A Chinese scientist team has improved aluminum alloys' heat resistance, addressing a critical obstacle in aircraft and transport.
Aluminum alloys are desirable because of their low density, high specific strength, and corrosion resistance. However, they operate at 350 degrees Celsius (662 Fahrenheit) because of their weak heat tolerance.
Their mechanical properties degrade over 400 degrees Celsius, which limits aircraft design.
The study by Tianjin University's School of Materials Science and Engineering, initially published by Nature Materials in April, solved this problem by introducing nanoparticles to aluminum alloys.
According to the university, this new alloy stays strong at high temperatures and is "more than six times" stronger than traditional aluminum alloys.
Aerospace Industry to Benefit from New Aluminum Alloy
The team is developing heat-resistant aluminum alloys for aerospace engines and key components. The material's industrial use is expected soon.
The aerospace industry's changing demands have raised the thermal resistance of lightweight metals. He Chunnian says this revolutionary approach is useful for industrial usage due to its simplicity, cheap material prices, and scalability.
Although people value aluminum alloys for their low density, high strength, and corrosion resistance, their low heat resistance poses a challenge, particularly in aerospace applications where temperatures range from 350 to 500 degrees Celsius per CGTN.
Tianjin University researchers created aluminum alloys with highly distributed nanoparticles. In-situ graphene-like coverings lower the surface energy of these nanoparticles.
China to Launch Space Tourism Flights
In a separate development, Chinese commercial space company CAS Space announced that it will launch a "space tourism vehicle" in 2027 and go into space in 2028, as reported by Reuters.
This declaration follows Blue Origin's announcement that its Jeff Bezos-backed New Shepard Rocket will restart crewed missions to space after a two-year hiatus.
CAS Space announced that their tourist cabin will have four panoramic windows and accommodate seven people per journey. At a new aeronautical theme park, the business will launch ten spacecraft to take passengers to space every 100 hours.
State media reports that these trips will cost 2-3 million yuan ($415,127) per person.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China's largest governmental research institute, is CAS Space's second-largest stakeholder.
Early this month, China launched its first uncrewed lunar mission to recover samples from the moon's far side, advancing its ambitious space program.
The Chang'e-6 probe, China's most complex robotic lunar mission, launched aboard a Long March-5 rocket from Hainan's Wenchang Space Launch Center, according to CNN. Fans watched the historic event at the launch site as the National Space Administration confirmed its achievement.
China hopes to become a prominent space power with this expedition. By 2030, China plans to send people to the moon and construct a research facility at the southern pole.
China's 53-day mission has great potential as nations, including the US, grasp lunar exploration's geopolitical and scientific benefits. China will land the Chang'e-6 lander in a large crater on the moon's unobservable far side like it did in 2019.
Samples taken from the moon's far side may reveal its development and the solar system. According to Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration's Center of Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering, they could also advance China's lunar ambitions by improving lunar orbit design, intelligent sampling, and autonomous sample return.
