Accelerating the development of renewable fuels
Infineum UK, a specialty chemicals company, accessed unique facilities to perform the first structural investigation into the behaviour of biodiesel under high pressures.
Industrial Applications
Skin-like material developed for wearables
Scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich and Donghua University in Shanghai, China, have demonstrated a skin-like synthetic material intended to advance the development of so-called “wearables”, as well as smart clothing and artificial skin for robots. Neutrons from the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz research neutron source helped them to study the new material in detail.
Pressure and heat: Testing alloys for gas turbines
Gas turbines must endure extreme conditions like high forces at temperatures above 600°C. Gas turbine materials therefore must be sufficiently robust, and as such they are under constant development. Together with the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), VDM Metals International GmbH tested its improved VDM Alloy 780 using a specially developed testing machine at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II).
Metals with memory
When metallic objects change their shape seemingly without any external influence and only according to the will of their owners, this at first sounds like something only comic superheroes like Magneto and Ironman could do. However, the idea from those comics has a real-world manifestation in existing materials called magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs). Moreover, they have potential applications e.g. in robotics or medical devices.
Exploring engine components to develop more durable, fuel-efficient lubricants
Infineum UK Ltd and Finden Ltd, in collaboration, have taken advantage of the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) ISIS Neutron and Muon Source to better understand organic deposits from lubricants in engine components.
