99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY OUT OF AUTOCLAVE WIND TURBINE BLADEMANUFACTURING METHOD: LAR-16299

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a fixture to produce large structural parts for unmanned aerial vehicles which can also benefit wind turbine blade manufacturing. NASAs new technology addresses some cost and manufacturability barriers with current composite wind turbine blade processing. The fixture includes flexible vacuum bagging to contain the raw material lay-up as it is roll-pressed into a gently contoured blade. The process is an alternative to hand tooling and autoclaving, and produces parts with quality close to those processed under high-temperature and high-pressure environments. It can use a variety of reinforcement fibers and is not dependent on matrix viscosity to achieve part wet-out, even on thick laminations. The fixture and process are applicable to low-volume production but have potential for adaptation to automated high rate production. NASA has obtained a patent on the assembly, and it seeks an industry partner to commercialize the technology for wind turbines. U.S. patent 7,871,682. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to [email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.nasa.gov/ . These responses are provided to members of NASA Langleys Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development OSACB for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.