“Cold Tube” Cools Without Air Conditioning

Chilled panels use less energy than conventional A/C and work in open spaces.

Organic Material for Next-Generation HVAC Technologies

An enhanced polymer could be used for more energy-efficient systems with a smaller carbon footprint.

Wearable Cooling and Heating Patch

The patch could serve as a personal thermostat and save energy.

Wearable Air Conditioning

This on-skin electronic device provides a personal air conditioner without electricity.

Transport Method Boosts Capacity of Heat Exchangers

A simple modification can improve the capability of turbulent heat exchangers by 500%.

Avoiding Electrical Damage with Conductive Lubrication

While most cars today run on 12-volt DC batteries, cars in the future will run on 48 volts. This increased voltage could affect ball bearing performance.

See-Through Film Rejects 70 Percent of Incoming Solar Heat

A heat-rejecting film was developed that could be applied to a building’s windows to reflect up to 70 percent of the Sun’s incoming heat. The film remains highly transparent...

PLCs Improve Control of Radio Broadcasts

Broadcasting employs the latest technology in many areas, but controlling the broadcast hardware connected to the antenna and the related transmission power, source, and facilities is usually still a...

Mechanical Carbon Materials for Aircraft Seal Applications

Modern mechanical carbon materials are being used in a wide variety of applications, including aircraft gear boxes, air turbine motor starters, and main shaft seals for both aircraft...

Considerations for Choosing Temperature Measurement Devices

There are a variety of reasons we need to know the temperature of an object or a process — to prevent product damage, ensure sterilization, determine biological health, ensure...

New Control Possibilities for Wireless Switches

Wireless controls have been widely accepted and embraced in the industrial community. Widespread use of monitoring devices in the process industry, the deployment of RFID components in a...

Energy Efficiency in Machine Tools

Discussions of the efficient use of energy have become more frequent in many sectors of industry. Machine tools comprise numerous motors and auxiliary components whose energy consumption can vary strongly...

A Portable, Projection Focusing Schlieren System

A new type of projection schlieren camera system (schlierenscope) is more portable, easier to align, and more versatile than existing systems. The schlierenscope is a projection focusing...

Robots are (Almost) People, Too

Biologically inspired robots are being realized by engineers and scientists all over the world. While much emphasis is placed on developing physical characteristics for robots such as human-like faces or...

Capacitive Humidity Sensors Using Highly Durable Polyimide Membrane

Car air conditioners operate in all seasons to keep the cabin temperature cool in summer and warm in winter. In summer, for air conditioning systems without humidity...

Do-It-Yourself Additives Recharge Auto Air Conditioning

Having your car’s air conditioner lose its cool on a hot day can make for an uncomfortable ride. A breakdown in thermal control in space is far more than a matter of comfort; on the...

Air Conditioning Cools Lunar Test Vehicles

NASA tests robotics for lunar electric rovers (LERs) and space exploration in remote locations, such as the Arizona desert, that closely simulate the terrain of the Moon or planets. The LER tests...

Retrofitting for Sustainability: Carbon-Smart and Cost-Effective Solutions

As the sustainable design movement continues to grow rapidly throughout the US, architectural engineers, building product manufacturers, and construction business...

3D Direct Modeling Streamlines Micro-Cogeneration System Design and Analysis Processes

SYNGAS specializes in thermal and micro-thermal technology, and designs and analyzes pre-production heating, cooling, and thermal insulation systems for a...

How Cool Is That? Ensuring Effective Thermal Design

Proper thermal design of any electronics-based system is key to its long-term reliability. NASA engineering expertise in this area is renowned. The International Space Station (ISS)...

Windshields to Reflect Sunlight, and Perhaps Produce Electricity

The California Air Resources Board will require new cars sold in California to have windows that reflect or absorb heat-producing rays from the sun. Starting in 2012, windows...

Secure Software Flashing

More and more devices in our modern world come with a multitude and variety of embedded systems. An obvious example of this trend is today’s vehicles, which have dozens of electronic control units (ECUs) that...

Designing the First Fully Sustainable Block in the U.S.

In the near future, a crumbling parking lot in downtown Dallas, Texas will be the location of the first fully sustainable, urban square block in the United States. Re:Vision Dallas is...

Green Energy for the Battlefield

The amount of energy the United States consumes increases every year and this growth in energy consumption outpaces energy production. To fill this gap, the U.S. imports 35% of its energy. More importantly,...

Thermographic Improvements Benefit Automotive Industry

Like most mature industries, the automotive industry is highly competitive. Customers demand quality, security, and economy. Competition requires increasingly fast times to market for...

Thermal and Compressed-Air Storage System Provides Alternative to UPS Batteries

Virtually all businesses and industries are vulnerable to electric power disturbances such as outages, sags, swells, and harmonics. These problems are less of an...