Automotive manufacturers are making significant investments in the design and development of bioplastics and biocomposites-based components.

This article discusses the capabilities of a compression test system developed to evaluate composite coil springs for automotive suspension systems.

Laser cladding applies thin deposits of hard or corrosion-resistant materials to surfaces susceptible to damage. This article discusses the advantages and drawbacks of laser cladding in comparison to thermal spraying.

As scientists and engineers continue to develop and investigate replacement tissues for patient disease, injury, and aging, proper mechanical characterization of biological materials is critical. This article provides an overview of some static mechanical testing, creep testing, stress-relaxation testing, and fatigue testing methods for biomaterials applications.

Early consideration of scale-up requirements can help circumvent downstream problems when implementing thermal processes for the production of new materials and product forms. Examples are given showing how success is achieved when scaling opportunities and challenges are identified early in the development process.

Architected materials are a class of engineered materials carefully designed with an intricate arrangement of their internal structures. These materials leverage specific geometric patterns and configurations to impart tailored mechanical, thermal, or electromagnetic properties, giving rise to emerging functions and characteristics. This article reviews the characteristics and potential benefits of architected materials and describes a case study in which 3d printing was used to create lightweight aircraft runway mats with architected structures.

The application potential of magnesium alloys as lightweight structural materials in aerospace and especially inside the aircraft cabin are hindered by their high surface reactivity at increased temperatures with particular concerns of ignition and flammability during a potential contact with a flame or other heat source. This article describes global efforts to develop ignition-resistant and nonflammable magnesium alloys. A widely explored avenue involves microalloying magnesium with rare earth metals and other elements having a high affinity to oxygen. As demonstrated by experimental alloys, this approach allows shifting the ignition temperature well above the liquidus, not only easing requirements on protective atmospheres during liquid-state processing, but also increasing the safety margin for possible aerospace applications.

Successful use of composite materials requires a thorough understanding of their mechanical properties. Although a range of mechanical tests is required to obtain data, the aerospace industry has already developed, validated, and standardized these test methods. This article reviews some of key test methods used with composites.

Beyond automotive, aerospace, and medical materials innovations, research and development of advanced materials and processes for sports and recreation activities is one of the most exciting areas for today’s materials scientists and engineers. This article compiles examples of materials innovations in equipment for cycling, ice skating, cricket, running, football, sailing, and fishing.

One company is moving the needle in the plastic waste crisis using a depolymerization process called methanolysis to create new high-performance materials. This article describes molecular recycling technologies that can process hard-to-recycle plastics otherwise destined for a landfill, incineration, or the environment. These technologies use waste as a feedstock to produce new materials with significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional processes that use fossil feedstocks.

Automotive designers and heat treaters have many choices when it comes to the materials and processes that will meet their overall needs. This article reviews some of the major trends affecting automotive heat treating.

While today's composites encompass a broad and well-established family of materials, the commercial market for high-performance, structural composites has actually existed for well over 30 years. Adoption in the aerospace industry has resulted in a wide range of static test methods offering reliable results. This article reviews some recent innovations in composites testing, including developments related to fatigue testing, high strain rate testing, thermography, and high capacity test systems.

Recent advances in the development of self-healing polymers enhance the longevity of energy harvesting and storage devices.

This article describes how shielding gas composition, either argon or nitrogen, affects the hardness, tensile strength, and toughness of high-power, high-brightness laser welds made on various base materials, including A508 forging steel, 316L stainless steel, Inconel 690, and solution-annealed IN718.

Multidisciplinary optimization techniques provide a novel method for rapid product development that also meets sustainability goals.

This excerpt from ASM Handbook, Volume 10: Materials Characterization describes the technique used to determine crystal structure and the arrangement of atoms in a unit cell.

Although computer modeling of friction phenomena continues to improve, bench-scale and subscale tribotesting remain important in selecting materials, surface treatments, and lubricants for automotive applications.

Materials testing systems must be robust and flexible, capable of determining the mechanical properties of a broad range of materials and components ranging from metals to composites and from plastics to natural, bio-based materials. This article provides an overview of electromechanical testing systems, servohydraulic systems, and vibrophores for high cycle fatigue testing.

Throughout its 100-year history, the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate has conducted groundbreaking critical research programs responsible for a multitude of technological advances. This article summarizes just a few of the significant achievements of the directorate during its history.

This article addresses work to develop core technology for high pressure die casting in order to enable high volume and low-cost manufacturing of lightweight automotive components with complex hollow structural shapes. Although experimental verification of the concept using a part with simplified geometry looks promising, the technique requires further testing using commercial components with internal cavities of complex geometry.