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IT IS PROPOSED THAT ADVANCED ARCJET ENGINES CAN BE DEVELOPED USING KNOWN PRINCIPLES FOR ADVANCED NOZZLE DESIGN, ARC ATTACHMENT, INCREASED CHAMBER EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE AND SO FORTH. SUCH STUDIES ARE PARTIALLY SUPPORTED BY EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS BY RESEARCHERS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. YET THESE PRINCIPLES RESULT IN INCREASED HEATING OF THE ANODE, AS THE ARC MORE EFFECTIVELY HEATS THE ANODE. THIS CA ...

BIMODAL REACTORS FOR POWER AND PROPULSION HAVE LONG BEEN OF INTEREST FOR MISSIONS REQUIRINGS BOTH HIGH POWER AND LARGE DELTA-V; E.G., HIGH ALTITUDE, GEOSYNCHRONOUS AND PLANETARY MISSIONS. IT PROPULSIVE THRUST AND ELECTRIC POWER CAN BOTH BE SUPPLIED FROM THE SAME UNIT, A LARGE POTENTIAL SAVINGS CAN OCCUR. SUCH A REACTOR CAN BE DEVELOPED FROM A URANIUM CARBIDE FUELED THERMIONIC REACTOR WITH SINGLE C ...

A THEORETICAL PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO INVESTIGATE A COMPACT, LOW-VOLTAGE INFRARED GRATING LASER WITH MULTI-KILOWATT OUPUT CAPABILITY. THE RADIATION IS GENERATED BY THE PASSAGE OF AN ANNULAR BEAM OF ELECTRONS THROUGH A COAXIAL PAIR OF CONDUCTORS, THE INNER CONDUCTOR BEING A CORRUGATED CYLINDER WHICH FORMS THE GRATING. THE ELECTRON BEAM IS GUIDED BY AN AXIAL MAGNETIC FIELD. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE OPTI ...

MANY CURRENT AND PLANNED DEFENSE AEROSPACE PROGRAMS DEPEND CRITICALLY UPON RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE MATERIALS HAVING UNPRECEDENTED HIGH-TEMPERATURE PROPERTIES. CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCED INTERMETALLIC MATRIX COMPOSITES (IMC'S) HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MEET THESE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND CONSIDERABLE RESEARCH EFFORT IS NOW DEVOTED TO DEVELOPING THEM. WE RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED A ...

MANY OF THE COMMERCIAL SENSORS IN USE (OR UNDER DEVELOPMENT) ARE BASED IN METAL-OXIDE CERAMIC MATERIALS. METAL-OXIDES OFFER SPECIAL ADVANTAGES BECAUSE OF THEIR CHEMICAL AND THERMAL STABILITY, FAST RESPONSE TIMES, AND SENSITIVITY TO ELECTROCHEMICAL CHANGES. THERE ARE REPORTED CASES THAT SHOW ADSORPTION OF WATER IN METAL OXIDES OFTEN ENHANCING BOTH THE SURFACE CONDUCTIVITY AND DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES ...

ENGINE ELECTRIC HIGH-SPEED MAGNETOSTRICTIVE MATERIAL LONG-LIFE PROPULSION RESEARCH INC WILL DEVELOP AN ULTRA-EFFICIENT, HIGH POWER LOW WEIGHT COMPACT ELECTRIC ENGINE USING A REVOLUTIONARY PHYSICAL CONCEPT. IT WILL ALLOW THE CREATION OF ELECTRIC POWERED ENGINES FOR USES IN EVERYTHING FROM "WEED-WACKERS" TO SUBMARINE ENGINES. THESE ENGINES HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGH STARTING AND RUNNING TORGUE, HIG ...

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AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ARCJET THRUSTERS IS THE INSULATOR HOLDING THE CATHODE BASE AND SEPARATING THE ELECTRODES. THE CURRENT BASELINE MATERIAL IS BORON NITRIDE (BN), WHICH IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AND HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY. HOWEVER, AT ARCJET OPERATING TEMPERATURE, BN HAS A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND A DECREASE IN THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY. ADDITION ...

AN ADVANCED REACTOR WITH A 50-75% EFFICIENT ELECTRICAL ENERGY CONVERSION PROCESS INCORPORATED WITHIN A CORE COMPRISED OF FUEL AND MODERATOR PROVIDES OPTIONS HERETOFORE UNREALIZED. IN PRINCIPLE, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A COMPACT REACTOR COULD BE MET WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY CONVERSION MATERIALS THAT COULD OPERATE EFFICIENTLY IN THE HOSTILE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT OF SUBSTAI ...