CAREER: Enhanced Ferroelastic Toughening in Electroceramic Composites through Microstructural Coupling

非技术描述：陶瓷材料中的特定键合配置可以在广泛的先进应用中实现独特的功能，包括超级计算机中的超导导线，汽车排气中的精密气体传感器和消费电子产品中的倾斜传感器。然而，这些相同的原子键也是导致陶瓷脆性破坏行为的原因。这项研究为在不牺牲电气性能的情况下提高耐用性所必需的一类电陶瓷的基本机械反应提供了新的视角。通过将这些见解与加工科学相结合，该项目正在加速开发新的电陶瓷材料和材料系统，这些材料和材料系统可能会大大扩展现有的性能和耐用性限制。通过各种教育和外展活动，该项目还促进了传统上代表性不足的学生的参与和保留。这些活动包括为对材料科学感兴趣的年轻女性举办的高中夏令营，将工业相关的计算工具整合到本科课程中，以及扩大对工程学院女研究生的指导。技术细节：该项目通过实验建立随机形态特征与内在增韧机制之间的基本关系，以便系统地设计高耐用，铁弹性/铁电功能复合材料。铁弹性开关是先进陶瓷有限的固有增韧机制之一，但由于局部形态特征、有效激活畴核和运动以及由此产生的韧性改善之间的关系在很大程度上尚未得到充分利用。通过使用原位显微镜和定向微机械探针来弥补这一差距，该研究为加速基于物理的更耐用陶瓷复合材料系统的设计提供了基础。最后，本项目中使用的最先进的表征和处理方法与数据驱动的综合计算材料工程观点相结合，正在增强研究生的整体发展，为更加依赖数字的材料科学行业做好准备。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Specific bonding configurations in ceramic materials enable unique functionalities in a wide range of advanced applications, including superconductive wires in supercomputers, precise gas sensors in automotive exhaust and tilt sensors in consumer electronics. However, these same atomic bonds are also the responsible for the characteristic brittle failure behavior of ceramics. This research is generating new perspectives on fundamental mechanical responses within a class of electrical ceramics necessary to enhance durability without sacrificing electrical performance. By coupling these insights with processing science, this project is accelerating the development of new electroceramic materials and material systems that may drastically expand the existing limits of performance and durability. Through a variety of education and outreach activities, this project also promotes engagement and retention of traditionally underrepresented students. These activities include a high school summer camp for young women interested in material science, integration of industrially relevant, computational tools into undergraduate courses, and expanded mentorship of female graduate students within the college of engineering.TECHNICAL DETAILS: This project is experimentally establishing a fundamental relationship between otherwise stochastic morphological features and intrinsic toughening mechanism in order to systematically design highly durable, ferroelastic/ferroelectric functional composites. Ferroelastic switching is one of a limited number of intrinsic toughening mechanisms available for advanced ceramics, yet it is not fully utilized due to the largely uncharacterized relationship between localized morphological features, efficient activation of domain nucleation and motion, and resultant improvements in toughness. By bridging this gap using in situ microscopy and targeted micromechanical probes, this research is providing the foundation for accelerated physics-based design of more durable ceramic composite systems. Finally, the state of the art characterization and processing methods used in this project in combination with a data-driven integrated computational materials engineering perspective is enhancing the overall development of graduate students, preparing them for an ever more digitally-reliant materials science industry.