Award Data

ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES, INC. (ECD) HAS DEVELOPED A HIGH PERFORMANCE, THIN FILM GLASS-LIKE COATING (CLEAR COAT (TM)) AND DEPOSITION PROCESS THAT CAN IMPROVE THE BARRIER PROPERTIES OF COMMODITY POLYMER FILMS BY A FACTOR OF 100. THE COATING IS TRANSPARENT, COLORLESS, NONTOXIC, LOW COST AND DOES NOT EFFECT THE RECYCLABILITY OF THE POLYMER FILM. PILOT-SCALE PRODUCTION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FILMS WITH ...

COMMERCIAL CATFISH PRODUCTION IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPAIRED BY INFECTIOUS DISEASES, A MAJOR CAUSE OF ECONOMIC LOSSES TO THE CATFISH PRODUCER. ONE OF THE MOST DETRIMENTAL OF THESE INFECTIOUS DISEASES IS ENTERIC SEPTICEMIA OF CATFISH (ESC) CAUSED BY EDWARDSIELLA ICTALURI. IN 1987, APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION WORTH OF FISH IN MISSISSIPPI ALONE DIED FROM ESC. PROMPT TREATMENT OF INFECTED FISH INCREASES THE C ...

Past applications of wood fibers in cement-based materials have been limited to the specialty market of thin cement panels. Synthetic fibers have recently gained tremendous popularity as secondary reinforcement in conventional concrete for shrinkage crack control. Concrete reinforcing fibers should provide high levels of slenderness ratio, elastic modulus, tensile and bond strengths, and finenes ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project envisages new thermoset coating materials derived from lesquerella oil. The proposed research will result in the creation of markets for lesquerella oil and wil assist the USDA efforts to replace imported castor oil with domestically produced lesquerella oil. Bench-scale investigations of lesquerella oil modification will focus on addition ...

There is a need for a simple, cost-effective procedure for making accurate estimates of crop residue in agricultural fields. The objectives of this Phase I effort is to conduct the research required to design a light-weight, affordable hand-held spectral radiometer and associated spectral algorithm for quickly making field estimates of percent crop residue cover. The specific tasks that will be ...

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SCIENCE AND ADHESION AND ADHESIVE BOND- ING HAVE LET TO INCREASED EFFICIENCY IN THE USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS. HOWEVER, TO IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF FABRICA- TION OPERATIONS AND TO EXPAND THE USE OF WOOD-BASED MATERIALINTO APPLICATIONS IN WHICH IMPROVED SHEAR AND BENDING STRENGTH INCREASE RELIABILITY AND STRUCTURAL LIFE, IT IS NECESSAY TO INCREASE THE INTERLAMINAR BOND STRENGTH ...

Nitrate contamination of water is a national problem with direct impact on farmers and rural communities. High nitrate content in potable and animal feed water affects quality of life for humans and threatens productivity from livestock. Existing nitrate determination methods have a number of drawbacks: 1) lack of sensitivity, 2) inclusion of toxic reagents, and/or 3) difficulty of interpretati ...

Cement-bonded particleboard is an environmentally safe high-performance reconstituted wood product with desirable longevity, fire resistance and life-cycle cost position, presenting a great potential to maintain the competitive position of reconstituted wood boards in demanding construction markets. The low productivity of cement-bonded particleboard plants and the inhibitory effects of some wood ...

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THE RESEARCH PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP A MICROCOMPUTER BASED SYSTEM OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WHICH WILL ALLOW THE USER TOEXECUTE MAINFRAME BASED CODES ON THE MICROCOMPUTER. IN ADDITION PARALLEL EXECUTION OF SEVERAL CODES AT ONCE IS POSSIBLEA SPECIAL INPUT AND OUTPUT PROCESSOR MODULES WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED TO DEMONSTRATE THE USER FRIENDLY CAPABILITIES OF THE SYSTEM AND FACILITATE INPUT PREPARATION AND ...