Award Data

The goal of the project is to develop a handheld instrument that detects, identifies, and categorizes radioactive sources based on gamma, thermal-, and fast-neutron signatures. Existing radioisotope identification devices (RIIDs) are typically biased toward gamma spectroscopy; some instruments may use an additional inefficient neutron counter in form of a He-3 tube. The recent development of mat ...

Threaded fastening systems in vibrating environments require a secondary locking feature, augmenting primary locking provided by an applied preload, to prevent vibration-induced loosening. The secondary locking feature can be mechanical, prevailing torque-type, or an adhesive. Self-locking nutplates and inserts are often more expensive than adhesives, require retorquing or on-torque adjustments, a ...

Physical Sciences Inc. has successfully demonstrated the operational capability of a filament wound composite case designed to mitigate against slow cook-off, fast cook-off, bullet and fragment impact threats for solid rocket motor (SRM) systems. The implemented manufacturing, quality control and assurance processes enable production of small and large diameter motors to satisfy strategic and tact ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to utilize a ground-based simulation facility based upon its patented FAST technology to obtain critical data necessary to validate and extend the capabilities of the MDA’s high altitude plume code, SOCRATES-P, to model plume signatures with high fidelity. In Phase I PSI demonstrated the model validation approach by measuring the velocity dependent cross sec ...

Triton Systems, Inc. proposes to develop a method for efficiently running federated simulations of atmospheric and orbital rocket flight. Tritons proposed method will be able to get information between time steps without the need for interpolation and will significantly reduce the computational time needed to run Federated simulations.Approved for Public Release | 18-MDA-9522 (23 Feb 18)

The proposed project pertains to the development of a novel phosphorus biofertilizercomprising special seeds and seed treatments to reduce the need for P fertilizers in cropproduction by up to 50%. Our biofertilizer is therefore an environmentally sustainable, and costeffectiveamendment to synthetic and organic phosphorus fertilizers. Sustainable production offood and energy crops is critical beca ...

Fossil fuels are the dominant energy source in the agriculture sector, comprising a large fraction of farming operational expenditures and emitting CO2 as a greenhouse gas. Despite recent market penetration, renewable energy adoption on farms remains low. Large capital costs, intermittency, and immobility of renewable energy prevents adoption on small and mid-size farms. A particularly detrimental ...

Small farms are critical to the futureof America. Small farms promote and sustain communities, create jobs, improve the health of the land and of the people who live on it. Currently small to mid-sized farms raising pasture-based livestock have been left to invent/build their own feeding/watering systemsand are at a disadvantage to large, fully automated, high-efficiency systems on large scale far ...

Plant parasitic nematodes cause over $125 billion USD a year in food production losses, or over 12% of all crops. Regulatory changes are resulting in fewer options for nematode control for farmers and requiring that new products be more sustainable in use. Optimized through evolutionary processes for biological activity, natural products (NPs) are a rich source of bioactive molecules that are biod ...

The Cosmic-ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) method can measure the water content of soil with 2% accuracy (under optimal conditions) for agriculture-sized (ie., hectometers) scale. The method uses a neutron detector situated above ground in the center of the measurement area, monitoring in real-time the emission of cosmic-ray produced neutrons from the soil. The simple, non-invasive measurement can prov ...