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New lightweight material is stronger than steel

news.mit.edu

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Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#31

Post by throwaway4aday »

HPsquared wrote: post #26
throwaway4aday wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, but it is close. Add some air bubbles and it would be buoyant.

I mean technically a submarine is just a bunch of steel and one big air bubble.

It's all about the size of the air bubble.

Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#32

Post by blix »

soperj wrote: post #8

Wonder if it work as a rebar replacement that doesn't rust.

Probably not. Steel rebar is used because it is ductile, that is it stretches and fails gracefully, which complements the brittle nature of concrete.

This material is likely brittle, probably similar in overall behavior to graphite.

Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#33

Post by sdmike1 »

blix wrote: post #27
throwaway4aday wrote: post #14

Can't wait for 3D printed parts made out of this stuff. > the new material’s elastic modulus — a measure of how much force it takes to deform a material — is between four and six times greater than that of bulletproof glass. They also found that its yield strength, or how much force it takes to break the material, is twice that of steel, even though the material has only about one-sixth the density of steel. That's g…

It's hard to say without reading the paper itself, but in general one should be skeptical of claims that such-and-such material is stronger than steel. The properties that make steel interesting are not its elastic modulus or yield strength. This material is probably closer to graphite (which beats steel in elastic modulus and yeild strength) than something you would actually want to use in a structural application.…

I'm curious, in that case what properties do make steel interesting?

Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#36

Post by cooljacob204 »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #3
montjoy wrote: post #2

> and can be easily manufactured in large quantities That seems promising. I have a couple of concerns - Can it be recycled? - How are new materials like this tested for toxicity?

> a couple of concerns - Can it be recycled? Right. We have enough issues with plastic waste, without it having extra-ordinary strength.

Also steel is 100% recyclable. If I recall correctly, most steel used today is recycled.

Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#37

Post by blix »

mikeyouse wrote: post #34

Actual journal article from Nature ( Edit: requires sub, look one comment below for an ungated version ): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04296-3 (Not on SciHub yet but the figures provide some useful info)

Nature is asking for a subscription, so here's a version on arxiv: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2103/2103.13925.pdf

Re: New lightweight material is stronger than steel

#39

Post by giantg2 »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #3
montjoy wrote: post #2

> and can be easily manufactured in large quantities That seems promising. I have a couple of concerns - Can it be recycled? - How are new materials like this tested for toxicity?

> a couple of concerns - Can it be recycled? Right. We have enough issues with plastic waste, without it having extra-ordinary strength.

It's possible the strength could reduce microplastics?
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