Nagoya University Develops Heat-Resistant Aluminum Alloys Using Metal 3D Printing

Aluminum is prized for being lightweight and strong, but at high temperatures it loses strength. This has limited its use in engines, turbines, and other applications where parts must stay strong under high temperature conditions. Researchers at Nagoya University have developed a method that uses metal 3D printing to create a new aluminum alloy series optimized for high strength and heat resistance. All new alloys use low-cost, abundant elements, and are recycling-friendly, with one variant staying both strong and flexible at 300° C. The study ispublishedinNature Communications. "The design centers on iron, which metallurgists usually don't add to aluminum because it makes the metal brittle and vulnerable to corrosion," explained Naoki Takata, lead author and professor at Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering. "The extreme cooling rates inlaser powder bed fusion, which is a representative process of metal 3D printing technologies, cause molten metal to solidify in seconds. This changes fundamental rules—therapid coolingtraps iron and other elements in arrangements (formation of metastable phases) that can't form under normal manufacturing conditions. By carefully selecting which elements to add, we created new alloys that are both heat-resistant and strong."