May/June_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 | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 2 0 1 3 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY RADIATION SHIELDING WITH RUST Researchers at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, are using rust to protect electronics in military and space exploration technology. The new, cost-effective technique shields the equipment from ionizing radiation. The researchers say their approach can be used to maintain the same lev- el of radiation shielding and reduce the weight by 30%or more compared to the most widely used shielding techniques, while at the same time reducing the vol- ume of occupied space. Ionizing radiation can cause sig- nificant problems for electronic devic- es. To protect against this, devices that may be exposed to radiation—such as devices used in spacecraft—incorporate radiation shielding. Weight is a significant factor in de- signing aerospace technologies, and the shielding most commonly found in aerospace devices involves placing an aluminum box around any sensitive technologies. This has been viewed as providing the best tradeoff be- tween a shield’s weight and the protection it gives. The new technique relies on mixing oxidized metal powder— rust—into a polymer, and then in- corporating it into a common con- formal coating on the relevant electronics. The researchers say they are continuing to test and fine-tune their shielding technique for use in var- ious applications and are looking for industry partners to help them devel- op the technology for commercial use. ncsu.edu . NOVEL TECHNIQUE MAKES STRONGER NICKEL The manufacturing industry uses nickel in a variety of applications for both industrial and advanced material processes. A team of researchers at Pur- due University, West Lafayette, Ind., has created a hybrid technique to fabricate a new form of nickel that may help the future production of lifesaving medical devices, high-tech devices, as well as vehicles with strong corrosion-resistant protection. The Purdue technique involves a process where high-yield electro- deposition is applied on certain conduc- tive substrates, forming unique nickel in a single-crystal-like form containing a high-density ultrafine twin structure but few conventional grain boundaries. A big challenge for manufacturers with nickel is addressing the boundary areas within the metals, where the crys- talline grains intersect. These conven- tional grain boundaries can strengthen metals for high-strength demand. However, they often act as stress concentrators and are vulnerable to electron scattering and corrosion at- tack. As a result, conventional bound- aries often decrease ductility, corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity. Instead, Purdue researchers use a single crystal substrate as a growth template in conjunction with a de- signed electrochemical recipe to pro- mote the formation of twin boundar- ies and inhibit the formation of conven- tional grain boundaries. Potential applications include the semiconductor and automotive indus- tries, which require metallic materials with advanced electric and mechani- cal properties for manufacturing. The nanotwinned nickel can be applied as corrosion-resistant coatings for the gas and oil industries. purdue.edu . Rust is the new secret ingredient in the protection of electronics in space. Courtesy of NASA. Researchers created a hybrid technique to fabricate a new form of nickel. Courtesy of Qiang Li/Purdue University. Hyperion Materials & Technologies, Worthington, Ohio, a developer of hard and super-hard materials for a wide range of demanding applications, acquired AFC Hartmetall, Germany, a premium cemented carbide tool blank manufacturer, at the start of the year. www.hyperionmt.com/en. BRIEF