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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Pressurization of a Flightweight, Liquid Hydrogen Tank: Evaporation & Condensation at a Liquid/Vapor Interface

This paper presents an analysis and simulation of evaporation and condensation at a motionless liquid/vapor interface. A 1-D model equation, emphasizing heat and mass transfer at the interface, is solved in two ways, and incorporated into a subgrid interface model within a CFD simulation. Simulation predictions are compared with experimental data from the CPST Engineering Design Unit tank, a cryogenic fluid management test tank in 1-g. The numerical challenge here is the physics of the liquid/vapor interface; pressurizing the ullage heats it by several degrees, and sets up an interfacial temperature gradient that transfers heat to the liquid phase-the rate limiting step of condensation is heat conducted through the liquid and vapor. This physics occurs in thin thermal layers O(1 mm) on either side of the interface which is resolved by the subgrid interface model. An accommodation coefficient of 1.0 is used in the simulations which is consistent with theory and measurements. This model is predictive of evaporation/condensation rates, that is, there is no parameter tuning.

Stewart, Mark E. M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Pd/CeO2/SiC Chemical Sensors

The incorporation of nanostructured interfacial layers of CeO2 has been proposed to enhance the performances of Pd/SiC Schottky diodes used to sense hydrogen and hydrocarbons at high temperatures. If successful, this development could prove beneficial in numerous applications in which there are requirements to sense hydrogen and hydrocarbons at high temperatures: examples include monitoring of exhaust gases from engines and detecting fires. Sensitivity and thermal stability are major considerations affecting the development of high-temperature chemical sensors. In the case of a metal/SiC Schottky diode for a number of metals, the SiC becomes more chemically active in the presence of the thin metal film on the SiC surface at high temperature. This increase in chemical reactivity causes changes in chemical composition and structure of the metal/SiC interface. The practical effect of the changes is to alter the electronic and other properties of the device in such a manner as to degrade its performance as a chemical sensor. To delay or prevent these changes, it is necessary to limit operation to a temperature <450 C for these sensor structures. The present proposal to incorporate interfacial CeO2 films is based partly on the observation that nanostructured materials in general have potentially useful electrical properties, including an ability to enhance the transfer of electrons. In particular, nanostructured CeO2, that is CeO2 with nanosized grains, has shown promise for incorporation into hightemperature electronic devices. Nanostructured CeO2 films can be formed on SiC and have been shown to exhibit high thermal stability on SiC, characterized by the ability to withstand temperatures somewhat greater than 700 C for limited times. The exchanges of oxygen between CeO2 and SiC prevent the formation of carbon and other chemical species that are unfavorable for operation of a SiC-based Schottky diode as a chemical sensor. Consequently, it is anticipated that in a Pd/CeO2/SiC Schottky diode, the nanostructured interfacial CeO2 layer would contribute to thermal stability and, by contributing to transfer of electrons, would also contribute to sensitivity.

Lu, Weijie↗
NASA NTRS2018

An Engineering Approach to Analyze Damage Initiation Modes in Tapered Composite Structures

In this work an engineering approach is demonstrated for analyzing damage initiation modes in tapered composite structures. The analysis methodology includes simulation of the non-linear static response of tapered composite structures under static tension loads to predict the location of interfacial delamination initiation. Furthermore, the developed methodology provides a strength-based criterion to assess whether damage initiation will occur in the inter-laminar delamination or intra-laminar matrix cracking mode. Based on the results of the analysis, a tapered composite structure is fabricated and tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static tension loading. The damage initiation location captured experimentally is compared with the analysis towards achieving preliminary qualitative validation. The linear stiffness of the tapered composite structure is predicted within 15% of the experimental average thereby achieving preliminary quantitative validation.

Rao, Prabhakar M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Engineering Approach to Analyze Damage Initiation Modes in Tapered Composite Structures

In this work an engineering approach is demonstrated for analyzing damage initiation modes in tapered composite structures. The analysis methodology includes simulation of the non-linear static response of tapered composite structures under static tension loads to predict the location of interfacial delamination initiation. Furthermore, the developed methodology provides a strength-based criterion to assess whether damage initiation will occur in the inter-laminar delamination or intra-laminar matrix cracking mode. Based on the results of the analysis, a tapered composite structure is fabricated and tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static tension loading. The damage initiation location captured experimentally is compared with the analysis towards achieving preliminary qualitative validation. The linear stiffness of the tapered composite structure is predicted within 15% of the experimental average thereby achieving preliminary quantitative validation.

Prabhakar M Rao↗
NASA NTRS1977

High performance N2O4/amine elements: Blowapart

The mechanisms controlling hypergolic propellant reactive stream separation (RRS) were studied and used to develop design criteria for injectors free from both steady state RSS and cyclic propellant stream separation. This was accomplished through the analysis of single element injectors using N204/MMH propellants; the injectors were representative of the space shuttle orbit maneuvering engine and space tug applications. A gas phase/surface reaction mechanism which controls RSS was identified. Injector design criteria were developed, which defined a critical chamber pressure for those operating conditions above which RSS occurs. It was found that the amount of interfacial surface area at impingement is controlled by injector hydraulics.

Lawver, B. R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Tungsten and Barium Transport in the Internal Plasma of Hollow Cathodes

The effect of tungsten erosion, transport and redeposition on the operation of dispenser hollow cathodes was investigated in detailed examinations of the discharge cathode inserts from an 8200 hour and a 30,352 hour ion engine wear test. Erosion and subsequent re-deposition of tungsten in the electron emission zone at the downstream end of the insert reduces the porosity of the tungsten matrix, preventing the flow of barium from the interior. This inhibits the interfacial reactions of the barium-calcium-aluminate impregnant with the tungsten in the pores. A numerical model of barium transport in the internal xenon discharge plasma shows that the barium required to reduce the work function in the emission zone can be supplied from upstream through the gas phase. Barium that flows out of the pores of the tungsten insert is rapidly ionized in the xenon discharge and pushedback to the emitter surface by the electric field and drag from the xenon ion flow. Thisbarium ion flux is sufficient to maintain a barium surface coverage at the downstream endgreater than 0.6, even if local barium production at that point is inhibited by tungsten deposits. The model also shows that the neutral barium pressure exceeds the equilibrium vapor pressure of the impregnant decomposition reaction over much of the insert length,so the reactions are suppressed. Only a small region upstream of the zone blocked by tungsten deposits is active and supplies the required barium. These results indicate that hollowcathode failure models based on barium depletion rates in vacuum dispenser cathodes are very conservative.

Hollow cathodes↗
NASA NTRS2009

Barium Depletion in Hollow Cathode Emitters

The effect of tungsten erosion, transport and redeposition on the operation of dispenser hollow cathodes was investigated in detailed examinations of the discharge cathode inserts from an 8200 hour and a 30,352 hour ion engine wear test. Erosion and subsequent re-deposition of tungsten in the electron emission zone at the downstream end of the insert reduces the porosity of the tungsten matrix, preventing the ow of barium from the interior. This inhibits the interfacial reactions of the barium-calcium-aluminate impregnant with the tungsten in the pores. A numerical model of barium transport in the internal xenon discharge plasma shows that the barium required to reduce the work function in the emission zone can be supplied from upstream through the gas phase. Barium that flows out of the pores of the tungsten insert is rapidly ionized in the xenon discharge and pushed back to the emitter surface by the electric field and drag from the xenon ion flow. This barium ion flux is sufficient to maintain a barium surface coverage at the downstream end greater than 0.6, even if local barium production at that point is inhibited by tungsten deposits. The model also shows that the neutral barium pressure exceeds the equilibrium vapor pressure of the impregnant decomposition reaction over much of the insert length, so the reactions are suppressed. Only a small region upstream of the zone blocked by tungsten deposits is active and supplies the required barium. These results indicate that hollow cathode failure models based on barium depletion rates in vacuum dispenser cathodes are very conservative.

plasma discharges↗
NASA NTRS1989

Liquid Behavior at Critical and Supercritical Conditions

At a JANNAF workshop, the issue of fluids at and above the critical point was discussed to obtain a better understanding of similar conditions in combustion chambers of rocket engines. Invited experts from academic, industrial, and government institutions presented the most recent physical, numerical, and experimental advances. During the final discussion period, it was agreed that: (1) no analytical capability exists to simulate subject conditions; (2) mechanisms reflected by opalescence, the solubility of gases, other interfacial phenomena listed, and fluorescence diagnostics are new and important; (3) multicomponent mixtures, radiation, critical fluctuation, and other recorded ones pose unknown effects; and (4) various identified analytical and experimental actions must be initiated in a mutually supporting sequence.

Chiu, Huei-Huang↗
NASA NTRS2005

Nano-engineered Multiwall Carbon Nanotube-copper Composite Thermal Interface Material for Efficient Heat Conduction

Efforts in integrated circuit (IC) packaging technologies have recently been focused on management of increasing heat density associated with high frequency and high density circuit designs. While current flip-chip package designs can accommodate relatively high amounts of heat density, new materials need to be developed to manage thermal effects of next-generation integrated circuits. Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) have been shown to significantly enhance thermal conduction in the axial direction and thus can be considered to be a candidate for future thermal interface materials by facilitating efficient thermal transport. This work focuses on fabrication and characterization of a robust MWNT-copper composite material as an element in IC package designs. We show that using vertically aligned MWNT arrays reduces interfacial thermal resistance by increasing conduction surface area, and furthermore, the embedded copper acts as a lateral heat spreader to efficiently disperse heat, a necessary function for packaging materials. In addition, we demonstrate reusability of the material, and the absence of residue on the contacting material, both novel features of the MWNT-copper composite that are not found in most state-of-the-art thermal interface materials. Electrochemical methods such as metal deposition and etch are discussed for the creation of the MWNT-Cu composite, detailing issues and observations with using such methods. We show that precise engineering of the composite surface affects the ability of this material to act as an efficient thermal interface material. A thermal contact resistance measurement has been designed to obtain a value of thermal contact resistance for a variety of different thermal contact materials.

Ngo, Quoc↗
NASA NTRS1991

Thermal barrier coating life prediction model development

A thermal barrier coated (TBC) turbine component design system, including an accurate TBC life prediction model, is needed to realize the full potential of available TBC engine performance and/or durability benefits. The objective of this work, which was sponsored in part by NASA, was to generate a life prediction model for electron beam - physical vapor deposited (EB-PVD) zirconia TBC. Specific results include EB-PVD zirconia mechanical and physical properties, coating adherence strength measurements, interfacial oxide growth characteristics, quantitative cyclic thermal spallation life data, and a spallation life model.

Meier, Susan M.↗
NASA NTRS2002

New Method Developed to Measure Contact Angles of a Sessile Drop

The spreading of an evaporating liquid on a solid surface occurs in many practical processes and is of importance in a number of practical situations such as painting, textile dyeing, coating, gluing, and thermal engineering. Typical processes involving heat transfer where the contact angle plays an important role are film cooling, boiling, and the heat transfer through heat pipes. The biological phenomenon of cell spreading also is analogous to a drop spreading (ref. 1). In the study of spreading, the dynamic contact angle describes the interfacial properties on solid substrates and, therefore, has been studied by physicists and fluid mechanics investigators. The dynamic contact angle of a spreading nonvolatile liquid drop provides a simple tool in the study of the free-boundary problem, but the study of the spreading of a volatile liquid drop is of more practical interest because the evaporation of common liquids is inevitable in practical processes. The most common method to measure the contact angle, the contact radius, and the height of a sessile drop on a solid surface is to view the drop from its edge through an optical microscope. However, this method gives only local information in the view direction. Zhang and Yang (ref. 2) developed a laser shadowgraphy method to investigate the evaporation of sessile drop on a glass plate. As described here, Zhang and Chao (refs. 3 and 4) improved the method and suggested a new optical arrangement to measure the dynamic contact angle and the instant evaporation rate of a sessile drop with much higher accuracy (less than 1 percent). With this method, any fluid motion in the evaporating drop can be visualized through shadowgraphy without using a tracer, which often affects the field under investigation.

Chao, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Tribology theory versus experiment

Tribology, the study of friction and wear of materials, has achieved a new interest because of the need for energy conservation. Fundamental understanding of this field is very complex and requires a knowledge of solid-state physics, material science, chemistry, and mechanical engineering. This paper is meant to be didactic in nature and outlines some of the considerations needed for a tribology research program. The approach is first to present a simple model, a field emission tip in contact with a flat surface, in order to elucidate important considerations, such as contact area, mechanical deformations, and interfacial bonding. Then examples from illustrative experiments are presented. Finally, the current status of physical theories concerning interfacial bonding are presented.

Ferrante, John↗
NASA NTRS1993

An overview of elevated temperature damage mechanisms and fatigue behavior of a unidirectional SCS-6/Ti-15-3 composite

The fatigue behavior of a unidirectionally reinforced titanium matrix composite (TMC), SiC/Ti-15-3, was thoroughly characterized to support life prediction modeling of advanced TMC disks designed for gas turbine engine applications. The results of this coupon-level experimental investigation are reviewed. On a stress basis, the isothermal fatigue behavior of the (0 deg) TMC revealed significant improvements over the unreinforced matrix. In contrast, the (90 deg) TMC exhibited degraded properties and lives for similar comparisons. This was attributed to the weak fiber/matrix interfacial bond. Encasing the (0 deg) TMC with a Ti-15-3 case did not affect isothermal fatigue lives at higher strain levels. However, at lower strain levels, rapid initiation and propagation of large fatigue cracks in the case degraded the fatigue lives. Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) lives were significantly reduced for the (0 deg) TMC when compared to isothermal lives. At high strains, in-phase TMF produced extremely short lives. This degradation was attributed to fiber overload failures brought about by stress relaxation in the matrix. At low strains, out-of-phase TMF conditions became life limiting. Environment-assisted surface cracking was found to accelerate fatigue failure. This produced extensive matrix damage with minimal fiber damage. For the (90 deg) TMC, TMF conditions did not promote an additional degradation in cyclic life beyond that observed under isothermal conditions.

Castelli, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Measurement of Shear Strain in Impact Ice Using a Modified Lap Joint Test and Digital Image Correlation

The results of ice adhesion testing efforts are typically quantified using the maximum shear stress sustained at the interface before the ice detaches from the underlying substrate. While this singular value can be useful for understanding the role icing wind tunnel conditions and substrate surface properties have on the strength of the ice-substrate interface, it does not capture the mechanical behavior of the ice during an experiment. To better understand the deformation of the ice sample and ice-substrate interface during testing, digital image correlation was applied to the lap-joint shear test methodology utilized at NASA Glenn Research Center. Preparation of the sample surface for digital image correlation, initial parsing of the correlation data, and the time synchronization of data from multiple sources are discussed. Using the directional components of deformation measured via digital image correlation, a novel approach to calculating the interfacial shear strain is presented. Results from analyzing several impact ice samples consistently reveals a non-linear response in the ice during mechanical loading which occurs prior to sample delamination, a behavior not observable in the force and displacement data gathered from the testing apparatus. Both the full and small angle forms of the engineering shear strain are evaluated, with the full shear strain form providing considerably lower noise levels. The transition of sample response from near the interface to the bulk behavior of the ice under shear loading is discussed with results from several samples being presented.

Ice adhesion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Measurement of Shear Strain in Impact Ice Using a Modified Lap Joint Test and Digital Image Correlation

The results of ice adhesion testing efforts are typically quantified using the maximum shear stress sustained at the interface before the ice detaches from the underlying substrate. While this singular value can be useful for understanding the role icing wind tunnel conditions and substrate surface properties have on the strength of the ice-substrate interface, it does not capture the mechanical behavior of the ice during an experiment. To better understand the deformation of the ice sample and ice-substrate interface during testing, digital image correlation was applied to the lap-joint shear test methodology utilized at NASA Glenn Research Center. Preparation of the sample surface for digital image correlation, initial parsing of the correlation data, and the time synchronization of data from multiple sources are discussed. Using the directional components of deformation measured via digital image correlation, a novel approach to calculating the interfacial shear strain is presented. Results from analyzing several impact ice samples consistently reveals a non-linear response in the ice during mechanical loading which occurs prior to sample delamination, a behavior not observable in the force and displacement data gathered from the testing apparatus. Both the full and small angle forms of the engineering shear strain are evaluated, with the full shear strain form providing considerably lower noise levels. The transition of sample response from near the interface to the bulk behavior of the ice under shear loading is discussed with results from several samples being presented.

: Ice Adhesion, Digital Image Correlation, Experim↗
NASA NTRS2008

Failure Mechanisms and Life Prediction of Thermal and Environmental Barrier Coatings under Thermal Gradients

Ceramic thermal and environmental barrier coatings (TEBCs) will play an increasingly important role in gas turbine engines because of their ability to further raise engine temperatures. However, the issue of coating durability is of major concern under high-heat-flux conditions. In particular, the accelerated coating delamination crack growth under the engine high heat-flux conditions is not well understood. In this paper, a laser heat flux technique is used to investigate the coating delamination crack propagation under realistic temperature-stress gradients and thermal cyclic conditions. The coating delamination mechanisms are investigated under various thermal loading conditions, and are correlated with coating dynamic fatigue, sintering and interfacial adhesion test results. A coating life prediction framework may be realized by examining the crack initiation and propagation driving forces for coating failure under high-heat-flux test conditions.

Zju, Dongming↗
NASA NTRS1998

Investigation of Thermal High Cycle and Low Cycle Fatigue Mechanisms of Thick Thermal Barrier Coatings

Thick thermal barrier coating systems in a diesel engine experience severe thermal low cycle fatigue (LCF) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) during engine operation. In this paper, the mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation and propagation in a ZrO2-8wt.% Y2O3 thermal barrier coating, under simulated engine thermal LCF and HCF conditions, are investigated using a high power CO2 laser. Experiments showed that the combined LCF/HCF tests induced more severe coating surface cracking, microspallation and accelerated crack growth, as compared to the pure LCF test. Lateral crack branching and the ceramic/bond coat interface delaminations were also facilitated by HCF thermal loads, even in the absence of severe interfacial oxidation. Fatigue damages at crack wake surfaces, due to such phenomena as asperity/debris contact induced cracking and splat pull-out bending during cycling, were observed especially for the combined LCF/HCF tests. It is found that the failure associated with LCF is closely related to coating sintering and creep at high temperatures, which induce tensile stresses in the coating after cooling. The failure associated with HCF process, however, is mainly associated with a surface wedging mechanism. The interaction between the LCF, HCF and ceramic coating creep, and the relative importance of LCF and HCF in crack propagation are also discussed based on the experimental evidence.

Zhu, Dongming↗
NASA NTRS2003

Contact Angle of Drops Measured on Nontransparent Surfaces and Capillary Flow Visualized

The spreading of a liquid on a solid surface is important for various practical processes, and contact-angle measurements provide an elegant method to characterize the interfacial properties of the liquid with the solid substrates. The complex physical processes occurring when a liquid contacts a solid play an important role in determining the performance of chemical processes and materials. Applications for these processes are in printing, coating, gluing, textile dyeing, and adhesives and in the pharmaceutical industry, biomedical research, adhesives, flat panel display manufacturing, surfactant chemistry, and thermal engineering.

Chao, David F.↗