MRI: Acquisition of High Performance Nano-Mechanical Tester for Micro/Nanomechanical Characterization of Materials

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The goal of this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) project is to strengthen the research capability in micro/nanomechanical materials characterization at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). To do so, a critical mass of researchers with interdisciplinary research interests at UNR proposes to acquire a new and critical instrument, the Hysitron TI-950 Triboindentor nano-mechanical testing system. Northern Nevada including UNR does not have a nano-mechanical tester, thus the lack of such an instrument (or quick access to a nearby instrument) imposes significant challenges to researchers at UNR and local industry partners in advancing materials research and development. Acquiring a state-of-the-art nano-mechanical testing system will immediately support a number of research projects at UNR and initiate transformative research and industry collaborations. The instrument will also support undergraduate and graduate courses and train science and engineering students in state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques. The nano-mechanical tester performs indentation tests by driving a nanometer-sized diamond indenter into the specimen surface and dynamically collecting the applied force and displacement data. The measured load and the indentation depth can be used to derive mechanical material properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, and storage and loss moduli for materials, thin films, coatings, and substrates. By making these measurements as a function of time, viscoelastic properties such as creep and relaxation can be determined at the micro/nano level. Together with testing fixtures available at UNR, the system can be also used for in situ observations of the microstructure evolution at different length scales. In addition to supporting the projects by the core investigator team, eleven researchers from three institutions will collaborate with the core investigator team to use the new instrument for research.The nano-mechanical tester will significantly enhance the research capability at UNR in the emerging areas of bio-materials, nano-materials, active materials, and other structural and functional materials. Particularly, the instrument will improve UNR?s research support infrastructure by giving UNR a unique set of resources with which to pursue funding in the micro/nanomechanical aspects of material behavior. The outcome of the research conducted with the requested instrument will add significantly to the knowledge base in the areas of nano-materials, bio-sensors, testing of materials and structures, nanomanufacturing, processing of nanocomposites, and micro-characterization of material properties. The instrument will be shared by many laboratory groups at UNR and thus will encourage collaboration and spark synergistic research. The instrument will be used to train and better prepare the future work force in advanced materials research. Also, the instrument will be used by UNR NSF GK-12 graduate fellows exploring energy research for characterizing novel materials including thin-film solar cells and membranes for energy-related applications. Graduate and undergraduate students who interact with the instrument will gain valuable hands-on skills and state-of-the-art training in nanoindentation and materials characterization. The participating research groups have a tradition of involving women, minorities and undergraduates in the research activities and this tradition will be continued in the micro/nanomechanical regime with the newly acquired instrument. Detailed digital data will be made available on a designated website to disseminate the research results and findings. Additionally, a collection of course-related projects will be made available to a large pool of instructors, practicing engineers, undergraduate, and graduate students.