Award Data

By properly characterizing the thermo-mechanical activity within non-nuclear test articles, nuclear operation can be more accurately controlled and confidence in thermo-mechanical simulations will be high. However, the ability to characterize non-nuclear test core simulators is currently limited by the lack of instrumentation options available for measurements of parameters of interest such as tem ...

Luna Innovations has teamed with the University of Alabama, Huntsville, to develop a miniature flush-mounted fiber-optic pressure sensor that will allow accurate, high-frequency high-pressure measurement of LOx and LH2. The Innovation of this proposed development is that the miniature flush-mounted fiber-optic pressure sensor is not intrusive, is intrinsically safe, and is a novel adaptation of p ...

Next-generation aerospace systems will require increased autonomy to modify system behavior based on changing mission requirements, environmental factors, and system performance. For example, intelligent systems have been employed to improve safety by adaptively compensating for unexpected failures or damage. Despite many successful demonstrations of autonomous and intelligent control laws in simu ...

The development and performance evaluation of new carbon/carbon (C/C) and carbon/silicon-carbide (SiC) composite structural components has been hampered by the lack of reliable strain sensors that can survive up to the exceedingly high temperatures (3000 F) up to which these materials must be tested. Existing off-the-shelf high-temperature strain sensors, including free filament electrical strain ...

Airport configuration is a primary factor in various airport characteristics such as arrival and departure capacities and terminal area traffic patterns. These characteristics, in turn, are central to a variety of Air Traffic Management (ATM) decisions that in turn affect delays and efficiency in the National Airspace System (NAS). There is presently poor knowledge about the airport characterist ...

Building on the success of our Phase I efforts, Mikro Systems, Inc. (MSI) proposes to advance the state-of-the-art in high resolution, high-aspect-ratio X-ray/gamma-ray collimator fabrication by reducing slit pitch by a factor of ~2, from 35 microns to 20 microns, using an innovative hybrid micro-machining technology. Fine grids having high-aspect-ratio (>50:1) and made from dense materials are ...

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used as an analysis tool to help the designer gain greater understanding of the fluid flow phenomena involved in the components being designed. The next step in the design process is to modify the design to improve the components performance, typically performed manually by the designer in a trial and error fashion. The innovations proposed herein will provide ...

Supercritical air at cryogenic temperature is an attractive source of breathing air because of its very high density and low pressure. However, heat leak into the cryogenic tank causes the stored air to expand and vent, thus limiting the storage life of a charged system. We propose to develop a storage system for supercritical air packs that provides cryogenic cooling that will enable long-term ...

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) engine currently being developed at NASA Johnson is an attractive technology for minimizing transit time and crew harm during future space exploration missions. One of the critical challenges in developing a flight engine is thermal management of the high-temperature, superconducting electromagnets used to constrain and accelerate the pl ...

Lightweight, high-temperature radiators are needed for future, high-efficiency power conversion systems for Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP). Creare has developed flexible radiators that are extremely lightweight, stowable in small volumes, and deployable with small forces, but are limited by materials to temperatures below 350 K. These novel radiators incorporate integral micrometeorite protect ...