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Pair of intermediate materials joined by electron beam welding method welds titanium to Rene 41 alloy. Bond is necessary for combining into one structure high strength-to-density ratio titanium fan blades and temperature resistant nickel-base alloy turbine-buckets in VTOL aircraft lift-fan rotor.
Process for joining porous metal material to solid metal structure without cracking or blockage of porous component is described. Procedures of electron beam welding and electroforming are discussed. Illustration of microstructure resulting from process is included.
Experimental data are presented for the tangential and radial stresses in the disks of the 36,000 horsepower, 4000 rpm turbine for the M-1 engine oxidizer turbopump. The two-stage Curtis turbine is a special light-weight design utilizing thin conical disks with hollow sheet metal blades attached by electron-beam welding techniques. The turbine was fabricated from Inconel 718, a nickel-chromium alloy. The stresses were obtained by strain-gage measurements using a slip-ring assembly to transmit the electrical signals. Measurements were made at different rotative speeds and different thermal loads. In addition to presenting test data, the report describes test equipment, design of associated hardware, test procedures, instrumentation, and tests for the selection and calibration of strain gages.
Work is reported for fabricating and testing the fiberglass overwrapped titanium pressure vessel for cryogenic service. Difficulties encountered in the tank liner fabrication phase involved explosive forming, vacuum annealing, chemical milling and electron beam welding. While each of these processes and the nondestructive test methods employed are normally considered to be individually reliable, the combination of poor material together with fabrication and development reversals prevented the full achievement of the desired end results. Eight tanks plus a prototype and tool proofing article were produced. Six of the vessels failed during the hydrostatic sizing operation. One of the remaining tanks was hydrostatically pressurized to burst and the other was pressurized repeatedly at 75 F from 100 psi to the operating pressure until failure occurred. As a result, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions as to the true value of the design concept due to the problems encountered in the program.
Porous metal sheet with controlled permeability was made by space winding and diffusion bonding fine wire. Two iron-chromium-aluminum alloys and three-chromium alloys were used: GE 1541 (Fe-Cr-Al-Y), H 875 (Fe-Cr-Al-Si), TD Ni Cr, DH 245 (Ni-Cr-Al-Si) and DH 242 (Ni-Cr-Si-Cb). GE 1541 and H 875 were shown in initial tests to have greater oxidation resistance than the other candidate alloys and were therefore tested more extensively. These two materials were cyclic furnace oxidation tested in air at 1800 and 2000 F for accumulated exposure times of 4, 16, 64, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and and 600 hours. Oxidation weight gain, permeability change and mechanical properties were determined after exposure. Metallographic examination was performed to determine effects of exposure on the porous metal and electron beam weld joints of porous sheet to IN 100 strut material. Hundred hour stress rupture life and tensile tests were performed at 1800 F. Both alloys had excellent oxidation resistance and retention of mechanical properties and appear suitable for use as transpiration cooling materials in high temperature gas turbine engines.
Bend angles for columbium-base alloys, WC3015 and Cb752, at temperatures between -300 F and +500 F are reported. WC3015 exhibited a bend transition temperature well below -100 F, but was severely embrittled by silicide coatings. Cb 752 exhibited a bend transition temperature below -300 F, and the silicide coating application did not influence bend angle of the substrate. However, coating failure on both alloys was observed at less than 60 deg bend, even at 500 F. The effect of electron beam welding and gas tungsten-arc welding on the properties of WC3015 and Cb752 are also reported. Both techniques are shown to produce a marked reduction in the bend angle of WC3015. Unlike WC3015, ductility is restored in Cb752 after a suitable postweld anneal. Microstructural and hardness tests results for both alloys are reported and discussed.
Special lens shaping allows variation of focusing strength with radius. Lens can be either converging or diverging depending on charge of particles and direction of angular magnetic field. There is potential use for lens in particle analyzers, electron beam welding systems, microwave tube refocusing systems, and possible display type devices.
Thirteen capsule assemblies were fabricated for evaluation of fuel pin design concepts for a fast spectrum lithium cooled compact space power reactor. These instrumented assemblies were designed for real time test of prototype fuel pins. Uranium mononitride fuel pins were encased in AISI 304L stainless steel capsules. Fabrication procedures were fully qualified by process development and assembly qualification tests. Instrumentation reliability was achieved utilizing specially processed and closely controlled thermocouple hot zone fabrication and by thermal screening tests. Overall capsule reliability was achieved with an all electron beam welded assembly.
A study program was conducted to clarify the role of gravity in the fluid mechanics of certain molten metal processes of potential significance to manufacturing in space. In particular, analyses were conducted of the M551 Metals Melting Experiment and the M553 Sphere Forming Experiment to be conducted in the M512 Facility onboard Skylab. The M551 experiment consisted of a study of electron beam welding of various metals, and the M553 experiment studied the formation of molten metal spheres by free-floating in a near zero-gravity environment. The analyses of these experiments and a comparison with ground-based and KC135 experimental results are presented.
Cost effectiveness airframe considerations dictated a variable geometry wing design that requires weight optimization, maximum working stress resistance and minimum fatigue concentration factors. The extensive use of titanium structural materials employed electron beam welding methods and interference fit fastening techniques as principle mechanical joining means for economic F-14A production and reliability engineering.
A study program was conducted to clarify the role of gravity in the fluid mechanics of certain molten metal processes of potential significance to manufacturing in space. In particular, analyses were conducted of the M551 Metals Melting Experiment and the M553 Sphere Forming Experiment to be conducted in the M512 Facility onboard Skylab. The M551 experiment consisted of a study of electron beam welding of various metals, and the M553 experiment studied the formation of molten metal spheres by free-floating in a near zero-gravity environment. The analyses of these experiments and a comparison with ground-based and KC135 experimental results are presented.
The development of the Skylab M512 Materials Processing Facility is traced from the design of a portable, self-contained electron beam welding system for terrestrial applications to the highly complex experiment system ultimately developed for three Skylab missions. The M512 experiment facility was designed to support six in-space experiments intended to explore the advantages of manufacturing materials in the near-zero-gravity environment of Earth orbit. Detailed descriptions of the M512 facility and related experiment hardware are provided, with discussions of hardware verification and man-machine interfaces included. An analysis of the operation of the facility and experiments during the three Skylab missions is presented, including discussions of the hardware performance, anomalies, and data returned to earth.
Methods were developed for electron-beam welding several forms of chemically vapor-deposited tungsten. Weld ductility was evaluated from the results of ductile-brittle transition-temperature determinations. Welds in tungsten produced from WF6 were considerably more ductile than those associated with WCl6-produced tungsten. The larger grain size of the latter material was largely responsible for this behavior.
The 0.152 cm thick sputtered and copper deposits were electron beam welded to wrought copper. Tensile specimens were machined from the weld assemblies and tested at room temperature. Tensile strength approached the strength of wrought material. Elongations up to 25% were measured. Sputtered aluminum was used to fill 0.157 cm wide by 0.127 cm deep grooves in thrust chamber spool piece liners. The liners were closed out by sputtering copper from post and hollow cathodes.
A tentative mathematical computer model of the microfissuring process during electron beam welding of Inconel 718 has been constructed. Predictions of the model are compatible with microfissuring tests on eight 0.25-in. thick test plates. The model takes into account weld power and speed, weld loss (efficiency), parameters and material characteristics. Besides the usual material characteristics (thermal and strength properties), a temperature and grain size dependent critical fracture strain is required by the model. The model is based upon fundamental physical theory (i.e., it is not a mere data interpolation system), and can be extended to other metals by suitable parameter changes.
Potential fatigue rejuvenation processes were carried out on fatigue-damaged material both with and without observable surface-connected fatigue cracks. The fatigue life of fatigue-damaged MAR-M246(Hf)(DS), a directionally solidified nickel-base superalloy used in turbine airfoils, was extended by reheat treatment. The fatigue life of fatigue-cracked Inconel 718, a wrought nickel-base superalloy used in a wide variety of advanced rocket engine components, was extended by electron-beam welding to close off the surface-connected crack, followed by hot isostatic pressing and reheat treatment.
The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE) has been designed to provide microgravity data on dendritic growth for a critical test of theory. This paper updates progress on constructing a crystal growth chamber suitable for space flight. The IDGE chamber is constructed from glass and stainless steel and is hermetically sealed by electron beam welds and glass-metal seals. Initial tests of the chambers sample's melting point plateau show that the new chamber design is capable of preserving the 99.9995 percent purity of succinonitrile. Dendrite growth can be initiated in the center of the IDGE chamber by means of thermo-electric coolers and a capillary injector tube (stinger). The new IDGE chamber is ready for fully integrated tests with the prototype IDGE engineering hardware at NASA's Lewis Research Center.
Subtle indications of flaws extracted from ultrasonic waveforms. Ultrasonic-inspection system uses artificial intelligence to help in identification of hidden flaws in electron-beam-welded castings. System involves application of flaw-classification logic to analysis of ultrasonic waveforms.