A joint team of researchers from India, Japan and Sweden have found a way to make multiphase high entropy alloys (HEAs), which are a recently emerging class of alloys, simultaneously stronger and more ductile. In a study published in journal, Scientific Reports, the researchers have reported that novel heterogeneous microstructure achieved by a process of cryo-deformation followed by annealing can help overcome the problem of strength-ductility trade-off in multiphase HEAs. The researchers are from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Kyoto University, Japan and Chalmers University, Sweden. Conventionally, alloys are based on one major element to which Continue reading→

Le chimiste Reginald Penner de l’UCI (l’université de Californie à Ivirne) et la candidate au doctorat Mya Le Thai (en photo) ont développé une technologie à base de nanofils permettant la recharge de batteries de lithium de centaines de milliers de fois. (Credit Photo@Steve Zylius/UCI)

Parce qu’il entre dans la composition des batteries des véhicules électriques, le lithium vient d’être inscrit sur la liste des métaux stratégiques par les Etats-Unis. Les projets d’exploitation du lithium se multiplient sur le sol américain. Les Etats-Unis relancent la course au lithium jusque sur leur propre sol. Ils n’avaient plus qu’une seule mine de lithium encore en activité, dans le Nevada, c’est d’ailleurs la Continue reading→

In a collaborative study involving Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE), a unique severe plastic deformation (SPD) process, researchers Dr. Ibrahim Karaman from Texas A&M University and Drs. Don Susan and Andrew Kustas of Sandia National Laboratories were able to improve the mechanical properties of magnetic alloys without changing their magnetic properties through microstructural refinement. This process has proven to be troublesome in the past. Production of high-performance magnetic alloys and other intermetallics could prove particularly useful in aerospace and space exploration where materials must endure harsh environmentsContinue reading→

OTTAWA, May 31, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ – Equispheres has received a $5 million USD investment from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) under the Industrial Regional Benefits (IRB) and Industrial Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. This investment enables Equispheres, an Ottawa-based materials science company, to accelerate its growth in the provision of high-quality materials required for advanced technologies such as additive manufacturing, 3D printing and cold spray deposition. Each of these technologies requires a unique Continue reading→

Hyderabad: Researchers at Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) indigenously developed super alloys that form an important part of nuclear reactors, which hitherto were imported from other countries.

The two super alloys developed by the top nuclear institutions include SuperNi (Super Nickel) and a Titanium-based alloy Titan 24. “For many of our nuclear programmes, we are forced to import material. Such nuclear materials are not readily available, attract international regulations and are expensive. This forced us to develop SuperNi and Titan 24,” said Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, chairman and chief executiveContinue reading→

Shahria Alam stands near some of the concrete bridge piers tested at the Applied Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Structures at the University of British Columbia. Alam and a former PhD student have developed a residual drift-based design for concrete bridges that emloys a super-elastic reinforcement alloy.

An engineering professor and his former PhD student at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna have developed “a residual drift-based design” for concrete bridges that employs a super-elastic reinforcement alloy which can withstand the impact of earthquakes. Conventional reinforced steel, by comparison, sustains “large deformation demand during big earthquakes which causes the steel to strain beyond its elastic limit,” says Shahria Alam, associate professor in the school of engineering at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna. A case in point is the earthquake that hit Kobe, Japan, in 1995 leaving more than 100 steel reinforced concrete bridges beyond repair. If those bridges were reinforced with a super-elastic memory alloy, they might have only required “minor repairs” because theContinue reading→

It started just over two years ago when we reported in an exclusive report that Musk hired Apple’s alloy expert Charles Kuehmann to lead materials engineering at both of his companies simultaneously. Kuehmann earned a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University in 1994 and co-founded QuesTek two years later with four other colleagues affiliated with Northwestern University to commercialize the work of his mentor and pioneer in the field of computational materials design; Prof. Gregory B. Olson, who has been called the “father of materials design” by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At QuesTek, he went on to successfully develop and commercialize not only several new materials engineering tools and processes, but also numerous new alloys based on a number of different elements including Al, Co, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Nb, Ti, and W.

Elon Musk has been trying to create some synergy between his seemingly unrelated companies, Tesla and SpaceX. The CEO might have found one way to help both companies: combining their efforts to create new materials that could be used both on electric vehicles and renewable energy products on Earth, as well as in spacecraft and rockets in space. Tesla and SpaceX have been building material engineering teams to develop new advanced Continue reading→

Granta Design is collaborating with Dassault Systèmes to help product innovation teams make more informed decisions about the materials they use for the products they are developing and the experiences they want to deliver.

Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform will integrate with Granta Design’s GRANTA MI system for materials information management, improving productivity and collaboration. Thanks to the integration of GRANTA MI technology, approved information from a company’s materials database will be directly available to its product innovation teams on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Designers, engineers, simulation analysts and other stakeholders will be able to quickly access accurate and consistent information on materials and their properties, and Continue reading→

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has developed a method of computational analysis that can help predict the composition and properties of as-yet unmade high performance alloys.  These materials are made up of multiple elements (four or more) and highly sought after for their simple structures, excellent mechanical properties over a wide range of temperatures, and improved oxidation or corrosion resistance. Advancements in these materials could lead to enhanced jet engine performance and fuel efficiency, as well as other applications in industries where Continue reading→

A manufacturer of components for civil nuclear power has completed manufacturing, research and consultancy work to allow the world’s oldest working nuclear reactor to restart. (On photo Professor Jesus Talamantes-Silva)

Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd (SFIL) was contracted by plant operator, AXPO, to investigate the origin of ultrasonic indications which were detected in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) of Unit 1 of the Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB) in Switzerland, which was taken offline for two years until confirmed to be safe by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). Forgemasters manufactured a large cylindrical forging, identical to the body of the RPV, using techniques employed in the original 1960s manufacture and also acted as engineering and metallurgical consultants, establishing a root cause analysis and delivering detailed reports to support the safety case Continue reading→