Nanotechnology and Manufacturing

Four years ago, words like "impossible," "futuristic," and "science fiction" filled discussions about nanotechnology. Since the announcement of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000, though, worldwide investment in nano research and development has raced forward, with $8 billion invested in 2004 alone. That kind of growth has leaders at major companies sitting up and taking notice of a technology that can help them develop enviable market positions.

The US National Science Foundation forecasts that nanotechnology could become a trillion dollar per year business by 2015, with advanced materials alone making up $340 billion of that figure. And there is no doubt that nanotechnology will soon change the way we manufacture. We hope you'll want to reap the benefits. Numerous industries-including automotive, aerospace/defense, cosmetics, clothing, computers, sporting goods, and pharmaceutical-are already using the technology to improve their products.

Nanotechnology is defined as the ability to control matter at the atomic or molecular scale of one to 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, about the size of a large molecule. To provide you with some perspective, a virus is about 100 nanometers long and a bacterium is ten times bigger; a human cell about ten times larger than that. Advanced nanomanufacturing requires precise control of materials and structures from the nanoscale all the way up to the macroscopic scale.

Nanoscale materials can exhibit superior and even unexpected properties. Partially a result of the atomic perfection possible at small scales, and partially due to nanoscale quantum effects, nanomaterials can be far stronger than their bulk constituents. Natural nanostructured materials like wood and seashells are thousands of times tougher than their raw materials. They go far beyond the chemistry of simple self-assembly, and are actively constructed out of molecular building blocks by the biological machines in the cells. For that reason, synthetic nanostructured materials should perform even better. Steel is one example of an early manmade nanocomposite material with better performance than its primary components of iron, carbon, and manganese.

Soon we'll be engineering far better materials.

Nanotechnology's champion material so far is the carbon nanotube. Discovered in 1991, these little tubes of carbon measure about one nanometer in diameter. They can be 100 times stronger than steel, can conduct heat better than any other material, and can be excellent electrical conductors, or semiconductors even better than silicon. Sensors made with nanotubes can be thousands of times more sensitive than bulk-scale sensors, and researchers are designing multifunctional materials that combine the properties of strength, sensing, and actuation.

Some companies are already moving nanomaterials into real products. Samsung is producing prototype computer displays using nanotubes as electron emitters. Eikos uses thin films of nanotubes to create an electrically conducting, but transparent, coating on glass to replace the industry-standard ITO film. You may have already hit a Wilson tennis ball containing nanocomposite clay for more bounce and a longer life, ridden an Easton bicycle made tougher and lighter by nanotubes, used a Kodak digital camera featuring a brighter, more powerefficient display built from carbon-based molecules, or worn stain and wrinkle-resistant Eddie Bauer khaki "nanopants" to work.

Even simple nanomaterials such as bulk nanopowders are finding markets. Nanoscale titanium dioxide decomposes most organic material when ultraviolet light falls on it. Several firms use this to create selfcleaning paint and glass products. Nanoscale aluminum oxide coatings on eyeglasses make their surfaces as hard as sapphire without affecting transparency.

These examples of "bottom-up" nanotechnology rely on molecular interactions to self-assemble structures at larger scales. As simple applications of advanced materials, they are just the beginning.

Developing "top-down" systems that build smaller and smaller systems, down to the molecular scale, will eventually enable us to use software to precisely control the positioning of chemical building blocks. Massively parallel nanomanufacturing systems will allow us to engineer and build extremely complex and highly functional materials, and devices, with atomic precision.

New materials and new ways of putting them together will be nanotechnology's next big success stories.

While today, we cast, grind, mill, etch, and cut to move large chunks of atoms at once, nanomanufacturing will ultimately enable us to:

* Build products with essentially every atom in its designed location,

* Make almost any stable structure consistent with the laws of physics,

* Do this at a manufacturing cost near that of the required raw materials and energy.

There is no doubt that whatever you are manufacturing now will be touched by nanotechnology in the next five years. Making things better, faster, and cheaper is industry's constant goal, and nanotechnology can help manufacturers surpass competitors who aren't paying attention.

Nanotechnology Unfolds Futuristic Green Cars

In the process of constant advancement in auto technology, car makers are pondering on manufacturing environment-friendly vehicles utilizing nanotechnology. Two of the much-anticipated future vehicles of this concept are Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans and Volkswagen Nanospyder.

Automakers are constantly incorporating the most advanced technology in their lineup. This time around they are planning to use nanotechnology to come up with spectacular vehicles. Two of the most sought-after vehicles are Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans and Volkswagen Nanospyder.

Recently, automakers have unleashed their environment-friendly concept cars that are expected to be manufactured using nanotechnology. The latter is a technology of building tiny machines using functional systems at a molecular scale. According to experts, nanotechnology, in its original sense, means projected ability to assemble items from the bottom up, utilizing techniques and tools being developed these days to make complete, high performance products.

Nanotechnology works from the bottom to the inside of the machine called personal nanofactories (PNs). Using mechanochemistry, nanotechnology will facilitate control at the nanometer scale. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Basically, it is about the width of 3 to 4 atoms.

One of the striking future cars presented is FCX 2020 Le Mans from Acura. Said car is envisioned to be powered by advanced auto parts from the automaker. It will also be using Honda car accessories to boost its ergonomics and comfort.

Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans appears like a Batmobile. The difference is that it uses lightweight and recyclable materials. Moreover, it is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain that makes it an environment-friendly car. Its molecular nanotechnology made it lighter and more manageable than present day cars.

Another viable future car is Volkswagen Nanospyder. The captivating car is made up billions of spore-like nanobots. The car is inclusive of mouth, eyeballs and other Volkswagen car accessories including tiny logos.

One of the exciting features of this VW Nanospyder is the ability of its lead bots to pick up impending collisions. Aside from that, the information can be sent away to support particular sections of the car.

Analysts in the auto industry are expecting a greener car future because of nanotechnology. In fact, there have been interesting concept cars submitted in the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show’s Design Challenge. The latter is a competition designed to cover future cars that are environment-friendly. Mechanics of the competition include originality, safety, environmentalism and relevancy to Southern California’s 'green' lifestyle.

Unique research efforts relating to the development of Nanoscale devices to replace standard integrated circuits, and eventually entire electronic systems. Standard integrated circuits (IC) have limitations or restrictions in size, speed, reliability, complexity and finding suitable replacements for discontinued items. Nanoscale device development and understanding has dramatically grown. One of the key properties of quantum physics that quantum computers rely on is the ability of certain atoms or nuclei to work together as quantum bits. These computing devices are a fraction of the size of typical ICs (nanoscale). Nanoscale devices developed using quantum physics principles have unlimited potential to revolutionize the methods and design of fabricated printed circuit cards and complete systems. They can replace an entire PC hoard

or the set of PC boards that comprise a Line Replaceable Unit (LRU). This would be a good and practical

jumping-off point to going directly to the complete device, system, or function level. This might include a nanoscale computer (general purpose or flight control), transmitter, GPS receiver, position andor attitude sensors in either a stand-alone configuration, or combined within conventional devices (e.g., a nanoscale communications suite (xmtdrcvr, etc.) encapsulated within the Plexiglas canopy or the control yoke of an F16 rather than behind the instrument panel or maybe the whole comm suite into the pilot’s helmet.

Ten Times Improvement in Affordable Jet Engine Capability by 2017

GE90 engine is an example of improving engine affordability and with better performance .Phase 2 and 3 of the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine (VAATE) program are being funded. The VAATE program is structured in three phases to achieve 4X performance/cost by 2009, 6X performance/cost by 2013 and 10X performance/cost by 2017.

The Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) program is a 5-year project that aims to produce a revolution in jet engine design. Project ADVENT is an actually the flagship effort under the Versatile, Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines Program, or VAATE.

Emerging Technologies and Role of Nanotechnology

Recent research focus areas in aeronautics include nanotechnology, developmental test and evaluation, network-centric warfare, intelligent systems, and environmental air transport.

Energy Optimized Aircraft and Equipment Systems

Air craft technologies are related to the design and integration of energy consuming Aircraft Equipment Systems (AES). These systems are located under the floor, inside wings and behind panels, essentially ensuring performance, safety, and controllability.

New aircraft configurations advance available components and integration of these systems to introduce possibilities for greater efficiency in terms of the following:

• Environmental control and all aspects of thermal management

• Flight control actuation ice and rain protection

• Landing gear and braking

• Electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic generation and distribution

• Auxiliary and emergency power generation

• Aircraft fuel system

• Engine support

• Lighting, cabin and water/waste

Nanotechnology

Active areas of research in the aeronautic industry include nano-devices and -systems, nanoelectronics, nano-manufacturing, nano-materials, nano-sensors and the environmental, health and safety aspects of nanotechnology. Current research activities include the ability to combine multiple "nano" disciplines to create new, synergistic applications of nanotechnology.

The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative as a field in which nanotechnology has the potential to enable a wealth of innovation, particularly in materials/structures and intelligent bio-nanomaterials in aeronautics.

Environmental Air Transport

The Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative will congregate European R&D stakeholders for the development of green air vehicle design, engines and systems to minimize the environmental impact of future air transport systems.

Technologies will directly aim for the reduction of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by air transport, cutting specific emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 80% and decreasing noise levels. The targets reflect the Ultra Green High Level Target Concepts developed by the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE). Other focus areas include the reduction of soot, water vapour and particulates emission through alternative fuels; aircraft engine configurations, intelligent low-weight structures, improved aerodynamic efficiency, airport operations and air traffic management as well as manufacturing and recycling processes.

New Microchanneled Material Reduces Aircraft Engine Noise

Noise from commercial and military jet aircraft causes environmental problems for communities near airports, obliging airplanes to follow often complex noise-abatement procedures on takeoff and landing. It can also make aircraft interiors excessively loud.

Engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are turning to innovative materials that make possible a new approach to the physics of noise reduction. They have found that honeycomb-like structures composed of many tiny tubes or channels can reduce sound more effectively than conventional methods. "This approach dissipates acoustic waves by essentially wearing them out," said Jason Nadler, a GTRI research engineer. "It's a phenomenological shift, fundamentally different from traditional techniques that absorb sound using a more frequency-dependent resonance." The two-year project is sponsored by EADS North America, the U.S. operating entity of EADS.

Most sound-deadening materials – such as foams or other cellular materials comprising many small cavities – exploit the fact that acoustic waves resonate through the air on various frequencies, Nadler explains.

Just as air blowing into a bottle produces resonance at a particular tone, an acoustic wave hitting a cellular surface will resonate in certain-size cavities, thereby dissipating its energy. An automobile muffler, for example, uses a resonance-dependent technique to reduce exhaust noise.

The drawback with these traditional noise-reduction approaches is that they only work with some frequencies – those that can find cavities or other structures in which to resonate.

Nadler's research involves broadband acoustic absorption, a method of reducing sound that doesn't depend on frequencies or resonance. In this approach, tiny parallel tubes in porous media such as metal or ceramics create a honeycomb-like structure that traps sound regardless of frequency. Instead of resonating, sound waves plunge into the channels and dissipate through a process called viscous shear.

Viscous shear involves the interaction of a solid with a gas or other fluid. In this case, a gas – sound waves composed of compressed air – contacts a solid, the porous medium, and is weakened by the resulting friction.

"It's the equivalent of propelling a little metal sphere down a rubber hose when the sphere is just a hair bigger than the rubber hose," Nadler explained. "Eventually the friction and the compressive stresses of contact with the tube would stop the sphere."

This technique, Nadler adds, is derived from classical mechanical principles governing how porous media interact with gases – such as the air through which sound waves move. Noise abatement using micro-scale honeycomb structures represents a new application of these principles.

“To have the hole big enough to let the sound waves in, but you also need enough surface area inside to shear against the wave". "The result is acoustic waves don't resonate; they just dissipate."

In researching this approach, Nadler constructed an early prototype from off-the-shelf capillary tubes, which readily formed a low-density, honeycomb-like structure. Further research showed that the ideal material for broadband acoustic absorption would require micron-scale diameter tubes and a much lower structural density.

Creating such low-density structures presents an interesting challenge. It requires a material that's light, strong enough to enable the walls between the tubes to be very thin, and yet robust enough to function reliably amid the high-temperature, aggressive environments inside aircraft engines.

Among the likely candidates are super alloys, materials that employ unusual blends of metals to achieve desired qualities such as extreme strength, tolerance of high temperatures and corrosion resistance. Nadler has developed what could be the world's first super alloy micro honeycomb using a nickel-base super alloy. At around 30 percent density, the material is very light – a clear advantage for airborne applications – and also very strong and heat resistant.

They estimate this new approach could attenuate aircraft engine noise by up to 30 percent. Micro-honeycomb material could also provide another means to protect the aircraft in critical areas prone to impact from birds or other foreign objects by dissipating the energy of the collision.

A prototype microchanneled material composed of many metallic nanotubes was developed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute to validate acoustic absorption experiments designed to reduce noise in aircraft