Compared to crystalline metallic alloys, Liquidmetal is much more resistant to permanent deformation from impact, and 3 times more elastic or resilient. Using methods resembling those employed to process plastics, Johnson and Peker in 2000 improved upon Vitreloy to create an extended family of Liquidmetal alloys with improved strength properties that do not inhibit the metal’s flexibility to be shaped and processed into many different forms.Īrguably the first major breakthrough in materials technology since the development of thermoplastics, Liquidmetal alloys offer superior mechanical properties compared to other highly engineered materials. On the other hand, by not possessing crystals, amorphous metals are elastic, strong, and corrosion-proof. Johnson explained that this shear failure would occur because Vitreloy lacked the crystals normally found in conventional metals that gather together to protect a surface area from imperfections and damaging forces. Despite this superb achievement, Vitreloy was quite delicate, having the propensity to shatter like glass. A 1-inch-diameter bar of the new material was capable of lifting 300,000 pounds, while a titanium bar of the same size supported 175,000 pounds. They ultimately concocted a promising recipe they termed as “Vitreloy.” There were no doubts cast over the amazing strength of Vitreloy. Over the next 6 months, the two-man team experimented with varying amounts of the chemical elements and several hundred resulting glassy alloys. Using a complicated blend of elements (zirconium, titanium, nickel, copper, and beryllium) possessing varying chemical characteristics, Johnson and Peker were able to create a newly structured alloy that turned from a liquid structure or non-crystalline to a solid at room temperature, without having to subject the material to rapid cooling. Atakan Peker-a graduate student at the time-patiently spent 10 months bringing this concept to fruition as part of their task for CalTech, NASA, and the U.S. This ribbon-like form of amorphous metal caught on, and is still being used today in transformer cores on power poles to reduce transmission losses.Īs Johnson’s studies continued over the years, he envisioned amorphous metals in thick, structural hunks that did not require rapid cooling for formation. In 1959, Duwez employed a rapid cooling process to successfully create a thin, gold-silicon alloy that remained amorphous at room temperature. As a professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Johnson’s motivation to study liquid-like metals was the work of a former CalTech materials scientist named Pol Duwez. Bill Johnson of CalTech had spent over 20 years studying the feasibility of creating new types of metals with liquid atomic structures. Prior to the discovery of the material that would eventually come to be known as Liquidmetal, Dr. Furthermore, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center contributed to the development of the alloys by subjecting the materials to testing in its Electrostatic Levitator, a special instrument that is capable of suspending an object in midair so that researchers can heat and cool it in a containerless environment free from contaminants that could otherwise spoil the experiment. Department of Energy, to study the fundamentals of metallic alloys in an undercooled liquid state, for the development of new aerospace materials. Liquidmetal alloys were conceived in 1992, as a result of a project funded by the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), NASA, and the U.S. Welcome to the 3rd Revolution, otherwise known as the era of Liquidmetal® alloys, where metals behave similar to plastics but possess more than twice the strength of high-performance titanium. In the same way that the inventions of steel in the 1800s and plastic in the 1900s sparked revolutions for industry, a new class of amorphous alloys is poised to redefine materials science as we know it in the 21st century. Originating Technology/ NASA Contribution
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |