Sep 15 2008
NanoDynamics Inc. announced the completion of its six-month, $50,000 Phase IB STTR grant extension from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the research and development of a novel consolidation method for nanostructured metals. The grant continued funding for NanoDynamics’ joint efforts with Purdue University and Columbus, Ohio’s Edison Welding Institute (EWI) to refine the group’s ultrasonic metal welding capabilities of nanostructured materials. Produced via large strain extrusion machining (LSEM), these bulk materials consist of hybrid metal strips known as NanoPly™.
“With a demand for high-strength, lightweight metal materials across a wide scope of industries – from automotive, to aerospace, to the military – the NSF grants allowed us to further explore the possibilities offered by LSEM metals,” said Douglas DuFaux, director of technology management at NanoDynamics.
Work completed under the Phase IB program included refining a process that can create strip lengths of the NanoPly “foil” composed of varying types of metals. The process is expected to accommodate virtually any type of metal or alloy, with numerous possibilities for material combinations.
“We were able to examine and refine the ways in which ultrasonic welding allows for metal ‘layering’ of nanocrystaline materials, thus enabling us to engineer new materials of similar or dissimilar metals,” said Maurice Belisle, project manager for the NanoPly technology at NanoDynamics. “For example, we can combine the lightweight benefits of aluminum or the corrosion-resistance of other metals with the strength and cost-efficiency of steel. We’ve been able to demonstrate promising capabilities with 50-500 nm grain materials, with strength and hardness significantly greater than that of the parent material.”
The process is well-suited for production, from both a cost and scale-up perspective. At present, the project has generated continuous runs of one-inch wide nanostructured foil material approaching 250 feet in length at production costs that similarly compare to other production approaches.
Work, which began in January of 2007 under the Phase I NSF grant, is expected to advance into commercialization.