Techniques to estimate or detect oil spills in open water may be divided into two categories: remote measurement or contact-based measurements. Current remote measurement techniques comprise visual methods that include estimation depending upon the color of the oil from aerial vehicles or satellites. Such a method only estimates thickness measurements; is greatly influenced by lighting […]
Engineering
Nano-/micromaterial coatings require assemblage on target substrates such as polymers, ceramics, and metals to achieve versatile functionalities for the applications of smart textiles, functional coatings/finishings, energy storage and conversion, catalysts, and other electronics and photonics. However, many desired combinations of nano-/micromaterials and substrates are extremely challenging to achieve due to the incompatible nature of their […]
Coating electronics and performance materials requires assembling nanoparticles on targeted substrates such as polymers, ceramics, and metals. Many high-performance materials have hydrophobic or chemically inert surfaces. As a result, nanomaterial or particle coatings characteristically do not naturally stick to these surfaces, restricting their applications for aerospace, high altitude, battlefield, and other extreme environments. Currently, techniques […]
Precoding and modulation are important modules in wireless transmissions. Precoding designs improve the spectral efficiency and system performance in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. Modulation is the process of varying one or more properties (amplitude, phase, and/or frequency) of a carrier signal, with information, e.g., bits, to be transmitted. Existing modulation methods for wireless communication primarily […]
Dr. Sylvie Lorente, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, College of Engineering; Chair and Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University, has invented a novel hybrid cooling system that utilizes modular ceramic insert architecture for stationary battery storage systems. The invention ensures batteries are separate from the coolant, while keeping the battery cells within the desired and […]