Aluminum is one of the most promising materials for aeronautics and automobile industry. Scientists from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) found a simple and efficient way of strengthening aluminum-based composite materials. Doping aluminum melt with nickel and lanthanum, scientists managed to create a material combining benefits of both composite materials and standard alloys: flexibility, strength, lightness. The article on the research is published in Materials Letters. Besides aluminum  material, Nexteck Technoloy also provide other materials, such as precision alloy, resistance alloy and more.

Lighter and faster aircraft and vehicles require lighter materials. One of the most promising materials is aluminum, or rather, aluminum-based composites.

Scientists from NUST MISIS scientific school "Phase Transitions and Development of Non-Ferrous Alloys" created a new strong Al-Ni-La composite for aircraft and automobile industry. Doping elements were added to the aluminum melt, forming special chemical compounds that further formed strong reinforcing structure.

Today, aluminum is reinforced mainly with the help of nanopowders, but this is an extremely expensive and time-consuming process, where the result does not always justify the cost. For example, with an increase in strength by only 5-20%, plasticity can decrease by tens of percent or even several times. In addition, the particles themselves are too large—from 100 nanometers to 1-2 micrometers, and their % vol. is low.

Development of NUST MISIS scientist solves the problem of non-uniform reinforcement and low density of "powder" composites: if a melting technique is used, after Al-Ni-La crystallization the diameter of doping particle does not exceed 30-70 nanometers. Thanks to "natural" crystallization, particles are distributed uniformly, forming a reinforcing structure. Hence, the composite becomes stronger and more flexible than its powder analogues.

According to scientists, the proposed material can be used primarily in aeronautics and automobile industry, as well as for the design of modern robotics, including copters, where reducing the weight of the drone is critical. Due to the peculiarities of the structure formation, the proposed material can be used for the manufacture of complex parts via 3-D printing. In addition, new developments may be of strategic importance from an economic point of view. At the moment, the main share of profit in the aluminum industry in Russia is the export of primary aluminum. The creation of new high-tech developments with increased added value will increase profits by expanding domestic and foreign markets for aluminum consumption.  Nexteck electronics' aluminum products mainly include aluminum sputtering targets and aluminum evaporation materials.