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 […]
Engineering
Complex rotating machinery is an integral part of operations across multiple industries including healthcare, medical device, robotics, and traditional manufacturing. Turbomachinery, generators, engines, pumps, servo actuators, and electrical motors all depend on intricate inner mechanisms. Rotating machinery, such as turbomachinery, generators, motors, centrifuges, aircraft engines, pumps and fans, fail often because of bearing defects. Engines, […]
In industry, compressed air is so widely used that it is often regarded as the fourth utility after electricity, natural gas, and water. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) typically uses power from renewable energy (i.e., wind, solar) to compress air, and to generate electricity through a turbine when needed, as a way of (i) mitigating […]
The investigators have found cost-effective isothermal compression and expansion of gaseous streams is achievable through vasculatures with lung-like gas flow paths embedded in phase change material (PCM) or thermochemical materials. Their design is highly scalable; a patent has been applied for. In previous attempts to obtain isothermal compression / expansion, temperature increase and decrease was […]
Fault detection and diagnosis is essential across diverse industries. They increase safety and reduce costs, replacing current scheduled-based maintenance strategies which cost billions yearly. Dr. Nataraj’s fault detection system invention provides a software-based method for diagnosing the nature and magnitude of faults within dynamic mechanical and electrical systems. The software uses measured data from already […]