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LIFT technology partnership focuses on aluminum-lithium alloys

LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) has launched a technology project focused on predicting the performance of aluminum-lithium alloys for use in jet engine and other aerospace applications. Lead partners on the project, United Technologies Research Center and the University of Michigan, will work on advanced computer simulations to better understand and predict the performance of aluminum-lithium alloys in formed parts.

Lithium is the lightest metal found in nature—just one atomic number heavier than helium. When combined with aluminum, lithium creates an alloy that is both lighter and stronger than aluminum alone, the project reports.

The project expects to develop a predictive simulation tool that can be calibrated and validated against practical experience and various lab experiments to be performed at Case Western Reserve University and The Ohio State University.

Lockheed Martin is the other industry partner on the project. Case Western Reserve University, The Ohio State University, and Southwest Research Institute will contribute to the two-year project as research participants.

LIFT is operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII) and was selected through a competitive process led by the U.S. Department of Defense under the Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation (LM3I) solicitation issued by the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. LIFT is one of the founding institutes in the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, a federal initiative to create regional hubs to accelerate the development and adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies.