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A Shape-shifting aircraft might be within reach thanks to a groundbreaking new alloy developed by researchers at the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan. This innovative material, a titanium-nickel alloy, has demonstrated the ability to stretch up to 20 times its original length while maintaining exceptional strength, potentially revolutionizing aerospace technology.
Traditionally, the dream of creating a shape-shifting aircraft has been hindered by the challenge of balancing flexibility with strength. For an aircraft to change shape, it needs a material that can deform and revert to its original form without compromising its structural integrity. Achieving this balance has been difficult because materials that are highly flexible often lack the strength required to endure the stresses of flight, and vice versa.
The titanium-nickel alloy developed by the NIMS team presents a promising solution to this dilemma. This alloy is unique because it combines the strength of steel with the ability to stretch like rubber. When subjected to varying environmental conditions, it can change shape and return to its original form when temperatures shift. This characteristic makes it an ideal candidate for creating shape-shifting aircraft, which could lead to more energy-efficient and faster transportation methods.
A significant challenge with previous titanium-nickel alloys was their limited temperature range. They only exhibited their shape-shifting properties within specific temperature conditions, restricting their practical applications. To overcome this limitation the team at NIMS developed a three-step procedure to enhance the alloy’s performance across a broader temperature range, according to Interesting Engineering.
In the first step, the researchers deformed the alloy and elongated it by over 50 percent. Next, they heated the material to 300 degrees Celsius before elongating it once again. In the final step, they elongated the alloy by just 12 percent. This process resulted in a material capable of withstanding pressure about 18,000 times greater than atmospheric pressure, matching steel in strength while being 20 times more flexible than conventional alloys.
The newly developed alloy performs effectively across a wide temperature range, from minus 80 degrees Celsius to 80 degrees Celsius. The team explained to New Scientist that the alloy’s properties are closer to glass than they are to metal. However, unlike glass, which is brittle due to its lack of internal deformation structures, this alloy contains “seeds” of deformation—areas within the material that support and absorb deformation without breaking.
The straightforward method for producing this alloy allows it to be easily replicated in other laboratories and scaled up for industrial use. With this advancement, the prospect of developing shape-shifting aircraft and other advanced technologies is now more feasible than ever, marking a significant leap forward in materials science and engineering.
The research studies were published in the journal Nature.
