Kindred to Jamaican bobsledders, a team from North Dakota State University finished first in the Stock Class of the American Solar Challenge in July. The Fargo-based Sunsetters team, previously seen in the July ’01 Designfax, triumphed over teams from schools more readily identified with the sun’s rays, like the University of California at Berkeley and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Students participating in the 10-day, 2300-mile American Solar Challenge traversed from Chicago to Los Angeles along historic Route 66, the longest solar car race in the world. From an original starting field of 30 teams, five
failed to pass the technical and safety inspection and five failed to qualify by not reaching minimum performance levels. Teams participated in either the Open or Stock class of the race, which are roughly comparable to professional and amateur, respectively. Stock class vehicles are limited to conventional lead acid batteries which are about one-fourth the cost of lithium-ion batteries favored by Open class competitors, and conventional solar cells that may cost as little as $4000 per vehicle compared to over $125,000 for Open class solar cells. NDSU’s winning vehicle, named Prairie Fire GT, was unique as the only solar racer powered by an electric motor built by a conventional electric motor manufacturer, Bodine Electric Co, Chicago, IL. All the other teams used electric motors specially built for solar racing, which cost as much as $17,000 each. The Bodine Electric e-TORQ motor is an off-the-shelf high torque industrial servomotor typically used in packaging machinery and medical equipment. The 14-in. dia. e-TORQ motor used by the Sunsetters produces about ten horsepower with greater than 90% energy efficiency at a fraction of the cost of specially built solar vehicle motors.
Nanotubes made of crystaline titanium dioxide (titania) are 1500 times better than the next best material for sensing hydrogen, and may be one of the first examples of materials properties changing dramatically when crossing the border between real world sizes and nanoscopic dimensions, according to a Penn State materials scientist. Sensors for hydrogen are used in industrial quality control in food plants — in a bakery, for example, sensors sniff hydrogen and measure temperature to determine when goods are done. In addition, hydrogen sensors are used in combustion systems of automobiles to monitor pollution, and may be used as diagnostic tools to monitor certain types of bacterial infections in infants, and as weapons against terrorism. “Our results show that titania nanotube sensors can monitor hydrogen levels from 1 part per million to 4 percent. The sensitivity comes from the nanoarchitecture, not the surface area,” says Dr. Craig A. Grimes, associate professor of electrical engineering and materials science and engineering. “Historically, we have viewed sensor technology and enhancements from the point of view of surface area. The principle in play in titania nanotubes is not surface area, but connectivity of the tiny tubes, where we see an incredible change in electric resistance.” The researchers suggest that, when hydrogen enters a titania nanotube array, “the hydrogen molecules get dissociated at the surface, diffuse into the lattice, and act as electron donors.” A change in conductance signals that hydrogen, above the background level, is present. The Penn State researcher, working with Oomman K. Varghese, Dawai Gong, Maggie Paulose and Keat G. Ong, postdoctoral fellows, and Dr. Elizabeth C. Dickey, associate professor of materials science and engineering, notes that the material can be made by the mile and is very cheap as well as very sensitive. The material is also not depleted when sensing hydrogen, but can be used again once the gas clears from the tubes.
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Kindred to Jamaican bobsledders, a team from North Dakota State University finished first in the Stock Class of the American Solar Challenge in July. The Fargo-based Sunsetters team, previously seen in the July ’01 Designfax, triumphed over teams from schools more readily identified with the sun’s rays, like the University of California at Berkeley and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Students participating in the 10-day, 2300-mile American Solar Challenge traversed from Chicago to Los Angeles along historic Route 66, the longest solar car race in the world. From an original starting field of 30 teams, five
failed to pass the technical and safety inspection and five failed to qualify by not reaching minimum performance levels. Teams participated in either the Open or Stock class of the race, which are roughly comparable to professional and amateur, respectively. Stock class vehicles are limited to conventional lead acid batteries which are about one-fourth the cost of lithium-ion batteries favored by Open class competitors, and conventional solar cells that may cost as little as $4000 per vehicle compared to over $125,000 for Open class solar cells. NDSU’s winning vehicle, named Prairie Fire GT, was unique as the only solar racer powered by an electric motor built by a conventional electric motor manufacturer, Bodine Electric Co, Chicago, IL. All the other teams used electric motors specially built for solar racing, which cost as much as $17,000 each. The Bodine Electric e-TORQ motor is an off-the-shelf high torque industrial servomotor typically used in packaging machinery and medical equipment. The 14-in. dia. e-TORQ motor used by the Sunsetters produces about ten horsepower with greater than 90% energy efficiency at a fraction of the cost of specially built solar vehicle motors.
Nanotubes made of crystaline titanium dioxide (titania) are 1500 times better than the next best material for sensing hydrogen, and may be one of the first examples of materials properties changing dramatically when crossing the border between real world sizes and nanoscopic dimensions, according to a Penn State materials scientist. Sensors for hydrogen are used in industrial quality control in food plants — in a bakery, for example, sensors sniff hydrogen and measure temperature to determine when goods are done. In addition, hydrogen sensors are used in combustion systems of automobiles to monitor pollution, and may be used as diagnostic tools to monitor certain types of bacterial infections in infants, and as weapons against terrorism. “Our results show that titania nanotube sensors can monitor hydrogen levels from 1 part per million to 4 percent. The sensitivity comes from the nanoarchitecture, not the surface area,” says Dr. Craig A. Grimes, associate professor of electrical engineering and materials science and engineering. “Historically, we have viewed sensor technology and enhancements from the point of view of surface area. The principle in play in titania nanotubes is not surface area, but connectivity of the tiny tubes, where we see an incredible change in electric resistance.” The researchers suggest that, when hydrogen enters a titania nanotube array, “the hydrogen molecules get dissociated at the surface, diffuse into the lattice, and act as electron donors.” A change in conductance signals that hydrogen, above the background level, is present. The Penn State researcher, working with Oomman K. Varghese, Dawai Gong, Maggie Paulose and Keat G. Ong, postdoctoral fellows, and Dr. Elizabeth C. Dickey, associate professor of materials science and engineering, notes that the material can be made by the mile and is very cheap as well as very sensitive. The material is also not depleted when sensing hydrogen, but can be used again once the gas clears from the tubes.