The U.S. Army, in conjunction with private industry, is involved in a multiyear research project that could yield stronger, lighter, and longer-span structures, for both civil and military applications. The research is examining the benefits of adding vanadium to steel.
Vanadium is an element distributed widely through a variety of minerals. But in the U.S., it is primarily recovered from by-products of chemical and petroleum processing. The addition of a small amount to steel, from 0.03 to 0.10 percent, “can have a dramatic effect on properties,” says Bob Glowdowski, director of technical services for Pittsburgh-based vanadium supplier Stratcor.
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