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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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At least 1,513 records · Page 84
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Mechanical Behavior of Advanced Materials for Aerospace Applications

The purpose of this study was to determine whether High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) loading has any deleterious synergistic effect on life when combined with the typical Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) loading present in engine disks. This interaction is particularly important in the rim region of blisk applications, where fatigue initiations from vibratory stresses (HCF) may be propagated to the disk by LCF. The primary effort in this study was focused on determining and documenting initiation sites and damage mechanisms. Under LCF loading conditions the failures were predominantly surface initiated, while HCF loading favored internal initiations. Deleterious HCF/LCF interactions would always result in a transition from internal to surface initiations. The results indicated that under the relative stress conditions evaluated there was no interaction between HCF and LCF. In FY99 this effort was extended to investigate several other loading conditions (R-ratio effects) as well as interactions between LCF and two-hour tensile dwells. The results will be published as a NASA Technical Memorandum.

Telesman, Ignancy↗
NASA NTRS1979

Failure of underground concrete structures subjected to blast loadings

The response and failure of two edges of free reinforced concrete slabs subjected to intermediate blast loadings are examined. The failure of the reinforced concrete structures is defined as a condition where actual separation or fracture of the reinforcing elements has occurred. Approximate theoretical methods using stationary and moving plastic hinge mechanisms with linearly varying and time dependent loadings are developed. Equations developed to predict deflection and failure of reinforced concrete beams are presented and compared with the experimental results.

Ross, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Seasonal Water Transport in the Atmosphere of Mars: Applications of a Mars General Circulation Model Using Mars Global Surveyor Data

This is a Final Report for a Joint Research Interchange (JRI) between NASA Ames Research Center and San Jose State University, Department of Meteorology. We present below a summary of progress made during the duration of this JRI. The focus of this JRI has been to investigate seasonal water vapor transport in the atmosphere of Mars and its effects on the planet's present climate. To this end, the primary task has been to adapt a new dynamical processor for the adiabatic tendencies of the atmospheric circulation into the NASA Ames Mars general circulation model (MGCM). Using identical boundary and initial conditions, several comparative tests between the new and old MGCMs have been performed and the nature of the simulated circulations have been diagnosed. With confidence that the updated version of the Ames MGCM produces quite similar mean and eddy circulation statistics, the new climate model is well poised as a tool to pursue fundamental questions related to the spatial and seasonal variations of atmospheric water vapor on Mars, and to explore exchanges of water with non-atmospheric reservoirs and transport within its atmosphere. In particular, the role of surface sources and sinks can be explored, the range of water-vapor saturation altitudes can be investigated, and plausible precipitation mechanisms can be studied, for a range of atmospheric dust loadings, such future investigations can contribute to a comprehensive study of surface inventories, exchange mechanisms, and the relative importance of atmospheric transport Mars' water cycle. A listing of presentations made and manuscripts submitted during the course of this project is provided.

Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Seasonal Water Transport in the Atmosphere of Mars: Applications of a Mars General Circulation Model Using Mars Global Surveyor Data

This is a Final Report for a Joint Research Interchange (JRI) between NASA Ames Research Center and San Jose State University, Department of Meteorology. We present below a summary of progress made during the duration of this JRI. The focus of this JRI has been to investigate seasonal water vapor transport in the atmosphere of Mars and its effects on the planet's present climate. To this end, the primary task has been to adapt a new dynamical processor for the adiabatic tendencies of the atmospheric circulation into the NASA Ames Mars general circulation model (MGCM). Using identical boundary and initial conditions, several comparative tests between the new and old MGCMs have been performed and the nature of the simulated circulations have been diagnosed. With confidence that the updated version of the Ames MGCM produces quite similar mean and eddy circulation statistics, the new climate model is well poised as a tool to pursue fundamental questions related to the spatial and seasonal variations of atmospheric water vapor on Mars, and to explore exchanges of water with non-atmospheric reservoirs and transport within its atmosphere. In particular, the role of surface sources and sinks can be explored, the range of water-vapor saturation altitudes can be investigated, and plausible precipitation mechanisms can be studied, for a range of atmospheric dust loadings. Such future investigations can contribute to a comprehensive study of surface inventories, exchange mechanisms, and the relative importance of atmospheric transport Mars' water cycle. A listing of presentations made and manuscripts submitted during the course of this project is provided.

Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Magnetomechanical damping in cryogenic TbDy

Vibration damping in polycrystalline TbDy alloys was studied at cryogenic temperatures. The material was prepared by cold-rolling to induce crystallographic texture, and was then heat-treated to relieve internal stress. Mechanical hysteretic losses were measured at various strains, frequencies, and loading configurations at 77 K. Some textured TbDy materials demonstrated 22.6% energy dissipation in mechanical measurements at low frequency (0.01 Hz) and a mean logarithmic decrement of 0.23 at a higher frequency (25 kHz). Ultrasonic velocities of longitudinal and shear elastic waves were measured on single and polycrystalline TbDy; little variation in ultrasonic velocities was found evenfor samples with large variation in crystallographic texture and magnetomechanical properties.

magnetomechanical TbDy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Air compressor load forecasting using artificial neural network

Air compressor systems are responsible for approximately 10% of the electricity consumed in United States and European Union industry. As many researches have proven the effectiveness of using Artificial Neural Network inair compressor performance prediction, there is still a need to forecast the air compressor electrical load profile. The objective of this study is to predict compressed air systems’ electrical load profile, which is valuable to industry practitioners as well as software providers in developing better practice and tools for load managementand look-ahead scheduling programs. Two artificial neural networks, Two-Layer Feed-Forward Neural Networkand Long Short-Term Memory were used to predict an air compressors electrical load. Compressors with three different control mechanisms are evaluated with a total number of 11,874 observations. Here, the forecasts were validated using out-of-sample datasets with 5-fold cross-validation. Models produced average coefficient ofdetermination values from 0.24 to 0.94, average root-mean-square errors from 0.05 kW - 5.83 kW, and meanabsolute scaled errors from 0.20 to 1.33. The results indicate that both artificial neural networks yield goodresults for compressors using variable speed drive (average R 2 = 0.8 and no naïve forecasting), only the longshort-term memory model gives acceptable results for compressors using on/off control (average R 2 = 0.82 and no naïve forecasting), and no satisfactory results are obtained for load/unload type air compressors (models constituting active forecasting).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Revealing the unusual rate-dependent mechanical behaviors of nematic liquid crystal elastomers

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) exhibit unique mechanical properties of soft elasticity and enhanced energy dissipation with rate dependency. They are potentially transformative materials for applications in mechanical impact mitigation and vibration isolation. However, previous studies have primarily focused on the mechanics of LCEs under equilibrium and quasistatic loading conditions. Critical knowledge gaps exist in understanding their rate-dependent behaviors, which are a complex mixture of traditional network viscoelasticity and the soft elastic behaviors with changes in the mesogen orientation and order parameter. Together, these inelastic mechanisms lead to unusual rate-dependent energy absorption responses of LCEs. In this work, we developed a viscoelastic constitutive theory for monodomain nematic LCEs to investigate how multiple underlying sources of inelasticity manifest in the rate-dependent and dissipative behaviors of monodomain LCEs. Here, the theoretical modeling framework combines the neo-classical network theory with evolution rules for the mesogen orientation and order parameter with conventional viscoelasticity. The model is calibrated with uniaxial tension and compression data spanning six decades of strain rates. The established 3D constitutive model enables general loading predictions taking the initial mesogen orientation and order parameter as inputs. Additionally, parametric studies were performed to further understand the rate dependence of monodomain LCEs in relation to their energy absorption characteristics. Based on the parametric studies, particularly loading scenarios are identified as conditions where LCEs outperform conventional elastomers regarding energy absorption.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of Photovoltaic Module Materials and Design on Module Deformation Under Load

Quasi-static structural finite-element models of an aluminum-framed crystalline silicon photovoltaic module and a glass-glass thin-film module were constructed and validated against experimental measurements of deflection under uniform pressure loading. Specific practices in the computational representation of module assembly were identified as influential to matching experimental deflection observations. Additionally, parametric analyses using Latin hypercube sampling were performed to propagate input uncertainties related to module materials, dimensions, and tolerances into uncertainties in simulated deflection. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the uncertainty quantification datasets using linear correlation coefficients and variance-based sensitivity indices to elucidate key parameters influencing module deformation. Results identified edge tape and adhesive material properties as being strongly correlated to module deflection, suggesting that optimization of these materials could yield module stiffness gains at par with the conventionally structural parameters, such as glass thickness. This exercise verifies the applicability of finite-element models for accurately predicting mechanical behavior of solar modules and demonstrates a workflow for model-based parametric uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis. Finally, applications of this capability include the assessment of field environment loads, derivation of representative loading conditions for reduced-scale testing, and module design optimization, among others.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A real-time distributed solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) model for cyber-physical simulation

System integration and dynamic operability between SOEC and balance-of-plant (BoP) components are major technical challenges before realizing rapid load following of SOEC systems. Cyber-physical simulation (CPS) is a leading-edge digital engineering approach and is regarded as the next step beyond Digital Twins. CPS approach can be used to research SOEC system integration and develop dynamic controls prior to actual pilot testing without using a real SOEC. To seamlessly couple with BoP hardware and access non-observable operational parameters (e.g., local temperature gradient) during transients, a distributed one-dimensional (1D) real-time SOEC model was developed. Its real-time execution was demonstrated for 20 to 640 nodes at the fixed time step of 5 ms. A higher excess air ratio enabled smaller local temperature gradients on SOEC solid materials and faster transients upon current density step change from 0.15 to 0.55 A cm -2 . During the transients, the magnitude of the peak temperature gradient nearly doubled in 10 s from -3.5 to -5.9 °C cm -1 . This represents a significant operating risk that can impact the dynamic operability of SOEC systems. In addition, the local temperature gradient was found to change directions on all nodes in SOEC solid materials, with the greatest impact on the upstream nodes. The SOEC model was also tested at the thermal neutral voltage using actual process air flow parameters as variable model inputs. Variable process air temperatures were found to induce alternating local temperature gradients on SOEC solid materials. These are new operational mechanisms for SOEC degradation relevant for load following operational modes yet distinct from previous reports. To mitigate these unfavorable features, the SOEC can be operated at voltages that are slightly (±20 mV) deviated from the thermal neutral voltage. Here, the corresponding net thermal energy change was less than 1.6% of the electric power consumption. This 1D real-time SOEC model established the basis of cyber-physical simulation of SOEC hybrid systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2018

Spacecraft Common Deployable Boom Hinge Deploy and Latching Mechanisms

JPL is developing deployable radio frequency (RF) reflector booms for spaceflight usage on two different earth orbiter projects scheduled to launch in the early 2020’s. The static alignment and thermal stability requirements for these RF reflector booms are challenging. A common mechanism design has been developed for the deployment and latching of boom hinges which avoids significant parasitic loads on the alignment critical structures after completion of mechanism function. The mechanism design includes a high-aspect ratio torsion spring with viscous damper for hinge closure as well as an actuator-driven flexured hook and roller latch for joint preloading. This paper describes noteworthy mechanism design details, test results, challenges, and lessons learned during the development effort.

Renson, Marcel↗
DOE OSTI2020

Bicontinuous nanoporous design induced homogenization of strain localization in metallic glasses

Bicontinuous nanoporous metallic glasses (MG) synergize the outstanding properties of MGs and open-cell nanoporous materials. The low-density and high-specific-surface-area of bicontinuous nanoporous structures have the potential to enhance the applicability of MGs in catalysis, sensors, and lightweight structural designs. In this work, we report molecular dynamics simulations of tensile loading deformation and failure of bicontinuous nanoporous Cu 64 Zr 36 MG with 55% porosity and 4.4 nm ligament size. Results indicate an anomalous mechanical behavior featuring delocalized plastic deformation preceding ductile failure. The deformation follows two mechanisms: i) Necking of ligaments aligned with the loading direction and ii) progressive alignment of randomly oriented ligaments. Failure occurs at 0.16 strain, following massive rupture of ligaments. This work indicates that a bicontinuous nanoporous design is able to effectively delocalize strain localization in a MG due to a combination of size effect on the ductility of MGs resulting in nano ligaments necking and progressive asynchronous alignment of ligaments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2012

Finite Element Modeling of Thermal Cycling Induced Microcracking in Carbon/Epoxy Triaxial Braided Composites

The microcrack distribution and mass change in PR520/T700s and 3502/T700s carbon/epoxy braided composites exposed to thermal cycling was evaluated experimentally. Acoustic emission was utilized to record the crack initiation and propagation under cyclic thermal loading between -55 C and 120 C. Transverse microcrack morphology was investigated using X-ray Computed Tomography. Different performance of two kinds of composites was discovered and analyzed. Based on the observations of microcrack formation, a meso-mechanical finite element model was developed to obtain the resultant mechanical properties. The simulation results exhibited a decrease in strength and stiffness with increasing crack density. Strength and stiffness reduction versus crack densities in different orientations were compared. The changes of global mechanical behavior in both axial and transverse loading conditions were studied. Keywords: Thermal cycles; Microcrack; Finite Element Model; Braided Composite

Zhang, Chao↗
NASA NTRS1983

Investigation of the Effect of Blade Sweep on Rotor Vibratory Loads

The effect of helicopter rotor blade planform sweep on rotor vibratory hub, blade, and control system loads has been analytically investigated. The importance of sweep angle, sweep initiation radius, flap bending stiffness and torsion bending stiffness is discussed. The mechanism by which sweep influences the vibratory hub loads is investigated.

Tarzanin, F. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A study of spectrum fatigue crack propagation in two aluminum alloys. 1: Spectrum simplification

The fatigue crack propagation behavior of two commercial Al alloys was studied using spectrum loading conditions characteristics of those encountered at critical locations in high performance fighter aircraft. A tension dominated (TD) and tension compression (TC) spectrum were employed for each alloy. Using a mechanics-based analysis, it was suggested that negative loads could be eliminated for the TC spectrum for low to intermediate maximum stress intensities. The suggestion was verified by subsequent testing. Using fractographic evidence, it was suggested that a further similification in the spectra could be accomplished by eliminating low and intermediate peak load points resulting in near or below threshold maximum peak stress intensity values. It is concluded that load interactions become more important at higher stress intensities and more plasticity at the crack tip. These results suggest that a combined mechanics/fractographic mechanisms approach can be used to simplify other complex spectra.

Telesman, J.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Analysis of an Aircraft Honeycomb Sandwich Panel with Circular Face Sheet/Core Disbond Subjected to Ground-Air Pressurization

The ground-air pressurization of lightweight honeycomb sandwich structures caused by alternating pressure differences between the enclosed air within the honeycomb core and the ambient environment is a well-known and controllable loading condition of aerospace structures. However, initial face sheet/core disbonds intensify the face sheet peeling effect of the internal pressure load significantly and can decrease the reliability of the sandwich structure drastically. Within this paper, a numerical parameter study was carried out to investigate the criticality of initial disbonds in honeycomb sandwich structures under ground-air pressurization. A fracture mechanics approach was used to evaluate the loading at the disbond front. In this case, the strain energy release rate was computed via the Virtual Crack Closure Technique. Special attention was paid to the pressure-deformation coupling which can decrease the pressure load within the disbonded sandwich section significantly when the structure is highly deformed.

Rinker, Martin↗
NASA NTRS1979

Tests of a protective shell passive release mechanism for hypersonic wind-tunnel models

A protective shell mechanism for wind tunnel models was developed and tested. The mechanism is passive in operation, reliable, and imposes no new structural design changes for wind tunnel models. Methods of predicting the release time and the measured loads associated with the release of the shell are given. The mechanism was tested in a series of wind tunnel tests to validate the removal process and measure the pressure loads on the model. The protective shell can be used for wind tunnel models that require a step input of heating and loading such as a thin skin heat transfer model. The mechanism may have other potential applications.

Puster, R. L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Polyethylene Furanoate ( PEF ) Production Using Nanowire Based Super Acid Catalysts

ABSTRACT In this article, bioplastic polyethylene furanoate (PEF) is synthesized using polycondensation of 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol at a temperature of 220°C using a solid nanowire based super‐acid catalyst. The super acid catalyst is made by phosphating titania nanowires. Specifically, the reactions resulted in over 90% FDCA conversion and 85% PEF yield in a short period of 3 h using superacid catalysts at a loading of < 1% by wt. The mechanical properties of PEF, including glass transition temperature (84°C), melting point (210°C), and crystallinity (1.48 g/cm 3 ), demonstrate the high quality of the PEF produced. Barocaloric properties of resulting PEF polymers are also studied which show promise.

Kannapu, Hari Prasad Reddy [Advanced Energy Materi↗
DOE OSTI2020

HOSS: an implementation of the combined finite-discrete element method

Nearly thirty years since its inception, the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) has made remarkable strides in becoming a mainstream analysis tool within the field of Computational Mechanics. FDEM was developed to effectively “bridge the gap” between two disparate Computational Mechanics approaches known as the finite and discrete element meth-ods. At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers developed the Hybrid Optimization Software Suite (HOSS) as a hybrid multi-physics platform, based on FDEM, for the simulation of solid material behavior complemented with the latest technological enhancements for full fluid–solid interaction. Furthermore, in HOSS, several newly developed FDEM algorithms have been implemented that yield more accurate material deformation formulations, inter-particle interaction solvers, and fracture and fragmentation solutions. Additionally, an explicit computational fluid dynamics solver and a novel fluid–solid interaction algorithms have been fully integrated (as opposed to coupled) into the HOSS’ solid mechanical solver, allowing for the study of an even wider range of problems. Advancements such as this are leading HOSS to become a tool of choice for multi-physics problems. Finally, HOSS has been successfully applied by a myriad of researchers for analysis in rock mechanics, oil and gas industries, engineering application (structural, mechanical and biomedical engineering), mining, blast loading, high velocity impact, as well as seismic and acoustic analysis. This paper intends to summarize the latest development and application efforts for HOSS.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗