First simulation of aluminum’s electrical conductivity provides a recipe for an inexpensive substitute for copper
If you buy aluminum it is only one third price and weight copper, but it conducts electricity only about 60%. The relatively low electrical conductivity of aluminum can be a limitation in some real-world applications.
In the electric world, copper is king – for now. That could change with new research are from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) it serves as a recipe for increasing the electrical conductivity of aluminum, making it economically competitive with copper. This research opens the door to experiments that, if fully implemented, could lead to a superconducting aluminum alternative to copper that would be useful in markets beyond transmission lines, revolutionizing vehicles, electronic equipment and power grids.
A new theoretical model provides a recipe for superconducting aluminum, which would be an affordable copper alternative.
(Photo by Aleksei Kochev | Shutterstock.com)
“What if you could make aluminum conduct electricity better – even 80% or 90% as conductive as copper? You can substitute copper and that will make a big difference because conductive aluminum is lighter, cheaper and more abundant,” Keerti Kappagantula, PNNL Materials Scientist and co-author of the study. “That’s the big picture problem we’re trying to solve.”
Copper versus aluminum
Demand for copper is rapidly outstripping current availability, increasing its cost. Copper is an excellent conductor of electricity – it’s used in everything from portable electronics to the underwater transmission cables that power the Internet – but there’s no escaping the fact that copper is less and less readily available. yes and more expensive. These challenges are expected to worsen as the number of electric vehicles (EVs) grows, which need double dong like traditional means. Plus, copper is heavy, which reduces EV performance.
Aluminum is only one third price and weight copper, but it conducts electricity only about 60%. The relatively low electrical conductivity of aluminum can be a limitation in some real-world applications.
“Conduction is key because a lighter-weight wire with comparable conductivity can be used to design lighter motors and other electrical components,” says Kappagantula. your car can travel longer distances”. “Everything from your car’s electronics to producing energy to sending that energy to your home over the grid to charging your car’s battery — anything that runs on electricity — can become should be more efficient”.
(Image by Shannon Colson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Increasing the electrical conductivity of aluminum will be a game changer.
“For many years, we thought that metals couldn’t be more conductive. But that’s not it,” explained Kappagantula. “If you change the structure of the metal and put in the right additives, you can really affect its properties.”
To begin investigating how much the electrical conductivity of aluminum can be increased, Kappangantula and PNNL postdoctoral scholar Aditya Nittala teamed up with Distinguished Professor David Drabold and graduate student Kashi Subedi of Ohio University to determined the effect of temperature and structural defects on the electrical conductivity of aluminum and developed an atom-by-atom formulation to increase its conductivity.
A successful model
This kind of molecular simulation has never been done with metals before, so the researchers had to get creative. They look to semiconductors for inspiration because previous research has successfully simulated electrical conductivity in materials made of these silicon and some metal oxides. The team adapted these concepts to work with aluminum and simulated what would happen to the metal’s conductivity if individual atoms in its structure were removed or rearranged. These small changes add up to a large increase in total conductivity.
The model’s ability to simulate real-world conditions surprised the team. “We don’t think these results come this close to reality,” says Kappagantula. “The simulation of this model based on the atomic structure and its various states is very accurate — I said, ‘Wow, that’s on target.’ It’s very interesting.”
With the theoretical formula for changing the electrical conductivity of metals now clear, the researchers plan to see how much they can increase the conductivity of aluminum in the laboratory to match the theory with the results. experiment. They are also exploring the possibility of increasing the electrical conductivity of other metals using similar simulations.
A recipe for next generation metals
The team hopes that more conductive aluminum will have far-reaching effects — any application that uses electricity or copper could benefit from the development of affordable, lightweight, superconducting aluminum.
This research was supported through Hydro-Innovation and Technology-ENA and the National Science Foundation. Development efforts to apply these results to specific energy applications are funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Manufacturing and Vehicle Technology.
Source: PNNL
