INNOVATIONS IN MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY METALS POLYMERS CERAMICS Mars lander to explore the history of water in the arctic BRIEFS Scheduled for launch in August 2007, the Alcoa announces a new Phoenix Mars Mission is the first in NASA’s name for its investment cast Scout Program, designed to be highly inno- and forged products business unit: Alcoa vative and relatively low-cost complements Power and Propulsion. to major missions being planned as part of Additionally, the two NASA’s Mars exploration effort. The goal of divisions that make up Phoenix is to study the history of water and this business unit were habitability potential in the Martian arctic’s renamed. Howmet ice-rich soil. If Phoenix looks familiar, it Castings is now Alcoa should: It is a modified and enhanced ver- Howmet. Howmet sion of the Mars Surveyor lander from 2001. Aerospace & Industrial Products division is now The Lockheed Martin engineering team is Alcoa Forged and Cast restoring and enhancing the 2001 lander to a flight-ready Phoenix spacecraft. Throughout all Products. phases of the mission, the Lockheed Martin team will closely monitor Phoenix’s health by linking www.alcoa.com their spacecraft operations centers with those at the Jet Propulsion laboratory and the Univer- sity of Arizona. For more information, visit http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu. Lots more informa- The American Iron and tion and images are available at www.lockheedmartin.com. (Type “phoenix” in the search box.). Steel Institute has made Watch an animation of the landing and deployment of the Phoenix on Mars at available online the Power http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/video/phoenix_landing_low.mov Point presentations from the 2007 Great Designs Nanodispersions of NbC strengthen austenitic steel in Steel seminar. These include 38 highly A family of inexpensive, Al2O3-forming, high creep-strength austenitic stainless steels has report- informative and technical edly been developed by researchers at the Materials Science and Technology Division of Oak presentation. Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn. The alloys are based on Fe-20Ni-14Cr-2.5Al, with www.autosteel.org strengthening achieved through nanodispersions of niobium carbides. These alloys offer the po- tential to substantially increase the operating temperatures of structural components, and can Argonne National function under the aggressive oxidizing conditions encountered in energy-conversion systems. Laboratory researchers have developed Protective Al2O3 scale formation was achieved with smaller amounts of aluminum in austenitic al- manganese-based loys than other alloys, because titanium and vanadium alloying additions were eliminated. The nanocrystalline composites smaller amounts of aluminum permitted stabilization of the austenitic matrix structure and enabled for the positive electrode of excellent creep resistance. Creep-rupture rechargeable lithium-ion Cast aluminum alloy has high lifetime exceeds 2000 hours at 750°C and batteries. The materials ductility and strength for autos 100 MPa (1380°F and 14.5 ksi) in air, and have charge-storage A high ductility cast aluminum alloy that also provides high oxidation resistance has been demon- capacity more than twice that of conventional strength has reportedly been developed by Thresher strated in air with 10% water vapor at 650 rechargeable lithium Industries, Armona, Calif. The company casts parts by its and 800°C (1200 and 1470°F). For more information: Michael P. Brady, batteries, and cost much proprietary Direct Metal Induction Cast Process. less than cobalt-nickel Materials Science and Technology Divi- Thresher Industries Foundry Group has been working with versions. www.anl.gov Talon Composites on the development of the alloy, and has sion, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN 37831–6115; tel: 865/574-5153; just completed testing. When the alloy is cast with Ceres Inc. and Rohm [email protected]; www.ornl.gov. Thresher’s Nautilus Core technology, it will allow engineers and Haas Co. announce greater design freedom. a research collaboration Flexible metallic micro-rings that will determine if energy Nautilus Core Technology is a biodegradable recyclable engineered into smart fabric crops planted for cellulosic process that enables internal shapes and passages in castings ethanol could without the sand or binders normally needed. A fabric that consists of a network of simultaneously produce For more information: Roger Rowell, Thresher Industries metallic rings about 500 microns in diam- methacrylate monomers, Inc., 13400 Hanford-Armona Road, Armona, CA 93230; tel: eter and even smaller links about 400 mi- a key raw material in many 559/585-3400; www.thresherindustries.com. crons long has reportedly been made by products. www.rohmhaas. scientists at the University of Illinois, Ur- com; www.ceres.net ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007 7 BRIEFS CPS Technologies Corp. offers AlSiC metal matrix com- bana-Champaign. The rings and links posite lids for Systems in Packaging (SiP) IC approaches. are built upon a planar substrate and The SiP technology combines multiple dies with multiple then released to create a flexible sheet functionalities into a single package, including components that can bend along two axes and usually found on motherboards. www.alsic.com drape over curved surfaces. Com- Goodfellow announces the availability of metal, carbon, bined with existing processing tech- and ceramic reticulated foams. These low-density, perme- niques, the flexible metallic fabric able structures of cells and continuous ligaments are avail- holds promise for fully engineered able in aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, vitreous carbon, smart textiles. alumina, and silicon carbide. www.goodfellow.com Because the rings and links can slide Indium Corp. announces that it has won the Innovation and rotate against each other, the fabric possesses unique mechanical Award at Nepcon China in Shanghai for its Indium 5.1AT and electrical properties. For example, the electrical resistance changes lead-free solder paste, and its air-reflow, no-clean solder when the fabric is stretched. These properties could prove useful for the paste that provides increased reliability over conventional development of smart fabric and wearable electronic devices. solder pastes. www.indium.com “The first layer of fabric could consist of silicon islands with em- IPSCO Inc. and SSAB Sevnskt Stal AB announce bedded circuits or sensors,” says Prof. Chang Liu. “The resulting fabric that they have entered into an agreement providing for could generate electricity, detect movement or damage, or serve some IPSCO to be acquired by SSAB for $160 per share. other active role.” IPSCO produces energy tubulars and steel plate in North For more information: Prof. Chang Liu, University of Illinois, Cham- America. www.ipsco.com paign, IL 61820; tel: 217/333-4051; [email protected]; www.uiuc.edu. Morgan Technical Ceramics (MTC), comprising Morgan Advanced Ceramics and Morgan Electro High-temperature polymers Ceramics, has released a CD-ROM that features descrip- tions of the range of materials from which MTC manufac- resist friction and wear tures its products, including advanced ceramics, electro High-temperature, wear-resistant plastics designed for friction and ceramics, braze alloys, MIM, coatings, and glass. wear applications in both dry and lubricated environments have re- www.morganadvancedceramics.com portedly been developed by Solvay Advanced Polymers, Alpharetta, Ga. The new formulations are specifically designed for wear-resistant Pacific Cast Technologies Inc., a wholly owned sub- applications requiring long-term service at temperatures between 120 sidiary of Ladish Co. Inc., plans to build a new state- of-the-art VAR casting furnace at its plant in Albany, and 265°C (250 and 500°F), with short-term excursions to 280°C (535°F). Oregon. The furnace will provide additional melting ca- Enhancing current wear-resistant offerings in Amodel polyphthal- pacity for 2009 and beyond. www.paccast.com; www. amide (PPA) and Torlon polyamide-imide (PAI), Solvay has also an- ladishco.com nounced wear-resistant formulations in its KetaSpire PEEK, AvaSpire modified PEEK, and Ixef polyarylamide plastics. These plastics exhibit Raytheon Co. has been awarded a two-year, $7.5 mil- exceptional attributes in a range of performance areas, including re- lion contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to develop an improved composite sistance to heat and chemicals. Modified and reinforced with fibers and material for infrared windows and missile domes. other additives, the wear-resistant grades give design engineers excep- www.raytheon.com tional mechanical performance for an array of demanding applications. For more information: Mark Wheeler, Solvay Advanced Polymers Rennworx Ltd. Inc., is now the first and exclusive U.S. LLC, 4500 McGinnis Ferry Road, Alpharetta, GA 30005-3914; tel: 770/ distributor for the world’s lightest street/race carbon 772-8849; [email protected]; www.solvayadvancedpolymers- fiber/magnesium wheels. Each Dymag wheel is made up of a carbon fiber barrel and forged magnesium center us.com. disk. Center disk and barrel are attached by specially coated titanium hardware. www.rennworx.com Stronger aluminum alloy Republic Engineered Products Inc. has entered into enables lighter, stronger pistons an agreement with Kobe Technologies, which will pro- The high-strength and durable LiteKS aluminum piston already in vide technical assistance in the form of experienced various turbocharged,