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At least 847 records · Page 47

Spillover stabilization and decentralized modal control of large space structures

The stabilization of the neglected dynamics of the higher modes of vibration in large space structures is studied, and the influence of the structure of the plant noise intensity matrix of the Kalman-Bucy filter on the stability margin of the residual modes is shown. An optimization procedure uses information on the residual modes to minimize spillover of known residual modes while preserving robustness with respect to the unknown dynamics, and the optimum plant noise intensity matrix is selected to maximize the stability margins of the residual modes and to properly place the observer poles. Examples for both centralized and decentralized control are considered.

Czajkowski, Eva A.↗

Unraveling the Nature of Lasing Emission from Hybrid Silicon Nitride and Colloidal Nanocrystal Photonic Crystals with Low Refractive Index Contrast

Silicon nitride is used for its low optical loss and high thermal stability, making it a suitable platform for visible-light applications in integrated photonic devices. However, its application has been limited due to inefficient light emission, a problem addressed by integrating various types of light emitters onto the platform. In particular, the integration of solution-processable colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) as optical gain materials onto the silicon nitride platform is a promising route but requires a more solid theoretical footing. By leveraging 2D surface-emitting photonic crystal structures combined with NCs, we effectively confine and manipulate light to achieve lasing from green to red. Building on this, we model the light–matter interactions of the low index contrast NC/nitride platform, validated by extensive experimental validations through Fourier imaging techniques, revealing the full photonic band structure and showing clear mode congestion. Finally, these comprehensive studies confirm the potential of hybrid NC-based structures for fully integrated on-chip laser applications and indicate routes for further improvement.

BIC Lasing↗

Linear baroclinic instability in the Martian atmosphere

A spherical quasi-geostrophic model is used in an examination of linear baroclinic instability in such zonal-mean flows as those of the Martian atmosphere in winter, under both relatively nondusty and very dusty conditions. These zonal flows, which possess both vertical and meridional shear, are characterized by baroclinically unstable modes whose growth rates and phase speeds are generally consistent with available observations. The structures of the spherical modes are similar to those obtained for terrestrial zonal flows, if similar zonal wavelengths are compared. Zonally symmetric topography, like that of Mars' northern hemisphere, reduces linear growth rates without changing the most unstable scale. It also increases phase speeds.

Barnes, J. R.↗

Element-specific modal formulations for large-displacement multibody dynamics

Large dispacement assumed-mode modeling techniques are examined in the context of multibody elastodynamics. The range of both general and element-specific approaches are studied with the aid of examples involving beams, plates, and shells. For systems undergoing primarily structural bending and twisting with little or no membrane distortion, it is found that fully-linear, element-specific, modal formulations provide the most accurate time history solutions at the least expense. When membrane effects become dominant in structural problems due to loading and boundary conditions, one must naturally resort to a formulation involving a nonlinear stress-strain relationship in addition to nonlinear terms associated with large overall system motion. Such nonlinear models were investigated using assumed modes and found to lead to modal convergence difficulties when standard free-free structural modes are employed. A constrained mode formulation aimed at addressing the convergence problem is proposed.

Ryan, R. R.↗

Mid-frequency Band Dynamics of Large Space Structures

High and low intensity dynamic environments experienced by a spacecraft during launch and on-orbit operations, respectively, induce structural loads and motions, which are difficult to reliably predict. Structural dynamics in low- and mid-frequency bands are sensitive to component interface uncertainty and non-linearity as evidenced in laboratory testing and flight operations. Analytical tools for prediction of linear system response are not necessarily adequate for reliable prediction of mid-frequency band dynamics and analysis of measured laboratory and flight data. A new MATLAB toolbox, designed to address the key challenges of mid-frequency band dynamics, is introduced in this paper. Finite-element models of major subassemblies are defined following rational frequency-wavelength guidelines. For computational efficiency, these subassemblies are described as linear, component mode models. The complete structural system model is composed of component mode subassemblies and linear or non-linear joint descriptions. Computation and display of structural dynamic responses are accomplished employing well-established, stable numerical methods, modern signal processing procedures and descriptive graphical tools. Parametric sensitivity and Monte-Carlo based system identification tools are used to reconcile models with experimental data and investigate the effects of uncertainties. Models and dynamic responses are exported for employment in applications, such as detailed structural integrity and mechanical-optical-control performance analyses.

dynamics↗

An explicit solution to the optimal LQG problem for flexible structures with collocated rate sensors

We present a class of compensators in explicit form (not requiring numerical computer calculations) for stabilizing flexible structures with collocated rate sensors. They are based on the explicit solution, valid for both Continuum and FEM Models, of the LQG problem for minimizing mean square rate. They are robust with respect to system stability (will not destabilize modes even with mismatch of parameters), can be instrumented in state space form suitable for digital controllers, and can be specified directly from the structure modes and mode 'signature' (displacement vectors at sensor locations). Some simulation results are presented for the NASA LaRC Phase-Zero Evolutionary Model - a modal Trust model with 86 modes - showing damping ratios attainable as a function of compensator design parameters and complexity.

Balakrishnan, A. V.↗

Experimental demonstration of externally driven millimeter-wave particle accelerator structure

We report the experimental demonstration of a mm-wave electron accelerating structure powered by a high-power rf source. We demonstrate reliable coupling of an unprecedented rf power—up to 575kW into the mm-wave accelerator structure using a quasi-optical setup. This standing wave accelerating structure consists of a single-cell copper cavity and a Gaussian to TM 01 mode converter. The accelerator structure is powered by 110 GHz, 10-ns long rf pulses. These pulses are chopped from 3 microsecond pulses from a gyrotron oscillator using a laser-driven silicon switch. We show an unprecedented high gradient up to 230MV/m that corresponds to a peak surface electric field of more than 520 MV/m. We have achieved these results after conditioning the cavity with more than 100,000 pulses. We also report preliminary measurements of rf breakdown rates, which are important for understanding rf breakdown physics in the millimeter-wave regime. Furthermore, these results open up many frontiers for applications not only limited to the next generation particle accelerators but also x-ray generation, probing material dynamics, and nonlinear light-matter interactions at mm-wave frequency.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

New Flutter Analysis Technique for CFD-based Unsteady Aeroelasticity

This paper presents a flutter analysis technique for the transonic flight regime. The technique uses an iterative approach to determine the critical dynamic pressure for a given mach number. Unlike other CFD-based flutter analysis methods, each iteration solves for the critical dynamic pressure and uses this value in subsequent iterations until the value converges. This process reduces the iterations required to determine the critical dynamic pressure. To improve the accuracy of the analysis, the technique employs a known structural model, leaving only the aerodynamic model as the unknown. The aerodynamic model is estimated using unsteady aeroelastic CFD analysis combined with a parameter estimation routine. The technique executes as follows. The known structural model is represented as a finite element model. Modal analysis determines the frequencies and mode shapes for the structural model. At a given mach number and dynamic pressure, the unsteady CFD analysis is performed. The output time history of the surface pressure is converted to a nodal aerodynamic force vector. The forces are then normalized by the given dynamic pressure. A multi-input multi-output parameter estimation software, ERA, estimates the aerodynamic model through the use of time histories of nodal aerodynamic forces and structural deformations. The critical dynamic pressure is then calculated using the known structural model and the estimated aerodynamic model. This output is used as the dynamic pressure in subsequent iterations until the critical dynamic pressure is determined. This technique is demonstrated on the Aerostructures Test Wing-2 model at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

Pak, Chan-gi↗

Rotating unconstrained modes - A more appropriate dynamic analysis of flexible spinning spacecraft

The objective of the paper is a formation of vehicle modes for gyroscopic space structures through a continuum formulation. This requires examination of adjointness of the associated eigenvalue problems. It is shown that standard conditions of self-adjointness are inadequate even for nongyroscopic structures; modifications required depend on the problem under study. On one hand, in the nongyroscopic case the frequencies appear only quadratically and it is relatively easy to devise the corresponding vehicle modes and the self-adjoint operators. On the other hand in the case of the gyroscopic structures the frequencies appear quadratically as well as linearly; this takes the vehicle mode from a configuration space to a phase space, that is, a Hilbert space in the present case. Four elastic systems of increasing complexity typifying nonspinning and spinning elastic spacecraft are investigated in detail.

Hablani, H. B.↗

Computational Assessment of the Opening Mode Facesheet-to-Core Fracture Toughness of a Thin-Gage Facesheet Sandwich Structure

The single-cantilevered beam test (SCB) is currently being considered for standardization for measuring the opening mode fracture toughness of sandwich structures subjected to facesheet-to-core separation. At present, the Area method is considered the benchmark method for determining energy required to propagate the crack. This method is problematic since it requires periodic unloading and cannot be evaluated instantaneously. Therefore, a method is needed to accurately and instantaneously calculate opening mode fracture toughness. In previous work, SCB tests with thin-gauge facesheets were performed to compare the J-integral approach to data reduction methods including the Modified Beam Theory (MBT) and the Area method. Large deviations (over 10%) in the calculated fracture toughness were observed between the J-integral and MBT for large displacements. In this study, a simulated SCB experiment using a virtual crackclosure technique was performed to assess the previously observed discrepancies. The predicted load displacement response, the predicted angle at the load application point, and the predicted crack growth results are in good agreement (within 5%) with the corresponding experimental data. Using the predicted load and angles, the predicted J-integral is in good agreement (within 10%) with the experimentally obtained solution. Using the MBT approach, the previously observed deviations in the fracture toughness were determined to be associated with the empirical extrapolation procedure to estimate the crack-root rotation correction from nonlinear compliance curves. The nonlinear compliance is determined to be associated with large displacement effects observed within the predicted and experimental results.

Sandwich Composite↗

Effects of external kink and fishbone-like modes on energetic particle transport in tokamak plasmas

Transport and loss of beam injected energetic particles (EPs) due to three-dimensional perturbations, associated with the external kink (XK) instability and fishbone-like mode (FLM), are numerically investigated utilizing the guiding center following code ORBIT for static toroidal plasmas in HL-2A. The perturbation structure for the XK is computed by the MARS-F code and then mapped to the Boozer coordinates as defined in ORBIT. The simulation shows that the EP profile experiences a significant change in the middle of the plasma column, when the XK-induced radial magnetic field perturbation amplitude, normalized by the equilibrium field, exceeds a threshold value of about 10 -2 . The EP transport is found to be dominated by a diffusion process instead of convection. Furthermore, by scanning the perturbation frequency as a free parameter while maintaining the XK mode structure (thus mimicking the FLM as observed in DIII-D and JT-60U tokamaks), redistribution and loss of EPs are found to be substantially enhanced due to strong resonances between the FLM and EPs, when the mode frequency exceeds a threshold value of ~2 kHz for the case considered. For either XK or FLM, the response of passing EPs to the perturbation is dominant due to the assumed tangential neutral beam injection. Most lost EPs due to these instabilities are initially passing particles but are eventually lost through trapped orbits.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Robust nonlinear isolators based on frozen mode exceptional point degeneracies

We introduce a class of imperfection-protected nonlinear isolators designed to operate at exceptional point degeneracies (EPDs) of the Bloch modes of periodic photonic structures. These Bloch EPDs are responsible for slow light and the emergence of a scattering frozen mode regime (FMR). When a weak spectral asymmetry is introduced, the group velocity in their proximity varies sharply, boosting the directional nature of the nonlinear interactions and leading to extreme isolation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Origin of low-frequency (intraseasonal) oscillations in the tropical atmosphere. II - Structure and propagation of mobile wave-CISK modes and their modification by lower boundary forcings

An improved treatment of diabatic heating due to moist convection is introduced into the dynamical model of Lau and Peng (1987) to study the origin of intraseasonal oscillations in the tropics. It is found that the periods of slow-moving wave-CISK disturbances in the tropical troposphere with fixed sea surface temperature vary from 20 to 50 days. The results suggest that heating in the lower troposphere may be important in slowing down the wave-CISK modes. Also, it is shown that the intraseasonal oscillation can propagate around the globe even when the associated deep convection is only confined over warm sea surface temperatures.

Sui, Chung-Hsiung↗

Structural-acoustic coupling in aircraft fuselage structures

Results of analytical and experimental investigations of structural-acoustic coupling phenomenon in an aircraft fuselage are described. The structural and acoustic cavity modes of DC-9 fuselage were determined using a finite element approach to vibration analysis. Predicted structural and acoustic dispersion curves were used to determine possible occurrences of structural-acoustic coupling for the fuselage. An aft section of DC-9 aircraft fuselage, housed in an anechoic chamber, was used for experimental investigations. The test fuselage was excited by a shaker and vibration response and interior sound field were measured using accelerometer and microphone arrays. The wavenumber-frequency structural and cavity response maps were generated from the measured data. Analysis and interpretation of the spatial plots and wavenumber maps provided the required information on modal characteristics, fuselage response and structural-acoustic coupling.

Mathur, Gopal P.↗

Composite Interlaminar Shear Fracture Toughness, G(sub 2c): Shear Measurement of Sheer Myth?

The concept of G2c as a measure of the interlaminar shear fracture toughness of a composite material is critically examined. In particular, it is argued that the apparent G2c as typically measured is inconsistent with the original definition of shear fracture. It is shown that interlaminar shear failure actually consists of tension failures in the resin rich layers between plies followed by the coalescence of ligaments created by these failures and not the sliding of two planes relative to one another that is assumed in fracture mechanics theory. Several strain energy release rate solutions are reviewed for delamination in composite laminates and structural components where failures have been experimentally documented. Failures typically occur at a location where the mode 1 component accounts for at least one half of the total G at failure. Hence, it is the mode I and mixed-mode interlaminar fracture toughness data that will be most useful in predicting delamination failure in composite components in service. Although apparent G2c measurements may prove useful for completeness of generating mixed-mode criteria, the accuracy of these measurements may have very little influence on the prediction of mixed-mode failures in most structural components.

OBrien, T. Kevin↗

Degradation Mode Identification by Photocarrier Lifetime Spectroscopy on Devices and Test Structures

In this presentation, I examine the basic concepts of the device physics that can be used to distinguish various degradation and recovery modes on a cell level. The known degradation modes (bulk LeTID and LID, UVID, etc.) are due to defects and impurities that cause the photocarrier recombination according to Shockley-Reed-Hall (SRH) statistics. The SRH recombination rate strongly depends on the balance of electron and hole capture rates into the defects, which in turn, are governed by their local concentrations. The strongest recombination takes place at approximately equal concentrations of electrons and holes, while at low injection conditions (when one type of carrier dominates) the SRH recombination is suppressed. For cell degradation modes that affect the passivated interface (UVID, H-induced TOPCon contact degradation) the defects are at the interface under low-injection conditions due to either high local doping or the adjacent built-in charge in the dielectric. This mode is characterized by changes in the "diode prefactor" J01 slope in the inverse lifetime-injection level curve. In contrast, bulk degradation (LeTID, LID) affects bulk lifetime, with J01 slope unchanged. Carrier lifetime - injection level plots therefore serve as clear indicators of different degradation modes and are shown by experimental examples.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A component modes projection and assembly model reduction methodology for articulated, multi-flexible body structures

A two-stage model reduction methodology, combining the classical Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) method and the newly developed Enhanced Projection and Assembly (EP&A) method is proposed in this research. The first stage of this methodology, called COmponent Mode Projection and Assembly model REduction (COMPARE) method, involves the generations of CMS mode sets, such as the MacNeal-Rubin mode sets. These mode sets are then used to reduce the order of each component model in the Rayleigh-Ritz sense. The resultant component models are then combined to generate reduced-order system models at various system configurations. A composite mode set which retains important system modes at all system configurations is then selected from these reduced-order system models. In the second stage, the EP&A model reduction method is employed to reduce further the order of the system model generated in the first stage. The effectiveness of the COMPARE methodology has been successfully demonstrated on a high-order, finite-element model of the cruise-configured Galileo spacecraft.

Lee, Allan Y.↗