Design and Properties of Films, Coatings and Brittle Materials: A Combined Education and Research Program

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9625293 Reimanis A coordinated teaching and research program that targets several national critical needs in the semiconductor and the structural ceramics industries will be implemented. The educational component will emphasize materials selection in design and will develop the integration of computer-based design and/or numerical modeling into several undergraduate classes in materials science. The research aspect of the program will examine relationships between the residual stress distribution and the fracture behavior in graded composites. Graded composites represent a new class of materials in the sense that many of their properties can not be predicted with existing scientific models. One of the P.I.'s long term goals is to develop some of these models. The effect of the size scale of the microstructure relative to gradation on mechanical properties will be examined by synthesizing composites with different graded layer thicknesses and different gradation architectures employing vapor deposition, and powder metallurgy. Both thermal and mechanical loading will be used to examine failure mechanisms. Crack trajectories will be observed so that fracture criteria may be developed. %%% The proposed research plan of this CAREER proposal is to develop an understanding of the failure mechanisms in metal/ceramic composites and coatings that are compositionally graded. Understanding these mechanisms will enable materials engineers to design better advanced materials for the automotive and aerospace industries. ***