MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of An X-ray Diffraction Contrast Tomography Instrument Enabling Research and Education Towards Establishing Microstructure-Property Relationships

MRI：轨道 1 获取 X 射线衍射对比断层扫描仪器，支持建立微观结构-性能关系的研究和教育

• 批准号: 2319690
• 负责人: Shuai Shao
• 金额: $ 70.45万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2319690&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Track; Acquisition; ray; Diffraction

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of an X-ray diffraction contrast tomography instrument at Auburn University. This instrument is expected to enable new research, education, and workforce development activities at Auburn University, in the State of Alabama, and in the Southeast region of the United States. The acquired instrument can uniquely reveal the internal microscopic features of a broad range of materials in a non-invasive manner. This is a capability that has been lacking at Auburn University and the surrounding institutions. This instrument will advance several strategic research areas including fatigue and fracture, materials science/engineering, machine learning and data analytics, earth sciences, chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, and environmental engineering. Through these cross-cutting research efforts, this instrument will benefit the society by enabling greener and more efficient advanced manufacturing, fabricating better fitting and more biocompatible bone implants, understanding the impact of global warming on geological materials, and designing stronger and lighter materials. This project will also actively integrate the generated knowledge from the instrument into several outreach and educational activities. This includes activities designed for K-12 students, underrepresented minorities, and women in STEM, as well as graduate/undergraduate education and research training, and short courses for working professionals. The acquisition of the instrument will therefore result in significant broader impact, promoting public awareness and participation in STEM fields. This X-ray diffraction contrast tomography instrument utilizes the diffracted portion of the incident X-ray beam, that would be discarded by conventional X-ray computed tomography systems, to non-destructively map the orientations of crystalline materials in three dimensions. This instrument will deliver researchers the unique ability of obtaining both the ante mortem three dimensional micro-/defect-structures and their response to excitations - a task that has been dilemmatic via conventional approaches. Thus, the construction of true structure-property relationships of crystalline materials will be enabled by knowing the micro-/defect-structure of the same specimen both before and after testing. Owing to the ubiquitous nature of polycrystalline materials, the instrument can enable significant, new research and education activities at Auburn University and regional institutions in three interdisciplinary research areas: metal additive manufacturing, minerals and synthetic inorganic compounds, and polymers and composites. As an example, for additively manufactured metallic materials, this project can help reveal how fatigue damage initiates, elucidating the competing roles of volumetric defects and microstructure mediated crack nucleation mechanisms. Notably, machine learning and data analytics will be used to assist extracting geometric features of micro-/defect-structure and correlate with material response to excitations, including thermal, mechanical, and environmental.This project is jointly funded by the Major Instrumentation Research Program (MRI), the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).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.

该重大研究仪器 (MRI) 奖项支持在奥本大学购买 X 射线衍射对比断层扫描仪器。该工具预计将为阿拉巴马州和美国东南部地区的奥本大学开展新的研究、教育和劳动力发展活动。所获得的仪器可以以非侵入性的方式独特地揭示各种材料的内部微观特征。这是奥本大学及周边机构一直缺乏的能力。该仪器将推进多个战略研究领域，包括疲劳和断裂、材料科学/工程、机器学习和数据分析、地球科学、化学、物理、化学工程和环境工程。通过这些跨领域的研究工作，该仪器将通过实现更环保、更高效的先进制造、制造更贴合和更具生物相容性的骨植入物、了解全球变暖对地质材料的影响以及设计更坚固和更轻的材料来造福社会。该项目还将积极地将仪器生成的知识整合到一些外展和教育活动中。这包括为 K-12 学生、代表性不足的少数族裔和 STEM 领域的女性设计的活动，以及研究生/本科生教育和研究培训，以及针对在职专业人员的短期课程。因此，收购该工具将产生更广泛的影响，提高公众对 STEM 领域的认识和参与。这种 X 射线衍射对比断层扫描仪器利用入射 X 射线束的衍射部分（传统 X 射线计算机断层扫描系统会丢弃该部分）来非破坏性地绘制晶体材料在三个维度上的方向。该仪器将为研究人员提供获得生前三维微观/缺陷结构及其对激励的响应的独特能力——这是一项传统方法难以完成的任务。因此，通过了解同一样品在测试前后的微观/缺陷结构，可以构建晶体材料的真实结构-性能关系。由于多晶材料的普遍性，该仪器可以在奥本大学和地区机构的三个跨学科研究领域开展重要的新研究和教育活动：金属增材制造、矿物和合成无机化合物以及聚合物和复合材料。例如，对于增材制造的金属材料，该项目可以帮助揭示疲劳损伤是如何发生的，阐明体积缺陷和微观结构介导的裂纹成核机制的竞争作用。值得注意的是，机器学习和数据分析将用于协助提取微观/缺陷结构的几何特征，并与材料对激励的响应相关联，包括热、机械和环境。该项目由重大仪器研究计划（ MRI）、刺激竞争研究既定计划（EPSCoR）以及土木、机械和制造创新部门（CMMI）。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的评估进行评估，被认为值得支持智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。