Award Data

SEISMIC TESTS PROVIDE IMPORTANT DATA FOR IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF PIPING DESIGNS AND THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DESIGN STANDARDS. UNFORTUNATELY, DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENTS AT LOW FREQUENCIES FROM SUCH TESTS ARE GENERALLY UNAVAILABLE, EITHER BECAUSE DOUBLE INTEGRATION OF ACCELEROMETER SIGNALS CAUSES INACCURACIES OR BECAUSE LASER BASED EQUIPMENT IS TOO COSTLY TO ALLOW FOR SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS IN S ...

MEASUREMENTS OF RAINFALL OVER LARGE BODIES OF WATER SUCH AS LARGE LAKES OR OCEANS ARE MADE INFREQUENTLY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF AN ACCURATE MEASURING DEVICE. A LARGE PORTION OF THE EARTH'S PRECIPITATION FALLS OVER THE OCEANS; THEREFORE, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL CLIMATE TO HAVE ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF RAINFALL OVER LARGE WATER AREAS. A DEVICE WILL BE DEVELOPED TO MEASURE RAINFALL AC ...

THERE IS A STRONG NEED FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY CRYOGENIC COMPRESSORS, WHICH CAN PUMP MODEST VACUUM LEVELS TO REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE LIQUID HELIUM USED IN COOLING SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS BELOW 4.2 K. ALTHOUGH HIGHLY RELIABLE AND CONTAMINATION FREE, SELF-ACTING GAS BEARINGS CANNOT OPERATE RELIABLY AT TEMPERATURES BELOW 70 TO 100 K OR PRESSURES BELOW ABOUT 0.4 ATM. HENCE, THE USE OF GAS BEARINGS I ...

MILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE SEVERE LOWER BODY DISABILITIES. THESE PEOPLE ARE CUT OFF FROM MANYOF THE ACTIVITIES OF SOCIETY. IN NO AREA IS THIS MORE TRUETHAN IN THE AREA OF PHUSICAL RECREATION. THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED ARE LIMITED, AND WITH FEW EXCEPTION IS KAYAKING. AS AN UPPER BODY SPORT, IT OFFERS THOSE WITH LOWER BODY INJURIES NOT ONLY A CHANCE TO P ...

THERE IS A NEED FOR RELIABLE, HIGH EFFICIENCY PUMPS TO CIRCULATE HELIUM THROUGH SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS IN THE PROPOSED SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER (SSC). THE PUMPS MUST BE CAPABLE OF OPERATING OVER A RANGE OF CONDITIONS TO ACCOMMODATE A VARIETY OF SYSTEM OPERATIONS. THIS PROJECT ISAIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH SPEED HELIUM PUMP WITH INDUSTRIAL-LEVEL ROBUSTNESS TO MEET THE SSC REQUIREMENTS ...

THE RESULTS OBTAINED TO DATE BY VARIOUS AUTHORS INDICATE CLEARLY THAT NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS ARE MORE ACCURATE AND RE QUIRE MUCH LESS COMPUTER TIME AND STORAGE WHEN THE GRID POINTS ARE PROPERLY LOCATED. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOLU- TION OVER A REAL TIME PATH OR ITERATIVE PROCESS (FALSE TIME PATH) REQUIRES THE MESH NODES TO MOVE DYNAMICALLY IN THE PROPER POSITION AT EACH ITERATION OR INSTANCE OF TIME. ...

THIS PHASE I PROGRAM ADDRESSES THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A HIGH-SPEED DENTAL HANDPIECE USING A RADIAL INFLOW TURBINE OPERATING IN GAS (AIR) BEARINGS. RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MINIATURIZATION OF GAS BEARINGS AND TURBINES INDICATE THAT FASTER SPEEDS AND SMALLER SIZES ARE POSSIBLE. THESE IMPROVEMENTS OFFER SEVERAL BENEFITS, INCLUDING REDUCED BURR SIZE, I ...

THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR HYPERSONIC AEROSPACE VEHICLES MUST SIMULTANEOUSLY MEET THREE CHALLENGING REQUIREMENTS: (1) HEAT MUST BE REMOVED AT VERY HIGH HEAT FLUXES FROM SURFACES SUCH AS THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER WALL AND AERODYNAMICALLY HEATED SURFACES, (2) THE PROPELLANT MUST BE PREHEATED TO VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES PRIOR TO COMBUSTION, AND (3) THE SYSTEM'S SIZE AND MASS MUST BE HELD TO A MINIMUM. ...

THE NEXT GENERATION OF INNOVATIVVE CONCEPTS FOR THERMAL DEVICES FOR POWER SYSTEMS AND THERMAL LOOPS IN SPACECRAFT INVOLVE TWO-PHASE FLOW. THESE DEVICES UTILIZES THE LIQUID-VAPOR PHASE CHANGE IN BOILING AND CONDENSING PROCESSES IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIGHER HEAT TRANSPORT RATES, LOWER WEIGHT, AND NEAR-ISOTHERMAL OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TWO-PHASE SYSTEMS COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL APPROA ...

CRYOGENIC COOLING OF ADVANCED SENSORS IS BEING INVESTIGATED, PARTICULARLY CRYOCOOLERS THAT USE MINIATURE HIGH-SPEED TURBOEXPANDERS.A MINATURE ELECTROMAGNETIC BEARING (EMB) DESIGN FOR CRYOGENIC TURBINES IS BEING UNDERTAKEN TO OVERCOME THE LIMITATIONS OF GAS BEARINGS. THE PROPOSED EMB, BECAUSE IT IS NON-CONTACTING, IS EXPECTED TO SHOW ULTRA-HIGH RELIABILITY OVER EXTENDED PERIODS OF CRYOCOOLER OPERAT ...