Award Data

Modern DoD applications are benefiting from the proliferation of EO/IR sensor technology. As imagers become cheaper and smaller, they are being more widely deployed for a variety of scenarios. This trend is exemplified by the Navys Future Targeting System (FTS), which will provide laser designation, laser spot imaging, and some target location functions in a single 5.5-pound unit, replacing discre ...

Cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that run on hydrogen are coated with a thin layer of conductive ionomer- The ionomer facilitates proton conduction to the costly platinum group metal (PGM) catalyst in the cathode, where oxygen reduction and reaction to form water occurs- Higher catalyst efficiency and lower catalyst loadings are desirable for industry PEMFC cost reductions- ...

C4 olefins are important petroleum refinery and petrochemical plant products- They are used in a variety of downstream processes, such as the production of alkylate fuel for gasoline- About 65 million metric tons of alkylate fuel is produced globally from C4 olefins- Other downstream products are secondary butyl alcohol, maleic anhydride, and butylene oxide, butyl rubber, and methyl methacrylate, ...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are exciting for many reasons and are one of the more advanced alternative energy technologies to realize early commercialization – fuel cell powered vehicles are on the road- The gas diffusion layer is a critical component in these fuel cell systems which not only controls water and reactant transport, but contributes to thermal management, and provide electr ...

Unconventional oil and gas recovery has succeeded because of the ability to increase permeability in tight source rock via fracturing- While this has led to large increases in resource recovery, the ability to modify fracture apertures to allow finer control of permeability in these rocks has the potential to increase recovery efficiency- This SBIR project focuses on developing and commercializing ...

The United States depends on its fleet of nuclear facilities for the clean and reliable generation of electricity- With the increased and growing need of electricity, additional nuclear facilities can provide the solution Generation IV Reactors, such as Advanced Small Modular Reactors (SMR’s) are an upgraded means to nuclear thermal energy production- These SMR’s can provide up to 300 megawatt ...

Xergy and RPI will develop a novel composite membrane that enables electrochemical hydrogen compression at > 1 kg/hour at 875 bar with an energy consumption of 1.4 kWh/kg, given hydrogen input at 100 bar. Phase I of this research will include synthesis of membrane samples, followed by bench-top evaluation of key performance characteristics, including polarization curves, Tafel plots, and evaluatio ...

For this Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project, Blackmore Sensors and Analytics and university partner Montana State University will investigate the use of coherent frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) ladar/lidar and digital holography techniques for improved performance of active imaging through fog. Coherent range, Doppler, and polarization selective digital holography ...

With development of shale gas fracking, large amounts of methane and ethane have now become available at low cost. With this low cost ethane it is desirable to convert low cost ethane to high value ethylene. Oxidative dehydration (ODH) for low cost conversion of ethane to ethylene is a potentially attractive route. ODH is an exothermic process for converting ethane to ethylene. By contrast process ...

Excessive moisture transport into building enclosures can lead to increased energy use as well as mold growth and structural rot when moisture condenses in wall cavities. Currently, architects and builders must use passive membrane products as weather resistant barriers which exhibit a single permeability irrespective of environmental conditions. Membranes with a single high permeability may allow ...