Natural and man-made layered structures exhibit extremely high strength, toughness, thermal resistance, and biocompatibility characteristics. On the microscopic scale, lamellar layered structures are the basic foundation for the high strength and toughness of steel as a structural material. Structures in nature, such as abalone and mollusk shells, derive their high strength and toughness from a layered ceramic structure bonded together by an organic glue. Indeed, the structure of engineering materials often mimics the structures in nature. Multilayered materials at the nanoscale exhibit exciting possibilities for extremely high strength, fatigue resistance, thermal resistance, wear resistance, and biocompatibility. Thus, designing layered structures at the nanoscale is a particularly attractive strategy for developing a new generation of multifunctional materials with tremendous possibilities. Nanolaminate materials have very different properties from traditional bulk composites, due to their much higher interfacial area and dramatically smaller length scale. These changes can lead to new types of deformation mechanisms, which are very different from those observed in bulk systems. Fundamental research on the mechanical behavior of metal/ceramic multilayers at the nanoscale is necessary for successful implementation of these materials in engineering applications.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: This international project focuses on the high temperature behavior of multilayered metal/ceramic materials. Novel approaches to microstructural tailoring of the nanolaminates are being used to obtain a combination of strength and toughness. A systematic study linking synthesis, microstructure, deformation, and simulation, is critical to further development and understanding of nanolaminate composites microstructures and elevated temperature resistance. The focus of this work is on a model system of Ti/SiC multilayers at the nanoscale. This project involves Nik Chawla and his research team at Arizona State University and Jon Molina-Aldareguia at the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies of Materials (IMDEA) in the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain (funded by the Spanish National Science Foundation). Also, there are strong linkages to researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Cutting-edge techniques such as high temperature nanoindentation and in situ indentation in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) will be used. A new generation of graduate students is being trained with international experiences as inherent component of their research. Additionally, undergraduate students will be engaged in the research.
