Chinese scientists successfully prepare "metallic glass" (photo)

This is the satellite solar cell plate extension rod stretched out. The 20-centimeter-long spiral plate extension rod (small picture on the right) can reach 2 meters long when unfolded (photo taken on August 7)

According to Xinhua News Agency in Beijing on August 7, after years of research, Chinese scientists have made a series of major progress in the preparation and mechanism research of metallic glass in recent years, and successfully prepared amorphous alloy materials for extension mechanisms such as satellite solar cells.

Amorphous alloys, also known as metallic glass, have attracted great attention from scientists around the world because of their special atomic arrangement structure that is different from that of crystals. They exhibit special properties such as ultra-high specific strength, large elastic deformation capacity, and low thermal expansion coefficient.

Zhang Tao, a 47-year-old professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and chief scientist of the "973" project, is one of the pioneers of bulk amorphous alloys. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he was studying in Japan, he discovered rare earth-based and zirconium-based bulk amorphous alloys, which marked the beginning of bulk amorphous alloy research and attracted the attention of the international materials community. He also prepared high-strength metallic glass from alloys such as iron, nickel, and copper.

"Compared with the corresponding crystalline alloys, amorphous alloys have the characteristics of high strength, low melting point, good fluidity, etc. They can be formed almost like plastics and can achieve short-process precision preparation of parts with complex shapes." Zhang Tao said.

In 2003, Zhang Tao established an amorphous alloy laboratory at Beihang University. In recent years, his team has further discovered a variety of new amorphous alloy systems, and has made progress in the formation mechanism of metallic glass, successfully preparing lightweight alloys such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium into metallic glass.

Large solar cell array extension mechanisms, space probes' plate-pressing extension rods and other parts are key satellite components, requiring materials with high strength and high elasticity. Since my country does not have such high-performance materials, these parts often have to rely on imports. Zhang Tao's team successfully prepared amorphous alloy materials for satellite solar cell array extension mechanisms, creating possibilities for application. In the laboratory, the reporter saw the plate-pressing extension rod for satellite solar cells made of titanium-based metallic glass. The 20-centimeter-long spiral plate-pressing extension rod can reach 2 meters in length when opened.

"This means that our country's large solar arrays may one day be equipped with 'Chinese wings' made of metallic glass and fly into space," Zhang Tao said happily.