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At least 1,639 records · Page 91

Finite Element Analysis of Adaptive-Stiffening and Shape-Control SMA Hybrid Composites

The usage of shape memory materials has extended rapidly to many fields, including medical devices, actuators, composites, structures and MEMS devices. For these various applications, shape memory alloys (SMAs) are available in various forms: bulk, wire, ribbon, thin film, and porous. In this work, the focus is on SMA hybrid composites with adaptive-stiffening or morphing functions. These composites are created by using SMA ribbons or wires embedded in a polymeric based composite panel/beam. Adaptive stiffening or morphing is activated via selective resistance heating or uniform thermal loads. To simulate the thermomechanical behavior of these composites, a SMA model was implemented using ABAQUS user element interface and finite element simulations of the systems were studied. Several examples are presented which show that the implemented model can be a very useful design and simulation tool for SMA hybrid composites.

Gao, Xiu-Jie↗

Monitoring a Complex Physical System using a Hybrid Dynamic Bayes Net

The Reverse Water Gas Shift system (RWGS) is a complex physical system designed to produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide atmosphere on Mars. If sent to Mars, it would operate without human supervision, thus requiring a reliable automated system for monitoring and control. The RWGS presents many challenges typical of real-world systems, including: noisy and biased sensors, nonlinear behavior, effects that are manifested over different time granularities, and unobservability of many important quantities. In this paper we model the RWGS using a hybrid (discrete/continuous) Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN), where the state at each time slice contains 33 discrete and 184 continuous variables. We show how the system state can be tracked using probabilistic inference over the model. We discuss how to deal with the various challenges presented by the RWGS, providing a suite of techniques that are likely to be useful in a wide range of applications. In particular, we describe a general framework for dealing with nonlinear behavior using numerical integration techniques, extending the successful Unscented Filter. We also show how to use a fixed-point computation to deal with effects that develop at different time scales, specifically rapid changes occuring during slowly changing processes. We test our model using real data collected from the RWGS, demonstrating the feasibility of hybrid DBNs for monitoring complex real-world physical systems.

Lerner, Uri↗

Hybrid Turbine Electric Vehicle

Hybrid electric power trains may revolutionize today's ground passenger vehicles by significantly improving fuel economy and decreasing emissions. The NASA Lewis Research Center is working with industry, universities, and Government to develop and demonstrate a hybrid electric vehicle. Our partners include Bowling Green State University, the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Lincoln Electric Motor Division, the State of Ohio's Department of Development, and Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. The vehicle will be a heavy class urban transit bus offering double the fuel economy of today's buses and emissions that are reduced to 1/10th of the Environmental Protection Agency's standards. At the heart of the vehicle's drive train is a natural-gas-fueled engine. Initially, a small automotive engine will be tested as a baseline. This will be followed by the introduction of an advanced gas turbine developed from an aircraft jet engine. The engine turns a high-speed generator, producing electricity. Power from both the generator and an onboard energy storage system is then provided to a variable-speed electric motor attached to the rear drive axle. An intelligent power-control system determines the most efficient operation of the engine and energy storage system.

Viterna, Larry A.↗

An evolving trio of hybrid stars: C111

Hybrid stars are a class of cool, luminous single stars originally identified based on the appearance of their ultraviolet IUE spectra. C IV emission is present (signifying temperatures of at least lo5 K), and asymmetric emission cores of Mg I1 are found, accompanied by absorption features at low and high velocities, indicating a massive stellar wind and circumstellar material. Many members of this class have been identified and X-rays have been detected from most hybrids. They represent the critical evolutionary state between coronal-like objects and the Alpha Ori-like objects and assume a pivotal role in the definition of coronal evolution, atmospheric heating processes, and mechanisms to drive winds of cool stars.

Sonneborn, George↗

Film Delivery Module For Fiber Placement Fabrication of Hybridized Composite Structures

A new fabrication technology has been developed at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center that will allow for the fabrication of hybridized composite structures using fiber placement processing. This technology was originally developed in response to a need to address the issue of hydrogen permeation and microcracking in cryogenic propellant tanks. Numerous thin polymeric and metallized films were investigated under low temperatures conditions for use as barrier films in a composite tank. Manufacturing studies conducted at that time did not address the processing issues related to fabrication of a hybridized tank wall. A film processing head was developed that will allow for the processing of thin polymeric and metallized films, metallic foils, and adhesives using fiber placement processing machinery. The film head is designed to enable the simultaneous processing of film materials and composite tape/tow during the composite part layup process and is also capable of processing the film during an independent operation. Several initial demonstrations were conducted to assess the performance of the film module device. Such assessments included film strip lay-up accuracy, capability to fabricate panels having internal film liners, and fabrication of laminates with embedded film layers.

Hulcher, Anthony Bruce↗

Hybrid Modeling Improves Health and Performance Monitoring

Scientific Monitoring Inc. was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to create a new, simplified health-monitoring approach for flight vehicles and flight equipment. The project developed a hybrid physical model concept that provided a structured approach to simplifying complex design models for use in health monitoring, allowing the output or performance of the equipment to be compared to what the design models predicted, so that deterioration or impending failure could be detected before there would be an impact on the equipment's operational capability. Based on the original modeling technology, Scientific Monitoring released I-Trend, a commercial health- and performance-monitoring software product named for its intelligent trending, diagnostics, and prognostics capabilities, as part of the company's complete ICEMS (Intelligent Condition-based Equipment Management System) suite of monitoring and advanced alerting software. I-Trend uses the hybrid physical model to better characterize the nature of health or performance alarms that result in "no fault found" false alarms. Additionally, the use of physical principles helps I-Trend identify problems sooner. I-Trend technology is currently in use in several commercial aviation programs, and the U.S. Air Force recently tapped Scientific Monitoring to develop next-generation engine health-management software for monitoring its fleet of jet engines. Scientific Monitoring has continued the original NASA work, this time under a Phase III SBIR contract with a joint NASA-Pratt & Whitney aviation security program on propulsion-controlled aircraft under missile-damaged aircraft conditions.

Source record↗

Fabricating a hybrid imaging device having non-destructive sense nodes

A hybrid detector or imager includes two substrates fabricated under incompatible processes. An array of detectors, such as charged-coupled devices, are formed on the first substrate using a CCD fabrication process, such as a buried channel or peristaltic process. One or more charge-converting amplifiers are formed on a second substrate using a CMOS fabrication process. The two substrates are then bonded together to form a hybrid detector.

Wadsworth, Mark↗

Fabricating a hybrid imaging device

A hybrid detector or imager includes two substrates fabricated under incompatible processes. An array of detectors, such as charged-coupled devices, are formed on the first substrate using a CCD fabrication process, such as a buried channel or peristaltic process. One or more charge-converting amplifiers are formed on a second substrate using a CMOS fabrication process. The two substrates are then bonded together to form a hybrid detector.

Wadsworth, Mark↗

Ultra-Lightweight Hybrid Thin-Film Solar Cells: A Survey of Enabling Technologies for Space Power Applications

The development of hybrid inorganic/organic thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified, durable substrates provides an attractive solution for fabricating solar arrays with high mass specific power (W/kg). Next generation thin-film technologies may well involve a revolutionary change in materials to organic-based devices. The high-volume, low-cost fabrication potential of organic cells will allow for square miles of solar cell production at one-tenth the cost of conventional inorganic materials. Plastic solar cells take a minimum of storage space and can be inflated or unrolled for deployment. We will explore a cross-section of in-house and sponsored research efforts that aim to provide new hybrid technologies that include both inorganic and polymer materials as active and substrate materials. Research at University of Texas at Arlington focuses on the fabrication and use of poly(isothianaphthene-3,6-diyl) in solar cells. We describe efforts at Norfolk State University to design, synthesize and characterize block copolymers. A collaborative team between EIC Laboratories, Inc. and the University of Florida is investigating multijunction polymer solar cells to more effectively utilize solar radiation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) group has undertaken a thermal analysis of potential metallized substrates as well as production of nanoparticles of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 in good yield at moderate temperatures via decomposition of single-source precursors. Finally, preliminary work at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) to assess the impact on performance of solar cells of temperature and carbon nanotubes is reported. Technologies that must be developed to enable ultra-lightweight solar arrays include: monolithic interconnects, lightweight array structures, and new ultra-light support and deployment mechanisms. For NASA applications, any solar cell or array technology must not only meet weight and AMO efficiency goals, but also must be durable enough to survive launch conditions and space environments.

Hepp, Aloysius F.↗

Hybrid power management system and method

A system and method for hybrid power management. The system includes photovoltaic cells, ultracapacitors, and pulse generators. In one embodiment, the hybrid power management system is used to provide power for a highway safety flasher.

Eichenberg, Dennis J.↗

Hybrid LES/RANS Simulation of Transverse Sonic Injection into a Mach 2 Flow

A computational study of transverse sonic injection of air and helium into a Mach 1.98 cross-flow is presented. A hybrid large-eddy simulation / Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (LES/RANS) turbulence model is used, with the two-equation Menter baseline (Menter-BSL) closure for the RANS part of the flow and a Smagorinsky-type model for the LES part of the flow. A time-dependent blending function, dependent on modeled turbulence variables, is used to shift the closure from RANS to LES. Turbulent structures are initiated and sustained through the use of a recycling / rescaling technique. Two higher-order discretizations, the Piecewise Parabolic Method (PPM) of Colella and Woodward, and the SONIC-A ENO scheme of Suresh and Huyhn are used in the study. The results using the hybrid model show reasonably good agreement with time-averaged Mie scattering data and with experimental surface pressure distributions, even though the penetration of the jet into the cross-flow is slightly over-predicted. The LES/RANS results are used to examine the validity of commonly-used assumptions of constant Schmidt and Prandtl numbers in the intense mixing zone downstream of the injection location.

Boles, John A.↗

Hybrid-dual-fourier tomographic algorithm for a fast three-dimensionial optical image reconstruction in turbid media

A reconstruction technique for reducing computation burden in the 3D image processes, wherein the reconstruction procedure comprises an inverse and a forward model. The inverse model uses a hybrid dual Fourier algorithm that combines a 2D Fourier inversion with a 1D matrix inversion to thereby provide high-speed inverse computations. The inverse algorithm uses a hybrid transfer to provide fast Fourier inversion for data of multiple sources and multiple detectors. The forward model is based on an analytical cumulant solution of a radiative transfer equation. The accurate analytical form of the solution to the radiative transfer equation provides an efficient formalism for fast computation of the forward model.

Alfano, Robert R.↗

Hybrid Power Management System and Method

A system and method for hybrid power management. The system includes photovoltaic cells, ultracapacitors, and pulse generators. In one embodiment, the hybrid power management system is used to provide power for a highway safety flasher.

Eichenberg, Dennis J.↗

Method and apparatus for hybrid position/force control of multi-arm cooperating robots

Two or more robotic arms having end effectors rigidly attached to an object to be moved are disclosed. A hybrid position/force control system is provided for driving each of the robotic arms. The object to be moved is represented as having a total mass that consists of the actual mass of the object to be moved plus the mass of the moveable arms that are rigidly attached to the moveable object. The arms are driven in a positive way by the hybrid control system to assure that each arm shares in the position/force applied to the object. The burden of actuation is shared by each arm in a non-conflicting way as the arm independently control the position of, and force upon, a designated point on the object.

Hayati, Samad A.↗

Finite Element Analysis of Adaptive-Stiffening and Shape-Control SMA Hybrid Composites

Shape memory alloy hybrid composites with adaptive-stiffening or morphing functions are simulated using finite element analysis. The composite structure is a laminated fiber-polymer composite beam with embedded SMA ribbons at various positions with respect to the neutral axis of the beam. Adaptive stiffening or morphing is activated via selective resistance heating of the SMA ribbons or uniform thermal loads on the beam. The thermomechanical behavior of these composites was simulated in ABAQUS using user-defined SMA elements. The examples demonstrate the usefulness of the methods for the design and simulation of SMA hybrid composites. Keywords: shape memory alloys, Nitinol, ABAQUS, finite element analysis, post-buckling control, shape control, deflection control, adaptive stiffening, morphing, constitutive modeling, user element

Gao, Xiujie↗

Applications of the Hybrid Theory to the Scattering of Electrons from HE+ and Li++ and Resonances in these Systems

Applications of the hybrid theory to the scattering of electrons from Ile+ and Li++ and resonances in these systems, A. K. Bhatia, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center- The Hybrid theory of electron-hydrogen elastic scattering [I] is applied to the S-wave scattering of electrons from He+ and Li++. In this method, both short-range and long-range correlations are included in the Schrodinger equation at the same time. Phase shifts obtained in this calculation have rigorous lower bounds to the exact phase shifts and they are compared with those obtained using the Feshbach projection operator formalism [2], the close-coupling approach [3], and Harris-Nesbet method [4]. The agreement among all the calculations is very good. These systems have doubly-excited or Feshbach resonances embedded in the continuum. The resonance parameters for the lowest ' S resonances in He and Li+ are calculated and they are compared with the results obtained using the Feshbach projection operator formalism [5,6]. It is concluded that accurate resonance parameters can be obtained by the present method, which has the advantage of including corrections due to neighboring resonances and the continuum in which these resonances are embedded.

Bhatia, Anand K.↗

Hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system

A hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system includes: (a) first and second symmetric, pre-curved piezoelectric elements mounted separately on a frame so that their concave major surfaces are positioned opposite to each other; and (b) a linear piezoelectric element mounted separately on the frame and positioned between the pre-curved piezoelectric elements. The pre-curved piezoelectric elements and the linear piezoelectric element are spaced from one another and communicate with energy harvesting circuitry having contact points on the frame. The hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system has a higher electromechanical energy conversion efficiency than any known piezoelectric transducer.

Xu, Tian-Bing↗

Calculations of High-Temperature Jet Flow Using Hybrid Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes Formulations

Two multiscale-type turbulence models are implemented in the PAB3D solver. The models are based on modifying the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes equations. The first scheme is a hybrid Reynolds-averaged- Navier Stokes/large-eddy-simulation model using the two-equation k(epsilon) model with a Reynolds-averaged-Navier Stokes/large-eddy-simulation transition function dependent on grid spacing and the computed turbulence length scale. The second scheme is a modified version of the partially averaged Navier Stokes model in which the unresolved kinetic energy parameter f(sub k) is allowed to vary as a function of grid spacing and the turbulence length scale. This parameter is estimated based on a novel two-stage procedure to efficiently estimate the level of scale resolution possible for a given flow on a given grid for partially averaged Navier Stokes. It has been found that the prescribed scale resolution can play a major role in obtaining accurate flow solutions. The parameter f(sub k) varies between zero and one and is equal to one in the viscous sublayer and when the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes turbulent viscosity becomes smaller than the large-eddy-simulation viscosity. The formulation, usage methodology, and validation examples are presented to demonstrate the enhancement of PAB3D's time-accurate turbulence modeling capabilities. The accurate simulations of flow and turbulent quantities will provide a valuable tool for accurate jet noise predictions. Solutions from these models are compared with Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes results and experimental data for high-temperature jet flows. The current results show promise for the capability of hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes and large eddy simulation and partially averaged Navier Stokes in simulating such flow phenomena.

Abdol-Hamid, Khaled S.↗