This Materials World Network award supports a collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins University and the National University of Singapore on the understanding of the mechanics of the deformation twinning mechanism that controls the behavior of many important metals. Deformation twinning plays an important role in the plastic deformation of many metals, particularly in low-symmetry systems (hcp metals). To develop a clear understanding of twinning one must: (a) characterize the process of twinning through robust dynamic experiments, and (b) develop mechanistic predictive models that include the dynamics of twinning within the constitutive framework. The inherent discreteness of the twin development calls for a methodology that can handle such isolated events as twin nucleation, propagation, and twin-twin interactions. To address this, the investigators develop an experimentally-driven approach to modeling twinning as a discrete process within a continuum framework, with a methodology that explicitly models the development of deformation twins.
It is expected that this research will result in a significant improvement in the understanding of the twinning deformation mechanism in metals such as magnesium and titanium, and that the effort will lead to improved and important utilization of these materials in industry - e.g. the magnesium industry is globally the fastest growing metals industry because its low density can lead to significant advantages in terms of energy consumption.
