Korean researchers have found a new way to make metals stronger and more flexible.


Korean researchers have developed a technique to increase both the strength and ductility of metals./pixabay

                    

Kim Hyung-seop, a professor at Postech's department of new materials engineering and graduate school of eco-friendly materials, announced on Thursday that they have increased both the strength and ductility of metals through the 'plasma nitriding method' that infiltrates nitrogen into the metal surface. The research results were published in the International Journal of Plasticity, a mechanical engineering journal, last December.

The researchers developed a plasma nitriding technique that coats a metal surface with a ㎚ (nanometer, one billionth of a meter) thick nitride layer. It's like putting a protective film on a smartphone, but with a special layer of protection on the metal.

Conventional plasma technology is difficult to apply to metals with complex shapes. The researchers' technology can nitride at low pressure, at the right temperature, and in a short time, creating a thin and uniform protective layer on the metal surface, similar to a liquid crystal protective film.

The researchers conducted experiments on high-entropy alloys, which have been widely studied in recent years, and stainless steel 304, which is actively used industrially. The result was a nano-nitride layer about 300 μm thick on the metal surface, but without changing the basic structure or crystal-like properties of the material. At the same time, the “tensile strength” - the maximum load a material can withstand before permanent deformation or fracture occurs - increased by 74.6 MPa (a unit of pressure). The 'uniform elongation,' the maximum amount of strain a material can be uniformly deformed, increased by 7.9 percent, resulting in both higher strength and ductility.

“Unlike existing technologies, the new plasma nitriding method provides uniform performance without premature fracture of the material and can be applied immediately to industry, especially without post-treatment processes,” said professor Hyungseop Kim. ”Based on this research, safer metal post-treatment methods for the aviation and automotive industries will emerge.”

Resource : Science Chosun, Mar. 4, 2025.


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