COMPACT MULTIBAND SPECTROGRAPH FOR BURN INJURY ANALYSIS

Not Available Mide is proposing to use Nitinol, a shape memory alloy, to instrument a parachute for measurement of the dynamic behavior of the parachute during inflation. The innovative approach, which utilizes the change in wire resistance as a function of strain (force) in the wire is robust and cheap. The system will be significantly more robust than an optical fiber system. The Nitinol wires will be plastically strained during inflation changing their resistance which will be measured by a portable data acquisition system based on Mide's portable data logger. Since the Nitinol wires can strain as much as 8% in the Martensitic phase, the measurement system will be impedance matched with the rigging lines and it will be able to withstand the high shock loads experienced by the parachute during inflation. The wires are also thin and bending them to small radii will allow normal packaging of the parachute. The system can be used over and over by restraining the wires through electrical heating. The Nitinol measurement system will provide the Army with an accurate cost effective, robust measurement system. In Phase I Mide will design the measurement system and validate it using bench-level and a 1/4-scale prototype. The initial the tests will be done under controlled laboratory conditions. Phase I will conclude with inflation tests that demonstrate the systems capability to measure representative canopy radial and hoop elongation forces. Phase II will demonstrate the capabilities of