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Concept for preassembling high-temperature insulating tiles speeds and simplifies installation and repair and reduces damage from handling. Preassembly concept facilitates placement of tiles on gently contoured surfaces as well as on flat ones. Tiles bonded to nylon mesh with room-temperature-vulcanizing silicon rubber. Spacing between tiles is 0.03 in. Applications include boilers, kilns, and furnaces.
Elastomers enhance thermal and mechancial properties. Capable of performing in extreme thermal/oxidative environments and having molecular weights above 10 to the sixth power prepared and analyzed in laboratory experiments. Made of methylvinylsilphenylene-siloxane terpolymers, new materials amenable to conventional silicone-processing technology. Similarly formulated commercial methyl-vinyl silicones, vulcanized elastomers exhibit enhance thermal/oxidative stability and equivalent or superior mechanical properties.
Carbons activated with macrocyclics have attracted increasing attention as alternative electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction. Initial activity of these catalysts is good, but performance declines rapidly. Pyrolyzing the macrocyclic on the carbon support leads to enhanced stability and the catalysts retain good activity. The approach described is designed to develop bulk doped catalysts with similar structures to pyrolyzed macrocyclic catalysts. The transition metal and coordinated ligands are dispersed throughout the bulk of the conductive carbon skeleton. Two approaches to realizing this concept are being pursued, both involving the doping of carbon precursors. In one approach, the precursor is a solid phase carbon-containing ion-exchange resin. The precursor is doped with a transition metal and/or nitrogen, and the resulting mixture is pyrolyzed. In the other approach, the precursor is a gas-phase hydrocarbon. This is introduced with a transition metal species and nitrogen species into a reactor and pyrolyzed. Several studies have been conducted to determine if there is a synergistic effect between the transition metal and nitrogen and the effect of different methods of introducing the metal-nitrogen (M-N) coordination on performance. One approach was to introduce the metal and nitrogen separately, for example, by sequentially doping FeCl3 and NH4OH into the resin. Catalysts were prepared from an undoped ion-exchange resin, a resin doped only with N, a resin doped only with Fe, and a resin doped with both Fe and N. Introduction of nitrogen alone has no beneficial effect on the performance of the catalysts. The introduction of the Fe alone significantly improves the performance in both the high and low current density regions. When both Fe and N are introduced, the performance at lower current densities (catalytic activity) is increased beyond that of the Fe-doped carbon, but the performance at higher current densities is similar to the carbon containing only Fe. Catalysts prepared from resins-Fe(bipy)3SO4 precursors have performance that is only slightly less then CoTMPP adsorbed and pyroloyzed on Vulcan XC-72. Their performance is much better than carbons which have had the N and Fe introduced separately.
Improved, economical method for bonding elastomers to metals prevents failures caused by debonding. In new technique, vulcanization and curing occur simultaneously in specially designed mold that acts as form for desired shape of elastomer and as container that positions and supports metal parts. Increases interface adhesion between metal, adhesive, and elastomer.
The results obtained during the December 23, 1987 static firing of the DM-9 test article are presented. The DM-9 full-scale static test article employed redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM) field joint capture feature hardware with J-seal insulation configuration, and nozzle-to-case joint radial bolt design with bonded insulation configuration. The nozzle incorporated RSRM components, including a thicker cowl with involuted outer boot ring. The nozzle employed redundant and verifiable seals in all five joints, and room temperature vulcanization backfill in three joints. With very few exceptions, the DM-9 test article was flight configuration. The test was conducted under extreme weather conditions: temperature of 25 F and wind at 15 to 20 mph. Ballistics performance values were within specification requirements. The RSRM field joint (J-seal) insulation configuration functioned as predicted with no indication of hot gases reaching the capture feature O-rings. There was a blowhole in the polysulfide adhesive in the nozzle-to-case joint, but no evidence of hot gases past the wiper O-ring. Nozzle design changes appeared to perform nominally, with the exception of the outer boot ring, which suffered partial structural breakup late in the test. Field joint heaters maintained the controlling resistance temperature device temperature within the specified requirements during heater operation. The thrust vector control system operated properly. The redesigned water deluge system, temperature conditioning equipment, and other test support equipment performed as planned.
The molecular films deposited on the surface of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) originated from the paints and room-temperature-vulcanized (RTV) silicone materials intentionally used on the satellite and not from residual contaminants. The high silicone content of most of the films and the uniformity of the films indicates a homogenization process in the molecular deposition and suggests a chemically most favored composition for the final film. The deposition on interior surfaces and vents indicated multiple bounce trajectories or repeated deposition-reemission cycles. Exterior surface deposits indicated a significant return flux. Ultraviolet light exposure was required to fix the deposited film as is indicated by the distribution of the films on interior surfaces and the thickness of films at the vent locations. Thermal conditions at the time of exposure to ultraviolet light seems to be an important factor in the thickness of the deposit. Sunrise facing (ram direction) surfaces always had the thicker film. These were the coldest surfaces at the time of their exposure to ultraviolet light. The films have a layered structure suggesting cyclic deposition. As many as 34 distinct layers were seen in the films. The cyclic nature of the deposition and the chemical uniformity of the film one layer to the next suggest an early deposition of the films though there is evidence for the deposition of molecular films throughout the nearly six year exposure of the satellite. A final 'spray' of an organic material associated with water soluble salts occurred very late in the mission. This may have been the result of one of the shuttle dump activities.
Brine vulcanism, in which MgSO4 and Na2SO4 are shown by carbonaceous chondrite mineralogies and elemental abundances to be the most important solutes, is presently suggested to account for the resurfacing observed on such icy satellites as Europa and Ganymede, and to have been a significant factor in the evolution of chondritic asteroids. Hypersaline brines have lower viscosities than familiar silicate lavas, although they remain more viscous than pure water; aqueous sulfate flows are seen as capable of constructing the vast, low-relief volcanic plains observed on Ganymede and Europa.
ASRM insulated segments will be autoclave cured following insulation pre-form installation and strip wind operations. Following competitive bidding, Aerojet ASRM Division (AAD) Purchase Order 100142 was awarded to American Fuel Cell and Coated Fabrics Company, Inc. (Amfuel), Magnolia, AR, for subcontracted insulation autoclave cure process development. Autoclave cure process development test requirements were included in Task 3 of TM05514, Manufacturing Process Development Specification for Integrated Insulation Characterization and Stripwind Process Development. The test objective was to establish autoclave cure process parameters for ASRM insulated segments. Six tasks were completed to: (1) evaluate cure parameters that control acceptable vulcanization of ASRM Kevlar-filled EPDM insulation material; (2) identify first and second order impact parameters on the autoclave cure process; and (3) evaluate insulation material flow-out characteristics to support pre-form configuration design.
As part of an investigation of special compositions of rubber suitable for use as diaphragms for aircraft instruments, six samples were used as taut diaphragms in instruments and allowed to age for five years. Two of the instruments were in operating condition after this period of time and one had remarkably little change in performance. In making the rubber tetraethyl thorium disulfide was employed as a vulcanizing agent.
Procedure for chemical analysis of specimens of silicone-based ablative thermal-insulation materials SLA-561 and MA25 involves acid digestion of specimens to prepare them for analysis by inductively-coupled-plasma/atomic-emission spectroscopy (ICP/AES). In comparison with atomic-absorption spectroscopy (AAS), ICP/AES is faster and more accurate than AAS. Results of analyses stored in data base, used to trace variations in concentrations of chemical elements in materials during long-term storage, and used in timely manner in investigations of failures. Acid-digestion portion of procedure applied to other thermal-insulation materials containing room-temperature-vulcanizing silicones and enables instrumental analysis of these materials.
This test report describes the qualification test of the Ross Double Planetary Mixer used to mix room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone (Dow Corning 90-006-2) for the redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM) nozzle joints. Testing was completed 18 June 1993 in the M-113A Nozzle Fabrication Facility at Thiokol Corporation, Space Operations, Brigham City, Utah. The Ross mixer provides better mixing and better control on temperature and humidity, resulting in better quality RTV and a longer usable pot life. The test began on 3 May 1993 and was stopped due to operator error during the tensile strength and elongation testing. Specimens were ruined without gathering any useful data. A 'no test' was declared, the problem was remedied, and the test was re-run with MSFC approval. The test was run and all pass/fail criteria were met, most with a considerable margin. The Ross Double Planetary Mixer met all certification objectives and is recommended for immediate use for mixing RTV silicone for RSRM nozzle joints.
Each Space Shuttle solid rocket nozzle contains five joints. By design, each nozzle joint utilizes room-temperature vulcanized (RTV) rubber as a thermal barrier to protect the nozzle metal parts and O-rings from heat degradation due to motor combustion gas. Typically, combustion gas does not penetrate through the RTV in nozzle Joints. However, Joint currently experiences gas penetration through the RTV over 90 percent of the time. The occurrence of Joint gas paths is a very complex phenomenon with several known contributors such as the unique geometry of the joint, motor pressure, nozzle vectoring, manufacturing induced RTV voids. RTV material capability, and joint skip (relative radial displacement of joint components). The occurrence of Joint gas paths appears to be a combination of these causes. To better understand the causes of gas paths in Joint, the circumferential locations of gas paths in the RTV were identified and correlated with nozzle vectoring, RTV closeour locations (where the RTV backfill is completed), and X-ray low-density. anomaly (LDA) indications. Results that no specific cause was determined.
A multi-grid, flux-difference-split, finite-volume code, VULCAN, is presented for solving the elliptic and parabolized form of the equations governing three-dimensional, turbulent, calorically perfect and non-equilibrium chemically reacting flows. The space marching algorithms developed to improve convergence rate and or reduce computational cost are emphasized. The algorithms presented are extensions to the class of implicit pseudo-time iterative, upwind space-marching schemes. A full approximate storage, full multi-grid scheme is also described which is used to accelerate the convergence of a Gauss-Seidel relaxation method. The multi-grid algorithm is shown to significantly improve convergence on high aspect ratio grids.
A small photometer to detect transits by extrasolar planets has been assembled and is being tested at Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, California. The Vulcan photometer is constructed from a 30 cm focal length, F/2.5 AeroEktar reconnaissance lens and Photometrics PXL16800 CCD camera. A spectral filter is used to confine the pass band from 480 to 763 mn. It simultaneously monitors 6000 stars brighter than 12th magnitude within a single star field in the galactic plane. When the data are folded and phased to discover low amplitude transits, the relative precision of one-hour samples is about 1 part per thousand (10 x l0(exp -3)) for many of the brighter stars. This precision is sufficient to find jovian-size planets orbiting solar-like stars, which have signal amplitudes from 5 to 30 x l0(exp -3) depending on the inflation of the planet and the size of the star. Based on the frequency of giant inner-planets discovered by Doppler-velocity method, one or two planets should be detectable in a rich star field. The goal of the observations is to obtain the sizes of giant extrasolar planets in short-period orbits and to combine these with masses determined from Doppler velocity measurements to determine the densities of these planets. A further goal is to compare the measured planetary diameters with those predicted from theoretical models. From August 10 through September 30 of 1998, a forty nine square degree field in the Cygnus constellation centered at RA and DEC of 19 hr 47 min, +36 deg 55 min was observed. Useful data were obtained on twenty-nine nights. Nearly fifty stars showed some evidence of transits with periods between 0.3 and 8 days. Most had amplitudes too large to be associated with planetary transits. However, several stars showed low amplitude transits. The data for several transits of each of these two stars have been folded and been folded into 30 minute periods. Only Cygl433 shows any evidence of a flattened bottom that is expected when a small object transits a much larger primary. However when high-resolution spectra were obtained for both stars, the stars were found to be double-lined binaries so similar in size as to have indistinguishable transit depths. The low amplitude of the transits is explained if the stellar orbital planes are tipped approximately 5 degrees from the line of sight causing both binaries to show grazing transits. The two absorption lines, due to the H(sub beta) feature in each star, are apparent and indicate the presence of a binary system with similar components.
A supersonic coaxial jet facility is designed and experimental data are acquired suitable for the validation of CFD codes employed in the analysis of high-speed air-breathing engines. The center jet is of a light gas, the coflow jet is of air, and the mixing layer between them is compressible. The jet flow field is characterized using schlieren imaging, surveys with pitot, total temperature and gas sampling probes, and RELIEF velocimetry. VULCAN, a structured grid CFD code, is used to solve for the nozzle and jet flow, and the results are compared to the experiment for several variations of the kappa - omega turbulence model
A knowledge of other planetary systems that includes information on the number, size, mass, and spacing of the planets around a variety of star types is needed to deepen our understanding of planetary system formation and processes that give rise to their final configurations. Recent discoveries show that many planetary systems are quite different from the solar system in that they often possess giant planets in short period orbits. The inferred evolution of these planets and their orbital characteristics imply the absence of Earth-like planets near the habitable zone. Information on the properties of the giant-inner planets is now being obtained by both the Doppler velocity and the transit photometry techniques. The combination of the two techniques provides the mass, size, and density of the planets. For the planet orbiting star HD209458, transit photometry provided the first independent confirmation and measurement of the diameter of an extrasolar planet. The observations indicate a planet 1.27 the diameter of Jupiter with 0.63 of its mass (Charbonneau et al. 1999). The results are in excellent agreement with the theory of planetary atmospheres for a planet of the indicated mass and distance from a solar-like star. The observation of the November 23, 1999 transit of that planet made by the Ames Vulcan photometer at Lick Observatory is presented. In the future, the combination of the two techniques will greatly increase the number of discoveries and the richness of the science yield. Small rocky planets at orbital distances from 0.9 to 1.2 AU are more likely to harbor life than the gas giant planets that are now being discovered. However, new technology is needed to find smaller, Earth-like planets, which are about three hundred times less massive than Jupiter-like planets. The Kepler project is a space craft mission designed to discover hundreds of Earth-size planets in and near the habitable zone around a wide variety of stars. To demonstrate that the technology exists to find such small planets, our group has conducted an end-to-end system test. The results of the laboratory tests are presented and show that we are ready to start the search for Earth-size planets.
The Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory at Hampton University (HU/FM&AL) jointly with the NASA Glenn Research Center has conducted four connected subprojects under the reporting project. Basically, the HU/FM&AL Team has been involved in joint research with the purpose of theoretical explanation of experimental facts and creation of accurate numerical simulation techniques and prediction theory for solution of current problems in propulsion systems of interest to the NAVY and NASA agencies. This work is also supported by joint research between the NASA GRC and the Institute of Mechanics at Moscow State University (IM/MSU) in Russia under a CRDF grant. The research is focused on a wide regime of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines. The FM&AL Team uses analytical methods, numerical simulations and possible experimental tests at the Hampton University campus. The fundamental idea uniting these subprojects is to use nontraditional 3D corrugated and composite nozzle and inlet designs and additional methods for exhaust jet noise reduction without essential thrust loss and even with thrust augmentation. These subprojects are: (1) Aeroperformance and acoustics of Bluebell-shaped and Telescope-shaped designs; (2) An analysis of sharp-edged nozzle exit designs for effective fuel injection into the flow stream in air-breathing engines: triangular-round, diamond-round and other nozzles; (3) Measurement technique improvement for the HU Low Speed Wind Tunnel; a new course in the field of aerodynamics, teaching and training of HU students; experimental tests of Mobius-shaped screws: research and training; (4) Supersonic inlet shape optimization. The main outcomes during this reporting period are: (l) Publications: The AIAA Paper #00-3170 was presented at the 36th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, 17-19 June, 2000, Huntsville, AL. The AIAA Paper #01-1893 has been accepted for the AIAA/NAL-NASDA-ISAS 10th International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, 24-27 April 2001, Kyoto, Japan. The AIAA Paper #01 -3204 has been accepted for presentation at the 37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, being held on 08-11 July, in Salt Lake City, UT; (2) A U.S. patent #6,082,635 was granted on July 4, 2000; (3) Grants and proposals: The H U/ FM&AL was awarded the NASA grant NAG-3-2495 in October 2000 and the laboratory is a primary U.S. research team in a joint project under the CRDF award granted to the NASA GRC and IM/MSU (Russia) in July 2000; (4) Theory and numerical simulations: Analytical theory, numerical simulation, comparison of theoretical with experimental results, and modification of theoretical approaches, models, grids, etc., have been conducted for several complicated 2D and 3D nozzle and inlet designs using NASA, ICASE, and IM/MSU codes based on full Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers: CFL3D, FLUENT, and GODUNOV, and others; (5) Experimental Tests: (a) A new course: "Advanced Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance" presented in spring semester, 2001; training and experimental test research using the HU LSWT. (b) Small-scale M6bius-shaped screws were tested in different conditions and their application has shown essential benefits by comparison with traditional designs; (6) Installation in the FM&AL computer system: second software TECPLOT 8.0 for the UNIX SGI workstation and free TECPLOT 7.5 for the PC Dell computer, and 2D and 3D GRIDGEN (version 9) for the UNIX SGI as well as installation of two free NASA codes, 3D MAG and VULCAN; (7) Student Research Activity: Involvement of two undergraduate students as research assistants in the current research project.
A carbon fiber rope thermal barrier is being evaluated as a replacement for the conventional room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) thermal barrier that is currently used to protect o-rings in Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) nozzle joints. Performance requirements include its ability to cool any incoming, hot propellant gases that fill and pressurize the nozzle joints, filter slag and particulates, and to perform adequately in various joint assembly conditions as well as dynamic flight motion. Modified National Aeronautics and Space Administration (MNASA) motors, with their inherent and unique ability to replicate select RSRM internal environment features, were an integral step in the development path leading to full scale RSRM static test demonstration of the carbon fiber rope (CFR) joint concept. These 1/4 scale RSRM motors serve to bridge the gap between the other classes of subscale test motors (extremely small and moderate duration, or small scale and short duration) and the critical asset RSRM static test motors. A series of MNASA tests have been used to demonstrate carbon fiber rope performance and have provided rationale for implementation into a full-scale static motor and flight qualification.