Descriptors for High Throughput in Structural Materials Development

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Conventional methods for developing structural materials with advanced mechanical properties are time-consuming and resource-intensive.
• High-throughput methods are established for functional materials but not for structural materials, which depend heavily on microstructure.
• Current characterization techniques, like micro-hardness testing, are limited in assessing characteristic microstructures in small sample volumes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations in developing novel structural materials.
• To introduce efficient methods for characterizing microstructural states of small material samples.
• To enable faster screening and development of structural materials by mapping microstructural descriptors to material properties.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing alternative and rapid deformation techniques specifically designed for spherical micro-samples.
• Combining these deformation methods with established characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and micro-magnetic analysis.
• Focusing on obtaining microstructural descriptors rather than direct material properties in the initial characterization phase.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of using fast deformation techniques on micro-samples.
• Showcased the ability of classical characterization methods (XRD, DSC, micro-magnetic) to yield valuable microstructural descriptors from these micro-samples.
• Established a pathway to correlate these descriptors with macroscopic material properties.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methodology offers a significantly faster and more resource-efficient approach to structural material development.
• This method allows for the characterization of microstructural states crucial for determining mechanical properties.
• It paves the way for accelerated discovery and optimization of advanced structural materials.