Award Data

The energy needs of naval aircraft are increasing significantly as the Navy modernizes its fleet. Current lithium-ion cells are insufficient for meeting these requirements. Li-air chemistry has the potential to meet the Navys energy demands. However, the state-of-the-art non-aqueous Li-air cells suffer from sluggish charging kinetics, clogging of mass transfer pathways and high resistance originat ...

Texas Research Institute Austin Inc. (TRI/Austin) proposes to develop, evaluate, and commercialize an alternative tray ration heating system (ATRHS) that will utilize heat from diesel engine exhaust. The heat from the vehicle exhaust will be used to directly heat the water in the ATRHS or stored in heat storage modules for later use. The heat storage modules will utilize phase change material (PCM ...

Several factors (such as overcharge, impact, manufacturing issues, etc.) can produce a failure in lithium batteries used by the U.S. Navy. When a fault occurs, the Li battery can release toxic and flammable gases which can start and feed a fire, cause significant equipment damage, and present catastrophic hazards to personnel safety. Early signals of a battery issue can occur internally. If detect ...

More efficient on-aircraft repair processes are needed for structural organic-matrix composite components. In response to this need, TRI/Austin is developing UV curable matrix resins that provide elevated Tg, and high fiber strength translation. The matrix resin will be formulated to achieve glass transition temperatures of > 330F, to restore structural capabilities of damaged aircraft components. ...

The proposed Phase II project intends to conduct a clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of probiotics from dolphins, and to develop and commercialize a microencapsulated probiotic product to improve gastrointestinal health of dolphins. Preliminary research conducted by the US Navy Marine Mammal program (MMP) and Accacia International has identified some lactobacilli strains with prob ...

The TB-16 sonar tow cable serves a towing function and also contains sensor communication lines. The Light Weight Tow Cable (LWTC), which contains high-performance polymer fiber reinforcement, has significant advantages over the alternative heavy weight tow cable (HWTC) that is reinforced with steel fibers. The LWTC provides enhanced capabilities in shallow towing and long scope lengths for ideal ...

QuickFlex proposes the FlexDuo mission processing architecture to improve upon the cost and fault tolerance capabilities of current rotorcraft mission computers, while creating enhanced processing capabilities to empower the computationally intensive mission applications of the future. FlexDuo consists of a collection of FPGA-accelerated Processing Nodes with the capability to detect lost Processi ...

Crossfield Technology LLC proposes to develop an innovative implementation of HOST hardware that incorporates HOST-defined 6U electrical profiles and interfaces with the addition of an electrical and optical System Communications Transmission Interface (SCTI) in the Data Plane. To implement this architecture, Crossfield will develop HOST payload modules, a HOST switch module, a HOST Power Supply M ...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) removal is essential to maintaining a breathable atmosphere inside closed systems such as that in a Navy submarine. However, current systems use corrosive materials, are energy intensive, prone to complications, and have relatively short lifetimes. Space constraints within these environments call for a maximization of the amount of CO2 to be captured for a given volume. Thus, ...

Fumed silica is an important additive in many products including paints, plastics and tires, but it is produced by an energy-intensive costly, toxic and hazardous process. SioTex has developed a superior triple green replacement for fumed silica that produces no toxic waste, uses little energy, and is inexpensive.  Our patent pending technology uses rice hulls, a bio-waste, as the feedstock.  Us ...