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At least 721 records · Page 40

Acoustic Wafer Defect Detection System

Researchers at Los Alamos have developed the Acoustic Wafer Defect Detection System, a technology that enables rapid diagnosis of critical defects during wafer production. This technology is capable of both efficient and accurate detection of defects in wafers, including defects that are undetectable through current optical techniques. The system identifies the wafer defects by exciting resonant vibrations in the wafers and by exciting “crack breathing” modes. These vibrations cause the crack to periodically open and close. Specific resonance characteristics, combined with acoustic signatures resulting from crack breathing, result in a technique that is highly sensitive to cracked wafers. There are minimal custom parts used to build the system, and it can be easily implemented in nearly any wafer production plant with minimal modifications. We are seeking a commercialization partner to license the technology or partner through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop into a usable product for commercial purposes.

42 ENGINEERING↗

TEAMER – Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power (Abstract)

Power generation from vortex induced vibration (VIV) is an emerging field with new technologies that are just beginning to be field tested. In this TEAMER project, WITT Energy will be field testing the power production of its pendulum system in two different configurations to evaluate its performance. The amount of power produced by a VIV instrument depend on the frequency at which it vibrates. The vibrational frequency is controlled by the device shape and its interaction with the flow velocity. Computer models are used to predict vibration frequencies as a function of flow velocity but they may be inaccurate due to complicated bathymetry and bottom roughness that is not captures by the models. This project will test the WITT VIV device in the Sequim Bay channel over a range of tidal velocities. Two tests will be completed with different pipe lengths that are expected to vary the vibrational frequency and therefore the power produced. PNNL will use an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) to monitor the flow conditions during the tests. These tests will help WITT Energy evaluate how closely field operations follow computer model predictions and how best to configure their device for electricity production.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Considerations on the acoustic energy radiated by toothed gears

A mechano-acoustic model is reported for calculating acoustic energy radiated by a working gear. According to this model, a gear is an acoustic coublet formed of the two wheels. The wheel teeth generate cylindrical acoustic waves while the front surfaces of the teeth behave like vibrating pistons. Theoretical results are checked experimentally and good agreement is obtained with open gears. The experiments show that the air noise effect is negligible as compared with the structural noise transmitted to the gear box.

Popinceanu, N. G.↗

Analytical trade study of the STS payload environment

The current predicted acoustic environment for the shuttle orbiter payload bay will produce random vibration environments for payload components and subsystems which potentially will result in design, weight and cost penalties if means of protecting the payloads are not developed. Results are presented of a study to develop, through design and cost effectiveness trade studies, conceptual noise suppression device designs for space shuttle payloads. The impact of noise suppression on environmental levels and associated test costs, and on test philosophy for the various payload classes is considered with the ultimate goal of reducing payload test costs. Conclusions and recommendations are presented.

Rader, W. P.↗

Numerical evaluation of the radiation from unbaffled, finite plates using the FFT

An iteration technique is described which numerically evaluates the acoustic pressure and velocity on and near unbaffled, finite, thin plates vibrating in air. The technique is based on Rayleigh's integral formula and its inverse. These formulas are written in their angular spectrum form so that the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm may be used to evaluate them. As an example of the technique the pressure on the surface of a vibrating, unbaffled disk is computed and shown to be in excellent agreement with the exact solution using oblate spheroidal functions. Furthermore, the computed velocity field outside the disk shows the well-known singularity at the rim of the disk. The radiated fields from unbaffled flat sources of any geometry with prescribed surface velocity may be evaluated using this technique. The use of the FFT to perform the integrations in Rayleigh's formulas provides a great savings in computation time compared with standard integration algorithms, especially when an array processor can be used to implement the FFT.

Williams, E. G.↗

Contactless pellet fabrication

A small object is coated by holding it in the pressure well of an acoustic standing wave pattern, and then applying a mist of liquid coating material at low velocity into the pressure well. The pressure gradient within the well forces the mist particles to be pushed against the object. A lower frequency acoustic wave also can be applied to the coated object, to vibrate it so as to evenly distribute the coated material. The same lower frequency vibrations can be applied to an object in the shape of a hollow sphere, to center the inner and outer surfaces of the sphere while it remains suspended.

Lee, M. C.↗

Active control of acoustic pressure fields using smart material technologies

An overview describing the use of piezoceramic patches in reducing noise in a structural acoustics setting is presented. The passive and active contributions due to patches which are bonded to an Euler-Bernoulli beam or thin shell are briefly discussed and the results are incorporated into a 2-D structural acoustics model. In this model, an exterior noise source causes structural vibrations which in turn lead to interior noise as a result of nonlinear fluid/structure coupling mechanism. Interior sound pressure levels are reduced via patches bonded to the flexible boundary (a beam in this case) which generate pure bending moments when an out-of-phase voltage is applied. Well-posedness results for the infinite dimensional system are discussed and a Galerkin scheme for approximating the system dynamics is outlined. Control is implemented by using linear quadratic regulator (LQR) optimal control theory to calculate gains for the linearized system and then feeding these gains back into the nonlinear system of interest. The effectiveness of this strategy for this problem is illustrated in an example.

Banks, H. T.↗

Preconditioning for the Navier-Stokes equations with finite-rate chemistry

The extension of Van Leer's preconditioning procedure to generalized finite-rate chemistry is discussed. Application to viscous flow is begun with the proper preconditioning matrix for the one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Eigenvalue stiffness is resolved and convergence-rate acceleration is demonstrated over the entire Mach-number range from nearly stagnant flow to hypersonic. Specific benefits are realized at the low and transonic flow speeds typical of complete propulsion-system simulations. The extended preconditioning matrix necessarily accounts for both thermal and chemical nonequilibrium. Numerical analysis reveals the possible theoretical improvements from using a preconditioner for all Mach number regimes. Numerical results confirm the expectations from the numerical analysis. Representative test cases include flows with previously troublesome embedded high-condition-number areas. Van Leer, Lee, and Roe recently developed an optimal, analytic preconditioning technique to reduce eigenvalue stiffness over the full Mach-number range. By multiplying the flux-balance residual with the preconditioning matrix, the acoustic wave speeds are scaled so that all waves propagate at the same rate, an essential property to eliminate inherent eigenvalue stiffness. This session discusses a synthesis of the thermochemical nonequilibrium flux-splitting developed by Grossman and Cinnella and the characteristic wave preconditioning of Van Leer into a powerful tool for implicitly solving two and three-dimensional flows with generalized finite-rate chemistry. For finite-rate chemistry, the state vector of unknowns is variable in length. Therefore, the preconditioning matrix extended to generalized finite-rate chemistry must accommodate a flexible system of moving waves. Fortunately, no new kind of wave appears in the system. The only existing waves are entropy and vorticity waves, which move with the fluid, and acoustic waves, which propagate in Mach number dependent directions. The nonequilibrium vibrational energies and species densities in the unknown state vector act strictly as convective waves. The essential concept for extending the preconditioning to generalized chemistry models is determining the differential variables which symmetrize the flux Jacobians. The extension is then straight-forward. This algorithm research effort will be released in a future version of the production level computational code coined the General Aerodynamic Simulation Program (GASP), developed by Walters, Slack, and McGrory.

Godfrey, Andrew G.↗

Aerodynamic Requirements for BVI Noise Control

As a rotor blade moves through the air, it sheds vortices. These vortices shed along the length of the blade over time form the wake. The strongest vortices of the wake are those trailing from the tip of the blade. When a rotating blade system moves under certain operating conditions, each blade will impinge on the tip vortices shed by itself or other blades. This impingement is called a blade-vortex interaction, or BVI. Although the blade and trailing tip vortices interact with many different orientations, one of the two extremes, either parallel or perpendicular interaction, is usually modelled. In a perpendicular interaction, the portion of the blade that is actually interacting with the travelling vortex at any given time is very small. A parallel interaction, however, has the largest concurrent interaction with the blade, as a result this case is given the most attention. One of the most commonly studied occurrences of blade-vortex interactions is associated with low-speed descending rotorcraft flight. BVI occur when the tip vortices shed by the blades intersect the plane of the rotor. BVI cause local pressure changes over the blades which are responsible, in part, for the acoustic signature of the rotorcraft. The local pressure changes also cause vibrations which lead to fatigue of both the blades and the mechanical components driving the blades.

Wells, Valana L.↗

Structural and Machine Design Using Piezoceramic Materials: A Guide for Structural Design Engineers

Using piezoceramic materials is one way the design engineer can create structures which have an ability to both sense and respond to their environment. Piezoceramic materials can be used to create structural sensors and structural actuators. Because piezoceramic materials have transduction as a material property, their sensing or actuation functions are a result of what happens to the material. This is different than discrete devices we might attach to the structure. For example, attaching an accelerometer to a structure will yield an electrical signal proportional to the acceleration at the attachment point on the structure. Using a electromagnetic shaker as an actuator will create an applied force at the attachment point. Active material elements in a structural design are not easily modeled as providing transduction at a point, but rather they change the physics of the structure in the areas where they are used. Hence, a designer must not think of adding discrete devices to a structure to obtain an effect, but rather must design a structural system which accounts for the physical principles of all the elements in the structure. The purpose of this manual is to provide practicing engineers the information necessary to incorporate piezoelectric materials in structural design and machine design. First, we will review the solid-state physics of piezoelectric materials. Then we will discuss the physical characteristics of the electrical-active material-structural system. We will present the elements of this system which must be considered as part of the design task for a structural engineer. We will cover simple modeling techniques and review the features and capabilities of commercial design tools that are available. We will then cover practical how-to elements of working with piezoceramic materials. We will review sources of piezoceramic materials and built-up devices, and their characteristics. Finally, we will provide two design examples using piezoceramic materials, first as discrete actuators for vibration isolation, and second as structurally-distributed sensor/actuators for active acoustic control.

Inman, Daniel J.↗

26th Space Simulation Conference Proceedings. Environmental Testing: The Path Forward

Topics covered include: A Multifunctional Space Environment Simulation Facility for Accelerated Spacecraft Materials Testing; Exposure of Spacecraft Surface Coatings in a Simulated GEO Radiation Environment; Gravity-Offloading System for Large-Displacement Ground Testing of Spacecraft Mechanisms; Microscopic Shutters Controlled by cRIO in Sounding Rocket; Application of a Physics-Based Stabilization Criterion to Flight System Thermal Testing; Upgrade of a Thermal Vacuum Chamber for 20 Kelvin Operations; A New Approach to Improve the Uniformity of Solar Simulator; A Perfect Space Simulation Storm; A Planetary Environmental Simulator/Test Facility; Collimation Mirror Segment Refurbishment inside ESA s Large Space; Space Simulation of the CBERS 3 and 4 Satellite Thermal Model in the New Brazilian 6x8m Thermal Vacuum Chamber; The Certification of Environmental Chambers for Testing Flight Hardware; Space Systems Environmental Test Facility Database (SSETFD), Website Development Status; Wallops Flight Facility: Current and Future Test Capabilities for Suborbital and Orbital Projects; Force Limited Vibration Testing of JWST NIRSpec Instrument Using Strain Gages; Investigation of Acoustic Field Uniformity in Direct Field Acoustic Testing; Recent Developments in Direct Field Acoustic Testing; Assembly, Integration and Test Centre in Malaysia: Integration between Building Construction Works and Equipment Installation; Complex Ground Support Equipment for Satellite Thermal Vacuum Test; Effect of Charging Electron Exposure on 1064nm Transmission through Bare Sapphire Optics and SiO2 over HfO2 AR-Coated Sapphire Optics; Environmental Testing Activities and Capabilities for Turkish Space Industry; Integrated Circuit Reliability Simulation in Space Environments; Micrometeoroid Impacts and Optical Scatter in Space Environment; Overcoming Unintended Consequences of Ambient Pressure Thermal Cycling Environmental Tests; Performance and Functionality Improvements to Next Generation Thermal Vacuum Control System; Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project: Three-Dimensional Dynamic Stability Testing and Analysis; Thermal Physical Properties of Thermal Coatings for Spacecraft in Wide Range of Environmental Conditions: Experimental and Theoretical Study; Molecular Contamination Generated in Thermal Vacuum Chambers; Preventing Cross Contamination of Hardware in Thermal Vacuum Chambers; Towards Validation of Particulate Transport Code; Updated Trends in Materials' Outgassing Technology; Electrical Power and Data Acquisition Setup for the CBER 3 and 4 Satellite TBT; Method of Obtaining High Resolution Intrinsic Wire Boom Damping Parameters for Multi-Body Dynamics Simulations; and Thermal Vacuum Testing with Scalable Software Developed In-House.

Packard, Edward A.↗

Identifying sources of thermoacoustic vibrations (rumble) in industrial furnaces and boilers

Industrial gas-fired boilers, furnaces and heaters occasionally suffer low-frequency vibrations generated by dynamic feedback between the burner (or burners) and acoustic modes in adjacent cavities in the main combustion chamber or ductwork. Feedback occurs when pressure pulses associated with acoustic resonances propagate to the burner so that they are in phase with combustion rate fluctuations. When the combustion and acoustic fluctuations become sufficiently phase-synchronized, normal sources of dissipation are insufficient to damp the combined pressure waves, and they can become sufficiently amplified to reduce thermal efficiency, increase emissions, and even cause structural damage. In the literature, such oscillations are referred to as thermoacoustic oscillations or ‘rumble’, and their basic physics have been the subject of numerous investigations for well over a century. Although it occurs relatively infrequently, rumble poses a significant challenge because it is difficult to predict, diagnose, and resolve. The underlying relationships involved are sufficiently complex that it is possible for two apparently identical boilers or furnaces to exhibit completely different rumble tendencies. In this study, we review common sources of rumble and how nonlinear signal analyses, such as bivariate mutual information and transfer entropy, can be used to locate both its sources and impact in boilers, furnaces and heaters.

Flynn, T. J.↗

Fibre-optic based DAS technology for Long-term Seismic Monitoring of Carbon Capture and Storage Projects

Long-term seismic monitoring of carbon capture and storage projects (CCS) is needed to verify that the injected gas is safely stored in the subsurface until permanence can be assured. Conventional surface seismic monitoring techniques are usually expensive, require highly invasive surface operations, and need significant time investments on the part of personnel for both the field effort and processing the acquired data. For these reasons, permanent reservoir monitoring (PRM) technologies are preferred, as they can offer a cost-effective solution for long-term monitoring. In this context, we have developed and trialed the use of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) coupled to permanent rotary sources, called surface orbital vibrators (SOV), with the objective to build a continuous monitoring array for CCS projects.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Sub-Poissonian phonon statistics in an acoustical resonator coupled to a pumped two-level emitter

The concept of an acoustical analog of the optical laser has been developed recently in both theoretical and experimental works. We here discuss a model of a coherent phonon generator with a direct signature of the quantum properties of sound vibrations. The considered setup is made of a laser-driven quantum dot embedded in an acoustical nanocavity. The system dynamics is solved for a single phonon mode in the steady-state and in the strong quantum dot—phonon coupling regime beyond the secular approximation. We demonstrate that the phonon statistics exhibits quantum features, i.e., is sub-Poissonian.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

CF6 fan performance improvement

A significant portion of the NASA-sponsored Performance Improvement Program for the CF6 engine was the development of an improved fan concept. This involved aerodynamic redesign of the CF6 fan blade to increase fan efficiency while retaining the mechanical integrity, operability, and acoustic characteristics of the existing blade. A further improvement in performance was obtained by adding a fan case stiffener ring to decouple blade-case vibrational characteristics, permitting a significant reduction in running tip clearance. Engine testing was performed to establish the performance, mechanical and acoustic properties of the new design relative to the current fan, and to establish power management characteristics for the CF6-50C2/E2 engine. A significant improvement in cruise power SFC of 1.8 percent was demonstrated in Sea Level testing projected to altitude flight conditions.

Patt, R. F.↗

Modal analysis and dynamic stresses for acoustically excited shuttle insulation tiles

Improvements and extensions to the RESIST computer program developed for determining the normalized modal stress response of shuttle insulation tiles are described. The new version of RESIST can accommodate primary structure panels with closed-cell stringers, in addition to the capability for treating open-cell stringers. In addition, the present version of RESIST numerically solves vibration problems several times faster than its predecessor. A new digital computer program, titled ARREST (Acoustic Response of Reusable Shuttle Tiles) is also described. Starting with modal information contained on output tapes from RESIST computer runs, ARREST determines RMS stresses, deflections and accelerations of shuttle panels with reusable surface insulation tiles. Both programs are applicable to stringer stiffened structural panels with or without reusable surface insulation titles.

Ojalvo, I. U.↗

A theoretical prediction of the acoustic pressure generated by turbulence-flame front interactions

The equations of momentum annd continuity are combined and linearized yielding the one dimensional nonhomogeneous acoustic wave equation. Three terms in the non-homogeneous equation act as acoustic sources and are taken to be forcing functions acting on the homogeneous wave equation. The three source terms are: fluctuating entropy, turbulence gradients, and turbulence-flame interactions. Each source term is discussed. The turbulence-flame interaction source is used as the basis for computing the source acoustic pressure from the Fourier transformed wave equation. Pressure fluctuations created in turbopump gas generators and turbines may act as a forcing function for turbine and propellant tube vibrations in Earth to orbit space propulsion systems and could reduce their life expectancy. A preliminary assessment of the acoustic pressure fluctuations in such systems is presented.

Huff, R. G.↗

A theoretical prediction of the acoustic pressure generated by turbulence-flame front interactions

The equations of momentum and continuity are combined and linearized yielding the one dimensional nonhomogeneous acoustic wave equation. Three terms in the non-homogeneous equation act as acoustic sources and are taken to be forcing functions acting on the homogeneous wave equation. The three source terms are: fluctuating entropy, turbulence gradients, and turbulence-flame interactions. Each source term is discussed. The turbulence-flame interaction source is used as the basis for computing the source acoustic pressure from the Fourier transformed wave equation. Pressure fluctuations created in turbopump gas generators and turbines may act as a forcing function for turbine and propellant tube vibrations in earth to orbit space propulsion systems and could reduce their life expectancy. A preliminary assessment of the acoustic pressure fluctuations in such systems is presented.

Huff, R. G.↗