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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

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NASA NTRS1982

Application of optimal control principles to describe the supervisory control behavior of AAA crew members

Supervisory decision making and control behavior within a C(3) oriented, ground based weapon system is being studied. The program involves empirical investigation of the sequence of control strategies used during engagement of aircraft targets. An engagement is conceptually divided into several stages which include initial information processing activity, tracking, and ongoing adaptive control decisions. Following a brief description of model parameters, two experiments which served as initial investigation into the accuracy of assumptions regarding the importance of situation assessment in procedure selection are outlined. Preliminary analysis of the results upheld the validity of the assumptions regarding strategic information processing and cue-criterion relationship learning. These results indicate that this model structure should be useful in studies of supervisory decision behavior.

Hale, C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

An overview of the nonequilibrium behavior of polymer glasses

It is pointed out that research efforts are at present being directed in two areas, one comprising experimental studies of this phenomenon in various glassy polymer systems and the other involving the development of a quantitative theory capable of satisfactorily predicting aging behavior for a variety of polymer materials under different conditions. Recent work in both these areas is surveyed. The basic principles of nonequilibrium behavior are outlined, with emphasis placed on changes in material properties with annealing below the glass transition temperature. Free volume theory and thermodynamic theory are discussed.

Tant, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Behavior of the Si/SiO2 interface observed by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling

Thin-oxide (40-50 A) metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structures are shown to exhibit, before large levels of electron tunnel injection, the near-ideal behavior predicted for a uniform trapezoidal barrier with thick-oxide properties. The oscillatory field dependence caused by electron-wave interference at the Si/SiO2 interface suggests an abrupt, one-monolayer barrier transition (approximately 2.5 A) consistent with earlier work. After tunnel injection of 10 to the 17th - 5 x 10 to the 18th electrons/sq cm, the barrier undergoes appreciable degradation, leading to enhanced tunneling conductance. Reproducible behavior is observed among different samples. This effect is found to be consistent with the generation of positive states in the region of the oxide near the Si/SiO2 interface (less than 20 A), where the tunneling electrons emerge into the oxide conduction band.

Maserjian, J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Fracture behavior of low-density fibrous ceramics

A study has been carried out to characterize the fracture behavior of a particular class of silica tiles used in the thermal protection system of the Space Shuttle with emphasis on the strength distribution and time dependence of strength. The approach adopted is based on fracture mechanics concepts developed in recent years for the design of brittle materials. The study confirms that proof-testing and tile densification should lead to improved reliability of the thermal protection system. The research also suggests that the subcritical crack growth behavior of the fibrous tiles is similar to that observed in bulk glass of similar composition and that failure occurs by the tensile fracture and fragmentation of individual fibers.

Green, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Studies of planning behavior of aircraft pilots in normal, abnormal, and emergency situations

A methodology for the study of human planning behavior in complex dynamic systems is presented and applied to the study of aircraft pilot behavior in normal, abnormal and emergency situations. The method measures the depth of planning, that is the level of detail employed with respect to a specific task, according to responses to a verbal questionnaire, and compares planning depth with variables relating to time, task criticality and the probability of increased task difficulty. In two series of experiments, depth of planning was measured on a five- or ten-point scale during various phases of flight in a HFB-320 simulator under normal flight conditions, abnormal scenarios involving temporary runway closure due to snow removal or temporary CAT-III conditions due to a dense fog, and emergency scenarios involving engine shut-down or hydraulic pressure loss. Results reveal a dichotomy between event-driven and time-driven planning, different effects of automation in abnormal and emergency scenarios and a low correlation between depth of planning and workload or flight performance.

Johannsen, G.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A parametric study of the behavior of the angular momentum vector during spin rate changes of rigid body spacecraft

During a spin-up or spin-down maneuver of a spinning spacecraft, it is usual to have not only a constant body-fixed torque about the desired spin axis, but also small undesired constant torques about the transverse axes. This causes the orientation of the angular momentum vector to change in inertial space. Since an analytic solution is available for the angular momentum vector as a function of time, this behavior can be studied for large variations of the dynamic parameters, such as the initial spin rate, the inertial properties and the torques. As an example, the spin-up and spin-down maneuvers of the Galileo spacecraft was studied and as a result, very simple heuristic solutions were discovered which provide very good approximations to the parametric behavior of the angular momentum vector orientation.

Longuski, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Influence of parameter changes to stability behavior of rotors

The occurrence of unstable vibrations in rotating machinery requires corrective measures for improvement of the stability behavior. A simple approximate method is represented to find out the influence of parameter changes to the stability behavior. The method is based on an expansion of the eigenvalues in terms of system parameters. Influence coefficients show the effect of structural modifications. The method first of all was applied to simple nonconservative rotor models. It was approved for an unsymmetric rotor of a test rig.

Fritzen, C. P.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

Sophisticated man machine interaction often requires the human operator to perform a stereotyped scan of various instruments in order to monitor and/or control a system. For situations in which this type of stereotyped behavior exists, such as certain phases of instrument flight, scan pattern was shown to be altered by the imposition of simultaneous verbal tasks. A study designed to examine the relationship between pilot visual scan of instruments and mental workload is described. It was found that a verbal loading task of varying difficulty causes pilots to stare at the primary instrument as the difficulty increases and to shed looks at instruments of less importance. The verbal loading task also affected the rank ordering of scanning sequences. By examining the behavior of pilots with widely varying skill levels, it was suggested that these effects occur most strongly at lower skill levels and are less apparent at high skill levels. A graphical interpretation of the hypothetical relationship between skill, workload, and performance is introduced and modelling results are presented to support this interpretation.

Tole, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Measurement of the linear viscoelastic behavior of antimisting kerosene

Measurements of dynamic viscoelastic properties in very small oscillating shear deformations was made on solutions of a jet fuel, Jet A, containing an antimisting polymeric additive, FM-9. A few measurements were also made on solutions of FM-9 in a mixed solvent of mineral oil, Tetralin, and 0-terphenyl. Two samples of FM-9 had approximate number-average molecular weights of 12,000,000 and 8,100,000 as deduced from analysis of the measurements. The ranges of variables were 2.42 to 4.03 g/1 in concentration (0.3 to 0.5% by weight), 1 to 35 in temperature, 1.3 to 9.4 cp in solvent viscosity, and 103 to 6100 Hz in frequency. Measurements in the Jet A solvent were made both with and without a modifying carrier. The results were compared with the Zimm theory and the viscoelastic behavior was found to resemble rather closely that of ordinary non-polar polymers in theta solvents. The relation of the results to the antithixotropic behavior of such solutions a high shear rates is discussed in terms of intramolecular and intermolecular interactions.

Ferry, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Hazardous behavior of lithium batteries. Case histories

Case histories were described of hazardous behavior for three different cell sizes ranging in nominal capacity from 300 mAh to 12,000 Ah. Design characteristics and other facts believed to have been responsible for the cell explosions, are presented. Obvious facts are discussed as causes for hazardous behavior of lithium batteries in general and oxyhalide batteries in particular.

Marincic, N.↗

NASA NTRS1983

The electrical behavior of GaAs-insulator interfaces - A discrete energy interface state model

The relationship between the electrical behavior of GaAs Metal Insulator Semiconductor (MIS) structures and the high density discrete energy interface states (0.7 and 0.9 eV below the conduction band) was investigated utilizing photo- and thermal emission from the interface states in conjunction with capacitance measurements. It was found that all essential features of the anomalous behavior of GaAs MIS structures, such as the frequency dispersion and the C-V hysteresis, can be explained on the basis of nonequilibrium charging and discharging of the high density discrete energy interface states.

Kazior, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Influence of the microstructure on the corrosion behavior of magnetron sputter-quenched amorphous metallic alloys

The microstructure and corrosion behavior of magnetron sputter deposited amorphous metallic films of (Mo6ORu40)82B18 under varying sputtering atmospheres have been investigated. The microstructural details and topology of the films have been studied by scanning electron microscopy and correlated with the deposition conditions. By reducing the pressure of pure argon gas, the characteristic features of rough surface and columnar growth full of vertical voids can be converted into a mirror-smooth finish with very dense deposits. Films deposited in the presence of O2 or N2 exhibit columnar structure with vertical voids. Film deposited in pure argon at low pressure show remarkably high corrosion resistance due to the formation of a uniform passive surface layer. The influence of the microstructure and surface texture on the corrosion behavior is discussed.

Thakoor, A. P.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A renormalization group model for the stick-slip behavior of faults

A fault which is treated as an array of asperities with a prescribed statistical distribution of strengths is described. For a linear array the stress is transferred to a single adjacent asperity and for a two dimensional array to three ajacent asperities. It is shown that the solutions bifurcate at a critical applied stress. At stresses less than the critical stress virtually no asperities fail on a large scale and the fault is locked. At the critical stress the solution bifurcates and asperity failure cascades away from the nucleus of failure. It is found that the stick slip behavior of most faults can be attributed to the distribution of asperities on the fault. The observation of stick slip behavior on faults rather than stable sliding, why the observed level of seismicity on a locked fault is very small, and why the stress on a fault is less than that predicted by a standard value of the coefficient of friction are outlined.

Smalley, R. F., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Radiation damage and defect behavior in ion-implanted, lithium counterdoped silicon solar cells

Boron doped silicon n+p solar cells were counterdoped with lithium by ion implanation and the resultant n+p cells irradiated by 1 MeV electrons. The function of fluence and a Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) was studied to correlate defect behavior with cell performance. It was found that the lithium counterdoped cells exhibited significantly increased radiation resistance when compared to boron doped control cells. It is concluded that the annealing behavior is controlled by dissociation and recombination of defects. The DLTS studies show that counterdoping with lithium eliminates at least three deep level defects and results in three new defects. It is speculated that the increased radiation resistance of the counterdoped cells is due primarily to the interaction of lithium with oxygen, single vacancies and divacancies and that the lithium-oxygen interaction is the most effective in contributing to the increased radiation resistance.

Weinberg, I.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Structures and Properties of Polymers Important to Their Wear Behavior

The wear and transfer of various semicrystalline polymers sliding against smooth steel or glass surfaces were examined. The effects of structures, and properties of polymers on their wear behavior are discussed. It is found that the high wear characteristics of PTFE is due to the easy destruction of the banded structure of PTFE. The size of spherulites and the molecular profile are closely related to the magnitude of wear rates of typical semicrystalline polymers. The effects of these factors on the wear rate on the basis of the destruction or melting of spherulites at the frictional surface are discussed. Although the fatigue theory of wear indicates that some mechanical properties are important to wear behavior, it is shown that the theory does not always explain the experimental result obtained on a smooth surface.

Tanaka, K.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Behaviors of Polymer Additives Under EHL and Influences of Interactions Between Additives on Friction Modification

Polymer additives have become requisite for the formulation of multigrade engine oils. The behavior of polymethacrylate (PMA)-thickened oils as lubricants in concentrated contacts under nominal rolling and pure sliding conditions was investigated by conventional optical interferometry. The PMA thickened oils behaved differently from the base oil in the formation of elastohydrodynamic (EHL) films. The higher the elastohydrodynamic molecular weight of the PMA contained in the lubricant, the thinner was the oil film under EHL conditions. The film thickness of shear-degraded PMA-thickened oils was also investigated. The behavior of graphite particles dispersed in both the base oil and the PMA-thickened oil was studied under pure sliding by taking photomicrographs. Many kinds of additives are contained in lubricating oil and the interactions between additives are considered. The interactions of zinc-organodithiophosphates (ZDP) with other additives is discussed.

Sakurai, T.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Analytical results for postbuckling behavior of plates in compression and shear

The postbuckling behavior of long rectangular isotropic and orthotropic plates is determined. By assuming trigonometric functions in one direction, the nonlinear partial differential equations of von Karman large deflection plate theory are converted into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The ordinary differential equations are solved numerically using an available boundary value problem solver which makes use of Newton's method. Results for longitudinal compression show different postbuckling behavior between isotropic and orthotropic plates. Results for shear show that change in inplane edge constraints can cause large change in postbuckling stiffness.

Stein, M.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Postbuckling behavior of graphite-epoxy panels

Structurally efficient fuselage panels are often designed to allow buckling to occur at applied loads below ultimate. Interest in applying graphite-epoxy materials to fuselage primary structure led to several studies of the post-buckling behavior of graphite-epoxy structural components. Studies of the postbuckling behavior of flat and curved, unstiffened and stiffened graphite-epoxy panels loaded in compression and shear were summarized. The response and failure characteristics of specimens studied experimentally were described, and analytical and experimental results were compared. The specimens tested in the studies described were fabricated from commercially available 0.005-inch-thick unidirectional graphite-fiber tapes preimpregnated with 350 F cure thermosetting epoxy resins.

Starnes, J. H., Jr.↗