Injection of solid fuel pellets into a tokamak reactor is anattractive technique for refueling. the concept is based onthe uniform evaporation of the cryogenic material during itstravel across the minor diameter of the machine. the ablation rate is determined by the physics of the heat conduction… More

The long term objective of this study is to develop a microcarrier substrate for growing fastidious anchorage dependent cells which is superior to current microcarrier products. microcarrier systems show great potential for the large scale growth of cells and the production of their metabolic… More

This project will develop an instrument capable of automatically performing all liquid processing steps of enzyme-linked immunosorb assays (elisa) and related assays. the unit will perform the assays in 96-well microtiter* plates, be controlled by either an internal microprocessor or an external… More

Atomic iodine is used successfully as the active element in high power lasers operating at 1.3 micron wavelength. the iodine laser transition is efficiently pumped by molecular oxygen in its singlet delta excited state. the objective ofthis research is to investigate and evaluate a method for… More

Attainable computation rates oncomputers with serial architecture are a serious limitation for the simulation of the hydrodynamic behavior of fluids. computers with parallel processing architecture can achieve much higher rates. the computer research and applica tions group at los alamos national… More

Singlet delta oxygen provides a source of electronic energy for cheimically pumped laser systems, most notably the oxygen-iodine laser. several important reactions in the oxygen-iodine laser may depend critically on the amount of vibrational excitation in the g state. in this proposal, we evaluate… More

Soft x-ray interferometry will directly measure the real part of a material's index of refraction, satisfying a growing need for accurate optical constants in the 8-100 a region. as synchroton sources in this x-ray range have become widely available, commercial research has moved into soft x-ray… More

The innovative aspect of this proposal is the measurement of atmospheric moisture through its effect on the transmission of light through a multilayer dielectric mirror. this effect has not been exploited in the past, because it is undersirable in the normal use of dielectric mirrors. in spite of… More

We propose to develop, construct, and test a prototype x-ray spectrograph for the 0.1 - 1 kev energy range with time resolution of about one nanosecond. the proposed instrument will provide flexibility in choice of operating wavelength, will be substantially more sensitive than x-ray films, and will… More

This project is to develop techniques and equipment for dispersing large quantities of submicron par- ticulate aerosols into the atmosphere to trace the movements of solid-state particulate pollutants. such pollutants often form in the exhaust plumes from coal-fired electric generating plants and,… More

We propose to investigate the feasibility of a new chemical laser based on the (red) 0.76 micrometers o2 1sigma yields o2 3sigma transition. the o2 1sigma state is produced by an energy-pooling reaction (o2 1delta + o2 1delta yields o2 1sigma + 3sigma(1)). the o2 1delta electronic excited state is… More

Utilizing techniques developed extensively in the national laser fusion program, we propose to measure the time dependent change in crystal x-ray reflectivity brought about when a crystal is heated to the melting point on a picosecond time scale. this experiment will obtain data on radiation-lattice… More

Cellular response to pulsatile molecular signals, rather than steady-state signals, may be nearly universal and, if demonstrated, will be a discovery of fundamental importance. the aim of this research is to construct and test a unique cell micro-perifusion system capable of making dynamic… More

State-of-the-art computer technology is currently under-utilized in severe environment applications. this situation is a direct result of the severe environments. low cost computer systems are not sufficiently ruggedized to provide reliable operation in these environments while fully militarized… More

Route planning is an important aspect in the utilization of robotic vehicles whether completely autonomous or teleoperated. this proposed research will investigate the problems associated with long range route planning for land vehicles by transversing cross country paths created by both a computer… More

In this project, a novel he-3 neutron detector will be constructed. the technique will use high pressure he-3 and a scintillation medium. neutrons interacting with he-3 will produce energetic protons and tritons. the device will be constructed so as to maximize the deposition of energy by the… More

We propose to investigate a novel concpet for a fluorographic converter for use in real time radiography in the 50 kev energy range. the fiber optic x-ray scintillator (foxs) is based on the incorporation of a high efficiency scintillator with fiber optics. light can be coupled out of the foxs with… More

The goal of this project is to develop a general purpose, modular, holographic fringe analysis system which will be able to use expert knowledge to control the processing of fringe patterns into useful engineering data. the phase i objective is to develop the architectural design for this system.… More

The space station of the future will be of such enormous complexity that it will be impossible to fully understand the entire system. because of the complexity of this system, an all encompassing status display would be overwhelming unless presented in a hierarchial manner. we propose a workstation… More

We will establish proof of principle for an optical blast overpressuretransducer for use in the 1-100 kpa range that will operate from dc tokhz, or 300 khz if undamped. light from a laser will be transmitted to the transducer through an optical fiber. the operation of the transducer will be based on… More

The unavailability and high cost of vehicles for use on ranges to produce ir signatures for testing, development and training results in less than optimum use of the ranges. to alleviate this problem, a flexible, dynamic ir target simulator could be used on the range to simulate the… More

Streamline diffusisd) methods for the computational sol- ution of the equations of fluid dynamics have been shown in theory to have both excellent stability properties and high accuracy. however, sd methods have not yet been implement- ed in computed codes sophisticated or efficient enough to solve… More

Laser holographic interferometry has become an important tool for aerodynamic research because interferograms provide quantitative measurements of the flowfield surrounding wind tunnel models. however, until recently, routine use of holographic interferometry has been impractical because analyzing… More

Polymer materials and coatings are used in tritium secondary and tertiary confinement gas handing facilities, in glove boxes, window gaskets, epoxy paints, and personal protective clothing items such as bubblesuits, gloves, and booties. these materials lack hydrogen barrier properties. the few… More

Evaluation of damaged dna components is normally performed via agarose gel electrophoresis of dna samples stained with fluorescing dye. although this method provides adequate sensitivity and resolution in the identification of dna components, the lack of available instrumentation to convert the… More

This proposal outlines a six-month research program aimed atfundamental investigations of metal sulfide cluster-oxide support systems for hydrodesulfurization (hds). hydrodesulfurization remains a poorly understood reaction despite very extensive study. the use of cluster-derived catalysts for hds… More

A high average power laser can meet the near term dod goal of developing an x-ray source for submicron x-ray lithography. design rules of 0.25 micrometer and smaller are achievable on the factory floor within the next five years with such a system. a tightly focussed solid state laser can produce a… More

Laser holographic interferometry can provide the aerodynamicist with quantitative measurements of the flow field surrounding wind tunnel models. however, until recently, routine use of holographic interferometry has been impractical because analyzing fringe data is an extremely laborious process.… More

Autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic systems will play a major role in future space activities. to make this possible, these systems must incorporate extensive, geometric knowledge of their environment - knowledge often referred to as world model. because much of the space station will be defined… More

The measurement of dynamic high-pressures is a problem of interest in many fields. the performance of existing dynamic pressure sensors is often limited by high amplitude,broadband electromagnetic noise endemic to the environments in which they are used. to obtain a more useful pressure diagnostic… More

The scanning tunneling microscope data and display system is an electronic data gathering and control system that will allow the user of the instrument to display data in a three dimensional representation with appropriate tools for data analysis. we propose a system that utilizes two computers, one… More

Nasa needs robust, accurate, and efficient 3-d vision systems for space station construction, maintenance, and operations. these vision systems must be able to operate reliably in cluttered environments having poor natural illumination and containing potentially many different types of objects which… More

Kms proposes to develop a real-time display of projecting a holographic image computed directly from range tracking data. during the phase i effort, kms will research and examine the limitations of the state-of-the-art, provide a conceptual design of a projected holographic display and compare it to… More

Laser holographic interferometry is an important tool for aerodynamic research because interferograms provide quantitative measurements of the flow field surrounding wind tunnel models. however, until recently, routine use of holographic interferometry has been impractical because reducing fringe… More

Kmsf proposes to develop a real-time display capable of holographically projecting a 3-dimensional image. during the phase i effort, kms will research and examine the limitations of the state-of-the-art, analyze existing electronic holography systems, design a mathematical model of a projected… More

The objective of the proposed work is to apply radiation transport methods developed to study controlled fusion to simulate the reflection of light in computer graphics. viewfactor methods have recently been applied to the study of time dependent radiation transport in enclosures. codes developed at… More

To reduce the frequency of potentially unproductive and dangerous extravehicular activities by space station astronauts, nasa will need telerobotic and autonomous robotic systems. because autonomous robots are far beyond the state-of-the-art in artificial intelligence and computervision, nasa must… More

Self propagating high temperature synthesis (shs) of tic and tib2 results in a hot porous product. if the temperature of the product exceeds the ductile-brittle transition temperature, the hot product can be compacted to reduce porosity and yield a consolidated body with useful structural… More

Real-time, three-dimensional object tracking is the key to successfully completing robotic end-effector docking tasks in uncertain and changeable environments. since reliable systems for tracking three-dimensional objects under realistic conditions do not yet exist, this project proposes to design a… More

Time-delays and limited sensory feedback of remote telerobotic systems tend to disorient teleoperators and dramatically decrease the operator's performance. to eliminate these effects, a virtual reality user-interface for actualizing a robot (virtual-robot) system will be designed. the virtual-robot… More

One of the major problems in laser-target interaction experiments is that the particulate material expelled in the plume scatters the laser light out of the beam before it is absorbed. to meet the army's needs to understand this process, kms proposes to develop a holographic plume analysis system… More