Electrical/​Electronics

Thermal Management

Explore the latest developments in tools and tactics used in thermal management. Discover innovative advances from NASA and major research labs that address the challenges facing aerospace, energy storage, 3D printing, and other high-performance applications.

Stories

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Briefs: Aerospace
In the wake of recent developments that have reduced fan and jet noise contributions to overall jet-engine noise, aircraft designers are turning their attention toward reducing engine core noise....
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Articles: Transportation
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.
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Blog: Electronics & Computers
Stanford Professor Eric Pop learned a valuable electronics lesson from his early days as a radio DJ.
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Blog: Transportation
How do thermoplastic composites compare to the thermoset composites already in use for several decades? A Tech Briefs reader asks.
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Articles: Materials
Your new industrial electronic product has been designed and the board components specified. It has been prototyped, either on a development board to check functionality...
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Products: Lighting
Data Recorder DATAQ® Instruments, Akron, OH, announced the DI-4718B data recorder for applications that require signal conditioning. It can accommodate up to eight DI-8B-style amplifiers for industrial...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
At the scale of bridges or buildings, the most important force that engineered structures need to deal with is gravity. But at the scale of microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) — devices like the...
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Briefs: Energy
The widespread adoption of thermoelectric devices that can directly convert electricity into thermal energy for cooling and heating has been hindered, in part, by the lack of...
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Briefs: Materials
While different approaches have been used to create artificial muscles — including hydraulic systems, servomotors, shape-memory metals, and polymers that respond to stimuli — they all have limitations such as...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Material for Faster Computer Memory
Scientists are studying bismuth ferrite (BFO) material that has the potential to store information much more efficiently than is currently possible. BFO could also be used in sensors, transducers, and other electronics.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A portable, stable, standards-quality radiation thermometer was invented that can measure temperatures between -50 °C (-58 °F) to 150 °C (302 °F). The corresponding infrared wavelengths...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The production of precision products depends on robot control systems knowing the location of the adhesive bonding head or welding head to the nearest millimeter at all times. This means the robot...
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Products: Test & Measurement
Watlow®, St. Louis, MO, introduced the PM PLUS™ version of the EZ-ZONE® PM temperature controller that features a full-color front-panel display with color coding, making the display visible from many angles. A touch...
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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
People-Counting Sensor FLIR Systems, Inc. (Wilsonville, OR) announced the latest generation of the FLIR Brickstream 3D Gen 2 people-counting sensor. This new version includes a unique employee filtering feature designed to...
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Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers
Will Comfort-Adjusting Clothing Catch On?
Researchers from the University of Maryland have created a fabric that automatically regulates the amount of heat passing through. The engineered yarn expands and collapses based on temperature and humidity, cooling and warming a wearer as needed. What do you think?
Products: Test & Measurement
Circular Connectors Binder USA, Camarillo, CA, introduced the 720 Series of miniature circular connectors with a snap-in IP67 twin distributor. The distributor — a single male connector into two female...
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Articles: Nanotechnology
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
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Briefs: Energy
High-Temperature Dielectric Nanocomposite
A nanocomposite was developed that could be a superior high-temperature dielectric material for flexible electronics, energy storage, and electric devices. The nanocomposite combines one-dimensional polymer nanofibers and two-dimensional boron nitride nano-sheets. The nanofibers reinforce the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Two very challenging problems facing the U.S. and the world are energy security and global climate change, largely due to dependence on fossil fuels. Cost-effective technologies have been developed that are capable...
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Briefs: Materials
Researchers have created a fabric that automatically regulates the amount of heat that passes through, depending on conditions; for example, when conditions are warm and moist — such as those of a...
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Briefs: Materials
The color of a material can often tell how it handles heat. With clothing, for example, the darker the pigment, the warmer you're likely to feel on a hot day. Likewise, the more...
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Briefs: Materials
Polymers are regularly used as thermal insulators and can even be used as thermal conductors to enable efficient heating or cooling. A new type of polymer was created that demonstrates a...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microscale Electro-Hydrodynamic (EHD) Modular Cartridge Pump
The EHD pump uses electric fields to move a dielectric fluid coolant in a thermal loop to dissipate heat generated by electrical components with a low-power system. The pump has only a few key components and no moving parts, increasing the simplicity and robustness of the system. In...
Blog: Energy
Many of the technologies we use today – space blankets, hearing aids, food packaging – began on the Apollo 11 mission.
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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Just 54 years ago, the first photograph of Mars from a passing spacecraft appeared to show a hazy atmosphere. Now, decades of exploration on the planet itself has shown it to be a world...
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Facility Focus: Nanotechnology
On September 1, 1961, NASA requested appropriations for initial land purchases on Merritt Island on Florida’s east coast to support the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. Designers quickly began developing...
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Articles: Aerospace
For the first time in a generation, NASA is building a human spacecraft for deep-space missions that will usher in a new era of space exploration. A...
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5 Ws: Electronics & Computers
Who Anyone who uses products made of plastic. The new recyclable plastic could be a good alternative to many nonrecyclable plastics in use today.
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Briefs: Materials
Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™) allows creation of wire, bar, and tubular extrusions that show significant improvement in material properties; for example, magnesium extrusions have...
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