Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “turbine structural loads”

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 127 records · Page 7

Probabilistic Structural Analysis Program

NASA/NESSUS 6.2c is a general-purpose, probabilistic analysis program that computes probability of failure and probabilistic sensitivity measures of engineered systems. Because NASA/NESSUS uses highly computationally efficient and accurate analysis techniques, probabilistic solutions can be obtained even for extremely large and complex models. Once the probabilistic response is quantified, the results can be used to support risk-informed decisions regarding reliability for safety-critical and one-of-a-kind systems, as well as for maintaining a level of quality while reducing manufacturing costs for larger-quantity products. NASA/NESSUS has been successfully applied to a diverse range of problems in aerospace, gas turbine engines, biomechanics, pipelines, defense, weaponry, and infrastructure. This program combines state-of-the-art probabilistic algorithms with general-purpose structural analysis and lifting methods to compute the probabilistic response and reliability of engineered structures. Uncertainties in load, material properties, geometry, boundary conditions, and initial conditions can be simulated. The structural analysis methods include non-linear finite-element methods, heat-transfer analysis, polymer/ceramic matrix composite analysis, monolithic (conventional metallic) materials life-prediction methodologies, boundary element methods, and user-written subroutines. Several probabilistic algorithms are available such as the advanced mean value method and the adaptive importance sampling method. NASA/NESSUS 6.2c is structured in a modular format with 15 elements.

Pai, Shantaram S.↗

Effect of flange bolt preload on Space Shuttle main engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump housing analysis

Cracks at the seal fillet flange and the strut pilot groove of primary turbine drain passage of the space shuttle main engine (SSME) high pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) were observed and reported. Stress information for critical structural components in the SSME under actual conditions is necessary for design and life prediction analysis. However, little information is available about the stress distribution at this location under various combinations of loadings and environments. Thus, a stress analysis was conducted to determine an influence of the various operation and installation loads on the stresses of the HPOTP main mounting flange. To do this, a 3-D finite element model of the HPOTP housing was generated. A fairly comfortable margin of stresses at the flange fillet with respect to the yield stress of Inconel 718 is shown. However, it was revealed that the bending stress arising from the housing flange bolt preloads could significantly affect the stress distribution at the strut pilot groove of primary turbine drain passage in the HPOTP housing. Consequently, the information obtained from the present 3-D analysis results should be useful in guiding the development of the SSME HPOTP.

Min, J. B.↗

An Investigation of SiC/SiC Woven Composite Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

The desirable properties in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), such as high temperature strength, corrosion resistance, high toughness, low density, or good creep resistance have led to increased use of CMCs in high-speed engine structural components and structures that operate in extreme temperature and hostile aero-thermo-chemical environments. Ceramic matrix composites have been chosen for turbine material in the design of 21 st-century civil propulsion systems to achieve high fuel economy, improved reliability, extended life, and reduced cost. Most commercial CMCs are manufactured using a chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process. However, a lower cost fabrication known as melt-infiltration process is also providing CMCs marked for use in hot sections of high-speed civil transports. The scope of this paper is to report on the material and mechanical characterization of the CMCs subjected to this process and to predict the behavior through an analytical model. An investigation of the SiC/SiC 8-harness woven composite is ongoing and its tensile strength and fatigue behavior is being characterized for room and elevated temperatures. The investigation is being conducted at below and above the matrix cracking stress once these parameters are identified. Fractography and light microscopy results are being studied to characterize the failure modes resulting from pure uniaxial loading. A numerical model is also being developed to predict the laminate properties by using the constituent material properties and tow undulation.

Lang, J.↗

Creep fatigue life prediction for engine hot section materials (isotropic): Two year update

Requirements for increased durability of gas turbine hot section components have placed a greater degree of importance on accurate structural analysis and life prediction. Various life prediction approaches for high temperature applications were investigated. Basic models were selected and developed for simple-cycle, isothermal loading conditions. Models will be developed which address thermomechanical cycling, multiaxial conditions, cumulative loading, environmental effects, and cyclic mean stress. Verification tests of models will be conducted on an alternate material and coating system.

Moreno, V.↗

2003 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop

The following reports were included in the 2003 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop:Low Emissions Alternative Power (LEAP); Overview of NASA Glenn Seal Developments; NASA Ultra Efficient Engine Technology Project Overview; Development of Higher Temperature Abradable Seals for Industrial Gas Turbines; High Misalignment Carbon Seals for the Fan Drive Gear System Technologies; Compliant Foil Seal Investigations; Test Rig for Evaluating Active Turbine Blade Tip Clearance Control Concepts; Controls Considerations for Turbine Active Clearance Control; Non-Contacting Finger Seal Developments and Design Considerations; Effect of Flow-Induced Radial Load on Brush Seal/Rotor Contact Mechanics; Seal Developments at Flowserve Corporation; Investigations of High Pressure Acoustic Waves in Resonators With Seal-Like Features; Numerical Investigations of High Pressure Acoustic Waves in Resonators; Feltmetal Seal Material Through-Flow; "Bimodal" Nuclear Thermal Rocket (BNTR) Propulsion for Future Human Mars Exploration Missions; High Temperature Propulsion System Structural Seals for Future Space Launch Vehicles; Advanced Control Surface Seal Development for Future Space Vehicles; High Temperature Metallic Seal Development for Aero Propulsion and Gas Turbine Applications; and BrazeFoil Honeycomb.

Steinetz, Bruce M.↗

Composite load spectra for select space propulsion structural components

A multiyear program is performed with the objective to develop generic load models with multiple levels of progressive sophistication to simulate the composite (combined) load spectra that are induced in space propulsion system components, representative of Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME), such as transfer ducts, turbine blades, and liquid oxygen (LOX) posts. Progress of the first year's effort includes completion of a sufficient portion of each task -- probabilistic models, code development, validation, and an initial operational code. This code has from its inception an expert system philosophy that could be added to throughout the program and in the future. The initial operational code is only applicable to turbine blade type loadings. The probabilistic model included in the operational code has fitting routines for loads that utilize a modified Discrete Probabilistic Distribution termed RASCAL, a barrier crossing method and a Monte Carlo method. An initial load model was developed by Battelle that is currently used for the slowly varying duty cycle type loading. The intent is to use the model and related codes essentially in the current form for all loads that are based on measured or calculated data that have followed a slowly varying profile.

Newell, J. F.↗

Evaluation of shear mounted elastomeric damper

Viton-70 elastomeric shear mounted damper was built and tested on a T-55 power turbine spool in the rotor's high speed balancing rig. This application of a shear mounted elastomeric damper demonstrated for the first time, the feasibility of using elastomers as the primary rotor damping source in production turbine engine hardware. The shear damper design was selected because it was compatible with actual gas turbine engine radial space constraints, could accommodate both the radial and axial thrust loads present in gas turbine engines, and was capable of controlled axial preload. The shear damper was interchangeable with the production T-55 power turbine roller bearing support so that a direct comparison between the shear damper and the production support structure could be made. Test results show that the Viton-70 elastomer damper operated successfully and provided excellent control of both synchronous and nonsynchronous vibrations through all phases of testing up to the maximum rotor speed of 16,000 rpm. Excellent correlation between the predicted and experienced critical speeds, mode shapes and log decrements for the power turbine rotor and elastomer damper assembly was also achieved.

Zorzi, E.↗

Effects of rotor location, coning, and tilt on critical loads in large wind turbines

Several large (1500 kW) horizontal rotor configurations were analyzed to determine the effects on dynamic loads of upwind downwind rotor locations, coned and radial blade positions, and tilted and horizontal rotor axis positions. Loads were calculated for a range of wind velocities at three locations in the structure: (1) the blade shank; (2) the hub shaft; and (3) the yaw drive. Blade axis coning and rotor axis tilt were found to have minor effects on loads. However, locating the rotor upwind of the tower significantly reduced loads at all locations analyzed.

Spera, D. A.↗

Integrity of Ceramic Parts Predicted When Loads and Temperatures Fluctuate Over Time

Brittle materials are being used, and being considered for use, for a wide variety of high performance applications that operate in harsh environments, including static and rotating turbine parts for unmanned aerial vehicles, auxiliary power units, and distributed power generation. Other applications include thermal protection systems, dental prosthetics, fuel cells, oxygen transport membranes, radomes, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In order for these high-technology ceramics to be used successfully for structural applications that push the envelope of materials capabilities, design engineers must consider that brittle materials are designed and analyzed differently than metallic materials. Unlike ductile metals, brittle materials display a stochastic strength response because of the combination of low fracture toughness and the random nature of the size, orientation, and distribution of inherent microscopic flaws. This plus the fact that the strength of a component under load may degrade over time because of slow crack growth means that a probabilistic-based life-prediction methodology must be used when the tradeoffs of failure probability, performance, and useful life are being optimized. The CARES/Life code (which was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center) predicts the probability of ceramic components failing from spontaneous catastrophic rupture when these components are subjected to multiaxial loading and slow crack growth conditions. Enhancements to CARES/Life now allow for the component survival probability to be calculated when loading and temperature vary over time.

Nemeth, Noel N.↗

Effects of rotor location, coning, and tilt on critical loads in large wind turbines

Three large (1500 kW) horizontal rotor configurations were analyzed to determine the effects on dynamic loads of upwind and downwind rotor locations, coned and radial blade positions, and tilted and horizontal rotor axis positions. Loads were calculated for a range of wind velocities at three locations in the structure: the blade shank, the hub shaft, and the yaw drive. Blade axis coning and rotor axis tilt were found to have little effect on loads. However, locating the rotor upwind of the tower significantly reduced loads at all locations analyzed.

Spera, D. A.↗

Development of an Additively Manufactured Turbine Blade Tuned Mass Absorber

An innovative concept using a tuned mass absorber for resonant response reduction of turbine blades that is integrally fabricated into the blades using additive manufactured has been developed. Avoiding high resonant response and resulting high cycle fatigue failure is a major concern of the $100B worldwide turbine industry, which encompasses power generation, jet engines and rocket engine turbomachinery. Blade failure is potentially catastrophic, and although preventative measures using dampers do exist, these solutions are extremely expensive to develop and are not always effective. In addition, many of the existing techniques do not work for newer integrally bladed disks (or blisks), where there is no inherent damping in the assembly. The proposed concept, in which a tuned mass absorber re-arranges the structural dynamics and moves energy from the blade to the absorber, is designed specifically for blisks, and is intentionally linear, enabling accurate response prediction during design. Single blade prototypes have been analyzed, fabricated, and tested, and different absorber concepts have shown a reduction in response of up to 60%. After an extensive commercialization and prior art search, MSFC determined the innovation merited the generation and submission of a patent application in August ’21. Funding is now being sought to fabricate a 20-bladed blisk which would be spun at operational speeds with substantially higher and more realistic pressure loads in a special spin facility. Successful completion of this program would raise the TRL from 3/4 to 6/7, significantly improving the viability for adoption of the concept not only in rocket engines but other industrial applications as well.

Turbine Blades↗

Reliability and Confidence Interval Analysis of a CMC Turbine Stator Vane

High temperature ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are being explored as viable candidate materials for hot section gas turbine components. These advanced composites can potentially lead to reduced weight, enable higher operating temperatures requiring less cooling and thus leading to increased engine efficiencies. However, these materials are brittle and show degradation with time at high operating temperatures due to creep as well as cyclic mechanical and thermal loads. In addition, these materials are heterogeneous in their make-up and various factors affect their properties in a specific design environment. Most of these advanced composites involve two- and three-dimensional fiber architectures and require a complex multi-step high temperature processing. Since there are uncertainties associated with each of these in addition to the variability in the constituent material properties, the observed behavior of composite materials exhibits scatter. Traditional material failure analyses employing a deterministic approach, where failure is assumed to occur when some allowable stress level or equivalent stress is exceeded, are not adequate for brittle material component design. Such phenomenological failure theories are reasonably successful when applied to ductile materials such as metals. Analysis of failure in structural components is governed by the observed scatter in strength, stiffness and loading conditions. In such situations, statistical design approaches must be used. Accounting for these phenomena requires a change in philosophy on the design engineer s part that leads to a reduced focus on the use of safety factors in favor of reliability analyses. The reliability approach demands that the design engineer must tolerate a finite risk of unacceptable performance. This risk of unacceptable performance is identified as a component's probability of failure (or alternatively, component reliability). The primary concern of the engineer is minimizing this risk in an economical manner. The methods to accurately determine the service life of an engine component with associated variability have become increasingly difficult. This results, in part, from the complex missions which are now routinely considered during the design process. These missions include large variations of multi-axial stresses and temperatures experienced by critical engine parts. There is a need for a convenient design tool that can accommodate various loading conditions induced by engine operating environments, and material data with their associated uncertainties to estimate the minimum predicted life of a structural component. A probabilistic composite micromechanics technique in combination with woven composite micromechanics, structural analysis and Fast Probability Integration (FPI) techniques has been used to evaluate the maximum stress and its probabilistic distribution in a CMC turbine stator vane. Furthermore, input variables causing scatter are identified and ranked based upon their sensitivity magnitude. Since the measured data for the ceramic matrix composite properties is very limited, obtaining a probabilistic distribution with their corresponding parameters is difficult. In case of limited data, confidence bounds are essential to quantify the uncertainty associated with the distribution. Usually 90 and 95% confidence intervals are computed for material properties. Failure properties are then computed with the confidence bounds. Best estimates and the confidence bounds on the best estimate of the cumulative probability function for R-S (strength - stress) are plotted. The methodologies and the results from these analyses will be discussed in the presentation.

Murthy, Pappu L. N.↗

Elevated temperature fatigue testing of metals

Material characterization and evaluation conducted for the purpose of calculating fatigue crack initiation lives of components operating at elevated temperatures are discussed. The major technology areas needed to perform a life prediction of an aircraft turbine engine hot section component and the steps required for life prediction are outlined. These include: the determination of the operating environment, the calculation of the thermal and mechanical loading of the component, the cyclic stress strain and creep behavior of the material required for structural analysis, the structural analysis to determine the local stress strain temperature time response of the material at the critical location in the component, and from a knowledge of the fatigue, creep, and failure resistance of the material, a prediction of the life of the component.

Hirschberg, M. H.↗

Vibration characteristics of the HPOTP (High-Pressure Oxygen Turbopump) of the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine)

Attention is given to rotor dynamic problems that have been encountered and eliminated in the course of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) development, as well as continuing, subsynchronous problems which are being encountered in the development of a 109-percent power level engine. The basic model for the SSME's High Pressure Oxygen Turbopump (HPOTP) encompasses a structural dynamic model for the rotor and housing, and component models for the liquid and gas seals, turbine clearance excitation forces, and impeller diffuser forces. Linear model results are used to examine the synchronous response and stability characteristics of the HPOTP, with attention to bearing load and stability problems associated with the second critical speed. Differences between linear and nonlinear model results are discussed and explained in terms of simple models. Simulation results indicate that while synchronous bearing loads can be reduced, subsynchronous motion is not eliminated by seal modifications.

Childs, D. W.↗

Thermomechanical Multiaxial Fatigue Testing Capability Developed

Structural components in aeronautical gas turbine engines typically experience multiaxial states of stress under nonisothermal conditions. To estimate the durability of the various components in the engine, one must characterize the cyclic deformation and fatigue behavior of the materials used under thermal and complex mechanical loading conditions. To this end, a testing protocol and associated test control software were developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center for thermomechanical axial-torsional fatigue tests. These tests are to be performed on thin-walled, tubular specimens fabricated from the cobalt-based superalloy Haynes 188. The software is written in C and runs on an MS-DOS based microcomputer.

Source record↗

Nonlinear structural analysis of a turbine airfoil using the Walker viscoplastic material model for B1900 + Hf

A viscoplastic material model for the high temperature turbine airfoil material B1900 + Hf was developed and was demonstrated in a three dimensional finite element analysis of a typical turbine airfoil. The demonstration problem is a simulated flight cycle and includes the appropriate transient thermal and mechanical loads typically experienced by these components. The Walker viscoplastic material model was shown to be efficient, stable and easily used. The demonstration is summarized and the performance of the material model is evaluated.

Meyer, T. G.↗

Multiple plate hydrostatic viscous damper

A device for damping radial motion of a rotating shaft is described. The damper comprises a series of spaced plates extending in a radial direction. A hydraulic piston is utilized to place a load in these plates. Each annular plate is provided with a suitable hydrostatic bearing geometry on at least one of its faces. This structure provides a high degree of dampening in a rotor case system of turbomachinery in general. The damper is particularly useful in gas turbine engines.

Ludwig, L. P.↗

Three-dimensional analysis of the Pratt and Whitney alternate design SSME fuel turbine

The three dimensional viscous time-mean flow in the Pratt and Whitney alternate design space shuttle main engine fuel turbine is simulated using the average passage Navier-Stokes equations. The migration of secondary flows generated by upstream blade rows and their effect on the performance of downstream blade rows is studied. The present simulation confirms that the flow in this two stage turbine is highly three dimensional and dominated by the tip leakage flow. The tip leakage vortex generated by the first blade persists through the second blade and adversely affects its performance. The greatest mixing of the inlet total temperature distortion occurs in the second vane and is due to the large leakage vortex generated by the upstream rotor. It is assumed that the predominant spanwise mixing mechanism in this low aspect ratio turbine is the radial transport due to the deterministically unsteady vortical flow generated by upstream blade rows. A by-product of the analysis is accurate pressure and heat loads for all blade rows under the influence of neighboring blade rows. These aero loads are useful for advanced structural analysis of the vanes and blades.

Kirtley, K. R.↗