Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing of Functionally Graded High Entropy Alloys

该补助金支持与新合金制造工艺相关的新知识的研究，促进科学进步和国家繁荣。增材制造是从数字计算机模型制作几乎任何形状的三维物体的过程。这种技术通常被称为三维打印，有可能彻底改变事物的制造方式。目前可用的合金制造工艺通常需要高温并生产成分均匀的合金。该奖项支持基础研究，以开发在室温下具有所需成分的新型合金（高熵合金）的增材制造方法。高熵合金由五种或五种以上的合金元素组成，具有不寻常的机械和其他性能。电化学沉积新工艺消除了定向能量沉积工艺中与热场相关的残余应力和裂纹。高熵合金零件在能源、医疗保健、生物医学、航空航天、化学和汽车工业中有应用。因此，这项研究的结果有利于美国的经济和社会。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造，电化学，控制理论和材料科学。多学科方法有助于扩大妇女和代表性不足的少数民族在研究中的参与，并对工程教育产生积极影响。电化学增材制造工艺可用于构建由多种材料制成的功能梯度高熵合金，并允许在局部控制纹理，成分和性能方面具有更大的通用性。然而，要实现功能梯度高熵合金电化学增材制造的全部应用潜力，还需要克服一些科学障碍。本研究填补了多材料电化学沉积过程中离子-基体结构变化的反应机理方面的知识空白。研究小组计划对多材料电化学沉积进行分子动力学模拟，以获得对每个组成元素不同反应电位的动态电荷转移的关键见解。在模拟的指导下，该团队进行实验，以了解沉积的合金成分、微观结构和形态，从而实现功能梯度高熵合金沉积。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This grant supports research that contributes new knowledge related to a new alloy manufacturing process, promoting both the progress of science and advancing national prosperity. Additive manufacturing is the process of making a three-dimensional object of virtually any shape from a digital computer model. The technique, often called three-dimensional printing, has the potential to revolutionize the way things are made. Alloy manufacturing processes currently available often require high temperatures and produce alloys of uniform composition. This award supports fundamental research for the development of a method for the additive manufacturing of a new class of alloys, high entropy alloys, with desired compositions at room temperature. High entropy alloys are made up of large proportions of five or more alloying elements and exhibit unusual mechanical and other properties. The new process, electrochemical deposition, eliminates residual stresses and cracks associated with thermal fields in directed energy deposition processes. High entropy alloy parts have applications in energy, healthcare, biomedical, aerospace, chemical, and automotive industries. Therefore, results from this research benefit the U.S. economy and society. This research involves several disciplines including manufacturing, electrochemistry, control theory, and materials science. The multi-disciplinary approach helps broaden the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in research and positively impacts engineering education.The electrochemical additive manufacturing process can be used to structure functionally graded high entropy alloys made of multiple materials and allows for greater versatility in localized control of texture, composition, and properties. However, some scientific barriers are yet to be overcome to realize the full application potential of electrochemical additive manufacturing of functionally graded high entropy alloys. This research is to fill the knowledge gap on the reaction mechanisms for varying ion-substrate configurations during multi-material electrochemical deposition. The research team plans to perform molecular dynamics simulations of multi-material electrochemical deposition to acquire critical insight into the dynamic charge transfer with varying reactive potentials for each of the constituent elements. Guided by the simulations, the team conducts experiments to understand the deposited alloy composition, microstructure and morphology towards achieving functionally graded high entropy alloy deposits.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.