Award Data

Optical measurements including laser velocimetry (LV), particle image velocimetry (PIV), and other similar techniques are becoming a more important part of aerodynamic testing. However their implementation into large production wind tunnels is severely hindered by difficulties with flow seeding. Phase I of this program will focus on the problem of seed delivery and dispersal into a transonic strea ...

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), U.S. Air Force and agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have a current and future need for advanced commercially available inherently rad-hard primitive cell libraries to support new designs for satellites and other spacecraft. American Semiconductor Inc. proposes a new core cell library that can meet next generation high ...

The use of carnauba wax in melt/castable explosives yields a insensitive explosive formulation that enhances overall safety for the use of these munitions in the field. However, carnauba wax is only obtained from overseas sources and there is no domestic source for this material. This leads to shortages of material and higher prices. There exists a need for a wax substitute to replace the carna ...

We will develop an omni-directional imaging and machine vision system that samples the visual field using an “array of arrays” approach. Each individual optical aperture images a section of the visual field using an imager and an optics assembly. Each optical aperture has a dedicated microprocessor for driving the imager and performing front-end image processing algorithms such as optical flow ...

Since the 1990's, applications requiring high power (>1 KW) millimeter wave energy have relied on either gyrotrons or multiple gryotwystron amplifiers. While the gryotwystron approach offers bandwidth and single point failure benefits, it is inherently more complex and larger than that of the single gyrotron. The gyrotron however requires a superconducting magnet to create the 3.7 Tesla field ne ...

Next-generation endo/exoatmospheric hypersonic vehicles require durable thermal protection systems (TPSs) for leading edges, control surfaces and skin acreage that are resistant to impact damage. Multilayered material systems are in development to meet the TPS aero-thermal and mechanical attachment requirements of the next-generation hypersonic vehicles. The aeroshell is a quasi-isotropic, two-d ...

Accurate projection of costs remains an intractable problem in the defense industry despite more than a decade of focus on affordability. The impact to DoD acquisition programs, from cost escalation and the cost of countering capability shortfalls, runs to billions of dollars annually. The objective of this proposal is to develop and demonstrate an ontology-based framework for requirements-based ...

Advanced reentry vehicles desire extended time durations in oxidizing environments, at temperatures in the range of 3000°K. State of the art nosetip materials utilize a high density carbon/carbon (C/C) composite that has a carbide center core. Intermat has produced nosetip billets with a variety of ‘carbide core’ configurations. A variation of this technology is to insert core regions of s ...

Existing search technology is inadequate for addressing the information retrieval requirements of today's complex tasks that require the integration of information from multiple and heterogeneous sources, the discovery of arbitrary and non-obvious relations between the documents, and the uncovering of information that is intentionally trying to hide. The goal of this project is to advance the stat ...

The gradual degradation of wiring systems in aircraft is a serious concern plaguing the Air Force's aging fleet. It has been observed that the majority of wire breakage problems occur within nine inches of the connector, terminal lug, or other junction. In many cases, the wiring was not properly relieved of strain near the junction points. Traditional wires are by nature inelastic under stress, ...