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At least 1,045 records · Page 58

Experimental and data analysis techniques for deducing collision-induced forces from photographic histories of engine rotor fragment impact/interaction with a containment ring

An analysis method termed TEJ-JET is described whereby measured transient elastic and inelastic deformations of an engine-rotor fragment-impacted structural ring are analyzed to deduce the transient external forces experienced by that ring as a result of fragment impact and interaction with the ring. Although the theoretical feasibility of the TEJ-JET concept was established, its practical feasibility when utilizing experimental measurements of limited precision and accuracy remains to be established. The experimental equipment and the techniques (high-speed motion photography) employed to measure the transient deformations of fragment-impacted rings are described. Sources of error and data uncertainties are identified. Techniques employed to reduce data reading uncertainties and to correct the data for optical-distortion effects are discussed. These procedures, including spatial smoothing of the deformed ring shape by Fourier series and timewise smoothing by Gram polynomials, are applied illustratively to recent measurements involving the impact of a single T58 turbine rotor blade against an aluminum containment ring. Plausible predictions of the fragment-ring impact/interaction forces are obtained by one branch of this TEJ-JET method; however, a second branch of this method, which provides an independent estimate of these forces, remains to be evaluated.

Yeghiayan, R. P.↗

Experimental Water Droplet Impingement Data on Airfoils, Simulated Ice Shapes, an Engine Inlet and a Finite Wing

An experimental method has been developed to determine the water droplet impingement characteristics on two- and three-dimensional aircraft surfaces. The experimental water droplet impingement data are used to validate particle trajectory analysis codes that are used in aircraft icing analyses and engine inlet particle separator analyses. The aircraft surface is covered with thin strips of blotter paper in areas of interest. The surface is then exposed to an airstream that contains a dyed-water spray cloud. The water droplet impingement data are extracted from the dyed blotter paper strips by measuring the optical reflectance of each strip with an automated reflectometer. Experimental impingement efficiency data represented for a NLF (1)-0414 airfoil, a swept MS (1)-0317 airfoil, a Boeing 737-300 engine inlet model, two simulated ice shapes and a swept NACA 0012 wingtip. Analytical impingement efficiency data are also presented for the NLF (1)-0414 airfoil and the Boeing 737-300 engine inlet model.

Papadakis, M.↗

IDEF3 formalization report

The Process Description Capture Method (IDEF3) is one of several Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) DEFinition methods developed by the Air Force to support systems engineering activities, and in particular, to support information systems development. These methods have evolved as a distillation of 'good practice' experience by information system developers and are designed to raise the performance level of the novice practitioner to one comparable with that of an expert. IDEF3 is meant to serve as a knowledge acquisition and requirements definition tool that structures the user's understanding of how a given process, event, or system works around process descriptions. A special purpose graphical language accompanying the method serves to highlight temporal precedence and causality relationships relative to the process or event being described.

Menzel, Christopher↗

A High-speed Engine Pressure Indicator of the Balanced Diaphragm Type

This report describes a pressure-measuring device especially adapted for use in mapping indicator diagrams of high-speed internal combustion engines. The cards are obtained by a point-to-point method giving the average of a large number of engine cycles. The principle involved is the balancing of the engine cylinder pressure against a measured pressure on the opposite side of the metal a diaphragm of negligible stiffness. In its application as an engine indicator the phase of the engine cycle to which a pressure measurement corresponds is selected by a timing device. The report discusses briefly the errors which must be avoided in the development of an indicator for light high-speed engines, where vibration is serious, and outlines the principles underlying the design of this instrument in order to be free of such errors. A detailed description of the instrument and accessories follows together with operating directions.

Dickinson, H C↗

NASA Design Strengthens Welds

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process-a combination of extruding and forging-ideal for use when the original metal characteristics must remain as unchanged as possible. While exploring methods to improve the use of FSW in manufacturing, engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center created technologies to address the method's shortcomings. MTS Systems Corporation, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, discovered the NASA-developed technology and then signed a co-exclusive license agreement to commercialize Marshall's design for use in high-strength structural alloys. The resulting process offers the added bonuses of being cost-competitive, efficient, and most importantly, versatile.

Source record↗

Transpiration Cooling Experiment

The transpiration cooling method was considered for a scram-jet engine to accommodate thermally the situation where a very high heat flux (200 Btu/sq. ft sec) from hydrogen fuel combustion process is imposed to the engine walls. In a scram-jet engine, a small portion of hydrogen fuel passes through the porous walls of the engine combustor to cool the engine walls and at the same time the rest passes along combustion chamber walls and is preheated. Such a regenerative system promises simultaneously cooling of engine combustor and preheating the cryogenic fuel. In the experiment, an optical heating method was used to provide a heat flux of 200 Btu/sq. ft sec to the cylindrical surface of a porous stainless steel specimen which carried helium gas. The cooling efficiencies by transpiration were studied for specimens with various porosity. The experiments of various test specimens under high heat flux have revealed a phenomenon that chokes the medium flow when passing through a porous structure. This research includes the analysis of the system and a scaling conversion study that interprets the results from helium into the case when hydrogen medium is used.

Song, Kyo D.↗

A Performance Map for Ideal Air Breathing Pulse Detonation Engines

The performance of an ideal, air breathing Pulse Detonation Engine is described in a manner that is useful for application studies (e.g., as a stand-alone, propulsion system, in combined cycles, or in hybrid turbomachinery cycles). It is shown that the Pulse Detonation Engine may be characterized by an averaged total pressure ratio, which is a unique function of the inlet temperature, the fraction of the inlet flow containing a reacting mixture, and the stoichiometry of the mixture. The inlet temperature and stoichiometry (equivalence ratio) may in turn be combined to form a nondimensional heat addition parameter. For each value of this parameter, the average total enthalpy ratio and total pressure ratio across the device are functions of only the reactant fill fraction. Performance over the entire operating envelope can thus be presented on a single plot of total pressure ratio versus total enthalpy ratio for families of the heat addition parameter. Total pressure ratios are derived from thrust calculations obtained from an experimentally validated, reactive Euler code capable of computing complete Pulse Detonation Engine limit cycles. Results are presented which demonstrate the utility of the described method for assessing performance of the Pulse Detonation Engine in several potential applications. Limitations and assumptions of the analysis are discussed. Details of the particular detonative cycle used for the computations are described.

Paxson, Daniel E.↗

Assessing and controlling the effect of aircraft on the environment: Pollution

The air pollution created by aircraft engines around airports and the global atmospheric problem of supersonic aircraft operating in the stratosphere are discussed. Methods for assessing the air pollution impact are proposed. The use of atmospheric models to determine the air pollution extent is described. Methods for controlling the emissions of aircraft engines are examined. Diagrams of the atmospheric composition resulting from exhaust gas emissions are developed.

Poppoff, I. G.↗

A Comparative Study of High and Low Fidelity Fan Models for Turbofan Engine System Simulation

In this paper, a heterogeneous propulsion system simulation method is presented. The method is based on the formulation of a cycle model of a gas turbine engine. The model includes the nonlinear characteristics of the engine components via use of empirical data. The potential to simulate the entire engine operation on a computer without the aid of data is demonstrated by numerically generating "performance maps" for a fan component using two flow models of varying fidelity. The suitability of the fan models were evaluated by comparing the computed performance with experimental data. A discussion of the potential benefits and/or difficulties in connecting simulations solutions of differing fidelity is given.

Reed, John A.↗

Multimodal Platform Control for Robotic Planetary Exploration Missions

Planetary exploration missions pose unique problems for astronauts seeking to coordinate and control exploration vehicles. These include working in an environment filled with abrasive dust (e.g., regolith compositions), a desire to have effective hands-free communication, and a desire to have effective analog control of robotic platforms or end effectors. Requirements to operate in pressurized suits are particularly problematic due to the increased bulk and stiffness of gloves. As a result, researchers are considering alternative methods to perform fine movement control, for example capitalizing on higher-order voice actuation commands to perform control tasks. This paper presents current research at NASA s Neuro Engineering Laboratory that explores one method-direct bioelectric interpretation-for handling some of these problems. In this type of control system, electromyographic (EMG) signals are used both to facilitate understanding of acoustic speech in pressure-regulated suits 2nd to provide smooth analog control of a robotic platform, all without requiring fine-gained hand movement. This is accomplished through the use of non-invasive silver silver-chloride electrodes located on the forearm, throat, and lower chin, positioned so as to receive electrical activity originating from the muscles during contraction. For direct analog platform control, a small Personal Exploration Rover (PER) built by Carnegie Mellon University Robotics is controlled using forearm contraction duration and magnitudes, measured using several EMG channels. Signal processing is used to translate these signals into directional platform rotation rates and translational velocities. higher order commands were generated by differential contraction patterns called "clench codes."

Jorgensen, Charles↗

Scramjet nozzle design and analysis as applied to a highly integrated hypersonic research airplane

The configuration and performance of the propulsion system for the hypersonic research vehicle are discussed. A study of the interactions between propulsion and aerodynamics of the highly integrated vehicle was conducted. The hypersonic research vehicle is configured to test the technology of structural and thermal protection systems concepts and the operation of the propulsion system under true flight conditions for most of the hypersonic flight regime. The subjects considered are: (1) research vehicle and scramjet engine configurations to determine fundamental engine sizing constraints, (2) analytical methods for computing airframe and propulsion system components, and (3) characteristics of a candidate nozzle to investigate vehicle stability and acceleration performance.

Small, W. J.↗

Flight effects on exhaust noise for turbojet and turbofan engines: Comparison of experimental data with prediction

It was demonstrated that static and in flight jet engine exhaust noise can be predicted with reasonable accuracy when the multiple source nature of the problem is taken into account. Jet mixing noise was predicted from the interim prediction method. Provisional methods of estimating internally generated noise and shock noise flight effects were used, based partly on existing prediction methods and partly on recent reported engine data.

Stone, J. R.↗

Investigation of refracting flows for acoustic suppression

An experimental investigation to determine the possibility of using refracting flows for the suppression of aircraft inlet noise is described. Observations of wave refraction in duct flows and measurements of the increase in effectiveness of acoustic linings due to refraction have suggested methods for the design of engine inlet ducts which can either suppress noise internally or direct it to where it causes less annoyance.

Sloan, D.↗

Predicting lifetime of cast parts

Life expectancy of cast aluminum machine parts can be predicted accurately from fatigue tests at 78 K on notched specimens of aluminum alloy. Method was developed for rocket engine turbopump parts made of high strength, heat treatable alloy with high silicon content; however, technique is applicable to other aluminum casting alloys.

Cooper, R. A.↗

Integrated analysis of large space systems

Based on the belief that actual flight hardware development of large space systems will necessitate a formalized method of integrating the various engineering discipline analyses, an efficient highly user oriented software system capable of performing interdisciplinary design analyses with tolerable solution turnaround time is planned Specific analysis capability goals were set forth with initial emphasis given to sequential and quasi-static thermal/structural analysis and fully coupled structural/control system analysis. Subsequently, the IAC would be expanded to include a fully coupled thermal/structural/control system, electromagnetic radiation, and optical performance analyses.

Young, J. P.↗