Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “torque balance”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3

Traction Drives for Zero Stick-Slip Robots, and Reaction Free, Momentum Balanced Systems

Two differential (dual input, single output) drives (a roller-gear and a pure roller), and a momentum balanced (single input, dual output) drive (pure roller ) were designed, fabricated, and tested. The differential drives are each rated at 295 rad/sec (2800 rpm) input speed, 450 N-m (4,000 in-lbf) output torque. The momentum balanced drive is rated at 302 rad/sec (2880 rpm) input speed, and dual output torques of 434N-m (3840 in-lbf). The Dual Input Differential Roller-Gear Drive (DC-700) has a planetary roller-gear system with a reduction ratio (one input driving the output with the second input fixed) of 29.23: 1. The Dual Input Differential Roller Drive (DC-500) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of approximately 24:1. Each of the differential drives features dual roller-gear or roller arrangements consisting of a sun, four first row planets, four second row planets, and a ring. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive (DC-400) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of 24:1 with both outputs counterrotating at equal speed. Its single roller cluster consists of a sun, five first and five second row planets, a roller cage or spider and a ring. Outputs are taken from both the roller cage and the ring which counterrotate. Test results reported for all three drives include angular and torque ripple (linearity and cogging), viscous and Coulomb friction, and forward and reverse power efficiency. Of the two differential drives, the Differential Roller Drive had better linearity and less cogging than did the Differential Roller-Gear Drive, but it had higher friction and lower efficiency (particularly at low power throughput levels). Use of full preloading rather than a variable preload system in the Differential Roller Drive assessed a heavy penalty in part load efficiency. Maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95% for the Differential Roller-Gear Drive and 86% for the Differential Roller Drive. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive performed as expected kinematically. Reduction r-atios to the two counterrotating outputs (design nominal=24:1) were measured to be 23.98:1 and 24.12:1 at zero load.. At 25ONm (2200 in-lbf) output torque the ratio changed 2% due to roller creep. This drive was the smoothest of all three as determined from linearity and cogging tests, and maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95%. The disadvantages of full preloading as comvared to variable preload were apparent in this drive as in the Differential Roller Drive. Efficiencies at part load were low, but improved dramatically with increases in torque. These were consistent with friction measurements which indicated losses primarily from Coulomb friction. The initial preload level setting was low so roller slip was encountered at higher torques during testing.

Anderson, William J.↗

Zero torque gear head wrench

A gear head wrench particularly suited for use in applying torque to bolts without transferring torsional stress to bolt-receiving structures is introduced. The wrench is characterized by a coupling including a socket, for connecting a bolt head with a torque multiplying gear train, provided within a housing having an annulus concentrically related to the socket and adapted to be coupled with a spacer interposed between the bolt head and the juxtaposed surface of the bolt-receiving structure for applying a balancing counter-torque to the spacer as torque is applied to the bolt head whereby the bolt-receiving structure is substantially isolated from torsional stress. As a result of the foregoing, the operator of the wrench is substantially isolated from any forces which may be imposed.

Mcdougal, A. R.↗

Design and application of a test rig for super-critical power transmission shafts

The design, assembly, operational check-out and application of a test facility for testing supercritical power transmission shafts under realistic conditions of size, speed and torque are described. Alternative balancing methods and alternative damping mechanisms are demonstrated and compared. The influence of torque upon the unbalance distribution is studied, and its effect on synchronous vibrations is investigated. The feasibility of operating supercritical power transmission shafting is demonstrated, but the need for careful control, by balancing and damping, of synchronous and nonsynchronous vibrations is made clear. The facility was demonstrated to be valuable for shaft system development programs and studies for both advanced and current-production hardware.

Darlow, M.↗

Spacecraft attitude pointing performance during orbit adjust as a function of compensator order

A steady state compensator of specified order is proposed to estimate the required duty cycle needed to balance the distribution torque. The compensator was increased gradually to demonstrate the improvement in pointing accuracy. The basic mathematical model of the flexible spacecraft and sensor used to characterize the performance of the compensator are described.

Basuthakur, S.↗

A review of ice accretion data from a model rotor icing test and comparison with theory

An experiment was conducted by the Helicopter Icing Consortium (HIC) in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) in which a 1/6 scale fuselage model of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter with a generic rotor was subjected to a wide range of icing conditions. The HIC consists of members from NASA, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Helicopter, McDonnell Douglas Helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Texas A&M University. Data was taken in the form of rotor torque, internal force balance measurements, blade strain gage loading, and two dimensional ice shape tracings. A review of the ice shape data is performed with special attention given to repeatability and correctness of trends in terms of radial variation, rotational speed, icing time, temperature, liquid water content, and volumetric median droplet size. Moreover, an indepth comparison between the experimental data and the analysis of NASA's ice accretion code LEWICE is given. Finally, conclusions are drawn as to the quality of the ice accretion data and the predictability of the data base as a whole. Recommendations are also given for improving data taking technique as well as potential future work.

Britton, Randall K.↗

A review of ice accretion data from a model rotor icing test and comparison with theory

An experiment was conducted by the Helicopter Icing Consortium (HIC) in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) in which a 1/6 scale fuselage model of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter with a generic rotor was subjected to a wide range of icing conditions. The HIC consists of members from NASA, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Helicopter, McDonnell Douglas Helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Texas A&M University. Data was taken in the form of rotor torque, internal force balance measurements, blade strain gage loading, and two dimensional ice shape tracings. A review of the ice shape data is performed with special attention given to repeatability and correctness of trends in terms of radial variation, rotational speed, icing time, temperature, liquid water content, and volumetric median droplet size. Moreover, an indepth comparison between the experimental data and the analysis of NASA's ice accretion code LEWICE is given. Finally, conclusions are shown as to the quality of the ice accretion data and the predictability of the data base as a whole. Recommendations are also given for improving data taking technique as well as potential future work.

Britton, Randall K.↗

The maintenance of the sun's differential rotation and its temporal variations

We use the horizontal momentum balance equation to infer the strength of the meridional circulation (MC) and Reynolds stresses (RS) at the sun's surface from the observed properties of the differential rotation (DR). Both MC and RS are important for maintaining the equatorial acceleration. The results indicate that the average value of MC is about 1.1 m/s, with circulation directed towards the poles in both the hemispheres, and the average value of RS is 3.6 10 exp 7 sq cm2/s, with transport of angular momentum directed towards the equator in both hemispheres, this latter in good agreement with observations. With the above values of MC and RS, we integrate the momentum equation in time, starting from a state of rigid rotation, to investigate the competitive role of MC and RS in producing the presently observed average DR. Our results show that DR is consistent with observations only if both MC and RS have opposite effects, with the strengths given above, in order to balance the viscous torque.

Chiu, H.-Y.↗

A new continuum model for suspensions of gyrotactic micro-organisms

A new continuum model is formulated for dilute suspensions of swimming micro-organisms with asymmetric mass distributions. Account is taken of randomness in a cell's swimming direction, p, by postulating that the probability density function for p satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation analogous to that obtained for colloid suspensions in the presence of rotational Brownian motion. The deterministic torques on a cell, viscous and gravitational, are balanced by diffusion, represented by an isotropic rotary diffusivity Dr, which is unknown a priori, but presumably reflects stochastic influences on the cell's internal workings. When the Fokker-Planck equation is solved, macroscopic quantities such as the average cell velocity Vc, the particle diffusivity tensor D and the effective stress tensor sigma can be computed; Vc and D are required in the cell conservation equation, and sigma in the momentum equation. The Fokker-Planck equation contains two dimensionless parameters, lambda and epsilon; lambda is the ratio of the rotary diffusion time Dr-1 to the torque relaxation time B (balancing gravitational and viscous torques), while epsilon is a scale for the local vorticity or strain rate made dimensionless with B. In this paper we solve the Fokker-Planck equation exactly for epsilon = 0 (lambda arbitrary) and also obtain the first-order solution for small epsilon. Using experimental data on Vc and D obtained with the swimming alga, Chlamydomonas nivalis, in the absence of bulk flow, the epsilon = 0 results can be used to estimate the value of lambda for that species (lambda approximately 2.2; Dr approximately 0.13 s-1). The continuum model for small epsilon is then used to reanalyse the instability of a uniform suspension, previously investigated by Pedley, Hill & Kessler (1988). The only qualitatively different result is that there no longer seem to be circumstances in which disturbances with a non-zero vertical wavenumber are more unstable than purely horizontal disturbances. On the way, it is demonstrated that the only significant contribution to sigma, other than the basic Newtonian stress, is that derived from the stresslets associated with the cells' intrinsic swimming motions.

NASA Discipline Number 28-20↗

Energy efficient face seal

Torque, face temperature, leakage, and wear of a flat face seal were compared with three coned face seals at pressures up to 2758 kPa and speeds up to 8000 rpm. Axial movement of the mating seal parts was recorded by a digital data acquisition system. The coning of the tungsten carbide primary ring ranged from .51 micro-m to 5.6 micro-m. The torque of the coned face seal balanced to 76.3% was an average 42% lower, the leakage eleven times higher, than that of the standard flat face seal. The reduction of the balance of the coned face seal to 51.3% resulted by decreasing the torque by an additional 44% and increasing leakage 12 to 230 times, depending on the seal shaft speed. No measurable wear was observed on the face of the coned seals.

Sehnal, J.↗

The Direct Measurement of Engine Power on an Airplane in Flight with a Hub Type Dynamometer

This report describes tests made to obtain direct measurements of engine power in flight. Tests were made with a Bendemann hub dynamometer installed on a modified DH-4 Airplane, Liberty 12 Engine, to determine the suitability of this apparatus. This dynamometer unit, which was designed specially for use with a liberty 12 engine, is a special propeller hub in which is incorporated a system of pistons and cylinders interposed between the propeller and the engine crankshaft. The torque and thrust forces are balanced by fluid pressures, which are recorded by instruments in the cockpit. These tests have shown the suitability of this type of hub dynamometer for measurement of power in flight and for the determination of the torque and power coefficients of the propeller. (author)

Gove, W D↗

Miniature servo accelerometer is force- balanced

Miniature servo accelerometer measures unusually small forces of torques. The pendulous mass of the accelerometer is suspended by fused quartz torsion fibers in an electromagnetically force- balanced environment. It is used in gravity surveys for exploring mineral deposits.

Johnston, A. R.↗

Rotating Balance Design Methodology

Several upcoming wind tunnel turbofan tests at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) require new rotating balances to meet test needs. As the name implies, a rotating balance rotates with the fan providing direct thrust and torque measurements to estimate fan efficiency and performance. One main feature of the new rotating balances requested by GRC, is a more compact design compatible with high bypass fans that are of interest for gains in fuel efficiency. In support of this measurement need, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) developed an understanding and methodology for the design of two-component rotating balances. During the development of the methodology, a thorough FEA analysis was conducted, torque analysis of laboratory test specimens, and a study of analytical models were investigated. This presentation will summarize the developed rotating balance design methodology that is detailed in a NASA Technical Memorandum. This TM will detail the analysis required to design, and fabricate a two-component spoke-type rotating balance.

Kenneth Toro↗

Effect of superconducting solenoid model cores on spanwise iron magnet roll control

Compared with conventional ferromagnetic fuselage cores, superconducting solenoid cores appear to offer significant reductions in the projected cost of a large wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance system. The provision of sufficient magnetic roll torque capability has been a long-standing problem with all magnetic suspension and balance systems; and the spanwise iron magnet scheme appears to be the most powerful system available. This scheme utilizes iron cores which are installed in the wings of the model. It was anticipated that the magnetization of these cores, and hence the roll torque generated, would be affected by the powerful external magnetic field of the superconducting solenoid. A preliminary study has been made of the effect of the superconducting solenoid fuselage model core concept on the spanwise iron magnet roll torque generation schemes. Computed data for one representative configuration indicate that reductions in available roll torque occur over a range of applied magnetic field levels. These results indicate that a 30-percent increase in roll electromagnet capacity over that previously determined will be required for a representative 8-foot wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance system design.

Britcher, C. P.↗

Mantle flow pressure and the angle of subduction - Non-Newtonian corner flows

Corner flows of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are used to model the flow in a subduction zone which is viscously driven by the motions of the converging plates and the descending slab. The pressures induced by the flow tend to lift the slab up beneath the overriding plate thereby offsetting the tendency of gravity to align the slab with the vertical. The low angles of subduction observed in Peru and Central Chile may be the result of strong dynamic pressures forcing the slab up against the overriding plate. Viscous coupling between the overriding plate and the downgoing slab is essential if the nonvertical dips of slabs are a consequence of the balance between gravitational and pressure torques. For a Newtonian mantle, shear stresses and pressures on the top of the slab are comparable. If the mantle is non-Newtonian, however, the pressures greatly exceed the shear stresses, for most acute dip angles. Thus frictional forces on the top and bottom surfaces of slabs are less important in resisting slab descent into a non-Newtonian mantle than they are in resisting penetration into a Newtonian mantle.

Tovish, A.↗

Magsat attitude dynamics and control: Some observations and explanations

Before its reentry 7 months after launch, Magsat transmitted an abundance of valuable data for mapping the Earth's magnetic field. As an added benefit, a wealth of attitude data for study by spacecraft dynamicists was also collected. Because of its unique configuration, Magsat presented new control problems. With its aerodynamic trim boom, attitude control was given an added dimension. Minimization of attitude drift, which could be mapped in relative detail, became the goal. Momentum control, which was accomplished by pitching the spacecraft in order to balance aerodynamic and gravity gradient torques, was seldom difficult to achieve. Several interesting phenomena observed as part of this activity included occasional momentum wheel instability and a rough correlation between solar flux and the pitch angle required to maintain acceptable momentum. An overview is presented of the attitude behavior of Magsat and some of the control problems encountered. Plausible explanations for some of this behavior are offered. Some of the control philosophy used during the mission is examined and aerodynamic trimming operations are summarized.

Stengle, T. H.↗

Hydromagnetic constraints on deep zonal flow in the giant planets

A simple model of the equatorial zonal jet in the giant planets is studied in which the flow is assumed uniform on cylinders concentric with the spin axis, and viscous and magnetic torques on each cylinder are balanced. This 'Taylor constraint' is solved simultaneously with the dynamo equation to obtain the velocity and magnetic field in the equatorial plane. The model is used to reproduce the widely differing jet widths of Jupiter and Saturn eddy viscosity of 2500 sq cm/s. For Saturn, the model has a large magnetic Reynolds number where the Chandrasekhar number Q = 1, and hence exhibits substantial axisymmetrization of the field in the equatorial plane.

Kirk, R. L.↗

Dynamics of a split torque helicopter transmission

Split torque designs, proposed as alternatives to traditional planetary designs for helicopter main rotor transmissions, can save weight and be more reliable than traditional designs. This report presents the results of an analytical study of the system dynamics and performance of a split torque gearbox that uses a balance beam mechanism for load sharing. The Lagrange method was applied to develop a system of equations of motion. The mathematical model includes time-varying gear mesh stiffness, friction, and manufacturing errors. Cornell's method for calculating the stiffness of spur gear teeth was extended and applied to helical gears. The phenomenon of sidebands spaced at shaft frequencies about gear mesh fundamental frequencies was simulated by modeling total composite gear errors as sinusoid functions. Although the gearbox has symmetric geometry, the loads and motions of the two power paths differ. Friction must be considered to properly evaluate the balance beam mechanism. For the design studied, the balance beam is not an effective device for load sharing unless the coefficient of friction is less than 0.003. The complete system stiffness as represented by the stiffness matrix used in this analysis must be considered to precisely determine the optimal tooth indexing position.

Krantz, Timothy L.↗

Attitude Control Flight Experience: Coping with Solar Radiation and Ion Engines Leak Thrust in Hayabusa (MUSES-C)

The paper presents the attitude reorientation taking the advantage of solar radiation pressure without use of any fuel aboard. The strategy had been adopted to make Hayabusa spacecraft keep pointed toward the Sun for several months, while spinning. The paper adds the above mentioned results reported in Sedona this February showing another challenge of combining ion engines propulsion tactically balanced with the solar radiation torque with no spin motion. The operation has been performed since this March for a half year successfully. The flight results are presented with the estimated solar array panel diffusion coefficient and the ion engine's swirl torque.

Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro↗