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At least 271 records · Page 15

Data Challenges for Structural Health Monitoring of Electrical Machines [Slides]

Induction motors (ID) consist of a stator and a rotor. Induction motor slip decreases with decreasing load. Induction motor slip decreases with decreasing load. This talk will focus on removing closely coupled power grid frequencies in an effort to observe the true dynamic response signature of induction motors. Using the time difference between the zeros, we found the frequency as it changes over time for each of the 3 phases. The frequencies of the 3 phases were averaged to reduce the effects of sidebands on the instantaneous frequency. The frequencies of the 3 phases were averaged to reduce the effects of sidebands on the instantaneous frequency. The Kalman filter rapidly synchronizes with the expected output. The sidebands were recreated using spectral subtraction. The frequency domain shows the reduction in magnitude of the power grid frequency the Kalman output was subtracted out. Kalman filtering also reveals important data about the sidebands in healthy motors. The Continuous Wavelet Transform is an alternative to a Bandpass IIR filter used in the analysis of the acceleration data. Analysis of the acceleration data reveals 4 sidebands around the slip frequency.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Structural Health Monitoring: Using an Autoencoder to Identify Damage in a Bolted Joint [Capstone Project]

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is an important fixture in the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) complex. LANL is one of the largest national laboratories in the country, and the laboratory’s primary mission is to support the nation’s nuclear stockpile. The lab functions as a design agencies for the NNSA and performs extensive testing on weapons as part of that mission. The shock and vibration test team at LANL utilizes electrodynamic shaker systems for important qualification testing in support of the laboratory’s mission. Modern engineering relies heavily on bolted joints to connect two objects. During these shaker tests, engineers depend on bolted joints to secure the test article to a fixture and the fixture to the table. The test article may be hazardous and contain high explosives which could create a safety issue if a bolted joint failed. A loss of preload in a bolt will affect the way energy is input to the system and may introduce nonlinearities as the joint opens and closes. The loss of preload can create challenges controlling the test and make acquired signals useless. Being able to monitor preload within bolted joints during testing can improve the quality of the data and keep workers safe.

42 ENGINEERING↗

High-Temperature Sodium System Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Technologies at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL)

This report documents the deployment of non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). METL became operational in September 2018 with the mission to provide an ecosystem for Advanced Reactor Development (ARD). METLs flagship facility’s primary purpose is conducting small to intermediate scale tests for Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR). Its resemblance to a commercial SFR’s intermediate heat transport system, prototypic operating conditions, and industrial construction practices/materials provides the overarching benefit of establishing a proving ground for devices of all technology readiness levels as well as commercial off-the-shelf equipment yet to be demonstrated on a sodium system.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Non-contact Real-time Target Health Monitor

Targets are an essential part of many accelerator-based experiments, yet their constant radiation exposure eventually affects their internal structure and, consequently, their properties. Current methods typically involve either direct contact with the target or complete removal of the system, which may not be the most efficient for assessing radiation damage. For this reason, a system has been proposed that will monitor a target s radiation damage without the need for direct contact or removal. This sensor will achieve this by measuring the reflectivity of S- and P-polarized waves, which are expected to change measurably due to radiation-induced alterations. As is commonly done, smaller-scale tests were performed to ensure that the necessary equipment was functioning correctly. Once all equipment is tested, the next step will be to perform reflectivity measurements using a tungsten sample, a material often used in targets. Longer-term work will involve scaling up the system and implementing higher-energy beams. This sensor will enable a more comprehensive study of radiation damage in materials and is being considered for projects such as Mu2e, Mu2e-II, LBNF, AMF, and muon colliders.

Agosto Reyes, Alanice↗

Feasibility of an Accelerometer-Based Structural Health Monitoring System for the LANL Blast Tube

A modeling- and simulation-based study was conducted on the feasibility of implementing an accelerometer-based SHM system on the Los Alamos National Laboratory blast tube. A blast tube experiment was modeled using the Abaqus explicit finite element solver. A custom user subroutine was written to apply test-like pressure loading to the inside surface of the blast tube. The subroutine applies analytically defined pressure loads derived from tracer output taken from a Compressible Flow Computational Fluid Dynamics Solver model of the blast tube. Five unique versions of the model were created: an undamaged reference model at 65°F was used as the baseline and compared to equivalent models at 10°F and 100°F. These three models were compared to models with small damage at the reference temperature. The two types of damage considered were a radial (circumferential) crack in the main tube body and a longitudinal crack in the supports. Acceleration outputs were extracted from accelerometer bodies included in the model and were post processed using a variety of standard SHM techniques. Different potential features signaling failure were extracted and compared using statistical methods in the time and frequency domains. A method was identified that clearly shows that differences in structural response resulting from the modeled damage can be differentiated from the structural response resulting from changing environmental conditions. However, the amount of damage applied to create observable differences in the accelerometer data was so large that simpler methods of damage detection would be more cost effective in locating damage.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Quasi-Distributed Fiber Sensor-Based Approach for Pipeline Health Monitoring: Generating and Analyzing Physics-Based Simulation Datasets for Classification

This study presents a framework for detecting mechanical damage in pipelines, focusing on generating simulated data and sampling to emulate distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system responses. The workflow transforms simulated ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) responses into DAS or quasi-DAS system responses to create a physically robust dataset for pipeline event classification, including welds, clips, and corrosion defects. This investigation examines the effects of sensing systems and noise on classification performance, emphasizing the importance of selecting the appropriate sensing system for a specific application. The framework shows the robustness of different sensor number deployments to experimentally relevant noise levels, demonstrating its applicability in real-world scenarios where noise is present. Overall, this study contributes to the development of a more reliable and effective method for detecting mechanical damage to pipelines by emphasizing the generation and utilization of simulated DAS system responses for pipeline classification efforts. The results on the effects of sensing systems and noise on classification performance further enhance the robustness and reliability of the framework.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An expert system approach to turbopump health monitoring

A preliminary report is presented on the development of a system for monitoring the High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump of the SSME. System development will proceed by defining the degradation mechanism of the turbopump, identifying those conventional and advanced sensor measurements that can monitor these mechanisms, and determining the digital processing requirements for these measurements. Once the failures and associated measurements have been defined, an expert system will be developed that can make both diagnostic and prognostic inferences about the condition and performance of the turbopump.

Perry, John G.↗

Plume spectrometry for liquid rocket engine health monitoring

An investigation of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) testing failures identified optical events which appeared to be precursors of those failures. A program was therefore undertaken to detect plume trace phenomena characteristic of the engine and to design a monitoring system, responsive to excessive activity in the plume, capable of delivering a warning of an anomalous condition. By sensing the amount of extraneous material entrained in the plume and considering engine history, it may be possible to identify wearing of failing components in time for a safe shutdown and thus prevent a catastrophic event. To investigate the possibilities of safe shutdown and thus prevent a monitor to initiate the shutdown procedure, a large amount of plume data were taken from SSME firings using laboratory instrumentation. Those data were used to design a more specialized instrument dedicated to rocket plume diagnostics. The spectral wavelength range of the baseline data was about 220 nanometers (nm) to 15 micrometer with special attention given to visible and near UV. The data indicates that a satisfactory design will include a polychromator covering the range of 250 nM to 1000 nM, along with a continuous coverage spectrometer, each having a resolution of at least 5A degrees. The concurrent requirements for high resolution and broad coverage are normally at odds with one another in commercial instruments, therefore necessitating the development of special instrumentation. The design of a polychromator is reviewed herein, with a detailed discussion of the continuous coverage spectrometer delayed to a later forum. The program also requires the development of applications software providing detection, variable background discrimination, noise reduction, filtering, and decision making based on varying historical data.

Powers, William T.↗

Integrated control and health monitoring capacitive displacement sensor development task. Orbit transfer rocket engine technology program

The development of a miniature multifunction turbomachinery shaft displacement sensor using state-of-the-art non-contract capacitive sensing technology is described. Axial displacement, radial displacement, and speed are sensed using a single probe within the envelope normally required for a single function. A survey of displacement sensing technology is summarized including inductive, capacitive, optical and ultrasonic techniques. The design and operation of an experimental triple function sensor is described. Test results are included showing calibration tests and simultaneous dynamic testing of multiple functions. Recommendations for design changes are made to improve low temperature performance, reliability, and for design of a flight type signal conditioning unit.

Collamore, Frank N.↗

Model and simulation development for turbopump health monitoring by parameter estimation

The nonlinear equations describing the flow, pressure and temperature dynamics of the High Pressure Fuel Turbopump of the Space Shuttle Main Engine are summarized and implemented in a digital simulation. Some closed form approximations to the operating curves of the turbopump are made so that closed form derivatives exist. These equations and approximations are then used to develop an extended Kalman filter that estimates the dynamic states of the turbopump and a parameter that can reflect turbopump degradation. The filter is implemented as a digital computer program and applied to data generated by the digital simulation of the turbopump with substantial noise added to the output signals. The results indicate that the parameter estimate converges quickly and accurately. This suggests that the parameter estimate can be used to monitor for turbopump degradations affecting its value.

Walker, Bruce K.↗

Integrated controls and health monitoring fiberoptic shaft monitor

Recent work was performed on development optical technology to provide real time monitoring of shaft speed, shaft axial displacement, and shaft orbit of the OTVE hydrostatic bearing tester. Results show shaft axial displacement can be optically measured (at the same time as shaft orbital motion and speed) to within 0.3 mills by two fiber optic deflectometers. The final results of this condition monitoring development effort are presented.

Coleman, P.↗

Neural network approach to Space Shuttle Main Engine health monitoring

A neural network was trained to distinguish anomalies in Space Shuttle Main Engine sensor data from noisy normal steady-state sensor data. Power spectra of successive windows of individual sensor data were presented to a neural network using Kohonen's topological feature map training algorithm. The trained network for each sensor was then tested to determine if it would detect anomalies in the sensor data, and if so, the time at which the anomaly would be detected. Power spectra from a few hundred seconds of actual test data from NASA tests 901-364 and 904-044 were used to test the network. In both cases, the neural network detected the onset of anomalous engine behavior at approximately the same time within each test as the onset times reported by NASA and Rocketdyne experts in their post-test analyses.

Whitehead, Bruce A.↗

AI mass spectrometers for space shuttle health monitoring

The facility Hazardous Gas Detection System (HGDS) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is a mass spectrometer based gas analyzer. Two instruments make up the HGDS, which is installed in a prime/backup arrangement, with the option of using both analyzers on the same sample line, or on two different lines simultaneously. It is used for monitoring the Shuttle during fuel loading, countdown, and drainback, if necessary. The use of complex instruments, operated over many shifts, has caused problems in tracking the status of the ground support equipment (GSE) and the vehicle. A requirement for overall system reliability has been a major force in the development of Shuttle GSE, and is the ultimate driver in the choice to pursue artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for Shuttle and Advanced Launch System (ALS) mass spectrometer systems. Shuttle applications of AI are detailed.

Adams, F. W.↗