Magazine

A mathematical model has been formulated to describe the pyrolysis of biomass in a bubbling fluidized-bed reactor. The reactor is a vertical cylinder that contains a mixture of biomass particles and sand. Superheated steam enters the reactor through holes in the bottom and flows out freely at...

A system that samples gases at multiple remote locations and delivers the gases to two or possibly more gas-monitoring instruments (e.g., mass spectrometers) has been developed. The system includes a transport (suction) pump that draws the gases from the sampling locations, through transport...

"S+Wavelets" is the name of a computer program that implements a suite of mathematical "tools" for wavelet analysis of signals (including two-dimensional signals that represent images.) Wavelets, being localized in both time and frequency (or space and wave number), serve as means for transforming and extracting...

A document describes a system for the automated generation of reports of operations of a robotic exploratory vehicle (rover) on Mars. The automated report-generation system supplants a predominantly manual system, thereby making more information available in less time and reducing the...

Liquid waterproofing agents based on polyorganosiloxanes have been invented for use in treating porous, lightweight, fibrous ceramic thermal-insulation materials in both tile (rigid) and blanket (flexible) forms. Whereas silane-based waterproofing materials developed previously for this purpose...

Composite materials that include combinations of metal oxide and silica nanoparticles in polymeric matrices have been invented for primary use as dental fillings, dental and bone adhesives, and the like. There have been previous efforts to develop polymeric replacements for the amalgam...

Hybrid composite-material (fiber/matrix) structures of a proposed type would incorporate recently developed polybenzoxazole (PBO) fibers that feature high strengths and high moduli of elasticity and which can be made in much thinner sections than are possible with graphite fibers. The PBO...

The Hydrogen Umbilical Mass Spectrometer (HUMS) consists of an integrated sample delivery system, a commercial mass-spectrometer- based gas analyzer, and a set of calibration gas mixtures traceable to NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology). The system, except for the calibration gas...

The ASPEN Modeling Language (AML) has been developed for use in the Automated Scheduling and Planning Environment (ASPEN) software system. As described in prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, ASPEN is an object-oriented system that contains a modular, reconfigurable, reusable set of...

The Task Remote Asynchronous Message Exchange Layer (Tramel) software reduces the costs of distributing application programs across computer networks, including the Internet. Tramel implements robust, reliable, simple, highly portable interprocess communication, such that distributed...

A computer program coordinates the activities of multiple instrumented robotic vehicles of the "rover" type intended for use in scientific exploration. The program is a master/slave, distributed version of the ASPEN planning software, other versions of which have been reported in several...

Saxj is a computer program that facilitates the development of programs that parse textual input in the Java programming language. Saxj is a parser generator that creates static Java parsers in the same sense in which YACC, Bison, and YACC++ are static parser generators that create static C-language parsers....

Luthorj is a computer program that creates static lexical analyzers in the Java programming language, in the same sense in which Flex and Lex create lexical analyzers in the C programming language. The majority of users of Luthorj are expected to be familiar with Lex, and Luthorj parses input files that...

Design for X (DFX) is a computer program that assists, at the prelimary stage of planning, in the evaluaiton of alternative spacecraft designs and mission scenarios. The input required by DFX includes a set of operations goals (scientific and engineering goals and constraints), a mathematical...

A proposed mechanical breakaway clutch would not rely on friction. The clutch would be useful in environments in which the inherent inaccuracies of friction would make friction clutches erratic. The proposed clutch would comprise two primary assemblies: a driver assembly and a slip flange. The slip flange would be an...

The molten-carbonate oxidation (MCO) process shows promise as a means of safe disposal and/or recycling of solid waste. The MCO process is being developed for use in regenerative life-support systems in outer space, but may also prove useful in managing institutional, industrial, and/or municipal solid...

A technique for assessing changes in the densities and compositions of communities of microorganisms in environmental samples is based partly on redox chemistry. Suspensions of microbes from environmental samples are inoculated into 95-well microtiter plates. Each well contains an initially...