Almost all of our projects are dedicated to alloy design for additive manufacturing.

Design of high-performance alloys for hydrogen storage

Hydrogen can support deep decarbonization by providing greener and more flexible energy. Cooling hydrogen down to cryogenic temperature allows for its liquefaction which facilitates storage and transportation while avoiding embrittlement. This project aims at understanding fundamental deformation mechanisms under exposure under liquid hydrogen environment. We use novel high-throughput measurements to guide the development of novel AM alloys, tailored for cryogenic hydrogen storage, offering a clear path toward safe and sustainable hydrogen management. 

Recrystallization and phase transformations in additive manufactured materials

AM enables near-net-shaping in a large variety of materials, avoiding machining and reducing waste while saving energy and resources. However it generally induces strongly anisotropic properties, one of the main limitations to its broad adoption. Post-build heat treatments aiming at triggering recrystallization are an appealing solution to reduce anisotropy: simple to implement, cost-efficient, scalable and applicable to any geometry. Despite a generally high dislocation density, recrystallization in AM materials is surprisingly sluggish with sparse nucleation events. This leads to coarse grain structures with poor mechanical performance. In this project, we study the metallurgical mechanisms that occur during annealing of AM materials: recovery, recrystallization, and phase transformations. We employ multi-modal electron microscopy and non-destructive X-ray techniques combined with computer vision.

High-throughput design of printable and damage-tolerant alloys

With sustained growth over the past four decades, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has established itself as a fuel of choice in the United States. It now accounts for over 30% of US electricity generation, with further growth projected until 2050 according to the Department of Energy. In this project, we develop new, printable and fracture-resistant stainless steels with tailored microstructures and deformation mechanisms, informed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations of energy barriers to dislocation motion.

Irradiation-induced precipitation

This collaborative project focuses on radiation-induced segregation and precipitation with emphasis on the role of grain boundary character, structure, and topology. We develop multi-modal solutions in electron microscopy to characterize solute segregation and precipitation at grain boundaries and triple junctions. This involves transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atom probe tomography (APT), and 4D STEM.