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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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The first cuprate high temperature superconductor was discovered when Leonardo Civale was a physics graduate student in Argentina. Fascinated, he abandoned his previous research to focus on these exotic materials—the existence of which challenged years of accepted knowledge—and he never strayed.
Ricardo Martí-Arbona is the winner of the Lab's prestigious Operations Excellence Medal. Throughout his 15-year career at Los Alamos, Martí-Arbona, a research and development manager in MPA Division, has lent his operational acumen to numerous Laboratory groups, divisions, and directorates—all in the name of safety, security, efficiency, and mission delivery.
Coal combustion for energy has not only wasted the hydrogen-rich volatile matters but also results in CO 2 emission causing serious environmental issues. An integrated coal pyrolysis and solvent extraction process under elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere is implemented to convert as-mined coal from Wyoming Powder River Basin to functional carbon elements such as pyrolysis char (PC). This paper presents the development and fabrication of new carbon-based structural unit (CSU) using pulverized PC and two coal-derived pitches (mesophase pitch and tar pitch) to attain high compressive strength greater than 30 MPa, low thermal conductivity less than 0.30 W/m.K, and low density less than 1.25 g/cm 3 . CSUs have the potential to overcome the current challenges with cement and concrete through pressurized fabrication followed by carbonization. This study aims to develop CSU with nearly 100% coal-derived carbon material for structural application in buildings. The effects of pressing pressures, carbonization temperatures, and binder contents on the density and mechanical and thermal properties of CSU samples are investigated. The study concludes that mesophase pitch produces a better performance of CSU samples, a combination of 100 MPa pressing pressure and carbonization temperature of 900 ⁰C yields the highest compressive strength, and a 25% MP content is recommended for low-cost CSU fabrication. Furthermoer, CSU has a much lower density, lower thermal conductivity, higher compressive strength, and higher strength-to-density ratio than normal concrete.