Bainite is a form of steel.

Nice article! Thanks!

Well said.

Precisely. There is a little known research fact that automobile fatalities have tracked right along with fuel mileage standards hikes. Makes sense in the basic physics: in order to propel a given mass at a given velocity there must be a mathematically derived force. Add in the inefficiencies in the internal combustion engine and transmission systems and really all the auto manufacturers have control over is mass. So they make lighter vehicles which are less crash-resistant.

I forgot Asimov. I don't know how I could because I once wrote a term paper on him. See what happens in old age? HAL doesn't count because in the movie it didn't indicate anything about computers dominating the general masses as they do today. Rather the moon and space station gave one to believe that most progress was in transportation.

True. But it can also be way off. As a S.F. fan from the age of 10, I don't recall any stories that predicted the dominance of computers and robotics in the 21st century.

Says it's an LLC. Guess that means privately held and no plans to go public. Wonder if they would take inquiries from private individuals?

I like the sound of Rearden's Metal.

They just have to learn how to distribute the weight.
Had an old Beamer and a 240Z that were great in the snow...they were very light...because the center of gravity was low.

Gotta watch that weight, what little is left must be right over the wheels.
Will be watching the new all aluminum F-150, especially in the snow where weight counts the most.

Fiction has the interesting habit of becoming fact. Look at the technology in Startrek the Original Series.

Prof, I messed around with some very fat capacitors,
a little while ago, alongside a pedal-powered generator.
the capacitors leak down before you can use the power.
it is distressing how fast. . ham radio capacitors in a
tall stack also leak down rapidly -- in minutes. . then, I
started messing around with lithium batteries. . no fires, yet! -- j
.

this should improve crash performance while reducing
fuel consumption. . when it is introduced into a line of cars,
they will probably go conservative until history is generated
to give them confidence for even thinner gauge use. -- j
.

this is good, and very interesting. . I was in love with Astralloy,
a weldable high-strength-low-alloy steel, but this is a step ahead!!! -- j

p.s. the Astralloy story::: http://astralloy.com/files/history.html
.

So how do we find Hank Bain???
Bainite publically traded co. or LLC?

True, I was thinking of the all carbon fiber exterior such as I saw that replaced the fiberglass exterior of SEVEN. SEVEN is an electric powered four place vehicle constructed to compete in the Progressive 100 mpg X Prize a couple of years ago. I wonder if the weight versus strength ration between the new steel is less than their carbon fiber epoxy hull. http://illuminatimotorworks.org/

Damn but it looks complicated from the Wiki description. From what I can gather, the transformationals are dependent on a critical temperature gradient involving a specific, very tight upper temperature range and a tightly controlled quenching within a very narrow range. As one poster posited, what would happen if a copper based component were added to the melt and allowed to integrate to the interstices of the quenched metal? jbrenner, here's one for your class.

I was not clear: If it did not reduce fuel consumption but did improve structure and hence safety, it would still be worth doing. The concern about fuel consumption is due to thinking that we have only a small amount of fossil fuels left or that the petrol is expensive. If fuel is abundant and inexpensive, then you could keep the weight the same and improve the structural integrity.

No, this is not what is going to 'work' in the real world - you are spot on there. But it is still a good improvement.

Jan

Seems like it is sort of good, but nothing earth shattering. Applied to 4130 steel, it is twice the strength of fully annealed 4130, but it is about the same strength as tempered 4130 (213ksi), with 14% vs 10% elongation.

In addition, it is important to consider that in small sections (thin sheets) material properties can be greatly overstated relative to thick sections, because the defects are oriented in the direction of the processing. Low carbon steel wire can be 150ksi, with great elongation, but the same material in thick sections is ~50ksi.

Seems promising, and not to be ignored, but not earth shattering. I would not invest my whole 401K in it.

Link to Army Lab Test:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...