If aluminium is considered a lightweight metal, American engineers decided to take on the challenge by creating an even lighter metal: the micro-lattice. This metallic alloy was developed in 2012 by researchers from HRL Laboratories, the University of California, Irvine, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). It is both ultralight and structurally strong.
100 times lighter than polystyrene
This is a truly innovative invention, because this metallic microlattice weighs 100 times less than polystyrene, yet it is very strong. It can withstand a strain of more than 50%. Once its load is removed, it can recover 98% of its original height. This technology results from depositing a nickel-phosphorus layer onto a 3D photopolymer lattice. This mesh has a density of 0.9 mg/cm3, which is quite similar to that of ultralight silica aerogels, around 1 mg/cm3.
A metal of the future
This very light metal could be used for valuable applications thanks to its strength, notably in aerospace. Indeed, ultralight materials such as aerogels, metallic foams, polymer foams, carbon nanotubes, etc., already existed before this invention, but they do not share the characteristics of this metal. This alloy created by HRL is both rigid and strong. Moreover, its energy-absorbing capacity as well as its conductivity compared to heavier materials are remarkable.
These qualities earned it a place among the 10 innovations that are changing the world in the American magazine « Popular Mechanics » in October 2012.