https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/engineering-news/ en-us The latest news on engineering technology, engineering science, computer engineering , civil engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering and environmental engineering. A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a new modeling and optimization framework that helps researchers design modularized autonomous experimentation (MAE) platforms for new materials by determining the optimal combination of equipment before construction begins, thereby reducing time and cost before the platform is physically built. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-conscious-method-automated-materials-labs.html Engineering Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:20:08 EDT news708956281 Seawater holds enormous potential for green hydrogen production, but realizing that potential remains far from straightforward. Direct seawater electrolysis can damage electrodes, whereas conventional freshwater electrolysis loses much of its energy as low-grade waste heat. Researchers have now found a way to harness this otherwise wasted heat, using it to desalinate seawater and produce fresh water alongside hydrogen. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-couples-seawater-desalination-hydrogen-production.html Engineering Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:12 EDT news708954361 Carbon fiber is a key component in automobile manufacturing, aerospace engineering and energy infrastructure, but it mostly relies on petroleum-derived products, which can be expensive and contribute to carbon emissions. But what if carbon fiber were made of a free waste material and was as strong as—or even stronger than—petrochemical-based products? Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are exploring that prospect in research recently published in the journal Matter. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-paper-production-stronger-carbon-car.html Engineering Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:04 EDT news708948901 A flying robot with just one moving part may sound simple. Controlling one precisely is anything but. Most conventional drones rely on several rotors to control how they rise, turn and move. A robot with only one actuator has far fewer ways to correct itself when it drifts off course, encounters a disturbance or reaches the physical limits of what its motor can achieve. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-maple-seed-robot-flies-accurately.html Robotics Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:08 EDT news708946441 Although invaluable to modern society, refrigeration faces challenges from traditional vapor-compression systems, which are energy-intensive and use refrigerants that exacerbate the greenhouse effect and damage the ozone layer. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-cooling-device-built-sustainable-refrigeration.html Engineering Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news708943258 Rats and mice can scurry through dark, tight spaces with ease—in caves, underground burrows, buildings or sewers. Their superpower is their whiskers. Now, tiny autonomous drones could soon navigate through darkness, dust and smoke using artificial whiskers inspired by these animals. Their small size limits the use of large or heavy sensors for navigation. That's why researchers at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) have developed a lightweight whisker-based tactile sensor that enables drones to navigate and explore their surroundings through gentle touch. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-bio-whiskers-enable-tiny-drones.html Robotics Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:40:04 EDT news708939423 Drones have many uses in surveillance and surveying, industrial inspection, aerial photography and filmmaking, package delivery and even dynamic light shows. Their fundamental ability to carry cameras, sensors and other equipment has opened up these diverse applications. Now, research published in the International Journal of Intelligent Machines and Robotics has explored another: the safe removal of moss and lichen from sloping roofs, an otherwise hazardous job for a worker. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-autopilot-drone-zigzag-routes-moss.html Robotics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:00:01 EDT news708868457 Construction-generated soil is one of the largest byproduct streams from construction, yet its reuse can be limited after stabilization with cement- or lime-based binders. These binders improve workability and strength but generate calcium hydroxide, raising pore-solution pH to strongly alkaline levels that can inhibit plant growth and threaten surrounding water quality. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-alkalinity-strength-soil-optimizing-aeration.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:00:14 EDT news708877922 A study led by Penn State researchers suggests that recycled concrete aggregate and an iron-rich byproduct of steel production could help treat acid mine drainage, the toxic runoff that pollutes thousands of miles of streams in Pennsylvania and other coal-mining regions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-recycled-concrete-aggregate-acid-drainage.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:20:20 EDT news708868658 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a new method to determine when sodium-ion (Na-ion) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technologies can provide comparable electrical performance for defined applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-method-interchangeability-chemically-battery.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:20:13 EDT news708871307 A robot meant to inspect a coastline, a flooded street or a wetland can't count on one kind of ground. It might need to crawl over a hard surface, climb a bank, scale a curb or a step, then slide into open water, often within the same few feet. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-robot-shifts-weight.html Robotics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:00:25 EDT news708868077 A team of researchers at the University of Stuttgart has developed a new method that could make MRI even more precise by eliminating "dead time," a key limiting factor in the measurement process, thereby enabling the detection of signals that are lost using conventional methods. This opens up new possibilities for medical diagnostics and non-destructive materials testing. The new approach is published in the journal Science Advances. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-mri-technique-dead-capture-rapidly.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:20:25 EDT news708860285 Electronic engineers at Nottingham have found a new way to create sound effects by manipulating the interaction of sound waves, a method that could open new possibilities in music performance and production. It is a novel concept for sound effects that falls between electronic/digital and mechanical effects. The work has been published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-revolutionary-effect-paradigm-interactions.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:40:07 EDT news708849362 Electronics engineers worldwide have been trying to develop increasingly smaller components that can store and process information while consuming less energy. Ferroelectric materials, which possess spontaneous electrical polarization that can be reversed by an externally applied electric field, have proved promising for the development of denser, more energy-efficient memories and other miniaturized electronic components. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-ferroelectric-material-stable-atomic-thickness.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:20:08 EDT news708695876 Queensland researchers have reached a milestone in powering Australia's critical minerals refining industry, successfully delivering the nation's first grid-connected sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery energy storage system enabled by Queensland-made DC-DC converters. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-grid-sodium-sulfur-battery-australia.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:40:01 EDT news708771466 Researchers at Durham University have developed a new drone navigation system that enables autonomous aircraft to fly faster, more smoothly and more safely through crowded and obstacle-filled environments. This leads to new possibilities for applications such as search and rescue, infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-flexible-flight-corridors-drones-cluttered.html Robotics Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:10:01 EDT news708791541 Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a computational method that could help electric grid operators and data center developers manage power more efficiently as artificial intelligence drives unprecedented growth in electricity demand. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-method-grids-center-power-demand.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:00:10 EDT news708791770 Deicing technologies often rely on heat to melt ice. But University of Texas at Dallas researchers have found that, under extreme cold, making ice even colder can weaken its grip on surfaces. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-colder-temps-aircraft-deicing.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:40:10 EDT news708784899 Storing energy as heat is a proven pathway to address the challenge solar power faces when it's dark or cloudy outside by enabling the capture, storage and on-demand release of thermal energy. The process, called high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES), however, can be prohibitively expensive. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-steelmaking-solar-energy-electric-arc.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:20:03 EDT news708784081 A Maine lobster can end up in a roll, a bisque or a butter bath. At the University of Maine, what's left of it can now end up under a golf ball. Researchers at UMaine are making golf tees from discarded lobster shells. The project builds on more than a decade of UMaine research into new uses for an underutilized byproduct of Maine's lobster industry. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-lobster-tee-discarded-shells-golf.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:41:25 EDT news708784826 The Smart Materials research unit, coordinated by Athanassia Athanassiou, deputy scientific director of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) in Genoa, Italy, has developed a new method to make wood flexible in a controlled way and therefore easier to shape. Unlike current approaches, which are more energy-intensive or less sustainable, IIT's treatment could offer a green alternative. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-sustainable-treatment-wood.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:40:07 EDT news708783781 Researchers at The University of Manchester, Shandong Jiaotong University and Harbin Engineering University have developed a machine learning framework that enables rapid predictions of how protected steel beams respond during a fire, offering engineers a faster way to assess fire safety performance in industrial structures. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-machine-tool-safety-steel.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:20:01 EDT news708771421 Western University engineers have taken a major step toward solving a long-standing challenge in nuclear power. Their study, published in Nature Communications, describes for the first time how hydrogen can combine with zirconium to form tiny, brittle structures that create intense stresses in CANDU reactor pressure tubes. These stresses may cause the surrounding metal to deform and even crack. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-tiny-hydrides-reveal-hidden-stresses.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:40:01 EDT news708769862 A satellite phased-array transceiver that folds up for launch and unfolds in space has been shown to work successfully in orbit, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. By using an innovative approach to correct nonplanar deformations in the deployable membrane antenna, this work lays the foundation for satellite constellation-based wireless communications in the Beyond 5G and 6G era. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-orbit-advances-deployable-phased-array.html Engineering Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:20:09 EDT news708768361 Corrosion is a major concern for aging steel bridges because progressive material loss can affect their long-term serviceability and, in severe cases, structural safety. Visual inspection remains indispensable for assessing bridge condition, but inspectors must evaluate corrosion under widely varying conditions, including differences in lighting, coating color, shadows, surface deposits, structural geometry and accessibility. These factors can make consistent corrosion assessment challenging. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-ai-framework-steel-bridge-corrosion.html Engineering Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:03 EDT news708706261 Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed a new type of monitor that can check every minute or even every second for the buildup of nuclear material in the air ducts of nuclear fuel cycle facilities, promoting high standards of safety and security. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-device-nuclear-material-air-ducts.html Engineering Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:20:10 EDT news708685262 Scientists have used an X-ray detector on a sounding rocket, a type of research rocket that flies to the edge of space, then returns to Earth within minutes, to document metal dendrites—the branching structures that form as liquid metal cools—forming in microgravity conditions for the first time. By analyzing the images using machine learning, they reveal insights that could improve how metal components are solidified and manufactured. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-rocket-tracks-liquid-metal-solidifies.html Engineering Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:40:06 EDT news708680166 Radar technology is one of the most powerful tools for better understanding the world around us. Researchers use radar to see beneath the surface of ice, forest canopies or soil in ways the human eye never could. As the planet changes, that capability matters more than ever. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-source-coding-platform-radar-technology.html Engineering Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:20:07 EDT news708667921 Monitoring the lifespan of a lithium-ion battery without disassembling it may be possible. This prospect emerged from a study published in May in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and their collaborators. The scientists created an advanced computational model to investigate these energy sources and discovered that natural voltage fluctuations act as an "X-ray" of the system. This reveals the microscopic structure of battery materials and the speed of the chemical reactions occurring within them. The finding paves the way for rapid, low-cost diagnostics in energy storage. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-periodic-voltage-fluctuations-lithium-batteries.html Engineering Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:40:04 EDT news708622381 Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a camera-based inspection system that can monitor complex 3D-printed structures layer by layer, using AI and machine learning (ML) to measure tiny variations and potentially identify problems before a part ever leaves the printer. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-ai-powered-3d-printers-brain.html Engineering Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:20:01 EDT news708617881