Laptops have the advantages of being

more versatile and portable than their

desktop counterparts. But these attributes
impose considerable demands on the
electronic components in a laptop -- particularly
the hard drive. The magnetic disk inside
a hard drive rotates at a rate of several
thousand revolutions a minute. At the same
time, a read/write head moves only a few
nanometers above the disk surface to access
information on the disk. At such high speeds,
large vibrations can permanently damage the hard drive.

To help reduce hard drive failures, Jianqiang Mou and colleagues from the A*STAR
Data Storage Institute in Singapore have now developed a computer model that can
predict and minimize the effects of vibrations on the hard drive and ultimately help to
improve laptop design1.
Current designs of many laptops actually compound the problems caused by
vibrations. For instance, to provide protection from external impact and accidents,
laptops are often encased in special housings intended to absorb accidental drops
and other shocks. Such laptop designs can actually be counterproductive if not done
properly, explains Mou. "The commercial notebook computer industry rarely
understands how chassis design can substantially affect the performance of the hard
drive. Some notebook computers are designed with vibration sources, for example the
loud speaker, located close to the hard drive."



To get back to the fundamentals of laptop design, the researchers developed a
theoretical framework that models the propagation of vibrations from various
components in a laptop, such as the speakers, to the hard drive. Underpinning this
framework are mathematical equations that describe the transmission of vibrations in
laptops, and these equations form the input for a computer model applied to specific
laptop designs.


The results of the researchers' calculations can be used to inform general laptop
design strategies. For example, often very stiff materials are used for laptop cases to
provide enhanced mechanical strength. However, stiff materials tend to transmit high-
frequency vibrations more strongly than flexible materials, and it is difficult for hard
drives to compensate for these frequencies. Softer materials are preferable as they
suppress higher frequency vibrations, leaving only slower vibrations which are easier
for hard drives to compensate.

"Our study provides an effective approach for computer and hard drive makers to
optimize the chassis design and component mounting," adds Mou. "Furthermore, the
methodology presented in our paper can be applied for analysis and optimal design of
other computer chassis, such as servers in data centers."

Mass production of industrial goods, such as furniture, clothing or ball pens, is
inexpensive. In the future, even small series of individualized products might be
manufactured rapidly and efficiently by means of intelligent machines that
communicate with each other. To this end, researchers coordinate a project that is
aimed at finding innovative solutions to considerably reduce changeover times in the
production process.




Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular
are to benefit from the intelligent production system.
It allows for the low-cost production of niche products
of variable shapes or fits. "The companies can offer
individualized mass production and react flexibly to
fluctuations in demand," Maier says. Quicker execution
of small-series production will strengthen European
industry production.

In the plug & produce process developed under the
project, machines autonomously adjust for the product
to be manufactured. The solution concept is based mainly
on new developments in computer science. Prior to the
start of production proper, a specially developed
computer program calculates in which assembly line
the orders are executed most efficiently. "Additional machines
or technical capabilities can be integrated into the existing
park with a small expenditure, as they inform the system about
which part of the production process they will accomplish,
Maier explains. The production sequence simulated in the
planning phase and the real production process are displayed
on a screen





.
Robots and tools that communicate with each other and combine in variable factory
lines within shortest periods of time are major elements of a smart factory. The
factories of "Industry 4.0" combine production engineering with information
technology. Under the SkillPro project, computer scientists cooperate with electrical
engineers, business engineers, and mechanical engineers.




On the part of KIT, the Institute for Information Management in Engineering and the
Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics (IAR) with its Research Laboratory for
Intelligent Process Control and Robotics (IPR) are involved in the project. "Existing
plug & produce approaches are improved with the help of knowledge about the skills
of new devices and their effects on the entire production system in terms of workflows
and economic aspects," explains SkillPro coordinator Professor Bjrn Hein, who
conducts research at the IPR. Apart from the KIT and the Fraunhofer Institute of
Optronics, System Technologies, and Image Exploitation, industry partners from
France, Greece, Spain, Estonia, Finland, and Germany participate in the project. The
European Union (EU) funds the research project that started in 2012 with EUR 3.8
million. The funding period will expire in September 2015. "Interim evaluation after half
of the project duration confirmed the feasibility of our approach," Thomas Maier
emphasizes.


Researchers have developed the first fuel cell that can directly convert fuels, such as
jet fuel or gasoline, to electricity, providing a dramatically more energy-efficient way to
create electric power for planes or cars.




Washington State University researchers have
developed the first fuel cell that can directly
convert fuels, such as jet fuel or gasoline, to
electricity, providing a dramatically more
energy-efficient way to create electric power
for planes or cars. Led by Professors Su Ha and
M. Grant Norton in the Voiland College of Engineerin
g and Architecture, the researchers have published
the results of their work in the May edition of Energy
Technology. A second paper on using their fuel cell
with gasoline has been accepted for publication in
the Journal of Power Sources. The researchers have
made coin-sized fuel cells to prove the concept and
plan to scale it up.

About 10 years ago, the researchers began developing a solid-oxide fuel cell to
provide electrical power on commercial airplanes. Fuel cells offer a clean and highly
efficient way to convert the chemical energy in fuels into electrical energy. In addition
to increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions of harmful pollutants, fuel cells
are quiet and would be particularly helpful when a plane is at a gate and the main jet
engines are turned off.
A solid-oxide fuel cell is similar to a battery in that it has an anode, cathode, and
electrolyte and creates electricity. But it uses fuel to create a continuous flow of
electricity. The process could be approximately four times more efficient than a
combustion engine because it is based on an electrochemical reaction. The solid-
oxide fuel cell is different from other fuels cells in that it is made of solid materials, and
the electricity is created by oxygen ions traveling through the fuel cell.

Using jet fuel and gasoline to power their fuel cell proved tricky. To avoid the added weight
of a device that converts the complex fuel into simpler components, such as hydrogen and
carbon monoxide (a mixture called synthesis gas) the researchers wanted to be able to
directly feed the liquid fuel into the fuel cell. Furthermore, they had to overcome the
problems of sulfur poisoning and coking, a process in which a solid product is created from
imperfect combustion. Sulfur is present in all fossil-based fuels and can quickly deactivate
fuel cells.


Using a unique catalyst material and a novel processing technique, Ha and Norton and
collaborators at Kyung Hee University in South Korea and the Boeing Company in Seattle
have produced a high-performance fuel cell that operates when directly fed with a jet fuel
surrogate.


"The results of this research are a key step in the integration of fuel cell technology in
aviation and the development of the more electric airplane," said Joe Breit, associate
technical fellow at Boeing and a participating researcher on the project.


The researchers envision integrating their fuel cell with a battery to power auxiliary power
units. These units are currently powered by gas turbines and operate lights, navigation
systems and various other electrical systems. The two technologies complement each
other's weaknesses, says Ha.


The researchers also have used gasoline to power their fuel cell and envision someday
using it to power cars. Vehicles powered in this way could use existing gas stations, rather
than having to develop a hydrogen-based infrastructure.




THE END