Award Data

Thermal Stir Welding (TSW) provides advancement over the more conventional Friction Stir Welding (C-FSW) process because it separates the primary processes variables thereby allowing independent control of metal stirring and forging from the stir zone temperature. However, the feedback for precise control of the stir zone temperature, and hence the process parameters to sustain that temperature wi ...

Current modeling of Lunar and Martian soil erosion and debris transport caused by rocket plume impingement lacks essential physics from the peculiar granular characteristics of highly irregular regolith particles. Current granular mechanics models are based on mono-disperse spherical particles empiricism unsuitable for capturing the poly-disperse irregularly shaped grain mechanics. CFDRC and the U ...

The proposed innovation is an aircraft flight envelope monitoring system that will provide real-time in-cockpit estimations of aircraft flight envelope boundaries. The adaptable system will provide information on current and predicted aircraft performance and controllability, alerting the pilot to any aerodynamic degradation of the aircraft control surfaces. This includes heavy rain, in-flight i ...

The proposed innovation is to use the refrigerant capabilities of nitrous oxide (N2O) to provide the cooling required for reusable operation of an aerospike nozzle in conjunction with an N2O-HTPB (hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, a synthetic rubber that is used as a binder in solid rocket motors and as a fuel in hybrid rocket motors) hybrid rocket motor. The phase change cooling as liquid N2O i ...

The Keystone and MSU team propose to build on the successful feasibility demonstration conducted during Phase I to complete the development of solid-state joining of high strength and temperature alloys utilizing the Thermal Stir Welding process. The focus alloy for this project is Haynes 230; the alloy of choice typically utilized in rocket engine nozzel skirts. This class of alloy is difficult t ...

The innovation proposed here is a high-performance, high-fidelity framework in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code called Loci-STREAM to enable accurate, fast and robust simulations of unsteady multiphase flows such as combustion involving liquid-gas phases in liquid rocket injectors and solid-gas phases in solid rocket motors, and cryogenic cavitation in delivery systems of liquid rocket ...

Deployable Space Systems, Inc. (DSS), in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Department of Mechanical Engineering, will focus the proposed NASA STTR Phase 2 program on the materials optimization, structures optimization, creep / relaxation phenomena characterization and analytical modeling, and manufacturing process optimization/development for the Mega-ROSA/ROSA ...

This Phase 2 program builds on a successful Phase 1 effort that demonstrated practical engineering methods as well as continuing development paths to build smaller high performance gyro systems suitable for small satellite applications. This program will execute a logical follow-on endeavor by (a) using existing components that satisfy the specifications matrix, and (b) developing new components ...

Project involves development of new flexible FR polyurethane (PU)insulation foams through a non-toxic environmentally friendly composite approach. Foams have bound-in polymeric phosphonate FRs, with added synergists and smoke suppressants. Such foams will not leach FR. Foams have fine cell structure and excellent flexible foam properties. Cone performance of the identified foam family (368 peak ...

This joint STTR research effort between HJ Science & Technology and the University of Texas at San Antonio seeks to establish a highly integrated mobile "lab-on-a-chip" platform – next generation "lab-on-a-robot" (LOAR) - capable of in-situ, high throughput, and simultaneous identification and characterization of universal classes of ions, molecules, and biomolecules for NASA in-situ planetary co ...