Stories
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Briefs: Materials
Corrosion of iron and steel substrates can be inhibited by coating them with any of the wide variety of compounds denoted generally as polyanilines. A polyaniline suitable for this type of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A proposed quantum-well infrared photodetector (QWIP) would exploit resonant-phonon-assisted transitions to reduce dark current significantly below that of a typical previously developed QWIP...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A photonic system has been devised for acquiring a radio-frequency (RF) signal from a remote receiving antenna via a long optical fiber. The system performs multiple functions,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Cylindrical lenses can be used to increase the efficiency of coupling of light between (1) beams with circular or nearly circular cross sections propagating in single-mode optical...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A spectrometer has been developed for acquiring transient emission and absorption spectra in the wavelength range from 1.2 to 5.0 µm. It could be used to characterize flames, turbulence, and other transient...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved photodiode-based complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel sensor (APS) incorporates features to (1) allow imaging with very high electronic shutter speeds,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A fiber-optic illumination device that aids the inspection of window surfaces has been improved to make it suitable for automated detection of pits, scratches, and subsurface damage by...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Two improved schemes for the design and operation of photodiode-based CMOS (complementary metal oxide/ semiconductor) active-pixel sensors (APSs) afford zero image lag,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Whispering-Gallery-Mode Microspheres as Light Modulators
Light modulators of a proposed type would exploit the propagation of lightin "whispering-gallery" electromagnetic modes in microspheres made of electro-optical materials. These modulators would offer advantages of ultrahigh modulation efficiency and increased bandwidth, relative to their...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Electrodeposition of Strong Glassy Metals
Thin-walled structures made of strong glassy nickel and glassy nickel-cobalt alloys, with tailorable low residual stresses, and with high resistance to permanent plastic deformation, can be formed by use of an electrodeposition process. This process was developed to enable the fabrication of lightweight,...
Briefs: Information Technology
The Multi-Disciplinary Computing Environment (MDICE) is a software system for multidisciplinary analysis of complex engineering equipment, processes, and systems. Currently MDICE supports a...
Briefs: Information Technology
Electronic Storage and Retrieval of Engineering Documents
The KSC Electronic Documentation System (KEDS) is a computer-intranet system at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the storage and retrieval of engineering drawings and other engineering documents that have been officially released. Prior to the development of the KEDS, microfilm copies of...
Briefs: Information Technology
Optimization Modeling Assistant (OMA) is an expert-system computer program that assists its users in the development of mathematical and algorithmic models for optimization. As used...
Briefs: Information Technology
Interface Program for Generation of Computational Grids
Computer Aided Grid Interface (CAGI) is a computer program that serves as an interface between computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) programs and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programs. CAGI reads Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files from CAD/CAM...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The EXOS computer program numerically simulates impacts of orbital debris on spacecraft. EXOS can be used to simulate meteoroid- and orbital-debris-impact damage to commercial...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The figure schematically depicts a heterodyne photonic apparatus built around three continuous-wave, near-infrared diode lasers. This apparatus generates electromagnetic radiation at...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Advanced unicouples that contain carefully tailored combinations of thermoelectric materials are being investigated in an effort to develop thermoelectric power generators that would operate with...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A compact, portable, mid-infrared, laser-based instrument that operates at room temperature has been developed for use in detecting trace concentrations of CO or any of several other...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Personal Cabin Pressure Alarm
Compact instruments, similar in appearance to common personal pagers, have been proposed for warning aircraft crewmembers that cabin air pressure has decreased to a potentially dangerous level. An instrument of this type, called a "personal cabin pressure monitor and warning system" (PCPMWS), implements a warning...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Software Predicts Noise From Rotor-Wake/Stator Interactions
V072 is a computer program that predicts the noise generated by the interaction between the rotor-blade wake (fan wake) and the stator vanes of a turbofan engine. The program is a combination of subroutines from prior NASA programs, with many added features.
Briefs: Software
Software for Obtaining Ideal SAR Chirps
A computer program introduces a predistortion into the chirp signal used to frequency-modulate a synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) signal at the transmitter. The predistortion is intended to compensate for distortions introduced by nonideal performance of the various pieces of SAR equipment — especially the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Insulating tiles with interlocking shaped gaps have been developed for use in protecting the leading edges of the wings of aerospacecraft against excessive heating during hypersonic flight...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Glass plates are used as cure plates in a modified process for the fabrication of flat composite-material (matrix/fiber) panels. In the unmodified previous version of the process the cure...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A combination of procedure and equipment for loading liquid hydrazine into a spacecraft fuel tank that contains a diaphragm or bladder would be modified, according to a proposal. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Ultrasonic Bubble-Sizing Instrument
An ultrasonic instrument has been developed for measuring the sizes of bubbles in the human body. A primary example is that of bubbles associated with decompression sickness (the "bends"); these bubbles consist mostly of nitrogen and can occur in both blood vessels and extravascular tissues. The bubbles can lodge...
Briefs: Information Technology
A recently developed theoretical and computational method is especially well suited for analyzing time-series data that represent nonstationary and nonlinear processes. The method stands in...
Briefs: Materials
Development of Progressive-Failure-Analysis Software
A report discusses the development of the GENOA-PFA computer program, which was described in "Software for Simulating Progressive Fracture in Braided PMCs" (LEW-16845), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 24, No. 3 (March 2000), page 52; and "Update on a Progressive-Failure-Analysis Software System...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Surface and Gas Temperatures via Multiwavelength Pyrometry
A report describes experiments using multiwavelength pyrometry to determine the surface temperature of the end tip inside a BeO cylinder that is part of a probe designed to measure high-temperature gases. The cylinder is heated by the gas into which it is inserted, and the gas temperature...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Tribology for Aerospace Applications
"Tribology for Aerospace Applications" is a textbook and reference source written for designers of rotating machinery; users and designers of such mechanical components as bearings, gears, and seals; tribologists; university and industrial researchers; and students of machine design. The book incorporates...
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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
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
Streamlining Manufacturing with Integrated Digital Planning and Simulation

