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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS2004

Gear Performance Improved by Coating

Gears, bearings, and other mechanical elements transmit loads through contacting surfaces. Even if properly designed, manufactured, installed, and maintained, gears and bearings will eventually fail because of the fatigue of the working surfaces. Economical means for extending the fatigue lives of gears and bearings are highly desired, and coatings offer the opportunity to engineer surfaces to extend the fatigue lives of mechanical components. A tungsten-containing diamondlike-carbon coating exhibiting high hardness, low friction, and good toughness was evaluated for application to spur gears. Fatigue testing was done at the NASA Glenn Research Center on both uncoated and coated spur gears. The results showed that the coating extended the surface fatigue lives of the gears by a factor of about 5 relative to the uncoated gears. For the experiments, a lot of spur test gears made from AISI 9310 gear steel were case-carburized and ground to aerospace specifications. The geometries of the 28-tooth, 8-pitch gears were verified as meeting American Gear Manufacturing Association (AGMA) quality class 12. One-half of the gears were randomly selected for coating. The method of coating was selected to achieve desired adherence, toughness, hardness, and low-friction characteristics. First the gears to be coated were prepared by blasting (vapor honing) with Al2O3 particles and cleaning. Then, the gears were provided with a thin adhesion layer of elemental chromium followed by magnetron sputtering of the outer coating consisting of carbon (70 at.%), hydrogen (15 at.%), tungsten (12 at.%), and nickel (3 at.%) (atomic percent at the surface). In total, the coating thickness was about 2.5 to 3 microns. As compared with the steel substrate, the coated surface was harder by a factor of about 2 and had a smaller elastic modulus. All gears were tested using a 5-centistoke synthetic oil, a 10,000-rpm rotation speed, and a hertzian contact stress of at least 1.7 GPa (250 ksi). Tests were run until either surface fatigue occurred or 300 million stress cycles were completed. Tests were run using either a pair of uncoated gears or a pair of coated gears (coated gears mated with uncoated gears were not evaluated). The fatigue test results, shown on Weibull coordinates in the graph, demonstrate that the coating provided substantially longer fatigue lives even though some of the coated gears endured larger stresses. The increase in fatigue life was a factor of about 5 and the statistical confidence for the improvement is high (greater than 99 percent). Examination of the tested gears revealed substantial reductions of total wear for coated gears in comparison to uncoated gears. The coated gear surface topography changed with running, with localized areas of the tooth surface becoming smoother with running. Theories explaining how coatings can extend gear fatigue lives are research topics for coating, tribology, and fatigue specialists. This work was done as a partnership between NASA, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, United Technologies Research Corporation, and Sikorsky Aircraft.

Krantz, Timothy L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Minimum-Mass Surface Density of the Solar Nebula using the Disk Evolution Equation

The Hayashi minimum-mass power law representation of the pre-solar nebula (Hayashi 1981, Prog. Theo. Phys.70,35) is revisited using analytic solutions of the disk evolution equation. A new cumulative-planetary-mass-model (an integrated form of the surface density) is shown to predict a smoother surface density compared with methods based on direct estimates of surface density from planetary data. First, a best-fit transcendental function is applied directly to the cumulative planetary mass data with the surface density obtained by direct differentiation. Next a solution to the time-dependent disk evolution equation is parametrically adapted to the planetary data. The latter model indicates a decay rate of r -1/2 in the inner disk followed by a rapid decay which results in a sharper outer boundary than predicted by the minimum mass model. The model is shown to be a good approximation to the finite-size early Solar Nebula and by extension to extra solar protoplanetary disks.

Davis, Sanford S.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposited Thin Films for Space Photovoltaics

Copper indium disulfide thin films were deposited via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition using single source precursors. Processing and post-processing parameters were varied in order to modify morphology, stoichiometry, crystallography, electrical properties, and optical properties in order to optimize device-quality material. Growth at atmospheric pressure in a horizontal hot-wall reactor at 395 C yielded best device films. Placing the susceptor closer to the evaporation zone and flowing a more precursor-rich carrier gas through the reactor yielded shinier, smoother, denser-looking films. Growth of (112)-oriented films yielded more Cu-rich films with fewer secondary phases than growth of (204)/(220)-oriented films. Post-deposition sulfur-vapor annealing enhanced stoichiometry and crystallinity of the films. Photoluminescence studies revealed four major emission bands (1.45, 1.43, 1.37, and 1.32 eV) and a broad band associated with deep defects. The highest device efficiency for an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposited cell was 1.03 percent.

Hepp, Aloysius F.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Convergence Acceleration of Runge-Kutta Schemes for Solving the Navier-Stokes Equations

The convergence of a Runge-Kutta (RK) scheme with multigrid is accelerated by preconditioning with a fully implicit operator. With the extended stability of the Runge-Kutta scheme, CFL numbers as high as 1000 can be used. The implicit preconditioner addresses the stiffness in the discrete equations associated with stretched meshes. This RK/implicit scheme is used as a smoother for multigrid. Fourier analysis is applied to determine damping properties. Numerical dissipation operators based on the Roe scheme, a matrix dissipation, and the CUSP scheme are considered in evaluating the RK/implicit scheme. In addition, the effect of the number of RK stages is examined. Both the numerical and computational efficiency of the scheme with the different dissipation operators are discussed. The RK/implicit scheme is used to solve the two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) compressible, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Turbulent flows over an airfoil and wing at subsonic and transonic conditions are computed. The effects of the cell aspect ratio on convergence are investigated for Reynolds numbers between 5:7 x 10(exp 6) and 100 x 10(exp 6). It is demonstrated that the implicit preconditioner can reduce the computational time of a well-tuned standard RK scheme by a factor between four and ten.

Swanson, Roy C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Gear tooth topological modification

The topology of parallel axis gears, such as spur and helical gears is modified to produce quieter and more smoothly operating gear sets with more uniform load distribution. A finite element analysis of the gear in its operating mode is made to produce a plot of radial and tangential deflections of the pinion and gear tooth surfaces which will occur when the gears are loaded during operation. The resultant plot is then inverted to produce a plot, or set of coordinates, which will define the path of travel of the gear tooth grinding wheel, which path is a mirror image of the plot of the finite element analysis. The resulting gears, when subjected to operating loads, will thus be deflected tangentially and radially to their optimum operating, or theoretical true involute, positions so as to produce quieter, smoother, and more evenly loaded gear trains.

Kish, Jules G.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Materials Database Development for Ballistic Impact Modeling

A set of experimental data is being generated under the Fundamental Aeronautics Program Supersonics project to help create and validate accurate computational impact models of jet engine impact events. The data generated will include material property data generated at a range of different strain rates, from 1x10(exp -4)/sec to 5x10(exp 4)/sec, over a range of temperatures. In addition, carefully instrumented ballistic impact tests will be conducted on flat plates and curved structures to provide material and structural response information to help validate the computational models. The material property data and the ballistic impact data will be generated using materials from the same lot, as far as possible. It was found in preliminary testing that the surface finish of test specimens has an effect on measured high strain rate tension response of AL2024. Both the maximum stress and maximum elongation are greater on specimens with a smoother finish. This report gives an overview of the testing that is being conducted and presents results of preliminary testing of the surface finish study.

Pereira, J. Michael↗
NASA NTRS2008

Balanced Flow Measurement and Conditioning Technology (Balanced Orifice Plate 7,051,765 B1) for NASA Inventions and Contributions Board Invention of the Year Evaluation

This viewgraph document reviews the Balanced Flow Measurement (BFM) and Conditioning Technology, and makes the case for this as the NASA Invention of the Year. The BFM technology makes use of a thin, multi-hole orifice plate with holes sized and placed per a unique set of equations. It produces mass flow, volumetric flow,kinelic energy,or momentum BALANCE across the face of the plate. The flow is proportional.to the square root of upstream to downstream differential pressure. Multiple holes lead to smoother pressure measurement. Measures and conditions or can limit fluid flow. This innovation has many uses in and out of NASA.

Kelley, Anthony R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Wafer bonded epitaxial templates for silicon heterostructures

A heterostructure device layer is epitaxially grown on a virtual substrate, such as an InP/InGaAs/InP double heterostructure. A device substrate and a handle substrate form the virtual substrate. The device substrate is bonded to the handle substrate and is composed of a material suitable for fabrication of optoelectronic devices. The handle substrate is composed of a material suitable for providing mechanical support. The mechanical strength of the device and handle substrates is improved and the device substrate is thinned to leave a single-crystal film on the virtual substrate such as by exfoliation of a device film from the device substrate. An upper portion of the device film exfoliated from the device substrate is removed to provide a smoother and less defect prone surface for an optoelectronic device. A heterostructure is epitaxially grown on the smoothed surface in which an optoelectronic device may be fabricated.

Atwater, Harry A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Advanced Unstructured Grid Generation for Complex Aerodynamic Applications

A new approach for distribution of grid points on the surface and in the volume has been developed and implemented in the NASA unstructured grid generation code VGRID. In addition to the point and line sources of prior work, the new approach utilizes surface and volume sources for automatic curvature-based grid sizing and convenient point distribution in the volume. A new exponential growth function produces smoother and more efficient grids and provides superior control over distribution of grid points in the field. All types of sources support anisotropic grid stretching which not only improves the grid economy but also provides more accurate solutions for certain aerodynamic applications. The new approach does not require a three-dimensional background grid as in the previous methods. Instead, it makes use of an efficient bounding-box auxiliary medium for storing grid parameters defined by surface sources. The new approach is less memory-intensive and more efficient computationally. The grids generated with the new method either eliminate the need for adaptive grid refinement for certain class of problems or provide high quality initial grids that would enhance the performance of many adaptation methods.

Pirzadeh, Shahyar Z.↗
NASA NTRS2008

An Experimental Study of Fretting of Gear Teeth

Experiments were conducted to study fretting of gears. The gears were made from case-carburized AISI 9310 alloy to match the material of a flight actuator gearbox of interest. The objective of the testing was to produce damage representative of that observed on flight hardware. The following correlations and observations were noted. The amplitude of dithering motion very strongly influenced the type and magnitude of damage. Sliding amounts on the order of 30% of the width of the line contact were judged to most readily produce fretting damage. There was observed an incubation period on the order of tens-of-thousands of cycles, and the incubation period was influenced by surface roughness, torque, and the motion extent. Fretting damage could be produced for any of the torques tested, and the severity of damage increased slightly with torque. Gear teeth having surface roughness of 0.7-0.8 micrometer were somewhat more resistant to fretting than were smoother surfaces.

Krantz, Timothy L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Spray Chemical Vapor Deposition of Single-Source Precursors for Chalcopyrite I-III-VI2 Thin-Film Materials

Thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified substrates provide an attractive approach to fabricating solar arrays with high mass-specific power. A polycrystalline chalcopyrite absorber layer is among the new generation of photovoltaic device technologies for thin film solar cells. At NASA Glenn Research Center we have focused on the development of new single-source precursors (SSPs) for deposition of semiconducting chalcopyrite materials onto lightweight, flexible substrates. We describe the syntheses and thermal modulation of SSPs via molecular engineering. Copper indium disulfide and related thin-film materials were deposited via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition using SSPs. Processing and post-processing parameters were varied in order to modify morphology, stoichiometry, crystallography, electrical properties, and optical properties to optimize device quality. Growth at atmospheric pressure in a horizontal hotwall reactor at 395 C yielded the best device films. Placing the susceptor closer to the evaporation zone and flowing a more precursor-rich carrier gas through the reactor yielded shinier-, smoother-, and denser-looking films. Growth of (112)-oriented films yielded more Cu-rich films with fewer secondary phases than growth of (204)/(220)-oriented films. Post-deposition sulfur-vapor annealing enhanced stoichiometry and crystallinity of the films. Photoluminescence studies revealed four major emission bands and a broad band associated with deep defects. The highest device efficiency for an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposited cell was one percent.

Hepp, Aloysius F.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Assimilation of GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Data into a Land Surface Model

The NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) system of satellites provides observations of large-scale, monthly terrestrial water storage (TWS) changes. In. this presentation we describe a land data assimilation system that ingests GRACE observations and show that the assimilation improves estimates of water storage and fluxes, as evaluated against independent measurements. The ensemble-based land data assimilation system uses a Kalman smoother approach along with the NASA Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM). We assimilated GRACE-derived TWS anomalies for each of the four major sub-basins of the Mississippi into the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM). Compared with the open-loop (no assimilation) CLSM simulation, assimilation estimates of groundwater variability exhibited enhanced skill with respect to measured groundwater. Assimilation also significantly increased the correlation between simulated TWS and gauged river flow for all four sub-basins and for the Mississippi River basin itself. In addition, model performance was evaluated for watersheds smaller than the scale of GRACE observations, in the majority of cases, GRACE assimilation led to increased correlation between TWS estimates and gauged river flow, indicating that data assimilation has considerable potential to downscale GRACE data for hydrological applications. We will also describe how the output from the GRACE land data assimilation system is now being prepared for use in the North American Drought Monitor.

Reichle, Rolf H.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Domain-Decomposed Multilevel Method for Adaptively Refined Cartesian Grids with Embedded Boundaries

Preliminary verification and validation of an efficient Euler solver for adaptively refined Cartesian meshes with embedded boundaries is presented. The parallel, multilevel method makes use of a new on-the-fly parallel domain decomposition strategy based upon the use of space-filling curves, and automatically generates a sequence of coarse meshes for processing by the multigrid smoother. The coarse mesh generation algorithm produces grids which completely cover the computational domain at every level in the mesh hierarchy. A series of examples on realistically complex three-dimensional configurations demonstrate that this new coarsening algorithm reliably achieves mesh coarsening ratios in excess of 7 on adaptively refined meshes. Numerical investigations of the scheme's local truncation error demonstrate an achieved order of accuracy between 1.82 and 1.88. Convergence results for the multigrid scheme are presented for both subsonic and transonic test cases and demonstrate W-cycle multigrid convergence rates between 0.84 and 0.94. Preliminary parallel scalability tests on both simple wing and complex complete aircraft geometries shows a computational speedup of 52 on 64 processors using the run-time mesh partitioner.

Aftosmis, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1954

Summary of Free-Flight Zero-Lift Drag Results from Tests of 1/5-Scale Models of the Convair YF-102 and F-102A Airplanes and Several Related Small Equivalent Bodies at Mach Numbers from 0.70 to 1.46

One-fifth-scale rocket-propelled models of the Convair YF-102 and F-102A airplanes were tested to determine free-flight zero-lift drag coefficients through the transonic speed range at Reynolds numbers near those to be encountered by the full-scale airplane. Trim and duct characteristics were obtained along with measurements of total-, internal-, and base-drag coefficients. Additional zero-lift drag tests involved a series of small equivalent-body-of-revolution models which were launched to low supersonic speeds by means of a helium gun. The several small models tested corresponded to the following full-scale airplanes: basic, YF-102, 2-foot (full-scale) fuselage extension, F-102A, F-102A (relocated inlets), F-102A (faired nose), and F-102A (parabolic nose) . Equivalent-body models corresponding to the normal area distribution (derived for Mach number 1.0) of each of these airplane shapes were flown and, in addition, equivalent-body models designed to represent the YF-102 and F-102A airplanes at Mach number 1.2 were tested. External-drag coefficients obtained from the 115-scale tests ranged from 0.0094 to 0.0273 for the YF-102 model and from 0.0100 to 0.0255 for the F-102A model. Forebody external-pressure-drag coefficients (drag rise) at Mach number 1.05 of 0.0183 and 0.0134 were obtained from the 115-scale models of the YF-102 and F-102A, respectively, a 16-percent reduction for the F-102A model. Values of drag rise at Mach number 1.05 from the small equivalent-body tests were nearly the same for the basic, YF-102, and 2-foot-fuselage-extension airplane shapes. Equivalent-body tests of the YF-102 and F-102A shapes showed the latter to have about 25 percent less drag rise as compared with a 16-percent reduction illustrated by the 1/5-scale tests. Additional equivalent-body tests illustrating effects of modifications to the F-102A airplane shape shared that relocating the inlets on the fuselage or altering the nose shape to provide a smoother cross-sectional area progression reduced the drag rise by approximately 16 percent. Replacing a major portion of the nose of the F-102A equivalent-body model with one of parabolic shape resulted in about a 21-percent reduction in drag rise. The drag-rise data from the equivalent-body tests include base drag.

Wallskog, Harvey A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

NASA PS400: A New Temperature Solid Lubricant Coating for High Temperature Wear Applications

A new solid lubricant coating, NASA PS400, has been developed for high temperature tribological applications. This plasma sprayed coating is a variant of the patented PS304 coating and has been formulated to provide higher density, smoother surface finish and better dimensional stability than PS304. PS400 is comprised of a nickel-molybdenum binder that provides strength, creep resistance and extreme oxidative and dimensional stability. Chromium oxide, silver and barium-calcium fluoride eutectic are added to the binder to form PS400.Tribological properties were evaluated with a pin-on-disk test rig in sliding contact to 650 C. Coating material samples were exposed to air, argon and vacuum at 760 C followed by cross section microscopic analysis to assess microstructure stability. Oil-Free microturbine engine hot section foil bearing tests were undertaken to assess PS400 s suitability for hot foil gas bearing applications. The preliminary results indicate that PS400 exhibits tribological characteristics comparable to the PS304 coating but with enhanced creep resistance and dimensional stability suitable for demanding, dynamic applications.

DellaCorte, C.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Distribution of Chromosome Breakpoints in Human Epithelial Cells Exposed to Low- and High-LET Radiations

The advantage of the multicolor banding in situ hybridization (mBAND) technique is not only its ability to identify simultaneously both inter- and intrachromosome exchanges, but also the ability to measure the breakpoint location along the length of the chromosome in a precision that is unmatched with other traditional banding techniques. Breakpoints on specific regions of a chromosome have been known to associate with specific cancers. The breakpoint distribution in cells after low- and high-LET radiation exposures will also provide the data for biophysical modeling of the chromatin structure, as well as the data for the modeling the formation of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations. In a series of experiments, we studied low- and high-LET radiation-induced chromosome aberrations using the mBAND technique with chromosome 3 painted in 23 different colored bands. Human epithelial cells (CH1 84B5F5/M10) were exposed in vitro to Cs- 137 rays at both low and high dose rates, secondary neutrons with a broad energy spectrum at a low dose rate and 600 MeV/u Fe ions at a high dose rate. The data of both inter- and intrachromosome aberrations involving the painted chromosome have been reported previously. Here we present data of the location of the chromosome breaks along the length of chromosome 3 in the cells after exposures to each of the four radiation scenarios. In comparison to the expected breakpoint distribution based on the length of the bands, the observed distribution appeared to be non-random for both the low- and high-LET radiations. In particular, hot spots towards both ends of the chromosome were found after low-LET irradiations of either low or high dose rates. For both high-LET radiation types (Fe ions and neutrons), the breakpoint distributions were similar, and were much smoother than that for low-LET radiation. The dependence of the breakpoint distribution on the radiation quality requires further investigations.

Hada, Megumi↗
NASA NTRS2010

Advanced Unstructured Grid Generation for Complex Aerodynamic Applications

A new approach for distribution of grid points on the surface and in the volume has been developed. In addition to the point and line sources of prior work, the new approach utilizes surface and volume sources for automatic curvature-based grid sizing and convenient point distribution in the volume. A new exponential growth function produces smoother and more efficient grids and provides superior control over distribution of grid points in the field. All types of sources support anisotropic grid stretching which not only improves the grid economy but also provides more accurate solutions for certain aerodynamic applications. The new approach does not require a three-dimensional background grid as in the previous methods. Instead, it makes use of an efficient bounding-box auxiliary medium for storing grid parameters defined by surface sources. The new approach is less memory-intensive and more efficient computationally. The grids generated with the new method either eliminate the need for adaptive grid refinement for certain class of problems or provide high quality initial grids that would enhance the performance of many adaptation methods.

Pirzadeh, Shahyar↗
NASA NTRS2010

Integrating Enhanced Grace Terrestrial Water Storage Data Into the U.S. and North American Drought Monitors

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites measure time variations nf the Earth's gravity field enabling reliable detection of spatio-temporal variations in total terrestrial water storage (TWS), including ground water. The U.S. and North American Drought Monitors are two of the premier drought monitoring products available to decision-makers for assessing and minimizing drought impacts, but they rely heavily on precipitation indices and do not currently incorporate systematic observations of deep soil moisture and groundwater storage conditions. Thus GRACE has great potential to improve the Drought Monitors hy filling this observational gap. Horizontal, vertical and temporal disaggregation of the coarse-resolution GRACE TWS data has been accomplished by assimilating GRACE TWS anomalies into the Catchment Land Surface Model using ensemble Kalman smoother. The Drought Monitors combine several short-term and long-term drought indices and indicators expressed in percentiles as a reference to their historical frequency of occurrence for the location and time of year in question. To be consistent, we are in the process of generating a climatology of estimated soil moisture and ground water based on m 60-year Catchment model simulation which will subsequently be used to convert seven years of GRACE assimilated fields into soil moisture and groundwater percentiles. for systematic incorporation into the objective blends that constitute Drought Monitor baselines. At this stage we provide a preliminary evaluation of GRACE assimilated Catchment model output against independent datasets including soil moisture observations from Aqua AMSR-E and groundwater level observations from the U.S. Geological Survey's Groundwater Climate Response Network.

Housborg, Rasmus↗