Award Data

An aqueous-based finish (sizing) was developed in Phase I to improve the carbon/vinyl ester interfacial bond. The finish is composed of a reactive coupling agent, a low viscosity vinyl ester resin, a free radical inhibitor, and a surfactant. The reactive finishes substantially improved the carbon/vinyl ester interface compared to unsized or FOE sized materials. Failure mode analysis shows that ...

New high-temperature sizings are needed to improve the properties and durability of carbon/polyimide composites. Compatibility with weaving and braiding operations and improved wetting during prepregging or resin infusing polyimide resin is also needed. Achieving these characteristics will result in reducing life cycle costs for jet engine composites through better property translation, reduced ...

High-temperature (HT) polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are desired for many aerospace and military applications. Silicon carbide (SiC) fibers provide a potentially attractive reinforcement for HT PMCs for applications ranging from propulsion systems to structures for the orbiting space plane. The sizings routinely added to commercial SiC fibers are not compatible with the new HT matrix resins. ...

The addition of advanced power electronics, radar, armor and weapons systems will significantly increase the thermal load onboard the Navy’s future warships. Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT), supported by Alstom Power Conversion and American Competitiveness Institute (ACI), will develop a high performance oscillating flow heat spreader technology for cooling of high power electronics th ...

A key component of the Navy fuel cell system is the reformer, which converts diesel fuel into methane for consumption by the fuel cell. Reaction temperatures are critical to proper function of the reformer. Reaction temperatures are currently regulated by valves in the process gas streams. These valves require power, consume space, increase pressure drop, and are hindering tight integration and pa ...

For the proposed work, TRS Technologies, Inc., in collaboration with The Penn State Electro-optics Center (EOC), and Dr. David J. Quesnel at the University of Rochester will investigate increasing the yield of damage minimized or damage free piezoelectric single crystals by establishing an optimal parameter matrix for PMN-PT crystal machining involved in wafer and element processing (slicing, lapp ...

Recent advances in the area of high temperature superconductors have opened the door to the possibility of developing highly efficient low-temperature power electronics. The most commonly used high-efficiency capacitors are based on high dielectric constant (K ~ 1000–4000) BaTiO3 doped to yield an X7R temperature dependence (±15% change in capacitance from -55C to 125C), but below their minimu ...

We propose to develop and demonstrate a fragmentation warhead incorporating high-strength, high-density reactive composite materials as the warhead fragments. The materials will be com-posed of an active metal in the form of wire, wire-mesh, or powder, within a bonding matrix of an oxidizer-rich polymer. High strength and stiffness will be achieved by reinforcement with wire, fibers, and nanofiber ...

Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc. will develop a full-scale prototype Anti-Torpedo Data Fusion and Optimization System (ATDOS) which will fuse all available data using multiple hypothesis association, Gaussian sum and non-Gaussian tracking, Bayesian inferential reasoning and non-Gaussian registration techniques to produce a torpedo defense Tactical Picture (TP). Given this TP, ATDOS will optimize ...

In Phase II Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc. will develop a full-scale prototype Object Avoidance for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (OAUSV) system that processes all available USV object avoidance data, dynamically generates a Fused Tactical Picture (FTP) and generates optimal routes to minimize the probability of a USV near-miss or collision. A key capability provided by OAUSV will be the ability t ...