Test & Measurement :: Nasa Tech Briefs

NASA Tech Briefs’ Test and Measurement Web page features new test instruments for use by engineers in aerospace, communications, electronics, automotive, and other applications, as published in NASA Tech Briefs magazine. Many of the Tech Briefs below are correlated to a Technical Support Package (TSP) or White Paper that can be downloaded free of charge.

Nov 2009

Cryogenic Chamber for Servo-Hydraulic Materials Testing

A compact cryogenic test chamber can be cooled to approximately 5 to 6 Kelvin for materials testing. The system includes a temperature controller and multiple sensors to measure specimen temperature at different locations. The testing chamber provides a fast and easy method to perform materials testing at lower than liquid nitrogen temperature (77 ...
Read More >>

Multimodal Friction Ignition Tester

Responses of material specimens to vibrational friction in pressurized oxygen are recorded.

The multimodal friction ignition tester (MFIT) is a testbed for experiments on the thermal and mechanical effects of friction on material specimens in pressurized, oxygen-rich atmospheres. In simplest terms, a test involves recording sensory data while ...
Read More >>

Rover Attitude and Pointing System Simulation Testbed

The MER (Mars Exploration Rover) Attitude and Pointing System Simulation Testbed Environment (RAPSSTER) provides a simulation platform used for the development and test of GNC (guidance, navigation, and control) flight algorithm designs for the Mars rovers, which was specifically tailored to the MERs, but has since been used in the ...
Read More >>

Desktop Application Program To Simulate Cargo-Air-Drop Tests

The DSS Application is a computer program comprising a Windows version of the UNIX-based Decelerator System Simulation (DSS) coupled with an Excel front end. The DSS is an executable code that simulates the dynamics of air-dropped cargo from first motion in an aircraft through landing. The bare DSS is difficult ...
Read More >>

Small-Bolt Torque-Tension Tester

Bolts as small as #0–80 can be tested.

Current torque-tension measurement techniques involve using load washers as the force measuring transducer. The disadvantage of load washers is that they are too large to be used with fasteners smaller than about size #8. The device described here measures the torque-tension relationship ...
Read More >>

Apparatus Measures Thermal Conductance Through a Thin Sample From Cryogenic to Room Temperature

An apparatus allows the measurement of the thermal conductance across a thin sample clamped between metal plates, including thermal boundary resistances. It allows in-situ variation of the clamping force from zero to 30 lb (133.4 N), and variation of the sample temperature between 40 and 300 K. It has a special design feature that ...
Read More >>