Abstract: The autoclave cure process is the representative composite fabrication technique for high quality composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry application. After lay up and vacuum-bagging in a complicated sequence, the several composite material needed in autoclave curing are cured under controlled temperature and pressure. The autoclave curing, in which the total cure process requires at least 4-6 hours, is a very expensive process. Therefore, the determination of an optimal cure process for composite prepregs is very important for guaranteed quality as well as being important economically. Theoretical models cannot be proved because of the lack of experimental methods. The experimenter must run many batches of autoclave curing trial and error at the different curing temperatures and pressures to obtain a sufficient amount of data which can experimentally determine the optimal cure process.

Abstract: A method for remotely inspecting solid structures for discontinuities other than surface imperfections is disclosed. The method comprises vibrating a solid structure to be inspected while utilizing a laser radar doppler receiver to generate a doppler shifted heterodyne signal resulting from detecting the vibrational frequency of a portion of the solid structure to be inspected. The doppler shifted signal is monitored while scanning the surface of the solid structure.

Abstract: In an automatic gear-shifting mechanism for a shiftable transmission of motor vehicles, with two adjusting mechanisms which are each vertically pivotal about a vertical bearing and which displace a shifting lever of the gear-shifting transmission into the gear positions according to a test program, two freely movable horizontal bearings for the horizontal movement of the shifting lever are coordinated to the adjusting mechanisms and the adjusting mechanisms are constructed as electric stepping motors. The testing program is obtained with the use of the respective gear-shifting transmission.

Abstract: An engine analyzer performs electrical tests on a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine under the control of the digital computer. The engine analyzer includes a hardware cylinder counter which keeps track of the current cylinder number while various engine tests are performed. The hardware cylinder counter is a programmable digital counter under the control of the computer which performs the cylinder count function independent of operation of the computer. The counter has jam inputs for receiving an input count from the computer which represents the number of cylinders of the engine under test. The counter is counted down in response to a cylinder clock signal. The counter is reset to the digital value at its jam inputs whenever its Set input is pulsed. A synchronizing circuit is responsive to a No. 1 cylinder pulse and to a carry-out pulse which is produced by the counter when the count reaches zero. The counter is reset to the input count whenever the No. 1 pulse or the carry-out pulse is present.