CAREER: Scaled-Up Manufacturing of Nanostructured Refractory Ceramics for High-Temperature Applications

该职业发展基金的目标是建立一个全面的研究和教育计划，重点关注纳米结构耐火陶瓷的加工和机械性能，以扩展烧结的基础和实践知识，以及这些类型材料的机械行为，同时生产可直接应用于超高温环境的材料。研究生，本科生，高中教师和高中生将被纳入研究和教育经验，可能与这样一个项目。基于首席研究员在陶瓷材料合成和表征方面的优势，该项目的具体目标是：(1)使用溶剂热合成方法合成纳米结构碳化物粉末；(2)在一系列实验条件（即反应时间、反应温度和清洁溶剂）下表征溶剂热合成过程，以优化和扩大该过程；(3)通过火花等离子烧结将纳米结构粉末致密化；(4)在一系列实验条件下（即粉末的起始结晶尺寸、粉末的起始团聚尺寸、压力、温度、加热速率和致密化时间）表征致密化过程；(5)观察致密化过程中微观组织的发育情况；(6)表征室温和高温下致密压块的力学行为，确定力学行为随SPS加工条件变化的变化；(7)表征压实材料的抗热震性，因为在其最终预期应用中，材料将经历非常快速的加热和冷却循环；(8)在满足上述研究目标的过程中，对研究生、本科生、高中教师和高中生进行调查。与上述研究目标相辅相成，提出了多目标教育计划。该计划包含以下四个目标：(1)让来自美国和墨西哥国立理工学院的研究生和本科生参与研究经验和合作活动；(2)让西南学院的西班牙裔本科生参与研究经验和合作活动；(3)继续向北内华达州高中生开展外展活动，(4)让来自Hug高中（里诺）的西班牙裔高中生和教师参与暑期研究经验。

The goal of this career development grant is to establish a comprehensive research and education program focusing on the processing and mechanical properties of nanostructured refractory ceramics in order to extend the basic and practical knowledge of sintering as well as mechanical behavior in these types of materials, while at the same time producing materials that have a direct application in ultra-high temperature environments. Graduate students, undergraduate students, high school teachers, and high school students will be incorporated into research and educational experiences possible with a project such as this one. Building on the principal investigator's strengths in the synthesis and characterization of ceramic materials, the specific objectives of the project are: (1) to synthesize nanostructured carbide powders using a solvothermal synthesis approach; (2) to characterize the process of solvothermal synthesis over a range of experimental conditions (i.e., reaction time, reaction temperature, and cleaning solvents) in order to optimize and scale-up the process; (3) to densify the nanostructured powders into compacts via spark-plasma sintering; (4) to characterize the process of densification over a range of experimental conditions (i.e., starting crystallite size of the powders, starting agglomerate size of the powders, pressure, temperature, heating rate, and time of densification); (5) to examine the microstructural development during the densification process; (6) to characterize the mechanical behavior of the densified compacts at room and high temperatures and to determine the changes in mechanical behavior with changes in SPS processing conditions; (7) to characterize the thermal shock resistance of the compacts, since in their ultimate expected application the materials will be undergoing cycles of very rapid heating and cooling; and (8) to enlist graduate students, undergraduate students, high school teachers, and high school students in the process of meeting the above research objectives.Complementary to the research goals described above, a multi-objective education plan is proposed. The plan contains the following four objectives: (1) to involve graduate and undergraduate students from the USA and Mexico's National Polytechnic Instittue in research experiences and collaborative activities; (2) to involve undergraduate students of Hispanic descent from Southwester College in research experiences and collaborative activities; (3) to continue outreach activities to northern Nevada high school students, and (4) to involve Hispanic high school students and teachers from Hug High School (Reno) in summer research experiences.