DSIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.
Chinese scientists have made good use of waste while finding an innovative solution to a technical problem by transforming rusty stainless steel mesh into electrodes with outstanding electrochemical properties that make them ideal for potassium-ion batteries. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie , the rust is converted directly into a compact layer with a
The side prepared to fight is the side that wins the battle—and basic science research provides the first step in being prepared. Like all aspects of the military, the research and development sector thrives on a foundation of cause and effect. Applied research questions more easily match this formula because you can make concrete claims
New Mexico-based ARCA Space Corporation has announced that it is developing the world”s first Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle that can deliver both a small payload and itself into low Earth orbit, at a cost of about US$1 million per launch. Dubbed the Haas 2CA after the 16th century rocket pioneer Conrad Haas,
Rice University scientists have fabricated a durable catalyst for high-performance fuel cells by attaching single ruthenium atoms to graphene. Catalysts that drive the oxygen reduction reaction that lets fuel cells turn chemical energy into electricity are usually made of platinum, which stands up to the acidic nature of the cell’s charge-carrying electrolyte. But platinum is
A new process for water filtration using carbon dioxide consumes one thousand times less energy than conventional methods. The research was led by University of Limerick’s Dr Orest Shardt together with Dr Sangwoo Shin (now at University of Hawaii, Manoa), while they were post doctoral researchers at Princeton University last year. With global demand for
A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from achieving its full potential in electronic applications. Graphene nanoribbons, mere billionths of a meter wide, exhibit different electronic properties than two-dimensional sheets of the
Pacific Science EMC announces the release of its new Modular Architecture Propulsion System (MAPS™) for the small satellite market. The compact design of MAPS is a breakthrough in reducing time and cost of integrating the propulsion system with the satellite and launch vehicle. MAPS reduces the time from fabrication and testing to integration on the
Researchers are making progress in developing rechargeable batteries based on potassium, a potential alternative to lithium that”s less expensive and far more plentiful, and also have shown how to derive carbon for battery electrodes from old tires. “With the growth of rechargeable batteries for electronic devices, electric vehicles and power grid applications, there has been
Applications include electric vehicles, consumer electronics, UAVs, and wind and solar energy storage. A novel 3D Li-S battery was developed that is based on a tri-layer solid-state electrolyte structure. The battery consists of three components: a tri-layer solid-state electrolyte, cathode, and lithium metal anode. The tri-layer solid-state electrolytes have a supported thin-film dense layer in
Strategic Plan ARL”s Open Campus business model is building the framework for a global science and technology ecosystem that will foster an agile, efficient, and effective research environment supporting the continuous flow of people and ideas to ensure transformative scientific discovery, innovation, and technology transition beneficial to national security. Research Areas The United States Army
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Vehicle Research Section and Photovoltaic Section are building on the proven concept of autonomous cooperative soaring of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Their research investigates the benefit of solar photovoltaics (PV) to cooperative autonomous soaring techniques, which enables long endurance flights of unmanned sailplanes that use the power
Scientists at Ames Laboratory have discovered a method for making smaller, more efficient intermetallic nanoparticles for fuel cell applications, and which also use less of the expensive precious metal platinum. The researchers succeeded by overcoming some of the technical challenges presented in the fabrication of the platinum-zinc nanoparticles with an ordered lattice structure, which function