CAREER: Fundamental investigation of twin boundary engineering through cyclic cross-phase-boundary thermomechanical processing

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NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award supports research and education activities to develop material processing strategies to manufacture stronger and/or more ductile titanium (Ti) alloys. The mechanical properties of Ti alloys are significantly affected by the defects and other fine structures present in the material, which are challenging to predict or design. In this project, the principal investigator and her team will develop models at different length scales to computationally predict the evolution of fine structures in Ti alloys under thermal and mechanical loadings. The research will lead to strategies to rationally produce fine structures in Ti alloys, thus obtaining desired mechanical properties, which will benefit aerospace, automotive, and other industries that have an increasing demand of Ti alloys. This project will tightly integrate research and educational activities, including science exhibits, curriculum development, research mentoring, online education, and research tool sharing, with an overarching theme of “strong and ductile metal alloys” to train a diverse body of students at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels toward fostering a scientific workforce with integrated knowledge of materials and mechanics. The project will make the developed education modules and research tools accessible to both online and in-person participants.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis CAREER award supports research and education activities aimed at establishing physics-based thermomechanical processing pathways to rationally create desired microstructures in Ti alloys. Mechanical properties of Ti alloys are directly determined by their microstructures, including twin boundaries, dislocations, phase boundaries, and grain boundaries. It is, therefore, imperative to develop effective thermomechanical processing strategies to control microstructures in Ti alloys. To achieve this goal, the PI and her team will pursue three research thrusts that focus on (i) elucidating microstructure formation mechanisms in Ti alloys using atomistic simulations and first-principles calculations; (ii) upscaling the atomistic mechanisms of microstructure evolution to macroscopic mechanics through phase-field finite element modeling; and (iii) developing cross-phase-boundary thermomechanical pathways to control the formation of microstructures in Ti alloys. The project will advance the fundamental understanding and modeling of microstructure evolution in Ti alloys, accelerating the development of thermomechanical processing approaches and alloy compositions of Ti alloys. This project will tightly integrate research and educational activities, including science exhibits, curriculum development, research mentoring, online education, and research tool sharing, with an overarching theme of “strong and ductile metal alloys” to train a diverse body of students at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels toward fostering a scientific workforce with integrated knowledge of materials and mechanics. The project will make the developed education modules and research tools accessible to both online and in-person participants.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research (through the Condensed Matter and Materials Theory and Metals and Metallic Nanostructures programs) and the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (through the Mechanics of Materials and Structures program).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.