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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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At least 415 records · Page 23

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1999

Control Law Synthesis for Vertical Fin Buffeting Alleviation Using Strain Actuation

In the present investigation, the results obtained during the ground test of a closed-loop control system conducted on a full-scale fighter to attenuate vertical fin buffeting response using strain actuation are presented. Two groups of actuators consisting of piezoelectric elements distributed over the structure were designed to achieve authority over the first and second modes of the vertical fin. The control laws were synthesized using the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) method for a time-invariant control system. Three different pairs of sensors including strain gauges and accelerometers at different locations were used to close the feedback loop. The results demonstrated that measurable reductions in the root-mean-square (RMS) values of the fin dynamic response identified by the strain transducer at the critical point for fatigue at the root were achieved under the most severe buffet condition. For less severe buffet conditions, reductions of up to 58% were achieved.

Nitzsche, F.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Transfer having a coupling coefficient higher than its active material

A coupling coefficient is a measure of the effectiveness with which a shape-changing material (or a device employing such a material) converts the energy in an imposed signal to useful mechanical energy. Device coupling coefficients are properties of the device and, although related to the material coupling coefficients, are generally different from them. This invention describes a class of devices wherein the apparent coupling coefficient can, in principle, approach 1.0, corresponding to perfect electromechanical energy conversion. The key feature of this class of devices is the use of destabilizing mechanical pre-loads to counter inherent stiffness. The approach is illustrated for piezoelectric and thermoelectrically actuated devices. The invention provides a way to simultaneously increase both displacement and force, distinguishing it from alternatives such as motion amplification, and allows transducer designers to achieve substantial performance gains for actuator and sensor devices.

Lesieutre, George A.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Wide-Angle-Scanning Reflectarray Antennas Actuated by MEMS

An effort to develop large-aperture, wide-angle-scanning reflectarray antennas for microwave radar and communication systems is underway. In an antenna of this type as envisioned, scanning of the radiated or incident microwave beam would be effected through mechanical rotation of the passive (reflective) patch antenna elements, using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) stepping rotary actuators typified by piezoelectric micromotors. It is anticipated that the cost, mass, and complexity of such an antenna would be less than, and the reliability greater than, those of an electronically scanned phased-array antenna of comparable beam-scanning capability and angular resolution. In the design and operation of a reflectarray, one seeks to position and orient an array of passive patch elements in a geometric pattern such that, through constructive interference of the reflections from them, they collectively act as an efficient single reflector of radio waves within a desired frequency band. Typically, the patches lie in a common plane and radiation is incident upon them from a feed horn.

Fang, Houfei↗

NASA NTRS2009

Tunable optical assembly with vibration dampening

An optical assembly is formed by one or more piezoelectric fiber composite actuators having one or more optical fibers coupled thereto. The optical fiber(s) experiences strain when actuation voltage is applied to the actuator(s). Light passing through the optical fiber(s) is wavelength tuned by adjusting the actuation voltage.

Allison, Sidney G.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Null Lens Assembly for X-Ray Mirror Segments

A document discusses a null lens assembly that allows laser interferometry of 60 deg. slumped glass mirror segments used in x-ray mirrors. The assembly consists of four lenses in precise alignment to each other, with incorporated piezoelectric nanometer stepping actuators to position the lenses in six degrees of freedom for positioning relative to each other.

Robinson, David W.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Experimental Study of a Membrane Antenna Surface Adaptive Control System

Due to their ultra lightweight and high packaging efficiency, membrane reflectors are getting more and more attentions for mission architectures that need extremely large inspace deployable antennas. However how to maintain the surface shape of a membrane reflector to the instrument precision requirements is a very challenging problem. This experimental study investigated using PVDF membrane piezoelectric material as actuators to control the surface figures of membrane reflectors. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by several sets of test results.

packaging↗

NASA NTRS2020

Ultrasonic Lamb Wave Inspection of Composite Defects

Composites have been extensively used in aerospace engineering due to their advantages of light weight, high strength, and engineering design flexibility. Manufacturing defects such as wrinkle and porosity can affect the performance of the composites and may lead to failure in the end, while damage such as delamination, fiber fraction, and matrix cracking can directly cause failure of the composites. In this paper, a Lamb wave based nonintrusive nondestructive evaluation system, which employs piezoelectric transducer for actuation and scanning laser Doppler vibrometer for wavefield sensing, is presented for typical composite defect and damage inspection and evaluation. Two composite panels with different geometry (flat or curved) and with various embedded defects (wrinkle and delamination) are inspected using the nonintrusive Lamb wave system. Both the wrinkles and delamination are detected from the wavefield and approximately quantified through wavefield imaging methods.

Wrinkles↗

NASA NTRS2002

Modeling of particle flow due to ultrasonic drilling

In-situ sampling and analysis is one of the major tasks in future NASA exploration missions. It is essential that the samples on other planets including Mars are free of contaminations from the earth. Recently, a novel drilling technology that is actuated by a piezoelectric drive mechanism was developed at it is called Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer.

ultrasonic/sonic↗

NASA NTRS2005

Mechanically Biased, Hinged Pairs of Piezoelectric Benders

The upper part of the figure depicts an actuator that comprises two mechanically biased piezoelectric benders hinged together at their ends and equipped with tabs at their mid-length points for attachment to the relatively moving objects that are to be actuated. In the example of the figure, the attachment tabs are labeled to indicate that the actuator is used to drive a pump piston relative to a base plate. Actuators of this type could be used to drive low-power, small-volume pumps in consumer, medical, and aerospace applications, and to generate and measure linear displacements in such robotic applications as teleoperation and tactile feedback. Each bender is a bimorph a unitary plate that comprises an upper and a lower piezoelectric layer plus electrode layers. Benders may also be made of several layers arranged to produce the same effect at the lower operating voltages. As stated above, each bender is mechanically biased; it is fabricated to have a small permanent curvature (the bias curvature) in the absence of applied voltage. As on other bimorphs, the electrical connections on each bender are arranged so that an applied voltage of suitable polarity causes the upper layer to expand and the lower layer to contract. In this case, the net effect of applying the voltage is that the plate becomes more concave as viewed from below. Conversely, an applied voltage of the opposite polarity causes the plate to become less concave as viewed from below. The benders in a hinged pair are oriented with their bias curvatures concave inward, so that there is a bias distance between the attachment tabs. The two benders are connected electrically in parallel, with their connection polarities chosen so that an applied voltage of one polarity causes both benders to become more convex inward (more bent), while an applied voltage of the opposite polarity causes both benders to become less convex inward (less bent). An increase or decrease in bend is accompanied by an increase or decrease in distance between the attachment tabs; this increase or decrease is the linear displacement desired for actuation. Because the displacement can be either positive or negative relative to the bias distance, depending on the polarity of the applied voltage, the overall stroke achievable for a given magnitude of applied voltage is double the stroke achievable in the absence of mechanical bias. Each hinged pair can be regarded as a unit cell that can serve as a building block for a larger actuator: Multiple unit cells can be stacked (mechanically connected in series), as shown in the lower part of the figure, and electrically connected in parallel to multiply the overall stroke achievable at a given applied voltage.

Sager, Frank E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

High-Temperature Piezoelectric Ceramic Developed

Active combustion control of spatial and temporal variations in the local fuel-to-air ratio is of considerable interest for suppressing combustion instabilities in lean gas turbine combustors and, thereby, achieving lower NOx levels. The actuator for fuel modulation in gas turbine combustors must meet several requirements: (1) bandwidth capability of 1000 Hz, (2) operating temperature compatible with the fuel temperature, which is in the vicinity of 400 F, (3) stroke of approximately 4 mils (100 m), and (4) force of 300 lb-force. Piezoelectric actuators offer the fastest response time (microsecond time constants) and can generate forces in excess of 2000 lb-force. The state-of-the-art piezoceramic material in industry today is Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, called PZT. This class of piezoelectric ceramic is currently used in diesel fuel injectors and in the development of high-response fuel modulation valves. PZT materials are generally limited to operating temperatures of 250 F, which is 150 F lower than the desired operating temperature for gas turbine combustor fuel-modulation injection valves. Thus, there is a clear need to increase the operating temperature range of piezoceramic devices for active combustion control in gas turbine engines.

Sayir, Ali↗

NASA NTRS1990

Development of an active truss element for control of precision structures

An active structural element for use in precision control of large space structures is described. The active member is intended to replace a passive strut in a truss-like structure. It incorporates an eddy current displacement sensor and an actuator that is either piezoelectric (PZT) or electrostrictive (PMN). The design of the device is summarized. Performance of separate PZT and PMN actuators is compared for several properties relevant to submicrometer control of precision structures.

Anderson, Eric H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Probabilistic assessment of uncertain adaptive hybrid composites

Adaptive composite structures using actuation materials, such as piezoelectric fibers, were assessed probabilistically utilizing intraply hybrid composite mechanics in conjunction with probabilistic composite structural analysis. Uncertainties associated with the actuation material as well as the uncertainties in the regular (traditional) composite material properties were quantified and considered in the assessment. Static and buckling analyses were performed for rectangular panels with various boundary conditions and different control arrangements. The probability density functions of the structural behavior, such as maximum displacement and critical buckling load, were computationally simulated. The results of the assessment indicate that improved design and reliability can be achieved with actuation material.

Shiao, Michael C.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Piezoelectric cantilever sensors

A piezoelectric cantilever with a non-piezoelectric, or piezoelectric tip useful as mass and viscosity sensors. The change in the cantilever mass can be accurately quantified by monitoring a resonance frequency shift of the cantilever. For bio-detection, antibodies or other specific receptors of target antigens may be immobilized on the cantilever surface, preferably on the non-piezoelectric tip. For chemical detection, high surface-area selective absorbent materials are coated on the cantilever tip. Binding of the target antigens or analytes to the cantilever surface increases the cantilever mass. Detection of target antigens or analytes is achieved by monitoring the cantilever's resonance frequency and determining the resonance frequency shift that is due to the mass of the adsorbed target antigens on the cantilever surface. The use of a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever allows both electrical actuation and electrical sensing. Incorporating a non-piezoelectric tip (14) enhances the sensitivity of the sensor. In addition, the piezoelectric cantilever can withstand damping in highly viscous liquids and can be used as a viscosity sensor in wide viscosity range.

Shih, Wan Y.↗

NASA NTRS2001

A Study on a Microwave-Driven Smart Material Actuator

NASA s Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) has a large deployable, fragmented optical surface (greater than or = 2 8 m in diameter) that requires autonomous correction of deployment misalignments and thermal effects. Its high and stringent resolution requirement imposes a great deal of challenge for optical correction. The threshold value for optical correction is dictated by lambda/20 (30 nm for NGST optics). Control of an adaptive optics array consisting of a large number of optical elements and smart material actuators is so complex that power distribution for activation and control of actuators must be done by other than hard-wired circuitry. The concept of microwave-driven smart actuators is envisioned as the best option to alleviate the complexity associated with hard-wiring. A microwave-driven actuator was studied to realize such a concept for future applications. Piezoelectric material was used as an actuator that shows dimensional change with high electric field. The actuators were coupled with microwave rectenna and tested to correlate the coupling effect of electromagnetic wave. In experiments, a 3x3 rectenna patch array generated more than 50 volts which is a threshold voltage for 30-nm displacement of a single piezoelectric material. Overall, the test results indicate that the microwave-driven actuator concept can be adopted for NGST applications.

Choi, Sang H.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Ultra-lightweight, Low Scatter, Large Mirror Technology

A technique is being developed to fabricate a prototype lightweight composite mirror one meter in diameter. The mandrel, on which the composite mirror will be laid up, is an ultra low expansion quartz glass, TSG, whose thermal expansion coefficient, 10(exp -7)/ degC or less, is similar to that for the composite material itself. The mandrel surface will be super-polished to 6-8 A rms or better, resulting in ten times less scattered light in the visible region than is found in typical astronomical mirrors. We have shown experimentally that mandrel micro-roughnesses of this order can be successfully replicated on composite faceplates. The faceplate is very tough, and does not fracture like a thin glass faceplate. It will be supported by actuators alone, not by the edge of the mirror mount, to avoid non-uniform or non-symmetric influence functions. BOR developed actuators are designed for atmospheric correction, maintenance of optical figure, and minor tip tilt. They have a throw of a centimeter, can be controlled remotely, and have a response time of 1/2 msec. The piezoelectric part of the actuator operates in the 30-70 V range and the differential screw portion has a linearity of about +/-0.1 microns.

Bennett, H. E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Design Optimization Tool for Synthetic Jet Actuators Using Lumped Element Modeling

The performance specifications of any actuator are quantified in terms of an exhaustive list of parameters such as bandwidth, output control authority, etc. Flow-control applications benefit from a known actuator frequency response function that relates the input voltage to the output property of interest (e.g., maximum velocity, volumetric flow rate, momentum flux, etc.). Clearly, the required performance metrics are application specific, and methods are needed to achieve the optimal design of these devices. Design and optimization studies have been conducted for piezoelectric cantilever-type flow control actuators, but the modeling issues are simpler compared to synthetic jets. Here, lumped element modeling (LEM) is combined with equivalent circuit representations to estimate the nonlinear dynamic response of a synthetic jet as a function of device dimensions, material properties, and external flow conditions. These models provide reasonable agreement between predicted and measured frequency response functions and thus are suitable for use as design tools. In this work, we have developed a Matlab-based design optimization tool for piezoelectric synthetic jet actuators based on the lumped element models mentioned above. Significant improvements were achieved by optimizing the piezoceramic diaphragm dimensions. Synthetic-jet actuators were fabricated and benchtop tested to fully document their behavior and validate a companion optimization effort. It is hoped that the tool developed from this investigation will assist in the design and deployment of these actuators.

Gallas, Quentin↗

NASA NTRS2011

Advanced high performance vertical hybrid synthetic jet actuator

The present invention comprises a high performance, vertical, zero-net mass-flux, synthetic jet actuator for active control of viscous, separated flow on subsonic and supersonic vehicles. The present invention is a vertical piezoelectric hybrid zero-net mass-flux actuator, in which all the walls of the chamber are electrically controlled synergistically to reduce or enlarge the volume of the synthetic jet actuator chamber in three dimensions simultaneously and to reduce or enlarge the diameter of orifice of the synthetic jet actuator simultaneously with the reduction or enlargement of the volume of the chamber. The jet velocity and mass flow rate for the present invention will be several times higher than conventional piezoelectric synthetic jet actuators.

Xu, Tian-Bing↗

DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid piezoelectric microresonator

A hybrid ferroelectric/non-ferroelectric piezoelectric microresonator is disclosed. The hybrid microresonator uses a ferroelectric layer as the actuator as ferroelectric materials typically have higher actuation coefficients than non-ferroelectric piezoelectric materials. The hybrid microresonator uses a non-ferroelectric piezoelectric layer as the sensor layer as non-ferroelectric piezoelectric materials typically have higher sensing coefficients than ferroelectric materials. This hybrid microresonator design allows the independent optimization of actuator and sensor materials. This hybrid microresonator design may be used for bulk acoustic wave contour mode resonators, bulk acoustic wave solidly mounted resonators, free-standing bulk acoustic resonators, and piezoelectric transformers.

Griffin, Benjamin↗