QUICK AND ACCURATE DETERMINATION OF HENRY'S LAW CONSTANTS THE TECHNOLOGY Under an AF-funded project, Engineers at Cornell University developed a simple technique to experimentally determine Henry's law constants for environmental applications. The technology, commonly referred to as Equilibrium Partitioning in Closed System (EPICS), requires no special apparatus, just two equal volume bottles. Results are obtained from the measurement of gas concentration ratios between the pair of sealed bottles, each having different liquid volumes. The EPICS technique enables quick and accurate determination of Henry's law constants for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water. Reliable and reproducible values of Henry's law constants are obtained for VOCs of varying type and volatility. This information is required in the planning and design of hazardous waste treatment system. It is vital for determining the environmental fate and transport of hazardous substances in subsurface aquifers. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC), through technical reports and presentations, has directly transferred the technology and experimental data to 75 Department of Defense organizations, 19 Federal laboratories, as well as 25 universities and civilian engineering firms. Indirect transfer of the technology has been accomplished through numerous presentations at national conferences and publications in engineering and technological journals. At one conference alone, over 200 reprints were requested. A majority of the recipients are engineers and scientists responsible for understanding, identifying and cleaning up contaminated groundwater and soils. USES AND BENEFITS Henry's law constants are required during the planning and design of groundwater treatment systems (e.g., air stripping). The constants are used for calculations where contaminated water and air are in contact. The EPICS procedure is a quick and accurate method for determining Henry's law constants. The resulting constants provide a reliable and reproducible source of environmental data for consulting engineers and scientists. Ultimately, the data obtained from the EPICS procedure can be used to reduce the uncertainty during design, resulting in efficient and cost-effective groundwater treatment systems. DOD - Air Force Engineering & Services Center THE CHEMIST'S WORKBENCH THE TECHNOLOGY The Molecular Modeling, Analysis, and Display System (MMADS) has been developed for 'state of the art' computer-assisted modeling for chemicals. It is an integrated set of theoretical and physical organic chemistry programs, a computer network, and color graphics display devices that allow a research scientist to generate, manipulate, and analyze three-dimensional conformation of chemical compounds either individually or with the three dimensional conformation or representation of biological receptors. Even though the system supports over 100 commands, it requires minimal understanding of computers or computer programming. Furthermore, the user need only know very elementary chemistry in order to enter, manipulate, and perform calculations on new chemical structures. National Institutes of Health/Nat. Cancer Institute Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Naval Weapons Center U.S. Air Force Academy Eglin Air Force Base U.S. Army Med. Research Inst. of Chemical Defense The utility of the system has been demonstrated at technical meetings and other scientific gatherings. USES AND BENEFITS At least two of the universities are developing an undergraduate training program in chemistry using MMADS to demonstrate elementary principles of chemical bonding, valence, and reactivity as well as supporting graduate research. Other users have employed the system to develop structure-activity relationships of the toxicity of chemical compounds, to predict chemical, physiological or physical properties of new chemicals, and to design novel coatings for detection devices. DOD - Army Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Center ULTRA CLEAN STEEL THE TECHNOLOGY As the requirements for ultra-high strength steel increase, the steel industry has been challenged to improve the steel making practice to control inclusions, using ladle treatment instead of secondary refining. One use for these steels is in the production of steel for gun tube forgings. Currently, steel is procured as right circular cylinders, and then, at Watervliet Arsenal, rotary forged and heat treated. Thus, the steel producer does not know the effects of his practice directly. Benet Laboratories, located at Watervliet Arsenal, maintains surveillance over both the steel and its subsequent processing. Cooperative studies have been run to determine the relationship between steel making and final product. This work is intensified when there are periodic problems. Through these cooperative studies and by regular dialogue between Laboratory and the steel producers, it has been possible for the producer to establish control over the steel making practice to improve cleanliness and yield a forging with exceptional mechanical properties. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS The steel producers involved in the production of steel for gun tube forgings are the direct recipients of this technology for general use, as well as for gun tube forgings. But, certain facets of the technology have been made available generally, to the steel industry, through reports, presentations and plant visits. These deal with the relationships between cleanliness and mechanical properties. (The processing technique used by steel producers is considered propriety and producer-specific.) USES AND BENEFITS This technology has general use in the design with, and production of, ultra-high strength steel. These cooperative efforts have led to the development of economical and effective processing technology for inclusion control which is ultimately translated to a higher quality product. When it is properly controlled, it has allowed the use of less costly ladle treated steels in lieu of more expensive secondary refined steels. NEW LIGHTWEIGHT WHEELCHAIR THE TECHNOLOGY Skin-stiffened structures are "sandwiches" consisting of strong, stiff outer layers and a lightweight interior. The outer layers, typically graphite and/or Kevlar reinforced composites, provide the structural strength and rigidity while the interior, typically foam materials, minimize the weight of the structure. This technology has been widely used by NASA in applications requiring structural strength and minimum weight for aerospace applications. This composite technology has been applied to wheelchair design by using skin-stiffened structures for the side panels, seat assembly, and foot rest. Composite material is utilized also for the specially designed hand rims. The result is a lightweight wheelchair with an overall weight of about 25 lbs. The composite materials are graphite and Kevlar reinforced epoxy prepeg with a high temperature foam core. Composites are inherently resistant to damage by fluids and have excellent fatigue resistance compared to metals Pigmenting or surface painting are optional. In addition, new design possibilities are offered by the new material. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS Nearly 1,000,000 people in the USA rely on wheelchairs for mobility. Conventional metal wheelchairs are frequently heavy, difficult to handle, and also are subject to rust and corrosion. Some of these difficulties have been remedied through the efforts of a multi-organizational cooperative program which resulted in the design and fabrication of prototype, foldable wheelchairs constructed largely from aerospace-type composite materials. The chairs were designed by the University of Virginia's Rehabilitation Engineering Center with support from Langley Research Center; the compositive materials elements were fabricated at Langley Research Center. The National Institute for Handicapped Research also collaborated in the project. A workshop was conducted in 1985 to apprise prospective manufacturers of the design, fabrication, and assembly techniques appropriate to the composite wheelchair. Eleven companies were represented. One company, University Technologies, Inc., of Charlottesville, VA, has received a license to produce the composite chair. USES AND BENEFITS Approximately 200,000 wheelchairs are sold annually, and most of these share the common disadvantage of being heavy. The excess weight not only hampers the ability to lift and store the chair, but affects the handling characteristics. Most attempts to reduce the weight of wheelchairs have compromised the rigidity and stability of the chair or have sacrificed some general purpose features such as folding, braking, etc. The low weight of the composite wheelchair gives it the balance and weight of a sports char but with many general features. The chair folds easily to a size suitable for compact storage areas and is easily lifted. The solid seat is more comfortable than a sagging seat. The seat section and subframe are designed such that fore and aft adjustments can readily be made. The contoured back attaches by Velcro and is easily replaced when upholstery becomes worn. INDOOR ANTENNA MEASUREMENTS REPLACE COSTLY OUTDOOR RANGES THE TECHNOLOGY Antennas are designed to send or receive signals in specific, often very sharply defined directions. Since the signals reflect from many surfaces, the testing of antennas has been complicated and costly. The planar near field method (PNFM), developed by the National Bureau of Standards, now makes it possible to make such measurements indoors. The method involves measuring the phase and amplitude distributions of the radiated field over a flat plane close to the antenna in a room designed to absorb, rather than reflect the signals. These data are then transformed by computer in accordance with rigorous theoretical algorithms to completely determine the radiation characteristics at the large distances from the antenna. The advantages of PNFM are: (1) Measurements are performed in a controlled laboratory environment without regard to weather. (2) Inherently greater accuracy is achieved and more complete information is obtained. (3) Faults and problems can be diagnosed and design data obtained. (4) Great savings in time, money, labor and real estate are possible. (5) The method is capable of performing certain measurements and of evaluating some complex antennas which could not be accomplished by previous far-field measurement techniques. To introduce the new technology to the antenna design and testing community, numerous technical papers were published; more than 30 reports were delivered at technical meetings; courses were given; three courses in near-field scanning were given at NBS, and workshops were given at NASA Lewis Research Center, Hughes Aircraft Company, Intelsat and TRW Corporation. NBS staff consulted extensively with antenna manufacturers and users to assist them in designing, constructing, and evaluating their own near field measurement facilities. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS Nearly all new antenna measurement facilities are now indoors using the near-field design pioneered by NBS. Eighteen U.S. companies have built 30 near-field antenna measurement facilities and 11 additional facilities have been built by NATO members. USES AND BENEFITS Hughes Ground Systems Group uses the near-field technique as a diagnostic tool to check for flaws in complex phased-array antennas being built for the U.S. Army. TRW's Antenna Systems Laboratory uses the near-field technique for acceptance testing on all projects, noting that a seven mile long outdoor range would be required to match their indoor range. RCA saved over $6 million in building and testing costs for the Aegis radar antennas installed on 16 U.S. Navy cruisers. |