GOALI: Process Analysis and Variation Control in Micro-stamping

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这项“学术与工业联络资助机会”（GOALI）的研究目标是探索通过微冲压工艺制造精密金属微特征的科学基础和技术。这项研究的动机是对低成本、高精度金属部件的需求不断增加，以满足电子、医疗设备、能源产生和热交换器等领域对效率、强度、温度和/或耐腐蚀性的要求。为了实现这一目标，计划开展四项研究工作：(1)对金属薄板进行力学表征，以准确模拟非线性运动硬化行为；(2)薄板回弹的实验与数值分析；(3)微冲压摩擦特性；(4)微冲压过程控制的探索性研究，以最小化微冲压的变化。厚度小于300微米，特征尺寸小于500微米的薄金属片是这项工作的兴趣所在。如果成功，本研究成果将提高薄金属精密零件的制造能力；因此，由于部分小型化和高效的能源生产，为减少能源消耗创造了新的机会。例如，硬盘大小减少70%导致能源消耗减少75%；微通道热交换器（特征长度为100 μ m）的热流比传统热交换器高3至5倍；亚毫米针头增加了患者在插入时的舒适度等。这项研究是由美国西北大学、Intri-Plex公司和日本名古屋工业大学的一个国际合作伙伴合作进行的。该团队通过咨询、短期课程、早期接触行业以及国际合作的机会，为培养下一代博士后、研究生、本科生和初中生提供了一个良好的环境。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The research objective of this Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) award is to explore the scientific bases and technologies for fabricating precision metal micro-features through the micro-stamping process. This research is motivated by increasing demand for low-cost, high-precision metallic components to satisfy the requirements of efficiency, strength, temperature and/or corrosion resistance in the areas of electronics, medical devices, energy generation and heat exchangers, etc.. To accomplish this goal, four research tasks are planned: (1) Mechanical characterization of thin metal sheets to accurately model the nonlinear kinematic hardening behavior; (2) Experimental and numerical analysis of springback in thin sheets; (3) Friction characterization in micro-stamping; and (4) Exploratory study of process control in micro-stamping to minimize variations in micro-stamping. Thin metal sheets less than 300 µm in thickness with feature sizes less than 500 µm are of interest to this work.If successful, the results of this research will enhance the fabrication capability of thin precision metallic parts; thus, establishing new opportunities for less energy consumption due to part miniaturization and efficient energy generation. For example, a 70% reduction in hard disk size leads to a 75% reduction in energy consumption; micro-channel heat exchangers (with a characteristic length of 100 µm) have demonstrated heat fluxes 3 to 5 times higher than conventional heat exchangers; sub-millimeter needles increase patient comfort during insertion, etc.. The research is a collaboration between Northwestern University, Intri-Plex, Inc., and an international partner from the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan. This team provides a nurturing environment for the training of the next generation of post-doctoral fellows, graduate, undergraduate students and junior high students through advising, short courses, early exposure to industry, and opportunities for international collaborations.