MAE Professor Xiaochun Li’s research paper “Aluminum with dispersed nanoparticles by laser additive manufacturing” was published in Nature Communications. The paper discusses how the laser printed nanocomposite delivers a record-high yield strength of up to 1000 MPa, plasticity over 10%, and Young’s modulus of approximately 200 GPa, offering one of the highest specific Young’s modulus and specific yield strengths among any structural metals, as well as an improved specific strength and thermal stability up to 400 °C compared to other aluminum-based materials.
Above image: The grain maps of laser-deposited AMNC (35 vol.% TiC). Scale bar is 500 nm.