/// VIBRATION TESTING\\\


supports race-to-space


Large force dual shaker vibration test facility opens to support US aviation, defence and space industry as the next space race gathers momentum


T


esting, inspection and certification body for the US, NTS, has recently opened a multi-million dollar dynamics


test building at its laboratory in Santa Clarita, California. The test building houses a large- force T-4000 dual shaker, which is critical for helping customers in the latest race-to-space. Industry experts from space, aviation, and


defence companies were on hand at the un- veiling to witness the facility first hand. Ac- cording to Dr Chahriar Assad, chief scientist and technical Fellow at the Boeing Company, the qualification and testing of hardware for space flight is unique, extensive and compli- cated, as well as being a mandatory, critical step in delivering the safest and most reliable systems for space exploration. “NTS is one of a select few companies that


is trusted to test the flight hardware needed for travelling to space,” says Dr Assad.


Dual tables \\\ Dual shaker systems have been used at NTS to


qualify components for nearly every space launch platform, including the Space Shuttle, Atlas, Delta IV, and Space Launch System


(SLS), providing the company with a long her- itage in performing vibration testing on very large assemblies using high output, dual shaker test systems. The company was an- nounced two years ago as a winner of the 2019 NASA Space Flight Awareness Supplier Award, which culminated a history spanning several decades of extreme environmental and dynamic testing. The NTS Santa Clarita laboratory is a mas-


sive test facility with advanced dynamics, en- vironmental, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic testing capabilities to meet the


most extreme challenges for military, aviation and space programmes.


T-Series electrodynamic shaker \\\ The T-Series high-performance electrody-


namic vibration tables being used at NTS are available with a 51mm or 76mm stroke, with an output force rating up to 244kN and are supplied with SAI Series Class D power ampli- fiers. These high-end tables have been designed


to meet the high-level vibration and shock test requirements demanded by aerospace and military organisations. All the vibration tables in the range include the Induct-A-Ring (IAR) armature, which has a solid metal armature providing mechanical durability benefits and extreme performance characteristics, which are not possible with wound coil armatures. Conventional armatures have a complex


construction comprising electrical windings, epoxy bonded joints, high amperage flexures and high-pressure hoses to bring cooling water in and out of the coil. Each of these components is subjected to the same vibra- tion and/or shock levels applied to the test specimen. Repeated high level operation often leads to fatigue failures, water leaks, cracked epoxy joints, burned out windings, or voltage breakdown in the coil, according to T- 4000 manufacturer, Unholtz-Dickie. In contrast, the armature on the T-4000 is a simple two-piece metal structure. No elec- trical current leads or water cooling connec- tions are needed. There are no electrical windings. All points on the armature are at ground potential at all times. There is no pos- sibility of voltage breakdown. No electrical in- sulation is used anywhere in the armature assembly because there is zero voltage po- tential between any two points on the ring, and between the ring and ground. By using such technology in the vibration


The NTS laboratory in Santa Clarita houses a dynamics test building in which satellite testing programmes can be carried out, top: a T-4000 vibration table platform is also used by NASA as part of its testing programme on the Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory


14 /// Climatic & Vibration Testing \\\ 2021


table construction, the T-Series is able to de- liver up to 160g sine operation and 320g shock pulses, according to Unholtz-Dickie. C&VT


Vibration facility


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