New alloy: light as aluminum, strong as titanium – New Technology

A mixture of five metals gives an alloy that is as light as aluminum and stronger than today’s titanium alloys.

Strong lightweight materials needed in all possible applications: from vehicle to dentures. Now a team of researchers at North Carolina State University and Qatar University have developed a new metal alloy which they believe is breaking all previous mixes on the fingers.

The material consists of the five metals lithium, magnesium, titanium, aluminum and scandium mixed in roughly equal proportions. The result is an alloy with a density of 2.67 grams per cubic centimeter, in the same class as aluminum. While the alloy is stronger than today titanium alloys.

-It has a combination of high strength and low density which is not matched by any other metallic materials as far as we know, says researcher Carl Koch said in a statement.

The material is called Al ₂₀ Li ₂₀ Mg ₁₀ Sc ₂₀ Ti ₃₀ and has a strength-to-weight ratio that is comparable with some ceramics. But scientists believe that it is less brittle. Now the group can characterize the alloy and explore appropriate manufacturing processes. Perhaps the biggest challenge is cost. The alloy consists to 20 percent of the extremely expensive lightweight metal scandium.

The new findings have been published in the scientific journal Materials Research Letters