Engineering Commons^™

Electric Currents Due To Stress-Activated Positive Hole Charge Carriers In Ice, Cary T. Keller P.E., Friedemann T. Freund, Dale P. Cruikshank

STAR Program Research Presentations

Jupiter’s satellite Europa, whose surface is composed of ice with a possible water ocean beneath, could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life. This and other icy celestial bodies may contain organic macromolecular solid material that is produced when surface ices are exposed to ultraviolet radiation and/or electrical energy. Tidal and tectonic stresses or meteorite impacts in icy crusts may produce electrical discharges, which would provide the energy for in-situ synthesis of the organic solids. This electrical energy can be provided by positive hole charge carrier activation. Positive holes exhibit properties such as the ability to flow out of …

Technology Portal For Energy Efficient Buildings, Larry D. Hermanson, Daniel Studer, Annie Mroz

STAR Program Research Presentations

Project: Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings

Date: August 2, 2012

Author: Larry Hermanson

Mentor: Daniel Studer

Cohort: Annie Mroz

Lab site: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Buildings account for 71% of the electricity demand and 39% of the primary energy consumption in the United States. The Commercial Buildings Group at NREL provides builders, designers and building owners accurate information to significantly improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. The Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings will increase the accessibility of standardized and credible energy performance data for all building systems, thereby allowing building owners to better evaluate …

Graphene Refinement By High Temperature Anneals, Benjamin A. Calvopina, Justin Bult, Jeff Blackburn

STAR Program Research Presentations

Graphene’s intrinsic properties of being a good conductor as well as having efficient optical transmission make it a potentially useful material in photovoltaic cells as a transparent conducting electrode. One problem preventing graphene from being fully utilized stems from contaminates created and deposited during the transfer process of multiple graphene layers. After synthesis, TRT (Thermal Release Tape) is applied to the graphene supported on the copper growth substrate. TRT utilizes a unique formulation of adhesive that is temperature sensitive so that it will release when heated. Upon removing the growth substrate in a chemical bath, the TRT is used to …

Investigation Of Spillover Effect To Enhance Hydrogen Storage, Sarah C. Corrigan, Lin Simpson, Thomas Gennett

STAR Program Research Presentations

Hydrogen is an attractive energy option because of its low
environmental impact, but a critical problem is its low energy
density, which makes it difficult to store. For example, the US
Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen plan for fuel cell powered
vehicles requires a gravimetric density of 6.5 wt%. There are several
existing hydrogen storage methods, including compressed gas,
liquefaction, metal hydrides, and physisorption, but at present, none
of these technologies comes close to achieving the targets set by the
DOE. Although chemical storage methods have been claimed to be the
most promising hydrogen storage technology, and activated carbons the …

Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator Performance Optimization, Joshua G. Thompson, Brian Eney, Zaheer Ali, Bob Thompson

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS) calibrates scientific instruments (SI’s) that are installed on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). An SI’s accuracy is directly dependent on the consistent performance of the TAAS, which has never been fully characterized. After designing various thermal and optical experiments to identify the current unknowns of TAAS, we now have a far better grasp on how the equipment behaves.

Commissioning Of The Asta Laser Lab With Uv Pulse Length Characterization, Daniel Kelley, Jeff Corbett

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC depends on a photocathode electron gun to provide the linear accelerator with the raw material – electrons – used for making X-ray laser pulses. The photocathode used in the LCLS Injector is a clean copper plate in high vacuum. When the cathode is struck with high energy UV light, electrons are liberated from its surface and then accelerated down the linac with radio-frequency electric fields. These fast-moving bunches of electrons are directed through an undulator magnet to radiate X-ray light.

Although scientists have been using photocathode techniques at SLAC for 25 years, …

Selective Laser Sintering; A Design Of Experiments, Philip David Hopkins, Victor Castillo Phd

STAR Program Research Presentations

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also commonly known as 3D Printing or Rapid Prototyping, is a method of manufacturing that provides for the ability to make intricate internal features and easily customizable parts. The concept is to break a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file into a series of thin layers that are sent to the machine and laid down one layer at a time. Just like any other form of processing, material properties can alter by undergoing this process. Manipulating various parameters of the AM process can allow for different properties to be achieved. For this reason, an in depth study will …