Award Data

Infrared absorption, using tunable diode lasers from aircraft and balloon platforms measures stratospheric trace gas. The goal of this project is to develop a new open-path absorption cell suitable for in situ measurements of reactive trace species from an aircraft platform. The open-path design, in which the laser beam undergoes multiple reflections between two mirrors located on the wing and the ...

Nighttime operations are very attractive for the U.S. Armed Forces since these conditions generally maximize their advantage over the opposing forces. The deployment of IR countermeasures to protect aircraft from heat-seeking missiles, however, may remove the advantage of nighttime conditions and expose the aircraft to anti-aircraft artillery and small arms fire. Therefore, a need exists for an IR ...

FERROELECTRIC SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS ARE BEING CREATED BY CHEMICALLY MODIFYING MONOLAYERS OF ADSORBED N-ALKANETHIOLS IN VACUUM. THE SURFACE POTENTIALS OF THE RESULTING THIN FILMS ARE MEASURED AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AND PYROELECTRIC COEFFICIENTS AND FIGURES OF MERIT FOR THE MODIFIED FILMS DERIVED. THESE MONOLAYERS SHOULD BE EXCELLENT MATERIALS FOR ADVANCED ROOM TEMPERATURE PYROELECTRIC D ...

NASA space flight equipment test facilities require a monitoring device for airborne vapors of the rocket fuels hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). The ideal monitor will be portable, respond rapidly and specifically to hydrazines, and be sensitive at the 10 ppb level or below. Infrared direct absorption techniques have much to offer in terms of simplic ...

THE POSSIBILITY THAT ATOMIC CHLORINE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE MARINE SURFACE LAYER ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH OH AS THE MAJOR TROPOSPHERIC OXIDIZER HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE SPECULATION. CHLORINE ATOMS PARTICIPATE IN THE OXIDATION OF HYDROCARBONS AND DIMETHYL SULFIDE AND CAN ALSO DIRECTLY INFLUENCE TROPOSPHERIC OZONE LOSS THROUGH CATALYTIC CYCLES WITH C1O AND HO2 RADICALS. THE NET EFFECT ON T ...

ANALYSIS OF THE STABLE ISOTOPES IN ATMOSPHERIC METHANE SAMPLES CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY LOCAL SOURCES AND TO DEFINE THE GLOBAL BUDGET OF THIS RADIATIVELY IMPORTANT GREENHOUSE GAS. THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A PORTABLE AND LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ISOTOPE MASS SPECTROMETRY FOR MEASURING (13)CH4 AND CH3D COMPONENTS IN METHANE SAMPLES. THE METHOD IS BASED ON INFRARED ABSORPTION USING A HELIUM NE ...

High intensity cooling of expansion turbine blades is proposed, using a self-stabilized evaporation/condensation process within each blade. The result is low blade structural temperature, with waste heat delivered to a low pressure air flow. This is a key technology requirement for development of a fully cooled gas turbine, with potential for operation at radically increased turbine inlet temper ...

The objectiwe of this proposal is to develop a versatile, inexpensive, and portable spectroscopic probe to quantify the atmospheric corrosion of metal surfaces on aircraft. Since many metals form insoluble salts as products of corrosion reactions, it should be possible to monitor the extent of metal corrosion by measuring the surface coverage of these products. For example, aluminum, which is a ma ...

A radical, high performance system design concept for UAV missions is proposed. Its characteristics derive directly from propulsion and power generation capabilities inherent in microturbine technology under development at MIT. The proposed vehicle configurations is an oblate spheroid, giving a high package volume with sufficient fuel capacity for hover duration of about one hour. Thrust from m ...

41068 November 20, 1996 Aerodyne Research, Inc. Scintillation phosphors, materials commonly used in particle detectors, emit a photon of light when struck by a subatomic particle, and the light flashes are counted as an indicator of atomic decay. This project will explore the feasibility of monitoring tritium by using an ultra low density (milligrams per ...