Briefs: Materials
Polyimide-matrix/carbon-fiber composite materials with enhanced thermo-oxidative stability can be made from carbon fibers that have been coated with suitably formulated reactive...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
An apparatus based on line-of-sight resonant absorption of ultraviolet light yields measurement data from which one can calculate the concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and of hydroxyl...
Briefs: Motion Control
Pulse-Mode Reaction Control System Thruster
A spacecraft reaction-control-system (RCS) thruster now undergoing development generates a thrust of 870 lbf (3,870 N) by burning ethanol and liquid oxygen (LOX), which are nontoxic. The performance of the thruster has been tested in operation in multiple pulse modes with pulses as short as 160 ms;...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
An optoelectronic instrument, known as a plant fluorescence sensor, is being developed for use as a working tool in agricultural settings. This instrument is a remote, passive...
Briefs: Materials
Investigators at the Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) have developed specifications of the amounts of alloying elements needed to increase the specific strengths of nickel alloys...
Briefs: Materials
Improved Fabrication of YBa2Cu3O7 —x Superconductors
An improved method of manufacturing high-temperature superconductors of general composition YBa2Cu3O7— x and various grain structures has been devised. This method involves mixing, pressing, and heating of Y2O3, CuO, and...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Detecting Metal Ions by Voltammetry Using Diamond Electrodes
Experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of detecting multiple species of toxic metal ions and other ions of interest dissolved in water, by means of voltammetry with electrically conductive artificial diamond electrodes. Diamond is attractive as an electrode material because it...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Continuous Electrolytic Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide
Electrolytic cells for the continuous generation of hydrogen peroxide in streams of water have been developed. Cells of this type could be incorporated into wastewater-treatment systems based on advanced oxidation processes that utilize hydroxyl radicals. In addition to...
Briefs: Materials
Improved formulations and processes have been invented for manufacturing ceramic fibers that exhibit structural stability and retain tensile strength at temperatures up to 1,200...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A spectrometer/radiometer now undergoing development is designed to be used aboard a spacecraft to measure the heights of cloud tops on Earth. The spectrometer/radiometer performs...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Improved Optical Sensor for Monitoring Dissolved Oxygen
An optical sensor for measuring the partial pressure of dissolved oxygen in water is based on the effect of oxygen quenching on the fluorescence lifetime of an optically excited ruthenium complex immobilized in a recently developed polymer. In the operation of this sensor, the fluorescence...
Briefs: Energy
Improved Control of Charging Current for Ni/H Battery
In a proposed method of controlling the electric current supplied for charging a nickel/hydrogen battery, the rate of evolution of heat would be taken into account along with the electrical quantities (voltage, current, and/or charge as functions of time) that are traditionally taken into...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A mixing apparatus combines liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen to make liquid air in small, convenient quantities. Heretofore, equipment used to make liquid air by mixing was incapable of...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A proposed extension of the impressed-current method of cathodic protection of metal against corrosion in wet environments would reduce the current and power needed. The proposal involves (1) the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An effective Lewis number has been defined for two-fluid mixtures under conditions of (1) supercritical temperature and pressure and (2) large gradients of temperature and composition. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A mathematical model has been developed to predict the behavior of mutually interacting drops of a first fluid surrounded by a second fluid, under quiescent conditions at...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A mathematical model has been developed to predict the behavior of an isolated drop of a first fluid surrounded by a second fluid, under quiescent conditions at supercritical...
Briefs: Materials
Progress in Texturing by Use of Monatomic Oxygen
A report presents findings from recent research on the use of monatomic oxygen to form microscopic textures on the surfaces of polymers and extends the concept to some forms of carbon. Earlier developments in this field were described in two articles in NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 11 (November...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
A rapid densification technology uses nanostructured powders to produce ceramic devices and components. This technology provides ceramic monoliths and composites that can be used in the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A vapor drying treatment removes traces of water and other contaminant residues that remain on the surface of a patterned semiconductor substrate after chemical cleaning in...
Briefs: Materials
Carbon-based materials containing, variously, metals and metal oxides can be synthesized according to a method that involves reactions of metal chlorides with materials of general...
Briefs: Materials
Two poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s (PAEPOs) have been found to be suitable as matrix and coating materials for composite-material (matrix/fiber) tanks and pipes that contain...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Analysis of Stresses and Deflections in RTDs
A report presents an analysis of stresses and deflections in resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) of various model numbers with standard sizes and shapes. The RTDs are assumed to be installed in pipes that contain flows of oxygen and hydrogen in a test facility at Stennis Space Center. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
We have developed an apparatus that generates a pulsed beam of fast oxygen atoms, under Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to...
Briefs: Materials
Experiments have shown that carbon-based materials containing pure metallic iron, alloys of iron, halides of iron, and/or oxides of iron can be synthesized from precursors of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
NREL scientists have developed an optical processing furnace that combines photonic effects of light with heat to selectively induce reactions at far lower temperatures than they would be if caused by heat alone....
Briefs: Materials
Phospha-s-Triazines and Other Compounds for Use as Additives
A report describes research on selected compounds as additives to perfluoroalkyether (PFPAE) fluids that are used as synthetic lubricants for metal parts. Additives are needed to inhibit both thermo-oxidative degradation of, and corrosion of metals by, the PFPAE fluids in the presence...
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