NASA SBIR abstracts of 1990 phase 1 projects

The research objectives of the 280 projects placed under contract in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1990 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 program are described. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses in response to NASA's 1990 SBIR Phase 1 Program Solicitation. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 280, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. The document also includes Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference in the 1990 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA field center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number

FOOD PRESERVATION APPLIANCES, METHODS FOR ENERGY SAVING AND QUALITY ENHANCEMENT

2011/2012The food preservation is a complex subject that cover multiple disciplines of natural and technical sciences. This Ph.D. thesis treats this subject under different points of view. The preservation involves the perceived and objective quality of food, monitoring of the quality and methods to achieve this task. The economical and energetic effort to achieve this task will be treated as well. All these variations on the preservation main-theme find place in the field of the green appliances of the domotic house. This work proposes as results a series of practical techniques and applications that alone or as a whole could significantly improve the quality and efficiency of the preservation of food, both for chemical and energetic aspects. This Ph.D. activity is focused on energy saving and food preservation in the field of domestic and professional cold appliances. Refrigerators constitute a large energy demanding appliance; in particular household refrigerators cover the 15% of the domestic power needs. Their capillary spread and the 24 hours a day use justify this energetic demand and make important even the smallest energy efficiency improvement. From the other point of view in these appliances the cooling effect should be intended as their mean to achieve the preservation of food. A more coherent name should then be preservation appliances instead. From this consideration the cooling capacity shouldn't be the only purpose of these devices, they should also guarantee the best preservation performances. Temperature measurement and other means to monitor the quality of preserved goods should be integrated in the control loop.La conservazione del cibo rappresenta un argomento complesso che coinvolge diverse discipline delle scienze naturali e tecniche. Questa tesi di dottorato tratta questi argomenti sotto diversi punti di vista, analizzando gli aspetti riguardanti la qualit\`{a} oggettiva e percepita del cibo, il suo monitoraggio ed i metodi per garantirla. Vengono inoltre considerati il consumo energetico ed il peso economico necessari al raggiungimento di questo obiettivo. In questo lavoro vengono proposte una serie di tecniche e applicazioni che, opportunamente utilizzate, permettono di migliorare significativamente sia la qualità che l'efficienza nella conservazione del cibo dal punto di vista sia chimico che energetico. L'argomento principale è pertanto incentrato sul risparmio energetico e sulla conservazione degli alimenti riguardante i refrigeratori domestici e professionali. I frigoriferi, infatti, sono dispositivi dal consumo energetico molto elevato e rappresentano addirittura il 15% del consumo domestico. Ciò è dovuto alla loro grande diffusione ed al loro funzionamento ininterrotto. Pertanto anche piccoli incrementi di efficienza possono rappresentare un obiettivo importante. Nell'affrontare questo argomento, si è voluto evidenziare l'obiettivo primario che deve essere la conservazione del cibo e non la refrigerazione in quanto tale. Sarebbe quindi più adeguato parlare di dispositivi per la conservazione del cibo e non di refrigeratori, ponendo in questo modo l'accento sugli aspetti direttamente legati agli alimenti. Ne consegue l'importanza di integrare nella logica di controllo anche la misura di parametri descrittivi dello stato di conservazione degli alimenti.XXV Ciclo198

Design of construction of intelligent orthosis

One most common treatment for muscular diseases is the physical therapy. To prevent muscle atrophy and paralysis an injured person must continue to exercise the body even if lacks muscle force and conditions. When dealing with these cases, the trained professional must move the patients through a series of motion exercises to spur the regeneration. This, however can exhaust the clinician impairing the exercise. A solution around this problem is the use of intelligent orthosis that, with the help of mechanical actuators will move the selected body limbs through a series of motions, and with the use of sensors will achieve repeatability and precision. This study presents a mechanical and electronic design for the construction an intelligent orthosis for the upper limbs. The project aimed in designing an orthotic device with light weight, in which the motion of the limbs is triggered by Bowden cables connected in one end to the limbs and the other to a stepper motor located at a backpack carried by the patient. This design also comprises a selection of sensors that will provide the necessary information to move the body with a precision of path, and also to quantify the muscle forces facilitating the physical condition evaluation through time. The necessary simulations we made to certify the design mechanical strength and kinematic functionality.One most common treatment for muscular diseases is the physical therapy. To prevent muscle atrophy and paralysis an injured person must continue to exercise the body even if lacks muscle force and conditions. When dealing with these cases, the trained professional must move the patients through a series of motion exercises to spur the regeneration. This, however can exhaust the clinician impairing the exercise. A solution around this problem is the use of intelligent orthosis that, with the help of mechanical actuators will move the selected body limbs through a series of motions, and with the use of sensors will achieve repeatability and precision. This study presents a mechanical and electronic design for the construction an intelligent orthosis for the upper limbs. The project aimed in designing an orthotic device with light weight, in which the motion of the limbs is triggered by Bowden cables connected in one end to the limbs and the other to a stepper motor located at a backpack carried by the patient. This design also comprises a selection of sensors that will provide the necessary information to move the body with a precision of path, and also to quantify the muscle forces facilitating the physical condition evaluation through time. The necessary simulations we made to certify the design mechanical strength and kinematic functionality

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1096 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System from April 1, 1979 through June 30, 1979

Sustainable energy for a resilient future: proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies

Volume I, 898 pages, ISBN 9780853583134 Energy Technologies & Renewables Session 1: Biofuels & Biomass Session 5: Building Energy Systems Session 9: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies Session 13: Biomass Systems Session 16: Solar Energy Session 17: Biomass & Biofuels Session 20: Solar Energy Session 21: Solar Energy Session 22: Solar Energy Session 25: Building Energy Technologies Session 26: Solar Energy Session 29: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies Session 32: Heat Pumps Session 33: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies Session 36: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies Poster Session A Poster Session B Poster Session C Poster Session E Volume II, 644 pages, ISBN 9780853583141 Energy Storage & Conversion Session 2: Heating and Cooling Systems Session 6: Heating and Cooling Systems Session 10: Ventilation and Air Conditioning Session 14: Smart and Responsive Buildings Session 18: Phase Change Materials Session 23: Smart and Responsive Buildings Session 30: Heating and Cooling System Session 34: Carbon Sequestration Poster Session A Poster Session C Poster Session D Policies & Management Session 4: Environmental Issues and the Public Session 8: Energy and Environment Security Session 12: Energy and Environment Policies Poster Session A Poster Session D Volume III, 642 pages, ISBN 9780853583158 Sustainable Cities & Environment Session 3: Sustainable and Resilient Cities Session 7: Energy Demand and Use Optimization Session 11: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Session 15: Green and Sustainable Buildings Session 19: Green Buildings and Materials Session 24: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Session 27: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Session 28: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Session 31: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Session 35: Energy Efficiency in Buildings Poster Session A Poster Session D Poster Session

Technology for large space systems: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 22)

This bibliography lists 1077 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System between July 1, 1989 and December 31, 1989. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher or manager engaged in the development of technologies related to large space systems. Subject areas include mission and program definition, design techniques, structural and thermal analysis, structural dynamics and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, and propulsion

Space station systems: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 10)

This bibliography lists 1,422 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between July 1, 1989 and December 31, 1989. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to researchers, designers and managers engaged in Space Station technology development and mission design. Coverage includes documents that define major systems and subsystems related to structures and dynamic control, electronics and power supplies, propulsion, and payload integration. In addition, orbital construction methods, servicing and support requirements, procedures and operations, and missions for the current and future Space Station are included

Investigation into stability and thermal-fluid behaviour of hybrid nanofluids as heat transfer fluids

Thesis (PhD (Mechanics))--University of Pretoria, 2021.The need to improve the poor thermal conductivity of conventional fluids to produce adequate heat transfer fluid cannot be over-emphasized, knowing fully well that heat transfer is key in any engineering process line. Hence, the birth of nanofluids, which is the formulation of a composite of suspended nanoparticles in a basefluid. Nanofluids have found wide applications ranging from heat exchangers, electronic cooling, automotive industry, medical, military, solar energy, manufacturing industry, to mention but a few. But the limitations of nanofluids led to the entrance of a new working fluid named binary nanofluid and ternary nanofluid. This study experimented with the trio influence of temperature (T), percent weight ratios (PWRs), nanoparticles size (NS) on the thermophysical behaviour of MgO–ZnO/Deionised water binary nanofluids (BNFs). 20 nm nano-size of ZnO nanoparticles were hybridised with MgO nanoparticles of nano-sizes 20 nm and 100 nm, and dispersed in deionised water to prepare 0.1 vol% binary nanofluids for percent weight ratios of MgO:ZnO (20:80, 40:60, 60:40 and 80:20). The viscosity (μ), electrical conductivity (σ), pH, and thermal conductivity (κ) of the binary nanofluids were experimentally evaluated for temperature 20 to 50 °C. Morphology was checked, and stability was monitored. The impact of temperature, PWRs, and nano-size on the pH, μ, σ, and κ of the binary nanofluid were ordered as PWR >NS >T, NS> PWR>T, T>NS >PWR, and T >NS >PWR, respectively. Using the obtained experimental dataset, correlations were proposed for the thermal property of each binary nanofluid as a function of temperature. Also, investigating the trio impact of PWR, temperature and � on the thermophysical characteristics of MgO-ZnO/DIW BNFs, to help close up the scarce literature gap. 20 nm nanoparticle sizes of MgO and ZnO were hybridized together and dissolved in deionized water to formulate 0.1 vol% and 0.05 vol.% binary nanofluids (NFs) for PWR of 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20 (MgO:ZnO). The κ for all BNFs was enhanced under the impact of rising temperature, with maximum κ enhancement of 5.60% and 22.07% relative to the deionised water (DIW) achieved for 0.05 vol% and 0.10 vol%, separately. The σ was enhanced slightly under the influence of increasing temperature, with maximum enhancement of 21.82% and 30.91% achieved for 0.050 vol% and 0.10 vol%, respectively. In addition, viscosity under temperature increase exhibited a decreasing pattern for all nanohybrids and basefluid. Furthermore, to better harness the benefit of the BNFs for thermal application, thermoelectrical conductivity (TEC) was evaluated with BNFs of 0.05 vol% observed to have higher TEC values than 0.10 vol% BNFs. The BNFs were found suitable as thermal fluids. A novel manner of furthering thermo-convection behaviour of thermal applications is the use of BNFs as heat transfer fluids. This study experimented the natural convection behaviour of MgO-ZnO NPs suspended in basefluid for � = 0.050 vol.% and 0.10 vol% at percent weight ratios of 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20 (MgO:ZnO) inside a square enclosure. Factors like Rayleigh number, Nusselt number (Nuav), coefficient of convective heat transfer (hav), and heat transfer rate (Qav) for various temperatures (20°C to 50°C) were examined. PWRs and temperature gradient of BNPs inside the binary nanofluids was observed to augment Nuav, hav, and Qav. Also, highest improvement of 72.60% (Nuav), 76.01% (hav), and 72.20% (Qav) was achieved. Employing BNFs in square enclosure yielded fine improvement for natural convection behaviour. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods, like artificial neural network (ANN) and surface fitting method were deployed to model the thermal conductivity of BNFs. For the ANN model, a learning algorithm was developed to determine the optimum neuron number. The ANN having 19 neurons in the inner layer got the optimized performance. A surface fitting method was also used on the experimental data, and the generated surface shows the behaviour of the BNFs. The outcome affirmed that the designed ANN model is best for predicting the thermal conductivity of MgO-ZnO/DIW binary nanofluids for different temperatures, nanoparticle sizes, PWRs and volume concentration over the surface fitting method.University of Pretoria Postgraduate Bursary for Doctoral Students.Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria.Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Abuja, Nigeria.Mechanical and Aeronautical EngineeringPhD (Mechanics)Unrestricte