IGF::OT::IGF BASED ON THE SUCCESSFUL FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION IN PHASE I, PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION (POC…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF BASED ON THE SUCCESSFUL FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION IN PHASE I, PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION (POC) PROPOSES TO CONTINUE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION TOOL (THRON), WHICH ADDRESSES NASA'S NEED FOR EVALUATION OF LIGHTWEIGHT RIGID AND/OR FLEXIBLE ABLATIVE MATERIALS, AND PROVIDES NONCONTACT, ONE-SIDED IN SITU OPERATION FOR ACCURATE DETECTION, IDENTIFICATION, AND PRECISE SPATIAL LOCALIZATION AND MEASUREMENTS OF INTERNAL AND SURFACE DEFECTS/VOIDS, AND EVALUATION OF BONDLINES AND IN-DEPTH INTEGRITY OF SUCH MATERIALS AND ALSO LARGE-AREA MULTILAYER THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM (TPS) STRUCTURES WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRIES. THRON IS BASED ON POC-PATENTED X-RAY COMPTON IMAGING TOMOGRAPHY AND POC-PATENTED APODIZED CODED APERTURE X-RAY IMAGING OPTICS, SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED AND OPTIMIZED TO MEET NASA'S REQUIREMENTS. THE THRON PHASE I PROTOTYPE DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENT POTENTIAL FOR DETECTION AND SPATIAL LOCALIZATION OF DEFECTS/VOIDS WITH DIMENSIONS<6 MM BY 6 MM BY 6 MM, AND BONDLINE DEFECTS<12 MM BY 12 MM BY 200&#956;M IN TPS MATERIAL AND STRUCTURES. AT THE END OF PHASE II, POC WILL PERFORM A TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL (TRL)-6 DEMONSTRATION OF THRON IN POC'S X-RAY LAB AND/OR AT NASA FACILITIES, AND WILL DELIVER TO NASA A WORKING ENGINEERING MODEL OF AN EFFECTIVE NDE TOOL.