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Briefs: Software
HFGMC Enhancement of MAC/GMC
Additional information about a mathematical model denoted the high-fidelity generalized method of cells (HFGMC) and implementation of the HFGMC within version 4.0 of the MAC/GMC software has become available. MAC/GMC (Micromechanics Analysis Code With Generalized Method of Cells) was a topic of several prior NASA Tech...
Briefs: Software
Automated Activation and Deactivation of a System Under Test
The MPLM Automated Activation/Deactivation application (MPLM means Multi-Purpose Logistic Module) was created with a three-fold purpose in mind:
To reduce the possibility of human error in issuing commands to, or interpreting telemetry from, the MPLM power, computer, and environmental...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In the continuing goal of developing products with better performance at a lower cost, composites are becoming increasingly prevalent in the aerospace...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A state-of-the-art solar-panel array demonstration site at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center provides a unique opportunity for studying the latest in high-efficiency solar photovoltaic...
Briefs: Energy
The protocol for charging a lithiumion battery would be modified, according to a proposal, to compensate for the internal voltage drop (charging current × internal resistance of the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Programmable Pulse-Position-Modulation Encoder
A programmable pulse-position- modulation (PPM) encoder has been designed for use in testing an optical communication link. The encoder includes a programmable state machine and an electronic code book that can be updated to accommodate different PPM coding schemes. The encoder includes a...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Micro-Imagers for Spaceborne Cell-Growth Experiments
A document discusses selected aspects of a continuing effort to develop five micro-imagers for both still and video monitoring of cell cultures to be grown aboard the International Space Station. The approach taken in this effort is to modify and augment pre-existing electronic micro- cameras....
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Using Quasiparticle Poisoning To Detect Photons
According to a proposal, a phenomenon associated with excitation of quasi- particles in certain superconducting quantum devices would be exploited as a means of detecting photons with exquisite sensitivity. The phenomenon could also be exploited to perform medium-resolution spectroscopy. The proposal...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Wavelength-Agile External-Cavity Diode Laser for DWDM
A prototype external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) has been developed for communication systems utilizing dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). This ECDL is an updated version of the ECDL reported in “Wavelength-Agile External-Cavity Diode Laser” (LEW-17090), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A proposed joint-transform optical correlator (JTOC) would be capable of operating as a real-time pattern-recognition processor. The key correlation-filter reading/writing medium of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Headwall Photonics, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Raman spectroscopy has risen to the top of a short list of technologies for identifying substances with high specificity....
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Two simple, effective techniques for attaching thermocouples to metal substrates have been devised for high- temperature applications in which attachment by such conventional means as welding,...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Heat Treatment of Friction-Stir-Welded 7050 Aluminum Plates
A method of heat treatment has been developed to reverse some of the deleterious effects of friction stir welding of plates of aluminum alloy 7050. This alloy is considered unweldable by arc and high-energy-density beam fusion welding processes. The alloy can be friction stir welded, but...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A recently conceived technique for determining the relative permittivity of a material sample at a given frequency is more nearly direct than are prior techniques that involve measurement of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Arrays of nanowires having controlled dimensions can now be fabricated on substrates, optionally as integral parts of multilayer structures, by means of a cost-effective, high-yield process...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Figure 1 shows a single-stage monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier in which the gain element is a double-heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) connected in common-base...
Briefs: Medical
Studying Functions of All Yeast Genes Simultaneously
A method of studying the functions of all the genes of a given species of micro-organism simultaneously has been developed in experiments on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (commonly known as baker’s or brewer’s yeast). It is already known that many yeast genes perform functions similar to those of...
Briefs: Medical
Microfluidic devices for monitoring biomolecular interactions have been invented. These devices are basically highly miniaturized liquid-chromatography columns. They are intended to be...
Briefs: Medical
Neuro-Prosthetic Implants With Adjustable Electrode Arrays
Brushlike arrays of electrodes packaged with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are undergoing development for use as electronic implants — especially as neuro-prosthetic devices that might be implanted in brains to detect weak electrical signals generated by neurons. These...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A tunable-bandwidth filter system (TBFS), now undergoing development, is intended to be part of a remote-sensing multispectral imaging system that will operate in the visible and near infrared spectral region...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Polarization Phase-Compensating Coats for Metallic Mirrors
A method of compensating for or minimizing phase differences between orthogonal polarizations of light reflected from metallic mirrors at oblique incidence, as, for example, from weakly curved mirrors, is undergoing development. The method is intended to satisfy a need to maintain precise...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A method of noncontact, optical monitoring of the surface temperature of a tire has been devised to enable the use of local temperature rise as an indication of potential or impending...
Briefs: Information Technology
Methodology for Designing Fault-Protection Software
A document describes a methodology for designing fault-protection (FP) software for autonomous spacecraft. The methodology embodies and extends established engineering practices in the technical discipline of Fault Detection, Diagnosis, Mitigation, and Recovery; and has been successfully...
Briefs: Information Technology
Ground-Based Localization of Mars Rovers
The document discusses a procedure for localizing the Mars rovers in site frame, a locally defined reference frame on the Martian surface. MER onboard position within a site frame is estimated onboard and is based on wheel odometry. Odometry estimation of rover position is only reliable over relatively short...
Briefs: Materials
Polymers having low color and a favorable combination of other properties, including high glass-transition temperature (Tg) and high mechanical properties (strength, tensile modulus, and toughness)...
Briefs: Materials
Making Plant-Support Structures From Waste Plant Fiber
Environmentally benign, biodegradable structures for supporting growing plants can be made in a process based on recycling of such waste plant fiber materials as wheat straw or of such derivative materials as paper and cardboard. Examples of structures that can be made in this way include plant...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Dielectric Heaters for Testing Spacecraft Nuclear Reactors
Like the electrical-resistance heaters used heretofore for such testing, the dielectric heaters would be inserted in the reactors in place of nuclear fuel rods. A typical heater according to the proposal would consist of a rod of lossy dielectric material sized and shaped like a fuel rod...
Briefs: Software
Analyzing Power Supply and Demand on the ISS
Station Power and Energy Evaluation Determiner (SPEED) is a Java application program for analyzing the supply and demand aspects of the electrical power system of the International Space Station (ISS). SPEED can be executed on any computer that supports version 1.4 or a subsequent version of the Java...
Briefs: Software
X-Windows Information Sharing Protocol Widget Class
The X-Windows Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) Widget Class ("Class" is used here in the object-oriented -programming sense of the word) was devised to simplify the task of implementing ISP graphical-user-interface (GUI) computer programs. ISP programming tasks require many method calls to...
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