engineering

Ultralight material

Ultralight material is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ultralight material rather than just read about it. In short: Ultralight materials are solids with a density of less than 10 mg/cm3, including silica aerogels, carbon nanotube aerogels, aerographite, metallic foams, polymeric foams, and metallic microlattices. The density of air is about 1.275 mg/cm3, which means that the air in the pores contributes significantly to the density of these materials in atmospheric conditions.

Key takeaways

Ultralight material belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ultralight material to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ultralight material from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ultralight materials are solids with a density of less than 10 mg/cm3, including silica aerogels, carbon nanotube aerogels, aerographite, metallic foams, polymeric foams, and metallic microlattices. The density of air is about 1.275 mg/cm3, which means that the air in the pores contributes significantly to the density of these materials in atmospheric conditions. They can be classified by production method as aerogels, stochastic foams, and structured cellular materials.

Properties Ultralight materials are solids with a density of less than 10 mg/cm3. Ultralight material is defined by its cellular arrangement and its stiffness and strength that make up its solid constituent. They include silica aerogels, carbon nanotube aerogels, aero graphite, metallic foams, polymeric foams, and metallic micro lattices. Ultralight materials are produced to have the strength of bulk-scaled properties at a micro-size. Also, they are designed to not compress even under extreme pressure, which show that they are stiff and strong. Ultralight material also has elastic properties. Some ultralight materials are designed with more pores to allow the structure to have better heat transfer, which is needed for many materials, like pipes for example. In compression experiments, ultralight materials almost always show complete recovery from strains exceeding 50%.

Applications Ultralight foams are produced by 3D interconnected hollow tubes at the micrometer and nanometer levels. These foams are used to quickly and selectively absorb oils from water surfaces that are under magnetic field. The foam can absorb 100 times its own weight. Plywood faced sandwiches are thermal insulators made with low density fiber boards with an ultralight foam interior. The plywood faced sandwich provide insulation properties superior to those without ultralight-weight properties.

Possible advances Parts of massive bridges could be made from ultra strong, lightweight material in the future. These bridges would also be insulated from heat and cold. Scientists at MIT have been working to make a material that is as strong as steel but has the density of a plastic bag. The biggest hurdle in making this material is the lack of industrial manufacturing capability for producing them. Ultralight material is constantly subjected to compression and accidental physical damage or abuse during practical applications. Recent advances in ultralight magnetic framework has allowed structures made from lightweight material to self repair their structure when it is compromised. Ultralight materials are capable of healing because of pH induced coordination between iron and catecholic compounds.

Examples

Aerogel

The first ultralight material, aerogel was first created by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931.

Stochastic foam Graphene foams and graphite foams are examples of stochastic foams.

Structured cellular materials Structured cellular materials can be remarkably strong despite very low density. Reversibly assembled cellular composite materials enable tailorable composite materials properties, to the ideal linear specific stiffness scaling regime. Using projection microstereolithography, octet microlattices have also been fabricated from polymers, metals, and ceramics. The design of the high performing lattices mean that the individual struts making up the materials do not bend. The materials are therefore exceptionally stiff and strong for their weight.

References

Bibliography SS Kistler (1931). "Coherent Expanded Aerogels and Jellies". Nature. 127 (3211): 741. Bibcode:1931Natur.127..741K. doi:10.1038/127741a0. KC Cheung; N Gershenfeld (September 2013). "Reversibly Assembled Cellular Composite Materials". Science. 341 (6058): 1219–1221. Bibcode:2013Sci...341.1219C. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.672.1351. doi:10.1126/science.1240889. PMID 23950496. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |citeseerx= (help)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ultralight material

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ultralight material claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ultralight material before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ultralight material ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ultralight material

In research: Ultralight material appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ultralight material in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ultralight material is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Materials, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ultralight material outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ultralight material in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ultralight material means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ultralight material out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ultralight material in simple terms?

Why does Ultralight material matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ultralight material?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ultralight material.