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At least 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Improved Rare-Earth Emitter Hollow Cathode

An improvement has been made to the design of the hollow cathode geometry that was created for the rare-earth electron emitter described in Compact Rare Earth Emitter Hollow Cathode (NPO-44923), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 34, No. 3 (March 2010), p. 52. The original interior assembly was made entirely of graphite in order to be compatible with the LaB6 material, which cannot be touched by metals during operation due to boron diffusion causing embrittlement issues in high-temperature refractory materials. Also, the graphite tube was difficult to machine and was subject to vibration-induced fracturing. This innovation replaces the graphite tube with one made out of refractory metal that is relatively easy to manufacture. The cathode support tube is made of molybdenum or molybdenum-rhenium. This material is easily gun-bored to near the tolerances required, and finish machined with steps at each end that capture the orifice plate and the mounting flange. This provides the manufacturability and robustness needed for flight applications, and eliminates the need for expensive e-beam welding used in prior cathodes. The LaB6 insert is protected from direct contact with the refractory metal tube by thin, graphite sleeves in a cup-arrangement around the ends of the insert. The sleeves, insert, and orifice plate are held in place by a ceramic spacer and tungsten spring inserted inside the tube. To heat the cathode, an insulating tube is slipped around the refractory metal hollow tube, which can be made of high-temperature materials like boron nitride or aluminum nitride. A screw-shaped slot, or series of slots, is machined in the outside of the ceramic tube to constrain a refractory metal wire wound inside the slot that is used as the heater. The screw slot can hold a single heater wire that is then connected to the front of the cathode tube by tack-welding to complete the electrical circuit, or it can be a double slot that takes a bifilar wound heater with both leads coming out the back. This configuration replaces the previous sheathed heater design that limited the cycling-life of the cathode.

Goebel, Dan M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Variation of crack-opening stresses in three-dimensions - Finite thickness plate

A 3D elastic-plastic finite-element analysis is conducted to study crack-growth behavior of thin and thick center-cracked specimens under constant-amplitude loading conditions. The numerical analysis and the specimen configuration and loading are described for both the thin and thick conditions. Stabilized crack-opening stresses of interior and exterior regions are given as are the closure and opening profiles of the crack-surface plane after the tenth cycle. The effect of thickness is discussed with respect to the crack-opening stress levels and the plastic zones of the interior and exterior regions. A load-reduced-displacement technique allows the calculation of the crack-opening stresses at three locations on the crack surface plane. The constraint effect related to thickness gives a lower stabilized crack-opening stress level for the thick specimens.

Chermahini, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Jet to freestream velocity ratio computations for a jet in a crossflow

The flowfield induced by a single, subsonic jet exhausting perpendicularly from a flat plate into a subsonic crossflow has been numerically investigated. Time-averaged solutions were obtained using the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations and two overlapping grids. Test cases were chosen to match available experimental data where the jet Mach number was 0.78 and the freestream Mach number was varied to represent effective velocity ratios R from 4 to 12. Comparisons of the pressures induced on the flat plate are presented. The results show that the best agreement is obtained for R of 4 and 6, R of 8 is more difficult to resolve, and the R of 12 solution was not satisfactory. It is anticipated that the resolution could be improved by using either smaller time steps or finer grid spacing as R increases.

Margason, Richard J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Surface texturing of fluoropolymers

A method is disclosed for improving surface texture for adhesive bonding, metal bonding, substrate plating, decal substrate preparation, and biomedical implant applications. The surface to be bonded is dusted in a controlled fashion to produce a disbursed layer of fine mesh particles which serve as masks. The surface texture is produced by impinging gas ions on the masked surface. The textured surface takes the form of pillars or cones. The bonding material, such as a liquid epoxy, flows between the pillars which results in a bond having increased strength. For bonding metals a thin film of metal is vapor or sputter deposited onto the textured surface. Electroplating or electroless plating is then used to increase the metal thickness in the desired amount.

Banks, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effects of debonds on the strength of composite plates

The effect of debonds on composite structures under compressive loads is investigated in this paper. Because of the inclusion of debonds, unsymmetric laminated rectangular plates are considered. The resulting bending-extension coupling is included and is shown to be quite significant for thin laminates typical of debonded regions. The solution technique is based on the Theorem of Minimum Potential Energy; and both simply supported and clamped boundaries are considered. The need to include transverse shear deformation in the analysis is documented. Also, the range of applicability of the reduced stiffness matrix technique for such plates is stated. The consideration of non-rectangular boundaries, as would normally occur for debonded regions, has been included through a finite element study. Using the results of this study, an effective laminated plate theory for irregularly shaped debonded regions is proposed.

Daugherty, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Broadband electrostatic acoustic transducer for ultrasonic measurements in liquids

A broadband capacitive electrostatic acoustic transducer (ESAT) has been developed for use in a liquid environment at megahertz frequencies. The ESAT basically consists of a thin conductive membrane stretched over a metallic housing. The membrane functions as the ground plate of a parallel plate capacitor, the other plate being a dc biased electrode recessed approximately 10 microns from the electrically grounded membrane. An ultrasonic wave incident on the membrane varies the membrane-electrode gap spacing and generates an electrical signal proportional to the wave amplitude. The entire assembly is sealed for immersion in a liquid environment. Calibration of the ESAT with incident ultrasonic waves of constant displacement amplitude from 1 to 15 MHz reveals a decrease in signal response with increasing frequency independent of membrane tension. The use of the ESAT as a broadband ultrasonic transducer in liquids with a predictable frequency response is promising.

Cantrell, J. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Technology for pressure-instrumented thin airfoil models, phase 1

A network of channels was chemically milled into one surface of a pair of matched plates having bond planes which were neither planar or profiled to match the contour of the trailing edge of a supercritical airfoil for testing in cryogenic wind tunnels. Vacuum brazing bonded the plates together to create a network of pressure passages without blockages or cross leaks. The greatest success was achieved with the smaller samples and planar bonding surfaces. In larger samples, problems were encountered due to warpage created by the relief of residual stresses. Successful bonds were formed by brazing A286, Nitronic 40 and 300 series stainless steels at 1065 C using AMS 4777B brazing alloy, but excessive grain growth occurred in samples of 200 grade 18 nickel maraging steels. Good bonds were obtained with maraging steel using a 47 percent Nickel-47 percent Palladium-6 percent Silicon alloy and brazing at 927 C. Electro-Discharge-Machining was an effective method of cutting profiled bond planes and airfoil contours. Orifices of good definition were obtained when the EDM wire cut passed through predrilled holes. Possible configurations for joints between small segments and the larger main wing were also studied.

Wigley, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Spatial evolution of nonlinear acoustic mode instabilities on hypersonic boundary layers

The effects are considered of strong critical layer nonlinearity on the spatial evolution of an initially linear acoustic mode instability wave on a hypersonic flat plate boundary layer. The analysis shows that nonlinearity, which is initially confined to a thin critical layer, first becomes important when the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations become 0(1/M exp 4 In M exp 2), where M is the free stream Mach number. The flow outside the critical layer is still determined by linear dynamics and therefore takes the form of a linear instability wave, but with its amplitude completely determined by the flow within the critical layer. The latter flow is determined by a coupled set of nonlinear equations, which were solved numerically.

Goldstein, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Spatial evolution of nonlinear acoustic mode instabilities on hypersonic boundary layers

The effects are considered of strong critical layer nonlinearity on the spatial evolution of an initially linear acoustic mode instability wave on a hypersonic flat plate boundary layer. The analysis shows that nonlinearity, which is initially confined to a thin critical layer, first becomes important when the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations become O(1/M exp 4 in M exp 2), where M is the free stream Mach number. The flow outside the critical layer is still determined by linear dynamics and therefore takes the form of a linear instability wave, but with its amplitude completely determined by the flow within the critical layer. The latter flow is determined by a coupled set of nonlinear equations, which were solved numerically.

Goldstein, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Tribometer for Lubrication Studies in Vacuum

The NASA Lewis Research Center has developed a new way to evaluate the liquid lubricants used in ball bearings in space mechanisms. For this evaluation, a liquid lubricant is exercised in the rolling contact vacuum tribometer shown in the photo. This tribometer, which is essentially a thrust bearing with three balls and flat races, has contact stresses similar to those in a typical preloaded, angular contact ball bearing. The rotating top plate drives the balls in an outward-winding spiral orbit instead of a circular path. Upon contact with the "guide plate," the balls are forced back to their initial smaller orbit radius; they then repeat this spiral orbit thousands of times. The orbit rate of the balls is low enough, 2 to 5 rpm, to allow the system to operate in the boundary lubrication regime that is most stressful to the liquid lubricant. This system can determine the friction coefficient, lubricant lifetime, and species evolved from the liquid lubricant by tribodegradation. The lifetime of the lubricant charge is only few micrograms, which is "used up" by degradation during rolling. The friction increases when the lubricant is exhausted. The species evolved by the degrading lubricant are determined by a quadrupole residual gas analyzer that directly views the rotating elements. The flat races (plates) and 0.5-in.-diameter balls are of a configuration and size that permit easy post-test examination by optical and electron microscopy and the full suite of modern surface and thin-film chemical analytical techniques, including infrared and Raman microspectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, the simple sphere-on-a-flat-plate geometry allows an easy analysis of the contact stresses at all parts of the ball orbit and an understanding of the frictional energy losses to the lubricant. The analysis showed that when the ball contacts the guide plate, gross sliding occurs between the ball and rotating upper plate as the ball forced back to a smaller orbit radius. The friction force due to gross sliding is sensed by the piezoelectric force transducer behind the guide plate and furnishes the coefficient of friction for the system. This tribometer has been used to determine the relative lifetimes of Fomblin Z-25, a lubricant often used in space mechanisms, as a function of the material of the plates against which it was run. The balls were 440C steel in all cases; the plate materials were aluminum, chromium (Cr), 440C steel (17 wt % Cr), and 4150 steel (1 wt % Cr). As shown in the bar graph, the lifetime is greatest for the plate material with least chromium, thus implicating chromium as a tribochemically active element attacking Fomblin Z-25.

Pepper, Stephen V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Measurements of Reynolds analogy for a hypersonic turbulent boundary layer on a nonadiabatic flat plate.

The purpose of the described experiment was to obtain simultaneous measurements of skin friction and heat transfer at hypersonic Mach numbers, especially with conditions of considerable heat transfer. The experiment was conducted in air in the Ames Hypersonic Wind Tunnel, in which cold air was passed through an alumina storage heater system and heated to total temperatures ranging from about 670 to 1170 K. The nozzle was contoured to produce a flow at Mach 7.4. Thin-skin heat-transfer gauges were placed at equal intervals along the centerline of a sharp-edge flat plate, which was used as the model. A skin-friction balance and a boundary-layer pitot-pressure rake were mounted on each side of the centerline at a certain distance from the leading edge.

Keener, E. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Numerical simulation of a subsonic jet in a crossflow

The aerodynamic/propulsive interaction between a subsonic jet exhausting perpendicularly through a flat plate into a crossflow is investigated numerically using an approximately factored, partially flux-split, implicit solver for the three-dimensional, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations. This algorithm is applied to flows with a range of jet-to-crossflow velocity ratios between 4 and 8. The computations model the jet trajectory, the contrarotating vortex pair and the wake region near the plate downstream of the jet orifice. Both qualitative and quantitative agreement with the existing experimental database are demonstrated. Flow visualization is instructive for understanding the physics of this flowfield.

Roth, Karlin R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

High temperature thermocouple and heat flux gauge using a unique thin film-hardware hot juncture

A special thin film-hardware material thermocouple (TC) and heat flux gauge concept for a reasonably high temperature and high flux flat plate heat transfer experiment was fabricated and tested to gauge temperatures of 911 K. This concept was developed for minimal disturbance of boundary layer temperature and flow over the plates and minimal disturbance of heat flux through the plates. Comparison of special heat flux gauge Stanton number output at steady-state conditions with benchmark literature data was good and agreement was within a calculated uncertainty of the measurement system. Also, good agreement of special TC and standard TC outputs was obtained and the results are encouraging. Oxidation of thin film thermoelements was a primary failure mode after about 5 of operation.

Liebert, C. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

High-temperature thermocouple and heat flux gauge using a unique thin film-hardware hot junction

A special thin film-hardware material thermocouple (TC) and heat flux gauge concept for a reasonably high temperature and high flux flat plate heat transfer experiment was fabricated and tested to gauge temperatures of 911 K. This concept was developed for minimal disturbance of boundary layer temperature and flow over the plates and minimal disturbance of heat flux through the plates. Comparison of special heat flux gauge Stanton number output at steady-state conditions with benchmark literature data was good and agreement was within a calculated uncertainty of the measurement system. Also, good agreement of special TC and standard TC outputs was obtained and the results are encouraging. Oxidation of thin film thermoelements was a primary failure mode after about 5 of operation.

Liebert, C. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Advances in sputtered and ion plated solid film lubrication

The glow discharge or ion assisted vacuum deposition techniques, primarily sputtering and ion plating, have rapidly emerged and offer great potential to deposit solid lubricants. The increased energizing of these deposition processes lead to improved adherence and coherence, favorable morphological growth, higher density, and reduced residual stresses in the film. These techniques are of invaluable importance where high precision machines tribo-components require very thin, uniform lubricating films (0.2 m), which do not interface with component tolerances. The performance of sputtered MoS2 films and ion plated Au and Pb films are described in terms of film thickness, coefficient of friction, and wear lives.

Spalvins, T.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of effects of design details on structural response to acoustic excitation

The normal mode vibration characteristics of one-dimensional and two-dimensional panel arrays were investigated analytically and experimentally. The finite element displacement method was used to formulate the structural models. The structural models include a stiffness and consistent mass matrix for thin-walled open-section beams not previously reported, and a modification of a rectangular plate bending element to include a fundamental interior mode for the element as a generalized coordinate. Provision for adding lumped masses to represent accelerometers is also included. For the one-dimensional panel, the normal mode stress resultants are obtained by integrating the equilibrium equations directly. For the two-dimensional panel arrays, the solution for the stress resultants in the cover sheet was attempted by introducing stress functions dependent upon the displacement field of the plate element. This approach, although incomplete, is a natural extension of the one-dimensional analysis for plate elements. The exerimental program which was used to verify the analysis is described and experimental results are compared with the analysis.

Rudder, F. F., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Antenna admittance determination of electron density.

A circular-aperture flush-mounted antenna for which a theoretical description of the antenna-plasma interaction has been developed was used to obtain a comparison between theoretical and experimental antenna admittance in the presence of ionized boundary layers of low-collision frequency. The antenna was located in a flat-plate model which was in turn located in the expanding-flow environment of a reflected-shock tunnel. The electron-temperature and electron-density distributions in the plate boundary layer at the antenna location were independently measured using voltage-swept thin-wire Langmuir probes for one of the test conditions. The antenna admittance was measured using a four-probe microwave reflectometer and these measured values were found to be in good agreement with those predicted from the theory. Measurements were also performed with another type of circular-aperture antenna which did not satisfy all of the constraints of the theoretical model, although good agreement was obtained between the calculations and the experimental results.

Dunn, M. G.↗