Just in time – the car coasts into the gas station on its last drop of fuel. In order to fill the tank, the driver first has to release the fuel filler flap, usually by pushing a button inside the vehicle. The actual releasing is performed by a small servo motor, several cogwheels and various springs, more than ten separate parts in all.
This mechanism could be greatly simplified in future: A single wire will be sufficient to open the release mechanism for the fuel filler flap. The special feature of this part is that it is made of shape-memory material. If such a material is first deformed and subsequently heated, exposed to a magnetic field or held up to the light, it resumes its original shape. In the case of the filler cap lock, the components contract due to a rise in the temperature.
"We pass a current through the wire, and it heats up. The heat causes it to remember its original shape, so it contracts and opens the filler cap," explains Dr. Gunther Naumann, team leader at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden, under whose leadership the new system was developed.
"Our release system has several advantages. It is on average 80 percent less expensive than conventional systems. We can also save about 90 percent of the weight, as the special wire only weighs five grams," says Naumann. The release system also saves space: While the housing of the usual servo motor takes up a space of 6 x 4 x 3 centimeters, the wire can be integrated in the existing tie rod. In other words, it needs no extra space at all.
A prototype of the system has already been built. And the wire, a nickel-titanium alloy, can be purchased by the meter, ready-made – it has already been "trained" to contract when heated. "Even if you opened the filler cap twice a day for ten years, the system would not wear out," says Naumann.
Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Related stories:
Smart Home exhibit mixes cool green design with easy high-tech living
Just inside the first floor of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry's Smart Home, a 20-year-old re-covered Crate & Barrel sofa flanks a cool-to-the-touch, ethanol-burning fireplace that floats in the middle of the room. The flame can also be seen from any of the six thrift-store dining chairs revived in creamy white faux leather and tucked in around the high-sheen, rough-edged slab of a fallen Michigan ash tree given new life as a sculptural table.
Hidden facial cheek fat compartments are key to youthful appearance
Rejuvenating newly identified fat compartments in the facial cheeks can help reduce the hollowed look of the face as it ages, according to new research by plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Good news for a fast-wrinkling generation: Some anti-aging methods work
Fine wrinkles, deeper creases, saggy areas around the mouth and neck – the sights in the mirror that make baby boomers wince – are not inevitable. They result from a structural breakdown inside the skin that some existing treatments effectively counteract by stimulating the growth of new, youthful collagen, University of Michigan scientists say.
Key to Angelina-like cheeks? Add volume to deep fat compartment
Not only are cheeks central to your face – they are central to the American concept of beauty. A study in June’s
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), found that a deep fat compartment located within the cheek is vital to a youthful-looking face. Not only does rejuvenating or returning volume to this fat compartment make the cheek more youthful, it also improves volume loss under the eyes, helps eliminate “parentheses” lines around the nose and mouth and gives more curve to the upper lip – essentially restoring a youthful appearance to the overall face.
Delayed adverse effects may occur following injection with cosmetic skin fillers
Polyalkylimide implants—injections used as cosmetic fillers primarily in Europe—may be associated with infrequent but sometimes severe immune-related adverse effects months following the procedure, according to a report in the May issue of
Archives of Dermatology.
Protein in human hair shows promise for regenerating nerves
A protein found in human hair shows promise for promoting the regeneration of nerve tissue and could lead to a new treatment option when nerves are cut or crushed from trauma.
Significant changes in plastic surgery expected in 2008
Disappointed with results from the last few years’ much ballyhooed “lunch hour” and “weekend” cosmetic surgery procedures, people interested in facial rejuvenation are expected to pursue more reliably effective approaches in 2008.
The B-Factory Returns for its Last Hurrah
This week, the B-Factory will begin running practically non-stop for 10 months, aiming for the endurance of a marathoner and the peak performance of a sprinter. Early this week, the PEP-II accelerator crew plans to begin circulating beams in the PEP rings after a three-month downtime, readying for collisions in the BaBar detector later this week.
