Russian and Spanish Scientists Develop Affordable and Durable Aluminum Alloy. Researchers from Russia and Spain have developed an aluminum alloy for conductors that combines high strength with good electrical conductivity. The alloy can be produced from more readily available materials, paving the way for large-scale use in the energy sector.
Russian and Spanish materials scientists have introduced a new aluminum alloy that could revolutionize the production of conductors for energy infrastructure. According to the press service of NUST MISIS, the development combines high strength with good electrical conductivity and can be produced from cheaper raw materials without losing its key properties.
According to Andrey Pozdnyakov, Associate Professor at the Department of Non-Ferrous Metals Metallurgy at NUST MISIS, the new material is designed for use in wires, cables, and other components where reliability and efficiency of energy transmission are crucial. Traditionally, to increase the strength of aluminum, zirconium and scandium are added to the alloys, but the latter significantly raises the product’s cost.
In joint research with the University of the Balearic Islands, scientists found that scandium can be replaced with a more accessible rare-earth element—samarium. This solution preserved the alloy’s mechanical and electrical properties at their previous level while reducing production costs.
Another important discovery was the use of trace amounts of iron and silicon, which were previously considered undesirable. It turned out that during heat treatment, these impurities accelerate the formation of nanoscale particles inside the alloy. These particles are evenly distributed throughout the material and prevent the movement of crystal lattice defects, which directly enhances strength.
As researcher of NUST MISIS Olesya Ryzhakova noted, the addition of samarium allows for maximum strength to be achieved in just ten hours of processing, whereas similar materials require dozens of hours. As a result, the new alloy demonstrates electrical conductivity at 55% of copper, which is comparable to existing scandium alloys, but is significantly cheaper for industry.
According to the developers, the combination of raw material availability, accelerated production, and retention of performance characteristics makes the new aluminum alloy promising for large-scale adoption in the energy sector and other industries where material reliability and cost efficiency are important.
