A new breakthrough in steel manufacturing that could also help to lower CO₂ emissions from the car industry, has been made by engineers at the University of Sheffield.
A new breakthrough in steel manufacturing that could also help to lower CO₂ emissions from the car industry, has been made by engineers at the University of Sheffield.
In the study, published in the journal Nature, a team led by Professor Mark Rainforth and Dr Junheng Gao from the University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed a completely new way of making lightweight, high strength steel that can be easily adapted for mass manufacturing.
The team’s research has shown how ultra-fine grained steel can be made to deliver world leading mechanical properties. The technique can produce steel with a strength of nearly 2GPa - for example a 1cm diameter wire capable of holding a weight of 15 tonnes. It can also produce steel with an elongation of 45 per cent - this means the steel would be ductile enough to be able to be formed into complex shapes.
The secret behind this success is the inclusion of copper - an element which is traditionally avoided in steel production because of the detrimental effects it can have on the properties of particular types of steel.
Read more at University of Sheffield
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