Making metals lighter, but stronger than steel.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 April 2010

* The military truck industry relies upon iron and steel components that are hardy enough to withstand blasts on the battlefield. But the strength of such parts comes with a trade-off; the dense materials weigh down vehicles making them less maneuverable than desired.

Manufacturers for years have been seeking lighter materials that offer the same protective qualities of steel and iron. Many of them are turning to aluminum and magnesium alloys that are reinforced with small particles for strength. But these composites require expensive and complicated tooling processes to cast or machine the material into parts.

A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has come up with an experimental casting technique that doubles the strength of alloys by incorporating tiny ceramic particles into the molten metals, or melts. The new manufacturing process could open the doors for commercial-scale production of metal matrix nanocomposite components in the coming decade.

Nanoparticles are widely used in polymers and plastics, but are rarely mixed in with metals from a casting standpoint. When added to molten metals, nanoparticles tend...