Award Data

THE HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE (HP/HT) METHOD IS, AT PRESENT, THE ONLY VIABLE PROCEDURE FOR PRODUCING DIAMOND GRIT FOR USE IN VARIOUS APPLICATIONS INVOLVING GRINDING/ABRASIVE WHEELS. DIAMOND POWDERS PRODUCED BY THIS METHOD ARE MODERATELY EXPENSIVE AND ARE NOT ECONOMICAL (50-70 CENTS/CARAT) FOR USE IN APPLICATIONS INVOLVING THERMAL MANAGEMENT DEVICES, WEAR RESISTANT SURFACES, AND CUTTING/DRILL ...

The increasing need for materials to possess both environmental compatibility to include safe disposal prerequisites and self-lubricating capabilities that are non-toxic as well as adaptable to green manufacturing processes has led to the resurgence for the development of alternative alloys to exiting toxic materials, specifically lead. As one of the major materials that has been identified for e ...

The application of high-temperature refractory materials such as rhenium, iridium and tungsten to liquid rocket engines holds substantial potential for improvement in the life of the components. Currently, Ir-Re rocket engines and thrusters are manufactured by chemical vapor deposition. Although this technique has been successful, it is plagued by prohibitively high costs and low rate of product ...

The objective of this Phase I is to develop a high quality, high speed, cost effective technique for polishing silicon carbide mirrors that are machined using single point diamond turning methods. The finished optic should have a more perfectly polished surface with uniform shape and thickness than is presently being produced. We will achieve this by using two different approaches, a novel non-con ...

The thrust to develop cleaner burning combusion systems with reduced levels of emissions (NOx and SOx) has led to a renewed interest in the exploration for the use of advanced materials in components such as pistons. Other driving forces are fuel economy, and NVH (noise vibration, and harshness). The first two (emissions and fuel economy) are government mandated while the NVH is a mandate of the m ...

Carbon-Carbon components, initially developed for the aerospace industry, have experienced minimal commercialization over the past decade due to cost constraints. C-C composites are excellent candidates for a wide variety of components such as automotive clutches, brakes, and liners, due to its friction and heat transfer characteristics. Recently, within the past five (5) years, new C-C processing ...

Nanosize, non-oxide ceramic powders such as silicon carbide and its composites, are desirable for use as components in high-power microelectronic devices and tubes, sensors, optical mirrors, filters, nozzles, panels and sheets in many energy related applications. The properties required for these applications include high-temperature strength, high thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, lig ...

Liquid rocket engine performance can be dramatically improved by increasing the wall temperatures for operation concurrent with a reduction in the component weight. The bipropellant fuel combustion temperatures are between 3000 "approx" 3500 C. The conventional thrusters and exit nozzles made of niobium alloys have a maximum operating temperature limit of 1600 C. A regenerative cooling technolo ...

SiC has exceptionally high thermal conductivity and low linear expansion coefficient to resist thermal distortion, high elastic modulus to resist pressure and bowing distortion. It is lightweight and wear resistant. It also has excellent corrosion resistance and outstanding load bearing characteristics at elevated temperatures. Its hardness is only surpassed by diamond, CBN and boron carbide. As ...

As electronic packaging densities increase, more heat is being generated per unit area. The reliability of electronic components is, therefore, increasingly dependent on the ability to transfer heat. Current chip performance is limited in keeping up with the increased power densities, 30% of which is attributed to packaging materials. The disadvantages of current methods of fabrication of thermal ...