In removing paint from fiber composite components, traditional procedures such as plastic bead blasting have been shwon to lead to removal of the gel coat, extensive fiber breakage and matrix debonding which results in losses of up to 30% in the matrix-dominated mechanical properties and minor… More

Aircraft components which utilize thermoplastic composites offer significant advantages over metallic structures due to the combination of reduced weight and increased strength inherent in composite structures. fabrication of thermoplastic composites is plagued by porosity or voids in the… More

Military vehicle air cleaner system performance can be evaluated in several ways, however, one of the most important performance considerations is service life. today, air cleaners require frequent servicing in dusty conditions and pose a contamination risk factor to media material and maintenance… More

Commercial applications of biotechnology will be limited to high value products as long as production costs are controlled by the capacity of existing culture systems. ultrasonically enhanced diffusion can accelerate plant and cell growth and these phenomena operate at the near molecular level, an… More

System performance capabilities for inhabited and space suit environments will require innovations in both environmental and life support systems. this proposal addresses the need for a compact, reliable, low power technique to separate gas (e.g., air) from a water transportloop in a zero or low… More

Atomized liquid spray filtration systems address the deficiencies of the current barrier-type filtration systems. pressure drop across the liquid spray is low because there is no obstruction to the airflow; thus the system will require less space and can operate with conventional ventilation fans.… More

Current metal cutting and finishing operations use skimming and filtration to try to separate wastes from their water based cutting fluids. the residual liquid from the filtration consists of ultrafine metal particles containing hazardous heavy metals like lead, zinc, and cadmium and a tightly… More

Currently, the army uses water purification systems based on reverse osmosis (ro). ro is effective, but considerable energy is required to overcome the osmotic pressure of raw water. also, elaborate pretreatment systems must be used to prolong the life of expensive ro elements. the army desires a… More

Very recently, thermoplastic pultrusions, inc., has developed the capability to pultrude ultra high-modulus graphite fiber/powdered thermoplastic resin prepregs into high quality composites without damaging the fibers. since the pultruded composites are already consolidated, reforming does not… More