Award Data

CRYOGENIC HELIUM REFRIGERATORS AND LIQUIFIERS CONVENTIONALLYEMPLOY OIL LUBRICATED POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT COMPRESSORS AT THE WARM END AND FREQUENTLY USE PISTON TYPE EXPANSION ENGINES AT THE COLD END. THESE SYSTEMS REQUIRE EXTENSIVE AND VIGILANT MAINTENANCE TO CONTROL CONTAMINATION FROM LUBRICATING OIL AND ITS VOLATILE COMPONENTS MIGRATING TO THE COLD END. HENCE THE NEED FOR LOW MAINTENANCE COMPRESSO ...

IN MOST CRYOGENIC SYSTEMS, THE PIPING JOINTS IN COLD REGIONSOF THE SYSTEM ARE MADE BY WELDING OR SOLDERING. THIS IS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE EXISTING DESIGNS OF CRYOGENIC PIPE SEALS CANNOT BE RELIED ON NOT TO LEAK. ANY SUCH LEAKS INTO THE COLD BOX REDUCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INSULATION, THEREBY REDUCING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE REFRIGERATOR. WELDEDJOINTS MAKE REPLACEMENT OF COMPONENTS DIFFICULT AND HAVE ...

THE EVER INCREASING NEED TO PROCESS LARGE QUANTITIES OF SOLID FUELS LIKE COAL PROVIDES STRONG MOTIVATION TO STUDY THE DYNAMICS OF FLOWING GRANULAR MATERIALS. LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ARE HAMPERED BY THE LACK OF ADEQUATE DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND MEANS TO CONTROL THE FLOWS. FIELD EXPERIMENTS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL. ALSO, SCALE DEPENDENCE IMPLIES THAT RESULTS OF LABORATORY OF SEMI-INDUSTRIAL SCALE E ...

THE REQUIREMENTS OF COMPLEX SAMPLE MONITORING PRESENT A GROWING NEED FOR A NEW GENERATION OF HIGHLY SPECIFIC ENZYME ELETRODES WITH MULTI-ANALYTE, MULTI-SIGNAL CAPABILITY. THIS PROJECT'S OBJECTIVE IS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF NOVEL ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSORS BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF IMMOBILIZED ENZYMES AND COLLOIDAL GOLD TECHNOLOGIES. THE SPECIFIC GOAL TO BE PURSUED IN PHASE I IS TO DEMONST ...

DNA microarray technology, in combination with statistical and predictive modeling tools, could be used to evaluate thousands of genes against distinct gene expression patterns induced by chemical/biological agents to provide early identification and speed therapeutic intervention. The overall objective of this Phase II effort is to leverage existing public domain resources and commercial tools t ...

75655S The photovoltaics (PV) industry is having difficulty finding enough raw materials to match its rapid growth. In addition, traditional sources of secondary grade polysilicon are no longer readily available at inexpensive prices. Reducing the cost of solar silicon wafers is the key to lowering the price of crystalline silicon solar cells. This project will develop a single-step wafer fabr ...

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL CERAMIC MATERIAL, MADE OF A CERIA-ZIRCONIA (CEO2-ZRO2) THOUGHENED ALUMINA (AL1O3), WHICH IS EXPECTED TO EXHIBIT SUPERIOR STRENGTH AND CORROSION (ALKALI, SULPHATE) AND EROSION RESISTANCE IN HIGH TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS COAL-DERIVED HOT GASES. THIS MATERIAL WILL BE FABRICATED FOR CONVENIENCE IN THE SHAPE OF A RETICULATED FOAM IN ORDER TO PROVIDE ENOUGH SU ...

A HYBRID POWER PLANT, CONSISTING OF A DIESEL GENERATOR, A BATTERY FOR ENERGY STORAGE, A PHOTO-VOLTAIC ARRAY OR OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE, AND AN INVERTER/BATTERY CHARGER, WILL BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE IN THE NEAR FUTURE BOTH WITHIN THE UNITED STATES AND THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPING WORLD WHERE RURAL AREAS ARE STARVING FOR QUALITY POWER. AT PRESENT DIESEL GENERATORS RUN CONTINUOUSLY; THE NEW HYBR ...

A domestic source of high-quality bent crystal optics is needed to investigate properties of plasmas generated during nuclear fusion research. We propose to develop commercial production of these crystals and bent optics. Spectroscopy and imaging of long wavelength x- rays, known as “soft x-rays” requires crystals with appropriately long interplanar spacings, such as KAP. Research at fusion en ...

With the ever-rising problems of drinking water contamination and the treatment of wastewater from landfills, an inexpensive way of sensing containments is required.