New Way to Make Lighter, Stronger Steel - In a Flash - Polidicks

[release][img]http://www.zeitnews.org/images/stories/storypics/ChemistryPhysics/110609173718.jpg[/img] A Detroit entrepreneur surprised university engineers in Ohio recently, when he invented a heat-treatment that makes steel 7 percent stronger than any steel on record -- in less than 10 seconds. In fact, the steel, now trademarked as Flash Bainite, has tested stronger and more shock-absorbing than the most common titanium alloys used by industry. Now the entrepreneur is working with researchers at Ohio State University to better understand the science behind the new treatment, called flash processing. What they've discovered may hold the key to making cars and military vehicles lighter, stronger, and more fuel-efficient. In the current issue of the journal Materials Science and Technology, the inventor and his Ohio State partners describe how rapidly heating and cooling steel sheets changes the microstructure inside the alloy to make it stronger and less brittle. The basic process of heat-treating steel has changed little in the modern age, and engineer Suresh Babu is one of few researchers worldwide who still study how to tune the properties of steel in detail. He's an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State, and Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Integrative Materials Joining for Energy Applications, headquartered at the university. "Steel is what we would call a 'mature technology.' We'd like to think we know most everything about it," he said. "If someone invented a way to strengthen the strongest steels even a few percent, that would be a big deal. But 7 percent? That's huge." Yet, when inventor Gary Cola initially approached him, Babu didn't know what to think. "The process that Gary described -- it shouldn't have worked," he said. "I didn't believe him. So he took my students and me to Detroit." Cola showed them his proprietary lab setup at SFP Works, LLC., where rollers carried steel sheets through flames as hot as 1100 degrees Celsius and then into a cooling liquid bath. Though the typical temperature and length of time for hardening varies by industry, most steels are heat-treated at around 900 degrees Celsius for a few hours. Others are heated at similar temperatures for days. Cola's entire process took less than 10 seconds. He claimed that the resulting steel was 7 percent stronger than martensitic advanced high-strength steel. [Martensitic steel is so named because the internal microstructure is entirely composed of a crystal form called martensite.] Cola further claimed that his steel could be drawn -- that is, thinned and lengthened -- 30 percent more than martensitic steels without losing its enhanced strength. If that were true, then Cola's steel could enable carmakers to build frames that are up to 30 percent thinner and lighter without compromising safety. Or, it could reinforce an armored vehicle without weighing it down. "We asked for a few samples to test, and it turned out that everything he said was true," said Ohio State graduate student Tapasvi Lolla. "Then it was up to us to understand what was happening." Cola is a self-taught metallurgist, and he wanted help from Babu and his team to reveal the physics behind the process -- to understand it in detail so that he could find ways to adapt it and even improve it. He partnered with Ohio State to provide research support for Brian Hanhold, who was an undergraduate student at the time, and Lolla, who subsequently earned his master's degree working out the answer. Using an electron microscope, they discovered that Cola's process did indeed form martensite microstructure inside the steel. But they also saw another form called bainite microstructure, scattered with carbon-rich compounds called carbides. In traditional, slow heat treatments, steel's initial microstructure always dissolves into a homogeneous phase called austenite at peak temperature, Babu explained. But as the steel cools rapidly from this high temperature, all of the austenite normally transforms into martensite. "We think that, because this new process is so fast with rapid heating and cooling, the carbides don't get a chance to dissolve completely within austenite at high temperature, so they remain in the steel and make this unique microstructure containing bainite, martensite and carbides," Babu said. Lolla pointed out that this unique microstructure boosts ductility -- meaning that the steel can crumple a great deal before breaking -- making it a potential impact-absorber for automotive applications. Babu, Lolla, Ohio State research scientist Boian Alexandrov, and Cola co-authored the paper with Badri Narayanan, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering. Now Hanhold is working to carry over his lessons into welding engineering, where he hopes to solve the problem of heat-induced weakening during welding. High-strength steel often weakens just outside the weld joint, where the alloy has been heated and cooled. Hanhold suspects that bringing the speed of Cola's method to welding might minimize the damage to adjacent areas and reduce the weakening. If he succeeds, his discovery will benefit industrial partners of the NSF Center for Integrative Materials Joining Science for Energy Applications, which formed earlier this year. Ohio State's academic partners on the center include Lehigh University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Colorado School of Mines.[/release] [url=http://www.zeitnews.org/chemistry-physics-and-material-sciences-research/new-way-to-make-lighter-stronger-steel-in-a-flash.html]Source[/url] love it when some random guy suddenly makes a massive discovery which boosts the strength and production time of one of the most important materials in modern times.

Even though it's a small increase it's still awesome! The process can't be expensive either.

7% is really a massive increase for something like steel, as the article describes

Totally sweet. :buddy:

He's gonna make millions and billions if he doesn't get whacked. Hope he doesn't.

HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw[/media]

He's gonna be rich. 7% is huge. but how do you become a self-taught metallurgist?

Having studied some level of materials engineering, I can see why experts would think that this shouldn't work. I think this is because it is always assumed that cooling done from temperatures in the Austenite phase have the same microstructure, but the theory is that the rapid heating and immediate cooling doesn't allow time for the carbon to dissolve. Usually this sort of rapid cooling would result in a hard but brittle steel, but the presence of the carbides must affect the properties. [quote]steel could be drawn -- that is, thinned and lengthened -- 30 percent more than martensitic steels without losing its enhanced strength.[/quote] I assume this means before it breaks, steel will gain strength as it deforms. Interesting read, might show my lecturer this.

Shame, Apple fanboys wont get to see this.

It's funny that simplifying a process we thought was pretty much the best we could do to steel, actually results in better steel. It's not only obviously stronger, but think of the energy not being wasted on heating steel 900 degrees for hours upon hours.

Sounds awesome. I wonder when we'll start seeing this used in wide scale industrial manufacturing? Because it sounds exactly like steel, except much quicker to process, lighter, and able to make larger pieces of it at a time. That saves a tone of money for manufacturing and it helps that the material itself is better for doing it. It would make no sense, financially and from a better-product standpoint, to not do this in every steel application in the future.

[QUOTE=KorJax;30409102]Sounds awesome. I wonder when we'll start seeing this used in wide scale industrial manufacturing? Because it sounds exactly like steel, except much quicker to process, lighter, and able to make larger pieces of it at a time. That saves a tone of money for manufacturing and it helps that the material itself is better for doing it. It would make no sense, financially and from a better-product standpoint, to not do this in every steel application in the future.[/QUOTE] Unless it's the lightest, strongest, and most ductile then I'm not sure if it's suited to every application. Might be some applications which need a non-ductile steel.

I'm just excited about it being lighter.

[QUOTE=KorJax;30409102]Sounds awesome. I wonder when we'll start seeing this used in wide scale industrial manufacturing? Because it sounds exactly like steel, except much quicker to process, lighter, and able to make larger pieces of it at a time. That saves a tone of money for manufacturing and it helps that the material itself is better for doing it. It would make no sense, financially and from a better-product standpoint, to not do this in every steel application in the future.[/QUOTE] "Every steel application" encompasses a huge variety of desired properties and material characteristics. There is no single steel (or any material for that matter) that satisfies every functional requirement. Although this is said to be more ductile than martnesitic steels, I think mild and low carbon steels will remain the more ductile. In the general sense, there's always a trade off - higher strength typically means a more brittle material. The details of the manufacturing process are left fairly vague, so it's hard to tell whether this will be a cheaper process than current steel heat treatments. Also bear in mind that not matter how cheap this is, it's still going to be another manufacturing process and hence, more costly than not heat treating at all. So for applications that don't demand the increased strength, cheaper will still remain more popular. Having said that, this sounds very promising and useful. I definitely look forward to seeing how the applications in welding come about.

I think this should be called "Rearden Steel". Hey, atlas shrugged isn't that bad of a book.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;30412342]I think this should be called "Rearden Steel". Hey, atlas shrugged isn't that bad of a book.[/QUOTE] I liked it, but that has nothing at all to do with steel. Rearden made a whole new type of metal. [QUOTE=J-Dude;30412683]Hehe, yeah. One of the few people who actually saw that movie. Definitely what I was thinking of when seeing this article. Glad things aren't turning out for this guy as they did for the protagonists of that movie.[/QUOTE] The movie sucked, and things didn't turn out well. Part 1 ended with her screaming because Wyatt left.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;30412342]I think this should be called "Rearden Steel". Hey, atlas shrugged isn't that bad of a book.[/QUOTE] Hehe, yeah. One of the few people who actually saw that movie. Definitely what I was thinking of when seeing this article. Glad things aren't turning out for this guy as they did for the protagonists of that movie. Seriously though, this floors me nearly as much as the concept of Thorium energy. 7% stronger steel, made in an incredibly small period of time. I can hardly imagine what this will do for the automotive industry. Stronger steel means less steel required, which means better fuel efficiency for ANY car, regardless of how it's fueled. I'd call that a MASSIVE step towards a greener world.

[QUOTE=Little Green;30408536]Having studied some level of materials engineering, I can see why experts would think that this shouldn't work. I think this is because it is always assumed that cooling done from temperatures in the Austenite phase have the same microstructure, but the theory is that the rapid heating and immediate cooling doesn't allow time for the carbon to dissolve. Usually this sort of rapid cooling would result in a hard but brittle steel, but the presence of the carbides must affect the properties. [b]I assume this means before it breaks, steel will gain strength as it deforms.[/b] Interesting read, might show my lecturer this.[/QUOTE] It means it can be bent 30% more without losing the 7% extra strength due to stress

time for atlas shrugged: the documentary

Another mighty step for steel production, Bessemer would be proud.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;30412342]I think this should be called "Rearden Steel". Hey, atlas shrugged isn't that bad of a book.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, no technology exists to make Ayn Rand books less dense.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;30412342]I think this should be called "Rearden Steel". Hey, atlas shrugged isn't that bad of a book.[/QUOTE] Yes it is but it should be called Rearden metal anyway just because it's cool

Didn't the japanese know this long ago?

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;30419694]Didn't the japanese know this long ago?[/QUOTE] your probably thinking of certain sword-making techniques which often traded hardness for ductility.

A new billionaire emerges.

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;30419694]Didn't the japanese know this long ago?[/QUOTE] No. You're thinking of [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_welding[/url] Which the Japanese had to do because their metals were so terrible.

[QUOTE=pogothemunty;30408301]He's gonna be rich. 7% is huge. but how do you become a self-taught metallurgist?[/QUOTE] Research and hands on experimentation.