Stories
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Optically transparent patch antennas have been invented for use in communication systems at frequencies of the order of a few gigahertz. These antennas can be mounted on windows of buildings and vehicles, on...
Briefs: Motion Control
A developmental technique for automated alignment of threaded fasteners involves the use of the axial force between the fasteners as an indication of alignment. The technique was...
Briefs: Materials
A method for protective packaging of multichip modules and related assemblies of microelectronic circuitry involves coating the assemblies with composite organic/inorganic layers only 1...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Quick Guide to MSAT
A report presents additional information on the Mechanical System Design/Analysis Tool (MSAT) computer program, which was reported in "Program for Designing a Mechanical System" (LEW-16710, NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 9 (September 1999), page 32. To recapitulate: MSAT is a user-friendly, multidisciplinary software system that...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Updates on Optical Diagnosis of Fuel Spray Patterns
A collection of three reports presents an expanded discussion of the topic of "Optical Diagnostics of High-Pressure Liquid Fuel Sprays" (LEW-16701),NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 3 (March 1999), page 18a. The reports describe experiments in which fuel sprays representative of those in...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A boundary-layer rake of pitot tubes has been designed and built for installation on a flight-test fixture (FTF) on the NASA Dryden F-15B, which is a two-seat version of the F-15...
Briefs: Motion Control
Small-Stroke, High-Frequency Reciprocating Pump
A proposed reciprocating pump would operate at a small stroke and would contain no sliding parts. The oscillatory motion of a piston in the pump could be provided by a magnetostrictive actuator, for example.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Time-Parallel Solutions of Linear PDEs on a Supercomputer
A paper describes the mathematical basis and some applications of a class of massively parallel algorithms for finite-difference numerical solution of some time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs) on massively parallel supercomputers. In a radical departure from the traditional...
Briefs: Software
A computer program has been developed to shorten the time needed to set up electronic instrumentation for a hot-fire test of a rocket engine. The instrumentation in question is a...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The pixelated array detector (PAD) is a planar array of complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) charge-collecting electrodes and readout circuitry for measuring the electric charges...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Forward-scattering particle-image velocimetry (FSPIV) is a technique for measuring velocities in microscopic flow fields as thin liquid films. As in other particle-image-velocimetry (PIV)...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Dc-to-dc power-converter modules that operate with input potentials from 60 to 140 V and generate various output potentials up to 15 V are undergoing development. Designed specifically for...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A telescopic imaging system that includes an optomechanical scanning subsystem is undergoing development. The system is designed for use in scientific observation of the Earth from aboard...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An M-JPEG video compression system has been modified to satisfy the unique requirements of space-based applications. ["M-JPEG" signifies the still-image-data-compression method of...
Briefs: Information Technology
No-shift universal trellis-coded quantization (NSUTCQ) is an image-data-compression/decompression algorithm designed to be especially useful in telemedicine. Like some other...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter Spectrometers
Spectrometers are used for applications such as chemical analysis, remote sensing, environmental measuring, and optical measurements. Most spectrometers utilize prisms and gratings, where the dispersion of light depends upon the angle and rotation of the grating. But gratings and other moving parts are...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A proposed technique for color filtering in a liquid-crystal or other flat-panel display device would make it possible to brighten the display without increasing the amount of light...
Briefs: Motion Control
The heat-driven pulse pump has been invented in an effort to satisfy a need for pumps that can circulate heat-transfer fluids at low flow rates with high reliability over long operational lifetimes. The heat-driven pulse...
Briefs: Information Technology
Software for Scanning, Storing, and Retrieving Images
An application program for scanning and storage of images and for retrieval of the images via the World Wide Web has been written in the Java programming language to be portable to any computer and operating system that support the Java Virtual Machine 1.02. The program can be run on one...
Briefs: Motion Control
An improved magnetostrictively actuated pump has been developed to satisfy a need for a small, low-pressure, high-flow-rate fluid pump that contains few moving parts and can run reliably for long periods without...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Wireless Information Network
A wireless information network (WIN) is undergoing development for use by workers at locations scattered across Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This WIN could be a prototype of a larger network that would serve all of NASA; by logical extension, it could also be a prototype of commercial WINs. By use of a combination of...
Briefs: Materials
An improved method of fabricating electrodes for fuel cells includes the use of sputtering to deposit thin layers of catalytic electrode metals. Previously, catalytic electrode metals...
Briefs: Motion Control
The figure depicts a proposed miniature, electrically actuated, one-time-opening isolation valve that would be made mostly of silicon, by use of micromachining techniques. Isolation valves...
Briefs: Software
Software for Environmental Monitoring in a Large Facility
Four computer programs enable the nearly real-time distribution, analysis, and display of data on temperature, relative humidity, and particle fallout measured by sensors in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) and the Launch Pad Payload Changeout Room (PCR) at Kennedy Space Center. The...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Circuit Detects Pyrolysis of Polyimide Insulation on Wires
An electronic circuit has been designed as a prototype of a device that determines whether critical electrical systems have been compromised because of pyrolysis of polyimide-insulated wires. This circuit can be modified to prevent further pyrolysis and to check for indications of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Improved thermoelectric converter units (TCUs) and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that contain them have been undergoing development for use as small, lightweight...
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Webcasts
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The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping
SAE Automotive Engineering Podcast: Additive Manufacturing
Podcasts: Defense
A New Approach to Manufacturing Machine Connectivity for the Air Force
On-Demand Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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