Dr. Yuntian Zhu, a professor of materials science at North Carolina State University worked on the project to create the super strong aluminum alloy along with colleagues from the University of Sydney in Australia; the University of California, Davis; and Ufa State Aviation Technical University in Russia. He says the aluminum alloys have unique structural elements that, when combined to form a hierarchical structure at several nanoscale levels, make them super-strong and ductile.

The aluminum alloys have small building blocks, called “grains,” that are thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. Each grain is a tiny crystal less than 100 nanometers in size. Bigger is not better in materials, Zhu says, as smaller grains result in stronger materials. Zhu also says the aluminum alloys have a number of different types of crystal “defects.” Nanocrystals with defects are stronger than perfect crystals.

Aside from Zhu’s plans to collaborate with the Department of Defense on a project to make magnesium alloy to be used in body armor, the ability to create lighter – yet stronger – materials is crucial to devising everything from more fuel-efficient cars to safer airplanes.