May
29
Now a Self Healing Seal for Fuel Cells
May 29, 2009 | 2 Comments
Solid oxide fuel cells have a problem; the integrity of the seals within and between the power-producing units tends to fail. The stack materials run at high temperatures in some designs as high as 1000 degrees centigrade (1,800 F). Keeping the fuel separated is critical as a fuel leak into the oxygen side can cause [...]
May
28
Another Old Aerodynamic Assumption Bites the Dust
May 28, 2009 | 4 Comments
Logic, common sense and simple intuition suggest that the smoothest surface to reduce aerodynamic air drag would be the best for wings, propellers, hulls and bodies moving through the air. It looks like that seemingly obvious preconception is at an end. The UK’s University of Warwick research, backed and funded by the Engineering and Physical [...]
May
27
The Little Electric Motor That Can
May 27, 2009 | 5 Comments
The world uses about half of the electrical power generated for electric motors. For most anyone in the field its known there are great differences in efficiency and power for the money. What doesn’t come to mind much is the weight and dimensions. For transport, weight and dimensions do matter a great deal. That made [...]
May
26
Phoenix-based CoalSack Energy, Inc. is a fledgling company launched four months ago with the express goal of taking their groundbreaking technology to market. It’s based on the technology developed by Harold L. Bennett, a 78-year-old civil engineer from Albuquerque. It seems that CoalSack is in the pretreatment of coal business, until now a non-existing business, [...]
May
25
Progress Update on Magnetic Refrigeration
May 25, 2009 | 6 Comments
The Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University hosted a magnetic refrigeration conference that drew an international audience in Des Moines Iowa on May 12, 2009. The focus of the four-day event was on an energy efficient form of refrigeration that replaces gas compressors and ozone-depleting refrigerants with a system that uses special alloys and a [...]
May
22
The Tipping Point For Electric Drives is Near
May 22, 2009 | 4 Comments
In the UK where driving distances and range expectations are shorter engineers are beginning to think that electric drive with battery sets are fully viable market prospects. Such a conclusion relies on some important lessons and reveals the obvious problems. The problem list is short, but significant. The range issue is foremost due to battery [...]
May
21
Antidotes for Foolishness
May 21, 2009 | 3 Comments
Perhaps the gravest danger to freedom is ignorance or maybe its busy citizens listening to popular media sound bites, hype and shenanigans to get eyeballs and ears for advertisers. Both plus other human foibles allow or encourage snake oil sales, frauds and political scandals. Those results plus the loss of mental independence in academia have [...]
May
20
A New Fuel Cell Catalyst Breakthrough
May 20, 2009 | 3 Comments
Younan Xia, Ph.D., the James M. McKelvey Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis led a team of scientists at WUSTL and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the development of a bimetallic fuel cell catalyst made of a palladium core that acts as a “seed” that supports growth of dendritic platinum branches [...]
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