Nanotech Makes Steel 10x Stronger

An anonymous reader writes: A new metal-making process currently in testing at oil fields uses nano-scale plating to make metals like steel as much as ten times stronger than they would be without it. "[The process] uses an advanced form of electroplating, a process already used to make the chrome plating you might see on the engine and exhaust pipes of a motorcycle. Electroplating involves immersing a metal part in a chemical bath containing various metal ions, and then applying an electrical current to cause those ions to form a metal coating. The company uses a bath that contains more than one kind of metal ion and controls how ions are deposited by varying the electrical current. By changing the current at precise moments, it can create a layered structure, with each layer being several nanometers thick and of different composition. The final coating can be up to a centimeter thick and can greatly change the properties of the original material."

Comments

Ob SF.

[Anonymous Coward]

A. E. Van Vogt's classic SF novel "Slan" had a major plot point centering on "10 point steel". Perhaps we've finally implemented his vision...

Ten times stronger?

[Okian Warrior]

I've been rummaging around their website, and can only find references to corrosion resistance. That a specially-plated metal is more corrosion resistant I can easily believe.

But 10x stronger? That seems a bit... hard to believe.

Does plating a piece of steel really multiply the yield strength by 10x? Any materials scientists want to comment on this?

Also, how does a 1cm coating fare during changes in temperature? Will the coating peel off due to thermal expansion/contraction of the underlying metal?

I couldn't find any supporting scientific studies.

Is this for real?

Re:Ten times stronger?

[shione]

I was gonna post the same thing. The article is pretty devoid of details and mentions nothing about tensile and compressive strength.

All it pretty much says is improved corrosion resistance and this short paragraph:

"David Lashmore, a professor of materials science at the University of New Hampshire who has conducted work in the area, says nano-engineered layers can make a material stronger by stopping cracks from moving through it."

So it sounds like it 'holds' the metal together from micro fractures but it says nothing about taking on the applied forces which would make it actually stronger.

Re:Ten times stronger?

[Bugler412]

not directly changing the strength perhaps, but what if extreme corrosion resistance allowed you to reduce margins on structural members of bridges for instance (appropriately tested and vetted of course please!) or changed the durability of steel rebar in concrete? Reduced assumptions of corrosion loss over the years, that can be very significant and give an effective real world increase in the strength you are able to assume.

Re:Ten times stronger?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does plating a piece of steel really multiply the yield strength by 10x? Any materials scientists want to comment on this? Well it depends on exactly how they layer on their other layers. Normally steel has a certain standard crystalline structure (cast steel and it always arranges itself in this way). But just look at carbon that is arranged in different structures. Carbon arranged in a 2d structure makes a material called graphite: the softest mineral known. Carbon arranged in a 3d structure is called diamond: the hardest mineral known. Lets look at another modified chemical structure: cement. Now recall that cement with sand and gravel becomes concrete, but the binder is the cement. In modern building, Portland cement is the standard. It bonds, but galling (flaking) begins to occur after a few years. If you build a seawall from it, it lasts maybe 15-20 years. If you are lucky, 30 years. Compare and contrast Roman cement. Seawalls built by the Romans (with Roman cement) poured 3000 years ago are still standing and look like they were poured yesterday. No galling (no chipping or flaking). Just about 1 year ago, it was found that the Romans used a type of fly ash with a high aluminum ore content, that when made into cement forms a stronger 3 dimensional bond. Plating a 3 dimensional strength layer on steel could be like diamond.

Re:Approaching the problem from the outside in.

[SeaFox]

So instead of trying to make the drinking straw stronger, we are just wrapping it in cement?

So kinda like spiral-welded pipes (except on the outside)?

Stronger? Don't need it. Give me stiffer!

[Overzeetop]

Except in specialized cases for manfacturing and mining, we have all the strength we need in buildings and bridges. What we really want is something with a higher stiffness.

Find me a material which costs the same as A992 steel and has a modulus of elasticity of 300x10^6 psi (10x that of steel) and I'll make you a millionaire. With very few exceptions, MOE scales linearly with mass, from Magnesium to Iridium. Beryllium-Aluminum is an exception, but is very brittle and hella expensive.

Yeah, get me 500ksi steel at $0.60/lb would be nice, but if it still has E=30E3ksi it won't save me much in a building. Give me 50ksi steel with E=300E3ksi and I'll save you at least 20% on the steel tonnage in a structure.