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At least 55 records · Page 3

Rotor/bearing system dynamic stiffness measurements

Sweep perturbation testing as used in Modal Analysis when applied to a rotating machine has to take into consideration the machine dynamic state of equilibrium at its operational rotative speed. This stands in contrasts to a static equilibrium of nonrotating structures. The rotational energy has a significant influence on rotor dynamic characteristics. The best perturbing input for rotating machines is a forward or reverse rotating, circular force applied directly to the shaft. Determination of Dynamic Stiffness Characteristics of the rotor bearing system by nonsynchronous perturbation of a symmetric rotating shaft supported in one relatively rigid and one oil lubricated bearing.

Muszynska, A.

Acoustical modal analysis of the pressure field in the tailpipe of a turbofan engine

The results of a modal analysis of the pressure field in the tailpipe of a turbofan engine are presented. Modal amplitudes, at the tailpipe inlet and exit, are presented, as a function of frequency, for several operating conditions. The modal amplitudes were obtained using an optimization routine to obtain a best fit between measured cross spectra and an analytical expression for the cross spectra between pressures at circumferentially spaced locations. The measured pressure field was decomposed into a set of five modal amplitudes corresponding to the (0,0), (1,0), (2,0), (3,0), and (4,0) modes. The analysis was limited to frequencies below 1500 Hz where higher order modes are cutoff. The results of the analysis showed that at low frequencies, up to the cuton frequency of the (1,0) mode, the (0,0) mode (plane wave) dominated the pressure field. The frequency range from the cuton of the (1,0) mode to the cuton of the (2,0) mode was dominated by the (1,0) mode. The (2,0) mode dominated from its cuton frequency to the upper limit of the analysis, i.e., 1500 Hz. The contribution of modes other than the dominant mode was usually small.

Krejsa, E. A.

An assessment of the structural dynamic effects on the microgravity environment of a reference Space Station

An interim 'Permanently Manned Capability' Space Station configuration and one designated 'Assembly Complete' are modeled by FEM techniques in order to select forcing functions for modal transient response analysis and illustrate sample waveforms. In all, 114 applied-force cases have been executed to simulate such expected operational disturbances as crewmembers' treadmill exercises and EVAs. The present discussion of the results obtained give attention to the acceleration-response environment of the U.S. Laboratory's center grid-point. The magnitude of the acceleration responses obtained indicate that attenuation systems must be incorporated, or operational constraints must be instituted.

Del Basso, Steve

Using Distributed Fiber-Optic Strain Sensing to Estimate Modal Generalized Modal Coordinates from Flight-Test Data

Background and Motivation - Problem - Contemporary aircraft carry around structural mass so that the flutter instabilities lie well outside of the operational envelope. - Better methods of measuring the structural state could allow reduction of the extra structural weight. - Modal filtering - Standard method in structural analysis - Deformations are a combination of mode shapes - Modal filtering is estimating these modal coordinates from data - Often ordinary least squares methods - Often applied to simpler test articles - Factor Analysis - Classic (in psychology) analysis method - Measurements are a combination of small number of unmeasurable variables - Lessons from this factor can be adapted to improve the modal filtering methods

Jeffrey Ouellette

Using Distributed Fiber-optic Strain Sensing to Estimate Generalized Modal Coordinates from Flight-test Data

Background and Motivation - Problem - Contemporary aircraft carry around structural mass so that the flutter instabilities lie well outside of the operational envelope. - Better methods of measuring the structural state could allow reduction of the extra structural weight - Modal filtering - Standard method in structural analysis - Deformations are a combination of mode shapes - Modal filtering is estimating these modal coordinates from data - Often ordinary least squares methods - Often applied to simpler test articles - Factor Analysis - Analysis method from psychology - Measurements are a combination of small number of unmeasurable variables. - Lessons from factor analysis can be adapted to improve the modal filtering methods

Jeffrey Ouellette

Evaluation and Analysis of the ANSI X3T9.5 (FDDI) PMD and Proposed SMF-PMD as Influenced by Various Fiber Link Characteristics

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the operational parameters of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) fiber optic cable plant. The evaluation is based on the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) and Single Mode Fiber (SMF) PMD standards. From the KSC fiber profile, it would be necessary to develop the modifications needed in existing FDDI PMD and proposed SMF-PMD standards to provide for FDDI implementation and operation at KSC. This analysis should examine the major factors that influence the operating conditions of the KSC fiber plant. These factors would include, but are not limited to the number and type of connectors, attenuation and dispersion characteristics of the fiber, non-standard fiber sizes, modal bandwidth, and many other relevant or significant fiber plant characteristics that effect FDDI characteristics. This analysis is needed to gain a better understanding of overall impact that each of these factors have on FDDI performance at KSC.

Wernicki, M. Chris

Green Run Modal Test of the NASA Space Launch System Core Stage

The Core Stage of the new NASA Space Launch System (SLS) is a 212-foot-tall rocket assembly—consisting primarily of two cryogenic propellant tanks, an engine section, and four RS-25 rocket engines—that will send crew and large payloads to the moon and beyond for NASA’s Artemis program. Prior to SLS assembly, the Core Stage completed a series of structural and functional tests in the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center, designated Green Run. The goal of Green Run was to verify analytical models, confirm proper subsystem operation, and test-fire all four RS-25 engines of the Core Stage. In January 2020, Green Run testing began with an experimental modal analysis test, performed by the Marshal Space Flight Center modal test team. A free-boundary test condition of the Core Stage was simulated as close as possible by suspending the massive launch vehicle from the B-2 Test Stand crane. Modal excitation was provided by a pair of 250-lb electro-dynamic shakers for multi-shaker random vibration testing, as well as a 12-pound instrumented hammer for impact testing. Modal response was measured with 550 accelerometer channels distributed on both the Core Stage and the B-2 Test Stand derrick crane. Following one very long day of testing, frequency response functions were calculated from the measured time histories in the target mode frequency range of 5 Hz to 15 Hz, and mode shapes, frequencies, and damping values were successfully estimated. The case-study presented in this paper will discuss Green Run, the SLS Core Stage, the modal test setup and execution, as well as a brief overview of the test results. Challenges associated with testing such a large, suspended structure in an outdoor environment will be discussed as well.

Space Launch System

Development of an Aeroelastic Modeling Capability for Transient Nozzle Side Load Analysis

Lateral nozzle forces are known to cause severe structural damage to any new rocket engine in development. Currently there is no fully coupled computational tool to analyze this fluid/structure interaction process. The objective of this study was to develop a fully coupled aeroelastic modeling capability to describe the fluid/structure interaction process during the transient nozzle operations. The aeroelastic model composes of three components: the computational fluid dynamics component based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation, the computational structural dynamics component developed in the framework of modal analysis, and the fluid-structural interface component. The developed aeroelastic model was applied to the transient nozzle startup process of the Space Shuttle Main Engine at sea level. The computed nozzle side loads and the axial nozzle wall pressure profiles from the aeroelastic nozzle are compared with those of the published rigid nozzle results, and the impact of the fluid/structure interaction on nozzle side loads is interrogated and presented.

Wang, Ten-See

Advanced superposition methods for high speed turbopump vibration analysis

The small, high pressure Mark 48 liquid hydrogen turbopump was analyzed and dynamically tested to determine the cause of high speed vibration at an operating speed of 92,400 rpm. This approaches the design point operating speed of 95,000 rpm. The initial dynamic analysis in the design stage and subsequent further analysis of the rotor only dynamics failed to predict the vibration characteristics found during testing. An advanced procedure for dynamics analysis was used in this investigation. The procedure involves developing accurate dynamic models of the rotor assembly and casing assembly by finite element analysis. The dynamically instrumented assemblies are independently rap tested to verify the analytical models. The verified models are then combined by modal superposition techniques to develop a completed turbopump model where dynamic characteristics are determined. The results of the dynamic testing and analysis obtained are presented and methods of moving the high speed vibration characteristics to speeds above the operating range are recommended. Recommendations for use of these advanced dynamic analysis procedures during initial design phases are given.

Nielson, C. E.

Mission Level Autonomy for USSV

On-water demonstration of a wide range of mission-proven, advanced technologies at TRL 5+ that provide a total integrated, modular approach to effectively address the majority of the key needs for full mission-level autonomous, cross-platform control of USV s. Wide baseline stereo system mounted on the ONR USSV was shown to be an effective sensing modality for tracking of dynamic contacts as a first step to automated retrieval operations. CASPER onboard planner/replanner successfully demonstrated realtime, on-water resource-based analysis for mission-level goal achievement and on-the-fly opportunistic replanning. Full mixed mode autonomy was demonstrated on-water with a seamless transition between operator over-ride and return to current mission plan. Autonomous cooperative operations for fixed asset protection and High Value Unit escort using 2 USVs (AMN1 & 14m RHIB) were demonstrated during Trident Warrior 2010 in JUN 2010

maritime autonomy

Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS): Memory Representation and Procedural Implications for Airborne Communication Modalities

The Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) has been under development for the past ten years through a joint US Army and NASA cooperative agreement. MIDAS represents multiple human operators and selected perceptual, cognitive, and physical functions of those operators as they interact with simulated systems. MIDAS has been used as an integrated predictive framework for the investigation of human/machine systems, particularly in situations with high demands on the operators. Specific examples include: nuclear power plant crew simulation, military helicopter flight crew response, and police force emergency dispatch. In recent applications to airborne systems development, MIDAS has demonstrated an ability to predict flight crew decision-making and procedural behavior when interacting with automated flight management systems and Air Traffic Control. In this paper we describe two enhancements to MIDAS. The first involves the addition of working memory in the form of an articulatory buffer for verbal communication protocols and a visuo-spatial buffer for communications via digital datalink. The second enhancement is a representation of multiple operators working as a team. This enhanced model was used to predict the performance of human flight crews and their level of compliance with commercial aviation communication procedures. We show how the data produced by MIDAS compares with flight crew performance data from full mission simulations. Finally, we discuss the use of these features to study communications issues connected with aircraft-based separation assurance.

Corker, Kevin M.

Operational Analysis in the Launch Environment

The launch environment is a challenging regime to work due to changing system dynamics, changing environmental loading, joint compression loads that cannot be easily applied on the ground, and control effects. Operational testing is one of the few feasible approaches to capture system level dynamics since ground testing cannot reproduce all of these conditions easily. However, the most successful applications of Operational Modal Testing involve systems with good stationarity and long data acquisition times. This paper covers an ongoing effort to understand the launch environment and the utility of current operational modal tools. This work is expected to produce a collection of operational tools that can be applied to non-stationary launch environment, experience dealing with launch data, and an expanding database of flight parameters such as damping. This paper reports on recent efforts to build a software framework for the data processing utilizing existing and specialty tools; understand the limits of current tools; assess a wider variety of current tools; and expand the experience with additional datasets as well as to begin to address issues raised in earlier launch analysis studies.

James, George

Real-time flutter identification with close mode resolution

Real-time flutter prediction including close modes can be effectively estimated from turbulence or on-board excitation with an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) approach. A physically based model form enables prediction of the damping rate as well as damping, giving a time to instability estimate with its variance. The approach is recursive and can operate asynchronously to drop data outliers and hence is quite robust. Its speed is reasonable for on-line application but can also be used effectively as an off-line analysis tool for application to any modal testing situation.

Roy, R. H.

LPV Modeling of a Flexible Wing Aircraft Using Modal Alignment and Adaptive Gridding Methods

One of the earliest approaches in gain-scheduling control is the gridding based approach, in which a set of local linear time-invariant models are obtained at various gridded points corresponding to the varying parameters within the flight envelop. In order to ensure smooth and effective Linear Parameter-Varying control, aligning all the flexible modes within each local model and maintaining small number of representative local models over the gridded parameter space are crucial. In addition, since the flexible structural models tend to have large dimensions, a tractable model reduction process is necessary. In this paper, the notion of s-shifted H2- and H Infinity-norm are introduced and used as a metric to measure the model mismatch. A new modal alignment algorithm is developed which utilizes the defined metric for aligning all the local models over the entire gridded parameter space. Furthermore, an Adaptive Grid Step Size Determination algorithm is developed to minimize the number of local models required to represent the gridded parameter space. For model reduction, we propose to utilize the concept of Composite Modal Cost Analysis, through which the collective contribution of each flexible mode is computed and ranked. Therefore, a reduced-order model is constructed by retaining only those modes with significant contribution. The NASA Generic Transport Model operating at various flight speeds is studied for verification purpose, and the analysis and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach.

LPV Modeling

Comprehensive Forced Response Analysis of J2X Turbine Bladed-Discs with 360 Degree Variation in CFD Loading

The temporal frequency content of the dynamic pressure predicted by a 360 degree computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a turbine flow field provides indicators of forcing function excitation frequencies (e.g., multiples of blade pass frequency) for turbine components. For the Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X engine turbopumps, Campbell diagrams generated using these forcing function frequencies and the results of NASTRAN modal analyses show a number of components with modes in the engine operating range. As a consequence, forced response and static analyses are required for the prediction of combined stress, high cycle fatigue safety factors (HCFSF). Cyclically symmetric structural models have been used to analyze turbine vane and blade rows, not only in modal analyses, but also in forced response and static analyses. Due to the tortuous flow pattern in the turbine, dynamic pressure loading is not cyclically symmetric. Furthermore, CFD analyses predict dynamic pressure waves caused by adjacent and non-adjacent blade/vane rows upstream and downstream of the row analyzed. A MATLAB script has been written to calculate displacements due to the complex cyclically asymmetric dynamic pressure components predicted by CFD analysis, for all grids in a blade/vane row, at a chosen turbopump running speed. The MATLAB displacements are then read into NASTRAN, and dynamic stresses are calculated, including an adjustment for possible mistuning. In a cyclically symmetric NASTRAN static analysis, static stresses due to centrifugal, thermal, and pressure loading at the mode running speed are calculated. MATLAB is used to generate the HCFSF at each grid in the blade/vane row. When compared to an approach assuming cyclic symmetry in the dynamic flow field, the current approach provides better assurance that the worst case safety factor has been identified. An extended example for a J-2X turbopump component is provided.

Elrod, David

Improvements to the fastex flutter analysis computer code

Modifications to the FASTEX flutter analysis computer code (UDFASTEX) are described. The objectives were to increase the problem size capacity of FASTEX, reduce run times by modification of the modal interpolation procedure, and to add new user features. All modifications to the program are operable on the VAX 11/700 series computers under the VAX operating system. Interfaces were provided to aid in the inclusion of alternate aerodynamic and flutter eigenvalue calculations. Plots can be made of the flutter velocity, display and frequency data. A preliminary capability was also developed to plot contours of unsteady pressure amplitude and phase. The relevant equations of motion, modal interpolation procedures, and control system considerations are described and software developments are summarized. Additional information documenting input instructions, procedures, and details of the plate spline algorithm is found in the appendices.

Taylor, Ronald F.

Unsteady Analyses of Valve Systems in Rocket Engine Testing Environments

This paper discusses simulation technology used to support the testing of rocket propulsion systems by performing high fidelity analyses of feed system components. A generalized multi-element framework has been used to perform simulations of control valve systems. This framework provides the flexibility to resolve the structural and functional complexities typically associated with valve-based high pressure feed systems that are difficult to deal with using traditional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. In order to validate this framework for control valve systems, results are presented for simulations of a cryogenic control valve at various plug settings and compared to both experimental data and simulation results obtained at NASA Stennis Space Center. A detailed unsteady analysis has also been performed for a pressure regulator type control valve used to support rocket engine and component testing at Stennis Space Center. The transient simulation captures the onset of a modal instability that has been observed in the operation of the valve. A discussion of the flow physics responsible for the instability and a prediction of the dominant modes associated with the fluctuations is presented.

Shipman, Jeremy

Deriving Strain Modes From Vibrational Tests

Measurements and theoretical analysis complement each other. Experimental acceleration and strain data used to calculate coefficients of low-frequency vibrational modes of object under test. An iterative comparison of experimental and calculated strains give modal model of improved accuracy that predicts strains under operating conditions. Method useful in fatigue life and reliability analyses of buildings, pumps, engines, vehicles, and other systems subject to vibrations and loud noises during operation.

Young, J. W.