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Date: April 26, 2021, No. DFG approves new priority program coordinated by the University of Stuttgart Design Assistants in Mechanics and Dynamics are the topic of a new priority program (PP) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) that aims to bring more artificial intelligence (AI) into the design process of technical systems.

Measurements at the Research Neutron Source help with the development of intelligent welding equipment When a rocket is launched, the weld seams on the enormous fuel tanks must withstand immense forces. To produce joints with the necessary strength, a process known as "friction stir welding" is used.

Bioengineers at the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University have discovered a key feature that allows cancer cells to break from typical cell behavior and migrate away from the stiffer tissue in a tumor, shedding light on the process of metastasis and offering possible new targets for cancer therapies.

New mechanism found for generating giant vortices in quantum fluids of light. Anyone who has drained a bathtub or stirred cream into coffee has seen a vortex, a ubiquitous formation that appears when fluid circulates. But unlike water, fluids governed by the strange rules of quantum mechanics have a special restriction: as was first predicted in 1945 by future Nobel winner Lars Onsager, a vortex in a quantum fluid can only twist by whole-number units.

Fatal attraction: Research finds common pipistrelle bats are attracted to wind turbines One of the most abundant bats in Europe may be attracted to wind turbines, according to a new study from the University of Sussex and the University of Exeter. The activity of common pipistrelle bats was monitored at 23 British wind farms and similar "control" locations close by without turbines.

By Christoph Pelzl In the EU project TURANDOT, researchers from TU Graz investigated a sharkskin-like coating for engine blades and tracked the flow of cooling air in the engine. In this way, they make aircraft more fuel-efficient, less expensive and quieter. Additional Images for download at the end of the text An engine is more efficient and quieter the larger and slower the fan (note: that's the turbofan at the front of the jet engine) is.

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Royal Veterinary College have discovered how birds are able to fly in gusty conditions - findings that could inform the development of bio-inspired small-scale aircraft. "Birds routinely fly in high winds close to buildings and terrain - often in gusts as fast as their flight speed.

Decades-old data is being used to describe the propagation of tiny droplets. Now a fluid dynamics team has developed new models: Masks and distancing are good, but not enough. 1/2 images Droplets with a viral load [Translate to English:] Tröpfchen haben begrenzte Reichweite, Aeorsole können aber größere Distanzen überbrücken [Translate to English:] Tröpfchen haben begrenzte Reichweite, Aeorsole können aber größere Distanzen überbrücken Wear a mask, keep your distance, avoid crowds - these are the common recommendations to contain the COVID-19 epidemic.

Patient-specific organ models, which include integrated 3D-printed soft sensor arrays, are fabricated using specialized inks and a customized 3D printing process. Such models can be used in preparation for minimally invasive procedures to improve outcomes in thousands of patients worldwide.

Autonomous vehicles come at a cost: increased energy use. Some analysts suggest that these increased power needs are significant enough to drastically reduce vehicle range thus eliminating the possibility of electric autonomous vehicles. Instead, these analysts claim autonomous vehicles must be gas-electric hybrids.

Engineers have devised a model to describe how, in the process of establishing wind farms, interactions between developers and landowners affect energy production costs. Wind farms are large, highly technical projects but their development often relies on personal decisions made by individual landowners and small communities.

ETH researchers have set up a test rig to put newly developed ventilator systems through their paces. Around the world, the coronavirus crisis has seen the demand for ventilators soar. Many manufacturers are therefore working at full speed to develop new ventilator systems, primarily for those countries that cannot afford expensive high-tech equipment.

The Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), an open source ventilator to support patients severely ill with COVID-19, has moved from design to reality in six weeks, propelled by physicists specialised in dark matter who turned their attention away from unknown particles for this period. It has just been authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as within the scope of the emergency use authorization for ventilators in intensive care.

Computational model of the lung could significantly reduce the number of deaths from Covid-19 and ARDS Computer model enables protective ventilation The use of mechanical ventilation can save lives - and not just for COVID-19 patients who develop severe respiratory problems. But at the same time, the ventilation pressure puts immense stress on delicate lung tissue.

Researchers find that a motorized device that attaches around the ankle and foot can drastically reduce the energy cost of running. Running is great exercise but not everyone feels great doing it. In hopes of boosting physical activity - and possibly creating a new mode of transportation - engineers at Stanford University are studying devices that people could strap to their legs to make running easier.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a novel way to increase fuel-cell efficiency and lifespan, using a recirculation fan driven by a steam turbine that runs on steam-lubricated bearings. Solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs, are devices that produce both electricity and heat by oxidizing a fuel such as natural gas or biogas.

A long-overlooked part of the human foot is key to how the foot works, how it evolved, and how we walk and run, a Yale-led team of researchers said. The discovery upends nearly a century of conventional thinking about the human foot and could open new avenues to explore in evolutionary biology as well as guide new designs for robotic and prosthetic feet, said the study team.

An experiment by EPFL researchers has confirmed a theory that has been used in mechanics for over half a century - despite never having been fully validated. The team could now use the theory in bolder and more innovative ways in their quest to develop ever better energy systems. Some theories are widely used even though they have never been experimentally validated.

Biplanes, the fixed-wing aircrafts with two wings, one above the other, exist today mostly in aviation museums, World War I movies and black-and-white photos. But thanks to an innovation by UCLA engineers, that two-wing design could soon be used to make wind turbines that harvest energy more efficiently.

In an article published in Physical Review Letters, Bristol scientists have answered the fundamental question: "Is it possible to move without exerting force on the environment?", by describing the tractionless self-propulsion of active matter. Understanding how cells move autonomously is a fundamental question for both biologists and physicists.