Washington State University – TechConnect Briefs

Interaction of a millimeter sized droplet on the powder substrates and study of capillarity in porous media flow

Avhad A.G., Tan H., Washington State University, US

Droplet impact on powder materials is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and engineering technologies including powder-binder based 3D printing, wet granulation, spray drying, powder coating, agricultural sprays, water erosion of soil, and raindrops landing on [...]

Mechanical fabrication of graphene devices using focused-ion beam: deposition and milling

Lei N., Chen Z., Kim D., Xue W., Xu J., Xue W., Washington State University, US

The inherent difficulties in handling and producing graphene have been a major barrier in developing such devices. Conventional microfabrication methods are mostly based on chemical etching processes, which often involve tedious masking and aligning steps. [...]

Free-Surface Microfluidics: Exploring New Actuation and Sensing Methods

Yu G., Lei N., Chen X., Xue W., Xu J., Xue W., Washington State University, US

Unlike traditional microchannel-based microfluidics, free-surface microfluidics features no channel, ease to clean, simple design fabrication and operation, as well as external access to the samples. It has been proven that free-surface droplets can be actuated [...]

Microfluidic manipulation of Caenorhabditis elegans using acoustic radiation forces

Yu G., Chen X., Xu J., Washington State University, US

The ability to precisely trap, transport and manipulate micrometer-sized objects is very important in microfluidic applications. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is one of the most commonly used animals in biological and medical research due to [...]

A Comparative Analysis of Transistors Based on Dielectrophoresis-Aligned Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) and Assembled Random-Network CNTs

Juhala J.L., Griffith B.W., Duan Y., Xue W., Washington State University, US

CNTs have gained significant attention due to their potential as an alternative nanomaterial to be utilized in micro/nano-scale electronics. To continuously improve the performance of CNT-based electronic devices, the CNTs and their manipulation methods must [...]

Advanced Catalysts for Fuel-Flexible Fuel Cells

Grant Norton M., Ha S., Marin-Flores O., Fleckner K., Neylon M.K., Breit J., Washington State University, US

In commercial aviation, a concept called the more electric airplane (MEA) will allow greater fuel efficiency by substituting hydraulically and pneumatically driven systems by those based on electrical energy. The increased electrical power demand in [...]

Advanced Catalysts for Fuel-Flexible Fuel Cells

Grant Norton M., Ha S., Marin-Flores O., Fleckner K., Neylon M.K., Breit J., Washington State University, US

In commercial aviation, a concept called the more electric airplane (MEA) will allow greater fuel efficiency by substituting hydraulically and pneumatically driven systems by those based on electrical energy. The increased electrical power demand in [...]

Enhancing mechanical properties of epoxy resin while reducing viscosity using “liquid nano-reinforcement”

Zhong K., Washington State University, US

Graphitic carbon nanofibers (GNFs) were first made into a “liquid nano-reinforcement” (LNR) that is composed of reactive nanofibers (r-GNFs) and an epoxy diluent through chemically reacting the functionalized GNFs with the diluents. Due to the [...]

Molybdenum Dioxide: A Reforming Catalyst for Fuel Flexible Fuel Cells

Norton M.G., Marin-Flores O., Turba T.F., Ha S., Breit J., Washington State University, US

Molybdenum dioxide has been shown to be a very active catalyst for the partial oxidation of a Jet A fuel surrogate (n-dodecane). It not only shows a high oxidation activity towards long-chain hydrocarbons, it also [...]

Silica Nanosprings – A Novel Nanostructured Material for Hydrogen Storage

Norton M.G., McIlroy D.N., Corti G., Miller M.A., Washington State University, US

Hydrogen storage for transportation applications remains a challenge. Current approaches are still short of published goals, in particular in being able to operate at acceptable temperatures. Physisorption, or non-dissociative approaches, where the hydrogen is stored [...]