Endurastahl
Endurastahl is an extremely hard ceramic alloy found in a myriad of dieseltech applications, especially as engine liners in auto-armor, airships, and other aircraft. Endurastahl revolutionized mechanical engineering as it was known in the Manifold Sky setting because its incredible hardness, durability, and resistance to corrosion meant that devices which relied on compression and harsh chemical cocktails to function (i.e. internal combustion engines) could be produced at a fraction of the usual weight.
Properties
Physical & Chemical Properties
Endurastahl is sintered from its powdered form under intense pressure, creating a ceramic that is incredibly hard but brittle. During this process, the powder may be applied to a surface made of another metal or heat-resistant material, producing a coating over more ductile materials such as aluminum or magnesium. Several coatings may be applied successively with other materials sandwiched between them to create metal composites of exceptional strength without a concomitant exceptional growth in weight.
Endurastahl also has the benefit of being highly resistant to corrosion because it tends to form an oxidized passivation layer that sticks to the surface (as with copper patina) rather than flaking away (as with iron rust). This resistance can be further enhanced by washing the coating layer with a reagent that produces particularly strong chemical bonds in lieu of oxygen, such as flourine.
Origin & Source
Endurastahl is an entirely manmade substance and does not occur in nature. Some small changes in formulation do not affect the overall beneficial properties of the material, and manufacturers in different parts of the world are known to use slightly different formulations for reasons of raw material cost, availability, or simply to differentiate themselves from other producers. Endurastahl is considered rather difficult to salvage, requiring either that the part into which it has been integrated be salvaged in one piece or, should the part be too broken for this to be possible, that the coating be laboriously chipped off, pulverized, sifted, and re-sintered.
Life & Expiration
Endurastahl is not known to break down in nature, potentially making it a contributing factor to aludge accretion if not properly disposed of. Luckily, the material is valuable enough to industrial powers that well-developed recycling programs are in place to ensure that not a single gram of endurastahl goes to waste.
History & Usage
Discovery
The first batches of endurastahl were formulated in 9921 AR by metallurgists associated with the League Dieseltech Armory in the Free Faces League, where it quickly found use in PBA-1 "Pioneer" Main Battle Auto-Armor fielded against the Grand Army of Voxelia in the War of Reunification. A suit of the more advanced PBA-2 model was eventually captured by Voxelian forces and reverse-engineered with the aid of materials scientists from the Voxelia Academy of Sciences. From here, endurastahl proliferated and became a critical element of dieseltech machinery in all spheres of life where said machinery might be found.
Type
Ceramic
Color
Lustrous, light-colored metal
Common State
Solid (sintered) or powder (unsintered)
Related Technologies
Comments