Cryogenic Processing of Nano-Aluminum Powder and Consolidation of Armor Nano-Aluminum Composite Plates

The Team will demonstrate a continuous cryomilling system for Aluminum powder processing that promises cost effectiveness. · The continuous attriting system will use a series of connected attritors, so loading and unloading of each machine is accomplished sequentially on-line, with a minimum of downtime for unloading, cleaning, and loading. With all machines at the Liquid Nitrogen temperature, the potential for yield improvement increases and the reduction in the potential for contamination decreases – economies of scale are improved. · Powder processing will apply what has worked well in the Marine Corps SSM program. Innovations include maintaining a Nitrogen cover for all processing, using vacuum level as the controlling variable in degassing, and applying a tamping process to pack the powder to 65%. · For powder consolidation, we will demonstrate two processes, both of which have performed well. · Commercial extrusion and rolling will use available technology. Our university partner is the leading entity in cryomilling research, the UC-Davis. BENEFITS: Commercial applications for the technology to make large plates include their use in the bimodal form for structural materials where high strength and low weight are significant advantages. These include aerospace applications and high performance automotive applications.