WSU is home to the only liquid hydrogen lab in U.S. academia, transforming hydrogen into a fuel source for U.S. Army surveillance and reconnaissance drones.
There is a lot of clean and renewable energy in Washington, said Jacob Leachman, director of the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research Laboratory. Conducting hydrogen research is best done in the state.
WSU has one of the best power grid and aerospace programs in the country, he said.
Leachman founded the Outdoor Research Facility in 2010, which was fully constructed in January 2020. He said the facility houses the HYPER lab. It is used by WSU students and faculty to bring their innovative ideas to life.
A plastic bladder folded into an origami shape can stand up to cryogenic temperatures. (WSU Photo)
Build a better fuel tank, and the space industry will beat a path to your door. At least that’s what Washington State University researchers are hoping after they harnessed the ancient art of origami to develop a foldable fuel bladder that stands up to cryogenic temperatures.
Graduate student Kjell Westra, engineering professor Jake Leachman and their colleagues at WSU’s Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research Laboratory, or HYPER Lab, describe their design in the journal Cryogenics. Their research addresses a longstanding challenge in rocket science: How can you store and pump super-chilled propellants like liquid hydrogen more efficiently?