Briefs: Materials
Graphite/Conductive-Epoxy Electromagnetic Shielding
Lightweight shields for electromagnetic interference (EMI) can now be fabricated from composites of (1) electrically conductive fibers made of bromine-intercalated graphite in (2) matrices...
Briefs: Materials
Composite-Material Pipes for Corrosive and Cryogenic Liquids
A flexible design concept and an associated method of fabrication have been conceived as means to satisfy growing demands for lightweight composite-material pipes for corrosive and cryogenic liquids. The design concept and method can be applied to produce piping systems capable of...
Briefs: Motion Control
Rolling-Piston Compressor With Flow-Through Lubrication
The figure presents a simplified and partly schematic view of a two-stage rolling-piston compressor that is undergoing development for use as the prime mover in a vapor-compression...
Briefs: Motion Control
Closed/Momentary-Opening/Closed Solenoid Valve
A proposed solenoid-actuated valve would open for a short time to pass a very small quantity of fluid. The valve could be used to meter a specified total quantity of the fluid through repeated...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Using Light To Fabricate Photonic Devices
A developmental apparatus and process for the fabrication of photonic devices utilize intense, focused laser light projected and/or diffracted in controlled patterns. The apparatus and process can...
Briefs: Motion Control
Formulation and Algorithm for Multi-Flexible-Body Dynamics
An improved formulation of the dynamics of multiple flexible bodies coupled via joints, and an algorithm that implements the formulation, have been developed at Johnson Space Center (JSC). A robot arm with multiple, somewhat flexible links is a prime example of a dynamic system to which...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Scanning Probe Position Encoder Yields Subnanometer Precision
In today's manufacturing world, the need for ultraprecise position measurement and control grows as feature sizes shrink in the semiconductor industry and the world of...
Briefs: Motion Control
Myoelectric Teleoperation for Robotics and Prosthetics
Johnson Space Center is sponsoring continuing research on the use of myoelectric signals to control dexterous robotic and prosthetic hands. This research is expected to advance the state of the art beyond that of today's most common, commercially available, myoelectrically controlled...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microelectromechanical SPDT Switches
Microelectromechanical single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switches with predominantly planar configurations have been proposed for use in radio-frequency (RF) circuits. These switches would have overall...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Making Submicron Features by Ion Etching Through PMMA Masks
Experiments have shown that a substrate can be patterned with submicron features by the following procedure:
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Reactive-Ion Etching of Smooth Vertical Walls in Silicon
An advanced technique of deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) has been developed for fabricating smooth vertical walls in silicon wafers. These walls are suitable for use as bounding surfaces of optical waveguides in photonic and optoelectronic devices. The roughness of a typical 8-µm-high...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Compact, Recuperated, Binary-Fluid Rankine-Cycle Engine
A Rankine-cycle engine that contains a binary working fluid (ammonia + water) and a recuperative heat exchanger has been built and tested. This engine is a prototype of...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Inexpensive, Rugged Oxygen Sensors Qualified for Flight
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has ruggedized and qualified an inexpensive commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) oxygen sensor that accurately and reliably aids assessment, in flight...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Array of Microscale Heaters and Heat-Flux Sensors
A device has been developed for measuring heat-transfer rates at many points underneath individual bubbles during boiling, in order to determine the heat-transfer coefficient as a function of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
System Computes Flow Quantities From Acoustic-Sensor Output
The figure schematically depicts a flow-measurement system based on an acoustic sensor mounted on a pipe, along which flows a single or two-phase fluid. The electrical output of the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
High-Temperature, Fiber-Optic-Readout Pressure Transducers
Fiber-optic-coupled differential-pressure transducers are being developed for use in hot, harsh environments like those in the cores of aircraft turbine engines. The prior approach...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Airborne Multichannel Swept-Tuned Spectrum Analyzer
Two airborne spectrum analyzers were developed for acquiring dynamic data, characterized by frequencies up to 25 kHz, from a hypersonic-crossflow-transition experiment aboard the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Improved Eye-Tracking Apparatus
A previously developed apparatus that tracks the orientation of the human eye has been modified to make it less susceptible to error induced by ambient infrared light. The apparatus is a commercial product intended primarily for use as a computer-control interface for a person who is physically unable to use a...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Algorithm for Calibrating an Imaging Interferometer
An algorithm has been devised to greatly simplify and improve the calibration and the reduction of systematic noise of an imaging interferometer or other similar interferometric instrument....
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Miniature Birefringence-Measuring System
A miniature birefringence-measuring system has been developed for use in investigating extensional flows of non-Newtonian polymers in microgravity. The system could also be used on Earth to perform...
Briefs: Information Technology
Software Collects Planning and Scheduling Requirements
Interim User's Requirements Collection (IURC) is a software system that generates an interactive graphical user interface that enables users of the International Space Station (ISS) to specify their payload-planning and -scheduling requirements via the World Wide Web (WWW). IURC...
Briefs: Information Technology
Software for Ground Processing of Data From Landsat 7
Three computer programs have been developed for ground processing of Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data from Landsat 7. The three programs and their functions are the following:
Briefs: Materials
Plasma CVD of Boron Carbide by Pulsed Secondary Discharge
An improved method of plasma chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) of a thin film of boron carbide has been devised. Boron carbide is useful because it is hard, is electrically insulating, withstands high temperature, and resists chemical attack. Plasma CVD of boron carbide involves the thermal...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Magnetic Couplings for Gas-Driven Catapults
A proposed magnetic-coupling scheme would afford additional degrees of freedom to optimize the designs of gas-driven catapults or launchers. The scheme could be applied to gas guns in diverse applications, including launching spacecraft or aircraft, propelling various objects at high speeds along the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Differential-Pressure Relief Valve
A relief valve has been designed to limit the differential pressure between two fluids that are not allowed to be mixed. This valve offers advantages over both simple check valves and simple relief valves....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Vortex-Fired Liquid-Fuel Rocket Combustion Chambers
Liquid-fuel rocket engines that utilize vortex flow fields to keep combustion-chamber walls cool have been investigated in computational simulations and experiments. In an engine of this type, the vortex flow establishes radial gradients of pressure and density that cause the lower-density hot...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Systems for Dynamic Control of Growth of Protein Crystals
Computer-controlled laboratory apparatuses for real-time monitoring and control of the growth of protein crystals are undergoing development. By use of an apparatus of this type, one can monitor and control several parameters that affect the growth of protein crystals; these parameters...
Briefs: Medical
In Situ Activation of Microencapsulated Drugs
In a new method of delivering drugs to target sites in a human body, (1) the drugs would be stored in inactive forms in timed-release microcapsules that would be injected, then (2) the drugs...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Spaceborne Telescope for Communication, Ranging, and Imaging
A report describes a program to develop a multi-function telescope to be carried aboard spacecraft of the planned X2000 series of planetary missions. [A related multi-function telescope was described in "Telescope for Imaging and Laser Communication" (NPO-20388), NASA Tech...
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