NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
TDA Research, Inc.
12345 W. 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 940-2347

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Ronald L. Cook
cookrl@tda.com
12345 W. 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 940-2302

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7 to 8

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located near one of the most corrosive natural environments in the world. Corrosion of KSC ground assets is exacerbated by the highly acidic exhaust of the Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). During launch approximately 17 tons of hydrochloric acid are generated from the SRB exhausts. Thus while the launches are infrequent, they produce a highly acidic environment on coated structures leading to excessive corrosion. To mitigate the corrosion of carbon steel structures in and near the launch areas, KSC uses solvent-based topcoated inorganic zinc rich coatings. Regulations arising from Clean Air and other environmental legislation restrict the use of most solvents in paints and may restrict the use of inorganic zinc rich protective coatings. TDA will produce and test environmentally friendly smart coatings using its low-cost nanostructured carriers for corrosion inhibitors that provide smart release of the corrosion inhibitors via both pH-triggered and controlled release mechanisms. In the Phase I program TDA will demonstrate that its smart materials approach can provide higher-performance, environmentally-friendly protective coatings for NASA infrastructure and equipment. At the end of the Phase II effort we expect the technology to be at a technology readiness level of seven to eight.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The technology developed in the Phase I and follow on efforts will be smart corrosion inhibitor packages that will be added to low-VOC protective coatings to NASA to protect is ground support facilities and equipment at the Kennedy Space Center. The resulting materials will provide a environmentally friendly coating with high corrosion protection. While the proposed technology will be primarily be applied to carbon steels, extensions of the proposed approach will allow us to develop environmentally friendly, low-toxicity corrosion inhibiting packages for stainless steel and structural aluminum.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The technology developed in the Phase I and follow on efforts will be smart corrosion inhibitor packages that can be added to protective epoxy primers. Environmentally friendly coatings based on these materials can be applied to structures such as bridges, steel equipment and marine vessels. Extensions of the technology are already being evaluated as low-toxicity, highly-effective replacements for toxic chromates in aerospace coatings.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Multifunctional/Smart Materials Spaceport Infrastructure and Safety