Multifunctional dream ceramic matrix composites are born!

Ceramic matrix composites exhibit electrical conductivity and photocatalytic activity

07-Dec-2018 - Researchers at Osaka University produced composites consisting of alumina (AI2O3) ceramics and titanium (Ti), namely AI2O3/Ti composites. They designed a percolation structure for forming a continuous conduction pathway by dispersing fine-sized Ti particles into an AI2O3 matrix, optimizing the ...

Ultrathin and ultralight 'nanocardboard'

08-Nov-2018 - When choosing materials to make something, trade-offs need to be made between a host of properties, such as thickness, stiffness and weight. Depending on the application in question, finding just the right balance is the difference between success and failure Now, a team of Penn Engineers has ...

Spaced-out nanotwins make for stronger metals

06-Nov-2018 - Researchers from Brown University and the Institute of Metals Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found a new way to use nanotwins -- tiny linear boundaries in a metal's atomic lattice that have identical crystalline structures on either side -- to make stronger metals. The ...

New tech delivers high-tech film that blocks electromagnetic interference

05-Nov-2018 - Electromagnetic interference (EMI), which can harm smartphones, tablets, chips, drones, wearables, and evenaircraft and human health, is increasing with the explosive proliferation of devices that generate it. Themarket for EM-blocking solutions, which employ conductive or magnetic materials, is ...

Sintering atomically thin materials with ceramics now possible

03-Jul-2018 - For the first time, researchers have created a nanocomposite of ceramics and a two-dimensional material, opening the door for new designs of nanocomposites with such applications as solid-state batteries, thermoelectrics, varistors, catalysts, chemical sensors and much more. Sintering uses high ...

Flexible, highly efficient multimodal energy harvesting

23-May-2018 - A 10-fold increase in the ability to harvest mechanical and thermal energy over standard piezoelectric composites may be possible using a piezoelectric ceramic foam supported by a flexible polymer support, according to Penn State researchers. In the search for ways to harvest small amounts of ...

Soft machines

A fast, low-voltage actuator for soft and wearable robotics

23-May-2018 - In the world of robotics, soft robots are the new kids on the block. The unique capabilities of these automata are to bend, deform, stretch, twist or squeeze in all the ways that conventional rigid robots cannot. Today, it is easy to envision a world in which humans and robots collaborate -- in ...

Gabriel Performance Products acquires Royce International

10-Apr-2018 - Gabriel Performance Products announces the acquisition of Royce International. Headquartered in Sarasota, FL, Royce is a custom solutions provider of specialty epoxy resins, diluents, curing agents, and additives. These are sold under the RoyOxy TM trademark into CASE (Coatings, Adhesives, ...

3-D printing breakthrough for lightweight syntactic foams could help submarines dive deeper

09-Feb-2018 - A team of materials scientists at NYU Tandon School of Engineering have developed the first process to 3D print components of syntactic foam, extremely strong and lightweight composites used in vehicles, airplanes, and ships. Their breakthrough holds particular promise for submarines because it ...

Weak hydrogen bonds key to strong, tough infrastructure

31-Jan-2018 - The right mix of hydrogen bonds in polymer and cement composites is critical to making strong, tough and ductile infrastructure material, according to Rice University scientists who want to mimic the mechanics of mother-of-pearl and similar natural composites with synthetic materials. Seashells ...