NASA Spinoffs: Consumer Products

NASA Tech Briefs, Aug 2004

Few people actually know how their NASA tax dollars come back to them in the form of improved technologies. Originators of such innovations as cordless power tools, golf ball aerodynamics, and scratch-resistant lenses, one need only go as far as their own garage to experience NASA technology firsthand.

As part of the agency's charter, NASA facilitates the transfer and commercialization of NASA-sponsored research and technology, including the use of unique NASA R&D capabilities and facilities. These efforts serve to support the NASA mission and strengthen the nation's prosperity and quality of life. As a regular feature this year, we are summarizing some of the most recent NASA spinoffs in a variety of industries. This month, our NASA Spinoffs feature highlights Consumer Products that began as NASA technologies.

For further information on NASA spinoff technologies, visit www.techbriefs.com/spinoff.

Smoke Mask

It is estimated that smoke inhalation injury accounts for as much as 80% of fire-related deaths in the U.S. Many of these deaths are preventable, which is why Smoke Mask, Inc. (SMI), Myrtle Beach, SC, is working to decrease these casualties with products such as the SMI personal escape hood and the Guardian Filtration System.

SMI acquired a patent license from NASA, which allowed the company to utilize a low -temperature oxidation catalyst in its protective breathing filter. Originally developed at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, for research involving carbon dioxide lasers, the catalyst converts carbon monoxide to nontoxic carbon dioxide at room temperature, and oxidizes formaldehyde fumes, carbon dioxide, and water. In addition to benefiting SMI's escape hood and other air filtration devices, the catalyst has applications in the automobile and aircraft industries.

The escape hood and Guardian Filtration System provide respiratory protection that enables people to escape from hazardous and unsafe conditions. The breathing filter technology utilized is specifically designed to supply breathable air for 20 minutes. The products are designed for emergency use at home, work, and school, as well as for professional firefighting and rescue efforts.

www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff2003/ps_1.html

Solar-Powered Refrigeration

While developing battery-free, solar-powered refrigeration and air conditioning systems for habitats in space, David Bergeron, team leader for NASA's Advanced Refrigerator Technology Team at Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, recognized the need for a solar refrigerator that could operate on Earth. Bergeron founded the company, Solus Refrigeration, in 1999 to take the patented advanced refrigeration technology to commercial markets. The company, now known as SunDanze Refrigeration, is currently producing battery-free, photovoltaic (PV) refrigeration systems under license to NASA, and selling them globally.

The PV direct-drive, or "PV direct," SunDanzer(TM) solar refrigerator is a chest-type cabinet with a 105-liter internal volume, a lockable top-opening door, a corrosion-resistant coated steel exterior, and a patented low-frost system. Designed to function in arid to semi-arid regions with at least 5 sun-hours per day, it uses thermal storage for cooling efficiency with a direct connection between the vapor compression cooling system and the PV module.

Besides residential homes and stores, applications for the solar refrigerator include cabins, vacation houses, ecofriendly resorts, farms, medical clinics, and street vendor carts. www.sundanzer.com

Home Insulation Material

Utilizing a high-performance insulating ceramic microsphere that was originally developed from NASA thermal research at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions, Melbourne, FL, produced a complex blend of ceramic vacuum-filled refractory products designed to minimize the path of hot air transfer through ceilings, walls, and roofs. The insulating ceramic technology blocks the transfer of heat outward when applied to paint on interior walls and ceilings, and prevents the transfer of heat inward when used to paint exterior walls and roofs, effectively providing year-round comfort in the home.

Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions improved upon these properties by removing all of the gas inside and creating a vacuum. In effect, a "mini Thermos bottle" is produced, acting as a barrier to heat by reflecting it away from the protected surface. When these microspheres are combined with other materials, they enhance the thermal resistance of those materials.

Hy-Tech Thermal Solution paints and coatings can be used to coat steam pipes and fittings, metal buildings (rust prevention), cold storage facilities (walk-in coolers and freezers), delivery trucks, buses, mobile and modular homes, and RVs and campers. Exterior coatings of the ceramic additive have been applied to trailers housing electronics at Federal aviation locations. www.hytechsales.com