New metal alloys overcome strength-ductility tradeoff
Thursday, May 19, 2016 - 05:50
in Physics & Chemistry
For centuries—in fact, since the Bronze Age began some 7,000 years ago—the creation of new metallic alloys has mostly been a trial-and-error process. Traditionally, one metal constituent was always dominant, with others making up a small fraction of the recipe. But a new study suggests a novel strategy that could help direct efforts to overturn this ancient lore, opening the way for new classes of alloys with previously unseen combinations of properties.