Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Smith, R. J..
Boron-on-tungsten fibers with tensile strength and strain-to-failure values increased by fifty percent over commercial grades are produced by controlled chemical-etching process. Improved fibers have potential applications as lightweight composites in ground vehicles, spacecraft, and rotors for energy storage.
The effects of chemical etching on the tensile strength of commercial boron/tungsten fibers were investigated. Fibers with as-received diameters of 203, 143, and 100 micrometers were etched to diameters as small as 43 micrometers. The etching generally resulted in increasing fiber tensile strength with decreasing fiber diameter. And for the 203 micrometer fibers there was an accompanying significant decrease in the coefficient of variation of the tensile strength for diameters down to 89 micrometers. Heat treating these fibers above 1,173 K in a vacuum caused a marked decrease in the average tensile strength of at least 80 percent. But after the fibers were etched, their strengths exceeded the as-received strengths. The tensile strength behavior is explained in terms of etching effects on surface flaws and the residual stress pattern of the as-received fibers.
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The alloys 90Pd-10Ag, 80Pd-20Ag, 70Pd-30Ag, 60Pd-40Ag, and 50Pd-50Ag containing absorbed hydrogen were tested in tension. The results show the tensile properties to be independent of the phase transition. Also, hydrogen in the lattice does not necessarily cause embrittlement or poor elongation. The changes in the tensile properties appear dependent on the electron to atom site ratio.
The Apollo 16 Mission was the sixteenth in a series of flights using Apollo flight hardware and included the fifth lunar landing of the Apollo Program. The Apollo 16 Mission utilized CSM 113 which was equipped with SPS Engine S/N 66 (Injector S/N 137). The engine configuration and expected performance characteristics are presented. Since previous flight results of the SPS have consistently shown the existence of a negative mixture ratio shift, SPS Engine S/N 66 was reorificed to increase the mixture ratio for this mission. The propellant unbalance for the two major engine firings is compared with the predicted unbalance. Although the unbalance at the end of the TEI burn is significantly different than the predicted unbalance, the propellant mixture ratio was well within limits. The SPS performed six burns during the mission, with a total burn duration of 575.3 seconds. The ignition time, burn duration and velocity gain for each of the six SPS burns are reported.
The electrical resistivities of the alloys 90at.%Pd - 10at.%Ag, 80at.%Pd - 20at.%Ag, 70at.%Pd - 30at.%Ag, 60at.%Pd - 40at.%Ag, and 50at.%Pd - 50at.%Ag were measured as functions of absorbed hydrogen x at 4.2 K. These results show a minimum in the resistivity for all the alloys except 90Pd-10Ag; they show a maximum for all the alloys except for 50Pd-Ag. We associate the shapes of the plots with a modification of the Pd D-band because of the substitutional alloying of Ag and the interstitial absorption of hydrogen.
An accurate, versatile, and sensitive method for the determination of hydrogen in milligram-size titanium samples is presented. It involves extraction of hydrogen at 1070 K while a mercury diffusion pump transfers the evolved gases into the inlet of a mass spectrometer. All the evolved gases may then be positively identified and determined. This method can be readily adapted for use with other metals and for the study of the slow evolution of hydrogen. Reduction of interferences due to the evolution of hydrogen by reactions involving vapors such as those of water, acetone, and vacuum grease is discussed.
The command and service module 112 service propulsion system performance for the Apollo 15 mission was evaluated and found to be satisfactory. The following items were considered: (1) the steady-state performance as determined from analysis of the third and eight burns; (2) techniques, problems, and assumptions; (3) flight analysis results as compared to the preflight predicted performance; (4) the propellant utilization and gaging system operation; (5) the pressurization system performance; (6) transient data; and (7) revision of estimated propellant consumption.
Yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation were studied for annealed titanium electrolytically charged with hydrogen. The hydrogen was present as a surface hydride layer. These tensile properties were generally lower for uncharged titanium than for titanium with a continuous surface hydride; they were greater for uncharged titanium than for titanium with an assumed discontinuous surface hydride. We suggest that the interface between titanium and titanium hydride is weak. And the hydride does not necessarily impair strength and ductility of annealed titanium. The possibility that oxygen and/or nitrogen can embrittle titanium hydride is discussed.
Hydrogen content effect on annealed and work hardened palladium wire tensile properties, determining yield/tensile stress and elongation
Hydrogen absorption effects on tensile properties of palladium wire
Evaluation of flight performance of service propulsion system during Apollo 8 Mission
PdH system electrical resistivity, studying hydrogen concentration role
Absorption of hydrogen by palladium and electrical resistivity of hydrogen-palladium system
Postflight analysis of service propulsion system during Apollo 9 mission
Deuterium concentration effect on electrical resistivity of palladium-deuterium system
Superconducting current carrying capacity of hydrogen treated niobium
Compact-vibration damping systems, consisting of rubber-coated metal bellows with a sliding O-ring connector, are used in vacuum lines. The device presents a metallic surface to the vacuum system and combines flexibility with the necessary stiffness. It protects against physical damage, reduces fatigue failure, and provides easy mating of nonparallel lines.