A recent report in the Wall Street Journal pointed out that building one wind turbine requires 900 tons of steel, 2,500 tons of concrete and 45 tons of plastic and a single electric vehicle will require the digging up, moving, and processing of over 500,000 pounds of raw materials! As we transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy and storage we will need to drastically increase the production and availability of metals including lithium, rare-earth elements, nickel, tin, tungsten and more. Where will we find these metals? In this episode we discuss this with Brian Menell, CEO of TechMet Ltd. Articles Discussed: 2019, Mills, If You Want ‘Renewable Energy,’ Get Ready to Dig, Wall Street Journal LINK 2021, Mining investor TechMet closes second funding round at $120 million, Reuters LINK 2021, RCE Q&A With TechMet CEO, Brian Menell, on the Metal Supply Chain, Real Clear Energy LINK This episode is sponsored TechMet a private company focused in the production, processing, and recycling of Co, Li, Ni, REE, Sn, W, and V. The episode is also sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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 and Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: metals mining extractive metallurgy batteries electric vehicles geopolitical Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Did you know turbine blades operate in environments above their melting temperature? The secret is a barrier, no thicker than your fingernail, that insulates, protects, and prevents the nickel superalloy blade from melting. In this episode we discuss the materials science that makes low thermal conductivity, high compliance thermal barrier coatings possible. Towards the end we peer into what the future might hold as we push operating temperatures higher. Articles Discussed: 2019, Smil, Gas Turbines Have Become by Far the Best Choice for Add-on Generating Power They offer instant-on power that's compact, mobile, quiet, economical, durable, and matchlessly efficient, IEEE Spectrum [LINK] 2010, Gas Turbines breaking the 60% efficiency barrier, Power Engineering International [LINK] 2005, Clarke & Phillpot, Thermal barrier coating materials, Materials Today [LINK] 2003, Clarke & Levi, Materials Design for the Next Generation Thermal Barrier Coatings, Annual Reviews of Materials Research [LINK] This article will be made available for free for 6 months thanks to the support of Materials Today! This episode is sponsored Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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 and Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy (production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: thermal barrier coatings, turbines, superalloys, ceramics, aviation, jet engines Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Taylor and Andrew sit down with Cassie Bradley of INEOS Styrolution to talk about improving polystyrene and reducing its ecological footprint. Articles Discussed: Video overview of the depolymerization of polystyrene Link 2019 Goldsberry, Ineos Styrolution announces breakthrough in chemical recycling of polystyrene Link This episode is sponsored by INEOS Styrolution. Check them out at https://www.ineos-styrolution.com/index.html and https://styrolution-eco.com/ This episode is also sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, editing assistance, co-creator), Jared Duffy (production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: Styrofoam, recycling, ecological Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Are materials the solution to better, safer nuclear fuels? The tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particle is the product of a variety of materials innovations and is the most promising fuel form to date. Find out all about it in this episode where we cover the challenges and intricacies of designing materials for nuclear reactors! Articles Discussed: 2015 CRUD: Another Acronym Bites the Dust Link 2010 Materials challenges for nuclear systems Link 2019 Historical perspectives and current progress Link 2015 Coated Particle Fuels for High-Temperature Reactors Link 2021 Current State and Prospect on the Development of Advanced Nuclear Fuel Link This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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: Nuclear Fuel TRISO Fusion Fission Reactor Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

The Space Shuttle Challengers Explosion rocked America to its core. Was this issue actually caused by engineering or was it a management mistake. Delve into the story of the Rogers Commission and their findings on Morton Thiokols Solid Rocket Boosters and O-Ring. Articles Discussed: 2006 Challenger: Reporting a Disaster's Cold, Hard Fact LINK 2019 Challenger: The shuttle disaster that changed NASALINK 2016 A famous physicist’s simple experiment showed the inevitability of the Challenger disasterLINK 2016 THE CHALLENGER DISASTER: A CASE OF SUBJECTIVE ENGINEERING LINK 2008 NASA Remembers Three Space Tragedies LINK 1986 INVESTIGATION OF THE CHALLENGER ACCIDENT LINK This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (editing assistance, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (editing assistance, co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (co-host). Keywords: NASA O-ring Challenger Space Shuttle Discovery Disaster Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Imagine mounting a pair of cameras to watch your sample as it's deformed and recovering microscale information about the strain! That is exactly what digital image correlation has to offer. In this episode we describe the technique and chat with the inventor, Dr. Sutton from Correlated Solutions Inc. Learn all about the history from DaVinci to present! Articles Discussed: Textbook written by Dr. Sutton on the technique [LINK] 2010 McCormick and Lord, Digital Image Correlation. Open Access provided by Materials Today for 6 months after episode airs [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. This episode is also sponsored by Correlated Solutions for sponsoring this episode. 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: deformation DIC digital image correlation strain correlated solutions Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Geopolymers are a unique class of materials that may offer a solution to environmental issues in the industrial sector including cement substitutes that produce only one-ninth of the CO2 as Portland cement. In this episode we talk about how they work and what, if anything, they have to do with the ancient pyramids. Articles Discussed: 2007 Khale and Chaudhary, Mechanism of geopolymerization and factors influencing its development: a review [LINK] 2013 Olawale, Syntheses, Characterization and Binding Strength of Geopolymers: A Review [LINK] 2010 Petermann and Saeed, Alkali-activated geopolymers: a literature review [LINK] 2017 Davidovits, Geopolymers based on natural and synthetic metakaolin a critical review [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy (production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: geopolymer rocks pyramids ceramics materials science Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

The sinking of the Titanic is one of the great catastrophes of the modern era. In this latest mini-series on failure of materials, we ask the question what really caused the sinking of the Titanic? Was it unavoidable? Was it ductile to brittle transition due to the cold ocean? Was it impurities in the rivets? Tune in and learn the materials science behind this titanic materials failure. Articles Discussed: 2018 Cain, Titanic's Sinking Was Eerily Predicted by Two Books [LINK] 2013 Felkins and coworkers, The Royal Mail Ship Titanic: Did a Metallurgical Failure Cause a Night to Remember? [LINK] 2016, The Titanic - A Study in Metal Failure [LINK] 2008 McCarty and Foeke, What really sank the Titanic? [[LINK](hhttps://www.amazon.com/What-Really-Sank-Titanic-Discoveries/dp/0806528958] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (co-host, editing assistance). Keywords: titanic failure materials ductile brittle iceberg catastrophe Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

After the popular 3D printing episode the gang dives into a conversation about what 3D printing can be used for. Ranging from Aerospace to organs to edible water bottles this technology is creeping its way into every facet of our life. Learn about the technology that makes this advanced kind of 3D printing possible from the powders that line the bed to the science behind the lasers. Articles Discussed: 2020 Farber and coworkers, A review of NiTi shape memory alloy as a smart material produced by additive manufacturing [LINK] 2016 Elahinia and coworkers, Fabrication of NiTi through additive manufacturing: A review [LINK] 2015 Joshi and Sheikh, 3D printing in aerospace and its long-term sustainability [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator, editing assistance), Andrew Falkowski (co-host,co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: 3d-printing additive manufacturing aerospace biomaterials Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

Take a dive into the history of fatigue crack growth with Jared and Taylor. Featuring the history of the equations and the applications they saw in the story of the DeHaviland Comet. Articles Discussed: 2001 Withey, FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE DE HAVILLAND COMET I [LINK] 2014 Glancey, The crashes that changed plane designs forever [LINK] FAA Accident Overview [LINK] 2002 Pushkar, Comet’s Tale [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! This episode is also 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. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: aviation crack growth fatigue materials DeHaviland comet crash disaster Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism