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At least 181 records · Page 10

Design of a Low Speed Fan Stage for Noise Suppression

This report describes the design of a low tip speed, moderate pressure rise fan stage for demonstration of noise reduction concepts. The fan rotor is a fixed-pitch configuration delivering a design pressure ratio of 1.378 at a specific flow of 43.1 lbm/sec/sq ft. Four exit stator configurations were provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of circumferential and axial sweep in reducing rotor-stator interaction tone noise. The fan stage design was combined with an axisymmetric inlet, conical convergent nozzle, and nacelle to form a powered fan-nacelle subscale model. This model has a 22-inch cylindrical flow path and employs a rotor with a 0.30 hub-to-tip radius ratio. The design is fully compatible with an existing NASA force balance and rig drive system. The stage aerodynamic and structural design is described in detail. Three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools were used to define optimum airfoil sections for both the rotor and stators. A fan noise predictive system developed by Pratt & Whitney under contract to NASA was used to determine the acoustic characteristics of the various stator configurations. Parameters varied included rotor-to-stator spacing and vane leading edge sweep. The structural analysis of the rotor and stator are described herein. An integral blade and disk configuration was selected for the rotor. Analysis confirmed adequate low cycle fatigue life, vibratory endurance strength, and aeroelastic suitability. A unique load carrying stator arrangement was selected to minimize generation of tonal noise due to sources other than rotor-stator interaction. Analysis of all static structural components demonstrated adequate strength, fatigue life, and vibratory characteristics.

Dalton, W. N.↗

TF41 Engine Fan Disk Seeded Fault Crack Propagation Test

Uncontained engine failures, although rare in occurrence, can have a catastrophic effect on aircraft performance and safety. Engine disk cracks can eventually lead to these type of failures. A number of techniques to detect engine disk cracks have been developed in recent years. However, these technologies have only been validated by disk spin pit tests, not actual engine tests. Due to this, a project was established to perform seeded fault engine tests on a TF41 engine disk fan. A defect was machined in the first stage fan disk of a TF41 engine. The disk was run in a spin pit to initiate a crack. Once initiated, the disk was run in an actual engine test facility. The engine was cycled by a number of start and stops with the goal of propagating the crack to disk burst through low cycle fatigue. Various crack detection techniques were installed on the engine and run real-time during the test to validate their abilities to detect disk cracks. These techniques were based on methods such as change in mass imbalance using vibration or shaft displacement, change in blade position, acoustic emission, and torsional resonance. At the completion of 4474 test cycles, the crack in the TF41 disk was determined to have grown approximately 0.025 inches. This was far less the predicted crack growth based on a fracture mechanics analysis and finite element stress analysis.

Lewicki, David G.↗

The effect of carbon concentration and plastic deformation on ultrasonic higher order elastic properties of steel

The behavior of higher order elastic properties, which are much more sensitive to material state than are second order properties, has been studied for steel alloys AISI 1016, 1045, 1095, and 8620 by measuring the stress derivative of the acoustic natural velocity to determine the stress acoustic constants (SAC's). Results of these tests show a 20 percent linear variation of SAC's with carbon content as well as even larger variations with prestrain (plastic deformation). The use of higher order elastic characterization permits quantitative evaluation of solids and may prove useful in studies of fatigue and fracture.

Heyman, J. S.↗

Real Time Fatigue Damage Growth Assessment of a Composite Three-Stringer Panel Using Passive Thermography

Fatigue testing of advanced composite structures is critical to validate both structural designs and damage prediction models. In-situ inspection methods are necessary to track damage onset and growth as a function of load cycles. Passive thermography is a large area, noncontact inspection technique that is used to detect composite damage onset and growth in real time as a function of fatigue cycles. The thermal images are acquired in synchronicity to the applied compressive load using a dual infrared camera acquisition system for full (front and back) coverage. Image processing algorithms are investigated to increase defect contrast areas. The thermal results are compared to non-immersion ultrasound inspections and acoustic emission data.

Zalameda, Joseph N.↗

Acoustic testing of high temperature panels

Results are presented of a series of thermal-acoustic tests conducted on the NASA Langley Research Center Thermal-Acoustic Test Apparatus to (1) investigate techniques for obtaining strain measurements on metallic and carbon-carbon materials at elevated temperature; (2) document the dynamic strain response characteristics of several superalloy honeycomb thermal protection system panels at elevated temperatures of up to 1200 F; and (3) determine the strain response and sonic fatigue behavior of four carbon-carbon panels at both ambient and elevated temperatures. A second study tested four carbon-carbon panels to document panel dynamic response characteristics at ambient and elevated temperature, determine time to failure and faliure modes, and collect continuous strain data up to panel failure. Strain data are presented from both types of panels, and problems encountered in obtaining reliable strain data on the carbon-carbon panels are described. The failure modes of the carbon-carbon panels are examined.

Leatherwood, Jack D.↗

Filament-wound composite vessels material technology

Programs are reviewed that were conducted to establish a technology base for applying advanced fibers or resins to high performance filament-wound pressure vessels for containment of cryogens and high pressure gases. Materials evaluated included boron, graphite, PRD 49-1 and 3/epoxy and S-glass/polyimide composites. Closed-end cylindrical, and oblate spheroid-shaped vessels were fabricated in 4- and 8-inch diameter sizes. Vessels were subjected to single-cycle burst, low-cycle fatigue, and sustained loading tests over a -423 F to room temperature range for epoxy composites and a -423 to 500 F temperature range for the polyimide composites. Vessels tested at cryogenic and/or 500 F had thin (3 to 20 mils) metallic liners whereas vessels tested at room temperature had elastomeric liners. Correlations between acoustic emissions and burst and cyclic properties of PRD 49-1 filament-wound vessels are discussed.

Lark, R. F.↗

Quelling Cabin Noise in Turboprop Aircraft via Active Control

Cabin noise in turboprop aircraft causes passenger discomfort, airframe fatigue, and employee scheduling constraints due to OSHA standards for exposure to high levels of noise. The noise levels in the cabins of turboprop aircraft are typically 10 to 30 decibels louder than commercial jet noise levels. However. unlike jet noise the turboprop noise spectrum is dominated by a few low frequency tones. Active structural acoustic control is a method in which the control inputs (used to reduce interior noise) are applied directly to a vibrating structural acoustic system. The control concept modeled in this work is the application of in-plane force inputs to piezoceramic patches bonded to the wall of a vibrating cylinder. The goal is to determine the force inputs and locations for the piezoceramic actuators so that: (1) the interior noise is effectively damped; (2) the level of vibration of the cylinder shell is not increased; and (3) the power requirements needed to drive the actuators are not excessive. Computational experiments for data taken from a computer generated model and from a laboratory test article at NASA Langley Research Center are provided.

Kincaid, Rex K.↗

Acoustic loads on an externally blown flap system due to impingement of a TF-34 jet engine exhaust

One of the powered lift systems currently being considered for use on STOL vehicles obtains additional lift by impinging the flow of a jet exhaust on the flaps and turning it downward. This direct impingement subjects large areas of the flap to the fluctuating pressure loads of the turbulent jet flow; these loads have the potential for causing high vibration levels and sonic fatigue failures. A test was conducted on a full-scale mockup of an externally blown flap system, which consisted of a TF-34 engine and a section of a wing having a triple-slotted flap. Data were obtained and evaluated on the fluctuating pressures on the flaps and it is the purpose of this paper to present some of the results describing the loads.

Schoenster, J. A.↗

Acoustic properties associated with rectangular geometry supersonic nozzles

Acoustic property experiments have been conducted to ascertain the behavior of rectangular geometry supersonic nozzles whose throat aspect ratios vary over a 2.0-7.6 range, and whose three partial sidewall geometries range from full to 75-percent cutback. The tests employed unheated air at static conditions for nozzle Mach numbers of 1.35-1.66. It is found that sonic fatigue failures are possible at certain partial sidewall geometries and high nozzle aspect ratios. Unlike axisymmetric supersonic nozzles, shock noise dominates both the rear and forward arc for throat aspect ratio cases greater than 5.6. Jet screech frequency was adequately predicted with a simple vortex sheel model.

Seiner, J. M.↗

Electrical Resistance of SiC/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites for Damage Detection and Life-Prediction

Ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are suitable for high temperature structural applications such as turbine airfoils and hypersonic thermal protection systems due to their low density high thermal conductivity. The employment of these materials in such applications is limited by the ability to accurately monitor and predict damage evolution. Current nondestructive methods such as ultrasound, x-ray, and thermal imaging are limited in their ability to quantify small scale, transverse, in-plane, matrix cracks developed over long-time creep and fatigue conditions. CMC is a multifunctional material in which the damage is coupled with the material s electrical resistance, providing the possibility of real-time information about the damage state through monitoring of resistance. Here, resistance measurement of SiC/SiC composites under mechanical load at both room temperature monotonic and high temperature creep conditions, coupled with a modal acoustic emission technique, can relate the effects of temperature, strain, matrix cracks, fiber breaks, and oxidation to the change in electrical resistance. A multiscale model can in turn be developed for life prediction of in-service composites, based on electrical resistance methods. Results of tensile mechanical testing of SiC/SiC composites at room and high temperatures will be discussed. Data relating electrical resistivity to composite constituent content, fiber architecture, temperature, matrix crack formation, and oxidation will be explained, along with progress in modeling such properties.

Smith, Craig↗

Liftoff Environments

A Launch Environment, or Liftoff Environment, fundamentally represents a source of loading during the hold-down or liftoff phase of a rocket launch. A launch vehicle is subjected to transient and oscillatory pressure loading on its exterior surfaces induced by engines and boosters during vehicle hold-down and liftoff. These pressure loads are a principal source of structural vibration which may result in the malfunction of vehicle components or the fatigue of exterior skin panels or component brackets. Additionally, the pressure loading gives rise to sound pressure levels inside the crew cabin which may impact the crew's health, safety, or ability to communicate. Liftoff Environments can have a significant impact on the launch vehicle or surrounding structures. For SLS, there are eight primary environments supported by the Liftoff Environments team. These are Liftoff Acoustics (LOA), Hold-down Acoustics (HDA), RS-25 Nozzle Flow Transient (NFT) Acoustics, Booster Ignition Overpressure (IOP) & Duct Overpressure (DOP), Igniter Shock, Core Stage Engine (CSE) Overpressure, Excess Hydrogen (H2) Pop, and Infrasonic Acoustics. These can be split generally into acoustics, which are sustained stationary events, and transients, which are short duration nonstationary events.

Matthew J Casiano↗

Effects of large deflection and transverse shear on response of rectangular symmetric composite laminates subjected to acoustic excitation

Nonlinear equations of motion of symmetrically laminated anisotropic plates are derived accounting for von Karman strains. The effect of transverse shear is included in the formulation. Using a single-mode Galerkin procedure, the nonlinear modal equation is obtained. The direct equivalent linearization method is employed for solution of this equation. The response to acoustic excitation of moderately thick composite panels is studied. Further, the effects of transverse shear on large deflection vibration of laminates under random excitation are studied. Mean-square deflections and mean-square inplane stresses are obtained for symmetric graphite-epoxy laminates. Using equilibrium equations and the continuity requirements, the mean-square transverse shear stresses are calculated. The results obtained will be useful in the sonic fatigue design of composite aircraft panels. The analysis is presented in detail for simply supported plates. The analogous equations for a clamped case are also obtained.

Mei, Chuh↗

Influence of large deflection and transverse shear on random response of rectangular symmetric composite laminates to acoustic loads

Nonlinear equations of motion of symmetrically laminated anisotropic plates are derived accounting for von Karman strains. The effect of transverse shear is included in the formulation and the rotatory inertia effect is ignored. Using a single-mode Galerkin procedure the nonlinear modal equation is obtained. Direct equivalent linearization is employed. The response of acoustic excitation on moderately thick composite panels is studied. Further, the effects of transverse shear on large deflection vibration of laminates under random excitation are studied. Mean-square deflection and mean-square inplane stresses are obtained for some symmetric graphite-epoxy laminates. Using equilibrium equations and the continuity requirements, the mean-square transverse shear stresses are calculated. The results obtained will be useful in the sonic fatigue design of composite aircraft panels. The analysis is presented in detail for simply supported plate. The analogous equations for a clamped case are given in the appendix.

Mei, Chuh↗

The Role of Structural Dynamics and Testing in the Shuttle Flowliner Crack Investigation

During a normal inspection of the main propulsion system at Kennedy Space Center, small cracks were noticed near a slotted region of a gimbal joint flowliner located just upstream from one of the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). These small cracks sparked an investigation of the entire Space Shuttle fleet main propulsion feedlines. The investigation was initiated to determine the cause of the small cracks and a repair method that would be needed to return the Shuttle fleet back to operation safely. The cracks were found to be initiated by structural resonance caused by flow fluctuations from the SSME low pressure fuel turbopump interacting with the flowliner. The pump induced backward traveling wakes that excited the liner and duct acoustics which also caused the liner to vibrate in complex mode shapes. The investigation involved an extensive effort by a team of engineers from the NASA civil servant and contractor workforce with the goal to characterize the root cause of the cracking behavior of the fuel side gimbal joint flowliners. In addition to working to identify the root cause, a parallel path was taken to characterize the material properties and fatigue capabilities of the liner material such that the life of the liners could be ascertained. As the characterization of the material and the most probable cause matured, the combination of the two with pump speed restrictions provided a means to return the Shuttle to flight in a safe manner. This paper traces the flowliner investigation results with respect to the structural dynamics analysis, component level testing and hot-fire flow testing on a static testbed. The paper will address the unique aspects of a very complex problem involving backflow from a high performance pump that has never been characterized nor understood to such detail. In addition, the paper will briefly address the flow phenomena that excited the liners, the unique structural dynamic modal characteristics and the variability of SSME operation which has ultimately ensured the safe and reliable operation of the shuttle main engines for each flight.

Frady, Gregory P.↗

Tensile Behavior and High-Cycle Fatigue Durability of a SiC/SiC Ceramic-Matrix Composite Without and With Simulated Cooling Holes

High-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of a melt-infiltrated, prepreg SiC/SiC composite was investigated using specimens without and with simulated cooling holes at 816 and 1,316 °C. The ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) material used for this study was fabricated by GE Aviation and had a ply configuration of [0/90/0] 3 . HCF tests were conducted with an R-ratio of 0.6 and a cyclic frequency of 30 Hz. Maximum tensile gross-section stresses used in the HCF tests ranged from 152 to 359 MPa. Runout in HCF was defined as 30 million cycles (278 h) at both temperatures. Monotonic tensile tests were conducted at room temperature (RT) on as-received CMC specimens and on HCF runout specimens without and with holes to determine residual tensile strengths. Digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) techniques were used to monitor progression of damage in RT tensile tests on specimens without and with holes. Fractography was performed on a limited number of specimens without and with holes to determine morphology of fracture surfaces. Representative RT stress-strain behavior, elevated temperature HCF behavior at the two temperatures, and RT residual tensile strengths of HCF runout specimens are documented in this report. Select examples of DIC and AE data from RT tensile tests on specimens without and with holes and typical features observed on fracture surfaces of specimens tested under tensile and HCF conditions are also discussed.

Ceramic matrix composite↗

Quantitative ultrasonic evaluation of engineering properties in metals, composites, and ceramics

Ultrasonic techniques that have demonstrated potential for material characterization are reviewed. These techniques rely on physical acoustic properties of materials and the interaction of elastic stress waves with morphological factors in the ultrasonic regime. The speed of wave propagation and energy loss by interaction with material microstructure and geometrical factors underlie ultrasonic determination of material properties. Two categories of ultrasonic measurements are discussed: those related to material strengths (e.g., elastic moduli, tensile strength, and fracture toughness) and those related to morphology and material conditions that govern strength and performance (e.g., microstructure, void content, residual stress, fatigue damage). It is shown that large-scale industrial application of ultrasonic NDE will depend on advancement in such areas as theory development, instrumentation, system automation, standardization, and coordination with design.

Vary, A.↗

Room Temperature Tensile Behavior and Damage Accumulation of Hi-Nicalon Reinforced SiC Matrix Composites

Composites consisting of woven Hi-Nicalon fibers, BN interphases, and different SiC matrices were studied in tension at room temperature. Composites with SiC matrices processed by CVI and melt infiltration were compared. Monotonic and load/unload/reload tensile hysteresis experiments were performed. A modal acoustic emission (AE) analyzer was used to monitor damage accumulation during the tensile test. Post test polishing of the tensile gage sections was performed to determine the extent of cracking. The occurrence and location of cracking could easily be determined using modal AE. The loss of modulus could also effectively be determined from the change in the velocity of sound across the sample. Finally, the stresses where cracks appear to intersect the load-bearing fibers correspond with high temperature low cycle fatigue run out stresses for these materials.

Morscher, G. N.↗

Structural Health Monitoring of Vertical Lift Structures Operating in an Urban Environment

Verifying the structural integrity of aeronautical vehicles is of critical importance for the safety of passengers and crew. When operating in a densely populated urban area, pedestrian safety and collateral damage to buildings and other infrastructure also become important concerns. Damage modes, including fatigue from an increased frequency of take-off and landing cycles and a higher probability of impacts from bird strikes, also pose different failure risks as compared to commercial long-haul aircraft and thus require a change in structural health monitoring philosophy. This presentation will review the state of the art in structural health monitoring with an eye toward applications for vertical lift systems operated in the urban environment. Structural health monitoring methods including eddy current, fiber optic, ultrasonic plate wave, surface acoustic wave and electrical impedance tomography will be explored for use in on-board monitoring of impact and overstrain events as well as damage detection and characterization. Infusion of the data into an early warning system to help ensure damage will not propagate to failure during flight will also be discussed.

Russell A Wincheski↗