Related papers: Low-Velocity Impacts on PVDF Targets Using a Light…

Orbital debris is a constraint on the long-term health of any spacecraft and must be considered during mission planning. Varying mechanisms have been proposed to quantify the problem. Assessment of orbital debris employing ground-based…

This paper presents the development of an in situ measurement system known as the Debris Resistive Acoustic Grid Orbital Navy/NASA Sensor (DRAGONS). The DRAGONS system is designed to detect impacts caused by particles ranging from 50…

Currently the only method to establish the prevalence of particles, space debris or meteoroids, sized between 1 micrometre and a few centimetres, in Earth orbit is by instruments or witness plates dedicated to in-situ detection. Derived…

Lead Zirconate Titanate [(ZrxTi1-x)O3 ]is used to make ultrasound transducers, sensors, and actuators due to its large piezoelectric coefficient. Several surfaces and subsurface micro defects develop within the Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)…

The Center for Astrophysics,Space Physics, and Engineering Research (CASPER) has completed construction and calibration of a Light Gas Gun (LGG), which is used for low velocity impact studies. At geosynchronous orbit, space debris can…

The Solar System contains a population of dust and small particles originating from asteroids, comets, and other bodies. These particles have been studied using a number of techniques ranging from in-situ satellite detectors to analysis of…

For pyroelectric sensor application, materials having large ferroelectric polarization at low applied field and high pyroelectric sensitivity are required. PVDF is one of the ferroelectric polymers, which is being used for pyroelectric…

A nanometric needle sensor mounted in an Atomic Force Microscopy allows systematic picometer-range distance measurements. This force sensing device is used in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) as a distance sensor, by employing the…

As miniaturized spacecraft (e.g., cubesats and smallsats) and instrumentation become an increasingly indispensable part of space exploration and scientific investigations, it is important to understand their potential susceptibility to…

A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the PICTURE payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated…

Deflecting an asteroid from an Earth impact trajectory requires only small velocity changes, typically of the order of microns per second, if done many years ahead of time. For this, a highly precise method of determining the need,…

Space Debris (SD) consist of non-operational artificial objects orbiting around the Earth, which could possibly damage space vehicles, such as the International Space Station (ISS) or other manned spacecrafts. The vast majority of such…

Forklifts are essential for transporting goods in industrial environments. These machines face wear and tear during field operations, along with rough terrain, tight spaces and complex handling scenarios. This increases the likelihood of…

This research describes a piezoelectric Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene)/ Polyethylene Terephthalate energy harvester for structural health monitoring of wind turbines. The piezoelectric energy harvester was made of a…

Accurate measurements of the nanoscale electromechanical coupling in materials, including piezo and ferroelectrics, twisted 2D layers, and biological systems is of both fundamental scientific and applied importance. Piezoresponse Force…

The Earth is impacted by 35-40 metre-scale objects every year. These meteoroids are the low mass end of impactors that can do damage on the ground. Despite this they are very poorly surveyed and characterised, too infrequent for ground…

This article presents a detailed overview and assessment of contact-free UV light discharge systems (UVDS) needed to control the variable electric charge level of free-flying test masses which are part of high precision inertial sensors in…

This paper reports the application of zinc oxide (ZnO) in the pressure sensors that can be integrated with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS). ZnO is one of the materials that has received a great deal of attention due to its unique…

Impacts of dust grains on spacecraft are known to produce typical impulsive signals in the voltage waveform recorded at the terminals of electric antennas. Such signals are routinely detected by the Time Domain Sampler (TDS) system of the…

Material deformation and failure under impact loading is a subject of active investigation in space science and often requires very specialized equipment for testing. In this work, we present the design, operational analysis and application…