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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Characterization of damage processes in Montney siltstone under triaxial compression using acoustic emission and diagnostic imaging

SUMMARY Crack nucleation and rock failure processes in a fine-grained siltstone (Montney Formation) under triaxial compression are investigated using combined diagnostic techniques, including ultrasonic-wave measurement, acoustic-emission (AE) monitoring, computed tomography (CT) scanning, and thin-section imaging. The sample displays a weak-to-moderate inherent seismic anisotropy and noticeable stress-induced anisotropy prior to failure. No AE event was detected until the applied axial stress reached 95 per cent of the peak value. The signal-to-noise ratio is relatively low, however, and detectable AE events are more diffuse than those observed in highly brittle rocks. The AE locations correlate with a shear fracture zone imaged by CT scanning. AE moment-tensor analysis reveals that events with larger relative magnitudes are characterized by high volumetric (tensile or compressive) components, and the initiation of the failure zone is dominated by combined shear-tensile (ST) failure. Stress inversion of the AE events with high tensile components is in good agreement with the known applied stress. Microscopic imaging of thin sections from the failed sample shows that the failure zone is an en echelon structure consisting of a major fracture with branching micro and minor cracks. This failure mechanism is consistent with a ST source mechanism and is interpreted to be associated with the fine granular structure and mineral composition of Montney siltstone.

Jia, Suzie Q. (ORCID:0000000326496190)↗
NASA NTRS2021

DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan Core/Combustor-Noise Measurements-Experiment and Modal Structure at Core-Nozzle Exit

Data from a recent core/combustor-noise source-diagnostic test utilizing a small turbo-fan engine are analyzed. The campaign continued the exploration begun in a baseline test, but with more extensive acoustic instrumentation. Both tests were aimed at developing a better understanding of propulsion-noise sources and their impact on the farfield noise signature, in order to enable improved turbofan noise-prediction methods and noise-mitigation techniques. Simultaneous high-data-rate acoustic measurements (93 channels in total) were obtained using a circumferential sensor array at the core-nozzle exit in conjunction with sideline and farfield microphone arrays for several relevant engine operational points. Measurements were repeated for different circumferential and sideline array configurations, as well as for redundancy. The unsteady pressure field at the core-nozzle exit is documented in detail. Previous work suggested that the±1azimuthal duct mode could be cut-on at this location, which would have implications for combustor-noise modeling and prediction. The modal decomposition of the combustor noise at the core-nozzle exit verifies this observation. Select farfield sound-pressure-level spectra are also presented.

Aeroacoustics↗
NASA NTRS1980

Ice nucleus concentrations measured during the 1975 Florida Area Cumulus Experiment /FACE/

Ice nuclei measurements were made aboard a cloud-base aircraft during the 1975 Florida Area Cumulus Experiment. Two techniques were used to obtain the ice nuclei concentrations; membranes were collected and analyzed using the NCAR membrane development chamber and continuous ice nuclei concentrations were obtained using the NCAR acoustical counter. Results showed that the membrane technique failed to effectively detect ice nuclei in this maritime tropical area. However, the concentrations recorded by the acoustical counter showed natural afternoon diurnal increases which may have ramifications on cloud development and seeding potential within the particular study area.

Wisniewski, J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan Source-Diagnostic Test: Experimental Setup and Acoustic-Data Structure

The experimental setup of, and available data from a recent core/combustor-noise source-diagnostic test utilizing a small turbofan engine are described. The 2019 test campaign continued the investigation of the core/combustor-noise component of aircraft-propulsor noise begun in an earlier baseline test, but with a more extensive acoustic-instrumentation layout. The purpose of both tests was to better understand the impact on civilian-transport airport-community noise from turbofan-combustor sources and thereby to lay the foundation for improved noise-prediction methods and noise-mitigation techniques. Simultaneous high-data-rate acoustic measurements were obtained using a circumferential sensor array at the core nozzle exit in conjunction with sideline and farfield microphone arrays. The test matrix contained engine operational points from engine idle to maximum power and was repeated for different circumferential and sideline array configurations, as well as for redundancy. The extensive data set (up to 93 channels of data and various configurations) allows the application of advanced source-separation and phased-array methods to elucidate not only the core-noise structure, but also the propagation characteristics of other propulsion noise sources. The present report provides a detailed description of the different test points, their associated instrumentation layouts, and the structure of the acquired data set. Results from various data analyses are reported separately.

Aeroacoustics↗
NASA NTRS2001

Dynamic Analysis of a Building Under Rocket Engine Plume Acoustic Load

Studies have been performed to develop finite-element modeling and simulation techniques to predict the dynamic structural response of Building 4010 to the acoustic load from the plume of high-thrust rocket motors. The building is the Test Control Center and general office space for the E-complex at Stennis Space Center. It is a large single span; light-structured building located approximately 1,000 feet from the E-1 test stand. A three-dimensional shell/beam combined model of the building was built using Pro/Engineer platform and imported into Pro/Mechanica for analysis. An Equivalent Shell technique was developed to simplify the highly complex building structure so that the calculation is more efficient and accurate. A deterministic approach was used for the dynamic analysis. A pre-stressed modal analysis was performed to simulate the weight stiffening of the structure, through which about 200 modes ranging from 0 to 35 Hz were identified. In an initial dynamic frequency analysis, the maximum response over the model was found. Then the complete 3-D distributions of the displacement, as well as the stresses, were calculated through a final frequency analysis. The results were compared to a strain gage and accelerometer recordings from rocket engine tests and showed reasonable agreement.

Qian, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Planetary exploration sensor systems

Most of the instruments that have been used in planetary exploration have been either spectrometers or imaging devices. Instruments of these types are being developed for the Galileo and VOIR (Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar) missions. Galileo will take advantage of new CCD (charge-coupled device) technology, and VOIR will use techniques of synthetic aperture radar developed for Seasat. For determining the macrostructure of mineral resources, the best approach is believed to involve acoustic imaging, essentially a seismic data processing technique. Determinations of microstructure would require a light microscope and an electron microscope. For determining the nature and form of volatiles, a differential scanning calorimeter could be used. To determine the mineral composition, an electron beam microprobe with X-ray fluorescence and spectroscopy would be used.

Saunders, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Investigation of optical/infrared sensor techniques for application satellites

A method of scanning an optical sensor array by acoustic surface waves is discussed. Data cover detailed computer based analysis of the operation of a multielement acoustic surface-wave-scanned optical sensor, the development of design and operation techniques that were used to show the feasibility of an integrated array to design several such arrays, and experimental verification of a number of the calculations with discrete sensor devices.

Kaufman, I.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Method to account for natural fracture induced elastic anisotropy in geomechanical characterization of shale gas reservoirs

Shale has been usually recognized as a transverse isotropic (TI) medium in conventional geomechanical log interpretation due to its laminated nature. However, when natural fractures exist in the shale rock, additional elastic anisotropy is introduced, converting laminated Shale to an orthorhombic (OB) medium. Previous studies illustrate that neglecting the natural fracture induced anisotropy in shale geomechanical log interpretation could lead to inaccurate evaluations of elastic moduli and in-situ stresses. In this paper, a new method is developed to account for the natural fracture induced anisotropy in geomechanical log interpretation based upon the TI acoustic model developed by the author and a characterization technique of elastic wave anisotropy (Sayers, 1991). The new OB model incorporates the four acoustic log data inputs and five modeling constraints in a nonlinear optimization algorithm to solve for the nine independent stiffness coefficients of an OB rock, and further to solve for the geomechanical properties and in-situ stress profiles in an OB formation. The new method was validated with a Marcellus Gas Shale field case. Both the new OB model and the conventional TI model were applied to interpret the minimum horizontal stress profile for the same formation. By comparing the results, the OB model is more robust than the TI from two aspects. First, the average stress magnitude predicted by the OB model is closer to the one measured by the Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test (DFIT). Second, the OB model predicts a more obvious stress barrier between the lower Marcellus and upper Onondaga Limestone than the TI model does. Finally, the predicted stress barrier is consistent with the observation of the microseismic events of a horizontal well drilled and completed nearby, which reveals that no hydraulic fracture propagates downward through the bottom boundary of Marcellus Shale into the underlying Onondaga Limestone.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Machine learning analysis reveals relationship between pomacentrid calls and environmental cues

Sound production rates of fishes can be used as an indicator for coral reef health, providing an opportunity to utilize long-term acoustic recordings to assess environmental change. As acoustic datasets become more common, computational techniques need to be developed to facilitate analysis of the massive data files produced by long-term monitoring. Machine learning techniques demonstrate an advantage in the identification of fish sounds over manual sampling approaches. Here we evaluated the ability of convolutional neural networks to identify and monitor call patterns for pomacentrids (damselfishes) in a tropical reef region of the western Pacific. A stationary hydrophone was deployed for 39 mo (2014-2018) in the National Park of American Samoa to continuously record the local marine acoustic environment. A neural network was trained—achieving 94% identification accuracy of pomacentrids—to demonstrate the applicability of machine learning in fish acoustics and ecology. The distribution of sound production was found to vary on diel and interannual timescales. Additionally, the distribution of sound production was correlated with wind speed, water temperature, tidal amplitude, and sound pressure level. This research has broad implications for state-of-the-art acoustic analysis and promises to be an efficient, scalable asset for ecological research, environmental monitoring, and conservation planning.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of Acoustic Behavior for Perforate-Over-Large-Cell Liners

This study explores the effects of increasing the cell size for large-cell acoustic liners. Tests are conducted in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube to evaluate liners with increasingly larger cell dimensions (up to 2” x 4” cross-section). Conventional impedance eduction confirms that liners with 2” x 3” cells (or larger) must be evaluated using nonlocally reacting assumptions. In addition, due to the sound propagation within cavities, the liners must be modeled using higher fidelity techniques. Thus, grazing flow duct and acoustic liner are modeled simultaneously using finite element methods. The facesheet is modeled using a transfer impedance, while the rest of the domain is modeled using the convected Helmholtz equation. The acoustic pressures predicted are shown to compare favorably with those measured in the Grazing Flow Impedance Tube.

large diameter↗
NASA NTRS1977

Pulse analysis of acoustic emission signals

A method for the signature analysis of pulses in the frequency domain and the time domain is presented. Fourier spectrum, Fourier transfer function, shock spectrum and shock spectrum ratio were examined in the frequency domain analysis, and pulse shape deconvolution was developed for use in the time domain analysis. Comparisons of the relative performance of each analysis technique are made for the characterization of acoustic emission pulses recorded by a measuring system. To demonstrate the relative sensitivity of each of the methods to small changes in the pulse shape, signatures of computer modeled systems with analytical pulses are presented. Optimization techniques are developed and used to indicate the best design parameters values for deconvolution of the pulse shape. Several experiments are presented that test the pulse signature analysis methods on different acoustic emission sources. These include acoustic emissions associated with: (1) crack propagation, (2) ball dropping on a plate, (3) spark discharge and (4) defective and good ball bearings. Deconvolution of the first few micro-seconds of the pulse train are shown to be the region in which the significant signatures of the acoustic emission event are to be found.

Houghton, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Pulse analysis of acoustic emission signals

A method for the signature analysis of pulses in the frequency domain and the time domain is presented. Fourier spectrum, Fourier transfer function, shock spectrum and shock spectrum ratio were examined in the frequency domain analysis and pulse shape deconvolution was developed for use in the time domain analysis. Comparisons of the relative performance of each analysis technique are made for the characterization of acoustic emission pulses recorded by a measuring system. To demonstrate the relative sensitivity of each of the methods to small changes in the pulse shape, signatures of computer modeled systems with analytical pulses are presented. Optimization techniques are developed and used to indicate the best design parameter values for deconvolution of the pulse shape. Several experiments are presented that test the pulse signature analysis methods on different acoustic emission sources. These include acoustic emission associated with (a) crack propagation, (b) ball dropping on a plate, (c) spark discharge, and (d) defective and good ball bearings. Deconvolution of the first few micro-seconds of the pulse train is shown to be the region in which the significant signatures of the acoustic emission event are to be found.

Houghton, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A new, simple electrostatic-acoustic hybrid levitator

Battelle has developed a hybrid levitator by combining the known single-axis acoustic standing wave levitator with a coaxial DC electric field. The resulting Coulomb forces on the charged liquid or solid sample support its weight and, together with the acoustic force, center the sample. Liquid samples with volumes approximately less than 100 micro-liters are deployed from a syringe reservoir into the acoustic pressure node. The sample is charged using a miniature high voltage power supply (approximately less than 20 kV) connected to the syringe needle. As the electric field, generated by a second miniature power supply, is increased, the acoustic intensity is reduced. The combination of both fields allows stable levitation of samples larger than either single technique could position on the ground. Decreasing the acoustic intensity reduces acoustic convection and sample deformation. Neither the electrostatic nor the acoustic field requires sample position sensing or active control. The levitator, now used for static and dynamic fluid physics investigations on the ground, can be easily modified for space operations.

Lierke, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Fan Database and Web-tool for Choosing Quieter Spaceflight Fans

One critical aspect of designing spaceflight hardware is the selection of fans to provide the necessary cooling. And with efforts to minimize cost and the tendancy to be conservative with the amount of cooling provided, it is easy to choose an overpowered fan. One impact of this is that the fan uses more energy than is necessary. But, the more significant impact is that the hardware produces much more acoustic noise than if an optimal fan was chosen. Choosing the right fan for a specific hardware application is no simple task. It requires knowledge of cooling requirements and various fan performance characteristics as well as knowledge of the aerodynamic losses of the hardware in which the fan is to be installed. Knowledge of the acoustic emissions of each fan as a function of operating condition is also required in order to choose a quieter fan for a given design point. The purpose of this paper is to describe a database and design-tool that have been developed to aid spaceflight hardware developers in choosing a fan for their application that is based on aerodynamic performance and reduced acoustic emissions as well. This web-based-tool provides a limited amount of fan-data, provides a method for selecting a fan based on its projected operating point, and also provides a method for comparing and contrasting aerodynamic performance and acoustic data from different fans. Drill-down techniques are used to display details of the spectral noise characteristics of the fan at specific operation conditions. The fan aerodynamic and acoustic data were acquired at Ames Research Center in the Experimental Aero-Physics Branch's Anechoic Chamber. Acoustic data were acquired according to ANSI Standard S12.11-1987, "Method for the Measurement of Noise Emitted by Small Air-Moving Devices." One significant improvement made to this technique included automation that allows for a significant increase in flow-rate resolution. The web-tool was developed at Johnson Space Center and is based on the web-development application, SEQUEL, which includes graphics and drill-down capabilities. This paper will describe the type and amount of data taken for the fans and will give examples of this data. This paper will also describe the data-tool and gives examples of how it can be used to choose quieter fans for use in spaceflight hardware.

Allen, Christopher S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Acoustic-energy shaping of meltable metals

Containerless shaping technique is applicable to machining metals technology. Process improves quality of melted metals by reducing introduction of impurities from container walls or floor.

Elleman, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A comparison of screening techniques for ceramic capacitors

The techniques involved are ultrasonic scanning, neutron radiography, scanning laser acoustic microscopy, and voltage conditioning. The test capacitor, for this first phase, is a 0.47 uF, 50V capacitor style CKR06. Eighteen of 768 devices failed in voltage conditioning with elapsed times from 15 minutes to 1239 hours. Eleven of the failures were detected by ultrasonic scanning. Four failures were found by neutron radiography. Fourteen failures showed up in the acoustic microscopy test. Three failures in voltage conditioning were not detected by any of the techniques. Failures were confirmed by destructive physical analysis. There is no direct relationship between the size of the defect and electrical failure.

Kiernan, G. F.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Digital PIV Measurements of Acoustic Particle Displacements in a Normal Incidence Impedance Tube

Acoustic particle displacements and velocities inside a normal incidence impedance tube have been successfully measured for a variety of pure tone sound fields using Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV). The DPIV system utilized two 600-mj Nd:YAG lasers to generate a double-pulsed light sheet synchronized with the sound field and used to illuminate a portion of the oscillatory flow inside the tube. A high resolution (1320 x 1035 pixel), 8-bit camera was used to capture double-exposed images of 2.7-micron hollow silicon dioxide tracer particles inside the tube. Classical spatial autocorrelation analysis techniques were used to ascertain the acoustic particle displacements and associated velocities for various sound field intensities and frequencies. The results show that particle displacements spanning a range of 1-60 microns can be measured for incident sound pressure levels of 100-130 dB and for frequencies spanning 500-1000 Hz. The ability to resolve 1 micron particle displacements at sound pressure levels in the 100 dB range allows the use of DPIV systems for measurement of sound fields at much lower sound pressure levels than had been previously possible. Representative impedance tube data as well as an uncertainty analysis for the measurements are presented.

Humphreys, William M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A Galerkin method for linear PDE systems in circular geometries with structural acoustic applications

A Galerkin method for systems of PDE's in circular geometries is presented with motivating problems being drawn from structural, acoustic, and structural acoustic applications. Depending upon the application under consideration, piecewise splines or Legendre polynomials are used when approximating the system dynamics with modifications included to incorporate the analytic solution decay near the coordinate singularity. This provides an efficient method which retains its accuracy throughout the circular domain without degradation at singularity. Because the problems under consideration are linear or weakly nonlinear with constant or piecewise constant coefficients, transform methods for the problems are not investigated. While the specific method is developed for the two dimensional wave equations on a circular domain and the equation of transverse motion for a thin circular plate, examples demonstrating the extension of the techniques to a fully coupled structural acoustic system are used to illustrate the flexibility of the method when approximating the dynamics of more complex systems.

Smith, Ralph C.↗