by use of simple cut-and-paste routines. BAT includes a library of temperature- dependent cryogenic bearing-material properties for use in the mathematical models. BAT implements algorithms that (1) enable the user to select combinations of design and/or operating-condition parameters, and then (2) automatically optimize the design by performing trade studies over all of the parameter combinations. This feature enables optimization over a large trade space in a fraction of the time taken when using prior bearingmodel software.

Moore, James D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Comparison of Test Stand and Helicopter Oil Cooler Bearing Condition Indicators

The focus of this paper was to compare the performance of HUMS condition indicators (CI) when detecting a bearing fault in a test stand or on a helicopter. This study compared data from two sources: first, CI data collected from accelerometers installed on two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters when oil cooler bearing faults occurred, along with data from helicopters with no bearing faults; and second, CI data that was collected from ten cooler bearings, healthy and faulted, that were removed from fielded helicopters and installed in a test stand. A method using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to compare CI performance was demonstrated. Results indicated the bearing energy CI responded differently for the helicopter and the test stand. Future research is required if test stand data is to be used validate condition indicator performance on a helicopter.

Dempsey, Paula J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Five-Axis, Three-Magnetic-Bearing Dynamic Spin Rig

The Five-Axis, Three-Magnetic-Bearing Dynamic Spin Rig is an apparatus for vibration testing of turbomachine blades in a vacuum at rotational speeds from 0 to 40,000 rpm. This rig includes (1) a vertically oriented shaft on which is mounted an assembly comprising a rotor holding the blades to be tested, (2) two actively controlled heteropolar radial magnetic bearings at opposite ends of the shaft, and (3) an actively controlled magnetic thrust bearing at the upper end of the shaft. This rig is a more capable successor to a prior apparatus, denoted the Dynamic Spin Rig (DSR), that included a vertically oriented shaft with a mechanical thrust bearing at the upper end and a single actively controlled heteropolar radial magnetic bearing at the lower end.

Morrison, Carlos R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Resilient and Corrosion-Proof Rolling Element Bearings Made from Superelastic Ni-Ti Alloys for Aerospace Mechanism Applications

Mechanical components (bearings, gears, mechanisms) typically utilize hard materials to minimize wear and attain long life. In such components, heavily loaded contact points (e.g., meshing gear teeth, bearing ball-raceway contacts) experience high contact stresses. The combination of high hardness, heavy loads and high elastic modulus often leads to damaging contact stress. In addition, mechanical component materials, such as tool steel or silicon nitride exhibit limited recoverable strain (typically less than 1 percent). These material attributes can lead to Brinell damage (e.g., denting) particularly during transient overload events such as shock impacts that occur during the launching of space vehicles or the landing of aircraft. In this paper, a superelastic alloy, 60NiTi, is considered for rolling element bearing applications. A series of Rockwell and Brinell hardness, compressive strength, fatigue and tribology tests are conducted and reported. The combination of high hardness, moderate elastic modulus, large recoverable strain, low density, and intrinsic corrosion immunity provide a path to bearings largely impervious to shock load damage. It is anticipated that bearings and components made from alloys with such attributes can alleviate many problems encountered in advanced aerospace applications.

DellaCorte, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2011

Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Model for Predicting Design vs. Performance

Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. In order to verifying that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must eventually be built and tested with human subjects. Using computer models early in the design phase of new hardware development can be advantageous, allowing virtual prototyping to take place. Having easily modifiable models of the suit hard sections may reduce the time it takes to make changes to the hardware designs and then to understand their impact on suit and human performance. A virtual design environment gives designers the ability to think outside the box and exhaust design possibilities before building and testing physical prototypes with human subjects. Reductions in prototyping and testing may eventually reduce development costs. This study is an attempt to develop computer models of the hard components of the suit with known physical characteristics, supplemented with human subject performance data. Objectives: The primary objective was to develop an articulating solid model of the Mark III hip bearings to be used for evaluating suit design performance of the hip joint. Methods: Solid models of a planetary prototype (Mark III) suit s hip bearings and brief section were reverse-engineered from the prototype. The performance of the models was then compared by evaluating the mobility performance differences between the nominal hardware configuration and hardware modifications. This was accomplished by gathering data from specific suited tasks. Subjects performed maximum flexion and abduction tasks while in a nominal suit bearing configuration and in three off-nominal configurations. Performance data for the hip were recorded using state-of-the-art motion capture technology. Results: The results demonstrate that solid models of planetary suit hard segments for use as a performance design tool is feasible. From a general trend perspective, the suited performance trends were comparable between the model and the suited subjects. With the three off-nominal bearing configurations compared to the nominal bearing configurations, human subjects showed decreases in hip flexion of 64%, 6%, and 13% and in hip abduction of 59%, 2%, and 20%. Likewise the solid model showed decreases in hip flexion of 58%, 1%, and 25% and in hip abduction of 56%, 0%, and 30%, under the same condition changes from the nominal configuration. Differences seen between the model predictions and the human subject performance data could be attributed to the model lacking dynamic elements and performing kinematic analysis only, the level of fit of the subjects with the suit, the levels of the subject s suit experience.

Cowley, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Inflight Performance of Cassini Reaction Wheel Bearing Drag in 1997-2013

As the first spacecraft to achieve orbit at Saturn in 2004, Cassini has collected science data throughout its four-year prime mission (2004-08), and has since been approved for a first and second extended missions through September 2017. Cassini is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. It uses reaction wheels to achieve high level of spacecraft pointing stability that is needed during imaging operations of several science instruments. The Cassini flight software makes in-flight estimates of reaction wheel bearing drag torque and made them available to the mission operations team. These telemetry data are being trended for the purpose of monitoring the long-term health of the reaction wheel bearings. Anomalous drag torque signatures observed over the past 15 years are described in this paper. One of these anomalous drag conditions is bearing cage instability that appeared (and disappeared) spontaneously and unpredictably. Cage instability is an uncontrolled vibratory motion of the bearing cage that can produce high-impact forces internal to the bearing that will cause intermittent and erratic torque transients. Characteristics of the observed cage instabilities and other drag torque "spikes" are described in this paper. In day-to-day operations, the reaction wheels' rates must be neither too high nor too low. To protect against operating the wheels in any undesirable conditions (such as prolonged low spin rate operations), a ground software tool named Reaction Wheel Bias Optimization Tool (RBOT) was developed for the management of the wheels. Disciplined and long-term use of this ground software has led to significant reduction in the daily consumption rate of the wheels' low spin rate dwell time. Flight experience on the use of this ground software tool as well as other lessons learned on the management of Cassini reaction wheels is given in this paper.

Cassini/Huygens Mission↗
NASA NTRS2016

Ball Bearing Analysis with the ORBIS Tool

Ball bearing design is critical to the success of aerospace mechanisms. Key bearing performance parameters, such as load capability, stiffness, torque, and life all depend on accurate determination of the internal load distribution. Hence, a good analytical bearing tool that provides both comprehensive capabilities and reliable results becomes a significant asset to the engineer. This paper introduces the ORBIS bearing tool. A discussion of key modeling assumptions and a technical overview is provided. Numerous validation studies and case studies using the ORBIS tool are presented. All results suggest the ORBIS code closely correlates to predictions on bearing internal load distributions, stiffness, deflection and stresses.

Halpin, Jacob D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

New Mastcam Multispectral Rock Classes in Sulfate-Bearing Strata, Gale Crater, Mars

Orbital data of Gale Crater, Mars has identified a transition in the stratigraphy of Mt. Sharp indicating an environmental change from a wetter one that accommodated clay mineral formation to a drier environment that led to the precipitation of sulfates. Mt. Sharp is not the only location on Mars for which this transition has been observed which suggests a global environmental change around the Noachian-Hesperian transition. Also visible from orbit is a dark-toned marker band that lies within the sulfate-bearing strata hypothesized to be a volcanic ash deposit. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover is currently exploring this region of Mt. Sharp. In-situ analyses by the rover show changes in morphology and chemistry between the sulfate-bearing layers below and above the marker band and the marker band itself. The MSL instrument payload includes the Mast Camera (Mastcam), which collects multispectral images to provide context for other instruments and broad mineralogic interpretations. In addition to mafic Fe-bearing minerals, Mastcam is sensitive to oxides and some hydrated minerals, important indicators of alteration. In our previous work, we compiled a database of Mastcam spectra through Curiosity’s exploration of Vera Rubin ridge (sols 0-2302), from which 9 spectral classes of rocks were identified (Fig. 1D). Each class has diagnostic spectral features that reflect a common mineralogic interpretation. More recently, as Curiosity traversed through the clay-rich region, Glen Torridon (GT), there was some variation in the rock spectral classes potentially due to nontronite and other phyllosilicates, but not enough to warrant new spectral classes (Fig. 1B). We hypothesize that new classes will appear in accordance with sulfate-bearing strata and the marker band, specifically appearing as a ‘downturn’ in the last two wavelength filters that is inherent, but not unique, to polyhydrated Mg-sulfates. Here, we expand upon our analysis of Mastcam multispectral observations through Curiosity’s second encounter with the marker band (up to sol 3672), comparing the spectral diversity within the sulfate-bearing unit and the marker band to the spectral classes encountered previously in the traverse. These analyses will provide a basis for comparison and aid in selecting targets for in-situ investigations as Curiosity continues its ascent of Mt. Sharp.

A M Eng↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

MastCam Multispectral Examination of Rocks in the Sulfate-Bearing Terrain of Marker Band Valley, Gale Crater, Mars

A primary objective of the 4th extended mission of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity is to characterize the sulfate-bearing beds exposed on the slopes of Mt. Sharp (Aeolis Mons) above the clay-bearing beds of the Glen Torridon region characterized in the 3rd extended mission. Orbital reflectance spectroscopy from CRISM has indicated the presence of polyhydrated Mg sulfates in the portion of Mt. Sharp dubbed “Marker Band Valley” (MBV). The Marker Band is a darker toned, high-Ca pyroxene bearing unit that extends around much of Mt. Sharp above the first exposures of sulfate-bearing beds. Standoff imaging of the Marker Band indicates that it is not monolithic, but contains at least two subunits. Curiosity measures multispectral reflectance in the 430 to 1012 nm range with its Mastcam. While diagnostic spectral features of Mg-sulfates are not present in the Mastcam spectral range, a water overtone feature of some polyhydrated sulfates can be observed as a drop in reflectance in the longest wavelength one to three bands of Mastcam multispectral data. Other minerals associated with sulfate-generating alteration processes, most notably Fe-bearing minerals, are more readily detectable in Mastcam multispectral data.

W H Farrand↗
DOE OSTI2021

Systems and methods of decoupled hydrogen generation using energy-bearing redox pairs

Described herein are systems and methods of hydrogen generation and electrolyte regeneration as independent operations in separate redox flow cells. The operations can be decoupled by using an energy-bearing redox pair that electrochemically bears energy facilitating flexible, efficient hydrogen generation. In one example, the hydrogen generation redox flow cell can include a liquid, energy-bearing electrolyte solution in which at least one species of an energy-bearing redox pair is dissolved, to decouple the hydrogen evolution reaction from the reaction at the opposite electrode (e.g., the oxygen evolution reaction of conventional direct water electrolysis). Each species of the energy-bearing redox pair is associated with a standard electrode potential within the water electrolysis window.

Wang, Wei↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reduced LCoE CSP Through Utilizing Process Gas Lubricated Bearings in Oil-Free Drivetrains

The GE Research team proposed to advance the TRL level of process lubricated gas bearings from TRL3 based on the DE-EE0007109 program to TRL5 addressing a critical risk item that radial gas bearings can provide satisfactory rotordynamic performance in supporting a representative rotor for sCO2 Power Cycles. The ability to apply process lubricated gas bearings can provide cost savings with reduction of the associated lube oil systems and an efficiency benefit worth 2% efficiency for the turbomachinery configuration first presented in DE-EE005804. The process lubricated gas bearings are enablers for advanced hermetically sealed configurations that have the potential for significant advancement in sCO2 Power Cycles for CSP applications including the 2% efficiency increase referred to above in addition to OPEX savings with no need to refill the CO2 valued at 60k USD/yr and cost reductions of 50 USD/kWe all leading to a potential 0.95¢/kWh reduction positively impacting CSP goals.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Main bearing response in a waked 15-MW floating wind turbine in below-rated conditions

Increased wind turbine size raises unknowns related to structural flexibility. Moreover, moving to deeper waters, component reliability becomes more critical. This work investigates main bearing response dependence on drivetrain flexibility and wake impingement in a two-turbine wind farm. A 15-MW floating direct-drive turbine is considered. Large eddy simulations (LES) are employed to model neutral, stable and unstable atmospheric conditions at below-rated mean wind speed, while the engineering codes OpenFAST and FAST.Farm simulate turbine and wake behavior. Results indicate significant sensitivities in fatigue estimates to lateral distance between the upstream and downstream turbine. The trends are most substantial in stable conditions, where the waked downwind main bearing sees twice the fatigue damage estimates of the upstream turbine for one position and 50% for another. Main bearing fatigue sensitivity to drivetrain flexibility is minor, while properly including generator rotor inertia loads is important for the axial forces of the locating (axially fixed) bearing, especially in stable conditions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fatigue-crack propagation behavior in a high-carbon chromium SUJ2 bearing steel: Role of microstructure

High-carbon chromium martensite steels are commonly selected for bearing components in the power generation, automotive and aerospace industries where fatigue failure is a major concern. Accordingly, it is of importance to elucidate the structure-property relationships governing the fatigue properties of such bearing steels. Here, the role of microstructure in influencing the fatigue-crack propagation behavior of a high-carbon chromium SUJ2 bearing steel is examined with emphasis on three martensitic structures: (i) a fine-grained (~10 μm) structure with intragranular (but no intergranular) carbides, (ii) a coarser-grained (~25 μm) structure with discontinuous grain-boundary carbides primarily near triple junctions, and (iii) a coarse-grained (~31 μm) structure with continuous grain-boundary carbides. Although growth rates were fairly similar above ~10 -8 m/cycle, significant differences in behavior were observed at lower, near-threshold growth rates; specifically at a load ratio of 0.1, the ΔKth fatigue threshold was increased from 3.8 MPa m ½ in the fine-grained structure to 5.9 to 6.3 MPa m ½ in the two coarser-grained structures. The dominant factor governing such near-threshold behavior was found to be crack-tip shielding from roughness-induced crack closure, which was most pronounced in the coarser-grained structures; additionally, shielding from crack deflection and branching was apparent in these structures as the crack propagated through the network of intersecting martensite lamellae within the coarse grains. Compared to high-strength stainless steels and low-strength carbon steels, the fine-grained SUJ2 steel displays an exceptional combination of high strength and fatigue-crack growth resistance and is considered to be a superior structural alloy for bearing applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

WhiteWind: White Etching Crack (WEC) Bearing Failures in Wind Turbine: Cooperative Research and Development, CRADA Number CRD-18-00758 (Final Report)

A WEC is a particularly aggressive, unpredictable and wide spread rolling element bearing failure mode that is common for large multi-megawatt (MW) wind turbines. WEC is considered the single most expensive failure mode for all wind turbine components, and there is currently no commercial solution. The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is leading the WhiteWind project to investigate WECs through funding provided by the Innovation Fund Denmark. Other project partners include Vestas, SKF, Expanite, Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen University (RWTH Aachen), and Argonne National Laboratory. The objective of the overall project is to develop a new surface engineered WEC-resistant bearing material using novel surface engineering techniques that shall provide a commercially competitive alternative to existing wind turbine bearings. NREL will support the project by providing existing measured bearing loads and validating models of drivetrain loads.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ultra High-Temperature Magnetic Bearing System for s-CO 2 Turbines/Expanders. Phase II Final Report

The goal of this project is to design and construct of a prototype of ultra-high temperature permanent magnet (UHT–PM), which provides the force to pull the spinning shaft towards the target position in the magnetic bearing (MB) clearance circle. This project will develop a PM biased MB system, that is actively cooled to the 550°C maximum operating temperature limit of PMs. The MB test environment will include 700°C, 40krpm and 4,000 psi requirements to advance the supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) and other types of Brayton power cycle systems. The proposed novel MBs combine PMs for supplying the bias field and electromagnets for supplying the control field, both in UHT conditions. The choice of material is the UHT Sm-Co PMs (US patent 6,451,132) due to their significantly better thermal stability. The 6-pole homopolar design permits uninterrupted force delivery via a redundant control capability (US patent 7,429,811) even if 3 poles were to fail. The Phase I efforts was to focus on development and demonstration of component technologies and detailed design of full scale components and a demonstrator test rig for use in Phase II. UHT–PMs were produced and used in the MB actuator. The operating environment of the EEC-T550 Sm-Co magnet material could be extended by implementing active cooling. Electromagnetic coils imbedded in the MB provide forces to stabilize the shaft position at the target via sensing and control stages. Shaft position sensors enable to identify the present position of the spinning shaft relative to its desired target position in the MB clearance circle (air gap). Auxiliary bearings will be installed to provide a backup support system in the event that power to the MB fails or there is a fault in a device providing current to the MB coils. For control, reliability and safety reasons the sensors and auxiliary bearings are typically located as close as possible to the MBs, which exposes them to the same environmental conditions. Development of only the actuator for the UHT environment is an inadequate approach to complete integration of the MB system in the turbine/expander. Therefore the UHT sensor and auxiliary bearing were designed and developed along with the actively cooled, UHT-PM actuator development. Although shaft position sensors are commercially available (Kaman) they may cost up to $10k per channel, and a full 5 axis magnetic suspension is best implemented with up to 20 sensors. Once successfully completed, this project will significantly extend the operating environment capability for turbomachinery applications such as nuclear power, concentrated solar thermal, fossil fuel, geothermal, and shipboard propulsion. The further advancement of UHT-PM-MB will also strengthen the US position in PM technology, which is presently heavily dominated by China. The UHT Sm-Co magnet material that will be utilized in the proposed work has been developed exclusively by the project proposer. Many actuators, motors, generators and other MB applications will greatly benefit from the proposed work.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2014

Resilient and Corrosion-Proof Rolling Element Bearings Made from Superelastic Ni-Ti Alloys for Aerospace

Mechanical components (bearings, gears, mechanisms) typically utilize hardened construction materials to minimize wear and attain long life. In such components, loaded contact points (e.g., meshing gear teeth, bearing balls-raceway contacts) experience high contact stresses. The combination of high hardness and high elastic modulus often leads to damaging contact stress and denting, particularly during transient overload events such as shock impacts that occur during the launching of space vehicles or the landing of aircraft. In this webinar, Dr. DellaCorte will introduce the results of a research project that employs a superelastic alloy, Ni-Ti for rolling element bearing applications. Bearings and components made from such alloys can alleviate many problems encountered in advanced aerospace applications and may solve many terrestrial applications as well

intermetallics↗