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At least 595 records · Page 33

Residual Strength Pressure Tests and Nonlinear Analyses of Stringer- and Frame-Stiffened Aluminum Fuselage Panels with Longitudinal Cracks

The results of residual strength pressure tests and nonlinear analyses of stringer- and frame-stiffened aluminum fuselage panels with longitudinal cracks are presented. Two types of damage are considered: a longitudinal crack located midway between stringers, and a longitudinal crack adjacent to a stringer and along a row of fasteners in a lap joint that has multiple-site damage (MSD). In both cases, the longitudinal crack is centered on a severed frame. The panels are subjected to internal pressure plus axial tension loads. The axial tension loads are equivalent to a bulkhead pressure load. Nonlinear elastic-plastic residual strength analyses of the fuselage panels are conducted using a finite element program and the crack-tip-opening-angle (CTOA) fracture criterion. Predicted crack growth and residual strength results from nonlinear analyses of the stiffened fuselage panels are compared with experimental measurements and observations. Both the test and analysis results indicate that the presence of MSD affects crack growth stability and reduces the residual strength of stiffened fuselage shells with long cracks.

Young, Richard D.↗

Residual Strength Prediction of Fuselage Structures with Multiple Site Damage

This paper summarizes recent results on simulating full-scale pressure tests of wide body, lap-jointed fuselage panels with multiple site damage (MSD). The crack tip opening angle (CTOA) fracture criterion and the FRANC3D/STAGS software program were used to analyze stable crack growth under conditions of general yielding. The link-up of multiple cracks and residual strength of damaged structures were predicted. Elastic-plastic finite element analysis based on the von Mises yield criterion and incremental flow theory with small strain assumption was used. A global-local modeling procedure was employed in the numerical analyses. Stress distributions from the numerical simulations are compared with strain gage measurements. Analysis results show that accurate representation of the load transfer through the rivets is crucial for the model to predict the stress distribution accurately. Predicted crack growth and residual strength are compared with test data. Observed and predicted results both indicate that the occurrence of small MSD cracks substantially reduces the residual strength. Modeling fatigue closure is essential to capture the fracture behavior during the early stable crack growth. Breakage of a tear strap can have a major influence on residual strength prediction.

Chen, Chuin-Shan↗

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Solar Array Damper

This paper describes the design of a solar array damper that will be built into each of two new solar arrays to be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during Servicing Mission 3. On this mission, currently scheduled for August, 2000, two "rigid" solar array wings will replace the "flexible" wings currently providing power for HST. Dynamic interaction of these wings with the telescope spacecraft can affect the Pointing Control System. The damper, which is integral to the mast of the solar array, suppresses the fundamental bending modes of the deployed wings at 1.2 Hz (in-plane) and 1.6 Hz (out-of-plane). With the flight version of the damper, modal damping of 2.3% of critical is expected over the temperature range of -4 C to 23 C with a peak damping level of 3.9%. The unique damper design is a combination of a titanium spring and viscoelastic-shear-lap dashpot. The damper was designed using a system finite element model of the solar array wing and measured viscoelastic material properties. Direct complex stiffness (DCS) testing was performed to characterize the frequency- and temperature-dependent behavior of the damping prior to fixed-base modal testing of the wing at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC).

Maly, J. R.↗

Studying Turbulence Using Numerical Simulation Databases: Proceedings of the Summer Program - No. 7

The Seventh Summer Program of the Center for Turbulence Research took place in the four-week period, July 5 to July 31, 1998. This was the largest CTR Summer Program to date, involving thirty-six participants from the U. S. and nine other countries. Thirty-one Stanford and NASA-Ames staff members facilitated and contributed to most of the Summer projects. A new feature, and perhaps a preview of the future programs, was that many of the projects were executed on non-NASA computers. These included supercomputers located in Europe as well as those operated by the Departments of Defense and Energy in the United States. In addition, several simulation programs developed by the visiting participants at their home institutions were used. Another new feature was the prevalence of lap-top personal computers which were used by several participants to carry out some of the work that in the past were performed on desk-top workstations. We expect these trends to continue as computing power is enhanced and as more researchers (many of whom CTR alumni) use numerical simulations to study turbulent flows. CTR's main role continues to be in providing a forum for the study of turbulence for engineering analysis and in facilitating intellectual exchange among the leading researchers in the field. Once again the combustion group was the largest. Turbulent combustion has enjoyed remarkable progress in using simulations to address increasingly complex and practically more relevant questions. The combustion group's studies included such challenging topics as fuel evaporation, soot chemistry, and thermonuclear reactions. The latter study was one of three projects related to the Department of Energy's ASCI Program (www.llnl.gov/asci); the other two (rocket propulsion and fire safety) were carried out in the turbulence modeling group. The flow control and acoustics group demonstrated a successful application of the so-called evolution algorithms which actually led to a previously unknown forcing strategy for jets yielding increased spreading rate. A very efficient algorithm for flow in complex geometries with moving boundaries based on the immersed boundary forcing technique was tested with very encouraging results. Also a new strategy for the destruction of aircraft trailing vortices was introduced and tested. The Reynolds Averaged Modeling (RANS) group demonstrated that the elliptic relaxation concept for RANS calculations is also applicable to transonic flows with shocks; however, prediction of laminar/turbulent transition remains an important pacing item. A large fraction of the LES effort was devoted to the development and testing of a new algorithmic procedure (as opposed to phenomenological model) for subgrid scale modeling based on regularized de-filtering of the flow variables. This appears to be a very promising approach, and a significant effort is currently underway to assess its robustness in high Reynolds number flows and in conjunction with numerical methods for complex flows. As part of the Summer Program two review tutorials were given on Turbulent structures in hydrocarbon pool fires (Sheldon Tieszen), and Turbulent combustion modeling: from RANS to LES via DNS (Luc Vervisch); and two seminars entitled Assessment of turbulence models for engineering applications (Paul Durbin) and Subgrid-scale modeling for non-premixed, turbulent reacting flows (James Riley) were presented. A number of colleagues from universities, government agencies, and industry attended the final presentations of the participants on July 31 and participated in the discussions. There are twenty-six papers in this volume grouped in five areas. Each group is preceded with an overview by its coordinator.

Source record↗

STS-96 Mission Highlights

In this third part of a three-part video mission-highlights set, spacecrew operations between the STS-96 Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery and the International Space Station, as well as STS reentry and landing is reviewed. The flight crew consists of Kent V. Rominger, Commander; Rick D. Husband, Pilot; and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa, Tamara E. Jernigan, Daniel T. Barry, Julie Payette (Canadian), and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev (Russian). The primary goals of this mission were to work on logistics and resupply the International Space Station. This third part of the three part series includes footage from Flight Days 8-11 (FD 8-11) of the mission. FD 8 includes the crew members moving the last items from Discovery into the International Space Station (ISS), closing the final hatch on the orbiting outpost and commanding a series of 17 pulses of Discovery's reaction control system jets to boost the station's orbit. Discovery undocks from the station, performs a 2 1/2 lap flyaround of the station, before Husband fires Discovery's jets in a final burst to move Discovery away from the station, concluding six days of docked operations. After the flyaround, Husband fires Discovery's jets to depart the station's vicinity. Beginning FD 9, as Discovery departs from the station, Mission Specialists Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry pack away the space suit gear they used during their spacewalk early in the mission, while Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Rick Husband practice landings on a laptop computer program. Mission Specialists Julie Payette and Valery Tokarev help to stow gear and repressurize the shuttle's cabin to its standard 14.7 pounds per square inch. The crew also readies to deploy a small, student-built payload called STARSHINE (Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Equipment). In and around landing preparations and the STARSHINE deploy, the crew stowe all equipment used throughout the mission. The STARSHINE satellite ejects from a canister in Discovery's payload bay on FD 10. FD 11 is completed as Discovery swoops out of the darkness as Commander Kent Rominger sets the shuttle and his crewmates down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida to successfully complete the first shuttle mission of the year. Several different views of the landing are highlighted in the video.

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Technology Demonstrator for Direct Polishing of a 50cm C/SiC Ultra Light Mirror

The NRSU portion of the contract was completed on schedule and within acceptable limits of the estimated cost. The lapping of the substrate started on schedule, and completed ahead of schedule. The polishing of the substrate was begun ahead of schedule, and was completed approximately one month ahead of schedule. It is our opinion that the substrate meets the requirements of "diffraction limited performance at 2 microns" over the measured 16 in. area. The final photos suggest that there may be edge roll-off beyond the 16 in. diameter. However, we cannot quantify this. It is our opinion that this material is suitable for use in lightweight optics as long as cladding of some type is used (Silicon, SiC, Sol-Gel, etc), as the bare material itself is too "porous" to obtain a high quality finish. We feel that this part was at the low limit of structural integrity required to mechanically polish to this level of figure requirement. Any lesser structural integrity would require some form of "non contact" figuring.

Scribner, Ken↗

A Portable Battery for Objective, Nonobtrusive Measures of Human Performance

A need exists for a standardized battery of human performance tests in order to measure the effects of various treatments. The present paper reports on progress in such a program, funded jointly by NASA and the Navy. Three batteries are available which differ in length (7.5, 15, and 30 minutes), and number of tests in the battery (3, 10, and 15). All tests are implemented on a portable, lap-held, briefcase-sized microprocessor (NEC PC 8201A). Performances measured include information processing, memory, visual perception, reasoning, motor skills, etc. Current programs are underway to determine norms, reliabilities, stabilities, factor structure of tests, comparisons with marker tests, apparatus suitability, etc.

Kennedy, Robert S.↗

Synthesis and Properties of Phenylethynyl-Terminated, Star-Branched, Phenylquinoxaline Oligomers

The primary objective of this work was to prepare readily melt and solution processable phenylquinoxaline (PQ) oligomers that could be thermally crosslinked to solvent-resistant resins. Thus, a mixture of 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-phenyl-6-fluoroquinoxaline and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-phenyl-6-fluoroquinoxaline (HPFQ) was used to prepare star-branched PQ oligomers end-capped with 4-fluoro-4-phenylethynylbenzophenone (FPEB). 1,1,1-Tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane (THPE) was used as the branching unit. The oligomer number-average molecular weights (M (bar) (sub n) S) as determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) were close to the calculated values of 2922, 4698, 6474, and 13,578 g/mol, and their intrinsic viscosities ranged from 0.16 to 0.57 dl/g (m-cresol at 30 C). The oligomers, which were quite soluble in common organic solvents, had glass transition temperatures (T (sub g) S) that ranged from 181 to 233 C (DSC, DELTA T = 20 C/min). They also underwent an exothermic cure with maxima from 377 to 443 C. The T (sub g) S of the cured oligomers ranged from 259 to 284 C depending on the oligomer M (bar) (sub n) and the curing conditions. The oligomers had low melt viscosities, e.g. an oligomer (SPQ-46) with an M (bar) (sub n) of 4816 g/mol (SEC) had a melt viscosity of 150 Pa s at 348 C. A cured thin film of SPQ-46, which was insoluble in common organic solvents, had a room temperature (RT) tensile strength of 100 MPa, a RT modulus of 2358 MPa, and a RT elongation of 5.9%. A cured sample of SPQ-46 displayed a RT titanium-titanium lap shear tensile strength of 35.2 MPa. SPQ-46/carbon fiber(IM-7) composites, were prepared that displayed a RT flexural strength of 1902 MPa, a RT modulus of 1.38 GPa and a RT open hole compressive strength of 433 MPa.

Ooi, I. H.↗

Probabilistic and Possibilistic Analyses of the Strength of a Bonded Joint

The effects of uncertainties on the strength of a single lap shear joint are explained. Probabilistic and possibilistic methods are used to account for uncertainties. Linear and geometrically nonlinear finite element analyses are used in the studies. To evaluate the strength of the joint, fracture in the adhesive and material strength failure in the strap are considered. The study shows that linear analyses yield conservative predictions for failure loads. The possibilistic approach for treating uncertainties appears to be viable for preliminary design, but with several qualifications.

Stroud, W. Jefferson↗

Effect of Stitching on Debonding in Composite Structural Elements

Stitched multiaxial warp knit materials have been suggested as viable alternatives to laminated prepreg materials for large aircraft structures such as wing skins. Analyses have been developed to quantify the effectiveness of stitching for reducing strain energy release rates in skin-stiffener debond, lap joint and sandwich debond configurations. Strain energy release rates were computed using the virtual crack closure technique. In all configurations, the stitches were shown to significantly reduce the strain energy release rate.

Raju, I. S.↗

Friction Stir Welding of Curved Plates

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a remarkable technology for making butt and lap joints in aluminum alloys. The process operates by passing a rotating tool between two closely butted plates. This process generates heat and the heated material is stirred from both sides of the plates to generate a high quality weld. Application of this technique has a very broad field for NASA. In particular, NASA is interested in using this welding process to manufacture tanks and curved elements. Therefore, this research has been oriented to the study the FSW of curved plates. The study has covered a number of topics that are important in the model development and to uncover the physical process involve in the welding itself. The materials used for the experimental welds were as close to each other as we could possibly find, aluminum 5454-0 and 5456-0 with properties listed at http://matweb.com. The application of FSW to curved plates needs to consider the behavior that we observed in this study. There is going to be larger force in the normal direction (Fz) as the curvature of the plate increases. A particular model needs to be derived for each material and thickness. A more complete study should also include parameters such as spin rate, tool velocity, and power used. The force in the direction of motion (Fx) needs to be reconsidered to make sure of its variability with respect to other parameters such as velocity, thickness, etc. It seems like the curvature does not play a role in this case. Variations in temperature were found with respect to the curvature. However, these changes seem to be smaller than the effect on Fz. The temperatures were all below the melting point. We understand now that the process of FSW produces a three dimensional flow of material that takes place during the weld. This flow needs to be study in a more detailed way to see in which directions the flow of material is stronger. It could be possible to model the flow using a 2-dimensional model in the particular directions where the flow moves faster. More experimental information is required to enrich the knowledge about FSW, and from this point, derive useful mathematical formulas to optimize the process and the design of the machines that will perform it. More experiments and experimental equipment are required to uncover the mathematics of the process.

Sanchez, Nestor↗

Friction-Stir Welding and Mathematical Modeling

The friction-stir welding process is a remarkable way for making butt and lap joints in aluminum alloys. This process operates by passing a rotating tool between two closely butted plates. Through this process it generates a lot of heat and heated material is stirred from both sides of the plates in which the outcome will one high quality weld. My research has been done to study the FSW through mathematical modeling, and using modeling to better understand what take place during the friction-stir weld.

Rostant, Victor D.↗

Development of High Resolution Mirrors and Cd-Zn-Te Detectors for Hard X-ray Astronomy

We describe the fabrication and implementation of a high-resolution conical, grazing- incidence, hard X-ray (20-70 keV) telescope. When flown aboard stratospheric balloons, these mirrors are used to image cosmic sources such as supernovae, neutron stars, and quasars. The fabrication process involves generating super-polished mandrels, mirror shell electroforming, and mirror testing. The cylindrical mandrels consist of two conical segments; each segment is approximately 305 mm long. These mandrels are first, precision ground to within approx. 1.0 micron straightness along each conical segment and then lapped and polished to less than 0.5 micron straightness. Each mandrel segment is the super-polished to an average surface roughness of approx. 3.25 angstrom rms. By mirror shell replication, this combination of good figure and low surface roughness has enabled us to achieve 15 arcsec, confirmed by X-ray measurements in the Marshall Space Flight Center 102 meter test facility. To image the focused X-rays requires a focal plane detector with appropriate spatial resolution. For 15 arcsec optics of 6 meter focal length, this resolution must be around 200 microns. In addition, the detector must have a high efficiency, relatively high energy resolution, and low background. We are currently developing Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride fine-pixel detectors for this purpose. The detectors under study consist of a 16x16 pixel array with a pixel pitch of 300 microns and are 1 mm and 2 mm thick. At 60 keV, the measured energy resolution is around 2%.

Ramsey, Brian D.↗

Probabilistic and Possibilistic Analyses of the Strength of a Bonded Joint

The effects of uncertainties on the predicted strength of a single lap shear joint are examined. Probabilistic and possibilistic methods are used to account for uncertainties. A total of ten variables are assumed to be random, with normal distributions. Both Monte Carlo Simulation and the First Order Reliability Method are used to determine the probability of failure. Triangular membership functions with upper and lower bounds located at plus or minus three standard deviations are used to model uncertainty in the possibilistic analysis. The alpha cut (or vertex) method is used to evaluate the possibility of failure. Linear and geometrically nonlinear finite element analyses are used calculate the response of the joint; fracture in the adhesive and material strength failure in the strap are used to evaluate its strength. Although probabilistic and possibilistic analyses provide significantly more information than do conventional deterministic analyses, they are computationally expensive. A novel scaling approach is developed and used to substantially reduce the computational cost of the probabilistic and possibilistic analyses. The possibilistic approach for treating uncertainties appears to be viable during the conceptual and preliminary design stages when limited data are available and high accuracies are not needed. However, this viability is mixed with several cautions that are discussed herein.

Stroud, W. Jefferson↗

Nucleation of Crystals From Solution in Microgravity (USML-1 Glovebox (GBX) Investigation)

A new method for initiating nucleation from solutions in microgravity which avoids nucleation on container walls and other surfaces is described. This method consists of injecting a small quantity of highly concentrated, heated solution into the interior of a lightly supersaturated, cooler host gowth solution. It was tested successfully on USML-I, producing a large number of LAP crystals whose longest dimension averaged 1 mm.

Kroes, Roger L.↗

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Lunar Crust as Sampled by Basins and Craters

The session "Lunar Crust as Samples by Basins and Craters" included:Radar Properties of Lunar Basin Deposits; Numerical Modeling of the South Pole-Aitkin Impact; Lunar South Pole-Aitken Impact Basin: Topography and Mineralogy; Comparison of the Geologic Setting of the South Pole-Aitken Basin Interior with Apollo 16: Implications for Regolith Components; Identifying Impact Events Within the Lunar Cataclysm from 40Ar-39Ar Ages of Apollo 16 Impact Melt Rocks; Apollo 16 Mafic Glass: Geochemistry, Provenance, and Implications; Lunar Meteorite PCA 02 007: A Feldspathic Regolith Breccia with Mixed Mare/Highland Components; Compositional Constraints on the Launch Pairing of LAP 02205 and PCA 02007 with Other Lunar Meteorites; An In-Situ Study of REE Abundances in Three Anorthositic Impact Melt Lunar Highland Meteorites; A Crustal Rock Clast in Magnesian Anorthositic Breccia, Dhofar 489 and Its Excavation from a Large Basin; The Origin and Impact History of Lunar Meteorite Yamato 86032; Evolved Lithologies and Their Inferred Sources in the Northwestern Procellarum Region of the Moon; and Revisiting the Interpretation of Thorium Abundances at Hansteen Alpha.

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Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Viewing the Lunar Interior Through Titanium-Colored Glasses

The session"Viewing the Lunar Interior Through Titanium-Colored Glasses" included the following reports:Consequences of High Crystallinity for the Evolution of the Lunar Magma Ocean: Trapped Plagioclase; Low Abundances of Highly Siderophile Elements in the Lunar Mantle: Evidence for Prolonged Late Accretion; Fast Anorthite Dissolution Rates in Lunar Picritic Melts: Petrologic Implications; Searching the Moon for Aluminous Mare Basalts Using Compositional Remote-Sensing Constraints II: Detailed analysis of ROIs; Origin of Lunar High Titanium Ultramafic Glasses: A Hybridized Source?; Ilmenite Solubility in Lunar Basalts as a Function of Temperature and Pressure: Implications for Petrogenesis; Garnet in the Lunar Mantle: Further Evidence from Volcanic Glasses; Preliminary High Pressure Phase Relations of Apollo 15 Green C Glass: Assessment of the Role of Garnet; Oxygen Fugacity of Mare Basalts and the Lunar Mantle. Application of a New Microscale Oxybarometer Based on the Valence State of Vanadium; A Model for the Origin of the Dark Ring at Orientale Basin; Petrology and Geochemistry of LAP 02 205: A New Low-Ti Mare-Basalt Meteorite; Thorium and Samarium in Lunar Pyroclastic Glasses: Insights into the Composition of the Lunar Mantle and Basaltic Magmatism on the Moon; and Eu2+ and REE3+ Diffusion in Enstatite, Diopside, Anorthite, and a Silicate Melt: A Database for Understanding Kinetic Fractionation of REE in the Lunar Mantle and Crust.

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Combined In-Plane and Through-the-Thickness Analysis for Failure Prediction of Bolted Composite Joints

Although two-dimensional methods provide accurate predictions of contact stresses and bolt load distribution in bolted composite joints with multiple bolts, they fail to capture the effect of thickness on the strength prediction. Typically, the plies close to the interface of laminates are expected to be the most highly loaded, due to bolt deformation, and they are usually the first to fail. This study presents an analysis method to account for the variation of stresses in the thickness direction by augmenting a two-dimensional analysis with a one-dimensional through the thickness analysis. The two-dimensional in-plane solution method based on the combined complex potential and variational formulation satisfies the equilibrium equations exactly, and satisfies the boundary conditions and constraints by minimizing the total potential. Under general loading conditions, this method addresses multiple bolt configurations without requiring symmetry conditions while accounting for the contact phenomenon and the interaction among the bolts explicitly. The through-the-thickness analysis is based on the model utilizing a beam on an elastic foundation. The bolt, represented as a short beam while accounting for bending and shear deformations, rests on springs, where the spring coefficients represent the resistance of the composite laminate to bolt deformation. The combined in-plane and through-the-thickness analysis produces the bolt/hole displacement in the thickness direction, as well as the stress state in each ply. The initial ply failure predicted by applying the average stress criterion is followed by a simple progressive failure. Application of the model is demonstrated by considering single- and double-lap joints of metal plates bolted to composite laminates.

Kradinov, V.↗