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Briefs: Materials
Lightweight Solar Sail for a Spacecraft Flying Near the Sun
A report proposes a high-temperature- resistant solar sail with an areal mass density less than 1 g/m2, for a spacecraft that would approach the Sun to within a distance of 0.2 astronomical unit (≈3 × 107 km). The sail would be made in multiple segments of a carbon microtruss fabric...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Process for Rapid Prototyping in Ceramic-Matrix Composites
The ceramic-composite advanced tow-placement (CCATP) process is a means of laying down continuous-fiber-reinforced, ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) materials in patterned layers to form objects that could have complex three-dimensional shapes. The CCATP process is a member of the growing...
Briefs: Materials
Some changes have been made in the fabrication of PSSA/ PVDF-based membrane/electrode assemblies for direct methanol fuel cells. The effect of the changes is to improve the electrochemical...
Briefs: Materials
The fabrication of membrane/electrode assemblies (MEAs) for direct methanol fuel cells can be modified to make the cathodes hydro- phobic. These modifications improve the performances of the...
Briefs: Materials
A class of developmental membrane electrolyte materials for methanol/air and hydrogen/air fuel cells is exemplified by a composite of (1) a melt-processable polymer [in particular,...
Briefs: Materials
Windows that absorb x rays and are transparent to visible light can be made by compression molding of tantalum oxide/polymer composite materials. The main x-ray-absorbing medium in these windows is tantalum...
Briefs: Materials
Research on Life-Prediction Methods for MMCs— Phase I
A report describes the completed first phase of a NASA/industry cooperative program of research on metal-matrix composites (MMCs) as lightweight, strong, high- temperature-resistant materials for use in future aircraft engines. The first phase of the research included assessment of life- and...
Briefs: Materials
Internal-combustion engines would be constructed with cylinders and ringless pistons made of lightweight carbon/carbon composite materials, according to a proposal. This proposal is a...
Briefs: Materials
Progress has been achieved in continuing research directed toward increasing the wear resistance and enhancing the self- lubrication properties of chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond films....
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Low-plasticity burnishing (LPB) has been devel- oped as an affordable means of imparting residual compressive stresses to surface layers of metal parts (especially engine components) in order to increase their fatigue...
Briefs: Materials
Flexible, compact, hermetically sealed piezoceramic actuators with robust electrical leads have been developed for use in actively controlling aerostructures to suppress noise, vibration, and flutter on...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A partly lithographic method of fabrication is being developed to enable the economical mass production of mesoscale electrically conductive coils for miniature electro- magnets,...
Briefs: Materials
Particles of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) entrained in gas flows would be used during machining to cool cutting tools and workpieces, according to a proposal. Solid carbon dioxide particles that...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Automated Apparatus for Welding to Seal Pyrotechnic Devices
An automated, remotely controllable apparatus has been developed for resistance welding for hermetic sealing of pyrotechnic devices, as a substitute for special-purpose welding equipment that is no longer commercially available. Hermetic sealing of a pyrotechnic device involves a sequence...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Compact, lightweight, sensitive correlation spectrometers for detecting gaseous byproducts of the onset of fire are under development. These spectrometers would be installed in aircraft,...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Polyimide tape (Kapton™ or equivalent) has been found to be effective as a material for masking selected areas of a semi- conductor wafer that is about to be processed in a...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A compact spring-loading design has been proposed to increase the reliability of seals in the joints of vacuum cryogenic systems. Heretofore, such joints have been, variously, compact or...
Briefs: Materials
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are developing apparatuses for electrolysis of methanol to produce pure hydrogen for use at industrial sites, in scientific laboratories, and in fuel...
Briefs: Materials
Improved Conversion Coating for Protection of Metals
A simple, cost effective, environmentally friendly conversion-coating process has been developed for protecting a variety of metals against wear and corrosion and to increase adhesion of paints. This process results in the deposition of a thin, adherent coats of iron phosphate on treated metal...
Briefs: Materials
Improved lightweight composite-material structures have been invented to protect persons and equipment during aircraft and ground-vehicle crashes. These structures are designed to hold...
Briefs: Energy
Crystalline phases of compounds of general composition (Cuw, CuxFey, or Tiz)Mo6Se8 [where w<4, x<2, y<1, and z<1] have been investigated for potential utility as thermoelectric...
Briefs: Energy
Alkyl pyrocarbonates have been found to be useful as electrolyte additives for improving the low-temperature performances of rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. The...
Briefs: Materials
Partially fluorinated alkyl carbonate liquid compounds have been found to be excellent electrolyte cosolvents for rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. The benefits afforded...
Briefs: Materials
Non-polymeric N,N´-di-N-hydrocarbyl- 2,5-diamino-1,4-benzoquinones (where the hydrocarbyl substituents are alkyl or aryl) have been found to be useful as corrosion-inhibiting additives for...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
High-Velocity, Pulsed Wire Arc Spray
A high-velocity, pulsed wire arc spraying apparatus has been proposed and partly developed in an effort to improve the quality of coatings deposited by thermal spray techniques. In this apparatus, material from a wire arc is atomized and propelled toward a deposition substrate by a repetitively pulsed plasma...
Briefs: Medical
Nanolaminate Mirrors With Integral Figure-Control Actuators
A report discusses the development of thin-shell curved mirrors comprised of metallic multilayer nanolaminate substrates that contain integral inplane actuators for controlling surface figure with micron-level precision. These mirrors, intended for incorporation into scientific imaging...
Briefs: Materials
A device based on the transport of water through a membrane to a vacuum has been developed for dehumidifying a stream of air in the life-support system of a spacecraft or space suit. The device...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An electrometer developed for measuring the triboelectric responses of soils on Mars is also potentially useful on Earth for identifying some materials via their triboelectric responses. In...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A proposed lightweight, micromachined, multiaxis-steerable mirror would have mesoscopic dimensions. Its steering function would involve mesoscopic positional excursions of its support points and would be...
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