Beauty in imperfection Scientists clarify how crystal defects in Ni-based alloys give rise to high thermoelectric conversion efficiencies, advancing thermoelectric technology. If we are to prevent the impending environmental crisis, it is imperative that we find efficient and sustainable ways to avoid being wasteful. One area with much room for improvement is the recycling of waste heat from industrial processes and technological devices into electricity. Thermoelectric materials are at the core of research in this field because they allow for…

Materials scientists of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), in collaboration with an international research team, have advanced the design of composite ceramic materials (Ce3+:YAG-Al2O3), i.e. solid-state light converters (phosphors) that can be applied in-ground and aerospace technologies. The LED systems based on the developed materials to save 20-30 percent more energy compared to commercial analogues. A related article was published in Materials Characterization. Over 15% of the total global electricity production or about $ 450 billion annually spent on lighting….

XSEDE Stampede2 simulates polarized elongation of actin filaments Our cells are filled with ‘bones,’ in a sense. Thin, flexible protein strands called actin filaments help support and move around the bulk of the cells of eukaryotes, which includes all plants and animals. Always on the go, actin filaments constantly grow, shrink, bind with other things, and branch off when cells move. Supercomputer simulations have helped solve the mystery of how actin filaments polymerize, or chain together. This fundamental research could…

Metallurgists have all kinds of ways to make a chunk of metal harder. They can bend it, twist it, run it between two rollers or pound it with a hammer. These methods work by breaking up the metal’s grain structure — the microscopic crystalline domains that form a bulk piece of metal. Smaller grains make for harder metals. Now, a group of Brown University researchers has found a way to customize metallic grain structures from the bottom up. In a…

As the energy transition progresses, the expansion of the electricity grids is becoming increasingly important. More and more renewable generation plants as well as electrical storage systems are being connected to the grid. This gives power electronics a decisive role, because it is essential to connect these systems to the grid. However, in addition to the mere feed-in or feed-back of electrical energy, power electronics must also perform other grid-supporting tasks. In the “SiC-MSBat” project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute…

A cascaded dual deformable phase plate wavefront modulator enables direct AO integration with existing microscopes–doubling the aberration correction range and greatly improving image quality. Microscopy is the workhorse of contemporary life science research, enabling morphological and chemical inspection of living tissue with ever-increasing spatial and temporal resolution. Even though modern microscopes are genuine marvels of engineering, minute deviations from ideal imaging conditions will still lead to optical aberrations that rapidly degrade imaging quality. A mismatch between the refractive indices of…

Fraunhofer LBF identifies potential for lightweight design Increasingly stringent statutory emission limits are pushing the automotive industry toward innovative lightweight design solutions. In this context, the fatigue strength of thin sheet metal structures, especially made from multi-material, is becoming increasingly important. The car manufacturer Opel Automobile GmbH, together with Fraunhofer LBF and SAM of TU Darmstadt, has developed innovative numerical fatigue strength assessment approaches for multi-material joints based on fatigue tests of hybrid joined shear and peel specimens. The method…

In order to help the industry have greater access to raw materials, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and Cronimet Ferroleg. GmbH have jointly developed a laser-based sorting process for metal scrap as part of the BMBF-funded “PLUS” project. A new sensor they have developed makes the recycling of metallic raw materials many times more efficient than previously possible. The EU project “REVaMP” goes one step further: In this project, Fraunhofer ILT experts have also been contributing their expertise…

A promising lead halide perovskite is great at converting sunlight to electricity, but it breaks down at room temperature; now scientists have discovered how to stabilize it with pressure from a diamond anvil cell. Among the materials known as perovskites, one of the most exciting is a material that can convert sunlight to electricity as efficiently as today’s commercial silicon solar cells and has the potential for being much cheaper and easier to manufacture. There’s just one problem: Of the…

Rice model may lead to better materials for aerospace, automotive, medical applications. Carbon nanotube fibers are not nearly as strong as the nanotubes they contain, but Rice University researchers are working to close the gap. A computational model by materials theorist Boris Yakobson and his team at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering establishes a universal scaling relationship between nanotube length and friction between them in a bundle, parameters that can be used to fine-tune fiber properties for strength. The model…

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and collaborators at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have discovered a new light-induced switch that twists the crystal lattice of the material, switching on a giant electron current that appears to be nearly dissipationless. The discovery was made in a category of topological materials that holds great promise for spintronics, topological effect transistors, and quantum computing. Weyl and Dirac semimetals can host exotic, nearly dissipationless, electron…

Computer simulations hold tremendous promise to accelerate the molecular engineering of green energy technologies, such as new systems for electrical energy storage and solar energy usage, as well as carbon dioxide capture from the environment. However, the predictive power of these simulations depends on having a means to confirm that they do indeed describe the real world. Such confirmation is no simple task. Many assumptions enter the setup of these simulations. As a result, the simulations must be carefully checked…

Scientists at the University of Southampton and University of Edinburgh have developed a flexible underwater robot that can propel itself through water in the same style as nature’s most efficient swimmer – the Aurelia aurita jellyfish. The findings, published in Science Robotics, demonstrate that the new underwater robot can swim as quickly and efficiently as the squid and jellyfish which inspired its design, potentially unlocking new possibilities for underwater exploration with its lightweight design and soft exterior. Co-author Dr Francesco…

The great potential of building facades to capture solar energy Roofs are not the only suitable places for installing photovoltaic modules to generate electricity from the sun’s rays. Facades could also play a much more significant role in Germany’s energy transition towards renewables as well as helping to reduce land consumption for energy parks. Together with the Fraunhofer ISE, the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development has calculated the potential area of Germany’s building facades for the installation…

A project at Landshut University of Applied Sciences is developing a control system for electricity storage in order to reduce power grid losses and support the energy transition. In the course of the necessary energy transition, it is important for the use of renewable sources of energy to be increased. The huge increase in the number of photovoltaic systems, however, means that existing power lines are now reaching their limits, as peak loads are overloading the power grid. That means:…

Test bench proves successful in regular operation The Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES has completed a successful series of accelerated tests on rotor blade bearings at the bearing test bench in Hamburg. Within the scope of research and industry projects, bearings were subjected to dynamic endurance tests to increase their reliability and gain insights into the causes of wear. The first bearing tests were thoroughly successful with both the test method developed by Fraunhofer IWES and the test…