Award Data

Many applications exist for structures, surfaces and materials whose shape, mechanical properties, or functional behavior can be altered in real-time to respond to changing conditions without explicit external commands. Automated systems which interconnect, address, and control large numbers of distributed sensing and actuation elements (pressure sensors, shear sensors, microflaps, etc.) are key ...

An acoustic/ultrasonic sensor development program is proposed for non-invasive determination of the amount of scale in shipboard sewage pipes and fluid level in shipboard sewage tanks. The technology is based on speed, attenuation, and scattering of vibrational waves (acoustic/ultrasonic/elastic) propagating in or through tanks and pipes are sensitive to the materials inside. By measuring the ch ...

Open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) operations for the disposal of obsolete, defective, and waste military energetic materials, such as propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics now require emissions data to support RCRA subpart X permit applications. Many of the current analytical methods used to obtain these data, such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and supercritical fluid chromatogra ...

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Space-based systems must dissipate tens to hundreds of watts for communications, housekeeping, etc. TRA proposes a novel thermal strap which would allow efficient energy conduction from heat sources to the structure of the spacecraft or to heat dissipation units. The thermal strap would utilize high thermal conductivity graphite fibers. Techniques for joining the fibers to end connectors will be i ...

Power Electronic Building Blocks are envisioned to allow large amounts of power to be controlled by small, modular blocks, with similar blocks being used for both military and commercial applications. In order to accommodate the large amounts of heat generated by the electronic switches within the modules, they should be soldered or brazed onto a high conductivity substrate with the same coeffici ...

Among composite materials, aluminum/graphite and copper/graphite composites are potentially leading materials for use in high-performance electronic systems. The use of aluminum matrix (Al/Gr) composites for packaging material, however, have been severely limited because of the raw material and fabrication costs of the composite. In order to produce an inexpensive packaging material that exhibit ...

New tactical missiles may require on-demand thrust control utilizing liquid propellent systems. the objective of this project is to develop a small, highly controllable, low cost. electrically driven high pressure liquid fuel pump to be used for tactical missile propulsion sustems. Phase I will investigate the feasibility of a novel solid-state pump technology. The device will operate at very h ...

40532 November 12, 1996 Technical Research Associates, Inc. Capacitors with extremely high power densities (¿ultracapacitors¿) offer significant performance advantages in automotive applications by leveling the loads on the batteries. Current powder electrode ultracapacitors, however, have too much internal resistance to be well suited to high powe ...