Metal beryllium is one of the lightest known metallic structural materials and has a density of 1.85 g / cm3, which is 2/3 of that of aluminum. Its tensile strength from 345MPa (hot compaction) -827MPa, even if the temperature rises to 816 ℃ still maintain a certain strength, but at this temperature, aluminum and magnesium already melted. Another notable feature of beryllium is the high modulus of elasticity (3.03 x 105 MPa), 2.5 times as titanium, and 1.3 times as steel. Due to its combination of high strength, high modulus of elasticity and low density, it is especially important in applications that require high specific strength stiffness.
Beryllium also has good thermal properties, its specific heat at room temperature is 1925J/KgoK, is the highest of all metals. This means that beryllium has a greater ability to absorb heat than other metals for a given weight and temperature range. The thermal conductivity of beryllium is 216W/m/oK, higher than aluminum. These properties indicate that beryllium has good thermal shock resistance and thermal diffusivity.
Because beryllium has a unique combination of properties, it has made a lot of use in the field of aerospace, becoming a mature space material. Frames used as structural materials for windows and doors in space shuttles, camera lens holders, and as support for telescopes in deep space exploration vehicles.
Beryllium foil is a supersaturated solid solution copper-based alloy, is a good combination of mechanical properties, physical properties, chemical properties and corrosion resistance of non-ferrous alloys, after aging treatment with aging treatment, with special steel equivalent high strength limit, elastic limit, yield and fatigue limit, but also has a high conductivity, thermal conductivity, high hardness and wear resistance, high creep resistance and corrosion resistance, widely used in the manufacture of various types of mold inserts, instead of high steel production accuracy, complex shape of the mold, welding electrode materials, die-casting machine, injection molding machine punch, wear and corrosion work.
Beryllium sheet has good thermal conductivity: the thermal conductivity of beryllium copper material is conducive to controlling the temperature of the plastic processing mold, but also easier to control the molding cycle, while ensuring the mold wall temperature uniformity; if compared with the steel mold, beryllium copper Molding cycle is much smaller, the average temperature of the mold can be reduced by about 20%, when the average temperature between the mold and the average wall temperature difference between the smaller (for example, the mold parts are not easy to be cooled) using beryllium copper mold material, cooling time can be reduced by 40%.
While the mold wall temperature is reduced by only 15%; the above properties of beryllium copper mold material will bring benefits to the mold manufacturers using this material shorten the molding cycle, improve productivity; mold wall temperature is uniformity and improve the quality of drawn products; Mold structure is simplified, because the cooling pipe is reduced; can increase the material temperature, thereby reducing the product wall thickness and reduce product costs.
As a structural material, beryllium is also likely to be used as part of a space shuttle liquid hydrogen engine and a cooling tube as it has good thermal conductivity and hydrogen impermeability in addition to its mechanical properties. Beryllium is highly reflective of infrared light and is an optical lens material that can also be used in the infrared (IR) wavelength band (after electroless nickel plating). Because the instrument itself is a slight center of gravity offset, will lead to a huge flight deviation. Metallic beryllium also has special nuclear properties, especially in the case of lightweight, small size, and high neutron flux, both as a neutron reflector and as a neutron moderator.
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