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| FLC Midwest Region Quarterly Newsletter - Spring 2006 |
Beryllium-Aluminum Alloy Components Fly on Air Force, NASA Spacecraft
Working with commercial industry, scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) developed, tested, and transitioned beryllium-aluminum (Be-Al) alloys to make components for Air Force and NASA spacecraft launched in early 2005. Four components are on the Air Force’s XSS-11 experimental polar-orbiting satellite, which is designed to fly around and inspect other U.S. orbital objects such as spent boosters and dead satellites. A fifth component is being used on one of three miniature spacecraft (micro-sats) deployed by NASA under the Space Technology 5 (ST5) program, which is designed to test innovative concepts and technologies in the harsh environment of space. Read more
Air Force Develops Environmentally Compliant Corrosion Protection
Scientists and engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (ML) led the development of a non-chromated primer for aluminum aircraft surfaces and structures. This non-chromated primer is the result of a collaborative effort between the ML, the University of Missouri-Rolla , Deft Coatings, and Warner-Robbins Air Logistics Center. The first operational F-15 was painted with this primer in August, and the entire F-15 fleet will convert to the primer coating as they arrive for regularly scheduled depot refurbishment. Read more
Cooking Dinner at Home—From the Office
It was well past quitting time, but David Mansbery was still stuck in the office. The next thing he knew, it was 8:30 p.m. His family hadn't eaten since lunch, and dinner certainly wasn't going to cook itself—or was it? In 1994, David Mansbery was a busy father with an active family whose schedule rarely allowed for home-cooked meals. Growing tired of fast food, he was determined to bring the cooking back into his kitchen. He decided to create an oven that would allow its owners to cook dinner from the road. Read more
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AFRL Blast Protection Experts Enhance Blast-resistant Window and Glazing Technologies
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) that will further the research of blast protection technologies. Under this CRADA, Dlubak Technologies Inc., of Freeport, Pa., provides cutting-edge window frames and glazings requested by AFRL researchers for full-scale trials at the AFRL-operated Sky Ten Range at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Read more
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Delivers Compact, Low-Cost Robot for Remote Improvised Explosive Device Neutralization
Engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (ML) have rapidly prototyped, developed, and delivered low-cost expendable robots to disable and dispose of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The BomBot, which has already established its value during a variety of mission profiles in Haiti , Afghanistan and Iraq, was delivered to support requests from Air Combat Command, the Marines, and Central Air Forces. Read more
Laser Inspection Determines Strength of Bonded Structures
A breakthrough has been achieved in structural inspection techniques. For the first time, the ability to test for weak bonds and nondestructively determine a minimum strength of adhesively bonded aerospace structures has been proven. This method enables a wider use of bonded structures to achieve up to 25 percent fabrication/assembly and 75 percent life-cycle cost reductions. Read more
University Transportation Center Created; University of Detroit Mercy Chosen as Lead Partner
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded $2 million for the creation of a new University Transportation Center (UTC) with a national focus, led by the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). The mission of DOT's UTC Program is to "advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through the mechanisms of education, research and technology transfer at university-based centers of excellence.” Read more
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Letter from the Regional Coordinator
Cindy Wesolowski
Regional Coordinator
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Spring will be here in less than a month, even though as I write this, most of our weather forecasts include the word “flurries.” There’s also been a flurry of activity at the Regional Support Office. Updated Midwest Region Points of Contact Lists are now available, as are the DVDs of the training sessions in Chicago. Laboratory Representatives will be receiving a few copies of each shortly and, as always, you can contact Ken if you’d like copies, too. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we’ll be exhibiting at SAE in Detroit during the first week of April. Read more
Upcoming Conferences and Events
- Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress & Exposition
- BIO2006
- FLC 2006 National Meeting
- Nanotechnology Symposium at the AIHA Conference
- Smallwood 2006
- 2006 Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium
Seeking Partners
- Wisconsin Innovation Service Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Research to Practice (r2p) program
- Division of Applied Research and Technology (DART)
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Delivers Alternative Approaches for Corrosion Prevention and Surface Damage Control in Desert Environment
Members of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office (AFCPCO) recently teamed with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) to assess the environmental effects of extended operations in the southwest Asia area of responsibility (SWA-AOR). The SWA-AOR area comprises 27 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan . The ongoing assessment includes observation of the effects of sand and dust intrusion on Air Force weapons systems and sensitive support equipment, analysis of sands from various locations, and a comparison of corrosion prevention and control policies and inspection requirements from pre-war to present-day operations. Read more
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Develops Advanced Aircraft Corrosion Protection for Aluminum Aircraft Surfaces
Scientists and engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (ML) recently completed development of a non-chromated surface treatment for aluminum aircraft surfaces and structures. The treatment is the result of a collaborative effort between the directorate, Boeing Phantom Works, and the Aging Aircraft Systems Squadron. Operational flight tests on the KC-135 and F-15 aircraft commenced in late 2004 at Hickam and Eglin Air Force Bases. Read more |
Record-breaking Luminosity Boosts Discovery Potential at Fermilab's Tevatron Collider
The record-breaking performance of the Tevatron collider at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) is pushing the search for dark matter, supersymmetric particles, and extra dimensions to new limits. Repeatedly smashing peak luminosity records, the Tevatron has created record numbers of proton-antiproton collisions that provide the means to unveil the secrets of the universe. Accelerator experts at the lab announced March 2 that in only 14 months the Tevatron collider has produced almost five times the data sample collected during four years of collider run I (1992-1996), which led to the discovery of the top quark at Fermilab. Read more
Air Force Research Laboratory Establishes Optical Properties for Scale-Up of Spinel Windows
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) completed baseline optical testing of small spinel windows as a part of its effort to scale-up window sizes for potential use on Air Force infrared targeting and imaging systems. These systems provide aircraft with essential capabilities such as missile warning, laser spot tracking, and air-to-surface forward looking infrared (FLIR) tracking. Read more
AFRL/ML Vein-Viewing Technology CRADA Helps Provide Commercial Product Release
Scientists from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (ML) have invented, developed, patented and licensed a breakthrough medical technology: a vein-viewing device that can see beneath the skin and through body sections to show the network of blood veins in the body in a broad range of lighting conditions. Due to the technology’s potential for a broad range of civilian medical uses, ML established a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with InfraRed Imaging Systems (IRIS), Inc., of Columbus, Ohio, to manufacture and market the technology to the medical industry and expand the technology to solve other critical medical challenges. IRIS has gone on to further develop the technology and create a product, the IRIS Vascular Viewer, for commercial release. Read more
RERTR Program Reduces Use of Enriched Uranium in Research Reactors Worldwide
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) provides overall technical integration for the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Program managed by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to convert research and test reactors across the globe to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel—a material that cannot be diverted for direct use in nuclear weapons. Read more
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