NIST Awards $71 Million for High-Risk Research in New Technologies Including Nanomaterials

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced up to $71 million in funding through its Technology Innovation Program (TIP) for 20 new cost-sharing projects that will support innovative, high-risk research in new technologies that address critical national needs. The new projects will include developing unmanned, hovering aircraft for bridge inspections, a high-speed sorting system for recycling aerospace metals, and nanomaterials for advanced batteries, among other projects. The awards will be matched by other funding sources to achieve nearly $150 million in new research over the next two to five years.

Manufacturing has a rich history and has long been a significant part of the American economy. The United States is the world’s leading producer of manufactured goods. Standing alone, the 2002 manufacturing sector represented the fifth-largest economy in the world—larger than China’s economy as a whole. However, by 2007, the sector had fallen to eighth place, exceeding Spain’s total economy. The 2007 manufacturing sector represented 11.7 percent of the total GDP ($1,615.8 billion out of $13,841.3 billion total) and supported 14 million jobs, or about 10.1 percent of the total U.S. employment. The sector also leads in innovation, accounting for more than 90 percent of all U.S. patents registered annually. Transformative research often achieves broad national impact only through incorporation into manufactured products. To preserve this element of our economy, the manufacturing sector will need to continue to implement technology advancements in the coming years.

“President Obama is leading an effort to drive economic growth and solve national problems by deploying a 21st Century economy,” U.S. Commerce Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower said. “These new projects will develop new technology and material that will play a critical role in modernizing infrastructure and developing the manufacturing sector across the country.”

TIP is a merit-based, competitive program that provides cost-shared funding for research projects by single small- or medium-sized businesses or by joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations and national laboratories.

The 20 projects announced today were selected from a TIP competition announced on March 26, 2009, seeking projects addressing two broad areas of national interest:

* The practical application of advanced materials including nanomaterials, advanced alloys and composites in manufacturing
* The monitoring or repair of major public infrastructure systems, including water systems, dams and levees, and bridges, roads and highways.

TIP focused on developing new materials based on nanotechnology, advanced composites and so-called “superalloys” or smart materials—and expanding the capacity to incorporate these materials into new products—because many experts consider accelerated development of these advanced materials critical to potential growth in U.S. manufacturing.

The goals for this part of the competition were detailed in the white paper, “Accelerating the Incorporation of Materials Advances into Manufacturing Processes” available at www.nist.gov/tip/comp_09/white_papers/manuf_wp_032009.pdf.

TIP’s second area of focus—civil infrastructure technology—built on TIP’s 2008 solicitation for new sensor technologies to improve the monitoring of large-scale civil infrastructure, including bridges or pipelines. This year’s competition emphasized technologies to detect structural damage in water resource systems like water and wastewater pipelines, dams, levees and waterway locks, as well as bridges and roadways, and added a second focus on new technologies for repair and retrofit of existing structures.

The goals for this part of the competition were detailed in the white paper “Advanced Sensing Technologies and Advanced Repair Materials for the Infrastructure: Water Systems, Dams, Levees, Bridges, Roads, and Highways” available at www.nist.gov/tip/comp_09/white_papers/ci_wp_031909.pdf.

Additional information on the Technology Innovation Program is available at www.nist.gov/tip.

See the full list of 2009 TIP project awards and links to additional details for each below.

As a nonregulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Technology Innovation Program 2009 R&D Awards:
Advanced Materials in Manufacturing

Production of Low-Cost, High-Quality Metallic and Semiconducting Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Inks
Brewer Science, Inc. (Rolla, Mo.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $6.527 M
* Total project cost (est.): $13.910 M

Develop technologies for the cost-effective production of high-purity, high-quality, metallic and semiconducting carbon nanotube “inks” to enable commercial production of a wide variety of high-performing electronic devices for energy, flexible electronic and sensor applications.   

Functionalized Nano Graphene for Next-Generation Nano-Enhanced Products
Angstron Materials, LLC (Dayton, Ohio)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.494 M
* Total project cost (est.): $2.988 M

Develop processes for mass-producing chemically modified (“functionalized”) nano graphene for next-generation products, particularly for the energy industries.

Transformational Casting Technology for Fabrication of Ultra-High Performance Lightweight Aluminum and Magnesium Nanocomposites
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (Madison, Wis.) (Lead)
Eck Industries, Inc. (Manitowoc, Wis.)
Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials, Inc. (Houston, Texas)
Oshkosh Corporation (Oshkosh, Wis.)
* Project duration: 5 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $4.863 M
* Total project cost (est.): $10.092 M

Develop a novel casting technology, based on ultrasonic cavitation dispersion of nanoparticles in metal melts, for large-scale production of aluminum and magnesium matrix nanocomposites.

High-Speed, Continuous Manufacturing of Nano-Doped Magnesium Diboride Superconductors for Next-Generation MRI Systems
Hyper Tech Research, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $3 M
* Total project cost (est.): $6.05 M

Develop a practical, industrial scale continuous manufacturing process for magnesium diboride superconducting wires and other wire products requiring a hollow metal tube around a powder-based core.   

PRINT® Nanomanufacturing: Enabling Rationally Designed Nanoparticles for Next-Generation Therapeutics
Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (Durham, N.C.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $2.971 M
* Total project cost (est.): $5.942 M

Scale up to practical commercial volumes a novel nanoparticle manufacturing process based on nanoscale molding to produce engineered nanoparticles of specific sizes, shapes and materials for therapeutic applications.

Silicon Nanowire Production for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries
Amprius, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.)
* Project duration: 2 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $3 M
* Total project cost (est.): $6 M

Develop a unique, high-throughput, continuous manufacturing process for producing a novel, nanostructured silicon-based anode material for lithium batteries.  Amprius’ immediate goals include commercialization of silicon-based anode materials with 10 times the capacity of current carbon anodes, offering an increase in cell capacity of roughly 40%.

Integrated Multiscale Modeling for Development of Machinable Advanced Alloys and Corresponding Component Machining Processes
Third Wave Systems, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.564 M
* Total project cost (est.): $3.170 M

Develop and demonstrate integrated multiscale physics-based predictive modeling for developing more machinable advanced alloys and the corresponding component machining processing data needed by manufacturers.

High Volume Production of Nanocomposite Electrode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries
A123Systems, Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $2.864 M
* Total project cost (est.): $6 M

Develop a new composite nanomaterial for lithium-ion battery cathodes for significantly increased battery performance together with improved manufacturing techniques to lower overall costs.

Building U.S. Strategic Metals Competitiveness Through Integration of Advanced Sensor Technologies
wTe Corporation (Bedford, Mass.) (Lead)
National Recovery Technology, Inc. (Nashville, Tenn.)
Energy Research Company (Staten Island, N.Y.)
* Project duration: 4 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $5.670 M
* Total project cost (est.): $11.532 M

Develop and scale-up to commercial levels a suite of novel, optoelectronic inspection technologies to accurately identify and sort aerospace metals such as titanium and nickel/cobalt superalloys at ultra-high speeds so they can be recycled more cost effectively and also to enhance melting capacity for existing furnaces by measuring composition in-situ, in real time.

Homogeneous Three-Dimensional Pultruded Processing of PEEK, PEI, and PPS High Temperature Thermoplastic Composite Profiles
Ebert Composites Corporation (Chula Vista, Calif.)
* Project duration: 2 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.866 M
* Total project cost (est.): $4.018 M

Develop a state-of-the-art manufacturing process to automate, on a large scale, the production of three-dimensional fiber composites with high temperature thermoplastics.

High-Risk, Low-Cost Carbon Nanofiber Manufacturing Process Scale-Up
eSpin Technologies, Inc. (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $3 M
* Total project cost (est.): $6.006 M

Develop a commercial-scale manufacturing process for producing self-supporting, non-woven fabrics of both natural and activated carbon nanofibers. 

Development and Scale-Up of Nanocomposites with Sub-10nm Particles

Pixelligent Technologies, LLC (College Park, Md.) (Lead)
Brewer Science, Inc. (Rolla, Mo.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $4.089 M
* Total project cost (est.): $8.178 M

Develop new processes and technologies for scaling up the production of high quality nanocomposites, by incorporating nanocrystals with precisely controlled size, shape, and surface chemistry into a polymer matrix for demanding and high-volume industrial applications. 

Technology Innovation Program 2009 R&D Awards:
Monitoring and Retrofit of Civil Infrastructure

Civil Infrastructure Inspection and Monitoring Using Unmanned Air Vehicles
The Droid Works, Inc. dba CyPhy Works (Framingham, Mass.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $2.453 M
* Total project cost (est.): $4.996 M

Develop the technologies required to create small, hovering, Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) for use in the inspection and monitoring of large-scale civil infrastructure elements such as bridges and dams. 

Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Rehabilitation System (ANDERS) for Bridge Decks
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (Piscataway, N.J.) (Lead)
Drexel University (Philadelphia, Pa.)
PD-LD, Inc. (Pennington, N.J.)
Mala GeoScience USA, Inc. (Charleston, S.C.)
Pennoni Associates Inc. (Philadelphia, Pa.)
* Project duration: 5 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $8.810 M
* Total project cost (est.): $17.923 M

Develop a mobile integrated system for nondestructive evaluation and repair of bridge decks, including human-operated and robotic systems that merge novel imaging and NDE techniques together with innovative intervention approaches to arrest deterioration processes. 

Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing Technology For Civil Infrastructure Management
Optellios, Inc. (Newton, Pa.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.930 M
* Total project cost (est.): $3.917 M

Develop a distributed fiber-optic sensing technology to enable real-time monitoring, identifying and locating disturbances and changes over long stretches of pipelines. 

Robotic Rehabilitation of Aging Water Pipelines
Fibrwrap Construction, Inc. (Ontario, Calif.) (Lead)
Fyfe Company, LLC (San Diego, Calif.)
The Regents of University of California, (UCI) (Irvine, Calif.)
* Project duration: 5 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $8.462 M
* Total project cost (est.): $17.582 M

Develop a prototype robot to apply carbon fiber reinforcement inside water transmission pipes, allowing trenchless repair and rehabilitation, even in smaller pipes, as much as 11 times faster than human crews. 

A Rapid Underground Pipe Rehabilitation Technology
LMK Enterprises, Inc. (Ottawa, Ill.)
* Project duration: 2 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.701 M
* Total project cost (est.): $3.411 M

Develop an advanced trenchless technology to rehabilitate the nation’s network of underground pipes by employing a novel dynamic resin-injection, molded-in-place pipe (MIPP) process, which can incorporate nanomaterials. 

Development of a Multiscale Monitoring and Health Assessment Framework for Effective Management of Levees and Flood-Control Infrastructure Systems
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.) (Lead)
Geocomp Corporation (Boxborough, Mass.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $3.462 M
* Total project cost (est.): $6.928 M

Develop a new health assessment framework, ranging from a satellite-based radar system to local sensor arrays to monitor, assess the health, and ensure the safety of levees and other distributed systems of a flood-control infrastructure. 

Development of High-Toughness, Low-Viscosity Resin for Reinforcing Pothole Patching Materials
The Regents of the University of California, (UCLA) (Los Angeles, Calif.) (Lead)
Materia Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.499 M
* Total project cost (est.): $3.051 M

Develop an innovative pothole repair technology for asphalt pavement in both warm and cold weather using an ultra-high toughness, nano-molecular resin as a reinforcement or binder for the asphalt-aggregate pothole repair material. 

Advanced Coating Technology for Infrastructure
MesoCoat, Inc. (Euclid, Ohio) (Lead)
EMTEC (Dayton, Ohio)
Polythermics (Kirkland, Wash.)
* Project duration: 3 years
* Projected TIP contribution: $1.792 M
* Total project cost (est.): $3.956 M

Develop a novel coating technology using a high-intensity infrared light source to fuse and bond nanocomposite metal coatings and claddings to large steel structures such as bridges, oil rigs and pipelines. 

Polyone Corp. Reveals FDA Compliant Nanocomposite Plastics for Food Contact

Polyone Corporation David A. Jarus and Guoqiang Qian have developed nanocomposite plastics that can be used in contact with food and are compliant with U.S. Food and Drug regulations. United States Patent Application 20090292055 details nanocomposites that are made from melt-mixing of polyethylene with organoclay in the presence of a maleated polypropylene. Unexpectedly, the maleated polypropylene and polyethylene are sufficiently compatible to permit excellent dispersion of the organoclay in the nanocomposite. Because maleated polypropylene is compliant with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, though maleated polyethylene is not, one can use resulting nanocomposites for articles to be in contact with human food.

PolyOne Corporation provides specialized polymer materials with operations in thermoplastic compounds, specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, thermoplastic resin distribution, and specialty polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins

The mixture of organoclays and polyolefins, commonly called nano-olefins, is highly desired because the organoclays can contribute stiffness and toughness properties to polyolefins for extruded or molded articles. Polyolefins for molded or extruded articles have been useful since the mid-20th Century. Organoclays, smectite inorganic clays intercalated with organic ions, such as quaternary ammonium, have become useful in the last decade. Organoclays are expensive additives for polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP).

When used packaging, particularly food packaging such as films, each of the ingredients need to be listed in the USA Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Polyone’s polyethylene nanocomposite is FDA compliant. "FDA compliant" means that each of the ingredients of the polyolefin nanocomposites of the invention are listed in 21 CFR as generally regarded as safe ("GRAS") for food contact applications.

Polyone solved the dispersion problem by using a polypropylene-based compatibilizer with a mixture of organoclay and a polyethylene resin matrix. More particularly, the polypropylene-based compatibilizer is a maleated polypropylene. Unexpectedly, it was found that even though a maleated polypropylene ("PP-g-MAH") is considered to be immiscible with polyethylene ("PE"), the PP-g-MAH provides acceptable compatibility for dispersing the organoclay into the PE matrix. The unexpected compatibility (in spite of apparent immiscibility) of PP-g-MAH with PE means that a nanoconcentrate (highly concentrated organoclay in thermoplastic matrix) can be blended with adequate organoclay dispersion and with FDA compliant ingredients. Nanocomposites also offer flame-retardancy properties because such nanocomposite formulations burn at a noticeably reduced burning rate and a hard char forms on the surface. They also exhibit minimum. dripping and fire sparkling.

Organoclay is obtained from inorganic clay from the smectite family. Smectites have a unique morphology, featuring one dimension in the nanometer range. Montmorillonite clay is the most common member of the smectite clay family. The montmorillonite clay particle is often called a platelet, meaning a sheet-like structure where the dimensions in two directions far exceed the particle's thickness.

The nanocomposite can serve either as a concentrate or as a compound. If the former, then the nanocomposite is an intermediate product, an ingredient to be added with other ingredients to subsequent compounding steps in a batch or continuous mixing apparatus. The dilution or "let-down" of the concentrate into the compound can result in an organoclay concentration in the compound ranging from about 4 to less than 15 weight percent, and preferably from about 6 to about 12 weight percent, to maximize stiffness and toughness performance properties with minimal concentration of organoclay in the nanocomposite. Ultimately, the compound is formed into an article or film using a subsequent extrusion or molding techniques

Ciba Specialty Reveals Process to Improve Polymers with Nanoclays

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation (Tarrytown, NY) developed cationic alkoxyamines as polymerization initiators/regulators in a controlled stable free radical polymerization process to produce intercalated and/or exfoliated nanoparticles from natural or synthetic clays. The process results in improved nanocomposites and nanocomposite compositions for use in paints, inks, coatings, sealants, caulks, adhesives, reactive diluents and as plastic additives for thermoplastic materials, according to U.S. Patent 7,595,359.

One way of improving polymer properties is by adding a natural or synthetic clay material to polymers to form composite materials. However, incorporating clays into polymers may not provide a desirable improvement in the physical properties, particularly mechanical and optical properties of the polymer may be adversely affected. Nanocomposite compositions containing finely dispersed natural or synthetic clay with at least partially intercalated and/or exfoliated layers and mixtures of ethylenically unsaturated monomers and/or polymers have attracted much interest in recent years. According to Ciba inventors Andreas Muhlebach, Peter Nesvadba and Andreas Kramer, nanoclay materials combine the desired effects of dispersed clay bu avoid the negative influence on the mechanical or optical properties. The nanocomposite compositions can be optically almost transparent, indicating the fine distribution, on the nanometer scale, of the clay.

Ciba provides alkoxyamines, which can be anchored to natural or synthetic clays by a cationic anchor group and which have a high reactivity towards acrylates, methacrylates, styrene and other monomers resulting in a controlled molecular weight with narrow molecular weight distribution. With these compounds polymerization leads to high monomer to polymer conversions in short times and at relatively low temperatures. In contrast to conventional radical polymerization, controlled radical polymerization permits the adjustment of the molecular weight of all growing chains almost uniformly to a predetermined length (low polydispersity), resulting in an almost ideal dispersion of the intercalated and/or exfoliated clay particles.