latest innovations in materials engineering

8/11/2019 Latest Innovations in Materials Engineering

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Laptops have the advantages of being

more versatile and portable than their

desktop counterparts. But these attributes

impose considerable demands on the

electronic components in a laptop -- particularlythe hard drive. The magnetic disk inside

a hard drive rotates at a rate of several

thousand revolutions a minute. At the same

time, a read/write head moves only a few

nanometers above the disk surface to access

information on the disk. At such high speeds,

large vibrations can permanently damage the hard drive.


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To help reduce hard drive failures, Jianqiang Mou and colleagues from the A*STAR

Data Storage Institute in Singapore have now developed a computer model that can

predict and minimize the effects of vibrations on the hard drive and ultimately help to

improve laptop design1.

Current designs of many laptops actually compound the problems caused byvibrations. For instance, to provide protection from external impact and accidents,

laptops are often encased in special housings intended to absorb accidental drops

and other shocks. Such laptop designs can actually be counterproductive if not done

properly, explains Mou. "The commercial notebook computer industry rarely

understands how chassis design can substantially affect the performance of the hard

drive. Some notebook computers are designed with vibration sources, for example the

loud speaker, located close to the hard drive."


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To get back to the fundamentals of laptop design, the researchers developed a

theoretical framework that models the propagation of vibrations from various

components in a laptop, such as the speakers, to the hard drive. Underpinning thisframework are mathematical equations that describe the transmission of vibrations in

laptops, and these equations form the input for a computer model applied to specific

laptop designs.

The results of the researchers' calculations can be used to inform general laptop

design strategies. For example, often very stiff materials are used for laptop cases toprovide enhanced mechanical strength. However, stiff materials tend to transmit high-

frequency vibrations more strongly than flexible materials, and it is difficult for hard

drives to compensate for these frequencies. Softer materials are preferable as they

suppress higher frequency vibrations, leaving only slower vibrations which are easier

for hard drives to compensate.

"Our study provides an effective approach for computer and hard drive makers to

optimize the chassis design and component mounting," adds Mou. "Furthermore, the

methodology presented in our paper can be applied for analysis and optimal design of

other computer chassis, such as servers in data centers."


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Mass production of industrial goods, such as furniture, clothing or ball pens, is

inexpensive. In the future, even small series of individualized products might be

manufactured rapidly and efficiently by means of intelligent machines that

communicate with each other. To this end, researchers coordinate a project that is

aimed at finding innovative solutions to considerably reduce changeover times in the

production process.


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Robots and tools that communicate with each other and combine in variable factory

lines within shortest periods of time are major elements of a smart factory. The

factories of "Industry 4.0" combine production engineering with information

technology. Under the SkillPro project, computer scientists cooperate with electricalengineers, business engineers, and mechanical engineers.


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On the part of KIT, the Institute for Information Management in Engineering and the

Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics (IAR) with its Research Laboratory for

Intelligent Process Control and Robotics (IPR) are involved in the project. "Existing

plug & produce approaches are improved with the help of knowledge about the skills

of new devices and their effects on the entire production system in terms of workflowsand economic aspects," explains SkillPro coordinator Professor Bjrn Hein, who

conducts research at the IPR. Apart from the KIT and the Fraunhofer Institute of

Optronics, System Technologies, and Image Exploitation, industry partners from

France, Greece, Spain, Estonia, Finland, and Germany participate in the project. The

European Union (EU) funds the research project that started in 2012 with EUR 3.8

million. The funding period will expire in September 2015. "Interim evaluation after halfof the project duration confirmed the feasibility of our approach," Thomas Maier

emphasizes.


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Researchers have developed the first fuel cell that can directly convert fuels, such as

jet fuel or gasoline, to electricity, providing a dramatically more energy-efficient way to

create electric power for planes or cars.


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Washington State University researchers have

developed the first fuel cell that can directly

convert fuels, such as jet fuel or gasoline, to

electricity, providing a dramatically more

energy-efficient way to create electric powerfor planes or cars. Led by Professors Su Ha and

M. Grant Norton in the Voiland College of Engineerin

g and Architecture, the researchers have published

the results of their work in the May edition of Energy

Technology. A second paper on using their fuel cell

with gasoline has been accepted for publication in

the Journal of Power Sources. The researchers have

made coin-sized fuel cells to prove the concept and

plan to scale it up.


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Using jet fuel and gasoline to power their fuel cell proved tricky. To avoid the added weightof a device that converts the complex fuel into simpler components, such as hydrogen andcarbon monoxide (a mixture called synthesis gas) the researchers wanted to be able todirectly feed the liquid fuel into the fuel cell. Furthermore, they had to overcome theproblems of sulfur poisoning and coking, a process in which a solid product is created fromimperfect combustion. Sulfur is present in all fossil-based fuels and can quickly deactivate

fuel cells.

Using a unique catalyst material and a novel processing technique, Ha and Norton andcollaborators at Kyung Hee University in South Korea and the Boeing Company in Seattlehave produced a high-performance fuel cell that operates when directly fed with a jet fuelsurrogate.

"The results of this research are a key step in the integration of fuel cell technology inaviation and the development of the more electric airplane," said Joe Breit, associatetechnical fellow at Boeing and a participating researcher on the project.

The researchers envision integrating their fuel cell with a battery to power auxiliary powerunits. These units are currently powered by gas turbines and operate lights, navigationsystems and various other electrical systems. The two technologies complement eachother's weaknesses, says Ha.

The researchers also have used gasoline to power their fuel cell and envision somedayusing it to power cars. Vehicles powered in this way could use existing gas stations, ratherthan having to develop a hydrogen-based infrastructure.


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