Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: sustainability – Page 292

A new study challenges the conventional approach to designing soft robotics and a class of materials called metamaterials by utilizing the power of computer algorithms. Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Technical University of Denmark can now build multimaterial structures without dependence on human intuition or trial-and-error to produce highly efficient actuators and energy absorbers that mimic designs found in nature.

The study, led by Illinois civil and environmental engineering professor Shelly Zhang, uses optimization theory and an -based design process called . Also known as digital synthesis, the builds composite structures that can precisely achieve complex prescribed mechanical responses.

The study results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read more | >

Using a unique hydrogel, scientists in Saudi Arabia created a solar-driven system that successfully grows spinach by using water drawn from the air while producing electricity. The proof-of-concept design, described March 1 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, offers a sustainable, low-cost strategy to improve food and water security for people living in dry-climate regions.

“A fraction of the world’s population still doesn’t have access to or green power, and many of them live in rural areas with arid or semi-arid climate,” says senior author Peng Wang, a professor of environmental science and engineering at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). “Our design makes out of air using that would’ve been wasted and is suitable for decentralized, small-scale farms in remote places like deserts and oceanic islands.”

The system, called WEC2P, is composed of a solar photovoltaic panel placed atop a layer of hydrogel, which is mounted on top of a large metal box to condense and collect water. Wang and his team developed the hydrogel in their prior research, and the material can effectively absorb from ambient air and release the water content when heated.

Read more | >

He said that three main requirements should be fulfilled to improve the cooling effect. The radiative coolers should not replace the existing PV glass covers, so the natural RC ability of glass can be harnessed to add to the overall cooling gain. There should also be an efficient and quick heat transfer mechanism between the PV module, which is also the heat source, and the RC heat sink. In addition, the RC module should directly face the sky to radiate maximum waste heat into outer space.

The proposed system consists of a PV module and a separate RC module, integrated with a flat plate heat pipe in between. A separate RC module is used along with the existing glass cover on the solar cells and the heat pipe is integrated between the PV and RC modules, providing quick heat transfer. The RC module is then placed on the condensing section of the heat pipe facing the sky.

Read more | >

India will invest 120 billion rupees ($1.6 billion) to add new lines to transmit electricity from renewable plants as it seeks to draw half of its energy requirement from greener sources by 2030.

Dedicated transmission lines of 10,750 circuit kilometers will be built across seven provinces under the second phase of the so-called green energy corridor project, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said in New Delhi. The project, approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet on Thursday, will be completed by 2026 and transmit 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, he said.

India is targeting to build 500 gigawatts of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, which would require a transmission network to enable clean electricity to flow from plants to consumers. The new lines will also help integrate renewable energy into the national grid and contribute to long-term energy security, according to the government.

Read more | >

Nikola Tesla’s vision of the world is about to become reality.

#engineering

Wireless electricity is a 100-year-old dream that just might turn into reality in the coming years. The advent of wireless charging, electric vehicles, 5G, and the need for greater sustainability have led to a push for the development of fully operational wireless transmission technology in different parts of the world.

Continue reading “Tesla Said It Was Possible, Now Wireless Electricity Is Finally Becoming Reality” | >

The world’s first active linear power transfer engine

According to Astron Aerospace, all of this makes the Omega 1 the world’s first engine with an active linear power transfer. “As the Omega 1 engine rotates,” the company says on its website, “all the power is transferred through the single rotating power shaft.” The firm also says the Omega 1 doesn’t require rota seals due to tight tolerances and such high RPMs that there’s not enough time for air to leak.

Astron Aerospace says the Omega 1 “will change the world for the better by providing a new, smaller, more powerful engine while using much less fuel.” The company says its new creation “will produce significantly less greenhouse gasses, while improving torque and power in [an] incredibly small package.”

Read more | >