DanGOM: Design a new generation of metals for efficient recycling

Alloying—adding one or more chemical elements to a base metal—is a commonly used strategy to strengthen metals. However, alloying makes recycling of metallic materials difficult and costly. As metal resources are limited and our need for advanced metallic components is increasing continuously, this project will explore a new strategy to strengthen metals without alloying thus allowing efficient recycling. Samples with designed multi-layered microstructures will be manufactured by a novel, simple process to achieve mechanical properties comparable to those of heavily alloyed counterparts. This new design combines a homogeneous chemical composition with a heterogeneous microstructure. The homogeneous chemical composition ensures easy recycling, while the heterogeneous microstructure enhances mechanical properties.