Extrastrength, 3-D printed materials

Abstract

To strengthen alloys, metallurgists often tweak the size and orientation of microscopic crystal grains within the material. Now researchers have applied the same principles at a much larger scale to create robust structural materials that could be used to build engine parts or prosthetics (Nature 2019, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0850-3). 3-D printers can produce lightweight lattice structures that contain a repeating series of nodes and struts, similar to the cross-hatched trusses found in bridges. But these structures are only strong up to a point. When one part of a lattice gives way under an extreme load, it triggers a domino effect that leads to catastrophic failure. Minh-Son Pham at Imperial College London borrowed some core concepts from metallurgy to solve this problem. Most crystalline materials are made of many small crystal grains fused together. The orientation of the crystal lattice in one grain may not line up with its neighbors, and it