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At least 1,063 records · Page 59

Problems encountered with conventional fiber-reinforced composites

Preparational, computational, and operational problems associated with fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) are reviewed. Initial preparation of FRCs is shown to involve consideration of the type of prepreg, the setting time, cure conditions and cycles, and cure temperatures. The effects of the choice of bonding agents, the fiber transfer length, and individual fiber responses to bonding agents are noted to have an impact on fiber strength, moisture uptake, and fatigue resistance. The deformation prior to failure and the failure region are modeled through models of mini-, micro- and macro mechanics formulations employing a stiffness matrix, failure criterion, or fracture mechanics. The detection, evaluation, and repair of defects comprises the operational domain, and it is stressed that no good repair techniques exist for FRCs.

Landel, R. F.↗

Delamination micromechanics analysis

A three-dimensional finite element analysis was developed which includes elastoplastic, orthotropic material response, and fracture initiation and propagation. Energy absorption due to physical failure processes characteristic of the heterogeneous and anisotropic nature of composite materials is modeled. A local energy release rate in the presence of plasticity was defined and used as a criterion to predict the onset and growth of cracks in both micromechanics and macromechanics analyses. This crack growth simulation technique is based upon a virtual crack extension method. A three-dimensional finite element micromechanics model is used to study the effects of broken fibers, cracked matrix and fiber-matrix debond on the fracture toughness of the unidirectional composite. The energy release rates at the onset of unstable crack growth in the micromechanics analyses are used as critical energy release rates in the macromechanics analysis. This integrated micromechanical and macromechanical fracture criterion is shown to be very effective in predicting the onset and growth of cracks in general multilayered composite laminates by applying the criterion to a single-edge notched graphite/epoxy laminate subjected to implane tension normal to the notch.

Adams, D. F.↗

Tension fatigue of glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy tapered laminates

Symmetric tapered laminates with internally dropped plies were tested with two different layups and two materials, S2/SP250 glass/epoxy and IM6/1827I graphite/epoxy. The specimens were loaded in cyclic tension until they delaminated unstably. Each combination of material and layup had a unique failure mode. Calculated values of strain energy release rate, G, from a finite element analysis model of delamination along the taper, and for delamination from a matrix ply crack, were used with mode I fatigue characterization data from tests of the tested materials to calculate expected delamination onset loads. Calculated values were compared to the experimental results. The comparison showed that when the calculated G was chosen according to the observed delamination failures, the agreement between the calculated and measured delamination onset loads was reasonable for each combination of layup and material.

Murri, Gretchen B.↗

Simulation and analyses of the aeroassist flight experiment attitude update method

A method which will be used to update the alignment of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment's Inertial Measuring Unit is simulated and analyzed. This method, the Star Line Maneuver, uses measurements from the Space Shuttle Orbiter star trackers along with an extended Kalman filter to estimate a correction to the attitude quaternion maintained by an Inertial Measuring Unit in the Orbiter's payload bay. This quaternion is corrupted by on-orbit bending of the Orbiter payload bay with respect to the Orbiter navigation base, which is incorporated into the payload quaternion when it is initialized via a direct transfer of the Orbiter attitude state. The method of updating this quaternion is examined through verification of baseline cases and Monte Carlo analysis using a simplified simulation, The simulation uses nominal state dynamics and measurement models from the Kalman filter as its real world models, and is programmed on Microvax minicomputer using Matlab, and interactive matrix analysis tool. Results are presented which confirm and augment previous performance studies, thereby enhancing confidence in the Star Line Maneuver design methodology.

Carpenter, J. R.↗

Tension fatigue of glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy tapered laminates

Symmetric tapered laminates with internally dropped plies were tested with two different layups and two materials, S2/SP250 glass/epoxy and IM6/18271 graphite/epoxy. The specimens were loaded in cyclic tension until they delaminated unstably. Each combination of material and layup had a unique failure mode. Calculated values of strain energy release rate, G, from a finite element analysis model of delamination along the taper, and for delamination from a matrix ply crack, were used with mode I fatigue characterization data from tests of the tested materials to calculate expected delamination onset loads. Calculated values were compared to the experimental results. The comparison showed that when the calculated G was chosen according to the observed delamination failures, the agreement between the calculated and measured delamination onset loads was reasonable for each combination of layup and material.

Murri, Gretchen B.↗

Variance and bias computations for improved modal identification using ERA/DC

Variance and bias confidence criteria were recently developed for the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) identification technique. These criteria are extended for the modified version of ERA based on data correlation, ERA/DC, and also for the Q-Markov cover algorithm. The importance and usefulness of the variance and bias information are demonstrated in numerical studies. The criteria are shown to be very effective not only by indicating the accuracy of the identification results, especially in terms of confidence intervals, but also by helping the ERA user to obtain better results by seeing the effect of changing the sample time, adjusting the Hankel matrix dimension, choosing how many singular values to retain, deciding the model order, etc.

Longman, Richard W.↗

Fiber shape effects on metal matrix composite behavior

The effects of different fiber shapes on the behavior of a SiC/Ti-15 metal matrix composite is computationally simulated. A three-dimensional finite element model consisting of a group of nine unidirectional fibers is used in the analysis. The model is employed to represent five different fiber shapes: a circle, an ellipse, a kidney, and two different cross shapes. The distribution of microstresses and the composite material properties, such as moduli, coefficients of thermal expansion, and Poisson's ratios, are obtained from the finite element analysis for the various fiber shapes. Comparisons of these results are used to determine the sensitivity of the composite behavior to the different fiber shapes and assess their potential benefits. No clear benefits result from different fiber shapes though there are some increases/decreases in isolated properties.

Brown, H. C.↗

Viscous and inviscid instabilities of a trailing vortex

The linear stability of the trailing line vortex model of Batchelor (1964) is studied using a spectral collocation and matrix eigenvalue method. The entire unstable region in the swirl/axial wavenumber parameter space is mapped out for various azimuthal wavenumbers for both the inviscid and viscous stability problem. The results of the study provide a direct numerical validation of the large-azimuthal-wavenumber asymptotic analysis of Leibovich and Stewartson (1983). It is shown that accurate results are obtained up to azimuthal wavenumbers of 10,000 and greater, and the agreement with the asymptotic theory is excellent.

Mayer, Ernst W.↗

Attitude Estimation Using Modified Rodrigues Parameters

In this paper, a Kalman filter formulation for attitude estimation is derived using the Modified Rodrigues Parameters. The extended Kalman filter uses a gyro-based model for attitude propagation. Two solutions are developed for the sensitivity matrix in the Kalman filter. One is based upon an additive error approach, and the other is based upon a multiplicative error approach. It is shown that the two solutions are in fact equivalent. The Kalman filter is then used to estimate the attitude of a simulated spacecraft. Results indicate that then new algorithm produces accurate attitude estimates by determining actual gyro biases.

Crassidis, John L.↗

Frequency Domain Identification Toolbox

This report documents software written in MATLAB programming language for performing identification of systems from frequency response functions. MATLAB is a commercial software environment which allows easy manipulation of data matrices and provides other intrinsic matrix functions capabilities. Algorithms programmed in this collection of subroutines have been documented elsewhere but all references are provided in this document. A main feature of this software is the use of matrix fraction descriptions and system realization theory to identify state space models directly from test data. All subroutines have templates for the user to use as guidelines.

Horta, Lucas G.↗

Performance of an Axisymmetric Rocket Based Combined Cycle Engine During Rocket Only Operation Using Linear Regression Analysis

The all rocket mode of operation is shown to be a critical factor in the overall performance of a rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) vehicle. An axisymmetric RBCC engine was used to determine specific impulse efficiency values based upon both full flow and gas generator configurations. Design of experiments methodology was used to construct a test matrix and multiple linear regression analysis was used to build parametric models. The main parameters investigated in this study were: rocket chamber pressure, rocket exit area ratio, injected secondary flow, mixer-ejector inlet area, mixer-ejector area ratio, and mixer-ejector length-to-inlet diameter ratio. A perfect gas computational fluid dynamics analysis, using both the Spalart-Allmaras and k-omega turbulence models, was performed with the NPARC code to obtain values of vacuum specific impulse. Results from the multiple linear regression analysis showed that for both the full flow and gas generator configurations increasing mixer-ejector area ratio and rocket area ratio increase performance, while increasing mixer-ejector inlet area ratio and mixer-ejector length-to-diameter ratio decrease performance. Increasing injected secondary flow increased performance for the gas generator analysis, but was not statistically significant for the full flow analysis. Chamber pressure was found to be not statistically significant.

Smith, Timothy D.↗

Inducer Hydrodynamic Forces in a Cavitating Environment

Marshall Space Flight Center has developed and demonstrated a measurement device for sensing and resolving the hydrodynamic loads on fluid machinery. The device - a derivative of the six-component wind tunnel balance - senses the forces and moments on the rotating device through a weakened shaft section instrumented with a series of strain gauges. This rotating balance was designed to directly measure the steady and unsteady hydrodynamic loads on an inducer, thereby defining the amplitude and frequency content associated with operating in various cavitation modes. The rotating balance was calibrated statically using a dead-weight load system in order to generate the 6 x 12 calibration matrix later used to convert measured voltages to engineering units. Structural modeling suggested that the rotating assembly first bending mode would be significantly reduced with the balance s inclusion. This reduction in structural stiffness was later confirmed experimentally with a hammer-impact test. This effect, coupled with the relatively large damping associated with the rotating balance waterproofing material, limited the device s bandwidth to approximately 50 Hertz Other pre-test validations included sensing the test article rotating assembly built-in imbalance for two configurations and directly measuring the assembly mass and buoyancy while submerged under water. Both tests matched predictions and confirmed the device s sensitivity while stationary and rotating. The rotating balance was then demonstrated in a water test of a full-scale Space Shuttle Main Engine high-pressure liquid oxygen pump inducer. Experimental data was collected a scaled operating conditions at three flow coefficients across a range of cavitation numbers for the single inducer geometry and radial clearance. Two distinct cavitation modes were observed symmetric tip vortex cavitation and alternate-blade cavitation. Although previous experimental tests on the same inducer demonstrated two additional cavitation modes at lower inlet pressures, these conditions proved unreachable with the rotating balance installed due to the intense dynamic environment. The sensed radial load was less influenced by flow coefficient than by cavitation number or cavitation mode although the flow coefficient range was relatively narrow. Transition from symmetric tip vortex to alternate-blade cavitation corresponded to changes in both radial load magnitude and radial load orientation relative to the inducer. Sensed moments indicated that the effective load center moved downstream during this change in cavitation mode. An occurrence of "higher+rdex cavitation" was also detected in both the stationary pressures and the rotating balance data although the frequency of the phenomena was well above the reliable bandwidth of the rotating balance. In summary the experimental tests proved both the concept and device s capability despite the limitations and confirmed that hydrodynamically-induced forces and moments develop in response to the unbalanced pressure field, which is, in turn, a product of the cavitation environment.

Skelley, Stephen E.↗

On Time Delay Margin Estimation for Adaptive Control and Optimal Control Modification

This paper presents methods for estimating time delay margin for adaptive control of input delay systems with almost linear structured uncertainty. The bounded linear stability analysis method seeks to represent an adaptive law by a locally bounded linear approximation within a small time window. The time delay margin of this input delay system represents a local stability measure and is computed analytically by three methods: Pade approximation, Lyapunov-Krasovskii method, and the matrix measure method. These methods are applied to the standard model-reference adaptive control, s-modification adaptive law, and optimal control modification adaptive law. The windowing analysis results in non-unique estimates of the time delay margin since it is dependent on the length of a time window and parameters which vary from one time window to the next. The optimal control modification adaptive law overcomes this limitation in that, as the adaptive gain tends to infinity and if the matched uncertainty is linear, then the closed-loop input delay system tends to a LTI system. A lower bound of the time delay margin of this system can then be estimated uniquely without the need for the windowing analysis. Simulation results demonstrates the feasibility of the bounded linear stability method for time delay margin estimation.

Nguyen, Nhan T.↗

Prospects for Observing Ultracompact Binaries with Space-Based Gravitational Wave Interferometers and Optical Telescopes

Space-based gravitational wave interferometers are sensitive to the galactic population of ultracompact binaries. An important subset of the ultracompact binary population are those stars that can be individually resolved by both gravitational wave interferometers and electromagnetic telescopes. The aim of this paper is to quantify the multimessenger potential of space-based interferometers with arm-lengths between 1 and 5 Gm. The Fisher information matrix is used to estimate the number of binaries from a model of the Milky Way which are localized on the sky by the gravitational wave detector to within 1 and 10 deg(exp 2) and bright enough to be detected by a magnitude-limited survey.We find, depending on the choice ofGW detector characteristics, limiting magnitude and observing strategy, that up to several hundred gravitational wave sources could be detected in electromagnetic follow-up observations.

Littenberg, T. B.↗

Bayesian Treatment of Prospective LISA Parameter Estimation for Massive Black Hole Mergers

A full understanding of LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna)'s science capability will require accurate models of incident waveform signals and the instrumental response. While Fisher matrix analysis is useful for some estimates, a full Bayesian treatment is needed for important cases at the limit of LISA's capability. We will apply fast analysis algorithms enabling accurate treatment with EOB (effective-one-body) waveforms and the full-featured LISA response to study the significance of higher spherical harmonics and mergers in LISA analysis.

Baker, John G.↗

Formal Verification of Termination Criteria for First-Order Recursive Functions

This paper presents a formalization of several termination criteria for first-order recursive functions. The formalization, which is developed in the Prototype Verification System (PVS), includes the specification and proof of equivalence of semantic termination, Turing termination, size change principle, calling context graphs, and matrix-weighted graphs. These termination criteria are defined on a computational model that consists of a basic functional language called PVS0, which is an embedding of recursive first-order functions. Through this embedding, the native mechanism for checking termination of recursive functions in PVS could be soundly extended with semi-automatic termination criteria such as calling contexts graphs. As a proof of concept, this paper illustrates how such an extension can be implemented using proof strategies based on computational reflection.

Formal Verification↗

Formal Verification of Termination Criteria for​ First-Order Recursive Functions

This talk presents a formalization of several termination criteria for first-order recursive functions. The formalization, which is developed in the Prototype Verification System (PVS), includes the specification and proof of equivalence of semantic termination, Turing termination, size change principle, calling context graphs, and matrix-weighted graphs. These termination criteria are defined on a computational model that consists of a basic functional language called PVS0, which is an embedding of recursive first-order functions. Through this embedding, the native mechanism for checking termination of recursive functions in PVS could be soundly extended with semi-automatic termination criteria such as calling contexts graphs.

Termination↗

Application of the MAT 213 Composite Impact Model to NASA Problems of Interest

As composite materials are gaining increased use in aircraft components where impact resistance under high-energy impact conditions is important (such as the turbine engine fan case), the need for accurate material models to simulate the deformation, damage, and failure response of polymer matrix composites under impact conditions is becoming more critical.

Polymer Matrix Composites↗