Award Data

This proposal is to develop an automated system for identification and characterization of chafing in the aircraft wiring. Chafing degrades wiring integrity and can lead to shorts and/or damaged data pathways. Shorts have been associated with deadly in-flight fires. Damaged data pathways have caused engine shutdowns, loss of control, and other safety hazards. Currently recognizing and measurin ...

As a result of doubt about water quality, American consumers spend about $5 billion dollars annually on bottled water and home purification systems. Since 1994, total revenues of the U.S. residential water treatment industry have grown at a compound annual rate of 8.2%, increasing from $1.6 billion at the retail level in 1994 to $2.2 billion in 1998. Most of the existing home treatment systems for ...

The objective is to modify and test gas turbine engines presently installed in/on marine craft to demonstrate that by adapting technology used on street legal vehicles can be used to reduce the heat and noise levels in marine craft. Whether or not the IR15dB level or lower, and the above water acoustic/noise level to 60dB level or lower can be achieved, is a matter that can only be demostrated by ...

Economic losses due to inadequate ripeness detection in the orchard and post-harvest continue to plague the apple industry. It is anticipated that the in-orchard/packinghouse sensor approach will significantly reduce the waste/spoilage-to-edible-fruit ratio, thereby increasing fruit quality and availability and resultant consumer demand at the domestic retail level as well as in the export market. ...

GPS receivers are heavily used in aviation for both visual and instrument flights. There is a need for a backup system so that enroute and non-precision approaches can be flown without reliance on ground based systems should GPS be unavailable. We propose to use barometric pressure, airspeed, low-cost inertial sensors, three-axis magnetometer along with high-fidelity geomagnetic models, and an ...

Commercial-scale marine aquaculture has the potential to close the gap between an increasing demand for high quality seafood products and a marine fisheries near maximum sustainable yields. Intensive recirculation systems are regarded as one critical component of a commercially viable marine aquaculture development program. However, the application of recirculating technology for the production of ...

Commercial microalgal production still relies heavily on batch culture methods. Recent investigations have been successful in the development of enclosed photobioreactors, though mostly still at the research level. Due to several factors, production costs of continuous culture methods remain high and thwart the adoption within the commercial aquaculture sector. This project will investigate the us ...

Commercial microalgal production still relies heavily on batch culture methods. Recent investigations have been successful in the development of enclosed photobioreactors, though mostly still at the research level. Due to several factors, production costs of continuous culture methods remain high and thwart the adoption within the commercial aquaculture sector. This project will investigate the us ...

Durable, economical, and highly functional erosion control materials for use in high stress, arid and semi-arid environments are not generally available. And, few uses exist for value-added products made from woody residuals created by small-diameter forest thinning and wildland/urban interface fuels reduction operations. The project will create a durable erosion control system using the lowest va ...

Due to geographic isolation and lack of support services, rural small businesses have a severe disadvantage in accessing business development resources such as Small Business Counseling, Business Plan Development and assistance applying for Federally Guaranteed Loans. This study will evaluate the feasibility of creating eProBiz.com Small Business Virtual Resource Center. It is proposed that this i ...