Refining early technology

As automakers continuously refine their cars, trucks and SUVs, design capabilities and material science technologies of acoustic baffles become an engineering challenge to fulfill these refinements. Early part designs were cumbersome, bulky and not very efficient in overall performance. A full layer of expanding material was often assembled onto a metal or plastic bracket that functioned as a shelf to span the cavity section to be sealed. These parts were often welded or clipped to the body structure with plastic pins. 

The IM process is a manufacturing technology that has been modified, extended, and refined for over a century. Many different methods and techniques have been introduced to improve the process and make it more economical in the manufacturing environment. Although these advances have been significant, a technical analysis reveals that relatively few conceptual difference exist between the early process patents and today s methodology (223, 224). 

The development of three-phase reactor technologies in the 1970 s saw renewed interest in the synthetic fuel area due to the energy crisis of 1973. Several processes were developed for direct coal liquefaction using both slurry bubble column reactors (Exxon Donor Solvent process and Solvent Refined Coal process) and three-phase fluidized bed reactors (H-Coal process). These processes were again shelved in the early 1980 s due to the low price of petroleum crudes. 

Active technology development efforts in both PEFC and planar SOFC technology, driven primarily by the interest in distributed generation and automotive propulsion markets, have achieved significant progress in the development of these technologies. For distributed power applications refined and even early commercial prototypes are being constructed. 

Copper, being easy to mine and refine, has become a very versatile metal over the course of civilization. Early in human history, it was discovered that soft copper could be made harder and stronger when alloyed with other metals. Copper was and still is important to technology and the development of civilizations. Over the past several thousand years, brass has found multiple uses, such as in coins, cooking utensils, and many types of instruments and hardware that are resistant to corrosion. Even today, brass is used to make musical instruments and bathroom, kitchen, and marine hardware. The U.S. one-cent penny was originally made of copper, but today the penny is made of zinc with a coating of copper. Copper is also an alloy metal used as a substitute for some of the silver in several other U.S. coins. 

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