Award Data

A very promising approach to a significant reduction of the mass of the gasdynamic mirror (GDM) fusion propulsion system is proposed. It makes use of field-reversal techniques whereby a rotating magnetic field is employed to induce an azimuthal current in the plasma, which in turn gives rise to the desired magnetic field at an appropriate plasma radius in the mirror region. This has the effect of ...

The development of an electroporation system is proposed for cold sterilization of wastewater in water reclamation. Higher strength electric fields (10 KV/cm) are generated in short DC pulses for microbial cell inactivation. Electroporation employs electric fields to cause transient or permanent changes in cell membrane permeability. At higher field strengths, permanent changes result in the death ...

NASA has identified a need to reduce weight and cost of cooled composite nozzle ramps. A lightweight actively cooled ceramic matrix composite (CMC) system would be lighter than metallic designs and would require significantly less cooling during re-entry. Composite Factory proposes a zirconium-silicate or Zr-Si-O glass CMC with integral ceramic tubes reinforced with a low cost discontinuous cerami ...

A new analytical technique is proposed which will provide direct molecular identification of gas mixture components. This method is based on the measurement of electron energy liberated by Penning Ionization in a gas discharge. Penning Ionization is the same process used in Metastable Ionization Detectors (MID). The proposed approach however, rather than simply counting the number of ions or elect ...

A new type of planetary body sample acquisition tool called a Comet Nucleus Surface Sampler is proposed for development. The initial proposed use of this innovation is for comet surface sampling but the system can be applied to asteroids and Mars too. This invention allows for direct sampling of a comet nucleus surface employing a touch and go spacecraft. By avoiding a landing, the in situ study o ...

A new type of planetary body sample acquisition tool called a Comet Nucleus Surface Sampler is proposed for development. The initial proposed use of this innovation is for comet surface sampling but the system can be applied to asteroids and Mars too. This invention allows for direct sampling of a comet nucleus surface employing a touch and go spacecraft. By avoiding a landing, the in situ study o ...

We propose to modify thermoplastic polyimides by reducing molecular weight, incorporating ionic terminations and nanoparticulate clay to deliver new composite materials with exceptional properties. A clay nanomer will be combined with thermoplastic ionomerically terminated polyimides to produce melt fabricable nanocomposites. Ionomeric polyimides have not previously been available to the composite ...

Instruments such as those proposed for the High Resolution Solar Optical Telescope (HRSOT) mission will require a very high resolution and high throughput device to isolate absorption lines in the solar continuum. Thus, a very narrow passband is required, and sideband contamination must be minimized. An unavoidable effect of any spectral filtering system is to attenuate the signal even at the band ...

Compliant surface non-contacting foil seals (CSFS) with the ability to operate under large rotor excursions, high temperatures and pressure differentials without loss of performance have the potential to make significant improvements in gas turbine engine performance, operability and reliability. However, high-temperature, long-life coatings, improved design analysis and scalable designs are neede ...

Compliant surface non-contacting foil seals (CSFS) with the ability to operate under large rotor excursions, high temperatures and pressure differentials without loss of performance have the potential to make significant improvements in gas turbine engine performance, operability and reliability. However, high-temperature, long-life coatings, improved design analysis and scalable designs are neede ...