The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed more than 5,000 cases of the Zika virus in the U.S. from January 2015 to February 2017. The vast majority of those cases were travelers returning from affected areas. Florida has the highest number of cases of the Zika virus at 1,069 reported cases, with 214 cases acquired through presumed local mosquito-borne transmission.

Modular Fixturing for Assembly and Welding Applications

TBMG-2797712/01/2017

Researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed new modular fixtures for holding metal in place during the assembly and welding of cylindrical and conical sections of rocket bodies. Previous methods required time-consuming design, fabrication, and assembly of expensive, project-specific fixtures, which often required up to six months of lead time and cost millions of dollars to complete. NASA’s modular fixtures are designed to be adjustable and to easily form different fixture body configurations for rocket sections with various diameters and heights. This improved setup efficiency allows for a more rapid shift from one project to the next, reducing the time a newly designed fixture body takes to complete, allowing welding to begin in a matter of weeks rather than months. NASA is currently seeking licensees that may benefit from modular fixtures in large-scale manufacturing.

Products of Tomorrow: December 2017

TBMG-2800712/01/2017

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

Pallet Lift Truck and Container Fork Pocket Interface

AS5389 (Current)11/05/2017

This SAE Aerospace Standard (AS) details the design of fork pockets on containers and equipment for use with pallet lift trucks and forklift trucks.

AGE-4 Packaging, Handling and Transportability Committee

Development of Automated Structural Health Monitoring for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels

TBMG-2782311/01/2017

Virtually all NASA spacecraft use composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) to reduce the weight disadvantage of metal pressure vessels. However, these composite structures are more susceptible to damage than metal PVs, are difficult to inspect, have large burst pressure variability, and are susceptible to stress rupture when maintained at pressure. Over the past few years, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) has developed novel analysis methods that show promise for assessing the structural health of composite overwrapped pressure vessels. These methods and industry standard methods have been integrated into specialized software for automated analysis, thus significantly increasing throughput to the point where real-time assessments of structural health may be determined. Adaptive analysis methods have also been developed to provide modal analyses at specified points in a structure's life, including loading, unloading, and dwells. Together, these

Functionally Graded Metal-Metal Composite Structures

TBMG-2770010/01/2017

NASA Langley Research Center has developed a functionally graded metal-metal composite structure. The structure is created using a method that avoids deleterious reactions between the different metal constituents, as would be observed via conventional melt processing. The results are unique alloy compositions and arrangements not typically available through conventional processing routes.

Inflatable Airlock Technologies

TBMG-2751709/01/2017

An airlock used in space can provide the ability to leave a pressurized volume and enter free space. This is necessary to perform maintenance or make repairs to the pressurized volume or visiting spacecraft, construct or repair structures or devices, tend in-space experiments, etc. The airlock is used to provide the transition between internal pressurized volume, i.e. a shirtsleeve environment, and space. Current state-of-the-art units on the Space Station are rigid systems consisting of massive pressure vessels, hatches, and seals. Past efforts have investigated fabric-based ways of forming the airlock pressure volume, but all have used a more traditional metallic or composite door or hatch, which are heavy and difficult to package into a small volume. The need exists for an airlock, pressure vessel, and opening that are lightweight and can be packaged efficiently.

Tamper-Indicating Bolt

TBMG-2755209/01/2017

In storage and/or transport of certain items, the ability to detect tampering with a container or compartment for such items can be necessary and valuable. In the transport of hazardous substances or nuclear materials (including fuels and/or radioactive waste), there are particularly stringent requirements to ensure integrity as well as safe transport and storage of materials. A retailer shipping inventory may need to know whether tampering with the container has occurred during transport to determine if shipment is original and complete.

Wireless Damage Location Sensing System

TBMG-2730108/01/2017

NASA Langley Research Center researchers have developed a wireless, open-circuit SansEC (Sans Electrical Connections) sensor that can be used for pharmaceutical applications without the need for physical contact. Many attributes of a container can be monitored, such as liquid or powder levels, temperature of contents, and changes caused by spoilage. Tampering can also be detected. The unique design of this thin-film sensor allows many of these properties to be measured with the sensor external to the container/package. Fill levels can be measured without the need to open the container. At the core of the technology is the NASA award-winning SansEC sensor, which is damage-resilient and environmentally friendly to manufacture and use. The sensors use a magnetic field response measurement acquisition device to provide power to the sensors and to acquire physical property measurements from them.

Packaging and Transportation of Oxygen Equipment

AIR5742A (Current)05/24/2017

The scope of this document is related to the particular needs of oxygen equipment with regards to packaging and transportation. The document provides guidance for handling chemical, gaseous and liquid oxygen equipment. It summarizes national and international regulations to be taken into account for transportation on land, sea and air and provides information on classification of hazardous material. The aim of this document is to summarize information on packaging and transportation of oxygen equipment. Statements and references to regulations cited herein are for information only and should not be considered as interpretation of a law. Processes to maintain cleanliness of components and subassemblies during processing and assembly or storage of work-in-progress are outside the scope of this document. Guidance on this can be obtained from ARP1176. Rules for transportation and shipment do not cover oxygen equipment installed in an interior monument, e.g., galley unit or in a fuselage

A-10 Aircraft Oxygen Equipment Committee

Gas Sensors with Contact Pads

TBMG-2615601/01/2017

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed advanced hydrogen and hydrocarbon gas sensors capable of detecting leaks, monitoring emissions, and providing in situ measurements of gas composition and pressure. These compact, rugged sensors can be used to optimize combustion and lower emissions, and they are designed to withstand harsh, high-temperature environments (e.g., silicon carbide (SiC) sensors can operate at 600 °C). NASA Glenn is actively seeking industrial partners to develop and apply these cutting-edge sensors cooperatively in new applications.

Fuel Tank for Liquefied Natural Gas

TBMG-2616001/01/2017

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a new composite vessel technology that is suitable for use as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel storage tank for alternative fuel vehicles. This technology uses an improved composite over-wrapped technology to produce a pressure vessel that is simple to use, robust, and capable of withstanding high pressures. It is also lightweight and low cost. This technology shows great potential to help the United States and other countries move toward a cleaner environment while allowing for efficient use of a more natural fuel in many different applications.

Fibers, Carbon, Tow and Yarn For Structural Composites

AMS3892C (Current)12/15/2016

This specification and its supplementary detail specifications cover carbon fibers in the form of continuous multifilament tow and yarn.

AMS P17 Polymer Matrix Composites Committee

Magnetic Relief Valve

TBMG-2602012/01/2016

Composite Pressure Vessel Including Crack Arresting Barrier

TBMG-2601712/01/2016

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center innovators have developed several new designs and methods of fabrication for composite and composite-overwrapped tank vessels that help significantly improve their structural integrity against impact, abrasion, harsh environments, and fire. Several embodiments of this technology portfolio also enable production of composite tanks capable of transporting liquefied natural gas or other cryogenic liquids. These innovations are applicable to important aerospace needs, including propulsion systems, as well as new and growing fields such as natural gas transportation.

Magnetic and Raman-Based Method for Process Control During Fabrication of Carbon-Nanotube-Based Structures

TBMG-2551610/01/2016

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed an innovative magnetic and Raman-based method for macroscopic process control during fabrication of carbon-nanotube-based structures. The development of super-strong, lightweight materials based on carbon nanotubes promises new materials with the strength of current carbon composite materials, but at substantially less weight. The development of these new materials is dependent upon nanotube quality, alignment, and load transfer between individual nanotubes in the structure. However, current fabrication process controls are limited to time-consuming microscopy testing at intermittent stages during processing. NASA’s innovative method can be applied during nanotube structure fabrication to obtain real-time feedback on critical processing parameters during fabrication. Moreover, the method is compatible with in-line fabrication processes.

Modules for Inspection, Qualification, and Verification of Pressure Vessels

TBMG-2549710/01/2016

After decades of composite over-wrapped pressure vessel (COPV) development, manufacturing variance is still high, and has necessitated higher safety factors and additional mass to be flown on spacecraft, reducing overall performance. When liners are used in COPVs, they need to be carefully screened before wrapping. These flaws can go undetected and later grow through the thickness of the liner, causing the liner to fail, resulting in a massive leakage of the liner and subsequent mission loss.

Modules for Inspection, Qualification, and Verification of Pressure Vessels

TBMG-2520408/01/2016

Light, Desk, Aircraft

AS7768A (Historical)05/06/2016

This specification covers the requirements for a light assembly for use on aircraft cabin desks.

A-20C Interior Lighting

Tool to Analyze a Leaking Source of Saturated Ammonia

TBMG-2427004/01/2016

Containers of ammonia are used to supply cooling to different modules of the International Space Station. Each container has an attachment piece used to extract the ammonia. The attachment piece may allow ammonia to exit when not connected, and may also allow ammonia to exit to an outside area even when connected. The ammonia that has exited the container may accumulate in different compartments of the spacecraft. The ammonia is not desirable when accumulated in a compartment with a certain concentration.

Packaging and Transportation of Oxygen Equipment

AIR5742 (Historical)03/05/2016

A-10 Aircraft Oxygen Equipment Committee

Plasma Treatments to Assist Fluid Manipulation in Microgravity

TBMG-2368001/01/2016

A recent innovation has made manipulation of hazardous laboratory reagents in microgravity easier, thus enabling even more scientific research to be performed on the International Space Station (ISS). Prior to this innovation, moving fluids from container to container was performed only under conditions of redundant and physically separate layers of containment. This design paradigm restricts access to — and direct manipulation of — fluids in microgravity conditions.

Device Accommodating Volume Expansion and Contraction for Water-Ice Phase Change Material Heat Sinks

TBMG-23243

11/01/2015

This invention accommodates the volume expansion and contraction of water ice as it freezes and thaws, thus enabling the use of water as a phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage. Due to the relatively large volume expansion of water upon freezing, and the relatively large bulk modulus of elasticity of ice, it is imperative to accommodate the volume expansion in order to prevent rupture of the containment vessel. In addition to accommodating the volume expansion associated with the phase change from liquid water to solid ice, this invention is usable at temperatures as low as –150 °C, thus enabling the ice to be super-cooled for additional sensible thermal storage capacity. Finally, this invention operates independent of gravity, enabling its use in space applications.

An Examination of Spray Stochastics in Single-Hole Diesel Injectors

2015-01-183409/01/2015

Recent advances in x-ray spray diagnostics at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source have made absorption measurements of individual spray events possible. A focused x-ray beam (5×6 μm) enables collection of data along a single line of sight in the flow field and these measurements have allowed the calculation of quantitative, shot-to-shot statistics for the projected mass of fuel sprays. Raster scanning though the spray generates a two-dimensional field of data, which is a path integrated representation of a three-dimensional flow. In a previous work, we investigated the shot-to-shot variation over 32 events by visualizing the ensemble standard deviations throughout a two dimensional mapping of the spray. In the current work, provide further analysis of the time to steady-state and steady-state spatial location of the fluctuating field via the transverse integrated fluctuations (TIF). We then utilize newly acquired data with a much larger number of spray events (between

Swantek, Andrew. B, Duke, Daniel J., Powell, Christopher F., Kastengren, Alan L.

Acoustic Emission Analysis Applet (AEAA) Software

TBMG-22210

06/01/2015

Vendor software supplied with commercial acoustic emission equipment is incapable of performing the analysis required to characterize damage and make decisions on remaining life for NASA composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). The Acoustic Emission Analysis Applet (AEAA) software, currently a post-processing capability, will, in the second phase of the program, be modified to work in-situ in order to allow near-real-time decision-making on COPV damage and remaining life. Ultimately, this software will be utilized in-situ in pseudo-real time to monitor COPVs on space vehicles.

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