Using Nanoparticles In Metalcasting


SOME SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE. BUT RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND A WAY TO DISPERSE NANOPARTICLES IN METAL CASTINGS TO ACHIEVE GREAT STRENGTH IN LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOYS.


SHANNON WETZEL, SENIOR EDITOR 使用纳米粒子在金属铸造


有些人说这做不到。但是研究者已经找到方法来分散金属铸件中的纳米晶体使轻 合金获得更高的强度。


SHANNON WETZEL，资深编辑


meant to benefit. For Xiaochun Li, professor at Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis., and a handful of others, research into the use of nanomaterials to reinforce metal castings was just such an assignment. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter—think the size


W


of a marble compared to the size of Earth. Bacteria typically measures at a thousand nanometers. Te particles Li and his colleagues are trying to disperse into metal castings are 30 nanometers in size. Nanoparticles are being developed for use in medicine to


fight cancer cells, as a catalyst to break down volatile organic compounds in the air, and in polymers for lightweight but strong sporting equip- ment. When successfully incorporated in metalcast- ing, nanoparticles greatly increase the strength of lightweight alloys like mag- nesium and aluminum. But when Li first began


work on using nanoparticles in casting in 2003, many in the scientific community and metalcasting industry


orking in a research lab can be a lonely assignment, particularly when the subject matter is little known and its potential doubted by the industry it is


个研究实验室工作是一件很孤独的事，尤 其是所研究的课题是一个未知而且不被工 业应用看好的难题。对于李晓春（威斯康辛大学麦迪逊 分校）和其他很多人来说，研究使用纳米材料来加强金 属铸件的性能就是这样一个难题。


在


1纳米是十亿分之一米——想想一块大理石与整个地 球的尺寸之比。细菌基本在上千纳米级。在金属铸件中 需要离散的颗粒尺寸在30纳米级。


纳米颗粒也被用来制作抗癌药品、做为催化剂破坏空气 中不稳定的有机合成物、以及用在高分子中做为重量轻 确强度大的运动器材。当纳米颗粒应用到铸造中后，大 大增加了镁铝合金等轻金 属的强度。


但在2003年当李教授 开始研究在铸件中使用纳 米颗粒时，许多学术团体 和金属铸件企业都认为在 铸件凝固过程中使纳米颗 粒在熔融金属中均匀分布 是不可能的。


Silicon carbide nanoparticles have many uses beyond cast- ing. These “nano trees” are grown out of silicon carbide nanowires. Researchers are investigating possible applica- tions for these structures, such as water repellant coatings and as a base for a new type of solar cell.


硅碳纳米颗粒在铸造之外还 有很多用处。“纳米树”是 3D的纳米结构，由硅碳纳 米线组成。研究人员正在研 究这些新用途，例如防水的 涂层以及新型太阳能电池的 基板。


26 | FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION Fall 2011


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