AL | Science News
New Technology Could Augment Composites’ Electrical and Thermal Conductivity
A study conducted at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and the University of Bristol’s Advanced Composite Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) demonstrates the potential of a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic to be made multifunctional while still maintaining its structural integrity. Applications include functionality for sensors, energy harvesting and storage structures with self-healing capabilities.
According to Dr. Thomas Pozegic, research associate at ACCIS, “The aerospace industry still relies on metallic structures, in the form of a copper mesh, to provide lightning strike protection and prevent static charge accumulation on the upper surface of carbon fibre composites because of the poor electrical conductivity. This adds weight and makes fabrication with carbon fiber composites difficult. The material that we have developed utilizes high-quality carbon nanotubes grown at a high density to allow electrical transport throughout the composite material.” The researchers say their findings will have wide-reaching benefits in the aerospace industry, from improving de-icing solutions to minimizing the formation of fuel vapors at cruising altitudes.
Subsurface Drip Irrigation Strategy Could Conserve Water, Cut Costs
New Mexico State University (NMSU) researchers are investigating a method called subsurface drip irrigation to improve turfgrass efficiency. The advantage of the process is that it limits irrigation to exactly the area that needs to be irrigated, said NMSU Extension Turfgrass Specialist Bernd Leinauer. Leinauer and colleagues installed a subsurface drip irrigation system in several tee boxes at a golf club in Santa Fe. In addition, they will conduct a study in Albuquerque’s Paradise Meadows Park. Half of the park will use a traditional pop-up sprinkler watering system; the other half will utilize a subsurface drip irrigation system.
Over the next three to five years, the investigators will be able to determine if the irrigation system helped conserve water. In addition to irrigation efficiency, NMSU research is focusing on salt and drought tolerance due to a shift to new types of waters with higher salinity levels, such as saline groundwater, treated effluent or recycled water. “In the future, having grasses available that can tolerate higher salt concentrations in the water and in the soil will become paramount to keeping green grass in urban settings,” Leinauer said. “Therefore, we need to screen for salt tolerance in addition to screening for drought tolerance in new grasses.”
AMERICAN LABORATORY 7
Weather Patterns Played Part in Zika Epidemic
Using an epidemiological model that examined the effect of the spread of Zika virus, researchers found a link between the Zika outbreak in South America and El Niño in 2015. University of Liverpool researchers say this model can also be used to predict the risk of future outbreaks. The model used the worldwide distribution of both Zika virus vectors—the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)—as well as temperature-dependent factors like mosquito biting rates, mortality rates and viral development rates within mosquitoes—to predict the effect of climate on virus transmission. It found that in 2015, when the Zika outbreak occurred, the risk of transmission was greatest in South America.
Dr. Cyril Caminade, a population and epidemiology researcher, said, “Our model suggests that it was temperature conditions related to the 2015 El Niño that played a key role in igniting the outbreak—almost two years after the virus was believed to be introduced on the continent.” The researchers plan to adapt the model to other important flaviviruses with a goal toward developing disease early-warning systems that could help public health officials prepare for or even prevent future outbreaks.
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