TSU will increase the strength of aluminum alloys by 30%
Vladimir Valikhov, a staff member of the Laboratory of High-Energy and Special Materials, is creating master alloys based on basalt. The introduction of these alloys into aluminum will increase the strength of the metal by 30%. The project will be completed by 2021, and the resulting alloy can be used to create aircraft, helicopters, and cars.
Master alloys are introduced into the base metal for uniform distribution of reinforcing particles or fibers throughout the volume and improve the physical and mechanical characteristics of the resulting material.
Vladimir Valikhov develops master alloys based on basalt fibers with an aluminum matrix. This will be a solid metal ingot, which will be introduced into the main one[OU1] in the aluminum molten metal, and will increase the physical and mechanical properties of the alloy.
- Master alloys are being developed as an alternative to the ones based on scandium and strontium, the use of which is quite expensive. Basalt is a common rock, and the ligature based on basalt fibers will be universal: we can introduce it into the alloys from which the parts of aircraft, helicopters, and cars are constructed, - said Vladimir Valikhov.
According to the scientist, basalt master alloys began to be produced in the USSR in the 1970s for the aerospace program, and similar work was carried out in India. The innovativeness of Vladimir Valikhov's development consists in a special treatment: ultrasonic and vibration effects on the melt with the introduction of the ligature.
- At the moment, there are several main master alloys on the metallurgy market, whose properties are close to the master alloys based on basalt fibers and which can be considered analogs: AlTi5B1 and AlSr,- said Vladimir Valikhov. - The advantages of our development can be considered its effect precisely on the strength of the alloy, environmental friendliness, and cost. The average cost of analogs is from 2,000 rubles to 2,500 rubles per kg, and the cost of our ligatures will be less than 1,750 rubles per kg.
The main consumers of finished alloys will be specialized metallurgical complexes, companies involved in the development of structures, and power plants in the aircraft and automotive industries.
Provided by Tomsk State University