Civil, Mechanical, & Industrial

Latest Innovations

Pressure Activated Flexible Orifice Spray Nozzles

 

A spray nozzle assembly includes a pressure dependent variable spray orifice and an internal chamber which is at least partially bound by a flexibly deformable...

 

A spray nozzle assembly includes a pressure dependent variable spray orifice and an internal chamber which is at least partially bound by a flexibly deformable sidewall. At its distal end, the sidewall terminates at a distal face defining the spray orifice extending therethrough.

A metering member extends distally from the internal chamber and through at least a portion of the spray orifice. As the pressure of a liquid supplied to the internal chamber by a liquid supply pathway varies, the flexibly deformable sidewall expands or contracts in response thereto. As the sidewall expands and contracts, the distal face moves relative to the metering member to change the effective size of the spray orifice.

AOXADUR Antioxidant Treatment for Increasing Service Life of Asphalt Mixtures

Background

Chemical binders used in asphalt paved surfaces are subject to age hardening, resulting in...

Background

Chemical binders used in asphalt paved surfaces are subject to age hardening, resulting in increased stiffness over time, a major cause of cracking and the subsequent need for re-surfacing. Over the last 40 years, treating the binders with some form of anti-oxidant (AOX) has shown some promise in reducing binder stiffness, but it still is prone to softening at higher temperatures, stiffening at lower temperatures or leaching out over time. To ensure long-term durability, a viable AOX treatment should remain dimensionally stable over a wide temperature range and be environmentally and occupationally safe to use.

AOXADUR

Developed by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006, this revolutionary AOX binder treatment consists of three additives to base asphalt: aldehyde, thioester and a caltalyst. A condensation reaction of aldehyde with asphalt to form novolacs, which can act as antioxidants, results in a reduction of age-susceptible polar aromatics in the binder. The thioester serves as a secondary antioxidant, which is highly effective against oxidative degradation of hydrocarbons. Laboratory testing of over 40 binders at the University of Illinois showed that the AOXADUR-modified binder produces the lowest aging index the measurement of asphalt aging potential during service life. Further, the AOXADUR-modified binder showed a dramatic increase in high-temperature stiffness and a substantial decrease in low-temperature stiffness. This improvement in binder properties at both high and low temperatures results in less thermal stress and reduced cracking potential. Finally, the age-fighting characteristics of AOXADUR make it an appealing choice asphalt mixtures containing recycled asphalt pavement (RAP).

With AOXADUR, higher amounts of RAP material can be used, which can lead to a reduction in the amount of new aggregate and asphalt binder required per ton of mixture, leading to economic and environmental benefits and increased sustainability of the roadway materials. 

RF Wireless Power Transfer to Chip-Scale Apparatuses

 

 

An inductive wireless power system is particularly appealing for secured short-range operation, considering its non-contacting and non-radiative nature....

 

 

An inductive wireless power system is particularly appealing for secured short-range operation, considering its non-contacting and non-radiative nature. However, one of the major challenges of inductively and wirelessly powering chip-scale apparatuses stems from the miniature size of chip-scale apparatus. The effective range of power transfer or communication is limited by the size of the coil that resides on the implanted chip or the hardware root of trust. For a distance exceeding five diameters of the coils, the power transfer efficacy diminishes to practically nothing even with high Q coils and magnetic resonance enhanced designs. 

The lab employs a novel approach of treating multi-coil WPT systems as RF filters formed by spatially and weakly coupled resonators, for which the final power transfer efficacy (PTEF) can be determined similarly to the insertion loss of a filter. The effectiveness and accuracy in predicting the performance of the designed WPT systems are tested by micro fabricating the coils on a Si wafer and measuring the power transfer efficacy. The measurement and modeling results reach excellent agreement. As a result, inductive wireless power transfer over a long distance (~5 times the coil diameter) has been achieved with an unprecedented high efficacy (-27 dB).

System for Cleaning Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce

This invention is an "in-flight" fresh-cut produce cleaning system that removes undesired substances from the produce's...
This invention is an "in-flight" fresh-cut produce cleaning system that removes undesired substances from the produce's surface. It reduces the amount of chlorine/other sanitizers and water used in the fresh-cut produce cleaning process while quickly and efficiently removing organic exudate, field debris, and soil particulates. Fresh-cut produce is sent down a chute with one or more manifolds. One manifold sprays water or a water/sanitizer mix upwards at the falling produce while another manifold sprays another fluid (typically air) upwards at the falling produce in order to slow the descent of the produce and spin them, increasing the produce's exposure to cleaners. Produce then falls out of the chute onto a substrate.

High Dynamic Range Polarization Camera

Dr. Gruev from the University of IL has developed a bio-inspired polarization camera.  The camera enables high-resolution imaging in less ideal lighting with high...
Dr. Gruev from the University of IL has developed a bio-inspired polarization camera.  The camera enables high-resolution imaging in less ideal lighting with high dynamic range of around 140dB. This low-cost camera has potential for application in automobile imaging and agricultural remote sensing.
 
Publications - Missael Garcia, Tyler Davis, Steven Blair, Nan Cui, and Viktor Gruev, "Bioinspired polarization imager with high dynamic range," Optica 5, 1240-1246 (2018)

Optimal Toolpath Generation System and Method for Additively Manufactured Composite Materials

Prof. Daniel Tortorelli and Mr. Felipe Fernandez Ayala from the University of Illinois have developed a system and method for optimal toolpath generation for additively...

Prof. Daniel Tortorelli and Mr. Felipe Fernandez Ayala from the University of Illinois have developed a system and method for optimal toolpath generation for additively manufactured composite structures. With this techniques, it is easy to impose Direct Ink Writing (DIW) manufacturing constraints such as no overlap, no sag of just-printed material, minimum radius of curvature of each toolpath, and toolpath continuity. In addition, to minimize manufacturing cost, the system formulates and solves a travelling salesman problem to obtain the shortest continuous toolpath for each layer that avoids overlap and crossing holes.

Micro Pinch Valve for Soft Robotics

Dr. Zhang has developed a flow regulator that is light and small enough to be built into every actuator. The micro pinch value specifically controls the cross-section area...

Dr. Zhang has developed a flow regulator that is light and small enough to be built into every actuator. The micro pinch value specifically controls the cross-section area of the flow channel according to the voltage applied to it. The flow regulator reduces the number of tubes typically needed for fluid-driven soft robots and reduces need for sealing components. It also simplifies design to actuator pressure supply, resolving the scalability problem of fluid powered robots. The embeddable component facilitates onboard control and modularity to enable soft robots to have many degrees of freedom of motion. Increased degrees of freedom of motion equips soft robots the capability to preform complex tasks.

Applications

Primary uses for soft robotics are within medicine and agriculture. Benefits of using the flow regulator include augmented capabilities of agricultural robots to enhance safe co-working among human labor and increased efficiencies of careful handling of soft crops.

 

   Rendering of the micro pinch valve

 

   Onboard controls for the micro pinch valve

   Modularity enabling many degrees of freedom

360 Degree Attitude Control of Satellites

360 degree attitude control of satellites is an aerospace technology that allows satellites and spacecraft to achieve arbitrarily large (360°+) rotations in a low- and no-...

360 degree attitude control of satellites is an aerospace technology that allows satellites and spacecraft to achieve arbitrarily large (360°+) rotations in a low- and no-atmosphere environment. This hardware technology achieves attitude adjustment without the use of a consumable propellant or constantly spinning flywheels. Use of propellant exacerbates jitter interferes with satellite function, while spinning flywheels requires failure-prone sliding contacts.

The invention instead features variable-length appendages that utilize transverse oscillations and moment of inertia adjustments to achieve both fine and arbitrarily large rotations. By lengthening the appendage for an “up-stroke” and shortening it for the “down-stroke,” an angular momentum differential is created to allow the satellite or spacecraft to return to its original position/state, but reoriented in a different direction (with respect to a static “space” frame of reference). Repeating the “strokes” allows for arbitrarily large net rotations. The technology was presented at the ASME Conference in September 2019.

Application

360 degree attitude control is applicable to spacecraft and satellite manufacturers that serve primarily consumer industries such as TV, radio, broadband, mobile, and earth observation services.

   

Prototype model of 360 Degree Attitude Control of Satellites  

 

 This rotational mechanism for attitude control is repeated as many times as necessary to achieve the desired orientation.

Self-Compacting Geopolymer Concretes

This geopolymer was developed through a collaboration between Professor Waltraud Kriven at the University of Illinois and the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory...

This geopolymer was developed through a collaboration between Professor Waltraud Kriven at the University of Illinois and the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (an entity of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). The concrete alternative is made from a geopolymer-based flowable binder, the supplementary cementitious materials fly ash and blast-furnace slag, alkali metal silicate, and added water.

Fly ash is a byproduct of coal combustion, while slag is a byproduct of steel manufacturing. Repurposing fly ash and slag, which are considered raw waste materials, reduce emissions of CO2 by reducing the proportion of clinker produced in the Portland cement manufacturing process.  Use of fly ash and blast-furnace slag in this concrete alternative is environmentally friendly and enhances the performance of key concrete properties including strength, set time, and workability.

The geopolymer concrete mixture is ideal for applications requiring a short set time and high strength development, including roadway repair and general construction within warmer climates. This invention is patent pending (application number 16/255,131). 

The flowable geopolymer binder may be deployed and mixed in a drum for increased flexibility in a range of applications.

The flowable mortar is distributed over a bed of coarse aggregate, curing rapidly to create a stronger, more environmentally-friendly concrete alternative.

 

Precast Prestressing Plate (PPP) for Local Repairs of Civil Structures

Dr. Andrawes at the University of Illinois has developed a unique method for localized concrete repair and strengthening.  A precast plate of concrete or mortar, which...

Dr. Andrawes at the University of Illinois has developed a unique method for localized concrete repair and strengthening.  A precast plate of concrete or mortar, which contains a curved, self-anchored SMA wire, can be attached to an area of concrete in need of repair.  Upon heating or passing electric current through the exposed ends of SMA wire, the restrained wire induces compressive force in the center of the plate.

Since the SMA wire is self-anchored, there is no need for an external anchorage system.  Additionally, since the prestressing is activated by the application of heat or electricity, there is no need for hydraulic jacking.  These characteristics make this technology a flexible, and cost-saving method for localized structural repairs.

Primary application: Precast/prestressed concrete products

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