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At least 127 records · Page 7

Multishaker modal testing

Procedures for improving the modal modeling of structures using test data and to determine appropriate analytical models based on substructure experimental data were explored. Two related research topics were considered in modal modeling: using several independently acquired columns of frequency response data, and modal modeling using simultaneous multi-point excitation. In component mode synthesis modeling, the emphasis is on determining the best way to employ complex modes and residuals.

Craig, R. R., Jr.↗

Testing the performance of feedback concatenated decoder with a nonideal receiver

One of the inherent problems in testing the feedback concatenated decoder (FCD) at our operating symbol signal-to-noise ratio (SSNR) is that the bit-error rate is so low that we cannot measure it directly through simulations in a reasonable time period. This article proposes a test procedure that will give a reasonable estimate of the expected losses even though the number of frames tested is much smaller than needed for a direct measurement. This test procedure provides an organized robust methodology for extrapolating small amounts of test data to give reasonable estimates of FCD loss increments at unmeasurable miniscule error rates. Using this test procedure, we have run some preliminary tests on the FCD to quantify the losses due to the fact that the input signal contains multiplicative non-white non-Gaussian noises resulting from the buffered telemetry demodulator (BTD). Besides the losses in the BTD, we have observed additional loss increments of 0.3 to 0.4 dB at the output of the FCD for several test cases with loop signal-to-noise ratios (SNR's) lower than 20 dB. In contrast, these loss increments were less than 0.1 dB for a test case with the subcarrier loop SNR at about 28 dB. This test procedure can be applied to more extensive test data to determine thresholds on the loop SNRs above which the FCD will not suffer substantial loss increments.

Feria, Y.↗

Jet Engine Bird Ingestion Simulations: Comparison of Rotating to Non-Rotating Fan Blades

Bird strike events in commercial airliners are a fairly common occurrence. According to data collected by the US Department of Agriculture, over 80,000 bird strikes were reported in the period 1990-2007 in the US alone [1]. As a result, bird ingestion is an important factor in aero engine design and FAA certification. When it comes to bird impacts on engine fan blades, the FAA requires full-scale bird ingestion tests on an engine running at full speed to pass certification requirements. These rotating tests are complex and very expensive. To reduce development costs associated with new materials for fan blades, it is desirable to develop more cost effective testing procedures than full-scale rotating engine tests for material evaluation. An impact test on a non-rotating single blade that captures most of the salient physics of the rotating test would go a long way towards enabling large numbers of evaluative material screening tests. NASA Glenn Research Center has been working to identify a static blade test procedure that would be effective at reproducing similar results as seen in rotating tests. The current effort compares analytical simulations of a bird strike on various nonrotating blades to a bird strike simulation on a rotating blade as a baseline case. Several different concepts for simulating the rotating loads on a non-rotating blade were analyzed with little success in duplicating the deformation results seen in the rotating case. The rotating blade behaves as if it were stiffer than the non-rotating blade resulting in less plastic deformation from a given bird impact. The key factor limiting the success of the non-rotating blade simulations is thought to be the effect of gyroscopics. Prior to this effort, it was anticipated the difficulty would be in matching the pre-stress in the blade due to centrifugal forces Additional work is needed to verify this assertion, and to determine if a static test procedure can simulate the gyroscopic effects in a suitable manner. This paper describes the various non-rotating concepts analyzed, and demonstrates the effect believed to be gyroscopic in nature on the results.

Howard, Samuel A.↗

Jet Engine Bird Ingestion Simulations: Comparison of Rotating to Non-Rotating Fan Blades

Bird strike events in commercial airliners are a fairly common occurrence. According to data collected by the US Department of Agriculture, over 80,000 bird strikes were reported in the period 1990 to 2007 in the US alone (Ref. 1). As a result, bird ingestion is an important factor in aero engine design and FAA certification. When it comes to bird impacts on engine fan blades, the FAA requires full-scale bird ingestion tests on an engine running at full speed to pass certification requirements. These rotating tests are complex and very expensive. To reduce development costs associated with new materials for fan blades, it is desirable to develop more cost effective testing procedures than full-scale rotating engine tests for material evaluation. An impact test on a nonrotating single blade that captures most of the salient physics of the rotating test would go a long way towards enabling large numbers of evaluative material screening tests. NASA Glenn Research Center has been working to identify a static blade test procedure that would be effective at reproducing similar results as seen in rotating tests. The current effort compares analytical simulations of a bird strike on various non-rotating blades to a bird strike simulation on a rotating blade as a baseline case. Several different concepts for simulating the rotating loads on a non-rotating blade were analyzed with little success in duplicating the deformation results seen in the rotating case. The rotating blade behaves as if it were stiffer than the non-rotating blade resulting in less plastic deformation from a given bird impact. The key factor limiting the success of the non-rotating blade simulations is thought to be the effect of gyroscopics. Prior to this effort, it was anticipated the difficulty would be in matching the prestress in the blade due to centrifugal forces Additional work is needed to verify this assertion, and to determine if a static test procedure can simulate the gyroscopic effects in a suitable manner. This paper describes the various non-rotating concepts analyzed, and demonstrates the effect believed to be gyroscopic in nature on the results

Howard, Samuel A.↗

Pilot Escape from Spinning Airplanes as Determined from Free-spinning-tunnel Tests

Procedure for pilot escape from spinning airplanes has been determined by means of tests in which pilot escape was simulated from 21 airplane models spinning in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel. The results in general indicated that the pilot should bail out of the outboard side. Calculated centripetal accelerations acting on the pilot during a spin are presented.

SAFETY - PILOT ESCAPE TECHNIQUES↗

Dairy Equipment Lubrication

Lake To Lake Dairy Cooperative, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, operates four plants in Wisconsin for processing milk, butter and cheese products from its 1,300 member farms. The large co-op was able to realize substantial savings by using NASA information for improved efficiency in plant maintenance. Under contract to Marshall Space Flight Center, Midwest Research Institute compiled a handbook consolidating information about commercially available lubricants. The handbook details chemical and physical properties, applications, specifications, test procedures and test data for liquid and solid lubricants. Lake To Lake's plant engineer used the handbook to effect savings in maintenance labor and materials costs by reducing the number of lubricants used on certain equipment. Strict U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration regulations preclude lubrication changes n production equipment, but the co-op's maintenance chief was able to eliminate seven types of lubricants for ancillary equipment, such as compressors and high pressure pumps. Handbook data enabled him to select comparable but les expensive lubricants in the materials consolidation process, and simplified lubrication schedules and procedures. The handbook is in continuing use as a reference source when a new item of equipment is purchased.

Source record↗

Modification, static testing and delivery of one servoactuator

The development and performance testing of a servoactuator device are discussed. The detailed information includes the following: (1) modification description, (2) test data to include analyses, test procedures, and test data, (3) conclusions, and (4) recommendations. Diagrams of the servoactuator and photographs of the test equipment are presented. Descriptions of optimized system configurations are developed.

Hart, K. E.↗

Buckling tests of two 4.6-meter-diameter, magnesium ring-stiffened conical shells loaded under external pressure

Two ring-stiffened magnesium conical shells with a 120 deg apex angle and a 4.6-meter diameter were loaded to failure by a uniform external pressure. The cones differed from one another only in the number of internal stiffening rings. Test specimen details, test procedure, and test results are discussed. Both buckling and prebuckling data are compared with appropriate theoretical predictions. Measured strains in skin and rings agreed well with theoretical predictions. Extensive imperfection measurements were made and reported on both cones in the as fabricated condition.

Anderson, J. K.↗

Buckling tests of three 4.6 meter diameter aluminum honeycomb sandwich conical shells loaded under external pressure

Three aluminum honeycomb sandwich conical shells with a 120 apex angle and a 4.6-m (15.0-ft) base diameter were loaded to failure by a uniform external pressure. The cones differed from one another only in the thickness of their respective face sheets. Test specimen details, test procedure, and test results are discussed. Both buckling and prebuckling data are compared with appropriate theoretical predictions, and good agreement was obtained between test and theory. Extensive imperfection measurements were made and reported on the three cones in the as fabricated condition.

Anderson, J. K.↗

Assessment of analytical and experimental techniques utilized in conducting plume technology tests 575 and 593

Since exhaust plumes affect vehicle base environment (pressure and heat loads) and the orbiter vehicle aerodynamic control surface effectiveness, an intensive program involving detailed analytical and experimental investigations of the exhaust plume/vehicle interaction was undertaken as a pertinent part of the overall space shuttle development program. The program, called the Plume Technology program, has as its objective the determination of the criteria for simulating rocket engine (in particular, space shuttle propulsion system) plume-induced aerodynamic effects in a wind tunnel environment. The comprehensive experimental program was conducted using test facilities at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center. A post-test examination of some of the experimental results obtained from NASA-MSFC's 14 x 14-inch trisonic wind tunnel is presented. A description is given of the test facility, simulant gas supply system, nozzle hardware, test procedure and test matrix. Analysis of exhaust plume flow fields and comparison of analytical and experimental exhaust plume data are presented.

Baker, L. R.↗

A 128K-bit CCD buffer memory system

A prototype system was implemented to demonstrate that CCD's can be applied advantageously to the problem of low power digital storage and particularly to the problem of interfacing widely varying data rates. 8K-bit CCD shift register memories were used to construct a feasibility model 128K-bit buffer memory system. Peak power dissipation during a data transfer is less than 7 W., while idle power is approximately 5.4 W. The system features automatic data input synchronization with the recirculating CCD memory block start address. Descriptions are provided of both the buffer memory system and a custom tester that was used to exercise the memory. The testing procedures and testing results are discussed. Suggestions are provided for further development with regards to the utilization of advanced versions of CCD memory devices to both simplified and expanded memory system applications.

Siemens, K. H.↗

Oxygen index tests of thermosetting resins

The flammability characteristics of nine thermosetting resins under evaluation for use in aircraft interiors are described. These resins were evaluated using the Oxygen Index (ASTM 2863) testing procedure. The test specimens consisted of both neat resin and glass reinforced resin. When testing glass-reinforced samples it was observed that Oxygen Index values varied inversely with resin content. Oxygen values were also obtained on specimens exposed to temperatures up to 300 C. All specimens experienced a decline in Oxygen Index when tested at an elevated temperature.

Gilwee, W. J., Jr.↗

Design data for brazed Rene 41 honeycomb sandwich

Strength data, creep data and residual strength data after cyclic thermal exposure were obtained at temperatures from 78 K to 1144 K (-320 F to 1600 F). The influences of face thickness, core depth, core gage, cell size and thermal/stress exposure conditions on the mechanical design properties were investigated. A braze alloy and process was developed that is adequate to fully develop the strength of the honeycomb core while simultaneously solution treating and aging the Rene 41 fact sheets. New test procedures and test specimen configurations were developed to avoid excessive thermal stresses during cyclic thermal exposure.

Hepler, A. K.↗

Solar photovoltaic powered refrigerators/freezers for medical use in remote geographic locations

One of the obstacles preventing widespread immunication against disease is the virtual absence of reliable, low maintenance refrigeration systems for storage of vaccines in remote geographic locations. A system which consists of a solar photovoltaic cell array and an integrated refrigerator/freezer-energy storage unit is discussed herein. The array converts solar radiation into direct current (DC) electricity with no moving parts and no intermediate steps. A detailed description of the refrigeration system, its design and an analysis thereof, performance test procedures, and test results are presented. A system schematic is also provided.

Darkazalli, G.↗

Crashworthy design considerations for general aviation seats

This report summarizes the experimental research conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center on general aviation seat and occupant crash response and discusses seat design considerations. Included are typical floor acceleration pulses from general aviation airplane crash tests, the performance of typical general aviation seats in a simulated crash environment, and the performance of prototype energy absorbing (EA) seat designs. Static and dynamic seat testing procedures and test facilities are discussed. Also presented are results from a series of dynamic tests of typical general aviation seats and prototype EA seats.

Alfaro-Bou, E.↗

Evaluation of a standard test method for total hemispherical emittance of surfaces from 293K to 1673K

Emittance tests were made on samples of Rene' 41, Haynes 188, and Inconel 625 superalloy metals in an evaluation of a standard test method for determining total hemispherical emittances of surfaces from 293 K to 1673 K. The intent of this evaluation was to address any problems encountered, check repeatability of measured emittances, and gain experience in use of the test procedure. Five test specimens were fabricated to prescribe test dimensions and surfaces cleaned of oil and residue. Three of these specimens were without oxidized surfaces and two with oxidized surfaces. The oxidized specimens were Rene' 41 and Haynes 188. The tests were conducted in a vacuum where the samples were resistance-heated to various temperature levels ranging from 503 K to 1293 K. The calculated results for emittance, in the worst case, were repeatable to a maximum spread to + or - 4% from the mean of five sets of plotted data for each specimen.

Compton, E. C.↗