Shanghai Jiaotong University successfully developed nano-aluminum ceramics for Tiangong 2

Aluminum and ceramics are two common materials, but each has its own “flaw”: ceramics are brittle and break when they fall; aluminum is soft and bent once. On August 6th, Xinhua News reporter learned from the press conference held by Shanghai Jiaotong University that the newly developed nano-clay aluminum alloy had both advantages. The specific strength and specific stiffness even surpassed the "space metal" titanium alloy. .

At present, the material has been used in Tiangong 1, Tiangong II, quantum satellites, weather satellites and other key components flying in space. The future will enter the civil aviation, automotive and other fields, is expected to lead the material lightweight revolution.

“For example, aluminum is human flesh, and Tao is the bone that grows inside. It gives material strength.” Wang Haowei, head of the research team and professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, told the reporter.


Wang Haowei's team tested the static mechanical properties of new ceramic-aluminum materials through tensile testing machines. Photo courtesy Shanghai Jiaotong University

The method of "doping" ceramics in aluminum is easy to say, but it is not so simple to actually do it.

Wang Haowei introduced that at present, the traditional international method is to first make ceramics into particles or fibers, and then use a stirring casting or powder metallurgy method to mix into aluminum alloy to obtain aluminum-based composite materials, this method can improve the strength and stiffness of the material, but also There will be a series of problems such as difficult processing, poor strength and plasticity, and unstable performance, which seriously hinder the engineering application of this material.

“Since the way to mix ceramics from the outside with aluminum was physically impossible, we thought of another way - out of nothing, letting the ceramics themselves “long” out of the aluminum, so that the two materials would be compatible. Now, if we get into nanometers, we will really add the properties of ceramics to aluminum, creating a seamless new material.” Wang Haowei said that they eventually adopted the “in-situ technology” and controlled themselves through the melt. The size of the ceramic particles is reduced from tens of micrometers of the external method to the nanometer level, which breaks through the bottleneck of application of ceramic aluminum matrix composites with low plasticity and difficult processing.

This nano-ceramic aluminum alloy is light in weight, and has high rigidity, high strength, fatigue resistance, low expansion, high damping, high temperature resistance and other characteristics, even if the external force 'Taishan pressure top', nano-ceramic aluminum alloy can also do it' Moving ', can be said to be 42'''' jacked up.

He explained that the development and application of this material has taken more than 30 years. From the 90s of last century, Prof. Wu Renjie, one of the founders of composite materials in China, first proposed using the method of “in-situ self-production”. The successful development of this material condenses the efforts of the five generations of people who turned in the material.


Aluminium new material research team photo. Photo courtesy Shanghai Jiaotong University

"Now has been a lot of applications in the military industry, the next step hopes to have a wider range of applications in the civilian area." Wang Hao Wei said.

Wu Guanghui, chief designer of the domestic large aircraft c919, said that at present, the c919 will use the new materials developed by Shanghai Jiaotong University in extruded sections and other areas soon. “The main reason is that weight loss is higher than existing metal materials. It's better."

Wu Guanghui said that at present, it is still conducting pilot tests on sheet and forgings to test performance. If it can be used in large areas in the future, it can replace imported materials and achieve localization of materials.

Wang Haowei said that compared to titanium alloys and high-temperature alloys, the performance of aluminum alloys after 3D printing is much lower than that of forgings, and nano-ceramic aluminum alloy 3D printing components can achieve the properties of forgings.

In addition, in the automotive field, the application of steering knuckles has passed bench tests, and pistons for internal combustion engines are also in mass production.

Cheng Laifei, vice president of the China Society for Composite Materials and professor of materials science at Northwestern Polytechnical University, spoke highly of the birth of this type of material. “In aviation and other fields, new material solutions have been provided, and titanium alloys have even surpassed some properties.”

On August 4, Anhui Huaibei People's Government, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai Junyao (Group) Co., Ltd. and Anhui Xiangbang Composite Materials Co., Ltd. signed the "Four-Party Agreement", relying on the team building of Professor Wang Haowei of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Materials Science and Engineering. Jiaoda Tao aluminum new material innovation center.

According to press briefings, the center's implementation of market-oriented operations will help the new ceramic-aluminum materials to be applied in industries such as aviation and automotive industries with a level of over 10 billion.

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