Award Data

Currently, cast-iron is nearly exclusively used for car brake rotors. Replacing cast-iron by a high- temperature, creep-resistant aluminum alloy could translate into about 80 lbs (36 kg) in weight reduction for a typical car, thus improving its gasoline mileage and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Current commercial, castable, age-hardening aluminum alloys cannot withstand temperatures above ...

Polymer binders play a key role in the cycle life and abuse tolerance of lithium ion batteries. Binder formulations are highly constrained by electrochemical stability and compatibility with established electrode manufacturing infrastructure and hygiene. This SBIR project develops a new aqueous binder system based on a polymer that supports high lithium ion transport rate and is highly compatible ...

Surface microtexturing can be used for enhanced heat transfer capabilities at liquid-solid or gas-solid interfaces to improve convection, decrease boundary layer size, change liquid flow properties, and affect the general fluid adhesion (wetting) on the material surface. Recent research has shown that sub- nanosecond laser pulses on metallic surfaces (e.g. stainless, zirconium, etc.)can produce mi ...

3D-nanostructured, large surface area materials are desired for a wide range of catalytic and chemical reaction devices, such as electrodes for fast-charging lithium ion batteries, compact catalytic converters for pollution control, high-speed crackers for petroleum reforming, high capacity filters and scrubbers for impurity control, high pumping speed absorbers for extreme high vacuum systems, di ...

Improvements and advances are needed in the technical area of Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation technologies to enhance economic competitiveness for nuclear power plants and promote a high level of nuclear safety. Currently, visual inspection systems for Nuclear Energy applications in the core, or in accident conditions are extremely limited. Commercially available vision systems are not radiat ...

Solid state lighting has not yet taken off in commercial buildings due to its high relative installed cost. On a normalized basis, solid state lighting replacement lamps are on the order of two times more expensive than equivalent compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and five times more expensive than an equivalent downlight fixture. An additional barrier relates to the performance and cost of the dr ...

The objective of this project is to develop and energy efficient method to convert CO2 and water to formic acid. Formic acid is widely used in Europe as an alternative to antibiotics in animal feed, and for grain preservation, but it has not been adapted in the US because it is more expensive than other alternatives. The objective of Dioxide Materials work is to make formic acid from a carbon di ...

Computational simulation of many of todays important and challenging problems in science and engineering involve multiple, complex, interacting physical systems, and often involve combustion or other sources of energy release. This multiphysics modeling refers to the advanced coupled modeling techniques used to simulate these interacting systems. There are currently no existing accepted open stand ...

To enable advanced power plant technologies (e.g. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) and improve the thermal efficiency of the power plant, it is desired to raising the inlet temperature of gas turbines which demands blade and vane materials exhibiting superior high temperature properties, especially creep resistance. Ni-base single crystal (SX) superalloy blades have high creep strength and ...

This SBIR Phase II project will result in new battery technology to reduce the cost and extend the range of electric vehicles. This addresses the two key barriers that are limiting electric vehicle adoption.