Abstract: An improved reactor vessel for processing (recycling and upcycling) of plastics includes a shear plate assembly disposed on a rotatable shaft concentrically disposed within a cylindrical reactor vessel. The shear plates are spaced from the vessel wall to generate a predetermined strain rate between the shear plate and the inner wall via Couette flow, enhancing efficiency of the reaction.

Abstract: A submersible vessel having wing and keel assemblies that are extendable for wind-powered surface operation and retractable to reduce drag for submerged operation or to place the vessel in a more compact configuration. A deployment mechanism including an actuator and linkage pivots the wing and keel assemblies-simultaneously between the deployed and retracted configuration. The vessel may have first and second pressure hulls flanking the wing and keel assemblies. A drive mechanism including a motor and a gear train employing pulley-and-cable assemblies rotates either the wing and flap together such that the flap angle relative to the wing is constant, or to change the flap angle relative to the wing with the wing angle of incidence held constant. The invention also provides a retractable wind-powered propulsion apparatus that is mountable to the hull assembly of a submersible or non-submersible vessel.

Abstract: A submersible vessel having wing and keel assemblies that are extendable for wind-powered surface operation and retractable to reduce drag for submerged operation or to place the vessel in a more compact configuration. A deployment mechanism including an actuator and linkage pivots the wing and keel assemblies-simultaneously between the deployed and retracted configuration. The vessel may have first and second pressure hulls flanking the wing and keel assemblies. A drive mechanism including a motor and a gear train employing pulley-and-cable assemblies rotates either the wing and flap together such that the flap angle relative to the wing is constant, or to change the flap angle relative to the wing with the wing angle of incidence held constant. The invention also provides a retractable wind-powered propulsion apparatus that is mountable to the hull assembly of a submersible or non-submersible vessel.

Abstract: A submersible vessel having wing and keel assemblies that are extendable for wind-powered surface operation and retractable to reduce drag for submerged operation or to place the vessel in a more compact configuration. A deployment mechanism including an actuator and linkage pivots the wing and keel assemblies simultaneously between the deployed and retracted configuration. The vessel may have first and second pressure hulls flanking the wing and keel assemblies. A drive mechanism including a motor and a gear train employing pulley-and-cable assemblies rotates either the wing and flap together such that the flap angle relative to the wing is constant, or to change the flap angle relative to the wing with the wing angle of incidence held constant. The invention also provides a retractable wind-powered propulsion apparatus that is mountable to the hull assembly of a submersible or non-submersible vessel.

Abstract: A submersible vessel having wing and keel assemblies that are extendable for wind-powered surface operation and retractable to reduce drag for submerged operation or to place the vessel in a more compact configuration. A deployment mechanism including an actuator and linkage pivots the wing and keel assemblies simultaneously between the deployed and retracted configuration. The vessel may have first and second pressure hulls flanking the wing and keel assemblies. A drive mechanism including a motor and a gear train employing pulley-and-cable assemblies rotates either the wing and flap together such that the flap angle relative to the wing is constant, or to change the flap angle relative to the wing with the wing angle of incidence held constant. The invention also provides a retractable wind-powered propulsion apparatus that is mountable to the hull assembly of a submersible or non-submersible vessel.

Abstract: A structure having layers of controllable electrical properties is prepared by furnishing a sheet of a substrate material, patterning a pattern of recesses into a surface of the sheet of the substrate material, filling the pattern of recesses with a mixture of an active phase and a matrix, and laminating the sheet to a base structure. The filled recesses may be of any desired shape, depth, and orientation. The active phase is particles of a material such as an electrical conductor or semiconductor, or magnetic particles.