A residential and commercial tower under development in Brooklyn that is changing the New York City skyline has its roots in research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The tower’s white precast concrete façade rising from the waterfront site of the former Domino Sugar Factory evokes the form of a sugar crystal…
Next-Generation Composites May Monitor Their Own Structure Health
Carbon fiber composites—lightweight and strong—are great structural materials for automobiles, aircraft and other transportation vehicles. They consist of a polymer matrix, such as epoxy, into which reinforcing carbon fibers have been embedded. Because of differences in the mechanical properties of these two materials, the fibers can detach from the matrix under excessive stresses or fatigue.…
Neutrons Peer Into A Running Engine
In a first-of-a-kind experiment, researchers used neutrons to investigate the performance of a new aluminum alloy in a gasoline-powered engine — while the engine was running. A team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory worked with industry partners to perform the test, which looked at whether a high-performance alloy that is promising…
Lenvio Inc. Exclusively Licenses ORNL Malware Behavior Detection Technology
Virginia-based Lenvio Inc. has exclusively licensed a cyber security technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that can quickly detect malicious behavior in software not previously identified as a threat. The platform, known as Hyperion, uses sophisticated algorithms to seek out both legitimate and malicious software behavior, identify malware such as viruses…
Alloy to Boost Rare Earth Production, Improve Energy Efficiency of Engines
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and partners Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Wisconsin-based Eck Industries have developed aluminum alloys that are both easier to work with and more heat tolerant than existing products. What may be more important, however, is that the alloys — which contain cerium — have the…
‘Odd Couple’ Monolayer Semiconductors Align to Advance Optoelectronics
Epitaxy, or growing crystalline film layers that are templated by a crystalline substrate, is a mainstay of manufacturing transistors and semiconductors. If the material in one deposited layer is the same as the material in the next layer, it can be energetically favorable for strong bonds to form between the highly ordered, perfectly matched layers.…
Replacement for Silicon Devices Looms Big with ORNL Discovery
Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a processing technique developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A team led by Olga Ovchinnikova of ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences Division used a helium ion microscope, an atomic-scale “sandblaster,” on…
‘Autotune’ Software Makes it Easier to Model Building Energy Use
There are many ways to save energy in residential and commercial buildings. There are products that use less energy for lighting, heating and cooling; materials that better insulate and seal building envelopes; and architectural and engineering designs that lower utility bills through efficient use of space and renewable energy. In fact, experts specify up to…
The Quest for Better Superconducting Materials
Nearly 30 years after the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, many questions remain, but an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team is providing insight that could lead to better superconductors. Their work, published in Physical Review Letters, examines the role of chemical dopants, which are essential to creating high-temperature superconductors – materials that conduct electricity without resistance.…