Membrane fuel cells have advanced well beyond the demonstration stage. BASF is bringing on line a plant to manufacture membrane electrode assemblies in Somerset, NJ, augmenting existing production in Germany.
High-temperature fuel cells could soon be used for portable applications in camping or even to supply electricity and heat in private homes. Electronics OEMs think that fuel cells could provide up to five times longer life cycles for mobile telephones, radio equipment and laptops.
The German aerospace industry is also conducting tests that could lead to the membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) being used to provide onboard power for Airbus A320s. MEAs powered a recent test flight of a motorized glider.
A new process for laser-welding large-scale, steel-aluminum foam sandwich structures for lightweighting ships, which eliminates intermetallic phase, has been demonstrated.
A major advance in repairing composite structures combining robots and lasers bodes well for commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350XWB, which contain composites in large proportions of their structures.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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