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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U N E 2 0 1 6
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METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS
tensile strength is at least twice that
of the alloy without carbon, indicat-
ing that the aluminum-copper alloy
with carbon additives can be used as a
material for practical applications.
www.metal-techno.jp/english.TRANSPARENT METAL FILM
HOLDS PROMISE FOR
SMARTPHONES
Touchscreens are an essential fea-
ture of many modern devices, but the
material that gives most screens their
Color mapping images of Al-5Cu-0.3C alloy with carbon additives, left to right, (a) copper, (b) aluminum, and (c) carbon. Courtesy of
Business Wire.
Argosy International Inc.,
N.Y.,
started construction on a 39,000 ft
2
honeycomb core facility in Al-
abama. Its commercial grade
aluminum honeycomb core is non-
combustible and can be manufac-
tured in multiple cell sizes with two
different density options for each
size. Chrome and non-chrome coat-
ings are available. The new facility
will be certified to ISO 9001 and
features a cutting room (vertical
band saw), industrial dust collec-
tion system, and material staging
area.
argosyinternational.com.
Commercial Metals Co.,
Irving,
Texas, started construction on its
second technologically advanced
micromill in Durant, Okla. The com-
pany’s micromill technology uses
a continuous-continuous manu-
facturing process that melts, casts,
and rolls steel from a single unin-
terrupted strand, producing higher
yields and consuming less energy
than traditional minimill processes.
cmc.com.
BRIEFS
NanoSteel,
Providence, R.I., delivered its first advanced high strength
steel (AHSS) to
General Motors
for initial testing. The sheet steel is poised
to accelerate vehicle lightweighting initiatives focused on affordably
meeting rising global fuel-economy regulations. Production of the mate-
rial, targeted to the $100 billion automotive steel market, is the result of
a development program between NanoSteel and
AK Steel Corp.,
West
Chester, Ohio.
nanosteelco.com,
aksteel.com.
CARBON STRENGTHENS
ALUMINUM COPPER ALLOY
Metal and Technology Inc. and
Shirogane Co. Ltd., both in Japan, suc-
cessfully added carbon particles to an
aluminum-copper alloy and homoge-
neously dispersed these carbon parti-
cles within the alloy. The new material
changes the microscopic crystal struc-
tures and is expected to dramatically
improve mechanical strength.
Adding carbon to nonferrous met-
als other than iron has traditionally
been difficult. Researchers were suc-
cessfully able to add carbon to lead-free
solder alloys and pure copper, improv-
ing mechanical strength by making the
crystal structures microscopic. A tensile
strength test confirmed the improve-
ment but shows it depends on the
amount of carbon added and the heat
treatment temperature. The resulting
NanoSteel automotive sheet. Courtesy
of Business Wire.