Deformation Mechanics and Microstructure Evolution During Microforming of Metals

该奖项的研究目标是研究微挤压过程中金属变形的机理及其对所得晶粒结构的影响。实验方法将利用光学透明的微型挤压模具，直接可视化材料的行为在一个原型的微成形配置。通过利用先进的高速图像处理技术与热成像相结合，将获得对变形力学时空变化的直接洞察。这种表征将与定量电子显微镜，以阐明机制，其中塑性应变在微成形容纳不断变化的晶粒结构。由此产生的过程结构映射预计提供的经验数据，以帮助可靠地建模，预测和操纵工艺和产品的结果在微成形。如果成功的话，结果是至关重要的，以更好地理解微成形系统的力学和先进的微系统的制造和加工的重要性。研究结果可应用于各种工程领域，包括机电，生物医学和国防制造业，金属微部件的可靠性可以决定产品的寿命和性能。这笔赠款还将支持针对本科生，研究生和博士后水平的跨学科，研究综合教育计划，通过激发医学中心和匹兹堡大学工程学院之间的合作计划。

The research objective of this award is to study the mechanics of metal deformation during microextrusion and their effect on the resulting grain structures. The experimental approach will utilize an optically transparent micro-scale extrusion die to directly visualize material behavior in a prototypical microforming configuration. By utilizing advanced high speed image processing techniques in combination with thermography, direct insights into the spatio-temporal variation of the deformation mechanics will be obtained. This characterization will be coupled with quantitative electron microscopy to elucidate the mechanisms by which plastic strains in microforming are accommodated by the evolving grain structure. The resulting process-structure mappings are expected provide the empirical data to help reliably model, predict and manipulate process and product outcomes in microforming. If successful, the results are critical to a better understanding of the mechanics of microforming systems and of importance to the manufacturing and fabrication of advanced microsystems. The results of the research can be applied to a wide variety of engineering sectors including electromechanical, biomedical and defense manufacturing industries where the reliability of metallic microcomponents can determine the product life and performance. This grant will also support a cross-disciplinary, research-integrated education program targeted at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral levels by sparking collaborative initiatives between the Medical Center and the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.