Power and Electrical Engineering

Wind generator vanes can suffer degradation by erosion, particularly at their outer edge, produced by particles (dust, sand, etc.) which are present suspended in the air. Because of this, the ever increasing presence of wind parks in zones of extreme climate make it puts an onus on optimising the protection coating material, with the aim of guaranteeing good yields, even in the most extreme conditions.

The main parameters that affect this phenomenon are, on the one hand, gel-coat character

If you already have a little spring in your step, a team of biologists at the University of Pennsylvania would like to them to good use by adding a few more springs in the form of a power-generating backpack. Details of their prototype “Suspended-load Backpack” were announced today in the journal Science. The device converts mechanical energy from walking into electricity – up to 7.4 Watts – more than enough energy to power a number of portable electronic devices at once.

“As efficient

Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have invented a technology which may be an important step towards the hydrogen economy: a hydrogen tablet that effectively stores hydrogen in an inexpensive and safe material.

With the new hydrogen tablet, it becomes much simpler to use the environmentally-friendly energy of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a non-polluting fuel, but since it is a light gas it occupies too much volume, and it is flammable. Consequently, effective and safe stor

A simple but clever idea by a Bath engineer could revolutionise the way that safety devices across the world are constructed.

Dr Fayek Osman’s new concept could mean that devices such as train buffers, safety barriers and aircraft undercarriages will be much more efficient and cheaper.

Dr Osman, of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the University of Bath, UK, has developed a concept for devices that can absorb enormous impact and yet still remain intact so th

A ‘living’ artificial hand that learns through imitation has been developed, enhancing human-machine communication and paving the way for novel prosthetic aides.

“The last decade has seen enormous advances in the design and implementation of all kinds of robot platforms,” says Alois Knoll of Technische Universität München and coordinator of the ArteSImit project. “However, their abilities to ‘learn’ how to solve even simple tasks are still very restricted.”

According to

A new solar-powered underwater robot technology developed for undersea observation and water monitoring will be showcased at a Sept. 16 workshop on leading-edge robotics to be held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Va.

Arthur C. Sanderson, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will display the robotic technology being developed by a team of research groups, including Rensselaer, and led by the Autonomou