Forehead-Mounted Sensor Measures Oxygen Saturation for Hypoxia Early Detection and Warning

Symptoms of hypoxia – a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues - have been documented among rotary-wing pilots and aircrew flying...

Portable, Rapid-Test Fuel Tank Leak Detection System

In 1988, the EPA issued Underground Storage Tank (UST) regulations for fuel storage in order to implement monthly monitoring and annual tightness testing. Monthly monitoring requires that...

Fire Resistance of Geopolymer Concretes

Geopolymer concrete has been proposed as an alternative to Portland cement concrete in applications requiring high degrees of fire resistance, because the intrinsic chemistry of the geopolymer binder...

Modeling Defects in Transparent Ceramics to Improve Military Armor

The dominant materials solution used for ballistic transparency protection of armored tactical platforms in commercial and military applications is low-cost glass backed by...

Wettability Tests of Polymer Films and Fabrics

High-strength polymer materials are useful components in many multifunctional materials applications. However, because of low reactivity, their use is inhibited in many processing techniques....

Water Mist System for Shipboard Machinery Space Fires

Water mist has been determined to be a preferred alternative to Halon 1301 total flooding to extinguish fires occurring in ship machinery spaces and pump rooms, because it is...

Biaxial and Shear Testing Apparatus With Force Controls

An apparatus for in-plane biaxial tension/compression and in-plane shear testing of fabrics, other flexible sheet materials, or relatively rigid thin plate materials has been invented....

Optical-Fiber Infrasound Sensors

Optical-fiber infrasound sensors (OFISs) are being developed for detecting acoustic pressures in the frequency range from a few millihertz to a few hertz. As explained below, these sensors were conceived to...

Thrust-Augmented Nozzles for Rocket Engines

The thrust-augmented nozzle (TAN) has been invented as a means of obtaining high performance from a rocket engine both during liftoff at sea-level atmospheric pressure and later during flight under...

AFRL Finding Ways to Decrease Unmanned Air Vehicle Costs

In support of the Aeronautical Systems Center's (ASC) Global Hawk Systems Group, AFRL has undertaken a program to study manufacturing tolerances for laminar flow on aircraft wings. On...

New Capability to Characterize the Mechanical Properties of Explosive Materials

Improved targeting accuracy and the long-standing desire to minimize collateral damage are causing current and future munitions to become much smaller. As...