In a drive system, a voltage source inverter (VSI) may be used to transfer real power from a DC power source to an AC load. Conventional VSIs consist of two or three phase-legs, each of which is a ser...
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Despite recent advances in additive manufacturing, especially rapid plastic prototyping, there is still a need for better 3-D metal printers. Current techniques are relatively slow and not up to the t...
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Inductors and capacitors are fundamental building blocks in many electrical devices and provide energy storage. Inductors store energy in the form of a magnetic field in the vicinity of a coiled condu...
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“Rectennas” are antennas that can receive radio signals and rectify them to generate electrical power for wireless power transfer. Potential applications for rectennas range from large-scale power...
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Nanotubes and nanowires are used extensively to tailor material properties. However, wide implementation of their extraordinary characteristics has been difficult due to their 1-D geometry and limited...
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Mechanical engineers commonly employ a software modeling tool called finite element analysis (FEA) to virtually simulate a design prior to physical prototyping.  In FEA, a three dimensional (3-D) mod...
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Biological microarrays are valuable tools that enable the parallel analysis of thousands of different analytes. However, one of the chief problems with existing protein microarrays is the nonspecific ...
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Permanent magnet (PM) machines are used in today’s hybrid and electric vehicles due to their ideal performance characteristics. However, due to cost uncertainty and overseas sourcing, other types of...
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Photoreceptors are specialized cells that capture and convert light into signals that can be processed by the retina and visual centers of the brain. Supportive cells called the retinal pigment epithe...
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Distributed energy resources (DER) are small power generators that are typically located near the customer’s load, where energy is used. Small DER produce low emissions, can be manufactured at low c...
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A class of electric machine called an interior permanent magnet (IPM) can be used as a motor inside the wheel rotor of electric or hybrid-electric vehicles to power the wheels. One of the largest cost...
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Permanent magnet machines (PMs) are common in electric and hybrid vehicles, renewable energy and other industrial applications. These utilize permanent magnets made from rare earth materials (such as ...
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A class of electric machine called an interior permanent magnet (IPM) can be used as a motor inside the wheel rotor of electric or hybrid-electric vehicles to power the wheels. Conventional IPM machin...
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‘Electrostatic’ motors and generators make torque using moving plates and electrical fields. They are lighter and cheaper than conventional electromagnetic designs that rely on iron, copper windin...
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Electrostatic machines are attracting more and more interest because they are lighter and cheaper than conventional electromagnetic designs that rely on semi-precious metals and rare earth materials. ...
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Lamination includes various techniques of manufacturing materials in multiple layers or ‘plies.’ Laminates are commonly used in the automotive, aerospace, medical and consumer industries. A simple...
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As a byproduct of normal operation, electrical circuits can induce unwanted signals, or noise, in other circuits, thereby degrading performance. This problem, known as electromagnetic interference (EM...
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High speed electric machines are needed in many applications including HVAC, industry, flywheels, fans, fuel-efficient vehicles, aircraft and much more.Flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machines ...
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High speed electric machines are needed in many applications including HVAC, industry, flywheels, fans, fuel-efficient vehicles, aircraft and much more. Flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machi...
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Inductors and capacitors are fundamental building blocks in many electrical devices and provide energy storage. In many applications (both low- and high-powered electronics) the physical size of these...
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Atomically sharp micro-fabricated tips are used in atomic force microscopy (AFM) for scanning near-field microwave microscopy (SNMM) to create an image of the tiny topography on or under a surface. Th...
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Conventional techniques for generating plasmas aren't suitable for plasma reactions in liquids such as gasoline or diesel fuels. They are inefficient and can result in significant heat and unwante...
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An adjustable speed drive (ASD) is a power electronics device that controls the speed of machinery. These devices also save energy for industrial processes that require adjustable speed or controlling...
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Exhaust emission and fuel economy standards have put increased pressure on the auto industry to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines. While higher standards help protect the environme...
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Rare earth magnets, like neodymium and dysprosium, are used in permanent magnet (PM) motors found in wind turbines and hybrid/electric vehicles. The cost of rare earth materials is escalating because ...
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