STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (SIT) PROPOSES TO SUPPORT NASA / GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (GSFC) RESEARC…

Public award description

STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (SIT) PROPOSES TO SUPPORT NASA / GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (GSFC) RESEARCHERS IN THEIR ONGOING EFFORTS TO DEVELOP AN ULTRA-LOW LEAK PIEZOELECTRICALLY ACTUATED MICRO-VALVE FOR CONTROLLED GAS SAMPLING BY MASS SPECTROMETERS. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS COLLABORATIVE WORK IS TO DEVELOP A TEST STRUCTURE OF A ULTRA-LOW LEAK MICRO-VALVE TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF VALVE SEAT MATERIALS ON THE MICRO-VALVE LEAK RATE. TO THIS END, SIT WILL AID US AS A CONSULTANT IN DEVELOPING A MICRO-VALVE WHICH IS IN THEIR AREA OF EXPERTISE. THE MAJOR TASKS OF INTEREST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING AREAS: CONSULTATION AND PROCESS DEVELOPMENT: SIT S CONSULTANTS HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATED MICRO-VALVES FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS. THE CONSULTANTS WILL PROVIDE CONSULTATION ON HOW TO BEST PACKAGE A FABRICATED MICRO-VALVE TO MINIMIZE THE HELIUM LEAK-RATE ACROSS THE MICRO-VALVE. PREVIOUSLY, SIT S CONSULTANTS HAVE DEVELOPED A MICRO-VALVE IN CONJUNCTION WITH NASA S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY; AND PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR. SIT S CONSULTANTS PRIOR DESIGN AND FABRICATION, HAVE ALREADY FABRICATED PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR THAT FITS IDEALLY WITH OUR MICRO-VALVE DIMENSIONS. NASA / GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER FOUND THAT THE RESEARCH GROUP IN STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IS THE ONLY RESOURCE FOR THE CONSULTANT WORK THAT FOCUSES DEVELOPMENT OF A PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATED MICRO-VALVE DUE TO THEIR PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING A MICRO-VALVE FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS. THEIR COLLABORATION, WITH US, ON OTHER PROJECTS HAS BEEN PROVED HELPFUL AT A LOW COST. NASA /GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER HAVE CONDUCTED RESEARCH FOR POSSIBLE COLLABORATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PIEZOELECTRIC MICRO-VALVE FOR CONTROLLED SAMPLING BY MASS SPECTROMETERS; HOWEVER, WE HAVE FOUND THAT STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HAS THE MOST SIMILAR RESEARCH FOCUS AND APPLICATION AS OUR PROJECT AT GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER. NASA / GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER NEGOTIATED WITH STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ONLY FOR COLLABORATION WORK AND CONSULTANCIES IN DEVELOPMENT OF AN ULTRA-LOW LEAK PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATED MICRO-VALVE.