Advanced Processing of Bulk Nanostructured Alloys from Machining Chips

本研究的目的是确定用粉末加工的方法生产大块纳米结构材料的可行性。它试图利用最近发现的一种低成本的方法来生产纳米结构材料，这种材料基本上可以用任何金属或合金。在普通机械加工过程中产生的芯片完全由超细颗粒结构组成，这一发现为大批量生产这些材料提供了机会。该方法将采用先进的粉末加工路线来探索来自纳米结构加工芯片的颗粒的巩固。电子显微镜将用于表征纳米晶体结构。研究的关键是量化热处理对微观组织粗化的影响；这将有助于优化块状材料的微观结构和性能。据报道，纳米结构材料表现出比传统材料更好的性能，包括更高的硬度、强度和延展性。然而，制造这些材料的高成本限制了它们的广泛应用。在离散产品领域广泛使用任何颗粒纳米结构材料之前，对固结和致密化过程的基本理解是必要的。具有广泛社会影响的一个重要的次要好处将是为制造操作中生产的加工芯片提供更高的价值利用率。与研究相辅相成的是一个创新的教育项目，该项目建立在与一个拥有大量非裔美国学生的机构的密切互动基础上，并包括暑期本科生研究实习。

The objective of this research is to establish the feasibility of producing bulk nanostructured materials from machining chips by powder processing. It seeks to capitalize on the recent discovery of a low-cost means of producing nanostructured materials in essentially any metal or alloy. The discovery that chips produced during common machining operations are composed entirely of ultra-fine grained structures, provides an opportunity for making these materials in large volumes. The approach will employ advanced powder processing routes to explore consolidation of particulate derived from the nanostructured machining chips. Electron microscopy will be used to characterize the nanocrystalline structures. A key element of the research is to quantify the effect of thermal processing on microstructure coarsening; this should facilitate optimization of microstructure and properties of the bulk materials. Broad Impact and Intellectual Merit Nanostructured materials have been reported to exhibit significantly better properties than conventional materials, including higher hardness, strength and ductility. The high cost of creating these materials, however, has restricted their broad application. A fundamental understanding of consolidation and densification processes will be necessary before widespread use of any particulate nanostructured materials in the discrete products sector can be expected. An important secondary benefit, with broad societal impact, will be providing higher value utilization for machining chips produced in manufacturing operations. Complementing the research is an innovative education program, which builds on a strong interaction with an institution having a high enrollment of African-American students and includes summer undergraduate research internships.