TBIRD set a new record, achieving 100GB/s of data transmission from space to a ground receiver. (Image Credit: MIT)
MIT engineers set a new record with the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system: transmitting data at 100GB/s from space, achieved through an optical communication link to a ground receiver in California. This speed is 1,000 times faster than ordinary techniques (0.1MB/s), leading to boosted data transmission from space to the Earth. Meanwhile, Starlink's speed ranges from 20MB – 100MB/s, significantly lower than TBIRD.
TBIRD uses infrared light, which delivers data in tighter waves compared to conventional radio waves. Also, the system, launched in May 2022, could deliver 200 GB/s per pass, making it far more significant than radio-frequency links. Its payload has a high-rate optical modem, an optical signal amplifier, and a high-speed storage drive.
These components underwent shock, radiation, vibration, and thermal-vacuum testing for space survivability. The signal amplifier underwent thermal testing simulating the space environment. Unfortunately, its fibers melted, requiring modifications. Jade Wang, TBIRD payload laboratory program manager and ground communications, says heat can't release through convection since space lacks an atmosphere. So the team collaborated with the component's manufacturer to release heat via conduction instead.
However, data loss could also occur, so the team solved that by developing an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) protocol. This controls errors when data transmits over a communications link. The receiver informs the payload which frames were received correctly, allowing the payload to re-transmit any incorrectly received frames.
A new heat-treatment process allows 3D-printed metals to survive extreme thermal conditions. (Image Credit: David Peachey/MIT)
MIT researchers developed heat treatment for 3D printed metals, transforming their microscopic structure to survive extreme thermal environments. This technology could pave the way toward 3D-printing high-performance blades and "vanes for power-generating gas turbines and jet engines," leading to new energy-efficient and improved fuel consumption designs.
"In the near future, we envision gas turbine manufacturers will print their blades and vanes at large-scale additive manufacturing plants, then post-process them using our heat treatment," says Zachary Cordero, the Boeing Career Development Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. "3D printing will enable new cooling architectures that can improve the thermal efficiency of a turbine so that it produces the same amount of power while burning less fuel and ultimately emits less carbon dioxide."
Gas turbine blades are typically manufactured through the conventional casting process, which involves pouring molten metal into a complex mold and solidifying them into a specific shape. Each component, made of highly heat-resistant metal alloys, rotates at high speeds in extremely hot gas and generates electricity in power plants or engine thrust.
Interest has grown toward manufacturing turbine blades via 3D printing, allowing manufacturers to create blades with more energy-efficient blade geometries. Creep makes it more difficult to use this approach, however. Cordero says creep decreases the gas turbines' lifespan and fuel efficiency, leading to "costly, undesirable outcomes."
So the team's heat-treatment step improves the 3D printed alloys' structures. The directional crystallization process transforms the material's grains into more resilient columns, minimizing creep potential. This works since the columns are "aligned with the axis of greatest stress." The team tested their technique on nickel-based superalloys, which cast turbine blades. They also discovered that removing a rod-shaped alloy from the water and through an induction coil at 2.5mm per second at 1,235°C produced the required thermal gradient for reinforced parts.
Next, the team plans to perform additional experiments to create structures closely resembling turbine blades. Their goal is to develop complex builds for industrial applications.
Have a story tip? Message me at: http://twitter.com/Cabe_Atwell