High temperature lubricant screening tests Final report
High temperature performance of lubricants in ball bearings
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High temperature performance of lubricants in ball bearings
Screening studies of the oxidation characteristics of binary alloys of columbium (Ref. 1) showed that chromium was an additive element worthy of intensive study. The screening studies showed that chromium additions were especially helpful in decreasing the oxidation rate of columbium at 10000deg C and were somewhat less beneficial at 12000deg C. It is the purpose of this investigation to study the oxidation characteristics of binary columbium-chromium alloys in more detail.
A rational approach to the problem of accelerated testing of high temperature polymeric composites is discussed. The methods provided are considered tools useful in the screening of new materials systems for long-term application to extreme environments that include elevated temperature, moisture, oxygen, and mechanical load. The need for reproducible mechanisms, indicator properties, and real-time data are outlined as well as the methodologies for specific aging mechanisms.
We introduce the Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface (CAUSES) project with its aim of better understanding the physical processes leading to warm screen temperature biases over the American Midwest in many numerical models. In this first of four companion papers, 11 different models, from nine institutes, perform a series of 5 day hindcasts, each initialized from reanalyses. After describing the common experimental protocol and detailing each model configuration, a gridded temperature data set is derived from observations and used to show that all the models have a warm bias over parts of the Midwest. Additionally, a strong diurnal cycle in the screen temperature bias is found in most models. In some models the bias is largest around midday, while in others it is largest during the night. At the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, the model biases are shown to extend several kilometers into the atmosphere. Finally, to provide context for the companion papers, in which observations from the SGP site are used to evaluate the different processes contributing to errors there, it is shown that there are numerous locations across the Midwest where the diurnal cycle of the error is highly correlated with the diurnal cycle of the error at SGP. This suggests that conclusions drawn from detailed evaluation of models using instruments located at SGP will be representative of errors that are prevalent over a larger spatial scale.
Four candidate lubricants for next generation aircraft gas turbine application were tested under open atmosphere conditions in a rig simulating an advanced engine 125 mm bore mainshaft thrust bearing position. Testing was conducted at speeds to 24,000 rpm (3,000,000 bearing DN), bearing ring temperature of 500 F, and with 1200 F air and 100 psi differential pressure across the seals installed in a dual tandem arrangement. Test bearing was a 125 mm bore split inner ring, outer race riding angular contact ball bearing under a 3280 lb. thrust load. One lubricant, a type 2 ester, performed extremely well. The mainshaft seal limited the performance. Numerous design improvements for this seal were indicated.
High temperature-resistant adhesive systems were screened for processability, mechanical and physical properties, operational capability at 589 K (600 F), and the ability to produce large area bonds of high quality in fabricating Space Shuttle components. The adhesives consisted primarily of polyimide systems, including FM34B-18, NR-150B2 (DuPont), PMR-15, LARC-13, LARC-160, Thermid 600, and AI-1130L (AMOCA). The processing studies included preparation of polyimide resins, fabrication of film adhesives, development of lay-up and cure procedures, fabrication of honeycomb sandwich panels, and fabrication of mid-plane bonded panels in joints up to 30.5 cm (12 in.) wide. The screening program included tests for tack and drape properties, reticulation and filleting characteristics, ability to produce void-free or low porosity bonds in mid-plane bonded panels, out-time stability, lap shear strength, climbing drum peel strength, and glass transition temperature (Tg). This paper describes the processing methods developed and the test results.
Conventional multi-layer insulations exhibit excellent insulation performance but they are limited to the temperature range to which their components reflective foils and spacer materials are compatible. For high temperature applications, the internal multi-screen insulation IMI has been developed that utilizes unique ceramic material technology to produce reflective screens with high temperature stability. For analytical insulation sizing a parametric material model is developed that includes the main contributors for heat flow which are radiation and conduction. The adaptation of model-parameters based on effective steady-state thermal conductivity measurements performed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) allows for extrapolation to arbitrary stack configurations and temperature ranges beyond the ones that were covered in the conductivity measurements. Experimental validation of the parametric material model was performed during the thermal qualification test of the X-38 Chin-panel, where test results and predictions showed a good agreement.
An investigation was conducted to determine whether a nickel matrix with yttria as a dispersoid could be produced by a comminution and blending (wet attrition-NASCAB) approach. Concentration of yttria, powder cleaning temperature, screening (sieving) of the powders, and amount of thermomechanical working were major variables. Tensile strength and stress-rupture life at 1093 C were determined. A product containing 4v/o Y2O3, cleaned at 315 or 371 C with screening exhibited 1093 C tensile strength equivalent to NASCAB Ni-4ThO2 and to commercially produced thoriated nickel sheet.
A number of studies have presented the evidences that surface climate change associated with global warming at high elevation sites shows more pronounced warming than at low elevations, i.e. an elevation dependency of climatic warming pointed out that snow-albedo feedback may be responsible for the excessive warming in the Swiss Alps. From an ensemble of climate change experiments of increasing greenhouse gases and aerosols using an air-sea coupled climate model, Eyre and Raw (1999) found a marked elevation dependency of the simulated surface screen temperature increase over the Rocky Mountains. Using almost all available instrumental records, Liu and Chen (2000) showed that the main portion of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has experienced significant ground temperature warming since the middlebrows, especially in winter, and that there is a tendency for the warming trend to increase with elevation in the TP as well as its surrounding areas. In this paper, we will investigate the mechanism of elevation dependency of climatic warming in the TP by using a high-resolution regional climate model.
There is a need to acquire autonomously cryogenic hydrocarbon liquid sample from remote planetary locations such as the lakes of Titan for instruments such as mass spectrometers. There are several problems that had to be solved relative to collecting the right amount of cryogenic liquid sample into a warmer spacecraft, such as not allowing the sample to boil off or fractionate too early; controlling the intermediate and final pressures within carefully designed volumes; designing for various particulates and viscosities; designing to thermal, mass, and power-limited spacecraft interfaces; and reducing risk. Prior art inlets for similar instruments in spaceflight were designed primarily for atmospheric gas sampling and are not useful for this front-end application. These cryogenic liquid sample acquisition system designs for remote space applications allow for remote, autonomous, controlled sample collections of a range of challenging cryogenic sample types. The design can control the size of the sample, prevent fractionation, control pressures at various stages, and allow for various liquid sample levels. It is capable of collecting repeated samples autonomously in difficult lowtemperature conditions often found in planetary missions. It is capable of collecting samples for use by instruments from difficult sample types such as cryogenic hydrocarbon (methane, ethane, and propane) mixtures with solid particulates such as found on Titan. The design with a warm actuated valve is compatible with various spacecraft thermal and structural interfaces. The design uses controlled volumes, heaters, inlet and vent tubes, a cryogenic valve seat, inlet screens, temperature and cryogenic liquid sensors, seals, and vents to accomplish its task.
Along with major advancement of Stirling-based convertors, high temperature organics are needed to develop future higher temperature convertors for much improved efficiencies as well as to improve the margin of reliability for the current SOA (State-of-the-Art) convertors. The higher temperature capabilities would improve robustness of the convertors and also allow them to be used in additional missions, particularly ones that require a Venus flyby for a gravity assist. Various organic materials have been employed as essential components in the convertor for their unique properties and functions such as bonding, potting, sealing, thread locking, insulation, and lubrication. The Stirling convertor radioisotope generators have been developed for potential future space applications including Lunar/Mars surface power or a variety of spacecraft and vehicles, especially with a long mission cycle, sometimes up to 17 years, such as deep space exploration. Thus, performance, durability, and reliability of the organics should be critically evaluated in terms of every possible material structure-process-service environment relations based on the potential mission specifications. The initial efforts in screening the high temperature candidates focused on the most susceptible organics, such as adhesive, potting compound, O-ring, shrink tubing, and thread locker materials in conjunction with commercially available materials. More systematic and practical test methodologies that were developed and optimized based on the extensive organic evaluations and validations performed for various Stirling convertor types were employed to determine thermal stability, outgassing, and material compatibility of the selected organic candidates against their functional requirements. Processing and fabrication conditions and procedures were also optimized. This report presents results of the three-step candidate evaluation processes, their application limitations, and the final selection recommendations.
Stainless-steel screen used to lay room temperature curing epoxy adhesive permits reliable bonding of electronic circuits boards. This technique would be useful with thin-walled structures that warp during conventional bonding operations.
Coated screens withstand temperature cycling in special transpiration-cooling systems and provide porous surface that is effective at temperatures well above those limiting superalloy screen efficiency. Thickness of coating depends on time, temperature and activator concentration. Coatings are uniform and resistant to thermal cycling.
Combined cycle ramjet/scramjet engines being designed for advanced hypersonic vehicles, including the National Aerospace Plane (NASP), require innovative high temperature dynamic seals to seal the sliding interfaces of the articulated engine panels. New seals are required that will operate hot (1200 to 2000 F), seal pressures ranging from 0 to 100 psi, remain flexible to accommodate significant sidewall distortions, and resist abrasion over the engine's operational life. This report reviews the recent high temperature durability screening assessments of a new braided rope seal concept, braided of emerging high temperature materials, that shows promise of meeting many of the seal demands of hypersonic engines. The paper presents durability data for: (1) the fundamental seal building blocks, a range of candidate ceramic fiber tows; and for (2) braided rope seal subelements scrubbed under engine simulated sliding, temperature, and preload conditions. Seal material/architecture attributes and limitations are identified through the investigations performed. The paper summarizes the current seal technology development status and presents areas in which future work will be performed.
A physically based algorithm sensitive to emission and scattering is used to estimate rainfall using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). The algorithm is derived from radiative transfer calculations through an atmospheric cloud model specifying vertical distributions of ice and liquid hydrometeors as a function of rain rate. The algorithm is structured in two parts: SSM/I brightness temperatures are screened to detect rainfall and are then used in rain-rate calculation. The screening process distinguishes between nonraining background conditions and emission and scattering associated with hydrometeors. Thermometric temperature and polarization thresholds determined from the radiative transfer calculations are used to detect rain, whereas the rain-rate calculation is based on a linear function fit to a linear combination of channels. Separate calculations for ocean and land account for different background conditions. The rain-rate calculation is constructed to respond to both emission and scattering, reduce extraneous atmospheric and surface effects, and to correct for beam filling. The resulting SSM/I rain-rate estimates are compared to three precipitation radars as well as to a dynamically simulated rainfall event. Global estimates from the SSM/I algorithm are also compared to continental and shipboard measurements over a 4-month period. The algorithm is found to accurately describe both localized instantaneous rainfall events and global monthly patterns over both land and ovean. Over land the 4-month mean difference between SSM/I and the Global Precipitation Climatology Center continental rain gauge database is less than 10%. Over the ocean, the mean difference between SSM/I and the Legates and Willmott global shipboard rain gauge climatology is less than 20%.
Current global atmospheric reanalysis products such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5), the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2), and the Japanese Reanalysis for Three Quarters of a Century (JRA-3Q) provide estimates of land surface states and fluxes, including soil moisture, soil temperature, snow mass, latent and sensible heat fluxes, and runoff, that are widely used in research and applications. These land surface estimates are based on land surface process models and, depending on the reanalysis product, on precipitation observations or the assimilation of land surface observations of soil moisture, soil temperature, snow conditions, and screen-level air temperature and humidity from satellite observations and in situ measurements. In this presentation, we review the land surface modeling and data assimilation components of the suite of current and planned MERRA reanalysis products. In addition to MERRA-2, we will discuss the latest NASA reanalysis, MERRA for the 21st century (M21C), which is currently under production, as well as the development and planning of the next version of the MERRA reanalysis, tentatively labeled MERRA-3. In MERRA-2, observations-based precipitation data products are used to correct the precipitation falling on the land surface. Outside of the high-latitudes and Africa, the daily, 0.5-degree, gauge-based Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Unified (CPCU) product is used. In Africa, the pentad, 2.5-degree, satellite- and gauge-based CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) product is used. Poleward of 62.5 degrees latitude, the land surface sees the precipitation generated by the atmospheric model in the cycling data assimilation system. This configuration provides improved soil moisture estimates compared to those of the original (version 1) MERRA estimates, which did not benefit from the use of precipitation observations. Moreover, the use of precipitation observations facilitates a seamless spin-up of the land surface initial conditions across the MERRA-2 production streams. The use of a gauge-only precipitation product in MERRA-2 across much of the globe, however, adversely impacts the quality of the MERRA-2 land surface estimates in regions with poor gauge coverage, including most of South America and Australia. Therefore, the forthcoming M21C reanalysis uses satellite- and gauge-based precipitation from the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (IMERG). This change results in significant improvements in the quality of the M21C soil moisture estimates in the Southern Hemisphere compared to those from MERRA-2. Planning for MERRA-3 focuses on the assimilation of soil moisture observations from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission and the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), along with snow cover area fraction observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to further improve the quality of the land surface estimates from the reanalysis. As a first step towards the assimilation of land surface observations in MERRA-3, the offline (land-only) M21C-Land reanalysis is currently under development as a supplemental M21C product that includes the assimilation of SMAP, ASCAT, and MODIS observations. Preliminary results from M21C and M21C-Land will be discussed in the context of MERRA-2 and plans for MERRA-3.
Rain-rate algorithms for spring, summer and fall that have been developed from comparisons between the brightness temperatures measured by the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and rain rates derived from operational WSR-57 radars over land are described. Data were utilized from a total of 25 SMMR passes and 234 radars, resulting in about 12,000 observations of about 1600 sq/km areas. Multiple correlation coefficients of 0.63, 0.80 and 0.75 are achieved for the spring, summer and fall algorithms, respectively. Most of this information is in the form of multifrequency contrast in brightness temperature, which is interpreted as a measurement of the degree to which the land-emitted radiation is attenuated by the rain systems. The SMMR 37-GHz channel has more information on rain rate than any other channel. By combining the lower frequency channels with the 37-GHz observations, variations in land and precipitation thermometric temperatures can be removed, leaving rain attenuation as the major effect on brightness temperature. Polarization screening at 37 GHz is found to be sufficient to screen out cases of wet ground, which is only important when the ground is relatively vegetation free. Heavy rain cases are found to be significant part of the algorithms' success, because of the strong microwve signatures (low-brightness temperatures) that result from the presence of precipitation-sized ice in the upper portions of heavily precipitating storms. If IR data are combined with the summer microwave data, an improved (0.85) correlation with radar rain rates is achieved.
This report covers work performed at Pratt & Whitney on development of copper-based materials for long-life, reusable, regeneratively cooled rocket engine thrust chambers. The program approached the goal of enhanced cyclic life through the application of rapid solidification to alloy development, to introduce fine dispersions to strengthen and stabilize the alloys at elevated temperatures. After screening of alloy systems, copper-based alloys containing Cr, Co, Hf, Ag, Ti, and Zr were processed by rapid-solidification atomization in bulk quantities. Those bulk alloys showing the most promise were characterized by tensile testing, thermal conductivity testing, and elevated-temperature, low-cycle fatigue (LFC) testing. Characterization indicated that Cu- 1.1 percent Hf exhibited the greatest potential as an improved-life thrust chamber material, exhibiting LCF life about four times that of NASA-Z. Other alloys (Cu- 0.6 percent Zr, and Cu- 0.6 percent Zr- 1.0 percent Cr) exhibited promise for use in this application, but needed more development work to balance properties.