Engineering topics

Bird, R. Keith

Publications and source records attributed to Bird, R. Keith.

12 records

NASA NTRS2013

Investigation of Methods for Selectively Reinforcing Aluminum and Aluminum-Lithium Materials

Several studies have indicated that selective reinforcement offers the potential to significantly improve the performance of metallic structures for aerospace applications. Applying high-strength, high-stiffness fibers to the high-stress regions of aluminum-based structures can increase the structural load-carrying capability and inhibit fatigue crack initiation and growth. This paper discusses an investigation into potential methods for applying reinforcing fibers onto the surface of aluminum and aluminum-lithium plate. Commercially-available alumina-fiber reinforced aluminum alloy tapes were used as the reinforcing material. Vacuum hot pressing was used to bond the reinforcing tape to aluminum alloy 2219 and aluminum-lithium alloy 2195 base plates. Static and cyclic three-point bend testing and metallurgical analysis were used to evaluate the enhancement of mechanical performance and the integrity of the bond between the tape and the base plate. The tests demonstrated an increase in specific bending stiffness. In addition, no issues with debonding of the reinforcing tape from the base plate during bend testing were observed. The increase in specific stiffness indicates that selectively-reinforced structures could be designed with the same performance capabilities as a conventional unreinforced structure but with lower mass.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS2012

Design, Optimization, and Evaluation of A1-2139 Compression Panel with Integral T-Stiffeners

A T-stiffened panel was designed and optimized for minimum mass subjected to constraints on buckling load, yielding, and crippling or local stiffener failure using a new analysis and design tool named EBF3PanelOpt. The panel was designed for a compression loading configuration, a realistic load case for a typical aircraft skin-stiffened panel. The panel was integrally machined from 2139 aluminum alloy plate and was tested in compression. The panel was loaded beyond buckling and strains and out-of-plane displacements were extracted from 36 strain gages and one linear variable displacement transducer. A digital photogrammetric system was used to obtain full field displacements and strains on the smooth (unstiffened) side of the panel. The experimental data were compared with the strains and out-of-plane deflections from a high-fidelity nonlinear finite element analysis.

Mulani, Sameer B.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Design, Optimization, and Evaluation of Integrally-Stiffened Al-2139 Panel with Curved Stiffeners

A curvilinear stiffened panel was designed, manufactured, and tested in the Combined Load Test Fixture at NASA Langley Research Center. The panel is representative of a large wing engine pylon rib and was optimized for minimum mass subjected to three combined load cases. The optimization included constraints on web buckling, material yielding, crippling or local stiffener failure, and damage tolerance using a new analysis tool named EBF3PanelOpt. Testing was performed for the critical combined compression-shear loading configuration. The panel was loaded beyond initial buckling, and strains and out-of-plane displacements were extracted from a total of 20 strain gages and 6 linear variable displacement transducers. The VIC-3D system was utilized to obtain full field displacements/strains in the stiffened side of the panel. The experimental data were compared with the strains and out-of-plane deflections from a high fidelity nonlinear finite element analysis. The experimental data were also compared with linear elastic finite element results of the panel/test-fixture assembly. Overall, the panel buckled very near to the predicted load in the web regions.

Havens, David↗

NASA NTRS2011

Design, Optimization and Evaluation of Integrally Stiffened Al 7050 Panel with Curved Stiffeners

A curvilinear stiffened panel was designed, manufactured, and tested in the Combined Load Test Fixture at NASA Langley Research Center. The panel was optimized for minimum mass subjected to constraints on buckling load, yielding, and crippling or local stiffener failure using a new analysis tool named EBF3PanelOpt. The panel was designed for a combined compression-shear loading configuration that is a realistic load case for a typical aircraft wing panel. The panel was loaded beyond buckling and strains and out-of-plane displacements were measured. The experimental data were compared with the strains and out-of-plane deflections from a high fidelity nonlinear finite element analysis and linear elastic finite element analysis of the panel/test-fixture assembly. The numerical results indicated that the panel buckled at the linearly elastic buckling eigenvalue predicted for the panel/test-fixture assembly. The experimental strains prior to buckling compared well with both the linear and nonlinear finite element model.

Slemp, Wesley C. H.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Effect of Orientation on Tensile Properties of Inconel 718 Block Fabricated with Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF3)

Electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) direct metal deposition processing was used to fabricate an Inconel 718 bulk block deposit. Room temperature tensile properties were measured as a function of orientation and location within the block build. This study is a follow-on activity to previous work on Inconel 718 EBF3 deposits that were too narrow to allow properties to be measured in more than one orientation

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS2009

Tensile Properties and Microstructure of Inconel 718 Fabricated with Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF(sup 3))

Electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) direct metal deposition processing was used to fabricate two Inconel 718 single-bead-width wall builds and one multiple-bead-width block build. Specimens were machined to evaluate microstructure and room temperature tensile properties. The tensile strength and yield strength of the as-deposited material from the wall and block builds were greater than those for conventional Inconel 718 castings but were less than those for conventional cold-rolled sheet. Ductility levels for the EBF3 material were similar to those for conventionally-processed sheet and castings. An unexpected result was that the modulus of the EBF3-deposited Inconel 718 was significantly lower than that of the conventional material. This low modulus may be associated with a preferred crystallographic orientation resultant from the deposition and rapid solidification process. A heat treatment with a high solution treatment temperature resulted in a recrystallized microstructure and an increased modulus. However, the modulus was not increased to the level that is expected for Inconel 718.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS2007

Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication in the Space Environment

The influence of reduced gravitational forces (in space and on the lunar or Martian surfaces) on manufacturing processes must be understood for effective fabrication and repair of structures and replacement parts during long duration space missions. The electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) process uses an electron beam and wire to fabricate metallic structures. The process efficiencies of the electron beam and the solid wire feedstock make the EBF3 process attractive for use in-space. This paper will describe the suitability of the EBF3 process in the space environment and will highlight preliminary testing of the EBF3 process in a zero-gravity environment.

Hafley, Robert A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Evaluation of Pressurization Fatigue Life of 1441 Al-li Fuselage Panel

A study was conducted to evaluate the pressurization fatigue life of fuselage panels with skins fabricated from 1441 Al-Li, an attractive new Russian alloy. The study indicated that 1441 Al-Li has several advantages over conventional aluminum fuselage skin alloy with respect to fatigue behavior. Smooth 1441 Al-Li sheet specimens exhibited a fatigue endurance limit similar to that for 1163 Al (Russian version of 2024 Al) sheet. Notched 1441 Al-Li sheet specimens exhibited greater fatigue strength and longer fatigue life than 1163 Al. In addition, Tu-204 fuselage panels fabricated by Tupolev Design Bureau using Al-Li skin and ring frames with riveted 7000-series aluminum stiffeners had longer pressurization fatigue lives than did panels constructed from conventional aluminum alloys. Taking into account the lower density of this alloy, the results suggest that 1441 Al-Li has the potential to improve fuselage performance while decreasing structural weight.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS1998

Evaluation of the Transient Liquid Phase (TLP) Bonding Process for Ti3Al-Based Honeycomb Core Sandwich Structure

The suitability of using transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding to fabricate honeycomb core sandwich panels with Ti-14Al-21Nb (wt%) titanium aluminide (T3Al) face sheets for high-temperature hypersonic vehicle applications was evaluated. Three titanium alloy honeycomb cores and one Ti3Al alloy honeycomb core were investigated. Edgewise compression (EWC) and flatwise tension (FWT) tests on honeycomb core sandwich specimens and tensile tests of the face sheet material were conducted at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1500 F. EWC tests indicated that the honeycomb cores and diffusion bonded joints were able to stabilize the face sheets up to and beyond the face sheet compressive yield strength for all temperatures investigated. The specimens with the T3Al honeycomb core produced the highest FWT strengths at temperatures above 1000 F. Tensile tests indicated that TLP processing conditions resulted in decreases in ductility of the Ti-14Al-21Nb face sheets. Microstructural examination showed that the side of the face sheets to which the filler metals had been applied was transformed from equiaxed alpha2 grains to coarse plates of alpha2 with intergranular Beta. Fractographic examination of the tensile specimens showed that this transformed region was dominated by brittle fracture.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS1996

Titanium Alloys and Processing for High Speed Aircraft

Commercially available titanium alloys as well as emerging titanium alloys with limited or no production experience are being considered for a variety of applications to high speed commercial aircraft structures. A number of government and industry programs are underway to improve the performance of promising alloys by chemistry and/or processing modifications and to identify appropriate alloys and processes for specific aircraft structural applications. This paper discusses some of the results on the effects of heat treatment, service temperatures from - 54 C to +177 C, and selected processing on the mechanical properties of several candidate beta and alpha-beta titanium alloys. Included are beta alloys Timetal 21S, LCB, Beta C, Beta CEZ, and Ti-10-2-3 and alpha-beta alloys Ti-62222, Ti-6242S, Timetal 550, Ti-62S, SP-700, and Corona-X. The emphasis is on properties of rolled sheet product form and on the superplastic properties and processing of the materials.

Brewer, William D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Hydraulically Driven Grips For Hot Tensile Specimens

Pair of grips for tensile and compressive test specimens operate at temperatures up to 1,500 degrees F. Grips include wedges holding specimen inside furnace, where heated to uniform temperature. Hydraulic pistons drive wedges, causing them to exert clamping force. Hydraulic pistons and hydraulic fluid remain outside furnace, at room temperature. Cooling water flows through parts of grips to reduce heat transferred to external components. Advantages over older devices for gripping specimens in high-temperature tests; no need to drill holes in specimens, maintains constant gripping force on specimens, and heated to same temperature as that of specimen without risk of heating hydraulic fluid and acuator components.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS1992

Mechanical properties of coated titanium Beta-21S after exposure to air at 700 and 800 C

Mechanical properties of Beta-21S (Ti-15Mo-3Al-2.7Nb-0.2Si, wt percent) with glass, aluminide, and glass-on-aluminide coatings less than 3-micron thick were studied. Coatings were deposited by sol-gel processing or electron-beam evaporation onto 4.5-mil (113-micron) thick Beta-21S sheet from which, after oxidizing in air at 700 or 800 C, tensile test specimens were machined. Plastic elongation was the most severely degraded of the tensile properties; the glass-on-aluminide coatings were the most effective in preventing degradation. It was found that oxygen trapping by forming oxides in the coating, and reactions between the coatings and the Beta-21S alloy played significant roles.

Wiedemann, Karl E.↗