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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Photovoltaic module reliability improvement through application testing and failure analysis

During the first four years of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Photovoltatic Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Low-Cost Solar Array (LSA) Project purchased about 400 kW of photovoltaic modules for test and experiments. In order to identify, report, and analyze test and operational problems with the Block Procurement modules, a problem/failure reporting and analysis system was implemented by the LSA Project with the main purpose of providing manufacturers with feedback from test and field experience needed for the improvement of product performance and reliability. A description of the more significant types of failures is presented, taking into account interconnects, cracked cells, dielectric breakdown, delamination, and corrosion. Current design practices and reliability evaluations are also discussed. The conducted evaluation indicates that current module designs incorporate damage-resistant and fault-tolerant features which address field failure mechanisms observed to date.

Dumas, L. N.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Impact-induced fracture in a quasi-isotropic laminate

A systematic study of impact-induced fracture in a quasi-isotropic laminated composite is carried out. The main focus of the study is to understand damage initiation when a laminate is subjected to the impact of a foreign object. The total incipient damage of a laminate subjected to impact at higher than threshold velocity is also presented. The incipient damage is restricted to small growth from the initiation of the damage. The experimentally collected data are interpreted using a two-dimensional plane-strain finite-element analysis. The qualitative comparison suggests that the skew cracks in the proximal layers are primarily due to transverse shear stress. Skew cracks in the middle layers are also due to transverse shear stress. Vertical cracks in the distal layer are due to flexural stress transverse to the fiber orientation of the layer.

Joshi, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Durability Characterization of Advanced Polymeric Composites at Cryogenic Temperatures

The next generation of reusable launch vehicles will require technology development in several key areas. Of these key areas, the development of polymeric composite cryogenic fuel tanks promises to present one of the most difficult technical challenges. It is envisioned that a polymer matrix composite (PMC) tank would be a large shell structure capable of containing cryogenic fuels and carrying a range of structural loads. The criteria that will be imposed on such a design include reduced weight, conformal geometry, and impermeability. It is this last criterion, impermeability, that will provide the focus of this paper. The essence of the impermeability criterion is that the tank remains leak free throughout its design lifetime. To address this criterion, one of the first steps is to conduct a complete durability assessment of the PMC materials. At Langley Research Center, a durability assessment of promising new polyimide-based PMCs is underway. This durability program has focused on designing a set of critical laboratory experiments that will determine fundamental material properties under combined thermal-mechanical loading at cryogenic temperatures. The test program provides measurements of lamina and laminate properties, including strength, stiffness, and fracture toughness. The performance of the PMC materials is monitored as a function of exposure conditions and aging time. Residual properties after exposure are measured at cryogenic temperatures and provide quantitative values of residual strength and stiffness. Primary degradation mechanisms and the associated damage modes are measured with both destructive and nondestructive techniques. In addition to mechanical properties, a range of physical properties, such as weight, glass transition, and crack density, are measured and correlated with the test conditions. This paper will report on the progress of this research program and present critical results and illustrative examples of current findings.

Gates, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Vibration-Based Method Developed to Detect Cracks in Rotors During Acceleration Through Resonance

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in developing rotating machinery shaft crack-detection methodologies and online techniques. Shaft crack problems present a significant safety and loss hazard in nearly every application of modern turbomachinery. In many cases, the rotors of modern machines are rapidly accelerated from rest to operating speed, to reduce the excessive vibrations at the critical speeds. The vibration monitoring during startup or shutdown has been receiving growing attention (ref. 1), especially for machines such as aircraft engines, which are subjected to frequent starts and stops, as well as high speeds and acceleration rates. It has been recognized that the presence of angular acceleration strongly affects the rotor's maximum response to unbalance and the speed at which it occurs. Unfortunately, conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods have unacceptable limits in terms of their application for online crack detection. Some of these techniques are time consuming and inconvenient for turbomachinery service testing. Almost all of these techniques require that the vicinity of the damage be known in advance, and they can provide only local information, with no indication of the structural strength at a component or system level. In addition, the effectiveness of these experimental techniques is affected by the high measurement noise levels existing in complex turbomachine structures. Therefore, the use of vibration monitoring along with vibration analysis has been receiving increasing attention.

Sawicki, Jerzy T.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Modeling the Non-Linear Response of Fiber-Reinforced Laminates Using a Combined Damage/Plasticity Model

The present work is concerned with modeling the non-linear response of fiber reinforced polymer laminates. Recent experimental data suggests that the non-linearity is not only caused by matrix cracking but also by matrix plasticity due to shear stresses. To capture the effects of those two mechanisms, a model combining a plasticity formulation with continuum damage has been developed to simulate the non-linear response of laminates under plane stress states. The model is used to compare the predicted behavior of various laminate lay-ups to experimental data from the literature by looking at the degradation of axial modulus and Poisson s ratio of the laminates. The influence of residual curing stresses and in-situ effect on the predicted response is also investigated. It is shown that predictions of the combined damage/plasticity model, in general, correlate well with the experimental data. The test data shows that there are two different mechanisms that can have opposite effects on the degradation of the laminate Poisson s ratio which is captured correctly by the damage/plasticity model. Residual curing stresses are found to have a minor influence on the predicted response for the cases considered here. Some open questions remain regarding the prediction of damage onset.

Schuecker, Clara↗
NASA NTRS2018

Modeling the Effect of Damage on the Electrical Resistivity of Melt-Infiltrated SiC/SiC Composites

Electrical resistivity (ER) measurements are a possible health monitoring technique for CMC components in future aerospace applications. In order to use ER measurements to detect and identify damage, it is necessary to understand how each specific damage state will affect the ER response. In this paper, finite element models are developed and applied to quantify the effect of specific damage states on the electrical resistivity response in a melt-infiltrated silicon carbide (SiC) fiber-reinforced silicon carbide composite. The electrical resistivity of several damage states are calculated by simulating the electric current flow through the damaged micro-structure. This is achieved by performing the numerical solution of the steady-state conservation of charge density equation. Numerical results reveal that cracking of the inter-tow matrix has the most profound effect on the composite electrical resistivity. Also, fiber/matrix debonding at matrix cracks in the 0° tows (tows aligned with the loading direction) may cause a significant increase in the electrical resistivity, but only if the fiber coating resistivity is 1000 Ω-cm or less. Cracks in the 90° tows and the crack opening displacement have very little effect on the composite electrical resistivity.

finite element analysis↗
DOE OSTI2020

Developing an Analytical Framework for Cumulative Effects

The extended dry storage scenario for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the United States introduces the possibility of more than one transportation campaign to move the SNF from its point of origin to one or more interim storage facilities before it reaches its final destination. While the structural integrity of SNF and its storage and transportation systems are often evaluated under single event loading conditions, the reality is that a single SNF system will experience multiple structural loading events during its life cycle, the number and severity of which will depend on its individual circumstances. SNF systems will also be subjected to environmental exposure that will affect their temperature and the potential for cracks to develop in the SNF canister walls. Considered separately, many different events and scenarios might be strong enough to challenge the integrity of SNF cladding and the storage and transportations canisters that contain SNF. But considered together, over the full life cycle of an SNF system, there is the possibility that individual low-magnitude events could cause enough incremental damage to components of the SNF system to challenge its structural integrity if the time span is long enough or if the life cycle includes a sufficient number of loading events. The concern is that the cumulative effect of relatively small mechanical loads, thermal stresses, or cracking can add up to conditions that could compromise SNF or its containment structures. This report is a first step in establishing an analysis framework for evaluating these cumulative effects.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Clinkerless ultra-high strength concrete based on alkali-activated slag at high temperatures

This work investigates the degradation mechanisms of clinkerless alkali-activated slag based ultra-high strength concrete (AAS-UHSC) upon exposure to high temperatures up to 800 °C. The heat-induced mechanical, mineralogical, molecular, microstructural, and pore structure alterations of AAS-UHSC prepared with various activator types, water-to-powder ratios, and fiber incorporation are studied. The results demonstrate the beneficial roles of potassium incorporation on improving the thermal stability and integrity of AAS-UHSC, via suppressing deleterious crystallization and transformation of aluminosilicate phases at high temperature. In contrast to Portland cement clinker-based UHSC, no sign of explosive spalling is observed in AAS-UHSC, likely due to the presence of microcracks that enhance the pore network connectivity. The mechanical degradation of AAS-UHSC at high temperature below 600 °C is resulted from dehydration and decomposition of phases and consecutive thermal cracking, together with enlarged porosity and coarsened pore structure. As the temperature rising to 800 °C, crystallization and transformation of phases, as well as formation of porous microstructure, considerably aggravate the mechanical degradation of AAS-UHSC. In contrast to the thermal damage mitigation by polymeric fibers in conventional UHSC, the fiber incorporation has little positive impact on the thermal resistance of AAS-UHSC.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of cyclic plasma heating on surface damage of micro-porous tungsten

The operating temperature window of solid tungsten (W) is dictated by its Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT) and re-crystallization temperature; roughly between 300-1300 °C. The brittleness of W at lower temperatures is exasperated when it undergoes recrystallization. We investigate here the thermal shock resistance of micro-porous W as a meta-material fabricated in a 3D open-cell network structure. We present experimental results for the effects of cyclic high-enthalpy arc-jet plasma on surface damage in three testing categories. Observed damage includes surface ablation of asperities, melting and solidification of W-fuzz on samples that have been exposed to a prior helium plasma, and micro-cracks at ligament triple junctions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations show more micro-cracking on 54% and 23% foams compared to the 43% ones. In all tested samples, thermal expansion/contraction displacements were accommodated by ligament rotation and a network of micro-cracks. Furthermore, no large through-thickness crack were observed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sequential Stress Identifies Processing Defects in Bifacial Photovoltaic Modules That Limit Durability

Here, we use sequential stress to investigate hurdles to bifacial photovoltaic (PV) module durability from lamination defects. We test mini-modules with glass/glass (G/G) and glass/transparent-backsheet (G/TB) constructions using either ethylene vinyl acetate or polyolefin elastomer (POE) based encapsulants under a modified IEC 63209-2 sequential stress. This sequence includes multiple iterations of damp heat (DH200), full spectrum light exposure (A3), thermal cycling (TC50), and humidity/freeze (HF10). We compare indoor stress with outdoor exposure. Results show similar relative trends in degradation after a year outdoors compared to our first stress cycle. Subsequent stress cycles impart more severe damage than outdoor exposure for the short outdoor duration used here. Edge-pinch lamination defects in G/G mini-modules limit durability causing delamination and cell cracks. Conversely, we observe greater degradation in G/TB mini-modules compared to G/G in the later stages of the stress sequence when the backsheets are directly exposed to UV-containing light. Our results highlight: 1) the utility of sequential stress testing to uncover degradation modes in bifacial PV, 2) implications of using mini-modules for testing PV quality, and 3) the importance of lamination defects that must be avoided to ensure durability as the industry adopts G/G or G/TB packaging.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of the Friction Stir Welds Made on Neutron-Irradiated Steel with Helium

This report describes new experimental results on the microstructure and mechanical performance of the friction stir welds made on neutron-irradiated steel with helium. The report focuses on helium-related issues, specifically, helium-induced degradation in the welded joint, aiming to repair irradiated components of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The friction stir welds analyzed here were produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory previously, and limited characterization work was performed, mostly addressing the presence or absence of macroscopic cracks. The present work attempts to perform a more comprehensive study to assess microstructure conditions, grain size, plastic strain gradients, the morphology of the helium-induced damage, and deformation behavior.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1964

Cumulative damage.

Cumulative fatigue damage of structural parts subjected to variable amplitude loading

LOAD TEST↗
NASA NTRS1976

The shear-stress intensity factor for a centrally cracked stiff-flanged shear web

By use of the principle of superposition the stiff-flanged shear web is modeled mathematically by an infinite elastic strip with fixed longitudinal edges. The shear-stress intensity factor for a central longitudinal crack is calculated for various values of the ratio of strip width to crack length, h/a, in the range 0.1-10. The interaction of the crack with the boundaries is illustrated by boundary shear-stress distributions for three values of h/a. Some implications of the results for the design of damage-tolerant shear webs are discussed briefly.

Fichter, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Attaching strain transducers to fragile materials

A-shaped clamp prevents damage to thin, brittle specimens and supports displacement transducer away from heated zone. Also it defines reference points for strain measurement on specimen surface thus preventing specimen cracking due to unequal thermal expansion between clamp and holder.

Duggan, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Life prediction and constitutive behavior: Overview

The evolution of programs to investigate high temperature consititutive behavior and develop cyclic life prediction methods is reviewed. Contracts granted for developing and verifying workable engineering methods for the calculation, in advance of service, of the local stress-strain response at the critical life governing location in typical hot section components as well as the resultant cyclic crack initiation and crack growth lifetimes are listed. The Langley fatigue facility is being upgraded to include: (1) a servocontrolled testing machine for high temperature crack growth; (2) three servocontrolled tension/torsion machines for biaxial studies; (3) a HOST/satellite computer for data acquisition, processing, storage, and retrieval; and (4) HCV/LCF machines for cumulative damage studies.

Halford, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Tensile and compressive failure modes of laminated composites loaded by fatigue with different mean stress

Laminated composite materials tend to fail differently under tensile or compressive load. Under tension, the material accumulates cracks and fiber fractures, while under compression, the material delaminates and buckles. Tensile-compressive fatigue may cause either of these failure modes depending on the specific damage occurring in the laminate. This damage depends on the stress ratio of the fatigue loading. Analysis of the fatigue behavior of the composite laminate under tension-tension, compression-compression, and tension-compression had led to the development of a fatigue envelope presentation of the failure behavior. This envelope indicates the specific failure mode for any stress ratio and number of loading cycles. The construction of the fatigue envelope is based on the applied stress-cycles to failure (S-N) curves of both tensile-tensile and compressive-compressive fatigue. Test results are presented to verify the theoretical analysis.

Rotem, Assa↗
NASA NTRS1990

Life prediction technologies for aeronautical propulsion systems

Fatigue and fracture problems continue to occur in aeronautical gas turbine engines. Components whose useful life is limited by these failure modes include turbine hot-section blades, vanes, and disks. Safety considerations dictate that catastrophic failures be avoided, while economic considerations dictate that catastrophic failures be avoided, while economic considerations dictate that noncatastrophic failures occur as infrequently as possible. Therefore, the decision in design is making the tradeoff between engine performance and durability. LeRC has contributed to the aeropropulsion industry in the area of life prediction technology for over 30 years, developing creep and fatigue life prediction methodologies for hot-section materials. At the present time, emphasis is being placed on the development of methods capable of handling both thermal and mechanical fatigue under severe environments. Recent accomplishments include the development of more accurate creep-fatigue life prediction methods such as the total strain version of LeRC's strain-range partitioning (SRP) and the HOST-developed cyclic damage accumulation (CDA) model. Other examples include the development of a more accurate cumulative fatigue damage rule - the double damage curve approach (DDCA), which provides greatly improved accuracy in comparison with usual cumulative fatigue design rules. Other accomplishments in the area of high-temperature fatigue crack growth may also be mentioned. Finally, we are looking to the future and are beginning to do research on the advanced methods which will be required for development of advanced materials and propulsion systems over the next 10-20 years.

Mcgaw, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Out-of-plane properties

This paper summarizes three areas of research which were performed to characterize out-of-plane properties of composite materials. In the first investigation, a series of tests was run to characterize the through-the-thickness tensile strength for a variety of composites that included 2D braids, 2D and 3D weaves, and prepreg tapes. A new test method based on a curved beam was evaluated. Failures were significantly different between the 2D materials and the 3D weaves. The 2D materials delaminated between layers due to out-of-plane tensile stresses while the 3D weaves failed due to the formation of radial cracks between the surface plies caused by high circumferential stresses along the inner radius. The strength of the 2D textile composites did not increase relative to the tapes. Final failure in the 3D weaves was caused by a circumferential crack similar to the 2D materials and occurred at a lower bending moment than in other materials. The early failures in the 3D weaves were caused by radial crack formation rather than a low through-the-thickness strength. The second investigation focused on the development of a standard impact test method to measure impact damage resistance. The only impact tests that currently exist are compression after impact (CAI) tests which incorporate elements of both damage resistance and damage tolerance. A new impact test method is under development which uses a quasi-static indentation (QSI) test to directly measure damage resistance. Damage resistance is quantified in terms of the contact force to produce a unit of damage where a metric for damage may be area in C-scan, depth of residual dent , penetration, damage growth, etc. A final draft of an impact standard that uses a QSI test method will be presented to the ASTM Impact Task Group on impact. In the third investigation, the impact damage resistance behavior of a variety of textile materials was studied using the QSI test method. In this study, the force where large damage initiates was measured and the delamination size as a function of force was determined. The force to initiate large damage was significantly lower in braids and weaves. The delamination diameter - impact forace relationship was quanitfied using a damage resistance parameter, Q(*), which related delamination diameter to imapct force over a range of delamination sizes. Using this Q(*) parameter to rate the materials, the stitched uniweaves, toughened epoxy tapes, and through-the-thickness orthogonal interlock weave were the most damage resistant.

Jackson, Wade C.↗