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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: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The figure illustrates selected aspects of a manually actuated apparatus for use in coating two small objects with suitable metals, then forcing the two objects together at the coated flat...
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: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Magnetron plasma etching has been found to be a promising technique for micromachining of single-crystal silicon carbide to fabricate microscopic structures comprising integrated mechanical,...
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...
Briefs: Materials
An improved nonlinear mathematical model is being developed for use in predicting the complex, time-varying stress-and-strain behaviors of viscoelastic materials. The development of this...
Briefs: Materials
A method of computational simulation of progressive fracture in composite-material (matrix/fiber) structural components has been developed. This method does not involve stress-intensity...
Briefs: Materials
A foam suppressor removes soap and other foaming agents from a stream of wastewater that is being treated electrolytically. This wastewater is a combination of laundry, hygiene, and urine wastewater. It is desirable...
Briefs: Materials
Two Methods for Purifying Carbon Tetrachloride
Two methods have been developed to purify large batches of technical-grade carbon tetrachloride. The relatively impure carbon tetrachloride that had been purchased for use in infrared analysis of dissolved hydrocarbons proved that it could be purified. One method is spinning-band distillation, which is...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Controlled-Orientation Short-Fiber Composite Bodies
A technique for depositing materials into position using a positive-displacement extruder to build up a body has been developed. This technique also includes a process to prepare composite materials through a solid free-body forming process containing directionally aligned short-fiber...
Briefs: Materials
Nitrogen-Beam Source for Deposition of III/V Nitrides
A nitrogen-beam source has been developed to significantly improve the synthesis of wide-band-gap nitrides.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The need for improved investment castings at Marshall Space Flight Center's Rapid Prototyping Lab has led to the development of a simple machine for centrifugal investment casting of shells. This...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A simple change in the design of tools used in manufacturing laminated-composite-material sandwich panels reduces the floor area needed to store the tools. To give meaning to a description...
Briefs: Materials
The alumina for making a suspension according to this concept must be in the form of a highly pure (preferably >99.99 percent) powder with a suitable particle-size distribution —...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Processes for fabricating thin-film type-S thermocouples on metal and silicon nitride substrates (see figure) have been developed. (A type-S thermocouple comprises one leg made of platinum and the...
Briefs: Materials
The figure schematically illustrates an apparatus and process in which a continuous tow of silicon carbide fibers is coated and infiltrated with a polymer/silicon slurry. A compact of such...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
An improved process has been devised for making closed channels (e.g., coolant channels) in a heat-exchanger liner or a similar metal object. The process involves the following steps:...
Briefs: Materials
The figure illustrates one of several related pin-puller mechanisms that harness the recovery characteristics of a shape-memory alloy (SMA). Like some other SMA-actuated mechanisms...
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