What do The Avengers and engineering have in common? Apparently a lot. Suveen Mathaudhu is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Riverside . He’s also a self-professed comic-book super fan who helped curate an exhibit about the role of material science in comic books such as Iron Man and Captain America .
With the release of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron , we thought it would be interesting to get Mathaudhu’s take on the movie and its relevance to engineering. He analyzed three key moments from the Marvel flick’s trailers and teasers:
Ultron, vibranium and the real world
According to the engineering professor, vibranium is quite common in the Marvel universe. It also happens to be one of the strongest and lightest fictional metals – in addition to being relatively rare.
“Captain America’s shield is made of vibranium,” says Mathaudhu. “The Winter Soldier’s arm as depicted in Captain America 2 is likely made of vibranium as well. A holding cell in Agents of Shield is said to be made out of vibranium. I’m speculating that in the trailers – and probably in the movie – Ultron is in search of the vibranium to coat himself or make a physical version of himself that is near impervious to damage.”
He adds: “Why is this interesting from an engineering perspective? As society pushes towards better fuel efficiency and sustainability, we are now searching for metals and alloys that are also light and strong. Fundamentally, lighter equates to increased fuel efficiency, and with US CAFE standards in place, there is a surge in lightweight Al-, Mg-, Ti- and Advanced High Strength Steel Alloys (AHSS) for vehicles. This weight reduction must also be accomplished without any loss in safety for the passengers. The new Ford F-150s are a bold step in this direction via their use of aluminum frames.”
Modular manufacturing in the
Avengers
Mathaudhu says the Hulkbuster is a well-known Iron Man suit that has gone through multiple incarnations in the Marvel comics. Previews indicate it will make its big screen debut in
Avengers: Age of Ultron
. But how does this apply to engineering? The University of California professor has an explanation.
“There is currently quite a bit of buzz being generated to the idea of 3D printing/additive manufacturing based on its ability to make one-of-a-kind components in the same way that Stark likely does for his various Iron Man suits,” says Mathaudhu. “He can quickly build what he needs, when he needs it. One interesting aspect of the trailer is that Iron Man has a drone ship that’s able to release replacement parts/modular parts to the Hulkbuster when some parts are damaged. I’m speculating that unless the drone ship has some set number of replacement parts, perhaps it has an additive manufacturing-like capability to make replacement parts on the spot.”
Quicksilver and high-speed travel
Quicksilver is estimated to move at a speed of Mach 10, which Mathaudhu says would equate to approximately 6,500 to 7,800 MPH (depending on weather conditions). This speed would produce an extreme amount of friction, along with impact damage as a result of contact with other objects.
“The U.S. DoD has been looking at a variety of technologies to enable hypersonic travel, such as DARPA’s Falcon, which would go a measly Mach 6,” the engineering professor says. “However, progress is being hindered by the lack of high-temperature materials and cooling systems. Fundamentally, the tiles that broke during the shuttle disaster were thermal protection tiles that got damaged and broke from impacts and then heat damage to the structure resulted during re-entry.”
He adds: “There is now a resurgence in
developing such materials
. In the comics, Quicksilver is resistant to frictional damage, impact damage, and the lack of oxygen, but in the movies, perhaps we can speculate that his suit is a special material made to accommodate the rigors of his high-speed traveling? I know it doesn’t cover his whole body, so it doesn’t make complete sense, but we can take some liberties here.”