Deformation Mechanics and Microstructure Evolution During Microforming of Metals

该奖项的研究目标是研究微挤压过程中金属变形的机制及其对所产生的颗粒结构的影响。该实验方法将利用光学透明的微尺度挤压模具来直接显示原型微成形配置中的材料行为。利用先进的高速图像处理技术与热成像技术相结合，可以直观地了解变形力学的时空变化。这一特征将与定量电子显微镜相结合，以阐明微成形中的塑性应变被不断演变的颗粒结构所适应的机制。由此产生的工艺-结构映射图有望提供经验数据，以帮助可靠地模拟、预测和操纵微成形中的工艺和产品结果。如果成功，这些结果对于更好地理解微成形系统的机理以及对制造和制造先进的微系统具有重要意义。研究结果可应用于各种工程领域，包括机电、生物医学和国防制造行业，在这些行业中，金属微元件的可靠性决定着产品的寿命和性能。这笔赠款还将通过激发医学中心和匹兹堡大学工程学院之间的合作倡议，支持针对本科生、研究生和博士后水平的跨学科、研究整合的教育计划。

The research objective of this award is to study the mechanics of metal deformation during microextrusion and their effect on the resulting grain structures. The experimental approach will utilize an optically transparent micro-scale extrusion die to directly visualize material behavior in a prototypical microforming configuration. By utilizing advanced high speed image processing techniques in combination with thermography, direct insights into the spatio-temporal variation of the deformation mechanics will be obtained. This characterization will be coupled with quantitative electron microscopy to elucidate the mechanisms by which plastic strains in microforming are accommodated by the evolving grain structure. The resulting process-structure mappings are expected provide the empirical data to help reliably model, predict and manipulate process and product outcomes in microforming. If successful, the results are critical to a better understanding of the mechanics of microforming systems and of importance to the manufacturing and fabrication of advanced microsystems. The results of the research can be applied to a wide variety of engineering sectors including electromechanical, biomedical and defense manufacturing industries where the reliability of metallic microcomponents can determine the product life and performance. This grant will also support a cross-disciplinary, research-integrated education program targeted at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral levels by sparking collaborative initiatives between the Medical Center and the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.