Engineering

In shallow waters, offshore wind turbines are fixed to the ocean floor. However, in deep water areas where winds are typically stronger and have the capacity to reap more than double the energy, floating offshore wind turbines must be moored to the seabed where the ocean is too deep for fixed structures.

Due to the high energy consumption of melting and holding furnaces, the price of the energy source used represents a significant cost factor in the production of castings. The price of electricity fluctuates significantly over the course of the day. This can be explained, for example, by the varying utilization of the power grid or the volatile feed-in of energy from renewable resources.

Everything burns. Given the right environment, all matter can burn by adding oxygen, but finding the right mix and generating enough heat makes some materials combust more easily than others. Researchers interested in knowing more about a type of fire called discrete burning used ESA’s microgravity experiment facilities to investigate.

A new approach to reducing the energy costs of streetlighting without compromising the safety and activities of pedestrians and drivers in towns and cities is discussed by researchers from India in the International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing.

University of Cambridge architects are inviting visitors to the London Design Biennale to experience a prototype home constructed with flexible wooden partition walls which can be shifted to meet the changing needs of residents. The invention aims to reduce waste and carbon while also improving living conditions for those who cannot afford expensive refurbishments.

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has mad progress in the field of ecological building technology with the development of a new “Net Zero Carbon Building (NZCB) system.” This innovative system, designed to minimize both operating carbon and embodied carbon, holds the key to significantly reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry.

A team of material scientists at the University of Maryland, working with one colleague from Jiaotong University and another from Beihang University, both in China, has developed a cleaner approach to building cooling systems based on the use of a squeezable metal. Their research is published in the journal Science.

With summer temperatures soaring, the specter of water scarcity looms large. As a possible solution to increase the availability of clean, potable water, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a novel thermal desalination system which can work using solar energy.

It is estimated that 55% of the world’s population resides in cities and that cities are directly responsible for around two-thirds of global energy consumption.

A large team of technologists affiliated with multiple institutions in China, working with two colleagues from Germany and another two from Saudi Arabia, has found a way to create flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In their study, reported in the journal Nature, the group developed and tested a new process. The editors at Nature have also published a Research briefing in the same journal issue, outlining the work by the team on this new effort.