ASME TechCast

The editors of ASME.org and Mechanical Engineering magazine discuss some of the top engineering stories from the past year. Listen to editor-in-chief Jeffrey Winters, senior editor John Kosowatz, and special projects manager Carlos González as they talk about biotechnology, electric vehicles, engineering education, and more.

Medical experts estimate there are 160 million people around the world with an unruptured intracranial aneurysm. When it breaks, more than half of those people die. The situation is frustrating for surgeons because the location of those blister-like lesions are in arteries too thin and too difficult to reach. That may change with the development of a steerable, hydraulically actuated catheter that is thin enough to reach those small arteries. The design was inspired by flagella that allow microscopic organisms to swim but required University of California, San Diego, researchers to devise a novel technique to produce it. Mechanical Engineering Professor James Friend and Golpesh Tilvawala, who earned his Ph.D. on the project, talk about its development.

Engineers focus more on their technical abilities than soft skills. Like in any other job, soft skills are essential for engineers to succeed in their careers. But soft skills might not come naturally to everyone and have to be developed and improved. In this episode, Nader Mowlaee, the founder of Engineer Your Mission and the creator of The Job Search Acceleration System, talks about how does one develop soft skills before applying for a job, or even in an existing job.

Hydrogen is the simplest atom there is – just a proton and an electron – and when you burn it, not only do you release a lot of power per pound of fuel, but the byproduct is simply water vapor. Jeffrey Goldmeer, Emergent Technology Director for Decarbonization at GE Gas Power and one of their resident experts on hydrogen talks with Jeffrey Winters, editor in chief of Mechanical Engineering magazine and describes recent advances that allow hydrogen to replace natural gas in power plants.

Generative computer-aided design is typically compared to how nature creates. When a tree grows, it will naturally find the strongest footing and the best path toward sunlight. The tree doesn’t grow unnecessary limbs; it is efficient in the way it expands outward. Generative design operates in the same way. Engineers designate their material and the constraint design points, and the generative CAD software automatically creates a part that meets the strength and load criteria in the most efficient design possible. The next step for generative design is to introduce AI and automation to the process. Colin Swearingen is a design solution consultant for Dassault Systemes. He discusses how generative design is being used by engineers today and how the tool is evolving into cognitive augmented design.

Dr. Lonnie Love is a corporate fellow and section head over precision manufacturing and machining at the U.S. Dept of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He leads many of the large-scale additive as well as advanced manufacturing for defense programs at the lab. His team has demonstrated advanced manufacturing technologies on several high-profile projects, including the first 3D-printed car. Here, he talks about what is coming in large-scale 3D printing.

The electric vehicle is positioned to become the vehicle of tomorrow. Major manufacturers such as Ford and GM are now joining the ranks of Tesla, debuting new fleets of electric cars. According to BloombergNEF, by 2030, the electric vehicle fleet will reach 116 million across the globe, up from an estimated 8.5 million units in 2020. BloombergNEF’s Nick Albanese, head of intelligent mobility, and Milo Boers, lead modeler of electric vehicle outlook, share insights from the Electric Vehicle Outlook report of 2021 and discuss the future outlook of the electric vehicle industry. The report highlights ongoing trends in the EV industry and how shared auto-mobility, battery manufacturing, and autonomous driving will change from now out to 2050.

In any industry, understanding how to apply computer modeling toward practical installation solutions is a challenge. To help engineers, simulation software can help anticipate the design requirements for proper installation. Concluding our three-part series, Doug Fast, technical leader for industrial mineral wool, and Alec Cusick, a technical services engineer from Owens Corning, discuss how engineers can turn acoustic modeling and simulation into real-world piping systems design solutions. 

As NASA plans to returning astronauts to the Moon and future long-duration exploration missions, additive manufacturing will continue to play a greater role in the future of space. One of additive’s most exciting areas is bioprinting of living cells. Indiana-based aerospace company TechShot’s Chief Scientist Eugene Boland, who is currently leading the team that manages the 3D Biofabrication facility aboard the International Space Station, discusses the advances and challenges of bioprinting in space.

With a lack of clear understanding of the industry standards and the difficulties in laboratory testing, engineers have had many challenges when designing acoustic insulation for piping systems. The engineers at Owens Corning look to solve the problem by introducing a new method of modeling and simulation that can accurately predict a piping system’s acoustic insulation need. Doug Fast, technical leader for industrial mineral wool, and Kevin Herreman, a principal acoustic scientist from Owens Corning, sit down for part two of our series on piping system design and how engineers can leverage the power of simulation to design more efficiently and accurately.