Award Data

The ability to authenticate electronic devices is an important step towards modernizing the hardware/software of our Nations communication systems. Protecting these targeted networks and devices from malicious cyber-based attacks is becoming increasingly important as the technological and cyber capabilities of our adversaries continue to advance. In addition to network security, device authenticat ...

The ability to predict the ignitibility potential of a combustor at various operating conditions is not practical at this time due to the complexity of this process. Ignition within a gas turbine combustor is dependent on various parameters; including spark (or plasma) energy, flow conditions, fuel/air ratio, and fuel spray density. All these parameters must be properly predicted in order to effec ...

Traditional approaches to accelerated fatigue testing rely on heuristic methods with thresholds based mostly on experience and engineering judgment. These methods generally do not apply to the multiaxial dynamic loading situations characteristic of most aerospace applications and often result in uncharacteristic fatigue damage and failure modes during testing. To overcome the limitations of tradit ...

High speed air vehicles operate at material strength performance limits and are at significant risk when subjected to additional localized heating that can result in softening, pitting and burn-through the material and potentially change the vehicle structural profile. These effects degrade aerodynamic performance. The team of CFDRC and UDRI proposed to develop, validate and deliver a comprehensiv ...

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a technique used to detect near-field interaction when a sample is rater-scanned by a probe. Example include atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM). It offers nanometric and atomic image resolution. In this field, an emerging technique, Near-Field Scanning Microwave Microscopy (SMM), utilizes microwave evanescent waves to attain the ...

Over the last decade the amount of data available from the internet, sensors and other sources has grown dramatically providing the opportunity to gain novel insights in many fields. Uncovering non-linear low dimensional structure in high-dimensional data (i.e., manifold learning), a key to summarization, remains a challenging problem which ultimately inhibits knowledge discovery. Intelligent Auto ...

For Robotic/Autonomous Systems (RAS) to be truly effective in the battlefield, they need to be integrated with intelligent decision-making capabilities. In particular, the following capabilities will help them dealing with the challenging real-world problems of off-road navigation: 1) Accurate terrain traversability assessment; 2) Optimal trajectory computation; and 3) Effective maneuver selection ...

Our nation’s warfighters require advanced armor to give them the best protection while allowing mobility to perform their missions. This proposal will develop two powerful tools to aid future body armor advancements. First, this research program will develop a statistical analysis software that will predict likelihood of impacts based on defined attack scenarios (i.e. rifle, distance and firing ...

Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc. (IS4S) and teammate Auburn University (AU) propose to develop a PNT initialization system for dismounted soldiers. The proposed system will enhance warfighters’ ability to operate immediately in a GPS denied environments once their mission begins and has wide commercialization potential outside of DoD. In Phase I, the feasibility and expected benefits of in ...

The Tunable Active HEterodyne Terahertz Imager (TAHETI) system will use Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers (QCL) combined with a Schottky diode detector for ultra-high dynamic range heterodyne imaging. Distributed feedback (DFB) QCLs with milliwatt power levels are engineered to emit at slightly offset frequencies, and are used as local oscillator and illumination for imaging. The QCLs will be down ...