MRI-R2: Acquisition of a Gleeble 3500 Thermomechanical Processing Simulator

Colorado School Of Mines, Golden CO

Investigators

Abstract

0959329 Matlock Colorado School of Mines Technical Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Materials processing research is key to enable advancing and new technologies required to support the nation's needs for infrastructure and energy development. In response to these needs, the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has assembled research teams that are well qualified to pursue the necessary materials processing research in diverse areas including ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, materials for new energy developments including advanced fossil-fuel and nuclear power generation systems, development of advanced biological materials, development of fuel cell materials, and development of advanced recycling technologies which will be required for all future materials applications. Common to all of these research areas is the need for experimental capabilities which simulate, on small-scale laboratory samples, new materials processing technologies, provide fundamental property information on new materials, and provide critical data necessary to validate predictions based on computational simulations. To enable this diverse group of research areas, this project will acquire a Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical processing simulator, a fully integrated digital, closed loop control, thermal and mechanical testing system that can be programmed to simultaneously control the time dependence of temperature and a selected mechanical parameter such as load, displacement, strain, or stress. To provide the necessary flexibility, the system employs a direct resistance heating system to heat specimens at rates up to 10,000 °C/s, and a cooling system that can achieve controlled cooling rates in excess of 10,000 °C/s. The system will also be equipped with a hot torsion system for simulation of high strain hot deformation operations (e.g. rolling and forging) and a special fixture for solidification studies. The presence of the unit in Golden, Colorado which is centrally located in a growing technology community along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, will provide a resource to local industries, national laboratories, and universities and provide significant opportunities, through organized programs at the University, to enhance outreach opportunities for high school students, including those from underrepresented minority groups. Layman Summary: This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Materials processing research is key to enable advancing and new technologies required to support the nation's needs for infrastructure and energy development, both of which are required for the development of new manufacturing industries and an economy based on energy independence. In response to these needs, the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has assembled diverse research teams that are well qualified to pursue the necessary research. Materials processing research at CSM includes development of new steels for light weight, fuel efficient automobiles, new materials for advanced fossil-fuel and nuclear power generation systems, advanced biological materials for enhanced implants, fuel cell materials for clean energy systems, and advanced recycling technologies required for all future materials applications. Common to all of these research areas is the need for experimental capabilities which simulate, on small-scale laboratory samples, new materials processing technologies, provide fundamental property information on new materials, provide critical data necessary to validate predictions based on computational simulations, and provide guidelines to economically scale laboratory developments to full scale commercial production. To enable this diverse group of research areas, this project will acquire a Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical processing simulator, a unique research instrument equipped to control processing temperature over a wide range of heating and cooling rates and with attachments to enable tension, compression, and torsional loading of samples and to simulate casting and solidification operations. The presence of the unit in Golden, Colorado which is centrally located in a growing technology community along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, will provide a resource to local industries, national laboratories, and universities and provide significant opportunities, through organized programs at the University, to enhance outreach opportunities for high school students, including those from underrepresented minority groups.