Sparlo - Engineering AI

Sparlo deploys 8 engineering agents for 60 minutes to pull apart your engineering decision before you commit.

Compare three cathode catalyst options for our PEM fuel cell stack — Pt/C, PtCo/C alloy, and PtNi/C core-shell. Optimizing for durability beyond 5,000 hours at 0.67V. Budget ceiling $45/kW for catalyst layer. Need to decide by Q3 for production qualification.

A comprehensive deep analysis report on your problem — root cause analysis, failure modes, cross-domain pathways, commit-risk analysis — with every claim grounded by an anti-hallucination fact checking agent.

Each analysis runs 8 specialist agents to pull apart your problem with intellectual rigor. 1MM tokens of frontier reasoning per report.

Problem Teardown

Decomposes your problem into constraints, hypotheses, and decision branches. Maps the full decision space before any analysis begins.

Constraint inventoryDecision space mappedCommit-risk map

First Principles Reframer

Strips the problem to governing physics. Names the rate-limiting mechanism and surfaces assumptions that change the problem shape.

Governing physicsRate-limiting mechanismReframed problem

Deep Researcher

Two parallel rounds of search across academic literature, patents, and industry sources. Strategy adapts to problem type.

Cross-domain transfersImplementation precedentsComparison data

Source Evaluator

Synthesizes literature into decision-critical evidence. Explicitly curates what did not work — not just what did.

Ranked source poolGap analysisNegative results

Insight Synthesizer

Distills upstream analysis into the one insight that changes how you think about the problem.

Synthesis insightPareto frontierIndustry analysis

Concept Generator

Generates and ranks candidate solutions. Each concept gets mechanistic depth — why it works, where it breaks.

Ranked candidatesMechanistic depthValidation plan

Self-Critic

Maps every unknown and risk before you commit. Identifies single-study dependencies and blind spots.

Key unknownsRisk registerFallback positions

Reporter & Fact-Checker

Assembles the structured report. A dedicated pass re-verifies every citation, formula, and numerical claim.

Structured reportVerified citationsRe-computed formulas

Stress test decisions

Find failure modes, biases, and blindspots — with a thorough comparison of your options before you commit.

Specify fire suppression system for a 25-container LFP battery energy storage system, 100 MWh capacity. Evaluating FK-5-1-12, condensed aerosol, and water mist.

Run Analysis

§ 1 · Comparison Matrix

DimensionFK-5-1-12AerosolWater Mist

Cooling at TRFAILFAILPASS

TR PropagationFAILFAILPARTIAL

20-year SupplyFAILPASSPASS

FM Global——ALIGNED

DeflagrationNONENONENONE*

§ 2 · Binding Constraints

FK-5-1-12 fails on immutable physics — boiling point 49°C; 88 kJ/kg latent heat; vaporizes at TR onset (270°C)

PFAS supply risk eliminates FK-5-1-12 at 20 years — 3M exited end-2025; EU derogation uncertain past ~2038

Water mist’s failures are addressable — add deflagration venting (~$100–200K) + gas detection (~$100–175K)

§ 3 · Verdict

Drop FK-5-1-12. Specify water mist + gas detection + deflagration venting. Two zero-cost phone calls (OEM for UL 9540A data, insurance broker for premium differential) may resolve the decision before any engineering spend.

Diagnose failures

Trace a production issue to root cause. Decompose the failure mechanism to first principles.

We’re losing tubes on a 4-pass diesel/gasoil exchanger. All 6 holes are in the 1st pass at the coolest end of the bundle. Corrosion rate jumped 10× in 3 years after being stable for 9. API 751 says the hot end should fail first — it has zero metal loss. What’s eating these tubes at the coldest spot?

Run Analysis

§ 1 · Root Cause Diagnosis85% confidence

Naphthenic acid corrosion stripping FeS scale at 420–430°F in the floating-head bypass zone

Protective iron sulfide scale masked vulnerability for 9 years. Crude slate shift at year 9–10 introduced unmonitored naphthenic acids that stripped the scale, exposing bare carbon steel.

§ 2 · Evidence Chain

FeS scale protected tubes for 9 years — 0.8 → 0.5 mpy decline indicates maturing scale

Scale destruction occurred year 9–10 — 15–18 mils loss in 3 years = bare-metal corrosion rate

Cold end fails due to thinnest scale — Scale formation doubles per 30°F (Arrhenius). Hot end built thicker protection.

Only 6 of 125 tubes affected — Intersection of three conditions: temperature, scale thickness, local velocity

§ 3 · Immediate Actions

Pull TAN history from quality lab — confirm crude slate shift

Retube first pass in 316L SS during turnaround$108–208K installed

Implement NACE SP0170 nitrogen purge for future shutdowns

Discover R&D solutions

TRIZ Methodology + Function-Oriented Search. Decompose R&D problems and find solutions from other industries, abandoned technologies, and proven innovation methods.

Design a solid sorbent contactor for modular direct air capture. Need sub-150 Pa pressure drop at 0.8+ kg CO₂/m³/hr capture rate. Current monolith designs couple void fraction to sorbent density — can’t optimize both. Structure cost under $250/m³.

Run Analysis

§ 1 · Core Insight

The sorbent structure and the flow structure don’t have to be the same physical object.

Current contactors couple void fraction to sorbent density through a single geometry. Decoupling them allows independent optimization of pressure drop and capture rate.

§ 2 · Cross-Domain Transfer

→

Source domain

Lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing

Slot-die coat PEI-silica onto aluminum foil, corrugate, cross-stack. 40–120 Pa pressure drop, 0.84–1.27 kg CO₂/m³/hr, $100–250/m³ structure cost.

§ 3 · Ruled Out

✕Freeze-cast ceramic — fatal pressure drop

✕Avian cross-flow — fatal sealing problem

✕Resistive heating — fatal cost at scale

§ 4 · Validation Path

Slurry formulation (2 wk, $2–5K) → Munters partnership outreach ($0) → TVSA cycling test (8–12 wk, $20–50K) → toll-coat production trial. Full validation ~$100–250K over 12 months.

Source components

Constraint-aware agents find vendors, generate RFQs, and build trade-off analyses.

Source a pilot scale spray dryer with rotary atomizer. 1-2 kg/h evaporative capacity, D50 60-80 µm, 30 wt% aqueous slurry at 450 cP, 500°C max. Feed is 74% Ni oxide — abrasive, hazardous. Highest quality, no budget ceiling.

Deep Source →

§ 1 · Vendor Landscape

GEA Niro Mobile MinorRECOMMENDED

Industry standard for catalyst spray drying. WC rotary wheel, 500°C high-temp package, N₂ inert loop. 10,000+ installations globally.

$150–250K16–24 wk

SPX / Anhydro MicraSprayALTERNATIVE

Integrated fluid bed option tightens PSD. Test center trials available before purchase. Confirm WC vane tips at pilot scale.

$120–200K12–20 wk

ANDRITZ Dedert ABA-25ALTERNATIVE

Air-bearing atomizer — zero oil contamination risk. Ti disc standard. Lower maintenance, no bearing seizure from slurry ingress.

$100–180K16–24 wk

Unopex B-230EVALUATE

N₂ closed-cycle variant strongest for Ni containment. PSD range caps at 80 µm — may fall short. Smaller vendor, thinner service network.

$80–140K12–18 wk

§ 2 · Key Trade-Off

Atomizer wheel wear vs. PSD consistency: at 450 cP with 74% Ni oxide, standard SS wheels erode in days. WC-tipped wheels add $8–15K but deliver months of stable D50.

Generate RFQ →

IP protected

Never trains models

Inputs, briefs, and reports are never used for training. Our team never sees your data.

Encrypted end to end

AES-256 at rest and in transit. SOC 2 compliant. Data isolated per account.

Delete anytime

No retention period, no backups retained. Delete and it is gone.

Run it through Sparlo.

Run Analysis