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)提供资金的。本次GOALI学术联系机会奖的研究目的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、能源发电和热交换器等领域对效率、强度、温度和/或耐腐蚀性的要求。为实现这一目标，计划开展四项研究工作：(1)薄金属板材的力学表征以精确模拟非线性运动硬化行为；(2)薄板回弹的实验和数值分析；(3)微冲压中的摩擦特性；(4)微冲压工艺控制的探索性研究。厚度小于300微米、特征尺寸小于500微米的薄金属板对这项工作很有意义。如果研究成功，这项研究的结果将提高薄精密金属部件的制造能力；因此，由于部件的小型化和高效的能源产生，为降低能耗创造了新的机会。例如，硬盘尺寸减少70%将导致能源消耗减少75%；微通道热交换器(特征长度为100微米)的热流密度是传统热交换器的3到5倍；亚毫米针头在插入过程中提高了患者的舒适性等。这项研究是西北大学、Intri-Plex公司和日本名古屋理工学院的国际合作伙伴共同完成的。该团队通过咨询、短期课程、早期接触行业和国际合作机会，为培养下一代博士后研究员、研究生、本科生和初中生提供了培养环境。

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.