Incorporating finite element analysis into component life and reliability

A method for calculating a component's design survivability by incorporating finite element analysis and probabilistic material properties was developed. The method evaluates design parameters through direct comparisons of component survivability expressed in terms of Weibull parameters. The analysis was applied to a rotating disk with mounting bolt holes. The highest probability of failure occurred at, or near, the maximum shear stress region of the bolt holes. Distribution of failure as a function of Weibull slope affects the probability of survival. Where Weibull parameters are unknown for a rotating disk, it may be permissible to assume Weibull parameters, as well as the stress-life exponent, in order to determine the disk speed where the probability of survival is highest

Vibration, performance, flutter and forced response characteristics of a large-scale propfan and its aeroelastic model

An investigation of the vibration, performance, flutter, and forced response of the large-scale propfan, SR7L, and its aeroelastic model, SR7A, has been performed by applying available structural and aeroelastic analytical codes and then correlating measured and calculated results. Finite element models of the blades were used to obtain modal frequencies, displacements, stresses and strains. These values were then used in conjunction with a 3-D, unsteady, lifting surface aerodynamic theory for the subsequent aeroelastic analyses of the blades. The agreement between measured and calculated frequencies and mode shapes for both models is very good. Calculated power coefficients correlate well with those measured for low advance ratios. Flutter results show that both propfans are stable at their respective design points. There is also good agreement between calculated and measured blade vibratory strains due to excitation resulting from yawed flow for the SR7A propfan. The similarity of structural and aeroelastic results show that the SR7A propfan simulates the SR7L characteristics

Vibration and flutter characteristics of the SR7L large-scale propfan

An investigation of the vibration characteristics and aeroelastic stability of the SR7L Large-Scale Advanced Propfan was performed using a finite element blade model and an improved aeroelasticity code. Analyses were conducted for different blade pitch angles, blade support conditions, number of blades, rotational speeds, and freestream Mach numbers. A finite element model of the blade was used to determine the blade's vibration behavior and sensitivity to support stiffness. The calculated frequencies and mode shape obtained with this model agreed well with the published experimental data. A computer code recently developed at NASA Lewis Research Center and based on three-dimensional, unsteady, lifting surface aerodynamic theory was used for the aeroelastic analysis to examine the blade's stability at a cruise condition of Mach 0.8 at 1700 rpm. The results showed that the blade is stable for that operating point. However, a flutter condition was predicted if the cruise Mach number was increased to 0.9

The possibility of the non-perturbative an-harmonic correction to Mehler's formula for propagator of the harmonic oscillator

We find the possibility of the non-perturbative an-harmonic correction to Mehler's formula for propagator of the harmonic oscillator. We evaluate the conditional Wiener measure functional integral with a term of the fourth order in the exponent by an alternative method as in the conventional perturbative approach. In contrast to the conventional perturbation theory, we expand into power series the term linear in the integration variable in the exponent. We discuss the case, when the starting point of the propagator is zero. We present the results in analytical form for positive and negative frequency.Comment: The detailed "pedagogical" evaluations are postponed to appendices, 1 figur

Life and reliability of rotating disks

In aerospace applications, an engineer must be especially cognizant of size and weight constraints which affect design decisions. Although designing at or below the material fatigue limit may be desirable in most industrial applications, in aerospace application it is almost mandatory to design certain components for a finite life at an acceptable probability of survival. Zaretsky outlined such a methodology based in part on the work of W. Weibull (1939, 1951) and G. Lundberg and A. Palmgren (1947a, 1947b, 1952). It is the objective of this work to apply the method of Zaretsky (1987) to statistically predict the life of a generic solid disk with and without bolt holes; determine the effect of disk design variables, thermal loads, and speed on relative life; and develop a generalized equation for determining disk life by incorporating only these variables

Arsitektur tradisional daerah Irian Jaya

Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan telah menghasilkan beberapa macam naskah Kebudayaan Daerah di antaranya ialah naskah Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Irian Jaya Tahun 1981/1982

Probabilistic Analysis of Aircraft Gas Turbine Disk Life and Reliability

Two series of low cycle fatigue (LCF) test data for two groups of different aircraft gas turbine engine compressor disk geometries were reanalyzed and compared using Weibull statistics. Both groups of disks were manufactured from titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy. A NASA Glenn Research Center developed probabilistic computer code Probable Cause was used to predict disk life and reliability. A material-life factor A was determined for titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy based upon fatigue disk data and successfully applied to predict the life of the disks as a function of speed. A comparison was made with the currently used life prediction method based upon crack growth rate. Applying an endurance limit to the computer code did not significantly affect the predicted lives under engine operating conditions. Failure location prediction correlates with those experimentally observed in the LCF tests. A reasonable correlation was obtained between the predicted disk lives using the Probable Cause code and a modified crack growth method for life prediction. Both methods slightly overpredict life for one disk group and significantly under predict it for the other

Effect of Hoop Stress on Ball Bearing Life Prediction

A finite-element analysis (FEA) of a generic, dimensionally normalized inner race of an angular-contact ball bearing was performed under varying conditions of speed and the press (or interference) fit of the inner-race bore on a journal. The FEA results at the ball-race contact were used to derive an equation from which was obtained the radius of an equivalent cylindrical bearing race with the same or similar hoop stress. The radius of the equivalent cylinder was used to obtain a generalized closed-form approximation of the hoop stresses at the ball-inner-race contact in an angular-contact ball bearing. A life analysis was performed on both a 45- and a 120-mm-bore, angular-contact ball bearing. The predicted lives with and without hoop stress were compared with experimental endurance results obtained at 12000 and 25000 rpm with the 120-mm-bore ball bearing. A life factor equation based on hoop stress is presented

How Does Casimir Energy Fall?

Doubt continues to linger over the reality of quantum vacuum energy. There is some question whether fluctuating fields gravitate at all, or do so anomalously. Here we show that for the simple case of parallel conducting plates, the associated Casimir energy gravitates just as required by the equivalence principle, and that therefore the inertial and gravitational masses of a system possessing Casimir energy $E_c$ are both $E_c/c^2$. This simple result disproves recent claims in the literature. We clarify some pitfalls in the calculation that can lead to spurious dependences on coordinate system.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, REVTeX. Minor revisions, including changes in reference

A High Throughput Workflow Environment for Cosmological Simulations

The next generation of wide-area sky surveys offer the power to place extremely precise constraints on cosmological parameters and to test the source of cosmic acceleration. These observational programs will employ multiple techniques based on a variety of statistical signatures of galaxies and large-scale structure. These techniques have sources of systematic error that need to be understood at the percent-level in order to fully leverage the power of next-generation catalogs. Simulations of large-scale structure provide the means to characterize these uncertainties. We are using XSEDE resources to produce multiple synthetic sky surveys of galaxies and large-scale structure in support of science analysis for the Dark Energy Survey. In order to scale up our production to the level of fifty 10^10-particle simulations, we are working to embed production control within the Apache Airavata workflow environment. We explain our methods and report how the workflow has reduced production time by 40% compared to manual management.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. V2 corrects an error in figure