Award Data

Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is currently used as a transparent electrically conductive coating on aircraft canopies to provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronic components. The problem with ITO is that it is relatively soft and scratches easily, requiring frequent replacement of the windscreen, leading to high maintenance costs and aircraft downtime. In addition, ITO is applie ...

A system for high-resolution, real-time (40Hz), non-invasive wind tunnel attitude and deformation measurement is proposed. The system combines projection of structured laser light with photography of the illuminated surface. Photogrammetric techniques are used to obtain the three dimensional shape of the surface. Whereas most structured light systems employ a repeating pattern of lines, the prop ...

Landing gear designs utilize forgings for structural applications, to maximize properties and minimize weight. Although this approach allows for minimal component weight and size, forgings commonly have extended procurement lead time, and are usually an expensive manufacturing method. Phase I of this effort provided compelling evidence that the newly developed Intermetallic-strengthened Martensi ...

The Air Force seeks a large production wind tunnel seeding system with full field steering capability. Additionally, the system must offer control of the particle size and density along with minimal maintenance and flow disturbance characteristics. These features will increase tunnel productivity, and compliment nonintrusive flow visualization techniques, such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) ...

High-bandwidth, Radiation Hardening, low-power, low-EMI, easily reconfigurable and upgradeable transponder-based interconnects between processor nodes, subsystems, and blocks are of utmost importance for the achievement of high performance computing on orbit and for providing reliable electronic systems in natural space and terrestrial radiation environments. In response to the described needs, we ...

Aerius Photonics proposes an optical void sensor that will meet the objectives of the Air Force for a survivable, reliable, non-inertial void detector for deeply buried hardened target penetrators. The sensor approach draws low power, is compact and has the potential for precise distance ranging, void counting, void measurements, and pseudo void imaging in cluttered environments. To achieve this ...

There is a constant need to reduce the size and part counts of state-of-the-art (SOA) turbine engines. One already demonstrated solution, which offers significant weight and cost payoffs, uses advanced fuel-lubricated (fuel-lubed) bearing. The challenge associated with fuel lubrication is that the fuel does not provide nearly as much lubricity to the bearing components as the traditional oil lubri ...

High conductivity (Hi-K) Carbon-based foams offering extremely high surface area and the highest specific thermal conductivity (conductivity/ density) among engineering materials are considered as ideal candidate materials for advanced heat exchanger and for various thermal management applications. A hybrid heat exchanger using carbon-based foam and standard aluminum heat exchanger materials and c ...

Alliance Spacesystems, LLC produced a rotary percussive drill designed for space use under a NASA-funded Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP) project – the Low-force Sample Acquisition System (LSAS). The flight-like drill prototype that was the end result of the project successfully drilled and acquired 1 cm³ samples from a variety of rocks and soils including the hardest anticipated Marti ...

The objective in this project is the development of a monochromatic x-ray source for a small x-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) suitable for NASA missions. This instrument will allow in situ elemental and chemical state measurements in off-earth NASA missions. The need for these measurements is for understanding resource availability, toxicity, and chemical issues like oxidants on Mars. The ...