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© 2008 American Science and Technology
Microelectronics Division
Supported by South Dakota State University’s research on non-destructive
testing, AST has established a microelectronics
program in Brookings, South
Dakota. This division is involved in the effort to produce a system capable
of measuring fatigue in
a component and making real-time decisions about the
health of that component that will serve to minimize O&M costs for the
U.S.
military, while maintaining the safety of the systems and their operators.
American Science and Technology is one of five research partners involved
with this effort. The other partners include
Augusta Systems,
South Dakota
State University, Army Benet Laboratories, and
Batcheller Consulting Group.
To guard against fatigue-based component failures in one of the most
critical weapon systems elements, gun barrels, advanced
sensors and systems
that record changes are needed to monitor and detect possible weapon systems
health issues, and more
significantly, lead to more accurate tracking of
actual remaining life for specific component parts.
Building upon recent advances in mechanical-based and micro-electronics
systems for sensor miniaturization and computing
technologies, AST, in
cooperation with Benet Weapons Lab and Augusta Systems, is currently
developing a fatigue
monitoring
system to predict the remaining life of
individual system components.
Center for Alternative Energy Technology
As a joint
initiative between American Science and Technology and Chicago State
University,
the Center for Alternative Energy Technology (CAET) is performing basic and
applied research to evaluate, develop, and
commercialize alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, as well as alternative
energy technologies such as fuel-cell, bio-fuel,
direct carbon, and energy harvesting from solar, wind, and other natural
resources.
For more information on CAET and the upcoming 2008 Alternative Energy
Symposium,
please visit
www.caetonline.com.
High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell
Presently,
most mobile robotic systems, such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),
are powered either by petroleum-derived fuel
engines or by batteries. The limitations of these strategies, however, are
revealed
as these robotic vehicles have been deployed for extended periods of
time in the battlefield.
Fuel-cells are ideal for robotic vehicle applications, and in fact, for some
mission profiles they would be the only suitable
choice. By replacing
conventional power supply systems with fuel-cell technology packages designed
specifically for mobile
robotics systems, the potential for enhanced mission
capabilities, maintenance efficiency, and, ultimately, cost-savings for
the
Federal government can be met.
In the Fall of 2007, American Science and Technology, in conjunction with
Chicago State University and
Enerfuel Inc.,
designed
and developed an innovative High-Temperature PEM Fuel Cell system (HTPEMFC).
This system has demonstrated
the capability of producing at least 50% more power
than its conventional PEM counterparts. The developed technology has
been part
of the attempt by AST to increase conventional fuel cells’ power density and
power-to-weight ratio.
Bio-Fuel
With
growing global population and fast pace of industrialization, especially in
developing countries, the thirst for energy
has become even more pronounced. The
reserves of fossil energy are finite and non-renewable; and their use has
contributed to global warming. These issues have prompted researchers to search
for alternative sources of energy to
reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Bio-energy can offer an
alternative to fossil fuels and thus addressing energy security and
environmental concerns while
providing new economic opportunities.
At AST, our research is focused on developing cheaper bio-fuels and
bio-crude from non-food materials. Our efforts are
directed toward process
improvement and optimization, development of novel catalysts, synthesis of
biologically-derived
additives, and development of genetically modified plants.
AST is teaming up with the University of Wisconsin at Superior
in an effort to design and develop an efficient and economically affordable
bio JP-8 production process which can serve as an alternative to
petroleum-derived JP-8 process in quality and price. The process will
involve setting up a bio-JP-8 pilot production facility to verify the
manufacturability of the developed process and technologies.
AST is also teaming up with the University of Wisconsin at Stevens
Point to develop a sustainable alternative energy source using
bio-mass. Areas of focus include the optimization of the pulping process to
achieve higher cellulose output, metabolic control modeling, and enzyme /
catalyst development.
At the same time, AST will be working with South Dakota State
University to develop an affordable and efficient process to
produce bio-fuel from cold climate vegetation.
Solar Energy
Sunlight
provides the largest of all carbon-neutral energy sources. More energy from
sunlight strikes the Earth in one hour
than all the energy consumed on the
planet in a year.
It is estimated that solar energy can provide 110 GW of new annual power needs
by 2016. This would be enough electricity
to power 28 million homes, create
260,000 jobs and save consumers over $100 billion in energy costs. Despite the
great
potential of solar energy, solar power accounts for well under 1% of U.S.
electricity generation. One of the reasons for low
application of solar power is
the high cost of solar panels. High costs of solar panels have been due to
volatile silicon prices,
low production volumes and high setup costs.
One potential alternative to crystalline silicon PV cells is use of thin films
(< 1µm) of semiconducting polymers, which can
easily be cast into flexible
substrate over a large area using a variety of processing techniques. AST has
teamed up with
Chicago State University and University of Wisconsin at Madison
to develop a thin film flexible solar cell that will have much
higher efficiency
than its silicon
PV cell counterpart.
Sustainable Energy Systems
As the cost of fossil fuel based energy continues to rise, the demand for
alternatives has increased
as well. Fortunately, alternative energy sources are
abundant; in the forms of solar, wind, and
geothermal energies. Combined with
the recent advancements in fuel cell technology, it is becoming
more feasible to
develop sustainable energy systems to generate and store all the energy that a
house or building requires, on-site.
AST recognizes the crucial connections between the generation and use of energy
and the whole
systems that sustain planetary health. We envision energy systems
that interact to preserve and
improve our air, water, resources, and ecosystems,
while vitalizing economies, building local
security and regional self reliance,
and improving the quality of all life.
AST is committed to developing new and
improved energy technologies, systems and services, including renewable
energies. Such research in developing sustainable energy systems and services
for use in homes across America is not
only a part of AST’s objectives, but also
of great strategic importance to our nation, in both the short and the longer term.
Automatic Control
As the U.S. military moves towards a robotic army and the missions for the unmanned vehicles continue to expand, the need to increase their capabilities becomes more crucial. The more that these vehicles are able to accomplish in hostile environments, the less American lives are placed at risk.
To help with this effort, American Science and Technology has teamed up with West Virginia University Tech to enhance the autonomous, automatic control that can be used by the ground stations to control the unmanned vehicles.
This application allows the user of the ground station to wirelessly retrieve sensory information from many different sensors. The sensory data can include multimedia feeds (video and audio), environmental feeds (temperature, humidity, and wind speeds), and location feeds (latitude, longitude, and elevation).
