Steel-like ‘tough and strong’ amorphous ‘glassy’ metal developed
January 10th, 2011 - 6:51 pm ICT by ANILondon, Jan 10 (ANI): Scientists have developed an extremely tough amorphous material that could eventually replace steel in buildings, cars or bridges.
A metal alloy masquerading as a glass is the first material to be fabricated that is as strong and as tough as the toughest steel.
Marios Demetriou, a materials scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and his colleagues have developed the alloy that combines the best features of both by turning to ‘amorphous metals’.
However, materials scientists now know that, ironically, generating an extremely large number of these bands could have the opposite effect - making the material tougher2.
“If you dramatically amplify the number of bands, they start to interlace and form networks.
“When new cracks evolve in the glassy metal, these networks cluster around the crack tips, blocking them from growing,” said Demetriou.
On their 109th attempt, the team finally struck on the right mix for a glassy metal that can generate a large number of these bands. The successful recipe was mostly palladium, with a small fraction of silver and a smattering of other elements.
“We don’t yet know why this particular composition works - it will take a deeper investigation to find out what chemical properties have been altered that affect the material’s toughness,” said Demetriou.
The team tested the glassy metal’s toughness by monitoring how quickly and deeply a crack could move through it. “We found that it is as tough as the toughest steel,” he said.
The work has been published in Nature Materials. (ANI)
- Now, a glass stronger than steel - Jan 11, 2011
- Soon, new semiconductors to provide speed in TVs, computer monitors - May 01, 2011
- New novel metals - stronger than steel, as mouldable as plastic - Mar 02, 2011
- Brittle materials can be made stronger by shrinking them to nanoscale size - Feb 10, 2010
- Secrets of glass unlocked by studying crystals - Dec 01, 2010
- Scientists unravel secrets of strong spider silk - Mar 02, 2011
- New nano-sized particles set to revolutionise data storage - Sep 18, 2010
- Tough call: Showcasing high-art stainless steel on its 100th anniversary (With images) - Mar 09, 2012
- Scientists create glass thats harder and tougher than stainless steel - Mar 18, 2009
- Soon, microbes will generate clean energy - Sep 02, 2010
- Scientists create nonexpanding metal using high pressure - Jun 16, 2009
- Bugs to reclaim rare metals from waste for clean energy - Sep 02, 2010
- India takes first step towards ultra super-critical boilers - Jan 20, 2012
- Electric charges can turn materials hard or soft in seconds - Jun 07, 2011
- Copper surfaces reduce hospital infections: Experts - Feb 09, 2012
Tags: amorphous material, amorphous metals, bridges, california institute of technology, colleagues, composition, crack, fraction, glassy metal, institute of technology, london jan, marios, materials scientist, materials scientists, metal alloy, nature materials, new cracks, palladium, smattering, toughness
