NASA STTR 2012 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC):		RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI):
NAME:	X-wave Innovations, Inc.	NAME:	North Carolina State University
STREET:	407 Upshire Circle	STREET:	3211 Broughton Hall
CITY:	Gaithersburg	CITY:	Raleigh
STATE/ZIP:	MD  20878 - 5238	STATE/ZIP:	NC  27695 - 7910
PHONE:	(301) 948-8351	PHONE:	(919) 515-5947

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Dan Xiang
dxiang@x-waveinnovations.com
407 Upshire Circle
Gaithersburg, MD 20878 - 5238
(301) 948-8351

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Jennifer Z Duan
jduan@x-waveinnovations.com
407 Upshire Circle
Gaithersburg, MD 20878 - 5238
(301) 948-8351

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 4

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Technologies for Aerospace Experimental Capabilities is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
To meet the NASA's need for innovative technologies that decrease turn-around time for inspections and assessments for safe operations of aircraft and spacecraft, X-wave Innovations, Inc. (XII), teaming up with Prof. Fuh-Gwo Yuan at North Carolina State University (NCSU), proposes to develop an innovative guided-wave based Time-Reversal Tomography (TRT) technology and Bayesian Framework based Damage Segmentation (BFDS) technology for finite-size damage detection and characterization in complex structures. This framework provides a means for evaluation of the Model-Assisted Probability of Detection (MAPOD) and Confidence Level (CL) for damage characterization in the context of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
For NASA, this technology is especially critical to protect the platforms' and crews' safety. For military applications, the enabling technology will increase an aircraft's readiness and allow the cost-saving Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of aircrafts, ships, ground vehicles and infrastructures to be implemented. In commercial sectors, this nondestructive damage characterization technology will benefit the maintenance decision for air and space vehicles, civil structures and power plants. This new NDE/SHM technology could significantly extend an aircraft's service life, reduce maintenance costs, and protect the safety of critical assets.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The proposed damage characterization technology has many market opportunities. Nondestructive damage characterization for geometrically complex structures posts significant challenge and interest to both military and commercial applications. For military applications, the enabling technology will allow the cost-saving Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of aircrafts, ships, ground vehicles and infrastructures to be implemented. In commercial applications, this nondestructive damage characterization technology should benefit the maintenance decision for aerospace, civil structures and power plants. The proposed research provides a great means for cost-savings of maintenance as well as improvement of those mechanical systems. Such a NDE technique will benefit the enhancement of the lifetime and durability and the reduction of failure risk of those systems.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING (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.)

Acoustic/Vibration Air Transportation & Safety Analytical Methods Characterization Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation) Diagnostics/Prognostics Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation) Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT) Quality/Reliability Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)