Dr. Nicolas A. Cordero, Associate Professor, Physics Department and International Research Center in Critical Raw Materials for Advanced Industrial Technologies (ICCRAM). Universidad de Burgos. Spain

Title: Coarsening-resistant nanocrystalline metal alloys: Modeling and fabrication

Abstract: ICARUS (Innovative Coarsening-resistant Alloys with enhanced Radiation tolerance and Ultrafine-grained Structure for aerospace application) is a project funded through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 713514 that proposes a new thermodynamic methodology able to identify the elements and the relative chemical composition allowing a nanocrystalline state to occupy a relative minimum of the Gibbs free energy, which makes the nanostructure reasonably stable against coarsening. This approach is being integrated, in synergy with multiscale and thermodynamic (Nano-Calphad) modeling, in order to implement a High-Throughput Screening (HTS) tool that will open a new horizon of discovery and exploration of multinary thermal stable nanocrystalline alloys, exhibiting superb tailored properties. ICARUS brings a radically new concept by addressing a still unsolved problem in the stabilization of nanocrystalline alloys. The materials discovery approach of ICARUS will be synergistic with the forefront industrial production technologies of nanomaterials and alloys. Results arising from ICARUS exploration will be materialized in specific demo compounds representative of carefully selected new alloys families that will change the present paradigm of EU aerospace industry. The most promising nanocrystalline material identified will be synthesized by mechanical alloying and physical vapor deposition, and the obtained samples characterized for their applicability in the aerospace sector. A proof of concept from its approach will be given and tested by experts and specialized industries working in the aerospace sector in close contact with NASA and ESA.