R&D100 Winners - Process/Prototyping

High-performance neutron and gamma-ray detectors are essential for the search and identification of SNMs (Special Nuclear Materials). However, current techniques and instruments used for neutron and gamma-ray detection and spectroscopy are often expensive and difficult to handle, or do not offer much needed neutron/gamma PSD. CLLBC, multi-mode elpasolite scintillator, from Radiation Monitoring Devices, combines the advantage of state-of-the-art gamma-ray spectroscopy with thermal and fast neutron detection to produce a first of its kind technology capable of identifying SNMs by both their neutron and gammaray signature. Apart from nuclear nonproliferation and security, other potential applications include high-energy particle physics research, well-logging, nuclear waste characterization, industrial nondestructive evaluation, biological and materials research, astronomy, and health physics.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), which come from renewable resources, have many promising applications in materials synthesis, green catalysis, biosensing and more. However, the high cost of producing CNCs at a large scale, and the relatively poor quality of the product impede commercial development. University of Chicago researchers discovered a way to extract CNCs from grass pulp and investigated superior properties of the material. The initial process performed on a bench lab scale was not suitable for large-scale manufacturing. Building on the work of the University of Chicago, Argonne scientists invented an optimized process and have scaled it up to an economical manufacturing level. The process, known as Bio2Nano, converts noninvasive, abundant elephant grass into high-quality CNCs by combining the generation of a bleaching agent, bleaching and hydrolysis into a single step.

Using a laser tuned to interact with water vapor in the air, TALC (Targeted Acoustic Laser Communication) creates sounds in a localized spot near a listener’s ear that are loud enough to be picked up by human hearing. Developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the principal application of the technology is to direct audio to specific, targeted individuals who lack any receivers other than their ears. Possible uses of the TALC system include allowing an individual to listen to a television show without disturbing a reader sitting nearby. Different audio streams could be directed to different passengers in a vehicle. The laser can also be aimed at infants or others who struggle with earphones. Similar concepts are enabled within the entertainment industry or for national security applications, such as in hail and warn systems in which a targeting laser is used to warn an individual not to enter or leave a restricted area.

Relaxation is a major procedure in sweater manufacturing to restore fabric properties and performance. Conventional washing and tumble drying (WTD) is time consuming, involves much water and energy consumption, and creates wasterwater discharge. It also adversely affects the surface texture of the product. A low-pressure relaxation (LPR) chamber and a new LPR process developed by The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel replaces conventional WTD for sweater relaxation. The new process is much more efficient, cost effective, environmentally friendly, and able to improve product’s properties in terms of dimensional stability, fabric appearance, and hand feel.

Unlike simple liquid immersion, the Sliding Plating Process, from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, is a new plating process in which areas requiring plating are contacted with a rotating anode and deposited while sliding. Compared to conventional plating, it has low cost and low environment load, and can perform plating with high speed and high quality. The practical use of this process has reduced the amount of plating solution used to 1/10 and significantly reduced the environmental impact, enabling technological innovation in consideration of the environment. Mitsubishi commercialized a new technology to improve the productivity of the plating process, which has become a production bottleneck in many businesses.