Award Data

AIRCRAFT DESIGNED FOR FLIGHT IN THE MACH 3-6 RANGE MUST INCORPORATE ACTIVE COOLING IN THE TURBORAMJET PROPULSION SYSTEM. THE REQUIRED COOLING CAN BE PROVIDED BY AN ENDOTHERMIC REACTION OF THE FUEL. ENDOTHERMIC-FUEL REACTORS MUST BE SMALL AND LIGHT. HEAT TRANSFER TO THE LOW THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY, CERAMIC, CATALYST SUPPORT IS A MAJOR LIMITATION TO THE REACTOR DESIGN. TDA RESEARCH PROPOSES TO FABRICAT ...

NITROGEN OXIDES (NO AND NO2 OR NOX) ARE AMONG THE MOST PERVASIVE AND DIFFICULT EMISSIONS TO CONTROL. ALTHOUGH THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE MAJOR SPECIES (NO) IS THERMODYNAMICALLYFAVORED, THERE ARE NO CATALYTIC PROCESSES CAPABLE OF DECOMPOSING NOX WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF A REDUCING GAS. THIS IS BECAUSE THE OXYGEN PRODUCED DURING THE DECOMPOSITIONREMAINS STRONGLY CHEMISORBED ON THE CATALYST, BLOCKING AC ...

CHROMIUM CONTAMINATION IS PRESENT AT OVER ONE-HALF OF THE SUPERFUND SITES. CHROMIUM(VI) IS A STRONG OXIDIZER, TOXIC, CARCINOGENIC, AND IS PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TO MANAGE BECAUSE CHROMIUM IS USUALLY PRESENT AS AN ANION. IT HAS LITTLE INTERACTION WITH THE SOIL, RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD GROUND-WATER CONTAMINATION, AND IT CANNOT BE TREATED BY CONVENTIONAL PROCESSES WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO REMOVE CATIONS ...

A SAFE, NONTOXIC, NONFLAMMABLE, LOW OZONE-DEPLETING ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT. THE SYSTEM DELIVERS A RELATIVELY HIGH COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE (COP) IN SMALL SCALE AIR CONDITIONING AND HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS, BUT WITHOUT THE HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH AMMONIA. REFRIGERANTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT CAN BE USED DIRECTLY IN INHABITED SPACE AND ALSO HAVE THE POTENTIA ...

CONVENTIONAL REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS ARE LIMITED IN SEVERAL RESPECTS: NEITHER VAPOR COMPRESSION NOR ABSORPTION COOLERS ARE EFFICIENT IN SMALL-SCALE UNITS, AND MOST VAPOR COMPRESSION SYSTEMS USE FREONS (CFC'S) THAT ARE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT. THERMOELECTRIC COOLERS HAVE BEEN USED IN SMALL SCALE APPLICATIONS, BUT ALSO SUFFER FROM LOW EFFICIENCY. A COOLING DEVICE WHICH OFFERS HIGHER EFFICIENCYIN A ...

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS FOR SHIPBOARD USE MUST BE EFFICIENT, MECHANICALLY SIMPLE, RELIABLE, SAFE, SMALL, AND LIGHTWEIGHT. CURRENT SYSTEMS MEET ALL OF THESE CRITERIA BUT USE CHLOROFLUROCARBONS (CFCS). THE MANUFACTURE OF CFCS IS BEING PHASED-OUT BECAUSE OF THEIR OZONE-DEPLETION POTENTIAL. TDA RESEARCH, INC. PROPOSES A SAFE, NON-TOXIC, NON-FLAMMABLE, NON-OZONE DEPLETING REFRIGERANT WHICH IS EASILY HAND ...

CHEMICAL HEAT SOURCES HAVE MANY POTENTIAL MILITARY APPLICATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS A FLAMELESS RATION HEATER. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS (1) TO IDENTIFY NEW CHEMICAL HEAT SOURCES AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS, AND (2) TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE VALUE OF THE NEW APPROACHES. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THREE GENERAL AREAS OF CHEMICAL HEAT S ...

AN ADVANCED ABSORBENT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR SIMULTANEOUSLYREMOVING CARBON DIOXIDE, HUMIDITY, AND HEAT FROM THE GAS STREAM IN AN EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT (EMU). THIS ABSORBENT ELIMINATES SEVERAL EMU COMPONENTS, REDUCES THE SIZE OF OTHERS, AND MINIMIZES THE MASS AND VOLUME OF THE EMU. IT WILL NOT VAPORIZE AND IS NOT TOXIC. THE SYSTEM STUDIED IS COMPLETELY CLOSED AND REGENERABLE. NO GASES ARE V ...

INCREASINGLY STRINGENT REGULATIONS ARE REQUIRING THE CONTROLOF VERY DILUTE EMISSIONS OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS). ALTHOUGH CATALYTIC INCINERATION IS BECOMING THE TECHNOLOGY OF CHOICE, ENERGY COSTS AND CATALYST COSTS RISE DRAMATICALLY AS THE VOC DECREASES. ENERGY COSTS COULD BE REDUCED DRAMATICALLY IF CATALYSTS WERE AVAILABLE WHICH WERE ACTIVE AT LOWER TEMPERATURES. TDA RESEARCH (TDA) HAS ...

FULLERENES, A NEW FORM OF CARBON WITH STRUCTURES SIMILAR TO THOSE OF A SOCCER BALL, WERE FIRST PRODUCED IN THE FALL OF 1990. BECAUSE OF THEIR UNIQUE PROPERTIES, MANY PROMISING APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED, INCLUDING THREE DIMENSIONAL ORGANIC CONDUCTOR, ORGANIC SUPERCONDUCTOR, SEMICONDUCTOR, HIGH CURRENT DENSITY BATTERY MATERIAL, CATALYST SUPPORT, POLYMER BUILDING BLOCK, AND SORBENT. HOWEVER, N ...