Award Data

Creare is developing a miniature power system for NOA weather monitoring stations in remote locations. This system can provide electric power continuously from naturally occurring temperature differences that exist between ambient air and water in environments such as the Arctic Ocean and the Great Lakes. Generating power directly from these temperature difference uses the atmosphere and ocean/lat ...

The United States has a vast network of pipelines used for fuel transport. This infrastructure, installed in 1950–1970, is one of the largest in the world. Yet poor/missing records of the materials used, combined with the overall age and associated environmental degradation effects, often results in unsafe operation. Current non-destructive inspection techniques are only capable of detecting mat ...

The detection of radionuclide aerosols is a critical indicator of a nuclear detonation. Existing sensors as part of the International Monitoring System operate in a batch process and typically have a 48 to 72 hour delay between aerosol sample collection and measurement activities due to limits of instrument sensitivity. The continuous, instantaneous measurements of atmospheric aerosol radiation le ...

This effort will develop and demonstrate methods for remotely assessing the status of electrical grids based on the illumination from lights powered by those grids. It will lead to the development of low-cost sensors which can be passively assess grid health over a large scale. This effort will assess grid health by exploiting recent advances in high-spatial, high-temporal resolution imaging and t ...

Use of motorcycles helmets significantly reduces the risk of fatality or serious brain injury to riders in the event of a crash, but riders often do not wear helmets in warm weather because of thermal discomfort. We propose to develop an innovative ventilation and cooling system that will maintain a cool, dry environment inside the helmet while also meeting applicable safety standards. The key inn ...

The benefits of greater power and efficiency are offered by using turbochargers and superchargers for small UAS propulsion systems which including rotary, piston, and other developing engines. Present day UASs suffer performance losses upon takeoff and at altitude. Therefore, the need for improved, light weight turbo and superchargers which eliminate the use of oil lubrication for the bearing sy ...

"To operate sensors to verify future arms control agreements, inspectors will need a portable power source. The power source must be rugged, lightweight, reliable, adaptable to a variety of different sensor applications with different current/voltagerequirements, and simple to refuel in the field. We propose to develop a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell that is ideal for arms control ...

The proposed innovation is a deicing system for aircraft leading edges using a high-efficiency, electrically actuated thin-film elastomer. The entire aircraft industry needs this technology to improve safety while minimizing the overall impact on aircraft weight and fuel consumption. We propose to use a low-cost, electrically actuated thin-film elastomer to break the ice bond in a manner similar ...

"Motion sickness has long been a problem during the deployment of military forces. The increased speed and agility of today's transports makes this problem even more acute. For the special forces who undertake rapid insertions using a variety of vehiclesin all weather, the incidence of motion sickness can compromise the mission and endanger lives. Despite intensive research, there are still no ...