Award Data

The United States has a vast network of pipelines used for fuel transport. This infrastructure, installed in 1950–1970, is one of the largest in the world. Yet poor/missing records of the materials used, combined with the overall age and associated environmental degradation effects, often results in unsafe operation. Current non-destructive inspection techniques are only capable of detecting mat ...

Tension pneumothorax (PTX) is the presence of air between the parietal pleural and visceral pleural, and most often occurs as a result of blunt or penetrating thoracic trauma. Left untreated, the accumulation of air in the pleural cavity shifts the medias

Traditionally P&O interface design has been a craft activity, based primarily on the experience of the P&O provider. Even with advances in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing, the design process remains artisanal and without a clear sci

Vascular access is a critical and early step in the stabilization and treatment of critically injured soldiers and civilians. Traditional peripheral intravenous (PIV) access and central venous cannulation (CVC) access becomes exceedingly difficult in the

Soldiers with spinal cord injury (SCI) face a lifetime of bladder dysfunction. Although the type and character of this dysfunction depends on the severity and level of spinal injury, many of these soldiers and veterans suffer from renal insufficiency, fre

Dizziness is a common complaint, with about one third of the population experiencing dizziness at some point in their life. Vestibular rehabilitation targets vestibular adaptation and substitution for patients with vertigo and dizziness of vestibular orig

Blast-induced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a major threat to the health of military personnel serving in modern theaters. As such, the biomechanical injury pathways of TBI are and have been the focus of many animal studies. However, differences in the experimental setups across laboratories make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions from the resulting data. A tool that can accurately e ...

Water expansion during freeze-thaw cycles can cause deterioration in concrete, leading to scaling, cracking, and crumbling over a period of years. Resistance to this damage is achieved with a system of voids formed by adding surfactants to the fresh concrete to stabilize air bubbles naturally entrained during mixing. The volume fraction, size, and spacing of these voids are critical. It is importa ...

Broken rails are a common cause of mainline derailments and a particular concern given the increasing use of our rail system for passenger traffic and petroleum products. The progressive nature of the defects provides an opportunity for early detection of cracks before they become significant enough to cause a derailment. Unfortunately, current inspection technology does not allow these inspection ...

Use of motorcycles helmets significantly reduces the risk of fatality or serious brain injury to riders in the event of a crash, but riders often do not wear helmets in warm weather because of thermal discomfort. We propose to develop an innovative ventilation and cooling system that will maintain a cool, dry environment inside the helmet while also meeting applicable safety standards. The key the ...