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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 127 records · Page 7

Ion-Plated Soft Metallic Films Reduce Friction and Wear

Ion plating is ion-assisted or glow-discharge surface-deposition technique. In this process, ions or energetic atoms transfer energy, momentum, and charge to substrate and deposited surface film. Process controlled to modify physical characteristics of surface, subsurface chemical conditions, and surface and subsurface microstructures as well. Ion plating with such soft, thin metallic films as gold, silver, or lead has great potential for producing self-contained lubricating surfaces. Such films reduce friction, wear, and corrosion on sliding or rotating mechanical surfaces used in wide range of environments.

Spalvins, T.↗

Frictional behavior and adhesion of Ag and Au films applied to aluminum oxide by oxygen-ion assisted Screen Cage Ion Plating (SCIP)

A modified dc-diode ion plating system, by utilizing a metallic screen cage as a cathode, is introduced for coating nonconductors such as ceramics. Screen cage ion plating (SCIP) is used to apply Ag and Au lubricating films on aluminum oxide surfaces. This process has excellent ability to coat around corners to produce three-dimensional coverage of the substrate. A dramatic increase in adhesion is achieved when plating is performed in a reactive 50 percent O2 - 50 percent Ar glow discharge compared to the adhesion when plating is performed in 100 percent Ar. The presence of oxygen ion assistance contributes to the excellent adhesion as measured in a pull-type adhesion tester. The Ag and Au film adhesion is significantly increased (less than 70MPa) and generally exceeds the cohesion of the substrate such that portions of the alumina are pulled out.

Spalvins, Talivaldis↗

An improved automotive brake lining using fibrous potassium titanate

Simultaneous fade reduction and wear improvement of a commercial automotive brake lining were achieved by adding fibrous potassium titanate. The dependence of friction and wear characteristics on quantitative variations in potassium titanate, asbestos, phenolic binder, and organic and inorganic modifiers was evaluated.

Mansfield, J. A.↗

A study of the effects of Lebu devices on turbulent boundary layer drag

Initial measurements of the changes in local skin friction, velocity profile shape, and turbulence structure which result from the placement of tandem plates parallel to the wall in the outer region of thick turbulent boundary layers were made. Using a tunnel with a .75 m x 1.2 m x 7.3 m test section, which diverged so as to keep the pressure gradient less than 2x1000/ft, on the test wall, a skin friction reduction of approximately 30% was measured at xi/h = 62. This relaxed to a reduction of approximately 16% at xi/h = 124 for h/delta M = .6. The c sub f measurements for both the normal and modified boundary layers were obtained by measuring the slope of the velocity profile within the linear sublayer. Visual results indicated a continued presence of strong large eddy structure downstream of the devices. Local skin friction reduction of 12% at xi/h = 62 was also obtained with the manipulators above the boundary layer at y/delta m = 1.1.

Falco, R. E.↗

Multi-mesh gear dynamics program evaluation and enhancements

A multiple mesh gear dynamics computer program was continually developed and modified during the last four years. The program can handle epicyclic gear systems as well as single mesh systems with internal, buttress, or helical tooth forms. The following modifications were added under the current funding: variable contact friction, planet cage and ring gear rim flexibility options, user friendly options, dynamic side bands, a speed survey option and the combining of the single and multiple mesh options into one general program. The modified program was evaluated by comparing calculated values to published test data and to test data taken on a Hamilton Standard turboprop reduction gear-box. In general, the correlation between the test data and the analytical data is good.

Boyd, L. S.↗

Infrared Temperature Measurements of a Reciprocating Seal Test

A system has been developed to perform a computer analysis on surface temperature data in tribological systems, taken by an infrared radiation scanning device. The infrared scanner which normally scans at 25 fields per second and 100 lines per field has been modified to scan any single line at 2500 lines per second. The system was used to analyze four friction experiments as part of a thermal behavior study of Stirling engine seals in cooperation between Georgia Institute of Technology and Mechanical Technology, Incorporated. The friction experiments involved two tribo pairs, Rulon on steel and Rulon on sapphire. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of the relative rate of cooling and the mechanical cycle time of the system. For rapid mechanical cycle times in the friction experiment the surface temperature distribution reflects the distribution of energy input on the surface and the temperatures persist for periods longer than that of the mechanical cycle.

Meinders, M. A.↗

THE ROLE OF FRACTURE PROPERTIES ON LAP JOINT STRENGTH OF FRICTION STIR WELDED AA7055-T6 SHEETS

Friction stir lap welded (FSLW) joints have weight-saving potential in aluminum-intensive automotive assembly. However, FSLW also modifies the material microstructure close to the joint. Optimizing the FSLW process requires understanding the relationship between the strength and the joint's microstructure. In previous studies, efforts have been dedicated to determining the effects of local softening, the shape of the oxide line, and porosity. However, the impact of changes to the fracture properties on the joint's strength has not been studied. In this work, strength testing, and simulations, aided by material characterization, were used to determine the role of fracture properties on the shear strength of a 3-sheet (aluminum alloys 7055-7055-6022) lap joint. Characterization involved testing for fracture properties in the weld region. This data was then implemented into finite element simulations. As a result, the joint strength was predicted with a deviation of less than 6% from the experimental value. Comparison with strength prediction using only the base metal properties indicates that fracture property in the nugget region determines the strength of AA7055 FSLW.

Finite element analysis, Friction stir welding, ma↗

Extended ion pumped vacuum friction test

Boundary layer friction data under ion pumped vacuum was taken for sixteen material couples. The test series was an extension of a previous study of the effects of modified ion pumped environments. Sliding distances imposed in the present effort greatly exceeded any studied in the previous contiguous, flight or ground tests. Wear out of specific couples, in particular, thin film lubricants was noted. The behavior of the test hardware including wear out of the mechanisms was noted. As a result, the impact of test interruption was observed for several test couples. Recovery of the friction upon re-establishing sliding in vacuum was generally rapid. The results of the extended sliding study reinforce the previous conclusion that sliding distance (mechanical history) is the primary factor in establishing the force limiting boundary layer friction. General friction value under the extended sliding confirm those observed in previous orbital and the related ground test studies.

Hammel, R. L.↗

Diverging boundary layers with zero streamwise pressure gradient

The effects of spanwise divergence on the boundary layer forming between a pair of embedded streamwise vortices with the common flow between them directed toward the wall was studied. Measurements indicate that divergence controls the rate of development of the boundary layer and that large divergence significantly retards boundary layer growth and enhances skin friction. For strongly diverging boundary layers, divergence accounts for nearly all of the local skin friction. Even with divergence, however, the local similarity relationships for two-dimensional boundary layers are satisfactory. Although divergence modifies the mean development of the boundary layer, it does not significantly modify the turbulence structure. In the present experiments with a zero streamwise pressure gradient, it was found that spanwise divergence dit not significantly affect the Reynolds stress and the turbulent triple product distributions.

Pauley, Wayne R.↗

Solid-State Actuation as a Driving Mechanism for Miniature Spacecraft

Piezoelectric rotary motors are being developed to form a drive mechanism for robotics, miniature spacecraft instruments and subsystems. The technology that has recently emerged in commercial products is associated with empirical design. An analytical model was developed for the motor and it is currently being modified to account for the effect of space environment. The interface between the rotor and stator components and the friction forces are investigated to determine the propelling effect of the stator. The model predicts motor performance and can be used to optimize the design of miniature high-torque motors.

Miniature↗

Enhanced Tensile and Tear Toughness Properties of Thin-Wall Vacuum-Assisted High-Pressure Die-Cast Aural-5 Alloy by Friction Stir Processing

Steadily rising demand for glider weight reduction has driven the development of vacuum-assisted high-pressure die-cast (HPDC) Al-alloys for automotive structural components. Aural-5 is a strontium-modified HPDC alloy utilizing manganese (Mn) to reduce die soldering, eliminating detrimental needle-shaped Fe-bearing ß-phase intermetallic and improving ductility. HPDC Aural-5 contains shrinkage porosity, dendrites with Al-Si eutectic colonies, externally solidified crystals (ESCs), shear-band structure, and large second-phase particulates. Porosity, ESCs and large second-phase particles work as crack initiation sites, negatively impacting tensile properties. In this study, friction stir processing (FSP) is employed for microstructural modification of a thin-walled HPDC Aural-5 by eliminating porosity and breaking down dendrites, second-phase particles, eutectic colonies, ESCs and shear-band structures to create wrought microstructure with homogenized particle distribution. Mechanical property characterization indicates ~30% and ~35% enhancement in yield strength and ductility and associated marked effects on ~69% improvement in tear toughness according to the ASTM B871 test.

Friction stir processing, Aural-5, Strength, Tear ↗

Modeling of the WSTF frictional heating apparatus in high pressure systems

In order to develop a computer program able to model the frictional heating of metals in high pressure oxygen or nitrogen a number of additions have been made to the frictional heating model originally developed for tests in low pressure helium. These additions include: (1) a physical property package for the gases to account for departures from the ideal gas state; (2) two methods for spatial discretization (finite differences with quadratic interpolation or orthogonal collocation on finite elements) which substantially reduce the computer time required to solve the transient heat balance; (3) more efficient programs for the integration of the ordinary differential equations resulting from the discretization of the partial differential equations; and (4) two methods for determining the best-fit parameters via minimization of the mean square error (either a direct search multivariable simplex method or a modified Levenburg-Marquardt algorithm). The resulting computer program has been shown to be accurate, efficient and robust for determining the heat flux or friction coefficient vs. time at the interface of the stationary and rotating samples.

Skowlund, Christopher T.↗

Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transport project: Test act system validation

The primary objective of the Test Active Control Technology (ACT) System laboratory tests was to verify and validate the system concept, hardware, and software. The initial lab tests were open loop hardware tests of the Test ACT System as designed and built. During the course of the testing, minor problems were uncovered and corrected. Major software tests were run. The initial software testing was also open loop. These tests examined pitch control laws, wing load alleviation, signal selection/fault detection (SSFD), and output management. The Test ACT System was modified to interface with the direct drive valve (DDV) modules. The initial testing identified problem areas with DDV nonlinearities, valve friction induced limit cycling, DDV control loop instability, and channel command mismatch. The other DDV issue investigated was the ability to detect and isolate failures. Some simple schemes for failure detection were tested but were not completely satisfactory. The Test ACT System architecture continues to appear promising for ACT/FBW applications in systems that must be immune to worst case generic digital faults, and be able to tolerate two sequential nongeneric faults with no reduction in performance. The challenge in such an implementation would be to keep the analog element sufficiently simple to achieve the necessary reliability.

Source record↗

Force-free magnetic fields - The magneto-frictional method

The problem under discussion is that of calculating magnetic field configurations in which the Lorentz force j x B is everywhere zero, subject to specified boundary conditions. We choose to represent the magnetic field in terms of Clebsch variables in the form B = grad alpha x grad beta. These variables are constant on any field line so that each field line is labeled by the corresponding values of alpha and beta. When the field is described in this way, the most appropriate choice of boundary conditions is to specify the values of alpha and beta on the bounding surface. We show that such field configurations may be calculated by a magneto-frictional method. We imagine that the field lines move through a stationary medium, and that each element of magnetic field is subject to a frictional force parallel to and opposing the velocity of the field line. This concept leads to an iteration procedure for modifying the variables alpha and beta, that tends asymptotically towards the force-free state. We apply the method first to a simple problem in two rectangular dimensions, and then to a problem of cylindrical symmetry that was previously discussed by Barnes and Sturrock (1972). In one important respect, our new results differ from the earlier results of Barnes and Sturrock, and we conclude that the earlier article was in error.

Yang, W. H.↗

Hydrodynamics of Two-Phase Flows through Porous Media in Microgravity: Packed Bed Reactor Experiment onboard of the International Space Station

The objective of the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment was to develop a fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamics of two-phase flow with no phase transition through porous media in microgravity. This work describes two experimental campaigns flown on the International Space Station (ISS) that were designed to achieve the objective. This work presents the results on flow patterns observed, two-phase flow pressure drop in porous media, and the impact of capillary effects on pressure drop at various gas and liquid flow rates. This work is the first to present predictive correlations of the two-phase friction factor for the different regimes identified based on the superficial liquid and gas velocity in microgravity, the first to hypothesize the different regimes based on the change in slope of the pressure gradient versus flow rate plots, the first to address the effects of the capillarity on the pressure gradient and the first to measure column holdup and assess the effective porosity based on the packing and the trapped gas bubbles. Experimental data on pressure drop in gas (N2) – liquid (water) flow show the presence of four different flow regimes in microgravity. Dispersed bubble flow (DB) and pulse (P) flow regimes are detected at high liquid flow rates, whereas at low liquid flow rates “large bubble” or elongated bubble (LB) and “gas channeling” (GC) regimes are observed. For these different flow regimes, different two-phase flow friction factor and pressure gradient correlations are presented for the first time as a function of the gas and liquid modified Reynolds numbers and Suratman number. Within the viscous-capillary (V-C) regime, it is found that the capillary contribution is the dominant force that contributes to the pressure drop for the wetting case (glass). However, for the non-wetting packing (Teflon), the viscous contribution dominates. It was found that the gas hold-up and pressure drop are functions of bed history at low liquid and gas flow rates with the magnitude of the hysteresis decreasing with increasing flow rates. PBRE-2 results show that the capillary force is a strong function of the superficial liquid velocity but is a much weaker function of the superficial gas velocity and varies inversely with the particle diameter. Within the Viscous-Capillary (V-C) regime, over 90% of the pressure gradient is attributed to the capillary contribution in the gas continuous regime. However, in the large bubble regime, the viscous and capillary contributions were comparable. After the completion of PBRE-2 with glass spherical beads, another bed packed with alumina was installed. Pressure gradient data for the alumina packed bed (PBRE-Water Recovery) were transferred to the PI and were not analyzed by the authors of this work. The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment concluded its on-orbit operation after two successful campaigns of testing in 2017 and in 2021. The flight hardware was brought back from orbit and is being reconditioned for a series of future experiments referred to as PBRE-WRS in support of water recovery (WRS). The WRS series consists of testing different two-phase fluid system components and packed beds to assess their pressure gradient characteristics, which will be used for designing packed bed reactors for various applications relevant to life support. Although there is so much relevance of the experimental results obtained from the two PBRE campaign in microgravity to life support, these findings also apply to other applications that involve two phase flow in porous medium such as fuel cells, transport of nutrient to plants in space and other chemical and materials processing that involve two phase flows. These systems operate differently in microgravity because, due to the lack of buoyancy, the density difference between the phases becomes irrelevant and no longer leads to phase separation.

Packed Bed↗

Structurally Driven Environmental Degradation of Friction in MoS2 Films

Abstract We report an investigation of the friction mechanisms of MoS 2 thin films under changing environments and contact conditions using a variety of computational and experimental techniques. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the effects of water and molecular oxygen on friction and bonding of MoS 2 lamellae during initial sliding. Characterization via photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) were used to determine work function changes in shear modified material within the top few nanometers of MoS 2 wear scars. The work function was shown to change with contact conditions and environment, and shown by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and literature reports to be correlated with lamellae size and thickness of the basally oriented surface layer. Results from nanoscale simulations and macroscale experiments suggest that the evolution of the friction behavior of MoS 2 is linked primarily to the formation or inhibition of a basally oriented, molecularly thin surface film with long-range order.

Curry, John F.↗

Effect of temperature on the fatigue cracking mechanisms in A356 Al alloy

This work builds on our previous investigation of the room temperature fatigue cracking mechanisms of an A356 Al alloy. Here, we analyze the elevated temperature fatigue cracking mechanisms in cast and friction stir processed (FSP) A356, and contrast them with the room temperature behavior. Two sets of FSP parameters were used to modify the microstructure of the cast alloy. After heat treatment, both the FSPed microstructures exhibited severe abnormal grain growth (AGG) leading to a very wide grain size distribution (from a few microns to a few millimeters). During room temperature fatigue tests, the FSP conditions exhibited significant improvements in fatigue lives, even up to an order of magnitude. However, with increasing temperature, the difference in the performance of the FSPed and Cast microstructures decreased until, at 200 °C, all three microstructural conditions exhibited similar fatigue response. Detailed electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) imaging of failed fatigue specimens was used to study crack behavior. At room temperature, cracks initiated at defect sites or along persistent slip bands (PSBs) and propagated transgranularly. The grain boundaries acted as barriers to crack growth. At elevated temperatures, there was a complete role reversal of the grain boundaries. Cracks initiated along grain boundaries and propagated intergranularly in all microstructures. Below, we explore this transition of the cracking mechanism in detail.

Nelaturu, Plalgun↗