Award Data

Cooling and drying of feed pellets are the most important operations in the feed manufacturing industry. These operations are carried out simultaneously, in a single machine, by passing ambient air through a moving bed of pellets. However, simultaneous control of both these processes is very difficult. Overdrying of pellets is a common problem that costs several million dollars to feed processi ...

Locally grown foods account for less than one percent of the total $900 billion in retail food sales in the U.S. (18) Therefore, consumers purchase more than ninety percent of their food from supermarkets. In order for local small family farms to grab a greater portion of food sales, they must get their locally grown foods on the mainstream supermarket shelves, as well as partner with stores to ge ...

Phase I research on the development of a supplemental seating system for short stature drivers was undertaken by Safe Inc. in 2005. The purpose of Phase I was to demonstrate the feasibility of a device that would improve the ability of short stature drivers to safely operate a motor vehicle and to improve occupant crash safety. The study sought to examine the use of pedal extenders and other imp ...

Fillers have been used in the plastics industry for almost 90 years. The total amound of all fillers in 1993 was 7.7 billion pounds and are primarily wood flour, talc and calcium carbonate. Pinnacle Technology and USDA's Forest Product Laboratory have entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to determine the procedures for a commercial operation of converting wheat straw and poly ...

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of western wildfires.The threat to peopleand infrastructure is growing with more population living in the wildland-urban interface.Advances in technology provide the opportunity to improve wildfire mapping accuracy timelinessand dissemination. An un-stabilized airborne fire mapping sensor is proposed utilizing an array ofminiature thermal inf ...

A PORTABLE PHOTOMETER IS PROPOSED CONSISTING OF A DEVICE WHICH IS PLACED OVER THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL LENS. AN INTERNAL OPTICAL SYSTEM ALLOWS MEASUREMENT OF THE SIGNAL CANDLEPOWER AT VARIOUS ANGLES OF INTEREST. THE INSTRUMENT ELECTRONICS AND LIGHT EMITTING DIODES PROVIDE A PASS/FAIL INDICATION FOREACH MEASUREMENT ANGLE, WITH THE GO/NO-GO SET POINT BEING AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTED TO DIFFERENT CANDLEPOWER V ...

AN ELECTROCHEMICAL INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED TO DETERMINE ON COMMAND PLANT WATER STATUS BY MEANS OF CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY AND/OR COULOSTATICS. THE APPROACH IS BASED ON THE CHANGE IN ELECTROCHEMICAL STATUS OF THE APOPLAST ELECTROLYTE DURING THE NORMAL IRRIGATION CYCLE. A THREE WINDOW MICROPROBE WILL BE FABRICATED ON A SILICON WAFER SUBSTRATE USING THE PLANAR TECHNIQUES CO ...

Despite its clean and green nature when utilized in fuel cells and other devices, most hydrogen is currently produced primarily from non-renewable sources, such as natural gas, oil, and coal. Anaerobic digestion provides a potentially improved alternative to manufacturing hydrogen from petroleum and natural gas. Anaerobic digesters can produce hydrogen from inexpensive and renewable energy sources ...

SWINE DYSENTERY (SD) HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO COST SWINE PRODUCERS IN EXCESS OF 130 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY, AND IS QUARANTINABLE IN MOST STATES. CONFIRMATION OF THE DISEASE IS BASED ON THE DETECTION OF THE BACTERIA, TREPONEMAHYODYSENTERIAE, FROM THE FECES OF INFECTED PIGS. THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ASSAY IS TIME CONSUMING, LACKS SENSITIVITY, AND IN MANY CASES REQUIRES AN EXPERIENCED TECHNICIAN FOR AN ...

MANY AGRICULTURAL CROPS REQUIRE APPLICATION OF PESTICIDES AND/OR HERBICIDES. THE APPLICATOR'S JOB INCLUDES TWO TASKS. FIRST IS TO ACCURATELY PLACE A SPECIFIED UNIFORM SPRAY DENSITY ONTO THE CROP OR SOIL SURFACE. SECOND IS TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE DRIFT OF PARTICLES INTO SENSITIVE AREAS SUCH AS HOMES OR SCHOOLYARDS. CURRENTLY, APPLICATORS HAVE NO MEANS TO VERIFY UNIFORM COVERAGE OR DETERMINE THE EX ...