Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100314860 | REVERSIBLY DEPLOYABLE ENERGY ABSORBING ASSEMBLY AND METHODS FOR OPERATING THE SAME - A reversibly deployable energy absorbing assembly includes a rigid support structure having at least one inlet and at least one outlet; a flexible covering sealingly engaged with the rigid support structure to define an inflatable interior region; a gas source in fluid communication with the at least one inlet; an inlet control valve positioned intermediate the gas source and the at least one inlet; and an actively controlled pressure relief valve in fluid communication with the at least one outlet. The inlet control valve and the pressure relief valve are adapted to provide a response suitable for use in vehicle impact management. | 12-16-2010 |
20110111954 | HYDROGEN STORAGE MATERIALS - A hydrogen storage material has been developed that comprises a metal hydride material embedded into a carbon microstructure that generally exhibits a greater bulk thermal conductivity than the surrounding bulk metal hydride material. | 05-12-2011 |
20110195363 | LAYERED RADIATION-SENSITIVE MATERIALS WITH VARYING SENSITIVITY - A method for fabricating a radiation-cured structure is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a first radiation-sensitive material and a second radiation-sensitive material adjacent the first radiation-sensitive material. The first radiation-sensitive material has a first sensitivity. The second radiation-sensitive material has the first sensitivity and a second sensitivity different from the first sensitivity. At least one mask is placed between at least one radiation source and the first and second radiation-sensitive materials. The mask has a plurality of substantially radiation-transparent apertures. The first and second radiation-sensitive materials are then exposed to a plurality of radiation beams through the radiation-transparent apertures in the mask to form a first construct in the first radiation-sensitive material and a second construct in the second radiation-sensitive material. The first construct and the second construct cooperate to form the radiation-cured structure. | 08-11-2011 |
20110229823 | FUEL CELL FABRICATION USING PHOTOPOLYMER BASED PROCESSES - A method for fabricating a fuel cell component includes the steps of providing a mask having a plurality of radiation transparent apertures, a radiation-sensitive material having a sensitivity to the plurality of radiation beams, and a flow field layer. The radiation-sensitive material is disposed on the flow field layer. The radiation-sensitive material is then exposed to the plurality of radiation beams through the radiation transparent apertures in the mask to form a diffusion medium layer with a micro-truss structure. | 09-22-2011 |
20120244451 | PLATED PHOTOPOLYMER BASED FUEL CELL - A fuel cell component includes a first fluid distribution layer, a second fluid distribution layer, a cap layer, a third fluid distribution layer, and a pair of fluid diffusion medium layers. The individual layers are polymeric, mechanically integrated, and formed from a radiation-sensitive material. The first fluid distribution layer, the second fluid distribution layer, the cap layer, the third fluid distribution layer, and the pair of fluid diffusion medium layers are coated with an electrically conductive material. A pair of the fuel cell components may be arranged in a stack with a membrane electrode assembly therebetween to form a fuel cell. | 09-27-2012 |
20120244475 | METHOD TO PRODUCE A FUEL CELL FLOWFIELD WITH PHOTOPOLYMER WALLS - A method for fabricating a flowfield for a fuel cell includes the steps of: providing a substrate; providing a plurality of radiation sources configured to generate a plurality of radiation beams; disposing a radiation-sensitive material on the substrate; placing an imaging mask between the plurality of radiation sources and the radiation-sensitive material; and exposing the radiation-sensitive material to the plurality of radiation beams through a first portion of the radiation-transparent apertures and a second portion of the radiation-transparent apertures in the imaging mask to form the plurality of truss elements and the plurality of wall elements in the radiation-sensitive material, the truss elements forming a plurality of trusses configured to support an adjacent diffusion medium layer, and the wall elements defining a fluid path along a length of the substrate. | 09-27-2012 |
20130143060 | NET-SHAPE STRUCTURE WITH MICRO-TRUSS CORE - A curved, three-dimensional, ordered micro-truss structure comprising: a plurality of first struts extending along a first direction; a plurality of second struts extending along a second direction; and a plurality of third struts extending along a third direction, wherein the first, second, and third struts interpenetrate one another at a plurality of nodes, wherein the pluralities of first struts, second struts, third struts, and nodes form a plurality of ordered unit cells within the micro-truss structure, and wherein the plurality of ordered unit cells define a curved surface. | 06-06-2013 |
20130273347 | HIGH AIRFLOW MICRO-TRUSS STRUCTURAL APPARATUS - An apparatus for maintaining an environmental state of a working surface includes: a first micro-truss layer including: a plurality of first struts extending along a first direction; a plurality of second struts extending along a second direction; and a plurality of third struts extending along a third direction, the first, second, and third struts interpenetrating one another at a plurality of nodes, the first, second, and third struts interpenetrating one another at non-perpendicular angles, the apparatus having a contact surface configured to contact the working surface and having an open porosity configured to allow air to flow to the contact surface, wherein a total surface area of the contact surface is between about 1% and about 50% of a total surface area of the working surface. | 10-17-2013 |
20140076743 | METAL HYDRIDES WITH EMBEDDED METAL STRUCTURES FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE - One illustrative embodiment includes materials and devices including an integrated hydrogen storage structure including a plurality of continuously connected thermally conductive elongated members, the elongated members including continuously connected openings between the elongated members; and, a metal hydride material contacting the elongated members and disposed within the connected openings and surrounding the elongated members. | 03-20-2014 |
20140186749 | PLATED PHOTOPOLYMER BASED FUEL CELL - A fuel cell component includes a first fluid distribution layer, a second fluid distribution layer, a cap layer, a third fluid distribution layer, and a pair of fluid diffusion medium layers. The individual layers are polymeric, mechanically integrated, and formed from a radiation-sensitive material. The first fluid distribution layer, the second fluid distribution layer, the cap layer, the third fluid distribution layer, and the pair of fluid diffusion medium layers are coated with an electrically conductive material. A pair of the fuel cell components may be arranged in a stack with a membrane electrode assembly therebetween to form a fuel cell. | 07-03-2014 |
20140252674 | ARCHITECTED MATERIALS FOR ENHANCED ENERGY ABSORPTION - A three-dimensional lattice architecture with a thickness hierarchy includes a first surface and a second surface separated from each other with a distance therebetween defining a thickness of the three-dimensional lattice architecture; a plurality of angled struts extending along a plurality of directions between the first surface and the second surface; a plurality of nodes connecting the plurality of angled struts with one another forming a plurality of unit cells. At least a portion of the plurality of angled struts are internally terminated along the thickness direction of the lattice structure and providing a plurality of internal degrees of freedom towards the first or second surface of the lattice architecture. | 09-11-2014 |
20140272275 | MICRO-TRUSS MATERIALS HAVING IN-PLANE MATERIAL PROPERTY VARIATIONS - A micro-truss sheet having material properties varying across the sheet. The sheet may include a plurality of truss members intersecting at nodes. The diameter of the truss members at one point in the sheet may differ from the diameter of the truss members at another point in the sheet. In one embodiment the spacing between adjacent truss members may be different in one part of the sheet from the spacing between adjacent truss members in another part of the sheet. | 09-18-2014 |
20140272277 | CONSTRAINED MICROLAYER CELLULAR MATERIAL WITH HIGH STIFFNESS AND DAMPING - Composite materials with high damping and high stiffness at relatively low density. These materials include three-dimensional structures of interconnected ligaments, which have multiple concentric layers alternating between stiff constraining layers and soft damping layers, so that bulk deformation of the structure results in high local shear strain and correspondingly high bulk damping. | 09-18-2014 |
20150055114 | LAYERED RADIATION-SENSITIVE MATERIALS WITH VARYING SENSITIVITY - A method for fabricating a radiation-cured structure is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a first radiation-sensitive material and applying a second radiation-sensitive material to the first radiation-sensitive material. The first radiation-sensitive material has a first sensitivity. The second radiation-sensitive material has a second sensitivity different from the first sensitivity. At least one mask is placed between at least one radiation source and the first and second radiation-sensitive materials. The mask has a plurality of substantially radiation-transparent apertures. The first and second radiation-sensitive materials are then exposed to a plurality of radiation beams through the radiation-transparent apertures in the mask to form a first construct in the first radiation-sensitive material and a second construct in the second radiation-sensitive material. The first construct and the second construct cooperate to form the radiation-cured structure. | 02-26-2015 |