Previous Page
12-03 :: March/April 2012
nanotimes News in Brief
ultrasound at defined angles, we also find defects positioned at an angle to the surface”, says Dr. Martin Spies of ITWM in Kaiserslautern. The system is capable of recording large volumes of digitized ultrasound test data, taking into account the many and variously intense curvatures of the propeller surface. The device currently scans test grids of 700 by 400mm (27.5. by 15.7inch), achieving a rate of up to 100mm per second (3.93inch). The mobile scanner can be positioned anywhere on the propeller, and, thanks to its suction feet, it can be attached in a horizontal as well as vertical test po- sition. “We obtained the 3D data about the inside of the component by an imaging procedure known as SAFT. It provides a detailed display of inclusions and welding-seam defects. It basically works like computer tomography in medicine,” explains Spies.
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM: http://www.itwm.fraunhofer.de
55
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2012/ mar/22/how-to-hide-from-a-magnetic-field
Materials researchers in Saarbruecken, Germany, developed a low friction coating combining two properties: It shows lubrication properties similar to grease and oil and it protects from corrosion. The new material is suitable for the coating of metals and metal alloys, such as steel, aluminium or ma- gnesium.
Researchers in Europe have built a magnetic cloak that is reasonably practical to manufacture. An object concealed by the new cloak, the researchers claim, is magnetically undetectable, while the cloak itself is made from materials available worldwide.
Fedor Gömöry, Mykola Solovyov, Ján Šouc, Carles Navau, Jordi Prat-Camps, Alvaro Sanchez: Experimental Realiza- tion of a Magnetic Cloak, In: Science, Vol. 335(2012), No. 6075, March 23, 2012, Pages 1466-1468, DOI: 10.1126/science.1218316: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1218316
“What is really special about our low friction coa- ting is its composition and structure,” explains Carsten Becker-Willinger, head of the program division ‘Nanomere‘. We embedded platelet-like solid-state lubricants and platelet-like particles in a binder. When the composite is applied onto a surface, a well-arranged microstructure forms, in which the various particles arrange in an imbricate structure,” Becker-Willinger continues. A so-called transfer film forms between the low friction coating and the counterpart, which allows an almost fric- tionless sliding of the surfaces on each other. “Only through the special ratio of components, our com- posite has a very low friction coefficient. If we used only the solid-state lubricant, the friction coefficient would be significantly higher,” the chemist notes.