Engineering topics

Williams, Jeffery T.

Publications and source records attributed to Williams, Jeffery T..

7 records

DOE OSTI2022

Development of a Novel Electrical Characterization Technique for Measuring Hidden Joint Contacts in Weapons Cavities (LDRD Final Report 218470)

This report summarizes research performed in the context of a REHEDS LDRD project that explores methods for measuring electrical properties of vessel joints. These properties, which include contact points and associated contact resistance, are “hidden” in the sense that they are not apparent from a computer-assisted design (CAD) description or visual inspection. As is demonstrated herein, the impact of this project is the development of electromagnetic near-field scanning capabilities that allow weapon cavity joints to be characterized with high spatial and/or temporal resolution. Such scans provide insight on the hidden electrical properties of the joint, allowing more detailed and accurate models of joints to be developed, and ultimately providing higher fidelity shielding effectiveness (SE) predictions. The capability to perform high-resolution temporal scanning of joints under vibration is also explored, using a multitone probing concept, allowing time-varying properties of joints to be characterized and the associated modulation to SE to be quantified.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Penetration through slots in cylindrical cavities with cavity modes overlapping with the first slot resonance

In this work, we analyze the coupling into a slotted cylindrical cavity operating at fundamental cavity modal frequencies overlapping with the slot’s first resonance frequency through an unmatched formulation that accounts for the slot’s absorption and radiation processes. The model is validated through full-wave simulations and experimental data. We then couple the unmatched formulation to a perturbation theory model to investigate an absorber within the cavity to reduce the interior field strength, also validated with full-wave simulations and experiments. These models are pivotal to understanding the physical processes involved in the electromagnetic penetration through slots, and may constitute design tools to mitigate electromagnetic interference effects within cavities.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2020

Penetration through Slots in Cylindrical Cavities Operating at Fundamental Cavity Modes in the Presence of Electromagnetic Absorbers

Placing microwave absorbing materials into a high-quality factor resonant cavity may in general reduce the large interior electromagnetic fields excited under external illumination. In this study, we aim to combine two analytical models we previously developed: 1) an unmatched formulation for frequencies below the slot resonance to model shielding effectiveness versus frequency; and 2) a perturbation model approach to estimate the quality factor of cavities in the presence of absorbers. The resulting model realizes a toolkit with which design guidelines of the absorber's properties and location can be optimized over a frequency band. Analytic predictions of shielding effectiveness for three transverse magnetic modes for various locations of the absorber placed on the inside cavity wall show good agreement with both full-wave simulations and experiments, and validate the proposed model. This analysis opens new avenues for specialized ways to mitigate harmful fields within cavities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1994

The 20 GHz circularly polarized, high temperature superconducting microstrip antenna array

The primary goal was to design and characterize a four-element, 20 GHz, circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna fabricated from YBa2Cu3O(x) superconductor. The purpose is to support a high temperature superconductivity flight communications experiment between the space shuttle orbiter and the ACTS satellite. This study is intended to provide information into the design, construction, and feasibility of a circularly polarized superconducting 20 GHz downlink or cross-link antenna. We have demonstrated that significant gain improvements can be realized by using superconducting materials for large corporate fed array antennas. In addition, we have shown that when constructed from superconducting materials, the efficiency, and therefore the gain, of microstrip patches increases if the substrate is not so thick that the dominant loss mechanism for the patch is radiation into the surface waves of the conductor-backed substrate. We have considered two design configurations for a superconducting 20 GHz four-element circularly polarized microstrip antenna array. The first is the Huang array that uses properly oriented and phased linearly polarized microstrip patch elements to realize a circularly polarized pattern. The second is a gap-coupled array of circularly polarized elements. In this study we determined that although the Huang array operates well on low dielectric constant substrates, its performance becomes extremely sensitive to mismatches, interelement coupling, and design imperfections for substrates with high dielectric constants. For the gap-coupled microstrip array, we were able to fabricate and test circularly polarized elements and four-element arrays on LaAlO3 using sputtered copper films. These antennas were found to perform well, with relatively good circular polarization. In addition, we realized a four-element YBa2Cu3O(x) array of the same design and measured its pattern and gain relative to a room temperature copper array. The patterns were essentially the same as that for the copper array. The measured gain of the YBCO antenna was greater than that for the room temperature copper design at temperatures below 82K, reaching a value of 3.4 dB at the lowest temperatures.

Morrow, Jarrett D.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A general analysis of propagation along multiple-layer superconducting stripline and microstrip transmission lines

A rigorous spectral-domain formulation for a superconducting stripline or microstrip transmission line with a multiple-layer dielectric substrate is presented. The formulation models the strip conductor as a surface current with an equivalent surface impedance, where the surface impedance is approximated in closed form when the strip is either much thinner or much thicker than a penetration depth. In either case the surface impedance is related to the complex conductivity of the material, which is calculated from a two-fluid model. Results are presented to show the slow-wave propagation and attenuation along both microstrip and stripline packages in a realistic multiple-layer configuration, which accounts for the field penetration into the superconducting ground planes.

Nghiem, David↗

NASA NTRS1990

Microwave characterization of high-temperature superconducting thin films using stripline resonators

A method was derived for the extraction of the surface resistivity (Rs) of high-Tc superconducting (HTS) thin films at microwave frequencies, using a stripline resonator circuit. Surface resistivity values were calculated by measuring the difference in Q-values of a stripline resonator configuration when an HTS thin film was substituted for one of the metallic ground planes. Cryogenic tests were completed for several stripline resonator structures, yielding accurate predictions of the HTS thin-film performance at frequencies between 3 and 26 GHz (in harmonics of approximately 3 GHz). These results were then used to illustrate the dependence of HTS surface resistivity on frequency and temperature in the microwave frequency band.

Macdonald, Alan D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

An investigation of conformable antennas for the astronaut backpack communication system

During periods of extravehicular activity it is obviously important that communication and telemetry systems continue to function independently of the astronaut. A system of antennas must therefore be designed that will provide the necessary isotropic coverage using circular polarization over both the transmit and receive frequency bands. To avoid the inherent physical limitations to motion that would be incurred with any sort of protruding antenna, it is necessary that the radiator be essentially flush-mounted or conformable to the structure on which it is attached. Several individual antenna elements are needed for the desired coverage. Both the particular elements chosen and their location determine the ultimate radiation pattern of the overall system. For these reasons a two-fold research plan was undertaken. First, individual elements were investigated and designed. Then various mounting locations were considered and the radiation patterns were predicted taking into account the effects of the astronaut's backpack.

Long, Stuart A.↗