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SOLID BORON HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A POTENTIAL HIGH VOLUMETRIC DENSITY PROPELLANT FOR VOLUME LIMITED ROCKET AND AIR BREATHING PROPULSION SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, ACHIEVING THIS POTENTIAL HAS BEEN DIFFICULT DUE TO LOW COMBUSTION AND HEAT RELEASE EFFICIENCIES IN CONVENTIONALLY DESIGNED COMBUSTORS. A THREE PHASE MODEL OF BORON ASSISTED COMBUSTION IS POSTULATED AND THE ROLE THAT KINETIC SENSITIVITY ANAL ...

SPACE-BASED FACILITIES FACE AN UNEXPECTEDLY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT AT ORBITAL ALTITUDES DUE TO CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS WITH ATOMIC OXYGEN AT THE HIGH VELOCITIES OF ORBITING SPACECRAFT. DEGRADATION AND EROSION OF MATERIALS FACING INTO THE ATMOSPHERIC WIND POSE A THREAT TO THE EFFECTIVE LIFE AND UTILITY OF SATELLITES, SPACE STATION SYSTEMS, AND EXPECIALLY SPACE-BASED OPTICAL INSTRUMENTATION. WE PROPOSE T ...

THIS STUDY IS TO DEVELOP INSTRUMENTATION TO MEASURE DRY DEPOSITION RATES OF ATMOSPHERIC TRACE GASES IM- PORTANT IN STUDIES OF ACIDIC DEPOSITION. THE METHOD IS BASED ON THE WELL-ESTABLISHED EDDY CORRELATION TECHNIQUE AND WILL USE A TUNABLE DIODE LASER SOURCE COMBINED WITH AN OPEN-PATH MULTIPASS ABSORPTION CELL FOR TRACE SPECIES DETECTION AT PARTS-PER-BILLION LEVELS. THIS INSTRUMENT WILL HAVE THE FA ...

IT IS DESIRABLE TO ENHANCE THE ABILITY TO MAKE HIGH PURITY SILICON CARBIDE CRYSTALS TO BE USED IN MONITORING INSTRUMENTS AND SENSORS FOR USE IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT IN SIC PRODUCTION HAS BEEN MADE AT NASA-LEWIS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO OPTIMIZE THE NASA-LEWIS PROCESS FOR MAKING SEMICONDUCTOR-QUALITY SILICON CARBIDE CRYSTALS BY BETTER UNDERSTANDING BOTH THE CHEM ...

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE FLUXES OF TRACE GASES IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THEIR SOURCES AND SINKS IN THE BIOSPHERE. THE METHOD IS BASED ON THE WELL ESTABLISHED EDDY CORRELATION TECHNIQUE AND WOULD USE A TUNABLE DIODE LASER SOURCE COMBINED WITH A UNIQUE OPEN PATH MULTIPLE PASS ABSORPTION CELL FOR TRACE SPECIES DETECTION AT SUB-PPB LEVELS. THIS INSTRUM ...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DEVICE BASED ON THE SPECTRAL CORRELATION TECHNIQUE IS PROPOSED. THE SMALL, HAND-HELD DEVICE WILL DETECT FUEL VAPOR IN CONCENTRATIONS AS LOW AS 1 PPM BASED ON THE INFRARED ABSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUEL VAPOR. THE SPECTRAL CORRELATION TECHNIQUE ALLOWS THE DEVICE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE FUEL VAPOR CONCENTRATIONS IN THE PPM RANGE IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHER IR ABSORBING SPECIE ...

SURVIVAL IN NEAR-FUTURE BATTLEFIELD SCENARIOS MAY DEPEND UPON THE USE OF HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL ELEMENTS (HOES) WHOSE UNIQUE FUNCTIONS SERVE: TO PROTECT PERSONNEL FROM EYE-DAMAGING RADIATION, TO SIMPLIFY AIRCRAFT PILOT VISUAL FUNCTION, AND TO PROVIDE VASTLY IMPROVED COMMUNITIONS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS. THESE AND MANY OTHER COMPELLING CAPABILITIES OF HOES CAN ONLY BE EXPLOITED IF THEY CAN BE PR ...

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP THE TOOLS FOR THE DETERMINATION AND EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE BASES FOR INFRARED IMAGE INTERPRETATION SYSTEMS. OUR APPROACH IS BASED ON A THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELING SYSTEM WHICH WILL CONTAIN PHENOMENOLOGY FROM WHICH IMAGES CAN BE SYNTHESIZED. THE THREE DIMENSIONAL MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED TO THE LEVEL OF DETAIL WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE SPATIAL AND THERMAL RESOLUTIONS OF THE ...

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT AND TEST A LABORATORY VERSION OF A PASSIVE CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE SENSOR SUITABLE FOR MONITORING LARGE AREAS OF VEGETATION (> 1 M2). THE LINE DISCRIMINATOR METHOD WE PROPOSE EXPLOITS A COINCIDENCE BETWEEN AN ABSORPTION LINE OFATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN AND THE R1 LINE OF A COOLED RUBY CRYSTAL,BOTH OF WHICH LIE NEAR THE PEAK OF THE CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESC ...

THIS PROJECT WILL DEFINE A COMPUTER SIMULATION CAPABILITY THAT CAN SYNTHESIZE CLOUD CLUTTER AND SEA RADIANCE SCENES MEASURED BY SHIPBORNE IRST SENSORS. THE CAPABILITY WILL BE AN EXPANSION OF ARI'S EXISTING AERIE (AERODYNE INFRARED EARTH) IR BACKGROUND RADIANCE SIMULATION CODE, DEVELOPED TO SYNTHESIZE INFRARED SCENE RADIANCES MEASURED BY IMAGING SENSORS. DETAILS OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE CL ...