The researchers claim they have made the world’s first non-cuttable material, with a 15% steel density, which they say could turn into a lightweight armor or indestructible bicycle lock, according to an article recently published in the journal. Scientific reports.
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Manufacture of ‘non-cuttable’ material
Called Proteus, the new material consists of ceramic spheres arranged in a cellular aluminum structure to withstand angle grinders, drills, or similar brute force cutting tools. Hailing from Durham University in the UK and the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, the new material draws inspiration from grapefruit’s durable, cellular skin, as well as fracture-resistant, aragonite mollusk shells.
The Proteus outer plate will give way to drill bits or angle grinders, but when it reaches the embedded ceramic balls, the material begins to vibrate in a way that blunts the sharp edges of the tool as fine particles of ceramic powder fill the spaces matrix – as a metal structure. This, in turn, makes it even more difficult to cut, as the faster it is ground or drilled, the harder the cut becomes “due to the interatomic forces between the ceramic grains” and “the force and The drill’s energy will turn on itself, and it is weakened and destroyed by its own attack, “according to the researchers, New Atlas reports.
Furthermore, the new material has an equally effective resistance for water jet cutters, obviously rare among bicycle thieves, because the spherical shape of the ceramic pieces widens the water jet, increases the area of applied force and, by therefore, it weakens the cutting pressure.
Nuggets and jelly cancel cutting motion
“Essentially cutting our material is like cutting a jelly filled with nuggets,” said Stefan Szyniszewski, lead author and assistant professor of applied mechanics at Durham’s engineering department, according to a blog post on the Durham University website. “If you go through the jelly, you hit the nuggets and the material will vibrate in such a way as to destroy the cutting disc or the bit.”
“The ceramic embedded in this flexible material is also made of very fine particles that harden and resist the angle grinder or drill when cut at speed in the same way that a sandbag would resist and stop a bullet at high speed. This material It could have many exciting and useful applications in the security industries. In fact, we are not aware of any other non-cut fabricated materials that exist at this time. “
As space-age materials like Proteus move from the lab to markets and military applications, it’s interesting to note that much of the technological advancements made in modern engineering, from improved bird drones to state-of-the-art armor, are inspired by nature.
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