The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

Jeffrey A Hinkley

Terry L St Clair

Erik S Weiser

Joseph M Marchello

Theodorus Jacobus Dingemans

The benefits of liquid crystal polymers and polyetherimides are combined in an all-aromatic thermoplastic liquid crystalline polyetherimide. Because of the unique molecular structure, all-aromatic thermotropic liquid crystal polymers exhibit outstanding processing properties, excellent barrier properties, low solubilities and low coefficients of thermal expansion in the processing direction. These characteristics are combined with the strength, thermal, and radiation stability of polyetherimides.

Wholly aromatic liquid crystalline polyetherimide (LC-PEI) resins

A method and apparatus for determining the mass density of a moving filament is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a filament across two supports, tensioning the filament, inducing a vibration into the filament segment between the supports, reinforcing the vibration using an amplified feedback signal, detecting the vibrational frequency data, processing the data using a fast-fourier transform analysis, and then displaying the frequency. The use of the feedback signal results in a self-tuning resonant loop. Open loop versions may also be used. The apparatus includes a base supporting a fixed support and a transducer which in turn supports a moveable support. The transducer vibrates the moveable support transversely to the direction of travel of the filament, thereby inducing a transverse vibrational mode. The output of the transducer is amplified and used to drive a second amplifier to produce a self-tuning resonant loop. In the open loop version a signal generator is used to drive the transducer through a frequency range, during which the amplitude peak is identified.

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Yorktown, VA, United States of America

Jeffrey A Hinkley