Engineering news

Engineering

Researchers develop new way to reduce metal waste in manufacturing

Manufacturing aircraft components, battery materials, cutting tools, biomedical implants and other precision-engineered parts often involves metals in powder form.

Engineering

Curated hydrogen database reveals links between storage capacity and release pressure

Hydrogen's ability to power a cleaner future hinges not only on finding materials capable of efficiently storing and releasing it, but also on understanding the trade-off between storage capacity and practical operating conditions.

Engineering

Rust-free infrastructure: Portable polymer welding method could simplify repairs

Researchers from Skoltech have found a way to assemble and repair structures made from thermoplastic polymer composites—a type of glass fiber–reinforced plastic—in the field.

Engineering

Drone system uses VR for warehouse inventory

Engineering students at the University of Cincinnati are developing an easy-to-use system to deploy autonomous drones in warehouses to take inventory and alert workers about leaks from containers. UC College of Engineering ...

Engineering

Ultrasound creates a tube that guides matter through the air

A small stream of liquid flows quietly in midair, horizontally, as if inside an invisible tube. Nothing touches it. About 5 centimeters (2 inches) away, a cylinder lined with hundreds of tiny speakers surrounds the stream, ...

Engineering

Turning coffee waste into 3D-printed architectural forms

RMIT researchers have turned coffee waste into 3D-printed architectural forms, opening a potential pathway towards more sustainable, low-carbon construction. The project brings together scientific, architectural and engineering ...

Engineering

Safety-conscious drop tower improves TN bridges

If you are inside the John D. Tickle Engineering Building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and think you hear a semitruck slamming into a highway overpass, your ears aren't deceiving you. You've just stopped by ...

Engineering

Turning waste into fuel could help cut cement's carbon footprint

Waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill could help low-carbon cement production by reducing the industry's reliance on fossil fuels, according to Adelaide University researchers. Ph.D. candidate Geethmi Thisakya, ...

Engineering

Your future home might be framed with printed plastic

The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house. MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural ...

Engineering

Octopus-inspired 'smart skin' uses 4D printing to morph on cue

Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at Penn State, led by Hongtao ...

Robotics

A mathematical framework for optimizing robotic joints

Consider the marvelous physics of the human knee. The largest hinge joint in the body, it has two rounded bones held together by ligaments that not only swing like a door, but also roll and glide over each other, allowing ...

Engineering

Mechanical engineers' wood-based material could cut energy costs

University of Texas at Dallas researchers and their collaborators have developed and patented a wood-based material that can store and discharge heat to help make building temperatures more comfortable without using electricity. ...

Engineering

Taking the heat out of industrial chemical separations

The modern world runs on chemicals and fuels that require a huge amount of energy to produce: Industrial chemical separation accounts for 10% to 15% of the world's total energy consumption. That's because most separations ...