Fatigue Behavior of Functionally Graded Ceramics­ Synthesis, Experiments, and Analysis

该奖项的研究目标是1)创造一种新型的梯度玻璃/氧化铝/玻璃(G/A/G)夹层结构，与其单块氧化铝或玻璃类似物相比，具有更好的接触、滑动和弯曲损伤性能，用于生物医学和工程应用；以及2)使用G/A/G模型系统发现功能梯度材料(FGM)的结构(微观和宏观)与性能(疲劳接触、滑动和抗弯性能)之间的关键相互关系。接触、滑动和弯曲是许多生物力学和工程应用中最常见的疲劳模式。将设计和合成G/A/G功能梯度材料，并对其疲劳行为进行研究，以建立结构-性能关系。成果包括开发一系列新的功能梯度材料及其制造的新方法，更好地了解功能梯度材料的结构和性质关系，研究结果的文件记录，研究生和本科生教育，以及针对未被充分代表的少数族裔高中生的研究经验。如果成功，这项研究将导致下一代结构陶瓷的开发，这些结构陶瓷具有更好的抗损伤性能，用于人工关节、牙科假体、航空航天、军事、微电子和其他工程应用。这项拟议的研究将扩展目前关于功能梯度材料疲劳行为的知识，并为在一系列应用中设计功能梯度材料提供指导。将球加载到由柔顺衬底支撑的平面脆性层(S)上的测试方法是一种简单但强大的技术，可用于阐明陶瓷的接触、滑动和弯曲损伤性能。这些结果将被传播到生物医学、材料和工程文献中，以便为研究合成材料和生物组织的断裂行为以及为科学和医疗保健界提供新的材料和设备创造新的场所。研究生、本科生和高中生将从课堂教学和参与研究中受益。

The research objectives of this award are 1) to create a novel graded glass/alumina/glass (G/A/G) sandwich structure with improved contact, sliding and flexural damage resistance compared to its monolith alumina or glass counterpart for biomedical and engineering applications; and 2) to discover critical interrelationships between structure (micro and macro) and properties (fatigue contact, sliding, and flexural resistance) of functionally graded materials (FGMs) using a model G/A/G system. Contact, sliding, and flexure are the most common fatigue modes encountered in numerous biomechanical and engineering applications. G/A/G FGMs will be designed and synthesized, and their fatigue behavior will be investigated to establish the structure?{property relationships. Deliverables include the development of a family of new FGMs and new routes for their manufacture, better understanding of structure¡Vproperty relationships of FGMs, documentation of research results, graduate and undergraduate students¡¦ education, and research experiences for underrepresented minority high school students.If successful, this research will lead to the development of next-generation structural ceramics with improved damage resistance for artificial joints, dental prostheses, aerospace, military, microelectronics, and other engineering applications. The proposed research will extend the current knowledge of fatigue behavior of FGMs and provide guidelines for designing FGMs across an array of applications. The testing method, loading a ball onto flat brittle layer(s) supported by a compliant substrate, is a simple yet powerful technique for elucidating contact, sliding, and flexural damage resistance of ceramics. The results will be disseminated to the biomedical, materials, and engineering literature to allow the creation of new venues for studying the fracture behavior of synthetic materials and biological tissues, as well as new materials and devices for the scientific and healthcare communities. Graduate, undergraduate science students and high school students will benefit through classroom instruction and involvement in the research.