Award Data

Birds of prey, also known as raptors, are birds that hunt or feed on other animals. They are characterized by keen vision that allows them to detect prey during flight. Since vision is the most important sense for birds, and good eyesight is essential for safe flight, this group has a number of adaptations which give visual acuity superior to that of other vertebrate groups.The objective of this S ...

To meet the U.S. military needs for hardened laser-ranging sensors for munitions applications, a compact, high-repetition-rate, high-pulse-energy laser rangefinder will be developed consisting of a temperature-stabilized avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver, with a few photons equivalent sensitivity, and a miniature diode-pumped microchip laser. An existing integrated circuit design will be updated ...

Plasmonic metamaterials, composed of patterned metallic and dielectrics, can be engineered to have interesting optical properties that are attractive for a range of advanced obscurant applications. These particles are typically fabricated on planar surfaces, since patterning planar surfaces to achieve the desired effects is relatively straightforward.However, for planar geometries the particles op ...

A validated, advanced, detailed physics-based CFD capability to accurately model the separated flow physics immediately downstream in the base region of a propulsive supersonic/hypersonic missile with particle loading effects is developed. The high levels of turbulence in the plume have a primary effect on the structure of the base flow and gas/particle drag interaction further complicates base fl ...

Partial oxidation has been considered as the simplest fuel reforming method that does not require water management. However, the higher hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds in military fuel create significantly challenging for catalyst based reformer. An innovative non-catalytic thermal partial oxidation (TPOX) reformer has been developed at Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT). The proposed Swi ...

MACH I, Inc. successfully developed a process to produce a hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) polymer comparable to the existing commercial product Poly bd R-45M resin under a SBIR Phase II contract completed in 2013.This fact was confirmed through the completion of two commercial runs at a plant in Akron, Ohio and subsequent positive evaluation by propellant manufacturers.However, an additi ...

The ASP family of stabilized weapon mounts is ideal for use in airborne, shipboard, and land applications when platform stability significantly reduces gunner effectiveness. The ASP three axis gyro stabilized weapon mount is designed to dramatically increase gunner accuracy (>10x increase in hit probability) even during aggressive platform maneuvers. The ASP is the ideal solution for coastal patro ...

The proposed effort will formulate and demonstrate the methodology for fabricating Porous Ceramic Matrix Composite (PCMC) transpiration plates with controlled levels of porosity, suitable for high-speed/high-temperature missile applications. The porosity of the fabricated plates will be characterized and compared with traditional porous metallic plates with drilled holes constructed for scramjet m ...

Intentionally emplaced munitions, self-detonating munitions, such as landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are a persistent and deadly threat in active and former regions of conflict around the world. A novel method of identifying and geo-locating these munitions from long distances is necessary to enable safe and efficient location, disarming, and removal of these deadly emplaced thre ...

Vibrant Corporation and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) propose to apply Process Compensated Resonance Testing (PCRT) to the DLA's need for an NDI method to detect counterfeit, nonconforming and improperly processed materiel. PCRT collects and analyzes the resonance frequencies of a component to detect structural defects, characterize material, analyze population variation, monitor manufacturin ...