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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Inlet Housing for a Partial-Admission Turbine
An inlet housing for a partial-admission turbine has been designed to cause the inlet airflow to make a smooth transition from an open circular inlet to an inlet slot. The smooth flow is required for purposes of measuring inlet flow characteristics and maximizing the efficiency of the turbine.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Small Active Radiation Monitor
A device, named small active radiation monitor, allows on-orbit evaluations during periods of increased radiation, after extravehicular activities, or at predesignated times for crews on such long-duration space missions as on the International Space Station. It also permits direct evaluation of biological doses, a...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A portable electronic apparatus records electromyographic (EMG) signals in as many as 16 channels at a sampling rate of 1,024 Hz in each channel. The apparatus (see figure) includes 16 differential EMG electrodes (each...
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Part 1 of a Computational Study of a Drop-Laden Mixing Layer
This first of three reports on a computational study of a drop-laden temporal mixing layer presents the results of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of well-resolved flow fields and the derivation of the large-eddy simulation (LES) equations that would govern the larger scales of a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Selected Papers on Protoplanetary Disks
Three papers present studies of thermal balances, dynamics, and electromagnetic spectra of protoplanetary disks, which comprise gas and dust orbiting young stars. One paper addresses the reprocessing, in a disk, of photons that originate in the disk itself in addition to photons that originate in the stellar...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A module that dissolves oxygen in water at concentrations approaching saturation, without generating bubbles of oxygen gas, has been developed as a prototype of improved oxygenators for...
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Arrays of multiple, nominally identical sensors with sensor-output-processing electronic hardware and software are being developed in order to obtain accuracy, reliability, and lifetime...
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Integrated-Optic Oxygen Sensors
Compact optical oxygen sensors with self-calibration capabilities are undergoing development. A sensor of this type features a single-chip, integrated-optic design implemented by photolithographic fabrication of optical waveguides in a photosensitive porous glass. The porosity serves as both a matrix for retention of...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Hybrid Piezoelectric/Fiber-Optic Sensor Sheets
Hybrid piezoelectric/fiber-optic (HyPFO) sensor sheets are undergoing development. They are intended for use in nondestructive evaluation and long-term monitoring of the integrity of diverse structures, including aerospace, aeronautical, automotive, and large stationary ones. It is anticipated that the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Laser Ablation of Materials for Propulsion of Spacecraft
A report describes experiments performed as part of a continuing investigation of the feasibility of laser ablation of materials as a means of propulsion for small spacecraft. In each experiment, a specimen of ablative material was mounted on a torsion pendulum and irradiated with a laser...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A technique that involves the use of thermoformed plastics has been developed to enable the design and fabrication of ultra-lightweight structural components and mirrors for use in outer...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved method of dot-projection photogrammetry and an extension of the method to encompass dot-projection videogrammetry overcome some deficiencies of dot-projection...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The Coastal Research Imaging Spectrometer (CRIS) is an airborne remote sensing system designed specifically for research on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of coastal waters. The CRIS...
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Briefs: Information Technology
Hybrid Image-Plane/Stereo (HIPS) manipulation is a method of processing image data, and of controlling a robotic manipulator arm in response to the data, that enables the manipulator arm to place an...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved method of growing high-quality InAs quantum dots embedded in lattice-matched InGaAs quantum wells on InP substrates has been developed. InAs/InGaAs/InP quantum dot...
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Briefs: Information Technology
A relatively simple algorithm, devised for use in an image-data-compression application, partitions a rectangular pixelated image (or any other rectangle on which a regular rectangular...
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
For every challenge that may arise when attaching metal or plastic components, a hardware solution usually can be found. When permanently installed threaded hardware is...
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Briefs: Information Technology
High-performance digital electronic circuits for onboard processing of return signals in an airborne precipitation - measuring radar system have been implemented in commercially available...
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Briefs: Materials
Improved Method of Purifying Carbon Nanotubes
An improved method of removing the residues of fabrication from carbon nanotubes has been invented. These residues comprise amorphous carbon and metal particles that are produced during the growth process. Prior methods of removing the residues include a variety of processes that involved the use of...
Briefs: Materials
A method and apparatus for the growth of carbon nanotubes or nanofibers in a desired pattern has been invented. The essence of the method is to grow the nanotubes or nanofibers by chemical...
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Briefs: Materials
Lightweight, Rack-Mountable Composite Cold Plate/Shelves
Rack-mountable composite-material structural components that would serve as both shelves and cold plates for removing heat from electronic or other equipment mounted on the shelves have been proposed as lightweight alternatives to allmetal cold plate/shelves now in use. A proposed cold...
Briefs: Software
Open-Source Software for Modeling of Nanoelectronic Devices
The Nanoelectronic Modeling 3-D (NEMO 3-D) computer program has been upgraded to open-source status through elimination of license-restricted components. The present version functions equivalently to the version reported in “Software for Numerical Modeling of Nanoelectronic Devices”...
Briefs: Materials
Maximizing the natural corrosion resistance of parts and components machined from stainless steels. It can make the difference between satisfactory performance and premature failure. Incorrectly performed,...
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Briefs: Software
Software for Generating Strip Maps From SAR Data
Jurassicprok is a computer program that generates strip-map digital elevation models and other data products from raw data acquired by an airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system. This software can process data from a variety of airborne SAR systems but is designed especially for the GeoSAR...
Briefs: Software
Calibration Software for Use With Jurassicprok
The Jurassicprok Interferometric Calibration Software (also called “Calibration Processor” or simply “CP”) estimates the calibration parameters of an airborne synthetic- aperture-radar (SAR) system, the raw measurement data of which are processed by the Jurassicprok software described in the...
Briefs: Software
Software Processes SAR Motion-Measurement Data
Motion Measurement Processor (MMP) is one of three computer programs that are used together in the operation of a terrainmapping dual-frequency interferometric synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) system. The other two programs — Jurassicprok and Calibration Processor — are described in the two...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Video Guidance Sensor (VGS) system is an optoelectronic sensor that provides automated guidance between two vehicles. In the original intended application, the two vehicles would be...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Ka-Band Autonomous Formation Flying Sensor
A Ka-band integrated range and bearing- angle formation sensor called the Autonomous Formation Flying (AFF) Sensor has been developed to enable deep-space formation flying of multiple spacecraft. The AFF Sensor concept is similar to that of the Global Positioning System (GPS), but the AFF Sensor would not...
Briefs: Software
Software for Probabilistic Risk Reduction
A computer program implements a methodology, denoted probabilistic risk reduction, that is intended to aid in planning the development of complex software and/or hardware systems. This methodology integrates two complementary prior methodologies: (1) that of probabilistic risk assessment and (2) a...

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