bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Braces and Poisson additivity
Authors: Safronov Pavel
Published: July 2018

We relate the brace construction introduced by Calaque and Willwacher to an additivity functor. That is, we construct a functor from brace algebras associated to an operad${\mathcal{O}}$to associative algebras in the category of homotopy${\mathcal{O}}$-algebras. As an example, we identify the category of$\mathbb{P}_{n+1}$-algebras with the category of associative algebras in$\mathbb{P}_{n}$-algebras. We also show that under this identification there is an equivalence of two definitions of derived coisotropic structures in the literature.
Electric Plastics
Authors: Ashley Steven
Published: July 2018

This article reviews the importance of conductive polymer. The big chemical company is marketing the polythiophene under the trade name Baytron. The material could also be used to make plastics paintable by adding the conductive agent first, or in the electrodes of small, high-performance tantalum capacitors found in telecommunications, computer, and automotive products. Probably the most significant commercialization of conductive polymers was for flexible, long-lived batteries that were produced in quantity by Bridgestone Corp. and Seiko Co. in Japan and by BASF/Varta in Germany. Conductive polymers are long, carbon-based chains composed of simple repeating units called monomers. The list of potential applications for conductive polymers remains a long one, and includes antiradiation coatings, batteries, catalysts, deicer panels, electrochromic windows, electromechanical actuators, embedded-array antennas, fuel cells, lithographic resists, nonlinear optics, radar dishes, and wave guides. However, how big an impact the materials will make in these markets remains unclear.
Fuel-Saving Warship Drives
Authors: Ashley Steven
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on a fuel-efficient gas turbine engine featuring intercooling and heat recuperation, which is being developed to power a new generation of warships. Modern warships are often powered by gas turbine engines so they can take advantage of the turbine’s rapid response capabilities, solid operational reliability, high power density, and compact dimensions. For medium-size surface combatants such as destroyers, aircraft-derivative gas turbines have become the dominant propulsion engine type, having largely replaced traditional steam or diesel power plants. Though the all-electric concept is far from new, having been applied previously to merchant vessels, the technology is looking better of late. The NRC panel stated that gas turbine propulsion units, modular rare-earth permanent magnetic motors, and power control module technologies have matured to the point that all-electric ships appear feasible. The technology cited “unique advantages” in reduced volume, modular flexible propulsion, lower acoustic signature, enhanced survivability, high propeller torque at low speed, and inherent reversing capability. The result would be a submarine-type propulsion design with diesel-like fuel consumption.
The Engineer Behind Calder’s Art
Authors: Marter Joan M.
Published: July 2018

This article reviews the significance of Alexander Calder’s, a renowned sculptor, technical and engineering expertise that has become increasingly clear in recent years. Calder’s most important innovation in the development of wire sculpture was the suspension of his wire forms from a single wire thread. A small wood-and-wire caricature of a monkey was the first, soon followed by several caricatures of Josephine Baker, the star of La Revue N è gre at the Folies Bergè re and an international sensation in 1925. Like Leonardo da Vinci, Calder was primarily interested in problem solving, in experimenting with materials, mechanical systems, and devices. Calder’s studio was like a laboratory, with experimental works piled into corners or suspended from hooks in the ceiling. The most engaging aspect of Calder’s sculpture was its interaction with space. Mobiles participated in lively dialogues with their environs, reacting to air currents and human touch.
Luxury Liners Go Green
Authors: Valent Michael
Published: July 2018

This article reviews that twenty-first century passengers on the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises are set to make history in style. Up to six of Royal Caribbean’s Voyager- and Millennium-class vessels will be the first cruise ships ever powered by General Electric’s gas turbines. In addition to reducing engine-room noise and vibration and cutting emissions, this propulsion system—a departure from the traditional diesel engine—will make it possible for ships to set sail with a reduced maintenance crew and smaller parts inventory. Royal Caribbean International currently operates a fleet of 12 ships. In the Royal Caribbean application, the GE gas turbine will be used to drive generators that will provide electricity to propeller motors. The steam turbine will recover heat from the gas turbine exhaust for other uses. This combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive system represents a departure from diesel engines in more than one respect.
Connecting The Dots With CFD
Authors: Deitz Dan
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software in the design of ink-jet printers with accuracy equivalent to laser printers. CFD codes track sharp interfaces through arbitrary deformations and to apply the correct normal and tangential stress boundary conditions. CFD software solves the governing equations for fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemistry at several thousand discrete points on a computational grid in the flow domain. Engineers using CFD can obtain solutions for problems with complex geometries and boundary conditions. The CFD analysis yields values for fluid velocity and fluid temperature throughout the solution domain. CFD software cut the production time of the first ink-jet printer in the Lexmark International Inc, Lexington, KY, 7000 lines by helping engineers to determine the tolerances needed to align dots fired from the printhead on the printed page. Engineers at Lexmark have also developed custom lumped-parameter models that provide a faster but less comprehensive model of ink-jet operation, and use these frequently for parametric studies. The combination of the two modeling approaches is helping to improve the performance and reduce the cost of Lexmark printers.
Smart Cars and Automated Highways
Authors: Ashley Steven
Published: July 2018

This article illustrates the development and use of intelligent vehicles and automated highways to solve the increasing traffic problem. Small networks of computers installed in vehicles and along selected roadways could closely coordinate vehicles and harmonize traffic flow, maximizing highway capacity and passenger safety. A driver electing to use such an automated highway might first pass through a validation lane, similar to today's high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) or carpooling lanes. The system would then determine if the car will function correctly in an automated mode, establish its destination, and deduct any tolls from the driver's credit account. The article also highlights that basic to the automated-highway schemes are computer simulations to indicate that such systems may be the least expensive way to increase highway throughput. The California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) Program at the University of California has developed the technology whereby magnets buried at intervals in the roadbed would be sensed by magnetometers in vehicles, providing a way to monitor their location and velocity.
The Mechanics of Anatomy
Authors: Paula Greg
Published: July 2018

Mechanical engineers are helping to make the most complex machine of all-the human bodywork better and last longer, with projects ranging from safer skis to a new artificial heart. Researchers are gaining insights into designing a new breed of machines by using pneumatic artificial muscles to simulate the movements of a human arm. Current research is centered around alpine snow skiing, which produces complex loading at the knee. This load can be represented by three force and three moment components. Safety requires the bindings to release before loading reaches a level where it could injure the knee. The cornerstone of the artificial-heart project is the development of a novel magnetically levitated turbo-blood pump, which is intended to serve as a remedy for people with what would otherwise be terminal heart disease. Named the StreamLiner, its design evolution is being governed by numerical optimization algorithms, thus automating the design process for maximum functionality and biocompatibility.
Combating Heart Disease with FEA
Authors: C. Baynham Tamara , Knisley Stephen B.
Published: July 2018

Biomedical researchers are combining electrostatic finite element analysis (FEA) software with laboratory testing to improve treatments for arrhythmia. The researchers used Algor's Superdraw Ill, a precision finite-element model-building tool, to model a 100-by-100-centimeter sheet, which represented a conductive area of the heart. They applied a resistivity value based on a thickness of 1cm to simulate a uniform resistance over heart fibers. The finite element model showed that current through the element faces at the ends of the electrodes was 151 percent larger than current near the electrode center. The researchers also used FEA to determine that the length of the line electrode does not affect the current distribution. In order to confirm the results of the analysis and further test the positioning of the electrode with respect to heart fibers, researchers applied line electrodes in varying positions andorientations on 13 hearts from New Zealand rabbits. Finally, researchers could determine the distribution of the change in transmembrane voltage from a line electrode, made up of a summation of points, using electrostatic analysis.
Sensing the Torque in a Robot’s Joints
Authors: Aghili Farhad , Buehler Martin , Hollerbach John M.
Published: July 2018

This article describes design specifications of a new sensor that can accurately measure the torsion moment in a direct-drive robot, even in the presence of strong overhang, thrust forces, and bending moments. Introducing a torque sensor into a robot joint adds flexibility. Although torsional flexibility can be compensated for by sophisticated controllers, deflection in the other axes is more problematic. Consequently, another design criterion dictates high stiffness in non-torsional directions. The sensor design must optimize, and trade off among several conflicting design criteria. Also, many design iterations are required to arrive at a final design. Despite this complexity, it is possible to arrive at a novel basic sensor design. Thin-section rectangular bars experience high stress/ strain concentrations under torsion loads, which yield high sensitivity without sacrificing stiffness. This fact suggests that an appropriate structure should be primarily stressed by torsion. The team used the finite element analysis (FEA) capabilities of I-DEAS from Structural Dynamics Research Corp. to finalize the dimensions so that performance would be optimized. FEA was also used to select the location and proper size of the strain gauges.
Blast from the Past
Authors: Loob William
Published: July 2018

This article presents a review about the jet engine testing facilities of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Trenton, NJ, that had to be moved to a base run by another branch of the military, the Arnold Engineering Development Center at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee. The jet engine testing complex at Trenton had been built in the 1950s. The restriction effectively ruled out any upgrades so long as the Navy’s engine test requirements could be met by replicating the capabilities of the old facility. The natural tendency of the engineers and planners looking at the project was to think immediately about how the facility could be improved with modern designs. For the restriction on not improving the test capability at Trenton, the project ironically provided an expansion of services. This is built to subject the Navy engines to definite environmental conditions, and as long as the Navy has that kind of test requirement. It is a capability that is available not only to the Navy and Air Force, but to the Army, Marines, and private industry as well.
Sun Worship
Authors: Wolcott Barbara
Published: July 2018

Solar power is gaining more backers in the commercial market, as innovative technology and less intrusive design enhance its appeal. Under a pilot program with a supplier, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is offering customers a 2- to 4-kW power plant that is designed to blend with the shingles. In northern California, SMUD has become an activist organization in the spread of solar power, chiefly because of the explosive population growth in its area. Although most solar-powered roofs in SMUD's PV Pioneer program are on residences, 20 other sites take part in the project. The Power Authority has said that the experience it receives by installing various systems will prove very valuable when manufacturing and market influences drive prices down, and solar power becomes a profitable enterprise for the agency. Photovoltaic panels deck the roof of one of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's customers; the small power plants feed electricity to the grid at peak hours of the day.
Minding the Nuclear Store
Authors: Perkins Michelle
Published: July 2018

A model from Los Alamos studies the deformation of a hypothetical nuclear device when it collides with a steel plate. This shows that simulations play a key role in establishing the reliability of nuclear weapons. The scientists at Los Alamos, Sandia, and Lawrence Livermore labs are turning to huge computers and advanced visualization software to test virtual models. Visualizing and analyzing the data generated by the computational models overwhelm traditional scientific visualization methods. Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories are using computer simulations to test whether the Navy’s W76 nuclear warhead could still function amid blasts of X-rays on a nuclear battlefield. The simulations try to mathematically predict what real X-rays would do as they go through the W76's electronic circuits. Real world tests are run with weaker X-rays and the results are compared with the computer simulations. Data from old underground nuclear tests are also used to validate the computer tests.
Upping the Systems
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

Manufacturers and processors are improving the energy efficiency of their plant motor-driven systems by as much as 30 percent under the auspices of the Motor Challenge program of the US Department of Energy (DOE). Among the facilities that are beneficiaries of the Motor Challenge are a Chevron petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, a Cummins Engine diesel engine assembly plant in Columbus, IN, and a Blue Circle quarry in Lithonia, GA. Petroleum refineries are prime candidates for improvement in energy efficiency; roughly 40 percent of their operating cost is incurred by energy demands. Chevron, one of the largest petroleum refiners in the United States, operates six gasoline-producing refineries, including one in Richmond, CA. McBroom Electric used the DOE's MotorMaster+ software to perform the audit. The audit forecast a short payback period for replacing standard motors withenergy efficient models. Blue Circle now uses MotorMaster+ at its cement plant and several ready-mix facilities to evaluate replacement motor purchases based on life cycle costs instead of initial costs.
Long Line in Long Beach
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article discusses various aspects of a riveter and its usage at Boeing. Boeing took delivery of the riveter in 1998 from the German company Brötje Automation and the Spanish company Torres Industries. The riveter puts together the fuselage panels of the U.S. Air Force's C- 17 Globemaster Ill, a giant military transport aircraft {CE: Please check the validity of this edit.}. In four stations, the riveter joins panels to panels, and panels to frames. At the first station, an overhead crane takes an individual panel out of a shipping container, rotates it from a vertical posture to a horizontal one, and then lowers it onto a field of spike-like ‘pogos.’ The pogos extend and retract radially from a bridge, cradling a panel by conforming to its contours like a waiter balancing a tray on the tips of all five fingers. Adding to the already complex matrix of rivet data and locations is the control of every pogo and bridge move for any given panel assembly. With nine pogos per bridge, each with radial and circumferential locations, and five bridges per car, each of which must move along the length of the shuttle for tool clearance, the machine presents a monumental programming task.
Chunky, Spunky, and Cheap
Authors: Brown Alan S.
Published: July 2018

Most companies are applying innovative engineering ways and making unusual compromises to meet their target. One company, for example, plans to power its cars with remanufactured Volkswagen engines. Another wants to build a taxi with only two doors. The two-door Buddy taxi is meant to handle highways, dirt roads, and no road at all. Mud on the tires is part of the advertising pitch. Designers and engineers developing world cars have rarely worked for Detroit's Big Three. Many of them trace their fascination with cars back to the days when they built hot rods in their garages. Automotive Design & Composites Ltd. of San Antonio, Texas, plans to produce an inexpensive multipurpose truck, which it calls the MPT. It has teamed with Global Industries Inc. of Carson City, Nev., which will supply parts and train future factory workers. World cars also have low part counts, usually in the range of 400 to 500.
In the Service of Abundance
Authors: Shueller John K.
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on the role of agriculture mechanization in the growth process in different fields. Many innovations in agricultural mechanization occurred in the middle of the 19th century. Agricultural mechanization is often exemplified by the development of the tractor. A key figure in the development of tractors was a Michigan farm boy who first became interested in technology when he saw a large steam traction engine. The adoption of the gasoline tractor was aided significantly by successful demonstrations and tests. The many 20th-century advancements in machinery to till soil, plant, remove weeds, and apply fertilizers and pesticides are too numerous to discuss here. However, at least harvesting equipment should be discussed because its mechanization trailed only tractors in importance. Cyrus McCormick’s reaper replaced human-powered cutting tools in small grains with a horse-drawn machine in the 19th century.
All in a Day's Work
Authors: DeGaspari John
Published: July 2018

This article illustrates that teamwork by four companies cuts the time from mold design to finished part down to hours instead of weeks. The companies formed Rapid Use of Shop Hours (RUSH) team—pooling their expertise in mold making, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, machine tools, and controls. The team members were Pleasant Precision Inc., a supplier of interchangeable insert mold systems; PTC, which supplied the tool design and NC toolpath software; Makino, a manufacturer of computer numerical control (CNC) machining centers; and Dynisco, which supplied the hot runner control. The RUSH team generated an injection mold design and numerical control toolpath data, machined and assembled a production injection mold, and installed hot runner controls to regulate plastic flow internally in the tool.
With Built-in Ice Maker
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article describes that technology and engineering combine to keep rinks flush, below freezing, and efficient enough to turn a profit in even the balmiest climes. An expert specifies that to prevent the latex paints from running, additional layers are carefully sprayed over the decorations, sealing them. A warm-sand underfloor keeps the rink frost line away from the ground, preventing any heaving of the slab. Among the many elements that Commercial Refrigeration incorporates into its rinks, finned pipes improve the rate of heat transfer. Exceptional care is used in positioning each pipe precisely within the concrete slab, Martin said, as a way of bettering heat transfer and rink efficiency. Eight-inch-diameter headers distribute coolant to the floor pipes. Smaller headers beneath circulate warm brine to the pipe. Low-emissivity ceilings can reduce heat loads by 20 percent. The new machine requires less maintenance than those that rely on internal combustion engines.
Setting the Standards
Authors: Leight Walter , Collins Belinda
Published: July 2018

In lieu of a king’s foot, a complex, sophisticated system smoothens the mechanical aspects of contemporary life. According to experts, we expect our computers to have interoperable parts that the monitor will work with the modem and the printer as well as the processor, and that we will not have to rewrite parts so that they will work together. ANSI is the US member body in ISO and hosts the US National Committee of the IEC. ASME and other US standards-developing groups lay claim to being de facto international organizations because many of their US-developed standards are used around the world to supplement government regulation and procurement actions. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code is used widely, while the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code forms the basis for building codes in the United States and Canada. The technology transfer act requires that agencies report when they do not use available private sector standards, and instructs federal agencies to participate in the development of private sector standards that are relevant to their missions.
Getting a Firmer Grip
Authors: Okreglak Les M.
Published: July 2018

This article explains joint engineering efforts of engineers in designing a safer connector between the cable and chair on the lift. Whistler Mountain, along with two other ski areas in the British Columbia/Alberta region, Silver Star and Lake Louise, joined to find a replacement for the grips that would fit the existing chairlift structure and could be implemented quickly. The new grip design eliminates dependence on gravity to secure the grip to the cable on the ski lift. Helical springs exert the entire gripping force and prevent slippage. Linear static stress analyses were performed under two specific conditions: when the jaws were closed and attached to the cable, and when the jaws were open for transition to the loading track, where the force of the springs was the greatest. Built-in visualization tools in the finite element analysis (FEA) software were used to view the stress results with a von Mises display. According to the conclusive results of the testing, the grip was solid. With the tough design criteria, rigorous testing in manufacturing, and scrutiny by a regulatory body, Pol-X West was presented with a situation that ensured a very safe product while using the existing lift equipment and minimizing the resorts’ downtime. The lifts installed with the new grips have since operated successfully, without incident.
User-Friendly Sensors
Authors: DeGaspari John
Published: July 2018

This article illustrates that miniaturization promises to bring chemical analysis out of the lab and into the field. Current research, based on varying approaches, is aimed at ultimately developing small, portable chemical analysis systems that are fast, accurate, and field-friendly. Some applications have been commercialized, and many more are still under development. One approach, taken by Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, is based on detecting elemental signatures—telltale traces of elements that fluoresce when the material is hit by an X-ray or gamma ray. An integrated, field-portable µChemLab will take a chromatographic approach to performing chemical analysis on gases and liquids. The enabling technology of Sandia’s approach is based on a new type of solid-state detector designed with a semiconductor crystal alloy of cadmium, zinc, and telluride, which can operate at room temperature—a key advantage over conventional silicon- and germanium-based devices. A different approach, based on chromatography, is the focus of another Sandia project to develop a field-portable chemical analysis device.
The Proper Coat of Oil
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article illustrates that controlling the lubricant spray keeps presses running cleaner and longer in die stamping shops. The MicroCoat system enabled Warwick, Rhode Island-based ETCO Inc.’s Engineered Products division to minimize oil mist in its press room, reduce maintenance downtime, improve the quality of finished parts, and increase the throughput of it. After installing MicroCoat on all 10 of its Bruderer presses, ETCO has increased the number of hits between sharpenings by 50 percent, or 500,000 strokes per press with much less tool damage. The 2.5-inch-high MicroCoat spray valves use low-volume, low-pressure air to apply die stamping lubricant in fine, even films without producing waste, mist, or overspray. The transparent reservoir of the MicroCoat System feeds metered amounts of lubricant to the compact spray valves mounted inside this Bruderer die press between the metal feed stock and the tool.
First Flights
Authors: Wicks Frank
Published: July 2018

This article discusses work of engineers apart from Wright Brothers in the field of aviation. Octave Chanute, an American who made his fortune as a railroad and bridge engineer, began to try his hand at flight in 1875. A German engineer, Otto Lilienthal, who was achieving international fame with spectacular flights in hang gliders of his own design, inspired William Randolph Hearst. Lilienthal made steady progress until 1896, when his glider stalled, and he fell to the ground and died from internal injuries. Samuel Pierpont Langley, a professor of physics, after securing research funds, began to measure how much power was required to lift a weight with a wing moving through the air. He used a technique for testing air foils that had been described 50 years earlier by Sir George Cayley. Langley estimated that human flight would require an engine of at least 12 hp. In 1899, his friend Robert Thurston, a Cornell engineering professor, introduced him to Charles Manly, who had graduated from Cornell as a mechanical engineer.
Rent-a-Power Plant
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article discusses a new powerhouse in the rental of portable energy systems to utilities, industrial plants, and special-events producers. It was formed by the recent launch of GE Energy Rentals and its subsequent acquisition of Showpower Inc. in Rancho Dominguez, CA. Although the merger does not directly involve Hollywood movie studios, broadcast or cable television stations, or sports arenas, it will affect all of them because it will provide entertainment companies, as well as utilities and process plants, with electricity generated from portable power plants. Utilities use GE Energy Rental systems to provide temporary power during the seasonal peak energy demand periods and during emergency or scheduled utility shutdowns. Mining operations rent the GE energy systems to generate base-load power and maintain their mines and tunnels in remote locations. GE Energy Rentals is also aiming its products and services toward climate control applications. Both Showpower and GE Energy Rentals manufacture and operate chillers and air conditioning units that are used to cool special events, or to substitute for HVAC systems that fail.
Feature Focus: Skyscrapers in a Microworld
Authors: O’Connor Leo , Hutchinson Harry
Published: July 2018

This article reviews to enrich the variety of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to open new applications and markets. Established manufacturing methods for most MEMS were developed for electronics, and so the microcromachines turned out that way generally look like chips. The selection of materials is usually limited, and height, measured in microns, often remains in the single digits and rarely exceeds 20. Work at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is proceeding with a process that uses deep X-ray lithography. The technique is derived from an established micromanufacturing process known as LIGA, an acronym derived from the German terms for lithography, electroforming, and molding. LIGA, which has been around for a while, produces relatively tall micromachines by a method that radiates X-ray-sensitive materials to create molds. EFAB is being developed by USC’s Information Sciences Institute with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. To support commercialization of the process, the Institute has established the EFAB Consortium, which intends to give interested partners the option of acquiring prototype micro devices fabricated from their own 3D CAD designs.
Current Jam
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on the latest technology, called the insulated gate bipolar transistor that has increased switching frequencies almost twentyfold from the last few years. It turns out that the newer variable-frequency drives, while working full-time shifts as speed controllers of ac induction motors, may be moonlighting with a little part-time electrical discharge machining (EDM). The new drives are suspected of setting up bearing currents. These currents, acting in a fashion identical to the mechanism of EDM—the manufacturing technique by which metal is removed from a workpiece through the use of high-energy sparks—have been eroding the material from the races of motor bearings. In some cases, stray currents are destroying bearings a few months after startup. ABB recently patented a motor winding designed to eliminate circulating bearing currents. The design divides the stator winding into an even number of equal parts per phase. The groups are then distributed uniformly between ac supply connections at both ends of the stator.
Reaping a Harvest a Day
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article reviews how agricultural facilities can harvest about two crops per year. The controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facility is a hydroponic project that began operating in July 1999. It uses computer software to control lighting, environmental conditions, nutrient balance, water pH, and other parameters to create optimal lettuce-growing conditions. The agricultural facility’s story began 10 years ago, when a graduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca found that optimizing environmental conditions enabled him to grow seedlings for nurseries in 16 days, rather than the 35 days required by conventional agricultural nurseries. NYSERDA has conducted studies examining the total energy package of conventional agriculture, from producing seed to transporting vegetables to market, and found that northeastern controlled environment facilities will use less energy than shipping produce from the West Coast or South America. Growers also can tout the fact that their produce is grown without herbicides or pesticides, a major marketing advantage to attract consumers seeking organically grown produce.
That One Small Step
Authors: Gaylo Benedict J.
Published: July 2018

This article highlights that three approaches for the Apollo mission were considered and investigated early in the program: direct ascent, Earth orbit rendezvous, and lunar orbit rendezvous. Direct ascent would entail a direct shot from Earth to the moon, requiring an enormous rocket assembly, named the Nova rocket that required 15 first stage engines and would dwarf the Saturn V eventually selected as the launch vehicle. It also required a massive lunar landing vehicle to return the astronauts from the moon directly to Earth. At liftoff, the first stage burned 15 tons of fuel a second, requiring approximately 50,000 horsepower to power the fuel pumps to feed the engines. The Apollo 13 movie followed the actual flight with a fair degree of accuracy, recognizing that it had to compress four days of real-life tension into a two-hour motion picture. The film dramatized the explosion of the oxygen tank by showing the astronauts being thrown about in the cabin. In reality, the astronauts only heard a bang and then the warning alarm for low electrical bus voltage.
Designing Across Borders
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article discusses that many companies are installing a companywide product data management (PDM) system, also known as an engineering data management system. These systems do several things, besides acting as a central data repository. Much of the data that overwhelms companies comes from engineers using a variety of software applications, such as computer-aided design, manufacturing, or engineering programs. The PDM systems manage engineering data that may come from a myriad of sources and applications but pertain to the development of one product. The chosen PDM system would have to track the design and manufacture of each part that would be assembled to form the finished printer. It would have to tell users what stage in the process each part had reached. But it would also have to serve as a virtual warehouse for all digital versions of a part and product, including older versions that could not be lost because they might be needed for reference at any time.
Lobster Special
Authors: Chalmers Peggy
Published: July 2018

This article reviews that Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) biomimetic programs is a robotic lobster that is under development at Northeastern University in Boston. This crustacean look-alike may someday ply river and sea bottoms, at depths to 40 feet, seeking underwater mines and other military prey. The robotic lobster will have to operate for hours, accommodate irregular rivers and sea beds, maneuver at various depths, adapt to rough and tumble surf, handle changing currents, distinguish between rocks and mines, and send out a sonar alert when it detects a mine. The sensors, which are the width of a human hair, are fabricated using an internally developed process called NUMEM (for Northeastern University Metal Micromachining), which builds up the devices through a sequence of metal deposition, patterning and selective etching, and plating on a silicon substrate. Signals from both the antenna and the hair sensors are processed in the lobster’s microprocessor brain and used to control the bionic leg muscles.
Role Models Needed
Authors: Wolcott Barbara
Published: July 2018

The US Bureau of Lab or Statistics reports that in 1999, women made up 24.5 percent of doctors compared with 6.1 percent in 1950. The Lore-El Center at Stevens sponsors programs designed to encourage girls to enjoy working with technology. The cornerstone of Lore-El’s pre-college program is a two-week summer resident session for high school students in engineering. The program also works to examine innovative ways of teaching physics and dispelling stereotypes associated with engineering. The Lore-El Center works to show students what engineers do and the contributions they make in society, where much of everything is generated by engineers, or improved by them to make a better product. Experts are designing a series of games and experiments with Tufts University to be tested at schools across the country, so that teachers and principals who have no experience in engineering can take the modules and implement them in their classrooms.
Weld Domination
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article illustrates that factories and machine shops use automated controls, sensors, and continuous electric arcs to make faster welds better. Welding system manufacturers, such as Lincoln Electric Co. of Cleveland, work with robot manufacturers, including ABB, to integrate their products and tailor automated welding systems that make faster precision welds. At the same time, instrumentation companies, such as LMI Selcom of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed sensors to improve the precision of automated welding systems even further in high-volume applications. LMI Selcom Robotic Guidance of Gothenburg, Sweden, developed its SeamFinder laser measurement systems to improve the welding quality and cycle times of robotic. A key component to the Power MIG 200 is its Diamond Core technology, an internal assembly that provides a constant electrical current to the welding torch. A Michigan-based welding company taking advantage of the Power MIG 200’s smooth arc is Midstate Utility in White Cloud. The company fabricates machinery used to install telephone cable. Midstate Utility has been using the Lincoln unit since October of 2000.
Preaching to the Converted
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on diverse benefits of biomass gasification. Biomass gasification involves converting organic fuels to create a relatively clean combustible gas. The advantages of biomass gasification are its ability to convert relatively cheap stocks, such as sawdust, switch grass, bagasse, agricultural wastes, or specifically grown energy plantation crops like willow trees, into fuel that will not produce as many emissions, especially of alleged greenhouse gases, as will the direct burning of organic solids. The relatively high energy value of the biomass gas means it could be combined with natural gas or distillate oil, which the company believes is a necessity to commercialize the process. Future Energy Resources Corp. (FERCO) uses a personal computer-based data acquisition and control system equipped with WonderWare software for the McNeil gasifier. Currently, FERCO has two development agreements to install its biomass gasification process.
New Avenues for Electrochemistry
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

Manufacturers of fuel cells are working to improve the economics of electrochemical devices to make them more competitive with conventional fossil fuel power systems for industrial plants and vehicles. FuelCell Energy of Danbury, Connecticut, is designing a system to convert polluting coal mine methane into electricity. General Electric MicroGen of Latham, New York, plans to introduce a residential fuel cell system by the end of the year to provide remote homes with backup current and heat. Another residential system is being developed by International Fuel Cells of South Windsor, Connecticut. The Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia, is sponsoring a program to determine the feasibility of feeding coal mine methane to fuel cells. The program involves building a 250-kilowatt fuel cell system at the Nelms mining complex operated by Harrison Mining Corp. in Cadiz, Ohio. A fuel cell system planned for the Nelms complex will assist these automotive engines in consuming methane emissions while generating electricity.
Like a Cold Knife Through Anything
Authors: Valenti Michael
Published: July 2018

This article highlights that one of the most accurate industrial cutting blades is a thousandth-of-an-inch supersonic jet of water carrying abrasive particles to a target surface. Waterjets cut simple or complex shapes from steel, glass, plastic, composites, paper, or fabric, without causing the thermal or mechanical distortions associated with mechanical saws. Recovering the abrasive is the mission of the WaterVeyor system developed by Flow International Corp. The WaterVeyor lets waterjet cutters recycle garnet abrasives, thereby reducing waste disposal costs and the cost of purchasing virgin abrasive. Although industrial waterjets are strong enough to shear steel plate, they are also delicate enough to carve decorative glass, where the appearance of the finished product is as important as throughput.
No Hunting
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article reviews that wheels riding along parallel tracks have to balance diameters by “hunting.” Hunting wears down both wheels and rails, because a wheel must move sideways to find balance. The wheels, much like a pup chasing the phantom tip of a cropped tail, seek an accord they can never reach. Auto manufacturers might say all that energy used to go toward metal forming of the unwanted variety. American freight lines carry heavier loads than their counterparts in Europe. In Europe, passenger rail exerts more influence over railroad infrastructure than it does in the United States. Abc-Naco designed a variant of its domestic swing motion truck for European rail. Dubbed Axle Motion, the truck incorporates the same design philosophy of decoupling lateral forces from the car body that inspired the swing frame.
Fresh Air, Wide-Open Space
Authors: Goldin Daniel S. , Venneri Samuel L. , Noor Ahmed K.
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on space-based observations that are taking on unprecedented importance in national security strategy. The high cost of launching payloads to Earth orbit has impeded progress in the exploration of space, as well as in its commercial use and development. The application of biological concepts and principles to the development of technologies for engineering systems has led to the emergence of biomimetics, neuromimetics, and neuromorphic engineering. System integrity is absolutely essential to achieving this kind of far-reaching vision. The airspace system can be integrated with the other two sets of transportation services to form a comprehensive intermodal transportation system, functioning as one seamless whole, maximizing passengers’ and shippers’ options for convenience, efficiency, and reduced cost. A systems-engineering approach must be used to define requirements, reinvent processes, formulate operational concepts, evaluate them, and then launch goal-oriented technology activities to transform the concepts into realities.
Little Big El-Mo
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article reviews the arrival of commercial high-temperature superconducting (HTS) motors in the market. American Superconductor is concentrating its motor efforts on ship propulsion. The company has a contract with the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research to design and develop propulsion motors up to 33,500 hp. The big advantage of a superconducting motor aboard a ship is its small size, which frees up valuable square footage in the hull for the many other components needed in battle. Because superconducting motors will be about half the weight of their conventional counterparts, the efficiencies an assembly line brings to manufacturing suddenly open for many of them. Lighter, smaller designs also will translate to time saved in testing. Many of the technologies used in the 200-hp machine transferred to the 1000-hp unit, and many new techniques developed as well.
Feature Focus: Fieldbus Architecture: A Tale of Two Buses
Authors: DeGaspari John
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on field bus technology, a digital two-way conul1unications protocol. It is designed to take advantage of intelligent instrumentation equipped with microprocessors to communicate between the field and the control room. Because it can communicate large quantities of data from the field devices, industrial networks tying together field bus instruments open the way for complex control and automation tasks. As field bus evolves, some think that computer networking will play an increasingly important role and improve the performance in the plant. Both Profibus and Fieldbus Foundation provide for Ethernet capability. Wireless communication is also likely to play a potential role in field bus systems. There is a potential for wireless in data acquisition. Issues still needed to be worked out: electrical storms can interfere with communications and wires must be strung to power the devices.
The Start of a New Movement
Authors: Sharke Paul
Published: July 2018

This article highlights a novel way of combining two fundamental machine elements—gears and bearings—devised by John Vranish, a NASA engineer. He has combined gear and bearing into a single machine part he calls a “gear bearing.” In its simplest form, a gear bearing sandwiches a crowned spur or helical gear between two cylindrical rollers. The gear and the rollers share a centerline. The radii of the rollers equal the pitch radius of the gear. Although NASA’s telescope application needed a lightweight, compact, super-reducing planetary gear train, the basic elements that make up the transmission are incorporated readily into a number of other motion devices, including slides, reversers, linear-to-rotary converters, and even speed increasers.
Technology vs. Terrorism
Authors: Hutchinson Harry
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on how NASA is studying the ways of aircraft safety in times of troubles. Besides investigating aircraft safety, NASA searches for life beyond Earth. The agency is evaluating ways in which its biological and chemical sensors might give the average security person a very rapid analysis. Such devices need to provide “human-centered output” and tell security workers “what to do next” following identification of a chemical or biological agent. NASA plans to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to evaluate ideas like installing multilevel security in airports or combining chemical and biological sensors into dosimeter-like devices that are cheap, tiny, and fast. NASA’s chief technologist, Samuel Venneri, who took on the agency’s added role of associate administrator in 2000, said NASA was investigating algorithms for creating “protective bubbles” around prohibited areas so aircraft avoid obstacles on approach to landing. Such algorithms would guide flights along “precision curved paths,” possibly helping to alleviate current airport capacity problems as well.
Probabilistic Problem Solving
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article reviews predictive technologies based on a probabilistic method of problem solving. These technologies are gaining a steady foothold as a method of finding answers to engineering and other types of problems. According to the developer of one such technology, these computer programs use mathematical models to predict the probability that something will or won’t happen a particular way in the future. The tools can be used for design, sensitivity analysis, mathematical modeling of complex processes, uncertainty analysis, competitive analysis, and process optimization among other things. The predictive technology from Unipass has been used by the research center to design gas turbines, helicopters, and elevators. The probabilistic method and the newer predictive technologies that use it have some ardent backers. For instance, the probabilistic methods committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers states its mission as: to enable and facilitate rapid deployment of probabilistic technology to enhance the competitiveness of our industries by better, faster, greener, smarter, affordable, and reliable product development.
Smooth Operator
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article reviews finite element analysis (FEA) that helped Boeing to eliminate oiled bearings on its Chinook helicopter. The pitch-hinge assembly on the helicopter permits the blade to rotate on its longitudinal axis and to control thrust, which determines where the helicopter is going. In other words, it dictates the pitch of the rotor blades and is one of the most important hinges on the craft. About 2 years ago, Boeing sought to redesign the pitch-hinge assembly to replace the bearings with a self-lubricated hinge. FEA is the use of a complex system of points, called nodes that form a grid, or mesh, across a computer-aided design model. The mesh contains the material and structural properties that define how the part will react to certain load conditions. In essence, FEA is a numerical method used to solve a variety of engineering problems that involve stress, heat transfer, electromagnetism, and fluid flow.