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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 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Tribological properties of graphite-fiber-reinforced, partially fluorinated polyimide composites

Graphite-fiber-reinforced polyimide (GFRPI) composites were formulated from three new partially fluorinated polyimides and three types of graphite fiber. Nine composites were molded into pins and evaluated in a pin-on-disk tribometer. Friction coefficients, wear rates, pin wear surface morphology, and transfer film formation were assessed at 25 and 300 C. Also assessed was the effect of sliding speed on friction. Wear was up to two orders of magnitude lower at 25 C and up to one order of magnitude lower at 300 C than with previously formulated NASA GFRPI composites.

Fusaro, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Drop testing and analysis of six-foot diameter graphite-epoxy frames

Graphite-epoxy frames were drop tested onto a concrete floor to simulate crash loadings. The frames have Z-shaped cross-sections typical of designs often proposed for fuselage structure of advanced composite transports. The 6-foot diameter of the frames was chosen to reduce specimen fabrication costs and to facilitate testing. Response of the frames from accelerometer, strain gage, and photographic measurements are presented which characterize the behavior under 25-30 fps vertical impact velocity onto concrete. Failure of the graphite-epoxy frames involved a complete separation through the cross section near the impact point. All damage to the composite frame was confined to an area close to the impact point. Failure of aluminum frames tested for comparison were different from the composite specimens. The aluminum frames yielded (plastic hinges formed) at several locations around the lower portion of the frame without failing completely across the section.

Boitnott, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Carbon monoxide production in low energy oxygen ion bombardment of pyrolytic graphite and Kapton surfaces

The results of an investigtion of the interaction of low energy oxygen ions with pyrolytic graphite and Kapton surface are reported. CO molecules emitted from the surface as a result of the ion bombardment were detected by a mass spectrometer. Because the ion-induced signals were small compared to that arising from the CO background pressure in the vacuum system, the ion beam was modulated and the modulated component of the CO signal measured with a lock-in amplifier. The quantum yield (CO molecules emitted per incident oxygen ion) for graphite rose from 1.9 at 4.5 eV ion energy to 6.6 at 465 eV. Comparable yields were obtained for Kapton. The large size of the yields suggests contributions to the reaction process from the background O2 molecules in the vacuum system.

Horton, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Experimental evaluation of damping of graphite fiber composites

An investigation is described that was conducted to measure the damping of graphite fiber composites such as are to be used on the Hubble Space Telescope. The measurements were made on a composite cylinder under normal atmospheric conditions and in a vacuum chamber with varying thermal conditions. Such composites can outgas under vacuum conditions and this emission of trapped gases may have some influence on the material damping. Some results are presented for the damping coefficient measured under normal atmospheric conditions for a graphite fiber composite. The experimental damping data thus obtained were compared with the least square estimate obtained through a statistical analysis. The statistical analysis was based on a linear mathematical model consisting of a spring in parallel with a dashpot. It is observed that the discrepancy in the damping ratio between logarithmic decrement result and the least square fit is less than 6 percent for all the different tests made on the composite cylinder. Signal-to-noise ratio was maintained to be greater than 10.

Rao, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A heater made from graphite composite material for potential deicing application

A surface heater was developed using a graphite fiber-epoxy composite as the heating element. This heater can be thin, highly electrically and thermally conductive, and can conform to an irregular surface. Therefore it may be used in an aircraft's thermal deicing system to quickly and uniformly heat the aircraft surface. One-ply of unidirectional graphite fiber-epoxy composite was laminated between two plies of fiber glass-epoxy composite, with nickel foil contacting the end portions of the composite and partly exposed beyond the composites for electrical contact. The model heater used brominated P-100 fibers from Amoco. The fiber's electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity and density were 50 micro ohms per centimeter, 270 W/m-K and 2.30 gm/cubic cm, respectively. The electricity was found to penetrate through the composite in the transverse direction to make an acceptably low foil-composite contact resistance. When conducting current, the heater temperature increase reached 50 percent of the steady state value within 20 sec. There was no overheating at the ends of the heater provided there was no water corrosion. If the foil-composite bonding failed during storage, liquid water exposure was found to oxidize the foil. Such bonding failure may be avoided if perforated nickel foil is used, so that the composite plies can bond to each other through the perforated holes and therefore lock the foil in place.

Hung, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The 737 graphite composite flight spoiler flight service evaluation

The ninth flight service report was prepared in compliance with the requirements of Contract NAS1-11668. It covers the flight service experience of 111 graphite-epoxy spoilers on 737 transport aircraft and related ground-based environmental exposure of graphite epoxy material specimens for the period 1 Jan. 1985 through 31 Dec. 1986. Spoilers have been installed on 28 aircraft representing seven major airlines operating throughout the world. An extended flight service evaluation program of 15 years is presently underway. As of 31 Dec. 1986, a total of 3,339,608 spoiler flight-hours and 3,320,952 spoiler landings had been accumulated by this fleet.

Coggeshall, Randy L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A heater made from graphite composite material for potential deicing application

A surface heater was developed using a graphite fiber-epoxy composite as the heating element. This heater can be thin, highly electrically and thermally conductive, and can conform to an irregular surface. Therefore it may be used in an aircraft's thermal deicing system to quickly and uniformly heat the aircraft surface. One-ply of unidirectional graphite fiber-epoxy composite was laminated between two plies of fiber glass-epoxy composite, with nickel foil contacting the end portions of the composite and partly exposed beyond the composites for electrical contact. The model heater used brominated P-100 fibers from Amoco. The fiber's electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity and density were 50 micro ohms per centimenter, 270 W/m-K and 2.30 gm/cubic cm, respectively. The electricity was found to penetrate through the composite in the transverse direction to make an acceptably low foil-composite contact resistance. When conducting current, the heater temperature increase reached 50 percent of the steady state value within 20 sec. There was no overheating at the ends of the heater provided there was no water corrosion. If the foil-composite bonding failed during storage, liquid water exposure was found to oxidize the foil. Such bonding failure may be avoided if perforated nickel foil is used, so that the composite plies can bond to each other through the perforated holes and therefore lock the foil in place.

Hung, Ching-Cheh↗
NASA NTRS1986

A study of the damping capacity of graphite epoxy composites in a vacuum

The damping properties of a graphite epoxy composite material (used in the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope) are measured under a variety of conditions in a vacuum chamber to simulate conditions in space. An improved method is proposed which utilizes several points of the response curve near a resonance to estimate the damping ratio and the undamped resonance frequency. The damping of a graphite epoxy tube is monitored for four weeks to study moisture desorption and temperature effects. A significant variation is observed in the damping ratio with temperature.

Rao, Mohan D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

C-13 N.M.R. study of charge transfer in alkali metal-ammonia graphite compounds

The usefulness of C-13 NMR spectroscopy and chemical shift for the study of charge transfer in graphite intercalation compounds is demonstrated. A linear relationship is established between the chemical shifts and the square root of the absolute value of the electronic charge per carbon atom. The method is applied to the ternary alkali metal-ammonia-graphite compounds. Weak solvations of electronic charges by ammonia are observed.

Tsang, T.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mechanical and electrical properties of graphite fiber-epoxy composites made from pristine and bromine intercalated fibers

The mechanical and electrical properties of pristine and bromine intercalated graphite fiber-epoxy composites were compared. The two types of composite were similar in terms of tensile modulus, tensile strength, and Poisson's Ratio. However, the interlaminar shear strength of the brominated composite was 18 percent greater than its pristine counterpart. Only slight differences were observed in flexural properties. A five-fold decrease was observed in the electrical resistivity of the brominated composite parallel to the axis of the fibers, resulting in a unidirectional resistivity of about 90 microOmega/cm. Transverse resistivity was unaffected. Both types of composite were subjected to a simulated lightning strike of 10 KJ (at a peak current of 150 kA), and the composite with the intercalated graphite exhibited less damage.

Jaworske, Donald A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Fabrication and testing of fire resistant graphite composite panels

Eight different graphite composite panels were fabricated using four different resin matrices. The resin matrices included Hercules 71775, a blend of vinylpolystyrpyridine and bismaleimide, H795, a bismaleimide, Cycom 6162, a phenolic, and PSP 6022m, a polystyrylpyridine. Graphite panels were fabricated using fabric or unidirectional tape. Described are the processes for preparing these panels and some of their mechanical, thermal and flammability properties. Panel properties are compared with state-of-the-art epoxy fiberglass composite panels.

Roper, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Performance of a small, graphite electrode, multistage depressed collector with a 500-W, continuous wave, 4.8- to 9.6-GHz traveling wave tube

A small, isotropic graphite multistage depressed collector (MDC) and a short permanent magnet refocuser were designed, fabricated, and evaluated in conjunction with a 500-W, continuous-wave (CW), 4.8 to 9.6 GHz traveling wave tube (TWT). A novel performance optimization system and technique were used to optimize the TWT-MDC performance for saturated broad-band operation. The MDC performance was evaluated in both four- and three-stage configurations. Average TWT overall and four-stage collector efficiencies of 43.8 and 82.6 percent, respectively, were obtained for saturated octave-bandwidth operation. The isotropic graphite electrode material performed well, and shows considerable promise. However, considerably more test experience is required before definitive conclusions on its suitability for space and airborne TWT's can be made.

Ramins, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1988

Properties of two composite materials made of toughened epoxy resin and high-strain graphite fiber

Results are presented from an experimental evaluation of IM7/8551-7 and IM6/18081, two new toughened epoxy resin, high strain graphite fiber composite materials. Data include ply-level strengths and moduli, notched tension and compression strengths and compression-after-impact assessments. The measured properties are compared with those of other graphite-epoxy materials.

Dow, Marvin B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Analytical study of graphite-epoxy tube response to thermal loads

The thermally-induced stresses and deformations in graphite-epoxy tubes with aluminum foil bonded to both inner and outer surfaces, and to the outer surface only are computed. Tubes fabricated from three material systems, T300/934, P75s/934, and P75s/BP907, and having a 1 inch inner radius and a lamination sequence of (+15/0 + or - 10/0)sub s are studied. Radial, axial, and circumferential stresses in the various layers of the tube, in the foil, and in the adhesive bonding the foil to the tubes are computed using an elasticity solution. The results indicate that the coatings have no detrimental effect on the stress state in the tube, particularly those stresses that lead to microcracking. The addition of the aluminum foil does, however, significantly influence the axial expansion of the T300/934 tube, the tube with the softer graphite fibers. The addition of foil can change the sign of the axial coefficient of thermal expansion. Twist tendencies of the tubes are only slightly affected by the addition of the coatings, but are of second order compared to the axial response.

Knott, Tamara W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Thermal conductivity of pristine and brominated highly graphitized pitch based carbon fibers

Thermal conductivity of brominated and pristine Union Carbide P-100 graphite fibers in the 30 to 160 C temperature range was determined by measuring thermal conductivities of graphite fiber epoxy composite samples and then excluding the epoxy contribution. A comparative thermal conductivity instrument was used to measure the thermal conductivity of the samples containing fibers. Results showed that the thermal conductivity values were 225 to 370 w/m-K and 215 to 340 w/m-K for pristine and brominated fibers, respectively. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity ratio of brominated to pristine P-100 fibers was 0.89, 0.91, and 0.92 at 55 to 80 C; 108 and 130 C, respectively. Such decrease in thermal conductivity results almost entirely from the 10 percent increase in fiber cross sectional area due to bromination. This result suggests that bromination effects on P-100 fiber structure is small, and that some structural changes, presumably the sharp-angled domain wall becomes less sharp, occurring in the 80 to 108 C temperature range.

Hung, Ching-Cheh↗
NASA NTRS1987

A comparison of the bromination dynamics of various carbon and graphite fibers

The electrical resistance of four grades of pitch-based graphite fibers and three experimental organic vapor-derived fibers was determined in situ during bromination and subsequent exposure to ambient laboratory air. The results show that the least graphitic pitch-based fiber does not brominate significantly, and that bromination and debrominaton reactions proceed much slower for vapor-derived fibers than for pitch-based ones. It is suggested that this decreased reacton rate is primarily due to the differences in graphene plane orientation between the fiber types. The results also imply that the vapor-derived and pitch-based fibers produce true intercalation compounds.

Gaier, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Experimental study of damping of graphite epoxy composite material of the Space Telescope truss system

The truss system of the Hubble Space Telescope is made of graphite epoxy tubes and beams that have very low material damping. This paper describes a systematic experimental evaluation of the damping capacity of the graphite epoxy material used in the telescope truss system. The damping capacity of the composite material was measured both under normal and elevated temperatures in atmospheric conditions and in vacuum. Both free decay and steady state methods were used to measure the damping ratio of different specimens under different boundary conditions. A method that involves an iterative least-squares curve-fitting technique for the measured frequency response data has been developed to improve the accuracy of the damping ratio estimation. A unique experimental setup was developed to measure the damping of the material in a vacuum chamber. It was found that outgassing (moisture desorption) has little effect on the damping of the specimen. On the other hand, it was observed that temperature has a significant effect on both the damping and resonance frequencies of the specimen.

Rao, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Specific heat of pristine and brominated graphite fibers, composites and HOPG

Differential scanning calorimetry was used to obtain specific heat values of pristine and brominated P-100 graphite fibers and brominated P-100/epoxy composite as well as pristine and brominated highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) for comparison. Based on the experimental results obtained, specific heat values are calculated for several different temperatures, with a standard deviation estimated at 1.4 percent of the average values. The data presented here are useful in designing heat transfer devices (such as airplane de-icing heaters) from bromine fibers.

Hung, Ching-Chen↗