Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “flaw”

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 91 records · Page 5

Magnetoresistive Flux Focusing Eddy Current Flaw Detection

A giant magnetoresistive flux focusing eddy current device effectively detects deep flaws in thick multilayer conductive materials. The probe uses an excitation coil to induce eddy currents in conducting material perpendicularly oriented to the coil s longitudinal axis. A giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor, surrounded by the excitation coil, is used to detect generated fields. Between the excitation coil and GMR sensor is a highly permeable flux focusing lens which magnetically separates the GMR sensor and excitation coil and produces high flux density at the outer edge of the GMR sensor. The use of feedback inside the flux focusing lens enables complete cancellation of the leakage fields at the GMR sensor location and biasing of the GMR sensor to a location of high magnetic field sensitivity. In an alternate embodiment, a permanent magnet is positioned adjacent to the GMR sensor to accomplish the biasing. Experimental results have demonstrated identification of flaws up to 1 cm deep in aluminum alloy structures. To detect deep flaws about circular fasteners or inhomogeneities in thick multi-layer conductive materials, the device is mounted in a hand-held rotating probe assembly that is connected to a computer for system control, data acquisition, processing and storage.

Russell A Wincheski↗

Magnetoresistive flux focusing eddy current flaw detection

A giant magnetoresistive flux focusing eddy current device effectively detects deep flaws in thick multilayer conductive materials. The probe uses an excitation coil to induce eddy currents in conducting material perpendicularly oriented to the coil's longitudinal axis. A giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor, surrounded by the excitation coil, is used to detect generated fields. Between the excitation coil and GMR sensor is a highly permeable flux focusing lens which magnetically separates the GMR sensor and excitation coil and produces high flux density at the outer edge of the GMR sensor. The use of feedback inside the flux focusing lens enables complete cancellation of the leakage fields at the GMR sensor location and biasing of the GMR sensor to a location of high magnetic field sensitivity. In an alternate embodiment, a permanent magnet is positioned adjacent to the GMR sensor to accomplish the biasing. Experimental results have demonstrated identification of flaws up to 1 cm deep in aluminum alloy structures. To detect deep flaws about circular fasteners or inhomogeneities in thick multilayer conductive materials, the device is mounted in a hand-held rotating probe assembly that is connected to a computer for system control, data acquisition, processing and storage.

Wincheski, Russell A.↗

Improved Flaw Detection and Characterization with Difference Thermography

Flaw detection and characterization with thermographic techniques in graphite polymer composites is often limited by localized variations in the thermographic response. Variations in properties such as acceptable porosity, variations in fiber volume content and surface polymer thickness result in variations in the thermal response that in general cause significant variations in the initial thermal response. These variations result in a noise floor that increases the difficulty of detecting and characterizing deeper flaws. The paper investigates comparing thermographic responses taken before and after a change in state in a composite to improve the detection of subsurface flaws. A method is presented for registration of the responses before finding the difference. A significant improvement in the detectability is achieved by comparing the differences in response. Examples of changes in state due to application of a load and impact are presented.

Winfree, William P.↗

Determination of Flaw Size and Depth From Temporal Evolution of Thermal Response

Simple methods for reducing the pulsed thermographic responses of flaws have tended to be based on either the spatial or temporal response. This independent assessment limits the accuracy of characterization. A variational approach is presented for reducing the thermographic data to produce an estimated size for a flaw that incorporates both the temporal and spatial response to improve the characterization. The size and depth are determined from both the temporal and spatial thermal response of the exterior surface above a flaw and constraints on the length of the contour surrounding the delamination. Examples of the application of the technique to simulation and experimental data acquired are presented to investigate the limitations of the technique.

Winfree, William P.↗

Using Neural Architecture Search for Improving Software Flaw Detection in Multimodal Deep Learning Models

Software flaw detection using multimodal deep learning models has been demonstrated as a very competitive approach on benchmark problems. In this work, we demonstrate that even better performance can be achieved using neural architecture search (NAS) combined with multimodal learning models. We adapt a NAS framework aimed at investigating image classification to the problem of software flaw detection and demonstrate improved results on the Juliet Test Suite, a popular benchmarking data set for measuring performance of machine learning models in this problem domain.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Flaw-insensitive fracture of a micrometer-sized brittle metallic glass

Brittle materials, such as oxide glasses, are usually very sensitive to flaws, giving rise to a macroscopic fracture strength that is much lower than that predicted by theory. The same applies to metallic glasses (MGs), with the important difference that these glasses can exhibit certain plastic strain prior to catastrophic failure. Here we consider the strongest metallic alloy known, a ternary Co 55 Ta10B 35 MG. In this work, we show that this macroscopically brittle glass is flaw-insensitive at the micrometer scale. This discovery emerges when testing pre-cracked specimens with self-similar geometries, where the fracture stress does not decrease with increasing pre-crack size. The fracture toughness of this ultra-strong glassy alloy is further shown to increase with increasing sample size. Both these findings deviate from our classical understanding of fracture mechanics, and are attributed to a transition from toughness-controlled to strength-controlled fracture below a critical sample size.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Towards an understanding of particle-scale flaws and microstructure evolution in cold spray via accumulation of single particle impacts

Cold spray coatings are the sum of countless individual bonding events between single particles impacting on top of one another at high velocities. Thus, the collective behavior of microparticles must be considered to elucidate the origins of coating flaws at the scale of the particles and larger, or the dynamic evolution of the overall coating microstructure. Laser-induced particle impact testing (LIPIT) has been extensively used to study single-particle impacts, and in this work is adapted to study the accumulation of numerous particles with knowledge of each individual particle's impact parameters (particle size, velocity). The method reproducibly deposits stacks of gold particles (>20 particles) with different characteristic spectra of impact velocity. The observation of impact-induced erosion lets us define a critical velocity for material-build-up that is higher than that for single-particle bonding. The quantitative single-particle data are analyzed in a correlative manner to the structure and flaws in the resulting stacks, providing some first statistical connections between, e.g., strain and recrystallization, or aberrant particle characteristics and defects. The results highlight opportunities for the study of many-particle phenomena in microparticle impact—from interaction of particles in cold spray to multi-step erosion processes—with a quantitative view of the behavior of single particles.

Erosion↗

Continuum Damage Mechanics Modeling of High-Temperature Flaw Propagation: Application to Creep Crack Growth In 316H Standardized Specimens and Nuclear Reactor Components

Predicting creep crack growth (CCG) of flaws found during operation in high-temperature alloy components is essential for assessing the remaining lifetime of those components. While defect assessment procedures are available for this purpose in design codes, these are limited in their range of applicability. This study assesses the application of a local damage-based finite-element methodology as a more general technique for the prediction of CCG at high temperatures on a variety of structural configurations. Numerical results for stainless steel 316H, which are validated against experimental data, show the promise of this approach. This integration of continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based methodologies, together with adequate inelastic models, into assessment procedures can therefore inform the characterization of CCG under complex operating conditions, while avoiding excessive conservatism. This article shows that such modeling frameworks can be calibrated to experimental data and used to demonstrate that the degree of tri-axiality ahead of a growing creep crack affects its rate of growth. The framework is also successfully employed in characterizing CCG in a realistic reactor pressure vessel geometry under an arbitrary loading condition. These results are particularly relevant to the nuclear power industry for defect assessment and inspections as part of codified practices of structural components with flaws in high-temperature reactors.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Using Neural Architecture Search for Improving Software Flaw Detection in Multimodal Deep Learning Models

Software flaw detection using multimodal deep learning models has been demonstrated as a very competitive approach on benchmark problems. In this work, we demonstrate that even better performance can be achieved using neural architecture search (NAS) combined with multimodal learning models. We adapt a NAS framework aimed at investigating image classification to the problem of software flaw detection and demonstrate improved results on the Juliet Test Suite, a popular benchmarking data set for measuring performance of machine learning models in this problem domain.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Additive Manufacturing Flaw Assessment Methodology

An evolution fatigue data and flaw tolerance of components produced using the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) Additive Manufacturing (AM) process is documented in this report. Initial differences in fatigue data for AM components compared to smooth bar fatigue data indicated a need for a more detailed analysis of AM data available in technical literature. The investigation was initiated to support the development of a fatigue analysis methodology for AM components to support the of codification of AM technology for pressure equipment. The project was initiated to collect and analyze stainless steel 304L and 316L AM fatigue test data and corresponding process and quality information to develop S-N and E-N based fatigue data representation. Additional AM fatigue test data including Inconel Ti-6-4 and aluminum alloys were also considered for comparison purposes Metallic AM parts tend to contain various forms of defects distributed throughout the part. If an AM part is subjected to fatigue loading in service, a fatigue analysis needs to be performed during the design process to ensure an acceptable service life for the part. Post-process machining and polishing do not to improve fatigue resistance in any significant degree. The low cycle fatigue regime is of particular interest to this project in support of flaw acceptance criteria currently under development by ASME’s BPTCS/BNCS. Internal defects become exposed as external surface defects during machining for the machining of the AM part to final dimensions. This implies that as long as inherent AM defects are within a controlled limit in terms of both size and distribution characteristics, the corresponding fatigue test data in terms of either S-N (stress life) or E-N (strain life) can be investigated and characterized to establish fatigue properties of AM parts for design and fatigue evaluation purposes. The resulting S-N or E-N curves and their scatter bands can be used to derive fatigue design allowable stress values by capturing the effects of distributed discontinuities within an acceptable limit.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electronic flaw simulator for eddy current probe calibration

Electronic flaw simulator cycled into the eddy current system eliminates errors in probe calibration. A discrimination level reference established in the probe permits recognition of those flaws in materials with an equivalent volume equal to or greater than the reference.

Almasy, L. J.↗

Investigation of flaw geometry and loading effects on plane strain fracture in metallic structures

The effects on fracture and flaw growth of weld-induced residual stresses, combined bending and tension stresses, and stress fields adjacent to circular holes in 2219-T87 aluminum and 5AI-2.5Sn(ELI) titanium alloys were evaluated. Static fracture tests were conducted in liquid nitrogen; fatigue tests were performed in room air, liquid nitrogen, and liquid hydrogen. Evaluation of results was based on linear elastic fracture mechanics concepts and was directed to improving existing methods of estimating minimum fracture strength and fatigue lives for pressurized structure in spacecraft and booster systems. Effects of specimen design in plane-strain fracture toughness testing were investigated. Four different specimen types were tested in room air, liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen environments using the aluminum and titanium alloys. Interferometry and holograph were used to measure crack-opening displacements in surface-flawed plexiglass test specimens. Comparisons were made between stress intensities calculated using displacement measurements, and approximate analytical solutions.

Hall, L. R.↗

Bonded panel, flaw detection standards

With optical holography or ultrasonic equipment, process prepares standards for use in detection of flaws in bonded panels. Metal-to-metal, composite-to-metal, and composite-to-composite flaw standards have been produced by this process, and all have been used and tested successfully.

Platt, R. J., Jr.↗

Acoustic-emission signal-processing analog unit for locating flaws in large tanks

Technique monitors structural flaws in 105-in. diameter tanks. Tank surface is divided into many areas and each area is sectioned into 20 equilateral triangles that form icosahedron. Twelve transducers are equally positioned on tank surface at vertex of each triangle. Transducers monitor area for flaws by detecting any increase in acoustical activity.

Moskal, F. J.↗

Flaw growth behavior in thick welded plates of 2219-T87 aluminum at room and cryogenic temperatures

Axial load fatigue and fracture tests were conducted on thick welded plates of 2219-T87 aluminum alloy to determine the tensile strength properties and the flaw growth behavior in electron beam, gas metal arc, and pulse current gas tungsten arc welds for plates 6.35 centimeters (2.5 in.) thick. The tests were conducted in room temperature air and in liquid nitrogen environments. Specimens were tested in both the as-welded and the aged after welding conditions. The experimental crack growth rate were correlated with theoretical crack growth rate predictions for semielliptical surface flaws.

Forman, R. G.↗

Fracture initiation and propagation in a cylindrical shell containing an initial surface flaw

An attempt is made to provide the necessary analytical tools for the application of two different types of fracture criteria to shell structures. Of particular interest is the problem of fracture propagation and arrest in a cylindrical pressure vessel containing an initial surface flaw. It is assumed that the flaw has the most unfavorable geometry and orientation, namely, it is a crack lying on a meridional plane. Stress intensity factor for a part-through crack, and a surface or internal crack with a fully yielded net ligament are considered. Attention is given to constant delta curves for depressurization studies and to depressurization and crack arrest in pressure vessels.

Erdogan, F.↗

The effect of initial flaw configuration on leak critical pressure vessel design

The effect of initial flaw shape and depth on the cycles required to produce a pressure leak condition in parent and welded 2219-T87 aluminum was examined for thicknesses from 0.04 to 0.3 inch. Initial flaw aspect ratios of 0.5, 0.3, and 0.15 were examined for tests conducted at a frequency of 4 Hz at room temperature and at 300 F. A computer program developed by Forman was used to predict the cycles to leak curve as a function of initial crack aspect ratio, material thickness, and specimen type and the results compared with the experimental data. Sources of error in the crack propagation analysis and the interface with NDI capabilities are discussed.

Pettit, D. E.↗