Archive | April 30, 2012 | Armed with Science

Hydrogen Fuel Cells – Energy Made Easier

Filed under Energy by jtozer on April 30, 2012 at 7:07 am {no comments}

Video provided by the Naval Research Laboratory

Sustainable energy seems to be the topic of conversation these days. The Office of Naval Research and the Naval Research Laboratory are testing zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells. That means vehicles can operate without emitting waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate.

In this video, Dr. Karen Swider-Lyons, a Material Science Engineer at NRL, and other subject matter experts explain how hydrogen fuel cells work and why they are important to the U.S. Navy. Check out the NRL Chemistry Division, or for more NRL videos, click here.

Underwater Robot Face Off

Filed under Challenge, Robots, STEM by jtozer on April 29, 2012 at 7:45 am {no comments}

With a national title on the line, student teams from across the country are competing with their underwater robots in the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-funded championship in Manassas Park, Va.

The 2012 National SeaPerch Challenge brings top teams from middle and high school together to compete with the underwater robots they’ve built as part of a curriculum designed to boost their skills and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The SeaPerch program is an initiative under the Department of the Navy’s STEM Coordination Office, which facilitates outreach efforts across the service. The chief of naval research, Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, presented awards to winning teams.

“SeaPerch provides an affordable entry point for underwater robotics, and, from there, directional arrows to other science and engineering competitions and internships—it’s an easy-to-follow ‘yellow brick road’ approach,” said Kelly Cooper, program officer, ONR Sea Platforms and Weapons division. “The goal is to expand student awareness and encourage them to pursue STEM education and careers.”

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Better Than Bottled Water

Filed under Physical Sciences, STEM by jtozer on April 28, 2012 at 7:21 am {no comments}

Cpls. Kyle Slusher and Cody Sorrell, water purification specialists, operate the Tactical Water Purification System to purify Moroccan ocean water into a clean water source for Marines with the 24th MEU training with the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. (Photo by Sgt. Richard Blumenstein)

Water purification specialists with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, put their water purification systems to the test on a Moroccan beach, during the bi-lateral exercise named African Lion 2012.

The Marines assembled a Tactical Water Purification System (TWPS) and Lightweight Water Purification System (LWPS) on the beach to turn ocean water into a sustainable, potable water source for the Marines conducting training operations with the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, and test the systems on a foreign water source.

“Instead of bringing thousands of pallets of water ashore, this is what we use,” said Cpl. Kyle Slusher, a water purification specialist with CLB 24. “This is what’s going to sustain our force, and we can use it wherever there is a water source.”

Marines use water purification systems to sustain their forces and also to provide water for a number of other operations such as disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance, according to Cpl. Cody Sorrell, a water purification specialist.

“We can use this capability for any sort of mission where Marines are going to be there a long period of time,” Sorrell said. “You can’t conduct operations without a sustainable water source.”

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Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound?

Filed under Energy, Life Sciences by jtozer on April 27, 2012 at 7:44 am {no comments}

By Jessica L. Tozer

Sorry, can you speak up? I can’t hear you over the sound of those deafening JET ENGINES.

WHAT? UNSCREW THE BOLT? WELL, OKAY THEN...(Photo by Pfc. Kevin Crist)

The deafening roar of supersonic aircraft can cause hearing damage to sailors and Marines on flight decks, so the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is funding a new project to help reduce jet noise.

“The noise problem falls into two categories: noise exposure on the flight deck and noise impact on the communities surrounding air bases,” said Dr. Brenda Henderson, deputy manager for the Jet Noise Reduction project, part of ONR’s Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) program. “We’re funding the development of tools that we’ll need to help control jet noise in tactical aircraft.”

Hearing loss is not uncommon for service members, so combating this problem could mean more than keeping the jets at a comfortable indoor-voice level.

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The Newest Thing in Navy Warships

Filed under Featured, STEM, Technology by jtozer on April 26, 2012 at 7:43 am {no comments}

By Jessica L. Tozer

This is not your father’s Navy warship.

Well it’s not my father’s either – since he’s never owned one – but you get my point.

Check out the new digs on the Navy‘s wave of the future. Isn’t she a beauty? I’d like to introduce you to (the rendered conception of) the DDG 1002 Zumwalt Class Warship. It’s the latest thing in intimidating, high tech maritime awesomeness.

Concept for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyers, courtesy of Bath Iron Works

Or it will be, once construction is completed.

The Zumwalt, taking shape at Bath Iron Works, is the biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy. DDG 1000 is the first of a new class of warships in the US Navy’s revolutionary vision for 21st Century surface combatant designs. What does that mean?

So glad you asked…

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An Engine Of Ice and Fire

Filed under Energy, Technology by jtozer on April 25, 2012 at 7:06 am {one comment}

Preps Continue for Launching Engine Icing Research

Polar opposites attract in the puzzling case of ice crystal engine icing, where the frozen crystals can be ingested into the core of a jet engine. (Image credit: NASA/Eric Mindek)

NASA scientists are making progress in their preparations to mount a detailed research campaign aimed at solving a modern-day aviation mystery involving the unlikely combination of fire and ice inside a running jet engine.

The investigation deals with the seemingly strange notion that ice crystals associated with warm-weather storms can be ingested into the core of a jet engine, melt and then re-freeze, potentially causing the engine to lose power or shut down altogether. Safety officials have documented more than 150 incidents of this phenomenon since 1988. Most of the incidents have occurred in the tropics.

“It doesn’t seem intuitive that ice can form in the core of a warm engine,” said Ron Colantonio, manager of the Atmospheric Environment Safety Technologies Project at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

So in order to make sense of the mystery, NASA and its research partners are planning to gather information by flying a specially-outfitted business jet in high-altitude, warm-weather conditions suspected of having a large amount of ice crystals.

Technicians in California are currently modifying a Gulfstream G2 airplane to hold a suite of meteorological instruments, with hopes of having everything ready for initial trial runs of the full setup in Florida this August.

The research team then will take the lessons learned from their trial runs, make appropriate changes and prepare for the primary campaign, which is now targeted between January and March, 2013. These flights will take place over Darwin, Australia, an area known for having the type of storms that include high levels of ice crystals.

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Satellite Sight For the Frontlines

Filed under Space, STEM, Technology by jtozer on April 24, 2012 at 7:50 am {no comments}

Earth's invisible hoola hoop. Oh, wait. No, this is an artist's conception of the process of sending satellite imagery to different parts of the planet. (Artist concept provided by DARPA)

Image is everything.

In the case of military members on the front lines, quick, reliable satellite images are important, but unfortunately not always easy to come by. Today, the lowest echelon members of the U.S. military deployed in remote overseas locations are unable to obtain on-demand satellite imagery in a timely and persistent manner for pre-mission planning.

This is due to lack of satellite overflight opportunities, inability to receive direct satellite downlinks at the tactical level and information flow restrictions.

DARPA’s SeeMe program (Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements) aims to give mobile individual US warfighters access to on-demand, space-based tactical information in remote and beyond- line-of-sight conditions.

If successful, SeeMe will provide small squads and individual teams the ability to receive timely imagery of their specific overseas location directly from a small satellite with the press of a button — something that’s currently not possible from military or commercial satellites.

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Keeping Cool: Cryogenics And The Military

Filed under Energy, Physical Sciences by jtozer on April 23, 2012 at 7:54 am {no comments}

Story written by Airman 1st Class Zachary Perras

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dustin Volpi, 354th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels distribution supervisor, issues liquid nitrogen to a liquid nitrogen cart. Liquid nitrogen can temporarily shrink mechanical components during machine assembly to perform press fits - the process of fastening two parts by friction. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Araos)

The word “cryogenic” is derived from the Greek words kruos, for frost, and genos, for origin of creation. In essence, cryogenics is the technology and art behind producing low temperatures. Here at Eielson, that art is imperative to the flying mission.

As the dedicated cryogenics expert at Eielson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Volpi knows how the process should function, how to handle and manage liquid nitrogen and oxygen and how to maintain operational readiness for Eielson’s fliers.

“We keep the mission going,” said Volpi, 354th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels distribution superviser. “Without us, the planes don’t fly. That’s what we do.”

In cryogenics, there is liquid oxygen, primarily used as aviator breathing oxygen, and liquid nitrogen, used to service the emergency power unit, the emergency source of electrical and hydraulic power in the event the onboard generators or engine fails on the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Cryogenics is a heavily inclusive part of the flying mission because of this, Volpi said.

However, cryogenics here is quite different from any other base. When temperatures drop to 50 below zero, limitations arise, affecting the capabilities and how quickly a task can be finished. On top of this, frostbite can easily occur. Since liquid nitrogen boils at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit and liquid oxygen boils at minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit, the potential for danger rises.

“You can only stay out there for so long because it’s so cold,” Volpi said. “It’s even colder standing by the equipment because the cryogenics are so cold. If you add the environment from the gases boiling off, it gets cold really quick.”
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