Nanotechnology iron-alu alloy. Revolutionary materials?

[last]

An article of the Economist about new IRON-ALU alloys made with nanotechnologies, will this be a revolution in weapons making?



A LOT of tosh is talked about “nanotechnology”, much of it designed to separate unwary investors from their hard-earned cash. This does not mean, though, that controlling the structure of things at the level of nanometres (billionths of a metre) is unimportant. In materials science it is vital, as a paper just published in Nature, by Hansoo Kim and his colleagues at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, in South Korea, demonstrates. By manipulating the structure of steel on a nanometre scale, Dr Kim has produced a material which has the strength and the lightness of titanium alloys but will, when produced at scale, cost a tenth as much. . . . .

 

[g.willikers]

If so, it would probably be long time coming.
There would have to be a lot of development and testing before any gun makers would take the liability risks.
Most of the weapons that are considered as small arms just aren't big and heavy enough to warrant the use of exotic, and no doubt, very expensive unproven materials.
That's my take on it, anyhow.

 

[last]

yeah you're right, also polymers are cheaper than any alloy for frames and secondary parts

 

[Uncle Buck]

There is, of course, many a slip ’twixt laboratory bench and production line, but POSCO, one of the world’s largest steel companies, is sufficiently interested in Dr Kim’s discovery to be planning, later this year, a trial that will produce it at industrial scale. If that goes well, not only may steel’s retreat from cars be reversed, but a steel aircraft may one day take to the skies.

It could prove to be very economical in a military application. If/when it is built to commercial scale, imagine what the weight difference and the strength gain could do for gun barrels on big ships and vehicles.

The Abrams Tank weighs in at somewhere near 60 tons. Just changing the frame to this stuff would probably reduce the weight much more significantly. Currently using about 1.5 gallons of fuel for every mile, that could signify a big savings in fuel and the logistics to keep them running.

Once it has caught on in military use, it will not be long before other markets are developed for continued, commercial production. Unfortunately it could take years and years before this new wonder metal finds it way in to commercial firearms.

The space program is another area where it might see some success, proving they can get the cost down to what a government would consider a reasonable price.

And plastic? I think you will not see this product used very soon because all of these car companies would have to retool their production lines to replace plastic with this alloy again.
.

 

[Surculus]

"at 1/10th the cost of titanium" is still 2x or 3x the cost of steel. Yeah, I don't see it having a lot of application in commodity-priced commerce [commuter cars, small arms, etc.] when the existing technologies still get the job done.

Now, for military purposes where the price/performance barriers are different and you can get 90% of the performance for 50% of the price, you'll take that as a "win" since your net is 180% [2 units x90% vs 1 unit @ 100% for the same budget spent.]

 

[Skans]

Neat! I like reading about new alloys. I have no idea if it will find its way into firearms, but it sure is possible.

Let's see, we have titanium framed 1911's; 1911's made out of damascus steel; various polymer frames, aluminum frames, scandium and all kinds of steel used in guns. Why not?

I'm holding out for the first all-ceramic gun. One that is scratch proof and the finish never wears. I'm just hoping I can get my hands on one before I have to leave this earth.

 

[Jim Watson]

A scan of the original paper shows the gimmick material to contain 9.6% aluminum, 4.9% nickel, 16.1% manganese, 0.86% carbon, balance iron.
It is 13% less dense than steel, about half again as heavy as titanium, and over twice as dense as aluminum.

Make a complete 1911 out of it and it would weigh 33 oz instead of 38.
Not bad but is it revolutionary in small arms?

Probably heavier than the aluminum steel they use on Barsoom, too.