Multi-Principal Element Alloys: Exploration, Design and Understanding (MPE.EDU)
Abstract
Metallic materials are foundational components in a vast array of navalsystems, including ships, submarines, sea-based aircraft and hypersonic vehicles. While some metallic alloy systems are perceived as mature, new computational methodologies, emerging informatics tools and new high throughput experimental innovations are greatly expanding the scope for discovery and implementation of new alloys for future generations of advanced engineering components. Most recently, multi-principal element (MPE) alloys have emerged as a promising new class of advanced metallic materials. With five or more elements present in nondilute quantities, exceptional properties (strength, toughness, magnetization, fatigue endurance) have been observed, though mostly in small quantities of material that are far from optimized compositionally or structurally. A lack of fundamental understanding of the mechanistic origins of exceptional MPE properties, thought originally to be due to high configurational entropy, remains as a major barrier. Critical gaps in the computational and experimental infrastructure for exploration of the extraordinary large compositional design space also strongly inhibit progress.The overarching goal of this proposed effort is to revolutionize our ability todesign, explore and fundamentally understand the processing, properties andenvironmental behavior of refractory body centered cubic (bcc) MPE alloys.Compared to face centered cubic (fcc) MPE systems based on Ni, Fe and Co, farfewer investigations exist on refractory MPE alloys comprised of mixtures of higher temperature metallics, such as Ta, W, Nb, Mo, Hf. While refractory MPEs promise high strength, in combination with high melting temperature, the tendency for brittle fracture at low temperature, the difficult processing paths, and the breadth of the unexplored compositional space, make discovery of new compositions via a purely experimental approach completely prohibitive. To succeed in this endeavor, we have brought together an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team, called MPE.EDU. The proposed MPE.EDU team has a long track record of successful collaboration and deep expertise in metallic materials and integrated computational materials engineering from UCSB, UCSD and UVa, supported by collaborations with GE, ATI Specialty Alloys and Citrine Informatics. Together, MPE.EDU will launch new computational, high throughput experimental and informatics approaches, and integrate these tools to 1) explore the vast refractory MPE compositional space and 2) build the needed fundamental understanding of the properties of this new class of materials.The MPE.EDU team specifically aims to: (1) develop and deploy acomputational infrastructure complemented with combinatorial approaches forexploration of the MPE refractory alloy space; (2) simultaneously build open-source databases for refractory MPEs; (3) employ unique processing approaches for MPE synthesis; (4) integrate emerging computational and experimental approaches to understand the unique aspects of dislocation motion, diffusion and mechanical behavior in MPEs and; (5) address fundamental issues underpinning the strong influence of interstitial elements on mechanical behavior and their interplay with oxidation. With extensive experience in alloy design and integrated computational material science and engineering, MPE.EDU will remove empiricism from the design process and lay the foundation for rapid MPE alloy discovery and development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812392
Entities
People
- Tresa M. Pollock
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, Santa Barbara