Porous, 3-D forms of graphene developed at MIT can be 10 times as strong as steel but much lighter

[ScienceRocks]

Porous, 3-D forms of graphene developed at MIT can be 10 times as strong as steel but much lighter

A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials known, by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a strength 10 times that of steel.

In its two-dimensional form, graphene is thought to be the strongest of all known materials. But researchers until now have had a hard time translating that two-dimensional strength into useful three-dimensional materials.

The new findings show that the crucial aspect of the new 3-D forms has more to do with their unusual geometrical configuration than with the material itself, which suggests that similar strong, lightweight materials could be made from a variety of materials by creating similar geometric features.

The findings are being reported today in the journal Science Advances, in a paper by Markus Buehler, the head of MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the McAfee Professor of Engineering; Zhao Qin, a CEE research scientist; Gang Seob Jung, a graduate student; and Min Jeong Kang MEng '16, a recent graduate.

Other groups had suggested the possibility of such lightweight structures, but lab experiments so far had failed to match predictions, with some results exhibiting several orders of magnitude less strength than expected. The MIT team decided to solve the mystery by analyzing the material's behavior down to the level of individual atoms within the structure. They were able to produce a mathematical framework that very closely matches experimental observations.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2017-01-porous-d-graphene-mit-strong.html#jCp

Interesting finding as maybe we can build stronger or higher. But that is something we will have to see what people do with it.

 

[fncceo]

Porous, 3-D forms of graphene developed at MIT can be 10 times as strong as steel but much lighter

A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials known, by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a strength 10 times that of steel.

In its two-dimensional form, graphene is thought to be the strongest of all known materials. But researchers until now have had a hard time translating that two-dimensional strength into useful three-dimensional materials.

The new findings show that the crucial aspect of the new 3-D forms has more to do with their unusual geometrical configuration than with the material itself, which suggests that similar strong, lightweight materials could be made from a variety of materials by creating similar geometric features.

The findings are being reported today in the journal Science Advances, in a paper by Markus Buehler, the head of MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the McAfee Professor of Engineering; Zhao Qin, a CEE research scientist; Gang Seob Jung, a graduate student; and Min Jeong Kang MEng '16, a recent graduate.

Other groups had suggested the possibility of such lightweight structures, but lab experiments so far had failed to match predictions, with some results exhibiting several orders of magnitude less strength than expected. The MIT team decided to solve the mystery by analyzing the material's behavior down to the level of individual atoms within the structure. They were able to produce a mathematical framework that very closely matches experimental observations.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2017-01-porous-d-graphene-mit-strong.html#jCp

Interesting finding as maybe we can build stronger or higher. But that is something we will have to see what people do with it.

Space elevator ... the key to space commercial space travel

 

[ScienceRocks]

Yep, one day that will be the best way to move infrastructure into space.

Here is some more information
Highlights

* light as stryofoam but stronger than steel
* 20 times less dense than steel but 10 times stronger
* could lead to a replacement for helium for strong yet light dirigible applications
* bringing 2D strength of graphene to 3D materials
* new range of lightness and strength combinations for different applications
Next Big Future: MIT makes compressed graphene sponge material that is 20 times less dense than steel but 10 times stronger, light as stryofoam but stronger than steel