Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “BOLTS - STRESSES”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10

Tethered Space Satellite-1 (TSS-1): Wound About a Bolt

In the early 1990's US and Italian scientists collaborated to study the electrodynamics on a long tether between two satellites as it moved through the electrically charged portion of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere. Potential uses for the electrical current induced in the long wire include power and thrust generation for a satellite, momentum exchange, artificial gravity, deployment of sensors or antennas, and gravity-gradient stabilization. The Tethered Space Satellite (TSS) was a first-of-its-kind experiment with long tethers in space. It consisted of a satellite with science experiments attached to a 12.5 mile long, very thin (0.10 inch diameter) copper wire assembly wound around a spool in the deployer reel mechanism. The whole mechanism sits on a pallet that is installed into the Shuttle bay. At an altitude of 160 nautical miles above earth, the satellite would be deplodeployed from the Shuttle bay by raising it on a boom facing away from Earth. Once cleared of the bay, the deployer mechanism would slowly feed out the 12-plus miles of tether. Scientific data would be collected throughout the operation, after which the satellite would be reeled back in. A receiver spool to catch the 12.5 mile tether as it was being unwound by the deployer reel mechanism was set up to do the system-level test of deployer real mechanism prior to installing the loaded pallet into the Shuttle bay. The system level tests were required before the pallet could be installed into the Space Shuttle cargo bay. A few months before flight, the system level tests, including unreeling and reeling the tether, were completed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the TSS payload was installed onto the Spacelab pallet. Some of this testing equipment was then shipped back to the contractor, Martin Marietta. Integration with the Shuttle began. Systems-level load analyses, which cannot be run until all information about each payload is finalized, was run in parallel with the physical integration of the hardware into the Shuttle payload bay. An analysis, called Coupled loads analysis, incorporates any updates to the model due to system level tests of all the different payloads, and any changes that were found during integration. Engineering analysis examines the worst case scenarios for the loads the hardware will see. The two times during the mission where the dynamic loads are the worst were 1) the first 10-second portion of Shuttle lift off, and 2) a 2-second time during landing when the landing gears hit the ground. The coupled loads analysis using the final verification loads showed that a single bolt attaching the deployer reel mechanism to the support structure had a "negative margin" - which is an indication that it might fail - during touch down. Hardware certification rules do not allow for hardware to fly with negative margins. A structural failure of one payload could have serious or catastrophic consequences to other payloads, or may significantly damage the Orbiter. The issue had to be resolved before the flight.

O'Connor, Brian↗

CFD Simulations of the IHF Arc-Jet Flow: Compression-Pad/Separation Bolt Wedge Tests

This paper reports computational analyses in support of two wedge tests in a high enthalpy arc-jet facility at NASA Ames Research Center. These tests were conducted using two different wedge models, each placed in a free jet downstream of a corresponding different conical nozzle in the Ames 60-MW Interaction Heating Facility. Panel test articles included a metallic separation bolt imbedded in the compression-pad and heat shield materials, resulting in a circular protuberance over a flat plate. As part of the test calibration runs, surface pressure and heat flux measurements on water-cooled calibration plates integrated with the wedge models were also obtained. Surface heating distributions on the test articles as well as arc-jet test environment parameters for each test configuration are obtained through computational fluid dynamics simulations, consistent with the facility and calibration measurements. The present analysis comprises simulations of the non-equilibrium flow field in the facility nozzle, test box, and flow field over test articles, and comparisons with the measured calibration data.

TPS↗

CFD Simulations of the IHF Arc-Jet Flow: Compression-Pad/Separation Bolt Wedge Tests

This paper reports computational analyses in support of two wedge tests in a high enthalpy arc-jet facility at NASA Ames Research Center. These tests were conducted using two different wedge models, each placed in a free jet downstream of a corresponding different conical nozzle in the Ames 60-MW Interaction Heating Facility. Each panel test article included a metallic separation bolt imbedded in Orion compression-pad and heatshield materials, resulting in a circular protuberance over a flat plate. The protuberances produce complex model flowfields, containing shock-shock and shock-boundary layer interactions, and multiple augmented heating regions on the test plate. As part of the test calibration runs, surface pressure and heat flux measurements on water-cooled calibration plates integrated with the wedge models were also obtained. Surface heating distributions on the test articles as well as arc-jet test environment parameters for each test configuration are obtained through computational fluid dynamics simulations, consistent with the facility and calibration measurements. The present analysis comprises simulations of the nonequilibrium flowfield in the facility nozzle, test box, and flowfield over test articles, and comparisons with the measured calibration data.

CFD↗

CFD Simulations of the IHF Arc-Jet Flow: Compression-Pad Separation Bolt Wedge Tests

This paper reports computational analyses in support of two wedge tests in a high enthalpy arc-jet facility at NASA Ames Research Center. These tests were conducted using two different wedge models, each placed in a free jet downstream of a corresponding different conical nozzle in the Ames 60-MW Interaction Heating Facility. Each panel test article included a metallic separation bolt imbedded in Orion compression-pad and heatshield materials, resulting in a circular protuberance over a flat plate. The protuberances produce complex model flowfields, containing shock-shock and shock-boundary layer interactions, and multiple augmented heating regions on the test plate. As part of the test calibration runs, surface pressure and heat flux measurements on water-cooled calibration plates integrated with the wedge models were also obtained. Surface heating distributions on the test articles as well as arc-jet test environment parameters for each test configuration are obtained through computational fluid dynamics simulations, consistent with the facility and calibration measurements. The present analysis comprises simulations of the non-equilibrium flow field in the facility nozzle, test box, and flow field over test articles, and comparisons with the measured calibration data.

CFD↗

LaRC Aerothermodynamic Ground Tests in Support of BOLT Flight Experiment

A review is provided of recent aerothermodynamic ground-test contributions by NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to the BOLT flight test program. Several test entries into the Langley Aerothermodynamic Laboratory 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel are discussed. These entries were intended to support the development and design of flight hardware and instrumentation. Some trends and observations from these entries are provided. Also, a comparison of two different global heat transfer test techniques is included and discussed.

Berry, Scott A.↗

Experimental Aeroheating Study in NASA LaRC 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel: Discrete Roughness on BOLT – Test 7071

An experimental study of the effect of discrete roughness (trips) on boundary layer transition was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel on the BOLT shape. This study was intended to obtain results that could eventually be compared against experimental results from other facilities, as well as from flight. The trip locations for the present study were selected to correspond to those used for the flight vehicle, but the heights of these discrete roughness elements were varied. Infrared thermography was used to obtain images of the effect of these trips on the behavior of the boundary layer. This report is intended as a quick release of experimental results.

hypersonic↗

Preliminary Measurements on the BOLT Geometry in the Supersonic Low Disturbance Tunnel

Experiments were performed in the Mach 3.5 Supersonic Low Disturbance Tunnel on the BOundary-Layer Transition (BOLT) geometry. The goal of this campaign was to assess changes to the transition front by varying the freestream noise and the model surface quality. The model was printed of polycarbonate and is 30% scale of the flight geometry. It was tested under noisy and quiet conditions at different streamwise positions in the tunnel and was also tested before and after improvements were made to the model surface through sanding and gap reduction. Pitch and yaw angles were nominally zero. The model surface temperature was measured using infrared thermography and thermocouples as the unit Reynolds number was swept from 4.75 – 15.8 × 10 6 m −1 . Boundary-layer transition was observed near the midspan of the model for unit Reynolds numbers above 10×10 6 m −1 in quiet flow, while transition was already observed on the shoulders below 5×10 6 m −1 in noisy flow. The model surface enhancements improved the symmetry of the transition front for quiet flow but made only slight differences for noisy flow. In quiet flow, the impact of streamwise positioning on transition was more significant on the model shoulders compared to the central region. The difference in the shoulder heating was likely due to variation in noise radiated from the nozzle sidewalls. The total temperature and initial wall temperatures were near 300 K and 293 K, respectively, which generally resulted in negative convective heat-flux values into the model. Hot-wire anemometry was also utilized to characterize the freestream and to conduct a planar survey near the base of the model for the 7.92 × 10 6 m −1 quiet condition. The survey captured the thickening of the boundary layer at the centerline and the vortical nature of the flow outboard of it. Spectral analysis of the mass-flux fluctuations near the midspan demonstrates that the boundary layer is laminar and suggests that the thick boundary layer caused the relatively warm centerline observed in the infrared images.

boundary layer transition↗

Ground Tests on the BOLT Geometry at Mach 7: Cross-Facility Comparison and Stability Analysis

Transition measurements have been obtained through two experimental campaigns conducted independently by the German Aerospace Center and the French Aerospace Lab with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission on subscale models of the BOLT-1 flight experiment geometry. This paper details a cross-facility comparison of measurements obtained at Mach 7, as well as subsequent computational analysis. Infrared (IR) thermography measurements obtained by both campaigns have facilitated a global comparison of the transition front across facilities at analagous conditions, which are found to be in good agreement. High-frequency surface pressure fluctuation data demonstrate significant amplification of instabilities with Mack-mode characteristics in the outboard regions of the acreage. These measurements are compared to stability analyses of varying fidelity. The computational methods employed to characterize the boundary-layer transition phenomena include the traditional line-marching implementation of the Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE), 2D eigenvalue analysis coupled with PSE, and Adaptive Mesh Refinement Wavepacket Tracking. While the 2D eigenvalue analysis is found to predict instabilities, which correlate in terms of frequency and acreage location to the experimental measurements, the predicted amplification for these instabilities is lower than would typically be expected for transition. Line-marching results for traveling crossflow produce the best match to the experimental transition front, with a consistent transition N factor of approximately 3-3.5.

Boundary Layer Transition↗

Preliminary Measurements on the BOLT Geometry in the Supersonic Low Disturbance Tunnel

Experiments were performed in the Mach 3.5 Supersonic Low Disturbance Tunnel on the BOundary-Layer Transition (BOLT) geometry. The goal of this campaign was to assess changes to the transition front by varying the freestream noise and the model surface quality. The model was printed of polycarbonate and is 30% scale of the flight geometry. It was tested under noisy and quiet conditions at different streamwise positions in the tunnel and was also tested before and after improvements were made to the model surface through sanding and gap reduction. Pitch and yaw angles were nominally zero. The model surface temperature was measured using infrared thermography and thermocouples as the unit Reynolds number was swept from 4.75 -- 15.8 x 10^6 m^{-1}. Boundary-layer transition was observed near the midspan of the model for unit Reynolds numbers above 10 x 10^6 m^{-1} in quiet flow, while transition was already observed on the shoulders below 5 x 10^6 m^{-1} in noisy flow. The model surface enhancements improved the symmetry of the transition front for quiet flow but made only slight differences for noisy flow. In quiet flow, the impact of streamwise positioning on transition was more significant on the model shoulders compared to the central region. The difference in the shoulder heating was likely due to variation in noise radiated from the nozzle sidewalls. The total temperature and initial wall temperatures were near 300 K and 293 K, respectively, which generally resulted in negative convective heat-flux values into the model. Hot-wire anemometry was also utilized to characterize the freestream and to conduct a planar survey near the base of the model for the 7.92 x 10^6 m^{-1} quiet condition. The survey captured the thickening of the boundary layer at the centerline and the vortical nature of the flow outboard of it. Spectral analysis of the mass-flux fluctuations near the midspan demonstrates that the boundary layer is laminar and suggests that the thick boundary layer caused the relatively warm centerline observed in the infrared images.

boundary layer transition↗

BOLT-2 Roughness Side Flight Data Results and Analysis

This report provides an in-depth review of the flight data obtained from Side B, also known as the roughness side, of BOLT-2, which was developed and designed to measure the effectiveness of boundary layer trips at hypersonic conditions. Three discrete-roughness trips were implemented on Side B at specific locations, with the necessary sensor layout, to investigate the flight conditions at which they no longer maintained turbulence behind them. All three trips were the same type that were scaled and sized based on predictions of local boundary layer thicknesses to provide the same level of effectiveness. One trip was on the vehicle centerline, where the boundary layer is relatively thick, while the other two were symmetrically located outboard where the boundary layer is much thinner. The relative difference in boundary layer thickness between these locations was roughly on the order of 3-to-1, thus the centerline trip was geometrically about three times larger than the outboard trips. A first order assessment of the Side B flight results is indicated by these three trips forcing transition onset at the same time during flight. The enclosed flight data shows that the performance of each individual trip was nearly identical, with allowances for minor variations attributed to measurement accuracy.

Flight Data↗

Bolt torque tests in vacuum

Test equipment and tests to determine effects of vacuum environment on release torque of threaded fasteners

Demorest, K. E.↗

Adding through-bolt holes to pin-fin cold plates

Spot-welding technique is less expensive than secondary-brazing and electron-beam methods. With procedure, standard plates can be modified in quantity for various mounting configurations without need for special tooling.

Ruppe, E. P.↗

Behavior of composite bolted joints at elevated temperature

Experimental results from an investigation which examines the combined effects of temperature, joint geometry and out-of-plane constraint upon the response of mechanically fastened composite joints are presented. Data are presented for simulated mechanically fastened joint conditions in two laminate configurations fabricated from Hercules AS/3501-6 graphite-epoxy. Strength and failure mode results are presented for the test temperatures of 21 C, 121 C and 177 C and for a range of the geometric parameters W/D and e/D from 3.71 to 7.43 and 1.85 to 3.69, respectively. A hole diameter, D of 5.16 mm was utilized for all tests. Pin bearing tests with out-of-plane constraint were conducted at room temperature only. All elevated temperature data were generated for pin bearing conditions. Ultrasonic C scan inspection of the failed specimens was employed to assess the damage region and to determine failure mode. Comparative data are presented for pin bearing and out-of-plane constraint conditions for the above mentioned joint configurations. The joint under pin loading was modeled by two dimensional finite element methods. Predicted net section strain concentrations were compared with experimental results.

Wilson, D. W.↗