studying-engineering: Printable Steel and Timber Design Cheat...

studying-engineering:

Printable Steel and Timber Design Cheat Sheet (long)

Just message for corrections :)

This is great, but also reminds me about how much I hate doing this…

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2gUbQrV

materialsscienceandengineering: Coffee-infused foam removes...

Drawing your circuits

fuckyeahphysica: The intricacies involved in launching a...

materialsscienceandengineering: Increasing conductivity in...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Increasing conductivity in new battery materials

The high energy density of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries make them a popular energy storage technology, especially in mobile applications such as personal electronics and electric cars. However, the materials currently used in Li-ion batteries are expensive, while many of them, like lithium cobalt oxide, are also difficult to handle and dispose of. What is more, batteries using these materials have relatively short lifetimes.

These shortcomings have led scientists to develop novel materials for next generation Li-ion batteries: two promising electrode materials are lithium titanate and lithium iron phosphate. The materials are readily available, safe to use, and easy to dispose of or recycle. Most importantly, batteries manufactured using these materials have significantly longer cycle and calendar lifetimes compared to current battery technologies. However, these new materials are currently hampered by their low electrical conductivity.

Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) in Kuopio have now come up with a potential solution to this low conductivity problem, which is reported in a paper in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds.

“The electric conductivity problem can be solved by producing nanosized, high surface area crystalline materials, or by modifying the material composition with highly conductive dopants, ” explains Tommi Karhunen, a researcher in the UEF Fine Particle and Aerosol Technology Laboratory. “We have succeeded in doing both for lithium titanate in a simple, one-step gas phase process developed here at the UEF Fine Particle and Aerosol Technology Laboratory.”

Read more.

Important research.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1Wo6k2e

materialsscienceandengineering: ‘Meta-Skin’ Truly Cloaks...

materialsscienceandengineering:

‘Meta-Skin’ Truly Cloaks Objects From Radar

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…wait, I don’t see anything there. Stealth aircraft could get even harder to detect with a new flexible, stretchy metamaterial that effectively traps and suppresses radar waves.

The cloaking tech has potential military applications, including coating next-generation stealth bombers.

A team at Iowa State University led by electrical and computer engineering professor Jiming Song and associate professor Liang Dong developed a metamaterial they’re calling “meta-skin.”

Metamaterials are manmade materials that have capabilities greater than the sum of their individual components. While cartoonist Randall Munroe sadly doesn’t have an entry for them in his “Thing Explainer” book, his xkcd comic strip does. Having learned about the physical feats some can pull off, I think they’re kind of magical.

The engineers at Iowa State University created their metamaterial by embedding rows of tiny split-ring resonators inside silicone sheets. These resonators contain the liquid metal alloy galinstan, which is gallium, indium, and tin. It’s used commercially and has low toxicity compared to other liquid metals. I even found some on Amazon.com.

Read more.

Looks really cool.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1SIdmsV

materialsscienceandengineering: How things break (and why scientists want to know)Humans spend a...

materialsscienceandengineering:

How things break (and why scientists want to know)

Humans spend a lot of time creating things—this drives a huge amount of our lives, economically and personally—and we are always in a fight to keep them from breaking down. Houses, roads, cars. Power lines and bridges. Solar cells and computers. Batteries. People.

Then there are the things we want to break down, and are always searching for better ways to do it: Harmful pollutants in the soil. Old buildings. The cellulose in plant fibers, so we can make it into biofuels. Atoms, so we can harness the energy they release as nuclear energy, and find out what makes up the universe.

Much of our lives revolve around either of these categories, and they constantly occupy the minds of scientists and engineers. An entire lab at Argonne is devoted to finding out what goes wrong when batteries stop working. No fewer than five accelerators designed to smash tiny things into one another are running at any given time on the campus.

You break things when you want to know what they’re made of, and this is useful for answering both the most fundamental questions—like what the universe is made out of—and the most everyday questions, like why your cell phone battery dies after just a few hours.

Read more.

How things break is important in preventing them from breaking… or accelerating the process.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1SWYmtW

materialsscienceandengineering: Promising new cathode...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Promising new cathode material to enhance battery life

Nowadays Li-ion batteries power a wide range of electronic devices: mobile phones, tablets, laptops. They became popular in 90s and subsequently ousted widespread nickel-metal hydride batteries.

However, Li-ion batteries suffer a number of disadvantages. For example, their capacity may drop when temperature falls below zero. The price is also inhibitory due to the use of expensive lithium-containing materials—for example, Li-ion batteries are responsible for about half of the cost of the electric Tesla Model S vehicle. However, Li-ion batteries are compact, easy to use and high capacity, offering long performance from relatively small batteries.

One limiting factor of Li-ion batteries is the cathode, as capacity limits for most cathode materials have been reached. Hence, scientists and engineers are actively searching for new cathode materials capable of recharging completely within minutes, operating under high current densities, and storing more energy.

One of the most promising candidates for next-generation cathode materials is fluoride-phosphates of transition metals.

The work, directed by Prof. Evgeny Antipov, was conducted by a team of MSU research scientists together with their Russian and Belgian colleagues. It was devoted to the creation of a new, high-power cathode material based on a fluoride-phosphate of vanadium and potassium for Li-ion batteries. The results were published in Chemistry of Materials.

Read more.

Yay, battery chemistry!

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1X0cIe5

itsfullofstars: NASA’s next-gen Z-2 spacesuitThe Z-2 has been...

itsfullofstars:

NASA’s next-gen Z-2 spacesuit

The Z-2 has been designed purely with one purpose in mind - to allow astronauts to explore a foreign planet. The suit won’t be worn during space walks or on board spacecraft, but will be used when humans reach Mars.

“The suit is designed for maximum astronaut productivity on a planetary surface – exploring, collecting samples, and maneuvering in and out of habitats and rovers,” NASA explained.

Seems like it could be more somehow… This doesn’t really look that different.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1V7iI5K

Scientists have invented a solar cell as light as a soap bubble

Scientists have invented a solar cell as light as a soap bubble:

mindblowingscience:

Scientists have invented incredibly thin, flexible photovoltaic cells that are so lightweight, they can rest on top of soap bubbles without breaking them. Cells this thin and light could eventually be placed almost anywhere, from smart clothing to helium balloons.

“It could be so light that you don’t even know it’s there, on your shirt or on your notebook,” said one of the researchers, Vladimir Bulović from MIT. “These cells could simply be an add-on to existing structures.”

It’s that versatility that makes the experiment so exciting - even if it’s still only a proof-of-concept at this stage. Key to the creation of the new cell is the way the researchers have combined making the solar cell itself, the substrate that supports it, and its protective coating, all in one process.

Continue Reading.

Awesome.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1UvtRyK

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Mechanical Engineering, Part 34: Residual Stresses

engineeringtldr:

Fatigue failure is basically tensile in nature. It occurs when parts are repeatedly stretched beyond the limits of their material. One way a designer can compensate for this is to make parts with compressive stresses built into them to counteract the tensile stress they’ll encounter during use.

It’s important to understand that pretty much any process that deforms material creates residual stresses. They’re an inavoidable result of the process of manufacture. For many parts, it’s not something that has to be taken into account, but it becomes important in some applications. (For some plastic parts, for example, it’s common to stress-relieve parts after they’re machined by annealing to reduce internal stresses created during machining that may cause premature failure.) However, in the case of a part where we know it will be subjected to tensile stress, it may be desirable to deliberately process the part to introduce a compressive residual stress.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this. It can be done by hardening, in which the part is heated and then quenched, or by mechanical compression of the part’s outer layer with a process like shot peening (where pellets of some kind are literally shot at the piece) or hammer peening (exactly what it sounds like).

When you build in compressive stresses like this, you are giving the part a greater tolerance of tensile loads, but you’re also creating a tensile stress within the part itself in a neutral state to counterbalance the compression. So in using these techniques, it’s possible to go too far and create a part that will fail early due to its own internal stresses. Used correctly, however, adding a compressive layer to a part can significantly lengthen its life.

This is cool.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1Vxk6iw

materialsscienceandengineering: Smart skin made of recyclable materials may transform medicine...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Smart skin made of recyclable materials may transform medicine and robotics

Smart skin that can respond to external stimuli could have important applications in medicine and robotics. Using only items found in a typical household, researchers have created multi-sensor artificial skin that’s capable of sensing pressure, temperature, humidity, proximity, pH, and air flow.

The flexible, paper-based skin is layered onto a post-it note, with paper, aluminum foil, lint-free wipes, and pencil lines acting as sensing components. Being made of recyclable materials, this paper skin presents a large number of sensory functions in a cheap and environmentally friendly way.

“Democratization of electronics will be key in the future for its continued growth. In that regard, a skin-type sensory platform made with recyclable materials only demonstrates the power of human imagination,” said Prof. Muhammad Mustafa Hussain, senior author of the Advanced Materials Technologies paper. “This is the first time a singular platform shows multi-sensory functionalities close to that of natural skin. Additionally they are being read or monitored simultaneously like our own skin.”

Read more.

Cool.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/25eb4el

materialsscienceandengineering: Scientists prove feasibility...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Scientists prove feasibility of ‘printing’ replacement tissue

Using a sophisticated, custom-designed 3D printer, regenerative medicine scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have proved that it is feasible to print living tissue structures to replace injured or diseased tissue in patients.

Reporting in Nature Biotechnology, the scientists said they printed ear, bone and muscle structures. When implanted in animals, the structures matured into functional tissue and developed a system of blood vessels. Most importantly, these early results indicate that the structures have the right size, strength and function for use in humans.

“This novel tissue and organ printer is an important advance in our quest to make replacement tissue for patients,” said Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and senior author on the study. “It can fabricate stable, human-scale tissue of any shape. With further development, this technology could potentially be used to print living tissue and organ structures for surgical implantation.”

With funding from the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a federally funded effort to apply regenerative medicine to battlefield injuries, Atala’s team aims to implant bioprinted muscle, cartilage and bone in patients in the future.

Read more.

This will be huge.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1UrqwA7

The Popularity of Anodising: Why People Opt for Anodised Aluminium

The Popularity of Anodising: Why People Opt for Anodised Aluminium:

badgeranodising:

There are a number of extremely beneficial properties in regards to anodised aluminium and numerous Birmingham clients are taking advantage of this modern technology.

Anodising is an electrolytic process which involves coating metals such as aluminium with a thick external layer of oxide materials. All science aside, there are countless benefits that this technique can provide.

Helping the Environment

Before delving into the physical characteristics of an anodised product, it is important to point out this this process is environmentally friendly. As opposed to traditional methods, anodising uses only a minimal amount of harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Also, anodised products such as cans and mobile phone cases last much longer and less waste is ultimately produced. Individuals and companies who are embracing a “green” approach should appreciate these factors.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1pmUBDX

engineerthougts: Complete this sentence 😁

materialsscienceandengineering: A football helmet design that...

materialsscienceandengineering:

A football helmet design that listens to physics

A shock-absorbing football helmet system being developed at the University of Michigan could blunt some dangerous physics that today’s head protection ignores.

The engineering researchers making the system, called Mitigatium, were recently funded by a group that includes the National Football League. Their early prototype could lead to a lightweight and affordable helmet that effectively dissipates the energy from hit after hit on the field. Current helmets can’t do this, and that’s one of the reasons they aren’t very good at preventing brain injury.

“Today’s football helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures by reducing the peak force of an impact,” said Ellen Arruda, U-M professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. “And they do a good job of that. But they don’t actually dissipate energy. They leave that to the brain.”

Sports like football present big challenges for the designers of protective head gear. To dissipate energy, a helmet typically has to deform, like the bike version cracks in a collision. And disposable helmets aren’t practical for football players.

Read more.

We’re working really hard to help keep our modern day gladiators less in danger than they currently are… but is there a place for this brute-ish sport in modern, civilized society? I much prefer real football.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1McanGQ

materialsscienceandengineering: New material lights up when...

materialsscienceandengineering:

New material lights up when detecting explosives

Scientists have created a material which turns fluorescent if there are molecules from explosives in the vicinity. The discovery could improve, for example, airport security – and also it gives us an insight into a rather chaotic micro-world where molecules and atoms constantly are responding to their surroundings.

Unlike humans, dogs’ noses are so sensitive that they can smell explosives in the vicinity. They can detect single molecules in the air, and thus they may be valuable helpers when it comes to detecting explosives.

Inspired by such talents, science is devoting many resources on developing electronic or chemical “noses” which similarly can detect explosives molecules and thus warn that explosives may be hiding in the vicinity.

Researchers from University of Southern Denmark now report the creation of a new material, consisting of a set of molecules which react when encountering explosives molecules in their vicinity. The set consists of the molecules TTF-C[4]P and TNDCF.

TNDCF has the special talent that it becomes fluorescent when an explosives molecule is introduced to the set of molecules.

Read more.

This is cool and pretty useful.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1TP9GeI

Researchers turn waste paper into oil cleaning aerogel

casadelsoulman: Tilt-shift photo of the space shuttle...

casadelsoulman:

Tilt-shift photo of the space shuttle Endeavour by NASA

Woah. This is crazy cool.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1LBSTsk

materialsscienceandengineering: Carbon dioxide captured from...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Carbon dioxide captured from air can be directly converted into methanol fuel

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that CO₂ captured from the air can be directly converted into methanol (CH₃OH) using a homogeneous catalyst. The benefits are two-fold: The process removes harmful CO₂ from the atmosphere, and the methanol can be used as an alternative fuel to gasoline. The work represents an important step that could one day lead to a future “methanol economy,” in which fuel and energy storage are primarily based on methanol.

The study was led by G. K. Surya Prakash, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California, along with the Nobel laureate George A. Olah, a distinguished professor at the University of Southern California. The researchers have published their paper on the CO₂-to-methanol conversion process in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“Direct CO₂ capture and conversion to methanol using molecular hydrogen in the same pot was never achieved before. We have now done it!” Prakash told Phys.org.

Over the past several years, chemists have been investigating various ways of recycling CO₂ into useful products. For example, treating CO₂ with hydrogen gas (H₂) can produce methanol, methane (CH₄), or formic acid (HCOOH). Among these products, methanol is especially attractive because of its use as an alternative fuel, in fuel cells, and for hydrogen storage.

Read more.

Cool!

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1Rugqe6