A Safer Future
In the struggle to create a more and more exceedingly safe and strong world, a group of scientists have stumbled upon a study that could lead to a new wave in automobile safety. A lightweight, yet stronger resort for the body and other various parts of vehicles used daily. Inspired by a citrus fruit.
The idea behind this new product is a base layer of pure aluminum shelled by an aluminum-silicon alloy. This product would retain permanent changes and bends, and be more resistant to opposing forces than pure aluminum alone, which is already known to be used in the various parts of cars and other vehicles. Aluminum has proven in the past to be a more fuel-efficient resource for cars as it is lightweight, and is on par with safety requirements for vehicles today. With this new pomelo-inspired product, the lightweight principle strived for in the shells of vehicles may be retained, and the safety requirements potentially surpassed.
Aluminum alloys have been used in the past for the same reasons, too. Many aluminum alloys provide a cost-sensitive resort for the material used in the automotive industry, although typically don’t have very high tensile strengths, meaning they can’t bend as much before breaking as compared to pure aluminum. Aluminum on its own isn’t as strong as an aluminum alloy, so one can see why the combination of aluminum and an aluminum/silicon alloy would make a very useful, strong product.
This idea, along with the inspiration from a citrus fruit, was applied to the production of a new metal hybrid. A pure aluminum core is attached to an aluminum-silicon alloy outer shell through a modified method of block-mold-casting. These combined metals make for a lightweight, structure-retaining product that shows great potential for use in the world today. It may be applied to the body and other pieces of vehicles, and could show up as a great industrial resource in other materials that could use a stronger, or less mass-bearing metal.
In some natural structures, such as exhibited in bone and wood, the qualities of toughness and hardness are combined in an interesting way. They use fibers to connect themselves, and this has been noted for years. These qualities are noted in the peel of the pomelo fruit, as well. And yet, the characteristics of the pomelo peel were not well understood until some researchers from the RWTH Aachen University and the University of Freiburg put a sample under a microscope. The foam-like, fiber-utilizing characteristics of the pomelo fruit’s peel make it hard, and tough to break like bones and wood. Surrounding a ductile structure in the pomelo’s peel is its strong outer shell.
A pomelo fruit, native to Southeast Asia (an Asian grapefruit counterpart if you will), can grow to roughly four and a half pounds, yet fall a distance of 33 feet onto solid ground without damaging the fruit within the skin. Why? Why, because of the pomelo’s peel, of course! But what makes the peel of the pomelo fruit so special, one may ask? Well, the peel of the pomelo fruit is composed of fiber-reinforced, graded, foam. This makes the outer shell of the pomelo very tough, and able to withstand even falls from high distances. This natural occurrence is the inspiration behind the development of the new aluminum product that could change the automotive industry for years to come.
The properties of the foam of the pomelo’s peel can be transferred to a combination of metals, mainly aluminum, to produce a new, stronger industrial hybrid that not only exhibits properties of strength, but tensile strength and lightness as well. The research behind this product is still very new, and may be subject to changes in the future, but still shows some promise for a groundbreaking wave of technology and automotive engineering in the future.
The idea behind this new product is a base layer of pure aluminum shelled by an aluminum-silicon alloy. This product would retain permanent changes and bends, and be more resistant to opposing forces than pure aluminum alone, which is already known to be used in the various parts of cars and other vehicles. Aluminum has proven in the past to be a more fuel-efficient resource for cars as it is lightweight, and is on par with safety requirements for vehicles today. With this new pomelo-inspired product, the lightweight principle strived for in the shells of vehicles may be retained, and the safety requirements potentially surpassed.
Aluminum alloys have been used in the past for the same reasons, too. Many aluminum alloys provide a cost-sensitive resort for the material used in the automotive industry, although typically don’t have very high tensile strengths, meaning they can’t bend as much before breaking as compared to pure aluminum. Aluminum on its own isn’t as strong as an aluminum alloy, so one can see why the combination of aluminum and an aluminum/silicon alloy would make a very useful, strong product.
This idea, along with the inspiration from a citrus fruit, was applied to the production of a new metal hybrid. A pure aluminum core is attached to an aluminum-silicon alloy outer shell through a modified method of block-mold-casting. These combined metals make for a lightweight, structure-retaining product that shows great potential for use in the world today. It may be applied to the body and other pieces of vehicles, and could show up as a great industrial resource in other materials that could use a stronger, or less mass-bearing metal.
In some natural structures, such as exhibited in bone and wood, the qualities of toughness and hardness are combined in an interesting way. They use fibers to connect themselves, and this has been noted for years. These qualities are noted in the peel of the pomelo fruit, as well. And yet, the characteristics of the pomelo peel were not well understood until some researchers from the RWTH Aachen University and the University of Freiburg put a sample under a microscope. The foam-like, fiber-utilizing characteristics of the pomelo fruit’s peel make it hard, and tough to break like bones and wood. Surrounding a ductile structure in the pomelo’s peel is its strong outer shell.
A pomelo fruit, native to Southeast Asia (an Asian grapefruit counterpart if you will), can grow to roughly four and a half pounds, yet fall a distance of 33 feet onto solid ground without damaging the fruit within the skin. Why? Why, because of the pomelo’s peel, of course! But what makes the peel of the pomelo fruit so special, one may ask? Well, the peel of the pomelo fruit is composed of fiber-reinforced, graded, foam. This makes the outer shell of the pomelo very tough, and able to withstand even falls from high distances. This natural occurrence is the inspiration behind the development of the new aluminum product that could change the automotive industry for years to come.
The properties of the foam of the pomelo’s peel can be transferred to a combination of metals, mainly aluminum, to produce a new, stronger industrial hybrid that not only exhibits properties of strength, but tensile strength and lightness as well. The research behind this product is still very new, and may be subject to changes in the future, but still shows some promise for a groundbreaking wave of technology and automotive engineering in the future.
Chemistry of Materials Project Reflection
Throughout history, we have seen a lot of change regarding the chemical composition of our everyday materials, both on the molecular and macroscopic level. We, as humans, strive for a better product, and always find ways to accommodate our products for the future. One example of this is the evolution of rubber. When rubber was first discovered, it was accidentally found to erase pencil marks, and since, rubber has been experimented on and chemically altered to become much more, like the durable rubber on shoes and cars. The characteristics of materials we all use are constantly being chemically altered, changing the future, and making things more lightweight, safer, faster, stronger, heavier, etc.
Everything is made out of atoms, and on the atomic level, most of any material's characteristics are determined by that material's chemical composition. When different atoms bond to each other, they create molecules that have different properties and characteristics, like water. Water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen, and we need this molecule to live. On the microscopic level, materials can have properties that dictate a material's physical properties, like the brittleness of that material, which can be more or less brittle depending on its crystallinity. Finally, on the macroscopic level, a material can be applied to the real world, and used in certain fields given its previously determined properties.
Everything is made out of atoms, and on the atomic level, most of any material's characteristics are determined by that material's chemical composition. When different atoms bond to each other, they create molecules that have different properties and characteristics, like water. Water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen, and we need this molecule to live. On the microscopic level, materials can have properties that dictate a material's physical properties, like the brittleness of that material, which can be more or less brittle depending on its crystallinity. Finally, on the macroscopic level, a material can be applied to the real world, and used in certain fields given its previously determined properties.
