MURI DETER: Distrupting Electron Transport to Minimize Thermal Conductivity
Abstract
DETER: Disrupting Electron Transport to Minimize Thermal Conductivity investigatesnovel multi-material architectures to reduce the thermal conductivity of structural materials at1800°C and above. The project dares to challenge the conventional approach, which hasbeen toreduce thermal conductivity by individually optimizing intrinsic phonon and electron transportalong with radiative mechanisms by extrapolating room temperature behavior. Instead, DETERdevelops a unified multi-material architecture approach that simultaneously utilizes i. ultra-hightemperature diodes to disrupt electron transport with metal/insulator Schottky barriers; ii.Fibonacci aperiodic layers to minimize phonon propagation; and iii. metallic/plasmonic metageometriesto reflect radiant energy.DETER addresses theneed for new thermal barriers and structural insulators. The objective is tofabricate multi-material architectures that are thermochemically stable, mechanically robust, andthermally insulating. High entropycarbide ceramics will be combined with rare-earth zirconatesand aluminates to produce the architectures. Reaching the desired objective requires newknowledge in five scientific thrust areas: 1) processing science of thermochemically stable multimaterialarchitectures; 2) electron and phonon transport mechanisms at interfaces; 3) ultra-hightemperature mechanical and thermal property relationships; 4) interfacial deformationmechanisms under load at ultra-high temperatures; and 5) behavior of individual phases andstructures in extreme environments.DETER will be brought to fruition by a team with complementary computational andexperimental expertise. Theorists have used computations to demonstrate the feasibility of thediode approach. During the project, computational researchers will refine models and provideinsight into electron and phonontransport mechanisms through interfaces and multi-materialaperiodic systems. Experimental research will fabricate materials selected using large languagemodels or based on previous studies into architectures designed by theorists with subsequentcharacterization of behavior to provide data that enable refinement of models.Deliverables: DETER will produce new fundamental knowledge of thermal transport acrossinterfaces along with thermal/mechanical properties and phase equilibria of multi-materialarchitectures at ultra-high temperatures that are relevant to DoD needs. The overall project willenable the design and fabrication of structures that are thermochemically stable, mechanicallyrobust, and thermally insulating at ultra-high temperatures. DETER will launch a new generationof thermal barriers and ultra-high temperature structural insulators by combining fundamentalknowledge of heat transfer mechanisms with ultra-high temperature structure-propertyrelationships. This approach will be widely applicable to other material systems and applicationswhere novel and long-overdue solutions are needed to overcome physics-based limits in theintrinsic properties of individual materials.Approved for Public Release
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 09, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412768
Entities
People
- William G. Fahrenholtz
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Missouri System