NASA Tech Briefs’ Materials Web page spotlights new engineering materials, coatings, and materials processing techniques, related primarily to ceramics, composites, plastics, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as published in NASA Tech Briefs magazine. The Tech Briefs describe applications of these materials in aerospace, defense, electronics, automotive, consumer products, and other major industries. Many of the Tech Briefs below are correlated to a Technical Support Package (TSP) or White Paper that can be downloaded free of charge.
Manufacturing of Nanocomposite Carbon Fibers and Composite Cylinders
Pitch-based nanocomposite carbon fibers were prepared
with various percentages of carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and the
fibers were used for manufacturing composite structures.
Experimental results show that these nanocomposite carbon
fibers exhibit improved structural and electrical conductivity
properties as compared to unreinforced carbon fibers.
Composite panels fabricated from these nanocomposite carbon
...
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Multi-scale CNT-Based Reinforcing Polymer Matrix Composites for Lightweight Structures
Applications include commercial aircraft, sports equipment, and automobiles.
Reinforcing critical areas in carbon
polymer matrix composites (PMCs), also
known as fiber reinforced composites
(FRCs), is advantageous for structural
durability. Since carbon nanotubes
(CNTs) have extremely high tensile
strength, they can be used as a functional
additive to enhance ...
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Pt-Ni and Pt-Co Catalyst Synthesis Route for Fuel Cell Applications
The main objective is to increase the overall
efficiencies of fuel cell systems to support
power for manned lunar bases.
Oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) at the cathode are the
rate-limiting step in fuel cell performance. The ORR is 100
times slower than the corresponding hydrogen oxidation at
the anode. ...
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Aerogel-Based Multilayer Insulation With Micrometeoroid Protection
The aerogel’s hydrophobic
nature ensures thermal
performance when exposed
to the environment.
Ultra-low-density, highly hydrophobic,
fiber-reinforced aerogel material integrated
with MLI (aluminized Mylar reflectors
and B4A Dacron separators) offers a highly
effective insulation package by providing
unsurpassed thermal performance
and significant robustness, delivering substantial
MMOD protection ...
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Self-Healing Nanocomposites for Reusable Composite Cryotanks
Applications for COPVs include storage of natural gas and
liquid hydrogen fuel in vehicles, and marine transport of
propane via tanker ships.
Composite cryotanks, or composite
overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs),
offer advantages over currently used aluminum-
lithium cryotanks, particularly
with respect to weight savings. Future
NASA missions are ...
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Ceramic Adhesive and Methods for On-Orbit Repair of Re-Entry Vehicles
Material can be applied in space to repair
damage that requires heat/oxidation
protection upon re-entry to Earth’s
atmosphere.
This adhesive is capable of repairing damaged leading
edge components of re-entry vehicles while in space, and is
novel with regard to its ability to be applied in ...
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