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Category: transportation – Page 39

Revolutionizing Sodium-Ion Batteries: Ultrafast Anode Preparation via Microwave Induction Heating

“Our microwave induction heating technology enables fast and easy preparation of hard carbon, which I believe will contribute to the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries,” said Dr. Daeho Kim.

Can sodium-ion batteries be improved to exceed the efficiency and longevity of traditional lithium-ion batteries? This is what a recent study published in Chemical Engineering Journal hopes to address as a team of researchers from South Korea investigated how microwave induction heating can produce sufficient carbon anodes used in sodium-ion batteries. This study holds the potential to help researchers and engineers better understand how to develop and produce efficient sodium-ion batteries, which have demonstrated greater abundancy and stability.

“Due to recent electric vehicle fires, there has been growing interest in sodium-ion batteries that are safer and function well in colder conditions. However, the carbonization process for anodes has been a significant disadvantage in terms of energy efficiency and cost,” said Dr. Jong Hwan Park, who is from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and a co-author on the study.

For the study, the KERI-led researchers improved upon existing sodium-ion batteries by using microwave technology, which involves heating carbon nanotubes using a microwave magnetic field, resulting in temperature exceeding 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,550 degrees Fahrenheit) in only 30 seconds. This breakthrough improves upon traditional methods for procuring carbon anodes, which typically require lengthy amounts of time to reach just 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).

Overcoming ‘catastrophic forgetting’: Algorithm inspired by brain allows neural networks to retain knowledge

Neural networks have a remarkable ability to learn specific tasks, such as identifying handwritten digits. However, these models often experience “catastrophic forgetting” when taught additional tasks: They can successfully learn the new assignments, but “forget” how to complete the original. For many artificial neural networks, like those that guide self-driving cars, learning additional tasks thus requires being fully reprogrammed.

Biological brains, on the other hand, are remarkably flexible. Humans and animals can easily learn how to play a new game, for instance, without having to re-learn how to walk and talk.

Inspired by the flexibility of human and animal brains, Caltech researchers have now developed a new type of that enables neural networks to be continuously updated with new data that they are able to learn from without having to start from scratch. The algorithm, called a functionally invariant path (FIP) algorithm, has wide-ranging applications from improving recommendations on online stores to fine-tuning self-driving cars.

One-way street for sound waves

Be it water, light or sound: waves usually propagate in the same way forwards as in the backward direction. As a consequence, when we are speaking to someone standing some distance away from us, that person can hear us as well as we can hear them. This is useful when having a conversation, but in some technical applications one would prefer the waves to be able to travel only in one direction – for instance, in order to avoid unwanted reflections of light or microwaves.

For sound waves, ten years ago researchers succeeded in suppressing their propagation in the backward direction; however, this also attenuated the waves travelling forwards. A team of researchers at ETH Zurich led by Nicolas Noiray, professor for Combustion, Acoustics and Flow Physics, in collaboration with Romain Fleury at EPFL, has now developed a method for preventing sound waves from travelling backwards without deteriorating their propagation in the forward direction. In the future, this method, which has recently been published in the scientific journal external page Nature Communications, could also be applied to electromagnetic waves.

The basis of this one-way street for sound waves are self-oscillations, in which a dynamical system periodically repeats its behaviour. “I’ve actually spent a good part of my career preventing such phenomena”, says Noiray. Amongst other things, he studies how self-sustaining thermo-acoustic oscillations can arise from the interplay between sound waves and flames in the combustion chamber of an aircraft engine, which can lead to dangerous vibrations. In the worst case, these vibrations can destroy the engine.

New Algorithm Enables Neural Networks to Learn Continuously

Neural networks have a remarkable ability to learn specific tasks, such as identifying handwritten digits. However, these models often experience “catastrophic forgetting” when taught additional tasks: They can successfully learn the new assignments, but “forget” how to complete the original. For many artificial neural networks, like those that guide self-driving cars, learning additional tasks thus requires being fully reprogrammed.

Biological brains, on the other hand, are remarkably flexible. Humans and animals can easily learn how to play a new game, for instance, without having to re-learn how to walk and talk.

Inspired by the flexibility of human and animal brains, Caltech researchers have now developed a new type of algorithm that enables neural networks to be continuously updated with new data that they are able to learn from without having to start from scratch. The algorithm, called a functionally invariant path (FIP) algorithm, has wide-ranging applications from improving recommendations on online stores to fine-tuning self-driving cars.

Toyota, Hyundai chiefs to meet in Seoul for hydrogen alliance

“Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s largest car seller under Hyundai Motor Group, last month agreed on a strategic partnership with US auto giant General Motors Co. to jointly produce clean hydrogen in the US and develop future mobility solutions such as hydrogen fuel-cell cars and EVs.”

The leaders of Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Group will meet in South Korea later this month, raising expectations of a deepening partnership between the world’s No. 1 and No. 3 auto groups in future mobility technology.

Hyundai Motor announced on Tuesday that Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, will visit South Korea to attend the Hyundai N x TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival, which will be held at Everland Speedway on the grounds of the theme park in Yongin on Oct. 27.

Famous racers of Hyundai Motor and Toyota’s auto racing teams will take part in the event, while each company’s chief will visit the other’s booth to share their visions of the mobility industry, according to the company.

Mahle and Deutz Unite to Redefine Mobility with Hydrogen Engines, Moving Beyond Electric Vehicles

German automotive parts giant MAHLE has secured its first order from combustion engine manufacturer DEUTZ to develop and supply components for hydrogen engines. This milestone collaboration, described by MAHLE CEO Arnd Franz as a significant advancement in the automotive industry, signals a growing shift towards sustainable energy alternatives beyond electric vehicles.

Scientists develop revolutionary material that could unlock next-level efficiency for existing engines: ‘It opens the door for new possibilities’

Hydrogen fuel, which produces no heat-trapping air pollution at the point of use, could be the future of clean energy. But first, some of the technology around still has to be improved, and researchers at the University of Alberta believe they have made an important step in that direction, AL Circle reported.

The breakthrough out of the University of Alberta is a new alloy material — dubbed AlCrTiVNi5 — that consists of metals such as aluminum and nickel. The alloy has great potential for coating surfaces that have to endure extremely high temperatures, such as gas turbines, power stations, airplane engines, and hydrogen combustion engines.

Hydrogen combustion engines are different from fuel cells, which also run on hydrogen. They are being used to develop cars that run on clean energy. While fuel cells rely on a chemical process to convert hydrogen into electricity, hydrogen combustion engines burn hydrogen fuel, creating energy via combustion, just like a traditional gas-powered car (but without all the pollution).