Military

Mitigating the spread of respiratory illnesses: DOD funds research into portable, easy-to-use breath analyzers

By Lisa McDonald / October 3, 2023

Breath analyzers are handheld, rapid testing devices that could transform how the medical community diagnoses diseases and disorders. A new program housed under the U.S. Department of Defense aims to accelerate development of breath analyzers for rapid diagnosis of respiratory illnesses among warfighters. The program has so far provided funding to three different organizations, including ACerS Fellow Perena Gouma’s research group at The Ohio State University.

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Introduction to “Ceramic armor” for ACT @ 20

By Jonathon Foreman / July 21, 2023

To celebrate the milestone of the 20th volume of the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, the editorial team assembled a selection of journal papers representing the excellent work from the advanced ceramics community. The focus this month is ceramic armor.

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Next-gen spacecraft: In-development solid oxide fuel cells offer bipropellant enabled electrical power supply

By Guest Contributor / September 20, 2022

Mass and volume limitations make it challenging to load a spacecraft with all the equipment needed for a mission. An effort led by the Air Force Research Laboratory is developing a solid oxide fuel cell that converts chemical energy in a spacecraft’s bipropellant into electricity, thereby allowing an existing spacecraft component to be used as an auxiliary power supply.

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Designing better ballistic materials: Reduced processing costs, higher toughness, and microstructural cues

By Jonathon Foreman / March 23, 2021

Designing better ballistic materials is more than a matter of finding the optimal combination of material properties—a deep understanding of the microstructure–damage relationships is required as well. A number of recent articles published in ACerS journals look to improve processing methods for fabricating dense, resilient ceramic components.

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Video: Transparent aluminum—from Star Trek to (almost) reality

By Lisa McDonald / July 10, 2019

First introduced in the 1986 Star Trek movie “The Voyage Home”, transparent aluminum is now (almost) reality. Learn how researchers are using transparent aluminum compounds to produce lighter, thinner armor.

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Video: Move over, polymers—3D-printed ceramic body armor has arrived

By Lisa McDonald / January 16, 2019

Polymers gain toughness when 3D-printed in certain geometries. Now, researchers can apply that same technique to ceramics using a modified 3D printer that handles ceramic slurries.

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Graphene foam could be just the prescription for arthritis sufferers

By Faye Oney / July 13, 2018

Researchers showed bioscaffolds out of graphene foam mixed with animal cells could eventually replace cartilage destroyed by osteoarthritis. The military may also use the research to treat musculoskeletal injuries in the field.

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Video: Watch this 3-D printer print an electronic device on human skin

By Faye Oney / May 16, 2018

Researchers have successfully used a 3-D printer to print an electronic circuit on human skin. The technology could help soldiers on the battlefield to detect chemical or biological agents, and the medical field for treating wounds and constructing skin grafts.

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Sintering smaller grains to build stronger ceramics

By April Gocha / May 8, 2018

Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have hit a new low—while their previous work with environmentally controlled pressure assisted sintering achieved grain sizes as small as 28 nm, they now report grain sizes of just 3.6 nm.

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Collaboration between Air Force Research Lab and HRL Labs could bring additively manufactured ceramics to hypersonic travel

By April Gocha / April 10, 2018

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Aerospace Systems Directorate recently announced that it is working together with HRL Laboratories to additively manufacture high-temperature ceramic materials that are well-suited for hypersonic aircraft.

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