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At least 217 records · Page 12

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NASA NTRS1990

Characterization of space station multilayer insulation damage due to hypervelocity space debris impact

Four main tasks were accomplished. The first three tasks were related to the goal of measuring the degradation of the insulating capabilities of Space Station multilayer insulation (MLI) due to simulated space debris impacts at hypervelocities. The last task was associated with critically reviewing a Boeing document on the fracture characteristics of the Space Station pressure wall when subjected to a simulated hypervelocity space debris impact. In Task 1, a thermal test procedure for impact damaged MLI specimens was written. In Task 2, damaged MLI specimens were prepared. In Task 3, a computer program was written to simulate MLI thermal tests. In Task 4, the author reviewed a Boeing document describing hypervelocity impact testing on biaxially stressed plates.

Rule, William Keith↗

NASA NTRS2011

Full-Scale Test and Analysis of a PRSEUS Fuselage Panel to Assess Damage-Containment Features

Stitched composite technology has the potential to substantially decrease structural weight through enhanced damage containment capabilities. The most recent generation of stitched composite technology, the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) concept, has been shown to successfully arrest damage at the sub-component level through tension testing of a three stringer panel with damage in the form of a two-bay notch. In a joint effort undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Boeing Company, further studies are being conducted to characterize the damage containment features of the PRSEUS concept. A full-scale residual strength test will be performed on a fuselage panel to determine if the load capacity will meet strength, deformation, and damage tolerance requirements. A curved panel was designed, fabricated, and prepared for residual strength testing. A pre-test Finite Element Model (FEM) was developed using design allowables from previous test programs to predict test panel deformation characteristics and margins of safety. Three phases of testing with increasing damage severity include: (1) as manufactured; (2) barely visible impact damage (BVID) and visible impact damage (VID); and (3) discrete source damage (DSD) where the panel will be loaded to catastrophic failure. This paper presents the background information, test plan, and experimental procedure. This paper is the first of several future articles reporting the test preparations, results, and analysis conducted in the test program.

Bergan, Andrew↗

NASA NTRS1987

Postbuckling and failure characteristics of stiffened graphite-epoxy shear webs

Results are presented from an experimental study of the postbuckling response and failure characteristics of flat, stiffened graphite-epoxy shear webs in which attention was given to the influence of stiffener attachment concepts, circular holes, and low speed impact damage on postbuckling performance. The laminate specimens chosen for testing are typical of those employed for transport aircraft primary structures. Test results show that low speed impact damage midway between stiffeners initiated specimen failure; the strength of an impact-damaged specimen was less than that of the corresponding control specimen.

Rouse, Marshall↗

NASA NTRS1986

Impact and residual fatigue behavior of ARALL and AS6/5245 composite materials

Aramide fiber reinforced aluminum laminates (ARALL) represent a cross between resin matrix composites and metals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact sensitivity of this concept. Two types of ARALL (7075 aluminum prestrained and 2024 aluminum not prestrained) were tested through static indentation and the results compared to sheet 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys. A state-of-the-art composite (AS6/5245) was also tested and compared to the ARALL. Further, the two types of ARALL material and the composite were dynamically impacted at two energy levels and fatigue tested to determine residual fatigue strength. Both forms of the ARALL material had worse impact resistance than monolithic sheet aluminum. The ARALL material made with 2024-T3 aluminum had better impact resistance than did the laminates made with 7075-T6 aluminum. The ARALL materials are at least equal to the composite material in impact damage resistance and are better for impact detection. The composite material has higher residual fatigue strength after impact than the ARALL material and is 25 percent lighter. The prestraining of the ARALL greatly reduces the fatigue growth of impact damage.

Johnson, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Structural Test Documentation and Results for the McDonnell Douglas All-Composite Wing Stub Box

The results of a series of tests conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center to evaluate the behavior of an all-composite full-scale wing box are presented. The wing stub box is representative of a section of a commercial transport aircraft wing box and was designed and constructed by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Company as part of the NASA Advanced Composites Technology (ACT) program. Tests were conducted with and without low-speed impact damage and repairs. The structure with nonvisible impact damage carried 140 percent of Design Limit Load prior to failure through an impact site.

Jegley, Dawn C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Damage tolerance research on composite compression panels

The damage tolerance of composites was investigated. Results show that severe degradation in material strength may occur due to impact damage and that reduced strain allowables should be considered to compensate for possible impact damage. The mechanisms of failure involved in impact so that local damage will be reduced and arrest of propagating fracture initiated at impact locations are examined. Compression strength reductions for damage due to impact by a 1.27 cm diameter spherical projectile in thick laminates representative of wing skin panels are presented. Also discussed are the results of concepts recently evaluated to improve damage tolerance. These concepts range from improvements at the materials level to advanced structural configurations designed to arrest or limit the growth of propagating fractures. The results indicate that substantial improvements in the damage tolerance of graphite-epoxy composite structures can be achieved through the proper combination of materials and structural design.

Rhodes, M. D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Impact force as a scaling parameter

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAR PART 25) requires that a structure carry ultimate load with nonvisible impact damage and carry 70 percent of limit flight loads with discrete damage. The Air Force has similar criteria (MIL-STD-1530A). Both civilian and military structures are designed by a building block approach. First, critical areas of the structure are determined, and potential failure modes are identified. Then, a series of representative specimens are tested that will fail in those modes. The series begins with tests of simple coupons, progresses through larger and more complex subcomponents, and ends with a test on a full-scale component, hence the term 'building block.' In order to minimize testing, analytical models are needed to scale impact damage and residual strength from the simple coupons to the full-scale component. Using experiments and analysis, the present paper illustrates that impact damage can be better understood and scaled using impact force than just kinetic energy. The plate parameters considered are size and thickness, boundary conditions, and material, and the impact parameters are mass, shape, and velocity.

Poe, Clarence C., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Sonic fatigue testing of an advanced composite aileron

The sonic fatigue test program to verify the design of the composite inboard aileron for the L-1011 airplane is described. The composite aileron is fabricated from graphite/epoxy minisandwich covers which are attached to graphite/epoxy front spar and ribs, and to an aluminum rear spar with fasteners. The program covers the development of random fatigue data by means of coupon testing and modal studies on a representative section of the composite aileron, culminating in the accelerated sonic fatigue proof test. The composite aileron sustained nonlinear panel vibration during the proof test without failure. Viscous damping coefficients as low as 0.4% were measured on the panels. The effects of moisture conditioning and elevated temperature on the random fatigue life of both undamaged and impact damaged coupons were investigated. The combination of impact damage, moisture, and a 180 F temperature could reduce the random fatigue life by 50%.

Soovere, J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Failure characteristics of graphite-epoxy structural components loaded in compression

Failure characteristics of compressively loaded graphite-epoxy components are described. Experimental results for both strength-critical laminates and structural components with postbuckling strength are presented. Effects of low speed impact damage and circular holes on compressive strength are discussed. Delamination and shear crippling failure mechanisms that limit the performance of strength-critical laminates are described. Transverse shear and skin-stiffener separation failure mechanisms that limit the performance of components with postbuckling strength are also described. The influence of matrix properties on compressive strength improvements for impact damaged laminates is discussed. Experimental data and results from a failure analysis for strength-critical laminates with cutouts are discussed and compared with impact damage results. Typical postbuckling test results are compared with analytical predictions.

Starnes, J. H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Failure characteristics of graphite-epoxy structural components loaded in compression

Starnes, J. H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Impact-initiated damage thresholds in composites

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of low velocity projectile impact on the sandwich-type structural components. The materials used in the fabrication of the impact surface were graphite-, Kevlar-, and boron-fibers with appropriate epoxy matrices. The testing of the specimens was performed at moderately low- and high-temperatures as well as at room temperature to assess the impact-initiated strength degradation of the laminates. Eleven laminates with different stacking sequences, orientations, and thicknesses were tested. The low energy projectile impact is considered to simulate the damage caused by runway debris, dropping of the hand tools during servicing, etc., on the secondary aircraft structures fabricated with the composite materials. The results show the preload and the impact energy combinations necessary to cause catastrophic failures in the laminates tested. A set of faired curves indicating the failure thresholds is shown separately for the tension- and compression-loaded laminates. The specific-strengths and -moduli for the various laminates tested are also given.

Sharma, A. V.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Damage tolerance certification methodology for composite structures

An advanced certification methodology was developed for composite structures to include the effects of impact damage. The methodology has the capability to determine the reliability of impact damaged structure at any prescribed load level and impact threat, which may be specified in terms of impact energy or C-scan damage area. In addition, the methodology can also calculate the allowable impact threat level at a given applied load and specified reliability. The developed damage tolerance certification methodology was demonstrated on the F/A-18 inner wing. The results of the methodology demonstration showed that the F/A-18 inner wing has excellent damage tolerance capability.

Kan, Han Pin↗

NASA NTRS1991

Effects of intra- and inter-laminar resin content on the mechanical properties of toughened composite materials

Composite materials having multiphase toughened matrix systems and laminate architectures characterized by resin-rich interlaminar layers (RIL) have been the subject of much recent attention. Such materials are likely to find applications in thick compressively loaded structures such as the keel area of commercial aircraft fuselages. The effects of resin content and its interlaminar and intralaminar distribution on mechanical properties were investigated with test and analysis of two carbon-epoxy systems. The RIL was found to reduce the in situ strengthening effect for matrix cracking in laminates. Mode 2 fracture toughness was found to increase with increasing RIL thickness over the range investigated, and Mode 1 interlaminar toughness was negligibly affected. Compressive failure strains were found to increase with increasing resin content for specimens having no damage, holes, and impact damage. Analytical tools for predicting matrix cracking of off-axis plies and damage tolerance in compression after impact (CAI) were successfully applied to materials with RIL.

Grande, Dodd H.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Effect of Projectile Materials on Foreign Object Damage of a Gas-Turbine Grade Silicon Nitride

Foreign object damage (FOD) behavior of AS800 silicon nitride was determined using four different projectile materials at ambient temperature. The target test specimens rigidly supported were impacted at their centers by spherical projectiles with a diameter of 1.59 mm. Four different types of projectiles were used including hardened steel balls, annealed steel balls, silicon nitride balls, and brass balls. Post-impact strength of each target specimen impacted was determined as a function of impact velocity to better understand the severity of local impact damage. The critical impact velocity where target specimens fail upon impact was highest with brass balls, lowest with ceramic ball, and intermediate with annealed and hardened steel balls. Degree of strength degradation upon impact followed the same order as in the critical impact velocity with respect to projectile materials. For steel balls, hardened projectiles yielded more significant impact damage than annealed counterparts. The most important material parameter affecting FOD was identified as hardness of projectiles and was correlated in terms of critical impact velocity, impact deformation, and impact load.

Choi, Sung R.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Improving Strength of Postbuckled Panels Through Stitching

The behavior of blade-stiffened graphite-epoxy panels with impact damage is examined to determine the effect of adding through-the-thickness stitches in the stiffener flange-to-skin interface. The influence of stitches is evaluated by examining buckling and failure for panels with failure loads up to 3.5 times greater than buckling loads. Analytical and experimental results from four configurations of panel specimens are presented. For each configuration, two panels were manufactured with skin and flanges held together with through-the-thickness stitches introduced prior to resin infusion and curing and one panel was manufactured with no stitches holding the flange to the skin. No mechanical fasteners were used for the assembly of any of these panels. Panels with and without low-speed impact damage were loaded to failure in compression. Buckling and failure modes are discussed. Stitching had little effect on buckling loads but increased the failure loads of impact-damaged panels by up to 30%.

Jegley, Dawn C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Effect of braiding process on the damage tolerance of 3-D braided graphite/epoxy composites

One of the key advantages of three-dimensional braided composite materials is their high impact damage tolerance comparing with laminated composites, due to their fully integrated fibrous substrates. In this paper, the effect of different processing methods on the impact damage tolerance of braided graphite/epoxy composite is experimentally assessed. The test specimens are prepared using both of the two existing three-dimensional braiding techniques (the 4-step and the 2-step processes). After the specimens are impacted under controlled impact energy, the damage introduced is studied. Then a compression test is conducted to evaluate the compression strength of the specimens after impact.

El-Shiekh, Aly↗

NASA NTRS1973

Impact resistance of fiber composite blades used in aircraft turbine engines

Resistance of advanced fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite materials to ballistic impact was investigated as a function of impacting projectile characteristics, and composite material properties. Ballistic impact damage due to normal impacts, was classified as transverse (stress wave delamination and splitting), penetrative, or structural (gross failure). Steel projectiles were found to be gelatin ice projectiles in causing penetrative damage leading to reduced tensile strength. Gelatin and ice projectiles caused either transverse or structural damage, depending upon projectile mass and velocity. Improved composite transverse tensile strength, use of dispersed ply lay-ups, and inclusion of PRD-49-1 or S-glass fibers correlated with improved resistance of composite materials to transverse damage. In non-normal impacts against simulated blade shapes, the normal velocity component of the impact was used to correlate damage results with normal impact results. Stiffening the leading edge of simulated blade specimens led to reduced ballistic damage, while addition of a metallic leading edge provided nearly complete protection against 0.64 cm diameter steel, and 1.27 cm diameter ice and gelatin projectiles, and partial protection against 2.54 cm diameter projectiles of ice and gelatin.

Friedrich, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Behavior of damaged graphite/epoxy laminates under compression loading

The influence of three different resin systems on the damage tolerance of graphite/polymer laminates was evaluated. Testing consisted of both static compression and cyclic compression evaluation of 10.2 by 15.2 by 0.5 cm (4 by 6 by 0.2 in) laminates with circular holes, simulated delaminations, and low velocity impact. Damage growth under steadily increasing compression and cyclic compression loading was monitored. Damage size and impact-induced failures for the three materials were compared. Of the three material systems evaluated, the one most tolerant to impact damage exhibited the least delamination within the cross section due to impact, the highest transverse tension strain to failure, and the largest crack opening force, as determined from double cantilever beam tests.

Byers, B. A.↗