Joyce Dayton Jacks: Strike a Balance

Joyce Dayton Jacks: Strike a Balance

The Problem:

NASA Glenn Research Centre (GRC), located in Cleveland, Ohio, needed to replace its hydraulic balancing system for its Drop Vehicle Balance Stand. They turned to Joyce Dayton to provide a better solution. The drop vehicle system at NASA GRC is used to explore the effects of weightlessness on combustion and fluid-flow systems in a microgravity environment. Drop vehicles are put into a chamber and allowed to free-fall 134m, for 5.2 seconds into a 7m deep deceleration cart.

Before the drop vehicles are placed in the chamber, they are balanced on a special purpose stand to ensure that the vehicles do not pitch during the fall. 

The Solution:

Joyce Dayton was able to provide a controllable system utilising three screw jacks that reduced balancing time and improved operations.

The experiment drop vehicle is lowered to about 10cm above the three screw jacks, which are laid out in a triangular fashion. The jacks are then simultaneously raised to engage the drop vehicle. Once engaged, the jacks are lowered to put the nose cone into a load-bearing. The jacks then disengage from the drop vehicle so the capsule’s centre of gravity can be found.

NASA GRC was looking to reduce the amount of time it took to complete the balance. Balancing to the required level with the previous hydraulic system took the majority of a day. Any off centre movement of the drop vehicle could result in an impact with the outside of the deceleration cart and damage to the drop vehicle. Initially, NASA GRC planned to purchase the necessary products and create in-house what they needed. However, after reviewing the quote, they realized that the process could be done faster and more cost-effectively through Joyce Dayton. In addition to providing customized jacks that would adapt to the existing system, Joyce also provided a custom controls system.