Award Data

Although numerical analysis applications have proven to be effective and reasonably accurate, the effort required to develop the associated analysis models remains a challenging and time consuming task. While many meshing tools are currently available, decomposing and manipulating the design geometry and enhancing the topology for mesh construction are manual processes and place the heaviest dema ...

This proposal aims at the development of a low-power deicing system using the newly developed magnetostrictive alloy as functional materials, namely the Ni-Mn-Ga alloy. Present studies have shown that the Ni-Mn-Ga smart alloy does not require excessive input power to operate while an impulsive strain of over 5% can be generated under a load of over 1 Mpa. When power is applied to the solenoid arou ...

Intellectual Merit: This STTR project will develop novel engineered Clostridia strains for fermentation to economically produce butanol as a biofuel from sugars derived from starchy and lignocellulosic biomass. Butanol is an important industrial solvent and potentially a better transportation fuel than ethanol. Recent rising oil prices and limited petroleum resources have generated high interest i ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to apply the unique property of high-speed jets to adhere to nearby curved surfaces, with a turning radius much larger than the size of the jet - the so-called COANDA effect. The proposed research aims to take advantage of this effect to manipulate thermal spray jet stream and vector the stream such that the hot thermal gas stream ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the technical and commercial feasibility of coating metal foils with a solid sorbent so that they act as a desulfurizing component for pre-treatment of sulfur-laden liquid fuels. The coated foils will be inserted into a small heat exchanger that acts as a platform unit for conversion of liquid fuels to hydrogen for fue ...

Elimination of high pressure and cryogenic propellant storage and feed systems for undersea vehicle fuel cells is of interest to the Navy. CFDRC proposes the development of a rechargeable oxygen generator based on microwave plasma decomposition ofsolid-state lithium perchlorate. The generator will employ the atmospheric microwave plasma torch technology recently demonstrated by the Plasma Science ...

Warfighters are increasingly relying on technology equipment to ensure safety, mission effectiveness, and situational awareness. This equipment increases the capabilities of warfighters but also adds to their weight burden. This excess load could cause significant stress on the musculoskeletal system and lead to physiological deficits. The overall objective of the proposed project is to develop a ...

The computational grid generation process remains a troublesome bottleneck in development of aerodynamic databases for complex geometries and multi-body configurations. The ability of Cartesian-grid based methods to perform automatic mesh generation and dynamic mesh adaptation allows for substantially reduced manpower, time and cost. The advantages of octree-based Cartesian-mesh methods have been ...

Cornerstone Research Group, Inc., proposes to develop and demonstrate a full scale, operationally relevant prototype covert marking system based on dust-sized micro-reflector tags. Composed of a material with unique reflectance signatures not visible tothe naked eye, these tags will be coupled with a highly portable imaging sensor capable of uniquely distinguishing tags from the background in the ...

Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG) proposes to fully develop polyurea coatings for blast and impact resistance. Polyurea coatings show promise for increasing the blast and impact resistance of buildings and vehicles, but further development is necessary to ensure the success of these materials. Currently, there is no method for assessing the suitability of a coating for blast and impact resist ...