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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Oxygen Compatibility Testing of Composite Materials

Composite materials offer significant weight-saving potential for aerospace applications in propellant and oxidizer tanks. This application for oxygen tanks presents the challenge of being oxygen compatible in addition to complying with the other required material characteristics. This effort reports on the testing procedures and data obtained in examining and selecting potential composite materials for oxygen tank usage. Impact testing of composites has shown that most of these materials initiate a combustion event when impacted at 72 ft-lbf in the presence of liquid oxygen, though testing has also shown substantial variability in reaction sensitivities to impact. Data for screening of 14 potential composites using the Bruceton method is given herein and shows that the 50-percent reaction frequencies range from 17 to 67 ft-lbf. The pressure and temperature rises for several composite materials were recorded to compare the energy releases as functions of the combustion reactions with their respective reaction probabilities. The test data presented are primarily for a test pressure of 300 psia in liquid oxygen. The impact screening process is compared with oxygen index and autogenous ignition test data for both the composite and the basic resin. The usefulness of these supplemental tests in helping select the most oxygen compatible materials is explored. The propensity for mechanical impact ignition of the composite compared with the resin alone is also examined. Since an ignition-free composite material at the peak impact energy of 72 ft-lbf has not been identified, composite reactivity must be characterized over the impact energy level and operating pressure ranges to provide data for hazard analyses in selecting the best potential material for liquid tank usage.

Engel, Carl D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Radiation testing of composite materials, in situ versus ex situ effects

The effect of post irradiation test environments on tensile properties of representative advanced composite materials (T300/5208, T300/934, C6000/P1700) was investigated. Four ply (+ or - 45 deg/+ or - 45 deg) laminate tensile specimens were exposed in vacuum up to a bulk dose of 1 x 10 to the 10th power rads using a mono-energetic fluence of 700 keV electrons from a Van de Graaff accelerator. Post irradiation testing was performed while specimens were being irradiated (in situ data), in vacuum after cessation of irradiation (in vacuo data), and after exposure to air (ex situ data). Room temperature and elevated temperature effects were evaluated. The radiation induced changes to the tensile properties were small. Since the absolute changes in tensile properties were small, the existance of a post irradiation test environment effect was indeterminate.

Kurland, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Cooled Ceramic Composite Panel Tested Successfully in Rocket Combustion Facility

Regeneratively cooled ceramic matrix composite (CMC) structures are being considered for use along the walls of the hot-flow paths of rocket-based or turbine-based combined-cycle propulsion systems. They offer the combined benefits of substantial weight savings, higher operating temperatures, and reduced coolant requirements in comparison to components designed with traditional metals. These cooled structures, which use the fuel as the coolant, require materials that can survive aggressive thermal, mechanical, acoustic, and aerodynamic loads while acting as heat exchangers, which can improve the efficiency of the engine. A team effort between the NASA Glenn Research Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and various industrial partners has led to the design, development, and fabrication of several types of regeneratively cooled panels. The concepts for these panels range from ultra-lightweight designs that rely only on CMC tubes for coolant containment to more maintainable designs that incorporate metal coolant containment tubes to allow for the rapid assembly or disassembly of the heat exchanger. One of the cooled panels based on an all-CMC design was successfully tested in the rocket combustion facility at Glenn. Testing of the remaining four panels is underway.

Jaskowiak, Martha H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

High-Strength Composite Fabric Tested at Structural Benchmark Test Facility

Large sheets of ultrahigh strength fabric were put to the test at NASA Glenn Research Center's Structural Benchmark Test Facility. The material was stretched like a snare drum head until the last ounce of strength was reached, when it burst with a cacophonous release of tension. Along the way, the 3-ft square samples were also pulled, warped, tweaked, pinched, and yanked to predict the material's physical reactions to the many loads that it will experience during its proposed use. The material tested was a unique multi-ply composite fabric, reinforced with fibers that had a tensile strength eight times that of common carbon steel. The fiber plies were oriented at 0 and 90 to provide great membrane stiffness, as well as oriented at 45 to provide an unusually high resistance to shear distortion. The fabric's heritage is in astronaut space suits and other NASA programs.

Krause, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Structural Benchmark Tests of Composite Combustion Chamber Support Completed

A series of mechanical load tests was completed on several novel design concepts for extremely lightweight combustion chamber support structures at the NASA Glenn Research Center (http://www.nasa.gov/glenn/). The tests included compliance evaluation, preliminary proof loadings, high-strain cyclic testing, and finally residual strength testing of each design (see the photograph on the left). Loads were applied with single rollers (see the photograph on the right) or pressure plates (not shown) located midspan on each side to minimize the influence of contact stresses on corner deformation measurements. Where rollers alone were used, a more severe structural loading was produced than the corresponding equal-force pressure loading: the maximum transverse shear force existed over the entire length of each side, and the corner bending moments were greater than for a distributed (pressure) loading. Failure modes initiating at the corner only provided a qualitative indication of the performance limitations since the stress state was not identical to internal pressure. Configurations were tested at both room and elevated temperatures. Experimental results were used to evaluate analytical prediction tools and finite-element methodologies for future work, and they were essential to provide insight into the deformation at the corners. The tests also were used to assess fabrication and bonding details for the complicated structures. They will be used to further optimize the design of the support structures for weight performance and the efficacy of corner reinforcement.

Krause, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Acoustic emission testing of composite vessels under sustained loading

Acoustic emissions (AE) generated from Kevlar 49/epoxy composite pressure vessels subjected to sustained load-to-failure tests were studied. Data from two different transducer locations on the vessels were compared. It was found that AE from vessel wall-mounted transducers showed a wide variance from those for identical vessels subjected to the same pressure loading. Emissions from boss-mounted transducers did, however, yield values that were relatively consistent. It appears that the signals from the boss-mounted transducers represent an integrated average of the emissions generated by fibers fracturing during the vessel tests. The AE from boss-mounted transducers were also independent of time for vessel failure. This suggests that a similar number of fiber fractures must occur prior to initiation of vessel failure. These studies indicate a potential for developing an AE test procedure for predicting the residual service life or integrity of composite vessels.

Lark, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Design and Analysis of Buckling-Critical Large-Scale Sandwich Composite Cylindrical Test Articles

It has long been established in the literature that the buckling response of thin-shell structures can be very sensitive to the presence of small geometric and loading imperfections. The Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project (SBKF) was established by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to develop analysis-based shell buckling design recommendations for stiffened-metallic and composite launch-vehicle shell structures. Large-scale buckling tests were used to validate the modeling and analysis methods applied in developing these analysis-based recommendations. Herein, the test article design methodology for 8-ft-diameter, honeycomb-core sandwich composite cylinder validation tests is discussed and cylinder designs are presented. In this methodology, first, the sandwich composite design space was defined using several nondimensional parameters, and the desired test article design space was determined by examining the designs of launch-vehicle cylinder structures. Essentially all test article designs within certain design parameters were generated and then downselected based on simple closed-form failure calculations and the nondimensional design-space parameters. Four of these designs that spanned a significant portion of the design space of interest and had global buckling as the first predicted failure mode were selected and subjected to higher-fidelity finite element analyses (FEAs): shell-element-based analyses, axisymmetric-element-based analyses, and global-local analyses. The analysis flow discussed in this report supported the design objective. As the analysis flow progressed, designs were downselected so the fidelity of the analysis methods, and consequently their computational cost and accuracy, was increased. The selection of the FEA types created an analysis framework where particular methods complemented each other and reduced the uncertainty of the predicted test article responses. The analysis results are illustrated using several designs when the computationally expeditious closed-form analysis stage is discussed. Once this stage is complete, the higher-fidelity FEA types are illustrated using one selected detailed test article design. Both perfect and imperfect test article geometries were considered.

Buckling↗
NASA NTRS2003

High-Frequency Testing of Composite Fan Vanes With Erosion-Resistant Coating Conducted

The mechanical integrity of hard, erosion-resistant coatings were tested using the Structural Dynamics Laboratory at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Under the guidance of Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch personnel, fixturing and test procedures were developed at Glenn to simulate engine vibratory conditions on coated polymer-matrix- composite bypass vanes using a slip table in the Structural Dynamics Laboratory. Results from the high-frequency mechanical bench testing, along with concurrent erosion testing of coupons and vanes, provided sufficient confidence to engine-endurance test similarly coated vane segments. The knowledge gained from this program will be applied to the development of oxidation- and erosion-resistant coatings for polymer matrix composite blades and vanes in future advanced turbine engines. Fan bypass vanes from the AE3007 (Rolls Royce America, Indianapolis, IN) gas turbine engine were coated by Engelhard (Windsor, CT) with compliant bond coatings and hard ceramic coatings. The coatings were developed collaboratively by Glenn and Allison Advanced Development Corporation (AADC)/Rolls Royce America through research sponsored by the High-Temperature Engine Materials Technology Project (HITEMP) and the Higher Operating Temperature Propulsion Components (HOTPC) project. High-cycle fatigue was performed through high-frequency vibratory testing on a shaker table. Vane resonant frequency modes were surveyed from 50 to 3000 Hz at input loads from 1g to 55g on both uncoated production vanes and vanes with the erosion-resistant coating. Vanes were instrumented with both lightweight accelerometers and strain gauges to establish resonance, mode shape, and strain amplitudes. Two high-frequency dwell conditions were chosen to excite two strain levels: one approaching the vane's maximum allowable design strain and another near the expected maximum strain during engine operation. Six specimens were tested per dwell condition. Pretest and posttest inspections were performed optically at up to 60 magnification and using a fluorescent-dye penetrant. Accumulation of 10 million cycles at a strain amplitude of two to three times that expected in the engine (approximately 670 Hz and 20g) led to the development of multiple cracks in the coating that were only detectable using fluorescent-dye penetrant inspection. Cracks were prevalent on the trailing edge and on the convex side of the midsection. No cracking or spalling was evident using standard optical inspection at up to 60 magnification. Further inspection may reveal whether these fine cracks penetrated the coating or were strictly on the surface. The dwell condition that simulated actual engine conditions produced no obvious surface flaws even after up to 80 million cycles had been accumulated at strain amplitudes produced at approximately 1500 Hz and 45g.

Bowman, Cheryl L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Oxygen Compatibility Testing of Composite Materials

The development of polymer composite liquid oxygen LO2 tanks is a critical step in creating the next generation of launch vehicles. Future launch vehicles need to minimize the gross liftoff weight (GLOW), which is possible due to the 25%-40% reduction in weight that composite materials could provide over current aluminum technology. Although a composite LO2 tank makes these weight savings feasible, composite materials have not historically been viewed as "LO2 compatible." To be considered LO2 compatible, materials must be selected that will resist any type of detrimental, combustible reaction when exposed to usage environments. This is traditionally evaluated using a standard set of tests. However, materials that do not pass the standard tests can be shown to be safe for a particular application. This paper documents the approach and results of a joint NASA/Lockheed Martin program to select and verify LO2 compatible composite materials for liquid oxygen fuel tanks. The test approach developed included tests such as mechanical impact, particle impact, puncture, electrostatic discharge, friction, and pyrotechnic shock. These tests showed that composite liquid oxygen tanks are indeed feasible for future launch vehicles.

Graf, Neil A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Frictional Ignition Testing of Composite Materials

The space flight community has been investigating lightweight composite materials for use in propellant tanks for both liquid and gaseous oxygen for space flight vehicles. The use of these materials presents some risks pertaining to ignition and burning hazards in the presence of oxygen. Through hazard analysis process, some ignition mechanisms have been identified as being potentially credible. One of the ignition mechanisms was reciprocal friction; however, test data do not exist that could be used to clear or fail these types of materials as "oxygen compatible" for the reciprocal friction ignition mechanism. Therefore, testing was performed at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) to provide data to evaluate this ignition mechanism. This paper presents the test system, approach, data results, and findings of the reciprocal friction testing performed on composite sample materials being considered for propellant tanks.

Peralta, Steve↗
NASA NTRS1979

Quiet Clean Short-haul Experimental Engine (QCSEE) Under-The-Wing (UTW) engine composite nacelle test report. Volume 1: Summary, aerodynamic and mechanical performance

The performance test results of the final under-the-wing engine configuration are presented. One hundred and six hours of engine operation were completed, including mechanical and performance checkout, baseline acoustic testing with a bellmouth inlet, reverse thrust testing, acoustic technology tests, and limited controls testing. The engine includes a variable pitch fan having advanced composite fan blades and using a ball-spline pitch actuation system.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

Testing of Composite Fan Vanes With Erosion-Resistant Coating Accelerated

The high-cycle fatigue of composite stator vanes provided an accelerated life-state prior to insertion in a test stand engine. The accelerated testing was performed in the Structural Dynamics Laboratory at the NASA Glenn Research Center under the guidance of Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch personnel. Previous research on fixturing and test procedures developed at Glenn determined that engine vibratory conditions could be simulated for polymer matrix composite vanes by using the excitation of a combined slip table and electrodynamic shaker in Glenn's Structural Dynamics Laboratory. Bench-top testing gave researchers the confidence to test the coated vanes in a full-scale engine test.

Bowman, Cheryl L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Multispan-Beam Shear Test For Composite Laminates

New approach for studying failure mechanism is use of multispan-beam shear test, which puts some regions of specimen in almost pure shear and enables observation of location of initial failure and way in which damage propagates. Test stopped at any time, such as when first failure event occurs, for study of phenomenon or taking photographs of failure event. Individual plies studied easily with long-distance microscope or from photographs taken during test.

Jegley, Dawn C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Room Temperature and Elevated Temperature Composite Sandwich Joint Testing

Testing of composite sandwich joint elements has been completed to verify the strength capacity of joints designed to carry specified running loads representative of a high speed civil transport wing. Static tension testing at both room and an elevated temperature of 350 F and fatigue testing at room temperature were conducted to determine strength capacity, fatigue life, and failure modes. Static tension test results yielded failure loads above the design loads for the room temperature tests, confirming the ability of the joint concepts tested to carry their design loads. However, strength reductions as large as 30% were observed at the elevated test temperature, where all failure loads were below the room temperature design loads for the specific joint designs tested. Fatigue testing resulted in lower than predicted fatigue lives.

Walker, Sandra P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Permeability testing of composite material and adhesive bonds for the DC-XA composite feedline program

Hercules IM7/8552 carbon/epoxy and Hysol EA 9394 epoxy adhesive bonded between composite/titanium were tested for permeability after various numbers of thermal cycles between 100 C and liquid nitrogen (-196 C). The specimens were quenched from the 100 C temperature into liquid nitrogen to induce thermal shock into the material. Results showed that the carbon/epoxy system was practically impermeable even after 12 thermal cycles. The EA 9394 adhesive bondline was more permeable than the carbon/epoxy, but vacuum mixing minimized the permeability and kept it within allowable limits. Thermal cycling had little effect on the permeability values of the bondline specimens.

Nettles, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Relative toxicity of pyrolysis gases from materials - Effects of chemical composition and test conditions

Relative toxicity test data on 270 materials are presented, based on test procedures developed at the University of San Francisco. The effects of chemical composition, using data on 13 types of synthetic polymers and eight types of fabrics, are discussed. Selected materials were evaluated using nine test conditions with the USF method, and using methods developed at the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Douglas Aircraft Company and San Jose State University.

Hilado, C. J.↗