High-Strength Nanostructured Alloys via Novel Machining Processes

这项跨学科研究合作的目标是发展材料加工科学，为新型混合加工工艺提供基础，使大规模、低成本制造纳米结构合金成为可能。在正常的机械加工过程中产生的芯片是由高强度和硬度的纳米晶体结构组成的，这一发现为大量生产这些材料开辟了一种低成本、直接的方法。该研究的重点是大应变挤压加工（LSEM）和调制辅助加工（MAM），这两种新工艺通过严重塑性变形（SPD）以及独立控制产品尺寸和形状（散装和颗粒形式）来实现晶粒细化。该程序将具有商业价值的合金的系统加工实验与先进的微观结构表征方法（包括电子显微镜）相结合。这项工作将绘制出这些新工艺的能力和局限性，并为它们在商业加工操作中的应用提供明确的方向。纳米结构合金的广泛应用受到其高成本的阻碍，其报价经常超过每磅100美元。新的基于机械加工的工艺为这个基本问题提供了一个变革性的解决方案。该研究将为纳米结构合金的制造和这些材料在离散产品领域的批量实际应用之间提供一个重要的桥梁。具有广泛社会影响的一个重要的次要好处是，将为制造业务（向上循环）中生产的芯片提供更高的价值利用率。与研究相辅相成的是一个以学生为中心的教育和培训计划，其中包括跨学科的合作环境，研究生的工业实习和本科生的综合暑期研究机会。

The objective or this interdisciplinary research collaboration is to develop the materials processing science underpinning a new class of hybrid machining processes that enable large-scale, low-cost manufacturing of nanostructured alloys. The finding that chips produced during normal machining operations are composed of nanocrystalline structures of high strength and hardness opens a low-cost, direct way of making these materials in large volumes. The study focuses on Large-Strain Extrusion Machining (LSEM) and Modulation-Assisted Machining (MAM), two new processes that impart grain refinement through severe plastic deformation (SPD) together with independent control of the product size and shape, in both bulk and particulate forms. The program couples systematic processing experiments on alloys of commercial interest with advance microstructure characterization methods, including electron microscopy. This work will map the capabilities and limitations of these new processes and provide clear direction for their application to commercial processing operations. Widespread use of nanostructured alloys has been hampered by their high cost, frequently quoted in excess of one hundred dollars per pound. The new machining-based processes offer a transformative solution to this fundamental problem. The research will provide an important bridge between the manufacturing of nanostructured alloys and the practical utilization of these materials in bulk forms in the discrete products sector. An important secondary benefit, with broad societal impact, will be providing higher value utilization for chips produced in manufacturing operations (up-cycling). Complementing the research is a student-centered education and training program that includes an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment, industrial internships for graduate students and integrated summer research opportunities for undergraduates.