Standard monte carlo and fn methods for radiation transport will be used to study a newly proposed shield configuration for protection against parallel or slightly divering gama ray beams in a space (non-scatttering) environment. the new configuration employs layered shields, with considerable… More

It is proposed to carry out calculations, using both the f(n) method (lately extended to three-dimensional radiation transport by the proposers) and the monte carlo technique, of near-infra-red (ir) transmission through plane-parallel slabs exposed to pencil beams (diameter

Many specialty chemicals and new pharmeceuticals are secondary metabolites synthesized by restricted groups of microorganisms. in the course of collectin microbes for industry, mycosresearch isolates many untested fungi through the application of novel, proprietary fungal isolation techniques. lack… More

Recently conceived radiation transport analysis techniques will be studied to assess their use in space nuclear power shield design optimization. the ultimate aim is to determine optimal compositions and configurations of shield components for the pro- tection of space systems against mixed… More

The project will adopt existing sensor and electrical control technology and equipment to sense changes in environmental factors that might be detrimental to personnel and equipment in deep underground tunnel complexes. based upon limiting conditions set into control system computer program, the… More

Standard radiation transport analysis techniques will be used to study the effect of shield configuration (shape factors, material gradients) on target dose. such a study will assist in determining optimal shield configurations for protection of military vehicles such as the small icbm hard mobile… More

There is a well established need for improved material properties characterizations in conjunction with nuclear weapons effects tests in the tunnel bed tuffs beneath rainier mesa. substantially improved site characterization techniques would permit more confident selection of individual test sites,… More

A requirement exists to acquire accurate airblast load data at dynamic pressures up to 10 kbar for long duration. the gage used to make these measurements should exhibit a linear and nonhysteretic transfer curve, have adequate frequency response to measure the parameter of interest, use existing… More

Geologic material property requirements for numerical calculation of an explosive event depend on several factors, including: the peak pressure expected or achieved, the geometry of loading, and the type of calculation being performed. additionally, the class of geologic material involved; e.g.,… More

This phase i effort will apply theoretical methods based principally on cagniard's formalism (previously incorporated by us into our powerful swref code), to the propagation and focusing, in both reflective and phased-array equipment, of shock-waves produced by underwater sparks. the objective is to… More

Definition of the structure-media interaction (smi) loads on a buried structure is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in analyzing the survivability of strategic structures. advancement of the stateof-the-art in the modeling of smi behavior is hampered by a limited data base which is confined… More

The serviceability limit state associated with occupant comfort under wind induced lateral and torsional motion is becoming an increasingly important consideration in the design of tall buildings. in some instances, structural modifications required to produce acceptable predicted response… More

There is an established need for a simple robust transducer to measure particle velocity in severe blast and shock environments such as nuclear and high explosive tests. a gage concept is proposed for development, based on the proven measurement principles used in the highly successful dx gage, but… More

A phase i effort is proposed to integrate previous work and develop the needed research base to assess and develop stochastic methods for protective design for non-nuclear weapons. the cornerstone of this effort will be the development of a reliability-based design (rbd) procedure. there are several… More

The proposed effort is to develop materials and procedures to apply reech-froude scaling to sub-scale model tests of reinforced concrete structures subjected to conventional (non-nuclear) weapon effects.

The inverse monte carlo (imc) method is a novel application of direct monte carlo (mc) that allows a rather large class of inverse problems to be solved in a noniterative manner. direct mc can be viewed as a means of estimating definite integrals; imc, on the other hand, can be viewed as a means of… More

The safe, reliable, and efficient operation of nuclear power plants requires advanced operator decision aids as well as control and protection systems. a predictive expert system for planning power maneuvers will be investigated as one such operator aid. in the phase i work the feasibility of the… More

Standard toads crystals do not perform consistently at low overpressures due in part to low signal output of the pzt crystal and also due to electrical crosstalk. we propose to investigate two toa transducer types that are proven concepts in other applications. we will design technician friendly… More

Development of an innovative and economical experimental method is proposed which can provide the basic behavior data necessary to meet the dna objective of providing adequate analysis, design and assessment methods for minimally hardened tunnels. this development is accompanied by analysis capable… More

A method for the evaluation and optimization of explosive material characterization is proposed. damage of a rigid runway concrete slab will be optimized for various explosive energy release rates. the steps for the program are: 1) collection and evaluation of runway test damage results, 2)… More

There is an established need for a simple robust transducer to measure particle velocity in severe blast and shock environments such as nuclear and high explosive tests. a gage concept is proposed for development, based on the proven measurement principles used in the highly successful dx gage, but… More

A method to predict the performance of heavy wheeled or tracked ground vehicles is proposed. the steps for developing these prediction techniques are 1) estimates of loads and track or tire configuration, 2) definition of the soil properties in particular the shear strength, 3) numerical simulation… More

The proposed research focuses on a study of the feasibility and effectiveness of augmenting a computer-based instruct- ional package in english composition for adult literacy students with audio support. this augmentation is made possible through the use of a unique computer-interfacable audiotape… More

High range (200,000 g) accelerometers are the only transducers that provide the required long-term data in the environments of interest to the blast and shock community. these gages have a very large dynamic range and noise often masks the late time (but extremely important) data. we propose to… More

A feasibility study is proposed on a novel concept for design of an electronic kill (soft kill) device. the concept utilizes conventionalmeans to deliver a high energy radiation producing device (a "betatron") in close proximity to threat weapon systems, thereby destroying electronic components… More

The increased demands for large scale integration and very high speed processing of information have led to increasing density of chips in electronic modules. this, in turn, has increased dramatically the heat generated per unit area. in order to meet the new design specifications, an innovative… More

A significant cost component in many civil construction projects is geotechnical exploration. the research proposedfocuses on development of a geotechnical exploration system that would have capabilities not found in any currently available system. the system under consideration is a combination of… More

The destruction of organic hazardous waste by electric arc pyrolysis has been demonstrated to be technically feasible by others. the principal problems lie in (1) the short lifeof the electrodes (and related structures) due to the high temperatures involved, and (2) the relatively high cost of the… More

This research effort will investigate the use of parallel processing computers to solve problems in probabilistic structural mechanics (psm) that arise in the assessment of reliability of complex aerospace structures. psm problems, solved by monte carlo simulation, are inherently parallel and are… More

A feasibility study is proposed on a novel concept for a generation of a very lightweight, highly focused gamma radiation beam useful for multiple applications in defense such as kill of electronic systems in land warfare, and (as described herein) discrimination of targets in space. the device is… More

An economical fragment launch system is needed to duplicate warhead fragment/air target encounter conditions associated with modern air to air combat. the objective of this effort is to provide a detailed conceptual design, including building and operating cost estimates, for a launch system capable… More

The objective of the effort is to demonstrate that a decoupled finite element analysis of a penetration exent into concrete can be used as a cost effective evaluation tool to assist the weapon developer. a penetration code such as sampll or the penco-3d module of eva-3d will be used to determine the… More

During the 1989 loma prieta earthquake, impact of adjacent buildings, known as pounding, contributed to damage in several hundred structures in the san francisco bay area. in addition, during the 1985 mexico earthquake, pounding wasidentified as present in over 40% of collapsed or seriously damaged… More

The proposed research addresses methods of increasing the blast hardness of mobile launch vehicles by the reduction of the drag and lift during the drag phase of blast loading. the work will develop mobile launch vehicle section profiles which reduce the drag and lift coefficients without increasing… More

The object of this proposed research is to produce more reliable estimates of extreme winds in the united states by separately analyzing winds due to thunderstorms and large scale extratropical storms. the present state of the art methods for estimating design wind speeds in non-hurricane regions of… More

The central postulate of the proposed effort is that weapons will sense their impact conditions; i.e. trajectory angle, angle of attack (aoa), rotation velocity, and velocity in relation to the target surface. if those conditions are less than beneficial for penetrator survivability and/or… More

Current designs of air force hard target penetrating weapons place the fuze well in the tail of the weapon. this location causes some difficulty for a smart fuze algorithm to discriminate between flexible body weapon response and the loading effects caused by the penetration of soil or concrete. the… More

The primary techniques for conducting vulnerability analyses of mobile or fixed targets are (1) probabilistic studies using simplified methodologies to model the entire system or problem and (2) first principles finite element or hydrocode calculations that model detailed physical interactions and… More

Future combat vehicles will employ modular armor protection systems that can be changed to meet different threat levels. these advanced armor units will be mounted and dismounted from the basic vehicle structure, as needed to meet protection requirements. the objective of this effort is to develop… More

Each year in the united states, the breakage of trees experienced during extreme wind events produces damage to structures, automobiles, persons, and lifelines, with millions of dollars in direct damage and cleanup costs. no research has been directed toward assessing the risk of tree damage or… More

Warhead design calculations and weapons effectiveness estimates require a methodology to predict the terminal ballistic structural response and the associated functional damage to operating missile batteries subjected to warhead fragment impacts at speeds up to 16,000 ft/sec. The objectives for the… More

An innovative ESM impulse detection and processing concept is described, incorporating three individual, but complementary, wideband processors used in selected combinations to provide a versatile and cost effective design which can be scaled to the anticipated battlefield or civilian environment. A… More

A miniaturized lighter-than-air (LTA) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) is proposed as a low altitude, station keeping, optical instrumentation platform. The advanced airship design will be derived from parameters developed during the successful Small Aerostat Surveillance System, Low Intensity Target… More

In this project, the feasibility of combining sonic drilling and cone penetration technologies will be evaluated and a set of preliminary design drawings developed. sonic drilling technology has recently been demonstrated at the hanford site, wa. the results of the demonstration proved that small… More

Estimates of design windspeeds in the nonhurricane-prone region of the united states are derived from historical records of windspeeds obtained from surface level anemometers. the surface-level windspeed measurements are subject to errors produced by terrain effects, nearby structures and… More

Modeling anbd simulations are used extensively in the design and analysis of "bulk" explosives detection devices. however, oversimplification of the input model, namely luggage and explosive contents, can lead to poor detector designs. manual production of such input is costly and error prone. this… More

This proposal discusses the development of a Graphical Vulnerability Assessment (GVA) system for setting up, executing, and visualizing the results of vulnerability assessments. The vulnerability assessments might be for hardened concrete targets, mobile ground targets, or mobile air targets. This… More

A new automated methodology for collecting, analyzing, and reporting fragment data from warhead arena tests is proposed. While the Air Force has digitally recorded average fragment velocity data using electronic velocity screens since 1971, fragment mass distributions are still determined using a… More

Under the proposed research a single degree-of-freedom hinge will be developed that exaggerates actuation by either a piezoceramic or a shape-memory alloy. The proposed hinge is a marriage of two concepts, one providing exaggerated excitation and the other providing bearing-free rotational… More

ARA along with its team member Ryan International Airlines proposes to develop an innovative stochastic decision tool for selecting among the various life extensions options for aging aircraft. The methodology is based on a genetic algorithm search that can efficiently choose among various… More

Investigation of failed composite components requires tress analysis to assess their structural integrity. Currently there exist no general-purpose software packages for composite structural analysis that are accessible to failure investigators who are not experts in these types of analysis. The… More

Current utilization of composite materials in air and surface weapons systems and structures is extensive, and the use of these materials can be expected to increase in the future. Weapons effectiveness assessments and the design of protective structures require methodologies to predict the… More

This project will analyze and select promising materials and designs to be used in the plumes of tactical solid rocket motors for missile steering and control. The emphasis is on high-performance refractory materials and compatibility of material systems. The control fins experience severe thermal… More

This Phase I SBIR will develop a general purpose probabilistic finite element analysis system, ProFEA, that allows designers to perform probabilistic finite element analysis in a graphical environment that is completely familiar and similar to modern deterministic FEA. We have developed an… More

Under the proposed research an Interface-Driven Design Manager (IDM) for CAD packages will be developed to greatly reduce the design cycle time for aircraft structures. The IDM represents a first attempt to fully integrate powerful new interface element and design management technologies into the… More

Recent efforts in the target vulnerability community (fixed ground targets, mobile ground targets, and aircraft) have focused on enhancing the blast and fragmentation modeling from weapon detonations. This includes modeling propagation of the detonation effects from the weapon through their… More

Warhead design calculations and weapons effectiveness estimates require a methodology to predict structural response and the associated damage to air targets from reactive munitions. The objectives for the proposed Phase I study effort are to develop candidate launch conditioning, reaction… More

Turbulence of gas flows by its very nature is one of the most difficult things to model and measure. We propose to develop a new way of measuring the turbulence and to compare these measurements to predictions using the k-epsilon model. Typical measurements, in the past, use smoke, Schlierin or… More

The objective of this work is to develop analytical techniques to characterize wear and gouging phenomena of slippers at speeds up to hypersonic and demonstrate means to evaluate or reduce slipper wear/gouging. Specifically, we will develop analytical techniques that can be used to predict slipper… More

This Phase I SBIR will develop a general purpose probabilistic finite element analysis system, ProFEA, that allows designers to perform probabilistic finite element analysis in a graphical environment that is completely familiar and similar to modern deterministic FEA. We have developed an… More

We propose to field demonstrate a web browser based decision support system (DSS) providing real-time remote monitoring of various sensors placed at the root depth, and compiling weather station data to provide growers with important information for making irrigation decisions. Key features of the… More

We propose to develop a layered real-time and fault-tolerant CORBA-based software architecture as a means to realizing an open standards-based middleware for Naval combat systems. The key features of our approach are (1) a low-level interface to a distributed network infrastructure consisting of an… More

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) proposes to develop a high-speed optical pyrometer which can be used on impact tests of reactive materials with metal plates where flash radiography equipment is in use. The unit will measure five narrow spectral bands of light and use their ratios to… More

The target and its computer representation plays a crucial role in ground-fixed weapon effectiveness analysis. Multiple weapon effects codes are utilized which operate at differing levels of fidelity and focus on differing aspects of the overall problem. Each code in turn has unique target model… More

This work will investigate the feasibility of performing integrated cost/effectiveness analysis for Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) studies. The Modular Effectiveness/Vulnerability Assessment (MEVA) architecture will be adapted to support the various analysis elements required in AOA studies. The… More

Not Available We propose to field demonstrate a web browser based decision support system (DSS) providing real-time remote monitoring of various sensors placed at the root depth, and compiling weather station data to provide growers with important information for making irrigation decisions. Key… More

Limited options and capabilities are available for on-site production of sterile and pyrogen-free water for injection (WFI) by deployable systems. An ideal field unit for military and civilian use should be compact, efficient, reliable, and easy-to-operate. This proposal addresses the development… More

Not Available Superconducting devices such as the volt standard required to be economically, reliably and compactly refrigerated to around 10K. No such refrigerator to be found (yet). Advanced Refrigeration Technologies, Inc (ART) of Boulder Colorado brings an elegant cost efective approach to meet… More

Not Available Proposed is the development of a novel magnetic field sensor comprised of two smart materials: piezoelectric ceramics, and magnetostrictive materials. Similar to a bi-metallic strip, this sensor consists of a thin beam of a substrate material with a thin wafer of piezoelectric… More

Not Available The proposed effort utilizes the experience gained from over 20 years of work performed by the Optical Sciences Company in the area of atmospheric propagation, wavefront sensing and adaptive optics technology to develop new wavefront compensation algorithms that advance the… More

Not Available This Phase I proposal is to develop a low cost, optical frequency shifter using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The proposed device will be tunable over a wide frequency range, consume minimal electrical power, and be packaged in a comm

Sterile and pyrogen-free water for injection (WFI) is an essential ingredient in parenteral and blood products. Applied Research Associates recently demonstrated a novel thermal approach that can achieve fast and virtually complete sterilization anddepyrogenation of potable water, and eliminate the… More

Next generation design software will support fully associative geometric and physics-based analysis models throughout the entire product life-cycle. Most current CAD systems directly support finite element systems, but use proprietary database formats that do not promote diverse tool use and may not… More

Next generation design software will support fully associative geometric and physics-based analysis models throughout the entire product life-cycle. Most current CAD systems directly support finite element systems, but use proprietary database formats that do not promote diverse tool use and may not… More