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At least 73 records · Page 4

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1982

Vibration damping characteristics of graphite/epoxy composites for large space structures

Limited data on extensional and flexural damping of small specimens of graphite/epoxy and unreinforced epoxy resin were obtained. Flexural damping was measured using a forced vibration technique based on resonant flexural vibration of shaker excited double cantilever specimens. Extensional damping was measured by subjecting similar specimens to low frequency sinusoidal oscillation in a servohydraulic tensile testing machine while plotting load versus extensional strain. Damping was found to vary slowly and continuously over the frequency range 0.01 - 1000 Hz, and no drastic transitions were observed. Composite damping was found to be less than neat resin damping. Comparison of small specimen damping values with assembled column damping values seems to indicate that, for those materials, material damping is more important than joint damping. The data reported was limited not by the test apparatus, but by signal conditioning and data acquisition. It is believed that filtering of the strain gage signals and the use of digital storage with slow playback will make it possible to extend the frequency and amplitude ranges significantly.

Gibson, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Dynamic response and acoustic fatigue of stiffened composite structure

The results of acoustic fatigue and dynamic response tests performed on L-1011 graphite-epoxy (GrE) aileron and panel components are reported. The aileron featured glass microballoons between the GrE skins. Tests yielded random fatigue data from double and single cantilever coupons and modal data from impedance hammer and loudspeaker impulses. Numerical and sample test data were obtained on combined acoustic and shear loads, acoustic and thermal loads, random fatigue and damping of the integrally stiffened and secondary bonded panels. The fatigue data indicate a fatigue life beyond 10 million cycles. The acoustic data suggested that noise transmission could be enhanced in the integrally stiffened panels, which were more acoustic-fatigue resistant than were the secondary bonded panels.

Soovere, J.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Improved gas thrust bearings

Two variations of gas-lubricated thrust bearings extend substantially load-carrying range over existing gas bearings. Dual-Action Gas Thrust Bearing's load-carrying capacity is more than ninety percent greater than that of single-action bearing over range of compressibility numbers. Advantages of Cantilever-mounted Thrust Bearing are greater tolerance to dirt ingestion, good initial lift-off characteristics, and operational capability over wide temperature range.

Anderson, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Probabilistic progressive buckling of trusses

A three-bay, space, cantilever truss is probabilistically evaluated to describe progressive buckling and truss collapse in view of the numerous uncertainties associated with the structural, material, and load variables (primitive variables) that describe the truss. Initially, the truss is deterministically analyzed for member forces, and member(s) in which the axial force exceeds the Euler buckling load are identified. These member(s) are then discretized with several intermediate nodes and a probabilistic buckling analysis is performed on the truss to obtain its probabilistic buckling loads and respective mode shapes. Furthermore, sensitivities associated with the uncertainties in the primitive variables are investigated, margin of safety values for the truss are determined, and truss end node displacements are noted. These steps are repeated by sequentially removing the buckled member(s) until onset of truss collapse is reached. Results show that this procedure yields an optimum truss configuration for a given loading and for a specified reliability.

Pai, Shantaram S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Probabilistic progressive buckling of trusses

Pai, Shantaram S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Probabilistic structural analysis of space truss structures for nonuniform thermal environmental effects

A three-bay, space, cantilever truss is probabilistically evaluated to quantify the range of uncertainties of vibration frequencies and truss free end vertical displacements due to nonuniform thermal loads, applied loads and moments (mechanical loads), and combination of both. The truss members are assumed to be made from (1) aluminum tubes or (2) high modulus graphite-fiber/intermediate modulus epoxy-matrix composite tubes. Cumulative distribution function results show that certain combination of thermal loads with mechanical loads reduce the probabilistic vibration frequencies and increase the magnitude of the truss free end vertical displacements for the aluminum truss. However, for the composite truss, the thermal effects on the probabilistic vibration frequencies are not as substantial as that for an aluminum truss. This can be attributed to the large differences in the values of coefficient of thermal expansion. Finally, the sensitivities associated with the uncertainties in the structural, material and load variables (primative variables) are investigated. Results indicate that vibration frequencies and truss free end vertical displacements are sensitive to the uncertainties in spacial (geometry) variables as well as member modulus.

Pai, Shantaram S.↗

NASA NTRS1984

LEC System Development

The Lajet Energy Company (LEC) 460 is described. A parabolic dish which incorporates a microprocessor to automatically point it toward the Sun from sunrise to sunset is used. The dish is composed of a set of mirrors (made of reflective polymeric film) which focus and concentrate the Sun's energy on a receiver, producing intense but controlled amounts of heat. The LEC 460 employs a design concept that permits the use of common and low cost materials. All major structural components are fabricated from low carbon, low alloy steel using methods adaptable to mass production. The mirrors are supported on a steel tubing frame. This frame is attached near its center of gravity to a cantilevered support structure. The mirrors and frame are counterbalanced by the weight of the receiver, thus reducing the energy needed to move the collector (parasitic load) and allowing movement on two axes. Each LEC 460 solar concentrator contains a reflective array consisting of twenty four 60 inch diameter mirrors.

Halbert, D. D.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Effect of advanced component technology on helicopter transmissions

Experimental tests were performed on the NASA/Bell Helicopter Textron (BHT) 500 hp advanced technology transmission (ATT) at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The ATT was a retrofit of the OH-58C helicopter 236 kW (317 hp) main rotor transmission, upgraded to 373 kW (500 hp), with a design goal of retaining long life with a minimum increase in cost, weight, and size. Vibration, strain, efficiency, deflection, and temperature experiments were performed and the results were compared to previous experiments on the OH-58A, OH-58C, and UH-60A transmissions. The high-contact-ratio gears and the cantilevered-mounted, flexible ring gear of the ATT reduced vibration compared to that of the OH-58C. The ATT flexible ring gear improved planetary load sharing compared to that of the rigid ring gear of the UH-60A transmission. The ATT mechanical efficiency was lower than that of the OH-58A transmission, probably due to the high-contact-ratio planetary gears.

Lewicki, David G.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Effect of advanced component technology on helicopter transmissions

Lewicki, D. G.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Lessons learned from the design and operation of a small-scale cross-flow tidal turbine

In 2023, a first-generation prototype of a small-scale marine current turbine was operated in Sequim Bay, Washington (USA) for 141 days. The system, referred to as the Turbine Lander, was the product of a laboratory-to-field effort to develop a system that enables enhanced ocean sensing or vehicle recharge in remote, energetic settings. The turbine consists of a vertical-axis, cantilevered rotor (1.19 m x 0.85 m) with four foils installed on a gravity foundation. A broader range of constraints including the deployment strategy, site characteristics, and estimated loads, drove the system’s design. This work presents the design, characterization, operation, and post-recovery engineering assessment of the Turbine Lander. Pre-deployment characterization efforts yielded a peak power coefficient of approximately 0.3 for the rotor, although system losses resulted in much lower water-to-wire efficiencies under most operating conditions. The results demonstrate the importance of co-design among key components of the powertrain and control systems to achieve acceptable system efficiency across operating conditions.

Co-design↗

NASA NTRS1993

Probabilistic Assessment of Adaptive Space Truss Configurations for Thermal Buckling Resistance

A three-bay, cantilever truss of a type typically used in space structures, is probabilistically evaluated to configure adaptive/smart/intelligent behavior for resisting thermal buckling. This buckling is due to nonuniform thermal loads and a combination of these loads with applied loads and moments (mechanical loads). For each behavior the scatter (ranges) in buckling loads and member axial forces are probabilistically determined. Sensitivities associated with uncertainties in the structural and material variables that describe the truss, as well as scatter in mechanical and thermal loads, are determined for different probabilities. The relative magnitude of these sensitivities are used to identify significant truss variables that control/classify the truss behavior and cause it to respond as an adaptive/smart/ intelligent structure. Results show that the probabilistic buckling loads increase for adaptive and intelligent truss classifications, with a substantial increase for intelligent trusses. Similarly, the probabilistic member axial forces decrease for each truss classification.

Pai, Shantaram S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

In-flight lift-drag characteristics for a forward-swept wing aircraft and comparisons with contemporary aircraft)

Lift (L) and drag (D) characteristics have been obtained in flight for the X-29A airplane (a forward swept-wing demonstrator) for Mach numbers (M) from 0.4 to 1.3. Most of the data were obtained near an altitude of 30,000 ft. A representative Reynolds number for M = 0.9, and a pressure altitude of 30,000 ft, is 18.6 x 10(exp 6) based on the mean aerodynamic chord. The X-29A data (forward-swept wing) are compared with three high-performance fighter aircraft: the F-15C, F-16C, and F/A18. The lifting efficiency of the X-29A, as defined by the Oswald lifting efficiency factor, e, is about average for a cantilevered monoplane for M = 0.6 and angles of attack up to those required for maximum L/D. At M = 0.6 the level of L/D and e, as a function of load factor, for the X-29A was about the same as for the contemporary aircraft. The X-29A and its contemporaries have high transonic wave drag and equivalent parasite area compared with aircraft of the 1940's through 1960's.

Saltzman, Edwin J.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Wing Shape Sensing from Measured Strain

A new two-step theory is investigated for predicting the deflection and slope of an entire structure using strain measurements at discrete locations. In the first step, a measured strain is fitted using a piecewise least-squares curve fitting method together with the cubic spline technique. These fitted strains are integrated twice to obtain deflection data along the fibers. In the second step, computed deflection along the fibers are combined with a finite element model of the structure in order to interpolate and extrapolate the deflection and slope of the entire structure through the use of the System Equivalent Reduction and Expansion Process. The theory is first validated on a computational model, a cantilevered rectangular plate wing. The theory is then applied to test data from a cantilevered swept-plate wing model. Computed results are compared with finite element results, results using another strainbased method, and photogrammetry data. For the computational model under an aeroelastic load, maximum deflection errors in the fore and aft, lateral, and vertical directions are -3.2%, 0.28%, and 0.09%, respectively; and maximum slope errors in roll and pitch directions are 0.28% and -3.2%, respectively. For the experimental model, deflection results at the tip are shown to be accurate to within 3.8% of the photogrammetry data and are accurate to within 2.2% in most cases. In general, excellent matching between target and computed values are accomplished in this study. Future refinement of this theory will allow it to monitor the deflection and health of an entire aircraft in real time, allowing for aerodynamic load computation, active flexible motion control, and active induced drag reduction.

shape sensing↗

NASA NTRS2015

Wing Shape Sensing from Measured Strain

A new two-step theory is investigated for predicting the deflection and slope of an entire structure using strain measurements at discrete locations. In the first step, a measured strain is fitted using a piecewise least-squares curve fitting method together with the cubic spline technique. These fitted strains are integrated twice to obtain deflection data along the fibers. In the second step, computed deflection along the fibers are combined with a finite element model of the structure in order to interpolate and extrapolate the deflection and slope of the entire structure through the use of the System Equivalent Reduction and Expansion Process. The theory is first validated on a computational model, a cantilevered rectangular plate wing. The theory is then applied to test data from a cantilevered swept-plate wing model. Computed results are compared with finite element results, results using another strain-based method, and photogrammetry data. For the computational model under an aeroelastic load, maximum deflection errors in the fore and aft, lateral, and vertical directions are -3.2 percent, 0.28 percent, and 0.09 percent, respectively; and maximum slope errors in roll and pitch directions are 0.28 percent and -3.2 percent, respectively. For the experimental model, deflection results at the tip are shown to be accurate to within 3.8 percent of the photogrammetry data and are accurate to within 2.2 percent in most cases. In general, excellent matching between target and computed values are accomplished in this study. Future refinement of this theory will allow it to monitor the deflection and health of an entire aircraft in real time, allowing for aerodynamic load computation, active flexible motion control, and active induced drag reduction..

system equivalent reduction and expansion process↗

NASA NTRS1977

Effect of chordwise forces and deformations and deformations due to steady lift on wing flutter

This investigation explores the effects of chordwise forces and deformations and steady-state deformation due to lift on the static and dynamic aeroelastic stability of a uniform cantilever wing. Results of this analysis are believed to have practical applications for high-performance sailplanes and certain RPV's. The airfoil cross section is assumed to be symmetric and camber bending is neglected. Motions in vertical bending, fore-and-aft bending, and torsion are considered. A differential equation model is developed, which included the nonlinear elastic bending-torsion coupling that accompanies even moderate deflections. A linearized expansion in small time-dependent deflections is made about a steady flight condition. The stability determinant of the linearized system then contains coefficients that depend on steady displacements. Loads derived from two-dimensional incompressible aerodynamic theory are used to obtain the majority of the results, but cases using three-dimensional subsonic compressible theory are also studied. The stability analysis is carried out in terms of the dynamically uncoupled natural modes of vibration of the uniform cantilever.

Boyd, W. N.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Optimal control alleviation of tilting proprotor gust response

Optimal control theory is applied to the design of a control system for alleviation of the gust response of tilting proprotor aircraft. Using a proprotor and cantilever wing analytical model, the uncontrolled and controlled gust response is examined over the entire operating range of the aircraft except for hover: helicopter mode, conversion, and airplane mode flight. Substantial improvements in the loads, ride quality, and aeroelastic stability are possible with a properly designed controller. A single controller, nominally optimal only at the design point speed (160 knots here), operated efficiently over the entire speed range, with the possible exception of very low speed in helicopter mode. Kalman-Bucy filters were used as compensation networks to provide state estimates from various measurements in the wing motion, rotor speed perturbation, and tip-path-plane tilt.

Johnson, W.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Optimal control alleviation of tilting proprotor gust response

Optimal control theory is applied to the design of a control system for alleviation of the gust response of tilting proprotor aircraft. Using a proprotor and cantilever wing analytical model, the uncontrolled and controlled gust response is examined over the entire operating range of the aircraft except for hover: helicopter mode, conversion, and airplane mode flight. Substantial improvements in the loads, ride quality, and aeroelastic stability are possible with a properly designed controller. A single controller, nominally optimal only at the design point speed (160 knots here), operated efficiently over the entire speed range, with the possible exception of very low speed in helicopter mode. Kalman-Bucy filters were used as compensation networks to provide state estimates from various measurements in the system. Efficient control requires the measurement of the wing motion, rotor speed perturbation, and tip-path-plane tilt.

Johnson, W.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Passive Aeroelastic Tailored Wing Modal Test Using the Fixed Base Correction Method

In modal testing and finite element model correlation, analysts desire modal results using free-free or rigid boundary conditions to ease comparisons of test versus analytical data. It is often expensive both in cost and schedule to build and test with boundary conditions that replicate the free-free or rigid boundaries. Static test fixtures for load testing are often large, heavy, and unyielding, but do not provide adequate boundaries for modal tests because they are dynamically too flexible and often contain natural frequencies within the frequency range of interest of the test article. Dynamic coupling between the test article and test fixture complicates the model updating process because significant effort is required to model the test fixture and boundary conditions in addition to the test article. If there were a way to correct the modal results for fixture coupling, then setups used for other structural testing could be adequate for modal testing. In the case described in this paper, a partial static loads testing setup was used, which allowed significant schedule and cost savings by eliminating a unique setup for a modal test. A fixed base correction technique was investigated during modal testing of a flexible wing cantilevered from part of a static test fixture. The technique was successfully used to measure the wing modes de-coupled from the dynamically active test fixture. The technique is promising for future aircraft applications, but more research is needed.

structural dynamics↗