Award Data

The increased use of sensing systems and large scale networked nodes with a variety of embedded sensors and imagery is creating a plethora of varied data that needs to be fused and interpreted for applications such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and air traffic controls. The need for persistent human analysis with high levels of proficiency is taxing human resources and cognitive abilities. In t ...

Increasingly stringent exhaust emissions and fuel economy legislation is forcing automotive engine designers to: 1) demand increased pressure ratios from turbocharger compressors to ensure complete fuel combustion, 2) use Exhaust Gas Recirculation for emission reduction, and 3) reduce engine displacement while maintaining or even increasing output power to reduce fuel consumption. These three chan ...

We will develop an acoustically-telemetered, frequency-multiplexed, gamma-heated thermoacoustic sensors that can simultaneously monitor local gamma flux and coolant temperature at multiple locations in the core of an operating commercial nuclear reactor. These sensors will require no external power source and will telemeter temperature encoded as the frequency of the sound radiated by the sensor a ...

Lightning strikes and near-strikes on wind turbine blades cost wind farm operators millions of dollars every year, representing one of their largest O&M risks and expenses, as well as a primary cause of turbine downtime (resulting in lost power production). These negative effects increase the levelized cost of wind energy. With the incidence of lightning strikes increasing as turbines get larger, ...

Inefficient use of energy wastes capital that could be more productively invested in other segments of the U.S. economy. At the same time, the reinsurance industry is eager to reduce property losses arising from increasingly severe weather. But existing reinsurance loss models do not take into consideration the resiliency benefits of energy efficiency measures. The objective of the Phase I SBIR re ...

The technology development for the supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power plant is well underway, and the first pilot plants are now under construction. The new pilot plants are sized for a 10 MW net power output; a good size to gain valuable data for larger utility scale power plants. This is also a very good size for the smaller, distributed power applications. The distributed power application is envis ...

A novel integrated inter-propellant seal and thrust bearing (IPS/TB) for rocket turbopump applications that uses the latest technology developments in seal coatings and additive manufacturing to advance the state-of-the-art. The IPS/TB has low propellant loss, requires little or no purge gas, and no continuous purge when the turbopump is not in operation. The thrust bearing portion can handle all ...