Tiny but mighty precipitates toughen a structural
alloy

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge
National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
have found a way to simultaneously increase the strength and
ductility of an alloy by introducing tiny precipitates into its
matrix and tuning their size and spacing. The precipitates are
solids that separate from the metal mixture as the alloy cools. The
results, published in the journal Nature, will open new avenues for
advancing structural materials.