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At least 1,279 records · Page 71

Observation of damage growth in compressively loaded laminates

Graphite/epoxy laminates have a definite advantage with respect to the strength-to-weight relation over many standard engineering materials used in aerospace applications. However, this advantage is somewhat reduced by the sensitivity of these laminates to operational hazards, which include a low-velocity impact by foreign objects. Investigations conducted by Chai (1982) and Knauss et al. (1980) have been concerned with the growth of impact damage in compressively loaded laminates, and the visualization of such an impact damage. The present study represents a condensation of parts of these investigations, taking into account a determination of the damage-growth mechanism via real-time recording of the impact event. The material considered, a T300/5208 graphite/epoxy laminate, is typical of the configuration proposed for future heavily loaded primary structures. It has stiffness properties similar to those of the wing skins in existing transport aircraft.

Knauss, W. G.↗

A study of pump cavitation damage

The cavitation assessment for the space shuttle main engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump is documented. A model of the flow through the pump was developed. Initially, a computational procedure was used to analyze the flow through the inlet casing including the prediction of wakes downstream of the casing vanes. From these flow calculations, cavitation patterns on the inducer blades were approximated and the damage rate estimated. The model correlates the heavy damage on the housing and over the inducer with unsteady blade surface cavitation. The unsteady blade surface cavitation is due to the large incidence changes caused by the wakes of the upstream vanes. Very high cavitation damage rates are associated with this type of cavitation. Design recommendations for reducing the unsteady cavitation include removing the set of vanes closest to the inducer and modifying the remaining vanes.

Brophy, M. C.↗

Impact damage resistance of flat glass/cellular glass solar mirror experimental panels

An attempt is made to characterize the hail-impact behavior of a solar concentrator structural material which consists of thin, second-surface silvered glass sheets bonded to structural support panels of cellular glass. The resulting glass/cellular glass panel can be described as a thin, brittle plate supported by an elastic foundation, with the adhesive bonding the two as a third component. The plate will bend during impact. Attention is experimentally given to how variations in the characteristics or geometry of the flat glass, adhesive and cellular glass affect hail-impact damage resistance. The critical energy needed to cause impact damage is calculated from the critical velocity of the iceball by means of the kinetic energy formula. The complexity of this structural system and the variability of the specimens render it impossible to completely develop an analytical treatment for the prediction of impact damage resistance.

Varner, J. R.↗

Equivalent damage: A critical assessment

The overall goal of achieving improved life cycle management of aircraft engine, gas turbine components is a major industry thrust. Low cycle fatigue (LCF) crack initiation prediction, an important element of life cycle management as traditionally applied, may be overly conservative in estimating total cyclic life capability. Consequently, there is increasing pressure to improve predictive methods both for crack initiation and for subsequent crack propagation. The utility of equivalent damage concepts for application to hot section components of aircraft engines was studied. Specifically, the topics examined were mean stress, cumulative damage, and multiaxiality. Other factors inherently linked to this study were the basic formulation of damage parameters at elevated temperatures and the fact that hot section components experience severe temperature fluctuations throughout their service lifetime.

Laflen, J. H.↗

Creep crack growth predictions in INCO 718 using a continuum damage model

Creep crack growth tests have been carried out in compact type specimens of INCO 718 at 1200 F (649 C). Theoretical creep crack growth predictions have been carried out by incorporating a unified viscoplastic constitutive model and a continuum damage model into the ARAQUS nonlinear finite element program. Material constants for both the viscoplastic model and the creep continuum damage model were determined from tests carried out on uniaxial bar specimens of INCO 718 at 1200 F (649 C). A comparison of the theoretical creep crack growth rates obtained from the finite element predictions with the experimentally observed creep crack growth rates indicates that the viscoplastic/continuum damage model can be used to successfully predict creep crack growth in compact type specimens using material constants obtained from uniaxial bar specimens of INCO 718 at 1200 F (649 C).

Walker, K. P.↗

A continuous damage model based on stepwise-stress creep rupture tests

A creep damage accumulation model is presented that makes use of the Kachanov damage rate concept with a provision accounting for damage that results from a variable stress history. This is accomplished through the introduction of an additional term in the Kachanov rate equation that is linear in the stress rate. Specification of the material functions and parameters in the model requires two types of constituting a data base: (1) standard constant-stress creep rupture tests, and (2) a sequence of two-step creep rupture tests.

Robinson, D. N.↗

Fuel containment and damage tolerance for large composite primary aircraft structures. Phase 1: Testing

Technical problems associated with fuel containment and damage tolerance of composite material wings for transport aircraft were identified. The major tasks are the following: (1) the preliminary design of damage tolerant wing surface using composite materials; (2) the evaluation of fuel sealing and lightning protection methods for a composite material wing; and (3) an experimental investigation of the damage tolerant characteristics of toughened resin graphite/epoxy materials. The test results, the test techniques, and the test data are presented.

Sandifer, J. P.↗

Fatigue damage analysis under variable amplitude cycling

This paper explores the suitability of a recently proposed mean stress parameter and introduces a nonlinear damage accumulation procedure. Data covering a range of positive and negative stress ratios from +0.6 to -2.66, for several aluminum alloys and steels, are assembled and shown to be well correlated by a simple damage parameter. A nonlinear damage accumulation postulate is advanced to replace the usual linear procedure. Results of critical experiments performed to assess the suitability of the postulate are introduced and shown to support a non-linear criterion. The implications of this work related to variable amplitude life prediction are discussed.

Leis, B. N.↗

Considerations for damage analysis of gas turbine hot section components

The hot flowpath of a gas turbine engine contains static and rotating components operating in a very hostile environment. Since the reliable operation of these components is critical to the safe and efficient performance of the engine, structural life analysis of these members is carried out with great care. However, the complex nature of the strain-temperature-time cycle affecting the engine makes a general analysis procedure difficult and usually leads to separating the damage into regimes where one damage mode dominates. In particular, cycle dependent, time dependent, and thermomechanical fatigue regimes have been identified and some general considerations of each region are discussed. This discussion includes both the damage models themselves and the application of the models. Specific examples of several models are given and important factors affecting each are presented.

Cook, T. S.↗

Profiles of fatigue damage in graphite/epoxy composites from ultrasonic transmission power spectra

Early fatigue damage in non-unidirectional multi-ply graphite/epoxy composites is manifested by a distribution of cracks and disbonds through the bulk of the material. Such damage is subtle and is difficult to detect with conventional ultrasonic technology. Consequently, a new ultrasonic measurement technique called phase-insensitive tone-burst spectroscopy has been developed. The new technique eliminates problems associated with phase cancellation and pulse shape artifacts inherent to conventional broadband ultrasonic spectral measurement systems and produces clean spectral information irrespective of specimen inhomogeneity or irregularities in surface geometry. Application of the new technique to measurements of graphite/epoxy composites has yielded frequency-domain profiles that show distinct differences in ultrasonic attenuation, attenuation slope, and velocity for each specimen experiencing a different level of fatigue damage.

Cantrell, J. H., Jr.↗

Analysis of cavitation damage on the Space Shuttle main engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump

The performance of the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) has met or exceeded specifications. However, the durability for selected components has not met the desired lifetime criteria. Thus, the High-Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOTP) has experienced cavitation erosion problems in a number of locations in the pump. An investigation was conducted, taking into account an analysis of the cavitation damage, the development of a flow model for the pump, and the recommendation of design changes which would increase the life expectancy of the unit. The present paper is concerned with the cavitation damage analysis. A model is presented which relates the heavy damage on the housing and over the inducer blades to unsteady blade surface cavitation. This cavitation occurs on the inducer blades in the wakes downstream of the pump inlet housing vanes.

Stinebring, D. R.↗

Cumulative creep damage for polycarbonate and polysulfone

The literature for creep to failure cumulative damage laws are reviewed. Creep to failure tests performed on polycarbonate and polysulfone under single and two step loadings are discussed. A cumulative damage law or modified time fraction rule is developed using a power law for transient creep response as the starting point. Experimental results are approximated well by the new rule. Damage and failure mechanisms associated with the two materials are suggested.

Zhang, M.↗

Radiation damage in high-resistivity silicon solar cells

High-resistivity silicon solar cells exhibit reduced radiation damage when light is incident on the gridded back surface. Under back illumination, radiation damage decreases as cell resistivity increases; under front illumination, radiation damage increases as cell resistivity increases. Thin back-illuminated cells outperform conventional 10 omega cm 50 and 200 micron cells at low 1-MeV electron fluences. However, at higher fluences, the conventional cells exhibit superior radiation resistance. This is attributed to the low BOL diffusion lengths observed in the thin, sack-illuminated cell. These results are discussed in terms of injected charge distributions, electric fields in the cell base, and the effects of a dominant boron-oxygen defect.

Weinberg, I.↗

Re-examination of cumulative fatigue damage analysis: An engineering perspective

A method which has evolved in our laboratories for the past 20 yr is re-examined with the intent of improving its accuracy and simplicity of application to engineering problems. Several modifications are introduced both to the analytical formulation of the Damage Curve Approach, and to the procedure for modifying this approach to achieve a Double Linear Damage Rule formulation which immensely simplifies the calculation. Improvements are also introduced in the treatment of mean stress for determining fatigue life of the individual events that enter into a complex loading history. While the procedure is completely consistent with the results of numerous two level tests that have been conducted on many materials, it is still necessary to verify applicability to complex loading histories. Caution is expressed that certain phenomena can also influence the applicability - for example, unusual deformation and fracture modes inherent in complex loading - especially if stresses are multiaxial. Residual stresses at crack tips, and metallurgical factors are also important in creating departures from the cumulative damage theories; examples of departures are provided.

Manson, S. S.↗

Acousto-ultrasonic measurements to monitor damage during fatigue of composites

An acousto-ultrasonic nondestructive testing method used to monitor damage during static and fatigue loading of thin graphite epoxy laminates is described. The experimental procedure, the signal analysis by the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, and the results of this analysis are discussed. Quasi-static tension tests showed a sharp decrease in the quantitative parameters when transverse cracks developed in the 90 degrees plies of a (0, 90/2/)s laminate. When internal micro-delaminations unite to form macro-delaminations, a sharp decrease in the parameters is also observed. The parameters are found to correlate well with other indications of damage development such as stiffness and degradation. The root mean square value of the moment is found to be more sensitive to damage than stiffness. Various signals and spectrums of graphite epoxy systems are presented.

Govada, A.↗

An analysis of pump cavitation damage

The cavitation assessment for the space shuttle main engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump is documented. A model of the flow through the pump was developed. Initially, a computational procedure was used to analyze the flow through the inlet casing including the prediction of wakes downstream of the casing vanes. From these flow calculations, cavitation patterns on the inducer blades were approximated and the damage rate estimated. The model correlates the heavy damage on the housing and over the inducer with unsteady blade surface cavitation. The unsteady blade surface cavitation is due to the large incidence changes caused by the wakes of the upstream vanes. Very high cavitation damage rates are associated with this type of cavitation. Design recommendations for reducing the unsteady cavitation include removing the set of vanes closest to the inducer and modifying the remaining vanes.

Brophy, M. C.↗

Role of delamination and damage development on the strength of thick notched laminates

A large, comprehensive program is being conducted at Virginia Tech to study the effect of laminate thickness on the fracture strength of notched laminated composites. Part of this program has been the study of the chracteristics and development of subcritical crack-tip damage prior to failure. The study has concentrated on the center-cracked tension specimen geometry. Subcritical crack-tip damage has been studied using enhanced X-ray radiography and the laminate deply technique. This paper examines he role that delamination plays in affecting the fracture of (0/+ or - 45/90)ns and (0/+ or - 45)ns laminates at various values of n. The study has found that delaminations do occur in thin laminates (n = 1) and affect the strength of the laminate. However, in thick laminates such as (0/+ or 45)90ns, and (0/+ or - 45)20s, there is sufficient constraint to prevent delaminations from occurring in the interior region of he specimen. The final fracture surface is uniform in the interior and self-similar (collinear with the original starter notch), with 'shear-lip' type damage in the form of delaminations and matrix cracking in the first several plies at the surface. These differences in the type of fracture of the thin and thick laminates greatly affect the fracture strength.

Harris, C. E.↗

A study of cumulative fatigue damage in titanium 6Al-4V alloy

Experimental data were obtained using titanium 6Al-4V alloy under stress ratios of -1, 0, and negative infinity. A study of cumulative fatigue damage using Miner's (1945) and Kramer's (1974) equations for stress ratios of -1 and 0 for low-high, low-high mixed, high-low, and high-low mixed stress sequences has revealed close agreement between the theoretical and experimental values of fatigue damage and fatigue life. Kramer's equation predicts less conservative and more realistic cumulative fatigue damage than does the popularly used Miner's rule.

Jeelani, S.↗