Award Data

High voltage, high efficiency current conducting switches are needed for future high power naval applications. Current commercial Si devices do not meet this need. High quality thick film GaN is a promising alternative with the theoretical capability of providing the needed performance; however, it is presently very difficult to produce such thick films reasonably in existing GaN film growth tools ...

TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes a photocatalytic oxidizer which interacts with ultraviolet light to destroy organophosphate and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in engine bleed air. We will determine the optimal wavelengths for the destruction of bleed air contaminants, including the organo-phosphorous contaminants such as tricresyl phosphate (TCP). In Phase I, we will evaluate the performance o ...

Conducted Energy Weapons, like the TASER X-26, currently have insufficient effective operational range and duration of incapacitation effect to meet Warfighter needs. These limitations unnecessarily put Warfighters in close proximity to potentially dangerous persons and limit the time the Warfighter has to safely neutralize the threat. We are proposing a fuzed, extended range, long-duration, human ...

Flares are commonly used in the defense industry as light utilizing functionally-graded energetic materials for airborne expendable countermeasure applications. However, current flare production processes are rudimentary because they limit design flexibility and incur significant start up and maintenance costs due to low annual production volume. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a superior alternati ...

The Navy’s mission of global force projection and logistic support requires surface ships and naval aviation assets to be deployed worldwide with little supporting infrastructure for communications. Airborne units provide extended line of sight for network connectivity between surface vessels as well as contributing unique sensor capabilities. The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as airborne ...

The USMC is seeking an innovative solution to develop a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser Systems (SCUPLS) weapon system comprising two USPLs: 1) femtosecond (fs) USPL that can initiate the Plasma (igniter laser), and 2) nanosecond USPL to flash heat the ignited plasma to create enhanced non-lethal effects such as flash bang effects, thermal ablation for pain, and delivery of intelligible v ...

Global Engineering and Materials, Inc. (GEM), along with its team member Virginia Tech (VT), proposes a new approach for quick repair of corroded fastener holes using an emerging solid-state process, additive friction stir deposition (AFSD). AFSD integrates the friction stir principle with a robust material feeding mechanism to enable site-specific deposition. Renowned for low cost, high speed, ea ...

The Navy has been developing superconducting systems, based on high-temperature superconductors (HTS), for future use on Navy ships. One of the challenges associated with superconducting magnets is the possibility of a quench, which is an event where a local hot spot develops within the superconductor that quickly spreads throughout the device, driving it into its normal and dissipative state. Sen ...

A hybrid simulation tool based on the immersogeometric compressible-flow fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modeling, data measured from in-flight sensor, deep learning, and multiaxial fatigue damage evaluation will be developed to predict fixed-wing aircraft’s buffet loads and their induced fatigue damage. The project will leverage the existing high-fidelity compressible-flow CFD code developed ...

The U.S. Navy seeks methods to improve the fuel economy of marine diesel engines through utilization of waste heat. Low temperature engine jacket water, lubrication oil, and aftercooler air are largely untapped streams of thermal energy on these ships, but their utilization circumvents many operation challenges associated with exhaust gases. For example, variable and high exhaust gas temperatures ...