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 NASA Langley offers you a deployable and stowable mechanical design for filling the cavity behind the leading-edge slat (i.e., slat cove), when it is extended upon landing an aircraft. Aerodynamic flow over an unfilled cavity typically exhibits strongly unsteady behavior that is a source of aeroacoustic noise. Conventional leading-edge slat devices for high lift are a good example of such geometric and flow conditions and are a prominent source of airframe noise. Experimental and computational results have shown that a slat-cove filler device could significantly reduce the noise produced by slat structures. The proposed structural concept is simple and will enable autonomous achievement of the desired deployed shape. The design will facilitate a clean cruise configuration with minimal weight addition to the aircraft. NASA is seeking development partners and potential licensees. NASA Langley designed the superelastic shape memory alloy slat-cove filler to provide significant broad-band noise reduction to any aircraft wing structure that has a leading- edge, high-lift device and is distinct from the main-wing element. The design can be retrofitted to existing aircraft structures and can be easily incorporated into the existing or future designs for aircraft wing structures. The concept involves very few components, requires no additional mechanical support from pneumatic or hydraulic systems, and makes use of existing slat-actuation systems for retraction. The design is autonomous, simple, and constitutes low-weight addition. The concept is also considered fail-safe because the lift would not be diminished in the event that the slat-cove filler failed to deploy. NASA Langley also offers a design for a deformable structure that is deployed from the leading edge of the main-wing element. It closes and covers the gap between the slat and the main-wing element. This approach has similar benefits as the slat-cove filler device. U.S. patent 8,763,958. 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.