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Solar energy market-ready materials and processing
Don Rosato EngineeringFor polymer-based organic photovoltaic (PV) cells, scientists have long believed the key to high efficiencies rested in the purity of the cell's two domains, namely acceptor and donor. To improve cell efficiency, many researchers have focused on tweaking the backbones of existing donor and acceptor materials or on designing new ones.
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Working together on a license to chill
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe announcement last month that AHRI and the United Nations Environment Program had agreed on co-operative development of the so-called "refrigerant driving license" (RDL) has been greeted favorably in Europe.
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Solar energy trends pushing renewable energy forward
Don Rosato EngineeringMost people no longer ask whether solar energy/photovoltaics (PV) will be a success, the question is now rather which forms of PV will be successful. PV will become cost competitive with a significant portion of new total electricity generation worldwide by 2020. The total global installed PV capacity is fast approaching 100 gigawatts (GW) — up from 1.5 GW in 2000 to 92 GW at mid-year 2015.
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K-12 science instruction gets a digital boost
Bambi Majumdar EducationData released last year by the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) showed 44 percent of U.S. high school graduates are ready for college-level math, while 36 percent have shown proper readiness for college-level science. A dismal report by all accounts.
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UK heat pump industry warns ‘technology may die’
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingYou may recall I wrote previously about the alarmed reaction of the U.K. HVAC industry to the new government's systematic "ungreening" of its flagship green-building policies. I described how the new Conservative administration had halted funding of the Green Deal program of energy efficiency measures and rowed back from its zero-carbon building targets on the grounds of "saving taxpayers money."
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The ever-expanding road ahead in wind energy applications
Don Rosato EngineeringWind energy provides significant growth opportunities for composite plastic materials. The global market for composite materials in wind turbine production is projected to reach $4.7 billion by the end of 2015. Carbon fiber and other advanced composites are expected to play an increasing role in wind blade production, owing to the expansion of offshore installations and the adoption of larger-scale turbines that call for stiffer and lighter materials.
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Learning to embrace a child’s unique potential
Jane Schoenfeld EducationTransition is all the rage, and it should be. But what do you do with a kid who doesn't fit neatly into any of the categories? What do you do with any kid in fact? They’re all individuals with different strengths and challenges. My daughter has multiple medical conditions, no physical disabilities, many learning difficulties and a PDD-NOS diagnosis, which puts her on the autism spectrum. She graduated from high school with a full diploma and spent two years in college before she decided it was just too hard and not clearly enough structured. So, what to do?
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What manufacturers, developers should consider when investing in 3-D printing
Mark Eaton ManufacturingInvesting in 3-D printing technology can provide significant business advantages. Product development, customer value, manufacturing costs and product life cycle management can all be positively impacted by this technology. Determining where to make the investment requires careful consideration of the expected outcomes and thorough analysis of the business, processes or products that will be impacted by the investment.
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As UK strips away green policies, HVAC sector takes a big hit
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingIn a time when economic prudence is necessary, the United Kingdom's new Conservative Party government installed in May has wasted no time in taking an ax to policies it believes will be costly to the taxpayer. However, a number of these are high-profile "green" policies, designed to reduce the energy consumption of its building stock. This has seen the new government crossing swords with the HVAC sector, along with the combined might of environmentalists, the construction industry and the renewable energy business.
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Plastic materials and processing advancing wind energy
Don Rosato EngineeringThe vast majority of the total tonnage used in wind turbine blade manufacturing are glass fiber and thermoset (primarily epoxy and vinyl ester) resins. Let's take a look at new wind energy resin/fiber material, processing and testing advances. The increasing size of wind turbine blades poses a big challenge to designers and engineers to design lightweight structures that meet the requirements in terms of stiffness and, predominantly, fatigue.
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