News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Kanazawa University researchers discovered that the distance between dislocations in nanolayer interfaces of pearlite can determine how much the material can stretch or contract without breaking (ductility). The dislocations are disruptions in the regular arrangements of atoms in nanolayers. This discovery opens the possibility of engineering materials with higher ductility by simply manipulating the spacing between their dislocations and may improve the safety of structures such as buildings and bridges in earthquakes.

Research shows that drones can be more effective and safer in crash mapping of vehicular highway accidents than conventional methods. Drones using new imaging technology developed at Purdue University allows highway safety officers to capture and print 3D composites of crash sites and reduce mapping time and improve traffic flow following a crash by 60 percent.

Keeping road pavement in good shape saves money and energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, more than offsetting pollution generated during road construction, according to a Rutgers-led study. The study appears in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation.

A new study in Environmental Geosciences is the first to predict -- with up to 87 percent accuracy -- which oil and natural wells are most likely to be leaking methane. Research published in Science estimated that natural gas wells are leaking 60 percent more methane than the EPA estimates, offsetting much of the fuel's climate benefit.