Portable Calorimeter for Fire Experiments

Executive Summary An oxygen consumption calorimeter works by measuring the heat release rate of a burning substance. This value is calculated by measuring the oxygen and byproducts in smoke from afire.In order to get these values two types of sensors were used. A non-dispersive infrared sensor (NDIR) that measured CO and CO2 and a zirconium O2 sensor were used to find their respective gas concentrations.The design to calculate the heat release rate is focused on maximizing sensor accuracy and portability while simplifying the manufacturing by using off-the-shelf components. The goal included making the system simple to recreate and package in a portable system.Multiple designs were considered to ensure that the system would be portable. The final design is focused on working around the Crestline 7911 NDIR sensor and AO2 Citacel sensor. The other key components include the microcontroller, pump, power supply, air filter, and mounting platform, which were designed around these two sensors. These components are packaged together in a briefcase that will house the components and protect them during transportation and usage. This flexibility for transportation allows the system to be used in different locations.The oxygen consumption calorimeter also has several specific design specifications that it will meet. These fall under three categories: safety, usability, and data acquisition. Safety considerations involve ensuring that the system is not exposed to excessive heat, well insulated, does not deflect or fracture, etc. To ensure the usability of the device, the engineering team will record issues and the appropriate solutions for hardware and software issues to establish a working guideline for future users.Another key specification category is data acquisition. It is important for the system accurately acquire data and that the system is calibrated properly. This document will serve as the scope of work and as a design report for the mechanical engineering team working on the Portable Calorimeter for Fire Experiments project. The objective of this document is to define the problem and detail the steps that were taken to design the portable oxygen consumption calorimeter

NASA Tech Briefs, November 1988

Topics covered include: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Sciences; Life Sciences

Index to 1983 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 8, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1983 Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

NASA Tech Briefs, May 1997

Topics covered include: Advanced Composites, Plastics and Metals; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery/Automation; Manufacturing/Fabrication; Mathematics and Information Sciences; Life Sciences; Books and Reports

LASER Tech Briefs, Winter 1994

Topics include: Electronic Components and Circuits. Electronic Systems, Physical Sciences, Materials, Computer Programs, Mechanics, Machinery, Fabrication Technology, Mathematics and Information Sciences, Life Sciences, and Books and report

Marshall Space Flight Center Research and Technology Report 2018

Many of NASAs missions would not be possible if it were not for the investments made in research advancements and technology development efforts. The technologies developed at Marshall Space Flight Center contribute to NASAs strategic array of missions through technology development and accomplishments. The scientists, researchers, and technologists of Marshall Space Flight Center who are working these enabling technology efforts are facilitating NASAs ability to fulfill the ambitious goals of innovation, exploration, and discovery

Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injuries

Stem cell-based therapies are an emerging branch of medicine with the purpose of restoring tissue function for patients with serious injuries, such as a spinal cord injury. As a result, scientists and engineers are increasing research efforts in the field of regenerative medicine. Due to the delicate nature of stem cells, producing the large quantity required for a successful therapy has proved challenging. In recent years, research has shown the potential of stem cell-based therapies, and thus there is a need for the commercialization of these treatments. The proposed facility targets the demand for spinal cord injury treatments and can support production for both clinical trials and a commercial release. Bioreactors designed specifically for the culture and growth of stem cells have flexibility in their ability to support different stem cell lines for various therapies. Small reactors in parallel can easily adapt to changes in production size. This process also takes advantage of the best options currently available for purification and preservation to maximize the product yield. Due to the strict regulations set in place by the FDA and lack of adequate funding, there is an untapped market for stem cell therapies for spinal cord injuries. Approximately 250,000 people in the United States suffer from spinal cord injuries, varying in severity, and this patient base increases at a rate of 12,000 new injuries every year (“Spinal Cord Injury Facts and Figures”, 2009). Future markets include expansion into Europe and Asia. There are two steps to this proposal: the upstream process and the downstream process. The upstream process includes the scale-up, differentiation, and purification of human embryonic stem cells; the downstream process consists of the scale-up of neurons for injection. The upstream process will be built initially and yield enough cells for clinical trials, without incurring the capital costs of building the entire plant. Upon success of the clinical trials, the downstream process will be built for maximum production. The profitability of this proposal is based on running 26 batches a year at 1.02x1010 cells per batch or 2.66x1011 cells per year. By targeting 5,000 patients, two percent of the current market, and charging $45,000 per dose, a profitable profile can be created. Assuming 50$961,892,600, and 242.81% respectively. Using a 50% production capacity allows for higher profit margins upon expansion. The proposed plan will meet the need of this growing market

Cumulative index to NASA Tech Briefs, 1986-1990, volumes 10-14

Tech Briefs are short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This cumulative index of Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes (subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief number) and covers the period 1986 to 1990. The abstract section is organized by the following subject categories: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, computer programs, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

NASA Tech Briefs, July 1991

Topics include: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Sciences; Life Sciences

Size reduction and polymer encapsulation of carbon black in gas-expanded solvents

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, February 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Ink jet printing is a demanding application that requires carefully formulated inks in order to quickly and reliably produce high-quality printed images. Although ink jet inks are currently produced via an aqueous process, supercritical fluids (SCF) and gas-expanded liquids (GXL) present alternative processing media for particle coating operations that may offer significant benefits with respect to the production of polymer-encapsulated pigment particles for these inks. The main thesis objective is the demonstration and analysis of a particle size reduction and encapsulation process which takes place in CO₂-expanded acetone and produces colloidal carbon black particles. These particles should be uniformly coated with functionalized hydrophobic resins such that they are easily redispersed in water or solvent to form stable nanoparticle dispersions suitable for use in ink jet inks. A prototype size reduction and encapsulation system has been constructed based on a high-pressure stirred reaction vessel designed to operate at pressures up to 200 bar (3000 psi). The prototype vessel has a fluid volume of 1 liter with a multidisc agitator capable of rotating at more than 3400 RPM. Pigment particles are initially milled in a solution of non-aqueous solvent and dissolved dispersing resin. Size reduction is achieved within the apparatus via the grinding action of 1.2 mm spherical ceramic media contacting the micron-size pigment particles. As milling progresses, high-pressure CO₂ is slowly introduced to the vessel; the CO₂ acts as an anti-solvent, lowering polymer solubility and driving adsorption of the dispersing resin onto the pigment particles as new surface area is exposed.(cont.) After encapsulation is complete, the system is flushed with CO₂ and the product particles are retained as a dry powder in a high-pressure filter. The solvent-free particles are then recovered by venting the system to atmospheric pressure, and subsequently re-dispersed in water for analysis in inks. The apparatus under investigation provides a new process approach to particle size reduction and coating that affords greater freedom in ink formulation, while offering a path to improved ink quality and possible cost savings in a highly competitive market. Specifically, the use of CO₂-expanded liquids enables the deposition of hydrophobic polymers on the surface of particles for use in aqueous inks, thus significantly increasing the variety of polymers that are available for use in these systems. A representative model system of carbon black pigment and benzyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid (BzMA/MAA) copolymer dispersing resins of varying monomer compositions (BzMA/MAA mass ratio = 85/15, 80/20, and 75/25) has been studied in order to assess the feasibility of the high-pressure milling and encapsulation process for ink jet applications. These components have been successfully employed in high-pressure coating operations to produce encapsulated carbon black particles which were recovered as a dry, flowable powder. Dry product particles were redispersed in water to obtain stable aqueous dispersions with a number average particle size of 135-190 nm.(cont.) In order to guide the selection of appropriate process conditions for the encapsulation system, the high-pressure solid-liquid-vapor phase equilibrium of ternary CO₂-solvent-polymer systems has been probed experimentally and modeled with the PC-SAFT equation of state. Precipitation of BzMA/MAA copolymers generally required a larger overall CO 2 mole fraction - and thus a higher system pressure - for more dilute polymer solutions; however, a minimum in the precipitation pressure was observed for all polymer compositions and temperatures near a CO₂-free polymer mass fraction of 0.03. The ternary systems were characterized by a rapid reduction in polymer solubility over a relatively narrow range of pressure (between 200 psig and 400 psig, depending on the polymer and system temperature); the precipitation pressure increased with increasing temperature and BzMA mass fraction (per polymer mass unit). The PC-SAFT EOS was successfully employed to correlate the phase behavior data by adjusting only two binary interaction parameters; the average relative error associated with the predictions of precipitation pressure for each polymer was 3.7%. Characterization of the encapsulation process also requires knowledge of the thermodynamics and kinetics of polymer adsorption onto particle surfaces from CO₂- expanded solvents. To this end, interactions with the particle surface have been investigated through the collection and correlation of experimental adsorption isotherm data.(cont.) Adsorption of 85/15 and 75/25 BzMA/MAA polymers onto carbon black from CO₂-expanded acetone was measured at 35°C and pressures between 0 psig and 300 psig over a range of mixture compositions relevant to particle coating operations. Pressurization with CO₂ to pressures up to 200 psig caused a decrease in the amount of polymer adsorbed on particle surfaces, but further increases in pressure resulted in higher polymer loadings. In the case of 75/25 BzMA/MAA polymer, the polymer loading increased significantly between 200 psig and 300 psig as the solubility limit was approached or exceeded. Our results are valuable not only in providing quantitative data to facilitate process optimization, but also in offering a more fundamental understanding of interactions among the pigment particles, the dispersant resin, and the gas-expanded liquid media. Such information is important to both process and product design.by Scott M. Paap.Ph.D