Power and Propulsion

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Briefs: Aerospace
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed an adjustable thermal control ball valve assembly which utilizes a unique geometric ball valve design to facilitate precise thermal control within a spacesuit. The technology meters the coolant flow going to the cooling and ventilation garment, worn by an astronaut in the next generation space suit. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Aerospace
Over the past year, the DoD has awarded funding to hypersonics research led by University of Central Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kareem Ahmed to support the advancements he’s making in the technology. The support is a testament to the progress UCF has made in the field. Read on to learn more about these advances.
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NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The new possibility of 3D-printed aluminum engine parts will mean significant savings for NASA in terms of time, money, and, most importantly, the weight of future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now bringing the benefits of that technology to its customers.
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Articles: Photonics/Optics
The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to begin on a high-energy upgrade that will further boost the performance of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Read on to learn more about it.
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A team of scientists has developed an ultrafast imaging technique, called femtosecond laser sheet-compressed ultrafast photography, that can compile videos of incredibly transient details. Read on to learn more about it.
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Articles: Power
Specialized measurement technology helps aerospace engineers improve combustion chambers and fuel injectors. In Switzerland, two ambitious student organizations have been using iterative pressure measurements to develop and build a significantly more efficient next generation of rocket engines. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Power
Engineers at NASAs Stennis Space Center have developed the HYdrocarbon Propellants Enabling Reproduction of Flows in Rocket Engines (HYPERFIRE), a sub-scale, non-reacting flow test system. HYPERFIRE uses heated ethane to enable physical simulation of rocket engines powered by a broad range of propellants in an inexpensive, accurate, and simple fashion. Read on to learn more.
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Application Briefs: Materials
Enclosed robotic laser parts cleaning systems are poised to safely remove rust and contamination as well as condition surfaces at dramatically higher volumes and at lower cost than conventional methods. Read on to learn more about the process.
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Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Learn about the Force Control Model LC, a form of closed loop positioning control. It reads the machine position on each stop and adjusts, in real time, where to signal the stop for the next part/cycle. Read on.
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Briefs: Software
Because it requires no battery that must be recharged or replaced, and because it requires no special wiring, such a sensor could be embedded in a hard-to-reach place, like inside the inner workings of a ship’s engine. There, it could automatically gather data on the machine’s power consumption and operations for long periods of time.
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Q&A: Energy
Prasad Kandula and a group of scientists and engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a modular medium-voltage system to fill the existing gap between high-voltage transmission and low-voltage power electronics.
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Briefs: Propulsion
A Sustainable Engine with Reduced Assembly Costs
Boom Supersonic, the company building supersonic planes, is developing Symphony, a new propulsion system designed and optimized for its Overture supersonic airliner.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Called EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor), the self-propelled, autonomous robot was inspired by a desire to look for signs of life in the ocean hiding below the icy crust of Saturn's moon Enceladus by descending narrow vents in the surface that spew geysers into space.
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Articles: Energy
Optimizing EV motors before they hit the market is crucial. As the demand for clean energy vehicles grows, customers need assurance that their chosen vehicle is reliable and fulfills sustainability promises.
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Briefs: Power
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a coil-on-plug ignition system for integrated liquid oxygen/liquid methane thermal-vacuum environment propulsion systems operating in a thermal vacuum environment. The innovation will help quell corona discharge issues and reduce overall mass.
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Briefs: Power
Cornell researchers have combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex, and outleap its electric-driven competitors.
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Briefs: Power
A team of MIT engineers is creating a one-megawatt motor that could be a key stepping-stone toward electrifying larger aircraft. The team has designed and tested the major components of the motor.
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Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
As part of the NASA’s Perseverance rover, MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), has generated oxygen for the 16th and final time, successfully completing its mission goal.
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Articles: Power
The future of transportation is shifting toward hybrid and electric vehicles (xEV), making the development of powertrain systems more intricate. Meeting stringent development timelines adds to the challenges faced by the industry.
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Q&A: Materials
Professor Stephen Lynch, of Penn State’s College of Engineering, along with colleagues at Michigan State University and the University of Wyoming, have developed a process for 3D printing a high-temperature ceramic gas turbine part.
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Articles: Energy
As the automotive sector continues to transition to a significant portion of their portfolio being electric, they must either build the needed test facilities to support this transition or update their current facilities.
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Articles: Manned Systems
A longstanding partnership between Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and Pratt & Whitney has resulted in a new laser-optical technology that aims to revolutionize in-flight thrust measurement.
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Articles: Power
As the demand grows for increased productivity, higher product quality, rapid development time, and lower engineering costs, adopting linear motor technology is increasingly popular by leveraging modular linear motor designs.
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Articles: Motion Control
Power transmission is critical in industrial automation as it enables machines to work together seamlessly, reducing downtime and maximizing productivity.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A catalytic reaction causes a two-dimensional, chemically coated sheet to spontaneously morph into a three-dimensional gear.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Skoltech engineers have used a 3D printer to fabricate — and investigate the mechanical characteristics of — samples of bronze-steel alloys previously unknown to materials science.
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Briefs: Energy
Researchers have been exploring how to turbocharge a passive cooling technique — known as radiative or sky cooling — with sun-blocking nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops.
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Briefs: Energy
Scientists created a zinc battery with a biodegradable electrolyte from an unexpected source — crab shells.
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Articles: Energy
A robust EV battery-recycling industry has moved to a necessity as automakers, and their suppliers, transition away from internal combustion.
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