Seminar Schedule – Spring 2018

Wednesday, March 07, 2018
Time: 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Place: POB 2.402

Process-sensitive modeling of failure in magnesium alloys

Dr. Jeffrey T. Lloyd, Research Scientist, US Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen

Since the turn of the century, magnesium has been heralded as a light-weight, structural metal that given sufficient development, could replace aluminum and steel in every day applications. Magnesium is extremely strong, and possesses the highest specific stiffness of any structural metal. Over the past several years, several thousand publications have focused on understanding the prevalent deformation mechanisms, alloy design, and optimal processing conditions � yet fewer than twenty commercially available alloys are in production. Despite significant development, high strength magnesium alloys have limited ductility and low fracture toughness compared with similar aluminum alloys. In this work, novel computational models are developed and used in conjunction with conventional mechanical testing and high resolution microstructural characterization to elucidate the mechanisms that govern material failure in magnesium. Sensitivity of failure to key microstructural features are identified, and possible candidate microstructures are proposed.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ravi-Chandar at ravi@utexas.edu or (512) 471-4213.