Tech Briefs Magazine - September 2022 - 37

Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Corrugated Rollable Tubular Boom
The COROTUB boom can be erected from an orbiting satellite or unfurled to set up emergency
shelters, communication towers, or masts for antennas in remote areas.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
D
eployable composite booms are particularly
attractive in space constrained
applications. Their high packaging
volume efficiency enables relatively
large spacecraft systems required for
power generation, communications, or
propulsion to be housed within small
volumes. NASA's new COROTUB boom
is flattened, rolled, and stowed in a small
package for easy transport to remote locations.
When unfurled, it expands into
a load-bearing structural boom.
COROTUB is a monolithic closed-section
tubular thin-shelled structure that's
been shown to scale efficiently up to
50m yet maintain its strength. Its two
corrugated thin shells form a closed section,
which yields high bending and torsional
stiffness, allowing for high dimensional
stability.
Computational analysis and early tests
show that the corrugation provides increased
strength against buckling, enabling
longer booms and targeting more
demanding structural applications than
noncorrugated designs.
The corrugation geometry that dictates
the boom cross-section shape was
informed by parametric studies to optimize
the parameters that most influence
the cross-sections area moment of inertia
and torsional constant. The corrugated
designs were found to improve the
(Left) A traditional boom and the new COROTUB (right) of the same size. The COROTUB reaches its
full extension over a shorter distance compared to noncorrugated boom designs. (Image: NASA)
boom bending and axial strength and to
shorten the length of the boom transition
from flat/rolled to deployed.
Compared to other thin-shelled
booms, COROTUB has improved stiffness,
strength, and stability, while maintaining
the package size as other booms.
It might be erected from an orbiting satellite
to hoist and support equipment; or
may be unfurled to set up emergency
shelters, communication towers, or
masts for antennas or solar power in remote
areas on other planets, the moon,
or here on earth.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please
contact NASA's Licensing Concierge at
Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.
gov or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing
discussions. Follow this link for
more information: https://technology.
nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-341.
Tiny Motors to Power a Network of Nanomachines
A fuel-free and gear-free engine to convert light into mechanical energy for various
solid-state micro-/nano-electromechanical systems.
The University of Texas at Austin, TX
R
esearchers from the Cockrell School
of Engineering at The University of
Texas at Austin recently created the first
ever solid-state optical nanomotor. These
tiny motors could power a network of
nanomachines and replace some of the
power sources used in devices today.
All previous versions of these light-driven
motors reside in a solution of some
Tech Briefs, September 2022
sort, which held back their potential for
most real-world applications. " Life started
in the water and eventually moved on
land, " said Yuebing Zheng, an Associate
Professor in the Walker Department of
Mechanical Engineering. " We have
made these micro nanomotors that have
always lived in solution work on land, in
a solid state. "
www.techbriefs.com
The researchers envision these motors
powering a variety of things. The spinning
motion could pick up dust and other
particles, making it useful for air quality
measurement. They could propel
drug delivery devices in the human body.
And they could power tiny drones for
surveillance and measurements, as well
as other mini vehicles.
37

https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-341 http://www.techbriefs.com

Tech Briefs Magazine - September 2022

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