Award Data

Power electronic converters are essential in every MDA vehicle, with use in critical systems ranging from electric power management applications, to power distribution, to on-board servo motor/actuator drivers. Advancing state-of-the-art power electronics technologies through the use of SiC semiconductors will produce significant savings across the board in almost all areas of MDA power management ...

Much U.S. power generation comes from power plants using coal or natural gas. As the nation¿s energy consumption continues to rise, carbon dioxide emission increasingly becomes an issue that needs to be dealt with. Although recent focus has been on sequestration of carbon dioxide, that process consumes about 10% of the energy produced from the power plant. An energy efficient alternative would ...

A diesel-fueled solid oxide fuel cell would be an attractive means of generating auxiliary electric power onboard highway trucks, large recreational vehicles, and mobile command posts (military and emergency responders). In order to retain the high efficiency inherent to the fuel cell system, the fuel processor or reformer must be able to make use of the heat and water produced by the fuel cell. ...

This project will develop a high temperature electrochemical device to produce hydrogen directly from a coal fuel. The device will build upon the concept of the coal-assisted steam electrolyzer (CASE), which is comprised of an anode mixed with solid carbon fuel, a solid oxygen ion-conducting electrolyte, and a solid cathode. Both the cathode and anode of the CASE will show good electronic and io ...

Nuclear Physics research has a need for next generation scintillation detectors with high response rates, improved sensitivity, and low production cost. Inorganic scintillators have high output efficiency, but rely on the growth of bulk crystal ¿ a challenging task for most inorganic materials. Due to their relatively low cost and availability as large size sheets, organic scintillators would b ...

The implementation of anti-tamper (AT) technology as one vital strategy for preserving US military superiority. (Communiqué DoD 5200.1-M) In response to this need, many AT technologies have been developed including AT coatings for securing electronic components and devices. However, the use of successful AT coatings is impeded by lack of a manufacturing process that: 1.) Possesses the capacity ...

With the potential to drastically reduce the US and world-wide electrical energy consumption, white light emitting diodes (LEDs) comprise a very rapidly growing market in the general illumination and specialized lighting sectors. Already, white LEDs are more efficient than tungsten filament bulbs and are rapidly gaining on fluorescent lamps. The most common and cheapest type of LED, the phospho ...

ROBOTIC APPLICATIONS IN NUCLEAR REACTORS CAN ENHANCE WORKER SAFETY BY MINIMIZING THEIR EXPOSURE TO RADIATION. TELEOPERATED SYSTEMS, SEMIAUTONOMOUS ROBOTS, AND PROGRAMMABLE ROBOTS CAN BE USED TO PERFORM ROUTINE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE TASKS, AS WELL AS REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TASKS. BECAUSE OF THE RELATIVELY UNSTRUCTURED NUCLEAR REACTOR ENVIRONMENT, SOPHISTICATED SENSORY ...

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THE COOLING REQUIRED FOR THE PROPER OPERATION OF VARIOUS SENSORS AND INSTRUMENTS IS A KEY PROBLEM IN SPACE-BASED FACILITIES. A NOVEL CONCEPT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AT LONE PEAK ENGINEERING BASED ON THE COMPRESSION OF A GAS TO HIGH PRESSURES USING A SOLID ELECTROLYTE COMPRESSOR. RAPID EXPANSION OF THE COMPRESSED GAS (JOULE-THOMSON EFFECT) CAN BE USED TO COOL SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT. SOME O ...