99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY DURABLE REDUNDANT JOINT TO BUILDSTRUCTURES FROM SECTIONS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PANEL OR SHELL: LAR-17813

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 new adhesively bonded joint concept for curved and flat panel sandwich architectures. A woven preform, inserted into the seam between sandwich panels, provides a larger total bonding area and multiple load paths for an improved distribution of load through the joint. NASA is able to create structures by joining sections of sandwich panels or curved shells. The new joint provides more durable load transfer and redundant load paths compared to current state-of-the-art adhesively bonded strap joints. NASA is developing next generation launch vehicles that will be based on high- performance composite materials and innovative manufacturing methods. As such, NASA uses adhesively bonded joints where possible, instead of mechanically fastened (bolted) joints, to design and manufacture structures. The adhesive joints are typically lighter and distribute loads more efficiently across an interface, while mechanically fastened joints are prone to stress concentrations around the bolts. The new Durable Redundant Joint (DRJ) offers improved safety and load carrying capability for sandwich structures when compared to conventional H-type joints. The DRJ uses a composite preform to connect two ends of a curved, composite sandwich panel to form, for example, a cylindrical vehicle segment. NASA has performed detailed finite element modeling of the new joint architecture to obtain initial indications for the structural response to a simplified hoop loading. Results indicate that the DRJ provides an improved stress-strain response without a severe mass penalty, peak stresses are independent of the joint overlap length, and the DRJ will redistribute a load to accommodate joint damage or manufacturing defects. U.S. patent 8,697,216. 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.