Abstract: A means for training and testing baggage screening machine operators. The invention is a computer system which causes the baggage screening monitor to show computer-generated (i.e. simulated) contraband items in a piece of baggage. This can be done in one of two ways: the image of the contraband item can be superimposed on the image of an actual piece of baggage being screened so that it appears to be within the piece of baggage, or the image of an entire piece of baggage containing a contraband item can be displayed. The invention allows the operator's proficiency in spotting contraband items to be evaluated and it can be used for training a new operator as well as for providing continued proficiency training and evaluation.

Abstract: A reference sample for testing fire detectors and a method of testing utilizing the reference samples. The reference sample comprises a fused mixture of pellets of the plastics usually found in aircraft cargo holds, with a heating element embedded in the sample. The pellets are in a plurality of layers with the composition of each layer being homogeneous but the thicknesses and porosities of the layers differing from each other. When the heating element is energized the layers of pellets, which have previously been fused into porous masses, begin to smolder, thereby generating a smoky atmosphere that as nearly as possible simulates the atmosphere in an aircraft cargo hold when there is a fire in the hold. In addition, a flammable liquid can be poured onto the sample and ignited, simultaneously with the energization of the heating element, by a separate ignition source to provide a flaming fire atmosphere.

Abstract: A means and method of enhancing the damage tolerance of adhesive bonds by introducing gaps in the adhesive to divide the adhesive layer into discrete regions. The gaps are created by placing strips of barrier material between the two adherends before the adhesive is put in place and cured. If the two adherends begin to debond along the interface between one of the adherends and the adhesive, the gap arrests the debonding process.

Abstract: A compatibilizer and process for use in making crumb rubber modified asphalt. The compatibilizer causes the crumb rubber to completely interact with the asphalt, thereby improving the rheological properties of the asphalt and reducing the tendency of pavement made with the asphalt to ravel. The compatibilizer has as its reactive component one or more glycidyl groups; its polymeric backbone can be ethylenic, styrenic, or acrylic or ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).

Abstract: An angle measuring device for use in a gyratory compactor. The device is a self-contained unit which is placed in the bottom of the mold and the asphalt or other material being compacted is placed on top of it. Inside the device is a carrier which has two vertically aligned probes which project out from it and touch the walls of the mold. One probe is fixed to the carrier; the other can move independently of the carrier. The difference in extension between the two probes is related to the angle of compaction.

Abstract: A method of preparing samples for testing explosive and drug detectors of the type that search for particles in air. A liquid containing the substance of interest is placed on a flexible Teflon® surface and allowed to dry, then the Teflon® surface is rubbed onto an item that is to be tested for the presence of the substance of interest. The particles of the substance of interest are transferred to the item but are readily picked up by an air stream or other sampling device and carried into the detector.

Abstract: A device and a method for measuring the mass loss rate of a sample of combustible material placed on a mass-sensitive platform. The material has been formed into a block through which a heating wire has been inserted that thermally degrades the block when an electric current is passed through the embedded wire. Because the terminal ends of the embedded wire deform when heated, attachments that supply the current to these terminals exert spurious forces on the block resulting in inaccurate mass measurements. To eliminate these forces, the terminal ends of the heating wire are connected to high conductivity leads that are dipped into electrically insulated reservoirs of a conductive fluid, typically mercury, to which a power supply provides a potential difference. As the terminal ends of the heating wire deform under the resulting current, the leads are free to move in the conductive fluid without exerting any forces on the block, allowing the true mass loss rate of the sample to be measured.

Abstract: A calorimeter that measures heat release rates of very small samples (on the order of one to 10 milligrams) without the need to separately and simultaneously measure the mass loss rate of the sample and the heat of combustion of the fuel gases produced during the fuel generation process. The sample is thermally decomposed in a small volume pyrolysis chamber. The resulting fuel gases are immedediately swept by an inert gas stream from the pyrolysis chamber into a combustion furnace in a plug-like flow. This plug flow substantially synchronizes the emerging fuel gases with the mass loss rate of the sample. Oxygen is metered into the fuel gas stream just before it enters the combustion furnace where the fuel gases are completely oxidized. The effluent from the furnace is analyzed to determine the amount of oxygen consumed per unit time and the heat release rate is computed without the need to separately measure the mass loss rate of the sample.

Abstract: A carrier for contraband substances to be used as a reference for testing trace detection systems. The carrier, which has the consistency of hand cream and can be dispensed from a tube or a syringe, is inert with respect to the contraband substances and does not dissolve or degrade the plastics normally used for making luggage or computer disc cases. After the carrier (with added contraband substance) has been placed on a hard surface such as a plastic luggage handle and dried, the contraband substance can be sampled by wiping with a paper or cloth, which is then tested in a device that uses ion mobility spectrometry, gas chromatography, chemiluminescence, or a combination of these methods.

Abstract: An interface device between a computer running a traffic simulation program and any number of traffic signal controllers. The traffic simulation program simulates traffic in a road network including signal-controlled intersections. There are many signal manufacturers and they do not release the details of the control algorithms used in their controllers, hence it is impractical if not impossible to merely insert the control algorithm for a given controller into the program. The interface of the present invention allows any controller from any manufacturer to be used with the simulation program so that traffic flow in any network including signal-controlled intersections can be simulated. An assumed traffic network and demand traffic is input into the program; the program sends detector actuations to the signal controllers via the interface device and the controllers's phase indication states are sent back into the program also via the controller.

Abstract: A nozzle for producing a continuous gas/solid or gas/aerosol stream from a liquid having a high room temperature vapor pressure. The nozzle comprises a series of expansion stages, with the flow reversing direction after each expansion except the first and going over the conduit which comprised the previous expansion stage. In addition, the flow from the last expansion stage comes in contact with the inlet conduit, thereby exposing the inlet flow to the cold temperature produced in the nozzle. Since the flow in the nozzle is essentially adiabatic, the expansion in each stage takes heat from the flow in the previous stage, ultimately resulting in very low temperature flow. It is particularly useful as a fire extinguisher since it can produce solid CO.sub.2 snow and an aerosol of HFC-23 that are "thrown" by the remaining gaseous CO.sub.2 and HFC-23 at low exit velocities. This means that these agents can be used on Class A fires. A test nozzle using 1 liter (2.

Abstract: A liner for aircraft fuel tanks which limits the amount of fuel that can be spilled in the event of a crash. The liner is made of neoprene rubber with nylon reinforcing threads or other light-weight flexible material and is suspended within the fuel tank from a frame or from the tank itself. In normal operation the liner in effect floats in the fuel and is not subject to major stresses during flight since it does not carry the weight of the fuel. The liner can be retrofitted into existing aircraft with only minor modifications to the internal hardware in the tanks. It includes a valve in its discharge port that is either fully open for normal use, or is fully closed by the pilot when a crash is inevitable. The entire system (i.e. liner, frame, valves, etc.) is very small and lightweight, thereby adding minimal weight and fuel capacity loss penalties. The system can reduce the spillage from a ruptured wing tank by as much as 98%.

Abstract: A calorimeter for measuring flammability parameters of materials using only milligram sample quantities. The thermochemical and thermophysical processes associated with the flaming combustion of solids are reproduced in the device through rapid anaerobic pyrolysis in a thermogravimetric analyzer. Volatile anaerobic thermal decomposition products are swept from the pyrolysis chamber by an inert gas and combined with excess oxygen in a combustion chamber maintained at several hundred degrees Centigrade to simulate the combustion reactions which occur in a well ventilated diffusion flame. Mass loss is measured continuously during the process and heat release rate is calculated from the oxygen consumed from the gas stream.

Abstract: An improved asphalt having enhanced settling properties. The asphalt includes crumb rubber particles which have been treated to produce a greater number of carboxylic sites on the surface of the crumb rubber. These carboxylic sites interact with the functional groups in the asphalt, resulting in a homogeneous mixture having improved separation characteristics as well as the improved rheological properties due to the inclusion of the crumb rubber particles.

Abstract: An improved asphalt having enhanced settling properties. The asphalt includes crumb rubber particles which have been treated to produce a greater number of carboxylic sites on the surface of the crumb rubber. These carboxylic sites interact with the functional groups in the asphalt, resulting in a homogeneous mixture having improved separation characteristics as well as the improved rheological properties due to the inclusion of the crumb rubber particles.

Abstract: Increasing the usable temperature range of asphalts that contain crumb rubber particles by treating the crumb rubber with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst such as Fenton's reagent, dioxomolybdenum bis(acetylacetonate), cobalt salt, tall oil, p-toluene sulfonic acid (PTSA), and others.

Abstract: A method of determining the tension in a guy wire or other flexible member. The first 15 natural frequencies for the design tension and tensions at 1 percent increments above and below the design tension are calculated. The actual first 15 natural frequencies are then determined, and the tension in the wire is the one whose calculated frequencies are most similar to the actual frequencies. The method is sensitive enough to use the wind to excite the wire or it can be manually struck to produce vibrations.

Abstract: A means for transporting an infant on an airplane wherein the infant is placed in an infant supporting device or carrier which is then placed in a modified overhead bin. The modifications to the bin include a transparent cover having ventilation holes, a source of cabin air, a light, an oxygen mask, and means to secure the infant supporting device with the bin. This allows the infant to be in a secure location in the event of severe turbulence, and allows the parents to enjoy the flight without worrying about the infant's safety.

Abstract: A means and method of enhancing the damage tolerance of adhesive bonds by introducing gaps in the adhesive to divide the adhesive layer into discrete regions. The gaps are created by placing strips of barrier material between the two adherends before the adhesive is put in place and cured. If the two adherends begin to debond along the interface between one of the adherends and the adhesive, the gap arrests the debonding process.

Abstract: A support pile assembly for an aid to navigation that is to be placed in an area where it will be subject to repeated hits by boats and barges. In one configuration the assembly comprises a foundation which is driven into the mud on the bottom and which receives the support pile, and the support pile, which slips into the foundation. The support pile comprises three sections: a lower section which fits in the foundation; a spring section that is attached to the lower section by means of a joint in such a way that it cart flex in all directions; and an upper section, rigidly fixed to the spring section, to which the aid to navigation is attached. A compression spring in the spring section gets compressed whenever the pile is hit by a ship or barge and forced out of its normal vertical position; as the spring extends back to its original length, it causes the pile to revert to the vertical position.