NIST SBIR Project Advances to Air Force Test Units

A NIST SBIR Phase II project is now supporting efforts for the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) Airpropulsion Test Unit.  The NIST topic, proposed by Elisabeth Mansfield of the MML Applied Chemicals and Materials Division, was to develop a high-temperature, high-resolution pressure sensor for NIST applications.  After a successful Phase I, Innoveering LLC was awarded a Phase II award in Fall, 2017.  As part of the Phase II effort, Innoveering contacted the Air Force while investigating commercialization opportunities at a critical time. The Airpropulsion Test Unit’s pressure sensors are obsolete, and there is a need for new sensors to replace existing ones.  Innoveering will soon install six sensors in the AEDC’s Airpropulsion Tunnels next to the existing sensors to provide proof-of-concept pressure measurements for a test that requires a mixture of isobutane, air and oxygen to simulate atmospheric conditions. The Air Force will fund continued work with Innoveering through their STTR program to test and implement the new sensors, eventually placing 54 sensors in the Test Unit.