Light and Strong
What do we know of the current state of research in material science? Not so much, but some of the most interesting discoveries or innovations are being made to make some of the lightest and strongest materials. Today we are going to talk about some of them.
We all want things to get lighter and stronger simultaneously but it is not so easy but some very important materials are discovered just for the above reasons. Some of the most promising innovations are discussed below.
The first material we want to talk about is Micro-Lattice Materials.
It is a synthetic porous metallic material consisting of an ultra-light metal foam. Its density is as low as 0.9 mg/ which makes it one of the lightest material known to science. It was developed by a team of scientists from California-based HRL Laboratories, in collaboration with researchers at University of California, Irvine and Caltech, and was first announced in November 2011. The prototype samples were made from a nickel-phosphorus alloy.
The HRL is owned by Boeing and they claim that it is 99.9% air. It is approximately one hundred times lighter than Styrofoam, it is made up of a metal micro-lattice constructed from interconnected hollow tubes, with a wall thickness of just 100 nanometres – 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, according to HRL.
A technique based on self-propagating waveguide formation, was used to make the polymer template used to prepare the micro-lattice. The process passed UV light through a perforated mask into a reservoir of UV-curable resin. Fibre-optic-like "self-trapping" of the light occurred as the resin cured under each hole in the mask, forming a thin polymer fibre along the path of the light. By using multiple light beams, multiple fibres could then interconnect to form a lattice.
Its mechanical properties are very much similar to elastomers and they regain their shape after significant compression, which was the main aim when it was originally developed for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It also has very high energy absorption. Their Young's modulus E exhibits different scaling, with the density ρ, E ~ ρ2, compared to E ~ ρ3 in aerogels and carbon nanotube foams.
Its primary applications were seen as thermal and vibration insulators such as shock absorbers, battery electrodes and catalyst supports. Additionally their ability to return to their normal shape after compression can be used to make spring like energy storage devices. Automotive and aeronautical industries are planning to develop high performance vehicles by using it to make materials which can perform multiple functions like structural reinforcement and heat transfer.
Another important material is Aero-graphite. It is a synthetic foam consisting of a porous interconnected network of tubular carbon. It was developed jointly by a team of researchers at the University of Kiel and the Technical University of Hamburg in Germany and with a density of 180 g/ it is one of the lightest material.
Aero-graphite is a black freestanding material that can be produced in various shapes occupying a volume of up to several cubic centimetres.
It consists of a seamless interconnected network of carbon tubes that have micron-scale diameters and a wall thickness of about 15 nm.
It resists tensile force much better then carbon foams and silica aerogels. It can sustain extensive elastic deformation and has a very low Poisson’s ratio. It can carry 40,000 times its own weight. It is super-hydrophobic and its centimetres sized samples repel water.
Aero-graphite electrodes have been tested in an electric double-layer capacitor and endured the mechanical shocks related to loading-unloading cycles and crystallization of the electrolyte. Because of its lightness and relatively large surface area, aero-graphite could enable the creation of much lighter lithium-ion batteries and super-capacitors. Non-conductive objects, such as plastics, could be coated with aero-graphite to make them conductive — without gaining weight. Just as carbon is already used to filter water, aero-graphite might excel at both water and air filtration. And as it is super hydrophobic water proof clothes can be made.
Some of the other materials are carbon based Aerogels and Graphene. To know about them keep following our blogs. Thanks for reading!
Image source : Google
We all want things to get lighter and stronger simultaneously but it is not so easy but some very important materials are discovered just for the above reasons. Some of the most promising innovations are discussed below.
The first material we want to talk about is Micro-Lattice Materials.
The HRL is owned by Boeing and they claim that it is 99.9% air. It is approximately one hundred times lighter than Styrofoam, it is made up of a metal micro-lattice constructed from interconnected hollow tubes, with a wall thickness of just 100 nanometres – 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, according to HRL.
A technique based on self-propagating waveguide formation, was used to make the polymer template used to prepare the micro-lattice. The process passed UV light through a perforated mask into a reservoir of UV-curable resin. Fibre-optic-like "self-trapping" of the light occurred as the resin cured under each hole in the mask, forming a thin polymer fibre along the path of the light. By using multiple light beams, multiple fibres could then interconnect to form a lattice.
Its mechanical properties are very much similar to elastomers and they regain their shape after significant compression, which was the main aim when it was originally developed for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It also has very high energy absorption. Their Young's modulus E exhibits different scaling, with the density ρ, E ~ ρ2, compared to E ~ ρ3 in aerogels and carbon nanotube foams.
Its primary applications were seen as thermal and vibration insulators such as shock absorbers, battery electrodes and catalyst supports. Additionally their ability to return to their normal shape after compression can be used to make spring like energy storage devices. Automotive and aeronautical industries are planning to develop high performance vehicles by using it to make materials which can perform multiple functions like structural reinforcement and heat transfer.
Another important material is Aero-graphite. It is a synthetic foam consisting of a porous interconnected network of tubular carbon. It was developed jointly by a team of researchers at the University of Kiel and the Technical University of Hamburg in Germany and with a density of 180 g/ it is one of the lightest material.
Aero-graphite is a black freestanding material that can be produced in various shapes occupying a volume of up to several cubic centimetres.
It resists tensile force much better then carbon foams and silica aerogels. It can sustain extensive elastic deformation and has a very low Poisson’s ratio. It can carry 40,000 times its own weight. It is super-hydrophobic and its centimetres sized samples repel water.
Aero-graphite electrodes have been tested in an electric double-layer capacitor and endured the mechanical shocks related to loading-unloading cycles and crystallization of the electrolyte. Because of its lightness and relatively large surface area, aero-graphite could enable the creation of much lighter lithium-ion batteries and super-capacitors. Non-conductive objects, such as plastics, could be coated with aero-graphite to make them conductive — without gaining weight. Just as carbon is already used to filter water, aero-graphite might excel at both water and air filtration. And as it is super hydrophobic water proof clothes can be made.
Some of the other materials are carbon based Aerogels and Graphene. To know about them keep following our blogs. Thanks for reading!
Image source : Google
keep going...
ReplyDeleteis there anyone that can help me getting good and quick cash for car perth kind of service, i really need one. Any contact detail would be good.
ReplyDelete