Award Data

Reliability and lifetime performance data for environemntal control systems (ECS) is limited. Real-time tests require 5-15 years, and results often apply only to obsolete technology. Accelerated life testing (ALT) is a means by which reliability data may be obtained quickly and at a reasonable cost. A primary difficulty with ALT of ECS units is that typical service conditions impose multiple stres ...

Elastomeric O-rings provide a critical sealing funcion in a myriad of devices of military and commerical interest. A critical problem with currently available O-rings occurs when the O-ring material stiffens at low temperatures, causing a failure in sealing. Previous work by the Army has indicated that a fluid filled O-ring is a viable candidate as a low temperature seal. There is a need to extend ...

The use of lead projectile cores in current U.S. Army small caliber ammunition has caused increasing concern over the environmental contamination of military firing ranges and surrounding areas. A number of military firing ranges are in danger of being closed due to high levels of lead contamination. TRI/Austin proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a non-toxic, lead free, cost ef ...

Clutter metrics we important image measures for evaluating the expected perfomance of sensors and detection algorithms. Typically, clutter metrics attempt to measure the degree in which background objects resemble targets. That is, the more Target-like objects in the background the higher the clutter level. However, it is critically important that the effects that the sensor system and the oper ...

General aviation and commuter aircraft generally do not have adequate deicing equipment to operate safely in all types of icing conditions. Since icing forecasts are not yet sufficiently reliable for pilots to avoid icing conditions, an airborne system that remotely detects icing conditions ahead of the aircraft could prevent serious accidents. The National Oceanic and Atrmospheric Administratio ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a tough, strong, inexpensive and highly wear resistant ceramic composite with a "brick and mortar" microstructure. Biological materials such as nacre have high strength, high toughness and surprisingly high wear resistance even though they are composed of relatively soft materials. On the other hand, engineering ceramics achiev ...

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