Collaborative Research: Mechanics of Tough and 3D Printable Ceramic Nanocomposites

Suny At Binghamton, Binghamton NY

Investigators

Abstract

Overcoming intrinsic fragility is a long-standing quest for developing light, strong, durable, and reliable ceramic materials needed for high-demand applications, such as electronics and aircraft components. This research explores introducing small quantities of nanofillers in 3D-printable polymer-derived ceramics to overcome this major barrier. Such a transformation in printable ceramic materials will provide remarkable advances in ceramic durability and reliability, ultimately paving the way toward their certification for practical industrial and aerospace applications. The scientific understanding of durable and 3D-printable ceramic composites will revolutionize ceramic materials design and technologies and preserve the leadership of the United States in advanced materials and manufacturing. The systematic scientific training through the research activities, which include nanotube/ceramics processing and characterization, 3D printing, nano- and micro-mechanical characterization, and multiscale computations, will provide the technical environment for nurturing the future scientific and engineering workforce. Research results will be integrated into mechanics of materials outreach courses for K-12 students, as well as incarcerated individuals as part of the Education Justice Project. Polymer-derived ceramics transform advanced ceramic technologies with superior manufacturability, and are compatible with 3D printing techniques, but their intrinsic porous microstructures are prone to fracture. This research exploits the multiscale reinforcement potential of small quantities of boron nitride nanotubes within the polymer-derived ceramic matrix to enhance the fracture toughness and reliability of these ceramic nanocomposites. The complementary multiscale experiments and computations will elucidate the synergistic role of the boron nitride nanotubes in reducing the statistical uncertainties in the bulk mechanical properties of polymer-derived ceramics, manufactured using 3D electrospinning writing techniques capable of achieving well-aligned nanotubes. At the nanoscale, scanning electron microscopy nanomechanical pull-out measurements of individual nanotubes embedded within the ceramic films, along with companion density functional theory calculations, will provide quantitative measurements of the nanotube-matrix interfacial strength properties. At the micro/macroscale, crack growth experiments with in situ Raman and field projection methods will inversely extract the experimental crack-tip cohesive zone law associated with the pull-out of multiple aligned nanotubes within the crack bridging zone. A two-scale micromechanical damage model, accounting for small-scale damage caused by nanotube/matrix failure and larger-scale damage due to microvoid growth, will provide the physical and statistical connection between microstructural parameters/uncertainties and the macroscopic cohesive crack growth response. 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.