Join Jan Schroers, a Yale professor and expert in bulk metallic glasses, as he dives into the transformative world of these revolutionary materials. Discover how rapid cooling can turn liquid metals into glassy materials with remarkable strength, rivaling ceramics. Jan reveals the potential of bulk metallic glasses in innovative applications, from sports equipment to advanced robotics. He also discusses the intriguing physics behind their properties, including the significance of cooling rates and atomic arrangements, highlighting their game-changing capabilities.
Bulk metallic glasses are unique materials that maintain an amorphous structure, providing exceptional mechanical properties such as high strength and elasticity.
Their ability to be processed like thermoplastics enables innovative manufacturing techniques, allowing for complex designs in various industries including robotics and aerospace.
Deep dives
Understanding Bulk Metallic Glasses
Bulk metallic glasses are liquid metals that, upon rapid cooling, bypass the crystallization process. This phenomenon occurs because the atoms in the molten state cannot rearrange fast enough to form a crystalline structure, resulting in a glassy, amorphous solid. Unlike traditional metals that crystallize upon solidification, metallic glasses maintain a non-crystalline structure, which leads to unique mechanical properties. The first successful bulk metallic glasses were created from compositions like palladium, copper, and silicon, which showed promising characteristics not seen in conventional crystalline metals.
Properties and Applications
Bulk metallic glasses exhibit remarkable mechanical properties, including high strength and elasticity, which make them attractive for various applications. They can outperform traditional metals in terms of fracture toughness and elastic limit due to the absence of dislocations, which are prevalent in crystalline structures. Initial applications included sporting goods, like golf clubs, where their exceptional energy transfer capabilities were particularly advantageous, although they were later banned due to performance advantages over other materials. Current commercial applications span industries such as robotics, aerospace, and electronics, where their mechanical properties and innovative processing methods play a critical role.
Innovative Processing Techniques
One of the striking aspects of bulk metallic glasses is their ability to be processed similarly to thermoplastics, allowing for flexible manufacturing techniques. By heating these materials just enough, they can be shaped without losing their advantageous properties, presenting opportunities for complex designs and applications in manufacturing. This ability bridges the gap between the critical strength of metals and the ease of shaping plastics, resulting in potential advancements in product design. They can even be used in additive manufacturing, demonstrating versatility that could revolutionize various production methodologies.
Challenges with Impurities and Future Directions
The presence of impurities poses significant challenges for bulk metallic glasses, often leading to unintended crystallization and altering their mechanical properties. Researchers have developed strategies to mitigate these risks, such as using alloying elements that preferentially bind with impurities. Future developments focus on identifying new metallic glass compositions and understanding the thermodynamics and kinetics behind their formation. High-throughput experimentation and advanced computational techniques are being harnessed to discover new materials, with efforts directed toward refining the next generation of bulk metallic glasses for innovative applications.
How does a metal become a glass? By cooling on the order of 10^6 K/s. We sit down with Jan Schroers, a professor of engineering at Yale to discuss the exciting world of bulk metallic glasses. With over 20 million different combinations these materials are incredibly versatile and have strength numbers on par with ceramics. Also their thermoplastic forming enables metals to be formed into shapes previously thought impossible. These materials truly are a game changer and are definitely worth learning about.
This episode was sponsored by Radical AI. Be sure to check out their website to see how they are finding new materials using AI powered tools as well as purchase the materials themselves. More info about them can be found here.
This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more
Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!
If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter.
Keywords: Bulk Metallic Glasses BMG AI
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