CRG Wins Three NASA Phase II Contract Awards

CRG received notice of three Phase II R&D contract awards from NASA. The three Phase II projects are "Smart Tooling for Manufacturing Composites," "Self-Deploying Composite Habitats," and "Adaptive Drainage Slots for Acoustic Noise Attenuation." These were 3 of 215 Phase II NASA proposals selected for award this year. The combined amounts of these three programs will be $1.8 million over two years.

The smart tooling program will further explore significant opportunities to save direct expense for tooling cost and manufacturing labor to fabricate complex geometry and trapped composites. Some possible applications are stringer-stiffened skins, composite fairings, ducts, and tanks. In addition to these applications, the demonstration of a high-temperature Smart Mandrel product will result in the product's applicability to large dry structures such as the Ares main body.

The self-deploying composite habitat program is developing self-deploying, composite structures for lunar habitats, based on CRG’s shape memory composite materials. These rigid, durable structures will reduce the risk of mechanical failure due to crew or environmentally induced damage compared with inflatable structures, which are more susceptible to punctures and damage from micrometeoroid impacts. Commercial applications include semi-permanent shelters, emergency and relief shelters, deployable research facilities in extreme environments and mothballing and long-term storage of naval vessels and military equipment, such as aircraft, and potentially armor and artillery.

The acoustic noise attenuation program will further research in the reduction of noise attributed to drainage slots in jet engine acoustic liners. In Phase I, feasibility was demonstrated through the development of design rules for optimum slot design and concept development of the implementation of adaptive material technologies to control slot dimensions. In Phase II, CRG will refine the design, scale up fabrication, demonstrate a full-scale operationally relevant aircraft part, and analyze manufacturing costs. This program's technologies directly address requirements for improvements in noise reduction, prediction, measurement methods, and control for subsonic and supersonic vehicle systems, including fan, jet, turbomachinery, and airframe noise sources. (10-18-10)