How we use contract research for low risk, high value, product focused technology development
James Garrett, PhDVice President, Technology Development Division Moving new technologies from idea to market. At a time when many large businesses are slashing research and development dollars and limiting work to only a few core technologies, Luna continues to maintain and grow a powerhouse R&D organization. In our contract research division alone, Luna employs more than 60 scientists and engineers, over half of whom have…Read More
Getting More from Fatigue Testing
John J. KutzApplications EngineeringLightwave Division Fiber optic sensors have a great combination of simple installation, repeatability and fatigue endurance that make them well suited for use in fatigue testing. Characterizing fatigue behavior of parts or structures is important in applications where parts are subjected to cyclic loading. such as fan or turbine blades commonly used in aerospace, automotive, power generation and the HVAC industries. Getting…Read More
A commercialization success story
Jessica Green, PhDSenior Research ScientistAdvanced Materials Group We are excited to announce that on October 24, 2013 an exclusive licensing agreement was officially executed by UltraTech International for the commercialization and production of Luna’s fluid resistant textile treatment under the trade name Ultra-Ever Shield™. The successful transition of this technology to UltraTech is another example of commercialization using Luna’s unique business model. We develop creative…Read More
What can you see with High Spatial Resolution RL?
Aida Rahim, PhDField Applications EngineerLightwave Division Our previous blog post on return loss (RL) gave an overview of some examples of events along the optical network that cause high RL, and their effects. To recap, in technical terms, RL is the ratio of the light reflected back from a device under test, Pout, to the light launched into that device, Pin, usually expressed as a…Read More
Luna is providing critical service to Virginia’s craft beer industry
Brad Day, Associate ScientistBiomedical Technologies Microbiology may not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions beer. Nevertheless, the beer brewing process has evolved over centuries from an almost accidental craft to a science balancing microbiology with chemistry, art and a touch of luck. Modern brewing incorporates many aspects, and key among them is the science of fermentation, or zymurgy as it…Read More
What is Return Loss and Why Measure It?
Aida Rahim, PhDField Applications EngineerLightwave Division Optical fiber is the data carrier of choice compared to copper wire. Fiber optic networks have exponentially higher capacity, experience no crosstalk, and can be installed in areas with high electromagnetic interference such as along utility and power lines. Fiber optic networks span multiple length scales. Intercity and transoceanic fiber optic telecommunications networks span thousands of kilometers. In aircrafts…Read More
Why embedded corrosion sensing is important
Jeff DemoElectrical Systems Team LeadIntelligent Systems Group With its extremely negative effects on critical military assets, corrosion continues to be one of the top maintenance cost drivers for the Department of Defense. Improved health management of military aircraft is needed to control the costs of corrosion, which is estimated to be above 30% of the total maintenance costs for Navy and Air Force aviation.[i] It…Read More
How Luna’s Fiber Optic Technology Can Help the Racing Industry
Matt Wolfe Chief of StaffLightwave Division Motorsports teams face a variety of challenges every day. A race car is not just one engineering problem, but a collection of inter-relating engineering problems. Some of these problems are well understood while others are somewhat a mystery. In order to learn and understand these unknown problems, race engineers need new tools and instrumentation that will allow them to…Read More
Luna’s TrueClot™ Blood Simulant will enable more realistic trauma training
Michael J. Danilich, PhDDirector, Biomedical Technologies Combat medics, corpsmen and pararescuemen, and indeed all members of the armed forces, must be prepared to treat massive wounds to save lives on the battlefield. Because of the potential for soldiers to instinctively hesitate or “freeze” in the face of severely bleeding and devastating wounds, the military strives to provide the most realistic training possible. While the military…Read More
Installing Fiber Strain Sensors – Part II
Eric E. Sanborn, P.E.Director, Engineering and ProductionLightwave Division In the first part of our story on installing fiber strain sensors we covered the basics of applying Luna’s ODiSI sensing fiber to simple parts for measuring strain. In this second part we will discuss the planning and execution of instrumenting large or complex structures. The planning stage tends to be a sizable chunk of the total…Read More
