Collaborative Research: Embedding of Thin Film Sensors in Advanced Ceramic Tools for Micro/Nano Scale Thermomechanical Measurements in and Near Tool-Workpiece Interface

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The objective of this award is to embed micro- and nano-scale high temperature thermocouples and strain gauges in polycrystalline cubic boron nitride materials, and to provide thermomechanical sensing with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at and near the ceramic tool-work interface for manufacturing process studies. It will first focus on the design, fabrication, and embedding through diffusion bonding of thin film sensor arrays into polycrystalline cubic boron nitride. The performance of the embedded sensors will be characterized, and the interaction between the embedded sensors and ceramic inserts under simulated harsh conditions will be studied. Hard turning will be used as the vehicle for testing embedded thin film sensor arrays and for the measurement of temperature and stress distributions in ceramic cutting tools to advance the understanding of machining physics. If successful, the embedded sensors will offer a capability of providing, for the first time, sets of simultaneous measurements over a finely spaced grid for mechanical and thermal distributions at the ceramic tool-chip interface. This will enable manufacturing engineers to better understand the processes, optimize ceramic tool design, and to effectively control the process. Advanced ceramic tooling with embedded thin film sensors will have significant implications on the national economy by markedly enhancing the competitiveness of US industries. Undergraduate and graduate students will be able to obtain hands-on experience in a range of advanced manufacturing concepts in addition to enhancements in related curricula. Interdisciplinary research will foster a new generation of engineers and scientists with broad and deep knowledge in the arena of thin film sensor and manufacturing technologies. Outreach science modules will be developed for high-school students. The program will also engage students from under-represented groups.