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At least 253 records · Page 14

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NASA NTRS1983

Theoretical method for calculating relative joint geometry of assembled robot arms

Equations are developed to extract the relative joint parameters of an assembled robot arm. Specifically, the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters, which completely characterize the relative joint geometry, are calculated. These parameters are needed to control the hand of the robot arm by resolved rate. As an example, the parameter extraction equations are used with perfect simulated data (no measurement noise) obtained from a mathematical model of a six-degree-of-freedom robot arm. For an actual application, measurement data needed to estimate the relative joint parameters can be generated by moving a robot arm to different positions, measuring the location of the hand (or other extension) in base coordinates, and recording the corresponding joint angles.

Barker, L. K.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Effect of stitching on the strength of bonded composite single lap joints

An experimental investigation has been conducted to determine the effect of stitching on the static and fatigue failure load of bonded composite single lap joints. The variables considered in the static tests included adherend thickness, overlap length, stitch spacing, and number of rows of stitches. A limited fatigue program was conducted for one configuration to compare the fatigue life of stitched and unstitched joints. Up to a 38 percent improvement in static failure load and an order of magnitude increase in fatigue life compared with unstiffened results are obtained by a single row of stitches near the end of the overlap. Additional rows of stitching or different stitch spacing has little effect on static joint failure load. Thicker adherends and larger overlap length result in larger improvements in static failure load with stitching. Further research is needed to refine the stitching process in order to obtain the maximum improvements in joint failure load.

Sawyer, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1983

An Evaluation of Techroll Seal Flexible Joint Material

This study evaluated the materials utilized in the flexible joint for possible failure modes. Studies undertaken included effect of temperature on the strength of the system, effect of fatigue on the strength of the system, thermogravimetric analysis, thermochemical analysis, differential scanning calorimeter analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and peel test. These studies indicate that if the joint failed due to a materials deficiency, the most likely mode was excessive temperature in the joint. In addition, the joint material is susceptible to fatigue damage which could have been a contributing factor.

Hall, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Effect of preforming adherends on static and fatigue strength of bonded composite single-lap joints

An analytical and experimental investigation was conducted on bonded composite single-lap joints with the adherends performed to reduce the angle between the line of action of the applied in-plane force and the bondline. A classical closed-form solution was used to analyze the composite joints with various preform angles and overlap lengths. The adherends of the test specimens were preformed before bonding, during the layup and curing process. Static tests were conducted for preform angles of 0, 5, 10, and 15 deg and overlap lengths of 0.75, 1.75, 2.75, and 3.75 in. A limited fatigue study was conducted for specimens with a 2.75-in. overlap and a preform angle of 5 deg. Results of the analysis showed that preforming the adherends of bonded composite single-lap joints significantly reduced the shear and peel stress concentrations in the adhesive. Experimental results showed that preforming the adherends significantly increased their static and fatigue strength and thus increased the load level for which bonded composite single-lap joints can be designed.

Sawyer, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Strain measurement within a single-lap joint using embedded strain gages

An experimental method used to measure the in-plane normal-axial strains produced within a single-lap joint is described in which a resistance-foil strain gage is embedded within the joint prior to curing of the adhesive. Nominal dimensions of the titanium Ti-6-4 adherends were 0.13 x 2.5 x 12.7 cm and an overlap of 2.5 cm was used. The joint was bonded with FM-300 structural adhesive. The average ultimate shear strength of the gaged specimens and control specimens was 16.1 MPa and 14.1 MPa. A significant advantage of the proposed method is that strains internal to the joint are measured, rather than strains at an external edge. The presence of the gage was found to be not detrimental to bond performance.

Tuttle, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Rotary Joint for Heat Transfer

Rotary joint exchanges heat between two heat pipes - one rotating and one stationary. Joint accommodates varying heat loads with little temperature drop across interface. According to concept, heat pipe enters center of disklike stationary section of joint. There, wicks in central artery of heat pipe separate into multiple strands that lead to concentric channels on rotaryinterface side of stationary disk. Thin layer of liquid sodium/potassium alloy carries heat from one member of rotary joint to other. Liquid conducts heat efficiently while permitting relative motion between members. Polypropylene rings contain liquid without interfering with rotation.

Shauback, R.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Optimization of pin bearing joint strength for segmented graphite/epoxy filament wound case in Space Shuttle

An attempt is made to demonstrate the feasibility of a composite joint in a segmented, graphite/epoxy filament-wound composite case for the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motors. The joint's required ultimate line load is of the of 82,000 lb/in. By optimizing composite layup, and the ratios of pin diameter/specimen thickness, edge distance/pin diameter, and specimen width/pin diameter, a pin bearing joint strength of 85 ksi was obtained. Double pin testing disclosed that the pin close to the composite joint carries a higher load than the outboard pin. Pin bearing strength is noted to vary with matrix resin system.

Munjal, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Elbow and knee joint for hard space suits

An elbow or knee joint for a hard space suit or similar usage is formed of three serially connected rigid sections which have truncated spherical configurations. The ends of each section form solid geometric angles, and the sections are interconnected by hermetically sealed ball bearings. The outer two sections are fixed together for rotation in a direction opposite to rotation of the center section. A preferred means to make the outer sections track each other in rotation comprises a rotatable continuous bead chain which engages sockets circumferentially spaced on the facing sides of the outer races of the bearings. The joint has a single pivot point and the bearing axes are always contained in a single plane for any articulation of the joint. Thus flexure of the joint simulates the coplanar flexure of the knee or elbow and is not susceptible to lockup.

Vykukal, H. C.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A simple nonlinear joint model

Hertzian contact theory is applied to a butt joint with specially mismatched bearing surfaces to devise a simple mathematical model of nonlinear axial force-displacement behavior in jointed members. Normalized tangent stiffness-force plots, for several values of a joint imperfection parameter, are presented for the sample case of solid structural members of circular section. The results illustrate the potential problem of high joint compliance at low axial-force levels, as well as the generally desirable stiffening and linearizing effects of preload. A nonlinear oscillator problem based on the static model is also formulated and solved to illustrate the effect of amplitude on natural frequency. As expected, natural frequency is low when amplitude is small. The results call attention to the important roles that tight tolerances and preload are expected to play in the design and fabrication of deployable and erectable truss-type space structures.

Fichter, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A finite element overlay technique for modeling pinned composite joints

A finite element technique using overlaid plane stress elements is presented for modeling a pinned composite joint. The technique allows for discrete modeling of the pin and web regions of the joint in a two-dimensional (2-D) finite element analysis. Thus, predictive capability is substantially increased without the added complexity of a three-dimensional (3-D) analysis. The overlay technique requires a thorough evaluation of the model constraints between the joint components. Bearing panels are used to account for a reduced compressive modulus under bearing loads. Application of the plane stress overlay technique to the Filament Wound Case (FWC) Program is discussed. The experimental approach to determine bearing panel moduli using a double lap shear test is detailed, and finite element results are correlated with full-scale FWC joint test results.

Colvin, G. E.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Critical joints in large composite aircraft structure

A program was conducted at Douglas Aircraft Company to develop the technology for critical structural joints of composite wing structure that meets design requirements for a 1990 commercial transport aircraft. The prime objective of the program was to demonstrate the ability to reliably predict the strength of large bolted composite joints. Ancillary testing of 180 specimens generated data on strength and load-deflection characteristics which provided input to the joint analysis. Load-sharing between fasteners in multirow bolted joints was computed by the nonlinear analysis program A4EJ. This program was used to predict strengths of 20 additional large subcomponents representing strips from a wing root chordwise splice. In most cases, the predictions were accurate to within a few percent of the test results. In some cases, the observed mode of failure was different than anticipated. The highlight of the subcomponent testing was the consistent ability to achieve gross-section failure strains close to 0.005. That represents a considerable improvement over the state of the art.

Nelson, W. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Sensitivity of overall vehicle stiffness to local joint stiffness

How overall vehicle stiffness is affected by local joint stiffness is discussed. By using the principle of virtual work and the minimum strain energy theorem, a closed form expression for the sensitivity coefficient was derived. The insensitivity of the vehicle stiffness to a particular joint, when its stiffness exceeds a certain value (or threshold value), was proven mathematically. In order to investigate the sensitivity of the structure to the joint stiffness, a so-called stick model was created, and the modeling technique is briefly described. Some data on joint stiffness of tested vehicles are also presented.

Chon, Choon T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Structural design of an in-line bolted joint for the space shuttle solid rocket motor case segments

Results of a structural design study of an in-line bolted joint concept which can be used to assemble Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) case segments are presented. Numerous parametric studies are performed to characterize the in-line bolted joint behavior as major design variables are altered, with the primary objective always being to keep the inside of the joint (where the O-rings are located) closed during the SRM firing. The resulting design has 180 1-inch studs, an eccentricity of -0.5 inch, a flange thickness of 3/4 inch, a bearing plate thickness of 1/4 inch, and the studs are subjected to a preload which is 70% of ultimate. The mass penalty per case segment joint for the in-line design is 346 lbm more than the weight penalty for the proposed capture tang fix.

Dorsey, John T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Dynamics of trusses having nonlinear joints

The transient analysis of trusses having nonlinear joints can be accomplished using the residual force technique. The technique was applied a two degree of freedom spring mass system, a four bay planar truss, and an actual ten bay deployable truss. Joints chosen for analysis were the nonlinear gap joints and the linear Voigt joints. Results from the nonlinear gap analyses generally indicate that coupling between the modes can display some interesting effects during free vibration. One particularly interesting effect was that the damping of the structure appeared to be higher than could be accounted for from modal damping alone. Energy transferral from the lower to the higher modes was found to exist as a result of the modal coupling. The apparently increased damping was due to the fact that the energy transferred to the higher modes is inherently dissipated more quickly. Another interesting phenomenon was that the lower modes could drive the higher modes even during free vibration and that these modes could display a rather large quasi-steady state behavior even when modal damping was present. Gaps were also found to increase the amplitude and period of the free vibration response as expected.

Chapman, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Navier-Stokes analysis of two- and three-dimensional flow field in solid rocket motors with segment joints

A multidimensional implicit Navier-Stokes analysis which uses numerical solution of ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in a nonorthogonal bodyfitted cylindrical-polar coordinate system has been applied to simulation of the internal flow field in solid-propellant rocket motor chambers with segment joints. The calculation procedure incorporates a two-equation (k-epsilon) turbulence model and utilizes a consistently split, linearized block-implicit algorithm for numerical solution of the governing equations. Computations performed to simulate the axisymmetric flow field in the vicinity of the aft field joint in the Space Shuttle SRB using 14,725 grid points show the presence of a region of reversed axial flow near the downstream edge of the slot. Calculations were also performed for two cases involving asymmetric three-dimensional flow in the vicinity of the aft field joint in the SRB using 721,525 grid points to estimate circumferential velocities and pressure gradients at the joint.

Sabnis, J. S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Optical Rotary Joint For Data Transfer

Proposed joint increases bandwidth and reduces errors. Scheme for transferring digital data across rotary joint uses light instead of electrical signals. Optical joint offers greater bandwidth and operates at considerably lower error rate. Concept applied to transfer of highspeed data to rotating antennas or across joints of robots and manipulators in automated manufacturing.

Becker, Fred J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Rotary Joint For The Space Station

Most critical mechanism aboard station is rotary joint performing tracking function. Study conducted to determine optimum mechanism for rotary joint. Best mechanism is continuously rotating joint base on concept of multiple, discrete bearing-supported joint driven by self-loading, "pinch"-roller drive actuator. Applicable to solar-power-conversion units and earthbound solar-power farms and other related power-generation systems.

Loewenthal, Stuart H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Calculating Robot-Joint Coordinates From Image Coordinates

Detailed knowledge of robot joints not required. Algorithm generates approximate mathematical models of coordinates of joints of robot as functions of coordinates of points in images of work region viewed by television cameras. Joint coordinates necessary to position and orient end effector calculated by mathematical models fitted to experimentally determined data on positions, orientations, and joint coordinates. Generates models as functions of desired location of end effector of robot. Does not require priori knowledge of kinematic equations of robot.

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