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At least 649 records · Page 36

Thermal barrier coating life-prediction model development

Life predictions are made for two types of strain-tolerant and oxidation-resistant Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) systems produced by commercial coating suppliers to the gas turbine industry. The plasma-sprayed TBC system, composed of a low-pressure plasma spray (LPPS) applied oxidation-resistant NiCrAlY bond coating and an air-plasma-sprayed yttria (8 percent) partially stabilized zirconia insulative layer, is applied by both Chromalloy and Klock. The second type of TBC is applied by the electron-beam/physical vapor deposition process by Temescal. Thermomechanical and thermochemical testing of the program TBCs is in progress. A number of the former tests has been completed. Fracture mechanics data for the Chromalloy plasma-sprayed TBC system indicate that the cohesive toughness of the zirconia layer is increased by thermal cycling and reduced by high temperature exposure at 1150 C. Eddy current technology feasibility has been established with respect to nondestructively measuring zirconia layer thickness of a TBC system. High pressure turbine blades have been coated with program TBC systems for a piggyback test in a TFE731-5 turbofan factory engine test. Data from this test will be used to validate the TBC life models.

Strangman, T. E.↗

Sediment-transport experiments in zero-gravity

One of the important parameters in the analysis of sediment entrainment and transport is gravitational attraction. The availability of a laboratory in earth orbit would afford an opportunity to conduct experiments in zero and variable gravity environments. Elimination of gravitational attraction as a factor in such experiments would enable other critical parameters (such as particle cohesion and aerodynamic forces) to be evaluated much more accurately. A Carousel Wind Tunnel (CWT) is proposed for use in conducting experiments concerning sediment particle entrainment and transport in a space station. In order to test the concept of this wind tunnel design a one third scale model CWT was constructed and calibrated. Experiments were conducted in the prototype to determine the feasibility of studying various aeolian processes and the results were compared with various numerical analysis. Several types of experiments appear to be feasible utilizing the proposed apparatus.

Iversen, James D.↗

Explanation production by expert planners

Although the explanation capability of expert systems is usually listed as one of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems, the explanation facilities of most existing systems are quite primitive. Computer generated explanations are typically produced from canned text or by direct translation of the knowledge structures. Explanations produced in this manner bear little resemblance to those produced by humans for similar tasks. The focus of our research in explanation is the production of justifications for decisions by expert planning systems. An analysis of justifications written by people for planning tasks has been taken as the starting point. The purpose of this analysis is two-fold. First, analysis of the information content of the justifications will provide a basis for deciding what knowledge must be represented if human-like justifications are to be produced. Second, an analysis of the textual organization of the justifications will be used in the development of a mechanism for selecting and organizing the knowledge to be included in a computer-produced explanation. This paper describes a preliminary analysis done of justifications written by people for a planning task. It is clear that these justifications differ significantly from those that would be produced by an expert system by tracing the firing of production rules. The results from the text analysis have been used to develop an augmented phrase structured grammar (APSG) describing the organization of the justifications. The grammar was designed to provide a computationally feasible method for determining textual organization that will allow the necessary information to be communicated in a cohesive manner.

Bridges, Susan↗

Goldstone solar system radar

Planning, direction, experimental design, and coordination of data-acquisition and engineering activities in support of all Goldstone planetary radar astronomy were performed. This work demands familiarity with the various components of a planetary radar telescope (transmitter, receiver, antenna, computer hardware and software) as well as knowledge of how the entire system must function as a cohesive unit to meet the particular scientific objectives at hand in a given observation. Support radar data-processing facilities, currently being used for virtually all Goldstone data reduction includes: a VAX 11/780 computer system, an FPS 5210 array processor, terminals, tape drives, and image-display devices, as well as a large body of data-reduction software to accommodate the variety of data-acquisition formats and strategems. Successful 113-cm radar observation of Callisto and the near-Earth asteroid 1981 Midas and Goldstone/VLA radar observations of Saturn's rings were obtained. Quick-look verification programs from data taken with phase-coded cw (i.e., ranging) waveforms, applicable to Venus, the Moon, and small bodies were completed. Definition of scientific and engineering requirements on instrument performance, radar system configuration, and personnel, for all 1988 Goldstone radar investigations was accomplished.

Jurgens, Raymond F.↗

Microbial mats in playa lakes and other saline habitats: Early Mars analog?

Microbial mats are cohesive benthic microbial communities which inhabit various Terra (Earth-based) environments including the marine littoral and both permanent and ephemeral (playa) saline lakes. Certain geomorphological features of Mars, such as the Margaritifer Sinus, were interpreted as ancient, dried playa lakes, presumably formed before or during the transition to the present Mars climate. Studies of modern Terran examples suggest that microbial mats on early Mars would have had the capacity to survive and propagate under environmental constraints that would have included irregularly fluctuating regimes of water activity and high ultraviolet flux. Assuming that such microbial communities did indeed inhabit early Mars, their detection during the Mars Rover Sample Return (MRSR) mission depends upon the presence of features diagnostic of the prior existence of these communities or their component microbes or, as an aid to choosing suitable landing, local exploration or sampling sites, geomorphological, sedimentological or chemical features characteristic of their playa lake habitats. Examination of modern Terran playas (e.g., the Lake Eyre basin) shows that these features span several orders of magnitude in size. While stromatolites are commonly centimeter-meter scale features, bioherms or fields of individuals may extend to larger scales. Preservation of organic matter (mats and microbes) would be favored in topographic lows such as channels or ponds of high salinity, particularly those receiving silica-rich groundwaters. These areas are likely to be located near former zones of groundwater emergence and/or where flood channels entered the paleo-playa. Fossil playa systems which may aid in assessing the applicability of this particular Mars analog include the Cambrian Observatory Hill Beds of the Officer Basin and the Eocene Wilkins Peak Member of the Green River Formation.

Bauld, John↗

Flexible backbone aromatic polyimide adhesives

Continuing research at Langley Research Center on the synthesis and development of new inexpensive flexible aromatic polyimides as adhesives has resulted in a material identified as LARC-F-SO2 with similarities to polyimidesulfone, PISO2, and other flexible backbone polyimides recently reported by Progar and St. Clair. Also prepared and evaluated was an endcapped version of PISO2. These two polymers were compared with LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI, polyimides research in our laboratory and reported in the literature. The adhesive evaluation, primarily based on lap shear strength (LSS) tests at RT, 177 C and 204 C, involved preparing adhesive tapes, conducting bonding studies and exposing lap shear specimens to 204 C air for up to 1000 hrs and to a 72-hour water boil. The type of adhesive failure as well as the Tg was determined for the fractured specimens. The results indicate that LARC-TPI provides the highest LSSs. LARC-F-SO2, LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI all retain their strengths after thermal exposure for 1000 hrs and PISO2 retains greater than 80 percent of its control strengths. After a 72-hr water boil exposure, most of the four adhesive systems showed reduced strengths for all test temperatures although still retaining a high percentage of their original strength (greater than 60 percent) except for one case. The predominant failure type was cohesive with no significant change in the Tgs.

Progar, Donald J.↗

The cosmochemical classification of the elements

The present cosmochemical study divides the elements into four groups: refractory, moderately volatile, highly volatile, and siderophile, with the former three respectively condensing at temperatures higher than 1300-1400 K, between 670 and 1300 K, below 670 K. In the case of siderophiles, the essential condition is their being more easily reduced to metal than Fe. The siderophiles tend to behave as a cohesive group, occurring primarily as alloys in the FeNi-metal phase; their abundance and distribution, however, also appear to depend, in part, on their volatility.

Larimer, John W.↗

A hypervelocity launcher for simulated large fragment space debris impacts at 10 km/s

The background, design, and testing of two explosive launchers for simulating large fragment space debris impacts are presented. The objective was to develop a launcher capable of launching one gram aluminum fragments at velocities of 10 km/s. The two launchers developed are based on modified versions of an explosive shaped charge, common in many military weapons. One launcher design has yielded a stable fragment launch of approximately one gram of aluminum at 8.93 km/s velocity. The other design yielded velocities in excess of 10 km/s, but failed to produce a cohesive fragment launch. This work is ongoing, and future plans are given.

Tullos, R. J.↗

Nonlinear fracture of concrete and ceramics

The nonlinear fracture process zones in an impacted unnotched concrete bend specimen, a prenotched ceramic bend specimen, and an unnotched ceramic/ceramic composite bend specimen were estimated through hybrid experimental numerical analysis. Aggregate bridging in concrete, particulate bridging in ceramics, and fiber bridging in ceramic/ceramic composite are modeled by Barenblatt-type cohesive zones which are incorporated into the finite-element models of the bend specimens. Both generation and propagation analyses are used to estimate the distribution of crack closure stresses in the nonlinear fracture process zones. The finite-element models are then used to simulate fracture tests consisting of rapid crack propagation in an impacted concrete bend specimen, and stable crack growth and strain softening in a ceramic and ceramic/ceramic composite bend specimens.

Kobayashi, Albert S.↗

Evaluation of EA-934NA with 2.5 percent Cab-O-Sil

Currently, Hysol adhesive EA-934NA is used to bond the Field Joint Protection System on the Shuttle rocket motors at Kennedy Space Center. However, due to processing problems, an adhesive with a higher viscosity is needed to alleviate these difficulties. One possible solution is to add Cab-O-Sil to the current adhesive. The adhesive strength and bond strengths that can be obtained when 2.5 percent Cab-O-Sil is added to adhesive EA-934NA are examined and tested over a range of test temperatures from -20 to 300 F. Tensile adhesion button and lap shear specimens were bonded to D6AC steel and uniaxial tensile specimens (testing for strength, initial tangent modulus, elongation and Poisson's ratio) were prepared using Hysol adhesive EA-934NA with 2.5 percent Cab-O-Sil added. These specimens were tested at -20, 20, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, and 300 F, respectively. Additional tensile adhesion button specimens bonding Rust-Oleum primed and painted D6AC steel to itself and to cork using adhesive EA-934NA with 2.5 percent Cab-O-Sil added were tested at 20, 75, 125, 200, and 300 F, respectively. Results generally show decreasing strength values with increasing test temperatures. The bond strengths obtained using cork as a substrate were totally dependent on the cohesive strength of the cork.

Caldwell, Gordon A.↗

Instrumented adhesion tests on plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings

The failure mechanisms of plasma-sprayed two-layer coatings consisting of an NiCrAlY or NiCrAlZr bond coat with an yttria-stabilized zirconia overlay are presently examined by tensile adhesion tests. It has been found that adhesive failure within the bond coat exhibits greater failure strain than the cohesive failure of the ceramic overlay, supporting the view of the intermediate coatings being highly compliant. The absolute extension exhibited by failures occurring only through the ceramic coating is greater than that of adhesive failure, since the ceramic coating is much thicker than the bond coat.

Berndt, Christopher C.↗

Flexible backbone aromatic polyimide adhesives

Continuing research at Langley Research Center on the synthesis and development of new inexpensive flexible aromatic polyimides as adhesives has resulted in a material identified as LARC-F-SO2 with similarities to polyimidesulfone, PISO2, and other flexible backbone polyimides recently reported by Progar and St. Clair. Also prepared and evaluated was an endcapped version of PISO2. These two polymers were compared with LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI, polyimides research in our laboratory and reported in the literature. The adhesive evaluation, primarily based on lap shear strength (LSS) tests at RT, 177 C and 204 C, involved preparing adhesive tapes, conducting bonding studies and exposing lap shear specimens to 204 C air for up to 1000 hrs and to a 72-hour water boil. The type of adhesive failure as well as the Tg was determined for the fractured specimens. The results indicate that LARC-TPI provides the highest LSSs. LARC-F-SO2, LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI all retain their strengths after thermal exposure for 1000 hrs and PISO2 retains greater than 80 percent of its control strengths. After a 72-hr water boil exposure, most of the four adhesive systems showed reduced strengths for all test temperatures although still retaining a high percentage of their original strength (greater than 60 percent) except for one case. The predominant failure type was cohesive with no significant change in the Tgs.

Progar, Donald J.↗

Tensile adhesion testing methodology for thermally sprayed coatings

The structure of thermally sprayed coatings consists of lamellae which are oriented parallel to the substrate surface. The lamellae separate and fracture by distinctive mechanisms which are reflected in the failure morphology, and these may be described as adhesive (between the coating and substrate), cohesive (within the coating), or mixed mode. There is a large variability in the failure stress for any nominally identical group of coatings. A lower bound for the fracture toughness of alumina coatings can be calculated as 0.2 MNm exp -3/2. The coating strength values may also be treated as belonging to the statistical distribution of the Weibull function. The Weibull modulus of the coating strength varied from 1.4 to 3.8. This analysis infers that the flaw size within coatings is highly variable and that the flaws are nonuniformly dispersed. The present work focuses on the question of whether tensile adhesion tests are an appropriate testing method for thermally sprayed materials.

Berndt, Christopher C.↗

Triton's streaks as windblown dust

Explanations for the surface streaks observed by Voyager 2 on Triton's southern hemisphere are discussed. It is shown that, despite Triton's tenuous atmosphere, low-cohesion dust trains with diameters of about 5 micron or less may be carried into suspension by aeolian surface shear stress, given expected geostrophic wind speeds of about 10 m/s. For geyser-like erupting dust plumes, it is shown that dust-settling time scales and expected wind velocities can produce streaks with length scales in good agreement with those of the streaks. Thus, both geyserlike eruptions or direct lifting by surface winds appear to be viable mechanisms for the origin of the streaks.

Sagan, Carl↗

A phenomenological model of coating/substrate adhesion and interfacial bimetallic peeling stress in composite mirrors

Adhesion and interfacial stress between metal films and structural composite material substrates is discussed. A theoretical and conceptual basis for selecting coating materials for composite mirror substrates is described. A phenomenological model that interrelates cohesive tensile strength of thin film coatings and interfacial peeling stresses is presented. The model serves as a basis in determining gradiated materials response and compatibility of composite substrate and coating combinations. Parametric evaluation of material properties and geometrical factors such as coating thickness are used to determine the threshold stress levels for maintaining adhesion at the different interfaces.

Mcelroy, Paul M.↗

Have graben wall scarps accumulated sand and dust on Mars?

Grabens are linear fault bounded troughs that are extremely abundant on Mars (about 7000 cover the Western Hemisphere). Analysis of lunar and Martian grabens as well as analogous structures on Earth indicates that grabens form under extension when the crust is pulled apart. On Mars, topographic maps are not of sufficient resolution to measure graben wall slopes. Seismic shaking on Mars might be capable of reducing 60 deg fault scarps to an angle of repose. Some other process must be responsible for further reducing graben wall slopes. If the deposition of sand and dust along graben walls is responsible for their extremely low slopes, then a variety of implications are possible. Sand and/or dust movement and deposition is ubiquitous in grabens over most of Mars, as similar looking grabens are found over the entire Western Hemisphere and this requires a plentiful supply of sand or dust. If the material that accumulates is of low density and cohesion, attempts to traverse graben walls might be difficult. Rimless shallow depressions could be more effective sinks for sand and dust on Mars than has been realized.

Golombek, M. P.↗

Equivalent crystal theory of alloys

Equivalent Crystal Theory (ECT) is a new, semi-empirical approach to calculating the energetics of a solid with defects. The theory has successfully reproduced surface energies in metals and semiconductors. The theory of binary alloys to date, both with first-principles and semi-empirical models, has not been very successful in predicting the energetics of alloys. This procedure is used to predict the heats of formation, cohesive energy, and lattice parameter of binary alloys of Cu, Ni, Al, Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt as functions of composition. The procedure accurately reproduces the heats of formation versus composition curves for a variety of binary alloys. The results are then compared with other approaches such as the embedded atom and lattice parameters of alloys from pure metal properties more accurately than Vegard's law is presented.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

A new approximate sum rule for bulk alloy properties

A new, approximate sum rule is introduced for determining bulk properties of multicomponent systems, in terms of the pure components properties. This expression is applied for the study of lattice parameters, cohesive energies, and bulk moduli of binary alloys. The correct experimental trends (i.e., departure from average values) are predicted in all cases.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗