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At least 163 records · Page 9

Dynamic substructuring by the boundary flexibility vector method of component mode synthesis

Component mode synthesis (CMS) is a method of dynamic analysis, for structures having a large number of degrees of freedom (DOF). These structures often required lengthy computer CPU time and large computer memory resources, if solved directly by the finite-element method (FEM). In CMS, the structure is divided into independent components in which the DOF are defined by a set of generalized coordinates defined by displacement shapes. The number of the generalized coordinates are much less than the original number of physical DOF, in the component. The displacement shapes are used to transform the component property matrices and any applied external loads, to a reduced system of coordinates. Reduced system property matrices are assembled, and any type of dynamic analysis is carried out in the reduced coordinate system. Any obtained results are back transformed to the original component coordinate systems. In all conventional methods of CMS, the mode shapes used for components are dynamic mode shapes, supplemented by static deflected shapes. Historically, all the dynamic mode shapes used in conventional CMS are the natural modes (eigenvectors) of components. A new method of CMS, namely the boundary flexibility vector method of CMS, is presented. The method provides for the incorporation of a set of static Ritz vectors, referred to as boundary flexibility vectors, as a replacement and/or supplement to conventional eigenvectors, as displacement shapes for components. The generation of these vectors does not require the solution of a costly eigenvalue problem, as in the case of natural modes in conventional CMS, and hence a substantial saving in CPU time can be achieved. The boundary flexibility vectors are generated from flexibility (or stiffness) properties of components. The formulation presented is for both free and fixed-interface components, and for both the free and forced vibration problems. Free and forced vibration numerical examples are presented to verify the accuracy of the method and the saving in CPU time. Compared to conventional methods of CMS, the results indicate that by using the new method, more accurate results can be obtained with a substantial saving in CPU time.

Abdallah, Ayman Ahmed↗

Creep substructure formation in sodium chloride single crystals in the power law and exponential creep regimes

Creep tests conducted on NaCl single crystals in the temperature range from 373 to 1023 K show that true steady state creep is obtained only above 873 K when the ratio of the applied stress to the shear modulus is less than or equal to 0.0001. Under other stress and temperature conditions, corresponding to both power law and exponential creep, the creep rate decreases monotonically with increasing strain. The transition from power law to exponential creep is shown to be associated with increases in the dislocation density, the cell boundary width, and the aspect ratio of the subgrains along the primary slip planes. The relation between dislocation structure and creep behavior is also assessed.

Raj, S. V.↗

Modeling a ball screw/ball nut in substructuring

In the particular NASTRAN application discussed here, a nut was attached to a stationary structure. The object of the analysis was to determine the vibration characteristics of the whole structure for various configurations; i.e., the evaluation of the mode shapes and frequencies when parts were moved to different mating positions. Details of the analysis are given.

Butler, Thomas G.↗

Substructure-based control of flexible structures

A decentralized procedure is presented for the design of controllers for flexible structures. Spatially significant components are created which approximate the response of a specific part of the complete structure. For each component, the controller and observer gain matrices which are used in a controller for the complete structure. The proposed method is illustrated on a model of NASA Langley's CSI testbed structure.

Babuska, Vit↗

Measurement of Residual Flexibility for Substructures Having Prominent Flexible Interfaces

Verification of a dynamic model of a constrained structure requires a modal survey test of the physical structure and subsequent modification of the model to obtain the best agreement possible with test data. Constrained-boundary or fixed-base testing has historically been the most common approach for verifying constrained mathematical models, since the boundary conditions of the test article are designed to match the actual constraints in service. However, there are difficulties involved with fixed-base testing, in some cases making the approach impractical. It is not possible to conduct a truly fixed-base test due to coupling between the test article and the fixture. In addition, it is often difficult to accurately simulate the actual boundary constraints, and the cost of designing and constructing the fixture may be prohibitive. For use when fixed-base testing proves impractical or undesirable, alternate free-boundary test methods have been investigated, including the residual flexibility technique. The residual flexibility approach has been treated analytically in considerable detail and has had limited frequency response measurements for the method. This concern is well-justified for a number of reasons. First, residual flexibilities are very small numbers, typically on the order of 1.0E-6 in/lb for translational diagonal terms, and orders of magnitude smaller for off-diagonal values. This poses difficulty in obtaining accurate and noise-free measurements, especially for points removed from the excitation source. A second difficulty encountered in residual measurements lies in obtaining a clean residual function in the process of subtracting synthesized modal data from a measured response function. Inaccuracies occur since modes are not subtracted exactly, but only to the accuracy of the curve fits for each mode; these errors are compounded with increasing distance from the excitation point. In this paper, the residual flexibility method is applied to a simple structure in both test and analysis. Measured and predicted residual functions are compared, and regions of poor data in the measured curves are described. It is found that for accurate residual measurements, frequency response functions having prominent stiffness lines in the acceleration/force format are needed. The lack of such stiffness lines increases measurement errors. Interface drive point frequency respose functions for shuttle orbiter payloads exhibit dominant stiffness lines, making the residual test approach a good candidate for payload modal tests when constrained tests are inappropriate. Difficulties in extracting a residual flexibility value from noisy test data are discussed. It is shown that use of a weighted second order least-squares curve fit of the measured residual function allows identification of residual flexibility that compares very well with predictions for the simple structure. This approach also provides an estimate of second order residual mass effects.

Tinker, Michael L.↗

Application of linear array imaging techniques to the real-time inspection of airframe structures and substructures

Development and application of linear array imaging technologies to address specific aging-aircraft inspection issues is described. Real-time video-taped images were obtained from an unmodified commercial linear-array medical scanner of specimens constructed to simulate typical types of flaws encountered in the inspection of aircraft structures. Results suggest that information regarding the characteristics, location, and interface properties of specific types of flaws in materials and structures may be obtained from the images acquired with a linear array. Furthermore, linear array imaging may offer the advantage of being able to compare 'good' regions with 'flawed' regions simultaneously, and in real time. Real-time imaging permits the inspector to obtain image information from various views and provides the opportunity for observing the effects of introducing specific interventions. Observation of an image in real-time can offer the operator the ability to 'interact' with the inspection process, thus providing new capabilities, and perhaps, new approaches to nondestructive inspections.

Miller, James G.↗

Application of Linear Array Imaging Techniques to the Real-Time Inspection of Airframe Structures and Substructures

Current concern for ensuring, the air-worthiness of the aging commercial air fleet has prompted the establishment of broad-agency programs to develop NDT technologies that address specific aging-aircraft issues. One of the crucial technological needs that has been identified is the development of rapid, quantitative systems for depot-level inspection of bonded aluminum lap joints on aircraft. Research results for characterization of disbond and corrosion based on normal-incidence pulse-echo measurement geometries are showing promise, but are limited by the single-site nature of the measurement which requires manual or mechanical scanning to inspect an area. One approach to developing efficient systems may be to transfer specific aspects of current medical imaging technology to the NDT arena. Ultrasonic medical imaging, systems offer many desirable attributes for large scale inspection. They are portable, provide real-time imaging, and have integrated video tape recorder and printer capabilities available for documentation and post-inspection review. Furthermore, these systems are available at a relatively low cost (approximately $50,000 to $200,000) and can be optimized for use with metals with straight-forward modifications.

Miller, James G.↗

Cluster Substructure and Large Scales Filaments

New results from ASCA and ROSAT will be presented showing evidence for large scale structure from X-ray observations. The talk will present observations of the Coma cluster showing the interaction between an infalling group and the ambient cluster medium. For Abell 85, large scale structure is seen, consistent with the overall supercluster in which Abell 85 resides. Both X-ray temperature and X-ray surface brightness maps show evidence for merging along a supercluster filament. The filament orientation is well defined from optical observations of the overall galaxy distribution as well as the ellipticity of the central cD galaxy. The overall optical galaxy distribution shows a very complex region of sheets both behind and in front of A85. Finally, a progress report on a cluster survey using archival ROSAT PSPC and ROSAT HRI data will be presented.

Foreman, William↗

Implementation of Fiber Substructuring Into Strain Rate Dependent Micromechanics Analysis of Polymer Matrix Composites

A research program is in progress to develop strain rate dependent deformation and failure models for the analysis of polymer matrix composites subject to impact loads. Previously, strain rate dependent inelastic constitutive equations developed to model the polymer matrix were incorporated into a mechanics of materials based micromechanics method. In the current work, the micromechanics method is revised such that the composite unit cell is divided into a number of slices. Micromechanics equations are then developed for each slice, with laminate theory applied to determine the elastic properties, effective stresses and effective inelastic strains for the unit cell. Verification studies are conducted using two representative polymer matrix composites with a nonlinear, strain rate dependent deformation response. The computed results compare well to experimentally obtained values.

Goldberg, Robert K.↗

STEM Analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans muscle thick filaments: evidence for microdifferentiated substructures

In the thick filaments of body muscle in Caenorhabditis elegans, myosin A and myosin B isoforms and a subpopulation of paramyosin, a homologue of myosin heavy chain rods, are organized about a tubular core. As determined by scanning transmission electron microscopy, the thick filaments show a continuous decrease in mass-per-length (MPL) from their central zones to their polar regions. This is consistent with previously reported morphological studies and suggests that both their content and structural organization are microdifferentiated as a function of position. The cores are composed of a second distinct subpopulation of paramyosin in association with the alpha, beta, and gamma-filagenins. MPL measurements suggest that cores are formed from seven subfilaments containing four strands of paramyosin molecules, rather than the two originally proposed. The periodic locations of the filagenins within different regions and the presence of a central zone where myosin A is located, implies that the cores are also microdifferentiated with respect to molecular content and structure. This differentiation may result from a novel "induced strain" assembly mechanism based upon the interaction of the filagenins, paramyosin and myosin A. The cores may then serve as "differentiated templates" for the assembly of myosin B and paramyosin in the tapering, microdifferentiated polar regions of the thick filaments.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗

Temperature-Dependent Effects on the Mechanical Behavior and Deformation Substructure of Haynes 188 Under Low-Cycle Fatigue

The mechanical behavior of a cobalt-nickel-chromium-tungsten superalloy, Haynes 188, is being critically examined at the NASA Lewis Research Center. This dynamic, strain-aging (DSA) alloy is used for combustor liners in many military and commercial aircraft turbine engines and for the liquid oxygen posts in the main injectors of the space shuttle main engine. Its attractive features include a good combination of high monotonic yield and tensile strength, and excellent fabricability, weldability, and resistance to high-temperature oxidation for prolonged exposures.

Source record↗

Substructure Versus Property-Level Dispersed Modes Calculation

This paper calculates the effect of perturbed finite element mass and stiffness values on the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the finite element model. The structure is perturbed in two ways: at the "subelement" level and at the material property level. In the subelement eigenvalue uncertainty analysis the mass and stiffness of each subelement is perturbed by a factor before being assembled into the global matrices. In the property-level eigenvalue uncertainty analysis all material density and stiffness parameters of the structure are perturbed modified prior to the eigenvalue analysis. The eigenvalue and eigenvector dispersions of each analysis (subelement and property-level) are also calculated using an analytical sensitivity approximation. Two structural models are used to compare these methods: a cantilevered beam model, and a model of the Space Launch System. For each structural model it is shown how well the analytical sensitivity modes approximate the exact modes when the uncertainties are applied at the subelement level and at the property level.

Stewart, Eric C.↗

Recent Advances to Estimation of Fixed-Interface Modal Models Using Dynamic Substructuring

In 2010, Allen & Mayes proposed to estimate the fixed-interface modes of a structure by measuring the modes of the structure bolted to a fixture and then applying constraints to the fixture using the transmission simulator method. While the method proved useful, and has indeed been used in studies since that point, a few peculiarities were noted. First, in some cases the estimated fixed-base natural frequencies were observed to converge very slowly to the true values (in simulated experiments) as the number of constraints was increased. To formulate these constraints, prior studies used only the free-interface modes of the fixture or the measured modes of the assembly. This work extends that to consider other sets of constraints, showing improved results. Furthermore, in some prior studies it has been observed that there were errors of more than 10% in the natural frequencies even when the fixture motion was hundreds of times smaller than the motion of the structure of interest (and so it had presumably been removed). This work explores this phenomenon, seeking to use the strain energy in the fixture, to the extent that it can be estimated using a test-analysis model for the fixture, as a metric to predict frequency error. The proposed methods are explored by applying them to simulated measurements from a beam and from the NASA Space Launch System coupled to the Mobile Launcher.

Allen, Mathew S.↗

Intense Electric Fields and Electron-Scale Substructure Within Magnetotail Flux Ropes as Revealed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

Three flux ropes associated with near-Earth magnetotail reconnection are analyzed using Magnetospheric Multiscale observations. The flux ropes are Earthward propagating with sizes from ∼3 to 11 ion inertial lengths. Significantly different axial orientations are observed, suggesting spatiotemporal variability in the reconnection and/or flux rope dynamics. An electron-scale vortex, associated with one of the most intense electric fields (E) in the event, is observed within one of the flux ropes. This E is predominantly perpendicular to the magnetic field (B); the electron vortex is frozen-in with E × B drifting electrons carrying perpendicular current and causing a small-scale magnetic enhancement. The vortex is ∼16 electron gyroradii in size perpendicular to B and potentially elongated parallel to B. The need to decouple the frozen-in vortical motion from the surrounding plasma implies a parallel E at the structure's ends. The formation of frozen-in electron vortices within reconnection-generated flux ropes may have implications for particle acceleration.

Magnetospheric Multiscale↗

Asymmetric Surface Brightness Structure of Caustic Crossing Arc in SDSS J1226+2152: A Case for Dark Matter Substructure

We study the highly magnified arc SGAS J122651.3+215220 caused by a star-forming galaxy at z s = 2.93 crossing the lensing caustic cast by the galaxy cluster SDSS J1226+2152 (z l = 0.43), using Hubble Space Telescope observations. We report in the arc several asymmetric surface brightness features whose angular separations are a fraction of an arcsecond from the lensing critical curve and appear to be highly but unequally magnified image pairs of underlying compact sources, with one brightest pair having clear asymmetry consistently across four filters. One explanation of unequal magnification is microlensing by intracluster stars, which induces independent flux variations in the images of individual or groups of source stars in the lensed galaxy. For a second possibility, intracluster dark matter subhaloes invisible to telescopes effectively perturb lensing magnifications near the critical curve and give rise to persistently unequal image pairs. Our modelling suggests, at least for the most prominent identified image pair, that the microlensing hypothesis is in tension with the absence of notable asymmetry variation over a six-year baseline, while subhaloes of ∼10 6 –10 8 \Mꙩ anticipated from structure formation with cold dark matter typically produce stationary and sizable asymmetries. We judge that observations at additional times and more precise lens models are necessary to stringently constrain temporal variability and robustly distinguish between the two explanations. The arc under this study is a scheduled target of a Director’s Discretionary Early Release Science program of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will provide deep images and a high-resolution view with integral field spectroscopy.

Liang Dai↗