Shear force: How good materials are made better

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are using solid phase processing approaches to create materials with improved properties. Focusing on a lightweight aluminum silicon alloy widely used in the defense, aerospace, and automotive industries, the team used shear force to restructure the alloy at the nano-level. The distribution of the silicon was changed at the atomic level, making the microstructure much more robust than identical materials produced conventionally.