NASA Microgravity Science and Applications Program

Key elements of the microgravity research program as conducted by the Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD) within the Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) during fiscal year (FY) 1992 are described. This NASA funded program supported investigators from the university, industry, and government research communities. The program's goals, the approach taken to achieve those goals, and the resources that were available are summarized. It provides a 'snapshot' of the Program's status at the end of FY 1992 and reviews highlights and progress in the ground and flight-based research during the year. It also describes four major space missions that flew during FY 1992, the advanced technology development (ATD) activities, and the plans to use the research potential of Space Station Freedom and other advanced carriers. The MSAD program structure encompassed five research areas: (1) Biotechnology, (2) Combustion Science, (3) Fluid Physics, (4) Materials Science, and (5) Benchmark Physics

Co-Nanomet: Co-ordination of Nanometrology in Europe

Nanometrology is a subfield of metrology, concerned with the science of measurement at the nanoscale level. Today’s global economy depends on reliable measurements and tests, which are trusted and accepted internationally. It must provide the ability to measure in three dimensions with atomic resolution over large areas. For industrial application this must also be achieved at a suitable speed/throughput. Measurements in the nanometre range should be traceable back to internationally accepted units of measurement (e.g. of length, angle, quantity of matter, and force). This requires common, validated measurement methods, calibrated scientific instrumentation as well as qualified reference samples. In some areas, even a common vocabulary needs to be defined. A traceability chain for the required measurements in the nm range has been established in only a few special cases. A common strategy for European nanometrology has been defined, as captured herein, such that future nanometrology development in Europe may build out from our many current strengths. In this way, European nanotechnology will be supported to reach its full and most exciting potential. As a strategic guidance, this document contains a vision for European nanometrology 2020; future goals and research needs, building out from an evaluation of the status of science and technology in 2010. It incorporates concepts for the acceleration of European nanometrology, in support of the effective commercial exploitation of emerging nanotechnologies. The field of nanotechnology covers a breadth of disciplines, each of which has specific and varying metrological needs. To this end, a set of four core technology fields or priority themes (Engineered Nanoparticles, Nanobiotechnology, Thin Films and Structured Surfaces and Modelling & Simulation) are the focus of this review. Each represents an area within which rapid scientific development during the last decade has seen corresponding growth in or towards commercial exploitation routes. This document was compiled under the European Commission Framework Programme 7 project, Co-Nanomet. It has drawn together input from industry, research institutes, (national) metrology institutes, regulatory and standardisation bodies across Europe. Through the common work of the partners and all those interested parties who have contributed, it represents a significant collaborative European effort in this important field. In the next decade, nanotechnology can be expected to approach maturity, as a major enabling technological discipline with widespread application. This document provides a guide to the many bodies across Europe in their activities or responsibilities in the field of nanotechnology and related measurement requirements. It will support the commercial exploitation of nanotechnology, as it transitions through this next exciting decade

Laser-induced surface modifications for optical applications

Surface treatments by applying laser processing have gained a significant attention due to the achievable surface properties along with the selectivity that cannot be realized with other methods. The focus of this research is on investigating and developing laser-based treatment methods, i.e. laser-induced surface oxidation, laser-induced oxygen reduction, and laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), to address the requirements of specific applications in optics, aesthetics, and anti-counterfeiting, e.g. colour marking and the fabrication of optical devices and diffraction holograms. A single spot oxidation method is proposed to control the size of the oxidation area and its thickness on titanium substrates. A pixel resolution down to the beam spot size with high special control is achieved. To produce diffraction optical devices on glass substrates a direct writing another method is proposed. Especially, the method is implemented and validated for fabricating two-level phase-type FZPs with a nanosecond laser by converting a titanium film on glass substrates into titanium dioxide patterns with a thickness controlled at nano scale. The flexibility and applicability of laser-induced oxidation is extended with a method for erasing colour marks selectively by employing a laser-induced oxygen reduction. Finally, a method for producing LIPSS patterns with varying orientations is developed and then validated for fabricating diffraction gratings on metallic surface

Modeling and Simulation in Engineering

The general aim of this book is to present selected chapters of the following types: chapters with more focus on modeling with some necessary simulation details and chapters with less focus on modeling but with more simulation details. This book contains eleven chapters divided into two sections: Modeling in Continuum Mechanics and Modeling in Electronics and Engineering. We hope our book entitled "Modeling and Simulation in Engineering - Selected Problems" will serve as a useful reference to students, scientists, and engineers

Planetary Defense team project: READI (Roadmap for EArth Defense Initiatives)

Planetary Defense is a complex problem, not well understood by policy makers and the general public. The recent Chelyabinsk incident in Russia created temporary international attention but has failed to effectively stimulate public action. The lack of long-term attention to cosmic hazards has resulted in limited funding to defend our planet. Hence, it is hard to realistically address this challenge and achieve the high test and operational readiness needed for an effective Planetary Defense strategy. To address this problem, we have created a set of recommendations for the development of a Planetary Defense Program, for the purpose of contributing to the protection of Earth from asteroids and comets. The SSP15 READI Project focused on threats for which there is only a short-term warning, specifically a warning of two years or less from detection of the object to impact. We have provided recommendations in five areas of Planetary Defense including detection and tracking, deflection techniques, global collaboration, outreach and education, and evacuation and recovery. We have applied this set of recommendations in a narrative scenario to make our report more impactful and engaging. We contrast optimistic and pessimistic outcomes for a comet threat, differing from each other in terms of the level of readiness achieved during the years leading up to the discovery of the threat. In our optimistic scenario, the deflection system has achieved high test and operational readiness. The world’s governments have realized the importance of being prepared against cosmic hazards and put in place all of the necessary measures for a successful defense, leading to a positive deflection of the comet. In contrast, in the pessimistic scenario no preparation is done before the detection, and the comet strikes a heavily populated area releasing energy equivalent to 80 times the most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated. The recommendations that we have identified in this report constitute a roadmap to avoid this horrible outcome, and we believe they should be taken seriously and swiftly implemented

Perovskites for optoelectronic applications: new synthetic approaches and properties modulation routes

The development and the increasing application of renewable sources are two pivotal points of the solutions set for the huge climatic challenge that all the world is facing nowadays. Apart from the classical silicon-based photovoltaic panels, one of the most flourishing fields is that of metal halide perovskites (MHPs). The enormous attractiveness of MHPs relies on their outstanding optoelectronic properties and their applicability in many different fields. Their extreme tunability is due to their structure, and consequently their properties' ease of modification. All MHPs are constituted by a network of octahedra: when they share 6, 4, 2, and 0 corners the structure is respectively called 3D, 2D, 1D, and 0D perovskite, with 3D being the most efficient. However, even though only limited amounts of Pb are implemented in solar cells, there is a potential risk of harm to humans and the environment. Therefore, researchers are currently trying to substitute Pb with other suitable elements to develop novel, low-cost, non-toxic, and environment-friendly perovskite materials, that could be possibly capable of various applications with superior performances and long-term stability. In almost all the devices, the perovskite is present in form of thin film, therefore in literature many different growing methods can be found, either solution or vapor-based. Solution based ones are the most applied, but even the optimized techniques are affected by many shortcomings, such as: a lack of control over the low-temperature crystallization process, which is affected by many factors and often leads to poor reproducibility in properties; the solvent employed in depositing a perovskite layer washes away the underlying ones, so the sequential film deposition and the deriving perovskite-perovskite heterostructures are very difficult to realize; the complex fluid dynamics during the scale-up of solution methods do not permit the growth of uniform thin films in panel-size substrates due to the many intermediate phases that coexist during the crystallization process; the common wet-chemistry protocols used for hybrid phases do not assure good results in totally inorganic perovskite deposition, mainly because of the poor solubility in polar solvents of many halide precursors. The main aims of this thesis are: the realization of new approaches to tune, in a stable way, the optical and structural properties of perovskites in order to extend their range of applications; the development of different environmental-friendly scale up methods suitable to prepare perovskite phases for optoelectronic devices and to stabilize metastable phases. For these purposes, we focused on industrial types of equipment and techniques that could fit our scopes. The first part of this work is about employing and optimizing a vapor-based technique to deposit metal halide perovskites thin films. The most employed physical vapor deposition method consists of different variations of thermal evaporation, therefore we decided to explore radio-frequency magnetron sputtering because of the advantages of simple equipment, easy control, large coating area, and strong adhesion. By means of this technique, a large number of thin films can be prepared at relatively high purity, high speed, low temperature, and low cost. The second section focuses on preliminary in-situ high-pressure studies of metal halide perovskites at large facilities. This investigation of MHPs is relatively recent and, while studies of temperature dependence modification and chemical tuning strategies exist, the knowledge of pressure-induced effects remains scarce. These studies could allow us to more precisely tune the properties through compression and also permit the discovery of new phases that subsequently could be stabilized at ambient conditions. The last part of this work is focused on the tuning of MHPs by the means of two industrial physical modulation techniques: spark plasma sintering and ball-milling

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2007

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; lists student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedures for contacting the school. Included in the report are: faculty publications, conference presentations, consultations, and funded research projects. Research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electro-Optics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Systems and Engineering Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2012

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; lists student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedures for contacting the school. Included in the report are: faculty publications, conference presentations, consultations, and funded research projects. Research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electro-Optics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Systems and Engineering Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics