Conductive Carbon Fiber Polymer Composite

Inventors from NASA Langley and NASA Ames have created a new type of carbon fiber polymer composite that has a high thermal conductivity.

Additive Manufacturing Model-Based Process Metrics

Inventors at the NASA Langley Research Center have developed a novel method to model and ingest point-wise process data to evaluate an additive manufacturing build and its file for issues by highlighting potential anomalies or other areas where the build may have issues with fusion of the material.

Automated Tow/Tape Placement System

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a simplified, tool-less automated tow/tape placement (ATP) system. This invention enables several benefits that mitigate limitations associated with conventional ATP systems. Read on to learn more.

Carbon Fiber Sleeve Tempers Battery Thermal Runaway

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sleeve, that, when fitted over a cylindrical Li-ion battery cell, can prevent cell-to-cell propagation by containing a thermal runaway (TR) event to the originating cell.

Turnkey Yet Versatile Cobot Design Improves Sanding, Grinding, Finishing

Manufacturing teams in multiple industries, from aerospace to oil and gas, are finding relief in the form of new collaborative robots (cobots), like Kane Robotics’ GRIT ST and GRIT XL, that can sand off coatings, grind welds, or polish metal finishes in half the time and more safely than humans.

Multi-Material Digital Light Processing 3D Printing

Researchers from Japan and Singapore have developed a new 3D-printing process for the fabrication of 3D metal–plastic composite structures with complex shapes.

Low Creep, Low Relaxation Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Inflatable and deployable beams and masts are often made of polymer composites and may be stored for one to two years in space before deployment.

AERoBOND: Large-Scale Composite Manufacturing

Industrial composite manufacturing is primarily accomplished through three methods: co-cure, co-bond, and secondary bond processes.

5 Ws of a Self-Healing Robot

A team of researchers at Cornell Engineering has developed a soft robot that can detect when and where it was damaged — and then heal itself on the spot.

A Self-Healing Structural Composite

Jason Patrick, assistant professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, and his team have developed a new composite material for applications like airplane wings and wind turbine blades in which hidden defects and damage can self-heal.

Self-Healing Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite

NASA has developed a new metal matrix composite (MMC) that can repair itself from large fatigue cracks that occur during the service life of a structure.

Corrugated Rollable Tubular Boom

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.

Multi-Material Manufacturing of Molded Composites

Researchers combined additive manufacturing with conventional compression molding to produce high-performance thermoplastic composites reinforced with short carbon fibers. The approach...

Composite Glass Produces Unbreakable Screens

Researchers have developed technology to produce next-generation composite glass for lighting LEDs and smartphone, television, and computer screens. The technology was a step forward in perovskite...

Nanocomposite Material Protects Against Intense Light

Optical limiting — a manner of telecom switching without the use of electronics — is an all-optical method that could improve the speed and capacity of Internet communications. A...

Injectable, Flexible Electrode Could Replace Rigid Nerve-Stimulating Implants

By electrically stimulating nerves, this therapy can reduce epileptic seizures and soothe chronic pain without the use of conventional drugs like opioids.

Tool Calculates Materials’ Stress and Strain Based on Photos

The advance could accelerate engineers’ design process by eliminating the need to solve complex equations.

Foldable Solar Cells

Carbon nanotubes are used to create solar cells with unprecedented flexibility and resistance.

Healable Carbon Fiber Composite

The carbon fiber reinforced material can be repeatedly healed with heat.

Tires Turned into Graphene Make Stronger Concrete

An optimized flash process could reduce carbon emissions.

Calibration System for Automated Fiber Placement

The system creates accurate defect standards for in-situ inspection systems.

Water Purification System Engineered from Wood

The eco-friendly process removes heavy metals, dyes, and other pollutants.

Deployable Composite Boom

Applications include space structures, emergency shelters, backpack solar collectors, and inspection of hazardous environments.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — Multifunctional Bionanocomposite Fruit Coatings

The invention could capture the potential of the edible packaging market.

Macroflash Cup Cryostat

The compact instrument measures thermal conductivity of materials at below ambient temperatures.

Fiber-Metal Laminate Manufacturing Technique

Synthesis of fiber-metal laminates is performed using RF plasma spray deposition.

High-Pressure Soft Lithography for Microtopographical Patterning of Molded Polymers and Composites

Applications include anti-fouling and anti-contamination, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic drag reduction, and adhesive joining of composite parts.

Carbon Fiber/Carbon Nanotube Yarn Hybrid Reinforcement

Applications include aerospace and automotive components, prosthetics, sporting goods, and other uses where strength-to-weight ratio is important.

Stretchable Thermoelectric Generators

The organic composite material is soft, stretchable, and has good thermoelectric properties for many wearable applications.