January_AMP_Digital

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 A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 7 3D-PRINTED CONCRETE BRIDGE WELCOMES CYCLISTS In October 2017, the world’s first 3D-printed, reinforced concrete bridge opened in the Netherlands. The bicycle bridge was printed at Eindhoven Uni- versity of Technology and will lead to even larger printed concrete structures, say researchers. The 26-ft-long bridge is the first civil infrastructure project to be constructed using 3D concrete printing and is part of a larger road construction plan led by BAM Infra. During the proj- ect, the Eindhoven team developed a process to incorporate steel reinforce- ment cable while laying a strip of con- crete. The steel cable is the equivalent of the reinforcement mesh employed in conventional concrete and is used to handle tensile stress. In addition to a faster construction schedule, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and the abil- ity to print any shape are further ben- efits of the new concrete printing pro- cess. Based on the success of the bridge project, the university is planning to print five houses for residents to live in. www.tue.nl . SPEEDING TOWARD SCRATCHPROOF CAR PAINT An international team of research- ers led by Elton Santos of Queen’s University Belfast, UK, recently discov- ered superlubricity in a few layers of Are you working with or have you discovered a material or its properties that exhibit OMG - Outrageous Materials Goodness? Send your submissions to Frances Richards at frances.richard s@asminternational.org. OMG! OUTRAGEOUS MATERIALS GOODNESS New graphene research could lead to scratchproof paint for cars. WORKSHOP EXPLORES FATIGUE-RELATED DATA STANDARDS Nearly 20 materials data experts gathered during MS&T17 in Pittsburgh for the first plenary session of the CEN Workshop on Mechanical Test Data (METEDA). The group—including rep- resentatives from ASM International, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, the European Commission’s Joint Research Center, the European Committee for Stan- dardization (CEN), and other organiza- tions—met for several hours on Octo- ber 11. The goal was to hammer out a plan that will guide development of open data formats compatible with international standards for creep, creep crack growth, creep-fatigue, and creep-fatigue crack growth testing. The work is part of a larger international effort to facilitate sharing of critical engineering data and development of appropriate ontologies. Anyone who would like to participate or observe is welcome. http://bit.ly/2Ah10cH. graphene. They also found that a few lay- ers of hexagonal bo- ron nitride (h-BN) are as strong as diamond but are more flexible, less expensive, and lighter weight. The findings reveal that the h-BN layers form the strongest thin in- sulator available and the unique qualities of the material could be used to create flexible and nearly unbreakable smart devices, as well as scratchproof paint for cars. “We are looking at a timeline of around five to 10 years to transform our discoveries into real products, but we could see benefits such asmaterial rein- forcement for mixture in solutions such as ink for paint, which would provide further strength against corrosion. This stretchy material could also be used in electronic devices and motor engines to make friction very low, as no heat is released,” explains Santos. “In electron- ics, several companies are currently in- tegrating h-BN in prototypes together with graphene for the creation of smart devices such as iPads and Androids with unique features. These compa- nies are also incorporating h-BN with polymers to give additional strength to novel mechanical applications in aero- space, sports, and civil engineering.” www.qub.ac.uk . 3D-printed concrete bridge during final assembly in the Netherlands. Courtesy of BAM Infra/WimGeuzendam. Light micrograph demonstrating the “blue spot” at the fatigue crack origin. Courtesy of Imperial College London.

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