August 2022 - Physical Sciences Inc.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a program from the Department of Energy to develop an innovative and commercially viable approach for producing metal-organic frameworks via a continuous, energy-efficient process enabled by emergent green reaction technologies.

Metal-organic frameworks are a class of polymeric material with high internal surface areas, resulting in considerable interest for gas storage and separations applications. These porous materials are typically only made on a laboratory scale by conventional heating methods, where synthetic processes oftentimes involve long reaction times, high temperatures, and low yields. The utilization of metal-organic frameworks as sorbent media creates a need for more efficient, larger scale manufacturing processes than the current state-of-the-art practices. PSI’s process will produce sorbent materials through a continuous, energy-efficient process enabled by emergent green reaction technologies. The utilization of this process to produce sorbent materials will create new business opportunities by integrating it into a value-chain of industrial and/or commercial processes that generate xenon and krypton. PSI’s innovation is a two-step process that produces and purifies sorbent materials with direct application to the recovery of radioactive, gaseous materials that result from nuclear power generation.

PSI’s approach will demonstrate a rapid, economically viable process to produce metal-organic frameworks for gas adsorption applications. Additionally, the process can be utilized for the scalable production of other metal-organic frameworks and materials.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Peter Warren
Executive Vice President, Materials Division
pwarren@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a program from the Naval Air Warfare Center to develop, model, and manufacture a new missile fin design to incorporate Ultra High Temperature (UHT) Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) materials and an oxide-based heat transfer medium.

PSI’s design will be tailored to act as an upgrade for the standard missile fin, and the materials systems utilized will allow the fins to effectively manage thermal loads during hypersonic flight for the duration of their mission. The Navy, and other government agencies need high temperature resistant and lighter materials for use on rockets and missiles. Of particular interest are high temperature ceramic matrix composites, driven by the need for hypersonic flight vehicles. These increased speeds and accelerations result in significant temperatures and thermal stresses. Current missile technology utilizes stainless steels or nickel-based super alloys for the fins and control surfaces. These alloys are heavy and have an upper use temperature limit which is significantly lower. To increase both the speed and flight time of these missiles, lighter materials with higher temperature limits and better thermal stability must be utilized. Critical structures of interest include both fixed body fins and articulating control surfaces. They must be fabricated taking into consideration both the thermal and mechanical stresses that will be experienced during hypersonic flight without conducting the heat into the missile body.

PSI’s team consists of experts in UHT CMC materials production and hypersonic thermal modeling from Physical Sciences Inc. and Materials Research and Design respectively. Success of the ultra-high temperature composite leading edge will provide the Navy and other agencies with the next generation of thermal management and lightweight, temperature resistant materials for hypersonic flight vehicles.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Peter Warren
Executive Vice President, Materials Division
pwarren@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a program from the Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate utilizing reclaimed coal ash from landfills to provide low-cost, high-performance thermal energy storage to help ensure future U.S energy security.

One of the fundamental needs of power generation from solar resources is the ability to store thermal energy for periods when solar radiation is limited, due to either cloud passage or nighttime. The thermal energy storage media itself can be a significant cost driver for the overall system and, therefore, levelized cost of energy. PSI is addressing the need for an improved thermal energy storage material by using reclaimed coal ash that provides better thermal performance and lower cost compared to existing materials, which will benefit the DOE by reducing installation costs for concentrated solar power plants.

Concentrated solar power generation requires economies of scale to compete on energy cost with photovoltaics. Large, localized sites can cause grid disruptions if power drops off suddenly, meaning that viable concentrated solar power plants need some form of thermal energy storage to operate smoothly and increase electrical production enough to compete with photovoltaics. Thermal storage also increases the utility of solar power because it allows concentrated solar power plants to produce electricity during valuable, grid-protecting peak usage periods. Future concentrated solar power plants need a thermal energy storage media that has high specific heat capacity and low cost, while absorbing solar energy readily and limiting energy loss due to emissions in the infrared spectrum.

The commercial applications of this technology include present and future concentrated solar power plants in the U.S. and internationally. It will provide additional benefit to power companies and coal plant operators by reducing the costs of coal ash disposal and maintaining coal ash landfills.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Sean Torrez
Area Manager, Deployable Structures
storrez@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop and optimize a pilot scale system for on-demand production of ASCENT monopropellant.

ASCENT is a green fuel that improves satellite thruster performance by 15%-50% in total maneuver capability. However, there is no domestic capability to manufacture key ingredients. In a previous program, the PSI team demonstrated the feasibility of using microreactor and microseparator technologies to generate ASCENT monopropellant on-demand using domestically available precursors. The team produced all key intermediates and the final ASCENT formulation using a continuous process and confirmed the chemical composition. Under the new contract, PSI will focus on developing and optimizing a pilot system with throughput specific to spacecraft fueling needs.

PSI will develop a safe and reliable monopropellant manufacturing system by applying small-scale continuous microreactors help AFRL and commercial stakeholders accomplish their goals of on-demand monopropellant production. Successful scale-up of the modular and portable microreactor system will have applications in both commercial and military technologies ranging from in-space propulsion to expandable and reusable launch vehicles and small tactical missiles. Commercial implementation of an effective reactor system for continuously and safely producing green monopropellants, replacing toxic hydrazine, is a critical requirement for both strategic defense and space exploration. PSI’s modular, portable microreactor system will provide operational flexibility, enhanced product selectivity, increased safety, reduced waste, and lower capital and operating costs.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Peter Warren
Vice President, Applied Technologies

pwarren@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 738-8172

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a program from the Department of Energy to demonstrate an economically viable process to produce low-cost biochar for soil amendment applications and reduce the damage to Lake Erie and surrounding communities due to algal blooms.

Lake Erie’s western basin has harmful algal blooms and frequent “dead zones” (areas of low oxygen level). The annual algal blooms threaten water quality of Lake Erie and surrounding communities have seen contaminated drinking water, closed beaches, and damage to fishing and tourism industries. The algae grows out of control when excessive phosphorus enters the lake. The phosphorus comes from agricultural fertilizers, wastewater, and septic systems up-stream of the lake.

PSI is working with local organizations to enable the economic collection of algae and produce a valuable product (bio-char) through pyrolysis, resulting in net negative emissions, carbon sequestration, and phosphorus reduction. We have developed a small-scale, innovative bio-gas (evaporated bio-oils and syngas) burner that provides heat necessary for pyrolysis and will use these community driven design specifications to adapt the small-scale pyrolysis technology to a larger pilot plant to convert algae to bio-char. Biochar will be used as fertilizer for surrounding communities and farms, displacing conventional fertilizers and thereby reducing the amount of new phosphorus added to the ecosystem.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Peter Warren
Executive Vice President, Materials Division
pwarren@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center to develop a metasurface optic, midwave infrared hostile fire indicator (MO-MWIR-HFI) featuring on-board, real-time detection and geolocation via spatial localization in concert with a novel, 1- dimensional convolutional neural network automated target recognition (ATR) algorithm.

The approach simultaneously captures snapshot, MWIR hyperspectral images of up to 100s of events from an ultra-compact (< 5 lb) sensor package compatible with Group 1 unmanned air vehicles (UAV) such as the Teledyne FLIR R80D SkyRaider. The MO-MWIR-HFI data product will enable rapid discrimination of HF events from typical confusers at a 60 Hz update rate with nominal angular resolution.

PSI’s Group 1 UAV-compatible MO-MWIR-HFI sensor is intended to serve the force protection and law enforcement sectors. In the force protection domain, the sensor will provide increased situational awareness to soldiers in the battlefield by rapidly alerting soldiers of the presence and origin of HF events. In the law enforcement sector, the MO-MWIR-HFI could be used to rapidly identify and locate an active shooter in scenarios, such as the shootings in Las Vegas in October 2017.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Julia Dupuis
Vice President, Tactical Systems
jdupuis@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Imperia Batteries, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), has been awarded a program from the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to develop an integrated separator-electrode-electrolyte composite architecture incorporating conductive electrolyte components in a polymer-ceramic composite separator that is directly applied to electrodes, simultaneously improving energy density and safety.

This technology will improve safety by reducing the possibility for a cell to short-circuit via electrode misalignment, gas bubble generation, or by melting or shrinking of the separator when exposed to high temperatures. Additionally, the ionic conductivity of the architecture will allow for the reduction/removal of flammable electrolyte components from the cell. These features will protect the cell from common failure mechanisms and reduce risks associated with sympathetic ignition in the event of fire. These safety technologies will be combined with a proven high capacity silicon composite anode.

Imperia Batteries’ electrode architecture developed in this program will provide significant increases to both energy density and safety of Li-ion battery systems in both commercial and defense markets. The improved safety characteristics make the batteries incorporating this technology ideal for applications where catastrophic battery failure exposes the user to significant risks, such as in electric vehicle applications or in manned military operations. Additionally, the technology will streamline manufacturing processes, decreasing the capital equipment required for cell stacking, ultimately decreasing the cost of battery manufacturing. This technology is independent of cell format and scale, meaning that it could be adopted in a variety of cell formats including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles / unmanned underwater vehicles, conformal wearable batteries, and beyond.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Christopher Lang
Vice President, Energy Enterprise
lang@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), in collaboration with the University of Texas, has been awarded a program from the U.S. Army to develop a Radar for Non-Destructive Characterization of Concrete Structures.

The U.S. Army and other DOD forces occasionally need to gain an understanding of concrete structures in situations where mechanical test methods would be undesirable. There are several existing methods to assess the structural properties and predict reinforcement but each of these methods has specific deficiencies (e.g. too loud, too large, too inconsistent). Ground penetrating radar is a promising technology for non-destructive concrete substructure characterization but currently requires significant personnel training to operate the devices and properly interpret the results. PSI’s system will address this need for an easy and rapid evaluation tool. The device will use a deployable multi-static radar antenna and machine learning techniques to make a single 3D scan of a concrete volume then algorithmically locate, classify, and display actionable information.

While this technology is being specifically developed for U.S. Army operations, this easy-to-use system will have numerous commercial applications including search and rescue operations within collapsed structures or wall breaching by firefighters or police during emergencies. The algorithmic feature classification and strength predictions simplify operations making ground penetrating radar (GPR) more accessible to untrained users for building inspections or other survey needs and the ability to store the system in a backpack makes it attractive for operators on the move.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Peter Warren
Vice President, Material Systems
[pwarren@psicorp.com](mailto: pwarren@psicorp.com)
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003