38
-1
1980
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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: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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...
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: Materials
A new process and equipment have been developed for reducing the emissions of hazardous nitrogen oxides (NOx), and eliminating a hazardous waste stream. In this process, a waste gas...
Briefs: Materials
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: 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
MoSi2-based composite materials are among the advanced materials undergoing development as potential strong, stiff, lightweight replacements for the nickel-based superalloys now used in...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
By combining patented digital Silver-in-Glass® and analog conductive plastic technologies in a single environmentally sealed unibody package, Spectrol Electronics' DigiSense™...
Briefs: Energy
Experiments have shown that improved hydride-forming negative electrodes for rechargeable nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) electrochemical cells can be made by substituting Ge for some...
Briefs: Energy
Experiments have shown that improved hydride-forming negative electrodes for rechargeable nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) electrochemical cells can be made by substituting Sn for some...
Briefs: Materials
Current production thermal-barrier coatings (TBCs) have been shown to be capable of reducing the average temperatures of metallic components by 50 to 80 °C and hot-spot temperature by up...
Briefs: Materials
A probabilistic method has been developed for use in designing a composite-material structure to achieve a balance between maximum reliability and minimum cost. This method accounts...
Briefs: Materials
GENOA is an advanced, completely integrated, hierarchical software package for computationally simulating the thermal and mechanical responses of high-temperature composite materials...
Briefs: Materials
Ion-beam-deposited surface layers of diamond-like carbon (DLC) on fine-grain chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond have been found to be effective in reducing friction and wear in a...
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 liquid...
Briefs: Materials
Two techniques have been proposed to reduce thermal-expansion mismatches between (a) substrates made of silicon, silicon-based ceramics, and silicon-based-ceramic composite materials...
Briefs: Materials
A portable, self-contained, compact instrument measures and records transient electric fields generated by nearby lightning strikes. This instrument complements, and in many respects is...
Briefs: Materials
A modified alloy, known as Modified PWA1484, is a single-crystal nickel-base superalloy, developed under a NASA Marshall Space Flight Center contract for use as a turbine blade and vane alloy for the...
Briefs: Motion Control
Device for High-Pressure Fused Deposition of Engineering Polymers From Feed Rods
A more versatile delivery system for fused deposition has recently been developed. This system uses a very stiff, precise, and compact actuator to drive a small piston/cylinder extruder that has a heated nozzle. Because feed rods are used as the feed material, this...
Briefs: Materials
Muscle Wires for Planetary-Exploration Robots
A report proposes the use of muscle wires as mechanical actuators for planetary-exploration robots. Muscle wires are commercially available in kit form in the hobby market, and have been described (though not explicitly called "muscle wires") in previous articles in NASA Tech Briefs. A muscle wire is...
Briefs: Materials
A thermosetting polyimide called "DMBZ-15" has been developed for use as a matrix material in relatively inexpensive matrix/fiber composite materials. The glass-transition temperature (Tg) of DMBZ-15 is 414°C....
Briefs: Materials
A process that involves reaction forming has been devised to enable the joining of high-temperature-resistant structural parts made of SiC-based materials. These materials...
Briefs: Materials
Improved concrete structural members such as columns, piers, and piles can be manufactured by incorporating fiber-reinforced-plastic (FRP) exterior shells and FRP interior submembers. The...
Briefs: Materials
Creep-Resistant Ceramic Composite for High-Temperature Use
A low-density, creep-resistant ceramic composite material has been developed as a prototype of such materials for use at high temperatures in the next generation of aircraft engines. The material consists of Nextel (or equivalent) ceramic fibers in a matrix that is, itself, a composite of...
Briefs: Materials
Nearly isotropic matrix/fiber composite materials can be made quickly and at relatively low cost by resin-transfer molding. The fiber components of these materials are fine, loosely woven,...
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 general...
Briefs: Materials
Evaluation of Additives to PFPEs in Boundary Lubrication
A report describes experiments on the wear-reducing performances of six additives to perfluoropolyether (PFPE)-based fluids in the boundary-lubrication regime. The additives were a phosphate, a thiophosphate, a β-diketone, a benzothiazole, an amide/thiol, and a sulfite. Each additive was...
Briefs: Materials
Engineers at Rockwell International Corporation's Space System Division have developed a new method of insulating composite structural material...
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