July_August_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 U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 8 METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, was selected to supply the nickel-based flat rolled prod- ucts for a large oil pipeline project in South America. Revenue is ex- pected to be roughly $45 million with shipments to be completed by the end of the year. atimetals.com. Novelis Inc., Atlanta, will supply Toyota Motor Corp. with premium aluminum automotive body sheet for the 2019 Toyota RAV4. The RAV4 is Toyota’s best-selling vehicle as well as the top-selling non-pickup truck in the country. With a new design that includes aluminum in the hood, fenders, and lift gate, the fifth-generation model of the RAV4 is 4% lighter than previous models. novelis.com , toyota.com . BRIEFS production costs. The new method is not limited to a certain material. The team has already produced a multi- tude of different MAX phases and other high-performance materials, such as titanium alloys for bioimplants and air- craft engineering. www.fz-juelich.de. STRETCHABLE LIQUID METALS A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently created magnetic liquid metals drop- lets (MLMD), which can be extended in large scales vertically as well as hori- zontally in free space at room tempera- ture. The scientists even developed a Terminator -like liquidmetal robot in the lab. Previously, liquid metals exhibited exceptional properties that were prom- ising for a soft robot. However, it is not easy to control the liquid metals in a 3D space due to their high density. Sever- al techniques have been employed to manipulate the liquid metal droplets. The droplets typically move as a whole Schematic of the MAX phases production process. Courtesy of Forschungszentrum Jülich/Apurv Dash. SCALING UP MAX PHASES MATERIAL Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich,Germany,developedanewmeth- od to produce MAX phases materials at the industrial scale. Viewed as promis- ing materials for the future, MAX phases can be used in power plant and aircraft turbines, space applications, and med- ical implants. This marks the first time the material can be produced at such a scale, and the new method can also be applied to other high-performance materials. MAX phases combine the positive properties of both ceramics and metals. They are heat resistant and lightweight like ceramics, yet less brittle, and can be plastically deformed like metals. Further, they are the material basis of MXenes, a largely unexplored class of compound similar to graphene with ex- traordinary electronic properties. MAX phases are produced at tem- peratures higher than 1000°C. At such high temperatures, the materials would normally react with atmospheric oxy- gen and oxidize, which is why they are usually produced in a vacuum or in a protective atmosphere of argon. The Jülich method is very simple by com- parison: The researchers encapsulate the raw material with a salt—potassi- um bromide—which melts during the production process. A vacuum or argon atmosphere for additional protection is no longer needed. At the same time, the salt acts as a separating agent and the compo- nents no longer bond together to form a compact solid and allow the direct production of fine-grained powders. As a positive side effect, the salt bath also reduces the synthesis temperature necessary to form the desired com- pound, which can also cut energy and