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Advanced Computed Tomography Inspection System (ACTIS): An overview of the technology and its application

The Advanced Computed Tomography Inspection System (ACTIS) was developed by NASA Marshall to support solid propulsion test programs. ACTIS represents a significant advance in state-of-the-art inspection systems. Its flexibility and superior technical performance have made ACTIS very popular, both within and outside the aerospace community. Through technology utilization efforts, ACTIS has been applied to inspection problems in commercial aerospace, lumber, automotive, and nuclear waste disposal industries. ACTIS has been used to inspect items of historical interest. ACTIS has consistently produced valuable results, providing information which was unattainable through conventional inspection methods. Although many successes have already been shown, the full potential of ACTIS has not yet been realized. It is currently being applied in the commercial aerospace industry by Boeing. Smaller systems, based on ACTIS technology, are becoming increasingly available. This technology has much to offer the small business and industry, especially in identifying design and process problems early in the product development cycle to prevent defects. Several options are available to businesses interested in this technology.

Hediger, Lisa H.

ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (ACTI)

Advanced reactor technologies have attracted considerable financial support, catalyzing innovation in the nuclear energy landscape. These next generation reactors are designed with enhanced passive safety systems and the potential for cost reductions. As these advanced reactors approach technological maturity, their commercial success also requires focused examination and essential support. Economic assessments in the nuclear energy sector often emphasize construction costs and the risk of scheduling delays as primary contributors to deployment expenditures. Traditionally, vital elements of nuclear energy deployment including civil/structural engineering, design sophistication and automation have been either undervalued or postponed in the development cycles. Additionally, the nuclear industry’s collective experience in nuclear project execution has diminished over the past several decades due to the infrequency of new plant constructions. Hence, The National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Advanced Construction Technology Initiative (ACTI) program aims to reduce cost overruns and schedule slippages that have plagued the construction of nuclear power plant projects. With this initiative, NRIC is facilitating the development of advanced nuclear plant construction technologies and approaches through partnerships that would provide game-changing benefits to the construction of advanced nuclear power plants.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

Non-Destructive Testing Scanner

Bio-Imaging Research's technology that originated in an aerospace program has come full circle with a new aerospace adaptation called the Advanced Computed Tomography Inspection System, or ACTIS. The medical version of CT scans the human body for tumors or other abnormalities, the ACTIS system finds imperfections in aerospace structures and components, such as castings, assemblies, rocket motors and nozzles. ACTIS is described by its developer as the most versatile CT scanner available for non-destructive testing applications. ACTIS is a variable geometry system. ACTIS source and detectors can be moved closer together or farther apart to optimize the geometry for different sizes of test objects. The combination of variable geometry, three sources, and focusing detectors makes ACTIS cost effective for a broad range of applications. System can scan anything from very small turbine blades to large rocket assemblies.

Source record

Industrial Inspection System

ACTIS+ is a smaller, personal computer version of ACTIS, a computed tomography system which finds its origins in the Apollo lunar landing research. It is used to identify imperfections in aerospace structures and components. Designed to be added to an existing real time radiography system, its components include a high precision rotation/elevation manipulator, color image monitor, graphical user interface monitor, and PC compatible workstation. Cross-sectional CT images are more detailed than radiographic images and the high speed scanning feature offers the capability for 100 percent inspection in a production environment. Bio-Imaging Research, Inc. (BIR) originally developed ACTIS for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and commercial units were sold to aerospace manufacturers. The technology was refined for ACTIS+, which is principally used in non-destructive testing.

Source record

The Inside View

Bio-Imaging Research, Inc., has been included in Spinoff 1990 and 1993 with spinoffs from their ACTIS (Advanced Computed Tomography Inspection System) product developed under a Marshall Space Flight Center SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) contract. The latest application is for noninvasive nuclear waste drum inspection. With the ACTIS CT (computed tomography, CATScan) scanner, radioactive waste is examined to prove that they do not contain one-half percent free liquid or that the drum wall has lost integrity before being moved across state lines or before being permanently disposed.

Source record

Development and applications of nondestructive evaluation at Marshall Space Flight Center

A brief description of facility design and equipment, facility usage, and typical investigations are presented for the following: Surface Inspection Facility; Advanced Computer Tomography Inspection Station (ACTIS); NDE Data Evaluation Facility; Thermographic Test Development Facility; Radiographic Test Facility; Realtime Radiographic Test Facility; Eddy Current Research Facility; Acoustic Emission Monitoring System; Advanced Ultrasonic Test Station (AUTS); Ultrasonic Test Facility; and Computer Controlled Scanning (CONSCAN) System.

Whitaker, Ann F.

Advanced Computed-Tomography Inspection System

Advanced Computed Tomography Inspection System (ACTIS) is computed-tomography x-ray apparatus revealing internal structures of objects in wide range of sizes and materials. Three x-ray sources and adjustable scan geometry gives system unprecedented versatility. Gantry contains translation and rotation mechanisms scanning x-ray beam through object inspected. Distance between source and detector towers varied to suit object. System used in such diverse applications as development of new materials, refinement of manufacturing processes, and inspection of components.

Harris, Lowell D.

Agent oriented programming

The goal of our research is a methodology for creating robust software in distributed and dynamic environments. The approach taken is to endow software objects with explicit information about one another, to have them interact through a commitment mechanism, and to equip them with a speech-acty communication language. System-level applications include software interoperation and compositionality. A government application of specific interest is an infrastructure for coordination among multiple planners. Daily activity applications include personal software assistants, such as programmable email, scheduling, and new group agents. Research topics include definition of mental state of agents, design of agent languages as well as interpreters for those languages, and mechanisms for coordination within agent societies such as artificial social laws and conventions.

Shoham, Yoav

Superior Tensile Creep Behavior of A Novel Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Crconi Multi-Principal Element Alloy

The creep behavior of an additively manufactured (AM) yttrium oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) CrCoNi multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) is investigated in this study. Tests were conducted over a constant tensile stress range of 40–200 MPa and a temperature range of 973–1173 K. A stress exponent of 6.5 ± 0.1 and activation energies in the range of 335–367 kJ/mol were measured. Compared to its non-ODS counterpart and its parent alloy (CrMnFeCoNi), AM ODS CrCoNi has superior creep resistance at all tested stresses and temperatures. The mechanism contributing to the excellent creep resistance of AM ODS CrCoNi is attributed to the interaction of mixed character dislocations with oxide particles. The creep ductility of AM ODS CrCoNi is higher than its nonODS counterpart due to a large percentage of low angle grain boundaries associated with its columnar grain structure. It was also found that creep ductility is significantly greater at the highest applied stress of 200 MPa compared to lower stresses. The steady state dislocation structure of AM ODS CrCoNi consists of long arrays of dislocations, which is different from that observed in non-ODS CrCoNi which consists of individual curved dislocations.

Seyed Gianmarco Sahragard-Monfared

Hierarchic models for laminated plates

The research conducted in the formulation of hierarchic models for laminated plates is described. The work is an extension of the work done for laminated strips. The use of a single parameter, beta, is investigated that represents the degree to which the equilibrium equations of three dimensional elasticity are satisfied. The powers of beta identify members in the hierarchic sequence. Numerical examples that were analyzed with the proposed sequence of models are included. The results obtained for square plates with uniform loading and homogeneous boundary conditions are very encouraging. Several cross-ply and angle-ply laminates were evaluated and the results compared with those of the fully three dimensional model, computed using MSC/PROBE, and with previously reported work on laminated strips.

Szabo, Barna A.

Hierarchic models for laminated plates

Structural plates and shells are three-dimensional bodies, one dimension of which happens to be much smaller than the other two. Thus, the quality of a plate or shell model must be judged on the basis of how well its exact solution approximates the corresponding three-dimensional problem. Of course, the exact solution depends not only on the choice of the model but also on the topology, material properties, loading and constraints. The desired degree of approximation depends on the analyst's goals in performing the analysis. For these reasons models have to be chosen adaptively. Hierarchic sequences of models make adaptive selection of the model which is best suited for the purposes of a particular analysis possible. The principles governing the formulation of hierarchic models for laminated plates are presented. The essential features of the hierarchic models described models are: (1) the exact solutions corresponding to the hierarchic sequence of models converge to the exact solution of the corresponding problem of elasticity for a fixed laminate thickness; and (2) the exact solution of each model converges to the same limit as the exact solution of the corresponding problem of elasticity with respect to the laminate thickness approaching zero. The formulation is based on one parameter (beta) which characterizes the hierarchic sequence of models, and a set of constants whose influence was assessed by a numerical sensitivity study. The recommended selection of these constants results in the number of fields increasing by three for each increment in the power of beta. Numerical examples analyzed with the proposed sequence of models are included and good correlation with the reference solutions was found. Results were obtained for laminated strips (plates in cylindrical bending) and for square and rectangular plates with uniform loading and with homogeneous boundary conditions. Cross-ply and angle-ply laminates were evaluated and the results compared with those of MSC/PROBE. Hierarchic models make the computation of any engineering data possible to an arbitrary level of precision within the framework of the theory of elasticity.

Actis, Ricardo Luis

Hierarchic models for laminated composites

The principles governing the formulation of hierarchic models for laminated composites are discussed. The essential features of the hierarchic models described herein are: (1) the exact solutions corresponding to the hierarchic sequence of models converge to the exact solution of the corresponding problem of elasticity for a fixed laminate thickness; and (2) the exact solution of each model converges to the same limit as the exact solution of the corresponding problem of elasticity with respect to the laminate thickness approaching zero. Hierarchic models make the computation of any engineering data possible to an arbitrary level of precision within the framework of the theory of elasticity.

Babuska, Ivo

Solution of elastic-plastic stress analysis problems by the p-version of the finite element method

The solution of small strain elastic-plastic stress analysis problems by the p-version of the finite element method is discussed. The formulation is based on the deformation theory of plasticity and the displacement method. Practical realization of controlling discretization errors for elastic-plastic problems is the main focus. Numerical examples which include comparisons between the deformation and incremental theories of plasticity under tight control of discretization errors are presented.

Szabo, Barna A.

Elastic-plastic models for multi-site damage

This paper presents recent developments in advanced analysis methods for the computation of stress site damage. The method of solution is based on the p-version of the finite element method. Its implementation was designed to permit extraction of linear stress intensity factors using a superconvergent extraction method (known as the contour integral method) and evaluation of the J-integral following an elastic-plastic analysis. Coarse meshes are adequate for obtaining accurate results supported by p-convergence data. The elastic-plastic analysis is based on the deformation theory of plasticity and the von Mises yield criterion. The model problem consists of an aluminum plate with six equally spaced holes and a crack emanating from each hole. The cracks are of different sizes. The panel is subjected to a remote tensile load. Experimental results are available for the panel. The plasticity analysis provided the same limit load as the experimentally determined load. The results of elastic-plastic analysis were compared with the results of linear elastic analysis in an effort to evaluate how plastic zone sizes influence the crack growth rates. The onset of net-section yielding was determined also. The results show that crack growth rate is accelerated by the presence of adjacent damage, and the critical crack size is shorter when the effects of plasticity are taken into consideration. This work also addresses the effects of alternative stress-strain laws: The elastic-ideally-plastic material model is compared against the Ramberg-Osgood model.

Actis, Ricardo L.

Nanopore Device for Reversible Ion and Molecule Sensing or Migration

Disclosed are methods and devices for detection of ion migration and binding, utilizing a nanopipette adapted for use in an electrochemical sensing circuit. The nanopipette may be functionalized on its interior bore with metal chelators for binding and sensing metal ions or other specific binding molecules such as boronic acid for binding and sensing glucose. Such a functionalized nanopipette is comprised in an electrical sensor that detects when the nanopipette selectively and reversibly binds ions or small molecules. Also disclosed is a nanoreactor, comprising a nanopipette, for controlling precipitation in aqueous solutions by voltage-directed ion migration, wherein ions may be directed out of the interior bore by a repulsing charge in the bore.

Pourmand, Nader

Nanopipette Apparatus for Manipulating Cells

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for controlled ejection of desired material onto surfaces including in single cells using nanopipettes, as well as ejection onto and into cells. Some embodiments are directed to a method and system comprising nanopipettes combined with an xyz controller for depositing a user defined pattern on an arbitrary substrate for the purpose of controlled cell adhesion and growth. Alternate embodiments are directed to a method and system comprising nanopipettes combined with an xyz controller and electronic control of a voltage differential in a bore of the nanopipette electroosmotically injecting material into a cell in a high-throughput manner and with minimal damage to the cell. Yet other embodiments are directed to method and system comprising functionalized nanopipettes combined with scanning ion conductance microscopy for studying molecular interactions and detection of biomolecules inside a single living cell.

Seger, R. Adam