Doping Metallic Grain Boundaries to Control Atomic Structure and Damage Tolerance (Final Report)

Technical Report · Wed Jan 05 04:00:00 EST 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1644638· OSTI ID:1644638

Rupert, Timothy John ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); University of California, Irvine

The interfaces between crystals, known as grain boundaries, often act as sites for crack and void nucleation during plastic deformation of metallic materials. While it is known that interfacial character and structural state can greatly influence this damage nucleation process, the current level of control over such details is extremely limited. The objective of this project was to obtain a fundamental understanding of how metallic grain boundary structure can be controlled through intelligent doping, with the idea of inducing planned grain boundary phases or complexions. The effect of complexion structure on dislocation accommodation mechanisms was studied, to improve the field’s understanding of damage nucleation at interfaces. While mechanical damage was the primary focus, the project showed that amorphous complexions can also improve a material’s resistance to radiation damage, providing a single materials design concept that can address multiple important technological areas. This research used a combination of computational, experimental, and characterization techniques to isolate and understand the importance of nanoscale grain boundary structure and interfacial chemistry. The fundamental insights provided by this project enable the creation of advanced engineering metals with improved damage tolerance.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE)
• DOE Contract Number: SC0014232
• OSTI ID: 1644638
• Report Number(s): DOE-UCI--0014232
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
Complexions
Defect Engineering
Grain Boundary
Nanostructured Materials