Award Abstract # 1928702
GOALI: Investigation of Cyclic Failure in Aluminosilicate Nanocomposites

NSF Org: DMR
Division Of Materials Research
Recipient: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: August 8, 2019
Latest Amendment Date: June 21, 2021
Award Number: 1928702
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb
DMR
 Division Of Materials Research
MPS
 Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Start Date: August 15, 2019
End Date: July 31, 2023 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $401,712.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $401,712.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2019 = $286,318.00
FY 2021 = $115,394.00
History of Investigator:
  • Ange-Therese Akono (Principal Investigator)
    aakono@ncsu.edu
  • James Frye (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Northwestern University
633 CLARK ST
EVANSTON
IL  US  60208-0001
(312)503-7955
Sponsor Congressional District: 09
Primary Place of Performance: Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Rd
Evanston
IL  US  60208-3113
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
09
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): EXZVPWZBLUE8
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC,
CERAMICS
Primary Program Source: 01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1253, 1504, 7237, 8249, 8614
Program Element Code(s): 125300, 177400
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.049

ABSTRACT

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: This project investigates the mechanical integrity of a new breed of multifunctional ceramic composites with advanced properties such as low density, high strength, and high thermal stability. Potential applications for these novel materials include porous membranes for separation processes, heterogeneous solid catalysts, corrosion-resistant coatings, insulation system parts, and low carbon footprint concrete alternatives. This research formulates new design rules for damage-tolerant novel ceramic materials and new standards for quality assessment of material components. The research activities provide training for undergraduate and graduate students in nanomaterials science, advanced mechanics, and nanotechnology. This research supports the organization of high school science outreach workshops in collaboration will local high schools to promote the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups into science and engineering disciplines.

TECHNICAL DETAILS: This project investigates the premature failure of advanced aluminosilicate nanocomposites due to prolonged exposure to low-level repetitive loadings. This is an important issue as early failure usually results in shortened service lifetimes and increased maintenance costs of components. Using cutting-edge nanoscale depth-sensing methods, this research seeks to generate new microstructure-performance relationships. The knowledge generated could lead to new materials design rules and thus accelerate the insertion of aluminosilicate nanohybrids in science and engineering applications. The research rests on a strong partnership between industry (Anton Paar) and academia (Northwestern University) leading to a joint academia-industry workshop focused on advances in surface mechanical characterization. This research contributes to a skilled and diverse workforce through research internship opportunities for undergraduate students and training opportunities for graduate students.

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.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Buettner, Nathanial and Kitchen, Grant and Omar, Mostafa and Sun, Bohan and Lee, Haklae and Kang, Sung Hoon and Akono, Ange-Therese "Nanoscale characterizations of mineralized piezoelectric scaffolds" MRS Advances , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-023-00600-7 Citation Details
Xu, Yunzhi and Buettner, Nathanial and Akono, Ange-Therese and Guo, Ping "Fabrication of fiber-reinforced composites via immersed electrohydrodynamic direct writing in polymer gels" MRS Communications , v.13 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-023-00399-2 Citation Details
Xu, Yunzhi and Lee, Haklae and Buettner, Nathanial and Akono, Ange-Therese "Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as hard templates to yield advanced geopolymer-based self-assembled nanostructured ceramics" Mechanics Research Communications , v.134 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechrescom.2023.104216 Citation Details

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Project Outcomes

  • Award Title: GOALI: Investigation of Cyclic Failure in Aluminosilicate Nanocomposites
  • Federal Award ID: 1928702
  • Report Submission Period: 08/01/2019 to 07/31/2023

 

Overview

Fatigue is the propagation of fractures in a material under an applied repetitive loading at loads well below the catastrophic level. Fatigue is pervasive accounting for 90% of service failures due to mechanical causes. The research goal is to understand the influence of porosity and heterogeneity on the fatigue behavior of geopolymer composites reinforced with nanofibers or nanoparticles. Geopolymers or aluminosilicate materials are amorphous alkali-bonded ceramics that are synthesized at low temperatures by dissolving an aluminosilicate source in an alkali-silicate solution. Understanding their fatigue performance is very crucial.  In turn, a fundamental understanding of fatigue phenomena at the nanoscale and microscale will result in reduced maintenance costs, better structural integrity, and increased service lifetimes of structural components made of geopolymer nanocomposites.

Intellectual Merit:

We measured the fatigue response of geopolymer composites using cyclic indentation. A monotonic decrease of the initial yield strength was observed as a function of the number of cycles. Compared to homogeneous materials, a higher decrease in the initial strength is observed for metakaolin-based potassium geopolymer. Furthermore, the presence of carbon nanofibers (CNF) increases the heterogeneity of the strength response and of the fatigue response. For 0.1 wt% CNF, a higher relative decrease in the initial yield strength is observed compared to pure geopolymer. For 0.5 wt% CNF, the relative decrease in the initial yield strength is more modest and the strength vs. number of cycles curve converges.

We investigated the influence of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the structure and properties of geopolymers. We found that multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) template the structure of geopolymers at the nanoscale. They fill micropores and bridge microcracks. Geopolymer nanoparticles growth is observed along the walls of MWCNTs, and a reduction in grain size is observed when the frction of MWCNTs increases. MWCNTs preserve the amorphous structure of geopolymers and promote a denser structure. Our testing shows that MWCNTs lead to an overall decrease in porosity, along with a drastic change in pore size distribution from a single dominant peak to a lowered diffusive peak.

Broader Impacts:

The project supported the purchase of a Micromeritics Autopore IV 9600 mercury intrusion porosimeter for pore structure characterization of materials from 3 nm up to 500 microns.

We organized two Anton Paar- Northwestern workshops on Materials Surface Characterization in Oct 2020 and Oct 2021. The ultimate goal was to highlight groundbreaking research in the area of nanoscale material characterization. The first workshop in 2020 featured five keynote speakers from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and drew 37 participants from 26 universities. The second workshop in 2021 featured 8 speakers from Northwestern University, Texas A&M University, Anton Paar, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There were 38 registrants and 26 attendees.

We organized two High school science outreach workshops in September 2022 and October 2022. Both workshops were organized jointly with the Chicago Bulls College Prep. Each workshop drew 25-30 students. During each workshop, high school students were immersed in hands-on laboratory activities such as grinding and polishing ceramic samples and nanoindentation of soft materials. The workshops also involved laboratory demonstrations long with roundtables on preparation for college. 

An evaluation was conducted by the Northwestern University Evaluation Core after the first workshop.  The workshop was effective in inspiring high school students to (i) apply for college, (iii) take more engineering and science courses in high school, and (iii) major in engineering. The workshop was also effective in changing high school student perceptions of science and engineering and dispelling commonly held myths.

The project has provided graduate training for three Ph. D. students: Yunzhi Xu, who graduated in summer 2023; Nathanial Buettner, who is an NSF graduate fellow and will graduate in 2024; and. Haklae Lee, who is a senior PhD student.

The project has also provided undergraduate training opportunities for four undergraduate students: Gass Lyacu, Nadiah Zamri, Mairi Glynn, and Junior Ndayikengurukiye.

 

 


Last Modified: 12/02/2023
Modified by: Ange-Therese Akono

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