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Briefs: Information Technology
A method of semi- automated ident- ification of biomaterials, now under development, is based on the use of a combination of neural-network and of self-...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Data is any company’s most valuable asset. Archiving systems are essential to ensuring that valuable data is preserved. A wide variety of technologies exists, but tape medium remains...
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: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Computational Test Cases for Oscillating Clipped Delta Wing
Computational test cases have been selected from archived sets of data acquired some years ago in wind-tunnel experiments on a clipped delta wing equipped with a hydraulically actuated trailing-edge control surface. In some of the experiments, the wing was subjected to pitching...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Flight data gathered by use of the F-18 System Research Aircraft (SRA) based at Dryden Flight Research Center have been used to estimate stability and control derivatives for a baseline F-18 airplane....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of generating fountains and fogs over a body of water (see Figure 1) by utilizing high-intensity ultrasound to induce acoustic streaming, cavitation, and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A fail-safe, continue-to-operate design concept for machine jackscrews calls for the incorporation of a redundant follower nut that would assume the axial jack load upon failure of the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Pulse-Tube Refrigerator for Liquid Hydrogen
An improved closed-loop, two-stage pulse-tube refrigerator provides 4 W of cooling power at a temperature of 15 K. The original intended application of this refrigerator is in preventing boiloff of liquid hydrogen from a propellant tank aboard a spacecraft. The basic refrigerator design can also be...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
An easy-to-implement design concept shows promise for improving the performances of impact tool bits used in abrading surfaces, drilling, and coring of rock and rocklike materials. The concept is...
Briefs: Medical
Noninvasive Assessment of Human Fine Motor Control
A report presents additional information about the Impairscope — an instrument for noninvasive meas- urement of fine neuromuscular control and, more particularly, for quantifying the degradation of neuromuscular performance under psychological stress. The instrument, previously called the...
Briefs: Medical
Several groups of methods of enhanced bioproduction and extraction of taxanes have been invented. Taxanes (see figure) have exhibited potential as drugs for treatment of cancer and congenital...
Briefs: Medical
Steam Sterilization of a Packed Column Without Admitting Air
A procedure has been devised for the use of steam to sterilize a water-purification cartridge, chrom- atographic column, or other closed packed column that is required to be kept filled with water and from which it is required to exclude air bubbles, which could impede flow. For the...
Briefs: Medical
Materials and equipment for determining whether samples of potable water contain harmful microbes have been packaged in a kit. Designed for use aboard spacecraft, the kit is also suitable for terrestrial use in a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Optical Fourier-plane analysis may prove useful for obtaining statistical data on the densities, sizes, shapes, indices of refraction, and perhaps other properties of particles...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A technique similar to that of metallography has been devised for preparing cross-sectional micrographic specimens from small samples cut from oil paintings. Art experts at the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Gauges made of slugs of pyrolytic graphite with thermocouples em- bedded in them have been invented for use in measuring large, short-duration heat fluxes in hot, highly corrosive...
Briefs: Unmanned Systems
In support of NASA’s Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, flight tests of the Pathfinder solar-electric-powered, remotely...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Electrostatic Systems Keep Dust Off Surfaces
Electrostatic dust- collection systems that comprise wire grids connected to lightweight, low-power high-voltage sources have been invented for preventing the accumulation of dust on surfaces. Intended originally for use in keeping spacecraft solar panels free of dust, these systems could also be used on...
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: Information Technology
Wavelet-Based Time-Varying Models of Pilots in Control Loops
A report presents a study of the use of wavelet-based mathematical models to quantify the responses of humans in control loops. The report begins with a review of the traditional representation of manual control responses by use of transfer functions derived from Fourier transforms,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
“Morphing” in Evolutionary Synthesis of Electronic Circuits
A method of automated evolutionary synthesis of electronic circuits has been augmented by a concept called “morphing through fuzzy topologies.” Previous versions of the method provided for the evaluation of “crisp” topologies were precisely specified by open/closed (on/off)...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Miniature fuel cells in a “flat-pack” configuration are being developed as alternatives to recharge- able batteries in cellular telephones, laptop computers, and other small,...
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: Electronics & Computers
A method of automated synthesis of analog and/or digital electronic circuits involves evolution in both software simulations and hardware. Heretofore, the evolutionary auto- mated...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Sequential-Color LED Illumination for Reflective Microdisplays
Integrated silicon microdisplays, such as liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) devices, are becoming the most effective image source for high-resolution viewfinders, head- mounted displays, and helmet-mounted displays (HMDs). Since these microdisplays are reflective in nature, they require...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Integrated circuits that would perform a variety of analog-signal, digital- signal, and power input/output functions have been proposed. Conceived for use as versatile, fault-tolerant interfaces...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Several improvements in the designs of flip-flop circuits that are parts of logic circuits have been proposed to reduce the incidence of logic errors associated with single- event upsets (SEUs) [bit flips caused by...
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