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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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Ultrasonic abrasive process removes layer of recast material generated during electrical-discharge machining (EDM) of damper pocket on turbine blade. Form-fitted tool vibrated ultrasonically in damper pocket from which material removed. Vibrations activate abrasive in pocket. Amount of material removed controlled precisely.
A method of segmenting piezoelectric sensors and actuators is proposed which can preclude the currently experienced cancelation of sensor signals, or the reduction of actuator effectiveness, due to the integration of the property undergoing measurement or control. The segmentation method is demonstrated by a model developed for beam structures, to which multiple layers of piezoelectric materials are attached. A numerical study is undertaken of increasing active and passive damping of a beam using the segmented sensors and actuators over unsegmented sensors and actuators.
The scattering of a plane, linearly polarized electromagnetic wave by a sphere on whose surface an impedance boundary condition holds, and that is covered with a concentric layer of chiral material, is considered. Exact, explicit expressions are derived for the scattered field coefficients. The co-polarized and cross-polarized components of the far backscattered field are determined and discussed. The value of this canonical problem as a benchmark for computer codes is pointed out.
Flat triangular element developed for use in finite-element analyses of stress and strain in laminated plates made of such materials as plywood or advanced fiber/epoxy composite materials. Has multiple layers, each of which can have different isotropic or orthotropic elastic properties. Many such elements used in finite-element mesh to calculate stiffness of plate. Formulation of element straight-forward, and calculation of its stiffness matrix simple and fast.
Dust elevated in local or global dust storms on the Martian surface could settle on photovoltaic (PV) surfaces and seriously hamper their performance. Using a recently developed technique to apply a uniform dust layer, PV surface materials were subjected to simulated Martian winds in an attempt to determine whether natural aeolian processes on Mars would sweep off the settled dust. Three different types of dust were used. The effects of wind velocity, angle of attack, height above the Martian surface, and surface coating material were investigated. It was found that arrays mounted on an angle of attack approaching 45 deg show the most efficient clearing. Although the angular dependence is not sharp, horizontally mounted arrays required much higher wind velocities to clear off the dust. From this test it appears that the arrays may be erected quite near the ground, but previous studies have suggested that saltation effects can be expected to cause such arrays to be covered by soil if they are set up less than about a meter from the ground. Particle size effect appear to dominate over surface chemistry in these experiments, but additional tests are required to confirm this.
A diaphragm suitable for extreme temperature usage, such as encountered in critical aerospace applications, is fabricated by a unique method, and of a unique combination of materials. The materials include multilayered lay-ups of diaphragm materials sandwiched between layers of bleeder fabrics. After being formed in the desired shape on a mold, they are vacuum sealed and then cured under pressure, in a heated autoclave. A bond capable of withstanding extreme temperatures are produced.
The discovery of the cosmogenic radionuclide Be-7 on the front surface of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) has opened new opportunities to study several unexplored regions of space science. The experiments have shown that the Be-7 found was concentrated in a thin surface layer of spacecraft material. The only reasonable source of the isotope is the atmosphere through which the spacecraft passed. It is expected that the uptake of Be in such circumstances will depend on the chemical form of the Be and the chemical nature of the substrate. It was found that the observed concentration of Be-7 does differ between metal surfaces and organic surfaces such as PTFE (Teflon). It is noted however, that (1) organic surfaces are etched by the atomic oxygen found under these orbital conditions, and (2) the relative velocity of the species is 8 km/s relative to the surface and the interaction chemistry and physics may differ from the norm. Be-7 is formed by disintegration of O and N nuclei under cosmic ray proton bombardment. Many other isotopes are produced by cosmic ray reactions, and some of these are suited to measurement by the extremely sensitive methods of accelerator mass spectrometry.
A computational simulation procedure is described for the coupled response of multi-layered multi-material composite engine structural components which are subjected to simultaneous multi-disciplinary thermal, structural, vibration, and acoustic loadings including the effect of hostile environments. The simulation is based on a three dimensional finite element analysis technique in conjunction with structural mechanics codes and with acoustic analysis methods. The composite material behavior is assessed at the various composite scales, i.e., the laminate/ply/constituents (fiber/matrix), via a nonlinear material characterization model. Sample cases exhibiting nonlinear geometrical, material, loading, and environmental behavior of aircraft engine fan blades, are presented. Results for deformed shape, vibration frequency, mode shapes, and acoustic noise emitted from the fan blade, are discussed for their coupled effect in hot and humid environments. Results such as acoustic noise for coupled composite-mechanics/heat transfer/structural/vibration/acoustic analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of coupled multi-disciplinary computational simulation and the various advantages of composite materials compared to metals.
This paper presents a theoretical study of the response of filament wound composite shells under internal pressure. Each layer of the material is generally cylindrically anisotropic. By using cylindrically anisotropic elasticity field equations and Lekhnitskii's stress functions, a system of sixth-order ordinary differential equations is obtained. The general expressions for the stresses and displacements in the laminated composite shells under internal pressure are discussed. Two composite systems, graphite/epoxy and glass/epoxy, are selected to demonstrate the influence of degree of material anisotropy and fiber orientations on the axial and induced twisting deformation. Stress distributions of (45/-45)s symmetric angle-ply fiber-reinforced laminated shells are shown to illustrate the effect of radius-to-thickness ratio.
Directed beams of single oxygen atoms having kinetic energies between 1 and 5 eV used in anisotropic etching of oxygen-labile photoresist patterns on silicon wafers. Key step in manufacturing integrated circuits on semiconductor wafers. Damage to semiconductor material under photoresist layer reduced or eliminated. Method incorporated into lithographic processes for fabrication of integrated circuits.
A computational simulation procedure is described for multidisciplinary analysis and tailoring of layered multi-material hot composite engine structural components subjected to simultaneous multiple discipline-specific thermal, structural, vibration, and acoustic loads. The effect of aggressive environments is also simulated. The simulation is based on a three-dimensional finite element analysis technique in conjunction with structural mechanics codes, thermal/acoustic analysis methods, and tailoring procedures. The integrated multidisciplinary simulation procedure is general-purpose including the coupled effects of nonlinearities in structure geometry, material, loading, and environmental complexities. The composite material behavior is assessed at all composite scales, i.e., laminate/ply/constituents (fiber/matrix), via a nonlinear material characterization hygro-thermo-mechanical model. Sample tailoring cases exhibiting nonlinear material/loading/environmental behavior of aircraft engine fan blades, are presented. The various multidisciplinary loads lead to different tailored designs, even those competing with each other, as in the case of minimum material cost versus minimum structure weight and in the case of minimum vibration frequency versus minimum acoustic noise.
An excimer laser is used to activate previously implanted dopants on the backside of a backside-illuminated CCD. The controlled ion implantation of the backside and subsequent thin layer heating and recrystallization by the short wavelength pulsed excimer laser simultaneously activates the dopant and anneals out implant damage. This improves the dark current response, repairs defective pixels and improves spectral response. This process heats a very thin layer of the material to high temperatures on a nanosecond time scale while the bulk of the delicate CCD substrate remains at low temperature. Excimer laser processing backside-illuminated CCD's enables salvage and utilization of otherwise nonfunctional components by bringing their dark current response to within an acceptable range. This process is particularly useful for solid state imaging detectors used in commercial, scientific and government applications requiring a wide spectral response and low light level detection.
The capabilities of the computer code CSTEM (Coupled Structural/Thermal/Electro-Magnetic Analysis) are discussed and demonstrated. CSTEM computationally simulates the coupled response of layered multi-material composite structures subjected to simultaneous thermal, structural, vibration, acoustic, and electromagnetic loads and includes the effect of aggressive environments. The composite material behavior and structural response is determined at its various inherent scales: constituents (fiber/matrix), ply, laminate, and structural component. The thermal and mechanical properties of the constituents are considered to be nonlinearly dependent on various parameters such as temperature and moisture. The acoustic and electromagnetic properties also include dependence on vibration and electromagnetic wave frequencies, respectively. The simulation is based on a three dimensional finite element analysis in conjunction with composite mechanics and with structural tailoring codes, and with acoustic and electromagnetic analysis methods. An aircraft engine composite fan blade is selected as a typical structural component to demonstrate the CSTEM capabilities. Results of various coupled multi-disciplinary heat transfer, structural, vibration, acoustic, and electromagnetic analyses for temperature distribution, stress and displacement response, deformed shape, vibration frequencies, mode shapes, acoustic noise, and electromagnetic reflection from the fan blade are discussed for their coupled effects in hot and humid environments. Collectively, these results demonstrate the effectiveness of the CSTEM code in capturing the coupled effects on the various responses of composite structures subjected to simultaneous multiple real-life loads.
A computational simulation procedure is described for the coupled response of multi-layered multi-material composite engine structural components which are subjected to simultaneous multi-disciplinary thermal, structural, vibration, and acoustic loadings including the effect of hostile environments. The simulation is based on a three dimensional finite element analysis technique in conjunction with structural mechanics codes and with acoustic analysis methods. The composite material behavior is assessed at the various composite scales, i.e., the laminate/ply/constituents (fiber/matrix), via nonlinear material characterization model. Sample cases exhibiting nonlinear geometrical, material, loading, and environmental behavior of aircraft engine fan blades, are presented. Results for deformed shape, vibration frequency mode shapes, and acoustic noise emitted from the fan blade, are discussed for their coupled effect in hot and humid environments. Results such as acoustic noise for coupled composite-mechanics/heat transfer/structural/vibration/acoustic analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of coupled multi-disciplinary computational simulation the various advantages of composite materials compared to metals.
Most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit deficits of X-rays below approximately 200 keV. Here we consider a spectral model in which the burst source is shielded by an optically thick layer of circumburster material (CBM) rich in iron-group elements whose photoelectric absorption opacity exceeds the Thomson opacity below approximately 120 keV. For power-law distributions of absorption depths along the lines of sight the absorbed spectrum can indeed mimic the typial GRB spectrum. This model predicts that (a) the spectrum should evolve monotonically from hard to soft during each energy release, which is observed in most bursts, especially in fast rise exponential decay bursts; (b) Fe spectral features near 7 keV may be present in some bursts; and (c) the ratio of burst distances to the CBM and to Earth should be approximately 10(exp -11) if the spectral evolution is purely due to Fe stripping by the photons.
We present the first maps of the apparent thermal inertia and albedo of the south polar region of Mars. The observations used to create these maps were acquired by the infrared thermal mapper (IRTM) instruments on the two Viking Orbiters over a 30-day period in 1977 during the Martian late southern summer season. The maps cover the region from 60 deg S to the south pole at a spatial resolution of 1 deg of latitude, thus completing the initial thermal mapping of the entire planet. The analysis and interpretation of these maps is aided by the results of a one-dimensional radiative convective model, which is used to calculate diurnal variations in surface and atmospheric temperatures, and brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere for a range of assumptions concerning dust optical properties and dust optical depths. The maps show that apparent thermal inertias of bare ground regions decrease systematically from 60 deg S to the south pole. In unfrosted regions close to the south pole, apparent thermal inertias are among the lowest observed anywhere on the planet. On the south residual cap, apparent thermal inertias are very high due to the presence of CO2 frost. In most other regions of Mars, best fit apparent albedos based on thermal emission measurements are generally in good agreement with actual surface albedos based on broadband solar reflectance measurements. The one-dimensional atmospheric model calculations also predict anomalously cold brightness temperatures close to the pole during late summer, and after considering a number of alternatives, it is concluded that the net surface cooling due to atmospheric dust is the best explanation for this phenomenon. The region of lowest apparent thermal inertia close to the pole, which includes the south polar layered deposits, is interpreted to be mantled by a continuous layer of aeolian material that must be at least a few millimeters thick. The low thermal inertias mapped in the south polar region imply an absence of surface water ice deposits, which is consistent with Viking Mars atmospheric water detector (MAWD) measurements which show low atmospheric water vapor abundances throughout the summer season.
"Smart" structural components with sensors and/or actuators distributed throughout their volumes made of intraply hybrid composite materials, according to proposal. Strips of hybrid control material interspersed with strips of ordinary (passive) composite material in some layers, providing distributed control capability. For example, near and far edges of plate bent upward by commanding bottom control strips to expand and simultaneously commanding upper control strips to contract.
This document presents a finite element method for predicting print-thru or quilting for a lightweight mirror in a low temperature environment. The mirror is represented with quadrilateral and triangular plate finite elements. The SBMD (Sub-scale Beryllium Mirror Demonstrator) is circular with a diameter of 50 cm and one flat side. The mirror structure is a thin-wall triangular cell core with a single facesheet. There is a 4 mm radius fillet between the facesheet and cell walls. It is made entirely of Beryllium. It is assumed that polishing the mirror surface creates a thin surface layer with different material properties. Finite element results are compared with measured values at cryogenic temperatures.