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Kinney, Frank

Publications and source records attributed to Kinney, Frank.

Universal Signal Conditioning Amplifier

The Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) and NASA-KSC entered into a cooperative agreement in March of 1994 to achieve the utilization and commercialization of a technology development for benefiting both the Space Program and U.S. industry on a "dual-use basis". The technology involved in this transfer is a new, unique Universal Conditioning Amplifier (USCA) used in connection with various types of transducers. The project was initiated in partnership with I-Net Corporation, Lockheed Martin Telemetry & Instrumentation (formerly Loral Test and Information Systems) and Brevard Community College. The project consists of designing, miniaturizing, manufacturing, and testing an existing prototype of USCA that was developed for NASA-KSC by the I-Net Corporation. The USCA is a rugged and field-installable self (or remotely)- programmable amplifier that works in combination with a tag random access memory (RAM) attached to various types of transducers. This summary report comprises performance evaluations, TRDA partnership tasks, a project summary, project milestones and results.

Kinney, Frank

Supersonic Gas-Liquid Cleaning System

The Supersonic Gas-Liquid Cleaning System Research Project consisted mainly of a feasibility study, including theoretical and engineering analysis, of a proof-of-concept prototype of this particular cleaning system developed by NASA-KSC. The cleaning system utilizes gas-liquid supersonic nozzles to generate high impingement velocities at the surface of the device to be cleaned. The cleaning fluid being accelerated to these high velocities may consist of any solvent or liquid, including water. Compressed air or any inert gas is used to provide the conveying medium for the liquid, as well as substantially reduce the total amount of liquid needed to perform adequate surface cleaning and cleanliness verification. This type of aqueous cleaning system is considered to be an excellent way of conducting cleaning and cleanliness verification operations as replacements for the use of CFC 113 which must be discontinued by 1995. To utilize this particular cleaning system in various cleaning applications for both the Space Program and the commercial market, it is essential that the cleaning system, especially the supersonic nozzle, be characterized for such applications. This characterization consisted of performing theoretical and engineering analysis, identifying desirable modifications/extensions to the basic concept, evaluating effects of variations in operating parameters, and optimizing hardware design for specific applications.

Kinney, Frank