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At least 55 records · Page 3

A Parametric Model of Shoulder Articulation for Virtual Assessment of Space Suit Fit

Suboptimal suit fit is a known risk factor for crewmember shoulder injury. Suit fit assessment is however prohibitively time consuming and cannot be generalized across wide variations of body shapes and poses. In this work, we have developed a new design tool based on the statistical analysis of body shape scans. This tool is aimed at predicting the skin deformation and shape variations for any body size and shoulder pose for a target population. This new process, when incorporated with CAD software, will enable virtual suit fit assessments, predictively quantifying the contact volume, and clearance between the suit and body surface at reduced time and cost.

Kim, K. Han↗

Effect of Hoop Stress on Ball Bearing Life Prediction

A finite-element analysis (FEA) of a generic, dimensionally normalized inner race of an angular-contact ball bearing was performed under varying conditions of speed and the press (or interference) fit of the inner-race bore on a journal. The FEA results at the ball-race contact were used to derive an equation from which was obtained the radius of an equivalent cylindrical bearing race with the same or similar hoop stress. The radius of the equivalent cylinder was used to obtain a generalized closed-form approximation of the hoop stresses at the ball-inner-race contact in an angular-contact ball bearing. A life analysis was performed on both a 45- and a 120-mm-bore, angular-contact ball bearing. The predicted lives with and without hoop stress were compared with experimental endurance results obtained at 12000 and 25000 rpm with the 120-mm-bore ball bearing. A life factor equation based on hoop stress is presented.

Zaretsky, Erwin V.↗

Tension strength of a thick graphite/epoxy laminate after impact by a 1/2-in. radius impactor

NASA is developing graphite/epoxy filament-wound cases for solid rocket motors of the space shuttle. They are wet-wound with AS4W graphite fiber and HBRF-55A epoxy. The membrane region is about 1.4 inches thick. Two 30-inch-diameter by 12-inch-long cylinders were impacted every two inches of circumference with 1/2-inch radius impactors that were dropped from various heights. One cylinder was empty and the other was filled with inert propellant. Two-inch-wide test specimens were cut from the cylinders. Each was centered on an impact site. The specimens were x-rayed and loaded to failure in uniaxial tension. Rigid body mechanics and the Hertz law were used to predict impact force, local deformations, contact diameters, and contact pressures. The depth of impact damage was predicted using Love's solution for pressure applied on part of the boundary of a semi-infinite body. The predictions were reasonably good. The strengths of the impacted specimens were reduced by as much as 37 percent without visible surface damage. Even the radiographs did not reveal the nonvisible damage.

Poe, C. C., Jr.↗

Tooth Contact Shift in Loaded Spiral Bevel Gears

An analytical method is presented to predict the shifts of the contact ellipses of spiral bevel gear teeth under load. The contact ellipse shift is the motion of the tooth contact position from the ideal pitch point to its location under load. The shifts are due to the elastic motions of the gear and pinion supporting shafts and bearings. The calculations include the elastic deflections of the gear shafts and the deflections of the four shaft bearings. The method assumes that the surface curvature of each tooth is constant near the unloaded pitch point. Results from these calculations will help designers reduce transmission weight without seriously reducing transmission performance.

Savage, M.↗

Tooth contact shift in loaded spiral bevel gears

An analytical method is presented to predict the shifts of the contact ellipses of spiral bevel gear teeth under load. The contact ellipse shift is the motion of the tooth contact position from the ideal pitch point to its location under load. The shifts are due to the elastic motions of the gear and pinion supporting shafts and bearings. The calculations include the elastic deflections of the gear shafts and the deflections of the four shaft bearings. The method assumes that the surface curvature of each tooth is constant near the unloaded pitch point. Results from these calculations will help designers reduce transmission weight without seriously reducing transmission performance.

Savage, M.↗

Enhanced Contact Graph Routing (ECGR) MACHETE Simulation Model

Contact Graph Routing (CGR) for Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) space-based networks makes use of the predictable nature of node contacts to make real-time routing decisions given unpredictable traffic patterns. The contact graph will have been disseminated to all nodes before the start of route computation. CGR was designed for space-based networking environments where future contact plans are known or are independently computable (e.g., using known orbital dynamics). For each data item (known as a bundle in DTN), a node independently performs route selection by examining possible paths to the destination. Route computation could conceivably run thousands of times a second, so computational load is important. This work refers to the simulation software model of Enhanced Contact Graph Routing (ECGR) for DTN Bundle Protocol in JPL's MACHETE simulation tool. The simulation model was used for performance analysis of CGR and led to several performance enhancements. The simulation model was used to demonstrate the improvements of ECGR over CGR as well as other routing methods in space network scenarios. ECGR moved to using earliest arrival time because it is a global monotonically increasing metric that guarantees the safety properties needed for the solution's correctness since route re-computation occurs at each node to accommodate unpredicted changes (e.g., traffic pattern, link quality). Furthermore, using earliest arrival time enabled the use of the standard Dijkstra algorithm for path selection. The Dijkstra algorithm for path selection has a well-known inexpensive computational cost. These enhancements have been integrated into the open source CGR implementation. The ECGR model is also useful for route metric experimentation and comparisons with other DTN routing protocols particularly when combined with MACHETE's space networking models and Delay Tolerant Link State Routing (DTLSR) model.

Segui, John S.↗

Analyses of Fatigue Crack Growth and Closure Near Threshold Conditions for Large-Crack Behavior

A plasticity-induced crack-closure model was used to study fatigue crack growth and closure in thin 2024-T3 aluminum alloy under constant-R and constant-K(sub max) threshold testing procedures. Two methods of calculating crack-opening stresses were compared. One method was based on a contact-K analyses and the other on crack-opening-displacement (COD) analyses. These methods gave nearly identical results under constant-amplitude loading, but under threshold simulations the contact-K analyses gave lower opening stresses than the contact COD method. Crack-growth predictions tend to support the use of contact-K analyses. Crack-growth simulations showed that remote closure can cause a rapid rise in opening stresses in the near threshold regime for low-constraint and high applied stress levels. Under low applied stress levels and high constraint, a rise in opening stresses was not observed near threshold conditions. But crack-tip-opening displacement (CTOD) were of the order of measured oxide thicknesses in the 2024 alloy under constant-R simulations. In contrast, under constant-K(sub max) testing the CTOD near threshold conditions were an order-of-magnitude larger than measured oxide thicknesses. Residual-plastic deformations under both constant-R and constant-K(sub max) threshold simulations were several times larger than the expected oxide thicknesses. Thus, residual-plastic deformations, in addition to oxide and roughness, play an integral part in threshold development.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Heat generation in Aircraft tires under yawed rolling conditions

An analytical model was developed for approximating the internal temperature distribution in an aircraft tire operating under conditions of yawed rolling. The model employs an assembly of elements to represent the tire cross section and treats the heat generated within the tire as a function of the change in strain energy associated with predicted tire flexure. Special contact scrubbing terms are superimposed on the symmetrical free rolling model to account for the slip during yawed rolling. An extensive experimental program was conducted to verify temperatures predicted from the analytical model. Data from this program were compared with calculation over a range of operating conditions, namely, vertical deflection, inflation pressure, yaw angle, and direction of yaw. Generally the analytical model predicted overall trends well and correlated reasonably well with individual measurements at locations throughout the cross section.

Dodge, Richard N.↗

Elastohydrodynamic film thickness model for heavily loaded contacts

An empirical elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film thickness formula for predicting the minimum film thickness occurring within heavily loaded contacts (maximum Hertz stresses above 150,000 psi) was developed. The formula was based upon X-ray film thickness measurements made with synthetic paraffinic, fluorocarbon, Type II ester and polyphenyl ether fluids covering a wide range of test conditions. Comparisons were made between predictions from an isothermal EHD theory and the test data. The deduced relationship was found to adequately reflect the high-load dependence exhibited by the measured data. The effects of contact geometry, material and lubricant properties on the form of the empirical model are also discussed.

Loewenthal, S. H.↗

Elastohydrodynamic film thickness model for heavily loaded contacts

An empirical elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film thickness formula for predicting the minimum film thickness occurring within heavily loaded contacts (maximum Hertz stresses above 1.04 GN/sq m (150,000 psi)) was developed. The formula was based upon X-ray film thickness measurements made with synthetic paraffinic, fluorocarbon, Type II ester, and polyphenyl ether fluids covering a wide range of test conditions. Comparisons were made between predictions from an isothermal EHD theory and the test data. The deduced relationship was found to adequately reflect the high-load dependence exhibited by the measured data. The effects of contact geometry, material, and lubricant properties on the form of the empirical model are also discussed.

Loewenthal, S. H.↗

Dynamics of the Molten Contact Line

In contrast to the ordinary contact line problem, virtually no information is available on the similar problem associated with a molten material spreading on a solid which is below the melt's fusion point. The latter is a more complex problem which heat transfer and solidification take place simultaneously with spreading, and requires answers not only for the hot melt's advance speed over the cold solid as a function of contact angle, but also for how one is to predict the point of the molten contact line's arrest by freezing. This issues are of importance in evolving methods of materials processing. The purpose of our work is to develop, based on both experiments and theory, an understanding of the dynamic processes that occur when a molten droplet touches a subcooled solid, spreads partly over it by capillary action, and freezes. We seek answers to the following basic questions. First, what is the relationship between the melt's contact line speed and the apparent (dynamic) contact angle? Secondly, at what point will the contact line modon be arrested by freezing? The talk will describe three components of our work: (1) deposition experiments with small molten droplets; (2) investigation of the dynamics of the molten contact line by means of a novel forced spreading method; and (3) an attempt to provide a theoretical framework for answering the basic questions posed above.

Sonin, Ain A.↗

TOPEX Microwave Radiometer - Thermal design verification test and analytical model validation

The testing of the TOPEX Microwave Radiometer (TMR) is described in terms of hardware development based on the modeling and thermal vacuum testing conducted. The TMR and the vacuum-test facility are described, and the thermal verification test includes a hot steady-state segment, a cold steady-state segment, and a cold survival mode segment totalling 65 hours. A graphic description is given of the test history which is related temperature tracking, and two multinode TMR test-chamber models are compared to the test results. Large discrepancies between the test data and the model predictions are attributed to contact conductance, effective emittance from the multilayer insulation, and heat leaks related to deviations from the flight configuration. The TMR thermal testing/modeling effort is shown to provide technical corrections for the procedure outlined, and the need for validating predictive models is underscored.

Lin, Edward I.↗

Measurement of Critical Contact Angle in a Microgravity Space Experiment

Mathematical theory predicts that small changes in container shape or in contact angle can give rise to large shifts of liquid in a microgravity environment. This phenomenon was investigated in the Interface Configuration Experiment on board the USML-2 Space Shuttle flight. The experiment's "double proboscis" containers were designed to strike a balance between conflicting requirements of sizable volume of liquid shift (for ease of observation) and abruptness of the shift (for accurate determination of critical contact angle). The experimental results support the classical concept of macroscopic contact angle and demonstrate the role of hysteresis in impeding orientation toward equilibrium.

Concus, P.↗

Measurement of Critical Contact Angle in a Microgravity Space Experiment

Mathematical theory predicts that small changes in container shape or in contact angle can give rise to large shifts of liquid in a microgravity environment. This phenomenon was investigated in the Interface Configuration Experiment on board the USMT,2 Space Shuttle flight. The experiment's "double proboscis" containers were designed to strike a balance between conflicting requirements of sizable volume of liquid shift (for ease of observation) and abruptness of the shift (for accurate determination of critical contact angle). The experimental results support the classical concept of macroscopic contact angle and demonstrate the role of hysteresis in impeding orientation toward equilibrium.

Concus, P.↗

Computational methods for frictional contact with applications to the Space Shuttle orbiter nose-gear tire: Comparisons of experimental measurements and analytical predictions

A computational procedure is presented for the solution of frictional contact problems for aircraft tires. A Space Shuttle nose-gear tire is modeled using a two-dimensional laminated anisotropic shell theory which includes the effects of variations in material and geometric parameters, transverse-shear deformation, and geometric nonlinearities. Contact conditions are incorporated into the formulation by using a perturbed Lagrangian approach with the fundamental unknowns consisting of the stress resultants, the generalized displacements, and the Lagrange multipliers associated with both contact and friction conditions. The contact-friction algorithm is based on a modified Coulomb friction law. A modified two-field, mixed-variational principle is used to obtain elemental arrays. This modification consists of augmenting the functional of that principle by two terms: the Lagrange multiplier vector associated with normal and tangential node contact-load intensities and a regularization term that is quadratic in the Lagrange multiplier vector. These capabilities and computational features are incorporated into an in-house computer code. Experimental measurements were taken to define the response of the Space Shuttle nose-gear tire to inflation-pressure loads and to inflation-pressure loads combined with normal static loads against a rigid flat plate. These experimental results describe the meridional growth of the tire cross section caused by inflation loading, the static load-deflection characteristics of the tire, the geometry of the tire footprint under static loading conditions, and the normal and tangential load-intensity distributions in the tire footprint for the various static vertical-loading conditions. Numerical results were obtained for the Space Shuttle nose-gear tire subjected to inflation pressure loads and combined inflation pressure and contact loads against a rigid flat plate. The experimental measurements and the numerical results are compared.

Tanner, John A.↗

Investigations of lubricant rheology as applied to elastohydrodynamic lubrication

Traction prediction in sliding elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contacts was examined along with an elastohydrodynamic lubrication simulation of the effects of load and speed on temperatures in the EHD contact. An existing shear stress theory and lubricant rheological model were studied and evaluated by applying them to traction prediction. Results obtained using measured film thickness and surface temperature data, were compared with measured traction values. The infrared technique for measuring temperatures in an EHD contact was further developed and ball surface and fluid temperatures are reported for sliding speeds of 0.35 to 5.08 m/s at 0.52 to 2.03 GN/sq m maximum pressure and surface roughnesses of .011 to .381 micrometers c.1.a. The relationship between asperity interaction, as measured by relocation surface profilimetry and high frequency temperature measurements, and the ratio of film thickness to surface roughness was also studied.

Kunz, R. K.↗