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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
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APPENDIX D
Complete List of Technologies Assessed

AIR VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY

Propulsion Technologies
  • active, closed-loop engine control with real-time, detailed diagnostics

  • actively controlled combustor pattern factor

  • advanced combustor cases

  • advanced membrane technology

  • advanced propulsion systems

  • advanced propulsion systems for rotorcraft

  • aircraft turbine core engines with oxygen-enriched airstream

  • aircraft turbine engine with thrust modulation and/or vectoring

  • alternate fuels and propulsion systems

  • alternative propulsion for small airplanes

  • aspirated compressors

  • condition-based monitoring/maintenance

  • cooled cooling air

  • electrically powered aircraft wheels

  • fine spray grid fuel-air injection

  • fuel reforming/fuel cells

  • integral heat exchanger

  • integrated combustor front-end design

  • intelligent gas turbine engines

  • large turndown ratio combustors

  • low cost turbines for general aviation and helicopters

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
  • low or no emission engines

  • nacelle boundary layer suction

  • nonmetallic aircraft turbine engines

  • revolutionary combustors

  • trapped vortex pilot zone

  • turbo-electric hybrid powered aircraft

  • turbogenerators

Aerodynamics
  • elimination of airframe wave drag through wave cancellation

  • maintaining laminar flow on airframes by means of surface cooling

  • minimum-wake wing

  • technology to extract the rotary energy of wingtip vortices

Air Vehicle Configurations
  • "electraircraft" x-plane

  • "green" aircraft configurations and operations

  • air vehicles optimized for reduced operating costs

  • blended-wing body (BWB)

  • high speed civil transports

  • mid-wing twin fuselage

  • O-plane

  • practical, affordable flying automobile

  • strut-braced wing

  • unconventional aircraft

  • unpiloted air vehicles

  • V/STOL aircraft to enhance capacity

  • variable diameter tilt-rotors

  • vertical flight for commercial applications

  • vertical flight for personal transportation

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
  • very large cargo aircraft

  • Z plane

Control Systems and Sensors
  • aircraft mounted remote weather sensors

  • control systems

  • data fusion/estimation

  • low-cost ice protection systems and ice avoidance capability

  • noise reduction technology

  • photonics-based sensors

Structures, Materials, and MEMS
  • "smart systems" applications

  • advanced materials

  • aluminum/aluminum diboride metal matrix composites

  • carbon nanofibers with an ultra high capacity to absorb/adsorb hydrogen gas at ambient temperatures and modest pressures

  • carbon/carbon/boron nitride composites

  • laminated structures technology

  • materials and materials processing

  • MEMS in-situ cooling of hot section sensors

  • micro electromechanical systems (MEMS)

  • miniaturization, smart structures, and health-monitoring

  • multichip module laminates

  • nanoporous composite fiber activated carbon assemblies

  • new alloys

  • recyclable copolyester thermosets

  • reinforced composites for propulsion systems

  • shaped/smart materials

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
  • superconducting electronic materials

  • very low-cost composites

  • wing sealants

Design and Manufacturing
  • automated assembly

  • fabrication by light

  • integrated design

  • lean manufacturing for gas turbine engines

  • modeling and simulation

  • new methodology for engine design and development

  • virtual manufacturing

  • virtual prototyping

  • virtual test cells

AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY

Flight Deck and Human/Automation Systems
  • affordable, reliable fly-by-light control systems

  • automated preflight procedures

  • automated reasoning

  • care free handling

  • configuration performance monitoring and situation awareness

  • decision aids

  • distributed systems (via datalinks)

  • flight deck workload reduction technology

  • highly capable automation systems

  • human-machine systems (cognitive engineering)

  • integrated flight systems

  • situation awareness alerting systems

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
  • technology for uncrewed aircraft

  • upwardly compatible systems

  • virtual visual meteorological conditions (VMC)

Communications, Navigation, Surveillance, and Air Traffic Management
  • 4-D operations (four dimensional precision trajectory prediction)

  • air traffic control

  • air traffic management for V/STOL aircraft

  • antijamming technology

  • free flight and a precise knowledge of location

  • high altitude airborne communications platforms

  • information security

  • low-cost inertial measurement units

  • reliable and confirmed ATC information in the cockpit

  • satellite-based communications, navigation, and surveillance systems

Terminal Area Technologies
  • energy absorbing runways

  • formation landings

  • high speed turnoffs

  • V/STOL infrastructure

  • wake vortex mitigation

  • wide runways

Software and Process Technologies
  • autocode

  • certification

  • common conceptual model for software

  • formal methods for software development

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
  • improved theory and methods of risk estimation and management in complex flight-critical systems

  • new software verification and validation processes

  • next generation ''goal level" autonomy algorithms

  • predictive tools/models for analyzing the total air transportation system

  • safety analysis

  • software architecture

  • software certification

  • software designed for evolution

SPACE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY

Propulsion Technologies
  • advanced fuels

  • advanced high energy propellants

  • blast wave accelerator

  • combined cycle rocket-based engines

  • endothermic hydrocarbons

  • high efficiency H2-O2 rocket engine capable of providing optimum expansion ratio performance over the ambient pressure range from 1 atmosphere to space vacuum

  • hydrogen densification/storage

  • increased thrust-to-weight engine

  • laser propulsion

  • liquid air, cooled air propulsion concepts

  • pulse detonation engine

  • reformed hydrocarbons

  • solid/metallic hydrogen

  • strained ring hydrocarbons

  • unique propulsion concepts

  • variable expansion ratio engine

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
Launch Vehicle Configurations and Components
  • advanced composite materials

  • advanced thermal protection systems

  • cost optimized multistage to orbit rocket

  • integrated thermostructural systems

  • lightweight and high performance components for reusable launch vehicles

  • lightweight structures

  • miniaturization

Launch Assist Technology
  • air launch systems

  • cannons

  • magnetic lifter

Ground Infrastructure
  • modeling and simulations of operations

  • prelaunch processing

  • test and mission planning automation

Mitigation of Environmental Impact
  • noise control technology

  • pollution reduction technology

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
Page 128
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
Page 129
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
Page 130
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Complete List of Technologies Assessed." National Research Council. 1998. Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6293.
×
Page 132
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After the completion of the National Research Council (NRC) report, Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Scenario-Based Strategic Planning for NASA's Aeronautics Enterprise (1997), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology requested that the NRC remain involved in its strategic planning process by conducting a study to identify a short list of revolutionary or breakthrough technologies that could be critical to the 20 to 25 year future of aeronautics and space transportation. These technologies were to address the areas of need and opportunity identified in the above mentioned NRC report, which have been characterized by NASA's 10 goals (see Box ES-1) in "Aeronautics & Space Transportation Technology: Three Pillars for Success" (NASA, 1997). The present study would also examine the 10 goals to determine if they are likely to be achievable, either through evolutionary steps in technology or through the identification and application of breakthrough ideas, concepts, and technologies.

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