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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 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Analysis of a Transonic Alternating Flow Phenomenon Observed During Ares Crew Launch Vehicle Wind Tunnel Tests

A transonic wind tunnel test of the Ares I-X Rigid Buffet Model (RBM) identified a Mach number regime where unusually large buffet loads are present. A subsequent investigation identified the cause of these loads to be an alternating flow phenomenon at the Crew Module-Service Module junction. The conical design of the Ares I-X Crew Module and the cylindrical design of the Service Module exposes the vehicle to unsteady pressure loads due to the sudden transition from separated to attached flow about the cone-cylinder junction with increasing Mach number. For locally transonic conditions at this junction, the flow randomly fluctuates back and forth between a subsonic separated flow and a supersonic attached flow. These fluctuations produce a square-wave like pattern in the pressure time histories which, upon integration result in large amplitude, impulsive buffet loads. Subsequent testing of the Ares I RBM found much lower buffet loads since the evolved Ares I design includes an ogive fairing that covers the Crew Module-Service Module junction, thereby making the vehicle less susceptible to the onset of alternating flow. An analysis of the alternating flow separation and attachment phenomenon indicates that the phenomenon is most severe at low angles of attack and exacerbated by the presence of vehicle protuberances. A launch vehicle may experience either a single or, at most, a few impulsive loads since it is constantly accelerating during ascent rather than dwelling at constant flow conditions in a wind tunnel. A comparison of a wind-tunnel-test-data-derived impulsive load to flight-test-data-derived load indicates a significant over-prediction in the magnitude and duration of the buffet load

Sekula, Martin K.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Crack Growth Behavior in the Threshold Region for High Cycle Fatigue Loading

The research results described in this paper presents a new understanding of the behavior of fatigue crack growth in the threshold region. It is believed by some crack growth experts that the ASTM load shedding test method does not produce true or valid threshold properties. The concern involves the observed fanning of threshold region da/dN data plots for some materials in which the low R-ratio data fans out or away from the high R-ratio data. This data fanning or elevation of threshold values is obviously caused by an increase in crack closure in the low R-ratio tested specimens. This increase in crack closure is assumed by some investigators to be caused by a plastic wake on the crack surfaces that was created during the load shedding test phase. This study shows that the increase in crack closure is the result of an extensive occurrence of crack bifurcation behavior in some materials, particularly in aluminum alloys, when the crack tip cyclic yield zone size becomes less than the grain size of the alloy. This behavior is related to the high stacking fault energy (SFE) property of aluminum alloys which results in easier slip characteristics. Therefore, the particular fanning behavior in aluminum alloys is a function of intrinsic dislocation property of the materials and that the fanned data represents valid material properties. However, for corrosion sensitive steel alloys used in this study the fanning was caused by a build-up of iron oxide at the crack tip from fretting corrosion.

Forman, Royce G.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bid-in Price-Sensitive Load: A Comparison with Fixed Load in a Realistic Test System

Bulk power systems operations, in both simulation and practice, are often built on the principle of minimizing production costs, which assumes to first order that demand is fixed and that the only degrees of freedom for balancing generation and load are supply-side unit commitment and dispatch decisions. The purpose of this report is to interrogate the value of welfare-maximizing markets that not only physically balance demand and supply but also ensure that market outcomes provide consumer value by directly maximizing welfare, defined as the value of consumption minus production costs.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2023

PE99155 Point-Of-Load Buck Regulator Total Ionizing Dose Test Report

Teledyne’s PE99155 point-of-load buck regulator was tested to evaluate an applicationspecific question about the start-up behavior of the device. This test determined if accumulated total ionizing dose (TID) affected any start-up voltage transient characteristics. Testing was based on pass/fail criterial for the magnitude of the output voltage to ensure the safety of downstream electronics. Two sets of radiation tests were performed. The first group of PE99155s used a high dose rate (HDR) irradiation to 25 krad(Si). A second group of PE99155s used high dose rate irradiation to 30 krad(Si).

TID↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Concept of Operations and Checkout Testing for Green Propellant Loading System

Low toxicity propulsion, or Green Propulsion, is increasingly being considered for use on spacecraft following the successful demonstration during the Green Propellant Infusion Mission in 2020. One of these missions is JPL’s Lunar Flashlight (LF), a polar orbiting 12U CubeSat that uses lasers to investigate water ice deposits on the moon’s surface. For the past 3 years, Marshall Space Flight Center has developed the ASCENT propulsion system for LF, along with a green propellant loading system to service the spacecraft. The Propellant Loading System (PLS) is composed of 3 mobile carts designed to operate at a variety of launch facilities and handle the 2 primary green propellants, LMP-103S and ASCENT. In anticipation of LF propellant loading, the PLS was recently installed into an MSFC facility for checkout operations. In the winter of 2020, a simulant spacecraft was successfully loaded with water, pressurized to flight pressure, and drained back into the system. These checkouts drove the concept of operations for final spacecraft loading and informed minor modifications to the PLS for better operability. Additionally, a parallel effort was started to design the next generation of the PLS based on water flow lessons learned. With water flow testing complete, propellant checkouts and wet dress rehearsals with spacecraft pathfinder hardware are anticipated to begin in late Spring 2021.

Green Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2010

Integral Battery Power Limiting Circuit for Intrinsically Safe Applications

A circuit topology has been designed to guarantee the output of intrinsically safe power for the operation of electrical devices in a hazardous environment. This design uses a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) as a switch to connect and disconnect power to a load. A test current is provided through a separate path to the load for monitoring by a comparator against a preset threshold level. The circuit is configured so that the test current will detect a fault in the load and open the switch before the main current can respond. The main current passes through the switch and then an inductor. When a fault occurs in the load, the current through the inductor cannot change immediately, but the voltage drops immediately to safe levels. The comparator detects this drop and opens the switch before the current in the inductor has a chance to respond. This circuit protects both the current and voltage from exceeding safe levels. Typically, this type of protection is accomplished by a fuse or a circuit breaker, but in order for a fuse or a circuit breaker to blow or trip, the current must exceed the safe levels momentarily, which may be just enough time to ignite anything in a hazardous environment. To prevent this from happening, a fuse is typically current-limited by the addition of the resistor to keep the current within safe levels while the fuse reacts. The use of a resistor is acceptable for non-battery applications where the wasted energy and voltage drop across the resistor can be tolerated. The use of the switch and inductor minimizes the wasted energy. For example, a circuit runs from a 3.6-V battery that must be current-limited to 200 mA. If the circuit normally draws 10 mA, then an 18-ohm resistor would drop 180 mV during normal operation, while a typical switch (0.02 ohm) and inductor (0.97 ohm) would only drop 9.9 mV. From a power standpoint, the current-limiting resistor protection circuit wastes about 18 times more power than the switch and the inductor configuration. In the fault condition, both the resistor and the inductor react immediately. The resistor reacts by allowing more current to flow and dropping the voltage. Initially, the inductor reacts by dropping the voltage, and then by not allowing the current to change. When the comparator detects the drop in voltage, it opens the switch, thus preventing any further current flow. The inductor alone is not sufficient protection, because after the voltage drop has settled, the inductor would then allow the current to change, in this example, the current would be 3.7 A. In the fault condition, the resistor is flowing 200 mA until the fuse blows (anywhere from 1 ms to 100 s), while the switch and inductor combination is flowing about 2 A test current while monitoring for the fault to be corrected. Finally, as an additional safety feature, the circuit can be configured to hold the switch opened until both the load and source are disconnected.

Burns, Bradley M.↗
DOE OSTI2015

The study of crack resistance of TiAlN coatings under mechanical loading and thermal cycle testing

The effect of preliminary ion bombardment of 321 stainless steel substrate on crack resistance of TiAlN coatings at uniaxial tension and thermal cycling is studied. The ion-beam treatment of the substrate is shown to substantially improve the adhesion strength of the coatings that prevents their delamination and spalling under uniaxial tension. The resistance to crack propagation and spalling by the thermal shock is higher in the TiAlN coating deposited onto the substrate subjected to Ti ion bombardment as compared to that in the TiAlN coating deposited onto the initial substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Thermodynamic constitutive model for load-biased thermal cycling test of shape memory alloy

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Thermodynamic calculation model for martensitic transformation of shape memory alloy was proposed. • Evolution of the self-accommodation was considered independently by a rate-dependent kinetic equation. • Finite element calculation was conducted for B2–B19′ transformation of Ti–44.5Ni–5Cu–0.5 V (at.%). • Three-dimensional numerical results predict the macroscopic strain under bias loading accurately. - Abstract: This paper presents a three-dimensional calculation model for martensitic phase transformation of shape memory alloy. Constitutive model based on thermodynamic theory was provided. The average behavior was accounted for by considering the volume fraction of each martensitic variant in the material. Evolution of the volume fraction of each variant was determined by a rate-dependent kinetic equation. We assumed that nucleation rate is faster for the self-accommodation than for the stress-induced variants. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was conducted and the results were compared with the experimental data of Ti–44.5Ni–5Cu–0.5 V (at.%) alloy under bias loading.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1987

Helicopter blade dynamic loads measured during performance testing of two scaled rotors

A test to determine the performance differences between the 27-percent-scale models of two rotors for the U.S. Army AH-64 helicopter was conducted in the Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel. One rotor, referred to as the baseline rotor, simulated the geometry and dynamic characteristics of the production baseline rotor, and the other rotor, referred to as the advanced rotor, was designed to have improved hover performance. During the performance test, the dynamic pitch-link forces and blade bending and torsion moments were also measured. Dynamic data from the forward flight investigation are reduced and presented. The advanced blade set was designed to have dynamic characteristics similar to those of the baseline rotor so that test conditions would not be limited by potential rotor instability and blade resonances, and so that the measured performance increments could be considered to be due purely to aerodynamic causes. Data show consistent trends with advance ratio for both blade sets with generally higher oscillatory loads occurring for the advanced blade set when compared with the baseline blade set.

Berry, John D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Static calibration for measurement of loads in wind tunnel tests on Shuttle surface tiles

A description is given of the procedures used for the static calibrations of the Coe (1981) sensor array to determine normal force, pitching moment, and rolling moment from the ensemble of sensor outputs. The use of independent data to confirm the validity of the calibration is also described. Two methods are used in calibrating the Coe sensors. In the first, calibration loads and readings are arranged in matrix form and are assumed to be related in a linear fashion. In the second, each Coe sensor reading is regarded as a sum of contributions from each of the calibration loads. It is shown that the Coe load sensors, in conjunction with either of two data analysis methods, can be used to determine the forces and moments experienced by a Shuttle TPS tile.

Rummler, D. R.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Planetary Load Sharing in Three-Point-Mounted Wind Turbine Gearboxes: A Design and Test Comparison

The planetary load sharing characteristics of wind turbine gearboxes supported by cylindrical roller bearings (CRBs) and preloaded tapered roller bearings (TRBs) when subjected to rotor moments are compared in this work. Planetary bearing loads were measured in field-representative dynamometer tests and compared to loads predicted by finite-element models. Load sharing was significantly improved with preloaded TRBs. In pure torque conditions, the upwind planet bearing loads in the gearbox with preloaded TRBs were a maximum of 1.14 compared to 1.47 in the gearbox with CRBs. Consequently, the predicted fatigue life of the complete set of planetary bearings for the gearbox with preloaded TRBs is 3.5 times greater than that of the gearbox with CRBs.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1973

Design, fabrication, testing and delivery of a prototype self-locking actuator

The design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype self-locking actuator capable of producing an axial force of 44.5 kN are reported. The actuator passed the initial proof test successfully, however, when the no-load rate test was attempted, the actuator would not extend from the fully contracted position.

Dever, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Modified Mode-I Cracked Sandwich Beam (CSB) Fracture Test

Five composite sandwich panels were fabricated using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Four of these panels had E-glass/vinylester facesheets and one had carbon/epoxy facesheets. The sandwich panels had different density PVC foam cores. The four E-glass panels had core densities of 80, 100, 130, 200 kg/cu m. The sandwich with carbon/epoxy 3 facesheets had a core with density of 100 kg/cu m. Fracture tests were conducted using a modified Cracked Sandwich Beam (CSB) test configuration. Load displacement curves were obtained for loading and unloading of the specimens during crack growth. Various increments of crack growth were monitored. Critical Strain Energy Release Rates (SERR) were determined from the tests using the area method. The critical values of SERR can be considered the fracture toughness of the sandwich material. The fracture toughness ranged 367 J/sq m to 1350 J/sq m over the range of core densities. These results are compared to the Mode-I fracture toughness of the PVC foam core materials and values obtained for foam-cored sandwiches using the TSD specimen. Finite-element analyses (FEA) were performed for the test configuration and Strain Energy Release Rates were calculated using the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT). The SERR values determined from the FEA were scaled to the fracture loads, or critical loads, obtained from the modified CSB tests. These critical loads were in close agreement with the test values.

Smith, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Experimental investigation of strains in fabric under biaxial and shear forces.

The paper defines the experimental phase of an objective to obtain the mechanical characteristics and coefficients required by the generalized form of Hooke's law for nylon-polyurethane-coated fabric. Test specimens were cylindrical fabric sleeves and were loaded in axial tension by an Instron, in hoop tension by pressurizing, and in shear by a torquing fixture. An extensive amount of strain data is included for a wide combination of the three membrane loads. The tests indicate highly nonlinear stress-strain characteristics of the fabric and a strong dependency on all three membrane loads.

Alley, V. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An instrumented fastener for shear force measurements in joints

A preliminary investigation has been conducted on instrumented fasteners for use as sensors to measure the shear loads transmitted by individual fasteners installed in double-splice joints. Calibration and load verification tests were conducted for instrumented fasteners installed at three fastener torque levels. Results from calibration tests show that the shear strains obtained from the instrumented fasteners vary linearly with the applied load and that the instrumented fasteners can be effectively used to measure shear loads transmitted by individual fasteners installed in double-splice joints. Tests were also conducted with three instumented fasteners installed in a typical double-splice joint. The test results showed that the load distribution between individual fasteners is dependent on the location of the fastener in the joint and the fastener torque level.

Sawyer, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Crack Growth Behavior in the Threshold Region for High Cycle Fatigue Loading

This presentation describes results obtained from a research project conducted at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) that was jointly supported by the FAA Technical Center and JSC. The JSC effort was part of a multi-task FAA program involving several U.S. laboratories and initiated for the purpose of developing enhanced analysis tools to assess damage tolerance of rotorcraft and aircraft propeller systems. The research results to be covered in this presentation include a new understanding of the behavior of fatigue crack growth in the threshold region. This behavior is important for structural life analysis of aircraft propeller systems and certain rotorcraft structural components (e.g., the mast). These components are often designed to not allow fatigue crack propagation to exceed an experimentally determined fatigue crack growth threshold value. During the FAA review meetings for the program, disagreements occurred between the researchers regarding the observed fanning (spread between the da/dN curves of constant R) in the threshold region at low stress ratios, R. Some participants believed that the fanning was a result of the ASTM load shedding test method for threshold testing, and thus did not represent the true characteristics of the material. If the fanning portion of the threshold value is deleted or not included in a life analysis, a significant penalty in the calculated life and design of the component would occur. The crack growth threshold behavior was previously studied and reported by several research investigators in the time period: 1970-1980. Those investigators used electron microscopes to view the crack morphology of the fatigue fracture surfaces. Their results showed that just before reaching threshold, the crack morphology often changed from a striated to a faceted or cleavage-like morphology. This change was reported to have been caused by particular dislocation properties of the material. Based on the results of these early investigations, a program was initiated at JSC to repeat these examinations on a number of aircraft structural alloys that were currently being tested for obtaining fatigue crack growth properties. These new scanning electron microscope (SEM) examinations of the fatigue fracture faces confirmed the change in crack morphology in the threshold crack tip region. In addition, SEM examinations were further performed in the threshold crack-tip region before breaking the specimens open (not done in the earlier published studies). In these examinations, extensive crack forking and even 90-degree crack bifurcations were found to have occurred in the final threshold crack-tip region. The forking and bifurcations caused numerous closure points to occur that prevented full crack closure in the threshold region, and thus were the cause of the fanning at low-R values. Therefore, we have shown that the fanning behavior was caused by intrinsic dislocation properties of the different alloy materials and were not the result of a plastic wake that remains from the load-shedding test phase. Also, to accommodate the use of da/dN data which includes fanning at low R-values, an updated fanning factor term has been developed and will be implemented into the NASGRO fatigue crack growth software. The term can be set to zero if it is desired that the fanning behavior is not be modeled for particular cases, such as when fanning is not a result of the intrinsic properties of a material.

Forman, Royce G.↗