Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “AE”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Global large scale structures in the F region

Measurements of neutral densities, temperatures and ion density and temperature by the Atmosphere Explorer C and E satellites exhibit fluctuations made up of coherent waves of scale size from hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The fluctuations in the AE-C data are found at times of low magnetic activity to extend from the auroral region in one hemisphere across the equator to the corresponding region in the other hemisphere with little change in apparent wavelength. The fluctuations in the AE-E data similarly exhibit at times of low magnetic activity nearly uniform wave structure encircling the equatorial belt. Typical examples of waves of more than 1000 km apparent wavelength in both the AE-C and AE-E data are presented. These observations during quiet times may be explained by a system of quasi-stationary waves excited by the auroral belts that are distributed about the Earth possibly with tidal or sub-tidal periods and scale lengths determined by the structure of the belts. According to this interpretation, Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance (TID's) are manifestations of transient wave systems moving past a ground observatory that result from changes in magnetic activity with periods and scale sizes associated with the regions of enhanced auroral activity. Some evidence suggesting tidal-like stationary waves from the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar is presented.

Gross, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Punch stretching process monitoring using acoustic emission signal analysis. II - Application of frequency domain deconvolution

The coloring effect on the acoustic emission signal due to the frequency response of the data acquisition/processing instrumentation may bias the interpretation of AE signal characteristics. In this paper, a frequency domain deconvolution technique, which involves the identification of the instrumentation transfer functions and multiplication of the AE signal spectrum by the inverse of these system functions, has been carried out. In this way, the change in AE signal characteristics can be better interpreted as the result of the change in only the states of the process. Punch stretching process was used as an example to demonstrate the application of the technique. Results showed that, through the deconvolution, the frequency characteristics of AE signals generated during the stretching became more distinctive and can be more effectively used as tools for process monitoring.

Liang, Steven Y.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Interplanetary Alfven waves and auroral (substorm) activity - IMP 8

Almost 1 year of IMP 8 interplanetary magnetic field and plasma data (days 1-312, 1979) have been examined to determine the interplanetary causes of geomagnetic AE activity. The nature of the interplanetary medium (Alfvenic or non-Alfvenic) and the B(s) correlation with AE were examined over 12-hour increments throughout the study. It is found that Alfvenic wave intervals are present over 60 percent of the time, and the southward component of the Alfven waves is well correlated with AE (average peak correlation coefficient 0.62), with a median lag of 43 min. From this statistical study, no major differences in the magnetospheric response to Alfvenic and non-Alfvenic intervals were obvious. The high-intensity long-duration continuous AE activity (HILDCAA) events discussed previously by Tsurutani and Gonzales (1987) are demonstrated to be caused by the southward components of the Alfven waves, presumably through the process of magnetic reconnection.

Tsurutani, Bruce T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Burst prediction by acoustic emission in filament-wound pressure vessels

Acoustic emission in 51-cm diameter graphite/epoxy pressure vessels was monitored during pressurization (hydrotesting). Several vessels were subjected to impact by a blunt impactor, but only after the vessels had been proofed; that is, pressurized to 80 percent of nominal burst pressure as determined from control (unimpacted) vessels. AE activity was then monitored throughout a series of successively higher pressure cycles ranging from 10 to 60 percent of ultimate. Each cycle included a ramp up to pressure followed by a 4-min hold period and then pressure unload. The event rate was high, and especially modified AE analyzers had to be used to acquire the data. This paper presents the AE event count versus pressure history of these tests and demonstrates the ability of the AE technique to monitor the growth of damage and to estimate the effect on ultimate strength. The number of events that occurred during pressure holds proved to be a reasonable estimator of vessel performance.

Gorman, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Acoustic emission monitoring of low velocity impact damage in graphite/epoxy laminates during tensile loading

An acoustic emission (AE) system was set up in a linear location data acquisition mode to monitor the tensile loading of eight-ply quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy specimens containing low velocity impact damage. The impact damage was induced using an instrumented drop weight tower. During impact, specimens were supported by either an aluminum plate or a membrane configuration. Cross-sectional examinations revealed that the aluminum plate configuration resulted in primarily matrix cracking and back surface fiber failure. The membrane support resulted in only matrix cracking and delamination damage. Penetrant enhanced radiography and immersion ultrasonics were used in order to assess the amount of impact damage in each tensile specimen. During tensile loading, AE reliably detected and located the damage sites which included fiber failure. All specimens with areas of fiber breakage ultimately failed at the impact site. AE did not reliably locate damage which consisted of only delaminations and matrix cracking. Specimens with this type of damage did not ultimately fail at the impact site. In summary, AE demonstrated the ability to increase the reliability of structural proof tests; however, the successful use of this technique requires extensive baseline testing.

Parker, Bradford H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Acoustic emission from a solidifying aluminum-lithium alloy

Physical phenomena associated with the solidification of an AA2090 Al-Li alloy have been characterized by AE methods. Repeatable patterns of AE activity as a function of solidification time are recorded and explained for ultrahigh-purity (UHP) aluminum and an Al-4.7 wt pct Cu binary alloy, in addition to the AA2090 Al-Li alloy, by the complementary utilization of thermal, AE, and metallographic methods. One result shows that the solidification of UHP aluminum produces one discrete period of high AE activity as the last 10 percent of solid forms.

Henkel, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electron spectroscopy analysis

The Surface Science Laboratories at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) are equipped with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) facilities. These techniques provide information from the uppermost atomic layers of a sample, and are thus truly surface sensitive. XPS provides both elemental and chemical state information without restriction on the type of material that can be analyzed. The sample is placed into an ultra high vacuum (UHV) chamber and irradiated with x-rays which cause the ejection of photoelectrons from the sample surface. Since x-rays do not normally cause charging problems or beam damage, XPS is applicable to a wide range of samples including metals, polymers, catalysts, and fibers. AES uses a beam of high energy electrons as a surface probe. Following electronic rearrangements within excited atoms by this probe, Auger electrons characteristic of each element present are emitted from the sample. The main advantage of electron induced AES is that the electron beam can be focused down to a small diameter and localized analysis can be carried out. On the rastering of this beam synchronously with a video display using established scanning electron microscopy techniques, physical images and chemical distribution maps of the surface can be produced. Thus very small features, such as electronic circuit elements or corrosion pits in metals, can be investigated. Facilities are available on both XPS and AES instruments for depth-profiling of materials, using a beam of argon ions to sputter away consecutive layers of material to reveal sub-surface (and even semi-bulk) analyses.

Gregory, John C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Acoustic emission measurements of aerospace materials and structures

A development status evaluation is given for aerospace applications of AE location, detection, and source characterization. Attention is given to the neural-like processing of AE signals for graphite/epoxy. It is recommended that development efforts for AE make connections between the material failure process and source dynamics, and study the effects of composite material anisotropy and inhomogeneity on the propagation of AE waves. Broadband, as well as frequency- and wave-mode selective sensors, need to be developed.

Sachse, Wolfgang↗
NASA NTRS1995

An investigation of theories of failure for ceramic matrix composites

This final report is comprised of the abstract of a masters thesis research grant. The abstract of the thesis, 'An Investigation of Acoustic Emission Techniques for the Discrimination of Damage Mechanisms in Ceramic Matrix Composites', is as follows: In order to further advance the understanding of the mechanical behavior of ceramic matrix composites (CMS's), acoustic emission (AE) techniques were implemented to monitor and identify damage mechanisms in CMC's under tensile loading. In addition to real-time AE monitoring techniques, a data acquisition system was developed and implemented in order to capture AE waveforms resulting from stress-induced damage. Waveforms were inspected for multiple events, separated in distinct events, and then analyzed to determine waveform characteristics in the time and frequency domains. Waveform characteristics included peak amplitude, event duration, MARSE, energy, and dominant and centroidal frequency. In addition to conventional methods for determining a damage discrimination criteria, a study of the distribution and correlation of the waveform characteristics criteria and a study of the distribution and correlation of the waveform characteristics were performed to aid in the determination of a damage discrimination criteria. The damage discrimination criteria was tested for 'uniqueness', i.e., the effectiveness of the criteria to identify and monitor damage independent of the stress-strain relationship. Insitu radiography was used to substantiate the damage accumulation. A simulation test was also performed over the loading history to study the changes in the waveform characteristics of the system response from a constant excitation. This thesis demonstrates the use of waveform analysis to study the AE activity resulting from stress-induced damage in CMC's in conjunction with other nondestructive evaluation techniques to investigate the mechanical behavior of CMC's.

Hemann, John H.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Neural Network Burst Pressure Prediction in Graphite/Epoxy Pressure Vessels from Acoustic Emission Amplitude Data

Acoustic emission (AE) data were taken during hydroproof for three sets of ASTM standard 5.75 inch diameter filament wound graphite/epoxy bottles. All three sets of bottles had the same design and were wound from the same graphite fiber; the only difference was in the epoxies used. Two of the epoxies had similar mechanical properties, and because the acoustic properties of materials are a function of their stiffnesses, it was thought that the AE data from the two sets might also be similar; however, this was not the case. Therefore, the three resin types were categorized using dummy variables, which allowed the prediction of burst pressures all three sets of bottles using a single neural network. Three bottles from each set were used to train the network. The resin category, the AE amplitude distribution data taken up to 25 % of the expected burst pressure, and the actual burst pressures were used as inputs. Architecturally, the network consisted of a forty-three neuron input layer (a single categorical variable defining the resin type plus forty-two continuous variables for the AE amplitude frequencies), a fifteen neuron hidden layer for mapping, and a single output neuron for burst pressure prediction. The network trained on all three bottle sets was able to predict burst pressures in the remaining bottles with a worst case error of + 6.59%, slightly greater than the desired goal of + 5%. This larger than desired error was due to poor resolution in the amplitude data for the third bottle set. When the third set of bottles was eliminated from consideration, only four hidden layer neurons were necessary to generate a worst case prediction error of - 3.43%, well within the desired goal.

Hill, Eric v. K.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Small Engine Technology (Set) Task 8 Aeroelastic Prediction Methods

AlliedSignal Engines, in cooperation with NASA LeRC, completed an evaluation of recently developed aeroelastic computer codes using test cases from the AlliedSignal Engines fan blisk database. Test data for this task includes strain gage, light probe, performance, and steady-state pressure information obtained for conditions where synchronous or flutter vibratory conditions were found to occur. Aeroelastic codes evaluated include the quasi 3-D UNSFLO (developed at MIT and modified to include blade motion by AlliedSignal), the 2-D FREPS (developed by NASA LeRC), and the 3-D TURBO-AE (under development at NASA LeRC). Six test cases each where flutter and synchronous vibrations were found to occur were used for evaluation of UNSFLO and FREPS. In addition, one of the flutter cases was evaluated using TURBO-AE. The UNSFLO flutter evaluations were completed for 75 percent radial span and provided good agreement with the experimental test data. Synchronous evaluations were completed for UNSFLO but further enhancement needs to be added to the code before the unsteady pressures can be used to predict forced response vibratory stresses. The FREPS evaluations were hindered as the steady flow solver (SFLOW) was unable to converge to a solution for the transonic flow conditions in the fan blisk. This situation resulted in all FREPS test cases being attempted but no results were obtained during the present program. Currently, AlliedSignal is evaluating integrating FREPS with our existing steady flow solvers to bypass the SFLOW difficulties. ne TURBO-AE steady flow solution provided an excellent match with the AlliedSignal Engines calibrated DAWES 3-D viscous solver. Finally, the TURBO-AE unsteady analyses also matched experimental observations by predicting flutter for the single test case evaluated.

Eick, Chris D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Problems Associated with Statistical Pattern Recognition of Acoustic Emission Signals in a Compact Tension Fatigue Specimen

Acoustic emission (AE) data were acquired during fatigue testing of an aluminum 2024-T4 compact tension specimen using a commercially available AE system. AE signals from crack extension were identified and separated from noise spikes, signals that reflected from the specimen edges, and signals that saturated the instrumentation. A commercially available software package was used to train a statistical pattern recognition system to classify the signals. The software trained a network to recognize signals with a 91-percent accuracy when compared with the researcher's interpretation of the data. Reasons for the discrepancies are examined and it is postulated that additional preprocessing of the AE data to focus on the extensional wave mode and eliminate other effects before training the pattern recognition system will result in increased accuracy.

Hinton, Yolanda L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Acoustic Emission and Damage Accumulation for Various Woven C/SiC Composites Tested in Tension at Room Temperature

Modal acoustic emission (AE) has proven to be an excellent technique to monitor damage accumulation in ceramic matrix composites. In this study, AE was used to monitor tensile load-unload-reload hysteresis tests for a variety of C fiber reinforced, SiC matrix composites. C/SiC composites were reinforced with T300 and IM7 fibers, had C, multilayer, or pseudo-porous C interphases, and had chemical vapor infiltrated SiC or melt-infiltrated SiC matrices. All of the composites exhibited considerable AE during testing. The extent and nature of the AE activity will be analyzed and discussed in light of matrix cracking and the variety of composite constituents. It is hoped that understanding the nature of stress dependent damage accumulation in these materials can be of use in life modeling for these types of composites.

Morscher, Gregory N.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Ionospheric Electron/Ion Densities Temperatures on CD-ROM and WWW

As part of this project a large volume of ionospheric satellite insitu data from the sixties, seventies and early eighties were made accessible online in ASCII format for public use. This includes 14 data sets from the BE-B, Alouette 2, DME-A, AE-B, ISIS-1, ISIS-2, OGO-6, DE-2, AEROS-A, AE-C, AE-D, AE-E, and Hinotori satellites. The original data existed in various machine-specific, highly compressed, binary encoding on 7-, or 9-track magnetic tapes. The data were decoded and converted to a common ASCII data format, solar and magnetic indices were added, and some quality control measures were taken. The original intent of producing CD-ROMs with these data was overtaken by the rapid development of the Internet. Most users now prefer to obtain the data directly online and greatly value WWW-interfaces to browse, plot and subset the data. Accordingly the data were made available online on the anonymous ftp site of NASA's National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) at ftp://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacecraft data/ and on NSSDC's ATMOWeb (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/atmoweb/), a WWW-interface for plotting, subsetting, and downloading the data. Several new features were implemented into ATMOWeb as part of this project including a filtering and scatter plot capability. The availability of this new database and WWW system was announced through several electronic mailer (AGU, CEDAR, IRI, etc) and through talks and posters during scientific meetings.

Bilitza, Dieter↗
NASA NTRS2003

Orbit Optimization for the Geospace Electrodynamics Connections (GEC) Mission

The Geospace Electrodynamics Connections (GEC) mission plan is to launch multiple spacecraft to perform in-situ atmospheric science in the lower ionosphere. There is limited experience in this low altitude region with the Atmospheric Explorer-C (AE-C) being the last spacecraft to explore this region in 1973. AE-C flew an eccentric orbit using maneuvers to lower its perigee to near 130 km at various times during its mission. GEC will advance the science performed by AE-C by performing multiple low-perigee, atmospheric dipping campaigns for extended durations. AE-C kept its perigee near 130 km for only a total of roughly 1 day. Furthermore, GEC plans to carry a more diverse suite of instruments and will be able to capture different temporal and spatial phenomena through the use of multiple spacecraft flying in a string of pearls formation. The mission analysis for GEC has been broken into two parts: the analysis of the parking orbit with the dipping campaigns and the examination of the multi-satellite dynamics of the GEC constellation. The analysis described in this paper examines the capability to meet the requirements necessary to support the 10 dipping campaigns using a single spacecraft as a representative of all three in the constellation. Further analysis is being performed to analyze the multi-satellite nature of the GEC mission.

Mesarch, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Accurate Simulation of Acoustic Emission Sources in Composite Plates

Acoustic emission (AE) signals propagate as the extensional and flexural plate modes in thin composite plates and plate-like geometries such as shells, pipes, and tubes. The relative amplitude of the two modes depends on the directionality of the source motion. For source motions with large out-of-plane components such as delaminations or particle impact, the flexural or bending plate mode dominates the AE signal with only a small extensional mode detected. A signal from such a source is well simulated with the standard pencil lead break (Hsu-Neilsen source) on the surface of the plate. For other sources such as matrix cracking or fiber breakage in which the source motion is primarily in-plane, the resulting AE signal has a large extensional mode component with little or no flexural mode observed. Signals from these type sources can also be simulated with pencil lead breaks. However, the lead must be fractured on the edge of the plate to generate an in-plane source motion rather than on the surface of the plate. In many applications such as testing of pressure vessels and piping or aircraft structures, a free edge is either not available or not in a desired location for simulation of in-plane type sources. In this research, a method was developed which allows the simulation of AE signals with a predominant extensional mode component in composite plates requiring access to only the surface of the plate.

Prosser, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Acoustic Emission and Damage Accumulation for Various Woven C/SiC Composites Tested in Tension at Room Temperature

Modal acoustic emission (AE) has proven to be an excellent technique to monitor damage accumulation in ceramic matrix composites. In this study, AE was used to monitor tensile load-unload-reload hysteresis tests for a variety of C fiber reinforced, Sic matrix composites. C/SiC composites were reinforced with T-300 and IM7 fibers, had C, multilayer, or pseudo-porous C interphases, and had chemical vapor infiltrated Sic or melt-infiltrated SiC matrices. All of the composites exhibited considerable AE during testing. The extent and nature of the AE activity will be analyzed and discussed in light of matrix cracking and the variety of composite constituents. It is hoped that understanding the nature of stress-dependent damage accumulation in these materials can be of use in life-modeling for these types of composites.

Morscher, Gregory↗
NASA NTRS2004

Linearized Aeroelastic Solver Applied to the Flutter Prediction of Real Configurations

A fast-running unsteady aerodynamics code, LINFLUX, was previously developed for predicting turbomachinery flutter. This linearized code, based on a frequency domain method, models the effects of steady blade loading through a nonlinear steady flow field. The LINFLUX code, which is 6 to 7 times faster than the corresponding nonlinear time domain code, is suitable for use in the initial design phase. Earlier, this code was verified through application to a research fan, and it was shown that the predictions of work per cycle and flutter compared well with those from a nonlinear time-marching aeroelastic code, TURBO-AE. Now, the LINFLUX code has been applied to real configurations: fans developed under the Energy Efficient Engine (E-cubed) Program and the Quiet Aircraft Technology (QAT) project. The LINFLUX code starts with a steady nonlinear aerodynamic flow field and solves the unsteady linearized Euler equations to calculate the unsteady aerodynamic forces on the turbomachinery blades. First, a steady aerodynamic solution is computed for given operating conditions using the nonlinear unsteady aerodynamic code TURBO-AE. A blade vibration analysis is done to determine the frequencies and mode shapes of the vibrating blades, and an interface code is used to convert the steady aerodynamic solution to a form required by LINFLUX. A preprocessor is used to interpolate the mode shapes from the structural dynamics mesh onto the computational fluid dynamics mesh. Then, LINFLUX is used to calculate the unsteady aerodynamic pressure distribution for a given vibration mode, frequency, and interblade phase angle. Finally, a post-processor uses the unsteady pressures to calculate the generalized aerodynamic forces, eigenvalues, an esponse amplitudes. The eigenvalues determine the flutter frequency and damping. Results of flutter calculations from the LINFLUX code are presented for (1) the E-cubed fan developed under the E-cubed program and (2) the Quiet High Speed Fan (QHSF) developed under the Quiet Aircraft Technology project. The results are compared with those obtained from the TURBO-AE code. A graph of the work done per vibration cycle for the first vibration mode of the E-cubed fan is shown. It can be seen that the LINFLUX results show a very good comparison with TURBO-AE results over the entire range of interblade phase angle. The work done per vibration cycle for the first vibration mode of the QHSF fan is shown. Once again, the LINFLUX results compare very well with the results from the TURBOAE code.

Reddy, Tondapu S.↗