This Brief describes a method of machining and assembly when the depth of corrugations far exceeds the width and conventional machining is not practical. The horn is divided into easily machined, individual rings with shoulders to control the depth. In this specific instance, each of the corrugations is identical in...

The development of the Ko displacement theory for predictions of structure deformed shapes was motivated in 2003 by the Helios flying wing, which had a 247-ft (75-m) wing span with wingtip deflections reaching 40 ft (12 m). The Helios flying wing failed in midair in June 2003, creating the...

Since 2006, NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) and Ames Research Center have been perfecting and demonstrating a new capability for geolocation of wildfires and the real-time delivery of data to firefighters. Managed for the Western States Fire Mission, the...

A slide ring material (SRM) paint is able to heal a majority of surface scratches by itself. When disturbed by minor abrasions, the paint’s cross-linked molecules retain mobility, and the oleophilic polyrotaxane coating redistributes its tension to slide back into place along the polymer chains, erasing the...

Springs, polymers, and pneumatic or hydraulic devices react to impacts, but a recently developed damping technology calculates and controls the forces that should be applied. Within the device, two electromagnets with different polarities are put in contact, and the repulsion force is used against the forces...

An organization seeks a low-cost way to render dirty, contaminant-filled water clean enough to use for washing or sanitary purposes. The treatment system should reduce dirt particles, lower pH levels, and remove surfactants like linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS). A large water treatment plant...

A company is interested in licensing a film material that can be printed, sprayed, or transferred onto an anodized aluminum surface, such that the applied layer prevents oxygen from reaching and reacting with copper or other colored metals that are electro-deposited into the alumina pores. The...

After a brief career teaching at University College London in the U.K., Dr. Robert Youngquist returned to the U.S. and went to work as a contractor at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in 1988. He established KSC’s Optical Instrumentation Laboratory,...