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At least 235 records · Page 13

High Kinetic Energy Penetrator Shielding and High Wear Resistance Materials Fabricated with Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTS) and BNNT Polymer Composites

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), boron nitride nanoparticles (BNNPs), carbon nontubes (CNTs), graphites, or their combinations, are incorporated into matrices of polymer, ceramic or metals. Fibers, yarns, and woven or nonwoven mates of BNNTs are uses as toughening layers in penetration resistant materials to maximize energy absorption and/or high hardness layers to rebound or deform penetrators. They can be also uses as reinforcing inclusions combining with other polymer matrices to create composite layer like typical reinforcing fibers such as Kevlar (Registered Trademark), Spectra (Registered Trademark) ceramics and metals. Enhanced wear resistance and prolonged usage time, even under harsh conditions, are achieved by adding boron nitride nanomaterials because both hardness and toughness are increased. Such materials can be used in high temperature environments since the oxidation temperature of BNNTs exceeds 800 C in air. Boron nitride based composite materials are useful as strong structural materials for anti-micrometeorite layers for spacecraft and space suits, ultra strong tethers, protective gear for the human body as well as for vehicles, helmets, shields and safety suits/helmets for industry.

Kang, Jin Ho↗

Thin-Ply: Exploration and Manufacturing with Automated Fiber Placement

Abstract Highly repeatable and nearly defect-free fabrication of composite parts is critical to the success and widespread acceptance of composite materials. Through optimization using thin-ply materials, composite parts can be manufactured to be lighter and tailored more specifically to anticipated design loads than with standard prepreg materials alone. However, defects arising from the thin-ply manufacturing process are not always similar to defects found with standard tows. These new defects warrant evaluation. At NASA Langley Research Center, the manufacturing process parameters associated with automated fiber placement (AFP), a slit tape-based composite manufacturing process, were optimized for the use of a thin-ply prepreg carbon-epoxy material. Carbon-epoxy tows with areal weights of 30 g/m2 and 70 g/m2 were used in these manufacturing trials. The AFP process parameters of heater output, compaction force, tow feed rate, and tow tension were adjusted and optimized for successful manufacturing. This article documents an exploration of thin-ply fabrication on both flat and complex-shaped surfaces. Ultimately, aerospace-quality laminates were made from the 70-g/m2 material, but imperfections in the 30-g/m2 material itself and the fact that the AFP machine was not designed for such a thin material meant that more research and trials are required to obtain flight-quality 30-g/m2 laminates.

Carbon-expoxy↗

Exploration and Manufacturing with Automated Fiber Placement

Highly repeatable and nearly defect-free fabrication of composite parts is critical to the success and widespread acceptance of composite materials. Through optimization using thin-ply materials, composite parts can be manufactured to be lighter and tailored more specifically to anticipated design loads than with standard prepreg materials alone. However, defects arising from the thin-ply manufacturing process are not always similar to defects found with standard tows. These new defects warrant evaluation. At NASA Langley Research Center, the manufacturing process parameters associated with automated fiber placement (AFP), a slit tape-based composite manufacturing process, were optimized for the use of a thin-ply prepreg carbon-epoxy material. Carbon-epoxy tows with areal weights of 30 g/m2 and 70 g/m2 were used in these manufacturing trials. The AFP process parameters of heater output, compaction force, tow feed rate, and tow tension were adjusted and optimized for successful manufacturing. This article documents an exploration of thin-ply fabrication on both flat and complex-shaped surfaces. Ultimately, aerospace-quality laminates were made from the 70-g/m2 material, but imperfections in the 30-g/m2 material itself and the fact that the AFP machine was not designed for such a thin material meant that more research and trials are required to obtain flight-quality 30-g/m2 laminates.

carbon-epoxy↗

A creep cavity growth model for creep-fatigue life prediction of a unidirectional W/Cu composite

A microstructural model was developed to predict creep-fatigue life in a (0)(sub 4), 9 volume percent tungsten fiber-reinforced copper matrix composite at the temperature of 833 K. The mechanism of failure of the composite is assumed to be governed by the growth of quasi-equilibrium cavities in the copper matrix of the composite, based on the microscopically observed failure mechanisms. The methodology uses a cavity growth model developed for prediction of creep fracture. Instantaneous values of strain rate and stress in the copper matrix during fatigue cycles were calculated and incorporated in the model to predict cyclic life. The stress in the copper matrix was determined by use of a simple two-bar model for the fiber and matrix during cyclic loading. The model successfully predicted the composite creep-fatigue life under tension-tension cyclic loading through the use of this instantaneous matrix stress level. Inclusion of additional mechanisms such as cavity nucleation, grain boundary sliding, and the effect of fibers on matrix-stress level would result in more generalized predictions of creep-fatigue life.

Kim, Young-Suk↗

Enhancing Nasa Sounding Rocket Capabilities Through Composite Material Adoption

Sounding rockets are a suborbital research platform employed by NASA for heliophysics, astrophysics, and geospace science investigations, and for technology development. They follow semi-parabolic trajectories and are launched using surplus military, and commercial, solid-propellant rocket motors. NASA sounding rocket payloads are comprised of standard, modular subassemblies, designed to perform specific functions critical to achieving mission success criteria. Since the program’s inception, payload length and mass have trended upwards, limiting the capability of the platform to reach exospheric apogees and decreasing the time above critical altitudes to observe solar and celestial targets. To offset this trend, composite materials may be of use in payload and subsystem design to decrease payload mass. This investigation seeks to understand if there is a practical benefit to introducing composite materials on the NSRP by assessing mission specific impacts to those missions conducted in fiscal year 2024. To accurately estimate the mass of a composites-based payload, a standard subsystem (NIACS) underwent structural reconfiguration. Materials were selected that align with NSRP design, manufacturing, and testing standards. NIACS reconfiguration resulted in a mass reduction of 19.6% which was then applied to the payload system in entirety. Using vehicle performance carpet plots, delta apogee and time above the Kármán line were determined. Performance improvements were then evaluated against that mission’s success criteria to determine if that mission would have benefitted from using composite materials. On average, each mission would have gained 59.8 kilometers apogee and 62.9 seconds above the Kármán line. However, only nine of the seventeen missions would have benefitted from these performance improvements. Two of the missions could have used a lower-impulse launch vehicle to achieve mission success. Upleg stability met programmatic criteria; downleg instability and dynamic pressure improved, showing that ballast would not offset the mass reduction of using composite materials. Cost analysis showed that production costs will increase 39%. For the two missions that could have used a lower-impulse launch vehicle, the cost of the launch vehicle would have offset payload production costs. In summary, composite materials are not recommended for universal use on NASA sounding rocket payloads due to unclear programmatic benefits and added cost. However, they are justified for optical astrophysics and heliophysics missions, high-apogee (exosphere) requirements, or when they reduce payload costs versus higher impulse launch vehicles. Reflown, recoverable subsystems should use composites to enhance apogee and observation time.

Robert Henry Burth↗

P69 Using the NASA-Unified WRF to Assess the Impacts of Real-Time Vegetation on Simulations of Severe Weather

Since June 2010, the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT; Goodman et al. 2004; Darden et al. 2010; Stano et al. 2012; Fuell et al. 2012) Center has been generating a real-time Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and corresponding Green Vegetation Fraction (GVF) composite based on reflectances from NASA s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. This dataset is generated at 0.01 resolution across the Continental United States (CONUS), and updated daily. The goal of producing such a vegetation dataset is to improve over the default climatological GVF dataset in land surface and numerical weather prediction models, in order to have better simulations of heat and moisture exchange between the land surface and the planetary boundary layer. Details on the SPoRT/MODIS vegetation composite algorithm are presented in Case et al. (2011). Vegetation indices such as GVF and Leaf Area Index (LAI) are used by land surface models (LSMs) to represent the horizontal and vertical density of plant vegetation (Gutman and Ignatov 1998), in order to calculate transpiration, interception and radiative shading. Both of these indices are related to the NDVI; however, there is an inherent ambiguity in determining GVF and LAI simultaneously from NDVI, as described in Gutman and Ignatov (1998). One practice is to specify the LAI while allowing the GVF to vary both spatially and temporally, as is done in the Noah LSM (Chen and Dudhia 2001; Ek et al. 2003). Operational versions of Noah within several of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) global and regional modeling systems hold the LAI fixed, while the GVF varies according to a global monthly climatology. This GVF climatology was derived from NDVI data on the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) polar orbiting satellite, using information from 1985 to 1991 (Gutman and Ignatov 1998; Jiang et al. 2010). Representing data at the mid-point of every month, the climatological dataset is on a grid with 0.144 (~16 km) spatial resolution and is distributed with the community WRF model (Ek et al. 2003; Jiang et al. 2010; Skamarock et al. 2008).

Case, Jonathan L.↗

Some effects of composition on friction and wear of graphite-fiber-reinforced polyimide liners in plain spherical bearings

Oscillating, plain spherical bearings with graphite-fiber-reinforced polyimide (GFRPI) liners were tested for friction and wear from 25 to 315 C. A condensation polymer was compared with an addition polymer, and a high-modulus fiber was compared with a lower cost, low-modulus fiber. All polymer-fiber combinations gave friction coefficients from 0.05 to 0.18 and low wear. Adding CdO and CdI2 reduced the wear of degassed bearings in dry air. These additives were not needed when the bearing liners contained adsorbed moisture. Although, at 25 C, MoS2 reduced the friction and wear of the base composite at unit loads above 70,000,000 N/m squared (10,000 psi), it had no beneficial effect at lighter loads.

Sliney, H. E.↗

Hydrothermal hydration of Martian crust: illustration via geochemical model calculations

If hydrothermal Systems existed on Mars, hydration of crustal rocks may have had the potential to affect the water budget of the planet. We have conducted geochemical model calculations to investigate the relative roles of host rock composition, temperature, water-to-rock ratio, and initial fluid oxygen fugacity on the mineralogy of hydrothermal alteration assemblages, as well as the effectiveness of alteration to store water in the crust as hydrous minerals. In order to place calculations for Mars in perspective, models of hydrothermal alteration of three genetically related Icelandic volcanics (a basalt, andesite, and rhyolite) are presented, together with results for compositions based on SNC meteorite samples (Shergotty and Chassigny). Temperatures from 150 degrees C to 250 degrees C, water-to-rock ratios from 0.1 to 1000, and two initial fluid oxygen fugacities are considered in the models. Model results for water-to-rock ratios less than 10 are emphasized because they are likely to be more applicable to Mars. In accord with studies of low-grade alteration of terrestrial rocks, we find that the major controls on hydrous mineral production are host rock composition and temperature. Over the range of conditions considered, the alteration of Shergotty shows the greatest potential for storing water as hydrous minerals, and the alteration of Icelandic rhyolite has the lowest potential.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Phenylethynyl Containing Imide Oligomers

As part of a program to develop high performance/high temperature adhesives and composite matrices for a Mach 2.4 high speed civil transport, imide oligomers containing phenylethynyl groups were investigated. Phenylethynyl groups were placed on the ends of oligomers of different molecular weights (1250, 2500 and 5000 g/mol), pendent along the backbone of oligomers and both pendent and terminal on oligomers. Many different compositions of phenylethynyl containing imide oligomers had been previously prepared and evaluated before selecting the composition based upon 3,3'.4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxcylic dianhydride (BPDA), 3.4'-oxydianiline (3,4'-ODA) and 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene (APB) for extensive work. 4-Phenylethynylphthalic anhydride (PEPA) was used to place phenylethynyl groups on the ends of the oligomers and 3,5-diamino-4'-phenylethynylbenzophenone (DPEB) was used to introduce pendent phenylethynyl groups along the oligomeric backbone. Upon heating above 300 C, the phenylethynyl groups react to provide chain extension, branching and cross linking. Several of these materials exhibited excellent properties as adhesives and composite matrices. The chemistry, processability and properties of the oligomers, the cured polymers, bonded specimens and composites from phenylethynyl containing oligomers are presented.

Hergenrother, P. M.↗

Intelligent processing of intermetallic composite consolidation

Intermetallic composites based upon titanium aluminide matrices and silicon carbide of aluminum oxide fibers are emerging candidates for future hypersonic vehicle airframes and engines. To tailor the properties of these 'engineered' materials for specific application, to increase process yield, and to reduce costs, 'intelligent processing of materials' (IPM) control strategies are being explored for their processing. Recent progress is evaluated in the development of predictive process models, advanced sensors and control methodologies (the components of the IPM approach) for the critical near net-shape consolidation process step of continuous fiber reinforced intermetallic composite manufacture.

Wadley, H. N. G.↗

Intermediate Temperature Stress Rupture of Woven SiC Fiber, BN Interphase, SiC Matrix Composites in Air

Tensile stress-rupture experiments were performed on woven Hi-Nicalon reinforced SiC matrix composites with BN interphases in air. Modal acoustic emission (AE) was used to monitor the damage accumulation in the composites during the tests and microstructural analysis was performed to determine the amount of matrix cracking that occurred for each sample. Fiber fractograph), was also performed for individual fiber failures at the specimen fracture surface to determine the strengths at which fibers failed. The rupture strengths were significantly worse than what would have been expected front the inherent degradation of the fibers themselves when subjected to similar rupture conditions. At higher applied stresses the rate of rupture "?as larger than at lower applied stresses. It was observed that the change in rupture rate corresponded to the onset of through-thickness cracking in the composites themselves. The primary cause of the sen,ere degradation was the ease with which fibers would bond to one another at their closest separation distances, less than 100 nanometers, when exposed to the environment. The near fiber-to-fiber contact in the woven tows enabled premature fiber failure over large areas of matrix cracks due to the stress-concentrations created b), fibers bonded to one another after one or a few fibers fail. i.e. the loss of global load sharing. An@, improvement in fiber-to-fiber separation of this composite system should result in improved stress- rupture properties. A model was den,eloped in order to predict the rupture life-time for these composites based on the probabilistic nature of indin,idual fiber failure at temperature. the matrix cracking state during the rupture test, and the rate of oxidation into a matrix crack. Also incorporated into the model were estimates of the stress-concentration that would occur between the outer rim of fibers in a load-bearing bundle and the unbridged region of a matrix crack after Xia et al. For the lower stresses, this source of stress-concentration was the likely cause for initial fiber failure that would trigger catastrophic failure of the composite.

Morscher, Gregory N.↗

Secondary Volcanically-Induced Lunar Atmosphere and Lunar Volatiles: 3-D Modeling and Analysis

The fact that the Moon could have a transient secondary atmosphere due to volcanic outgassing has been known for some time, though typically such an atmosphere was believed to be extremely thin (~10-8 bar) [1]. But recent research by Needham and Kring (NK) [2] suggests that during the peak of volcanic activity ~3.5 Ga such a volcanically-outgassed atmosphere could reach ~10-2 bar of surface pressure. In similar research Wilson et al. [3] proposed a more conservative estimate, arguing that the thickness of such an atmosphere would depend on the intervals between major eruptions and may not exceed microbar densities. In either case a collisional atmosphere could be present, which would control transport of outgassed volatiles (such as H2O) and their deposition in polar regions, where they could be preserved until modern day frozen in permanently shadowed regions (PSR) or buried beneath the regolith. Here we study such a hypothetical atmosphere to investigate its stability, meteorological properties and the effect on transport of volatiles. We use the ROCKE-3D planetary 3-D General Circulation Model (GCM)[4]. The insolation and orbital parameters were set to conditions 3.5 Ga. The atmospheric composition, based on the list of outgassed species presented by NK in combination with our estimates for atmospheric escape, condensation and the results from our 1-D chemistry model, was chosen to be either CO-dominated or CO2-dominated (depending on atmospheric temperature). In this study we restricted ourselves to relatively "thick" lunar atmospheres of 1-10 mb, though we believe that our results will scale to thinner atmospheres as well. We present the results for ground and atmospheric temperature for modeled atmospheres over a wide parameter space. In particular we consider different atmospheric compositions (CO or CO2 dominated), a set of atmospheric pressures from 1 mb to 10 mb and a set of obliquities from 0o to 40o. We also present an experiment of a single major eruption [5] and show that in just 3 years ~80% of the outgassed water is deposited in polar regions. This demonstrates the efficiency of such an atmosphere in delivering volatiles. We argue that a secondary lunar atmosphere could play a significant role in forming volatile deposits currently observed in the polar regions of the Moon.

Lunar atmospheres↗

Growth as an Alternative Approach to the Construction of Extra-Terrestrial Habitats

A critical component of human space exploration and eventual settlement is the ability to construct habitats while minimizing payload mass launched from Earth. To respond to this challenge, we have proposed the use of fungal bio-composites for ‘growing’ extra-terrestrial structures, directly at the destination, significantly lowering the mass of structural materials transported from Earth and minimizing the need for high mass robotic operations and infrastructure preparations. Throughout human history, the construction of habits has used biologically produced materials, from bone and skins to wood and limestone. Traditionally, the materials are used only after they die. Currently, the idea of working with living biological organisms, and the phenomenon of growth itself, is increasing in interest both, in architecture and space applications. Here we describe the use of mycelium-based composites as an alternative, biological approach for constructing regenerative and adaptive extraterrestrial habitats, a continuation of our research program initiated under the auspices of the ‘Myco-architecture Off Planet’ NASA NIAC Team. These composites, which are fire-resistant, insulating, do not consist of volatile organic compounds from petrochemical products and can be used independently or in conjunction with regolith, could employ the living biological growth in a controlled environment, for the process of material fabrication, assembly, maintenance, and repair, providing structures resilient to extra-terrestrial hazards. The paper will outline the potential and challenges of using bio-composites for space applications and will present how these might be addressed, in order to make this biological approach feasible, providing new, growing materials for design habitats on long-duration missions.

Monika Brandić Lipińska↗

Atmosphere-surface interactions and atmospheric evolution on Mars

A knowledge of the original volatile endowment of Mars is essential for any discussion of atmospheric loss on this planet. Cosmochemical models which postulate that planetary bulk compositions and volatile contents were controlled by the radial temperature profile in the solar nebula, and estimated bulk compositions based on the assumption that Mars is the parent body for the SNC meteorites predicts that Mars is volatile-rich. However, contrary views can also be found. For illustrative purposes, it is assumed that Mars was volatile-rich initially like the Earth. Taking terrestrial volatiles as the sum of the atmospheric, crustal, and oceanic volatiles and assuming that Mars accreted with the same volatile content on a g/g basis, the volatile endowments for an Earth-like Mars correspond to approximately 14 bars CO2, 800 mbars N2, and 1.2 km H2O. Subsequent topics discussed are: composition of outgassing volatiles; rates of present day atmospheric-surface reactions; constraints on CO2 loss via carbonate formation; constraints on H2O loss; and loss of other volatiles.

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.↗

Fabrication and Characterization of Thin Film Ion Implanted Composite Materials for Integrated Nonlinear Optical Devices

Ion implantation has been shown to produce a high density of metal colloids within the layer regions of glasses and crystalline materials. The high-precipitate volume fraction and small size of metal nanoclusters formed leads to values for the third-order susceptibility much greater than those for metal doped solids. This has stimulated interest in use of ion implantation to make nonlinear optical materials. On the other side, LiNbO3 has proved to be a good material for optical waveguides produced by MeV ion implantation. Light confinement in these waveguides is produced by refractive index step difference between the implanted region and the bulk material. Implantation of LiNbO3 with MeV metal ions can therefore result into nonlinear optical waveguide structures with great potential in a variety of device applications. We describe linear and nonlinear optical properties of a waveguide structure in LiNbO3-based composite material produced by silver ion implantation in connection with mechanisms of its formation.

Sarkisov, S.↗

Nonlinear Propagating Features in the Stratosphere of Jupiter Generated by the Impact of SL-9

Among the more intriguing features observed by HST after the impacts of the fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9 were rings, encircling several of the impact sites, that expanded radially at constant velocities of order 450-500 m/s. One credible suggestion has been that the rings are stratospheric manifestations of linear gravity waves seated in the troposphere (Ingersoll and Kanamori, 1995). In this scenario the waves are made visible by a condensible material of unknown composition. Based on simulations of the comet impact by Zahnle and Mac Low (1995), we suggest an alternative hypothesis, namely that the rings are nonlinear stratospheric gravity waves which break and entrain impact debris material in the breaking wave front. The computations produce just such a feature, with the nonlinear breaking wave front in the stratosphere propagating radially away from the impact site with the correct speed. The computed ring of material is located in an altitude region where the static stability profile has a local maximum and therefore forms a waveguide. Because entrained impact debris forms the ring feature in the model, a condensate of some unknown composition is not required in order to view the wave front. However, there is one severe problem with the computed nonlinear wave: in contrast to a linear wave, it slows down. The computed feature stops within 1000 seconds, while the observed feature lasted at least 10,000 seconds. Since the nonlinear breaking wave front is a natural product of our impact simulations, we are now investigating the conditions that will enable the breaking wave front to propagate further, in accord with the observations. The results of these computations will be presented.

Young, R. E.↗

Strain Rate Dependent Deformation and Strength Modeling of a Polymer Matrix Composite Utilizing a Micromechanics Approach

Potential gas turbine applications will expose polymer matrix composites to very high strain rate loading conditions, requiring an ability to understand and predict the material behavior under extreme conditions. Specifically, analytical methods designed for these applications must have the capability of properly capturing the strain rate sensitivities and nonlinearities that are present in the material response. The Ramaswamy-Stouffer constitutive equations, originally developed to analyze the viscoplastic deformation of metals, have been modified to simulate the nonlinear deformation response of ductile, crystalline polymers. The constitutive model is characterized and correlated for two representative ductile polymers. Fiberite 977-2 and PEEK, and the computed results correlate well with experimental values. The polymer constitutive equations are implemented in a mechanics of materials based composite micromechanics model to predict the nonlinear, rate dependent deformation response of a composite ply. Uniform stress and uniform strain assumptions are applied to compute the effective stresses of a composite unit cell from the applied strains. The micromechanics equations are successfully verified for two polymer matrix composites. IM7/977-2 and AS4/PEEK. The ultimate strength of a composite ply is predicted with the Hashin failure criteria that were implemented in the composite micromechanics model. The failure stresses of the two composite material systems are accurately predicted for a variety of fiber orientations and strain rates. The composite deformation model is implemented in LS-DYNA, a commercially available transient dynamic explicit finite element code. The matrix constitutive equations are converted into an incremental form, and the model is implemented into LS-DYNA through the use of a user defined material subroutine. The deformation response of a bulk polymer and a polymer matrix composite are predicted by finite element analyses. The results compare reasonably well to experimental values, with some discrepancies. The discrepancies are at least partially caused by the method used to integrate the rate equations in the polymer constitutive model.

Goldberg, Robert K.↗

A computer aided thermodynamic approach for predicting the formation of Z-DNA in naturally occurring sequences

The ease with which a particular DNA segment adopts the left-handed Z-conformation depends largely on the sequence and on the degree of negative supercoiling to which it is subjected. We describe a computer program (Z-hunt) that is designed to search long sequences of naturally occurring DNA and retrieve those nucleotide combinations of up to 24 bp in length which show a strong propensity for Z-DNA formation. Incorporated into Z-hunt is a statistical mechanical model based on empirically determined energetic parameters for the B to Z transition accumulated to date. The Z-forming potential of a sequence is assessed by ranking its behavior as a function of negative superhelicity relative to the behavior of similar sized randomly generated nucleotide sequences assembled from over 80,000 combinations. The program makes it possible to compare directly the Z-forming potential of sequences with different base compositions and different sequence lengths. Using Z-hunt, we have analyzed the DNA sequences of the bacteriophage phi X174, plasmid pBR322, the animal virus SV40 and the replicative form of the eukaryotic adenovirus-2. The results are compared with those previously obtained by others from experiments designed to locate Z-DNA forming regions in these sequences using probes which show specificity for the left-handed DNA conformation.

Non-NASA Center↗