Award Data

Close-coupled fuel injector/flameholders used in modern augmentors face difficult challenges in static stability due to higher airflow velocities and higher levels of vitiation than past augmentors. In addition, close-coupled fuel injection schemes typically employ jet-in-crossflow methods to adequately penetrate and mix the fuel with the mainstream, but have difficulty providing sufficient fuel ...

During Phase I CFDRC defined the performance and a roadmap for reduced operational costs of existing and new launch platforms using a Bi-propellant Air-Turbo-Rocket (BATR) as first stage propulsion. Specific applications include the Orbital Sciences Pegasus launch vehicle and an innovative Nano Satellite Launch Platform (NSLP). Phase I concluded that the BATR’s specific thrust (200 lbf-s/lbm) ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Optical imaging as a noninvasive diagnosis technique is a highly promising tool for real-time, in-vivo detection of tumor margins during breast-conserving surgery. This can decrease false-negative diagnoses and local re currences of the cancer that occur after conventional diagnoses and lumpectomy. Its clinical application has been held back by lack of suitable ...

All NASA exploration systems operate in the extreme environments of space and require reliable electronics capable of handling a wide temperature range (-180ºC to +130ºC) and high radiation levels. To design low-temperature radiation-hardened (rad-hard) electronics and predict circuit and system characteristics, such as error rates, modeling tools are required at multiple levels. To determine th ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the main challenges in the discovery of intracellular biomarkers and identification of therapeutic targets is the lack of a mechanistic understanding of the complex underlying pathways. The tremendous increase in both the quantity and diversity of cellular data represents a significant challenge to researchers seeking to construct biologically relevant ...

An innovative aerodynamic database generation methodology is proposed for arbitrary missile fragment shapes. This will be achieved with automated CFD methods, using the framework of the Unified Flow Solver (UFS). UFS automatically creates and adapts Cartesian computational grids for arbitrary shapes and executes the analysis in an automated process, seamlessly coupling rarefied and continuum algor ...

An innovative hybrid computational approach is proposed for constructing and deforming grids for moving and control surfaces with geometric proximity. The proposed approach utilizes a reduced order method (ROM) for deforming unstructured meshes and Overset Cartesian grid method for large deformations.  The unique characteristics of limited Degrees Of Freedom (DOF) for the moving control surface, ...

Our objective is to develop a high power enzymatic fuel cell (EFC) with complete oxidation of fuel, thereby delivering a state-of-the-art power supply for low power military systems. The proposed EFC will leverage ongoing research at both CFDRC and Saint Louis University to provide a fully-integrate lightweight, low-cost, manufacturable, and renewable power supply, for various military and civili ...

In this STTR program, CFDRC, in collaboration with the University of Idaho, proposes to develop some novel high-performance polynitrogen energetic materials for propellant applications. The proposed materials contain amine substituted tetrazole-based heterocyclic cations. In order to enhance the energy content and stability further, they are combined with energetic anions. These anions will have ...

CFDRC proposes to develop, demonstrate and validate a multi-fidelity multi-disciplinary analysis tool for systems deployment and multi-body relative motion involving aerospace vehicles. A rigid body motion (6 DOF) model for systems deployment will be developed as a stand-alone module to be coupled with a general fluid solver. An advanced overset/Chimera methodology will be implemented to allow for ...