TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: 3D-Printed Injector for Cryogenic Fluid Management (MFS-TOPS-104)

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY: Innovators at the Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a system to minimize boil-off during cryogen transfer and storage using an additive manufactured injector with an augmented thermodynamic venting system (TVS). Cryogenic fluid transfer is important for both ground and space-based systems and typically requires venting of a receiver vessel during the chill and fill process to maintain a pressure favorable to fluid flow.

NASA's TVS Augmented Injector offers an alternative system that gradually cools the inside of receiving tanks, improving cryogenic fluid transfer and storage efficiency and minimizing or eliminating the time the receiver tank vent needs to be open. The injector is a small piece of 3D-printed hardware that can be easily used with or integrated into tanks or filling equipment in any space or industrial application where a cryogenic fluid is being transferred.

The injector may also be employed for long-term cryogenic fluid storage as a means of controlling tank pressure if integrated with a recirculation pump.

To express interest in this licensing opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/MFS-TOPS-104 If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information.

For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/ These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.