Fuels and Energy Sources

Waste heat utilization

Stories

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Briefs: Energy
Many technical processes only use part of the energy consumed. The remaining fraction leaves the system in the form of waste heat. Frequently, this heat is released into the...
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Briefs: Energy
The engine is approximately 10 billion times smaller than a car engine.
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Briefs: Energy
Car engines, laptop computers, cellphones, and refrigerators all heat up with overuse. That heat can be captured and turned into energy using a method that produces electricity from heat. The...
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Briefs: Energy
Nearly 70 percent of the energy produced in the United States each year is wasted as heat. Much of that heat is less than 100 °C and emanates from things like computers, cars, or...
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Briefs: Energy
Directly converting electrical power to heat is easy; however, converting heat into electrical power is not as easy. To address this issue, a tiny silicon-based device was developed that can harness...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Fuel Cell/Fuel Cell Hybrid System
Fuel cells can deliver clean, reliable, and uninterrupted power nearly 100 percent of the time. Fuel cells offer the advantage of efficiency by converting chemical energy directly to electricity. They have no moving parts, thereby eliminating failures associated with pumps, blowers, heat exchangers, and other...
Q&A: Electronics & Computers
Professor Hopkins and University of Virginia colleagues — in collaboration with materials scientists at Penn State, the University of...
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Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
The exhaust heat recovery system (EHRS) in an automobile captures the thermal energy from exhaust and transfers it to the engine coolant. As the car warms up,...
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Briefs: Materials
NASA Langley Research Center has developed a novel thermoelectric (TE) material utilizing micro-scale silver telluride grains covered with bismuth...
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Deep space missions, like the ones going to outer planets and those that rely on solar photovoltaic power, need extremely large solar arrays to produce that power for...
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Spacecraft Crew Cabin Condensation Control
A report discusses a new technique to prevent condensation on the cabin walls of manned spacecraft exposed to the cold environment of space, as such condensation could lead to free water in the cabin. This could facilitate the growth of mold and bacteria, and could lead to oxidation and weakening of the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The addition of the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover requires an...
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Articles: Energy
The increasing cost of fuel and U.S. dependency on foreign fuel supplies has renewed interest in conserving energy and in generating electric power using...
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Quick-Response Thermal Actuator for Use as a Heat Switch
This work improves the performance of a heat switch, or a thermal actuator, by delivering heat to the actuator in a more efficient manner. The method uses a heat pipe as the plunger or plug instead of just using a solid piece of metal. The heat pipe could be one tailored for fast transient...
Articles: Automotive
The automotive industry has faced hardships in recent times, but it can and will survive by renewing itself through innovation. After enduring a $14.6 billion loss in 2008, Ford reported...
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Briefs: Energy
Storage batteries based on intercalation of lithium and bromine in graphite have been proposed. Like other storage batteries, these could be recharged electrically. Optionally, these...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Relatively inexpensive, lightweight biplates for methanol fuel cells have been proposed. The reductions in weight and cost, relative to biplates now used in methanol fuel cells, would be...
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Briefs: Software
Program Simulates Performance of a Hybrid Automobile
The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Analysis (HEVA) computer program numerically simulates the performance of an automotive vehicle -- especially a hybrid vehicle. A vehicle is said to be hybrid if (1) it contains an energy-storage device (a battery, flywheel, or ultra-capacitor) that is charged with...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
As electronic circuits become more densely packaged and higher in power, maintaining them within permissible temperature ranges becomes a major issue. This is especially true in the case of...
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