Award Data

Reduced mass materials are critical to the success of aerospace systems. Thus, large air and space structures can benefit from lightweight composite materials. However, their adoption is impaired by the lack of a robust, cost-effective fabrication process, principally because the autoclaves used to consolidate composite laminates are so expensive for large parts. This program develops for US aeros ...

Environmental degradation of adhesive bonds of composite or metallic structures affects predominantly the adhesive/adherent interface by decreasing the number of molecular bonds between the adhesive and the substrate. The objective of the proposed Phase I work is to perform a feasibility study of a novel non-linear ultrasonic method for quantitative characterization of molecular bond density with ...

For propulsion related applications, materials must be able to demonstrate excellent ablation and oxidation resistance at temperature approaching 3500?C, adequate load bearing capabilities, non-catastrophic failure modes, and ability to withstand transient thermal shock. Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. (ACR) has developed low cost, flexible-manufacturing processes for Zr & Hf-based carbon fiber r ...

AN ADVANCED TURBINE ENGINE FAN BLADE CONTAINMENT SYSTEM USING CERAMIC TILES ON A POLYMER FIBER BACKING RING IS PRO- POSED. THE PROPOSED CERAMIC/POLYMER-FIBER SYSTEM HAS PROVEN MORE WEIGHT EFFECTIVE THAN MONOLITHIC METALLIC OR POLYMER MATERIALS FOR STOPPING PENETRATION OF BALLISTIC MUNITIONS PROJECTILES. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY, ORIGINAL-LY DEVELOPED FOR AIRCRAFT ARMOR SYSTEMS, WILL DEC ...

The proposed Phase 2 project consists of the physical integration of our Phase 1 small, compact exciter with a "flight like" igniter or spark plug capable of hot-fire testing. The exciter/igniter unit will operate to a pre-established subset of expected flight performance requirements established and met in Phase 1. The exciter/igniter unit will physically integrate the exciter electronics with ...

In Phase 1, CRG demonstrated the feasibility of a novel approach to prepare cyanate ester based elastomers. This approach polymerizes in-situ siloxane within a reactive elastomer precursor matrix in order to achieve an elastomeric material with highly tunable and desired mechanical properties. This methodology shows great potential in materials development for applications such as space deployabl ...

Cornerstone Research Group Inc. (CRG) will develop new shape memory polymer (SMP) deployment mechanisms for actuating thermal protection system (TPS) panels to create a deployable, large surface area aeroshell. This innovation will exploit Veriflex(R) -- CRG's high-performance SMP material -- to create a low-mass actuation system for a deployable aeroshell design. Veriflex(R)-based mechanisms wi ...

The recent performance increases in graphics processing units (GPUs) have made graphics cards an attractive platform for implementing computationally intense applications. With their numerous parallel computational pipelines and SIMD architecture, modern GPUs can outperform high-end microprocessors by one to three orders of magnitude, depending on the problem. Most work to date at EM Photonics a ...

The incandescent lamps used in the green threshold lamps that form a line on the front end of an airport runway, have relatively short lives and require constant maintenance. The green filters used in front of the lamps transmit only about 20% of the light. Green light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been improved recently and are reaching brightness levels making it possible to use them in traffic ...

The incandescent lamps used in the green threshold lamps that form a line on the front end of an airport runway, have relatively short lives and require constant maintenance. The green filters used in front of the lamps transmit only about 20% of the light. Green light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been improved recently and are reaching brightness levels making it possible to use them in traffic ...