Magazine

Optoelectronic instruments are being developed for use in measuring the concentrations and sizes of microscopic particles suspended in air. The instruments could be used, for example, to detect smoke, explosive dust in grain elevators, or toxic dusts in industrial buildings. Like some older,...

The Remote Sensing Hyperspectral Engine (RSHE) is a special-purpose, portable computer that performs high-performance processing of hyperspectral image data collected by a remote-sensing optoelectronic apparatus. Typically, the remote-sensing apparatus is airborne or spaceborne, the images are of...

An assembly of lifting equipment has been devised to enable the safe removal of water filters used in electrical-discharge machining (EDM). As explained below, this equipment prevents injuries of a type formerly associated with changing the filters.

Infrared gas sensors that could be mass-produced at relatively low cost have been proposed for a variety of applications — for example, detecting carbon monoxide in air inside houses. A sensor of this type would include a housing into which ambient air could diffuse. The gas of...

A report describes a method of simultaneously measuring steady-state axial and tangential turbomachine-blade deflections by use of fiber-optic probes and probe actuators designed specifically for this purpose. Each fiber-optic probe illuminates a small spot and, by measuring a change in...

An apparatus has been devised to enable accurate, reproducible angular positioning of an ultrasonic probe used to diagnose the carotid artery. More specifically, the apparatus is intended for use in a clinical setting in which the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery is measured by use of...

A report describes uniaxial-stress-versus-strain experiments that were performed on polycrystalline Tb76Dy24 alloy specimens. [Also see "Magnetoelastic Vibration Dampers" (NPO-20988) on page 56 of this issue.] The proposal is to use Tb-Dy alloys as vibration-damping materials at temperatures -100 K,...

Grid-Based Estimation of Surface Traversability Applied to Local Terrain (GESTALT) is a software library that helps a robotic wheeled vehicle choose a safe path across nearby terrain. The input to GESTALT consists mainly of three-dimensional range measurements of the nearby terrain taken by sensors...

Advanced control systems that include built-in smart-material elastic-deformation structural actuators have been proposed for deployable thin-shell structures that are required to be maintained in precise shapes once deployed. This approach to structural shape control was conceived to enable...

Magnetoelastic dampers have been proposed for use in suppressing vibrations of large motors and transformers that operate at temperatures below 100 K. [Also see "Progress in Magnetoelastic Vibration Dampers," (NPO-20887) on page 57 of this issue.] These dampers would be made of magnetostrictive materials -...

A simple, inexpensive device has been conceived for shifting the phase of a signal in a feed line of a scanning-beam microstrip antenna in order to change the direction of the beam. Heretofore, phase shifters used for this purpose have been relatively bulky and expensive.

Nickel-hydrogen electrochemical cells with capacities of 350 ampere-hours have been developed. These cells are intended primarily for use in government and commercial satellites; they have been fully qualified to satisfy performance requirements for operation in geosynchronous satellites for as long as 15 years....

A report presents some results of continuing efforts to develop advanced thermoelectric devices and, more particularly, thermoelectric unicouples for generating electric power from diverse thermal sources, including automotive exhausts and other waste-heat sources. The basic principles of...

External Data and Attribute Hyperlink are computer programs that can be added to Promis•e®, which is a commercial software system that automates routine tasks in the design (including drawing schematic diagrams) of electrical control systems. The programs were developed under the...

A computer program solves the differential equations of three-dimensional (3D) thermal convection of an incompressible fluid by use of a parallel-processing, finite volume numerical scheme. The equations of conservation of momentum, and energy are integrated over macroscopic control...

Møtran (signifying "multi-phase transient") is a package of software for simulating flows in two-phase (gas/liquid) fluid systems like networks of such components as pipes, T junctions, pumps, evaporators, and condensers. The software is based on a two-fluid formulation that can accommodate unequal...

RBK4 is a computer program for testing electronic components for susceptibility to single-event upsets (SEUs). RBK4 controls the computer on which it is executed to communicate with both the board holding the device under test (DUT), a power supply, and other laboratory instruments including custom...

The Automated Adaptive Signal Processing (AASP) computer program extracts wind data from the outputs of Doppler-radar wind profilers (DRWPs). Unlike prior software used for this purpose, AASP does not rely on manual intervention to prevent a DRWP system from locking onto and tracking...