Initiation of research collaboration with RWTH Aachen University on microstructure-mechanical failure-tribology relationships

该项目旨在启动与德国亚琛州立大学在微观结构-材料失效-摩擦学关系方面的合作研究。由Ulrich Krupp教授(铁金属研究所所长)领导的RWTH Aachen University团队专门从事先进合金和新型钢的组织工程领域，重点是机械性能和失效控制。申请者的团队正在努力开发先进的耐磨(或摩擦)材料，如耐磨钢和高熵摩擦材料。研究合作的发展将对加拿大和德国团队从不同角度更深入地了解他们正在研究的耐磨材料和结构材料，并在联合互补专业知识的基础上优化材料具有重要意义。此外，合作将有助于扩大先进材料的应用范围，从炼钢和制造到石油天然气和采矿行业。申请人于2020年获得亚琛州立大学-艾伯塔大学高级研究奖学金。然而，由于新冠肺炎的原因，计划中的与亚琛理工大学的研究合作无法推进。这个NSERC催化剂项目将有助于实现计划中的互动，从而实现长期合作。有了这个催化剂项目，我们将进行初步研究，并确定后续合作的任务。不久将提出一个NSERC国际合作项目。这一合作将有助于双方为扩大应用开发互补的专业知识和先进材料，使加拿大和德国的更多技术部门受益。该项目还将帮助我们的总部获得全球化的视野和高水平的综合技能。申请者和他团队中的HQP将访问RWTH Aachen，并在A大学接待德国游客，以加强研究合作。

This project is proposed to initiate collaborative research with RWTH Aachen University (Germany) on microstructure - material failure - tribology relationships. The team at RWTH Aachen University led by Prof. Ulrich Krupp (Head of the Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy) is specialized in the area of microstructure engineering for advanced alloys and new steels with focus on mechanical properties and failure control. The applicant's team is making great efforts to develop advanced wear-resistant (or tribo-) materials such as wear-resistant steels and high-entropy tribo-materials. The development of research collaboration would be of significance for the Canadian and German teams to have deeper insight into the wear-resistant materials and structural materials that they are working on from different angles and optimize the materials based on joint complementary expertise. In addition, the collaboration would help widen the application range of the advanced materials from, e.g., steel making and manufacturing to oil & gas and mining industries. The applicant obtained a RWTH Aachen University - University of Alberta senior research fellowship in 2020. However, due to the covid-19, planned research collaboration with RWTH Aachen could not move forward. This NSERC catalyst project would help achieve planned interactions towards long-term collaboration. With this catalyst project, we will carry out preliminary research and identify tasks for follow-up collaboration. A NSERC international collaboration project will be proposed soon. The collaboration would help both sides to develop complementary expertise and advanced materials for widened applications, benefiting more technical sectors for both Canada and Germany. The project will also help our HQPs to gain globalized vision and high-level comprehensive skills. The applicant and HQPs in his team will visit RWTH Aachen and also accommodate German visitors at U of A to enhance the research collaboration.