As the U.S. manufacturing sector retools for the global economy and struggles with energy costs, research leading to incremental improvements in processes and materials can turn into impressive results. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have announced such a breakthrough that could boost efficiency in several industry sectors and lead to saving trillions of BTUs and millions of dollars annually.

The technology, a nanocoating made from a boron-aluminum-magnesium ceramic alloy nicknamed BAM, reduces friction and wear on industrial machines and tools.

Bruce Cook, an Ames Laboratory scientist and the co-principal investigator, made the discovery with Alan Russell, a fellow Ames Laboratory researcher and Iowa State University professor of materials science and engineering, about eight years ago when an experiment caught their attention because its results represented a "positive deviation from the rule of mixtures."

Cook said mixtures of two components possessing unique properties usually demonstrate predictable "straight line" behavior based on their individual properties. But the BAM composite performance curve exceeded the typical straight line, producing "exceptional" hardness.

Cook said BAM is useful as a microns-thin coating creating "slippery," wear-resistant surfaces for machine parts subject to friction. It will boost the efficiency and extend the life of pumps and cutting tools used in all kinds of industrial and commercial applications.

Tools used in machining titanium alloy, for example, currently wear out in minutes, according to Cook.

"The coatings have increased tool life by 20 to 40 percent in preliminary field testing of titanium machining," he said.

Government calculations project that by 2030 the nanocoatings could reduce U.S. industrial energy usage by 31 trillion BTUs annually, saving at least $179 million a year.

Besides energy savings, the BAM coating material also may contribute to cost-effective alternatives to manufacturing entire machine replacement parts.

Cook credited the "cooperative environment at ISU" for the success of the project.

"We're the only DOE lab on a university campus," he said, adding that working with ISU faculty and researchers often creates synergy and gives researchers fresh perspectives.

For example, ISU materials scientist Alan Constant is working on a technique to apply the alloy to hydraulic pump vanes and tungsten carbide cutting tools.

The project also is cooperatively funded between the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the ISU Research Foundation, which provided nearly $60,000 for development of material samples for marketing as part of the startup effort.

Nationally, the project team partners with industry leaders such as Eaton Corporation, a manufacturer of fluid power equipment perfecting a commercial-scale technique to lay down the coating, and Greenleaf Corporation, a cutting toolmaker that researches ways to apply the technology. An additional team specializing in friction and wear research is testing the coatings at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Closer to home, Iowa's economy already has benefited directly by Cook's research. BAM is licensed to Newtech Ceramics, an Iowa start-up company in Des Moines that is perfecting large-scale production of the material.

The basic research in determining the molecular structure of these materials and what gives them their properties shows promise for developing other similar materials, Cook said.

"This is a great example of developing advanced materials with a direct correlation to saving energy," he said.