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At least 1,711 records · Page 95

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NASA NTRS1991

Test and evaluation of load converter topologies used in the Space Station Freedom power management and distribution dc test bed

Power components hardware in support of the Space Station freedom dc Electric Power System were tested. One type of breadboard hardware tested is the dc Load Converter Unit, which constitutes the power interface between the electric power system and the actual load. These units are dc to dc converters that provide the final system regulation before power is delivered to the load. Three load converters were tested: a series resonant converter, a series inductor switch-mode converter, and a switching full-bridge forward converter. The topology, operation principles, and test results are described, in general. A comparative analysis of the three units is given with respect to efficiency, regulation, short circuit behavior (protection), and transient characteristics.

Lebron, Ramon C.↗

NASA NTRS1956

The Interference Effects of a Body on the Spanwise Load Distributions of Two 45 Degree Sweptback Wings of Aspect Ratio 8.02 from Low-Speed Tests

Tests of two wing-body combinations have been conducted in the Langley 19-foot pressure tunnel at a Reynolds number of 4 x 10(exp 6) and a Mach number of 0.19 to determine the effects of the bodies on the wing span load distributions. The wings had 45 degrees sweepback of the quarter-chord line, aspect ratio 8.02, taper ratio 0.45, and incorporated 12-percent-thick airfoil sections streamwise. One wing was untwisted and uncambered whereas the second wing incorporated both twist and camber. Identical bodies of revolution, of 10:1 fineness ratio, having diameter-to-span ratios of 0.10, were mounted in mid-high-wing arrangements. The effects of wind incidence, wing fences, and flap deflection were determined for the plane uncambered wing. The addition of the body to the plane wing increased the exposed wing loading at a given lift coefficient as much as 10 percent with the body at 0 degrees incidence and 4 percent at 4 degrees incidence. The bending-moment coefficients at the wing-body juncture were increased about 2 percent with the body at 0 degrees incidence, whereas the increases were as much as 10 percent with the body at 4 degrees incidence. The spanwise load distributions due to the body on the plane wing as calculated by using a swept-wing method employing 19 spanwise lifting elements and control points generally showed satisfactory agreement with experiment. The spanwise load distributions due to body on the flapped plane wing and on the twisted and cambered wing were dissimilar to those obtained on the plane wing. Neither of the methods of calculation which were employed yielded distributions that agreed consistently with experiment for either the flapped plane wing or the twisted and cambered wing.

Martina, Albert P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Unsteady pressure loads in a generic high speed engine model

Unsteady pressure loads were measured along the top interior wall of a generic high-speed engine (GHSE) model undergoing performance tests in the combustion-Heated Scramjet Test Facility at the Langley Research Center. Flow to the model inlet was simulated at 72000 ft and a flight Mach number of 4. The inlet Mach number was 3.5 with a total temperature and pressure of 1640 R and 92 psia. The unsteady pressure loads were measured with 5 piezoresistive gages, recessed into the wall 4 to 12 gage diameters to reduce incident heat flux to the diaphragms, and distributed from the inlet to the combustor. Contributors to the unsteady pressure loads included boundary layer turbulence, combustion noise, and transients generated by unstart loads. Typical turbulent boundary layer rms pressures in the inlet ranged from 133 dB in the inlet to 181 dB in the combustor over the frequency range from 0 to 5 kHz. Downstream of the inlet exist, combustion noise was shown to dominate boundary layer turbulence noise at increased heat release rates. Noise levels in the isolator section increased by 15 dB when the fuel-air ratio was increased from 0.37 to 0.57 of the stoichiometric ratio. Transient pressure disturbances associated with engine unstarts were measured in the inlet and have an upstream propagation speed of about 7 ft/sec and pressure jumps of at least 3 psia.

Parrott, Tony L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Problems involving combined loading

The first problem was to determine the capability of a ground support equipment (GSE) rack knee bracket for handling a spacelab rack. The geometric center of gravity was calculated for the upper and lower part of the rack and found to be in the center of gravity's allowable envelope. The second problem was to determine the exact margin of safety for an axial load and a shear load on a bolt. The equation for failure is axial load squared plus shear load cubed equal one. The third problem was to simplify an expression for stress on a generic non-symmetrical bolt configuration to a form familiar to 'bolt people'. The final problem was the structural analysis of the spacelab rack corner posts.

Miller, Lunelle↗

NASA NTRS1993

The application of structural reliability techniques to plume impingement loading of the Space Station Freedom Photovoltaic Array

A new aerospace application of structural reliability techniques is presented, where the applied forces depend on many probabilistic variables. This application is the plume impingement loading of the Space Station Freedom Photovoltaic Arrays. When the space shuttle berths with Space Station Freedom it must brake and maneuver towards the berthing point using its primary jets. The jet exhaust, or plume, may cause high loads on the photovoltaic arrays. The many parameters governing this problem are highly uncertain and random. An approach, using techniques from structural reliability, as opposed to the accepted deterministic methods, is presented which assesses the probability of failure of the array mast due to plume impingement loading. A Monte Carlo simulation of the berthing approach is used to determine the probability distribution of the loading. A probability distribution is also determined for the strength of the array. Structural reliability techniques are then used to assess the array mast design. These techniques are found to be superior to the standard deterministic dynamic transient analysis, for this class of problem. The results show that the probability of failure of the current array mast design, during its 15 year life, is minute.

Yunis, Isam S.↗

NASA NTRS1993

SSF loads and controllability during assembly

The Orbiter Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) pulse width and firing frequency is restricted to prevent excessive loads in the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The feasibility of using the SSF Control Moment Gyros (CMG) as a secondary controller for load relief is evaluated. The studies revealed the CMG not only reduced loads but were useful for other SSF functions: vibration suppression and modal excitation. Vibration suppression lowers the g level for the SSF micro-g experiments and damps the low frequency oscillations that cause crew sickness. Modal excitation could be used for the modal identification experiment and health monitoring. The CMG's reduced the peak loads and damped the vibrations. They were found to be an effective multi-purpose ancillary device for SSF operation.

Larson, Charles R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Structural and loads analysis of a two-stage fully reusable Advanced Manned Launch System

The conceptual design of a rocket-powered, two-stage fully reusable launch vehicle has been performed as a part of NASA's Advanced Manned Launch System (AMLS) study. This paper summarizes the structural design and loads analysis of this two-stage fully reusable launch vehicle. The method used to determine the structural weights consists of generating a finite-element model for each vehicle, selecting a set of critical loading conditions, determining the loads on the model caused by those conditions, determining the model response and changing the sizes of individual elements to obtain a safe structure. The integrated loads on the two-stage vehicle were obtained from a three-degrees-of-freedom trajectory analysis.

Robinson, James C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Numerical optimization of composite hip endoprostheses under different loading conditions

The optimization of composite hip implants was investigated. Emphasis was placed on the effect of shape and material tailoring of the implant to improve the implant-bone interaction. A variety of loading conditions were investigated to better understand the relationship between loading and optimization outcome. Comparisons of the initial and optimal models with more complex 3D finite element models were performed. The results indicate that design improvements made using this method result in similar improvements in the 3D models. Although the optimization outcomes were significantly affected by the choice of loading conditions, certain trends were observed that were independent of the applied loading.

Blake, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The FAA/NASA flight loads monitoring program - The prototype system and its benefits for the aviation community

The FAA established the flight load monitoring program to collect a data base of typical flight operational loads experienced by commercial transports. This system will provide a comprehensive monitoring of aircraft loading conditions with over 20 flight parameters being recorded simultaneously. NASA is designing and testing a prototype data collection and analysis system which will be implemented into an FAA operational program. This paper presents the program's objectives and the proposed development testing on a commercial Boeing 737-400. The prototype system, its data processing schemes, and reports are described. The searching criteria or flight attributes generated for each flight are listed. The data processing system will provide the aviation community with a powerful tool for the study of transport flight loading conditions and the system's flexibility will accommodate individual studies and specialized concerns.

Whitehead, Julia H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Behavior of surface and corner cracks subjected to tensile and bending loads in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The behavior of part-through flaws with regard to failure under monotonic loading and their growth under fatigue loading was investigated experimentally and analytically. The objective of this paper is to present comparisons of experimental values of toughness obtained using surface- and corner-cracked specimens with those obtained using standard test specimens, and also to compare experimental growth cycles with numerical predictions using the NASA/FLAGRO computer program. Tests were conducted on various types of surface and corner cracks under tensile and bending loads. Room temperature laboratory air provided the test environment. The material used in this investigation was the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in the solution treated and aged (STA) and stress-relieved condition. Detailed tabulation of the fracture toughness data and results of life prediction using the NASA/FLAGRO program are presented. Fatigue crack growth rates for the part-through-cracked specimens are compared with a base curve fitted from the data obtained using standard specimens. The fatigue loading used in the crack growth testing was of constant-amplitude sinusoidal type.

Forman, Royce G.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The structure of mass-loading shocks

A new two-fluid model which describes mass loading in the solar wind (e.g., the interaction of the solar wind with a cometary coma or the local interstellar medium) is presented. The self-consistent back-reaction of the mass-loaded ions is included through their effective scattering in low-frequency MHD turbulence and the invocation of a diffusive approximation. Such an approximation has the advantage of introducing self-consistent dissipation coefficients into the governing equations, thereby facilitating the investigation of the internal structure of shocks in mass-loading environments. To illustrate the utility of the new model, we consider the structure of cometary shocks in the hypersonic one-dimensional limit, finding that the incoming solar wind is slowed by both mass loading and the development of a large cometary ion pressure gradient. The shock is broadened and smoothed by the cometary ions with a thickness of the order of the cometary ion diffusion scale.

Zank, G. P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The Application of Structural Reliability Techniques to Plume Impingement Loading of the Space Station Freedom Photovoltaic Array

Yunis, Isam S.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A combined experimental and finite element study to predict the failure mechanisms in SiC coated carbon/carbon composites at room and elevated temperatures under flexural loading

Response of quasi-isotropic laminates of SiC coated Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites have been investigated under flexural loading at various temperatures. Variation of load-deflection behavior with temperatures are studied. Increase in flexural strength and stiffness are observed with the rise in temperature. Extensive analyses through Optical Microscope (OM) and Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) have been performed to understand the failure mechanisms. Damage zone is found only within the neighborhood of the loading plane. Isoparametric layered shell elements developed on the basis of the first order shear deformation theory have been used to model the thin laminates of C/C under flexural loading. Large deformation behavior has been considered in the finite element analysis to account for the non-linearities encountered during the actual test. Data generated using finite element analysis are presented to corroborate the experimental findings, and a comparison in respect of displacement and stress-strain behavior are given to check the accuracy of the finite element analysis. Reasonable correlation between the experimental and finite element results have been established.

Mahfuz, Hassan↗

NASA NTRS1993

A parallel dynamic load balancing algorithm for 3-D adaptive unstructured grids

Adaptive local grid refinement and coarsening results in unequal distribution of workload among the processors of a parallel system. A novel method for balancing the load in cases of dynamically changing tetrahedral grids is developed. The approach employs local exchange of cells among processors in order to redistribute the load equally. An important part of the load balancing algorithm is the method employed by a processor to determine which cells within its subdomain are to be exchanged. Two such methods are presented and compared. The strategy for load balancing is based on the Divide-and-Conquer approach which leads to an efficient parallel algorithm. This method is implemented on a distributed-memory MIMD system.

Vidwans, A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Subcritical crack growth in soda-lime glass in combined mode I and mode II loading

Subcritical crack growth under mixed-mode loading was studied in soda-lime glass. Pure mode I, combined mode I and mode II, and pure mode II loadings were achieved in precracked disk specimens by loading in diametral compression at selected angles with respect to the symmetric radial crack. Crack growth was monitored by measuring the resistance changes in a microcircuit grid consisting of parallel, electrically conducting grid lines deposited on the surface of the disk specimens by photolithography. Subcritical crack growth rates in pure mode I, pure mode II, and combined mode I and mode II loading could be described by an exponential relationship between crack growth rate and an effective crack driving force derived from a mode I-mode II fracture toughness envelope. The effective crack driving force was based on an empirical representation of the noncoplanar strain energy release rate. Stress intensities for kinked cracks were assessed using the method of caustics and an initial decrease and a subsequent increase in the subcritical crack growth rates of kinked cracks were shown to correlate with the variations of the mode I and the mode II stress intensities.

Singh, Dileep↗

NASA NTRS1993

A network flow model for load balancing in circuit-switched multicomputers

In multicomputers that utilize circuit switching or wormhole routing, communication overhead depends largely on link contention - the variation due to distance between nodes is negligible. This has a major impact on the load balancing problem. In this case, there are some nodes with excess load (sources) and others with deficit load (sinks) and it is required to find a matching of sources to sinks that avoids contention. The problem is made complex by the hardwired routing on currently available machines: the user can control only which nodes communicate but not how the messages are routed. Network flow models of message flow in the mesh and the hypercube were developed to solve this problem. The crucial property of these models is the correspondence between minimum cost flows and correctly routed messages. To solve a given load balancing problem, a minimum cost flow algorithm is applied to the network. This permits one to determine efficiently a maximum contention free matching of sources to sinks which, in turn, tells one how much of the given imbalance can be eliminated without contention.

Bokhari, Shahid H.↗

NASA NTRS1935

Principal Effects of Axial Load on Moment-Distribution Analysis of Rigid Structures

This thesis presents the method of moment distribution modified to include the effect of axial load upon the bending moments. This modification makes it possible to analyze accurately complex structures, such as rigid fuselage trusses, that heretofore had to be analyzed by approximate formulas and empirical rules. The method is simple enough to be practicable even for complex structures, and it gives a means of analysis for continuous beams that is simpler than the extended three-moment equation now in common use. When the effect of axial load is included, it is found that the basic principles of moment distribution remain unchanged, the only difference being that the factors used, instead of being constants for a given member, become functions of the axial load. Formulas have been developed for these factors, and curves plotted so that their applications requires no more work than moment distribution without axial load. Simple problems have been included to illustrate the use of the curves.

James, Benjamin Wylie↗

NASA NTRS1946

Consideration of dynamic loads on the vertical tail by the theory of flat yawing maneuvers

Dynamic yawing effects on vertical tail loads are considered by a theory of flat yawing maneuvers. A comparison is shown between computed loads and the loads measured in flight in a fighter airplane. The dynamic effects were investigated on a large flying boat for both an abrupt rudder deflection and a sinusoidal rudder deflection. Only a moderate amount of control deflection was found to be necessary to attain the ultimate design load on the tail. In order to take into account dynamic effects in design, specifications of yawing maneuverability or control movement are needed.

Boshar, John↗