Technology Opportunity Showcase highlights some unique technologies that NASA has developed and which we believe have strong potential for commercial application. While the descriptions provided here are brief, they should provide enough information to communicate the potential applications of the technology. For more detailed information, contact the person listed. Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.

Technology Opportunity Showcase

Hot NASA Technologies

Accelerometer and Integral Bar Graph Display

Johnson Space Center has an accelerometer and integral bar graph display consisting of four major components: accelerometer, display driver, bar graph display and threshold selector. Any commercially available accelerometer can be used to differentiate the output to eliminate any direct current offset. It is then rectified and filtered to provide a smoothed output proportional to the acceleration, which is then fed to a display driver, which turns on the display's segments according to the accelerometer signal's amplitude. Any single individual segment driver can be monitored to activate an alarm with an active driver. The threshold selector determines the alarm's acceleration level. An optically isolated output can be used for annunciation or control function. The device can analyze vibration in machinery, engines, vehicles and airframe structures and can be used for the emergency shutdown of rotating machinery and engine testing. The device is portable and self-contained to ground loop errors, and it comes with a power supply filter.

For more information, contact James Cameron at Johnson Space Center. Call: 281/483-1749, Fax: 281/244-8452, E-mail: commercialization@jsc.nasa.gov
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

System for Testing Bearings

Marshall Space Flight Center seeks to license to industry a system that provides manufacturers with a simple, reliable means of testing bearings under precise radial loads. These loads can be adjusted throughout the testing process to assess the effect of varying loads and to establish fatigue parameters. A pair of spaced bearings is used to support a shaft to mount the bearing to be tested. A bearing holder, spaced from the pair, has an annular collar positioned in an opening in the bearing holder. A screw threaded through the holder engaging the collar can be adjusted to move the collar out of alignment with the pair of bearings to apply a radial load to the bearing being tested. The system can be applied to any situation in which it is desirable to test bearings under critical conditions and various loads to assess durability and life span.

For more information, contact Al Jordan at Marshall Space Flight Center. Call: 256/544-6532, Fax: 256/544-3278.
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Hybrid Butterfly Valve

Stennis Space Center seeks to partner with a company to develop a working prototype of the hybrid butterfly valve, with the possibility of licensing. The hybrid butterfly valve is a concept system, currently in the drawing stage, that combines the compactness, light weight and full flow capability of butterfly valves with the throttling and sealing advantages of globe and needle valves. It has less pressure drop and is simple to operate, compact in design and relatively low cost. The valve overcomes the limitations of traditional butterfly valves. A rotational motion and a translation motion are combined to obtain desired throttling and sealing actions. A stationary seat and a valve closure disk rotate a shaft that extends through a slot, supported by brackets. Guide members carried by the disk help ensure that the rotary and longitudinal motions occur separately and in correct sequence. The hybrid butterfly valve has commercial applications in chemical processing, natural gas processing and distribution and petroleum processing and distribution.

For more information, contact Staci Kramer at Stennis Space Center.
Call: 228/688-2751, Fax: 228/688-3935, E-mail: skramer@ssc.nasa.gov
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Mass Density Sensor

Langley Research Center seeks industry partners to license and cooperatively develop a commercial product using a new sensor technology. A nonintrusive, low-cost method has been developed for determining the resin content of textile materials during manufacturing. Novel to the sensor is the use of natural mechanical resonance in a moving resin-impregnated yarn or tow, which is held under tension. Vibration is then induced and sensed at the center of the supported span by an optical sensor, also unique to the sensor. Unlike the old-time consuming cut-and-weight method used today, this method is a continuous process operating at hundreds of feet per minute without requiring any interruption to the manufacturing process. Unlike elaborate electronic gauges, the invention is mechanically robust, easy to install and inexpensive, and it requires no special safety precautions. It measures mass density of filament or yarns, including nylon, polyester, synthetic yarns and optical fiber.

For more information, contact Sherry Sullivan at Langley Research Center. Call: 757/864-2556, Fax: 757/864-8314, E-mail: s.l.sullivan@larc.nasa.gov
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.