Award Data

The emerging generation of small, lightweight, and low-cost Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) promise greater portability and maneuverability, smaller radar cross-sections, and less monetary risk than their larger counterparts. While the role of hyperspectral imagers aboard aircraft and larger UAVs has been well recognized for target acquisition and intelligence gathering, technological advances ...

The objective of this project is to develop algorithms controlling the high level flight pattern of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) utilizing swarming technology in a manner to maximize Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) performance for a selected algorithm through cooperative search operations involving a larger number of inexpensive UAVs. Based upon the success and results of the Phase I work, ...

Touchstone Research Laboratory and Aspen Aerogels have teamed to create a new carbon composite material comprised of Touchstone’s carbon foam (CFOAM) and carbon aerogel. Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of manufacturing on a laboratory scale and included foam and aerogel compositional optimization, as well as preliminary thermal and mechanical characterization. The results were that carbon ...

The current approach to providing thermal protection to aero-vehicles is to use a parasitic thermal protection system (TPS) that protects the primary structure while transferring the aerodynamic loads to the same primary structure. This approach increases the complexity of the vehicle system that, in turn, complicates fabrication and inspection of the structure. In addition, this approach also i ...

The higher Mach number flight capability required in future missile systems has necessitated the development of advanced materials capable of surviving the increased thermal loads expected in these systems. Although previous research has indicated that titanium matrix composites (TMCs) are a potential solution to this problem, the high cost of these materials has severely hindered their considerat ...

40084 Mineral Technologies International, Inc. This project will demonstrate the technical and economical potential of an integrated process for fine coal recovery as well as for dewatering the clean coal product and briquetting it. A binding agent will be used as a collector in the packed column flotation The approach will unify three consecutive fine coal operations into a compact processing ...

Highly frequency stable optical oscillators are a critical component in coherent detection systems, such as those utilized in range resolved Doppler imaging ladar and advanced photonic signal processing systems. The deployment of highly coherent master optical oscillators becomes increasingly complex in high vibration environments typical of aircraft and space vehicles. The objective of this SBI ...

D.N. American proposes the development of a Human Error Modeling tool for Error Tolerant Systems (HEMETS) which will simulate human performance on complex systems in order to provide system designers with information on what aspects of their design are likely to lead to human error. Furthermore, HEMETS will provide recommendations to the designers so they can improve their design in order to elimi ...

"Critical gears and engine bearings in our newest vertical thrust aircraft must operate with absolute reliability under high loads, high heat, corrosive salt air and intervals without lubricant. Current gear and bearing materials meet the design requirements, however, it is desirable to improve the component durability under unexpected severe operation (longer oil off) or extreme environmental (c ...

This Navy SBIR Phase II effort will develop the processing steps required to fabricate high quality periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate (PPSLT) and demonstrate its utility for use in both current and emerging Airborne Laser Mine Detection Systems (ALMDS) by enabling highly efficient laser wavelenth conversion. The proposed optical material will also support the development of shor ...