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At least 991 records · Page 55

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NASA NTRS1987

Effect of dropped plies on the strength of graphite-epoxy laminates

The reduction in the compressive and tensile strengths of graphite-epoxy laminates with thickness discontinuities due to dropped plies was studied by experiment and analysis. The specimens were fabricated with all the dropped plies lumped together in the center of a sixteen-ply quasi-isotropic layup, such that one surface was flat and the slope of the opposite surface changed abruptly at the dropped ply location to accommodate the thickness change. Even though the thick and thin sections are symmetrically laminated, there exists bending-extension coupling due to the geometric eccentricity of the middle planes of the thick and thin sections. Experiments were conducted on fifty-four specimens that differed in the configuration of the dropped plies only. The strength of a laminate with dropped plies is less than the strength of its thin section, and the compressive strength of a laminate with dropped plies is less than its tensile strength. The reduction in strength is directly related to the axial stiffness change between the thick and thin sections. To examine the mechanism of failure, the three-dimensional state of stress in the dropped ply region was evaluated by the finite element method. A tensile interlaminar criterion predicted the correct location of failure, but underestimated the failure load.

Curry, James M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Analysis of structures with rotating, flexible substructures

A new methodology has been developed for the dynamic analysis of flexible structures, parts of which may be experiencing discrete motion relative to other parts. This methodology provides the capability of representing the continuum deformations typically treated using finite element methods. In addition, it provides the capability of representing the discrete motion at joints traditionally available with multibody methods. After decomposing the structure into substructures and associating a frame of reference with each substructure, the equations of motion for each substructure can be written explicitly including contributions due to the frame of reference generalized coordinates. By expanding the set of constraints to include constraints that eliminate the redundancy introduced by the frame generalized coordinates, the equations of motion become amenable to solution. The first digital computer program using this methodology, the General Rotorcraft Aeromechanical Stability Program (GRASP), was introduced in 1986. Although GRASP is limited to applications involving steady-state rotation, extension to arbitrary motions (including spin-up) can be accomplished by the selective retention of nonlinear terms in this formulation.

Hopkins, A. Stewart↗

NASA NTRS1987

Thermal viscoplastic buckling during the growth of silicon ribbon

This paper is an analysis of the conditions to be satisfied in order to avoid buckling during the growth of a silicon ribbon that is being slowly pulled from the melt. A viscoplastic constitutive equation with a dislocation density effect is used to model the material behavior. The critical thicknesses and the corresponding deflection shapes are calculated by the finite element method for the cantilever boundary conditions. The value of the parameter which controls the speed of the lateral deflection is computed by using Galerkin's method. It is demonstrated that, due to the effect of viscoplasticity, some deflection shapes increase in magnitude with time and other shapes damp out.

Tsai, C. T.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Impact damage of composites

A model is described for estimating the impact damage of fiber reinforced composite plates. The displacements and stresses are calculated by a three dimensional transient, finite element method of solution of the governing equations applicable to a linearly elastic body. The region in which damage occurs is estimated using the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. A computer code was developed which can be used to calculate the impact force, displacements and velocities of the plate and the impact body, stresses and strains in the plate, and the damage area. Sample numerical results are presented illustrating the type of information provided by the code. Comparisons between measured and calculated damage areas are also given.

Wu, Hsi-Young T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The numerical viscosity of entropy stable schemes for systems of conservation laws. I

Discrete approximations to hyperbolic systems of conservation laws are studied. The amount of numerical viscosity present in such schemes is quantified and related to their entropy stability by means of comparison.To this end, conservative schemes which are also entropy-conservative are constructed. These entropy-conservative schemes enjoy second-order accuracy; moreover, they can be interpreted as piecewise-linear finite-element methods, and hence can be formulated on various mesh configurations. It is then shown that conservative schemes are entropy stable, if and (for three-point schemes) only they contain more viscosity than that present in the above-mentioned entropy-conservative ones.

Tadmor, Eitan↗

NASA NTRS1986

One-dimensional analysis of filamentary composite beam columns with thin-walled open sections

Vlasov's one-dimensional structural theory for thin-walled open section bars was originally developed and used for metallic elements. The theory was recently extended to laminated bars fabricated from advanced composite materials. The purpose of this research is to provide a study and assessment of the extended theory. The focus is on flexural and torsional-flexural buckling of thin-walled, open section, laminated composite columns. Buckling loads are computed from the theory using a linear bifurcation analysis and a geometrically nonlinear beam column analysis by the finite element method. Results from the analyses are compared to available test data.

Lo, Patrick K.-L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Composite mechanics for engine structures

Recent research activities and accomplishments at Lewis Research Center on composite mechanics for engine structures are summarized. The activities focused mainly on developing procedures for the computational simulation of composite intrinsic and structural behavior. The computational simulation encompasses all aspects of composite mechanics, advanced three-dimensional finite-element methods, damage tolerance, composite structural and dynamic response, and structural tailoring and optimization.

Chamis, Christos C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Constitutive modeling and thermoviscoplasticity

Development and solution of coupled thermomechanical equations at elevated temperature and/or high strain rates are discussed. Three main considerations are presented: development of the coupled thermomechanical equations by means of the rational theory of thermodynamics, development of a thermoviscoplastic constitutive equation which is congruous with the developed coupled equations, and the applicability of the developed equations to the treatment by the finite element method.

Hetnarski, Richard B.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Vibration and Control of Flexible Rotor Supported by Magnetic Bearings

Active vibration control of flexible rotors supported by magnetic bearings is discussed. Using a finite-element method for a mathematical model of the flexible rotor, the eigenvalue problem is formulated taking into account the interaction between a mechanical system of the flexible rotor and an electrical system of the magnetic bearings and the controller. However, for the sake of simplicity, gyroscopic effects are disregarded. It is possible to adapt this formulation to a general flexible rotor-magnetic bearing system. Controllability with and without collocation sensors and actuators located at the same distance along the rotor axis is discussed for the higher order flexible modes of the test rig. In conclusion, it is proposed that it is necessary to add new active control loops for the higher flexible modes even in the case of collocation. Then it is possible to stabilize for the case of uncollocation by means of this method.

Nonami, Kenzou↗

NASA NTRS1986

Plasticity analysis of wear phenomena as an aid in the development of abradable materials

Plastic deformation accompanying the wear process in fully dense and porous metals was studied in order to develop more abradable gas path seal material systems for turbine engine applications. The finite element method was used to model high-rate viscoplastic deformation in the vicinity of a moving contact. Techniques were developed for studying such deformation in both solid (fully dense) and porous metals. Results of the analysis were verified by comparison with experimental data obtained using a pendulum-type rub test apparatus and a pin-on-disk sliding wear tester. It was found that the near-surface plastic deformation in fully dense solids was different from that for porous materials because of the compressibility of the latter. Both types of materials exhibit deformation features which can be taken advantage of in the design of more abradable material systems.

Kennedy, F. E., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Finite element flux-corrected transport (FEM-FCT) for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations

A high resolution finite element method for the solution of problems involving high speed compressible flows is presented. The method uses the concepts of flux-corrected transport and is presented in a form which is suitable for implementation on completely unstructured triangular or tetrahedral meshes. Transient and steady-state examples are solved to illustrate the performance of the algorithm.

Lohner, Rainald↗

NASA NTRS1987

Energy dissipation associated with crack extension in an elastic-plastic material

Crack extension in elastic-plastic material involves energy dissipation through the creation of new crack surfaces and additional yielding around the crack front. An analytical procedure, using a two-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element method, was developed to calculate the energy dissipation components during a quasi-static crack extension. The fracture of an isotropic compact specimen was numerically simulated using the critical crack-tip-opening-displacement (CTOD) growth criterion. Two specimen sizes were analyzed for three values of critical CTOD. Results from the analysis showed that the total energy dissipation rate consisted of three components: the crack separation energy rate, the plastic energy dissipation rate, and the residual strain energy rate. All three energy dissipation components and the total energy dissipation rate initially increased with crack extension and finally reached constant values.

Shivakumar, K. N.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Application of finite element and remeshing technique to shock interference on a cylindrical leading edge

The problem of planar oblique shock impingement on a cylindrical leading edge in hypersonic flow is modeled using a Galerkin-Runge Kutta finite element method. The method utilizes a four stage Runge-Kutta time stepping scheme to solve the compressible Euler equations. Freestream Mach numbers of 6.5, 8.0 and 16.0 are studied. The computed surface pressure distributions consistently agree well with available experimental data. The peak pressure amplification ranges from 5.45 at M = 6.5 to approximately 17.0 at M = 16.0. Stagnation point heat transfer rate amplifications are calculated from the inviscid solution using the method of Fay and Riddell. The value and wall location of the peak pressure and heat transfer rate amplifications are extremely sensitive to the location of the impinging shock/bow shock intersection point.

Stewart, James R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Aeroelastic modeling of swept tip rotor blades using finite elements

A special finite element for the modeling of a swept tip rotor blade is derived. The swept tip blade undergoes moderate deflections in flap, lag and torsion. The nonlinear, partial differential equations of motion are discretized using a Galerkin finite element method. Tip sweep introduces flap-torsion and lag-axial couplings, and may lead to aeroelastic instabilities associated with frequency coalescence. When frequency coalescence does not occur, sweep is usually stabilizing. A comparison of the approximate model of a swept tip blade, using a blade with straight elastic axis and offsets of aerodynamic centers of gravity, with the exact swept tip model developed in this paper indicates that the approximate model can produce inaccurate results for the case of hingeless rotor blades.

Celi, R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Aeroelastic stability of bearingless rotors in forward flight

The finite element method was used to determine the dynamic stability of bearingless rotor blades (BR) in forward flight. The analysis was applied to four different BR configurations and the results were correlated with experimental data. The analysis was correlated with hover lag mode stability data for a simple three-blade BR rotor tested in various pitch link configurations. In addition, a more advanced BR which includes precone, blade twist, blade sweep, and a lag shear restraint is analyzed and compared to experimental data in both hover and forward flight.

Dull, Andrew L.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Cyclic stress analysis of ceramic coated gas turbine seals

Through the use of the Finite Element Method, the cyclic thermomechanical response of ceramic coated gas turbine parts is considered. The analysis includes temperature dependent elastic-plastic-creep material properties and cyclic thermal loads. To demonstrate the cyclic thermomechanical response, a ceramic coated outer gas path seal is studied. The analysis will estimate the significant residual stress field created by the cyclic thermal loads.

Padovan, Joe↗

NASA NTRS1989

An experimental and analytical investigation of the effect of spanwise curvature on wing flutter at Mach number of 0.7

An experimental and analytical study was conducted at Mach 0.7 to investigate the effects of spanwise curvature on flutter. Two series of rectangular planform wings of aspect ration 1.5 and curvature ranging from zero (uncurved) to 1.04/ft were flutter tested in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). One series consisted of models with a NACA 65 A010 airfoil section and the other of flat plate cross section models. Flutter analyses were conducted for correlation with the experimental results by using structural finite element methods to perform vibration analysis and two aerodynamic theories to obtain unsteady aerodynamic load calculations. The experimental results showed that for one series of models the flutter dynamic pressure increased significantly with curvature while for the other series of models the flutter dynamic pressure decreased with curvature. The flutter analyses, which generally predicted the experimental results, indicated that the difference in behavior of the two series of models was primarily due to differences in their structural properties.

Rivera, Jose A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Three-dimensional inelastic analysis for hot section components, BEST 3D code

The goal is the development of an alternative stress analysis tool, distinct from the finite element method, applicable to the engineering analysis of gas turbine engine structures. The boundary element method was selected for this development effort on the basis of its already demonstrated applicability to a variety of geometries and problem types characteristic of gas turbine engine components. Major features of the BEST3D computer program are described, and some of the significant developments carried out as part of the Inelastic Methods Contract are outlined.

Wilson, Raymond B.↗