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At least 721 records · Page 40

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DOE OSTI2024

High-Energy Laser Direct Strike Assessment for NIF CryoXNBS Snout and Naiad SNM Container

An experimental IPT performed two NIF shots as an assessment of the effect of a direct laser beam strike impact on the NIF CryoXNBS snout and Naiad container. Four aligned NIF outer cone beams at best focus, 42 kJ total, struck a four millimeter thick stainless plate. In the first shot, the struck plate was followed by a 1.75 mm gap and a 2.0 millimeter stainless plate to create a surrogate geometry for the current CryoXNBS snout and Naiad container. There was minor plastic deformation of the rear plate rear surface with no evidence of bulk failure. The second shot tested a layered glass-filled polycarbonate and titanium shield placed in the gap. Nondestructive assay was sufficient to metrologize the beam strike area and the damage induced to the NIF target assemblies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1972

Investigations of lunar materials

The investigations were directed at determining the radiation history and surface chronology of lunar materials using the etched particle track technique. The major lunar materials studied are the igneous rocks and double core from Apollo 12, the breccia and soil samples from Apollo 14, and the core samples from Luna 16. In the course of this work two new and potentially important observations were made: (1) Cosmic ray-induced spallation-recoil tracks were identified. The density of such tracks, when compared with the density of tracks induced by a known flux of accelerator protons, yields the time of exposure of a sample within the top meter or two of moon's surface. (2) Natural, fine scale plastic deformation was found to have fragmented pre-existing charged particle tracks, allowing the dating of the mechanical event causing the deformation.

Comstock, G. M.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Thermal barrier pressure seal

An apparatus is described for providing thermal and pressure sealing in an elongated space of varying width between adjacent surface of two members. The apparatus is mounted for at least limited lateral movement between the members and may comprise: an elongated support attached to one of the adjacent surfaces; a second elongated support member attached to the other of the adjacent surfaces, and an elongated seal member sandwiched between the first and second support members. In its non-deformed state, the elongated seal member may be substantially cylindrical but capable of deformation to accommodate limited lateral movement between the adjacent surfaces and varying widths of the space.

Bellavia, J., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Finite element analysis of wrinkling membranes

The finite element analysis of wrinkling membranes was investigated. The determination of stresses and deformations within large partly wrinkled membrane surfaces is a problem of significant technical interest in such areas as conceptual design and analysis of ultra lightweight spacecraft structures. A closed-form solution to an axisymmetric problem involving partial wrinkling of an inflated shallow membrane was obtained. In particular, a membrane in the shape of a sperical annulus was considered. The outer edge of the annulus was assumed to be fixed so that no displacements occur along the outer perimeter. The inner edge is assumed to be clamped to a rigid movable plug. Solutions for the complete stress, strain, and displacement fields under the assumption of inextensional material behavior are presented for the case of pure torsional loads applied to the plug, and for the case of pure axial loads applied to the plug.

Miller, R. K.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Patterns of fracture and tidal stresses on Europa

A comparison of dark band, triple band, and cuspate ridge orientations with the fracture patterns predicted for tidal distortion due to orbital recession and eccentricity is undertaken, to test the hypothesized identification of Europa's lineaments as tidal distortion and planetary volume change fractures. Short, reticule dark bands near the anti-Jove point could be tension cracks caused by orbital eccentricity. Long, arcuate dark bands and triple bands peripheral to the anti-Jove point may be strike-slip faults due to orbital recession. The orientation and distribution of cuspate ridges, if they are compressional, suggests their formation in response to a combination of orbital recession and planetary volume decrease. If surface fracturing is due to tidal deformation, important constraints are exerted by it on Europa's orbital evolution.

Helfenstein, P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Geomorphic evidence for the distribution of ground ice on Mars

High-resolution Viking orbiter images show evidenced for quasi-viscous relaxation of topography. The relaxation is believed to be due to creep deformation of ice in near-surface materials. The global distribution of the inferred ground ice shows a pronounced latitudinal dependence. The equatorial regions of Mars appear to be ice-poor, while the heavily cratered terrain poleward of + or - 30 deg latitude appears to be ice-rich. The style of creep poleward of + or - 30 deg varies with latitude, possibly due to variations in ice rheology with temperature. The distribution suggests that ice at low latitudes, which is not in equilibrium with the present atmosphere, has been lost via sublimation and diffusion through the regolith, thereby causing a net poleward transport of ice over martian history.

Squyres, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1986

On the analysis and design of the end notched flexure (ENF) specimen for Mode II testing

The end notched flexure (ENF) specimen is examined as a candidate for measuring interlaminar fracture toughness in skew symmetric loading. A simple design study for sizing the ENF specimen to minimize geometric nonlinear response and to avoid nonlinear material behavior or flexural failure is presented. Results indicate that interlaminar shear effects may be significant for tough resin systems requiring large thickness-to-length geometries. The influences of interlaminar shear deformation and friction between the crack surfaces on the strain energy release rate are examined.

Carlsson, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Venus and the Archean Earth: Thermal considerations

The Archean Era of the Earth is not a direct analog of the present tectonics of Venus. In this regard, it is useful to review the state of the Archean Earth. Most significantly, the temperature of the adiabatic interior of the Earth was 200 to 300 C hotter than the current temperature. Preservation biases limit what can be learned from the Archean record. Archean oceanic crust, most of the planetary surface at any one time, has been nearly all subducted. More speculatively, the core of the Earth has probably cooled more slowly than the mantle. Thus the temperature contrast above the core-mantle boundary and the vigor of mantle plumes has increased with time on the Earth. The most obvious difference between Venus and the present Earth is the high surface temperature and hence a low effective viscosity of the lithosphere. In addition, the temperature contrast between the adiabatic interior and the surface, which drives convection, is less on Venus than on the Earth. It appears that the hot lithosphere enhanced tectonics on the early Venus significantly enough that its interior cooled faster than the Earth's. The best evidence for a cool interior of Venus comes from long wavelength gravity anomalies. The low interior temperatures retard seafloor spreading on Venus. The high surface temperatures on Venus enhance crustal deformation. That is, the lower crust may become ductile enough to permit significant flow between the upper crust and the mantle. There is thus some analogy to modern and ancient areas of high heat flow on the Earth. Archean crustal blocks typically remained stable for long intervals and thus overall are not good analogies to the deformation style on Venus.

Sleep, N. H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Extensional and compressional instabilities in icy satellite lithospheres

The plausibility of invoking a lithospheric instability mechanism to account for the grooved terrains on Ganymede, Encedalus, and Miranda is presently evaluated in light of the combination of a simple mechanical model of planetary lithospheres and asthenospheres with recent experimental data for the brittle and ductile deformation of ice. For Ganymede, high surface gravity and warm temperatures render the achievement of an instability sufficiently great for the observed topographic relief virtually impossible; an instability of sufficient strength, however, may be able to develop on such smaller, colder bodies as Encedalus and Miranda.

Herrick, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Indium Foil Serves As Thermally Conductive Gasket

Indium foil found useful as gasket to increase thermal conductance between bodies clamped together. Deforms to fill imperfections on mating surfaces. Used where maximum temperature in joint less than melting temperature of indium. Because of low melting temperature of indium, most useful in cryogenic applications.

Eastman, G. Yale↗

NASA NTRS1994

Interlaminar stress analysis of dropped-ply laminated plates and shells by a mixed method

A mixed method of approximation based on Reissner's variational principle is developed for the linear analysis of interlaminar stresses in laminated composites, with special interest in laminates that contain terminated internal plies (dropped-ply laminates). Two models are derived, one for problems of generalized plane deformation and the other for the axisymmetric response of shells of revolution. A layerwise approach is taken in which the stress field is assumed with an explicit dependence on the thickness coordinate in each layer. The dependence of the stress field on the thickness coordinate is determined such that the three-dimensional equilibrium equations are satisfied by the approximation. The solution domain is reduced to one dimension by integration through the thickness. Continuity of tractions and displacements between layers is imposed. The governing two-point boundary value problem is composed of a system of both differential and algebraic equations (DAE's) and their associated boundary conditions. Careful evaluation of the system of DAE's was required to arrive at a form that allowed application of a one-step finite difference approximation. A two-stage Gauss implicit Runge-Kutta finite difference scheme was used for the solution because of its relatively high degree of accuracy. Patch tests of the two models revealed problems with solution accuracy for the axisymmetric model of a cylindrical shell loaded by internal pressure. Parametric studies of dropped-ply laminate characteristics and their influence on the interlaminar stresses were performed using the generalized plane deformation model. Eccentricity of the middle surface of the laminate through the ply drop-off was found to have a minimal effect on the interlaminar stresses under longitudinal compression, transverse tension, and in-plane shear. A second study found the stiffness change across the ply termination to have a much greater influence on the interlaminar stresses.

Harrison, Peter N.↗

NASA NTRS1993

ASRM Multi-Port Igniter Flow Field Analysis

The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) program was initiated by NASA in response to the need for a new generation rocket motor capable of providing increased thrust levels over the existing Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and thus augment the lifting capacity of the space shuttle orbiter. To achieve these higher thrust levels and improve motor reliability, advanced motor design concepts were employed. In the head end of the motor, for instance, the propellent cast has been changed from the conventional annular configuration to a 'multi-slot' configuration in order to increase the burn surface area and guarantee rapid motor ignition. In addition, the igniter itself has been redesigned and currently features 12 exhaust ports in order to channel hot igniter combustion gases into the circumferential propellent slots. Due to the close proximity of the igniter ports to the propellent surfaces, new concerns over possible propellent deformation and erosive burning have arisen. The following documents the effort undertaken using computational fluid dynamics to perform a flow field analysis in the top end of the ASRM motor to determine flow field properties necessary to permit a subsequent propellent fin deformation analysis due to pressure loading and an assessment of the extent of erosive burning.

Kania, Lee↗

NASA NTRS1995

Earth Rotation

The study of the Earth's rotation in space (encompassing Universal Time (UT1), length of day, polar motion, and the phenomena of precession and nutation) addresses the complex nature of Earth orientation changes, the mechanisms of excitation of these changes and their geophysical implications in a broad variety of areas. In the absence of internal sources of energy or interactions with astronomical objects, the Earth would move as a rigid body with its various parts (the crust, mantle, inner and outer cores, atmosphere and oceans) rotating together at a constant fixed rate. In reality, the world is considerably more complicated, as is schematically illustrated. The rotation rate of the Earth's crust is not constant, but exhibits complicated fluctuations in speed amounting to several parts in 10(exp 8) [corresponding to a variation of several milliseconds (ms) in the Length Of the Day (LOD) and about one part in 10(exp 6) in the orientation of the rotation axis relative to the solid Earth's axis of figure (polar motion). These changes occur over a broad spectrum of time scales, ranging from hours to centuries and longer, reflecting the fact that they are produced by a wide variety of geophysical and astronomical processes. Geodetic observations of Earth rotation changes thus provide insights into the geophysical processes illustrated, which are often difficult to obtain by other means. In addition, these measurements are required for engineering purposes. Theoretical studies of Earth rotation variations are based on the application of Euler's dynamical equations to the problem of finding the response of slightly deformable solid Earth to variety of surface and internal stresses.

Dickey, Jean O.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Projection Moire Interferometry for Rotorcraft Applications: Deformation Measurements of Active Twist Rotor Blades

Projection Moire Interferometry (PMI) has been used during wind tunnel tests to obtain azimuthally dependent blade bending and twist measurements for a 4-bladed Active Twist Rotor (ATR) system in simulated forward flight. The ATR concept offers a means to reduce rotor vibratory loads and noise by using piezoelectric active fiber composite actuators embedded in the blade structure to twist each blade as they rotate throughout the rotor azimuth. The twist imparted on the blades for blade control causes significant changes in blade loading, resulting in complex blade deformation consisting of coupled bending and twist. Measurement of this blade deformation is critical in understanding the overall behavior of the ATR system and the physical mechanisms causing the reduction in rotor loads and noise. PMI is a non-contacting, video-based optical measurement technique capable of obtaining spatially continuous structural deformation measurements over the entire object surface within the PMI system field-of-view. When applied to rotorcraft testing, PMI can be used to measure the azimuth-dependent blade bending and twist along the full span of the rotor blade. This paper presents the PMI technique as applied to rotorcraft testing, and provides results obtained during the ATR tests demonstrating the PMI system performance. PMI measurements acquired at select blade actuation conditions generating minimum and maximum rotor loads are provided to explore the interrelationship between rotor loads, blade bending, and twist.

Fleming, Gary A.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Response of Solid He-4 to External Stress: Interdigital Capacitor Solid Level Detector and Optical Interferometer

Two experiments are being conducted to observe the liquid/solid interface of He-4 near 1 K. Interesting instabilities are expected to occur when the solid is non-hydrostatically stressed. (1)A compact interdigital capacitor is used as a level detector to observe solid He-4 to which stresses are applied externally. The capacitor consists of 38 interlaced 50 m wide and 3.8 mm long gold films separated by 50 m and deposited onto a 5 mm by 5 mm sapphire substrate. The capacitor is placed on one flat end wall of a cylindrical chamber (xx mm diameter and xx mm long). The solid is grown to a known height and a stress is applied by a tubular PZT along the cylindrical axis. The observed small change in height of the solid at the wall is linearly proportional to the applied stress. The solid height decreases under compressive stress but does not change under tensile stress. The response of the solid on compressive stress is consistent with the expected quadratic dependence on strain. (2)Interferometric techniques are being developed for observing the solid He-4 surface profile. A laser light source is brought into the low temperature region via single mode optical fiber. The interference pattern is transmitted back out of the low temperature apparatus via optical fiber bundle. The solid He-4 growth chamber will be equipped with two PZT's such that stress can be applied from orthogonal directions. Orthogonally applied stress is expected to induce surface instability with island-like deformation on a grid pattern. Apparatus design and progress of its construction are described.

Fay, J.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Method and system for measurement of mechanical properties of molecules and cells

Mechanical stresses and deformations are applied directly to cell surface receptors or molecules and measured using a system including a magnetic twisting device in combination with ferromagnetic microbeads coated with ligands for integrins or any other surface receptors. The system can be used diagnostically to characterize cells and molecules and to determine the effect of transformation and compounds, including drugs, on the cells and molecules. The system can also be used to induce cells to grow or alter production of molecules by the cells.

Butler, James P.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Artificial Hair Cells for Sensing Flows

The purpose of this article is to present additional information about the flow-velocity sensors described briefly in the immediately preceding article. As noted therein, these sensors can be characterized as artificial hair cells that implement an approximation of the sensory principle of flow-sensing cilia of fish: A cilium is bent by an amount proportional to the flow to which it is exposed. A nerve cell at the base of the cilium senses the flow by sensing the bending of the cilium. In an artificial hair cell, the artificial cilium is a microscopic cantilever beam, and the bending of an artificial cilium is measured by means of a strain gauge at its base (see Figure 1). Figure 2 presents cross sections of a representative sensor of this type at two different stages of its fabrication process. The process consists of relatively- low-temperature metallization, polymer-deposition, microfabrication, and surface-micromachining subprocesses, including plastic-deformation magnetic assembly (PDMA), which is described below. These subprocesses are suitable for a variety of substrate materials, including silicon, some glasses, and some polymers. Moreover, because it incorporates a polymeric supporting structure, this sensor is more robust, relative to its silicon-based counterparts.

Chen, Jack↗

NASA NTRS2010

Prolegomena to the Study of Friction Stir Welding

The literature contains many approaches toward modeling of the friction stir welding (FSW) process with varying treatments of the weld metal properties. It is worthwhile to consider certain fundamental features of the process before attempting to interpret FSW phenomena: Because of the unique character of metal deformation (as opposed to, say, viscous deformation) a velocity "discontinuity" or shear surface occurs in FSW and determines much of the character of the welding mechanism. A shear surface may not always produce a sound bond. Balancing mechanical power input against conduction and convection heat losses yields a relation, a "temperature index", between spindle speed and travel speed to maintain constant weld temperature. But many process features are only weakly dependent upon temperature. Thus, unlike modeling of metal forming processes, it may be that modeling the FSW process independently of the material conditions has some merit.

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.↗