Sometimes, in creating an alloy out of multiple metals, defects and structural instability can occur in the material. Now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are harnessing those imperfections to make the material stronger while retaining its flexibility.
Sometimes, in creating an alloy out of multiple metals, defects and structural instability can occur in the material. Now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are harnessing those imperfections to make the material stronger while retaining its flexibility.
The investigators are designing metastable alloys that can overcome the well-known trade off between strength and ductility, revealing a strategy that can create alloys suited to a broad range of applications.
“Our work is showing how we can include intentional flaws in an alloy to make it stronger while retaining the ductility, or flexibility, of the material,” said Wei Xiong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, whose Physical Metallurgy and Materials Design Laboratory led the study.
