NASA STTR 2009 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC):		RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI):
NAME:	Tao of Systems Integration, Inc.	NAME:	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
STREET:	144 Research Drive	STREET:	1880 Pratt Drive, Suite 2006
CITY:	Hampton	CITY:	Blacksburg
STATE/ZIP:	VA  23666 - 1325	STATE/ZIP:	VA  24060 - 0000
PHONE:	(757) 220-5040	PHONE:	(540) 231-5281

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Arun S Mangalam
arun@taosystems.us

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 1
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
The tracking of critical flow features (CFFs) such as stagnation point, flow separation, shock, and transition in flight provides insight into actual aircraft performance/safety. Sensing of these CFFs across flight regimes involves numerous challenges such as a wide temperature/pressure range from subsonic to hypersonic flows. Tao Systems, Mesoscribe Technologies and Virginia Tech propose to develop a novel direct-write sensor architecture for the in-flight measurement of skin friction and heat flux that is survivable to temperatures exceeding 1000 deg. C while simultaneously providing fast response necessary for real-time signal processing to obtain CFFs. As a consequence, this technology will extend the utility of CFFs for aeroservoelastic control from subsonic to supersonic and hypersonic flows, as well as provide test information from experiments in flight.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The primary target application of the proposed innovation and associated products and services (IAPS) is the current and next generation reusable launch vehicles, whose safety, reliability and efficiency are mission critical factors that involve informed trade-offs in a complex interaction between aerothermodynamics and aerostructures. The IAPS can be used to improve safety/reliability margins, obtain better estimates on performance predictions based on quantified flow characterization, e.g., location of boundary layer laminar-to-turbulent transition, with significant impact on the design of the thermal protection system. It has even been asserted that the uncertainty in transition location for some hypersonic vehicles can result in an uncertainty of 20\% in total vehicle weight, which is then compensated only by heavier thermal protection systems.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
A potential non-aerospace commercial application of the IAPS relates to requirements where heat flux/skin friction would be usefu: e.g., for fire monitoring/control. Some examples of such applications are: safety of naval ships (to monitor the heat flux from weapons systems to adjoining areas and vice versa). A matrix of heat flux sensors covering an area will determine how much heat is penetrating/leaving a room, and the skin friction sensor can determine the level of air flow. These two parameters can provide much more information to determine if there is a fire and the rate at which it will expand. The potential customers range from weapons manufacturers to practically every large industry where fire hazard is a serious problem.

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

Airframe Attitude Determination and Control Control Instrumentation Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI) Data Acquisition and End-to-End-Management Data Input/Output Devices Guidance, Navigation, and Control Launch and Flight Vehicle Multifunctional/Smart Materials Perception/Sensing Sensor Webs/Distributed Sensors