IMR: Acquisition of a MATE Thermo-Mechanical Testing System for Research and Education in Materials Science and Engineering

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This NSF Instrumentation for Materials Research (IMR) Program proposal is for the acquisition of a MATE Thermo-Mechanical Test System, which can perform a variety of mechanical property measurements, including tension, compression, low- and high-cycle fatigue, thermomechanical fatigue (TMF), fatigue crack growth (FCG), creep, fracture toughness, etc., with precise (less than 0.15% nonlinearity and less than 0.10% hysteresis) servohydraulic control for loads up to 100kN and temperatures up to 1200oC. The intellectual merit of this acquisition lies in research and teaching of materials science and engineering, and the materials to be investigated include metals, ceramics, composites, glasses, nanomaterials, etc. This acquisition of this instrumentation will make significant contributions to analytical and teaching capabilities. In terms of research, the MATE Thermo-Mechanical Test System will be used to further the understanding of the processing-microstructure-property relationships of materials for projects sponsored by the NSF, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP), and industry. In particular, it will be used to understand grain boundary deformation processes and microstructure-property relationships for high-temperature structural alloys, including nickel-based superalloys and titanium alloys, investigated with Dr. Carl Boehlert's NSF CAREER Award (DMR-0134789). The specific goal of this research program is to develop the untapped potential of grain boundary engineering (GBE) for high-temperature structural alloys. The primary objective is to understand the inter-relationship of processing, grain boundary character distribution (GBCD), and creep behavior. Several additional research projects will also utilize this instrumentation. For example, it will be used for fatigue, fracture toughness, and FCG experiments to understand microstructure-property relationships of biomedical Ti alloys being developed as implant materials. It will also be used to investigate the mechanical behavior of Mg alloys, Si3N4, polymers, glasses, etc. This NSF Instrumentation for Materials Research (IMR) Program proposal is for the acquisition of a MATE Thermo-Mechanical Test System, which can perform a variety of mechanical property measurements, including tension, compression, low- and high-cycle fatigue, thermomechanical fatigue (TMF), fatigue crack growth (FCG), creep, fracture toughness, etc. The intellectual merit of this acquisition lies in research and teaching of materials science and engineering, and the materials to be investigated include metals, ceramics, composites, glasses, nanomaterials, etc. This instrumentation will significantly benefit both undergraduate and graduate teaching, will encourage interdisciplinary studies, and will establish new research capabilities for performing research and research-related education. Overall, the acquisition of this instrumentation will benefit research and teaching by making a state-of-the-art mechanical testing system available to both undergraduate and graduate students as part of their curriculum and research activities. The broader impacts of this acquisition include the generation of material-property information not provided with existing equipment, and it will stimulate investigations of materials into new areas within the community. Many ongoing and planned research projects within the various university departments, highlighting multidisciplinary research areas and a variety of material systems, will benefit from the enhanced capabilities that the acquisition of the MATE Thermomechanical Test System will bring.