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At least 613 records · Page 34

Transonic Experimental Observations of Abrupt Wing Stall on an F/A-18E Model (Invited)

A transonic wind tunnel test of an 8% F/A-18E model was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 16 ft Transonic Tunnel (16-ft TT) to investigate on-surface flow physics during stall. The technical approach employed focused on correlating static (or time-averaged) and unsteady wind-tunnel test data to the unsteady wing-stall events using force, moment, pressure, and pressure-sensitive-paint measurements. This paper focuses on data obtained on the pre-production configuration of the F/A-18E aircraft at Mach number of 0.90. The flow unsteadiness occurring on the wing as the wing went through the stall process was captured using the time history of balance and pressure measurements and by calculating the root mean square (RMS) for a number of instrument signals. The second step was to gather global perspectives on the pressures influencing the wing stall process. The abrupt wing stall experienced by the 8% F/A-18E Model was observed to be an unsteady event triggered by the rapid advancement of separation, which had migrated forward from the trailing edge, to the leading-edge flap hingeline over a very small increment in angle of attack. The angle of attack at which this stall occurred varied, from run to run, over an 1 deg increment. The abrupt wing stall was observed, using pressure-sensitive-paint, to occur simultaneously on both wing panels or asymmetrically. The pressure-sensitive paint data and wingroot bending moment data were essential in providing insight to the flow structures occurring over the wing and the possible asymmetry of those flow structures. A repeatability analysis conducted on eight runs of static data provided a quick and inexpensive examination of the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of abrupt wing stall. The results of the repeatability analysis agreed extremely well with data obtained using unsteady measurement techniques. This approach could be used to identify test conditions for more complex unsteady data measurements using special instrumentation.

McMillin, S. Naomi↗

Transonic Experimental Observations of Abrupt Wing Stall on an F/A-l8E Model

A transonic wind tunnel test of an 8% F/A-18E model was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 16 ft Transonic Tunnel (16-ft TT) to investigate on-surface flow physics during stall. The technical approach employed focused on correlating static (or time-averaged) and unsteady wind-tunnel test data to the unsteady wing-stall events using force, moment, pressure, and pressure-sensitive-paint measurements. This paper focuses on data obtained on the pre-production configuration of the F/A-18E aircraft at Mach number of 0.90. The flow unsteadiness occurring on the wing as the wing went through the stall process was captured using the time history of balance and pressure measurements and by calculating the root mean square (RMS) for a number of instrument signals. The second step was to gather global perspectives on the pressures influencing the wing stall process. The abrupt wing stall experienced by the 8% F/A-18E Model was observed to be an unsteady event triggered by the rapid advancement of separation, which had migrated forward from the trailing edge, to the leading-edge flap hingeline over a very small increment in angle of attack. The angle of attack at which this stall occurred varied, from run to run, over an 1 degree increment. The abrupt wing stall was observed, using pressure-sensitive-paint, to occur simultaneously on both wing panels or asymmetrically. The pressure-sensitive paint data and wing-root bending moment data were essential in providing insight to the flow structures occurring over the wing and the possible asymmetry of those flow structures. A repeatability analysis conducted on eight runs of static data provided a quick and inexpensive examination of the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of abrupt wing stall. The results of the repeatability analysis agreed extremely well with data obtained using unsteady measurement techniques. This approach could be used to identify test conditions for more complex unsteady data measurements using special instrumentation.

McMillin, S. Naomi↗

Analyzing Static Loading of Complex Structures

Critical loading conditions determined from analysis of each structural element. Automated Thrust Structures Loads and Stresses (ATLAS) system is series of programs developed to analyze elements of complex structure under static-loading conditions. ATLAS calculates internal loads, beam-bending loads, column- and web-buckling loads, beam and panel stresses, and beam-corner stresses. Programs written in FORTRAN IV and Assembler for batch execution.

Gallear, D. C.↗

Molecular Static Third-Order Polarizabilities of Carbon-Cage Fullerene and Their Correlation with Three Geometric Properties: Symmetry, Aromaticity, and Size

The static third-order polarizabilities (gamma) of C60, C70, five isomers of C78 and two isomers of C84 were analyzed in terms of three properties, from a geometric point of view: symmetry, aromaticity and size. The polarizability values were based on the finite field approximation using a semiempirical Hamiltonian (AM1) and applied to molecular structures obtained from density functional theory calculations. Symmetry was characterized by the molecular group order. The selection of 6-member rings as aromatic was determined from an analysis of bond lengths. Maximum interatomic distance and surface area were the parameters considered with respect to size. Based on triple linear regression analysis, it was found that the static linear polarizability (alpha) and gamma in these molecules respond differently to geometrical properties: alpha depends almost exclusively on surface area while gamma is affected by a combination of number of aromatic rings, length and group order, in decreasing importance. In the case of alpha, valence electron contributions provide the same information as all-electron estimates. For gamma, the best correlation coefficients are obtained when all-electron estimates are used and when the dependent parameter is ln(gamma) instead of gamma.

Moore, C. E.↗

Basic relationships for LTA technical analysis

An introduction to airship performance is presented. Static lift equations are shown which, when combined with power requirements for conventional airships, allow parametric studies of range, payload, speed and airship size. It is shown that very large airships are required to attain reasonable speeds at transoceanic ranges.

Ausrotas, R. A.↗

Search for Xe-129 in mineral grains from Allende inclusions - An exercise in miniaturized rare gas analysis

The paper considers the use of a static mass spectrometer modified by installation of a Baur-Signer ion source and an ion-counting system to detect xenon from single grains from inclusions in the C3 meteorite Allende. The inferred iodine concentrations increased from pentlandite to melilite, but vary widely from one grain to another, indicating that the iodine resides in a minor phase which is included 'spottily' in the bulk phases. It is likely that the detectability for excess Xe achieved here could be improved; about 23,000 of fissiogenic Xe-132 was detected in the largest melelite sample analyzed, but it cannot be determined from this study whether the PU-244 is 'spotty' like I-129 or is uniformly distributed in the melilite.

Reynolds, J. H.↗

Effects of displacement and rate saturation on the control of statically unstable aircraft

Methodologies are presented for the analysis and design of stability augmentation control laws for aircraft in which 'hard' displacement and rate limiting are significant. Candidate control laws are derived using the linear-quadratic (LQ) regulator. Analytical and computational estimates of the stability limits imposed by control saturation are presented using state trajectories with control limiting, as well as describing functions and eigenvalue computation. Analysis also includes an investigation of the interaction of the state-space saturation and stability boundaries for various choices of LQ weighting matrices. For minimum-energy control, the saturation and stability boundaries are shown to be parallel. In this case, there is a direct relation between the solution to the matrix Riccati equation and the aircraft's open-loop dynamics.

Hanson, G. D.↗

TURBOMAT-FR: Turbomachinery Aeroelastic Forced Response Analysis Automation Using MATLAB®: PART 1

The primary aim of this effort is to develop a software tool named “Turbomachinery Aeroelastic Analysis Tool for Forced Response (TURBOMAT-FR)” using MATLAB® (The MathWorks, Inc.) scripts. The tool will aid in performing routine forced response analysis of turbomachinery fan blades with the aid of the modal summation method (MSUM). The MSUM approach requires a modal solution consisting of modal displacements, modal frequencies, and modal stresses. The MATLAB® scripts facilitate easy extraction of the required quantities from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and MSC Nastran (Hexagon AB) solution files. These quantities are subsequently utilized by the MSUM approach to perform a complete forced response analysis.The MATLAB® scripts in TURBOMAT-FR are utilized in postprocessing of the MSC Nastran finite element analysis outputs in three types of solutions or steps, namely (1) stresses and displacements from static and steady response solution, (2) unsteady stresses and displacements from direct forced response solution, and (3) modal solution containing modal displacements and modal stresses. In step (4), separate MATLAB® scripts are also developed to read the processed outputs in step (3) and perform forced response analysis using MSUM. The TURBOMAT-FR MATLAB® scripts mentioned previously are presented in two reports designated “Part 1” and “Part 2”. The current report, Part 1, presents the scripts needed to accomplish steps (1) and (2), noted previously. This will be exclusively useful for performing only the static and steady response analysis and the forced response analysis using the direct forced response solution approach. Part 2 contains the TURBOMAT-FR MATLAB® scripts needed to accomplish steps (3) and (4). The MATLAB® scripts given in Part 2 facilitate the calculation of unsteady stresses using MSUM and provide an automated procedure associated with aeroelastic forced response analysis with different pressure files for the same structural model. The unsteady stresses calculated using MSUM in Part 2 can be compared with those presented in Part 1. A cantilevered blade-alone model subjected to a realistic pressure loading to a boundary was used for static and unsteady direct forced response analysis to demonstrate the effectiveness of the TURBOMATFR MATLAB® scripts.

MATLAB-Scripts↗

An Efficient Approach for the Reliability Analysis of Phased-Mission Systems with Dependent Failures

We consider the reliability analysis of phased-mission systems with common-cause failures in this paper. Phased-mission systems (PMS) are systems supporting missions characterized by multiple, consecutive, and nonoverlapping phases of operation. System components may be subject to different stresses as well as different reliability requirements throughout the course of the mission. As a result, component behavior and relationships may need to be modeled differently from phase to phase when performing a system-level reliability analysis. This consideration poses unique challenges to existing analysis methods. The challenges increase when common-cause failures (CCF) are incorporated in the model. CCF are multiple dependent component failures within a system that are a direct result of a shared root cause, such as sabotage, flood, earthquake, power outage, or human errors. It has been shown by many reliability studies that CCF tend to increase a system's joint failure probabilities and thus contribute significantly to the overall unreliability of systems subject to CCF.We propose a separable phase-modular approach to the reliability analysis of phased-mission systems with dependent common-cause failures as one way to meet the above challenges in an efficient and elegant manner. Our methodology is twofold: first, we separate the effects of CCF from the PMS analysis using the total probability theorem and the common-cause event space developed based on the elementary common-causes; next, we apply an efficient phase-modular approach to analyze the reliability of the PMS. The phase-modular approach employs both combinatorial binary decision diagram and Markov-chain solution methods as appropriate. We provide an example of a reliability analysis of a PMS with both static and dynamic phases as well as CCF as an illustration of our proposed approach. The example is based on information extracted from a Mars orbiter project. The reliability model for this orbiter considers the various phases of Launch, Cruise, Mars Orbit Insertion, and Orbit. Some of the CCF for the orbiter in this mission include environmental effects, such as micrometeoroids, human operator errors, and software errors.

reliability analysis↗

Finite element analysis of laminated plates and shells, volume 1

The finite element method is used to investigate the static behavior of laminated composite flat plates and cylindrical shells. The analysis incorporates the effects of transverse shear deformation in each layer through the assumption that the normals to the undeformed layer midsurface remain straight but need not be normal to the mid-surface after deformation. A digital computer program was developed to perform the required computations. The program includes a very efficient equation solution code which permits the analysis of large size problems. The method is applied to the problem of stretching and bending of a perforated curved plate.

Seide, P.↗

Second-order sensitivity derivatives in structural analysis

Haug's (1981) expressions for the calculation of static constraint function second derivatives have resulted in an order-of-magnitude saving over conventional methods for the calculation of such derivatives. A similar but simplified procedure is presented which results in a reduction of computational cost by an additional factor of two. The results are presented in a notation that is different from that of Haug, but more common in other work on structural synthesis and analysis.

Haftka, R. T.↗

Analysis of Progressive Damage in Cross-Ply and Quasi-Isotropic Panels Subjected to Quasi-Static Indentation

The performance of a three-dimensional continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model for intralaminar damage, coupled with a cohesive zone model for delamination, is examined for damage prediction in cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminated plates subjected to quasi-static transverse indentation. Details of the CDM model based on the deformation gradient decomposition (DGD) method and the finite element (FE) modeling strategy are presented and discussed. Critical features of the damage model and FE modeling approach are assessed by comparing analysis predictions to experimental data for cross-ply and quasi-isotropic panels in which damage is dominated by complex interactions between matrix cracks and delaminations.

Song, Kyongchan↗

A digital flight control system verification laboratory

A NASA/FAA program has been established for the verification and validation of digital flight control systems (DFCS), with the primary objective being the development and analysis of automated verification tools. In order to enhance the capabilities, effectiveness, and ease of using the test environment, software verification tools can be applied. Tool design includes a static analyzer, an assertion generator, a symbolic executor, a dynamic analysis instrument, and an automated documentation generator. Static and dynamic tools are integrated with error detection capabilities, resulting in a facility which analyzes a representative testbed of DFCS software. Future investigations will ensue particularly in the areas of increase in the number of software test tools, and a cost effectiveness assessment.

De Feo, P.↗

Microcracking, microcrack-induced delamination, and longitudinal splitting of advanced composite structures

A combined analytical and experimental study was conducted to analyze microcracking, microcrack-induced delamination, and longitudinal splitting in polymer matrix composites. Strain energy release rates, calculated by a variational analysis, were used in a failure criterion to predict microcracking. Predictions and test results were compared for static, fatigue, and cyclic thermal loading. The longitudinal splitting analysis accounted for the effects of fiber bridging. Test data are analyzed and compared for longitudinal splitting and delamination under mixed-mode loading. This study emphasizes the importance of using fracture mechanics analyses to understand the complex failure processes that govern composite strength and life.

Nairn, John A.↗

An Engineering Approach to Analyze Damage Initiation Modes in Tapered Composite Structures

In this work an engineering approach is demonstrated for analyzing damage initiation modes in tapered composite structures. The analysis methodology includes simulation of the non-linear static response of tapered composite structures under static tension loads to predict the location of interfacial delamination initiation. Furthermore, the developed methodology provides a strength-based criterion to assess whether damage initiation will occur in the inter-laminar delamination or intra-laminar matrix cracking mode. Based on the results of the analysis, a tapered composite structure is fabricated and tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static tension loading. The damage initiation location captured experimentally is compared with the analysis towards achieving preliminary qualitative validation. The linear stiffness of the tapered composite structure is predicted within 15% of the experimental average thereby achieving preliminary quantitative validation.

Rao, Prabhakar M.↗

An Engineering Approach to Analyze Damage Initiation Modes in Tapered Composite Structures

In this work an engineering approach is demonstrated for analyzing damage initiation modes in tapered composite structures. The analysis methodology includes simulation of the non-linear static response of tapered composite structures under static tension loads to predict the location of interfacial delamination initiation. Furthermore, the developed methodology provides a strength-based criterion to assess whether damage initiation will occur in the inter-laminar delamination or intra-laminar matrix cracking mode. Based on the results of the analysis, a tapered composite structure is fabricated and tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static tension loading. The damage initiation location captured experimentally is compared with the analysis towards achieving preliminary qualitative validation. The linear stiffness of the tapered composite structure is predicted within 15% of the experimental average thereby achieving preliminary quantitative validation.

Prabhakar M Rao↗

A Modeling Technique and Representation of Failure in the Analysis of Triaxial Braided Carbon Fiber Composites

Quasi-static tests have been performed on triaxially braided carbon fiber composite materials with large unit cell sizes. The effects of different fibers and matrix materials on the failure mode were investigated. Simulations of the tests have been performed using the transient dynamic finite element code, LS-DYNA. However, the wide range of failure modes observed for the triaxial braided carbon fiber composites during tests could not be simulated using composite material models currently available within LS-DYNA. A macroscopic approach has been developed that provides better simulation of the material response in these materials. This approach uses full-field optical measurement techniques to measure local failures during quasi-static testing. Information from these experiments is then used along with the current material models available in LS-DYNA to simulate the influence of the braided architecture on the failure process. This method uses two-dimensional shell elements with integration points through the thickness of the elements to represent the different layers of braid along with a new analytical method for the import of material stiffness and failure data directly. The present method is being used to examine the effect of material properties on the failure process. The experimental approaches used to obtain the required data will be described, and preliminary results of the numerical analysis will be presented.

Littell, Justin D.↗

A Modeling Technique and Representation of Failure in the Analysis of Triaxial Braided Carbon Fiber Composites

Quasi-static tests have been performed on triaxially braided carbon fiber composite materials with large unit cell sizes. The effects of different fibers and matrix materials on the failure mode were investigated. Simulations of the tests have been performed using the transient dynamic finite element code, LS-DYNA. However, the wide range of failure modes observed for the triaxial braided carbon fiber composites during tests could not be simulated using composite material models currently available within LS-DYNA. A macroscopic approach has been developed that provides better simulation of the material response in these materials. This approach uses full-field optical measurement techniques to measure local failures during quasi-static testing. Information from these experiments is then used along with the current material models available in LS-DYNA to simulate the influence of the braided architecture on the failure process. This method uses two-dimensional shell elements with integration points through the thickness of the elements to represent the different layers of braid along with a new analytical method for the import of material stiffness and failure data directly. The present method is being used to examine the effect of material properties on the failure process. The experimental approaches used to obtain the required data will be described, and preliminary results of the numerical analysis will be presented.

Littell, Justin D.↗