A major problem in the hardwood lumber industry is the loss of production as the result of theformation of splits, checks, or ring failure during kiln drying. A primary cause of these drying defectsis the degradation of the green lumber as a result of bacterial infection. The optimum drying… More

Not Available To protect the US against limited nuclear attacks, the NMD system must operate successfully in nuclear-disturbed environments. A key to successfully negating nuclear threat is selecting a battleplan that ensures that NMD system performance is not too severely degraded by nuclear… More

Recent studies have indicated the potential of reconstruction methods such as tomography as a modality suitable for finding and imaging steel reinforcement encased in bridges. The objective of the proposed research is to develop and demonstrate anultrasonic tomography system capable of imaging… More

As magnetic thin-film systems became part of complex industrial applications, their composition increasingly became more complicated. A means is needed to efficiently develop and systematically characterized magnetic, electronic, and mechanical properties of advanced thin-film systems. New… More

The Navy has a critical need to measure the temperature at critical areas on the inner bore surfaces of large guns in order to insure appropriate action is taken in case of misfire. In this Phase I proposal we develop and validate an ultrasonic sensor system concept that is capable of measuring… More

The Navy has a critical need to measure temperatures at critical areas on the inner bore surfaces of large guns in order to insure appropriate action is taken in case of a misfire. In the case of a misfire, the gun crew must know the bore surface temperature in order to decide if they have time to… More

The fabrication of ceramic matrix composites is a multi-step process requiring careful monitoring and control at each step in the processing cycle. Consistent, high quality components can only be reliably reproduced if a firm foundation is provided by initially insuring the uniformity and… More

The fabrication of ceramic matrix composites is a multi-step process requiring careful monitoring and control at each step in the processing cycle. Consistent, high quality components can only be reliably reproduced if a firm foundation is provided by initially insuring the uniformity and… More

In this proposal we exploit the remote sensing attributes of ultrasound to measure temperature, transient temperature and heat flux in liquid rocket combustion chambers. In previous work, we have demonstrated the capability to measure the local temperature at the inner surface of large caliber Navy… More

In this proposal we exploit the remote sensing attributes of ultrasound to non-intrusively measure temperature, transient temperature and heat flux in both insulating and metallic aeroshells. In previous work, we have demonstrated the capability to non-intrusively measure the local temperature at… More

In this proposal we exploit the remote sensing attributes of ultrasound to conduct heat transfer studies on hypersonic propulsion components and vehicle materials. In the Phase I program, we have successfully demonstrated the viability of the ultrasonic method to measure surface temperature, local… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to enhance the automotive friction material manufacturing industry's productivity and efficiency by providing a superior measurement method for quality, consistency and the quantification of noise influencing material properties. … More

The harsh chemically reacting environments associated with turbine inlets offer significant measurement challenges. Gas inlet temperatures of 2200oC and violent chemical reactions pose challenges in instrumentation development and application, which in turn can force design and maintenance… More

Innovative measurement methods and instruments are needed to advance the state-of-art of hypersonic flight. Improved thermal transport measurement methods speed development, improve understanding, and enhance our ability to validate analytical models and hardware for numerous propulsion and… More

The operating conditions of air-breathing propulsion engines demand designs that include cooling by the fuel and the use of lightweight materials that withstand extreme heat fluxes under oxidizing conditions. Currently there are no means by which the fuel temperature can be non-invasively measured… More

The operating conditions of air-breathing propulsion engines demand designs that include cooling by the fuel and use of lightweight materials that withstand extreme heat fluxes under oxidizing conditions. Currently there are no means to non-invasively measure the fuel temperature with the required… More

The transition in boundary layer flows from laminar to transitional to turbulence has an important impact in hypersonic vehicle aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics. Ground tests of boundary layer transition are generally unsatisfactory due to the high noise levels of ground facilities compared to… More

ABSTRACT: In order to achieve precise guidance, navigation and control in re-entry vehicles, aerodynamic shape must be accurately known throughout the flight trajectory. For this Phase I program an ultrasonic-based technique for real-time, non-intrusive (5 KHz) measurement of recession during… More

Although significant advances have been made in ground-based testing and simulations, it is still impossible to precisely replicate the diversity of in-flight conditions experienced by ablative thermal protection systems (TPS). This leads to uncertainty in the predictions of the magnitude and rate… More

In this Phase I program, we develop and validate an acoustic concept that is capable of measuring interior temperatures in complex munitions propellants. The measurement technique is based on ultrasonic thermometry methods. Using sensors located on the exterior surface, the variation in propagation… More