28th May 2024 (11 Topics)
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Heating Metals
Context
Heating metals typically makes them softer and more pliable, but new research has found that under certain conditions, heating can actually make metals stronger. This unexpected phenomenon could lead to improvements in various industrial processes and the development of tougher materials for use in aircraft and other applications.
Key Findings
- This research provides experimental evidence for the "hotter is stronger" effect
- Copper Strength Increase: When the temperature of copper was raised by 157°C, its strength increased by about 30%. At 177°C (350°F), copper, usually a soft metal, became as strong as some types of steel.
- Bond Behavior: Normally, heating softens metals because it weakens the bonds between atoms, making them slide around more easily under pressure. However, the high-speed impacts in this experiment happened too quickly for this sliding to occur.
- Heat Waves: At higher temperatures, more heat or sound waves passed through the metal, preventing bond-breaking from spreading and making the metal stronger.
Implications
This phenomenon might also occur unnoticed in various real-world industrial processes. For example:
- Manufacturing Processes: Cutting and smoothing materials often involve blasting them with fast particles of sand or jets of water. These processes might inadvertently increase the strength of the materials.
- 3D Printing: Some types of 3D printing involve particles moving very quickly, which could also benefit from this strengthening effect.
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