Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are developing a new composite made of nanoscale layers of tungsten and metallic glass as an environmentally-benign alternative for depleted uranium used by the military in armor-piercing projectiles. The article says that depleted uranium is used in ballistics applications because of its high density, strength, and ability to deform into a “sharp” shape when hitting targets at high speeds. The researchers are now working to develop a metallic glass composite reinforced with nanocrystalline tungsten that exhibits similar properties.
