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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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An Engineering-of-Failure approach to designing and executing an accelerated product qualification test was performed to support a risk assessment of a work-around necessitated by an on-orbit failure of another piece of hardware on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.
Clemson University has been engaged for the past five years in a program to determine the reliability attributes of solar cells by means of accelerated test procedures. The cells are electrically measured and visually inspected and then subjected for a period of time to stress in excess of that normally encountered in use, and then they are reinspected. Changes are noted and the process repeated. This testing has thus far involved 23 different unencapsulated cell types from 12 different manufacturers, and 10 different encapsulated cell types from 9 different manufacturers. Reliability attributes of metallization systems can be classified as major or minor, depending on the severity of the effects observed. As a result of the accelerated testing conducted under the Clemson program, major effects have been observed related to contact resistance and to mechanical adherence and solderability. This paper does not attempt a generalized survey of accelerated test results, but rather concentrates on one particular attribute of metallization that has been observed to cause electrical degradation - increased contact resistance due to Schottky barrier formation. In this example basic semiconductor theory was able to provide an understanding of the electrical effects observed during accelerated stress testing.
The applicability of Arrhenius and Eyring reaction rate models for describing microcircuit aging characteristics as a function of junction temperature and applied voltage was evaluated. The results of a matrix of accelerated life tests with a single metal oxide semiconductor microcircuit operated at six different combinations of temperature and voltage were used to evaluate the models. A total of 450 devices from two different lots were tested at ambient temperatures between 200 C and 250 C and applied voltages between 5 Vdc and 15 Vdc. A statistical analysis of the surface related failure data resulted in bimodal failure distributions comprising two lognormal distributions; a 'freak' distribution observed early in time, and a 'main' distribution observed later in time. The Arrhenius model was shown to provide a good description of device aging as a function of temperature at a fixed voltage. The Eyring model also appeared to provide a reasonable description of main distribution device aging as a function of temperature and voltage. Circuit diagrams are shown.
This presentation provides an overview of single event effects in FPGA devices 2014-2015 including commercial Xilinx V5 heavy ion accelerated testing, Xilinx Kintex-7 heavy ion accelerated testing. Mitigation study, and investigation of various types of triple modular redundancy (TMR) for commercial SRAM based FPGAs.
This presentation provides an overview of single event effects in FPGA devices 2015-2016 including commercial Xilinx V5 heavy ion accelerated testing, Xilinx Kintex-7 heavy ion accelerated testing, mitigation study, and investigation of various types of triple modular redundancy (TMR) for commercial SRAM based FPGAs.
This presentation provides an overview of single event effects in FPGA devices 2015-2016 including commercial Xilinx V5 heavy ion accelerated testing, Xilinx Kintex-7 heavy ion accelerated testing. Mitigation study, and investigation of various types of triple modular redundancy (TMR) for commercial SRAM based FPGAs.
A study was made of the feasibility of a room-temperature scheme of accelerating fatigue tests for Mach 3 advanced supersonic transport aircraft. The test scheme used equivalent room-temperature cycles calculated for supersonic flight conditions. Verification tests were conducted using specimens representing titanium wing lower surface structure. Test-acceleration parameters were developed for the test with an auxiliary test set. Five specimens were tested with a flight-by-flight load and temperature spectrum to simulate typical Mach 3 operation. Two additional sets of five specimens were tested at room temperature to evaluate the test-acceleration scheme. The fatigue behavior of the specimens generally correlated well with the proposed correction method.
The permanence, with respect to corrosion, of light aluminum alloy sheets of the duralumin type, that is, heat-treatable alloys containing Cu, Mg, Mn, and Si is discussed. Alloys of this type are subject to surface corrosion and corrosion of the interior by intercrystalline paths. Results are given of accelerated corrosion tests, tensile tests, the effect on corrosion of various alloying elements and heat treatments, electrical resistance measurements, and X-ray examinations.
Tantalum and molybdenum sputtered from discharge chamber components during operation of a 5 centimeter diameter mercury ion thruster adhered much more strongly to coarsely grit blasted anode surfaces than to standard surfaces. Spalling of the sputtered coating did occur from a coarse screen anode surface but only in flakes less than a mesh unit long. The results were obtained in a 200 hour accelerated life test conducted at an elevated discharge potential of 64.6 volts. The test approximately reproduced the major sputter erosion and deposition effects that occur under normal operation but at approximately 75 times the normal rate. No discharge chamber component suffered sufficient erosion in the test to threaten its structural integrity or further serviceability. The test indicated that the use of tantalum-surfaced discharge chamber components in conjunction with a fine wire screen anode surface should cure the problems of sputter erosion and sputtered deposits spalling in long term operation of small mercury ion thrusters.
The effect of turbulence on particle acceleration in a MHD field was investigated by computing test particle trajectories in turbulent MHD reconnecting fields, including reconnection simulations at different magnetic Reynolds numbers. The dynamics of individual particles were investigated making it possible to examine the acceleration mechanism in great detail. It was found that turbulence influences the acceleration in two ways. It enhances the reconnection electric field while producing a stochastic electric field that gives rise to momentum diffusion; and it produces magnetic 'bubbles' and other irregularities that can temporarily trap test particles in the strong reconnection electric field for times comparable to the magnetofluid characteristic time.
A preliminary investigation was made to determine the feasibility of using adhesive package sealing for hybrid microcircuits. Major effort consisted of: (1) surveying representative hybrid manufacturers to assess the current use of adhesives for package sealing; (2) making a cost comparison of metallurgical versus adhesive package sealing; (3) determining the seal integrity of gold plated flatpack type packages sealed with selected adhesives, thermal shock, temperature cycling, mechanical shock, and constant acceleration test environments; and (4) defining a more comprehensive study to continue the evaluation of adhesives for package sealing. Results showed that 1.27 cm square gold plated flatpack type packages sealed with the film adhesives and the paste adhesive retained their seal integrity after all tests, and that similarly prepared 2.54 cm square packages retained their seal integrity after all tests except the 10,000 g's constant acceleration test. It is concluded that these results are encouraging, but by no means sufficient to establish the suitability of adhesives for sealing high reliability hybrid microcircuits.
An accelerated-testing methodology has been developed for measuring the slow-crack-growth (SCG) behavior of brittle materials. Like the prior methodology, the accelerated-testing methodology involves dynamic fatigue ( constant stress-rate) testing, in which a load or a displacement is applied to a specimen at a constant rate. SCG parameters or life prediction parameters needed for designing components made of the same material as that of the specimen are calculated from the relationship between (1) the strength of the material as measured in the test and (2) the applied stress rate used in the test. Despite its simplicity and convenience, dynamic fatigue testing as practiced heretofore has one major drawback: it is extremely time-consuming, especially at low stress rates. The present accelerated methodology reduces the time needed to test a specimen at a given rate of applied load, stress, or displacement. Instead of starting the test from zero applied load or displacement as in the prior methodology, one preloads the specimen and increases the applied load at the specified rate (see Figure 1). One might expect the preload to alter the results of the test and indeed it does, but fortunately, it is possible to account for the effect of the preload in interpreting the results. The accounting is done by calculating the normalized strength (defined as the strength in the presence of preload the strength in the absence of preload) as a function of (1) the preloading factor (defined as the preload stress the strength in the absence of preload) and (2) a SCG parameter, denoted n, that is used in a power-law crack-speed formulation. Figure 2 presents numerical results from this theoretical calculation.
Plastic samples and solar cell sub modules were exposed to an accelerated outdoor environment in Arizona and an accelerated simulated environment in a cyclic ultraviolet exposure tester which included humidity exposure. These tests were for preliminary screening of materials suitable for use in the manufacture of solar cell modules which are to have a 20-year lifetime. The samples were exposed for various times up to six months, equivalent to a real time exposure of four years. Suitable materials were found to be FEP-A, FEP-C, PFA, acrylic, silicone compounds and adhesives and possibly parylene. The method of packaging the sub modules was also found to be important to their performance.
The present evaluation of the basic techniques and illustrative results of charged particle-modeling numerical codes suitable for particle acceleration at oblique, fast-mode collisionless shocks emphasizes the treatment of ions as test particles, calculating particle dynamics through numerical integration along exact phase-space orbits. Attention is given to the acceleration of particles at planar, infinitessimally thin shocks, as well as to plasma simulations in which low-energy ions are injected and accelerated at quasi-perpendicular shocks with internal structure.
Cubic zirconium (CZ) is a high index of refraction (n =2.17) material that we have investigated for Cherenkov counter applications. Laboratory and proton accelerator tests of an 18cc sample of CZ show that the expected fast Cherenkov response is accompanied by a longer scintillation component that can be separated by pulse shaping. This presents the possibility of novel particle spectrometers which exploits both properties of CZ. Other high index materials being examined for Cherenkov applications will be discussed. Results from laboratory tests and an accelerator exposure will be presented and a potential application in solar energetic particle instruments will be discussed
Several wire insulation constructions were evaluated with and without continuous glow discharges at low pressure and high temperature to determine the aging characteristics of acceptable wire insulation constructions. It was known at the beginning of the test program that insulation aging takes several years when operated at normal ambient temperature and pressure of 20 C and 760 torr. Likewise, it was known that the accelerated aging process decreases insulation life by approximately 50% for each 10 C temperature rise. Therefore, the first phases of the program, not reported in these test results, were to select wire insulation constructions that could operate at high temperature and low pressure for over 10,000 hours with negligible shrinkage and little materials' deterioration.The final phase of the program was to determine accelerated aging characteristics. When an insulation construction is subjected to partial discharges the insulation is locally heated by the bombardment of the discharges, the insulation is also subjected to ozone and other deteriorating gas particles that may significantly increase the aging process. Several insulation systems using either a single material or combinations of teflon, kapton, and glass insulation constructions were tested. All constructions were rated to be partial discharge and/or corona-free at 240 volts, 400 Hz and 260 C (500 F) for 50, 000 hours at altitudes equivalent to the Paschen law. Minimum partial discharge aging tests were preceded by screening tests lasting 20 hours at 260 C. The aging process was accelerated by subjecting the test articles to temperatures up to 370 C (700 F) with and without partial discharges. After one month operation with continuous glow discharges surrounding the test articles, most insulation systems were either destroyed or became brittle, cracked, and unsafe for use. Time with space radiation as with partial discharges is accumulative.
The dataset repository is organized into three main folders, each containing one group of life cycled battery packs. Within each folder individual battery packs own their dedicated csv file for continuous data logging, which are named with their respective battery pack number. The folders are named: - regular_alt_batteries: Containing one csv file for each battery pack cycled at the same load level or load range throughout lifetime - recommissioned_batteries: Containing one csv file for each battery pack cycled at different load levels at varying life stages - second_life_batteries: Containing one csv file for each second life battery pack cycled at constant current througout the second life
Results are presented for a study intended to summarize lifetime data on several fiber/epoxy composite materials subjected to sustained uniaxial tensile loading, to report preliminary results of an accelerated test method for predicting the life of simple composites, and to describe related work in progress on pressure vessels and other filament-wound structures. The lifetime performance of the tested composites was compared by plotting the percent of ultimate strength (applied fiber stress normalized with respect to fiber failure stress in a composite) versus lifetime. In terms of performance in long-term tensile applications, the tested composites are ranked in the following order: graphite/epoxy, Be wire/epoxy, Aramid/epoxy, and S-glass/epoxy. The accelerated test using temperature and stress to simulate the passage of time proves to be encouraging, at least in the case of the Aramid/epoxy composite. The potential of a statistical analysis based on Weibull distribution analyses or a power law relationship is demonstrated.