MRI: Acquisition of an Xradia Versa 620 to Enable National Capabilities for High-throughput, Multiscale 3D/4D Materials Research

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This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of an advanced x-ray microscope for examination of a broad range of natural and engineered materials. This instrument enables small-scale examinations of fundamental properties and mechanisms. In lightweight aerospace materials, early stages of cracking will be studied to improve failure and reliability models. In geological materials, fluid flow in porous media will be studied to assist in the development of new predictive models to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. In biological materials, resistance to fracture in bone and effectiveness of medical implants will be studied. The NSF-funded National Science Data Fabric (NSDF) will be leveraged to ensure effective data storage, networking, computing, and educational resources. Integration of the instrument with NSDF will inherently extend the instrument as a resource to minority-serving institutions and disadvantaged communities. This is intended to help address the technology gap in our scientific community. High-energy X-ray experiments (HEXRE) enabled at synchrotron beamline facilities have led a new frontier of 3D/4D microstructure-sensitive investigations for a broad range of materials. However, in-situ testing and 3D/4D imaging using resources at a synchrotron beamline facility requires an application process to gain access and complete an abbreviated study, which inherently restricts the impact of these exciting methods. The primary objective of this project is to launch an Xradia Versa 620 to be utilized as a democratized, lab-scale surrogate for beamline resources to enable widespread adoption of microstructure-sensitive 3D/4D experimental studies and model development for the acceleration of materials development and qualification. Compared to synchrotron facilities, the Versa 620 improves speed of data acquisition though the ability to scan large objects (several inches in diameter) at lower resolutions, but with high throughput, thereby enabling large scans to find areas of interest that can then be the focus of high-resolution measurements. The improved scan speeds and increased accessibility will enable increased data quantities to advance this new frontier toward data science applications in materials research.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.