8/10/2019 Week 3 Tweet Article

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Cesar Flores

CE-221L

10/9/14

Weekly Tweet Assignment:

The following tweet was posted by Gizmag, the tweet is titled:“Microstructured materials as strong as steel yet less dense than water”. It

links to an article originally posted on Karlsuhe Institute of Technology’s website:

kit.edu by Kosta Schinarakis on February 2, 2014. The article describes

microstructures lightweight materials of great stability.

This new microstructured material could potentially be used in the near

future as a construction material. Lightweight construction materials could be of

great advantage for the industry as they can withstand a much greater load than

those currently used materials. During lab testing the material reached a very high

stability. The current microstructure exceeds the stability/density ratio or bones,

massive steel, including aluminum.

The material’s framework is constructed of a ceramic-polymer composite,which is highly stable; the individual elements have a thickness of a few hundred

nanometers only. Their microstructure is light less dense than water itself. It is

important to note that their stability relative to their weight exceeds that of massive

materials, such as high-performance steel or aluminum. These lightweight

construction materials were inspired by the framework structure of bones and the

shell structure of the bees’ honeycombs. To produce the lightweight construction

materials, 3D laser lithography was applied. In which laser beams harden the

desired microstructure in a photoresist. Then, this structure is coated with a

ceramic material by gas deposition. The structures produced were later subjected to

compression tests to study their properties.

This microstructured material is still in the early stages of its development.However, it has already yielded amazing results which points towards a good future

use of this material. More specifically as a construction material; industry is always

looking for implementations to their practices and material choices. Weight and

bearing capacity play an extremely important factor when it comes to structures.

This is true almost all of the time, as the weigh of members within the structure

greatly limit the structure in terms of strength and stability.

8/10/2019 Week 3 Tweet Article

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References

Schinarakis, K. (2014, February 4). KIT - KIT - Media - Press Releases - PI 2014 -

Lightweight Construction Materials of Highest Stability Thanks to Their

Microarchitecture. Retrieved from

http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2014_14594.php