This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will enable the development of novel equipment for mechanical testing of miniature tubular specimens under realistic loading conditions by prescribing axial, torsional, and internal pressure loading in a gaseous environment. The equipment will have the capability to vary specimen temperature from ambient to 1000 degrees Celsius and it will be designed to fit under an optical microscope and into scanning electron microscopes for in-situ microstructural studies. The equipment development will be guided by detailed thermo-mechanical analysis. Technologies of actuation, sensing, heating, pressurization, digital image correlation, gripping, and their controls will be investigated for effective integration in developing the equipment. Micro-fabrication and failure life prediction techniques require understanding of material properties and their evolutions, which can only be determined accurately through miniature specimen testing under realistic loading conditions. Miniature specimens can be machined from components in service for testing to estimate remaining life.
This miniature equipment will be shared by a large group of inter and intra university researchers for fundamental research on material design and characterization, micro-forming, integrated computational materials engineering, and failure life prediction for the energy, aerospace, automobile, electronics, biomedical, sensor and infrastructure industries. Emerging research in materials genome for manufacturing resilient components will benefit immensely from this equipment. This equipment will impact design and development of new materials and high-performance components. It will have the potential to reduce the long 10 to 20 year trial and error methods of designing new materials, and to predict component reliability with much less uncertainty than today. Partnership with a US testing equipment manufacturer will facilitate equipment development processes and quick commercialization of the equipment to make it available to other researchers. Through The Engineering Place and Women in Engineering programs at NC State University, K-12 teachers and students will get hands-on experience with the equipment.
