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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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8 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

An experimental study of the motorcycle roll stabilization task

The work of Sharp represents the most complete theoretical analysis of the uncontrolled motorcycle presently available, and serves as a theoretical basis for the study described. Sharp's analysis included roll, yaw, lateral translation, and steering degrees of freedom, and the resulting equations are linear with constant coefficients. Tire aligning moments due to tire sideslip were added to Sharp's equations. Experimental results are presented, and related to the theoretical studies of Sharp and Weir.

Eaton, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Motorcycle Parts

An article in NASA Tech Briefs describing a vacuum bagging process for forming composite parts helped a small Oklahoma Company to improve its manufacturing process. President of Performance Extremes, Larry Ortega, and his partners make motorcycle parts from carbon/epoxy to reduce weight. Using vacuum bags, parts have a better surface and fewer voids inside. When heat used in the vacuum bag process caused deformation upon cooling, a solution found in another tech brief solved the problem. A metal plate inside the vacuum bag made for more even heat transfer. A third article described a simple procedure for repairing loose connector pins, which the company has also utilized.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

The subjective evaluation of noise from light aircraft

A study was conducted in which subjects evaluated the sounds of a light aircraft and a motorcycle. Particular emphasis was placed on examining the duration of the sounds. Thirty subjects gave annoyance ratings to a total of 50 sounds, with peak levels between 65 and 85dB(A). It was found that aircraft and motorcycles have differing optimum duration corrections. The conventional duration correction used in the calculation of EPNL is far from being the optimum for light aircraft.

Shepherd, K. P.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Rotary Speed Sensor for Antilocking Brakes

Sensor based on fluidic principles produces negative pressure approximately proportional to rotational speed. Sensor developed as part of antilocking brake system for motorcycles. Uses inlet pressure rather than outlet pressure as braking-control signal, eliminating pressure pulsations caused by pump vanes and ensuring low-noise signal. Sensor is centrifugal air pump turned by one of motorcycle wheels. Air enters pump through orifice plates, and suction taken off through port in pump inlet plenum.

Berdahl, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Applications of the Ultrasonic Serial Number Restoration Technique to Guns and Typical Stolen Articles

An ultrasonic cavitation method for restoring obliterated serial numbers has been further explored by application to articles involved in police cases. The method was applied successfully to gun parts. In one case portions of numbers were restored after prior failure by other laboratories using chemical etching techniques. The ultrasonic method was not successful on a heavily obliterated and restamped automobile engine block, but it was partially successful on a motorcycle gear-case housing. Additional studies were made on the effect of a larger diameter ultrasonic probe, and on the method's ability to restore numbers obliterated by peening.

Young, S. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Small Fixture Strains Composites for Environmental Tests

Fixture for long-term strain tests of composites is based on inexpensive tool for repairing motorcycle chains. (In normal use tool forces rivet out of chain element.) As modified for composite testing, tool has precision screw and shim. Qualification tests for graphite/epoxy composites are made less expensive by simple test fixture. Used in quantity, fixtures apply precisely similar loads to many samples.

Tervet, F. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Ranging/tracking system for proximity operations

The hardware development and testing phase of a hand held radar for the ranging and tracking for Shuttle proximity operations are considered. The radar is to measure range to a 3 sigma accuracy of 1 m (3.28 ft) to a maximum range of 1850 m (6000 ft) and velocity to a 3 sigma accuracy of 0.03 m/s (0.1 ft/s). Size and weight are similar to hand held radars, frequently seen in use by motorcycle police officers. Meeting these goals for a target in free space was very difficult to obtain in the testing program; however, at a range of approximately 700 m, the 3 sigma range error was found to be 0.96 m. It is felt that much of this error is due to clutter in the test environment. As an example of the velocity accuracy, at a range of 450 m, a 3 sigma velocity error of 0.02 m/s was measured. The principles of the radar and recommended changes to its design are given. Analyses performed in support of the design process, the actual circuit diagrams, and the software listing are included.

Nilsen, P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A four-axis hand controller for helicopter flight control

A proof-of-concept hand controller for controlling lateral and longitudinal cyclic pitch, collective pitch and tail rotor thrust was developed. The purpose of the work was to address problems of operator fatigue, poor proprioceptive feedback and cross-coupling of axes associated with many four-axis controller designs. The present design is an attempt to reduce cross-coupling to a level that can be controlled with breakout force, rather than to eliminate it entirely. The cascaded design placed lateral and longitudinal cyclic in their normal configuration. Tail rotor thrust was placed atop the cyclic controller. A left/right twisting motion with the wrist made the control input. The axis of rotation was canted outboard (clockwise) to minimize cross-coupling with the cyclic pitch axis. The collective control was a twist grip, like a motorcycle throttle. Measurement of the amount of cross-coupling involved in pure, single-axis inputs showed cross coupling under 10 percent of full deflection for all axes. This small amount of cross-coupling could be further reduced with better damping and force gradient control. Fatigue was not found to be a problem, and proprioceptive feedback was adequate for all flight tasks executed.

Demaio, Joe↗