Award Data

A semi-active suspension upgrade kit for the SOCOM up-armored HMWWV will be developed that will achieve comparable performance for the entire weight range of a GMV: 8300lbs curb weight to 14,500lbs combat loaded. The baseline performance requirement is equivalent handling, stability and ride quality as an M1113 HMMWV at rated GVW. A dynamic model that incorporates the semi-active suspension into ...

Processing of vegetable oils is complicated by the need to remove free fatty acids. Washing with caustic is a viable process but is inefficient because fatty acids and caustic form soaps which cause emulsions. These emulsions cause a yield loss of 1-1.5% or 160-240 Million lb/yr of soybean oil alone. The purpose of this project is to improve yields and energy efficiency in vegetable oil processing ...

Farmers, crop consultants, and regulators are constantly faced with management/policy decisions that require the integration of current crop and soil conditions, and current and future weather conditions. Farmers and crop consultants must make these management decisions within a regulatory environment that is becoming more restrictive and complex. Regulators are forced to make policy recommendatio ...

Rapid, exploratory diagnostics are needed for the identification of bacteria in complex food and water samples. This project focuses on development of a novel, rapid system for molecular identification of bacteria.

Ethylene is a growth hormone for fruits and vegetables that is generated by the plants themselves; that is, it acts as a self-ripening agent. Hence, the removal of ethylene gas can play a central role in maintaining the freshness of these products. Whereas the temperature and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide gases are also important system variables that demand a significant economic invest ...

A. Water must be removed from biodegradable hydraulic fluids as they react with water and degrade insitu. B. Biodegradable hydraulic fluids for farm equipment provide a significant improvement over traditional petroleum based fluids due to decreased pollution. Increase the use and value of biodegradable hydraulic fluids by development of a membrane-based dewatering system.

The use of biodiesel offers significant advantages with regards to the reduction of total harmful engine emissions with the exception of NOx. Biodiesel is a renewable resource and soybean oil is known to be economically viable as a biodiesel fuel. Recent studies from the Environmental Protection Agency have shown that soybean oil alone or blended with #2 diesel fuel results in a significant decrea ...

Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) are a valuable commercial and recreational species with a natural range from the southern Gulf of Maine to South Carolina. Landings of Atlantic flounders decreased from 90,000 mt in 1984 to 25,000 mt in 1994. Total annual landings of summer flounder peaked at 39.9 million pounds in 1979, but recently from 1990-2003 landings have been much lower, fluctuating ...

An ideal wood preservative is stable in wood, biodegrades in soil, is non-corrosive, and if the wood is burned, either inadvertently or for disposal, does not produce toxic fumes or ash. Boron is a broad spectrum preservative with good efficacy against fungi and most insects. However, boron preservatives are not stable in wood due to their high solubility in water. A boron-based compound with func ...

America is highly vulnerable to agricultural bioterrorism. A successful attack could be devastating to the U.S. and world economy. Rapid detection of agricultural bioterrorism agents is critical to limiting or halting the spread of such disease agents. This project concerns development of a rapid, facile, one-step fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-aptamer assay and handheld sensor for ...