Sandia National Laboratories is tackling one of the biggest barriers to the use of robots in emergency response: energy efficiency. Through a project supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sandia is developing technology that will dramatically improve the endurance of legged robots, helping them operate for long periods while performing the types […]
Interface Helps Standardize Supercomputer Power, Energy Systems
To help moderate the energy needs of increasingly power-hungry supercomputers, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have released an application programming interface (API) with the goal of standardizing measurement and control of power- and energy-relevant features for high-performance computing (HPC) systems. The High Performance Computing — Power API specification, still open to collaborators for future development, […]
Combining ‘Tinkertoy’ Materials with Solar Cells for Increased Photovoltaic Efficiency
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have received a $1.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative to develop a technique that they believe will significantly improve the efficiencies of photovoltaic materials and help make solar electricity cost-competitive with other sources of energy. The work builds on Sandia’s recent successes with metal-organic framework […]
MINER System Shines in Urban Emergency Response Exercise
A nuclear device has been hidden in a high-rise building in a major metropolitan area. Emergency responders have intelligence that narrows down the location to a single city block, but it isn’t safe to search door-to-door. Can they identify the exact location of the device quickly without the culprits realizing a search is on? The […]
W88 Warhead Program Performs Successful Tests
The first flight and drop tests for the latest variant of the W88 nuclear warhead are providing data for Sandia National Laboratories to validate designs, improve computer modeling and update component specifications. The two successful tests, which were conducted this summer, provide data for the program, the W88 ALT 370 (alteration), to move forward, said […]
Evaluating Powerful Batteries for Modular Grid Energy Storage
Sandia National Laboratories has begun lab-based characterization of TransPower’s GridSaver, the largest grid energy storage system analyzed at Sandia’s Energy Storage Test Pad in Albuquerque, NM. Project lead David Rosewater said Sandia will evaluate the 1 megawatt, lithium-ion grid energy storage system for capacity, power, safety and reliability. The lab also will investigate the system’s […]
Improving Cost Competitiveness of American-Made Wind Turbine Blades
Sandia National Laboratories is helping makers of wind turbine blades improve the labor productivity associated with blade fabrication and finishing. This improved productivity makes domestic blades more cost competitive with blades from countries that pay workers lower wages. The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (AMII), a three-year $6.3 million project, brought together researchers from Sandia, Iowa […]
Pocket-Sized Anthrax Detector Aids Global Agriculture
A credit-card-sized anthrax detection cartridge developed at Sandia National Laboratories and recently licensed to a small business makes testing safer, easier, faster and cheaper. Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, is commonly found in soils all over the world and can cause serious, and often fatal, illness in both humans and animals. The bacteria […]
Portable Hydrogen Fuel Cell Unit to Provide Green, Sustainable Power
Clean hydrogen power that’s expected to lower emissions and reduce energy consumption will be coming to the Port of Honolulu in 2015 after the completion of a new fuel cell technology demonstration, one that could lead to a commercial technology for ports worldwide. The work comes on the heels of last year’s study and analysis […]
Traumatic brain injury patients, supercomputer simulations studied to improve helmets
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico are comparing supercomputer simulations of blast waves on the brain with clinical studies of veterans suffering from mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) to help improve helmet designs. Paul Taylor and John Ludwigsen of Sandia’s Terminal Ballistics Technology Department and Corey Ford, […]