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New thread material outperforms silica. Sewing threads containing silicon carbide (SiC) yarn withstand temperatures of more than 1,100 degrees C. Intended for use in stitching thermally insulating blankets.
Ford Aerospace has developed a proof-of-concept satellite 8 phase shift keying (PSK) modulation and coding system operating in the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) mode at a data range of 200 Mbps using rate 5/6 forward error correction coding. The 80 Msps 8 PSK modem was developed in a mostly digital form and is amenable to an ASIC realization in the next phase of development. The codec was developed as a paper design only. The power efficiency goal was to be within 2 dB of theoretical at a bit error rate (BER) of 5x10(exp 7) while the measured implementation loss was 4.5 dB. The bandwidth efficiency goal was 2 bits/sec/Hz while the realized bandwidth efficiency was 1.8 bits/sec/Hz. The burst format used a preamble of only 40 8 PSK symbol times including 32 symbols of all zeros and an eight symbol unique word. The modem and associated special test equipment (STE) were fabricated mostly on a specially designed stitch-weld board although a few of the highest rate circuits were built on printed circuit cards. All the digital circuits were ECL to support the clock rates of from 80 MHz to 360 MHz. The transmitter and receiver matched filters were square-root Nyquist bandpass filters realized at the 3.37 GHz i.f. The modem operated as a coherent system although no analog phase locked (PLL) loop was employed. Within the budgetary constraints of the program, the approach to the demodulator has been proven and is eligible to proceed to the next phase of development of a satellite demodulator engineering model. This would entail the development of an ASIC version of the digital portion of the demodulator, and MMIC version of the quadrature detector, and SAW Nyquist filters to realize the bandwidth efficiency.
Proposed expandable bag contains debris from explosion. Permanently surrounds vessel or devices prone to explosive disintegration or slipped around small bomb. Finned cells shaped like outward-opening cups. Cells built up from overlapped sheets of fabric and stitched together to form expandable polyhedral bag. Cells pentagonal, triangular or square.
The preparation is reported of carbon fiber composites using advanced polymer resins. Current and ongoing research activities include: powder towpreg process; weaving, braiding and stitching dry powder prepreg; advanced tow placement; and customized ATP towpreg. The goal of these studies is to produce advanced composite materials for automated part fabrication using textile and robotics technology in the manufacture of subsonic and supersonic aircraft.
Test and evaluation was performed to determine the compression residual capability of graphite reinforced composite panels following perforation by high-velocity fragments representative of combat threats. Assessments were made of the size of the ballistic damage, the effect of applied compression load at impact, damage growth during cyclic loading and residual static strength. Several fiber/matrix systems were investigated including high-strain fibers, tough epoxies, and APC-2 thermoplastic. Additionally, several laminate configurations were evaluated including hard and soft laminates and the incorporation of buffer strips and stitching for improved damage resistance of tolerance. Both panels (12 x 20-inches) and full scale box-beam components were tested to assure scalability of results. The evaluation generally showed small differences in the responses of the material systems tested. The soft laminate configurations with concentrated reinforcement exhibited the highest residual strength. Ballistic damage did not grow or increase in severity as a result of cyclic loading, and the effects of applied load at impact were not significant under the conditions tested.
An experimental investigation was conducted to identify the key geometrical parameters and quantify their influence on the mechanical response of through-the-thickness (TTT) reinforced composite materials. Composite laminates with TTT reinforcement fibers were fabricated using different TTT reinforcement materials and reinforcement methods and laminates were also fabricated of similar construction but without TTT reinforcement fibers. Coupon specimens were machined from these laminates and were destructively tested. TTT reinforcement yarns enhance damage tolerance and improve interlaminar strength. Thick-layer composites with TTT reinforcement yarns have equal or superior mechanical properties to thin-layer composites without TTT reinforcement yarns. A significant potential exists for fabrication cost reduction by using thick-layer composites with TTT reinforcement yarns. Removal of the surface loop of the TTT reinforcement improves compression strength. Stitching provides somewhat higher mechanical properties than integral weaving.
The use of innovative cost effective material forms and processes is being considered for fabrication of future primary aircraft structures. Processes that have been identified as meeting these goals are textile preforms that use resin transfer molding (RTM) and consolidation forming. The Novel Composites for Wing and Fuselage Applications (NCWFA) program has as its objective the integration of innovative design concepts with cost effective fabrication processes to develop damage-tolerant structures that can perform at a design ultimate strain level of 6000 micro-inch/inch. In this on-going effort, design trade studies were conducted to arrive at advanced wing designs that integrate new material forms with innovative structural concepts and cost effective fabrication methods. The focus has been on minimizing part count (mechanical fasteners, clips, number of stiffeners, etc.), by using cost effective textile reinforcement concepts that provide improved damage tolerance and out-of-plane load capability, low-cost resin transfer molding processing, and thermoplastic forming concepts. The fabrication of representative Y spars by consolidation methods will be described. The Y spars were fabricated using AS4 (6K)/PEEK 150g commingled angle interlock 0/90-degree woven preforms with +45-degree commingled plies stitched using high strength Toray carbon thread and processed by autoclave consolidation.
The present study of angle-interlock woven polymer matrix composite behavior under uniaxial monotonic compression notes these materials to be macroscopically ductile, with compressive strains in failure that can exceed 15 percent. Some of the tests conducted on stitched laminates indicated brittle behavior. Woven composite failure mechanisms have been studied by a combination of optical microscopy, moire interferometry, stereoscopy, and digital image comparisons; the critical failure event was in all cases a kink band formation in the primary load-bearing axial rows.
The design and manufacture of textile composite panels, tubes, and angle sections that were provided to NASA for testing and evaluation are documented. The textile preform designs and requirements were established by NASA in collaboration with Boeing and several vendors of textile reinforcements. The following four types of preform architectures were used: stitched uniweave, 2D-braids, 3D-braids, and interlock weaves. The preforms consisted primarily of Hercules AS4 carbon fiber; Shell RSL-1895 resin was introduced using a resin transfer molding process. All the finished parts were inspected using ultrasonics.
NASA's Advanced Composite Technology (ACT) Program was initiated in 1990 with the purpose of developing less costly composite aircraft structures. A number of innovative materials and processes were evaluated as a part of this effort. Chief among them are composite materials reinforced with textile preforms. These new forms of composite materials bring with them potential testing problems. Methods currently in practice were developed over the years for composite materials made from prepreg tape or simple 2-D woven fabrics. A wide variety of 2-D and 3-D braided, woven, stitched, and knit preforms were suggested for application in the ACT program. The applicability of existing test methods to the wide range of emerging materials bears investigation. The overriding concern is that the values measured are accurate representations of the true material response. The ultimate objective of this work is to establish a set of test methods to evaluate the textile composites developed for the ACT Program.
The stitching and resin transfer molding (RTM) processes developed at Douglas Aircraft Co. are successfully demonstrating significant cost reductions with good damage tolerance properties. These attributes were identified as critical to application of advanced composite materials to commercial aircraft primary structures. The RTM/stitching developments, cost analyses, and test results are discussed of the NASA Advanced Composites Technology program.
Research was conducted to explore the benefits of textile reinforced composites for transport aircraft primary structures. The objective is to develop and demonstrate the potential of affordable textile reinforced composite materials to meet design properties and damage tolerance requirements of advanced aircraft structural concepts. Some program elements include development of textile preforms, processing science, mechanics of materials, experimental characterization of materials, and development and evaluation of textile reinforced composite structural elements and subcomponents. Textile 3-D weaving, 3-D braiding, and knitting and/or stitching are being compared with conventional laminated tape processes for improved damage tolerance. Through-the-thickness reinforcements offer significant damage tolerance improvements. However, these gains must be weighted against potential loss in in-plane properties such as strength and stiffness. Analytical trade studies are underway to establish design guidelines for the application of textile material forms to meet specific loading requirements. Fabrication and testing of large structural parts are required to establish the potential of textile reinforced composite materials.
The conference papers are presented. The Advanced Composite Technology (ACT) Program is a major multi-year research initiative to achieve a national goal of technology readiness before the end of the decade. Conference papers recorded results of research in the ACT Program in the specific areas of automated fiber placement, resin transfer molding, textile preforms, and stitching as these processes influence design, performance, and cost of composites in aircraft structures. These papers will also be included in the Ninth Conference Proceedings to be published by the Federal Aviation Administration as a separate document.
An attachment principally for the palm of an astronaut glove to enhance the gripping area of the palm without detracting from the flexibility and utility of the glove is presented. The attachment is a composite construction formed from a layer of silicone rubber having an outer surface with a friction configuration and another layer of silicone rubber in which a Nomex Aramid mesh fabric is embedded prior to curing. The method of construction involves the use of a mold with a friction configuration surface. A first layer of silicone rubber or sealant is disposed in the mold and allowed to set for an hour. A second layer of silicone rubber or sealant is layered over the first layer and leveled. A Nomex Aramid mesh fabric is embedded into the second layer and the composite is permitted to cure. When cured, a configured area of the composite construction is glued or stitched to the palm area of the glove.
Textile composites are fiber reinforced materials produced by weaving, braiding, knitting, or stitching. These materials offer possible reductions in manufacturing costs compared to conventional laminated composites. Thus, they are attractive candidate materials for aircraft structures. To date, numerous experimental studies have been performed to characterize the mechanical performance of specific textile architectures. Since many materials and architectures are of interest, there is a need for analytical models to predict the mechanical properties of a specific textile composite material. Models of varying sophistication have been proposed based on mechanics of materials, classical laminated plate theory, and the finite element method. These modeling approaches assume an idealized textile architecture and generally consider a single unit cell. Due to randomness of the textile architectures produced using conventional processing techniques, experimental data obtained has been of limited use for verifying the accuracy of these analytical approaches. This research is focused on fabricating woven textile composites with highly aligned and accurately placed fiber tows that closely represent the idealized architectures assumed in analytical models. These idealized textile composites have been fabricated with three types of layer nesting configurations: stacked, diagonal, and split-span. Compression testing results have identified strength variations as a function of nesting. Moire interferometry experiments are being used to determine localized deformations for detailed correlation with model predictions.
The NASA LaRC is conducting and supporting research to develop cost-effective fabrication methods that are applicable to primary composite aircraft structures. One of the most promising fabrication methods that has evolved is resin transfer molding (RTM) of dry textile material forms. RTM has been used for many years for secondary structures, but has received increased emphasis because it is an excellent method for applying resin to damage-tolerant textile preforms at low cost. Textile preforms based on processes such as weaving, braiding, knitting, stitching, and combinations of these have been shown to offer significant improvements in damage tolerance compared to laminated tape composites. The use of low-cost resins combined with textile preforms could provide a major breakthrough in achieving cost-effective composite aircraft structures. RTM uses resin in its lowest cost form, and storage and spoilage costs are minimal. Near net shape textile preforms are expected to be cost-effective because automated machines can be used to produce the preforms, post-cure operations such as machining and fastening are minimized, and material scrap rate may be reduced in comparison with traditional prepreg molding. The purpose of this paper is to discuss experimental and analytical techniques that are under development at NASA Langley to aid the engineer in developing RTM processes for airframe structural elements. Included are experimental techniques to characterize preform and resin behavior and analytical methods that were developed to predict resin flow and cure kinetics.
This document is a compilation of papers presented at the Third NASA Advanced Composites Technology (ACT) Conference held at Long Beach, California, 8-11 June 1992. The ACT Program is a major multi-year research initiative to achieve a national goal of technology readiness before the end of the decade. Conference papers recorded results of research in the ACT Program in the specific areas of automated fiber placement, resin transfer molding, textile preforms, and stitching as these processes influence design, performance, and cost of composites in aircraft structures. Papers sponsored by the Department of Defense on the Design and Manufacturing of Low Cost Composites (DMLCC) are also included in Volume 2 of this document.
This document is a compilation of papers presented at the Third NASA Advanced Composites Technology (ACT) Conference. The ACT Program is a major multi-year research initiative to achieve a national goal of technology readiness before the end of the decade. Conference papers recorded results of research in the ACT Program in the specific areas of automated fiber placement, resin transfer molding, textile preforms, and stitching as these processes influence design, performance, and cost of composites in aircraft structures. Papers sponsored by the Department of Defense on the Design and Manufacturing of Low Cost Composites (DMLCC) are also included in Volume 2 of this document.