Engineering news
How new fuels could make nuclear energy safer
Professional Engineering
US researchers are developing new forms of nuclear fuel that will be more tolerant to accidents such as at Fukushima eight years ago.
Automakers express ‘grave concern’ at slump in green car sales
Figures provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that UK demand for alternatively fuelled cars has decreased for the first time in 26 months.
E&T
'Shaking table' research protects UK from earthquake-triggered nuclear disaster
Professional Engineering
About 15% of the UK’s energy comes from an ageing fleet of Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors (AGRs), with nuclear cores made of thousands of interlocking graphite bricks. Fine cracks can occur over time in these bricks, which were installed in the 1970s and ‘80s. Those cracks might not have any effect on day-to-day operation, but what about during an earthquake?
New form of computer memory is 1,000 times faster
E&T
A new type of computer memory could speed up certain kinds of data operation by 1,000 times while also being easier to code for than traditional memory.
Germany’s Aachen University of Applied Sciences wins the Railway Challenge 2019
Professional Engineering
Young engineers from Germany’s Aachen University of Applied Sciences won the Railway Challenge 2019, beating teams from the UK and Poland in the competition which took place at the weekend at the Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire.
Car device blasts water off the road to reduce deadly aquaplaning
Professional Engineering
Built using an inexpensive canister of compressed carbon dioxide and a manual switch to activate a solenoid and release the gas, a prototype was recently tested on Horiba Mira’s specialist aquaplaning and wet road test surfaces. Two systems capable of one-second bursts were fitted to the front wheels, and the car did emergency braking and aquaplaning tests with and without the devices activating.
MIT aerogel captures solar heat for domestic and industrial applications
The Engineer
Highly transparent silica-based insulating material can generate high temperatures from sunlight even in cold winter conditions
Bipolymers help convert waste heat to electricity
The Engineer
German cleantech startup Poligy claims its new Bipolymers technology could help unlock the huge untapped value in waste heat.
Brexit uncertainty contributes to manufacturing’s sharp drop, says report
Process Engineering
UK manufacturing levels in May were at their lowest since February 2013 owing to mounting concern over the Brexit impasse, said a leading industry barometer.
Boeing gives $100m to help 737 Max crash families
BBC News
Boeing is giving $100m (£80m) to help families affected by the two crashes of the company's 737 Max planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The payment, stretching over several years, is independent of lawsuits filed in the wake of the disasters, which together killed 346 people.