Adaptive control of a solar furnace for material testing

IFAC Adaptive Systems in Control and Signal Processing. Glasgow. Scotland. UK. 26/08/1998This paper presents an adaptive control system for controlling the temperature of a solar furnace, which is a high solar concentrating facility made up of heliostats tracking the sun and reflecting solar radiation onto a static parabolic concentrating system at the focal spot of which a high percentage of the solar energy collected by the collector system is concentrated in a small area. A large attenuator (shutter) placed between the collector system and the concentrator serves to control the amount of solar energy used for heating the samples placed at the focal spot. The paper shows the results obtained in the application of adaptive PI controllers to a solar furnace, incorporating feedforward action, anti-windup and slew rate constraint handling mechanisms

Engine cyclic durability by analysis and material testing

The problem of calculating turbine engine component durability is addressed. Nonlinear, finite-element structural analyses, cyclic constitutive behavior models, and an advanced creep-fatigue life prediction method called strainrange partitioning were assessed for their applicability to the solution of durability problems in hot-section components of gas turbine engines. Three different component or subcomponent geometries are examined: a stress concentration in a turbine disk; a louver lip of a half-scale combustor liner; and a squealer tip of a first-stage high-pressure turbine blade. Cyclic structural analyses were performed for all three problems. The computed strain-temperature histories at the critical locations of the combustor linear and turbine blade components were imposed on smooth specimens in uniaxial, strain-controlled, thermomechanical fatigue tests of evaluate the structural and life analysis methods

Design and performance of a vacuum-UV simulator for material testing under space conditions

This paper describes the construction and performance of a VUV-simulator that has been designed to study degradation of materials under space conditions. It is part of the Complex Irradiation Facility at DLR in Bremen, Germany, that has been built for testing of material under irradiation in the complete UV-range as well as under proton and electron irradiation. Presently available UV-sources used for material tests do not allow the irradiation with wavelengths smaller than about $115$ nm where common Deuterium lamps show an intensity cut-off. The VUV-simulator generates radiation by excitation of a gas-flow with an electron beam. The intensity of the radiation can be varied by manipulating the gas-flow and/or the electron beam. The VUV simulator has been calibrated at three different gas-flow settings in the range from $40$ nm to $410$ nm. The calibration has been made by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Berlin. The measured spectra show total irradiance intensities from $24$ to $58$ mW$\rm{m^{-2}}$ (see Table 4.2) in the VUV-range, i.e. for wavelengths smaller than $200$ nm. They exhibit a large number of spectral lines generated either by the gas-flow constituents or by metal atoms in the residual gas which come from metals used in the source construction. In the range from $40$ nm to $120$ nm where Deuterium lamps are not usable, acceleration factors of $3$ to $26.3$ Solar Constants are reached depending on the gas-flow setting. The VUV-simulator allows studies of general degradation effects caused by photoionization and photodissociation as well as accelerated degradation tests by use of intensities that are significantly higher compared to that of the Sun at $1$ AU

Kazakhstani material testing Tokamak KTM. project status

Creation of cost-efficient and safe fusion reactor will require the development of special structural materials for first wall, blanket, reactor components, which will be operated under conditions of the high heat fluxes, superconducting magnets, plasma heating systems and other elements. The existing tokamaks and other fusion facilities do not currently allow for conduction of specialized researches of plasma-facing structural materials. Kazakhstani Material Testing Tokamak (hereinafter - KTM) provides for a unique opportunity to conduct materials research and testing of separate units and components of fusion reactors..

Programmable material testing device for mechanoluminescence measurements

Mechanoluminescent materials transform mechanical energy into visible light. Phenomena could prove to be advantageous to various next-generation monitoring systems employed in the fields of security and healthcare if the intrinsic mechanisms are fully understood. Scientific efforts are mainly hindered by the lack of equipment capable of controlled mechanical deformation and simultaneous collection of light emitted by the sample. This article describes an easily constructible material testing device (508 €) with an interchangeable test fixture and an integrated load cell made from readily available mechanical components and 3D printed parts. A commercial low-cost alternative to spectroscopic apparatus (200 €) has recently become available alongside a highly capable 16-bit CMOS camera intended for low light conditions (520 €). A highly modular prototype system with an overall cost much lower than commercial alternatives that provide less functionality could enable a larger portion of scientific personnel to contribute to a novel field of research. --//-- This is an open access article under the CC BY licence.This work was supported by the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia [grant number SJZ/2020/13, 2020.- 2021.] and the European Regional Development Fund [grant number 1.1.1.1/20/A/138, 2021.-2023.]. Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No.739508, project CAMART2

Advanced Manufacturing Center_Comparative Protective Mask Material Testing

Comparative Protective Mask Material Testing document produced by the University of Maine\u27s Advanced Manufacturing Center regarding their testing of face masks

Kazakhstani material testing Tokamak KTM. project status

Creation of cost-efficient and safe fusion reactor will require the development of special structural materials for first wall, blanket, reactor components, which will be operated under conditions of the high heat fluxes, superconducting magnets, plasma heating systems and other elements. The existing tokamaks and other fusion facilities do not currently allow for conduction of specialized researches of plasma-facing structural materials. Kazakhstani Material Testing Tokamak (hereinafter - KTM) provides for a unique opportunity to conduct materials research and testing of separate units and components of fusion reactors..

Ares I-X USS Material Testing

An independent assessment was conducted to determine the critical initial flaw size (CIFS) for the flange-to-skin weld in the Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator (USS). Material characterization tests were conducted to quantify the material behavior for use in the CIFS analyses. Fatigue crack growth rate, Charpy impact, and fracture tests were conducted on the parent and welded A516 Grade 70 steel. The crack growth rate tests confirmed that the material behaved in agreement with literature data and that a salt water environment would not significantly degrade the fatigue resistance. The Charpy impact tests confirmed that the fracture resistance of the material did not have a significant reduction for the expected operational temperatures of the vehicle