Energy Efficiency
Digital twins could reduce nuclear energy costs
University of Michigan researchers are leading a project to develop virtual copies of nuclear reactors with digital twins, which could enable smarter maintenance for current reactors and more automation for advanced reactors.
Big Data, machine learning used to design gas separation membranes
Researchers have developed a method that combines Big Data and machine learning to selectively design gas-filtering polymer membranes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the next generation of batteries.
2D oxide flakes pick up electrical properties
Rice University lab detects piezoelectric effects in nanosheets due to defects, which could improve energy harvesting applications.
Power conditioning needs to match the power quality environment
Voltage sags depend on the facility. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) might be needed, but for large-scale issues, a UPS might not be the best option. See five UPS alternatives.
Ethylene catalyst for manufacturing, shale gas developed
North Carolina State University researchers engineered a catalyst that can more efficiently convert ethane into ethylene, which is used in a variety of manufacturing processes including plastics and shale gas.
Double-walled nanotubes have electro-optical advantages
Rice University calculations show double-walled nanotubes could be highly useful for solar panels and other nanoelectronics applications such as photovoltaics.
Understanding power quality, improving manufacturing system reliability
Voltage sags and interruptions can have a detrimental effect on manufacturing processes. Understanding how and why they happen is crucial.
Breadboards integrated onto physical products
MIT researchers have invented a way to integrate “breadboards” — flat platforms used for electronics prototyping to quickly test circuit functions and user interactions with products such as smart devices and flexible electronics.
Material’s insulating properties can be tuned at will
MIT researchers have designed an electrical heat valve, which can vary the thermal conductivity on demand, and could help create controllable insulation and harvest the energy of waste heat.
Metal battery using Potassium could be alternative to Lithium-ion
Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a metal battery that relies on potassium instead of Lithium-ion, which could create more energy efficient batteries for consumers.