Award Data

THE SODIUM HEAT ENGINE (SHE) IS AN EFFICIENT DEVICE FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF THERMAL ENERGY TO ELECTRICAL ENERGY. THE DEVICE HAS HIGH SPECIFIC POWER BOTH ON A VOLUME AND WEIGHT BASIS, HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY WHICH IS INDEPENDENT OF SIZE, AND NO MOVING PARTS WHICH IMPLIES POTENTIALLY HIGH RELIABILITY. THESE ATTRIBUTES MAKE THE SHE AN ATTRACTIVE DEVICE FOR SDI APPLICATIONS. ALTHOUGH THE PRINC ...

A COMPUTER CODE TO SIMULATE SHORT-WAVELENGTH (SINGLE-PARTICLEINTERACTION DOMAIN) FREE ELECTRON LASER (FELS), INCLUDING ALL THE IMPORTANT PROPERTIES OF THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH UNSTABLE OPTICAL RESONATORS, WILL BE DEVELOPED. THIS CODE WILL BE APPLIED TO A NOVEL CLASS OF UNSTABLE RESONATOR THAT HAS A COMPACT OUTPUT BEAM. THIS CLASS OF UNSTABLE RESONATOR IS ESPECIALLY WELL ADAPTED TO THE FEL BECAUSE, ...

A FEASIBILITY STUDY IS PROPOSED ON A NOVEL IDEA FOR A DESIGN OF A SEMI-SMART PROJECTILE FOR KINETIC ENERGY WEAPONS, AND IN PARTICULAR, EML WEAPONS. THE TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS DESIGN IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. IT WOULD BE INTRINSICALLY HARD TO THE 100000 G ACCELERATIONS EXPERIENCE BY AN EML PROJECTILE AND WOULD HAVE A GREATLY IMPROVED PROBABILITY OF HIT (AND KILL) OVER A CLASSICAL DUMB PROJECTILE AGAINST ...

A NEW SYSTEM, THE ANNULAR FLOW ELECTROTHERMAL PLUG RAMJET, IS PROPOSED AS A ALTERNATIVE TO CHEMICAL ROCKETS AND ELECTROMAGNETIC LAUNCHERS AS A KINETIC ENERGY WEAPON. THIS SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING THE HYPERVELOCITIES NECESSARY IN REASONABLE LAUNCHER LENGTHS, PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT DOES NOT ACCELERATE EITHER THE PROPELLANT OR THE PROPULSION SYSTEM REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE HYPERVELOCITIES. ...

POLYMERIC OR CERAMIC INSULATORS CONVENTIONALLY ARE BEING USED IN HIGH VOLTAGE PULSED SYSTEMS. NEW APPROACHES ARE NEEDED THAT WOULD REDUCE INSULATORS RING THICKNESSES AND INCREASE CORRESPONDING GRADING RINGS FLASHOVER VOLTAGE. SUCH AN APPROACH WOULD POSSESS IN COMPARISON TO CONVENTIONAL INSULATORS: HIGHER SURFACE FLASHOVER FIELD STRENGTH; SMALLER PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS FOR EQUIVALENT VOLTAGE HOLDOFF; ...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH POWER, LOW IMPEDANCE, LIGHTWEIGHT ENERGY STORAGE TRANSMISSION LINES FOR PULSE-POWER APPLICATIONS IS CRUCIAL FORSMALLER, LIGHTWEIGHT, SPACE-BASED, PULSE-POWER SYSTEMS. DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH DIELECTRIC ENERGY STORAGE LINE TECHNOLOGY WOULD GREATLY REDUCETHE SIZE, WEIGHT, AND COMPLEXITY OF PULSE POWER SYSTEMS UTILIZING THESE TYPES OF COMPONENTS. EFFICIENT TRANSPORT OF 400KV, 100K ...

A compact x-ray laser driver with a high repetition rate is the subject of this phase I project. Most existing x-ray laser drivers are huge (1000s of square feet of floor space), expensive ($10,000,000+), have a low repetition rate (1/hr), are complex and require several PhDs to keep them working. Thus applications of present x-ray lasers are limited. In contrast, the proposed laser will occupy on ...

Although there have been many advances in optics for low energy x-rays, (

Sarcos is currently developing a technology that can lead to low-cost millimeter-scale gyroscopes, multi axis inertial sensors, and very compact laser scanning devices. This technology, called Micro Disk Systems (MDS), is based on levitating a small disk above a VLSI substrate using electrostatic fields. AC stabilization of the fields ensures that the disk position remains suitable, and field-base ...

An extremely sensitive, low power, high durability solid state atomic oxygen sensor system with the potential for cost effective fabrication is proposed. It should lead to 1) improved understanding of the levels of atomic oxygen encountered during space missions; 2)quantification of the effects of atomic oxygen on a variety of materials in the space environment; 3) a warning mechanism for potentia ...