Award Data

Brayton Energy is a developer of turbomachinery systems, specializing in gas turbines, turbojets, turbochargers, and turbo-compounding equipment. In the proposed program, Brayton will design and bench-test the critical elements of novel single-shaft turbocharger with integral motor/alternator capability, including its air bearing system. The proposed variant on turbo-compounding enables motor-as ...

The goal of this proposed program through Phase III is to build a space-worthy Drug Stability Analyzer that can determine the extent of drug degradation. It will be able to monitor the drug active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and its degradation product concentrations as a function of time, as well as determine if a drug is suitable for use. This will be accomplished by designing and building ...

Given that SysML is becoming a standard for model-based systems engineering and Integration (SE&I), system health management (SHM)-related models will either be done in SysML, or be done outside of SysML but enabled by conversion, mapping, and traceability of information across SysML and SHM models. Given that current implementations of SysML are not particularly useful to perform analyses, and th ...

One cannot build a system-level Prognosis and Health Management (PHM) solution by cobbling together a bunch of existing prognostic techniques; it will have a very high rate of false-positive indications. On the other hand, if a system-level health management solution could identify the individual degradations and indictors associated with those degradations, and thereby decouple the problem into s ...

Future NASA space missions require advanced systems to convert thermal energy into electric power. These systems must be reliable, efficient, and lightweight. In response, we propose to develop a turbo-Brayton power converter with high efficiency and specific power. The converter will use gas bearings to provide reliable, maintenance-free, long-life operation. It will also consist of discrete ...

Modern aircraft gas turbine engines utilize highly loaded airfoils in both the compressor and turbine to maximize performance while minimizing weight, cost, and complexity. However, high airfoil loading increases the likelihood of flow separation at lower mass flow rates. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuators have been shown to be a very promising technique for compressor stall con ...

Refueling spacecraft in space offers tremendous benefits for increased spacecraft payload capacity and reduced launch cost. However, there are several key challenges with space refueling associated with the storage and handling of liquid cryogens in space. To meet these challenges, we propose to develop a reliable, compact, efficient cryogenic mixing pump with no moving parts. The mixing pump w ...

Future human space exploration missions will require advanced life support technology that can operate across a wide range of applications and environments. Thermal control systems for space suits and spacecraft will need to meet critical requirements for water conservation and adaptability to highly variable thermal environments. To achieve these goals, we propose an International Space Station ...

Advanced wing configurations where traditional control surfaces are replaced by dynamically controlled distribution of wing twist and/or camber can provide significant benefits to aircraft performance, such as reduced vibration and noise, increased fuel efficiency. Elimination of traditional control surfaces such as flaps can lead to smoother wing surfaces which are especially important in reducin ...

NASA's future science missions to investigate the structure and evolution of the universe require efficient, very low temperature coolers for low noise detector systems. We propose to develop a highly efficient, lightweight Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigeration (AMRR) system that can continuously provide remote/distributed cooling at temperatures of about 2 K with a heat sink at about 15 K. ...