Engineering and Technology Thread

Discussion on science, nature and technology across the globe.
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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hhfarang wrote:"Hydrogen Has Been Turned To Metal, And It's About To Change The World

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Metallic hydrogen is one of the holy grails of modern science. It would essentially be a magic material, creating everything from impossibly fast computers to hovering cars (themselves powered by hydrogen) to batteries that never need charging. It was also supposed to be impossible, as it would require pressures you can’t even find at the center of the Earth. But, now, amazingly, two Harvard scientists have reportedly pulled it off.
"Metallic Hydrogen: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Last month, two researchers from Harvard University created waves in the field of condensed-matter physics when they claimed they had succeeded in creating an extremely exotic substance called metallic hydrogen. Their achievement, the researchers said, confirmed that this substance — the metallic form of an element that, under normal conditions, is a gas — did really exist outside of theory books.

The sample of metallic hydrogen these researchers created was being stored at temperatures close to absolute zero in a diamond vice. But it has now been revealed that the sample has either degraded or been misplaced.

“Basically, it's disappeared,” Isaac Silvera, a professor of the natural sciences at Harvard, who was one of the scientists involved in the creation of the sample, told ScienceAlert in a report published Wednesday. “It's either someplace at room pressure, very small, or it just turned back into a gas. We don't know.” ..."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/metallic-hyd ... 07358.html
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Everything you ever wanted to know about future nuclear energy technology...

"A forgotten war technology could safely power Earth for millions of years. Here's why we aren't using it"

http://www.businessinsider.com/thorium- ... ftr-2017-2
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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"Japanese Research Team Creates 'Eternal Storage'

Storage with a similar density to hard drives, but lasts for over 1,000 years"

http://www.pcmag.com/news/352006/japane ... al-storage
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Print your own aeroplane:
................................................................
Adding up to a revolution

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a fast-moving field. When Flight Safety Australia first covered the subject in 2015, Airbus had just announced their first 3D printed part—there are now more than 1000 3D printed components on the Airbus A350.

Additive manufacturing creates objects by building up materials, layer by layer. This incremental process allows for the creation of objects with extremely complex structures, some of which cannot be built using traditional methods.

http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/20 ... evolution/
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Worlds fastest ship. There is no truth in the fake news that Thailand has ordered 3 of them. :rasta:
.............................................................................................

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKrO5262fh4?rel=0

22 Megawatts per engine is 29,500 hp.

Published on Jan 10, 2017
“This is certainly the fastest ship in the world,” said Incat managing director Kim Clifford. “Of course there's a few speed boats that could surpass 58 knots, but nothing that could carry 1,000 passengers and 150 cars, and with an enormous duty-free shop on board.”
 
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Concept for coolest rig on the road

https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/motori ... b88405100z

When you have more than 11,500 retail outlets and register some $626 billion in annual sales, you need to shift a lot of inventory around.

So US group Walmart has its own logistics company with a fleet of 6100 prime movers and 61,000 trailers to do the job.
Each of its 7800 drivers averages 160,000km a year between distribution centres and the Walmart store network.

That’s why when the company’s logistics bosses saw a concept truck at a show in Germany, they decided they could and should drive a similar innovation back home in the US. The company enlisted Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers and a high-tech turbine company, Capstone Turbines, to develop a technological platform that could lead innovation and drive down transport costs for its fleet.

The tech mix was leading edge. A micro-turbine spinning at 96,000rpm on a patented air bearing that uses no oil, requires no maintenance and reduces operating friction losses to microscopic levels.

Because the turbine housing itself is air cooled by the process, there’s no cooling system, coolant or antifreeze needed.
No radiator means about 20 per cent improvement in aerodynamics over Walmart’s fleet of Peterbilt diesel trucks.

That in itself slashes fuel consumption by 10 per cent.

The turbine can burn a variety of fuels — diesel, kerosene, natural gas and biofuels, and the burn is clean. Because the exhaust is clean there is no need to use exhaust scrubbers or chemical treatment to meet US emissions standards.

The turbine and compressor blades are fixed to a single shaft, which is the only moving part in the engine. The compressor sucks in air to a combustion chamber where fuel raises the temperature in excess of 1500F (815C). The heated air rapidly expands, spinning the turbine's blades and driving the compressor.

The rest of that mechanical energy is used to run a generator.

The generator tops up a lithium battery pack which can drive the truck’s electric motors for up to 50km when the turbine kicks in as a range extender.
The usual mix of regenerative braking pushes that electric range out further.

Walmart estimates its concept truck will reduce fuel consumption by 55 per cent over long routes and by 241 per cent over shorter routes when its micro-turbine and electric motor can be put to best use.

With an aerodynamic brief that saw no boundaries, Peterbilt designed a cabin straight out of the Batcave. The driver sits in the centre and the compact turbine allows the power pack to be under the floor. Sliding swing doors allow easy entry/exit and a living area behind the driver cockpit is expansive.

The van body is almost all exclusively carbon fibre, which according to Great Dane Trailers, is 10 times stronger than steel but lighter than fibreglass, saving 1.8-tonnes in tare weight. Tightening the gap between the truck and trailer reduces aerodynamic swirl further.

Although this truck in its original form will never make it to series production, it’s a dynamic platform to explore possibilities and test new technologies in a work environment.

And it has to be the coolest delivery rig on the road.
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Best "e-bike" solution I've seen so far...

"UrbanX | Convert Any Bike to an Electric Bike in 60 Seconds

An all-in-one, 60 second solution to convert your traditional bike into an electric bike with a 30 mile range and a 20mph top speed. ..."

"We designed UrbanX as cost effective way for casual rider to go electric, while giving enough power to excite the ebike enthusiast to upgrade their favorite traditional bike:

- Any Bike - Most electric bikes look fairly weird, perhaps not your style. UrbanX let's you convert any bike to fit your taste or riding style.
- Affordability - Most electric bikes are expensive. Don't pay for something you already own and love, upgrade your existing bike at a fraction of the cost.
- Weight - Most electric bikes weigh anywhere from 65 to 90 pounds. UrbanX is designed to be light weight, only adding an additional 15 pounds to your bike.
- Plug & Play - Most electric bikes are hard to peddle. UrbanX is designed for the front wheel, not affecting your pedals and easily taken off in seconds if preferred. ..."

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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Delage Type-S: The 103-year-old grand prix car saved by a 3D printer

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-27/s ... ar/8310958

Australia is home to the only surviving 1914 Delage Type-S grand prix car in the world, and thanks to a world-first feat of technology this much-loved centurion is still on the road.

In 2014, when the engine block cracked and water met oil, the Delage ground to a halt and was consigned to a mechanic's workshop in Castlemaine, 130 kilometres north-east of Melbourne.

With no replacement parts or original drawings to go by, and with few people having the traditional manufacturing skills, pre-war motorcar engineer Grant Cowie looked for alternative ways of rebuilding the complicated 16-valve engine.

"I knew that to use the traditional method, which involves a wooden pattern, would be prohibitively expensive and with such a complicated casting it was possible it would take several attempts to get it correct," Mr Cowie said.

He decided that using digital technology to clone the original block would be the most accurate, efficient and non-destructive method to get the car back up and running.
The trouble was, a repair this complex had never been attempted before.

Recreating the engine block

Using powerful lasers, the engine block was scanned inside and out, saving thousands of hours of pattern making, with months of work done in a few days.

The scan data was then used to digitally repair the cracked engine on a computer before a sand mould was created using a 3D printer.

A local iron foundry cast the engine using the 3D-printed mould, before it was finished with traditional manual machining.

After the engine was installed, there was an enormous sense of relief when the Delage turned over successfully.
"It's one thing to finish machining it, then you've got to put it all together," Mr Cowie said.

While many modern car parts are 3D printed, project manager Philip Guilfoyle said a repair of this scale was unique.
"To my understanding this hasn't been done before in car restoration in the world," he said.

Car owner Stuart Murdoch was determined that any repairs done remained true to the original, so when this unique restoration technique was suggested to him he responded: "Boldness, be my friend."
"I had faith in them and I wasn't disappointed," he said.

A feat of engineering
And now that the 103-year-old car is back up and running, Mr Murdoch is a very satisfied customer.

"It is a considerable achievement for all those involved and, might I say, quite an achievement for Australian engineering," he said.
Motoring historian Douglas Blain, meanwhile, marvelled at the fact that this one priceless S-Type still remains.

That it lives on in such a state of originality, and is maintained and used by its dedicated long-term owners rather than gathering dust in some sterile museum, is marvellous indeed," he said.

And Mr Guilfoyle thinks the digital repair technique may revolutionise restoration car repairs as mechanics like Mr Cowie become less dependent on dwindling car parts and fading skills.

Photos at the link.
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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"94-year old Lithium-Ion battery inventor unveils new ultra-efficient glass battery

Image

John B. Goodenough, an emeritus professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, pioneered the lithium-ion battery technology that is now the industry standard, and now the 94-year-old is ready to push the envelope on battery innovation again. Goodenough along with senior research fellow Maria Helena Braga, lead a team of researchers who have developed a low-cost all-solid-state battery that is safer and more efficient than existing lithium-ion technology.

More: With 4,000mAh battery, Energizer Energy E550LTE should keep going and going

The new battery uses a sodium- or lithium-coated glass electrolyte that has triple the storage capacity of a lithium ion battery. It also charges in minutes instead of hours and operates in both frigid and hot weather (from -20 to 60 degrees centigrade). Early tests suggest the battery is capable of at least 1,200 charge-discharge cycles, significantly more charging cycles than a comparable lithium-ion battery, and best of all, the glass-based electrolyte will not form the dendrites that plague lithium-ion battery technology. The dendrites accumulate as part of the standard charging and recharging cycle and eventually cause a short circuit that often results in a smoldering or burning battery.

Goodenough believes this battery technology could be the breakthrough that brings the electric car into the mainstream. “Cost, safety, energy density, rates of charge and discharge and cycle life are critical for battery-driven cars to be more widely adopted. We believe our discovery solves many of the problems that are inherent in today’s batteries,” Goodenough said in a statement published by the University of Texas as Austin. This same battery technology could also be used to store energy in both solar and wind-power systems.

Goodenough and his team have succeeded in developing the glass-based anode, and are now working on the cathode portion of the battery technology. Currently, the team is troubleshooting the cathode issue with encouraging results in small-scale tests using jelly-roll cells. The goal is to produce large-scale cells eventually and then move the technology over to manufacturers who will develop it commercially."

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/94-old-inven ... 45048.html
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Let's hope this comes to something. We desperately need a breakthrough in battery technology.
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Jaw-dropping numbers behind the Shell Prelude, as the world’s biggest boat sails towards WA

https://thewest.com.au/business/jaw-dro ... b88519955z

At 488m long, it is the world's biggest vessel, and it's coming to WA's North West Coast.

Containing as much steel as 36 Eiffel Towers and spanning three times the length of the oval at Perth Stadium, Shell’s Prelude floating LNG facility will cut an imposing figure even in the vastness of the open seas between Asia and Australia.

It’s jaw-dropping scale presented more than a few headaches for engineers but the main difficulty was not accommodating the vessel’s girth, it was dealing with how close its crew would be to the millions of tonnes of gas that Prelude would process.

The greatest danger in the oil and gas industry is the low but very real probability of a release of gas or an explosion. To reduce the effect of any incident, areas of the process plant are separated from each other and from where the most workers are.
Prelude’s engineers had little room to play with to achieve this separation.

Woodside’s Pluto plant, that produces 4.9 million tonnes of LNG a year, spreads over an 80ha site near Karratha.
Prelude will produce 5.3 million tonnes of LNG, condensate and LPG a year on less than 4ha.

The confined spaces below deck, where gas clouds and blast pressure from an explosion cannot disperse, contain the least hazardous equipment, the product tanks.

On deck, the most safety- sensitive gas-processing plant, the turret and the flare tower were placed as far from the living quarters as possible. Lower-risk equipment like the power generation was placed nearer the living quarters that are protected by a blast wall.

The four big process plant modules are separated by 20m-wide safety gaps to help disperse any gas released and impede the spread of any fire.

The layout also allowed for possible LNG spills that, at -162C, can make steel brittle.

Safety was the primary concern in the Prelude layout, but there were other layout problems caused by vessel motion.
Some equipment that contains a mix of liquid and gas is sensitive to motion and was placed near the centre of gravity of the ship, where the movement is least.

The motion of the Prelude also creates repetitive loads on the equipment and piping that would never occur on land.
Unless addressed in the design, these could cause a fatigue failure, where small micro-cracks in the metal gradually grow with each movement until, after many years and millions of movements, the components fracture.

LNG carriers are usually near full when they deliver cargoes and near empty when they return. In either case, there is little force on the tank’s insulated walls from sloshing of the LNG inside the tanks when the ship moves.

(damned if I can get a photo to load, despite converting and shrinking it? )
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Probably a stupid question, but when does a boat become a ship? I always thought it had something to do with size, but obviously not.
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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Big Boy wrote: Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:59 am Probably a stupid question, but when does a boat become a ship? I always thought it had something to do with size, but obviously not.
No its not a stupid question. Even having been a chief engineer on a "ship", I do not know the correct answer! :?

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/th ... oat.43576/
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"(damned if I can get a photo to load, despite converting and shrinking it? )"....

They have it protected somehow in a way I've never seen before. The "shrink pictures" site I've been using for years will not render a photo, just lines of warnings and print. Perhaps some kind of new technology by that newspaper to protect images from being copied, or the "shrink pictures" site is down? Pete :cheers:
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Re: Engineering and Technology Thread

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prcscct wrote: Sun Jul 02, 2017 12:16 pm "(damned if I can get a photo to load, despite converting and shrinking it? )"....

They have it protected somehow in a way I've never seen before. The "shrink pictures" site I've been using for years will not render a photo, just lines of warnings and print. Perhaps some kind of new technology by that newspaper to protect images from being copied, or the "shrink pictures" site is down? Pete :cheers:
Yes, the original photo is .jxr. But there are sites on the Internet that can convert any extension to any other, which I have done. The online "Shrinkpictures" has not worked for me for some time.
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