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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microstrip patch antennas of a proposed type would be tunable over broad wavelength ranges. These antennas would be attractive for use in a variety of microwave communication systems in which there are...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An ultra-high-frequency microstrip-patch antenna has been built for use in airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). The antenna design satisfies requirements specific to the GeoSAR...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) that includes a high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) has been developed as a prototype of improved frequency doublers for generating signals at frequencies...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
GPS Position and Heading Circuitry for Ships
Circuit boards that contain radio-frequency (RF) and digital circuitry have been developed by NASA to satisfy a requirement of the Port of Houston Authority for relatively inexpensive Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that indicate the azimuthal headings as well as the positions of ships. The...
Briefs: Software
Software for Managing Parametric Studies
The Information Power Grid Virtual Laboratory (ILab) is a Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL) graphical-user-interface computer program that generates shell scripts to facilitate parametric studies performed on the Grid. ("The Grid" denotes a worldwide network of supercomputers used for...
Briefs: Software
Software Aids Visualization of Computed Unsteady Flow
Unsteady Flow Analysis Toolkit (UFAT) is a computer program that synthesizes motions of time-dependent flows represented by very large sets of data generated in computational fluid dynamics simulations. Prior to the development of UFAT, it was necessary to rely on static, single-snapshot...
Briefs: Software
Software for Testing Electroactive Structural Components
A computer program generates a graphical user interface that, in combination with its other features, facilitates the acquisition and preprocessing of experimental data on the strain response, hysteresis, and power consumption of a multilayer composite-material structural component containing...
Briefs: Software
Advanced Software for Analysis of High-Speed Rolling-Element Bearings
COBRA-AHS is a package of advanced software for analysis of rigid or flexible shaft systems supported by rolling-element bearings operating at high speeds under complex mechanical and thermal loads. These loads can include centrifugal and thermal loads generated by motions of...
Briefs: Software
Web Program for Development of GUIs for Cluster Computers
WIGLAF (a Web Interface Generator and Legacy Application Façade) is a computer program that provides a Webbased, distributed, graphical-user-interface (GUI) framework that can be adapted to any of a broad range of application programs, written in any programming language, that are executed...
Briefs: Software
XML-Based Generator of C++ Code for Integration With GUIs
An open source computer program has been developed to satisfy a need for simplified organization of structured input data for scientific simulation programs. Typically, such input data are parsed in from a flat American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text file into...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Scaling of Two-Phase Flows to Partial-Earth Gravity
A report presents a method of scaling, to partial-Earth gravity, of parameters that describe pressure drops and other characteristics of two-phase (liquid/ vapor) flows. The development of the method was prompted by the need for a means of designing two-phase flow systems to operate on the Moon...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Swarms of Micron-Sized Sensors
A paper presents the concept of swarms of micron-sized and smaller carriers of sensing equipment, denoted generally as controllable granular matter, to be used in exploring remote planets and interplanetary space. The design and manufacture of controllable granular matter would exploit advances in...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A three-dimensional (3D) Venturi sensor is being developed as a compact, rugged means of measuring wind vectors having magnitudes of as much as 300 mph (134 m/s). This sensor also...
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
A device that generates an alarm when the partial pressure of oxygen decreases to less than a preset level has been developed to help prevent hypoxia in a pilot or other crewmember of a...
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Briefs: Motion Control
Two apparatuses now under development are intended to perform a variety of deep-drilling, coring, and sensing functions for subsurface exploration of rock and soil. These are modified versions...
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Briefs: Materials
Improved Thermal-Insulation Systems for Low Temperatures
Improved thermal-insulation materials and structures and the techniques for manufacturing them are undergoing development for use in low-temperature applications. Examples of low-temperature equipment for which these thermal insulation systems could provide improved energy efficiency include...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center have received a patent on an emergency flight-control method implemented by a propulsion-controlled aircraft (PCA) system. Utilizing the...
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Briefs: Materials
A relatively simple silanization process has been developed for waterproofing or rewaterproofing aerogels, xerogels, and aerogel/tile composites, and other, similar low-density, highly microporous materials....
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Briefs: Materials
Oxide Protective Coats for Ir/Re Rocket Combustion Chambers
An improved material system has been developed for rocket engine combustion chambers for burning oxygen/hydrogen mixtures or novel monopropellants, which are highly oxidizing at operating temperatures. The baseline for developing the improved material system is a prior iridium/rhenium...
Briefs: Medical
Exercise Device Would Exert Selectable Constant Resistance
An apparatus called the resistive exercise device (RED) has been proposed to satisfy a requirement for exercise equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) that could passively exert a selectable constant load on both the outward and return strokes. The RED could be used alone;...
Briefs: Medical
Since the advent of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, microfabrication methods have been used to manufacture a wide range of miniature pumps. These...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed safety system would effect an inhibitory action when- ever a power tool was aimed in a direction outside a prescribed range of allowable directions. The power tool could be a...
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Briefs: Software
The first step of pattern matching always includes a learning process. A “gold” master is used to create a template. This template is used for identification purposes on all...
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Articles: Motion Control
Force/Torque (F/T) sensors are critical components of robotic applications in electrical and mechanical assembly, product testing, material handling, and many other applications. A sensor system helps robots verify...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A simple technique has been devised to reduce the number of lead wires needed to connect an array of thermocouples to the instruments (e.g., voltmeters) used to read their output voltages....
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Devices that look and function much like conventional zippers on clothing have been proposed as connectors for flexible electronic circuits. Heretofore, flexible electronic circuits have...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Novel architectures based on parallel subconvolution frequency-domain filtering methods have been developed for modular processing rate reduction of discrete-time pulse-shaping filters. Such...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
ModalMax is a very innovative means of harnessing the vibration of a piezoelectric actuator to produce an energy efficient low-profile device with high-bandwidth high-fidelity audio response. The...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The figure depicts a solar photovoltaic power station in which ultracapacitors, rather than batteries, are used to store energy. Developments in the semiconductor industry have reduced...
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