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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Structural Analysis/Design (STRAND) and Neural Net Computation (NETCOM) are developmental modular computer programs that exploit the speedup afforded by parallel and neural-network...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Selective Metallization for High-Temperature Semiconductors
Inventors at the Cornell Research Foundation have devised a method of selective metallization of high-temperature semiconductors to produce ohmic or rectifying contacts. The process consists of three phases: a lithographic step to define the areas of contact, preparation of the...
Briefs: Materials
A microwave-heating technique has been developed for making a braze joint (1) between a tungsten carbide support and a surface layer of polycrystalline diamond or, alternatively, (2)...
Briefs: Information Technology
Knowledge-Based Reasoning Tool for Diagnosing a Complex Flow System
This program is designed as a real-time aid to analyze system health.
The Propulsion Advisory Tool (PAT) is a knowledge-based computer program that monitors real-time data from more than 300 sensors in the space shuttle Main Propulsion System (MPS). The thermal conditions within...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Acoustic-radiation pressure can be used to improve performance in the dispensing of liquid drops into gases or vacuum and in dispensing gas bubbles into liquids. In a typical application...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Tracks for the guidance of magnetic bubbles propagating in the input and output lines of Vertical-Bloch-Line memory devices can be made in the form of ridges instead of in the traditional form of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The automated propellant-blending machine, a Johnson Space Center (JSC) innovation, refines the production processes of commercial rocket-propellant manufacturers by: (1) generating inert blends that...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
"Free-Space Optical Communications Analysis Software" (FOCAS) is the name of a spreadsheet computer program for analysis of direct-detection (as distinguished from...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A unique dual-flow, cold-jet facility has been developed and operated by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) at San Luis Obispo for NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An improved miniature electrostatic sector has been designed for a miniature double-focusing mass spectrometer (see figure). Miniature mass spectrometers are essential components...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Harmonic drive gearing is recognized by designers for its zero backlash, high gear ratios, and compact design features. A recent development by HD Systems incorporates a large hollow shaft...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Most current radar scanning antennas utilize mechanical scanning, relying on a gimbal, motor, and gear arrangements to physically rotate/elevate the antenna. This technique is slow, gravity-sensitive, and...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A technique for adjusting the resonance frequency of a single-mode round cylindrical microwave cavity has been proposed to maximize the transfer of power from a magnetron to one or more...
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Program Computes Flightpaths From Point Radar Sightings
A computer program estimates great-circle-arc (GARC) flightpaths of multiple aircraft, given time-tagged point locations from radar sightings of the aircraft. The problem of generating such estimates is called a "clustering" problem, and is solved in this instance by use of a neural-network...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Noncontact Measurement of Surface Tension of Molten Material
An improved method of noncontact measurement of the surface tension of a molten material has been developed, partly to overcome the disadvantages of contact measurement techniques as described in the preceding article, "Noncontact Measurement of Resistivity of Molten Material"...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A multiwavelength pyrometric technique estimates the surface and bulk (subsurface) temperatures of a hot glass. The multiwavelength pyrometer for which the technique was developed...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Collision-Avoidance Experiments on 7-DOF Robot Arms
A report describes experiments on the concept described in "Real-Time Collision Avoidance for a Robot Arm" (NPO-19861), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 12 (December 1996), page 98. Under this concept, collision-avoidance software processes data computed by model-based obstacle-detection software...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Sponsored by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract, MetroLaser, Inc., has developed a novel, compact and low-cost laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) under the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A special-purpose fiber-optic illumination device can be attached temporarily to a window to help an inspector examine window surfaces for scratches, pits, small-scale roughness, and dirt....
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Micromachined Photodiode/Bolometer Arrays
Micromachined planar arrays of detectors that could operate either as photodiodes or as bolometers have been proposed for use in detecting photons in applications in which broad spectral responses are required. The availability of either of the two modes would enable operation throughout the spectrum, from...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Noncontact Measurement of Resistivity of Molten Material
It is now possible to determine the electrical resistivity of a molten sample of a pure, electrically conductive material (a metal or semiconductor), without contact between the sample or any solid object. Once the electrical resistivity has been determined, the thermal conductivity can be...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The term "space cube" denotes a scheme for three-dimensional stacking and interconnection of electronic-circuit modules. [This scheme should not be confused with a related one...
Briefs: Manned Systems
Nearly every military and commercial aircraft in the United States today uses pitot-static probes for accurate, repeatable airdata measurements. Recently, local angle-of-attack- and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
An improved "sensor-integrating" algorithm has been developed for use in extracting partial information on the time-varying attitude of a balloon-borne robotic instrumentation system...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Efforts are underway to develop an electron-tunneling magnetometer with a "planarized" (as explained below) design. Older designs of electron-tunneling magnetometers are more three-dimensional in...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A micromachined force-balance anemometer has been developed by modifying the design of a micromachined force-balance accelerometer that responds to accelerations as small as 109 × normal Earth...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Software for Automated Retesting of Electrical Connections
The Shuttle Connector Analysis Network Automated Electrical Retest Operations (SCAN/AERO) computer program assists in the tracking, management, and automation of the retesting of electrical connectors on the space shuttle orbiters. Among other things, SCAN/AERO analyzes test data to...
Briefs: Materials
Chemiresistors containing poly(aromatic amine) films have been invented to satisfy a need for simple, inexpensive sensors for real-time measurement of parts-per-million and possibly lower...
Briefs: Materials
Several modifications of the basic design of carbon lithium-intercalating anodes with copper current collectors in rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells have been proposed. These...
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