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A compact CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) camera system has been developed with high resolution (1.3 Megapixels), a USB (universal serial bus) 2.0 interface, and an onboard memory. Exposure times, and other operating parameters, are sent from a control PC via the USB port. Data from the camera can be received via the USB port and the interface allows for simple control and data capture through a laptop computer.
The proposed adaptive exhaust nozzle features an innovative use of the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators for actively control of the opening area of the exhaust nozzle for jet engines. The SMA actuators remotely control the opening area of the exhaust nozzle through a set of mechanism. An important advantage of using SMA actuators is the reduction of weight of the actuator system for variable area exhaust nozzle. Another advantage is that the SMA actuator can be activated using the heat from the exhaust and eliminate the need of other energy source. A prototype has been designed and fabricated. The functionality of the proposed SMA actuated adaptive exhaust nozzle is verified in the open-loop tests.
The Multithreaded Microbenchmarks for Processor-In-Memory (PIM) Compilers, Simulators, and Hardware are computer programs arranged in a series for use in testing the performances of PIM computing systems, including compilers, simulators, and hardware. The programs at the beginning of the series test basic functionality; the programs at subsequent positions in the series test increasingly complex functionality. The programs are intended to be used while designing a PIM system, and can be used to verify that compilers, simulators, and hardware work correctly. The programs can also be used to enable designers of these system components to examine tradeoffs in implementation. Finally, these programs can be run on non-PIM hardware (either single-threaded or multithreaded) using the POSIX pthreads standard to verify that the benchmarks themselves operate correctly. [POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX) is a set of standards that define how programs and operating systems interact with each other. pthreads is a library of pre-emptive thread routines that comply with one of the POSIX standards.]
A composition of the invention is a high temperature shape memory alloy having high work output, and is made from (Ni+Pt+Y),Ti(100-x) wherein x is present in a total amount of 49-55 atomic % Pt is present in a total amount of 10-30 atomic %, Y is one or more of Au, Pd. and Cu and is present in a total amount of 0 to 10 atomic %. The alloy has a matrix phase wherein the total concentration of Ni, Pt, and the one or more of Pd. Au, and Cu is greater than 50 atomic %.
A thermal conduction switch includes a thermally-conductive first member having a first thermal contacting structure for securing the first member as a stationary member to a thermally regulated body or a body requiring thermal regulation. A movable thermally-conductive second member has a second thermal contacting surface. A thermally conductive coupler is interposed between the first member and the second member for thermally coupling the first member to the second member. At least one control spring is coupled between the first member and the second member. The control spring includes a NiTiFe comprising shape memory (SM) material that provides a phase change temperature <273 K, a transformation range <40 K, and a hysteresis of <10 K. A bias spring is between the first member and the second member. At the phase change the switch provides a distance change (displacement) between first and second member by at least 1 mm, such as 2 to 4 mm.
The need for compact, solid-state actuation systems for use in the aerospace, automotive, and other transportation industries is currently motivating research in high-temperature shape-memory alloys (HTSMA) with transformation temperatures greater than 100 C. One of the basic high-temperature alloys investigated to fill this need is Ni(19.5)Ti(50.5)Pd30. Initial testing has indicated that this alloy, while having acceptable work characteristics, suffers from significant permanent deformation (or ratcheting) during thermal cycling under load. In an effort to overcome this deficiency, various solid-solution alloying and thermomechanical processing schemes were investigated. Solid-solution strengthening was achieved by substituting 5at% gold or platinum for palladium in Ni(19.5)Ti(50.5)Pd30, the so-called baseline alloy, to strengthen the martensite and austenite phases against slip processes and improve thermomechanical behavior. Tensile properties, work behavior, and dimensional stability during repeated thermal cycling under load for the ternary and quaternary alloys were compared. The relative difference in yield strength between the martensite and austenite phases and the dimensional stability of the alloy were improved by the quaternary additions, while work output was only minimally impacted. The three alloys were also thermomechanically processed by cycling repeatedly through the transformation range under a constant stress. This so-called training process dramatically improved the dimensional stability in these samples and also recovered the slight decrease in work output caused by quaternary alloying. An added benefit of the solid-solution strengthening was maintenance of enhanced dimensional stability of the trained material to higher temperatures compared to the baseline alloy, providing a greater measure of over-temperature capability.
The creep behavior and the phase transformation of Ti50Pd30Ni20 High Temperature Shape Memory Alloy (HTSMA) is investigated by standard creep tests and thermomechanical tests. Ingots of the alloy are induction melted, extruded at high temperature, from which cylindrical specimens are cut and surface polished. A custom high temperature test setup is assembled to conduct the thermomechanical tests. Following preliminary monotonic tests, standard creep tests and thermally induced phase transformation tests are conducted on the specimen. The creep test results suggest that over the operating temperatures and stresses of this alloy, the microstructural mechanisms responsible for creep change. At lower stresses and temperatures, the primary creep mechanism is a mixture of dislocation glide and dislocation creep. As the stress and temperature increase, the mechanism shifts to predominantly dislocation creep. If the operational stress or temperature is raised even further, the mechanism shifts to diffusion creep. The thermally induced phase transformation tests show that actuator performance can be affected by rate independent irrecoverable strain (transformation induced plasticity + retained martensite) as well as creep. The rate of heating and cooling can adversely impact the actuators performance. While the rate independent irrecoverable strain is readily apparent early in the actuators life, viscoplastic strain continues to accumulate over the lifespan of the HTSMA. Thus, in order to get full actuation out of the HTSMA, the heating and cooling rates must be sufficiently high enough to avoid creep.
A series of heavy ion and laser irradiations were performed to investigate previously reported current spikes in flash memories. High current events were observed, however, none matches the previously reported spikes. Plausible mechanisms are discussed.
Upon examination of shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation designs, there are many considerations and methodologies that are common to them all. A goal of CASMART's design working group is to compile the collective experiences of CASMART's member organizations into a single medium that engineers can then use to make the best decisions regarding SMA system design. In this paper, a review of recent work toward this goal is presented, spanning a wide range of design aspects including evaluation, properties, testing, modeling, alloy selection, fabrication, actuator processing, design optimization, controls, and system integration. We have documented each aspect, based on our collective experiences, so that the design engineer may access the tools and information needed to successfully design and develop SMA systems. Through comparison of several case studies, it is shown that there is not an obvious single, linear route a designer can adopt to navigate the path of concept to product. SMA engineering aspects will have different priorities and emphasis for different applications.
The SRAM cell circuit is a standard for volatile data storage. When utilizing one or more ferroelectric transistors, the hysteresis characteristics give unique properties to the SRAM circuit, providing for investigation into the development of a nonvolatile memory cell. This paper discusses various formations of the SRAM circuit, using ferroelectric transistors, n-channel and p-channel MOSFETs, and resistive loads. With varied source and supply voltages, the effects on the timing and retention characteristics are investigated, including retention times of up to 24 hours.
When Ni(29.5)Ti(50.5)Pd30 shape memory alloy is thermally cycled under stress, significant strain can accumulate due to elasticity, remnant oriented martensite and plasticity. The strain due to remnant martensite can be recovered by further thermal cycling under 0 MPa until the original transformation-induced volume change and martensite coefficient of thermal expansion are obtained. Using this technique, it was determined that the 8.15% total accumulated strain after cycling under 200 MPa consisted of 0.38%, 3.97% and 3.87% for elasticity, remnant oriented martensite and creep/plasticity, respectively.
Ni-49Ti and Ni-30Pt-50Ti (at.%) shape memory alloys were oxidized isothermally in air over the temperature range of 500 to 900 C. The microstructure, composition, and phase content of the scales were studied by SEM, EDS, XRD, and metallography. Extensive plan view SEM/EDS identified various features of intact or spalled scale surfaces. The outer surface of the scale was a relatively pure TiO2 rutile structure, typified by a distinct highly striated and faceted crystal morphology. Crystal size increased significantly with temperature. Spalled regions exhibited some porosity and less distinct features. More detailed information was obtained by correlation of SEM/EDS studies of 700 C/100 hr cross-sections with XRD analyses of serial or taper-polishing of plan surfaces. Overall, multiple layers exhibited graded mixtures of NiO, TiO2, NiTiO3, Ni(Ti) or Pt(Ni,Ti) metal dispersoids, Ni3Ti or Pt3Ti depletion zones, and substrate, in that order. The NiTi alloy contained a 3 at.% Fe impurity that appeared in embedded localized Fe-Ti-rich oxides, while the NiPtTi alloy contained a 2 v/o dispersion of TiC that appeared in lower layers. The oxidation kinetics of both alloys (in a previous report) indicated parabolic growth and an activation energy (250 kJ/mole) near those reported in other Ti and NiTi studies. This is generally consistent with TiO2 existing as the primary scale constituent, as described here.
Commercial nonvolatile memory technology is attractive for space applications, but radiation issues are serious concerns. In addition, we discuss combined radiation/reliability concerns which are only beginning to be addressed.
A small-footprint, full surface-mount-component printed circuit board employs MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) power switches to switch high currents from any input power supply from 3 to 30 V. High-force shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators generally require high current (up to 9 A at 28 V) to actuate. SMA wires (the driving element of the actuators) can be quickly overheated if power is not removed at the end of stroke, which can damage the wires. The new analog driver prevents overheating of the SMA wires in an actuator by momentarily removing power when the end limit switch is closed, thereby allowing complex control schemes to be adopted without concern for overheating. Either an integral pushbutton or microprocessor-controlled gate or control line inputs switch current to the actuator until the end switch line goes from logic high to logic low state. Power is then momentarily removed (switched off by the MOSFET). The analog driver is suited to use with nearly any SMA actuator.
The oxidation behavior of the Ni-30Pt-50Ti high temperature shape memory alloy is compared to that of conventional NiTi nitinol SMAs. The oxidation rates were ~1/4 those of NiTi under identical conditions. Ni-Ti-X SMAs are dominated by TiO2 scales, but, in some cases, the activation energy diverges for unexplained reasons. Typically, islands of metallic Ni or Pt(Ni) particles are embedded in lower scale layers due to rapid selective growth of TiO2 and low oxygen potential within the scale. The blocking effect of Pt-rich particles and lower diffusivity of Pt-rich depletion zones are proposed to account for the reduction in oxidation rates.
The MagnetoSpheric Multiscale (MMS) mission had a requirement to use the Remote Memory Access Protocol (RMAP) over its SpaceWire network. At the time, no known intellectual property (IP) cores were available for purchase. Additionally, MMS preferred to implement the RMAP functionality with control over the low-level details of the design. For example, not all the RMAP standard functionality was needed, and it was desired to implement only the portions of the RMAP protocol that were needed. RMAP functionality had been previously implemented in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, but the IP core was not available for purchase. The RMAP Target IP core is a VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language description of a digital logic design suitable for implementation in an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) that parses SpaceWire packets that conform to the RMAP standard. The RMAP packet protocol allows a network host to access and control a target device using address mapping. This capability allows SpaceWire devices to be managed in a standardized way that simplifies the hardware design of the device, as well as the development of the software that controls the device. The RMAP Target IP core has some features that are unique and not specified in the RMAP standard. One such feature is the ability to automatically abort transactions if the back-end logic does not respond to read/write requests within a predefined time. When a request times out, the RMAP Target IP core automatically retracts the request and returns a command response with an appropriate status in the response packet s header. Another such feature is the ability to control the SpaceWire node or router using RMAP transactions in the extended address range. This allows the SpaceWire network host to manage the SpaceWire network elements using RMAP packets, which reduces the number of protocols that the network host needs to support.
This innovation is capable of significantly reducing the amount of time required to stabilize the strain-temperature response of a shape memory alloy (SMA). Unlike traditional stabilization processes that take days to weeks to achieve stabilized response, this innovation accomplishes stabilization in a matter of minutes, thus making it highly useful for the successful and practical implementation of SMA-based technologies in real-world applications. The innovation can also be applied to complex geometry components, not just simple geometries like wires or rods.
The mechanical and microstructural behavior of a polycrystalline Ni(49.9)Ti(50.1) (at.%) shape memory alloy was investigated as a function of temperature around the transformation regime. The bulk macroscopic responses, measured using ex situ tensile deformation and impulse excitation tests, were compared to the microstructural evolution captured using in situ neutron diffraction. The onset stress for inelastic deformation and dynamic Young's modulus were found to decrease with temperature, in the martensite regime, reaching a significant minimum at approximately 80 C followed by an increase in both properties, attributed to the martensite to austenite transformation. The initial decrease in material compliance during heating affected the ease with which martensite reorientation and detwinning could occur, ultimately impacting the stress for inelastic deformation prior to the start of the reverse transformation.