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At least 199 records · Page 11

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NASA NTRS1988

Body weight of hypersonic aircraft, part 1

The load bearing body weight of wing-body and all-body hypersonic aircraft is estimated for a wide variety of structural materials and geometries. Variations of weight with key design and configuration parameters are presented and discussed. Both hot and cool structure approaches are considered in isotropic, organic composite, and metal matrix composite materials; structural shells are sandwich or skin-stringer. Conformal and pillow-tank designs are investigated for the all-body shape. The results identify the most promising hypersonic aircraft body structure design approaches and their weight trends. Geometric definition of vehicle shapes and structural analysis methods are presented in appendices.

Ardema, Mark D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Free volume variation with molecular weight of polymers

Free volume measurements were made in several molecular weight fractions of two different geometries of poly(arylene ether ketone)s. Free volumes were measured using positron lifetime spectroscopy. It has been observed that the free volume cell size V(sub f) varies with the molecular weight M of the test samples according to an equation of the form V(sub f) = AM(B), where A and B are constants. The molecular weights computed from the free volume cell sizes are in good agreement with the values measured by gel permeation chromatography.

Singh, Jag J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

High molecular weight first generation PMR polyimides for 343 C applications

The effect of molecular weight on 343 C thermo-oxidative stability (TOS), mechanical properties, and processability, of the first generation PMR polyimides was studied. Graphite fiber reinforced PMR-15, PMR-30, PMR-50, and PMR-75 composites (corresponding to formulated molecular weights of 1500, 3000, 5000, and 7500, respectively) were fabricated using a simulated autoclave process. The data reveals that while alternate autoclave cure schedules are required for the high molecular weight resins, low void laminates can be fabricated which have significantly improved TOS over PMR-15, with only a small sacrifice in mechanical properties.

Malarik, Diane C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Integrating aerodynamics and structures in the minimum weight design of a supersonic transport wing

An approach is presented for determining the minimum weight design of aircraft wing models which takes into consideration aerodynamics-structure coupling when calculating both zeroth order information needed for analysis and first order information needed for optimization. When performing sensitivity analysis, coupling is accounted for by using a generalized sensitivity formulation. The results presented show that the aeroelastic effects are calculated properly and noticeably reduce constraint approximation errors. However, for the particular example selected, the error introduced by ignoring aeroelastic effects are not sufficient to significantly affect the convergence of the optimization process. Trade studies are reported that consider different structural materials, internal spar layouts, and panel buckling lengths. For the formulation, model and materials used in this study, an advanced aluminum material produced the lightest design while satisfying the problem constraints. Also, shorter panel buckling lengths resulted in lower weights by permitting smaller panel thicknesses and generally, by unloading the wing skins and loading the spar caps. Finally, straight spars required slightly lower wing weights than angled spars.

Barthelemy, Jean-Francois M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Optimization of vehicle weight for Mars excursion missions

The excursion class mission to Mars is defined as a mission with one year durations coupled with a stay time of up to 30 days. The fuel budget for such a mission is investigated. The overall figure of merit in such an assessment is the vehicle weight ratio, the ratio between the wet vehicle weight to the dry vehicle weight. It is necessary to minimize the overall fuel budget for the mission in order to maximize the benefits that could be obtained by sending humans to Mars. Assumptions used in the analysis are: each mission will depart and terminate in low-earth-orbit (LEO) (500 km circular) and the maximum stay time at Mars is 30 days. The maximum mission duration is one year (355-375 days). The mass returned to LEO is 135,000 kg, the dropoff mass left at Mars is 168,000 kg. Three propulsive techniques for atmospheric interface are investigated: aerobraking, all-chemical propulsion, and nuclear thermal propulsion. By defining the fuel requirements, the space transfer vehicle's configuration is defined.

Ferebee, Melvin J., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1992

High molecular weight first generation PMR polyimides for 343 C applications

The effect of molecular weight on 343 C thermo-oxidative stability (TOS), mechanical properties, and processability, of the first generation PMR polyimides was studied. Graphite fiber reinforced PMR-15, PMR-30, PMR-50, and PMR-75 composites (corresponding to formulated molecular weights of 1500, 3000, 5000, and 7500, respectively) were fabricated using a simulated autoclave process. The data reveal that while alternate autoclave cure schedules are required for the high molecular weight resins, low void laminates can be fabricated which have significantly improved TDS over PMR-15, with only a small sacrifice in mechanical properties.

Malarik, D. C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Weight optimization of an aerobrake structural concept for a lunar transfer vehicle

An aerobrake structural concept for a lunar transfer vehicle was weight optimized through the use of the Taguchi design method, finite element analyses, and element sizing routines. Six design parameters were chosen to represent the aerobrake structural configuration. The design parameters included honeycomb core thickness, diameter-depth ratio, shape, material, number of concentric ring frames, and number of radial frames. Each parameter was assigned three levels. The aerobrake structural configuration with the minimum weight was 44 percent less than the average weight of all the remaining satisfactory experimental configurations. In addition, the results of this study have served to bolster the advocacy of the Taguchi method for aerospace vehicle design. Both reduced analysis time and an optimized design demonstrated the applicability of the Taguchi method to aerospace vehicle design.

Bush, Lance B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

What is the Relationship Between Altitude and Weight in a Model Rocket?

This experiment was designed to find a function of payload weight for altitude. The same rocket was launched a repeated number of times with the same engine and varying amounts of weight. After performing experimentation, it was calculated that the altitude in meters could be predicted with the equation A = (2.8(W exp 2)) - (70.6W + 310.3), with weight expressed in the unit ounces.

Betz, Jonathan↗

NASA NTRS1992

Free volume model for molecular weights of polymers

A free volume model has been developed for determining molecular weights of linear polymers. It is based on the size of free volume cells in two geometries of poly(arylene ether ketone)s. Free volume cell sizes in test samples were measured using positron lifetime spectroscopy. The molecular weights computed from free volume cell sizes are in good agreement with the values measured by gel permeation chromatography, with a low angle laser light scattering photometer as the detector. The model has been further tested on two atactic polystyrene samples, where it predicted the ratio of their molecular weights with reasonable accuracy.

Singh, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

On the use of ANN interconnection weights in optimal structural design

The present paper describes the use of interconnection weights of a multilayer, feedforward network, to extract information pertinent to the mapping space that the network is assumed to represent. In particular, these weights can be used to determine an appropriate network architecture, and an adequate number of training patterns (input-output pairs) have been used for network training. The weight analysis also provides an approach to assess the influence of each input parameter on a selected output component. The paper shows the significance of this information in decomposition driven optimal design.

Hajela, P.↗

NASA NTRS1944

Intercooler cooling-air weight flow and pressure drop for minimum drag loss

An analysis has been made of the drag losses in airplane flight of cross-flow plate and tubular intercoolers to determine the cooling-air weight flow and pressure drop that give a minimum drag loss for any given cooling effectiveness and, thus, a maximum power-plant net gain due to charge-air cooling. The drag losses considered in this analysis are those due to (1) the extra drag imposed on the airplane by the weight of the intercooler, its duct, and its supports and (2) the drag sustained by the cooling air in flowing through the intercooler and its duct. The investigation covers a range of conditions of altitude, airspeed, lift-drag ratio, supercharger-pressure ratio, and supercharger adiabatic efficiency. The optimum values of cooling air pressure drop and weight flow ratio are tabulated. Curves are presented to illustrate the results of the analysis.

Reuter, J George↗

NASA NTRS1958

Effect of Chord Size on Weight and Cooling Characteristics of Air-Cooled Turbine Blades

An analysis has been made to determine the effect of chord size on the weight and cooling characteristics of shell-supported, air-cooled gas-turbine blades. In uncooled turbines with solid blades, the general practice has been to design turbines with high aspect ratio (small blade chord) to achieve substantial turbine weight reduction. With air-cooled blades, this study shows that turbine blade weight is affected to a much smaller degree by the size of the blade chord.

Esgar, Jack B↗

NASA NTRS1991

Application of a design-build-team approach to low cost and weight composite fuselage structure

Relationships between manufacturing costs and design details must be understood to promote the application of advanced composite technologies to transport fuselage structures. A team approach, integrating the disciplines responsible for aircraft structural design and manufacturing, was developed to perform cost and weight trade studies for a twenty-foot diameter aft fuselage section. Baseline composite design and manufacturing concepts were selected for large quadrant panels in crown, side, and keel areas of the fuselage section. The associated technical issues were also identified. Detailed evaluation of crown panels indicated the potential for large weight savings and costs competitive with aluminum technology in the 1995 timeframe. Different processes and material forms were selected for the various elements that comprise the fuselage structure. Additional cost and weight savings potential was estimated for future advancements.

Ilcewicz, L. B.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Biotelemetry implant volume and weight in rats: A pilot study report

This paper reports the results of a pilot study in which a 240-gram rat was implanted for 41 days with biotelemetry devices weighing a total of 36 gm (18 cc). The implanted animal showed no differences in weight gain, food and water consumption, and postnecropsy organ weights when compared to both an unoperated control animal and an animal that underwent surgery but did not receive an implant. The implanted animal also had temperature and activity rhythms similar to those reported using much smaller implants. Thus, this pilot study showed that a 240-gm rat could be implanted with biotelemetry devices weighing nearly 15 percent of body weight without significant changes in health or behavior. A larger study involving more animals and similar implant sizes is recommended.

Somps, Chris J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Weight minimization of structural components for launch in space shuttle

Minimizing the weight of structural components of the space station launched into orbit in a space shuttle can save cost, reduce the number of space shuttle missions, and facilitate on-orbit fabrication. Traditional manual design of such components, although feasible, cannot represent a minimum weight condition. At NASA Lewis Research Center, a design capability called CometBoards (Comparative Evaluation Test Bed of Optimization and Analysis Routines for the Design of Structures) has been developed especially for the design optimization of such flight components. Two components of the space station - a spacer structure and a support system - illustrate the capability of CometBoards. These components are designed for loads and behavior constraints that arise from a variety of flight accelerations and maneuvers. The optimization process using CometBoards reduced the weights of the components by one third from those obtained with traditional manual design. This paper presents a brief overview of the design code CometBoards and a description of the space station components, their design environments, behavior limitations, and attributes of their optimum designs.

Patnaik, Surya N.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Statistically generated weighted curve fit of residual functions for modal analysis of structures

A statistically generated weighting function for a second-order polynomial curve fit of residual functions has been developed. The residual flexibility test method, from which a residual function is generated, is a procedure for modal testing large structures in an external constraint-free environment to measure the effects of higher order modes and interface stiffness. This test method is applicable to structures with distinct degree-of-freedom interfaces to other system components. A theoretical residual function in the displacement/force domain has the characteristics of a relatively flat line in the lower frequencies and a slight upward curvature in the higher frequency range. In the test residual function, the above-mentioned characteristics can be seen in the data, but due to the present limitations in the modal parameter evaluation (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of test data, the residual function has regions of ragged data. A second order polynomial curve fit is required to obtain the residual flexibility term. A weighting function of the data is generated by examining the variances between neighboring data points. From a weighted second-order polynomial curve fit, an accurate residual flexibility value can be obtained. The residual flexibility value and free-free modes from testing are used to improve a mathematical model of the structure. The residual flexibility modal test method is applied to a straight beam with a trunnion appendage and a space shuttle payload pallet simulator.

Bookout, P. S.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Metafitting: Weight optimization for least-squares fitting of PTTI data

For precise time intercomparisons between a master frequency standard and a slave time scale, we have found it useful to quantitatively compare different fitting strategies by examining the standard uncertainty in time or average frequency. It is particularly useful when designing procedures which use intermittent intercomparisons, with some parameterized fit used to interpolate or extrapolate from the calibrating intercomparisons. We use the term 'metafitting' for the choices that are made before a fitting procedure is operationally adopted. We present methods for calculating the standard uncertainty for general, weighted least-squares fits and a method for optimizing these weights for a general noise model suitable for many PTTI applications. We present the results of the metafitting of procedures for the use of a regular schedule of (hypothetical) high-accuracy frequency calibration of a maser time scale. We have identified a cumulative series of improvements that give a significant reduction of the expected standard uncertainty, compared to the simplest procedure of resetting the maser synthesizer after each calibration. The metafitting improvements presented include the optimum choice of weights for the calibration runs, optimized over a period of a week or 10 days.

Douglas, Rob J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A Coulomb collision algorithm for weighted particle simulations

A binary Coulomb collision algorithm is developed for weighted particle simulations employing Monte Carlo techniques. Charged particles within a given spatial grid cell are pair-wise scattered, explicitly conserving momentum and implicitly conserving energy. A similar algorithm developed by Takizuka and Abe (1977) conserves momentum and energy provided the particles are unweighted (each particle representing equal fractions of the total particle density). If applied as is to simulations incorporating weighted particles, the plasma temperatures equilibrate to an incorrect temperature, as compared to theory. Using the appropriate pairing statistics, a Coulomb collision algorithm is developed for weighted particles. The algorithm conserves energy and momentum and produces the appropriate relaxation time scales as compared to theoretical predictions. Such an algorithm is necessary for future work studying self-consistent multi-species kinetic transport.

Miller, Ronald H.↗