Even though polycrystalline metallic materials are ubiquitous in daily life, when and where metallic structural components damage and fail is difficult to predict, which generally leads to overdesign. 

One form of damage – ductile damage – takes place in materials which are easily plastically deformed by formation of voids and localized shear bands. The initiation of these voids is strongly influenced by the internal constitution of the aggregate composite made up of single crystals comprising the polycrystalline metal. High-purity metals often form voids at the boundaries between single crystals, but it is not known why. 

This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) award supports the fundamental study of voids-based ductile damage in high-purity metals to enable the manufacture of materials for specific applications with significantly reduced propensity for void formation. In addition, this project will facilitate collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory to pursue design of new materials and manufacturing techniques for strategic purposes. This highly collaborative project will also allow students the opportunity to engage on three campuses, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and a couple of Department of Energy Laboratories to assist in educating the next generation of scientists and engineers in strategically important disciplines. Designing material interfaces to resist formation of voids during tensile deformation will be a significant contribution to the Materials Genome Initiative.