Collaborative Research: Manufacturing of Low-cost Titanium Alloys by Tuning Highly-indexed Deformation Twinning

合作研究：通过调整高指数变形孪晶制造低成本钛合金

• 批准号: 2121866
• 负责人: Liang Qi
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2121866&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Manufacturing; Low; cost

This grant supports fundamental research in titanium alloys manufacturing and promotes the progress of science and engineering. Titanium alloys are promising structural materials due to their lightweight, high strength and toughness, high temperature and corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility and have many critical applications in transportation, such as airplane engine components, and healthcare, such as human implants. However, the manufacturing of titanium alloys requires the addition of expensive alloying elements and high processing temperatures, which leads to their high costs and significantly restricted commercial use. This project investigates the scientific mechanisms involved in deformation twinning and develops a prototype system for low-cost manufacturing of advanced lightweight titanium alloys. A combination of experimental, computation, and machine learning efforts is performed to search for new compositions of titanium alloys with low-cost alloying elements and activate novel deformation mechanisms in order to achieve their room-temperature manufacturing. The new knowledge generated by this project advances the titanium industry and promotes technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve human health, thus promoting national prosperity and welfare. This research provides a platform to train the next generation of titanium experts and skilled workforce, especially those from underrepresented groups, in the manufacturing of advanced materials as well as high-performance computing. This project is jointly funded by Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This project aims to advance cost-effective room-temperature manufacturing of titanium alloys by a novel alloy design and processing strategy. In this strategy, a large portion (greater than 50 volume percent) of the body-centered cubic beta phase is stabilized at room temperature using low-cost elements after casting and homogenization processes. Furthermore, room-temperature ductility and workability of these alloys in the subsequent cold deformation process are improved by activating sufficient highly-indexed deformation twinning modes in the beta phase utilizing coupled twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) mechanisms. Two specific approaches, involving integration of experiment, simulation and machine learning, are followed. The first approach is to identify and tune the coupling mechanisms between phase transformations and highly-indexed twinning in representative titanium alloys through advanced characterization, crystallography models and atomistic simulations. The second approach is to manipulate and investigate alloying effects on twinning and room-temperature workability of these alloys by iterative feedback between the machine learning models, informed by first-principles calculations, and high-throughput fabrication and mechanical testing experiments. These results guide the discovery of beta phase stabilized titanium alloys containing low-cost alloying elements and attain high room-temperature workability. Finally, large-scale samples of titanium alloys with optimized compositions are cold deformation processed by rolling and drawing into specific shapes and tested for mechanical behavior to verify their room-temperature workability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该资助支持钛合金制造的基础研究并促进科学和工程的进步。钛合金由于其轻质、高强度和韧性、耐高温、耐腐蚀以及生物相容性而成为有前途的结构材料，并且在交通运输（例如飞机发动机部件）和医疗保健（例如人体植入物）方面具有许多关键应用。然而，钛合金的制造需要添加昂贵的合金元素和较高的加工温度，这导致其成本高昂并严重限制商业用途。该项目研究变形孪生所涉及的科学机制，并开发用于低成本制造先进轻质钛合金的原型系统。结合实验、计算和机器学习工作，寻找具有低成本合金元素的钛合金新成分，并激活新的变形机制，以实现其室温制造。该项目产生的新知识推动了钛工业的发展，并推广了减少二氧化碳排放和改善人类健康的技术，从而促进了国家的繁荣和福祉。这项研究提供了一个平台，用于培训下一代钛专家和熟练劳动力，特别是那些来自代表性不足群体的先进材料制造和高性能计算领域的专家和熟练劳动力。该项目由先进制造（AM）计划和刺激竞争研究既定计划（EPSCoR）联合资助。该项目旨在通过新型合金设计和加工策略推进钛合金的经济高效的室温制造。在该策略中，大部分（大于 50 体积％）的体心立方 β 相在铸造和均质化过程后使用低成本元素在室温下稳定。此外，利用耦合孪生诱发塑性（TWIP）和相变诱发塑性（TRIP）机制，在β相中激活足够的高指数变形孪生模式，从而提高了这些合金在后续冷变形过程中的室温延展性和可加工性。遵循两种具体方法，涉及实验、模拟和机器学习的集成。第一种方法是通过先进的表征、晶体学模型和原子模拟来识别和调整代表性钛合金中相变和高指数孪晶之间的耦合机制。第二种方法是通过机器学习模型之间的迭代反馈来操纵和研究合金化对这些合金的孪晶和室温可加工性的影响，这些模型由第一原理计算以及高通量制造和机械测试实验提供信息。这些结果指导了含有低成本合金元素并获得高室温加工性的β相稳定钛合金的发现。最后，对成分优化的钛合金大尺寸样品进行冷变形加工，通过轧制和拉拔加工成特定形状，并进行机械性能测试，以验证其室温可加工性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得通过以下方式支持：使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。