To-date, realizing nanostructured parts and components has been hampered in the industry by the lack of acceptable consolidation methods for nanoscale particles and the high cost associated with processing the nanoparticles. The high relative surface area of nanoparticles results in high levels of oxygen on their surface. As a result, nanoparticle surface contamination from oxidation and/or hydrolysis results in a significant overall contamination. In addition to contamination issues, nanoparticles are difficult to consolidate and densify by sintering due to agglomeration and other packing difficulties. Oxygen contamination can only be solved through the use of expensive oxygen free environments and procedures.

The ability to produce a nanostructured material that can be handled using standard commercial practices without detrimental surface contamination is one of the key advantages of the LSEM™ & HVD™ processes. LSEM™ enables DIRECT production of nanostructured sheet or plate and the use of standard processing equipment to reach a final component.

The technologies, originally developed at Purdue University, have been further refined by NanoDynamics®. As a method to produce nanocrystalline structures though a commercially viable process, these technologies enable the production of a broad range of high performance components. The development of the process stemmed from the observation that the shear strains experienced by chips produced during conventional machining processes were similar to those experienced by materials undergoing severe plastic deformation, SPD. The Purdue processes are applicable to a wide variety of metals and alloys and, to date, several materials with 50–500 nm grains have been demonstrated.

The strength and hardness of the macroparticles are up to three times that of the bulk material prior to processing.

The LSEM™ & HVD™ technologies address the critical issues facing the successful implementation and commercialization of low cost, high strength, nanostructured materials. The technology represents the first scalable means of producing large quantities of material with standard, commercially available equipment, and that the material can be further processed into components using commercially available equipment. Hence, large scale, economical processing of these materials is feasible with only minor modifications to existing commercial equipment and procedures. Moreover, broad ranges of nanostructured materials hold promise to be widely used by both military and commercial end-users.