ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | APRIL 2024 7 interior of these objects, down to the scale of a millimeter or less. The group first used custom software to lay out a network of honeycombs, then tweaked them to include a few kinks, a bit like the bellows in an accordion. Those kinks help to guide the honeycombs as they crunch down during an impact, allowing for a much smoother collapse. Testing their design at a larger scale, the researchers used a 3D printer to create blocks the size of a small brick out of a springy material called thermoplastic polyurethane. Next, they squeezed them with an impact-testing machine. The group discovered that its blocks could absorb roughly six times more energy than standard foams made from the same material, and up to 25% more than other honeycomb designs. The team notes that engineers can make these kinds of designs out of many different types of materials, from bouncy plastics to harder substances like aluminum. colorado.edu. ICE REPELLENT POLYMER COATING Researchers at Graz University of Technology, Austria, developed a highly ice-repellent coating that adheres to a wide variety of materials and is very resistant to abrasion. Such coatings have been around for some time, but until now, they have been super sensitive and detach quite quickly from the surfaces they’re meant to protect. The researchers achieved this progress by using a manufacturing technology called initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). This makes it possible for a strongly adhesive primer material to gradually transition into the ice-repellent compound. This stepless transition is accomplished by applying the two materials as a changing gas mixture to the intended surface. Initially, the gas mixture consists purely of the primer material, but the proportion of the ice-repellent material is continuously increased during application, from zero to 100 percent. The result is a coating with a strongly adhesive underside and a top side that prevents ice crystals from sticking. A wide range of applications are conceivable for this new type of coating, for instance, in the aviation industry. The researchers say their coating could speed up the deicing of aircraft and use less antifreeze. Sensors exposed to the weather that are disturbed by ice could also benefit from the coating. www.tugraz.at/en. Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez displays the wafer-thin ice-repellent coating. Courtesy of Lunghammer - TU Graz. ORDER TODAY! Visit asminternational.org or call 800.336.5152. ASM HANDBOOK VOLUMES 24 AND 24A ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SET This set includes ASM Handbook, Volume 24: Additive Manufacturing Processes, and Volume 24A: Additive Manufacturing Design and Applications. Volume 24 provides essential knowledge in materials, processes, and applications of additive manufacturing. Volume 24A provides a comprehensive review of additive manufacturing design fundamentals and applications. Both volumes are written by the world’s leading additive experts in both research and industry. asminternational.org NOW AVAILABLE! Print: $680 / ASM Member: $510 Product Code: 06058G VOLUME EDITORS: MOHSEN SEIFI, DAVID L. BOURELL, WILLIAM FRAZIER, AND HOWARD KUHN
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