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At least 829 records · Page 46

Flight research on natural laminar flow nacelles - A progress report

This paper presents a progress report on an ongoing flight experiment for natural laminar flow nacelles. The results given herein were obtained during the first phase of the experiment, in which an instrumented natural laminar flow nacelle fairing was flight tested in the presence of turbofan engine noise and a controlled noise source. The results indicate that with the controlled noise source off, natural laminar flow was measured as far aft as 37 percent of the fairing length. The transition front was irregular in contour, and the extent of natural laminar flow was significantly affected by the relative flow angle for the fairing. In addition to these test results, the paper discusses the results of some recent computational analyses to predict pressure distributions and transition location, and to explain some of the data trends. Comparisons between measured and predicted data indicate that the analytical methods successfully predicted trends for the baseline (no controlled noise source) studies.

Hastings, E. C., Jr.↗

Computational predictive methods for fracture and fatigue

The damage-tolerant design philosophy as used by aircraft industries enables aircraft components and aircraft structures to operate safely with minor damage, small cracks, and flaws. Maintenance and inspection procedures insure that damages developed during service remain below design values. When damage is found, repairs or design modifications are implemented and flight is resumed. Design and redesign guidelines, such as military specifications MIL-A-83444, have successfully reduced the incidence of damage and cracks. However, fatigue cracks continue to appear in aircraft well before the design life has expired. The F16 airplane, for instance, developed small cracks in the engine mount, wing support, bulk heads, the fuselage upper skin, the fuel shelf joints, and along the upper wings. Some cracks were found after 600 hours of the 8000 hour design service life and design modifications were required. Tests on the F16 plane showed that the design loading conditions were close to the predicted loading conditions. Improvements to analytic methods for predicting fatigue crack growth adjacent to holes, when multiple damage sites are present, and in corrosive environments would result in more cost-effective designs, fewer repairs, and fewer redesigns. The overall objective of the research described in this paper is to develop, verify, and extend the computational efficiency of analysis procedures necessary for damage tolerant design. This paper describes an elastic/plastic fracture method and an associated fatigue analysis method for damage tolerant design. Both methods are unique in that material parameters such as fracture toughness, R-curve data, and fatigue constants are not required. The methods are implemented with a general-purpose finite element package. Several proof-of-concept examples are given. With further development, the methods could be extended for analysis of multi-site damage, creep-fatigue, and corrosion fatigue problems.

Cordes, J.↗

Fatigue life prediction modeling for turbine hot section materials

This paper presents a summary of the life prediction methods developed under the NASA Lewis Research Center's Hot Section Technology (HOST) program. A major objective of the fatigue and fracture efforts under the HOST program was to significantly improve the analytic life prediction tools used by the aeronautical gas turbine engine industry. This has been achieved in the areas of high-temperature thermal and mechanical fatigue of bare and coated high-temperature superalloys. Such technical improvements will eventually reduce life cycle costs. The cyclic crack initiation and propagation resistance of nominally isotropic polycrystalline alloys and highly anisotropic single crystal alloys has been addressed. A sizeable data base has been generated for three alloys [cast PWA 1455 (B-1900 + Hf), wrought Inconel 718, and cast single crystal PWA 1480] in bare and coated conditions. Two coatings systems, diffusion aluminide (PWA 273) and plasma sprayed MCrAIY overlay (PWA 286) were employed. Life prediction modeling efforts were devoted to creep-fatigue interaction, oxidation, coatings interactions, multiaxiality of stress-strain states, mean stress effects, cumulative damage, and thermomechanical fatigue. The fatigue crack initiation life models developed to date include the Cyclic Damage Accumulation (CDA) Model of Pratt & Whitney and the Total Strain Version of Strainrange Partitioning (TS-SRP) of NASA Lewis for nominally isotropic materials, and the Tensile Hysteretic Energy Model of Pratt & Whitney for anisotropic superalloys. The fatigue model being developed by the General Electric Company is based upon the concepts of Path-lndependent Integrals (PII) for describing cyclic crack growth under complex nonlinear response at the crack tip due to thermomechanical loading conditions. A micromechanistic oxidation crack extension model has been derived by researchers at Syracuse University. The models are described and discussed in the paper. Only limited verification has been achieved to-date as several of the technical programs are still in progress and the verification tasks are scheduled, quite naturally, near the conclusion of the program. To-date, efforts have concentrated on development of independent models for cyclic constitutive behavior, cyclic crack initiation, and cyclic crack propagation. The transition between crack initiation and crack propagation has not been thoroughly researched as yet, and the integration of these models into a unified life prediction method has not been addressed.

Metal fatigue↗

Multi-Evaporator Miniature Loop Heat Pipe for Small Spacecraft Thermal Control: Validation Results - Part 2

Under NASA s New Millennium Program Space Technology 8 (ST 8) Project, Goddard Space Fight Center has conducted a Thermal Loop experiment to advance the maturity of the Thermal Loop technology from proof of concept to prototype demonstration in a relevant environment , i.e. from a technology readiness level (TRL) of 3 to a level of 6. The thermal Loop is an advanced thermal control system consisting of a miniature loop heat pipe (MLHP) with multiple evaporators and multiple condensers designed for future small system applications requiring low mass, low power, and compactness. The MLHP retains all features of state-of-the-art loop heat pipes (LHPs) and offers additional advantages to enhance the functionality, performance, versatility, and reliability of the system. An MLHP breadboard was built and tested in the laboratory and thermal vacuum environments for the TRL 4 and TRL 5 validations, respectively, and an MLHP proto-flight unit was built and tested in a thermal vacuum chamber for the TRL 6 validation. In addition, an analytical model was developed to simulate the steady state and transient behaviors of the MLHP during various validation tests. The MLHP demonstrated excellent performance during experimental tests and the analytical model predictions agreed very well with experimental data. All success criteria at various TRLs were met. Hence, the Thermal Loop technology has reached a TRL of 6. This paper presents the validation results, both experimental and analytical, of such a technology development effort.

Ku, Jentung↗

Constitutive Theory Developed for Monolithic Ceramic Materials

With the increasing use of advanced ceramic materials in high-temperature structural applications such as advanced heat engine components, the need arises to accurately predict thermomechanical behavior that is inherently time-dependent and that is hereditary in the sense that the current behavior depends not only on current conditions but also on the material's thermomechanical history. Most current analytical life prediction methods for both subcritical crack growth and creep models use elastic stress fields to predict the time-dependent reliability response of components subjected to elevated service temperatures. Inelastic response at high temperatures has been well documented in the materials science literature for these material systems, but this issue has been ignored by the engineering design community. From a design engineer's perspective, it is imperative to emphasize that accurate predictions of time-dependent reliability demand accurate stress field information. Ceramic materials exhibit different time-dependent behavior in tension and compression. Thus, inelastic deformation models for ceramics must be constructed in a fashion that admits both sensitivity to hydrostatic stress and differing behavior in tension and compression. A number of constitutive theories for materials that exhibit sensitivity to the hydrostatic component of stress have been proposed that characterize deformation using time-independent classical plasticity as a foundation. However, none of these theories allow different behavior in tension and compression. In addition, these theories are somewhat lacking in that they are unable to capture the creep, relaxation, and rate-sensitive phenomena exhibited by ceramic materials at high temperatures. The objective of this effort at the NASA Lewis Research Center has been to formulate a macroscopic continuum theory that captures these time-dependent phenomena. Specifically, the effort has focused on inelastic deformation behavior associated with these service conditions by developing a multiaxial viscoplastic constitutive model that accounts for time-dependent hereditary material deformation (such as creep and stress relaxation) in monolithic structural ceramics. Using continuum principles of engineering mechanics, we derived the complete viscoplastic theory from a scalar dissipative potential function.

Janosik, Lesley A.↗

Linear stability theory and three-dimensional boundary layer transition

The viewgraphs and discussion of linear stability theory and three dimensional boundary layer transition are provided. The ability to predict, using analytical tools, the location of boundary layer transition over aircraft-type configurations is of great importance to designers interested in laminar flow control (LFC). The e(sup N) method has proven to be fairly effective in predicting, in a consistent manner, the location of the onset of transition for simple geometries in low disturbance environments. This method provides a correlation between the most amplified single normal mode and the experimental location of the onset of transition. Studies indicate that values of N between 8 and 10 correlate well with the onset of transition. For most previous calculations, the mean flows were restricted to two-dimensional or axisymmetric cases, or have employed simple three-dimensional mean flows (e.g., rotating disk, infinite swept wing, or tapered swept wing with straight isobars). Unfortunately, for flows over general wing configurations, and for nearly all flows over fuselage-type bodies at incidence, the analysis of fully three-dimensional flow fields is required. Results obtained for the linear stability of fully three-dimensional boundary layers formed over both wing and fuselage-type geometries, and for both high and low speed flows are discussed. When possible, transition estimates form the e(sup N) method are compared to experimentally determined locations. The stability calculations are made using a modified version of the linear stability code COSAL. Mean flows were computed using both Navier Stokes and boundary-layer codes.

Spall, Robert E.↗

Experimental Results From the Thermal Energy Storage-1 (TES-1) Flight Experiment

The Thermal Energy Storage (TES) experiments are designed to provide data to help researchers understand the long-duration microgravity behavior of thermal energy storage fluoride salts that undergo repeated melting and freezing. Such data, which have never been obtained before, have direct application to space-based solar dynamic power systems. These power systems will store solar energy in a thermal energy salt, such as lithium fluoride (LiF) or a eutectic of lithium fluoride/calcium difluoride (LiF-CaF2) (which melts at a lower temperature). The energy will be stored as the latent heat of fusion when the salt is melted by absorbing solar thermal energy. The stored energy will then be extracted during the shade portion of the orbit, enabling the solar dynamic power system to provide constant electrical power over the entire orbit. Analytical computer codes have been developed to predict the performance of a spacebased solar dynamic power system. However, the analytical predictions must be verified experimentally before the analytical results can be used for future space power design applications. Four TES flight experiments will be used to obtain the needed experimental data. This article focuses on the flight results from the first experiment, TES-1, in comparison to the predicted results from the Thermal Energy Storage Simulation (TESSIM) analytical computer code.

Jacqmin, David↗

Experimental study of the shock-induced unsteady laminar boundary layer on a flat plate

The behavior of the unsteady laminar boundary layer induced by the incident shock wave passing over a flat plate mounted in a shock tube has been experimentally studied for shock speeds ranging from 2.35 to 7.34 km/sec by measuring unsteady heat transfer rates to the plate using thin-film heat-flux gages. Theoretical heat-transfer rates were predicted from analytical solutions in the literature which describe the unsteady flat plate boundary layer development for equilibrium real-gas flows. Experimental results obtained for both air and nitrogen were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Cook, W. J.↗

Extension of Ko Straight-Beam Displacement Theory to Deformed Shape Predictions of Slender Curved Structures

The Ko displacement theory originally developed for shape predictions of straight beams is extended to shape predictions of curved beams. The surface strains needed for shape predictions were analytically generated from finite-element nodal stress outputs. With the aid of finite-element displacement outputs, mathematical functional forms for curvature-effect correction terms are established and incorporated into straight-beam deflection equations for shape predictions of both cantilever and two-point supported curved beams. The newly established deflection equations for cantilever curved beams could provide quite accurate shape predictions for different cantilever curved beams, including the quarter-circle cantilever beam. Furthermore, the newly formulated deflection equations for two-point supported curved beams could provide accurate shape predictions for a range of two-point supported curved beams, including the full-circular ring. Accuracy of the newly developed curved-beam deflection equations is validated through shape prediction analysis of curved beams embedded in the windward shallow spherical shell of a generic crew exploration vehicle. A single-point collocation method for optimization of shape predictions is discussed in detail

Ko, William L.↗

Enhanced liquid metal wetting on oxide surfaces via patterned particles

Liquid metals typically do not intrinsically wet oxide surfaces due to chemical dissimilarity, preventing the formation of well-bonded interfaces in many applications. This paper investigates how the wetting and spreading of liquid silver (Ag) droplets on oxide surfaces can be enhanced via patterned nickel (Ni) particles using multiscale modeling. First, a force field (FF) for an Ag/yttria-stabilized-zirconia system was developed by fitting the interfacial binding energy to density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. Then, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using these FF parameters revealed that the good wetting of Ag on Ni caused Ag droplets to be attracted to the Ni particles, promoting spreading. Thus, the optimal hexagonal Ni pattern was shown to enhance the wetting area by 224% compared to a bare oxide surface. Second, an analytical model predicting the maximum possible enhancement in wetting area as a function of the intrinsic wetting angle, size of the Ag droplet, and size of the Ni particles was derived and validated with MD simulations, to generalize this method to other substrates. Here, both the analytical model and MD results suggested that the ability of Ni patterns to enhance the Ag wetting area becomes more significant as the wettability of substrate becomes worse.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A micromechanics-based strength prediction methodology for notched metal matrix composites

An analytical micromechanics based strength prediction methodology was developed to predict failure of notched metal matrix composites. The stress-strain behavior and notched strength of two metal matrix composites, boron/aluminum (B/Al) and silicon-carbide/titanium (SCS-6/Ti-15-3), were predicted. The prediction methodology combines analytical techniques ranging from a three dimensional finite element analysis of a notched specimen to a micromechanical model of a single fiber. In the B/Al laminates, a fiber failure criteria based on the axial and shear stress in the fiber accurately predicted laminate failure for a variety of layups and notch-length to specimen-width ratios with both circular holes and sharp notches when matrix plasticity was included in the analysis. For the SCS-6/Ti-15-3 laminates, a fiber failure based on the axial stress in the fiber correlated well with experimental results for static and post fatigue residual strengths when fiber matrix debonding and matrix cracking were included in the analysis. The micromechanics based strength prediction methodology offers a direct approach to strength prediction by modeling behavior and damage on a constituent level, thus, explicitly including matrix nonlinearity, fiber matrix debonding, and matrix cracking.

Bigelow, C. A.↗

FY2022 Progress on Imbibition Testing in Containment Science

Estimation of two-phase fluid flow properties is important to understand and predict water and gas movement through the vadose zone for agricultural, hydrogeological, and engineering applications, such as for vapor-phase contaminant transport and/or containment of noble gases in the subsurface. In this second progress report of FY22, we present two ongoing activities related to imbibition testing on volcanic rock samples. We present the development of a new analytical solution predicting the temperature response observed during imbibition into dry samples, as discussed in our previous first progress report for FY22. We also illustrate the use of a multi-modal capillary pressure distribution to simulate both early- and late-time imbibition data collected on tuff core that can exhibit multiple pore types. These FY22 imbibition tests were conducted for an extended period (i.e., far beyond the time required for the wetting front to reach the top of the sample), which is necessary for parameter estimation and characterization of two different pore types within the samples.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Cometary particulate analyzer design definition study

A concept for remotely determining the relative abundance of elements contained in cometary particulates collected by a spacecraft was conducted with very encouraging results. The technique utilizes a short high intensity burst of laser radiation to vaporize and ionize collected particulate material. Ions extracted from this laser-produced plasma are analyzed in a time of flight mass spectrometer to yield an atomic mass spectrum representative of the relative abundance of elements in the particulates. A prototype analyzer system was designed, constructed, and tested. Results show that: (1) energy-time focus performs as predicted in improving resolution; (2) power densities sufficient to produce usable ionization efficiencies can be obtained; (3) complex alloys such as stainless steel can be analyzed; and (4) a tiny, simple and reliable laser used in the demonstration easily meets spacecraft power and mass limitations. A mass resolution of 150 was experimentally demonstrated at mass 108, and an analytical extrapolation predicts a resolution sufficient to separate masses 250 and 251.

Utterback, N. G.↗

Data analytics for intermodal freight transportation applications

With the growth of intermodal freight transportation, it is important that transportation planners and decision-makers are knowledgeable about freight flow data to make informed decisions. This is particularly true with Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) offering new capabilities for intermodal freight transportation. Specifically, ITS enables access to multiple different data sources, but they have different formats, resolutions, and time scales. Thus, knowledge of data science is essential to be successful in future ITS-enabled intermodal freight transportation systems. This chapter discusses the commonly used descriptive and predictive data analytic techniques in intermodal freight transportation applications. These techniques cover the entire spectrum of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. In addition to illustrating how to apply these techniques manually, this chapter will also show how to apply them using the statistical software R. Additional exercises are provided for those who wish to apply the described techniques to more complex problems.

Huynh, Nathan↗

Random Dopant Induced Threshold Voltage Lowering and Fluctuations in Sub-0.1 (micron)meter MOSFET's: A 3-D 'Atomistic' Simulation Study

A three-dimensional (3-D) "atomistic" simulation study of random dopant induced threshold voltage lowering and fluctuations in sub-0.1 microns MOSFET's is presented. For the first time a systematic analysis of random dopant effects down to an individual dopant level was carried out in 3-D on a scale sufficient to provide quantitative statistical predictions. Efficient algorithms based on a single multigrid solution of the Poisson equation followed by the solution of a simplified current continuity equation are used in the simulations. The effects of various MOSFET design parameters, including the channel length and width, oxide thickness and channel doping, on the threshold voltage lowering and fluctuations are studied using typical samples of 200 atomistically different MOSFET's. The atomistic results for the threshold voltage fluctuations were compared with two analytical models based on dopant number fluctuations. Although the analytical models predict the general trends in the threshold voltage fluctuations, they fail to describe quantitatively the magnitude of the fluctuations. The distribution of the atomistically calculated threshold voltage and its correlation with the number of dopants in the channel of the MOSFET's was analyzed based on a sample of 2500 microscopically different devices. The detailed analysis shows that the threshold voltage fluctuations are determined not only by the fluctuation in the dopant number, but also in the dopant position.

Asenov, Asen↗

Predicting boron coordination in multicomponent borate and borosilicate glasses using analytical models and machine learning

Accurate prediction of boron coordination in multicomponent glasses is critical in glass science and technology as it strongly affects the properties of borate and borosilicate glasses. We have collected a dataset containing 657 glasses from literature with boron coordination values and developed models using analytical functions based on the well accepted Dell, Xiao and Bray model. Good prediction of boron coordination with a R 2 value higher than 0.8 was obtained. The large variation of boron coordination from experiments, originated from sample preparations and characterizations, led to difficulties in obtaining models with better prediction performance. Various machine learning (ML) algorithms were evaluated and slightly better prediction performance was observed; however, interpretation of the ML models is less straight forward. In conclusion, this study developed various models capable of providing quantitative boron coordination predictions, providing insights into its structural roles in multi-component glasses, and suggesting fruitful areas for future research.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Validation of SPH code Spheral to model interacting solid bodies in a supersonic flow

Contemporary discussions of planetary defense involve analyzing the risks posed by smaller sized, 20 to 200 m diameter, asteroids which are capable of breaking up in the atmosphere and generating a blast wave. Consequence assessments for this size class of asteroids are performed through fast-running analytic or semi-analytic models which are informed by high-fidelity hydrocode simulations of asteroid entry and breakup. However, insufficient historical data necessitates validating the independent physical processes which dominate airburst events. Here, the Fluid Solid Interface Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics solver was previously used by Pearl et al. in 2023 to model the Chelyabinsk airburst and is used here to perform a series of validation simulations. The first effort involves modeling a cylinder in a hypersonic flow and comparing the bow shock geometry to that predicted by analytic theory. The second effort involves modeling the separation of two spherical bodies in supersonic flow and validating against experimental footage. Combined, these exercises demonstrate the ability of the code to model the flight-path of interacting solid bodies in a hypersonic flow.

Airburst↗