What’s After Nanotechnology? Developing the Army’s Future Materials
Dr. David M. Stepp
U.S. Army Research Office
Materials Science Division
(919) 549-4329, DSN 832-4329, FAX (919) 549-4399
http://www.aro.army.mil
2 March 2005
Today Objective Force
~100 lb. load
< 30 lb.effective
load
< 20 tons
> 40 mph
Innovation -- Accelerating the Pace of Army Transformation
70+ tons
0 mph
Fit the C-130 “Crucible”
The Hope for Army Transformation:Revolutionary Materials
Outline
• Basic Research Definition• U.S. Army Research Office Overview
– Types of Basic Research Awards– Major Focus Areas
• DoD Nanotechnology Definition• Nanotechnology and Lightweight Materials• What’s After Nanotechnology?
– Optimized Materials Design– Bio-hybrids– Improved Technology Transfer
Basic Research Defined(DoD 7000.14-R)
Basic research is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind.
It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental and life sciences related to long-term national security needs.
It is farsighted high payoff research that provides the basis for technological progress. Basic research may lead to: (a) subsequent applied research and advanced technology developments in Defense-related technologies, and (b) new and improved military functional capabilities in areas such as…
Needs Driven Research
Lightweight Armor Materials
Ultra-lightweight Structures
Lightweight Power Sources
Combat ID/IFF
Opportunity Driven Research
Amorphous Metals
Computational Materials Science
Unique Characterization Tools
Microstructure Quantification
Foamed Materials
Self-healing Materials
Basic Research Refined
DirectorJim Chang
Operations
Faye Rodgers
Mathematical& Info Sciences
Mark Swinson
Legal CounselMark Rutter
AcquisitionCenter
Larry Travis
ResourceManagementGeorge Arthur
Mechanical Sciences
David Mann
ElectronicsWilliam Clark
Physical Sciences
Doug Kiserow (A)
Engineering Sciences
David Skatrud
PhysicsPeter Reynolds (A)
MaterialsScience
David Stepp
Chemical Sciences
Robert Shaw
LifeSciences
Mimi Strand
Computing &Info SciencesRandy Zachery
InformationManagementBessie Oakley
MathematicsDavid Arney
EnvironmentalSciences
Kurt Preston
OutreachPrograms
David Camps
InternationalPrograms
Jim Harvey/Sean Yu
Small BusinessPrograms
Susan Nichols
~ 100 employees at RTP 45 PhD Program Managers
~ 100 employees at RTP 45 PhD Program Managers
Chief ScientistHenry Everitt
U.S. Army Research Office(Research Triangle Park, NC)
ARO’s Broad Agency AnnouncementSingle Investigator Program (~$100k / year for 3 years)Conference / Symposium / Workshop Grants (~$5k for 12 months)Short Term Innovative Research, STIR (up to $50k for 9 months) Young Investigator Program, YIP (~$50k / year for 3 years)HBCU/MI Program (~100k / year for 3 years)
Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative, MURI(~$1M / year for 5 years)
DoD Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, DEPSCoR(>$350k for 3 years)
Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, DURIP(~$200k for 12 months)
Small Business Innovative Research, SBIR($70k for 6 months → $50k for 4 months → $730k for 24 months)
Small Business Technology Transfer, STTR (with “research institute” partner)($100k for 6 months → $750k for 24 months)
Externally Funded Programs
ARO Basic Research Awards http://www.aro.army.mil
Mechanical Behavior of Materials• High strain-rate phenomena
– Characterization tools– Deformation mechanisms– Lightweight damage tolerance
• Property-focused processing– Computational materials theory– Toughening mechanisms
• Tailored functionality– Active transport membranes– Self-assembling ceramics
Synthesis and Processing• Materials Processing
– Field activated/enhanced sintering– Powder consolidation
• Metastable materials and structures– Structural amorphous metals– Glass formability and transition– Ultra-fine grained materials
Physical Behavior of Materials• Heteroepitaxy
– Interface formation + diffusion– Strain mismatch– Engineering epitaxial layers
• Defect engineering– Semiconductors– Ferroelectrics
• Functional materials & integration– Electronics– Magnetics– Optics– Actuation
Materials Design• Growth and processing design
– Surface + interface engineering– Integrating dissimilar materials– Non-equilibrium processing– Modeling and simulation
• In-situ & nanoscale characterization– High resolution spectroscopy– Nondestructive characterization– Process control for
optimization
ARO Materials ScienceResearch Focus Areas
DoD Nanotechnology Defined
DoD nanotechnology programs are distinguished from those of other federal agencies in that the program activities are simultaneously focused on scientific and technical merit and on potential relevance to DoD. The overall technical objective of these programs is to develop understanding and control of matter at dimensions of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers, where the physical, chemical, and biological properties may differ in fundamental and valuable ways from those of individual atoms, molecules, or bulk matter. The overall objective for DoD relevance is to discover and exploit unique phenomena at these dimensions to enable novel applications enhancing war fighter and battle systems capabilities.
Richard P. Feynman (1918-88)
http://www.physics.umd.edu/robot/feynm/fphoto.htmlCourtesy AIP Niels Bohr Library
Nanotechnology andLightweight Materials
Motivating Nanotechnology(Richard P. Feynman, 1959)
• Is it possible to write (legibly) the entire 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica on the head of a pin? 600 pages each → 1.8M square inches
Circle 125 ft across → 25,000x pin head Resolving power of eye ≈ 1/120th inch
Demagnifying by 25,000x → 8nm
8nm dot contains ≈ 1000 atoms
“There’s plenty of room at the bottom”
How would you write it?
How would you read it?
How would you copy it?
How can this impact lightweight materials for defense?
http://www.greggman.com/japan/miraikan/miraikan.htm
} Dramatically increased feature density
Nanotechnology andLightweight Materials?
Strengths Unprecedented functional materials and functional structures
Feature densities (and surface areas)
Weight savings from reduced size of components “Inserting” function into proven structural materials
Degradation resistance, surface-area-based enhancements
Features can be engineered below critical defect size
Multifunctional materials Some enhancement from atomic-scale optimization, simulation
Most likely for highest-end applications (incremental)
Controlled electrodeposition for high quality metals (70 – 0 nm grain sizes)Molecular statics simulations to enhance understanding of deformationUnexpected behavior discovered – “nc” metals stronger in compression
Exploiting Nanoscale Structure(C. Schuh, MIT)
0 0.05 0.1
tension
compression
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08
compression
tension
0
2
4
6
8
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Nickel, literature data
Ni-W alloys, current study
Har
dnes
s (G
Pa)
(Grain Size)-1/2
(nm)-1/2
100 25 11 6 4 3 2
Grain Size (nm)
Hall-Petch law
Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958)http://www.geocities.com/ilian73/pauli.html
"This isn't right. This isn't even wrong."
Nanotechnology andLightweight Materials?
Weaknesses Excessive funding
Prolific “forced” nanotechnology focus in research proposals
Over-hyped and misleading results (esp. athletic equipment)
Relative improvements to substandard materials Non-falsifiable hypotheses Mechanical properties and extrapolating to design values
Micro/nano -scale testing does not correlate with bulk
Reliability and repeatability problematic
Material scale-up highly problematic Processing control, variations, and durability Nanotubes
Example: Actual Military Requests
“Injectable” training
Localized fluency in all languages; seamlessly blend into any cultural environment
Example: “Tactical neural nano-implant” Integrated self-protection capabilities
Indestructibility; appear to be standard regional dress
Example: “Carbon nanotube armor” Sensors and communications
Extend all senses; be able to detect stress or unusual behavior
Example: “Sensory enhancing nanobots” Shape shift materials
Ability to blend with any environment
Example: “Nano-fabrics that self heal, self clean, and adopt color and texture of surroundings”
Optimized Material Design Integrating Experimental and Computational Materials Science
Materials design theory links properties and microstructure to identify optimized microstructure (orange dot) and to predict the effects of
processing pathways (lines) on the physical properties of real starting materials (blue dots) [B. Adams, S. Kalidindi]
L0 = 4.51 cm V=998.7 m/s
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Cop
per
Ste
el
Tita
nium
Alu
min
um
Win
dow
Gla
ss
Density
Str
en
gth
-to
-we
igh
t R
ati
o
AmorphousAlloys
Computational materials discovery enhanced development of leap-ahead anti-armor materials [W.L. Johnson]
Computational theory identified precise transport pathways in bacterial channels for the
development of revolutionary protective membranes [T.L. Beck]
Materials theory motivated discovery of unprecedented thermoelectric materials with ultra-fine structure for advanced
thermal management [M. Dresselhaus, Hicks]
Well or Wire Width (Ǻ)
Fig
ure
of
Mer
it (
ZT
)
Integrated computational models, experimental characterization tools and materials processing efforts guide advanced fiber and fabric designs for unparalleled armor systems [P.M. Cunniff]
40 nm
200 nm
woodpile structure
Brillouin zonephotonic band gap
Computationally-guided structure Direct writing of polyelectrolyte ink
step 1
Robotically defined woodpile structure
step 2a) SiO2 CVD (25°C)b) Calcine (475°C)
5 µm
2 µm
step 3
Si CVD(475°C)
SiO2 replica of polymer woodpile
Si woodpile structure
step 4
Spectroscopy and modeling
underway, future iterations of
structure and processing for
complete photonic band gap material
3D MURI(U. Illinois U-C, Stanford, U. New Mexico)
Large-Strain Magnetic SMAs(I. Karaman, Texas A&M University)
5
4
3
2
1
0
Str
ain,
%
200150100500Temperature,°C
125 MPa
100 MPa
75 MPa
50 Mpa
CoNiAl Compression<100> orientation, Water Quenched
50 MPa 75 MPa 100 MPa 125 MPa
Strain vs. temperature response of a CoNiAl alloy showing >4% shape memory
strain and hysteresis shrinkage
5
4
3
2
1
0
Str
ain,
%
-15x103
-10 -5 0 5 10 15Magnetic Field,G
2 MPa 3 MPa 4 MPa 5 MPa 6 MPa
Ni2MnGa
Strain vs. magnetic field response of Ni2MnGa demonstrating very large
magnetic field induced strain (more than 4.5% in compression)
Simulations predicted extraordinary potential for large force, large strain, and high frequency actuator materials
Induced strains demonstrated up to 4.2% under compression, 10% in tension
Nanoporous Energy Absorbing Systems(Y. Qiao, U. Akron)
Hydrophobic Nanoporous particle
Container Piston
Nanopore
Surface of the nanoporous silica particle
Water
D
2r
p
p
Gasket
v
When a non-wetting liquid is forced to flow into nanoporous materials under external pressure, due to the high surface/mass ratio a large amount of energy will be transformed into the solid-liquid interfacial tension
Modeling predicted the energy absorption efficiency of nanoporous systems will be higher than larger systems by an order of magnitude
Water
NEAS
Time (sec)
Str
ain
(%)
Dynamic Testing Results (SHPB)
6-20 nm pore size, 10-12% coverage, ~12 J/g energy absorption
Bio-Hybrids Integrating Functional, Structural and Biological Materials
E-field switchable
specificbinding to
surface
Controlled binding
Reconfigurable self-assembly and regeneration
Spatially directed growth of quantum dots and nanoscale coatings
Targeted and controlled drug delivery
A genetically driven and universal process for controllable and switchable adhesive materials interfaces
OBJECTIVE:
To produce synthetic flexible membranes containing biological transport proteins that can utilize energy for the selective uptake, concentration and release of ions and molecules in an organized manner. The effort includes production of both macroscopic membranes and nanostructures containing transport proteins with vectorial transport function.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:• The first ever functional ion-selective synthetic
protein membrane on inorganic support has been prepared and demonstrated, providing unprecedented potential for future sensors, drug delivery, and fuel cells.
• Developed enhanced algorithm to predict transport pathways in proteins, even for very large turns; this effort identified 4 possible pathways within the bacterial Cl channel that were later confirmed by experimental evidence.
RESEARCH TEAM:
University of CincinnatiJohn Cuppoletti (Physiology and Biophysics)T.L. Beck (Computational+Theoretical Chem.)J. Boerio (Materials Science and Engineering)J.Y.S. Lin (Chemical Engineering)P.R. Rosevear (Biochemistry and Microbiology)
University of PittsburghR. Coalson (Computational Chemistry+Physics)
Synthetic Active Transport MURI(U. Cincinnati & U. Pittsburgh)
Self-Healing F-R Composites(M. Kessler, University of Tulsa)
Technical Objective: To demonstrate and refine robust self-healing fiber-reinforced composite materials for recovery of micro-cracking and similar small-scale damage.
Self healing conceptSEM micrograph showing fracture surface of
a healed reference plain weave specimen
Nanomanufacturing to enable scaled-up, reliable, cost effective manufacturing of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems; the development and integration of ultra-miniaturized top-down processes and increasingly complex bottom-up or self-assembly processes.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) program
Industry partnerships? Spiral development? “Preliminary” field testing?
Improving Technology Transfer
[email protected]://www.aro.army.mil
• Basic Research and the U.S. Army Research Office– Farsighted high-payoff research– Needs driven and opportunity driven basic research efforts
• Nanotechnology and Lightweight Materials– Tremendous potential for enhancing functionality– Beware non-falsifiable hypotheses, esp. for mechanical/structural apps.
• What’s After Nanotechnology– Optimized Materials Design?– Bio-hybrids?– Improved Technology Transfer