Award Data

75859 Absorption refrigeration is the only currently available method that utilizes low-temperature waste heat to provide cooling. Unfortunately, absorption cooling systems for commercial and small industrial applications are relatively large and expensive, require costly-to-maintain cooling towers, and are difficult to interface with conventional vapor-compression refrigeration equipment. This ...

In support of low flying air vehicle missions, the Navy seeks improved capabilities to detect automatically, geo-locate, and determine the height above ground of vertical obstructions over operational areas. Of importance is the ability to assess the horizontal and vertical accuracy of detection results and detect obstructions above specified heights. The solution must be able to process and fuse ...

72904-Aerosol particles have important impacts on visibility, acid deposition, climate, and human health, although large uncertainties remain on their quantification. A significant part of the anthropogenic aerosol is generated from energy-related activities, and organic compounds are known to account for a large part of ambient aerosol mass in many locations. However, the measurement of the com ...

72080-Nitrogen dioxide emissions are regulated by a national ambient air quality standard under the 1970 Clean Air Act. The prevalent means of detection, a chemiluminescence-based monitor (the so-called NOx box), often provides inaccurate readings for nitrogen dioxide in the presence of other nitrogen-containing trace atmospheric species. This project will build an uncomplicated, inexpensive, an ...

Aerosol particles play an important role in visibility, acid deposition, climate, and human health, although large uncertainties remain in quantifying their impacts which depend on their chemical composition and atmospheric transformations. An innovative aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS)has been recently designed to fill a critical need for size-resolved, quantitative chemical composition data on a ...

76321-Predictions of global warming caused by human activities rely on complex models, which include time variable sources and sinks of atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide. Reliable modeling depends on the existence of accurate and frequently-taken atmospheric profiles of these greenhouse gases. As of now, no readily deployable carbon dioxide sensor exists for this task. This project will ...

75422-The increase of atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuel combustion is a major contributor to global warming and climate change. Improved measurement technology for directly determining the exchange fluxes of the stable isotopes of CO2 is crucial to understanding the natural carbon cycle, which transforms atmospheric CO2 into biological carbon, and to develop strategies to mitigate the problem. Ba ...

75716-Aerosol particles in the atmosphere have important effects on visibility, acid deposition, climate, and human health. A significant part of anthropogenic aerosols is generated from energy-related activities, and organic compounds are known to constitute a significant fraction of ambient aerosol mass in many locations. However the measurement of the chemical composition of organic aerosols ...

75169-There is a need to monitor the efficiency of phytoremediation, in which green plants are used to extract and remove metals, radionuclides, and other contaminants from soil, subsurface sediments, or ground water. In particular, the concentration and partitioning of the contaminants in plant roots, shoots, stems, and leaves must be determined. This project will develop a hand-held Laser Indu ...

The proposed approach provides a high performance mechanical optical fiber splice of single piece construction. Leveraging on advanced glass and polymer material processing technologies, the new splice design offers advantageous attributes of compactness for use with minimum space intrusion, passive self-alignment of the fiber core in all directions, easy guided fiber insertion, quick action, a ...