Award Data

Phase I results showed that two surface treatments, oxidative plasma and reactive finishes, are effective means of modifying the surface chemistry of exfoliated graphite nanoflakes. The surface modifications provide a more compatible surface energy for dispersion in polymers and create well-bonded interfaces with the polymer matrix. In order to be cost effective for NASA and commercial applicati ...

NASA has numerous requirements for in-space repair capabilities to aid future missions beyond earth orbit. A subset of these requirements is adhesive patch materials that provide permanent or temporary repair of a wide variety of surfaces with minimal surface preparation. Prior work on light (UV and visible) curing composite matrix resins for rigidizing inflatable spacecraft shows that there is ...

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT), supported by Hamilton Sundstrand, proposes to develop a heat pipe heat exchanger that is low mass and provides two levels of isolation between fluid streams. It has potential applications in thermal control of manned spacecraft and a number of military and commercial equipment and processes. Phase I has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the hea ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop titanium Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) that can be used in low-mass space nuclear radiators, such as the radiators currently being designed for Project Prometheus, as well as radiators for the lunar and Mars surfaces. LHPs are two phase heat transfer devices that can be embedded in radiator panels. Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop heat pipe and loop heat pipe (LHP) working fluids for what is known as the intermediate temperature range, from roughly 500 K to 700 K. Currently, there are no working fluids in this range that can be used in NASA applications, due in part to unknown physical properties and insufficient life test data. The overall objective of ...

This proposal describes the development of passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) based hydrogen sensors for NASA application to distributed wireless hydrogen leak detection systems. Orthogonal Frequency Coded (OFC) SAW devices have been demonstrated as passive wireless temperature sensors in NASA Contract NNK04OA28C, and are being further developed under NNK05OB31C. The proposed hydrogen sensors w ...

This proposal describes the development of passive wireless surface acoustic wave (SAW) based liquid level sensors for NASA application to cryogenic liquid level sensing. Orthogonal Frequency Coded (OFC) SAW devices have been demonstrated as passive wireless temperature sensors in NASA Contract NNK04OA28C, and are being further developed under NNK05OB31C. The proposed liquid level sensors will u ...

Applied Technology Associates (ATA) proposes to develop a new inertial sensor by combining two sensing phenomena in a single device. ATA has patented an advanced inertial sensing technology based on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Numerous researchers have patented and developed micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS) that measures inertial angular motions. We believe that a composite sensor based o ...

In Phase II we will develop transparent Nd:Yttria ceramic laser materials that can operate at 914 nm and 946 nm suitable for applications in ozone LIDAR systems. We will strive to further optimize Nd:Yttria ceramics with a focus on improving the overall transmission of the material as well as optimizing the Nd dopant concentration. The goal is to develop Nd: Yttria laser materials with high figure ...

We propose an innovative pulsed laser vibrometer technology for the monitoring of interior noise inside an aircraft. The optical speckle-tolerant nature of the pulsed laser vibrometer, coupled with its high sensitivity and bandwidth in surface vibration monitoring, makes the proposed technology ideal for the monitoring of aircraft interior vibrations from surfaces with widely varying colors and de ...