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Engineering
Lab engineers garner DOE tech transfer awards
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of two proposals from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers for grants under the department’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), a program intended to help promising energy technologies move from national laboratories to the marketplace. DOE awarded LLNL engineer Brian Guidry a $432…
Putting pressure on 3D-printed structures
Through a series of dynamic compression experiments on additively manufactured (AM) structured lattices, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team, supported by colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has found that the assemblies have unique properties not exhibited by disordered cellular materials. During the experiment, elastic deflection of the structure…
Purpose and sacrifice mark offsite assignment
When Daryl Boyer was asked to lend his technical expertise to help shape the future of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, he knew it meant relocating to Omaha, Nebraska, without his parents and children. But the challenge called him and the timing was right. He acted decisively. Boyer is an LLNL engineer on assignment to the Global Strike Capabilities Division of the U.S…
Lawrence Livermore team improves 3D-printed graphene aerogel supercapacitors
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers, along with a team from UC Santa Cruz (UCSC), have devised a method for doubling the performance of 3D-printed graphene-based supercapacitors. The method, which involves sandwiching lithium ion and perchlorate ion between layers of graphene in aerogel electrodes, substantially improved the capacity of the electrodes…
'Human-on-a-chip' could replace animal testing
Development of new prescription drugs and antidotes to toxins currently relies extensively on animal testing in the early stages of development, which is not only expensive and time consuming, it can give scientists inaccurate data about how humans will respond to such agents. But what if researchers could predict the impacts of potentially harmful chemicals, viruses or…
Lawrence Livermore discovery a 'big step forward' for metal 3-D printing process
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have taken a major step toward answering a question plaguing a common metal 3-D printing technique: What interactions can lead to the porosity found in parts produced by laser powder-bed fusion processes? In a paper published in the May 20 edition of the journal Acta Materialia online, LLNL researcher Ibo…
3D-printed foam outperforms standard materials
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) material scientists have found that 3D-printed foam works better than standard cellular materials in terms of durability and long-term mechanical performance.Foams, also known as cellular solids, are an important class of materials with applications ranging from thermal insulation and shock-absorbing support cushions to…
New 3D printer unlocks 'mind-blowing' possibilities with electronics manufacturing
Installation of a highly advanced 3D printer for electronics at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has opened the door for creating miniature circuits on surfaces and substances that could never be used before.The Optomec Aerosol Jet 500 system, which became operational in January, is capable of printing circuits with a broad range of nanomaterials, allowing engineers…
Researchers 3D print ultralight supercapacitors
For the first time ever, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Santa Cruz have successfully 3D-printed supercapacitors using an ultra-lightweight graphene aerogel, opening the door to novel, unconstrained designs of highly efficient energy storage systems for smartphones, wearables, implantable devices, electric cars and wireless sensors.Using a 3D…
Researchers outline physics of metal 3D printing
While the most common method of metal 3D printing is growing exponentially, moving forward from producing prototypes to manufacturing critical parts will be possible only by reaching a fundamental understanding of the complex physics behind the process, according to a new paper authored by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers. The powder bed fusion…
Researchers 3D-print with reactive materials
Reactive composite materials are everywhere, from the life-saving air bags in your car to the dazzling pyrotechnics in Fourth of July fireworks. But one of the main drawbacks to using these materials has been the unpredictability of their reactions.Historically, the way to alter the performance in reactive materials (i.e. thermites) has been to either change the…
Engineer develops 'leap forward' with 3D-printer
Lawrence Livermore Lab engineer Bryan Moran wasn’t necessarily looking to improve on 3D printing technology when he moved over to Additive Manufacturing three years ago, but he may have done just that.Moran’s creation, a new take on a process called projection micro-stereolithography, which uses UV light to create 3D objects, won him a coveted R&D 100 award in Las…
Researchers 3D print 'living' blood vessels
The cardiovascular system is a complex web of tens of thousands of miles of arteries, capillaries and veins, branching throughout the body like tributaries of a great river. And now, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are recapitulating this intricate network using an emerging technology: 3D bioprinting."It’s going to change the way we do biology," said…
LLNL wins three R&D 100 awards
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers are the recipients of three awards among the top 100 industrial inventions worldwide for 2014.The trade journal R&D Magazine announced the winners of its annual awards, sometimes called the "Oscars of invention," Friday in Las Vegas. With this year's results, the Laboratory has now captured a total of 155 R&D…
Event honors 20 years of Stockpile Stewardship
The proven success of the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) – which pushed the limits of modern science and engineering by requiring the transition from explosive nuclear weapons testing to what is effectively virtual nuclear testing – was celebrated Wednesday at a half-day public event hosted by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)…
3D-printing device wins tech-transfer award
A 3D-printing device developed by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) optical engineer has garnered a 2015 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Far West Region Award for outstanding technology development.The award, given for the Large Area Projection Micro Stereolithography (LAPµSL) technology, was presented to Bryan Moran at the recent FLC Far West/Mid…
LLNL researcher takes aim at solar-cell reliability
A Lawrence Livermore National Lab engineer has been awarded $570,000 through the Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to explore spectroscopic technology as a means of detecting moisture buildup in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Over the next two years, Mihail Bora, a Materials Engineering Division (MED) research team member at the Lab, will try to prove that spectral…
Nanocrystals don't add up for reactor materials
Lawrence Livermore researchers have found that nanocrystalline materials do not necessarily resist radiation effects in nuclear reactors better than currently used materials.As researchers hunt for materials with the ability to withstand prolonged radiation damage, the use of nanostructured materials, with high interfacial area to absorb radiation-induced defects, has been…
Lawrence Livermore teams up with Autodesk to investigate design of next-generation materials
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and a Bay Area company are joining forces to explore how design software can accelerate innovation for three-dimensional printing of advanced materials.Under an 18-month Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), LLNL will use state-of-the-art software for generative design from San Rafael-based…
Meet Juan Diaz Leon: future materials scientist
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles highlighting the diverse group of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory summer students. ______________The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) student internship program is designed to allow students to engage in work-study employment opportunities in relevant science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM)…
