Briefs: Materials
Composite-Material Pipes for Liquid Hydrogen
Pipes made of graphite-fiber/epoxymatrix composites have been shown to be suitable as conduits for liquid hydrogen. Conceived for as replacements for heavier metallic liquid-hydrogen feedlines in...
Briefs: Materials
Refractory, Oxidation-Resistant Ceramic/Carbon Insulation
Lightweight, refractory ceramic/carbon thermal-insulation materials have been invented. These materials, consist of carbon, silicon, and oxygen in suitable pro- portions combined into molecular structures that are stable at high temperatures. Insulating tiles and other components made of...
Briefs: Materials
Analysis of Multilayer Thermal Insulation for Reentry
A paper presents a study of multilayer thermal insulations for protecting spacecraft against aerodynamic heating during reentry into a planetary atmosphere. A multilayer insulation considered in the study comprised (1) thin ceramic/composite foils coated with gold for high reflectance...
Briefs: Materials
Carbon-Composite Heat-Sinking Submounts for Laser Diodes
Carbon-composite submounts tipped with diamond are being developed as improved means of dissipating heat generated in high-power laser diodes. Copper is the traditional heat-sinking...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Growing Carbon Nanotubes Aligned With Patterns
A process has been proposed for growing carbon nanotubes aligned substantially parallel with the nominal planar surfaces of substrates and further aligned with patterns on the substrates. Prior...
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: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Low-Temperature Thermocompressive Au-to-Au Diffusion Bonding
A technique of thermocompressive gold-to-gold diffusion bonding at relatively low temperature has been devised to provide stable, uniform, strong bonds between struc- tural...
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
Ablative Coat Protects Against Brief, Intense Heating
An ablative composite coating has been developed to protect a steel substrate against a short-duration exposure to supersonic stream of hot gases and molten ceramic particles. In the...
Briefs: Materials
Insertion of Reactive Material for Treating Groundwater
An improved method of inserting reactive material in the ground for treating groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents has been devised. An older method involves the removal of a significant portion of soil overlying the treatment volume, and consequently the expensive off-site...
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...
Briefs: Materials
Fabricating Better PSSA-PVDF-Based MEAs for Fuel Cells
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...
Briefs: Materials
Making Hydrophobic Cathodes for MEAs in Fuel Cells
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
Improved Polymer/Solid-Electrolyte Membranes for Fuel Cells
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
Nontoxic X-Ray-Absorbing Windows
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-...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Low-Plasticity Burnishing
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...
Briefs: Materials
Internal-Combustion Engines With Ringless Carbon Pistons
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
Reducing Wear and Friction of CVD Diamond Films
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: Materials
Flexible Piezoelectric Actuators
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
Lithographic Fabrication of Mesoscale Electromagnet Coils
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: 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...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Correlation Spectrometers for Detecting Fires in Aircraft
Compact, lightweight, sensitive correlation spectrometers for detecting gaseous byproducts of the onset of fire are under development. These spectrometers would be installed in...
Briefs: Materials
Using Dry Ice as a Coolant for Cutting Tools
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...
Briefs: Materials
Using Polyimide Tape To Mask Against Reactive-Ion Etching
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: 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: 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: Materials
Composite-Material Structures for Absorbing Crash Energy
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: Materials
Chevrel Phases as Potential Thermoelectric Materials
Crystalline phases of compounds of general composition (Cuw, CuxFey, or Tiz)Mo6Se8 [where w<4, x<2, y<1, and...
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