Swagelok Northern California Blog

A new kind of adhesive modeled on snail slime could be as durable as superglue but have the ability to be repositioned and reused multiple times. There are multiple applications from reusable envelopes to gravity-defying boots.

Corrosion—the deterioration of engineering materials by chemical interaction with their environment—is an extraordinarily costly problem. Damage to unchecked corrosion on tubing systems is a leading cause of profit loss for offshore and nearshore applications, costing billions each year. Corrosion can be prevented, so long as companies know what to look for and take preemptive measures to reduce corrosion risks before it’s too late.

Curious how Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) laser works? They have released a new 3-minute video explaining how this powerful short-pulse laser enables researchers to both explore and create extreme states of matter.

Titanium-aluminium nitride is an industrial ceramic commonly used to coat metal cutting tools for manufacturing. It hardens the cutting edge and lengthens the life of the tool. But at high temperatures—which naturally occurs under the high pressure of cutting—the edge begins to soften. Researchers at Linköping University have developed a model to simulate what happens in the material as it degrades, so that they can develop measures to counteract it.

Add a nose cone to SpaceX’s list of reusable parts. On June 24, SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the third time. Since its first launch, SpaceX has been attempting to catch the nose cone as it parachutes down in a large net drawn by a boat. Success this time around seems to be thanks to a larger net. Now the $6M nose cone, or fairing, can be reused to protect the payload of future launches.

The right industrial hose keeps your fluid systems performing safely and effectively—it is more valuable than its purchase price. Proper selection requires close attention to the variables with your application such as temperature, chemical compatibility, drainability, and pressure and flow requirements.

Scientists have long been using simulation and experimentation to build predictive codes that drive scientific discovery. Machine learning and data analytics are poised to completely revolutionize scientific discovery by presenting a third way of looking at reality.

Devices embedded within the body such as insulin pumps and pacemakers are vulnerable to attack from hackers, which would have life-threatening implications. Although no such attacks have been recorded, scientists are working to prevent them by ensuring the communication signals that these devices emit remain within the body, rendering them (and you) unhackable.

An international team has made a super-slim battery with double the life of similarly sized lithium-ion batteries currently on the market. The new battery is made of a composite of traditional lithium-storage materials (silicon, graphite and metal oxide particles) and carbon nanotubes. The new formula drastically increases the power without increasing the weight—ideal for myriad consumer and industrial applications.

Emissions reduction and efficiency are driving forces for automotive OEMs, and new clean transportation trends and technology were on full display at this year’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in California. The show was sharply focused on zero- and low-emissions vehicles—technologies that many see as the future of transportation.