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At least 1,081 records · Page 60

Space Station - A focus for the development of structural dynamics scale model technology for large flexible space structures

The paper discusses the scale model technology being developed at the NASA Langley Research Center in support of the development of structural dynamic prediction methods for large flexible space structures. Space Station is used as a focus. The Dynamic Scale Model Technology (DSMT) Program is described; results of the effect of scaling Space Station components are presented; and supporting scale model technology development activities are described and results presented. The conceptual design of a hybrid-scale Pathfinder model for developing test techniques and suspension methods is also discussed, and a summary of the broad application of the scale model technology being developed is presented.

Letchworth, Robert↗

Implementation of optimal trajectory control of series resonant converter

Due to the presence of a high-frequency LC tank circuit, the dynamics of a resonant converter are unpredictable. There is often a large surge of tank energy during transients. Using state-plane analysis technique, an optimal trajectory control utilizing the desired solution trajectory as the control law was previously proposed for the series resonant converters. The method predicts the fastest response possible with minimum energy surge in the resonant tank. The principle of the control and its experimental implementation are described here. The dynamics of the converter are shown to be close to time-optimal.

Oruganti, Ramesh↗

Configuration trade and code validation study on a conical hypersonic vehicle

A study has been conducted on a generic wing-cone transatmospheric vehicle at Mach numbers form 2.5 to 4.5. The objectives of the study were to experimentally define the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle and evaluate several computational aerodynamic prediction methods through comparison with the experimental results. The baseline wing-cone configuration fuselage consisted of a 5 deg half-angle cone forebody, cylindrical midbody, and 9 deg truncated cone afterbody. The 4-percent-thick diamond airfoil wing had an aspect ratio of 1. Several configuration variables were investigated to provide trade information on canard, wing-position and incidence, vertical tail, and nose bluntness effects. Results of the study show that wing-position and wing-incidence effects on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics can be significantly influenced by wing-body interference. The use of positive wing incidence to provide favorable forebody orientation for possible inlet performance improvement is accompanied by trim drag and lift-drag ratio penalties. The lateral-directional stability characteristics were strongly influenced by the location of the vertical tails. The higher-order full-potential method provided better estimates of the aerodynamic characteristics than either the linearized supersonic potential method or the tangent-cone/tangent-wedge/shock-expansion on method.

Covell, Peter F.↗

Efficient numerical techniques for complex fluid flows

The central feature in any flow prediction method is the treatment of the coupling between the momentum and continuity equations. In natural-convection flows, the energy equation also becomes strongly coupled with the momentum equations. Because of the nonlinear nature of the coupling, these equations are solved iteratively. Iterative methods are often prone to slow convergence, divergence, and extreme sensitivity to underrelaxation factors. The aim of the present research is to develop more efficient and reliable solution schemes for the coupled flow equations. Such schemes will significantly reduce the expense of computing complex flows encountered in combustion chambers, gas turbines, heat exchangers, and other practical equipment. In the work completed so far, a technique employing norm reduction in conjunction with the successive-substitution and Newton-Raphson techniques was developed. Also, a block-correction procedure for the flow equations is currently being formulated and tested.

Patankar, Suhas V.↗

Creep fatigue life prediction for engine hot section materials (isotropic): Fourth year progress review

As gas turbine technology continues to advance, the need for advanced life prediction methods for hot section components is becoming more and more evident. The complex local strain and temperature histories at critical locations must be accurately interpreted to account for the effects of various damage mechanisms (such as fatigue, creep, and oxidation) and their possible interactions. As part of the overall NASA HOST effort, this program is designed to investigate these fundamental damage processes, identify modeling strategies, and develop practical models which can be used to guide the early design and development of new engines and to increase the durability of existing engines.

Nelson, Richard S.↗

Propagation effects handbook for satellite systems design. A summary of propagation impairments on 10 to 100 GHz satellite links with techniques for system design

The NASA Propagation Effects Handbook for Satellite Systems Design provides a systematic compilation of the major propagation effects experienced on space-Earth paths in the 10 to 100 GHz frequency band region. It provides both a detailed description of the propagation phenomenon and a summary of the impact of the effect on the communications system design and performance. Chapter 2 through 5 describe the propagation effects, prediction models, and available experimental data bases. In Chapter 6, design techniques and prediction methods available for evaluating propagation effects on space-Earth communication systems are presented. Chapter 7 addresses the system design process and how the effects of propagation on system design and performance should be considered and how that can be mitigated. Examples of operational and planned Ku, Ka, and EHF satellite communications systems are given.

Ippolito, Louis J.↗

Turbine Engine Hot Section Technology, 1987

Presentations were made concerning the development of design analysis tools for combustor liners, turbine vanes, and turbine blades. Presentations were divided into six sections: instrumentation, combustion, turbine heat transfer, structural analysis, fatigue and fracture, surface protective coatings, constitutive behavior of materials, stress-strain response and life prediction methods.

Source record↗

Constitutive modelling of single crystal and directionally solidified superalloys

Successful attempts were made to model the deformation behavior of nickel base superalloys to be used in gas turbine engines based on both a macroscopic constitutive model and a micromechanical formulation based on crystallographic slip theory. These models were programmed as FORTRAN subroutines, are currently being used to simulate thermomechanical loading predictions expected at the fatigue critical locations on a single crystal turbine blade. Such analyses form a natural precursor to the application of life prediction methods to gas turbine airfoils.

Walker, Kevin P.↗

Creep fatigue life prediction for engine hot section materials (ISOTROPIC) fifth year progress review

The need for advanced life prediction methods for hot section components for gas turbine engines is becoming more and more evident. The complex local strain and temperature histories at critical locations must be accurately interpreted to account for the effects of various damage mechanisms and their possible interactions. This program is designed to investigate these fundamental damage processes, identify modeling strategies, and develop practical models which can be used to guide the early design and development of new engines and to increase the durability of existing engines.

Nelson, Richard S.↗

Chemical nonequilibrium and viscous flow computation for conic aerobrake bodies

Three-dimensional analyses are presented for the viscous, reactive flow over a complete entry-body configuration with a wide-angle conic surface. The predictive method uses a split approach that solves iteratively the Navier-Stokes and the continuity equations of chemical species. The finite-difference formulation and the computational grid are adapted to the bow shock and the conformally mapped body such that the velocity components are in the computational spherical-polar space. Combinations of several conic forebody and afterbody configurations have been studied using wind-tunnel, Space Shuttle, and aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle (AOTV) entry conditions. The effects of the borebody bluntness and of finite-rate chemical reactions on the shock layer, the wall catalycity on the boundary layer, the shear-layer impingement on the afterbody, and the base-flow environment are discussed.

Li, C. P.↗

The present status and the future of missile aerodynamics

Recent developments in the state of the art in missile aerodynamics are reviewed. Among the subjects covered are: (1) Tri-service/NASA data base, (2) wing-body interference, (3) nonlinear controls, (4) hypersonic transition, (5) vortex interference, (6) airbreathers, supersonic inlets, (7) store separation problems, (8) correlation of missile data, (9) CFD codes for complete configurations, (10) engineering prediction methods, and (11) future configurations. Suggestions are made for future research and development to advance the state of the art of missile aerodynamics.

Nielsen, Jack N.↗

Laboratory measurements and modeling of microwave absorption by ammonia in gas mixtures applicable to giant planet atmospheres

Accurate knowledge of the microwave absorption behavior of ammonia is critical to the correct interpretation of radio astronomical and radio occultation data from the giant planets. New cavity resonator techniques developed at the Stanford Center for Radar Astronomy have allowed accurate laboratory measurements of the microwave absorptivity and refractivity spectra of gas mixtures containing trace amounts of ammonia. A parameterized version of the modified Ben-Reuven formalism of Berge and Bulkis was optimized to fit the new data. The new formalism produced by this method predicts ammonia absorptivity much more accurately than previous formalism over a significant range of conditions.

Spilker, T. R.↗

The fatigue damage behavior of a single crystal superalloy

The uniaxial fatigue behavior of a single crystal superalloy, PWA 1480, is described. Both monotonic tensile and constant amplitude fatigue tests were conducted at room temperature, in an effort to assess the applicability of polycrystalline-based fatigue life prediction methods to a single crystal superalloy. The observed constant amplitude behavior correlated best using a stress-based life criterion. Nearly all specimens failed at surface or slightly subsurface microporosity; this is thought to be responsible for the unusually large amount of scatter in the test results. An additional term is developed in the stress-life equation for the purpose of accounting for the effect of microporosity on fatigue life. The form chosen is a function of the effective area of the failure-producing microporosity projected on a plane perpendicular to the loading axis, as well as the applied stress. This additional term correlated the data to within factors of two on life. Although speculative, extrapolation of the microporosity relation to zero micropore area indicates that approximately an order of magnitude improvement in fatigue life should result.

Mcgaw, Michael A.↗

Tilt rotor aircraft aeroacoustics

This paper studies the state of knowledge and the needed improvement in noise methodology and measurements for tilt rotor aircraft. Similarities and differences between tilt rotor aeroacoustic conditions and helicopter and propeller experience are identified. A discussion of the possible principal noise mechanisms throughout the flight envelope shows a need for further experimental and analytical investigations to develop an adequate understanding of the important sources and influencing factors. Existing experimental data from flight tests suggest terminal area noise reduction by operating within certain portions of the conversion flight envelope. Prediction methods are found to provide approximate indications only for low frequency harmonic and broadband noise for several of the tilt rotor's operating conditions. The acoustic effects of the hover case 'fountain' flow are pronounced and need further research. Impulsive noise and high frequency harmonic noise remain problems, as on helicopters, pending major improvements in wake, unsteady aerodynamics, and acoustics methodology.

George, Albert R.↗

Probabilistic high cycle fatigue failure analysis with application to liquid propellant rocket engines

A probabilistic high cycle fatigue (HCF) failure analysis of a welded duct in a rocket engine of the Space Shuttle main engine class is described. A state-of-the-art HCF failure prediction method was used in a Monte Carlo simulation to generate a distribution of failure lives. A stochastic stress/life model is used for material characterization, and a composite stress history is generated for accurately deriving the stress cycles for the fatigue-damage calculations. The HCF failure model expresses fatigue life as a function of stochastic parameters including environment, loads, material properties, geometry, and model specification errors. A series of HCF failure life analyses were performed to study the impact of a fixed parameter and to assess the importance of each stochastic input parameter through marginal analyses.

Sutharshana, S.↗

Probabilistic low cycle fatigue failure analysis with application to liquid propellant rocket engines

A probabilistic Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) failure analysis of a candidate turbine disk for use in a turbopump of a rocket engine of the Space Shuttle Main Engine class is described. A state-of-the-art LCF failure prediction method was used in a Monte Carlo simulation to generate a distribution of failure lives. A stochastic Stress/Life (S/N) model was used for materials characterization. The LCF failure model expresses fatigue life as a function of stochastic parameters including environmental parameters, loads, material properties, structural parameters, and model specification errors. The rationale for the particular characterization of each stochastic input parameter is described. The results and interpretation of the failure analysis are given.

Newlin, L.↗

Metal matrix composites: Testing, analysis, and failure modes; Proceedings of the Symposium, Sparks, NV, Apr. 25, 26, 1988

The present conference discusses the tension and compression testing of MMCs, the measurement of advanced composites' thermal expansion, plasticity theory for fiber-reinforced composites, a deformation analysis of boron/aluminum specimens by moire interferometry, strength prediction methods for MMCs, and the analysis of notched MMCs under tensile loading. Also discussed are techniques for the mechanical and thermal testing of Ti3Al/SCS-6 MMCs, damage initiation and growth in fiber-reinforced MMCs, the shear testing of MMCs, the crack growth and fracture of continuous fiber-reinforced MMCs in view of analytical and experimental results, and MMC fiber-matrix interface failures.

Johnson, W. S.↗

The response of helicopter rotors to vibratory airload

The problems of oscillatory and vibratory loading are examined from the perspective of the rotor's structural response. Blade flap, chord, and torsion responses, from flight or wind tunnel tests of eight full-scale rotors are examined and compared for high-speed flight conditions in the absence of blade stall or maneuvers. Some important similarities and differences between rotors are considered, and it is pointed out that these observations are useful in determining the appropriate tests for development of theoretical prediction methods. Among other things, major similarities were found in the dominant flapping vibratory response which occurs at 3/rev, and the root oscillatory chord bending for the CH-34, the SA 349/2, and the UH-60A; differences noted include vibratory chord bending-moment behavior of the rotors, a difference in the damper-induced behavior of CH-53A root oscillatory chord bending, and unique torsion and pitch link loading behavior exhibited by the AH1-G articulated rotor.

Bousman, William G.↗