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 9 1 2 3D WOVEN CAR MATERIAL DEBUTS Scientists from the University of Surrey, U.K., in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and the University of California, Oak- land, recently developed a material that has both high stiffness and damp- ing. The team achieved this nearly impossible combination by using 3D woven textile composite sheets with select unbonded fibers—allowing the inside of the material to move and ab- sorb vibrations while the surrounding material remains rigid. The research- ers believe this material could pave the way for a new era of trains, cars, and aircraft, allowing passengers to experi- ence little to no vibration during travel. www.surrey.ac.uk . CARBON FIBER CAN STORE ENERGY IN CARS Researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have shown that carbon fibers can work as battery electrodes and directly store energy. This presents new opportu- nities for structural batteries, where the carbon fiber becomes part of the energy system. The use of this type of multi- functional material ad- dresses a key challenge for electrification—it can contribute to signifi- cant weight reduction in future aircraft and ground vehicles. The team studied the microstructure of different types of com- mercially available car- bon fibers. They discov- ered that carbon fibers with small and poorly oriented crystals have good electrochemical properties but a lower stiffness in relative terms. Compared to carbon fibers that have large, high- ly oriented crystals, they have greater stiffness, but the electrochemical prop- erties are too low for use in structur- al batteries. The scientists are collaborating with both the automotive and aviation industries. They say that for aviation, it might be necessary to increase the thickness of carbon fiber composites to compensate for the reduced stiffness of structural batteries. This would, in turn, also increase their energy storage capa- city. The team says this new devel- opment in carbon fibers could be es- New research envisions vehicles where a large part of the car body or aircraft fuselage consists of structural Li-ion batteries. Multifunctional carbon fiber can work as both battery electrodes and load-bearing material. Courtesy of Chalmers. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY sential to optimizing vehicles at the system level, as opposed to achieving efficiency in individual components. They also say the lower energy densi- ty of structural batteries would make them safer than standard batteries. www.chalmers.se/en. MIT ANNOUNCES AI COLLEGE The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it will create a new college of artificial intelligence (AI) with an initial $1 billion investment for the program focusing on “responsible and ethical” uses of the technology. A large part of the new funds will come from a gift from Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and cofounder of Blackstone, after whom the new college will be named. (a) 3D woven lattice material is composed of Z (green), warp (red), and fill (blue) wires; (b) yellow indicates brazing locations (at top and bottom); (c) cross-section of 3D woven lattice with the stiff skeleton (brazed portion on top and bottom) and free lattice members in the core of the structure; and (d) SEM image of the brazed top face, which confirms metallurgical bonding of the metallic lattices. MIT is creating a new college to study responsible and ethical uses of artificial intelligence. The university says the college will add 50 new faculty members and cre- ate an interdisciplinary hub for work in computer science, AI, data science, and related fields. The initiative represents the single largest investment in computing and AI by an American academic institution, according to MIT. The endeavor comes amid growing concerns about the impacts of AI on global insti- tutions and fears that China is surpassing the U.S. in this field. The new college is slat- ed to open in September, with a new building scheduled for completion in 2022. mit.edu .