1. Biodegradable Skin Staple! KMU Earned Major Recognition in the Annual Main Event of Plastic Surgery
A plastic surgery team from Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) in Taiwan participated in Plastic Surgery The Meeting 2022, an annual premier event for plastic surgery in the United States, and their presentation of “In Vitro and In Vivo Studies on the Biosafety and Efficacy of Biodegradable Magnesium Alloy for Skin Staple” was honored with the Most Outstanding Award.
Figure 1. Left to right: Dr. Yur-Ren Kuo, Dr. Yu-Chi Wang, and Dr. Yi-Chia Wu couple
Source: https://www.geneonline.com/biodegradable-skin-staple-kmu-earned-major-recognition-in-the-annual-main-event-of-plastic-surgery/
2. White Laue and powder diffraction studies to reveal mechanisms of HCP-to-BCC phase transformation in single crystals of Mg under high pressure
Mechanisms of hexagonal close-packed (HCP) to body-centered cubic (BCC) phase transformation in Mg single crystals are observed using a combination of polychromatic beam Laue diffraction and monochromatic beam powder diffraction techniques under quasi-hydrostatic pressures of up to 58 ± 2 GPa at ambient temperature. Although experiments were performed with both He and Ne pressure media, crystals inevitably undergo plastic deformation upon loading to 40–44 GPa. The plasticity is accommodated by dislocation glide causing local misorientations of up to 1°–2°. The selected crystals are tracked by mapping Laue diffraction spots up to the onset of the HCP to BCC transformation, which is determined to be at a pressure of 56.6 ± 2 GPa. Intensity of the Laue reflections from HCP crystals rapidly decrease but no reflections from crystalline BCC phase are observed with a further increase of pressure. Nevertheless, the powder diffraction shows the formation of 110 BCC peak at 56.6 GPa. The peak intensity increases at 59.7 GPa. Upon the full transformation, a powder-like BCC aggregate is formed revealing the destructive nature of the HCP to BCC transformation in single crystals of Mg.
Figure 2 Plastic deformation of Mg single crystal
Source：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29424-z
3. Pagani Zonda R race car eatures magnesium casing
The Pagani Zonda, featureing a multi-disc racing clutch and lightweight magnesium casing, is arguably one of the most beautiful, best-sounding modern supercars. Add to that unparalleled build quality and mythical status among car enthusiasts. That’s precisely why this particular example caught our attention when we recently spotted it for sale.
The Zonda R is powered by a naturally aspirated, Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR-derived 6.0-liter V-12 engine producing 780 horsepower. This powerplant is paired with a six-speed sequential transaxle, which features a multi-disc racing clutch and lightweight magnesium casing. The engine is fed fresh air by a roof-mounted, F1-derived carbon fiber intake channel, and exhaust duties are handled by a similarly inspired set of ceramic-coated Inconel 625 headers.
Figure 3 Pagani Zonda R
Source: https://supercarblondie.com/supercars/pagani-zonda-r-supercar-auction/
4. A synergistic effect on enriching the Mg–Al–Zn alloy-based hybrid composite properties
Mg–Al–Zn alloys are widely preferred in many applications by considering their excellent properties of high stiffness-to-weight ratio, lightweight, high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, castability, high-temperature mechanical properties, machinability, high corrosion resistance, and great damping. Improving the properties of such alloys is challenging due to their hexagonal crystal structure and other alloying limitations. This study aims to synthesize Mg–Al–Zn alloy by incorporating the alloying elements 8.3 wt% Al, 0.35 wt% Zn on pure magnesium (Control specimen). Then synthesize Mg–Al–Zn/BN/B4C hybrid composite by reinforcing B4C at three weight proportions (3 wt%, 6 wt%, 9 wt%) along with constant solid lubricant BN (3 wt%) through a stir casting process. The hybrid composite samples were characterized and compared with the performances of the control specimen. The results reveal that 9 wt% B4C reinforced samples outperformed through recording the improvement of tensile strength by 28.94%, compressive strength by 37.89%, yield strength by 74.63%, and hardness by 14.91% than the control specimen. Apart from this, it has reduced the corrosion area (37.81%) and noticed negligible changes in density (increased by 0.03%) and porosity (decreased by 0.01%) than the control specimen. The samples were characterized using SEM, XRD, and EDAX apparatus.
Figure 4. Microstructure of Mg–Al–Zn/BN/B4C hybrid composite
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24427-8
5. 2023 Maserati GranTurismo now fully revealed
Iconic luxury car maker Maserati might be moving into the electric age with its line-up of ‘Folgore’ models, but it’s not forgetting its petrolhead fanbase when it comes to high horsepower GT cars with this all-new GranTurismo, which uses magnesium for some key components.
Both versions of the new GranTurismo weight 1,795kg, which is relatively light for a four-seat all-wheel drive GT car. This is thanks to extensive use of lightweight materials such as aluminium (Maserati claims as much as 65 per cent of the car is made from this alloy) and magnesium for various chassis components, which helps performance and efficiency.
Figure 5. GranTurismo Racecar
Source: https://www.autodaily.com.au/2023-maserati-granturismo-now-fully-revealed/
International Mg Society