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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Thermo-Mechanical Characterization Of Silicon Carbide-Silicon Carbide Composites At Elevated Temperatures Using A Unique Combustion Facility, Ted T. Kim Sep 2009

Thermo-Mechanical Characterization Of Silicon Carbide-Silicon Carbide Composites At Elevated Temperatures Using A Unique Combustion Facility, Ted T. Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated four different types of CMCs in a simulated gas turbine engine hot section condition that involved the simultaneous application of a combustion environment and mechanical fatigue loading using a unique burner rig facility developed for this study at AFIT. Three of the materials were woven Melt-Infiltrated (MI) BN/SiC reinforced by Hi-Nicalon Type S (Hi-Nic-S), Sylramic (Syl) and Sylramic with insitu BN coating (Syl-iBN) fibers, respectively. They were made by the slurry cast method. The other CMC was MI Hi-Nic-S/BN/SiC made using the prepreg MI processing. Prepreg MI CMC and Sylramic-iBN fiber reinforced CMC showed better resistance to …


Wave Optics Simulation Of Optically Augmented Retroreflections For Monostatic/Bistatic Detection, John J. Tatar Iii Mar 2009

Wave Optics Simulation Of Optically Augmented Retroreflections For Monostatic/Bistatic Detection, John J. Tatar Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Optical devices interrogated with a laser in the appropriate band can exhibit strong, deterministic reflections of the incident beam. This characteristic could be exploited for optical target detection and identification. The distribution of reflected power is strongly dependent on the geometry of the interrogation scenario, atmospheric conditions, and the cross section of the target optical device. Previous work on laser interrogation systems in this area has focused on analytic models or testing. To the best of my knowledge, I am presenting for the first time an approach to predict reflected power for a variety of interrogation configurations, targets, and propagation …


Creep And Fatigue Interaction Characteristics Of Pwa1484, Christian J. Pierce Mar 2009

Creep And Fatigue Interaction Characteristics Of Pwa1484, Christian J. Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

One of the main methods for predicting the service life of jet engine turbine blades is through creep analysis. A sample of the turbine blade material will be mechanically tested to characterize its creep performance. This characterization will be used to determine safe operating conditions for the material. While methods for modeling creep behavior are generally well developed, this constant load creep testing does not fully represent the loading conditions present in a jet engine due to cyclic loading caused by the mission profile and throttle movements. As the industry seeks to become more accurate in physics based modeling of …


Effects Of Contact Load On The Fretting Fatigue Behavior Of In-100 At Elevated Temperature, Alfred G. Traylor Ii Mar 2009

Effects Of Contact Load On The Fretting Fatigue Behavior Of In-100 At Elevated Temperature, Alfred G. Traylor Ii

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studied the effects of contact load of 8006 N on the fretting fatigue behavior of IN-100 at an elevated temperature of 600°C. First, S-N curves were created for a range of applied axial stresses at an identical stress ratio of 0.03 at 8006 N. A condition of partial slip condition necessary to fretting fatigue was verified by generating hysteresis loops, plotting shear force against axial stress. The half-contact width and the crack initiation location were determined for all of the fretting specimens using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The contact widths were consistent with expected analytical values and …


Effects Of Environment On Creep Behavior Of Nextel720/Alumina-Mullite Ceramic Composite With ±45º Fiber Orientation At 1200ºc, Muzaffer Ozer Mar 2009

Effects Of Environment On Creep Behavior Of Nextel720/Alumina-Mullite Ceramic Composite With ±45º Fiber Orientation At 1200ºc, Muzaffer Ozer

Theses and Dissertations

The present effort will investigate the off-axis creep behavior of the Nexte720/Alumina-Mullite CMC, a material system which relies on a porous alumina/mullite matrix for damage tolerance as compared to the pure alumina matrix in earlier studies. This research evaluated the creep behavior of N720/AM with a ± 45° fiber orientation at 1200°C in: laboratory air, steam, and argon environments. Creep-rupture tests at the creep stress levels of: 32, 30, 26, and 20 MPa were conducted in each environment. Additionally 35 MPa stress level examined in air and 13 MPa stress level examined both in air and steam. The N720/AM with …


A Comparative Study Of The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Of Several Surfaces As A Mid-Wave Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Standard, Bradley Balling Mar 2009

A Comparative Study Of The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Of Several Surfaces As A Mid-Wave Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Standard, Bradley Balling

Theses and Dissertations

The Bi-Directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) has a well defined diffuse measurement standard in the ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (NIR), Spectralon(trade name). It is predictable, stable, repeatable, and has low surface variation because it is a bulk scatterer. In the mid-wave IR (MWIR) and long-wave IR (LWIR), there is not such a well-defined standard. There are well-defined directional hemispherical reflectance (DHR) standards, but the process of integrating BRDF measurements into DHR for the purpose of calibration is problematic, at best. Direct BRDF measurement standards are needed. This study use current calibration techniques to ensure valid measurements and then systematically …


Analysis And Application Of The Bi-Directional Scatter Distribution Function Of Photonic Crystals, Robert B. Lamott Mar 2009

Analysis And Application Of The Bi-Directional Scatter Distribution Function Of Photonic Crystals, Robert B. Lamott

Theses and Dissertations

Photonic crystals (PCs) are periodic structures built from materials with different refractive indices repeated at sub-wavelength intervals, which results in unusual optical characteristics, including narrowband laser protection, and zero reflectance and high absorption anomalies. Most of the research into the optical properties of PCs has concentrated only on the small range of wavelengths and angles where these effects occur. To better understand where all light leaving a PC is scattered, a Complete Angle Scatter Instrument was used to analyze the scatter from three Guided Mode Resonance Filters designed for laser protection. In the plane of incidence, measurements of the scatter …


Investigation Of Electrical And Optical Properties Of Bulk Iii-V Ternary Semiconductors, Travis C. Gomez Mar 2009

Investigation Of Electrical And Optical Properties Of Bulk Iii-V Ternary Semiconductors, Travis C. Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

Bulk grown III-V ternary semiconductors of In0.08Ga0.92Sb and In0.15Ga0.85As were investigated through Hall-effect and photoluminescence measurements to determine carrier concentration, mobility, sheet resistivity, and luminescence spectrum. In the past, epitaxial layers of ternary compounds have been grown on binary compound substrates, and thus very limited lattice matched ternary alloys were available. Recently, bulk grown ternary substrates have been developed, and it has presented a renewed interest in using these substrates to grow high quality ternary compounds for use in many next generation optoelectronic devices. The results of photoluminescence (PL) study for the …


Non-Destructive Evaluation Of Aerospace Composites, Jeremy D. Johnson Mar 2009

Non-Destructive Evaluation Of Aerospace Composites, Jeremy D. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Five methods of non-destructive material evaluation (NDE) were used to inspect various forms of damage commonly found in aerospace fiberglass composites: voids, edge and sub-surface delaminations, surface burning, and cracking. The images produced by X-ray, X-ray Computed Tomography, terahertz (THz) imaging, ultrasound, and flash IR thermography were analyzed for the detection of defects. Test results and analysis of each NDE method's capabilities provide a comparison study of conventional techniques versus the emerging technology of THz imaging for the non-destructive evaluation of aerospace composite materials. A comparison guide to the five methods' damage detection effectiveness for fiberglass composites is provided by …


Ceramic Matrix Composite Characterization Under A Combustion And Loading Environment, Andrew R. Nye Mar 2009

Ceramic Matrix Composite Characterization Under A Combustion And Loading Environment, Andrew R. Nye

Theses and Dissertations

Lightweight materials that can withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments are constantly sought after in the aerospace industry, typically for Gas Turbine Engine (GTE) application. These materials need to retain their strength throughout the long service period they would see in the combustor and turbine components of a GTE. One material that is ideal for these types of applications is an oxide/oxide Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC). The fatigue behavior of the oxide/oxide CMC NextelTM 720/Alumina (N720/A) was investigated in a unique high temperature environment. N720/A consisted of an 8-harness satin weave of NextelTM aluminum oxide/silicon oxide fibers bound …


Production And Characterization Of High Repetition Rate Terahertz Radiation In Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, Michael L. Dexter Mar 2009

Production And Characterization Of High Repetition Rate Terahertz Radiation In Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, Michael L. Dexter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to produce and characterize high repetition rate terahertz radiation in ionized air plasma. An 800 nanometer, 50 femtosecond, 0.35 Watt, 40 KHz, pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser system was used as the source infrared beam. This beam was focused onto a second harmonic generation crystal to produce a collinear, perpendicularly polarized secondary beam at 400 nm. After realigning the polarization of the fundamental to the second harmonic and compensating for group velocity dispersion introduced by the optics, both beams were recombined and focused by a 3.75 cm focal length mirror to form an air plasma. An …