LARC RP46: High-Temperature Polyimide Resin System:
LARC RP46: High-Temperature Polyimide Resin System Ruth Pater, LaRC
NASA Commercial Invention of the Year for 2004
LARC RP46 is a thermosetting high-temperature polyimide resin system that was developed as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to a widely used high temperature matrix resin (PMR-15) since it is prepared with less toxic 3,4'-oxyldianiline (3,4'-ODA)
can be used as a high performance high temperature resistant composite matrix resin, adhesive, molding, coating, foam, or film, pushing service temperature to the limits of organic materials (600°F)
offers a competitive edge where high temperature, lightweight, high strength materials are needed
Boeing and LaRC are developing controlled and repeatable prepreg processing, standardized, laminate bagging and curing procedures, and mechanical property characterization, including fabricating large sandwich structures and joints that make up aircraft spars, ribs, and wing skins; aka the "wingbox"
excellent strength retention at 600°F and versatility offers other potential applications in automotive transportation, defense, sporting goods, and civil engineering
Exclusive licensee: Unitech, LLC.
ISTP program is validating this wingbox for the 600°F-service warm wing concept, saving 25% in weight for the thermal protection system
Boeing is also designing an RP-46 composite body flap for the Space Shuttle
LAR-14639-1
Rocket Motor Joint Construction Including Thermal Barrier :
Rocket Motor Joint Construction Including Thermal Barrier Dr. Bruce Steinetz, GRC; Patrick H. Dunlap, Modern Technologies Corp.
NASA Government Invention of the Year for 2004
braided carbon-fiber thermal barrier is designed to withstand the extreme temperature environments in current and future solid rocket motors and other industrial equipment
developed for several critical nozzle joints on the Space Shuttle solid rocket motor
protects temperature sensitive O-rings required to seal 900 psi, 5500+°F combustion gases
new thermal barrier represents a significant improvement over the current joint-fill approach used which, on occasion, allows hot combustion gases to penetrate through to nozzle joint O-rings
1 out of 15 Space Shuttle solid rocket motors experiences hot gas effects on the Joint 6 wiper (sacrificial) O-rings -- joints have experienced heat effects on materials between the RTV and the O-rings, and in two cases O-rings have experienced heat effects
improved condition of the joint after a full-scale motor test with the addition of two NASA Glenn thermal barriers installed between the combustion area
enables solid rocket motor joint assembly in one-sixth the time of previous approaches with much higher degrees of reproducibility
Lockheed-Martin contracted Aerojet to build the solid rocket motors for the Atlas V Enhanced Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)
in the spring of 2002, Aerojet experienced a major failure of their solid rocket motor during a qualification test wherein hot combustion gas reached the nozzle-to-case O-rings (prior to the addition of the thermal barriers) causing a major structural failure that resulted in the loss of the nozzle and aft dome sections of the motor
Aerojet performed two successful qualification tests in which three Glenn thermal barriers blocked the 5500 F pressurized gases from reaching the temperature sensitive O-rings and solved their critical design flaw: Lockheed-Martin/Aerojet team back on schedule
GRC thermal barriers have since enabled successful flights on two Atlas V commercial launches
thermal barrier and nozzle joint construction approach presented is mission-critical to the Atlas V Launch Vehicle
LEW-16684-1
Perilog: Contextual Search and Retrieval Software Tools:
Perilog: Contextual Search and Retrieval Software Tools Michael Wallace McGreevy, ARC
Runner-Up for NASA Government Invention of the Year for 2004
a collection of patented text mining methods and software that exploit latent linguistic structure in seemingly unstructured text
linguistic theory of iconicity is the basis of NASA's Perilog text mining methods and software: Perilog is the first software implementation of this centuries-old theory
software includes keyword-in-context search, flexible phrase search, search by example, phrase generation, and phrase extraction
high-level tools are based on a hierarchical toolkit of Perilog programs in several hundred executable units of varying complexity
developers can access all of the Perilog software via the Unix command line, invoking commands ranging from high level ones (e.g., "keyword.search") to low level ones
end users, such as managers, pilots, human factors researchers, and database operators, can access an integrated suite of Perilog's tools via a user-friendly Perilog software package that has a browser-based graphical user interface (GUI)
end-user version of Perilog has been in operational use at the NASA/FAA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and at Southwest Airlines since early 2002, where it is used to search databases of incident reports
Perilog methods and software has been distributed under government agreements and licenses to private companies, universities, and also within NASA and other Agencies
ARC-14512, 3, 4, 5-1
Micro Pulse Laser Radar:
Micro Pulse Laser Radar J.D. Spinherne, GSFC
An eye safe, compact, solid state lidar for profiling atmospheric cloud and aerosol scattering transmitter of the micro pulse lidar is a diode pumped µJ pulse energy, high repetition rate Nd:YLF laser
eye safety is obtained through beam expansion
receiver employs a photon counting solid state Geiger mode avalanche photodiode detector
data acquisition is by a single card multichannel scaler
daytime background induced quantum noise is controlled by a narrow receiver field-of-view and a narrow bandwidth temperature controlled interference filter
dynamic range of the signal is limited by optical geometric signal compression
signal simulations and initial atmospheric measurements indicate that micro pulse lidar systems are capable of detecting and profiling all significant cloud and aerosol scattering through the troposphere and into the stratosphere
intended applications are scientific studies and environmental monitoring which require full time, unattended measurements of the cloud and aerosol height structure
used in Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere program, and is being deployed in Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program
licensed to Science & Engineering Services, Inc. in 1994: $1.4 million sales to date, royalties of under $12,000 in FY'97, about 20 units (ground-based) are in operation worldwide
GSC-13,493-1
Gear Bearings:
Gear Bearings John Vranish, GSFC
Gear Bearings use gear teeth which both transfer mechanical power and perform anti-friction motion control functions typically provided by separate bearings, thus eliminating the use of the bearings and simplifying and strengthening the design
Gear Bearing technology is especially suited to differential planetary transmissions
linearly scalable from micro miniature (nanotechnology) to huge devices and systems
prototype holds the "record" for the greatest gear reduction ever achieved in a single stage of gearing: 325:1
significant to the NASA and DoD aeronautics programs; e.g., F-35 Joint Strike Fighter management team identified a specific F-35 actuator which may use Gear Bearings due to estimates of more than 25% mass and volume savings with a similar cost reduction
developed for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) for precisely positioning mirror segments to 10 nanometers over 6 mm range of stroke
GSC-14207-1
Composite Tank; Method of Making a Composite Tank :
Composite Tank; Method of Making a Composite Tank Thomas K. DeLay, MSFC
very lightweight and robust pressure vessels and cryogenic tanks that are ideal for space and non-aerospace applications
uses an electroplated metallic permeation barrier that is supported by an over-wrap of composite material
structural layer of composite material is covered in a layer of impact resistant insulating foam, which is protected by a secondary layer of composite materials
adaptable to nonstandard tank sizes and configurations and it has tremendous weight savings when compared to a traditional tank
tank design produces a vessel that contains cryogenic fluids and is very impact damage tolerant
ability to insulate the cryogenic fuels to reduce boil-off
plated metallic permeation barrier contains small molecules, such as hydrogen, and it relies on the composite over-wrap structure to contain high pressure fluids
scalable and very adaptable to many applications
can be produced by several different materials depending on the requirements of the operational environment
licensed to two companies, it has yet to be used in any NASA or commercial programs
MFS-31379-1, -2DIV