Briefs: Software
"Planning and Resource Reasoning" ("PARR") is the name now applied to a scheduling methodology and to computer programs developed to implement the methodology during the years 1985 through 1987. In PARR, one uses heuristics and reactive techniques to build schedules. PARR software is generic enough to be...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A portable instrument can generate video images indicative of physiological stress in plants. The instrument exploits the known relationships among physiological stress in plants, loss of...
Briefs: Materials
Improved polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells can be made by any of a variety of processes in which cross-linked polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) is...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The South Pole TDRSS Relay (SPTR) is a satellite radio relay communication system that provides an Internet link for a station at the South Pole. As the name of the system suggests, the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A rectangular integrated-circuit focal-plane array of 640 × 486 GaAs/AlxGa1 -xAs quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) constitutes the image sensor in an experimental long-wavelength...
Briefs: Software
A computer-based automated system for scheduling, reporting, and tracking fire inspections at Kennedy Space Center has supplanted a manual system based on paper fire-inspection reports transmitted by mail. The automated system not only minimizes the consumption of paper and other resources but...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Sensor Products has recently filed two patents for, and introduced, the ASET® sensor for measuring interfacial stresses in real time. The sensor does not measure force, but rather the amount of surface...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Basic research on ion-trap mass spectrometry (IT/MS) in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has resulted in a new...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Advances in time gating of ultrasonic signals in scanning acoustic microscopes have been proposed to enable detailed nondestructive examination of bonds and other interfaces deep within the interiors of such micromachined objects as high-density integrated electronic circuits and...
Briefs: Motion Control
PC-based control has become one of the fastest-growing automation solutions for the factory floor. Control engineers are quickly dropping their proprietary PLC boxes and replacing them with PC-based control...
Briefs: Motion Control
The figure shows a robot arm that is essentially a miniature crane actuated by electroactive polymers. This mechanism has been constructed as part of a continuing effort to develop lightweight,...
Briefs: Materials
Improved zirconium- and hafnium-based ceramic composites have been invented in an effort to obtain better resistance to ablation at high temperature. These ceramics are suitable for use as...
Briefs: Materials
Hybrid versions of the high-performance overwraps used on some low-pressure tanks have been proposed. The hybrid overwraps would weigh less than do the corresponding nonhybrid overwraps, as explained below.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Preforms (essentially, shaped mats) of single-crystal yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) fibers can now be readily fabricated in net size and shape, with tailored orientation of the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Researchers at Johnson Space Center (JSC) recently demonstrated that the resonant microstrip patch antenna (RMPA), which has been proven in commercial applications, can be applied with...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor would give information on approximate attitude as well as on position. Unlike other GPS-based attitude sensors, this attitude sensor would not depend on...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is supporting a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract between the U.S. Air Force Research Labs and Kelly Space & Technology (KST). KST's innovation...
Briefs: Software
The FOOTPR and RADIUS computer programs implement state-of-the-art mathematical models for predicting levels of noise generated by existing or proposed aircraft. These programs can be used to calculate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noise-certification levels, airport-vicinity noise...
Briefs: Materials
Pressure vessels overwrapped with graphite-fiber-based composite materials that become damaged would be salvaged by a proposed repair technique. The need for the technique arises as follows: High-performance graphite-fiber-based composites are very susceptible to damage from impact or cutting....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Direct measurement of aircraft-engine thrust by use of strain gauges offers several advantages over traditional model-based methods of calculating thrust, provided that care is...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An improved quadrupole mass analyzer (QMA) has been proposed for use in determining the compositions of gas mixtures. The proposed QMA would incorporate two major innovations over traditional...
Briefs: Materials
A report describes an experimental study of the surface-chemical, microstructural, and tribological properties of cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films, which are potentially useful as hard, wear-resistant coatings on bearings and on steel-cutting tools. For the experiments, BN films about 500 nm thick were...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Improved sensor assemblies have been invented for measuring acoustic signals in gases or liquids flowing in or around any of a variety of moving or stationary objects. Examples of such objects...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A method of computing the concentrations of chemical species in chemically reacting flows includes, among other things, utilization of a prior chemical-kinetic method based on a concept...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A report presents information on an earlier work on active magnetic bearings with high-critical-temperature superconducting coils. To recapitulate, the device is a homopolar radial-type active magnetic bearing with a bias coil and control coils made of a high-critical-temperature superconductor. The report...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of inflatable reflectors with very low system aerial densities of the order of 1 kg/m². Diverse applications include radio and...
Briefs: Materials
Damage-tolerant polymeric composite overwraps have been proposed for lightweight pressure vessels that are made of composites of graphite fibers in polymeric matrices. Graphite-fiber/polymer composites are vulnerable to impact damage; overwraps on the pressure vessels...
Briefs: Materials
Continuing efforts to develop lightweight, flexible thermal-insulation blankets that withstand high temperatures have led to design and fabrication concepts that effect the following...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
An experiment consisting of flight tests on the X-31A airplane (see figure) has demonstrated the ability to use thrust vectoring to replace the functions of stabilization and turn...