NASA Technology Transfer Opportunity Air Coupled Acoustic Thermography Nondestructive Evaluation and Inspection of Structures
Synopsis – Jun 20, 2012
General Information
Solicitation Number: TTO1012
Posted Date: Jun 20, 2012
FedBizOpps Posted Date: Jun 20, 2012
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No
Original Response Date: Dec 31, 2012
Current Response Date: Dec 31, 2012
Classification Code: 99 — Miscellaneous
NAICS Code: 927110
Set-Aside Code:
Contracting Office Address
NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 12, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton, VA 23681-0001
Description
NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.
THE TECHNOLOGY:
NASA Langley researchers have developed a novel noncontact method to identify internal damage inside structures. Air Coupled Acoustic Thermography (ACAT) was originally developed for damage identification in honeycomb sandwich structures but can also be applied to other systems. ACAT uses pulsed acoustic waves to generate movement and vibrations in areas of honeycomb structures that exhibit weakness or stress. These vibrations generate temperature differentials that can be visualized via thermography and essentially allow more exact identification of damaged regions. ACAT provides several advantages over techniques used for similar purposes such as ultrasound or vibrothermography in that the excitation source does not need to be physically coupled to the substrate of interest. This advantage allows ACAT to detect damage in curved surfaces and mitigates the risk of damaging the substrate at the coupling point. ACAT has been demonstrated to accurately visualize internal core damage as well as damage nearer to the structure’s skin.
To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to Sean Sullivan, Research Triangle International (RTI), at: NASA Langley Research Center, Strategic Relationships Office (SRSO), 17 West Taylor St., Mail Stop 218, Building 1212, Room 110 Hampton, Virginia, E-mail: Sean.D.Sullivan@NASA.gov, or phone: 757-864-5055. Please indicate the date and title of the FBO notice and include your company and contact information.
RTI is responsible for aggregating and acknowledging all responses. These responses are provided to members of NASA Langley’s Innovative Partnerships Office within the SRO for the purpose of promoting public awareness of our technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, SRO will follow the formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register as required. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.
Point of Contact
Name: Sean Sullivan
Title: Technology Transfer Liaison
Phone: 757-864-5055
Fax: 757-864-8101
Email: sean.d.sullivan@nasa.gov
