NASA engineers develop a new type of power supply-super capacitor
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[ Instrument R & D in Instrument Network ] April 27, according to NASA reports, NASA engineers have developed a new type of NASA supercapacitor made of solid materials, designed to store energy, and compared to batteries made of toxic liquids and gels safer. At the same time, when testing this new power supply, the researchers found that the new NASA supercapacitor showed significant sensitivity to humidity, which can be used as a sensitive solid-state humidity sensor, which can provide humidity level readings for refrigerators or spacecraft, and can be used In many industries.
This new NASA supercapacitor is a solid material designed to store energy and is safer than batteries made with toxic liquids and gels. When testing this new power supply, it showed significant sensitivity to humidity. Image source: NASA
NASA engineers develop a new type of power supply-super capacitor
As Dr. Terry Rolling, an expert in fault analysis of electronic systems at the Marshall Space Flight Center, knows, many technologies may indeed go wrong. And his job is to find a solution to the problem, and if he ca n’t find it, invent a new one. When Rolling and his team's task in 2011 was to find out what caused a particularly large battery system to fail, this led them to consider a fundamental question: Can we design a better power supply?
Relying on the team's background in materials engineering, Luo Lin and his team began to work. Taking into account the ideal characteristics of the power supply, they tried to find better materials than traditional systems to meet these standards, thus adopting an unprecedented method to solve this problem.
Luo Lin explained: "We started to study solid materials to stay away from liquids and gels to avoid toxic substances. After some cutting-edge engineering of nanomaterials, we invented a new device, which we called supercapacitors. "
According to Rolling, this supercapacitor is a new type of power supply, similar to a hybrid of supercapacitors and batteries. Specifically, it combines high capacitance (or the ability to store charge) and "battery-like discharge characteristics"-that is, to provide continuous power over time. As a solid material, it is also more resistant to harsh environments, such as the extreme temperature of the space, and it is safer to manufacture and operate than traditional battery systems.
Although Rollin and his team hope that this revolutionary material has broad prospects in space and commercial power systems, at the same time, a "quirk" in performance of their innovative materials has opened up an unexpected Application areas.
The accidental discovery of solid-state humidity sensors surprised NASA engineers who are working on new power technology.
The new super capacitor is also a solid humidity sensing element
In the early test, Luo Lin noticed a feature he could not explain: "For a good energy storage system, we need a lot of capacitance. When I took the super capacitor test, its capacitance was really high. When I put it on the table and tested again, it fell sharply. "
The technicians initially thought that Rolling ’s body temperature would affect the capacitance, so they tested it in a hot room, but the capacitance did not change.
Luo Lin explained: "We soon realized that the moisture in the breath caused this huge change. We put it in a humid room. Sure enough, we saw a huge reaction of the capacitor in a certain humidity range. "
The humidity sensor measures the humidity in the air by detecting changes in current or temperature. NASA's supercapacitors are extremely sensitive to changing environments and can detect small displacements. It also recovers quickly because it is easy to collect the collected surface The water is dispersed.
In order to measure the speed of the humidity sensor's response time, the research team tested its performance with a commercial humidity sensor and found that it was faster.
After completing all the indoor humidity tests, NASA supplier Roscid Technologies of Woburn, Massachusetts contacted NASA, which provided NASA with high-end analytical equipment for testing high-purity gas measurements to evaluate this new technology Tests, these tests were conducted in "some pretty harsh environments", including "terrible chemicals, huge temperature changes, and a lot of cycles." Finally, the company confirmed that NASA's newly invented materials have valuable second properties . NASA's new solid-state humidity sensor can revolutionize the industry with more reliable hardware.
Image source: NASA's new solid-state humidity sensor will make a difference in many industries
The size of the sensing surface depends on many factors: the type of sensing material, environment and application all need to be taken into account. Most sensors use some kind of polymer or ceramic. These materials have very low sensitivity, so they must be quite large. And a problem that all existing humidity sensors may encounter is the damage they cause when testing the humidity. Over time, the sensor will absorb liquid and corrode the sensing material, which will cause the reading to drift or may cause the sensor Stop working completely. Therefore, in order to ensure the accuracy of the data and replace the damaged unit, it is necessary to carry out continuous monitoring, which means that the life of most sensors is short, which also increases the cost of system maintenance.
In many industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, humidity is a problem in the manufacturing industry. Therefore, the sensing and control of humidity is very important. If the sensor fails or the calibration drifts, it may cause significant losses. After processing each batch of drugs, pharmaceutical companies must check the sensors against calibration standards to ensure that they do not drift. If any unit fails, they may have to go back and re-execute or isolate the last batch. Stable sensors will make it possible for the company to extend the calibration cycle, which will have a significant impact on profits.
NASA's new solid-state humidity sensor can revolutionize this industry with more reliable hardware. NASA's sensing material is a solid-state structure, so nothing needs to be rinsed. This reliability is the basis of high-humidity and low-temperature applications (such as refrigeration) characteristic.
The new humidity sensor can also help in other ways, such as monitoring the humidity level in an underground gas storage tank can reduce the transportability of water into the car; the sensor can also be added to the car's fuel tank to warn the driver before moisture enters the fuel supply The humidity sensor used in military aircraft can accurately read the dew point level of the atmosphere during the flight of the aircraft; the humidity sensor can also be used in environmental control and life support systems. The sensor will help to monitor from astronauts ’sleep apnea to Early detection of dangerous system leaks.