An incredibly light new material that can reduce aircraft engine noise and improve passenger comfort has been developed at the University of Bath.
The graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol aerogel weighs just 2.1kg per cubic metre, making it the lightest sound insulation ever manufactured.
Credit: UPV/EHU
The consumption of raw materials has increased notably in industry in general, and in the construction industry in particular, amidst growing concerns over sustainability issues. Concrete and mortar are the most commonly used materials in construction, and many studies are currently under way to try and reduce the harmful effects of their manufacture. Concrete and mortar are made by mixing water, sand, cement and aggregates. The main problem is the amount of cement used to produce this type of material; cement manufacturing uses a huge amount of energy and natural resources, which implies a high level of CO2 emissions. Diverse studies are under way aimed at reducing the quantity of cement required. We are working to replace cement and aggregates (sand or gravel) with non-natural materials, in order to reduce the use of natural resources and optimise the mechanical and thermal properties of the materials produced, explains Roque Borinaga Treviño, a researcher at th
Prof. HUANG Qing s group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) gas sensor to detect aldehyde with high sensitivity and selectivity, which provided a new detection method for studying the adsorption of gas molecules on porous materials. The relevant research results have been published in Analytical Chemistry.
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Tsukuba, Japan - Ceramic materials that are resistant to cracking are used in a variety of industries from aerospace engineering to dentistry. Toughening them to improve their efficiency and safety is therefore an important area of investigation. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have used time-resolved X-ray diffraction to observe transformation toughening in zirconia ceramics during dynamic fracture. Their findings are published in
Applied Physics Letters.
Current methods of observation allow the formation of cracks in materials to be observed in situ while loads are applied. These close-up analyses can capture changes on a very small scale with fast resolution, providing clear pictures of fractures and of how the material resists them through toughening.