Award Data

The USAF is seeking to replace UV-susceptible adhesive that bonds the solar cell to a cover glass for enhancing conversion efficiency and to improve durability. Adhesives used for space solar modules need to meet many critical requirements including adhesion strength, optical transparency, thermal stability, and resistance against a broad range of radiation present in space environments includin ...

Charged fuel injection accelerates the fuel vaporization process to the point that heavy fuels can be efficiently combusted at significantly reduced ambient air temperatures and pressures in engines that range in horsepower from below 5 to around 200. Phase I will focus on analytically and experimentally demonstrating charged fuel injection within an off-the-shelf 8.5 hp Lombardini 6LD 400 direc ...

Material characterization and volume imaging of as-produced solid propellant grains are important issues in the design process of solid rocket motors. In particular, it is critical that the ballistician have tools that will enable him/her to understand any defects or morphological changes in a grain that might be caused by the manufacturing process, as well as the determination of bulk thermomecha ...

In this proposal we exploit the remote sensing attributes of ultrasound to conduct heat transfer studies on hypersonic propulsion components and vehicle materials. In the Phase I program, we have successfully demonstrated the viability of the ultrasonic method to measure surface temperature, local temperature and heat flux. In a series of laboratory studies, we have remotely measured surface temp ...

The Armstrong Process produces titanium by the reduction of titanium tetrachloride through reaction with sodium. The process allows continuous production by injecting gaseous titanium tetrachloride into a flowing stream of liquid sodium. The process can produce metals and alloys of any composition provided that the constituents have volatile compounds. Because of the nature of the reaction the A ...

Kinetic BEI intends to design, build and test MicroJectors during this SBIR Phase I contract. A first generation prototype of the MicroJector currently exists. This SBIR would provide the opportunity to expand on previous work, fine-tuning the mechanical design of the miniature fuel injection system and bench testing second-generation prototypes. During this effort, spray patterns will be evalua ...

Kinetic BEI and Beginning Technologies Inc. have designed a very compact and simple micro-injection pump. This SBIR Phase I will provide the opportunity to further advance this emerging technology for use on several current miniature/micro engine development programs for the military and commercial worlds. The pump was designed to provide high pressure supply to common rail type injectors on a 1 ...

A compact heavy fueled engine is progressing from a desire to a requirement. A miniature Meyer Nutating Disk Engine provides the means of propulsion that the military has been seeking. An unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will have capabilities that are not currently possible with present internal combustion engines. The miniature high power density Meyer Nutating Disk Engine designed during the Phase I ...

Research is proposed to develop a locking mechanism for intercity (Amtrak) rotating seats that can be retro-fit to existing seats. Current intercity rail seats, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), present a safety hazard to the riding public. Post accident investigations show that passenger rail seats were found to have been uncontrollably rotated even though current se ...

The innovation in this Phase I SBIR is the development of a technology, which will enable the manufacture of a lightweight and low cost, InP wafer based high efficiency multijunction solar cells suitable for deployment in space applications. InP based based materials are best suited for space applications because of their demonstrated radiation hardness properties. The key technological step is t ...