Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2016 8:43:17 GMT -5
No more smashed phones! Super-hard metallic glass is 600 times stronger than steel and will BOUNCE if it's dropped
The material is a new metallic glass that is 588 times stronger than steel
While being extremely strong it is also elastic, meaning it can bounce
It could be used to build new types of body armour or to protect satellites
Mobile devices could also be encased in the material so they are stronger
By Richard Gray for MailOnline
Published: 05:37 EST, 5 April 2016 | Updated: 07:27 EST, 5 April 2016
Most of us have had that heart-stopping moment after dropping a phone or tablet onto a hard floor.
But a new type of glass that is stronger than titanium while also being elastic could soon be used to create phones that are able to bounce when they are dropped. The material, which is a form of metallic glass made from iron, could also be used to build new types of body armour and help protect satellites from meteor strikes while in orbit.
Tests have shown the material, which is called SAM2X5-630, is 588 times more resistant to damage than stainless steel and has twice the resistance of tungsten carbide ceramic used in body armour.
Professor Veronica Eliasson, an engineer at the University of Southern California, said the material's unusual chemical structure is what makes it so hard yet also elastic.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego used a technique called spark-plasma sintering to create the new metallic glass.
They did this by placing powdered iron into a graphite mold and then raising the pressure it is under to 1,000 atmospheres.
They then zapped the powder with an electric current, heating it to 1166°F (630°C), causing it to bind together without ever becoming liquid.
This forced the iron to form a glass-like structure rather than the highly organised cyrstalline structure seen in most metals.
She said: 'It has almost no internal structure, like glass, but you see tiny regions of crystallisation.
'We have no idea why a small amount of crystalline regions in these bulk metallic glasses makes such a big difference under shock loading.'
While the new material is not yet transparent enough to be used to make super-hard glass screens, it could be used to create protective casing for mobile devices that would bounce when dropped.
For example, using the material to replace the aluminum sides and back seen in many mobiles such as the iPhone could make the device far more resistant to smashing.
The new material is a type of artificially generated material known as bulk metallic glass. These possess disproportionate strength, resilience and elasticity due to their chemical structure. Atoms in most metals and alloys have highly organised crystalline structures while in glasses they are organised in a far more random way. Bouncy metallic glass could end smashed mobile phones.
To produce the new material, researchers heated powdered iron composite to 1166°F (630°C) before rapidly cooling it.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego used a spark-plasma sintering process, where powdered iron is placed in a graphite mold, and then zapped with an electric current at pressures of 1,000 atmospheres. This superheated it to the point of binding without ever liquefying the metal.
Professor Olivia Graeve, a mechanical engineer at the University of California San Diego, said: 'You can produce materials that normally take hours in an industrial setting in just a few minutes.
'Because these materials are designed to withstand extreme conditions, you can process them under extreme conditions successfully.'
The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Scientific Reports, tested the metallic glass using a gas gun that fired copper plates at the material at speeds between 1,118mph and 2,237mph. They showed a 1.5-1.8mm piece of SAM2X5-630 was able to withstand a shock of up to 11.76 giga-Pascals without deforming, known as its Hugoniot Elastic Limit. Stainless steel by comparison has an elastic limit of 0.2 giga-Pascals while tungsten carbide has an elastic limit of 4.5 giga-Pasclas. Diamonds have an elastic limit of 60 giga-Pascals.
Other tests showed it the material was capable of causing ball bearings to bounce when dropped on it.
Dr Andrea Hodge, principal investigator in the project, said: 'We were able to observe the remarkable elastic limit of this material at high velocities, a behaviour which was not evident from conventional mechanical tests.'
Professor Eliasson added: 'In particular, the fact that the new materials performed so well under shock loading was very encouraging and should lead to plenty of future research opportunities.'
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3524128/No-smashed-phones-Super-hard-metallic-glass-500-times-stronger-steel-BOUNCE-dropped.html
The material is a new metallic glass that is 588 times stronger than steel
While being extremely strong it is also elastic, meaning it can bounce
It could be used to build new types of body armour or to protect satellites
Mobile devices could also be encased in the material so they are stronger
By Richard Gray for MailOnline
Published: 05:37 EST, 5 April 2016 | Updated: 07:27 EST, 5 April 2016
Most of us have had that heart-stopping moment after dropping a phone or tablet onto a hard floor.
But a new type of glass that is stronger than titanium while also being elastic could soon be used to create phones that are able to bounce when they are dropped. The material, which is a form of metallic glass made from iron, could also be used to build new types of body armour and help protect satellites from meteor strikes while in orbit.
Tests have shown the material, which is called SAM2X5-630, is 588 times more resistant to damage than stainless steel and has twice the resistance of tungsten carbide ceramic used in body armour.
Professor Veronica Eliasson, an engineer at the University of Southern California, said the material's unusual chemical structure is what makes it so hard yet also elastic.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego used a technique called spark-plasma sintering to create the new metallic glass.
They did this by placing powdered iron into a graphite mold and then raising the pressure it is under to 1,000 atmospheres.
They then zapped the powder with an electric current, heating it to 1166°F (630°C), causing it to bind together without ever becoming liquid.
This forced the iron to form a glass-like structure rather than the highly organised cyrstalline structure seen in most metals.
She said: 'It has almost no internal structure, like glass, but you see tiny regions of crystallisation.
'We have no idea why a small amount of crystalline regions in these bulk metallic glasses makes such a big difference under shock loading.'
While the new material is not yet transparent enough to be used to make super-hard glass screens, it could be used to create protective casing for mobile devices that would bounce when dropped.
For example, using the material to replace the aluminum sides and back seen in many mobiles such as the iPhone could make the device far more resistant to smashing.
The new material is a type of artificially generated material known as bulk metallic glass. These possess disproportionate strength, resilience and elasticity due to their chemical structure. Atoms in most metals and alloys have highly organised crystalline structures while in glasses they are organised in a far more random way. Bouncy metallic glass could end smashed mobile phones.
To produce the new material, researchers heated powdered iron composite to 1166°F (630°C) before rapidly cooling it.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego used a spark-plasma sintering process, where powdered iron is placed in a graphite mold, and then zapped with an electric current at pressures of 1,000 atmospheres. This superheated it to the point of binding without ever liquefying the metal.
Professor Olivia Graeve, a mechanical engineer at the University of California San Diego, said: 'You can produce materials that normally take hours in an industrial setting in just a few minutes.
'Because these materials are designed to withstand extreme conditions, you can process them under extreme conditions successfully.'
The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Scientific Reports, tested the metallic glass using a gas gun that fired copper plates at the material at speeds between 1,118mph and 2,237mph. They showed a 1.5-1.8mm piece of SAM2X5-630 was able to withstand a shock of up to 11.76 giga-Pascals without deforming, known as its Hugoniot Elastic Limit. Stainless steel by comparison has an elastic limit of 0.2 giga-Pascals while tungsten carbide has an elastic limit of 4.5 giga-Pasclas. Diamonds have an elastic limit of 60 giga-Pascals.
Other tests showed it the material was capable of causing ball bearings to bounce when dropped on it.
Dr Andrea Hodge, principal investigator in the project, said: 'We were able to observe the remarkable elastic limit of this material at high velocities, a behaviour which was not evident from conventional mechanical tests.'
Professor Eliasson added: 'In particular, the fact that the new materials performed so well under shock loading was very encouraging and should lead to plenty of future research opportunities.'
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3524128/No-smashed-phones-Super-hard-metallic-glass-500-times-stronger-steel-BOUNCE-dropped.html
