Engineering topics
Austin, Dave
Publications and source records attributed to Austin, Dave.
Fine-tuned local coordination environment of Pt single atoms on ceria controls catalytic reactivity
Constructing single atom catalysts with fine-tuned coordination environments can be a promising strategy to achieve satisfactory catalytic performance. Herein, via a simple calcination temperature-control strategy, CeO 2 supported Pt single atom catalysts with precisely controlled coordination environments are successfully fabricated. The joint experimental and theoretical analysis reveals that the Pt single atoms on Pt 1 /CeO 2 prepared at 550 °C (Pt/CeO 2 -550) are mainly located at the edge sites of CeO 2 with a Pt–O coordination number of ca. 5, while those prepared at 800 °C (Pt/CeO 2 -800) are predominantly located at distorted Ce substitution sites on CeO 2 terrace with a Pt–O coordination number of ca. 4. Pt/CeO 2 -550 and Pt/CeO 2 -800 with different Pt 1 -CeO 2 coordination environments exhibit a reversal of activity trend in CO oxidation and NH 3 oxidation due to their different privileges in reactants activation and H 2 O desorption, suggesting that the catalytic performance of Pt single atom catalysts in different target reactions can be maximized by optimizing their local coordination structures.
Planetary surface exploration: MESUR/autonomous lunar rover
Planetary surface exploration micro-rovers for collecting data about the Moon and Mars was designed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Idaho. The goal of both projects was to design a rover concept that best satisfied the project objectives for NASA-Ames. A second goal was to facilitate student learning about the process of design. The first micro-rover is a deployment mechanism for the Mars Environmental SURvey (MESUR) Alpha Particle/Proton/X-ray instruments (APX). The system is to be launched with the sixteen MESUR landers around the turn of the century. A Tubular Deployment System and a spiked-legged walker was developed to deploy the APX from the lander to the Martian surface. While on Mars the walker is designed to take the APX to rocks to obtain elemental composition data of the surface. The second micro-rover is an autonomous, roving vehicle to transport a sensor package over the surface of the moon. The vehicle must negotiate the lunar-terrain for a minimum of one year by surviving impacts and withstanding the environmental extremes. The rover is a reliable track-driven unit that operates regardless of orientation which NASA can use for future lunar exploratory missions. A detailed description of the designs, methods, and procedures which the University of Idaho design teams followed to arrive at the final designs are included.
Planetary surface exploration MESUR/autonomous lunar rover
Planetary surface exploration micro-rovers for collecting data about the Moon and Mars have been designed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Idaho. The goal of both projects was to design a rover concept that best satisfied the project objectives for NASA/Ames. A second goal was to facilitate student learning about the process of design. The first micro-rover is a deployment mechanism for the Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Alpha Particle/Proton/X-ray (APX) Instrument. The system is to be launched with the 16 MESUR landers around the turn of the century. A Tubular Deployment System and a spiked-legged walker have been developed to deploy the APX from the lander to the Martian Surface. While on Mars, the walker is designed to take the APX to rocks to obtain elemental composition data of the surface. The second micro-rover is an autonomous, roving vehicle to transport a sensor package over the surface of the moon. The vehicle must negotiate the lunar terrain for a minimum of one year by surviving impacts and withstanding the environmental extremes. The rover is a reliable track-driven unit that operates regardless of orientation that NASA can use for future lunar exploratory missions. This report includes a detailed description of the designs and the methods and procedures which the University of Idaho design teams followed to arrive at the final designs.