Tech Briefs

A comprehensive library of technical briefs from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories covering all aspects of innovations in electronics, software, photonics, imaging, motion control, automation, sensors, test, materials, manufacturing, mechanical, and mechatronics.

Briefs: Transportation

Active Flow Control System for Simple-Hinged Flaps

This simple, elegant invention can control flow separation resulting from the high flap deflections required by simple-hinged flap systems making such flaps a viable option for aircraft designers.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Enhancing Solar Option During Power Outages

Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have designed a novel building-solar controller that optimizes solar energy with smart technology to keep microgrids operating for up to five days.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

New Approach to Reducing EV Battery Testing Time

A new optimization framework created by researchers at University of Michigan could drastically reduce the cost of assessing how battery configurations will perform over the long haul.

Briefs: Energy

Large Format Li-Ion Calorimeter

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a method to measure the total and fractional heat response of large format Li-ion cells (cells with capacities greater than 100Ah) when driven into...

Briefs: Energy

Energy Storage Materials Make Batteries More Efficient and Heat-Resistant

In redox flow batteries, the energy-storing components are dissolved in a solvent and can be stored at a decentralized location.

Briefs: Design

Room-Temperature Liquid-Metal Battery

The researchers have created a “room-temperature all-liquid-metal battery,” which includes the best of both worlds of liquid-and solid-state batteries.

Briefs: Design

A Biodegradable Filtration System for Waste Metal Recovery

This invention is a method of removing or adsorbing a target substance or material.

Briefs: AR/AI

Using AI to Help Scale Up Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing

The system makes it possible to integrate data from prior experiments, and information based on personal observations by experienced workers, into the machine learning process.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Unprinting Method Removes Toner with Xenon Light

A new way to unprint paper uses intense pulsed light from a xenon lamp.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Organic Steam Generator Uses Sunlight to Purify Water

Researchers have developed an inexpensive and eco-friendly steam generator to desalinate and purify water using sunlight.

Briefs: Energy

A Supercapacitor Device for Carbon Capture

When it discharges, the carbon dioxide can be released in a controlled way and collected to be reused or disposed of responsibly.

Briefs: Power

Water-Activated Paper Battery

A team of researchers at EMPA have developed a water-activated disposable paper battery.

Briefs: Energy

Electrolyte Additive Improves Battery Performance

The work could lead to improvements in the energy density of lithium batteries that power electric vehicles.

Briefs: Energy

Triggering Li-ion Battery Cells with Laser Radiation

Inducing TR in a battery cell allows engineers to test and improve the safety performance of overheated batteries that can potentially catch fire or explode.

Briefs: Power

Building Temperature-Resilient Batteries

In tests, the proof-of-concept batteries retained 87.5 percent and 115.9 percent of their energy capacity at -40 °C and 50 °C (-40 °F and 122 °F), respectively.

Briefs: Design

Glassy Electrolyte Holds Promise for an All-Solid-State Sodium Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the preferred technology for powering electric vehicles, but they’re too expensive for long-duration grid-scale energy storage systems.

Briefs: Energy

Extending the Lifetime of Organic Aqueous Flow Batteries

Over the course of their research, the team discovered that these anthraquinones decompose slowly over time, regardless of how many times the battery has been used.

Briefs: Energy

Designing Sodium-Ion Batteries with Extended Longevity

In batteries, electrolyte is the circulating “blood” that keeps the energy flowing. The electrolyte forms by dissolving salts in solvents, resulting in charged ions that flow between the positive and negative electrodes.

Briefs: Medical

New Technology Could Make Biopsies a Thing of the Past

MediSCAPE is a highspeed 3D microscope capable of capturing images of tissue structures that could guide surgeons to navigate tumors and their boundaries without needing to remove tissues and wait for pathology results.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Rice ‘Metalens’ Could Disrupt Vacuum UV Market

Tests showed the metalens they made could focus its 197-nanometer output onto a spot measuring 1.7 microns in diameter, increasing the power density of the light output by 21 times.

Briefs: Lighting Technology

Upside-Down Design Expands Wide-Spectrum Super-Camera Abilities

Plasmonics is a technology that essentially traps the energy of light in groups of electrons oscillating together on a metal surface.

Briefs: Design

Researchers Demonstrate 40-Channel Optical Communication Link

It achieves 40 channels by combining a frequency comb light source based on a new photonic crystal resonator developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with an optimized mode-division multiplexer.

Briefs: Manned Systems

Lignin-Based Jet Fuel Packs More Power

An experimental plant-based jet fuel could increase engine performance and efficiency, while dispensing with aromatics, the pollution-causing compounds found in conventional fuels.