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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.

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At least 181 records · Page 10

A normal stress criterion for crack extension direction in orthotropic composite materials

A criterion for predicting the direction of crack extension in orthotropic composite materials is presented. The criterion is based upon the normal stress and the anisotropic tensile strength on arbitrary planes about the tip of a crack. Results are obtained, via finite element solutions, for: (1) isotropic mixed mode fracture, (2) cracks in unidirectional off-axis slotted composite tensile coupons and (3) cracks in cross plied laminates. Comparisons are made with other theories and experimental results.

Buczek, M. B.↗

A photoelastic investigation of asymmetric four point bend shear test for composite materials

The shear stress fringe value of orthotropic birefringent model materials is presently used in an asymmetric four-point bend test that employs a notched specimen and is a modification of the Iosipescu test (1967). While in the case of a unidirectionally reinforced glass-polyester model material, shear stress fringe values obtained from 90- and 120-deg (sharp and radiused) notches are reasonably close to the values obtained for an off-axis tensile specimen, no conclusions can be drawn on the influence of the notch parameters, due to the peculiarities of the photoelastic response of the inhomogeneous orthotropic model material. The failure modes nevertheless indicate that a notch radius, and the 120-deg notch angle, reduce the stress concentration. Comparisons are made with finite element results.

Prabhakaran, R.↗

Concentration distributions in a model combustor

A hot-wire concentration probe with a spatial resolution of 0.13 mm is used to measure concentration in a model cylindrical combustor. The flow inside the combustor is simulated by injecting a helium jet into a cylindrical confinement with or without swirling air flow present. Mean concentrations are essentially zero outside of the jet region, indicating complete confinement of the scalar field by the swirling flow. Consequently, concentration fluctuations are found to be relatively weak compared to velocity fluctuations, and are maximum off-axis at a point which corresponds to the interface between helium and air flows. However, in the absence of a swirling air flow, the helium diffuses quickly to fill the combustor. The resulting helium concentrations are constant and do not resemble the jet-like behavior of the velocity field.

Ahmed, S. A.↗

Analysis of a new class of grazing incidence spectroscopic telescope

The throughput and imaging properties of one of a new class of grazing incidence spectroscopic telescope are examined with a Monte Carlo ray tracing technique. The results are compared with Wolter Schwarzschild type II telescopes of similar size. The image quality of this telescope is comparable, and the control of the off-axis light is superior to the Wolter Schwarzschild design.

Green, J. C.↗

ANISAP: A three-dimensional finite element program for laminated composites subjected to mechanical loading

ANISAP is a 3-D finite element FORTRAN 77 computer code for linear elastic, small strain, analysis of laminated composites with arbitrary geometry including free edges and holes. Individual layers may be isotropic or transversely isotropic in material principal coordinates; individual layers may be rotated off-axis about a global z-axis. The laminate may be a hybrid. Three different isoparametric elements, variable order of gaussian integration, calculation of stresses at element boundaries, and loading by either nodal displacement of forces are included in the program capability. Post processing capability includes failure analysis using the tensor polynominal failure criterion.

Burns, S. W.↗

Electromagnetic backscattering by corner reflectors

The analysis of the backscatter cross section of a dihedral corner reflector, using Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD) and Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD), is completed in the azimuthal plane, and very good agreement with experimental results is obtained. The advantages and limitations of the GTD and PTD techniques are discussed specifically for radar cross section applications. The utilization of GTD and PTD in oblique incidence diffraction from conducting targets is discussed. Results for equivalent current off-axis diffraction from the flat rectangular plate are presented using the equivalent currents of Knott, Senior, and Michaeli. The rectangular subdivision technique of Sikta, and its extension by Sunatara, alleviate some of the limitations of the equivalent techniques. As yet, neither technique can be used in bistatic scattering or for multiple scattering of a complex target.

Balanis, C. A.↗

A new approach to large area microchannel plate manufacture

Methods of manufacture of twisted single elements as the base for producing microchannel plates (MCP) are discussed. Initial evaluations validated the off-axis channel concept and no technological roadblocks were identified which would prevent fabrication of high gain, high spatial resolution, large format MCP's using this technique. The first MP's have operated at stable gains of 3 million with pulse height resolution superior to results obtained by standard chevron MCP's.

Source record↗

Stresses and deformations in angle-ply composite tubes

The stress and deformations in angle-ply composite tubes subjected to axisymmetric thermal loading were investigated both experimentally and analytically. For the theoretical portion a generalized plane strain elasticity analysis was developed. The analysis included mechanical and thermal loading, and temperature-dependent material properties. The elasticity analysis was also used to study the effect of including a thin metallic coating on a graphite-epoxy tube. The stresses in the coatings were found to be quite high, exceeding the yield stress of aluminum. An important finding in the analytical studies was the fact that even tubes with a balanced-symmetric lamination sequence exhibit shear deformation, or twist. For the experimental portion an apparatus was developed to measure torsional and axial response in the temperature range of 140 to 360 K. Eighteen specimens were tested, combining three material systems, eight lamination sequences, and three off-axis ply orientation angles. For the twist response, agreement between analysis and experiment was found to be good. The axial response of the tubes tested was found to be greater than predicted by a factor of three. As a result, it is recommended that the thermally induced axial deformations be investigated, both experimentally and analytically.

Rousseau, Carl Q.↗

Layered synthetic microstructures for solar EUV telescopes

The application of layered synthetic microstructures (LSMs) to figured mirrors suitable for normal incidence solar EUV telescopes is considered, and initial studies for a single mirror telescope consisting of an f/18, 200-cm focal length off-axis paraboloid demonstrate the feasibility of LSM coatings for moderate sized mirrors. Analytical studies on broadband designs comprised of five layers show a seven percent reflectance at 256 A and reflectivities of over 12 percent for wavelengths above 300 A. Deposition considerations are also discussed.

Keski-Kuha, R. A. M.↗

Heat trap with flare as multimode antenna

A heat trap, also called a Winston cone or compound parabolic concentrator, has been designed and built to serve as the beam defining optic for the far-infrared absolute spectrophotometer on the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite. This quasi-optical multimode antenna is coupled to a flared entrance section shaped like a trumpet bell to reduce response to off-axis radiation. The antenna has very low sidelobes over a two-decade frequency range from 1 to 100/cm. Fabrication is described, and stray light data are presented and compared to theory. A novel optical figure test for concentrators is presented.

Mather, J. C.↗

X-ray testing of the AXAF Technology Mirror Assembly (TMA) mirror

The X-ray performance of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility TMA in the 0.277-6.4-keV range. The precise figure and smooth surface originally specified (which were expected from the in-process optical and mechanical measurements) are verified. The paper primarily describes the test equipment and methods used and gives examples of the detailed on-axis and off-axis data.

Schwartz, D. A.↗

System implications of aperture-shade design for the SIRTF Observatory

The 1-m-aperture Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) will operate with a sensitivity limited only by the zodiacal background. This sensitivity requirement places severe restrictions on the amount of stray light which can reach the focal plane from off-axis sources such as the sun or earth limb. In addition, radiation from these sources can degrade the lifetime of the telescope and instrument cryogenic system which is now planned for two years before the first servicing. Since the aperture of the telescope represents a break in the telescope insulation system and is effectively the first element in the optical train, the aperture shade is a key system component. The mass, length, and temperature of the shade should be minimized to reduce system cost while maximizing the telescope lifetime and stray light performance. The independent geometric parameters that characterize an asymmetrical shade for a 600 km, 28 deg orbit were identified, and the system sensitivity to the three most important shade parameters were explored. Despite the higher heat loads compared to previously studied polar orbit missions, the analysis determined that passive radiators of a reasonable size are sufficient to meet the system requirements. An optimized design for the SIRTF mission, based on the sensitivity analysis, is proposed.

Lee, J. H.↗

A grazing incidence extreme ultraviolet spectrometer for use with a diverging beam

Attention is given to the 100-350 A performance of a grazing incidence spectrometer configuration that accepts a diverging beam for the conduct of moderate resolution spectroscopy. Assuming a focal ratio of 10 for the diverging beam, the first optic of the configuration is an off-axis ellipsoid that is used at grazing incidence to refocus the diverging beam and increase the focal ratio. A detailed study is made of the performance of a plane, straight-groove, variable-line-space grating; the aberrations are evaluated analytically and verified by geometrical ray tracing. System resolution is a function of telescope image quality. An optimum design is found by varying six parameters and maximizing the average resolution over the bandpass. The spectrometer can be located far from the optical axis, and fed by a small grazing incidence pick-off mirror.

Hurwitz, Mark↗

A parametric study of various synthetic aperture telescope configurations for coherent imaging applications

The comparative advantages of synthetic aperture telescopes (SATs) of segmented primary mirror and common secondary mirror type, on the one hand, and on the other those employing an array of independent telescopes, are discussed. The diffraction-limited optical performance of both redundant and nonredundant subaperture configurations are compared in terms of point spread function characteristics and encircled energy plots. Coherent imaging with afocal telescope SATs involves a pupil-mapping operation followed by a Fourier transform one. A quantitative analysis of the off-axis optical performance degradation due to pupil-mapping errors is presented, together with the field-dependent effects of residual design aberrations of independent telescopes.

Harvey, James E.↗

Glancing incidence X-ray optics for solar X-ray astronomy

Glancing incidence X-ray optics have been developed into a highly valuable tool for high-resolution investigations of the sun in the X-ray/XUV regime. A brief overview of the development of X-ray optics technology is presented. Techniques currently under study for increasing the plate scale and improving the off-axis performance of future X-ray telescopes for solar X-ray astronomy are briefly discussed.

Hoover, Richard B.↗

STRAY - An interactive program for the computation of stray radiation in infrared telescopes

The STRAY program to model the amount of stray radiation reaching the focal plane of a well-baffled telescope is described. The STRAY telescope model is addressed, including the aperture shade, barrel baffle, optics, mirror sectioning and chopping, and off-axis points in focal plane. The possible illumination paths are shown, and calculation options using STRAY are discussed. The stored data and computational aspects of STRAY are addressed. STRAY is compared to the MINI-APART model, and applications of STRAY are described.

St. Clair Dinger, Ann↗

Fracture surfaces of irradiated composites

Electron microscopy was used to analyze the fracture surfaces of T300/934 graphite/epoxy unidirectional off-axis tensile coupons which were subjected to 1.0-MeV electron radiation at a rate of 50 Mrad/h for a total dose of 10 Grad. Fracture surfaces from irradiated and nonirradiated specimens tested at 116 K, room temperature, and 394 K were analyzed to assess the influence of radiation and temperature on the mode of failure and variations in constituent material as a function of environmental exposure. Micrographs of fracture surfaces indicate that irradiated specimens are more brittle than nonirradiated specimens at low temperatures. However, at elevated temperatures the irradiated specimens exhibit significantly more plasticity than nonirradiated specimens.

Milkovich, Scott M.↗

Observations and consequences of nonuniform aluminum concentrations in the channel regions of AlGaAs channeled-substrate-planar lasers

Compositional changes in the n-clad layer within the channel region of channel substrate planar (CSP) type semiconductor lasers have been observed. As a consequece, a large optical cavity (LOC) or an enhanced substrate loss (ESL) version of the CSP geometry may result, both of which may have significantly different characteristics from those of a conventional CSP laser. The CSP-LOC generally has a larger near-field spot size, while the ESL-CSP is characterized by an off-axis, asymmetric far-field pattern.

Evans, Gary A.↗