"Technologies such as the ones that earned our latest R&D 100 Awards serve as reminders to the nation of the many practical contributions Los Alamos researchers make to our economy and our country. The awards are an acknowledgement of the inherent creativity and collaborative spirit of Los Alamos scientists." said Laboratory Director John Browne.
The projects recognized by the R&D awards include a technology for identifying chemical warfare agents and other toxic chemicals inside sealed containers and a process for creating metal powders that enhance the effectiveness of rocket fuels, lubricants and other products. Both technologies were developed in collaboration with either private-sector companies or other government agencies. The two technologies receiving 2000 R&D 100 awards this year are:
ANDE -- Advanced Nondestructive Evaluation System
ANDE is a detector system that uses ultrasonic interferometry and resonance to quickly identify the contents of sealed containers.
ANDE works by sending sound waves into a container, which set up standing waves inside the contents and produce resonance. The resonance can be detected either by a contact method or by the unit's laser vibrometer and then analyzed. Because each chemical produces a unique resonance spectrum, the results of ANDE's analysis can be compared against a database of known chemicals to determine the container's contents in less than 30 seconds.
ANDE's primary application is in national security since it can be used to identify chemical warfare agents and other toxic chemicals at distances of up to 15 feet. It can also be used for law enforcement and environmental monitoring or adapted for industrial and medical applications.
Besides its national security and law enforcement uses, ANDE can be used to monitor water quality in tanks and pipes and to detect contamination and spoiled food inside bottles and cans.
The ANDE technology was originally developed for the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency for rapid, safe inspection of sealed containers of chemical-warfare compounds and other toxic chemicals during chemical weapons treaty verification. The technology underwent two years of extensive field-testing and certification by the U.S. Army. The system has passed all Department of Defense test requirements for field use. ANDE was a joint entry of Los Alamos and Nick Electronics of Houston.
Electro-exploded Metal Nanoparticles
Los Alamos scientists have helped develop a novel method for creating nanoscale metal powders powders one-billionth of a meter in diameter - that significantly enhance the effectiveness of rocket fuels and improve lubricants, wear-resistant coatings and batteries.
Conventional metal powders are typically in the micron-scale range. Electro-exploded metal nanoparticles can be as much as 500 times smaller, or approximately one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair. Since electro-exploded metal nanoparticles are smaller in diameter than even the ultrafine metal powders currently available, their surface area per volume, and reactivity, is immensely greater.
Metallic particles already have been used to increase the combustion rate of solid rocket propellants. Because particle size and surface energy is critical, nanoparticles are dramatically superior to micron-sized particles. A higher burning rate increases the thrust that a missile engine can achieve. Metallic nanoparticles can also be used in less energetic liquid propellants, such as kerosene.
Metallic nanoparticles can be added to organic lubricants such as motor oil to reduce friction and extend the life of engines. They might someday find use in batteries, where the tiny particles could produce electrodes with higher surface areas, resulting in higher charge and discharge currents and greater cycle life.
The nanoparticles are created by passing a large pulse of current through a short segment of wire in a controlled atmosphere chamber to create a plasma that condenses into tiny metal particles. These particles are propelled at supersonic speed through cold gas, which cools them so they can be collected in the bottom of the chamber.
The electro-exploded metal nanoparticles process was originally developed in Russia and refined for peaceful commercial applications in a Los Alamos collaboration with Argonide Corp. of Sanford, Fla., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of Golden, Colo and the Republican Engineering Technical Center in Tomsk, Russia through the Department of Energy's Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program.
The R&D 100 awards program, now in its 38th year, honors significant commercial promise in products, materials or processes developed by the international research and development community. Each year technologies are accepted in open competition and judged by technical experts selected by the Illinois-based R&D Magazine. Both technical merit and development potential are used as criteria to select the 100 most significant, unique or commercially promising entries from all nominations received.
A banquet for the 2000 R&D 100 winners is scheduled for September 27 in Chicago.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.