GOALI: Manufacturing of Nanostructure-Enhanced Mn-Al-base Materials via Modulated Machining and Thermomechanical Consolidation for High-Performance Permanent Magnets

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This Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) award supports fundamental research on an innovative manufacturing process for the improved preparation of high performance permanent magnet materials. The process combines the preparation of high-purity micro-particulates that are internally composed of an ultrafine-grained structure from MnAl base alloys using a novel machining-based process. During subsequent low-temperature thermo-mechanical consolidation a composition-invariant solid-state phase transformation will be used to obtain dense bulk ferromagnetic aggregates. Magnetic and mechanical properties will be measured. Microstructure evolution during thermo-mechanical processing will be determined by x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy measurements. Physics based numerical models will be combined with experiments to determine the process-structure-property relationships. The research will provide the science underpinning the creation of the internally nanostructured alloy particulates, as well as for the phase transformation facilitated retention of the nano-scale grain size in the low-temperatue consolidated ferromagnetic aggregates. The research provides new processing and materials science knowledge to meet the critical need for the effective manufacture of rare-earth-metal-free magnetic materials, which are critical to technologies used in the conversion between mechanical work and electrical power, as well as in transmission and distribution of power. Improved manufacture of permanent magnet materials based on abundant ingredients supports the implementation of clean wind power and electric vehicle technologies. Additionally, the underlying process schema is amenable for adaptation to a range of alloy systems. Therefore, the processing science knowledge the research will deliver is expected to advance the field of powder-particulate based manufacturing of functional and structural material in general. The research project involves an interdisciplinary academia-industry team from the University of Pittsburgh and Alcoa, provides synergy for project resources, ensures the industry relevance of the research, enables multifaceted graduate education for students, and expedites technology commercialization. It will also positively impact engineering education, promote lifelong learning for industrial practitioners, and broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research.