Award Data

The near-field scanning optical microscope can supply information on the shape and electrical properties of surfaces with nanometer resolution. The quantitative interpretation of images is difficult because of the difficulty of electromagnetic field solutions in the near-field limit. We propose to supply software to aid in this analysis. The finite-element programs generate two and three-dimension ...

Fire fighter burn injuries continue to be a frequent problem despite significant advances in protective clothing. A reason for this is the buildup of moisture in fire fighting garments as a result of sweating or fire fighting activities. This buildup of moisture increases the heat transfer through the garment and can result in scald burn injuries as the water is quickly heated. Currently, there is ...

IGES Data Analysis, Inc. (IDA) (formerly IGES Data Analysis) proposes to develop a specification and implementation for the viewing of IGES files on the Internet's World Wide Web (Web). This project will evaluate the different uses of IGES and attempt to determine a base graphic subset that will provide the most benefit to users of the Web. IDA will use the currently posted IGES Figure Viewer Spec ...

A growing number of fire fighters are suffering third degree burns; this has led to questions about the adequacy of thermal protective performance (TPP) measurements for protective clothing. A new heat flux sensor, whose response approximates that of skin, will be developed to provide better measurements of heat transfer in TPP tests. This sensor will be used with nonlinear parameter estimation an ...

As fire protection engineering moves towards the implementation of performance- based fire codes, the use of validated fire models is becoming a necessity. Part of the validation process involves demonstrating model capabilities for predicting key fire environment parameters. One of the key parameters for estimating time to ignition and fire growth is the heat transfer rate to compartment surfaces ...

The storage photostimulable phosphor (SPP) technique has been demonstrated to be sensitive to ionization radiation. It is especially suited for detecting alpha particles since the efficiency is practically 100%. In addition to being able to quantify total ionization deposited in a SPP sensor, it also captures the radiation source distribution information in a digital image which can be readily ana ...

Critical issues associated with the design of a rugged, compact "real time" sampling system using photoconductive switches as the signal generator and sample will be investigated. The design concept is based upon an optoelectronic equivalent time sampling principle developed by the Principal Investigator. It involves first the phase locking of the temporal waveform to be measured to the optical pu ...

OPTRA is proposing the development of an all-reflecting stationary Fourier transform spectrometer, based on the use of Fresnel mirrors and a linear uncooled amorphous silicon microbolometer array to produce spectra in the 1 to 5 micron region with resolution of 5nm. Concentration, temperature and soot volume fraction will be derived from the measured emission spectra of a flame. An amorphous silic ...

We propose to develop an innovative, compact ultrafast high brightness laser source, broadly tunable in the infrared for vibrationally-resolved infrared microscopy and other applications. By passive Kerr lens mode-locking of a novel diode-pumped tunable Cr:LiSAF laser, 100fs pulses will be generated at 100 MHZ repetition rate with an average power of 1W. An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pump ...

Zeotrope refrigerant mixtures have been proposed and used for energy saving. Matching the temperature glide of the refrigerant to the temperature change of the heat sink and source, while simultaneously reducing the pressure difference seen by the compressor will result in significantly improved efficiency. A new cycle based on a mixture cascade combined with a rectifier column has recently been i ...