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 2 0 1 4 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY PPG, Cleveland, has added a 2100-square-foot automotive adhesives and sealants laboratory on the company’s existing 42-acre manufacturing and research complex at their headquarters. The recently completed facility will focus on developing and testing structural adhesives, sealants, and related products for automobiles and commercial vehicles. The lab will also house the continued development of next-generation coatings for lithium-ion battery cells and packs used in battery-electric and autono- mous vehicles. ppg.com . Solar Mfg., a manufacturer of vacuum heat treating, sintering, and brazing furnaces, has relo- cated from Souderton, Pa., to a newly constructed building three miles away in Sellersville, Pa. Situated on a combined 8.5 acres, the $10 million facility offers 40,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space, with 17,500 sq. ft. desig- nated office space. solarmfg.com. BRIEFS RESEARCHERS GRIND OUT A NOVEL PROCESS As demand for high-performance optical components continues to in- crease exponentially, scientists are working to find new ways to achieve ef- ficiency in every aspect of production. Now, a team of researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithu- ania, has developed a novel approach to precision grinding of hard and brit- tle materials to make these compo- nents. By experimenting with tungsten carbide, the team created an innovative technology that allows them to shape the extremely strong and yet easily breakable material into a desirable form. Precision glass molding enables the production of optical components from glass without grinding and polish- ing. The KTU scientists are refining this process by employing a variety of hard and high-temperature resistant mold materials such as tungsten carbide. To boost efficiency of the grinding materials, the research team is focus- ing on ultrasonic excitation of the work- piece rather than the tool. The higher the frequency of excitation, the better the chances of achieving the state of plastic deformation of the material be- ing ground. In a laboratory, it is possi- ble to achieve the excitation frequency needed for plastic deformation using nano-scratching, but so far it has been impossible to reach these frequencies in industrial conditions. The high frequency of the exci- tation enables the tungsten carbide workpiece to reach the plastic defor- mation state, which means that the tool can be inserted deeper into the surface, making the process of grinding signifi- cantly more efficient. www.en.ktu.edu . COLD SINTERING MYSTERIES UNRAVELED The cold sintering process (CSP) was first developed three years ago by Penn State, State College scientist Clive Randall. Now, a team of Penn State re- searchers are improving upon Ran- dall’s foundational process. According to the team, a better understanding of the mechanisms behind CSP will lead to faster adoption and the cold sinter- ing of many new materials. CSP densifies powder ceram- ics, such as zinc oxide, at tempera- tures many hundreds of degrees lower than traditional sintering. This not only lowers the carbon footprint of the pro- cess but also allows the sintering of ma- terials—such as plastics—that would evaporate at traditional temperatures. To date, CSP has successfully been ap- plied to over 70 materials systems. Several international research groups had been working to unveil the mechanism behind CSP since its incep- tion. To demonstrate the mechanisms behind CSP, Penn State scientist Mert Sengul used atomistic modeling to sim- ulate the mixing of the zinc oxide pow- der with a small amount of liquid. “When the water is in contact with the powder, it usually dissociates into hydrogen and hydroxides that bind to the surface. Normally, that is not a good thing,” said Sengul. “But in our simula- tions, we found that the hydroxide on the surface actually helps the densifica- tion by accelerating the diffusion.” Sengul believes that understand- ing the mechanisms behind CSP will lead to labs around the world finding new composite materials systems with unforeseen properties. psu.edu . Researchers at KTU developed an inno- vative technology for precision grinding. Courtesy of KTU. Atomistic view of the powder/liquid inter- face during the evaporation phase of CSP. Courtesy of Mert Sengul.